{"id":94440,"date":"2018-07-09T18:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1155\/"},"modified":"2022-02-02T19:44:41","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T17:44:41","slug":"wall-1155","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1155\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20250119-to-20250125"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1155","date_from":"20250119","date_to":"20250125","book":"Job","books_group":"Writings","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"94881","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Pinchas: Of Names and Land ","post_title":"Pinchas: Of Names and Land","slug":"pinchas-of-names-and-land","old_id":"94881","type":"song","iframe":"","writer":{"id":94870,"post_title":"Ilana Stein","slug":"ilana-stein","old_id":"94870","first_name":"Ilana ","last_name":"Stein","description":"With degrees in Nature Conservation and English, and an MA in Environmental Jewish Education, Ilana works as a writer for conservation and ecotourism entities in southern Africa and around the world, and lectures about the relationship between Judaism, nature and the planet. Ilana is currently learning with the Rabbi Joe Wolfson 929 group. ","short_description":"With degrees in Nature Conservation and English, and an MA in Environmental Jewish Education, Ilana combines them all in her work as a writer for conservation and ecotourism entities in southern Africa. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":99710,"alt":"","title":"Ilana Stein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ilana-Stein.jpg","width":325,"height":319,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ilana-Stein-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ilana-Stein-300x294.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":294,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ilana-Stein.jpg","medium_large-width":325,"medium_large-height":319,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ilana-Stein.jpg","large-width":325,"large-height":319,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ilana-Stein.jpg","1536x1536-width":325,"1536x1536-height":319,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ilana-Stein.jpg","2048x2048-width":325,"2048x2048-height":319,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ilana-Stein.jpg","post_full_size-width":325,"post_full_size-height":319,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ilana-Stein.jpg","home_baner-width":325,"home_baner-height":319}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1155","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What is so important about this story? It is not only about equal rights. With our \u2018shmita\u2019 caps on, it is a message to the men who have the power to take up their inheritance \u2013 to show them what it means to truly love the land. ","post_main_content_content":"
<\/header>\r\n
\r\n

In our parsha, the people of Israel begin preparations towards appropriation of the Promised Land. Moses divides the land amongst the tribes: \u201cAmong these the land shall be apportioned as shares\u201d (Num.26:53<\/a>), with the inheritance of land going to male heirs in those days. However, the daughters of Zelophechad are not happy.<\/p>\r\n

They approach Moses and \u201cthe entire congregation at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting\u201d (27:2<\/a>) \u2013 which was unheard of for women to do! Then, each of the daughters is named: \u201cand his daughters\u2019 names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah\u201d (27:1<\/a>) \u2013 again, not a common occurrence. Finally, God gives a ringing endorsement: \u201cZelophehad\u2019s daughters speak justly. You shall certainly give them a portion of inheritance along with their father\u2019s brothers, and you shall transfer their father\u2019s inheritance to them\u201d (27:7<\/a>). Not only does God agree but brings a new angle of the halacha, taking their situation into account.<\/p>\r\n

Moreover, the same narrative is told later in Numbers, and again in the book of Joshua when the land is being apportioned.<\/p>\r\n

What is so important about this story? It is not necessarily or only about equal rights. With our \u2018shmita\u2019 caps on, at all points at which this narrative is told, it is a message to the men who have the power to take up their inheritance \u2013 to show them what it means to truly love the land of Israel. These \u201cmere women\u201d felt so connected to the land that they were prepared to breach the male halls of wisdom to find their own space in Israel.<\/p>\r\n

Two fascinating commentaries speak to both ideas:<\/p>\r\n

The Midrash Sifri, written 1500 years ago, could have been written today: \u201cWhen the daughters of Zelophehad heard that the land of Israel was to be divided according to tribes, according to the males and not the females, they gathered together to make a plan. They said, God\u2019s mercy and compassion is not like the compassion of mankind. Mankind favors men over women. God is not like that. God\u2019s compassion extends to men and women alike\u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Rashi on 7:1: \u201cOf the Families of Manasseh the Son of Joseph. Why is this stated? Has it not already been said\u2026?! But it is to suggest the following idea to you: Just as Joseph held the Promised Land dear, as it is said, (Genesis 50:25<\/a>) \u201cAnd ye shall bring my bones up (to Israel) \u2026\u201d, so, too, his daughters held the Land dear.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The next shmita year begins next Rosh Hashanah 2021, only a few months from now. We still have some 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

Join us for the journey.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

See here for more information on the Hazon Shmita project, and its blogs.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/section>","post_main_content_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"A Weekly Series: The \"Shmitah Parasha\" Blog","tile_main_caption":"Pinchas: Of Names and Land","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":"Job","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1155"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"94739","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Standing In The Presence ","post_title":"Standing In The Presence","slug":"standing-in-the-presence","old_id":"94739","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49419,"post_title":"Josh Weiner","slug":"josh-weiner","old_id":"49419","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Weiner ","description":"Rabbi Josh Weiner has worked as a social worker, tour guide and kindergarten teacher. He is currently the assistant rabbi at the Adath Shalom community in Paris, teaches halacha at the Zacharias Frankel college, a new conservative rabbinical seminary in Berlin, and supports entrepreneurial Jewish education in both cities. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Josh Weiner is currently the assistant rabbi at the Adath Shalom community in Paris and teaches halacha at the Zacharias Frankel college in Berlin.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49420,"alt":"","title":"josh weinder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","width":360,"height":448,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287-241x300.jpg","medium-width":241,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","large-width":360,"large-height":448,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","1536x1536-width":360,"1536x1536-height":448,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","2048x2048-width":360,"2048x2048-height":448,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","post_full_size-width":360,"post_full_size-height":448,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287-338x420.jpg","home_baner-width":338,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"771","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Being with God in the world doesn\u2019t require abstract dogmas. It requires openness and truth and courage\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Job\u2019s reply today is wonderfully Jewish. Or, at least, I recognize my Jewish self in his sardonic words. \u201c<\/em><\/span>Today again my complaint is bitter!<\/span><\/em>\u201d <\/em>begins his defense of his intimate relationship with God. He doesn\u2019t respond directly to Eliphaz, but begins with a dryly ironic description of the innocence he would be judged to have by God - if only he could find where God is! But like Kafka\u2019s heroes, the way to the place of judgement is convoluted and hidden. \u201c<\/em><\/span>Would that I knew how to reach Him\u2026 I would escape forever from my judge.<\/span><\/em>\u201d <\/em>But God is not to be found in any of the paths that Job sees in front of him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While I\u2019m both a graduate of, and a teacher at, the \u2018School of Jewish Theology\u2019 at Potsdam University, I don\u2019t take theology very seriously. One of the reasons is that it takes a lot of guts or stupidity to say anything definite about God. Like Job\u2019s interlocutors, many theologians sound silly starting sentences with \u201cGod is\u2026\u201d On what grounds are they saying that, and on what basis are they arguing? Job looks north, south, east and west, and can\u2019t see anything that could tell him what God <\/span>is<\/span><\/em>. But that\u2019s not what interests him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201c<\/span>Therefore am I terrified at His presence<\/span><\/em>.<\/em>\u201d It\u2019s not what God is, but who <\/span>Job<\/em> <\/span>is in the presence of God that colors his life. Rather than a theological \u201cGod is...\u201d sentence, Job models a phenomenological \u201cBefore God, I am\u2026\u201d sentence, which seems to me to be more deeply true.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Hebrew word translated here as \u2018presence\u2019 is <\/span>panim<\/span><\/em>, literally God\u2019s \u2018face\u2019. This encounter with God\u2019s face, as it were, comes up throughout the Tanach as an intimate encounter, which can be terrifying or enrapturing, but never neutral. The priestly blessing invites God \u201c<\/span>to shine God\u2019s face upon you<\/span><\/em>\u201d (Numbers 6:25); the Temple pilgrims are instructed \u201c<\/span>three times a year shall all the men be seen before the face of God<\/span><\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/i> (Exodus 23:17). In both cases, as with Job\u2019s description, seeing the face, and being seen by the face, means standing in the presence of the divine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Seeking God\u2019s face can be an invitation to prayer, or to an honest way of being with God in the world. Like Job, this doesn\u2019t require abstract dogmas or lying to himself to find hope. It requires openness and truth and courage. And maybe a bit of humor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61080,"alt":"","title":"2sam22-divine light","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light.jpg","width":1920,"height":1086,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-300x170.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":170,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-768x434.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":434,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-1024x579.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":579,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":869,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1086,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-1200x679.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":679,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-743x420.jpg","home_baner-width":743,"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":"Standing In The Presence","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Being with God in the world doesn\u2019t require abstract dogmas. It requires openness and truth and courage","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61080,"alt":"","title":"2sam22-divine light","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light.jpg","width":1920,"height":1086,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-300x170.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":170,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-768x434.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":434,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-1024x579.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":579,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":869,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1086,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-1200x679.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":679,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam22-divine-light-743x420.jpg","home_baner-width":743,"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":"Job","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"771","date":"20280813","wall_id":"771"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"94733","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Job Needs To Pour Out His Heart Like Water ","post_title":"Job Needs To Pour Out His Heart Like Water","slug":"job-needs-to-pour-out-his-heart-like-water","old_id":"94733","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":93281,"post_title":"Ariel Goldberg","slug":"ariel-goldberg","old_id":"93281","first_name":"Ariel ","last_name":"Goldberg ","description":"Ariel Goldberg is a therapist in in Washington DC. He has his semicha from Yeshivat HaMivtar (Efrat, Israel). From 2013-17 he served as a hospital chaplain and spiritual educator in Manhattan. He loves teaching about Torah and psycho-spiritual growth. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Ariel Goldberg is a therapist in in Washington DC","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":93282,"alt":"","title":"ariel goldberg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ariel-goldberg.jpg","width":2659,"height":2249,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ariel-goldberg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ariel-goldberg-300x254.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":254,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ariel-goldberg-768x650.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":650,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ariel-goldberg-1024x866.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":866,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ariel-goldberg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1299,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ariel-goldberg.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1732,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ariel-goldberg-1200x1015.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1015,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ariel-goldberg-497x420.jpg","home_baner-width":497,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"771","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A cure for suffering and estrangement\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In arguing with his three friends, Job has learned the meaning of psalm 118:8 \u201cit is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.\u201d Job\u2019s friends are too focused on defending God, with abstract arguments, to listen to Job\u2019s subjective experience of suffering, much less vindicate him. Now, Job seeks a hearing from God. So imperative is this that Job is prepared to accept God\u2019s judgement even if it is unfavorable.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rav Adin Steinsaltz interprets Job\u2019s statement in 23:4-6 as \u201cI would organize my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments\u2026 I would comprehend the words that he would answer me\u2026. He would invigorate me.\u201d Feeling heard by God would invigorate Job, regardless of the outcome, I think, because it would help to heal Job\u2019s feelings of estrangement.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For many sufferers, estrangement is the most painful part of their suffering. Estrangement has a connotation of being strange to others or oneself and feeling invalid. Loved ones may be unable to understand the sufferer\u2019s experience. Sufferers may also feel strange to themselves, as they are distanced from the former identity that defined them, or the relationship with God that guided them. Job experiences all these forms of estrangement.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Job turns to God but \u201che is not there.\u201d \u201cI cannot find him\u201d, Job continues\u2026 \u201cI go westward but I do not perceive him, to the north\u2026 but I do not behold him.\u00a0 He hides in the south and I do not see him\u201d (23:8-9).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God dwells \u201cwherever you let him in\u201d taught the Kotzker Rebbe. Why does God feel absent to Job? I believe it is because Job cannot let God in just yet, because his suffering fully occupies him. Job has a lot to get out.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is good guidance for Job in the words of Lamentation 2:19\u00a0 \u201cpour out your heart like water in the presence of God.\u201d Umberto Cassuto comments that this means pour out your heart \u201cuntil it becomes like water.\u201d I find this analogy psychologically profound.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Suffering, at first, can make a person\u2019s heart feel like an impenetrable mass of pain. When we express our suffering, as words, it may have the effect of breaking the mass into particles that can flow away, like water. This frees up an inner space\u00a0 where we can let God in, that is, we can listen to God without preconceptions. Just listen.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It takes time to pour out the heart. In the meantime, Job is \u201cterrified\u201d (23:15), that God may have more suffering in store for him. And yet God has not \u201cutterly annihilated\u201d Job (23:18). He is still alive, still capable of engaging with his situation, learning, and growing. In that, I believe, there is hope for Job even as he is too grief-stricken to realize it. If I were comforting him, I would tell him \u201cMy friend, you are not done yet!\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":94734,"alt":"","title":"job23-heart water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water.jpg","width":1556,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-243x300.jpg","medium-width":243,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-768x948.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":948,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-830x1024.jpg","large-width":830,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":1245,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":1556,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-973x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":973,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-340x420.jpg","home_baner-width":340,"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":"Job Needs To Pour Out His Heart Like Water","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A cure for suffering and estrangement","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":94734,"alt":"","title":"job23-heart water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water.jpg","width":1556,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-243x300.jpg","medium-width":243,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-768x948.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":948,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-830x1024.jpg","large-width":830,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":1245,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":1556,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-973x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":973,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-heart-water-340x420.jpg","home_baner-width":340,"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":"Job","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"771","date":"20280813","wall_id":"771"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"94730","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"Shaddai: Gracious And Munificent, Or Overpowering And Conquering? ","post_title":"Shaddai: Gracious And Munificent, Or Overpowering And Conquering?","slug":"shaddai-gracious-and-munificent-or-overpowering-and-conquering","old_id":"94730","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38322,"post_title":"James A. Diamond","slug":"james-a-diamond","old_id":"38322","first_name":"James ","last_name":"Diamond ","description":"Prof. James A. Diamond holds the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Waterloo. His most recent book is \u201cJewish Theology Unbound\u201d published by Oxford University Press. ","short_description":"Prof. James A. Diamond holds the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Waterloo.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38323,"alt":"","title":"James Diamond","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","width":1186,"height":1386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-257x300.jpg","medium-width":257,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-768x898.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":898,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-876x1024.jpg","large-width":876,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","1536x1536-width":1186,"1536x1536-height":1386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","2048x2048-width":1186,"2048x2048-height":1386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-1027x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1027,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-359x420.jpg","home_baner-width":359,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"771","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Job experiences both faces\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Shaddai<\/span><\/em>, one of God\u2019s names, is particularly endemic to the book of Job. Thirty-one out of its forty-eight appearances in the entire Tanakh occur in Job. The preponderance of appeals to this particular divine epithet invites us to question its unique significance for understanding the exchanges between the interlocutors in Job.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Genesis ranks second to Job in the number of times God appears as Shaddai and all relate somehow to progeny. God first introduces Himself as Shaddai in Tanakh when establishing His covenant with Abraham, \u201cI am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless (<\/span>tamim<\/span><\/em>)\u201d (Gen 17:1). In return for Abraham\u2019s commitment to \u201cwalk in God\u2019s ways\u201d, God promises to reward him with many descendants, \u201cI will make you exceedingly numerous\u201d (17:2). Thus Shaddai signifies a dimension of Abraham\u2019s relationship with God rooted in a quid pro quo where Abraham\u2019s \u201cblamelessness\u201d warrants the gift of children, or the guarantee of a future which will preserve Abraham\u2019s memory. Job is also described in the prologue as \u201cblameless\u201d (<\/span>tam<\/span><\/em>), followed by the fact that he engendered ten children. God\u2019s sanctioning the deaths of Job\u2019s children in return for Job\u2019s blameless life belies the Shaddai that covenanted to reward such a life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Eliphaz\u2019s initial appeal to Shaddai in chapter 22 is completely oblivious to the covenantal precedent set by that divine epithet when he states that God is unaffected by \u201cblameless\u201d conduct, \u201cDoes Shaddai gain if you are righteous? Does He profit if your conduct is blameless (<\/span>tam<\/span><\/em>)?\u201d (22:3). However, Shaddai\u2019s bargain with Abraham provides evidence that God does in fact care about human conduct. Moreover, in the same breath, Eliphaz endorses a reciprocal relationship between God and human beings exemplified by the Abrahamic covenant and berates Job, urging him \u201cIf you return to Shaddai you will be restored, If you banish iniquity from your tent.\u201d (23) Yet if God is impervious to \u201cblameless\u201d human conduct, why would He reward it?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Thus, it is precisely this baffling contradiction that Job targets when he addresses God as Shaddai at the end of this chapter and the very beginning of the next. Shaddai now evokes unsettling terror rather than the comfort people often turn to religion for: \u201cGod has made me fainthearted; Shaddai has terrified me.\u201d (23:16) Job is gripped by terror according to Rashi, precisely because it is apparent that God does not respond in kind to human behavior. When Job tries to decipher divine governance, its inscrutable logic only produces terror, for at any moment God can strike capriciously as Job well knows.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shaddai no longer lives up to one meaning of the name which according to Rashi and others is \u201cthe One who is sufficient\u201d (<\/span>she\u2019dai<\/span><\/em>),<\/span><\/i> the one whose divinity munificently graces all creatures. Job now experiences another dimension of the name attributed to it by Abraham ibn Ezra of one who \u201coverpowers and conquers\u201d (<\/span>shoded<\/span><\/em>), cowering before a God who, like an impulsive despot, inexorably exercises power arbitrarily.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Amulet with the name Shaddai<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":94731,"alt":"","title":"job23-shaddai","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","width":244,"height":237,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","medium-width":244,"medium-height":237,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","medium_large-width":244,"medium_large-height":237,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","large-width":244,"large-height":237,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","1536x1536-width":244,"1536x1536-height":237,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","2048x2048-width":244,"2048x2048-height":237,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","post_full_size-width":244,"post_full_size-height":237,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","home_baner-width":244,"home_baner-height":237}},"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":"Shaddai: Gracious And Munificent, Or Overpowering And Conquering?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Job experiences both faces","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":94731,"alt":"","title":"job23-shaddai","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","width":244,"height":237,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","medium-width":244,"medium-height":237,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","medium_large-width":244,"medium_large-height":237,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","large-width":244,"large-height":237,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","1536x1536-width":244,"1536x1536-height":237,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","2048x2048-width":244,"2048x2048-height":237,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","post_full_size-width":244,"post_full_size-height":237,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job23-shaddai.jpg","home_baner-width":244,"home_baner-height":237}},"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":"Job","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"771","date":"20280813","wall_id":"771"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"94727","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Job\u2019s Writ Of Habeas Corpus ","post_title":"Job\u2019s Writ Of Habeas Corpus","slug":"jobs-writ-of-habeas-corpus","old_id":"94727","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":"771","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"How can he be caused to suffer and answer for something that is not known to him?\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

A key component of American legal system is the location of the complaint. When one party makes a complaint against another, they must specify which court will hear the complaint, and why that court has proper jurisdiction to hear the complaint. The purpose of this rule is to allow both parties access to a courthouse that makes sense. Therefore, (barring certain exceptions) you could not sue someone from New York in a court in Alaska.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Job complains that he is not afforded such deference. \u201cBut if I go East\u2014He is not there; West\u2014I still do not perceive Him\/ North\u2014since He is concealed, I do not behold Him; South\u2014He is hidden, and I cannot see Him.\u201d (verses 8-9). His friends keep pestering him to repent for his sins. Job has no idea what he did wrong. If only he knew the proper venue to address God, Job would run to the courthouse not only to plead his case, but more importantly, to find out what he is accused of. This fundamental aspect of the justice system that we may take for granted is not afforded Job (or anyone who is punished by God).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Job\u2019s complaint is that this system is unfair. How can he answer for something that is not known to him?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Habeas Corpus by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free.org<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":94728,"alt":"","title":"job23-habeas 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Do Declare ","post_title":"I Do Declare","slug":"i-do-declare","old_id":"94770","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":"772","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Tzohar - from olives to Balfour\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In chapter 24, Job continues his speech and complains about the iniquity of the wicked, and how they enjoy a peaceful life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One example of their wickedness is how they abuse the poor:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThey snatch the fatherless infant from the breast, and seize the child of the poor as a pledge. They go about naked for lack of clothing, and, hungry, carry sheaves; Between rows [of olive trees] they make oil, and, thirsty, they tread the winepresses.\u201d (Job 24:9-11)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The use of the pronoun \u201cthey\u201d in these verses can be a bit confusing. Job is saying that the rich wicked people take advantage of the poor. Even if they let the poor work for them, they don\u2019t adequately feed or clothe their workers. These oppressed workers are surrounded by olive oil and wine, and yet remain hungry.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One interesting word in verse 11 is translated here as \u201cthey make oil.\u201d In Hebrew it is <\/span>yatzhiru<\/span><\/em>, or in the singular <\/span>hitzhir<\/span><\/em>. <\/span><\/i>In this form, it literally means \u201cto make <\/span>yitzhar<\/span><\/em>\u201d, as <\/span>yitzhar<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is a biblical word for olive oil.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yitzhar<\/span><\/em>\u00a0in turn derives from the root <\/span>tz-h-r<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cto be bright, to be clear, to shine, to make visible.\u201d There are two explanations for how the word came to be. One is that <\/span>yitzhar<\/span><\/em>\u00a0refers to fresh oil, and so it could be translated as \u201cthat which newly appears\u201d (like light). Another idea is that it meant \u201cthat which shines\u201d \u2013 either due to the oil itself being shiny or the flame it produces when lit.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Other words from the same root include <\/span>tzahorayim<\/span><\/em>- \u201cafternoon,\u201d when the sun is at its zenith, and <\/span>tzohar<\/span><\/em>, which appears in Noah\u2019s ark (Genesis 6:16). Among its various translations include window, lamp or roof.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Going back to the verb Job used, <\/span>hitzhir<\/span><\/em>, we find that it took a strange turn in recent times. In the early 1900s, it took on the meaning \u201cto declare\u201d (likely coined by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda). How did a verb meaning \u201cto make oil\u201d come to mean \u201cto declare\u201d? While we don\u2019t have the testimony of whoever began using it that way, we can see that the English word \u201cdeclare\u201d originally meant in Latin \u201cto make clear.\u201d So someone apparently thought that <\/span>hitzhir\u00a0<\/span><\/em>was a good candidate for a Hebrew word meaning \u201cto make clear,\u201d considering the root <\/span>tz-h-r\u00a0<\/span><\/em>has that same meaning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To translate the related word \u201cdeclaration,\u201d these speakers formed the word <\/span>hatzharah<\/span><\/em>. Not long after that, in 1917, Lord Arthur Balfour issued his famous declaration, announcing British support for the establishment of a \"national home for the Jewish people\". That became known as <\/span>hatzharat Balfour<\/span><\/em>. We can hope that in Israel, the country born from that declaration, Job would not be saddened to see the oppression of the poor he saw in his day.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Tzohar<\/em>, Sigal Maor, 2008 (facebook: Yama Gallery)<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":94771,"alt":"","title":"job24-tzohar","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","width":640,"height":513,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar-300x240.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":240,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":513,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":513,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":513,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":513,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar-524x420.jpg","home_baner-width":524,"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":"I Do Declare","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Tzohar - from olives to Balfour","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":94771,"alt":"","title":"job24-tzohar","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","width":640,"height":513,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar-300x240.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":240,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":513,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":513,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":513,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":513,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job24-tzohar-524x420.jpg","home_baner-width":524,"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":"Job","chapter":"24","chapter_main_number":"772","date":"20280814","wall_id":"772"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"94767","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Venting On The State Of The World ","post_title":"Venting On The State Of The World","slug":"venting-on-the-state-of-the-world","old_id":"94767","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":"772","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Alternating between the criminal oppressors and their hapless victims\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter posed such a problem to Robert Gordis that he devoted an entire special note to it in the appendix to his commentary. \u201cThis chapter is undoubtedly one of the most difficult in the book,\u201d he wrote, \u201cwith regard to its form, its content, and its relevance to the context\u201d (531). While other scholars have either deleted or emended large sections of the chapter, Gordis, again (see Chapter 17), strove to justify the Masoretic Text.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The problem with the \u201cform\u201d addresses the poetic structure of the chapter, which consists of tristichs (three poetic sections per verse, cf. vss. 12-16) rather than the usual distichs (two sections). Gordis\u2019s response is that while this is indeed disproportionate to the rest of the book, the form is not, per se, alien.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The problem with the content and relevance deals largely with vs. 1-17 that \u201cdoes possess a special character.\u201d However, Gordis identified the structure of the chapter as \u201cantiphonal\u201d (one part responding to the other) and was therefore able to justify the first part of the chapter by showing how it corresponds to the latter.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Overall, Gordis wrote:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe special form of this chapter may be due to its belonging to a characteristic genre of Oriental Wisdom Literature consisting of complaints on the state of the world\u201d (532). <\/span>
\r\n<\/span>\u201cIt thus belongs to a literary genre amply attested in Babylonian and Egyptian Wisdom literature. The chapter contains a series of descriptions alternating between the criminal oppressors and their hapless victims. As is frequent in Wisdom literature, the subject of each section is not explicitly identified by the poet. The reader is expected to recognize the specific theme from the context\u201d (253).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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","post_title":"The Human Condition: A God\u2019s Eye View?","slug":"the-human-condition-a-gods-eye-view","old_id":"94765","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":"772","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Divine justice appears more concerned with not wronging the sinner, than with offering respite to the oppressed\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Job 24 is comprised of an inventory of the conditions under which much of humanity exists. While natural conditions could underlie some of these situations (v. 5-8, 10-11,) human beings\u2019 vile acts towards their fellows play an outsize role as well. Various crimes against others are listed, including infractions against another\u2019s property (v. 2- 3, 14, 16,) person (v. 4, 14,) spouse (v. 15,) and children (v. 9.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The misery of the oppressed would be somewhat alleviated if their tormentors would eventually meet observable terrible ends (v. 18-22, 24), but things don\u2019t always seem to turn out that way, with God counter-intuitively appearing to protect and support the evildoers: \u201cYet he (He) gives him the security on which he relies, and keeps watch over his affairs\u201d (verse 23).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Commentators like Alshaich interpret this verse as describing a time when the \u201coppressors\u201d will suffer punishment due to old-age and infirmity, and finally serve as a cautionary tale for everyone else:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u2026He (<\/span>the sinner<\/span><\/i>) will lean on his cane, and he will watch everyone else in such a manner that his eyes will see and be jealous of his colleagues who are going about their business, but he will be unable to move due to his acute illness\u2026 All will recognize how he has sinned, and those who see this will be sorely afraid due to the manner in which he has been made to answer for his evil, and they will be rebuked\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to Metzudat David and Malbim, however, the subject of v. 23 could be God, rather than the sinner. Metzudat David writes:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And all the days of his life, God allows him to dwell securely, and he depends upon Him not to be moved, as if He watches over the ways of those evil-doers, like someone who sees the ways of his friend and encourages him to be careful.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While these commentators explain <\/span>what <\/span><\/i>God may do, they don\u2019t account for <\/span>why <\/span><\/i>He chooses to do so.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the one hand, perhaps God wishes to give the individual every chance to repent, and therefore is loath to move quickly to condemn and punish. But what about the individual\u2019s victims? Don\u2019t they deserve a modicum of justice?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Consequently, the interpretation of an odd biblical phrase becomes significant in this discussion: \u201cAnd they (<\/span>the Israelites<\/span><\/i>) shall return here (<\/span>to<\/span><\/i> Israel<\/span><\/i>) in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full\u201d (Gen. 15:16). Rashi writes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...enough that he should be driven out of his land until that time, for the Holy One, blessed be He, does not exact punishment from any nation until its measure is full, as it is said, (Isaiah 27:8) \u201cIn her full measure wilt Thou contend with her when Thou sendest her away\u201d (Sotah 9a).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Divine justice appears more concerned with not wronging the sinner, than with offering respite to the oppressed. Job therefore wonders why all of this is happening to him.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Human Condition: A God\u2019s Eye View?","tile_main_caption":"Divine justice appears more concerned with not wronging the sinner, than with offering respite to the oppressed","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Job","chapter":"24","chapter_main_number":"772","date":"20280814","wall_id":"772"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"94814","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"Dominion + Terror = Peace? ","post_title":"Dominion + Terror = Peace?","slug":"dominion-terror-peace","old_id":"94814","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":"773","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Bildad has made peace with a disorderly world, which has enabled him to make peace with Job\u2019s viewpoint\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In this chapter, Job\u2019s friend Bildad returns for his third and final speech. In only six verses we understand that Bildad is retreating from his previous intransigent and perhaps somewhat self-righteous position about the predictability of the world. Where previously Bildad was entrenched in the position that the wicked are punished and the righteous rewarded, and suffering is indicative of the presence of sin, he now seems willing to concede that God\u2019s hand of justice is not so black-and-white. \u201cDominion and terror are with Him\u201d, acknowledges Bildad, with dominion being evident in the orderliness of God\u2019s rule but impacted by the terror generated by seemingly (at least to man) random occurrences of suffering.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Bildad then speaks words that have been forever imprinted in the hearts of Jews and is recited throughout our liturgy. \u201c<\/span>Oseh shalom bimromav<\/span><\/em> \u2013 He makes peace in His heights.\u201d Rav Shimon Schwab understands the \u201c<\/span>Oseh shalom<\/span><\/em>\u201d statement to reflect Bildad\u2019s reconciling of dominion and terror. We may not understand how two conflicting forces of wickedness and righteousness coexist, nor do we comprehend the sometimes seemingly disorderly application of justice: but God rules over all and only He knows how it all fits together.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The prophet Isaiah made a similar statement: \u201cI (God) form light and create darkness, <\/span>make peace and create evil<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>Oseh shalom u\u2019voreh ra<\/span><\/em> (Isaiah 45:7).\u201d I was fascinated to learn, in my study of this passage, that Isaiah was a contemporary of Zoroaster, who posited that the world was comprised of two forces, a good god \u2013 a god of light, and a bad god \u2013 a god of darkness. Rav Schwab comments that Isaiah\u2019s pronouncement was effectively a rebuke of Zoroaster, affirming that, although two gods was better than the hundreds of gods that many worshipped at the time, he still hadn\u2019t got it quite right. In fact, says Isaiah, there is only one God, who created and rules over light and darkness, good and bad, pleasure and suffering. Our one God has made all of these conflicting forces co-exist in the world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When we recite \u201c<\/em><\/span>Oseh shalom bimromov<\/span><\/em>\u201d we acknowledge that God has made peace integral in the natural world and ask \u201c<\/span>Hu ya\u2019aseh shalom<\/span><\/em> \u2013 may He also make peace \u2013 <\/span>aleinu v\u2019al kol Yisrael<\/span><\/em> \u2013 amongst His people.\u00a0 Concludes Rav Schwab, \u201cWhen logical and intelligent people among us, who sincerely seek the truth, argue with each other and come to completely different conclusions \u2013 and sometimes both are right \u2013 we pray that God make peace among us so that we may live in peace and harmony, despite our differences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Bildad, in his final speech has made peace with a disorderly world, which has enabled him to make peace with Job\u2019s viewpoint.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":81950,"alt":"","title":"ps29-peace","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace.png","width":1920,"height":960,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-300x150.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-768x384.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-1024x512.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":960,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-1200x600.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-840x420.png","home_baner-width":840,"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":"Dominion + Terror = Peace?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Bildad has made peace with a disorderly world, which has enabled him to make peace with Job\u2019s viewpoint","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":81950,"alt":"","title":"ps29-peace","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace.png","width":1920,"height":960,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-300x150.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-768x384.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-1024x512.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":960,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-1200x600.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps29-peace-840x420.png","home_baner-width":840,"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":"Job","chapter":"25","chapter_main_number":"773","date":"20280815","wall_id":"773"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"94809","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"God Makes Peace In The High Heavens ","post_title":"God Makes Peace In The High Heavens","slug":"god-makes-peace-in-the-high-heavens","old_id":"94809","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":"773","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Between sun and moon, fire and water, and even us\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our<\/span> chapter<\/span><\/a>, which is only six verses long, contains the third speech of Bildad, the second of Job\u2019s three companions. Bildad begins with a description of God: \u201cDominion and dread are His. He makes peace in His high heavens \u2013 <\/span>oseh shalom bi-meromav<\/span><\/em>\u201d. This phrase is employed in Jewish liturgy, most memorably at the end of the<\/span> Kaddish<\/span><\/a><\/em>, as a part of a petition to God: \"He who makes peace in His high heavens, may He make peace upon us and upon all Israel. And let us say, Amen\".<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The depiction of God as One who \u201cmakes peace in His high heavens\u201d stimulated the rabbinic imagination. According to<\/span> Talmud Rosh HaShanah 23b<\/span><\/a>, Rabbi Yo\u1e25anan, the leading rabbi in 3rd century CE Land of Israel, explained how God makes peace in His high heavens. The sun never sees the concave sides of the crescent moon or of the rainbow, which always face away from the sun. Were this not so, the moon would be embarrassed to have the full round sun see its empty concave exposure. And the sun never sees the concave side of the rainbow, so that those who worship the sun not say that the sun uses the rainbow as a bow to shoot arrows at those who deny the sun\u2019s divinity. For if the concave side of the rainbow did face the sun, it might look like a bow held by the sun. In arranging the heavenly bodies in this way, God \u201cmakes peace in His high heavens\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Midrash Deuteronomy Rabbah 5:12<\/span><\/a> adds that many rules are made in the interests of peace (see<\/span> Mishnah Gittin 5:8<\/span><\/a>). Interpreting the idea that God \u201cmakes peace in His high heavens\u201d, Rabbi Levi (2nd C - 3rd C Land of Israel) said that the constellations moving in the firmament see only what is following them, like a man climbing a spiral staircase. Looking down, he sees only those who are behind him. So too each constellation can exclaim, \u201cI am the first!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The idea that God \u201cmakes peace in His high heavens\u201d also provides the scriptural basis for the assertion that \u201cGreat is Peace \u2013 <\/span>Gadol Ha-Shalom<\/span><\/em>!\u201d According to the minor Talmudic tractate<\/span> Derekh Eretz Zuta\u2019, also known as Pereq Ha-Shalom<\/span><\/a>,<\/span><\/i> Bar \u1e32appara (2nd C-3rd C Caesarea) explains that God makes peace among his angels even though there is generally no rivalry or dissention between them. In the verse, \u201cDominion and dread are His. He makes peace in His high heavens\u201d, \u201cdominion\u201d refers to Michael, the angel of fire, while \u201cdread\u201d refers to Gabriel, the angel of water, who, though being opposing forces of nature, do not harm one another. So, how much more so then do we human beings, among whom there is rivalry and dissention, need God to make peace among us.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":94810,"alt":"","title":"job25-fire and water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water.jpg","width":1920,"height":1047,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-300x164.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":164,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-768x419.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":419,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-1024x558.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":558,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":838,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1047,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-1200x654.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":654,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-770x420.jpg","home_baner-width":770,"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":"God Makes Peace In The High Heavens","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Between sun and moon, fire and water, and even us","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":94810,"alt":"","title":"job25-fire and water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water.jpg","width":1920,"height":1047,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-300x164.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":164,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-768x419.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":419,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-1024x558.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":558,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":838,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1047,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-1200x654.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":654,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job25-fire-and-water-770x420.jpg","home_baner-width":770,"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":"Job","chapter":"25","chapter_main_number":"773","date":"20280815","wall_id":"773"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":11,"id":"94781","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Celestial Perfection ","post_title":"Celestial Perfection","slug":"celestial-perfection","old_id":"94781","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":93055,"post_title":"J.J. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":93056,"alt":"","title":"JJ Kimche","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JJ-Kimche.jpeg","width":1080,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JJ-Kimche-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JJ-Kimche-300x200.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JJ-Kimche-768x512.jpeg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JJ-Kimche-1024x683.jpeg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JJ-Kimche.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1080,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JJ-Kimche.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1080,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JJ-Kimche.jpeg","post_full_size-width":1080,"post_full_size-height":720,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JJ-Kimche-630x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"773","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A divine synthesis of astrophysics and metaphysics \u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\u201c<\/span>How can man be in the right before God? How can one born of woman be cleared of guilt? Even the moon is not bright, And the stars are not pure in His sight. How much less man, a worm, the son-of-man, a maggot<\/span><\/em>.\u201d (25:4-6)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

By this point, Job\u2019s friends have been browbeaten into exhaustion. This third round of discussions is therefore significantly curtailed. Bildad, Job\u2019s second interlocutor, offers only a few sentences of resistance, whereas Zophar remains entirely mute. While some see these missing speeches as scribal omissions, it is also plausible to view them as a consistent element of this book\u2019s narrative logic, in which both the force and effectiveness of the three friends\u2019 arguments simply trail off, leaving Job no wiser or calmer. Having exhausted the usefulness of the three friends, the stage is now set for the Joban author to introduce the final speakers in this book: Elihu, the young pretender, and finally God himself. While Bildad\u2019s valedictory speech is only a few lines in length, its theme and message is among the book\u2019s most powerful.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In many ancient and medieval cultures, the heavenly spheres were considered the apogee of physical perfection. The geocentric astronomical model, synthesized and perfected by Ptolemy in the second century, perceived the earth to be the center of the universe, and all the planets and stars to be revolving around it in a flawless circular motion. The geometrical precision, luminous aesthetic, and astrological significance of the heavenly spheres made them a mainstay of poetry, literature, artistry, and religious symbology across numerous cultures. Medieval Western theology, heavily influenced by Aristotle\u2019s hybrid of astrophysics and metaphysics, invested these heavenly constellations with additional significance, with each transparent \u2018sphere\u2019 in which the stars were placed assigned an \u2018active intellect\u2019, a divine emanation through which humans may achieve intellectual communion with God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Within all monotheistic religions, this perceived perfection of the physical universe, moreover, was often touted as a most sledgehammering demonstration of God\u2019s unparalleled wisdom, beneficence, and attentiveness. No less a figure than Maimonides himself declared the appreciation of this celestial system to be a prerequisite not only for an intellectual understanding of God (the very highest of human achievements) but also for loving and appreciating the Creator. Even today, in a world in which physics and metaphysics have been wedged apart by contemporary science, the sheer scope and beauty of the heavenly arrangements frequently inspire feelings of religious reverence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is precisely this reverence that Bildad attempts to invoke. He bids Job to consider the glory and perfection of the heavens, and to ask whether the being responsible for such a magnificent natural system could possibly display any less perfection in His handling of earthly affairs. Could the author and maintainer of the galaxies truly be ignorant of basic justice?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":93512,"alt":"","title":"Job-jj kimche series.png","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Hope and Suffering: A Chapter by Chapter Analysis","tile_main_caption":"Celestial Perfection","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A divine synthesis of astrophysics and metaphysics \u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":93512,"alt":"","title":"Job-jj kimche series.png","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Job-jj-kimche-series.png-420x420.jpg","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":"Job","chapter":"25","chapter_main_number":"773","date":"20280815","wall_id":"773"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"94844","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Power And Humility ","post_title":"Power And Humility","slug":"power-and-humility","old_id":"94844","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":70715,"post_title":"Judry Subar","slug":"judry-subar","old_id":"70715","first_name":"Judry ","last_name":"Subar","description":"Judry Subar, who lives in Potomac, Maryland, spent most of his professional career as a lawyer with the federal government in Washington, DC. Since his retirement, Jud has been involved in various writing and educational projects.","short_description":"Judry Subar spent most of his professional career as a lawyer with the federal government in Washington. Since his retirement, he has been involved in various writing and educational projects.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":70716,"alt":"","title":"judry subar","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":400,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","large-width":400,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":400,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":400,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":400}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"774","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Suspended on nothingness? It depends - on us.\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\u201c<\/span>Toleh eretz al b\u2019li\u2019ma<\/span><\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 The world exists in a state of suspense, Job tells his friends in Chapter 26, verse 7. But in what sense? JPS translates this closing phrase of the verse to say that God \u201csuspended earth over emptiness.\u201d This reading is presumably what led ibn Ezra to see in these words the image of Planet Earth dangling ethereally among the other planets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While that rendering of the language is consistent with one understanding of the verse given in the Talmud (Chullin 89a), another opinion mentioned in the same source follows a different approach. That very different take on this verse plays with the first word of the phrase \u2013 \u201ctoleh<\/em>\u201d \u2013 which means either \u201csuspends\u201d or \u201cdepends,\u201d and the last word \u2013 \u201cb\u2019li\u2019ma<\/em>\u201d \u2013 which can be understood as either \u201cnothingness\u201d or \u201crestraint,\u201d and creatively reads the phrase to signify that the world relies for its existence on people who exercise self-restraint when they quarrel with others. So while the phrase relates to divine power as made manifest in suspended heavenly bodies, it can alternatively be seen as referring to the suspense that the world experiences while waiting to see whether two opposing parties will fight to the bitter end or will hold themselves back in the interest of reaching a workable resolution of their differences.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This phrase is quoted in \u201c<\/span>Atta Hu Elokeinu<\/span><\/em>,\u201d a poem sung on the High Holidays which is also recited by some during <\/span>seudah shlisheet<\/span><\/em>, the Shabbat afternoon meal. This liturgical placement of the phrase, with its double meaning, fits with the relationship that both Rosh Hashana and Shabbat have to the royal aspect of the divine personality, in one case seen in the imagery of a divine coronation celebrated at the New Year, and in the other in the notion of a Shabbat Queen. To a twenty-first century ear that hears chords struck by conceptions of <\/span>human<\/span><\/em> royalty as off-key (at best), the harmonics of <\/span>divine<\/span><\/em> royalty might be imagined as emanating from the tension reflected in verse 7 between the power to command what seems impossible to achieve and the humility which allows that power to be limited so that all voices can be heard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Job knows this tension all too well. The book that bears his name investigates the human inclination to demand a hearing in the face of ultimate power.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68638,"alt":"","title":"is61-humble","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble.png","width":1280,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-200x300.png","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-683x1024.png","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-683x1024.png","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble.png","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-800x1200.png","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-280x420.png","home_baner-width":280,"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":"Power And Humility","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Suspended on nothingness? 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Job insists that he will remain true to his impeccable character, refusing to submit to his friends\u2019 theology which calls for a confession to sin he knows to be a lie: \u201cMy lips will speak no wrong, Nor my tongue utter deceit\u201d (27:4). Job then resorts to the Hebrew term <\/span>chalilah<\/span><\/em> that became idiomatic in contemporary Hebrew and its Yiddish analogue for expressing the sentiment \u201cGod forbid\u201d- \u201cFar be it from me (<\/span>chalilah<\/span><\/em>) to say you are right.\u201d (5) The term bears a sense of profanation or defilement. What the friends urge him to do is tantamount to a defilement of what is sacred, the precise opposite of what they think would be a sanctification of life and God. But Job is precise in his language that to submit to their theology would entail falsifying his life which itself would be to compromise his righteousness: \u201cUntil I die I will maintain my blamelessness.\u201d Job expresses his unwillingness to surrender the reputation he has possessed since the very first verse of the book as \u201cblameless and upright.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The term however strikes at the very heart of the friends\u2019 insipid theology, for it resonates with implications for God\u2019s governance, signified in its very first appearances in Genesis. When God reveals His intention to destroy Sodom, Abraham responds with an argument against the wholesale slaughter of an entire community that commences with the very same term, and, as Rashi would have it, \u201cIt is profane for You (<\/span>chalilah<\/span><\/em>) to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent (<\/span>tzaddik<\/span><\/em>) as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. It is profane for You (<\/span>chalilah<\/span><\/em>)! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?\u201d (Gen 18:25). Likewise, when a stolen object is discovered in Benjamin\u2019s possession, his brothers assume corporate responsibility for it. Joseph, in his capacity as a governing official, rejects their offer, adopting the term to express the same principle, \u201cIt is profane for me (<\/span>chalilah<\/span><\/em>) to act thus! Only he in whose possession the goblet was found shall be my slave\u201d (Gen 44:17). The term thus stands for a basic principle of justice that demands individual culpability and renounces punishment that would indiscriminately target the innocent and guilty (<\/span>tzaddik<\/span><\/em>) alike.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Thus, what Job is claiming is that to submit to the friends\u2019 argument and admit guilt when in fact he is innocent would be to violate that sacrosanct principle that confusing the innocent with the guilty fundamentally undermines the entire notion of justice. Job brilliantly incorporates forms of the term \u2018innocence\u2019 (<\/span>tzedek<\/span><\/em>) to hammer home his stance- \u201cFar be it from me to say you are right (root of <\/span>tzedek<\/span><\/em>)\u2026I persist in my righteousness (root of <\/span>tzedek<\/span><\/em>) and will not yield.\u201d (Job 27:5-6) In other words, to admit to their <\/span>tzedek<\/span><\/em> would be to fraudulently incriminate himself as guilty, ironically desecrating that fundamental tenet of justice espoused by Abraham and Joseph to which God Himself 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