Psalm 119 - 39 short posts that are the responses from the 929 community of writers to an invitation to honor the venerable tradition of using the 176 verses in Psalm 119 - each letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet repeated eight times - as inspiration for a message, often in honor or in memory of an individual (connecting the letter of the psalm to an initial of their name).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
It is fitting that our largest collection of posts to date is for the longest chapter in Tanach!<\/p>\r\n
Thanks to all who contributed: the wisdom and depth of your outpourings here are so diverse and inspiring, that it is a tribute both to the English-speaking Jewish community which this represents, and to the project of 929 as a platform to elicit and showcase that content.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
Click here to go to 119<\/a> - scroll down to read all the posts!<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":76408,"alt":"","title":"Header - 929 people","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people.jpg","width":2500,"height":1429,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-300x171.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-768x439.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":439,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-1024x585.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":585,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":878,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1171,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-1200x686.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":686,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-735x420.jpg","home_baner-width":735,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"In case you missed it on Sunday!","tile_main_caption":"Psalm 119 - Special Invitation Contributions","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A personal, verse-by-verse collection","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":76408,"alt":"","title":"Header - 929 people","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people.jpg","width":2500,"height":1429,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-300x171.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-768x439.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":439,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-1024x585.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":585,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":878,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1171,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-1200x686.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":686,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Header-929-people-735x420.jpg","home_baner-width":735,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1138"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"89932","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Ki Tisa: Believe in Equality and Leave the REST to God","post_title":"Ki Tisa: Believe in Equality and Leave the REST to God","slug":"ki-tisa-believe-in-equality-and-leave-the-rest-to-god","old_id":"89932","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":89933,"post_title":"Dvir Cahana","slug":"dvir-cahana","old_id":"89933","first_name":"Dvir ","last_name":"Cahana ","description":"Dvir Cahana is in rabbinical school at YCT. 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The parsha begins with the democratized call to cooperatively erect the Mishkan, where each individual was commanded to evenly contribute a half-shekel\u00a0to the project. The purpose of this census, says the commentator Chizkuni, is to atone for the sin of the golden calf, found only a chapter away in this very parsha. Examining these nation-wide aggregations of funds to build something to worship \u2014 seen in both the establishment of the Mishkan and the sin of the golden calf \u2014 will reveal their shared relationships to shmita.<\/p>\r\n Shmita conjures up the importance to rethink ownership. It is easy to get swept away and lose sight of our humanity when each individual places the expansion of their grasp on material culture above all else. Capitalist forces have rooted the \u201cworship of possession\u201d so vigorously in our collective psyche that it is almost unfathomable to institutionalize a national\u00a0tzimtzum\u00a0<\/em>(contraction). The lesson found in the\u00a0machazit hashekel,<\/em>\u00a0the half-shekel\u00a0collection, is that it undermines of the value of possession. By forbidding anyone from contributing more than anybody else, the holiness of the Mishkan gets spread evenly throughout the camp. In this way, nobody has any more ownership than anybody else over the Mishkan. This sequence concludes with the commandment to keep Shabbat. The weekly practice of returning to Gan Eden, where nature is ownerless.<\/p>\r\n Another of the main lessons of shmita is that being passive is an active choice. It is hard to not intervene when we see weeds sprout in our idyllic gardens; to not pursue the optimized formula of maximum output that humankind continues to work tirelessly to perfect. A fear of losing all of our hard-earned progress turns us into helicopter parents over our property, and this fear can become debilitating, knowing that we have the power within us to change the outcomes. And yet, we are commanded to absolve ourselves from enacting this very power.<\/p>\r\n This lesson is found in the sin of the golden calf. The people were tired of being passive and waiting idly, which prompted the creation of an idol. But the pitfall to their yearning for activity can be found in the resolution of this story. The more power one has, the harder it is to allow the \u201cland to remain fallow\u201d. We see the most powerful of all beings struggle with the impulse to not act: God wants to intervene and punish the people for their sins. In the end, God holds back and spares the people. God\u2019s decision to not act marked the first Yom Kippur, and every Yom Kippur following God is restrained with us despite our iniquity.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Shmita helps us return to the Garden of Eden by allowing us to see the tenuousness in our notions of ownership, and in forcing us to take a year-long pause. Although, in a bizarre year of extenuating circumstances, it seems like we might get two of those this go around.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n The next shmita year begins next Rosh Hashanah 2021, almost a year from now. We have time to prepare. As we move through 5781 we invite you to join us in preparation for the upcoming shmita year \u2013 a sabbatical year for the Earth but also for ourselves, our communities, and our world. Each week we will share thoughts on how the weekly parsha can help guide our thinking around shmita themes of work and rest, wealth and debt, responsible land use, fair labor practices, private and public property ownership, and physical and spiritual revitalization.<\/p>\r\n Join us for the journey.<\/p>\r\n See here for more information on the Hazon Shmita project, and its blogs.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/section>","post_main_content_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"A New Weekly Series: The \"Shmitah Parasha\" Blog","tile_main_caption":"Ki Tisa: Believe in Equality and Leave the REST to God ","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"in conjunction with Hazon.org","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1138"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"89924","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Ki Tisa - Res(e)t ","post_title":"Ki Tisa - Res(e)t","slug":"ki-tisa-reset","old_id":"89924","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":83630,"post_title":"Yoni Dolgin","slug":"yoni-dolgin","old_id":"83630","first_name":"Yoni ","last_name":"Dolgin ","description":"Yoni Dolgin runs a tech scouting and investment advisory in Tel Aviv. 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His current book project, The Life of Psalms in Jewish Late Antiquity, deal with Psalm reception and materiality, translation, liturgy, piety and magic. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. AJ Berkovitz serves as an Assistant Professor at HUC-JIR in New York.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":77759,"alt":"","title":"AJ Berkovitz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/AJ-Berkovitz.jpg","width":2100,"height":3150,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/AJ-Berkovitz-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/AJ-Berkovitz-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/AJ-Berkovitz-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/AJ-Berkovitz-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/AJ-Berkovitz.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/AJ-Berkovitz.jpg","2048x2048-width":1365,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/AJ-Berkovitz-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/AJ-Berkovitz-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"686","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Pedagogy, both affective and effective\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" We\u2019ve arrived at the longest poem in the Psalter. Psalm 119 contains 176 short staccato-like verses. The poem lacks flow and movement (see Ps 113, above). It does, however, contain two organizing principles: its theme and its structure. Each tells the history of this majestic poem.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The poem\u2019s theme sets it apart from most psalms, which focus on the relationship between the poet and God. The poet praises God, fears God\u2019s punishing wrath, asks God for mercy, and seeks solace in God\u2019s presence. Psalm 119, by contrast, does not praise God. Instead, it praises God\u2019s laws and precepts. Nearly every line contains the word \u201cTorah,\u201d or its synonyms. This poem, which contains no identifying title, was likely composed in a world where individuals approached God through the study of texts and not by directly encountering Him \u2013 a world similar to ours. In other words, Psalm 119 might be among the latest poems in the Psalter, written after the Exile (586 BCE), when text-production and text-study became the defining anchor of Jewish experience. Instead of encountering God in the desert, we manifest Him before us through carefully reading and analyzing Scripture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Psalm 119 also contains a unique structure: an eight-fold acrostic, which Bavli Berakhot 4b characterizes as <\/span>timnaya apei<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>\u201ceight-faced.\u201d Acrostic poems often follow the letters of the alphabet, with each line of poetry beginning with a new letter. Early examples appear in Lamentations and Psalm 145, among other places. Classical piyyutim, such as those by Yannai and Qillir, were famous for stretching this poetic device to its limits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n At its core, however, acrostic poems were pedagogical. They were easy to memorize. Ancient educators used such poems in teaching children to read and recognize the alphabet. Psalm 34 best highlights the educational valence of acrostic poetry. The otherwise alphabetic poem concludes with a pey verse. Why? F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp, a scholar of biblical poetry, suggests that the answer appears when we combine the letters at the beginning, middle and end of the poem: <\/span>aleph<\/span>, <\/span>lamed<\/span><\/em>,<\/em> and <\/span>pey<\/span><\/em>. This spells <\/span>alp<\/span><\/em>, which translates as \u201cinstruction\u201d (like, ulpan). It is likely that Psalm 119 was also used for educating the youth of ancient Israel. The poem itself, after all, praises teaching and learning. What better way to socialize children to love and live by God\u2019s Torah than by having them learn and memorize the alphabet through a poem that praises Torah study. Like other activities of habit formation, repetition, in this case of Psalms, is both affective and effective.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":52081,"alt":"","title":"dt30-torah+study","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","width":258,"height":196,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","medium-width":258,"medium-height":196,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","medium_large-width":258,"medium_large-height":196,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","large-width":258,"large-height":196,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","1536x1536-width":258,"1536x1536-height":196,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","2048x2048-width":258,"2048x2048-height":196,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","post_full_size-width":258,"post_full_size-height":196,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","home_baner-width":258,"home_baner-height":196}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Longest Psalm And Its Contexts","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Pedagogy, both affective and effective","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":52081,"alt":"","title":"dt30-torah+study","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","width":258,"height":196,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","medium-width":258,"medium-height":196,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","medium_large-width":258,"medium_large-height":196,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","large-width":258,"large-height":196,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","1536x1536-width":258,"1536x1536-height":196,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","2048x2048-width":258,"2048x2048-height":196,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","post_full_size-width":258,"post_full_size-height":196,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-torahstudy.jpg","home_baner-width":258,"home_baner-height":196}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"119","chapter_main_number":"686","date":"20280416","wall_id":"686"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"89433","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"Teach Well! ","post_title":"Teach Well!","slug":"teach-well","old_id":"89433","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"686","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Our survival depends on seeking out national and personal teachers, and to being lifelong learners\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" In this chapter of Psalms, King David (according to many of our sages) provides a lengthy recap of his goals, desires and gratitude, using words representing teaching and learning about 45 times. Radak points out that one of eleven words that describe, teaching, learning or the subject of those endeavors occurs in each of the 176 verses of this chapter. Those eleven words are <\/span>Torah<\/span><\/em> - teachings; <\/span>derech<\/span><\/em> \u2013 way; <\/span>chok<\/em> <\/span>\u2013 statute; <\/span>mitzvah<\/span><\/em> \u2013 commandment; <\/span>mishpat<\/span><\/em> \u2013 judgement; <\/span>eidut<\/span><\/em> \u2013 testimony; <\/span>pekudim<\/span><\/em> \u2013 precepts; <\/span>tzedek<\/span><\/em> \u2013 righteousness; <\/span>dibbur<\/span><\/em> \u2013 word; <\/span>amirah<\/span><\/em> \u2013 saying; and <\/span>emunah<\/span><\/em> \u2013 belief. Repeatedly throughout this chapter David pleads with God to teach him so that he can understand and grow in spirituality.<\/span><\/p>\r\n According to David Hartman, as quoted in a 1978 Jerusalem Post article, \u201cIn the Jewish tradition, being involved in learning means being involved in God\u2019s creation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n In this, the longest chapter of Psalms, King David sets out the necessary conditions for righteousness and sprinkled throughout, more often than \u201cdo\u201d or \u201cdon\u2019t\u201d, is \u201clearn\u201d and \u201cunderstand\u201d and \u201cteach me!\u201d David was the epitome of a life-long learner with a singular wish to dwell in the House of God all his days to maximize his time learning (Psalms 27:4).<\/span><\/p>\r\n Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, \u201cIf you want to save the Jewish future you have to build Jewish day schools.\u201d Once asked what I identified as the greatest threat to Jewish continuity today, without a second thought I responded, \u201cthe high cost of day school tuition.\u201d Hopefully we find a solution soon\u2026but I digress.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Encyclopedia Judaica posits that learning is the central, essential Jewish experience. The word <\/span>Torah<\/span><\/em>, itself, translates as \u201cteaching\u201d. Similarly, <\/span>Talmud<\/span><\/em> means \u201cinstruction\u201d and <\/span>Rabbi<\/span><\/em> means \u201cteacher.\u201d So integral is teaching and learning to the Jewish people that we don\u2019t refer to Moses as our deliverer, our miracle-worker, our leader or our freedom-fighter. We call Moses, primarily, <\/span>Moshe Rabbenu<\/span><\/em> \u2013 Moses our Teacher. Among the final instructions from Moses to the Jewish people was, \u201cTeach (these words) to your children, speaking of them when you sit at home and when you travel on the way, when you lie down and when you rise\u201d \u2013 words we intone daily in the Shema Yisrael prayer.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Psalm 119 reminds us that our survival depends on seeking out national and personal teachers. The impact of having teachers, however, is dependent on our commitment to being engaged as lifelong learners.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":89434,"alt":"","title":"ps119-learning","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Teach Well!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Our survival depends on seeking out national and personal teachers, and to being lifelong learners\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":89434,"alt":"","title":"ps119-learning","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ps119-learning-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"119","chapter_main_number":"686","date":"20280416","wall_id":"686"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"89640","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Going Up? ","post_title":"Going Up?","slug":"going-up","old_id":"89640","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"687","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Just what or who is ascending where?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" Psalm 120 is the first of fifteen consecutive psalms that bear the inscription: <\/span>S<\/span><\/i>hir HaMa`alot<\/span><\/em>, a term that has been recurrently translated as \u201cA song of ascents,\u201d but interpreted in different ways. The Aramaic Targum rendered it \u201cthe ascents of the abyss,\u201d alluding to a talmudic legend (Sukkah 53b) that attributed their recital to King David\u2019s attempt to cause the waters of the deep (<\/span>tehom<\/span><\/em>) to rise on the occasion of the Festival of Water Drawing (<\/span>simchat beit hasho\u2019eva<\/span><\/em>). Rashi identified them with the 15 steps that \u201cdescended\u201d from the men\u2019s courtyard to the women\u2019s courtyard in the Temple, but also offered the rabbinic association cited in the Targum.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Ibn Ezra credited Sa`adyah Gaon with having identified them with the 15 courtyard steps\u2014an error that Uriel Simon (<\/span>Four Approaches to the Book of Psalms,<\/span><\/em>\u00a0p. 263 n.37) attributed to a failure of memory on Ibn Ezra\u2019s part\u2014but also raised the possibility that <\/span>ma`alot<\/span><\/em> refers to a \u201crising tune\u201d to which these poems were to be recited. Radak cited the courtyards\u2019 association - referring to the same stairs as \u201cascending\u201d from the women to the men - added yet another interpretation: \u201cSome say it refers to the ascents from exile that Israel will eventually ascend to the Land of Israel. These songs were recited from the perspective of the exiles and reference the tribulations of exile, the distress it causes, and the anticipation of salvation that is promised to come.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n Robert Alter seems to have summed up these various interpretations in his notation:<\/span><\/p>\r\n Most scholars assume that \u201cascents\u201d refers to pilgrimages to Jerusalem\u2026 But among other meanings that have been proposed, it could be a musical term, perhaps referring to an ascent in pitch or a crescendo in the song, or it could refer to the pattern of incremental repetition that is common to many of these poems. There are some linguistic indications that these psalms were composed in the Second Temple period, and one of them, Psalm 126, explicitly invokes the return to Zion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54943,"alt":"","title":"jud1-ascend","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Going Up?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Just what or who is ascending where?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54943,"alt":"","title":"jud1-ascend","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-ascend-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"120","chapter_main_number":"687","date":"20280417","wall_id":"687"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"89674","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Opposites\u00a0 ","post_title":"Opposites\u00a0","slug":"opposites","old_id":"89674","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"688","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Sky and earth, sun and moon - God.\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" In a well-known classic Sesame Street clip, Grover and Ernie sing about opposites. Up and down, in and out, over and under, etc. Opposites are building blocks of language, and an important part of any basic education.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Psalm 121 is full of opposites. King David references the sky and earth, the sun and the moon, going and coming. The uniqueness of God is that God is omnipresent. Unlike the pagan gods who control certain aspects of the word, God controls all. By focusing on these opposites, King David is showing that God lives in all these spaces. It may not seem like a radical idea nowadays, but the fact that one deity was both in charge of the sun and the moon, light and darkness was radical. Much like Grover, King David is showing that understanding of these opposites is a basic part of a Jewish education.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56201,"alt":"","title":"jud16-sun-night","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night.png","width":1280,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Opposites\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Sky and earth, sun and moon - God.","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56201,"alt":"","title":"jud16-sun-night","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night.png","width":1280,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-sun-night-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"121","chapter_main_number":"688","date":"20280418","wall_id":"688"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"89702","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Higher And Higher ","post_title":"Higher And Higher","slug":"higher-and-higher","old_id":"89702","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":80223,"post_title":"PsalmSeason","slug":"psalmseason","old_id":"80223","first_name":"PsalmSeason","last_name":"","description":"PsalmSeason, a joint project of the Interfaith Youth Core and Hebrew College, includes a diverse group of religious leaders, cultural critics, musicians, poets, artists, and activists who explore the Psalms, bringing their power to bear on our lives in this trying time. Like the ancient Hebrew writers, we seek to express our fear, anger, and sadness, while also giving thanks for the preciousness of life, recommitting to a better future for all. In turning to the Psalms, we join a great tradition of Jewish, Christian, and other seekers who have all engaged these evocative and existentially gripping texts in their quests for meaning and purpose.\r\n","short_description":"PsalmSeason, a joint project of the Interfaith Youth Core and Hebrew College, turn to Psalms to express our fear, anger, and sadness, while also giving thanks for the preciousness of life, recommitting to a better future for all. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":80224,"alt":"","title":"ifyc","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ifyc.jpg","width":176,"height":188,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ifyc-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ifyc.jpg","medium-width":176,"medium-height":188,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ifyc.jpg","medium_large-width":176,"medium_large-height":188,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ifyc.jpg","large-width":176,"large-height":188,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ifyc.jpg","1536x1536-width":176,"1536x1536-height":188,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ifyc.jpg","2048x2048-width":176,"2048x2048-height":188,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ifyc.jpg","post_full_size-width":176,"post_full_size-height":188,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ifyc.jpg","home_baner-width":176,"home_baner-height":188}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"688","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"with Neshama Carlebach ","post_main_content_content":" Neshama Carlebach is an award-winning singer, songwriter and educator who has performed and taught in cities around the world. A six-time entrant in the Grammy Awards and winner and four-time Independent Music Awards Nominee for her most current release,\u00a0Believe, Neshama has sold over one million records, making her one of today\u2019s best-selling Jewish artists in the world.\u00a0As a teenager she performed alongside her father, the late Rabbi\u00a0Shlomo\u00a0Carlebach.\u00a0As the first then-Orthodox woman of her generation to perform for a mixed-gender audience, Neshama has sparked public conversations with brave forays into the place of women in Judaism and today\u2019s world. Neshama lives in New York with her husband Rabbi Menachem Creditor, and their five children.<\/em><\/p>\r\n Here she performs the song\u00a0Esa Einai (entitled \u201cHeaven & Earth\u201d on the album\u00a0Higher & Higher)\u00a0with the\u00a0Green Pastures Baptist Church Choir.<\/em><\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n There are many moments in my life when I have looked to the Psalms for inspiration. King David\u2019s poignant, inspiring verses are somehow always relevant and relatable.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n My father\u2019s melody for\u00a0Esa Einai\u00a0<\/em>was one of the very first songs he composed in 1959. Simple and entrancing, he created it at the very beginning of his career when he was not sure he could write music or if anyone would ever hear his voice.\u00a0The melody is filled with longing for transformation and clarity.<\/p>\r\n Esa Einai\u00a0<\/em>has lifted souls across the world for decades; it has given\u00a0me<\/em>\u00a0life. I\u2019ve heard the song more times than I can count and still I cry when I hear it.\u00a0The song reminds me that God exists, that there is a source of love and strength to turn to when I feel I cannot go on. I remember that I am not alone.<\/p>\r\n One of the most incredible and redemptive experiences in my career has been the opportunity to pray and harmonize with Pastor Milton Vann and our Baptist choir. Despite all that is broken in our world, despite all the ways our cultures and backgrounds have historically divided us, within our harmonies we are able to connect so deeply. When we sing\u00a0Esa Einai\u00a0<\/em>and the audience joins us, I am transported to a place where there are no walls, where our yearnings bring us into intimate communion. When we sing\u00a0Esa Einai<\/em>, I feel a sense of unity, peace, and hope.<\/p>\r\n As we struggle through these challenging pandemic days, as we witness pain and racism, I know that this song is needed more than ever. I hope and pray that these words and this melody also bring you strength and connection to the deepest Source of love.\u00a0I hope that this song continues to stir souls and give hope to those of us who feel frightened and alone.\u00a0I hope this song continues to have a place in your heart.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Read more about PsalmSeason here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0subscribe for email updates<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/nkP49zqovqk","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Higher And Higher ","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"with Neshama Carlebach ","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/nkP49zqovqk","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"121","chapter_main_number":"688","date":"20280418","wall_id":"688"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"89658","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"An American Psalm ","post_title":"An American Psalm","slug":"an-american-psalm","old_id":"89658","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":80223,"post_title":"PsalmSeason","slug":"psalmseason","old_id":"80223","first_name":"PsalmSeason","last_name":"","description":"PsalmSeason, a joint project of the Interfaith Youth Core and Hebrew College, includes a diverse group of religious leaders, cultural critics, musicians, poets, artists, and activists who explore the Psalms, bringing their power to bear on our lives in this trying time. 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I lift my eyes\u00a0 I turn my eyes to\u00a01619 and read:\u00a0 As if it were yesterday, I remember By day the sun, the moon by night. From where will our help come? This is a psalm of the ages. Richard Chess is the author of four books of poetry,\u00a0Love Nailed to the Doorpost, Tekiah, Chair in the Desert, and Third Temple. He directed UNC Asheville\u2019s Center for Jewish Studies from 1992 until 2020. He is UNC Asheville\u2019s Roy Carroll Professor of Honors Arts & Sciences. He is one of the lead organizers of the Faith in Arts Institute, which will be presented by UNC Asheville and the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center in Spring 2021. For more information on the Faith in Arts Institute, visit\u00a0faithinarts.unca.edu<\/a>. You can find him at\u00a0www.richardchess.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\r\n Read more about PsalmSeason here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0subscribe for email updates<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":89659,"alt":"","title":"Richard-Chess","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","width":480,"height":362,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess-300x226.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":226,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","medium_large-width":480,"medium_large-height":362,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","large-width":480,"large-height":362,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","1536x1536-width":480,"1536x1536-height":362,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","2048x2048-width":480,"2048x2048-height":362,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","post_full_size-width":480,"post_full_size-height":362,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","home_baner-width":480,"home_baner-height":362}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"An American Psalm ","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"by Richard Chess","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":89659,"alt":"","title":"Richard-Chess","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","width":480,"height":362,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess-300x226.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":226,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","medium_large-width":480,"medium_large-height":362,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","large-width":480,"large-height":362,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","1536x1536-width":480,"1536x1536-height":362,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","2048x2048-width":480,"2048x2048-height":362,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","post_full_size-width":480,"post_full_size-height":362,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Richard-Chess.jpg","home_baner-width":480,"home_baner-height":362}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"121","chapter_main_number":"688","date":"20280418","wall_id":"688"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"89729","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem ","post_title":"Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem","slug":"pray-for-the-peace-of-jerusalem","old_id":"89729","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":85635,"post_title":"Rina Yellin","slug":"rina-yellin","old_id":"85635","first_name":"Rina ","last_name":"Yellin ","description":"Rina Yellin is an Israeli tour guide and founder of Israel Complete. She loves learning Tanach (the Bible) and seeing its positive impact on the modern state of Israel. \r\n","short_description":"Rina Yellin is an Israeli tour guide and founder of Israel Complete. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":85636,"alt":"","title":"rina yellin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rina-yellin.jpg","width":2252,"height":2013,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rina-yellin-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rina-yellin-300x268.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":268,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rina-yellin-768x686.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":686,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rina-yellin-1024x915.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":915,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rina-yellin.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1373,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rina-yellin.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1831,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rina-yellin-1200x1073.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1073,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/rina-yellin-470x420.jpg","home_baner-width":470,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"689","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Poignant prayer on the wall of the Knesset\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" In 1977 President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, addressed the Knesset and made a historic offer of peace. As he spoke, the wall relief \u201cPray for the Peace of Jerusalem,\u201d was visible behind him. The relief was inspired by Psalm 122:6<\/span>,<\/span> \u201cPray for the peace of Jerusalem, may those who love you be at peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n Dani Karavan\u2019s understated work of art, \u201cPray for the Peace of Jerusalem,\u201d forms the wall, behind the speaker\u2019s podium, in Israel\u2019s Parliament.\u00a0 And if Karavan\u2019s creation could speak it would boast of being photographed with prime ministers, presidents, a king, and even a queen.\u00a0 But the wall is \u201ca quiet wall with an unobtrusive presence,\u201d as Karavan described it.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want his wall relief to distract the Members of Knesset (MK\u2019s) so he created a piece that \u201cthey will hardly notice it being there at all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n It took him nine months, and the help of local stonemasons, to transform his vision into reality. Engraved into the wall, composed of Galilean stones, is an array of geometric patterns. Karavan said, \u201cI wanted all the stones to show the Land of Israel - the wadis and the hills, Jerusalem in the center, with all her domes and symbols.\u201d But the wall has more than just symbols. On the left side of the wall, engraved in zinc hangs a portrait of Benjamin Ze\u2019ev Herzl, the visionary of the modern state of Israel.<\/span> Also engraved into the wall is the phrase from Psalm 122:6, \u201cPray for the Peace of Jerusalem.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n In 1994, Israel signed a peace treaty with Jordan and president Bill Clinton spoke to the Knesset, in front of the beautiful, psalm inspired, wall relief. It seemed like another bold step toward the fulfillment of our prayer for peace. Yet when MK\u2019s bicker and internecine fighting rages, the passage from Psalm 122 seems more like a desperate plea for peace.\u00a0 Either way, Karavan\u2019s work of art is a physical expression of our struggle to connect the heavenly, spiritual Jerusalem with the worldly, physical Jerusalem. It\u2019s a poignant message not just to the MK\u2019s, who see it on a regular basis, but to all of us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Especially in these turbulent times, we must work together to remain true to the words of Psalm 122:6, \u201cPray for peace of Jerusalem, may those who love you be at peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":89730,"alt":"","title":"ps122-rina yellin-rafael-nir-unsplash Knesset 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Groupthink\u00a0 ","post_title":"Targeting Groupthink\u00a0","slug":"targeting-groupthink","old_id":"89836","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36535,"post_title":"Ezra Butler","slug":"ezra-butler","old_id":"36535","first_name":"Ezra ","last_name":"Butler","description":"Ezra Butler used to study third century texts, but is currently an artist and independent researcher living in Chicago.","short_description":"Ezra Butler used to study third century texts, but is currently an artist and independent researcher living in 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uncertainty, and doubt in the perpetuation of the status quo\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" I love a good turn of phrase; when two random words are conjoined and create a concept that conveys so much more than the sum of its parts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n In Psalm 123:4, there are two such phrases: \u201cthe scorn of the complacent\u201d and \u201cthe contempt of the haughty\u201d. I feel as if both of these concepts merit thousands of words, if not more, far exceeding the 500 word limit allotted for each commentary.<\/span><\/p>\r\n As always, it is difficult to translate the poetic original, and I usually default to using the JPS translation. For the first phrase: \u201c<\/span>ha-la\u2019ag<\/span><\/em>\u201d translates to a form of ridicule, mockery, or derision. And \u201c<\/span>ha-shananim<\/span><\/em>\u201d can be translated as \u201cthose who are stable\u201d, \u201cthose who are comfortable\u201d, \u201cthose who are at ease\u201d, \u201cthose who are secure\u201d (or complacent).<\/span><\/p>\r\n It\u2019s easy to judge from a place of comfort, to critique from a couch, or more colloquially, to quarterback on Monday morning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n As I read this phrase, I had two thoughts going through my head. The first is of the iconic<\/span> 1997 Apple \u201cThink Different\u201d commercial<\/span><\/a> that starts \u201cHere\u2019s to the crazy ones.\u201d And the second is of the oft-used axiom used over decades, \u201cNobody ever got fired for buying IBM.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n It is no accident that these two companies come to mind, as Apple\u2019s<\/span> 1984 commercial<\/span><\/a> introducing the Macintosh was targeting the groupthink epitomized by IBM.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u201cFear, uncertainty, and doubt\u201d have historically been the methods used by communities and corporations alike to keep people in line. For example, excommunication leads to uncertainty. Many a rabbinic edict was enacted out of fear of doing something much more severe, until that fear becomes commonplace, accepted, and unquestioned. Like assuming the quality of IBM products in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.<\/span><\/p>\r\n It is easier to criticize than to create or to have to choose. It\u2019s even easier to have a predetermined choice made for you.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The second phrase is its \u201c<\/span>ha-b\u016bz<\/span><\/em>\u201d meaning \u201cto hold in contempt\u201d or \u201cto despise\u201d, and \u201c<\/span>l\u2019geyonim<\/span><\/em>\u201d means \u201cof the proud\u201d. Those who are proud or haughty, hold those they deem below them to be \u201cless than\u201d. It\u2019s a survival technique, to both maintain their own place in the social hierarchy, as well as instilling fear in those of their ranks to keep the rules, in order not to become an outcast of sorts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The phrases are intertwined. Those who benefit from the status quo feel the need to mock or deride anyone who threatens it. The idea of change threatens the status quo. Those who succeed within a system may even feel pity for those people the system doesn\u2019t accept or recognize. But \u201cpity\u201d is just a synonym for contempt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Because if someone could survive in the world of uncertainty, then the system itself can collapse. And then a new system, optimized for that type of uncertainty, arises, and as Ecclesiastes writes, the cycle continues.<\/span><\/p>\r\n image : courtesy of the author\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":89837,"alt":"","title":"Ps123-EButler","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler.png","width":2048,"height":2048,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Targeting Groupthink\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the perpetuation of the status quo","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":89837,"alt":"","title":"Ps123-EButler","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler.png","width":2048,"height":2048,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps123-EButler-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"123","chapter_main_number":"690","date":"20280420","wall_id":"690"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"89839","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"I Turn My Eyes To God Enthroned In Heaven ","post_title":"I Turn My Eyes To God Enthroned In Heaven","slug":"i-turn-my-eyes-to-god-enthroned-in-heaven","old_id":"89839","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"690","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Were it not for me, You would not be enthroned\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" Our<\/span> psalm<\/span><\/a> is the fourth of the fifteen psalms (120-134) that begin with a similar superscription: \u201cA Song of Ascents \u2013 <\/span>Shir Ha-Ma\u2019alot<\/span><\/em>\u201d. This collection of brief psalms seems to have been sung in the Temple in Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\r\n In describing the joyous \u201cWater-Drawing Ceremony -\u00a0<\/span>Simchat Beit Ha-Sho\u2019evah<\/span><\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/i>,<\/span> Mishnah Sukkah 5:4<\/span><\/a> records that the pious (<\/span>hasidim<\/span><\/em>)and the men of action <\/span>(<\/span><\/i>\u2018anshey ha-ma\u2019aseh<\/span><\/em>) would dance before the people who attended the celebration, with flaming torches that they would juggle in their hands\u2026And the Levites would play on lyres, harps, cymbals, trumpets and countless other musical instruments. The musicians would stand on the fifteen stairs (<\/span>ma\u2019alot<\/span><\/em>) that descend from the Israelites\u2019 courtyard to the Women\u2019s Courtyard, while singing the fifteen Songs of the Ascents in Psalms. It is on these fifteen stairs that the Levites stood with musical instruments while intoning their song.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n In expanding on this Mishnah,<\/span> Talmud Bavli Sukkah 53a-b<\/span><\/a> describes the dramatic circumstance during which these \u201cSongs of Ascent\u201d were recited in Biblical times. When King David was digging the foundations of the Temple in Jerusalem, he reached the primal waters of the abyss (<\/span>Genesis 1:2<\/span><\/a>), which rose and sought to inundate the world. Immediately, David recited the fifteen Songs of Ascents and caused them to subside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The<\/span> first verse of our psalm<\/span><\/a> \u201cTo You, enthroned in heaven, I turn my eyes\u201d has been interpreted in various ways. For example,<\/span> Sifre Devarim 346<\/span><\/a> on<\/span> Deuteronomy 33:5<\/span><\/a> preserves the following shocking midrash: \u201cTo You, enthroned in heaven, I turn my eyes\u201d --\u00a0 if it were not for me, as it were (<\/span>kivyakhol<\/span><\/em>), You would not be enthroned in heaven.<\/span> Tanhuma Ki Tisa\u2019 19<\/span><\/a> records that when Israel demanded that Aaron make for them a golden calf and brought to him golden earrings, Aaron raised his eyes to heaven and declared: \u201cTo You, enthroned in heaven, I turn my eyes.\u201d You, Who knows all thoughts, know that I do this unwillingly. He tossed their earrings into the fire, and the magicians approached and performed magical feats\u2026Then the calf came forth leaping.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Maimonides in his<\/span> Guide for the Perplexed 1:10-11<\/span><\/a> is concerned with how the incorporeal Deity can be described as \u201csitting\u201d in\u00a0 <\/span>
\r\nWhat\u2019s on your mind, asks
\r\nthe maker of heaven and earth.
\r\nFrom where will my help come?
\r\nThough I walk alone, I hold\u00a0
\r\na thousand friends in my right hand.\u00a0
\r\nThis is a psalm of quarantine.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nto City Council. Council receives\u00a0
\r\npublic comment on a plan\u00a0
\r\nto remove monuments.\u00a0
\r\nThe chief of police reports\u00a0
\r\non a plan to reform.\u00a0
\r\nFrom where will our help come?
\r\nI lower my eyes, look to my feet.
\r\nThis is a psalm of steps.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\u201cThey could weep\u00a0
\r\nfor overworked Uncle Ned\u00a0
\r\nas surely as they could ignore
\r\nhis lashed back or his body\u00a0
\r\nas it swung from a tree.\u201d\u00a0
\r\nThat\u2019s Wesley Morris on white
\r\naudiences for blackface\u00a0
\r\nminstrelsy shows. This is a psalm
\r\nof American entertainment.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nplaces, years: 586 before,\u00a0
\r\n70 after, and on and on.\u00a0
\r\nBabylon, Rome, Venice, Spain,\u00a0
\r\nDamascus, Jerusalem, Pittsburgh, Berlin--
\r\nway back and around the world.\u00a0
\r\nAs if it were yesterday.
\r\nI\u2019m a Jew. I remember.\u00a0
\r\nI\u2019m an American Jew.\u00a0
\r\nHow, until yesterday, could I\u00a0
\r\nnot have known Black Wall\u00a0
\r\nStreet, T. D. Rice, Juneteenth?
\r\nThis is a psalm of omission.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nBy screen light, by streetlight,
\r\nby light of the fire of righteous
\r\nindignation, which, on the Sabbath,
\r\nthou shall not light. That\u2019s Heschel.
\r\nBut no time now to slumber, no time to sleep.
\r\nThis is an urgent psalm.\u00a0
\r\nA psalm of pilgrimage from privilege\u00a0
\r\nto the past unmasked.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nI keep my distance. I wear
\r\na mask. I wash my hands.
\r\nYou keep your distance. You wear
\r\na mask. You wash your hands.
\r\nWe guard our lives.
\r\nThis is a psalm of the moment.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nI lift my eyes. I lift my eyes and begin
\r\nto see what I\u2019ve failed to see.\u00a0
\r\nI lift my eyes and see America.
\r\nWith the Lord at my right hand, I see
\r\nand step and stumble and rise.
\r\nThis is a psalm of public health.
\r\nThis is a psalm of fierce hope.
\r\nNow and forever, O Lord,
\r\nI lift my eyes and sing.
\r\nThis is an American psalm.
\r\nThis is a psalm of ascent.
\r\n
\r\n<\/p>\r\n