{"id":90359,"date":"2018-07-09T17:53:37","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-704\/"},"modified":"2021-03-25T09:46:12","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T07:46:12","slug":"wall-704","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-704\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Writings-Psalms-137"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"704","date":"20280510","book":"Psalms","chapter":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","books_group":"Writings","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"90395","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible Psalms Chapter 137 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible Psalms Chapter 137","slug":"jps-audio-bible-psalms-chapter-137","old_id":"90395","type":"user","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","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":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Psalms Chapter 137","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-753876298\/jps_audio_bible_psalms_chapter_137","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":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"90848","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Agnon\u2019s Nobel Speech in Light of Psalm 137 ","post_title":"Agnon\u2019s Nobel Speech in Light of Psalm 137","slug":"agnons-nobel-speech-in-light-of-psalm-137","old_id":"90848","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":90849,"post_title":"Jeffrey Saks","slug":"jeffrey-saks","old_id":"90849","first_name":"Jeffrey ","last_name":"Saks ","description":"Jeffrey Saks is a Modern Orthodox rabbi, educator, writer and editor. He is a co-founder of ATID \u2013 The Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education. In 2007 ATID launched WebYeshiva.org, the world's first fully interactive online yeshiva with students from the entire world.","short_description":"Jeffrey Saks is a Modern Orthodox rabbi, educator, writer and editor. He is a co-founder of ATID \u2013 The Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education. In 2007 ATID launched WebYeshiva.org, the world's first fully interactive online yeshiva with students from the entire world.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":90850,"alt":"","title":"jeffrey saks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/jeffrey-saks.jpg","width":800,"height":800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/jeffrey-saks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/jeffrey-saks-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/jeffrey-saks-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/jeffrey-saks.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":800,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/jeffrey-saks.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":800,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/jeffrey-saks.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":800,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/jeffrey-saks.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/jeffrey-saks-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Composing in prose what was formally sung in praise\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In 1966, with the Holocaust a recent memory, the Nobel Prize for literature was awarded to Hebrew author S.Y. Agnon. The prize was recognition not only of the Jewish people\u2019s physical survival but of its reconstitution as a sovereign nation: besting its enemies but also developing a meaningful culture. Accepting the award in Stockholm, Agnon said:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile. But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem. . .\u00a0 In a dream, in a vision of the night, I saw myself standing with my brother-Levites in the Holy Temple, singing with them the songs of David, King of Israel, melodies such as no ear has heard since the day our city was destroyed and its people went into exile. . . . To console me for having prevented me from singing with my mouth, they enable me to compose songs in writing.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Much can be gleaned from the story Agnon told about how his art originated. As the position of Levitical singer in the Temple had been closed on account of exile from Jerusalem, he instead wrote stories, his 23 volumes of modern Hebrew literature being substitutes for such holy work. Agnon was compensated to compose in prose what was formally sung in praise.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cI was five years old when I wrote my first poem,\u201d he continued. \u2018My father of blessed memory went away on business and I was overcome with longing for him and I made a song.\u201d A boy\u2019s longing for his father can be read symbolically as Israel\u2019s pining for its Father in heaven. Such polytextured writing characterizes Agnon\u2019s genius, explaining why a writer who was so steeped in the \u201cold world\u201d of eastern European Judaism was honored in Sweden as one of the greatest of modern authors.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In his reaction to pain, loss, and longing, Agnon hints at a different time that Jews discussed singing a song. Psalm 137 portrays the predicament of exiles carried off to foreign soil. Their captors taunt them, \u201cYou captive Jews with your harps. Give us one of those old ditties you used to sing in that burnt Temple of yours.\u201d The Jews, instead, offer lyrical pledge to the ransacked Holy City: \u201cIf I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning.\u201d The captive Jews sing a dirge of longing, and eventual justice: \u201cRemember, O Lord . . .fair Babylon, you predator, a blessing on him who repays you in kind what you inflicted on us.\u201d \u201cYou want a song?\u201d we imagine them saying. \u201cWe\u2019ll sing you a song about what happens to those who oppress us.\u201d The song itself responds to the suffering.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In receiving the Nobel, Agnon was tasked with standing on European soil and giving a song (or speech) of Zion<\/span>. <\/span><\/i>While far from the request made by the bloodthirsty Babylonians,\u00a0 nonetheless, the weight of history is upon him. \u201cYou want a song?\u201d Perhaps he thought, \u201cLet me tell you how we react to suffering: Jews know what it means to live in exile. We Jews still survive in the text. But the texts become transformed in modernity through renewed cultural production in our own language.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Creativity is the authentic Jewish response to pain and catastrophe. From the catastrophe of history<\/span> we write modern literature.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The above is excerpted from <\/span>a longer essay which you can see here<\/span><\/a>; see <\/span>here for the video of Agnon\u2019s acceptance speech<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67133,"alt":"","title":"is40-shai agnon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","width":794,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon-300x227.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":227,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon-768x580.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":580,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","large-width":794,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","1536x1536-width":794,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","2048x2048-width":794,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","post_full_size-width":794,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon-556x420.jpg","home_baner-width":556,"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":"Agnon\u2019s Nobel Speech in Light of Psalm 137","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Composing in prose what was formally sung in praise","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67133,"alt":"","title":"is40-shai agnon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","width":794,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon-300x227.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":227,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon-768x580.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":580,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","large-width":794,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","1536x1536-width":794,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","2048x2048-width":794,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon.jpg","post_full_size-width":794,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is40-shai-agnon-556x420.jpg","home_baner-width":556,"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":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"90858","color":"#efefef","size":"2","name":"Remembering The Past And The Future And More ","post_title":"Remembering The Past And The Future And More","slug":"remembering-the-past-and-the-future-and-more","old_id":"90858","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Imagining the unimaginable \u2013 not to prefigure action, but to preclude it\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

First, the words \u201cBy the rivers of Babylon\u2026\" are not originally a reggae song - they are right there in Psalm 137! Second, the version of the Melodians, and the cover by Bobby Farrell and BoneyM, ends with a biblical prayer lifted from Psalm 19: \u201cMay the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Psalm 137, however, ends on a very different, darker note.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This 9-verse psalm can be seen as three modes of emotional response to destruction and uprooting, to exile and trauma.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. Remembering the Past:<\/span><\/i> Verses 1-4 look back in time to the anguished state of the recently exiled, bowed and weeping, certain that they shall never play music or sing again. The joy of song belongs to the homeland, not to this strange country.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Remembering the Future:<\/span><\/i> Abject sadness and grief turns to gritty determination in verses 5-6, a self-abjuration to vow eternal silence if Jerusalem, already becoming a distant memory, were ever to be forgotten. These verses are often recited at Jewish weddings, just before shattering a glass (in remembrance of the ancient exile and as a sign of ongoing brokenness) and concluding the celebration.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Imagining the Unimaginable<\/span><\/i>: The final verses, 7-9, calls upon God, too, to engage in remembering: there are scores to settle with both the Edomites and the Babylonians, concluding with the infamous final line, addressed to the Babylonian captors: \u201cA blessing on him who seizes your babies and dashes them against the rocks!\u201d No more inspiring reggae beats here, no more bittersweet wedding moments. The bitter grief of exile and the angst-ridden imagining of forgetting home have morphed into full-on rage, and seemingly, a bloodthirsty desire for revenge.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    Commentators call for empathy for the depths of the suffering and despair of the Jewish exiles. Robert Alter: \u201cNo moral justification can be offered for this notorious concluding line. All one can do is to recall the background of outraged feeling that triggers the conclusion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Abraham Cohen, editor of the Soncino Press Bible commentary \u2013 Psalms being the first of 14 volumes \u2013 writing in 1945, opted instead to respond polemically to the horrors of the hour: \u201cRefugees from the Continent, when they return and see how their native city has been turned into masses of rubble by the Germans, will share the mood of the Psalmist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    How might we respond to this important interpretive challenge?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    We can imagine things that we can never, will never do, and put them down on paper, precisely so we don\u2019t ever need to do them in real life. Imagining the unimaginable \u2013 not to prefigure action, but to preclude it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Still, in responding to this ancient poetic reverie \u2013 an outpouring driven by sadness, anger, and degradation \u2013 we must do so both compassionately and critically: We can try to empathize with the pain and suffering of our ancestors, but we must also imagine alternative ways \u2013 theological and practical \u2013 to respond to experiences of oppression and exile, as well as to possibilities for justice and reconciliation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The above is excerpted from a longer article, part of the PsalmSeason project \u2013<\/span> go here for the full text.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\r\n

    Image: \"By the Waters of Babylon\" - Evelyn de Morgan, 1882-1883 \/ wikipedia, with the verse \u201cA blessing on him who seizes your babies and dashes them against the rocks!\u201d superimposed.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90859,"alt":"","title":"ps137-happy are they","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","width":650,"height":335,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they-300x155.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":155,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","medium_large-width":650,"medium_large-height":335,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","large-width":650,"large-height":335,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","1536x1536-width":650,"1536x1536-height":335,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","2048x2048-width":650,"2048x2048-height":335,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","post_full_size-width":650,"post_full_size-height":335,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","home_baner-width":650,"home_baner-height":335}},"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 conjunction with PsalmSeasons","tile_main_caption":"Remembering The Past And The Future And More","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Imagining the unimaginable \u2013 not to prefigure action, but to preclude it","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90859,"alt":"","title":"ps137-happy are they","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","width":650,"height":335,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they-300x155.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":155,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","medium_large-width":650,"medium_large-height":335,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","large-width":650,"large-height":335,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","1536x1536-width":650,"1536x1536-height":335,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","2048x2048-width":650,"2048x2048-height":335,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","post_full_size-width":650,"post_full_size-height":335,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-happy-are-they.jpeg","home_baner-width":650,"home_baner-height":335}},"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":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"90832","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Here At The Bottom ","post_title":"Here At The Bottom","slug":"here-at-the-bottom","old_id":"90832","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":80741,"post_title":"Joy Ladin","slug":"joy-ladin","old_id":"80741","first_name":"Joy ","last_name":"Ladin ","description":"Joy Ladin holds the Gottesman Chair in English at Yeshiva University, and, in 2007, became the first (and still only) openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution. Her memoir, Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders, was a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award, and her recent book, The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective, is a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and a Triangle Award. She has also published numerous books of poetry. ","short_description":"Joy Ladin holds the Gottesman Chair in English at Yeshiva University, and, in 2007, became the first (and still only) openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":80742,"alt":"","title":"joy ladin - pic","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-pic.jpg","width":200,"height":202,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-pic-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-pic.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-pic.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":202,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-pic.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":202,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-pic.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":202,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-pic.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":202,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-pic.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":202,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-pic.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":202}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"I look at last In your direction \/ And you at last look back\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    Here at the bottom of Creation,
    \r\nSoul peels off from flesh
    \r\nAnd faces in your direction,<\/p>\r\n

    Toward the spiritual nuclear flash
    \r\nThat pins my shadow to the wall
    \r\nIn a grotesque posture of supplication.<\/p>\r\n

    Here at the bottom, I look at last
    \r\nIn your direction
    \r\nAnd you at last look back, breaking me
    \r\ndown<\/p>\r\n

    Into lusts and aggrandizements,
    \r\nApe craving and reptile terrors
    \r\nAnd single-celled desperation<\/p>\r\n

    To split into equal, identical halves
    \r\nAnd swim in opposite directions. Here at
    \r\nthe bottom,
    \r\nYou see with a certain satisfaction<\/p>\r\n

    That no part of me, at last, is human
    \r\nBut the part that\u2019s peeled off from my
    \r\nflesh
    \r\nAnd stares in your direction<\/p>\r\n

    With terror and contempt
    \r\nAnd the beginning of comprehension
    \r\nOf how much I\u2019ve cost you<\/p>\r\n

    And how little you stand to collect.
    \r\nHere at the bottom, in the mud that glues
    \r\nThe slender bones of prayer<\/p>\r\n

    To the bigger bones
    \r\nOf acts intended to grab your attention--
    \r\nmartyrdoms and massacres,
    \r\nFabulous fasts, meditations so intense<\/p>\r\n

    They transform consciousness
    \r\nInto a cloud shot with lightning hints
    \r\nOf the face you reveal<\/p>\r\n

    Without special effects
    \r\nHere at the bottom
    \r\nWhere flesh is flattened into a shadow<\/p>\r\n

    On the wall that represents
    \r\nThe mortal axioms--time, causality,
    \r\ndifference--
    \r\nThere aren\u2019t axioms, here at the bottom,<\/p>\r\n

    But unfounded rumors
    \r\nOf an existence that isn\u2019t,
    \r\nHere at the bottom,<\/p>\r\n

    Where the soul that\u2019s all
    \r\nThat\u2019s left of my flesh
    \r\nPresses the flesh<\/p>\r\n

    Of what\u2019s left of your love
    \r\nTo the shadow
    \r\nOf my breast.<\/p>\r\n

    This psalm discusses a person who is experiencing terrible events such as a \u201cspiritual nuclear flash\u201d, their \u201csoul peel[ing] off from flesh\u201d, and being broken down. In addition, the writer focuses prayer and acts of destruction used to get the attention of the creator: \u201cHere at the bottom, in the mud that glues The slender bones of prayer To the bigger bones Of acts intended to grab your attention-- martyrdoms and massacres, Fabulous fasts, meditations so intense.\u201d The pain, suffering, and terrible events which happen in this psalm are echoed in Psalm 137, which discusses the Jews weeping in Babylon after their exile from Jerusalem and how they were tormented and how they wished pain back on their tormentors. In addition, the language of Psalm 137 is a similar style to this psalm: \u201cIf I forget you O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither. Let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you, if I do not keep Jerusalem in memory even at my happiest hour.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n

    from: Joy Ladin,\u00a0Psalms<\/em>, Wipf and Stock, 2010<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":80744,"alt":"","title":"joy ladin - psalms","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","width":395,"height":343,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms-300x261.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","medium_large-width":395,"medium_large-height":343,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","large-width":395,"large-height":343,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","1536x1536-width":395,"1536x1536-height":343,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","2048x2048-width":395,"2048x2048-height":343,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","post_full_size-width":395,"post_full_size-height":343,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","home_baner-width":395,"home_baner-height":343}},"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":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"Here At The Bottom","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"I look at last In your direction \/ And you at last look back","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":80744,"alt":"","title":"joy ladin - psalms","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","width":395,"height":343,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms-300x261.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","medium_large-width":395,"medium_large-height":343,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","large-width":395,"large-height":343,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","1536x1536-width":395,"1536x1536-height":343,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","2048x2048-width":395,"2048x2048-height":343,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","post_full_size-width":395,"post_full_size-height":343,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/joy-ladin-psalms.jpg","home_baner-width":395,"home_baner-height":343}},"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":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"90983","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Choosing Life, We Sing","post_title":"Choosing Life, We Sing","slug":"choosing-life-we-sing","old_id":"90983","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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    In our introduction to the Book of Psalms<\/span><\/a>, we took note of the opinion of Moshe haKohen Ibn Chiqatilla (Spain, 11<\/span>th<\/span> century) who, as cited by Ibn Ezra, allowed for the inclusion of psalms from as late as the Second Temple period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This psalm, opening \u201cBy the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept, as we thought of Zion\u201d (1),<\/span> is a prime example supporting this opinion. As Ibn Ezra reiterated here:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    I mentioned at the beginning of this book the opinion of the commentators regarding this psalm. This psalm speaks on behalf of the exiled Levi\u2019im, who were the Temple singers. [It speaks on their behalf] regarding Babylon.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Malbim, while agreeing with its late authorship, assigned it to a slightly different era and circumstance:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    It was composed in the first year of Cyrus\u2019s conquest of Babylon about how we wept along the rivers of Babylon and mourned Zion. This was not because we lost the physical amenities of wealth, possessions, fields, and vineyards, since we sat along the rivers of Babylon\u2014i.e., we were permanently resettled there, and there, too, we possessed fields and vineyards as stated: \u201cBuild yourselves houses, plant vines, and eat their fruits\u201d (Jeremiah 29:5). Despite all this, we still cried when recalling Zion because we remembered the sanctity of the Temple, its service, and the Divine Presence that were there. We cried over the spiritual treasures we had lost.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Robert Alter took issue with the usual translation of \u201crivers\u201d (<\/span>n\u2019harot<\/span><\/em>) preferring \u201cstreams,\u201d noting that \u201cthe more probable reference is to the network of canals that connected the Tigris and the Euphrates.\u201d From the summons to sing \u201cthe songs of Zion\u201d (3), he also inferred: \u201cThe assumption is that the singers of the Jerusalem Temple were known for the beauty of their music, and their captors wanted to be entertained by them\u201d (313).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Both New JPS and Alter translated <\/span>tishkach y\u2019mini<\/span><\/em> as \u201clet my right-hand wither\u201d (5), rather than the King James and Old JPS \u201cmay my right hand forget her cunning,\u201d Alter justifying this version by arguing for a metathesis (inversion) of <\/span>tishkach<\/span><\/em> (forget) to <\/span>tikh\u2019chash<\/span><\/em> (wither).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Image: By the rivers of Babylon, painting by Gebhard Fugel, c.\u20091920 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90853,"alt":"","title":"ps137-by the rivers of 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Late Psalm Of Zion","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We cried over the spiritual treasures we had lost","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90853,"alt":"","title":"ps137-by the rivers of 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Zion Through The Eyes Of Those Who Experienced Its Loss ","post_title":"Remembering Zion Through The Eyes Of Those Who Experienced Its Loss","slug":"remembering-zion-through-the-eyes-of-those-who-experienced-its-loss","old_id":"90855","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":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But at every meal?\r\n\r\n\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

    Im Eshkacheich Yerushalayim <\/span><\/em>\u2026<\/span><\/i> \u201cIf I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its power.\u201d It is a phrase engraved on the hearts of Jews and recited in both our saddest and happiest of times. It is not about the City of Jerusalem per se, although that too is held deeply in our hearts. These verses are specifically about Zion \u2013 the site of the Holy Temple, and all that it represented.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The Levite tribe was responsible for bringing music to the Temple, but there, on the banks of the river of Babylon, the new exiles were goaded to sing their songs in their new land of exile. But to the Levites and all of Israel, these were not mere songs, they were offerings to God. So sacred were the songs of the Levites that in fear of being forced to share them in an unholy way, they hid their instruments and maimed their own right hands to ensure that the music of the Temple could not be perverted.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The <\/span>Shulchan Aruch<\/span><\/i> codified our mourning of the loss of the Holy Temple, and the Zohar tied that remembrance to mealtimes where our tables are meant to represent the Holy Altar in the Temple. Drawing from the Zohar, the Shelah haKodesh instituted the practice of reciting to the most evocative biblical passage of mourning for Zion, Psalm 137, before the Grace After Meals (on days when we do not recite the joyous Psalm 126, Shir Hamaalot.) In support of the recitation of this Psalm<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>Al Naharot Bavel<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> at the conclusion of our meals, Rabbi Moshe ben Machir points to the end of Psalm 136 which positions \u201cWho gives food to all flesh, for His mercy endures forever. Give thanks to God, for His mercy endures forever\u201d as the precursor to 137:1, \u201cBy the river of Bablyon, we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The tradition to recite<\/span> Al Naharot Bavel<\/span><\/em> before the Grace After Meals has slipped from common practice. Perhaps it has something to do with the gut-wrenching concluding verse, which we understand to be not a directive or description of acceptable revenge but the raw emotional cry of a people who have just witnessed unimaginable horrors. Some may suggest that expressing that depth of emotion, when we are so far from that reality today, especially as we conclude a fine meal, is disingenuous. But perhaps, precisely because our exile today is so removed, physically and spiritually from the Israelite experience in Babylon, we can only fully appreciate the loss we continue to suffer by echoing the unspeakable pain expressed by those who had witnessed our loss first-hand.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Image: Old Jerusalem Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue Painting Psalm 137 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90856,"alt":"","title":"Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","width":800,"height":583,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue-300x219.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":219,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue-768x560.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":560,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":583,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":583,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":583,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":583,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue-576x420.jpg","home_baner-width":576,"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":"Remembering Zion Through The Eyes Of Those Who Experienced Its Loss","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But at every meal? \u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90856,"alt":"","title":"Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","width":800,"height":583,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue-300x219.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":219,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue-768x560.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":560,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":583,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":583,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":583,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":583,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Ps137-Old_Jerusalem_Yochanan_ben_Zakai_Synagogue-576x420.jpg","home_baner-width":576,"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":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"90839","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Payback Time ","post_title":"Payback Time","slug":"payback-time","old_id":"90839","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64450,"post_title":"David Curwin","slug":"david-curwin","old_id":"64450","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Curwin ","description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","short_description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64452,"alt":"","title":"david curwin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","width":427,"height":464,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-276x300.png","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","medium_large-width":427,"medium_large-height":464,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","large-width":427,"large-height":464,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","1536x1536-width":427,"1536x1536-height":464,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","2048x2048-width":427,"2048x2048-height":464,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","post_full_size-width":427,"post_full_size-height":464,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-387x420.png","home_baner-width":387,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But what does that have to do with camels?\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    In Psalm 137, the psalmist, witness to the humiliation that Israel suffered at the hands of the Babylonians, wishes that in the future vengeance be served:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \u201cFair Babylon, you predator, a blessing on him who repays you in kind what you have inflicted on us\u201d (137:8)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The phrase \u201crepays you in kind what you have inflicted on us\u201d is much pithier in Hebrew: <\/span>g\u2019mulekh she\u2019gamalta lanu<\/span><\/em>. The root of those first two words is <\/span>gml<\/span><\/em>. According to some scholars, the root in this usage means \u201cto put ones plans into actions.\u201d Another says it means, as translated here \u201cto pay.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Both of those senses can be traced to an earlier meaning \u201cto complete.\u201d\u00a0 Looking at all of these meanings, we can see how many of the various forms of <\/span>gml<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>derive from this early sense.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The verb <\/span>gamal<\/span><\/em>\u00a0can also mean \u201cto wean,\u201d and we read just a few chapters ago of a <\/span>gamul alei imo<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 \u201ca weaned child with its mother\u201d (Psalms 131:2). A weaned child is more \u201ccomplete.\u201d In modern Hebrew, rehabilitation from addiction is <\/span>gemila<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In Numbers 17:23, we see another meaning of <\/span>gml<\/span><\/em>: \u201calmonds were ripening.\u201d Like weaning, \u201cripening\u201d also indicates completeness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    And similar to the meaning in our verse in Psalms 137, the verb can also mean \u201cto pay, reward, recompense.\u201d From here we get the blessing <\/span>HaGomel<\/span><\/em>- \u201cGod rewards the \u2018guilty\u2019 (or: undeserving) with favors\u201d and the expression <\/span>gemilut chasadim<\/span><\/em>\u00ad - \u201cthe bestowing of loving-kindness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But what of another similar word: <\/span>gamal<\/span><\/em> \u2013 <\/span><\/i>\u201ccamel\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Some scholars say there is no connection between the verb <\/span>gml<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and the camel. Others do suggest connections, saying that the camel, who is always ready to serve, is therefore \u201cwilling to put plans into actions\u201d or because the camel is \u201cweaned\u201d from water. Another suggestion is that the camel is a \u201ccarrier of loads\u201d and the verb <\/span>gml<\/span><\/em>\u00a0can be understood as \u201cto load (good or evil) on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The shape of the camel\u2019s neck inspired the name for the third letter in the Hebrew alphabet \u2013 <\/span>gimmel<\/span><\/em>. But since the Latin alphabet is ultimately borrowed from the Semitic one, why isn\u2019t \u201cG\u201d the third letter?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    There were some twists in the story. The Greeks converted <\/span>gimmel<\/span><\/em>\u00a0into <\/span>gamma<\/span><\/em>, but the Etruscans who borrowed the writing from the Greeks, had no G sound. The nearest sound was \"k\" and so they turned <\/span>gamma<\/span><\/em> into \"C\". Later, the Romans needed a letter for the G sound, and created the letter \"G\", placing it further down in the alphabet.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

     <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68587,"alt":"","title":"is60-camels","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","width":1920,"height":1295,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-300x202.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-768x518.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":518,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-1024x691.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":691,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1036,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-1200x809.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":809,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-623x420.jpg","home_baner-width":623,"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":"Payback Time","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But what does that have to do with camels?\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68587,"alt":"","title":"is60-camels","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","width":1920,"height":1295,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-300x202.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-768x518.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":518,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-1024x691.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":691,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1036,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-1200x809.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":809,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-623x420.jpg","home_baner-width":623,"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":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"90830","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Psalmsongs 137 ","post_title":"Psalmsongs 137","slug":"psalmsongs-137","old_id":"90830","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":80010,"post_title":"Gaya Aranoff Bernstein","slug":"gaya-aranoff-bernstein","old_id":"80010","first_name":"Gaya Aranoff ","last_name":"Bernstein ","description":"Gaya (Aranoff, M.D.) Bernstein has been a student of Rav Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz for many years. With his encouragement, she published Psalmsongs, A Gathering of Psalms (An Arthur Kurzweil Book, New York\/Jerusalem, 2013), and translated The Steinsaltz Tehillim, Commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd, 2018). She is a professor of pediatric endocrinology on the faculty of Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Gaya Aranoff Bernstein is the author of Psalmsongs: A Gathering of Psalms.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":80011,"alt":"","title":"gaya bernstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/gaya-bernstein.jpg","width":332,"height":492,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/gaya-bernstein-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/gaya-bernstein-202x300.jpg","medium-width":202,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/gaya-bernstein.jpg","medium_large-width":332,"medium_large-height":492,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/gaya-bernstein.jpg","large-width":332,"large-height":492,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/gaya-bernstein.jpg","1536x1536-width":332,"1536x1536-height":492,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/gaya-bernstein.jpg","2048x2048-width":332,"2048x2048-height":492,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/gaya-bernstein.jpg","post_full_size-width":332,"post_full_size-height":492,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/gaya-bernstein-283x420.jpg","home_baner-width":283,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    homeless
    \r\nwe sit by the river and weep
    \r\nremembering Zion
    \r\nabandoning song
    \r\nbrazen
    \r\nwe balk as tormentors emerge
    \r\ndemanding performance and mirth
    \r\nas we mourn
    \r\nI\u2019d rather be struck
    \r\ndumb by a stroke
    \r\nfeel my right arm go limp
    \r\nthan lose my fragrant memories
    \r\nof sweet Jerusalem
    \r\nI long to rise to her in joy
    \r\nmy God
    \r\nYou hear them
    \r\ntaunting chanting
    \r\nraze her raze her raze
    \r\nO to be the lucky man
    \r\nwho finds a way
    \r\nto dash their plans
    \r\non unforgiving rock
    \r\nso we can all return
    \r\nand sing to You
    \r\nagain
    \r\n
    \r\nExcerpted from: Gaya Aranoff Bernstein,\u00a0Psalmsongs: A Gathering of Psalms<\/em>, (An Arthur Kurzweil Book, New York\/Jerusalem, 2013)<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":80037,"alt":"","title":"psalmsongs4","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4.jpg","width":2894,"height":1928,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1023,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1364,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-1200x799.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":799,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-630x420.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":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"Psalmsongs 137","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"to be the lucky man who finds a way to dash their plans on unforgiving rock","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":80037,"alt":"","title":"psalmsongs4","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4.jpg","width":2894,"height":1928,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1023,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1364,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-1200x799.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":799,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalmsongs4-630x420.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":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"90861","color":"#eceffa","size":"2","name":"How Can We Sing And Pray On Alien Soil? ","post_title":"How Can We Sing And Pray On Alien Soil?","slug":"how-can-we-sing-and-pray-on-alien-soil","old_id":"90861","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":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"This is not a hopeless question, but a hopeful one. How can we pray in a foreign land, after destruction and exile? The answer is here. The Book of Psalms is how.\u00a0\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

    One of the most tragic of the psalms, Psalm 137 describes the utter devastation felt by the exiles following the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem. Exiled into a foreign land, they can only look across the river at their smoldering former homeland and weep. The penultimate verses,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither; let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you, if I do not keep Jerusalem in memory even at my happiest hour\"\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    are sung at Jewish weddings before the glass is broken as a way to remember that as happy as a wedding day is, the loss of the Temple is a sadness that will endure until it is rebuilt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    I also recall every morning in summer camp reciting that verse along with the anthem, Hatikva; taking the sad tone of the verse and turning into a pledge to not take the current return to Jerusalem for granted and at the same time hoping for the day of the Temple's rebuilding.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But it is verse 4, the previous one, that I think is the powerful center of this psalm: \"How can we sing a song of the LORD on alien soil?\" The previous fifteen psalms of ascent were sung by the Levites in the Temple and now we reach the polar opposite of that experience: How is it possible to pray to God not in the land of Israel, not in the streets of Jerusalem and not in the holy Temple?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The answer lies in the rest of the Book of Psalms. The chapter before these fifteen psalms made up the hallel prayers, and the chapters before that made up the Sabbath prayers, the daily prayers, etc. Forced to adapt to a religious experience that did not involve priestly service and Levite singing, the people of Israel turned toward this very book.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Verse 4 therefore is not a hopeless question, but a hopeful one. How can we pray on foreign soil? The Book of Psalms is how.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","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":"How Can We Sing And Pray On Alien Soil?","tile_main_caption":"This is not a hopeless question, but a hopeful one. How can we pray in a foreign land, after destruction and exile? The answer is here. The Book of Psalms is how.\u00a0\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","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":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":11,"id":"90822","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"By The Rivers Of Babylon ","post_title":"By The Rivers Of Babylon","slug":"by-the-rivers-of-babylon","old_id":"90822","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. His poems have won twenty-two prizes in international poetry competitions, and he has twice been awarded fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.","short_description":"Yakov Azriel is an English language poet who lives in Israel","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36670,"alt":"","title":"Yakov.Azriel.Photo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","width":1099,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":741,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","large-width":741,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","1536x1536-width":1099,"1536x1536-height":1519,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","2048x2048-width":1099,"2048x2048-height":1519,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-868x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":868,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Lost, lost is the sacred map\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    \"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and there we wept, when we remembered Zion.\" (Psalm 137:1)<\/p>\r\n

    \"Nonetheless, where is the king?' they asked. He answered, 'I, too, do not know\u2026\"
    \r\n\u2014 from \"The Master of Prayer\" by Rabbi Nachman of Braslav<\/p>\r\n

    All night we dream we hear the princess sing,
    \r\nAll night we dream we see her husband bring
    \r\nA diadem to match her wedding ring
    \r\nWhile in the throne-room nod the queen and king;
    \r\nThe princess\u2019 son then strokes an angel\u2019s wing,
    \r\nFor in our dreams the court is full of light.<\/p>\r\n

    But roosters crow, and we awake. No light,
    \r\nNo dawn, no sun, no song, no queen, no king
    \r\nAwait us; only the broken, crippled wing
    \r\nOf a captive dove. \u201cGet up, you pigs, and bring
    \r\nYour masters food,\u201d our captors grunt, \u201cAnd sing
    \r\nTo us about those jeweled crowns and ring.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

    How can we sing about the royal ring
    \r\nThat graced the royal hand? How can we sing
    \r\nOf jeweled crowns that once adorned the king
    \r\nAnd queen, or sing about the glow and light
    \r\nThat filled the palace when we used to bring
    \r\nThe princess\u2019 son to touch an angel\u2019s wing?<\/p>\r\n

    The palace lies in ruins; no angel\u2019s wing
    \r\nMay flutter there again without the light;
    \r\nThe queen has fled, the princess cannot sing,
    \r\nWhile buried under ashes lies the ring;
    \r\nWandering through a forest limps the king;
    \r\nGone is the little boy we used to bring.<\/p>\r\n

    If only we knew the way, we\u2019d go to bring
    \r\nThe royal warrior back to fight the wing
    \r\nOf night with his fiery bows and swords of light;
    \r\nFor he, who wed the princess who loved to sing,
    \r\nWould use his swords and bows to find the ring,
    \r\nRetrieve his son, his wife, the queen, the king.<\/p>\r\n

    Lost, lost is the sacred map of the king
    \r\nHe drew, signed and sealed with his signet-ring;
    \r\nOnly the map would let us find and bring
    \r\nThe warrior\u2019s swords, the crowns, the angel\u2019s wing;
    \r\nThe map would then restore the palace of light
    \r\nIn which the boy could play, the princess sing.<\/p>\r\n

    Who can bring us the sacred map of the king?
    \r\nWhere is the royal ring and angel\u2019s wing?
    \r\nWhen will light re-ignite and the princess sing?<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90844,"alt":"","title":"ps137-babylon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon.png","width":1629,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-255x300.png","medium-width":255,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-768x905.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":905,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-869x1024.png","large-width":869,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon.png","1536x1536-width":1303,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon.png","2048x2048-width":1629,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-1018x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1018,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-356x420.png","home_baner-width":356,"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":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"By The Rivers Of Babylon","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Lost, lost is the sacred map","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90844,"alt":"","title":"ps137-babylon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon.png","width":1629,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-255x300.png","medium-width":255,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-768x905.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":905,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-869x1024.png","large-width":869,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon.png","1536x1536-width":1303,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon.png","2048x2048-width":1629,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-1018x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1018,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps137-babylon-356x420.png","home_baner-width":356,"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":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"90826","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"From Your Lips: Psalm 137 ","post_title":"From Your Lips: Psalm 137","slug":"from-your-lips-psalm-137","old_id":"90826","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":79754,"post_title":"Reuben Ebrahimoff","slug":"reuben-ebrahimoff","old_id":"79754","first_name":"Reuben ","last_name":"Ebrahimoff ","description":"Reuben Ebrahimoff is the author of a \"user's guide\" to the Book of Psalms, entitled \"From Your Lips to God\u2019s Ears, The 10 Things You Need To Know About the Book of Tehillim \u2013 Psalms.\" Affectionately known as \u201cThe Haftorahman,\u201d was the first Mashadi Jew from Persia to attend Yeshiva in the U.S.A. Over 2000 people read his weekly Haftorahman Handouts. He is President of Brilliant I.D.E.A.S. a jewelry manufacturing company, located in NYC. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Reuben Ebrahimoff is the author of a \"user's guide\" to the Book of Psalms, entitled \"From Your Lips to God\u2019s Ears, The 10 Things You Need To Know About the Book of Tehillim \u2013 Psalms.\" ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":79755,"alt":"","title":"reuben ebrahimoff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/reuben-ebrahimoff.jpg","width":252,"height":242,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/reuben-ebrahimoff-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/reuben-ebrahimoff.jpg","medium-width":252,"medium-height":242,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/reuben-ebrahimoff.jpg","medium_large-width":252,"medium_large-height":242,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/reuben-ebrahimoff.jpg","large-width":252,"large-height":242,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/reuben-ebrahimoff.jpg","1536x1536-width":252,"1536x1536-height":242,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/reuben-ebrahimoff.jpg","2048x2048-width":252,"2048x2048-height":242,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/reuben-ebrahimoff.jpg","post_full_size-width":252,"post_full_size-height":242,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/reuben-ebrahimoff.jpg","home_baner-width":252,"home_baner-height":242}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Psalms: A Users Guide","post_main_content_content":"

    Psalm 137:<\/p>\r\n

    Author:<\/em>
    \r\nUnknown; perhaps King David--the second king of Israel and father of the Davidic royal and messianic dynasty. David composed over seventy of the 150 psalms of Sefer Tehillim.<\/p>\r\n

    When and Why:<\/em>
    \r\nDavid might have written this psalm prophetically as a lament over the destruction of the first and second Temples.<\/p>\r\n

    Genre:<\/em>
    \r\nPsalm of Communal Lament--This psalm contains teaching and wise advice and is meant to instruct people on how to live a Godly life.<\/p>\r\n

    Chapter Summary:
    \r\nThe psalmist composed this poem in the aftermath of the destruction of the first Beit HaMikdash (Temple). He laments the destruction, beseeching the Almighty to recompense with justice.<\/p>\r\n

    This psalm consists of nine verses, subdivided into three parts.
    \r\nIn verses 1-3, the psalmist describes the calamities of the past, when the exiles sat and wept besides the rivers of Babylon.
    \r\nIn verses 4-6, he speaks of the present, remanding the exiles to fulfill their oath to remember Jerusalem.
    \r\nIn verses 7-9, he directs his thoughts to the future, and further pronounces a curse upon the enemies who destroyed Jerusalem.<\/p>\r\n

    Shimush Tehillim--When to Say:<\/em>
    \r\nTo remove hatred from the world--Verse 5 states: \u201cIf I ever forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its movement].\u201d<\/p>\r\n

    Talmud on Tehillim:<\/em>
    \r\nVerses 5 and 6: \u201cIf I ever forget you Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its movement]...if I set not Jerusalem above my highest joy.\u201d
    \r\nThe Talmud, Bava Batra 60b, explains the words \u201cat the head of my joy\u201d as a reference to placing crushed ashes on the head of the bridegroom as a sign of mourning for Jerusaelm and the Beit HaMikdash (Temple).<\/p>\r\n

    Excerpted from <\/span>From Your Lips To God\u2019s Ears<\/span><\/em>, by Reuben Ebrahimoff.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":79908,"alt":"","title":"psalms - rebrahimoff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff-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":"Psalms: A Users Guide","tile_main_caption":"From Your Lips: Psalm 137","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A concise survey of the psalm's structure and content","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":79908,"alt":"","title":"psalms - rebrahimoff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff.png","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/psalms-rebrahimoff-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":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"90828","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Bloodcurdling Curse ","post_title":"Bloodcurdling Curse","slug":"bloodcurdling-curse","old_id":"90828","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Fortunately, it was in Hebrew\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    137:9 \u201cHappy who seizes and smashes your infants against the rock.\u201d<\/span>
    \r\n<\/span>
    \r\n<\/span>No moral justification can be offered for this notorious concluding line. All one can do is to recall the background of outraged feeling that triggers the conclusion: the Babylonians have laid waste to Jerusalem, exiled much of its population, looted and massacred; the powerless captives, ordered--perhaps mockingly--to sing their Zion songs, respond instead with a lament that is not really a song and ends with this bloodcurdling curse pronounced on their captors, who, fortunately, do not understand the Hebrew in which it is pronounced.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 3: Writings, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"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":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Bloodcurdling Curse","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Fortunately, it was in Hebrew","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","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,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":14,"id":"90823","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - 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      \r\n\t
    1. By the rivers of Babylon<\/em>. Babylon, the destination of the exiles of Judah and Jerusalem after the destruction, was built along the shores of the Tigris and the Euphrates. The picture that the psalm draws for us is more intimate than just a geo-location. They were on the riverbanks: \u201cThere on the poplars we hung up our lyres,\u201d the poplars (or willows) of the brook (<\/span>\u2018arvei nachal<\/span><\/em>), became the hooks for those refusing to play and sing.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    2. Listen to the voices<\/em>. Listen to the voices that the psalm allows us to hear, to the sounds and the silences: the weeping\u2026 the captor\u2019s request that they sing\u2026 The song that is choked off...The oath of silence if\u2026 The rhythmic chant Of the Edomites, joining with the sounds of destruction and collapse.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    3. Closing accounts with Edom<\/em>. The Israelites have a long history with Edom, their eastern neighbor. They apparently had a hand in the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as encouraging it, rejoicing at the downfall of Judah, and preventing aid to the refugees. See also: Ezekiel 35, Isaiah 34, and the Book of Obadiah, which is entirely a prophecy focused on Edom.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    4. The horror<\/em>. The image of the horror of it all is reflected in the grisly mirror of the dream of revenge (verse9).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    5. If I forget you, O Jerusalem<\/em>. If this verse is so well-known, then we must indeed have not forgotten. <\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","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":"Psalm 137","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","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,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":15,"id":"90415","color":"#eceffa","size":"1","name":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Psalms 137 ","post_title":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Psalms 137","slug":"sefaria-source-sheets-psalms-137","old_id":"90415","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42228,"post_title":"Sefaria","slug":"sefaria","old_id":"42228","first_name":"","last_name":"Sefaria","description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. 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With these digital texts, we can create new, interactive interfaces for Web, tablet and mobile, allowing more people to engage with the textual treasures of our tradition.","short_description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":42230,"alt":"","title":"Sefaria Logo2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","width":1200,"height":1200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":1200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":1200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"704","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

      A collection of sources sheets about Tisha B\u2019av which add\u00a0 historical and modern perspectives to the day:<\/p>\r\n

      \u201cShould We Still Mourn on Tisha B\u2019Av? If So, How?\u201d<\/a> by Michael Howald,<\/p>\r\n

      \u201cThe Story Behind the Story of The Temple's Destruction Perspectives, Time Periods and Midrashic expressions (oral tradition) of the Tisha B'aav story\u201d<\/a> by Aaron Gross,\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

      \u201cTisha B'Av & Tu B'Av: Mourning and Loving in Av\u201d<\/a> by Rachel Nilson Ralston.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","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":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - Psalms 137","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","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":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"137","chapter_main_number":"704","date":"20280510","wall_id":"704"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/90359"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}