{"id":90363,"date":"2018-07-09T17:53:33","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1140\/"},"modified":"2022-02-02T19:44:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T17:44:00","slug":"wall-1140","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1140\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20241006-to-20241012"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1140","date_from":"20241006","date_to":"20241012","book":"Psalms","books_group":"Writings","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"90568","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"Vayikra: Call Them In ","post_title":"Vayikra: Call Them In","slug":"vayikra-call-them-in","old_id":"90568","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":90569,"post_title":"Gila Caine","slug":"gila-caine","old_id":"90569","first_name":"Gila ","last_name":"Caine","description":"Born and raised in Jerusalem, Rabbi Gila Caine received her rabbinic ordination at the HUC-JIR\u2019s Israeli program in 2011.  She now serves as rabbi at Temple Beth Ora congregation in Edmonton,  AB. (Canada), where she lives with her husband and children. ","short_description":"Rabbi Gila Caine received her rabbinic ordination at the HUC-JIR\u2019s Israeli program in 2011, and now serves as rabbi at Temple Beth Ora congregation in Edmonton,  AB. (Canada),","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":90572,"alt":"","title":"gila caine","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gila-caine.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gila-caine.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gila-caine.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gila-caine.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":150,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gila-caine.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":150,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gila-caine.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":150,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gila-caine.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":150,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gila-caine.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":150,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gila-caine.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":150}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"If Shmita is about anything, it is about bringing down fences between fields, between creatures, between us and the Earth. It is about connection.","post_main_content_content":"<header><\/header>\r\n<section class=\"entry\">\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p>\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05bc\u05b4<strong>\u05e7\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u0596\u05d0<\/strong>\u00a0\u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05b9\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u0591\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b0\u05d3\u05b7\u05d1\u05bc\u05b5\u05a4\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4\u0599 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b8\u0594\u05d9\u05d5 \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b9\u05a5\u05d4\u05b6\u05dc \u05de\u05d5\u05b9\u05e2\u05b5\u0596\u05d3 \u05dc\u05b5\u05d0\u05de\u05b9\u05bd\u05e8\u05c3<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cAnd He\u00a0<em>called\u00a0<\/em>to Moshe and Adonai spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying\u2026.\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/sefaria.org\/leviticus.1.1\">Lev. 1:1<\/a>)<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>Why first call and then speak? Why not go right to speaking?<\/p>\r\n<p>The Talmud suggests that in this, the Torah was trying to teach us etiquette, that a person should not say anything to another person before calling him first (<em>Yoma 4b<\/em>). But why is this good etiquette and what can we learn here as we work to promote a Shmita-conscious and Earth-focused culture?<\/p>\r\n<p>Moses is called to speak within the Tent of Meeting, a place built by the community in a bid to create a sacred center for themselves. Incidentally, that place is also representative of Creation itself, and by taking care of their sacred Center,\u00a0<em>Am-Israel\u00a0<\/em>is also taking care of the world. But that\u2019s for another time. For now, it is important to notice that when God wants to speak to Moses, God first\u00a0<em>calls\u00a0<\/em>to him, and by doing so is teaching us an important lesson in bringing people into the causes and places we deem important.<\/p>\r\n<p>We can\u2019t assume people hear us. And even when they hear us, we can never assume they understand the words or concepts we use. Our inner jargon, our taken-for-granted notions and catch phrases often mean nothing to those outside our group. What\u2019s more, there are multitudes who even when they understand, don\u2019t agree with us.<\/p>\r\n<p>But to bring about the hugely important changes that must take place for humanity to prosper and for Earth to heal, we need everyone (or at least, almost everyone) on board. We need to make it our priority this year to learn how to call out\u00a0to\u00a0people, to bring them in. This calling can be in the sense of waking up, but it can also be in the sense of catching someone\u2019s attention and making eye or ear contact with them. Demonstrating you see them and want to speak specifically to them. This calling is a way of indicating we are not just randomly lecturing the world but rather, we are speaking to create connection.<\/p>\r\n<p>If Shmita is about anything, it is about bringing down fences between fields, between creatures, between us and the Earth. It is about connection.<\/p>\r\n<p>May we learn how to extend our voice and our hands in ways that bring truly diverse voices, even those we don\u2019t agree with, into our sacred work.<\/p>\r\n<p><em>The next shmita year begins next Rosh Hashanah 2021, almost a year from now. We have time to prepare. As we move through 5781 we invite you to join us in preparation for the upcoming shmita year \u2013 a sabbatical year for the Earth but also for ourselves, our communities, and our world. Each week we will share thoughts on how the weekly parsha can help guide our thinking around shmita themes of work and rest, wealth and debt, responsible land use, fair labor practices, private and public property ownership, and physical and spiritual revitalization.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>Join us for the journey.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hazon.org\/shmita-project\/hazon-shmita-blog\/\">See here for more information on the Hazon Shmita project, and its blogs.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/section>","post_main_content_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"A New Weekly Series: The \"Shmitah Parasha\" Blog","tile_main_caption":"Vayikra: Call Them In","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"in conjunction with Hazon.org","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1140"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"90306","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Greetings! ","post_title":"Greetings!","slug":"greetings","old_id":"90306","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"696","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"You say hello, and I say: God-b(e-with)-ye\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The weekly meetings of B\u2019nai Akiva, a religious Zionist youth organization, that I attended long ago began with a rollcall (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mifkad<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) conducted in quasi-military fashion with \u201cattention!\u201d and \u201cat ease!\u201d and even \u201ckeep right intervals!\u201d The ceremony always concluded with the leader addressing the ranks with \u201cMay God be with you\u201d (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hashem `imakhem<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) and the ranks responding, \u201cMay God bless you\u201d (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">y\u2019varekhekha Hashem<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). Later, I learned that these greetings derived from the exchange between Boaz and the harvesters as reported in Ruth 2:4.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are clear echoes of this practice in the concluding verse of our psalm: \u201cNo exchange with passersby, the blessing of the Lord be upon you. We bless you by the name of the Lord\u201d (8). On the one hand, it could be that these were standard greetings exchanged by any two individuals under any circumstances. However, the penultimate verse, referring to a \u201creaper\u201d and to a \u201cgatherer of sheaves,\u201d discloses an agrarian context similar to that of the Book of Ruth, suggesting that these greetings might have been restricted to those, or such similar circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radak interpreted our psalm as follows:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He compared the days of exile to a person\u2019s lifetime. The beginning of the exile\u2014to youth, and the duration of the exile\u2014to old age, saying that from the start of the exile our enemies caused us great distress. This is the praise Israel offered to God lest they be destroyed in exile. [Even though] from its start they caused us distress, they were nevertheless unable to destroy us. The repetition reinforces the gratitude to God, as is customary for [biblical] language.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malbim also recognized it as a hymn of gratitude for God\u2019s protection yet situated it in a slightly different context.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The imagery is that from the time that Israel became a nation, there were those who rose against it to destroy it. This is a great thing: From the perspective of their divine formation, it is inevitable that nations will cause them distress and attack them since they are \u201ca nation dwelling alone, not taking others into consideration.\u201d However, there is something even greater: Even though all the other nations cause them distress with their wiles, they were unable to cause them harm because their God saved them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90307,"alt":"","title":"ps129-greetings hello goodbye","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","width":393,"height":358,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye-300x273.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":273,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","medium_large-width":393,"medium_large-height":358,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","large-width":393,"large-height":358,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","1536x1536-width":393,"1536x1536-height":358,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","2048x2048-width":393,"2048x2048-height":358,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","post_full_size-width":393,"post_full_size-height":358,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","home_baner-width":393,"home_baner-height":358}},"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":"Greetings!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"You say hello, and I say: God-b(e-with)-ye","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90307,"alt":"","title":"ps129-greetings hello goodbye","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","width":393,"height":358,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye-300x273.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":273,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","medium_large-width":393,"medium_large-height":358,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","large-width":393,"large-height":358,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","1536x1536-width":393,"1536x1536-height":358,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","2048x2048-width":393,"2048x2048-height":358,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","post_full_size-width":393,"post_full_size-height":358,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps129-greetings-hello-goodbye.png","home_baner-width":393,"home_baner-height":358}},"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":"129","chapter_main_number":"696","date":"20280430","wall_id":"696"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"90304","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Psalms and Psamson ","post_title":"Psalms and Psamson","slug":"psalms-and-psamson","old_id":"90304","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":"696","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Some allusions to the nature of power and protection\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\"A song of ascents. Since my youth they have often assailed me, let Israel now declare\/ since my youth they have often assailed me, but they have never overcome me.\/ Plowmen plowed across my back; they made long furrows.\/ The LORD, the righteous one, has snapped the cords of the wicked.\"\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Psalm 129 opens with a look into the past at the tribulations that befell the Israelites. The use of these two images back to back- plowing and broken ropes- should evoke memories of Samson in Judges 13-16.\u00a0 A major part of that story is Delilah trying to discover Samson's weakness. At one point, she keeps binding him in various restraints- fishing wire, vines and ropes. Each time he is able to break free. Only when she tricks him into revealing the \"power\" comes from his hair is she able to capture him.\u00a0 He is then taken to the Philistine capital and put in a yoke and made to turn a millstone, in the family of agricultural work like plowing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lesson of the Samson story to the Israelites at the time of King David is that no matter how strong you are, if you go against God, you will lose divine protection. At a time when the Israelite nation was at the height of its power, this is an important lesson. God will come and help you break free from the ropes, just like Samson, but if you betray God, you will end up plowing the fields for your enemies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>Image: Lovis Corinth, The Blinded Samson, 1912 \/ Google Art Project<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56132,"alt":"","title":"jud15-blind 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and Psamson","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Some allusions to the nature of power and protection\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56132,"alt":"","title":"jud15-blind 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In The Sheaves ","post_title":"Bringing In The Sheaves","slug":"bringing-in-the-sheaves","old_id":"90301","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":"696","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"By the handful and by armful\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Psalm 129, the psalmist uses agricultural imagery to curse those who \u201chate Zion\u201d: \u201cLet them be like grass on roofs that fades before it can be pulled up, that affords no handful for the reaper, no armful for the gatherer of sheaves\u201d (129:6-7).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He wishes that this enemy of Israel will have no success, via the metaphor of being unable to grasp the grain.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The word for \u201cgatherer of sheaves\u201d is <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">me\u2019amer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This word is derived from the Hebrew word for sheaf (a bundle of stalks of grain) \u2013 <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The word <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0is most familiar to us from the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0offering brought the day after Passover. But is that <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0also a sheaf?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s the meaning in some verses (Deuteronomy 24:19 and Ruth 2:7). But in other places, like the story of the manna (Exodus 16:16-36) it refers to a measure of volume, one tenth of an ephah (about 2.3 liters).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the verses describing the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0offering (Leviticus 23:10-16), it\u2019s not clear whether it means a sheaf or the unit of volume.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ancient Greek translation, the Septuagint, translated <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0as \u201csheaf,\u201d and following that came many modern translations, who translate Leviticus 23:10 as: \u201cWhen you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But traditional Jewish sources say it means the measure of volume, and translate the same verse: \u201cWhen you come to the land \u2026 and reap its harvest, you must bring an omer of your first reaping to the priest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There has been much debate over the original meaning of <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0in Leviticus. But perhaps our verse in Psalms 129 can help elucidate the meaning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Septuagint used the Greek word\u00a0 <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dragma<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. While some translate <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dragma<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0as \u201csheaf,\u201d others say a better word would be \u201chandful\u201d \u2013 as many stalks as you can grab in your hand.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This fits well with our verse in Psalms, as it compares \u201chandful for the reaper\u201d with \u201cgatherer of sheaves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So it\u2019s possible that this original meaning \u2013 \u201chandful\u201d \u2013 developed into two different meanings. One was a handful of stalks to make a sheaf, and the other was a handful of grain. While it would be hard to carry that much grain with bare hands, a bowl of that volume could be held. And in fact there is an Arabic word for bowl, <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ghumr<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which some scholars say is cognate with <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regardless of the plain meaning of the verse in Leviticus, the Sages determined that for Jewish law, the offering was an <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0volume<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of grain.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omer<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0offering was meant to give thanks for the first harvest in the Land of Israel (see Joshua 5:11-12). That was the blessing that the psalmist wished the haters of Zion would never see.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>Image: The Gleaners, by Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Millet \/ wikimedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":51490,"alt":"","title":"dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","width":800,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners-768x575.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":575,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners-561x420.jpg","home_baner-width":561,"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":"Bringing In The Sheaves","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"By the handful and by armful","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":51490,"alt":"","title":"dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","width":800,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners-768x575.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":575,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt24-_Millet_-_Gleaners-561x420.jpg","home_baner-width":561,"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":"129","chapter_main_number":"696","date":"20280430","wall_id":"696"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"90224","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Two Voices ","post_title":"Two Voices","slug":"two-voices","old_id":"90224","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":"696","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Death to the Jews \/ Blessed be Israel\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p>\"\u2026 Much have they afflicted me from my youth up, let Israel say now, much have they afflicted me from my youth up, but they have not prevailed.\" (Psalm 129:1-2)<\/p>\r\n<p><br \/>\r\n\"Death to the Jews,\" the enemy armies roar,<br \/>\r\nReady to strip the wood from Israel's tree,<br \/>\r\nReady to battle waves of Israel's sea,<br \/>\r\nReady to fight the sand on Israel's shore.<br \/>\r\n\"Death to the Jews,\" our enemy's fathers swore,<br \/>\r\nUnwilling to hear Israel's melody,<br \/>\r\nUnwilling to read Israel's library,<br \/>\r\nUnwilling to find gold in Israel's ore.<\/p>\r\n<p>But even now, far different words are heard<br \/>\r\nIn many languages and tongues; they sing<br \/>\r\nA song in a still small voice that does not cease:<br \/>\r\n\"Blessed be Israel; blessed be the Word<br \/>\r\nOf God from Zion; blessed be their King, <br \/>\r\nOur King, Who blesses us, and them, with peace.\"<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67678,"alt":"","title":"is45-good and evil","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","width":1920,"height":1483,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-300x232.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":232,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-768x593.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":593,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1024x791.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":791,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1483,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1200x927.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":927,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-544x420.jpg","home_baner-width":544,"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":"Two Voices","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Death to the Jews \/ Blessed be Israel","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67678,"alt":"","title":"is45-good and evil","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","width":1920,"height":1483,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-300x232.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":232,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-768x593.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":593,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1024x791.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":791,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1483,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1200x927.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":927,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-544x420.jpg","home_baner-width":544,"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":"129","chapter_main_number":"696","date":"20280430","wall_id":"696"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"90345","color":"#f6edf6","size":"2","name":"De Profundis: From Disillusionment To Empowerment ","post_title":"De Profundis: From Disillusionment To Empowerment","slug":"de-profundis-from-disillusionment-to-empowerment","old_id":"90345","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":47287,"post_title":"Gabriel Wolff","slug":"47287-2","old_id":"47287","first_name":"Gabriel ","last_name":"Wolff ","description":"Gabriel Wolff is a Hebrew calligrapher. 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It comes as no surprise then that those words are used regularly in the Jewish, Catholic, Anglican and Protestant liturgies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are two elements in this text that I wanted to express through the Hebrew letters. The first one is the feeling of being trapped and submerged in the depths. This moment of realization is not obvious. Often as we fall we are unaware of our regression. Not before the arrival at the deepest point do we realize our state. In this sense, the depth is not only a place of grief and distress but also the right location for redemption. The Hebrew letters curve downwards as they indicate the depth as the epicenter of positive disillusionment with ourselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second element expressed through the Hebrew letters is the call. Once we realize where we are at, we turn upwards and call in hope and fervor. We stretch and decide to cry for help. This is not just a passive awaiting for the rescue but an active choice to change perspective and pull ourselves out of the depth. The letters send their heads upwards and amplify the empowering call of life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90346,"alt":"","title":"ps130-gabriel wolff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff.jpg","width":836,"height":1089,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-230x300.jpg","medium-width":230,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-768x1000.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1000,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-786x1024.jpg","large-width":786,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff.jpg","1536x1536-width":836,"1536x1536-height":1089,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff.jpg","2048x2048-width":836,"2048x2048-height":1089,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff.jpg","post_full_size-width":836,"post_full_size-height":1089,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-322x420.jpg","home_baner-width":322,"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":"De Profundis: From Disillusionment To Empowerment","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The Hebrew letters curve downwards, and reach upwards","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90346,"alt":"","title":"ps130-gabriel wolff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff.jpg","width":836,"height":1089,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-230x300.jpg","medium-width":230,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-768x1000.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1000,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-786x1024.jpg","large-width":786,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff.jpg","1536x1536-width":836,"1536x1536-height":1089,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff.jpg","2048x2048-width":836,"2048x2048-height":1089,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff.jpg","post_full_size-width":836,"post_full_size-height":1089,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-gabriel-wolff-322x420.jpg","home_baner-width":322,"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":"130","chapter_main_number":"697","date":"20280501","wall_id":"697"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"90351","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"The Deep, Metaphorical and Actual ","post_title":"The Deep, Metaphorical and Actual","slug":"the-deep-metaphorical-and-actual","old_id":"90351","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"697","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"I have called out to you from both my depths: physical and spiritual\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did you know that many not-for-profit religious organizations use the identical template for incorporation, and that it describes the purpose of their organizing as reciting Tehillim? Indeed, it is likely that this psalm is the one recited most frequently of all, since it is used in prayers for people who are seriously ill, when facing a profound life-challenge, or confronting a potential communal or national catastrophe.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is also the reason that in some synagogues\u2014mostly of the Sephardic or Oriental variety\u2014the pulpit (<em>`<\/em><\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amud<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) at which the cantor (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chazan<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) is stationed is recessed into the floor to literally fulfill \u201cOut of the depths I call You, O Lord\u201d (1). Ibn Ezra, however, interpreted the depths figuratively, saying: \u201cScripture says out of the depths because it speaks of Israel in exile. Israel in exile suffers poverty, shame, and degradation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radak wrote, similarly, that \u201cHe compared the exile to deep waters,\u201d and, apropos of v.6: \u201cI am more eager for the Lord than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning,\u201d he added: \u201cIt was their custom to be alert and awake each morning to pray to God, and this psalm was recited by every pious person in exile.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malbim, though, added a spiritual dimension:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depths is used to describe a literal deep place, as opposed to a high place, and, similarly, the poor, weak, exiled, and the like. It can also be used to describe the spiritual depth of one who, by sinning, has distanced himself from God Who is above even the loftiest heights, and whose soul reposes in depth and in lowliness, even though he might, physically, be successful and on the top of the world. Therefore, it says I have called out to you from both my depths: physical and spiritual.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90352,"alt":"","title":"ps130-divers bell deep","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep.png","width":1920,"height":1814,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-300x283.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":283,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-768x726.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":726,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-1024x967.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":967,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1451,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1814,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-1200x1134.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1134,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-445x420.png","home_baner-width":445,"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":"The Deep, Metaphorical and Actual","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"I have called out to you from both my depths: physical and spiritual","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90352,"alt":"","title":"ps130-divers bell deep","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep.png","width":1920,"height":1814,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-300x283.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":283,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-768x726.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":726,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-1024x967.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":967,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1451,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1814,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-1200x1134.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1134,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-divers-bell-deep-445x420.png","home_baner-width":445,"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":"130","chapter_main_number":"697","date":"20280501","wall_id":"697"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"90354","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Psalm 130: An Enlightened Approach ","post_title":"Psalm 130: An Enlightened Approach","slug":"psalm-130-an-enlightened-approach","old_id":"90354","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":62571,"post_title":"Yaakov Bieler","slug":"yaakov-bieler","old_id":"62571","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Bieler ","description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1974. He has lectured and written extensively on Modern Orthodoxy, and blogs daily at https:\/\/yaakovbieler.wordpress.com ","short_description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":62572,"alt":"","title":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","width":141,"height":180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler-141x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":141,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium-width":141,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium_large-width":141,"medium_large-height":180,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","large-width":141,"large-height":180,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","1536x1536-width":141,"1536x1536-height":180,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","2048x2048-width":141,"2048x2048-height":180,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","post_full_size-width":141,"post_full_size-height":180,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","home_baner-width":141,"home_baner-height":180}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"697","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Are sickness and death a function of transgression?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a synagogue rabbi, I have led my congregation in reading this psalm responsively countless times; praying for the recovery of someone who is seriously ill. The employment of the psalm in this context assumes that \u201cthe depths\u201d (v. 1) is the condition of sickness, \u201cthe appeal for God\u2019s mercy\u201d is requesting that the individual be allowed to return to us and to normal life (v. 2, 6), that \u201chealing\u201d is tantamount to this person\u2019s \u201credemption\u201d (v. 8,) and that God is the only one who can orchestrate such a process (v. 7.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, there is also a presumption in Psalm 130, by its being publicly associated with illness, that the extremely ubiquitous human condition of sickness and death is a function of transgression (v. 3,) and that someone who is ill needs divine forgiveness to recover (v. 4.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is true that the author of Ecclesiastes states that everyone, however righteous, sooner or later, will be guilty of some malfeasance: \u201cFor there is not one good man on earth who does what is best and doesn\u2019t err\u201d (7:20). And, from the earliest days of man\u2019s creation, God decrees that humans will be mortal, and therefore eventually inevitably given over to weakness, frailty, and ill-health: \u201c... what if [the human] should stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!\u201d So, the LORD God banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he was taken\u201d (Gen. 3:22-3). Thus, it follows that people, in general, being sinful, will therefore also become ill and require forgiveness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, it seems to me that this is a very \u201cretrograde\u201d view of sickness, and is more in keeping with the idea of \u201coriginal sin\u201d \u2014 a taint of the soul from the time when a person comes into existence, and not a Jewish concept at all -- than a positive view of the \u201csin-repentance\u201d continuum, appropriate to the Book of Psalms.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While not one to oppose customs that have become part-and-parcel of the Jewish tradition, I have also told numerous congregants over the years, counter to what the timing of the recitation of this psalm implies, that illness and death do not reflect immoral activity that is being atoned for by an individual experiencing discomfort and ultimately losing their life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A more \u201cenlightened\u201d approach to Psalm 130 would understand it in terms of a person who has freely made poor choices in the past, and is now excitedly anticipating being given a \u201csecond chance\u201d by the Merciful Lawmaker whom they have wronged by engaging in egregious behavior.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps it is necessary to bifurcate this psalm, relegating v. 1,2 6-8, to cases of illness, while the rest of the text pertains to someone who clearly has engaged in transgressive behavior. To \u201ccry out from the depths\u201d can pertain to many situations where the \u201ccry-er\u201d is discouraged and depressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But only part of the psalm pertains to actual cases of illness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90355,"alt":"","title":"ps130-sin illness","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness.jpg","width":1920,"height":1271,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-768x508.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":508,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-1024x678.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":678,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1017,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1271,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-1200x794.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":794,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-634x420.jpg","home_baner-width":634,"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":"Psalm 130: An Enlightened Approach","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Are sickness and death a function of transgression?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90355,"alt":"","title":"ps130-sin illness","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness.jpg","width":1920,"height":1271,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-768x508.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":508,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-1024x678.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":678,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1017,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1271,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-1200x794.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":794,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-sin-illness-634x420.jpg","home_baner-width":634,"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":"130","chapter_main_number":"697","date":"20280501","wall_id":"697"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"90348","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"No Resentment! ","post_title":"No Resentment!","slug":"no-resentment","old_id":"90348","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":"697","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Only through the power to forgive are we able to move on\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Psalm 130 is perhaps one of the most recognizable and most repeated of the twelve \"songs of ascents.\" It is added to the prayer service during the ten days of repentance between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and it is often the chapter selected during a general psalm recitation after weekly prayer service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have seen many Psalms concerned with asking God for forgiveness. Why has this one taken on such an outsized role? This question is amplified by the fact that there is no direct request for forgiveness here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To me the key verse is verse 3: \"If You keep account of sins, O LORD, Lord, who will survive?\" This could be taken two ways. The first is the nihilistic approach- \"well look, everyone sins all the time. If God cared, no one could survive, so why should I care?\"\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second is the helpless view: \"How could we survive if God really took account of all sins. Everyone sins, yet God understands that.\"\u00a0 It's this second view that makes this psalm so powerful. A major part of forgiveness is the understanding that people mess up. If humans harbored resentments towards everyone that harmed them- everyone would be a hermit.\u00a0 Only through the power to forgive are we able to move on. The greatest role model for this is God. God harbors no resentment. He allows humankind to ask for forgiveness and grow.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90349,"alt":"","title":"ps130-forgive","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"No Resentment (Divine Or Human)","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Only through the power to forgive are we able to move on","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90349,"alt":"","title":"ps130-forgive","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps130-forgive-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"130","chapter_main_number":"697","date":"20280501","wall_id":"697"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"90310","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Psalmsongs 130 ","post_title":"Psalmsongs 130","slug":"psalmsongs-130","old_id":"90310","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":"697","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"<p>I call to You<br \/>\r\nfrom the depths of me<br \/>\r\nI beg You<br \/>\r\nturn to me<br \/>\r\nNotice me<br \/>\r\nHear me out<br \/>\r\nJudge me<br \/>\r\nleniently<br \/>\r\nI\u2019m counting on<br \/>\r\nYour mercy<br \/>\r\nI am waiting<br \/>\r\nto be tried<br \/>\r\nNo man can stand<br \/>\r\nbefore You<br \/>\r\nconfident<br \/>\r\nof innocence<br \/>\r\nI wait like a tired<br \/>\r\nguard in the night<br \/>\r\nfor relief to come with dawn<br \/>\r\nin darkness I wait<br \/>\r\nfor a glimpse<br \/>\r\nof a ray<br \/>\r\nof Your<br \/>\r\nabundant light<br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\nExcerpted from: Gaya Aranoff Bernstein,\u00a0<em>Psalmsongs: 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 130","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"I call to You from the depths of 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Humility\u00a0 ","post_title":"True Humility\u00a0","slug":"true-humility","old_id":"90462","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":"698","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Giving and learning with no expectations of completeness, or recognition\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The theme of this psalm comes from King David\u2019s declarations of humility in the first verse.\u00a0 Now one might rightly question just how humble it is to proclaim one\u2019s humility so vociferously, but the Midrash aligns each of David\u2019s phrases with evidence of his humility. The first phrase: \u201cMy heart is not haughty\u201d refers to David\u2019s humble comportment at his own anointment to the kingship, and the second, \u201cnor my eyes lofty\u201d refers to his humility when he slew Goliath. The third statement, \u201cI don\u2019t aspire to things too great for me\u201d is understood by Rashi and others as referring to the building of the Temple. Great as King David was, he accepted that it would be his son\u2019s honour to build the holy Temple, and not his.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radak contends that David\u2019s third expression of humility represents his attitude toward spiritual matters. David doesn\u2019t aspire to understand everything about God. He knows that there are things he can grasp and things that will remain forever beyond his comprehension. In addition, says Radak, this expression demonstrates David\u2019s approach to Torah learning, and one that should resonate through the generations to come. There are expectations from God that we understand intuitively, there are ways of God that we come to understand incrementally, through study and through experience, and there are things we\u2019ll never understand. David\u2019s humility was demonstrated through his complete faith in God, even while recognizing that there was much about God that was beyond his grasp.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider the third of David\u2019s expressions of humility in the context of the Temple as Rashi does. Though David would not build the Temple, he did not turn his back on what he did know was within his grasp. In his lifetime, David began to prepare the location for the Temple and composed the songs that would be sung there. He did not aspire to the glory that would come from building the Temple, but neither did he turn his back on that which he could contribute. The true evidence of David\u2019s trust in God came from what he did, not what he achieved.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It reminds me of a favourite verse from Pirkei Avot 2:21. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><\/i><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lo alecha hamlacha ligmor<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, v'lo atah ben chorin l'hibatel mimena<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \"You are not expected to complete the task, but neither are you free to avoid it.\u201d That is true humility: full heartedly giving everything you can even when you know the recognition of the final achievement will go to someone else.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>image:\u00a0Image: King David in Prayer, Pieter de Grebber, c. 1635, detail \/ wikimedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90463,"alt":"","title":"ps131-david 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Humility\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Giving and learning with no expectations of completeness, or recognition","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90463,"alt":"","title":"ps131-david 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The Oxymoronic Child ","post_title":"Weaving The Oxymoronic Child","slug":"weaving-the-oxymoronic-child","old_id":"90435","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":"698","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"inhaling agony \/ exhaling paradise\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p>You go away and I come back, I come back<br \/>\r\nAnd you leave, the shuttle<br \/>\r\nOf our loneliness and love<\/p>\r\n<p>Weaving the oxymoronic child,<br \/>\r\nEternally mortal, infinitesimally vast,<br \/>\r\nFor whose sake<\/p>\r\n<p>We stay together, a child,<br \/>\r\nTruth be told,<br \/>\r\nNeither of us understand<\/p>\r\n<p>How to nourish or protect,<br \/>\r\nComfort or discipline, fruit<br \/>\r\nOf your perfection<\/p>\r\n<p>Bruised and sweetened <br \/>\r\nBy human circumstance<br \/>\r\nWho wakes up sobbing<\/p>\r\n<p>In the middle<br \/>\r\nOf the night, inhaling agony,<br \/>\r\nExhaling paradise.<\/p>\r\n<p><em>In this psalm the author writes about staying in a relationship for the sake of a child \u201cwho wakes up sobbing.\u201d In contrast, Psalm 131 discusses a child who is \u201ccontented like a weaned child with its mother.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p>from: Joy Ladin,\u00a0<em>Psalms<\/em>, Wipf and Stock, 2010<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":80744,"alt":"","title":"joy ladin - 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Cain and Abel, Isaac and Esau, the entire Laban narrative, Joseph and his brothers, Miriam and Aaron\u2019s racism towards their sister-in-law, and that is not even covering the entire Pentateuch.<\/p>\r\n<p>There are also numerous examples of siblings living apart, from Abraham fleeing his home, to Joseph, to Moses not growing up with his siblings, and even then fleeing Egypt, to two and a half tribes choosing to live on the other side of the river.<\/p>\r\n<p>In fact, the kingdom was split between the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah, becoming divided when most of the tribes did not accept Solomon\u2019s son Rehoboam as their king.<\/p>\r\n<p>The second verse isn\u2019t much better. It references Aaron, the metonym for the priesthood, yet another institution which, with David\u2019s ascendance, lay divided between the two priestly factions of Abiathar and Zadok.<\/p>\r\n<p>And finally, the third verse references the \u201cdew of Hermon\u201d, a mountain range in the Northern Kingdom \/ Kingdom of Israel, while elevating the importance of the hills of Zion, the metonym for Jerusalem, the central location for the Davidic monarchy. And only that location is blessed by God, divine justification for the location of the palace.<\/p>\r\n<p>In this forced apologetic, it is quite apparent that David is the Big Brother, praising unity, as long as it happens under his rule and control.<\/p>\r\n<p>At only three verses long, its brevity itself suggests that it is more of a pledge of allegiance or anthem to be uttered frequently by all, than a beautiful liturgy that may only be truly mastered by a few.<\/p>\r\n<p>image: courtesy of the author<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90542,"alt":"","title":"ps133-ebutler","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler.png","width":2048,"height":2048,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Pledge Of Davidic Allegiance","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When exactly did those brothers dwell pleasantly together?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90542,"alt":"","title":"ps133-ebutler","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler.png","width":2048,"height":2048,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-ebutler-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Psalms","chapter":"133","chapter_main_number":"700","date":"20280504","wall_id":"700"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":14,"id":"90551","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Holy Anointing Oil ","post_title":"Holy Anointing Oil","slug":"holy-anointing-oil","old_id":"90551","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"700","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Dripping like dew\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Psalms.133.1-3?lang=bi&amp;with=all&amp;lang2=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Psalm 133<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the second to the last of the fourteen psalms of ascent, each beginning with a similar superscription, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shir Ha-Ma\u2019alot <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\u201cSong of Ascents\u201d). Our psalm is among the shortest of the psalms, composed of just three verses. Psalms 131 and 134 also have just three verses, while Psalm 117 has only two verses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our psalm echoes the ceremony of anointing Aaron, the first High Priest, described in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Leviticus.8.12?lang=bi&amp;with=all&amp;lang2=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leviticus 8:12<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201c[Moses] poured some of the anointing oil upon Aaron\u2019s head and anointed him, to consecrate him\u201d (see also<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Exodus.29.7?lang=bi&amp;aliyot=0\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exodus 29:7<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Psalms.133.1?lang=bi&amp;p2=Horayot.12a.7-9&amp;lang2=bi\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talmud Bavli Horayot 12a<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> elaborates on this brief biblical description.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sages taught: \u201cIt is like fine oil on the head running down onto the beard, the beard of Aaron\u2026\u201d. Two drops of anointing oil, shaped like pearls, were suspended from Aaron\u2019s beard. Rav Pappa said that it is taught: When Aaron would speak and his beard would move, those drops would miraculously rise and settle on the roots of his beard so that they would not fall. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moses was concerned about this matter. He said: Perhaps, Heaven forbid, I misused the consecrated anointing oil and poured more than necessary, as two additional drops remain? <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Divine Voice emerged and said: \u201cIt is like fine oil on the head running down onto the beard, the beard of Aaron\u2026 like the dew of Hermon that falls upon the mountains of Zion\u201d. The comparison of the anointing oil to the dew of Hermon teaches that just as there is no misuse of the dew of Hermon, which is not consecrated, so too, with regard to the anointing oil that is on Aaron\u2019s beard, there is no misuse of consecrated property. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But still Aaron was concerned. He said: \u201cPerhaps Moses did not misuse consecrated property. But perhaps I misused consecrated property, as the additional oil is on my beard and I enjoy it.\u201d A Divine Voice spoke out and said: \u201cBehold! How good and how pleasant it is that brothers dwell together.\u201d Just as your brother Moses did not misuse consecrated property, so too, you did not misuse consecrated property.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The \u201choly anointing oil\u201d (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shemen mish\u1e25at qodesh<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) described in<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Exodus.30.22-25?lang=bi&amp;aliyot=0\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exodus 30:22-25<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was compounded from \u201cchoice spices\u201d (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">besamim rosh<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) including myrrh, cinnamon, cane (calamus) and cassia mixed into olive oil.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Keritot.5b?lang=bi\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talmud Bavli Keritot 5b<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> learns from<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Exodus.30.31?lang=bi&amp;with=all&amp;lang2=en\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exodus 30:31<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cThis shall be an anointing oil sacred to Me throughout your generations,\u201d that all of the anointing oil remains in existence for the future (see further Ginzberg, <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legends of the Jews<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201cThe Consecration of the Priests\u201d, note 371).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>imge: Luca Giordana, Anointing, c. 1780 \/ wikipedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90552,"alt":"","title":"ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king.jpg","width":1044,"height":1047,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king-768x770.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":770,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king-1021x1024.jpg","large-width":1021,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king.jpg","1536x1536-width":1044,"1536x1536-height":1047,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king.jpg","2048x2048-width":1044,"2048x2048-height":1047,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king.jpg","post_full_size-width":1044,"post_full_size-height":1047,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ps133-Luca_giordano-anointed_king-419x420.jpg","home_baner-width":419,"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":"Holy 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