{"id":94932,"date":"2018-07-09T18:00:53","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1157\/"},"modified":"2022-02-02T19:44:47","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T17:44:47","slug":"wall-1157","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1157\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20250202-to-20250208"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1157","date_from":"20250202","date_to":"20250208","book":"Job","books_group":"Writings","hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":"","updates_last_update":"28\/06\/2020","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"95305","color":"#e8ecf6","size":"2","name":"Devarim: Zion Will Be Redeemed Through Justice","post_title":"Devarim: Zion Will Be Redeemed Through Justice","slug":"devarim-zion-will-be-redeemed-through-justice","old_id":"95305","type":"song","iframe":"","writer":{"id":87226,"post_title":"David Mevorach Seidenberg","slug":"david-mevorach-seidenberg","old_id":"87226","first_name":"David Mevorach ","last_name":"Seidenberg ","description":"Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg is the creator of neohasid.org and the author of Kabbalah and Ecology: God\u2019s Image in the More-Than-Human World. He teaches throughout the world on Jewish thought and ecology, human rights and animal rights, and is an avid dancer and teacher of nigunim.","short_description":"Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg is the creator of neohasid.org and the author of Kabbalah and Ecology: God\u2019s Image in the More-Than-Human World. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":87227,"alt":"","title":"David Seidenberg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Seidenberg.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Seidenberg.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Seidenberg.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Seidenberg.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":150,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Seidenberg.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":150,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Seidenberg.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":150,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Seidenberg.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":150,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Seidenberg.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":150,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/David-Seidenberg.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":150}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1157","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"On Tisha B\u2019Av, we imagine that the land mourns with us. But from God\u2019s perspective, which is closer to an ecological perspective, the well-being of the land comes first.","post_main_content_content":"
<\/header>\r\n
\r\n

Deuteronomy is filled with promises about taking possession of the land of Canaan. But we always read parashat Devarim on the Shabbat before Tisha B\u2019Av, when we remember that our ancestors lost possession of that land, and went into exile.<\/p>\r\n

The Torah teaches that the way to live long in the land is not by having the strongest army, but by fulfilling the covenant of the Torah. And it tells us that one mitzvah is most important for making this happen: the Sabbatical or Shmita year, when the land rests.<\/p>\r\n

The Shmita year is a prescription for living sustainably upon the earth. Not only does the land rest every seventh year, but the year following every seventh Shmita year \u2014 the fiftieth year of Jubilee \u2014 every family returns to the land it received when the land was first distributed among the Israelite tribes.<\/p>\r\n

That means that in a world where Shmita is observed, poverty can never become permanent, the land is always renewed, and justice becomes the foundation of relations among human beings and between the people and the land. Harmony reigns in a tripartite covenant between God, the people, and the land.<\/p>\r\n

God\u2019s commitment to the land is paramount. If we follow the prescriptions, we will \u201cdwell in the land securely\u201d (Lev. 26:5<\/a>). If not, God promises to wipe out the people and send the surviving remnant into exile. It\u2019s as if God were telling us, \u201cI love you and I love the land, but if you make me choose between you, then I choose the land.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Choosing the land paradoxically means devastating the land (26:32<\/a>). But God makes an additional promise to the land: all the days of exile she will rest, and make up for the rest that the Israelites denied her. Leviticus 26 promises that the land will \u201cenjoy\u201d or \u201cdesire\u201d her sabbaths, or, in another translation, she will \u201cdesire\u201d or demand her sabbaths \u2014 tirtzeh et shabtoteha<\/em> (34-35<\/a>). The land, so to speak, actively anticipates the rest due her.<\/p>\r\n

According to Second Chronicles, the people were exiled \u201cuntil the land enjoyed her sabbaths, all the days of her desolation when she rested, until seventy years were filled\u201d (36:21<\/a>).<\/p>\r\n

That is the opposite of what we read in Lamentations, where the land itself suffers from exile alongside the people: \u201cZion\u2019s roads are mourning\u2026 Zion stretched our her hands, there is no comfort for her\u2026\" (Lam 1:4<\/a>). On Tisha B\u2019Av, we imagine that the land mourns with us. But from God\u2019s perspective, which is closer to an ecological perspective, the well-being of the land comes first. When humanity violates the land, it dooms itself to be treated like a plague from which the land must become healed.<\/p>\r\n

The haftarah for Devarim ends: \u201cZion will be redeemed through justice\u201d that means justice for people and for the earth. It means living in alignment both with the land and with divine intention. May we learn to live thus, as the Shmita year teaches us.<\/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":"Devarim: Zion Will Be Redeemed Through Justice: What Shmita Teaches Us About Tisha B\u2019Av And The Promise Of Devarim","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":"1157"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"95146","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"The River of Death\u00a0 ","post_title":"The River of Death\u00a0","slug":"the-river-of-death","old_id":"95146","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":"781","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"\u201cStyx and Stones\u201d may really break his bones\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Elihu paraphrased Job\u2019s claim of innocence: <\/span>\u201cI am guiltless, free from transgression; I am innocent, without iniquity. But He finds reasons to oppose me, considers me His enemy. He puts my feet in stocks, watches all my ways\u201d (9-11). To Job\u2019s complaint that God will not dispute with him, Elihu\u2019s reply is that God communicates in several ways. One is \u201cin a dream, a night vision\u201d (15), but if that does not suffice to \u201cturn man away from an [unwarranted] action\u201d (17), \u201cHe is reproved by pains on his bed\u201d (19).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Through suffering, Elihu claimed, \u201c[God] spares him from the Pit, his person from perishing by the sword\u201d (18). While there is a broad consensus on the identification of <\/span>shachat<\/span><\/em>, the Pit, a recognized synonym of Sheol, the netherworld (cf. Psalms 16:10), there is a significant alternative to the translation of <\/span>shelach<\/span><\/em> as sword. Gordis translated <\/span>me`avor ba-shelach<\/span><\/em> as \u201ccrossing the river of Death,\u201d comparing it with the River Styx of Greek mythology, and Alter translated it as \u201cthe Current,\u201d noting:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The translation concurs with one line of interpreters who conclude that the Hebrew <\/span>shelah<\/span><\/em>, which can mean weapon as well as stream, is a parallel to the Pit and refers to a mythological river, such as the one known in Mesopotamia and mythology that marks the boundary of the realm of death.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: The River Styx, Gustave Dor\u00e9 (1861)<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95152,"alt":"","title":"job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","width":500,"height":391,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx-300x235.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":235,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":391,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","large-width":500,"large-height":391,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":391,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":391,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":391,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","home_baner-width":500,"home_baner-height":391}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The River of Death\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"\u201cStyx and Stones\u201d may really break his bones","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95152,"alt":"","title":"job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","width":500,"height":391,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx-300x235.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":235,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":391,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","large-width":500,"large-height":391,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":391,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":391,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":391,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job33-Dor\u00e9_-_Styx.jpg","home_baner-width":500,"home_baner-height":391}},"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":"33","chapter_main_number":"781","date":"20280827","wall_id":"781"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"95192","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Insensitive Theology ","post_title":"Insensitive Theology","slug":"insensitive-theology","old_id":"95192","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":"782","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Does God really want a defense that comes at a sufferer\u2019s expense?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In Chapter 34, we continue to read the words of Elihu, who began his speech two chapters ago, and who is far from empathetic with respect to Job\u2019s complaints. Elihu was not originally listed among Job\u2019s \u201cfriends,\u201d and only speaks after concluding that the three men who originally came to \u201csupport\u201d Job, would not have anything further to contribute (32:1,5). Whereas the \u201cfriends\u201d focused upon what they insisted were Job\u2019s iniquities and transgressions, Elihu stressed how God always \u201cknew\u201d what he was doing, however irrational such actions might appear to human beings. We can therefore understand why God was \u201cupset\u201d by the \u201cfriends\u2019\u201d approach (42:7,) but excluded Elihu from His condemnation of them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In chapter 34 Elihu describes God\u2019s careful personal supervision of each of us (v. 7-33). This could be said to be his overall approach throughout his presentation (32:6-37:24).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While Elihu\u2019s belief in God\u2019s justice and the objective moral universe that He has created, is broadly consistent with being \u201cGod-fearing,\u201d readers of the book of Job find themselves in a distinct quandary.\u00a0 We have been given \u201cinsider\u201d information at the outset of the story (1:6-12; 2:1-6,) that God has in fact arbitrarily allowed the Satan to conduct an experiment to test the character of a righteous man, and that Job\u2019s upset is justified! While many religious individuals will be sympathetic to an emphasis upon <\/span>hashgacha pratit<\/em> <\/span>(\"<\/span>individual divine supervision<\/span>,\") how are they to read Elihu\u2019s defense of the Divine, knowing that his position is inaccurate, at least as far as Job is concerned? And if one was to counter that the tale is definitively not a Jewish one, and that Elihu, as opposed to Job, is in fact correct, a) the book of Job has been included in the <\/span>Jewish <\/span><\/i>canon, and b) according to Bava Batra 14b, Moses is even its author!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin\u2019s (The Netziv, 1863-93) introduction to Genesis where he explains why the secondary name of the book is <\/span>Sefer HaYashar<\/span><\/em> (\u201cthe book of righteousness\u201d) may prove helpful in understanding the point of the book of Job in general, and Elihu\u2019s speech in particular. R. Berlin notes that, the generations of the patriarchs and matriarchs treated everyone, even pagans, with deference and respect. Yet many engage in \u201cneedless hatred,\u201d and are quick, without qualification or justification, to label anyone disagreeing with them and their worldview, as a Sadducee or heretic, a possible interpretation of Elihu\u2019s withering critique of Job.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While we may not agree with some views articulated by others, we have no right to disparage them, particularly if they are suffering terribly, and thus are specially protected by the prohibition against <\/span>ona\u2019at devarim<\/em> <\/span>(causing affliction via words\u2014see Bava Metzia 58b). While Elihu was defending God\u2019s honor, in the process of offering such protection, he was insensitive to another\u2019s plight. Does God wish for such a defense when it can come only at a sufferer\u2019s expense?<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95193,"alt":"","title":"job34-lone suffering pain","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain.jpg","width":1920,"height":1635,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-300x255.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":255,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-768x654.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":654,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-1024x872.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":872,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1308,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1635,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-1200x1022.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1022,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-493x420.jpg","home_baner-width":493,"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":"Insensitive Theology","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Does God really want a defense that comes at a sufferer\u2019s expense?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95193,"alt":"","title":"job34-lone suffering pain","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain.jpg","width":1920,"height":1635,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-300x255.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":255,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-768x654.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":654,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-1024x872.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":872,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1308,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1635,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-1200x1022.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1022,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job34-lone-suffering-pain-493x420.jpg","home_baner-width":493,"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":"34","chapter_main_number":"782","date":"20280828","wall_id":"782"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"95220","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Truth, But Not The Whole Truth ","post_title":"Truth, But Not The Whole Truth","slug":"truth-but-not-the-whole-truth","old_id":"95220","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":92270,"post_title":"Shimon Lerner","slug":"shimon-lerner","old_id":"92270","first_name":"Shimon ","last_name":"Lerner ","description":"Shimon Lerner teaches physics at the JCT Lev Academic Center in Jerusalem. He received his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the field of condensed matter physics.","short_description":"Shimon Lerner teaches physics at the JCT Lev Academic Center in Jerusalem. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92271,"alt":"","title":"shimon lerner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/shimon-lerner.jpg","width":692,"height":852,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/shimon-lerner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/shimon-lerner-244x300.jpg","medium-width":244,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/shimon-lerner.jpg","medium_large-width":692,"medium_large-height":852,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/shimon-lerner.jpg","large-width":692,"large-height":852,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/shimon-lerner.jpg","1536x1536-width":692,"1536x1536-height":852,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/shimon-lerner.jpg","2048x2048-width":692,"2048x2048-height":852,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/shimon-lerner.jpg","post_full_size-width":692,"post_full_size-height":852,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/shimon-lerner-341x420.jpg","home_baner-width":341,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"783","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A key word reveals a type of seeing that leaves more hidden than revealed\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The character of Elihu introduces a new puzzle for us readers. Where does he fit into the picture?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He is angry and presumably does not agree with either Job or his friends. Job does not bother to answer him. Is Job merely ignoring him or is he actually conceding?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God appears immediately after he speaks. Some of their points are similar. Yet, in the final chapter God makes no mention of him. Does that mean he is pleased with him, or does it mean he is not worth mentioning?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Is Elihu preparing the way for the Godly revelation, or is he just completely off-base?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Once again there is a key word that gives us some clarification.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The key word here is \"<\/span>Teshurenu<\/span><\/em>\" (Job 35, 13, 14) meaning to see from afar (root:\u00a0 <\/span>shin-vav-reish<\/span><\/em>). It first appears in the Bible in Balaam's blessings of Israel - \"As I see them from the mountain tops, Gaze on them (<\/span>Ashurenu<\/span><\/em>) from the heights\" (Numbers 23, 9).\u00a0 Again, before he finishes - \"What I see for them is not yet, What I behold (<\/span>Ashurenu<\/span><\/em>) will not be soon\" (Numbers 24, 17). These verses imply a distance both in space and in time. This type of seeing leaves, perhaps, more hidden than revealed. These are the only two appearances of this verb in all the five books of Moses.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While rarely appearing elsewhere in the Bible (only three or four other times), this form of the verb makes no less than ten appearances in the book of Job, with six in Elihu's chapters alone! Perhaps this juxtaposition was part of Rabbi Akiva's reasoning when he identified Elihu as Balaam in the Jerusalem Talmud (Sotah 5:6).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Interestingly almost all the appearances in Job are in the negative form. Either \"<\/span>Lo Yeshurena<\/span><\/em>\" - it will not be perceived or \"<\/span>Mi Yeshurenu<\/span><\/em>\" - Who can perceive? further emphasizing the inability to completely grasp the mind of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Elihu leaves Job with an uncomfortable truth. You may not receive a complete and satisfying answer. God is transcendent and does not truly care about you (Job 35, 5-7). Even when he does make contact it is not on even ground. While Job may not agree, this is not something he can argue about. He and his friends may have assumed otherwise, but this is not a claim they can easily refute.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Elihu is preparing Job for the upcoming revelation, while at the same time, tempering Job's expectations from it. It will be at best a revelation \"from afar\".<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Is he correct? Is this indeed the nature of God's upcoming revelation to Job? That remains to be explored. While it is definitely something Job needed to hear, it may not be the whole truth.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, God allows Elihu to hold on to this perspective. If you believe I am far away and uninterested, so shall I indeed behave towards you. That is why God makes no mention of him in the end.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":52333,"alt":"","title":"dt32-truth","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth.jpg","width":1920,"height":603,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-300x94.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":94,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-768x241.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":241,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-1024x322.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":322,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":482,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":603,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-1200x377.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":377,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-1337x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1337,"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":"Truth, But Not The Whole Truth","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A key word reveals a type of seeing that leaves more hidden than revealed","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":52333,"alt":"","title":"dt32-truth","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth.jpg","width":1920,"height":603,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-300x94.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":94,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-768x241.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":241,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-1024x322.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":322,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":482,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":603,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-1200x377.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":377,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-truth-1337x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1337,"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":"35","chapter_main_number":"783","date":"20280829","wall_id":"783"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"95217","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"Elihu Revolutionizes Job\u2019s Perspective ","post_title":"Elihu Revolutionizes Job\u2019s Perspective","slug":"elihu-revolutionizes-jobs-perspective","old_id":"95217","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":"783","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Job expected God to take responsibility for giving meaning to Job\u2019s suffering. In fact, the reverse is true\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cWe must perform a kind of Copernican Revolution, and give the question of the meaning of life an entirely new twist . . .it is not up to man to question; rather, he should recognize that he is questioned by life; he has to respond by being responsible;\"\u00a0<\/span><\/em>(<\/span><\/i>Viktor Frankl, <\/span>The Doctor and the Soul).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

For Frankl, meaning does not revolve around a person\u2019s desires; rather, her life revolves around unconditional meaningfulness. At all times, the burning question should be \u201chow can I best respond to the possibilities for meaning that are present in the here and now?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Elihu nudges Job to take responsibility for finding meaning in his life. He implies that while Job has indeed suffered blamelessly, it is not productive for Job to call God to account because it is Job himself \u2013 not God \u2013 who is responsible for giving meaning to Job\u2019s tragedy.\u00a0 Elihu observes <\/span>I\u2019ve heard what you\u2019ve said . . . I\u2019m pure. I\u2019m without sin \u2026. Nevertheless, God has found a pretext to attack me; he considers me his enemy . . . . You aren\u2019t right about this; My response is that God is greater than human beings:\u00a0 Why are you arguing with him? He doesn\u2019t have to give explanations for what he does to you!<\/em> <\/span>(Job 33:9-10, 12-13) <\/span>Elihu further notes <\/span>that Job \u201ccommunicated only worthlessness; he added words upon words without knowing anything [about God]\u201d (Job 35:16).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Job expected God to take responsibility for giving meaning to Job\u2019s suffering. In fact, the reverse is true. God is not answerable to anyone. It follows that until Job ceases demanding an explanation he may remain \u201cstuck\u201d in his anger and avoid the task of discovering a new meaning for his life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The reader of the book of Job may be left wondering what meaning there is to be found in a relationship with God, if God never explains the meaning of God\u2019s actions.\u00a0 Elihu hints at an alternative when he observes \u201cFrom conflict the oppressed cry out\u2026 but none says \u2018Where is God my maker who gives songs in the night? (Job 35:10).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cTo give songs in the night\u201d means that God is a source of resilience. Night is often a biblical metaphor for uncertainty, confusion, and fear. Singing is a metaphor for spiritual uplifting. To sing in the night, then, means for the person\u2019s spirit to transcend the forces of confusion and fear, until daylight returns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God may not be a reliable savior from evil. But God is there for us as a source of resilience. In this vein, King David, in the twenty-third psalm says, \u201cI will fear no evil because you are with me.\u201d David is accepting that evil may befall him. And with God\u2019s help he \u2013 and we \u2013 can surmount fear and continue living in this wonderful-awful world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Blake\u2019s illustration shows Job, who had been downcast, gazing up at Elihu, opening to new meaning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: William Blake, The Wrath of Elihu, 1821<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95218,"alt":"","title":"job35-AGoldberg - William Blake - the wrath of Elihu","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job35-AGoldberg-William-Blake-the-wrath-of-Elihu.jpg","width":2207,"height":1729,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job35-AGoldberg-William-Blake-the-wrath-of-Elihu-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job35-AGoldberg-William-Blake-the-wrath-of-Elihu-300x235.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":235,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job35-AGoldberg-William-Blake-the-wrath-of-Elihu-768x602.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":602,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job35-AGoldberg-William-Blake-the-wrath-of-Elihu-1024x802.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":802,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job35-AGoldberg-William-Blake-the-wrath-of-Elihu.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1203,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job35-AGoldberg-William-Blake-the-wrath-of-Elihu.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1604,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job35-AGoldberg-William-Blake-the-wrath-of-Elihu-1200x940.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":940,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job35-AGoldberg-William-Blake-the-wrath-of-Elihu-536x420.jpg","home_baner-width":536,"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":"Elihu Revolutionizes Job\u2019s Perspective","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Job expected God to take responsibility for giving meaning to Job\u2019s suffering. 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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":"783","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Sin and repentance don\u2019t affect God - they affect us\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

There\u2019s a famous dispute described in the Talmud between Rabbi Eliezer and the Rabbis. Rabbi Eliezer is adamant that his position is correct. He calls out different miraculous signs to prove that God agreed with him. Ultimately he calls forth a voice from heaven to second his opinion. Despite the voice siding with him, Rabbi Yehoshua stands and declares \u201cIt is not in heaven\u201d paraphrasing a verse in Deuteronomy 30:12.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Job 35, Elihu expresses a similar message. When humans sin it does not affect God. When humans repent it also does not affect God. God is all powerful and transcends time and space. How could the actions of one person even remotely cause a ripple? Ultimately it is other people who are affected. This is quite a provocative statement by Elihu that seems to fly in the face of the concept of sin and repentance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the message is also very profound. Too much focus on God\u2019s reaction can distract us from those who really are affected by our actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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With the first three of Job\u2019s friends having exited the debate about God\u2019s justice, Elihu, who seems to have been waiting patiently in the wings, now comes forward with his arguments. Elihu has grown impatient with Job\u2019s line of reasoning and effectively tells him to get off his high horse.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cWere you to have transgressed, how would you have affected God? Were you to have been righteous, how would you have benefitted Him?\u201d (35:6-7), asks Elihu. And then he gets to his main point: \u201cYour wickedness can only affect another human being, your righteousness another man (35:8).\u201d Elihu\u2019s point is not that God isn\u2019t paying attention or listening to the prayers from this world. In fact, as Elihu continues laying out his thesis he says exactly the opposite: \u201cSurely it is false that God does not listen (35:13).\u201d But there\u2019s one qualification \u2013 God only answers those deserving of His ear. (Which is not to say that our unanswered prayers necessarily point to flaws in our own character \u2013 there may well have been an answer that we ourselves didn\u2019t hear).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rav Shimon Schwab and other commentators point out that throughout Job\u2019s arguments, he focuses solely on his complaint about his personal situation and the apparent absence of justice. He talks only of himself and his right for justice. What\u2019s been lacking in Job\u2019s approach is an actual plea to God to help him be deserving of an answered prayer. So convinced that he\u2019s done nothing wrong, says Rav Schwab, for Job to ask for help was tantamount to an admission of guilt. Prayer presumes a necessary level of humility on the part of the petitioner, and that is a trait that has been patently missing from any of Job\u2019s speeches.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Regarding the issue of man\u2019s behaviour impacting God, the Ramban offered some commentary on Deuteronomy 22:6, in which he specifically referred to this chapter of Job. God gave us commandments to follow not because He benefits from our actions but solely because the performance of commandments serves to elevate humankind. And if humankind works against that purpose without redressing their wrongs, then no amount of prayer will help. Not because we\u2019ve offended God in some way, but because we have frustrated our very purpose for being.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rav Schwab, in his commentary, concludes with an idea reminiscent of the butterfly effect. God created the world to be self-sustaining, not only in nature but also in morality and holiness. When one behaves badly, that adds to the sum total of wickedness in the world and conversely, when one performs an act of righteousness, it increases the balance of holiness in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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slap in the face, or gnawing doubt, or...","post_main_content_content":"

In Chapter 36, Elihu continues to address Job. He encourages Job to believe in God\u2019s justice, and not to be distressed by the success of the wicked:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou are obsessed with the case of the wicked man, But the justice of the case will be upheld. Let anger at his affluence not mislead you; Let much bribery not turn you aside.\u201d (Job 36:17-18)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As with much of the book of Job, the phasing in these verses is difficult to translate and understand. One of the words that is most problematic here is the word translated as \u201caffluence\u201d in verse 18.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Hebrew word is <\/span>safek<\/span><\/em>, and there\u2019s even disagreement in the Biblical manuscripts whether it is spelled with a <\/span>samech<\/span><\/em>\u00a0or a <\/span>sin<\/span><\/em>. The choice to translate it as \u201caffluence\u201d was based on other occasions where the root <\/span>s-f-k<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means \u201cto satisfy.\u201d (It appears as a verb with that meaning in I Kings 20:10 and Isaiah 2:6, and as the noun \u201csatisfaction\u201d in Job 20:22).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In modern Hebrew it has a similar meaning. The <\/span>piel<\/span><\/em>\u00a0form \u2013 <\/span>sipek<\/span><\/em>\u00a0can mean both \"to satisfy\" and \"to supply\". The <\/span>hifil<\/span><\/em>\u00a0form <\/span>hispik<\/span><\/em>\u00a0can also mean \"to supply\", but also can mean \"to be sufficient, adequate, enough\" and \" to enable, to succeed\". The <\/span>hitpael<\/span><\/em>\u00a0form <\/span>histapek<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means \"to be satisfied, content\". And the exclamation <\/span>maspik<\/span><\/em>\u00a0- means \"enough!\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But there are other interpretations of this verse. One English translation renders it as \"But beware of wrath, lest he take you away with his clenched fist.\" In this case, <\/span>safek<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is translated as \u201dclenched fist,\u201d because the root <\/span>s-f-k<\/span><\/em>\u00a0can also mean \u201cto strike\u201d or \u201cto clap hands.\u201d This is the most frequent use of the root in the Bible, although it almost never has that meaning in Modern Hebrew.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A third possibility is to translate <\/span>safek<\/span><\/em>\u00a0with the meaning it took on in Rabbinic Hebrew \u2013 \u201cdoubt.\u201d Those who prefer that interpretation translate the verse as \u201cDon\u2019t let your anger mislead you with doubt [about God]\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Is there any connection between the three meanings: \u201cto satisfy,\u201d \u201cto strike\u201d and \u201cto doubt\u201d? Most scholars say no \u2013 they are independent roots. But a couple of theories have been offered. One says that \u201cto strike\u201d and \u201cto satisfy\u201d both derive from a root meaning \u201cto make a lot of noise.\u201d That applies both to the sound of the striking, as well as the noise from a home with much wealth.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Another theory says that the meanings \u201cto suffice\u201d and \u201cdoubt\u201d both come from an earlier sense meaning \u201cto bind.\u201d A thing in doubt is \u201cbound up\u201d until it is solved. And when people have sufficient affluence, it is as if it is bound to them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Are you satisfied with those explanations? I\u2019m still in doubt\u2026<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95250,"alt":"","title":"job36-affluent man rich","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich.png","width":942,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-221x300.png","medium-width":221,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-754x1024.png","medium_large-width":754,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-754x1024.png","large-width":754,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich.png","1536x1536-width":942,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich.png","2048x2048-width":942,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-883x1200.png","post_full_size-width":883,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-309x420.png","home_baner-width":309,"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":"Satisfying Affluence","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Or slap in the face, or gnawing doubt, or...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95250,"alt":"","title":"job36-affluent man rich","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich.png","width":942,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-221x300.png","medium-width":221,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-754x1024.png","medium_large-width":754,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-754x1024.png","large-width":754,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich.png","1536x1536-width":942,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich.png","2048x2048-width":942,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-883x1200.png","post_full_size-width":883,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/job36-affluent-man-rich-309x420.png","home_baner-width":309,"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":"36","chapter_main_number":"784","date":"20280830","wall_id":"784"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"95259","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Natural Law and Relational Justice ","post_title":"Natural Law and Relational Justice","slug":"natural-law-and-relational-justice","old_id":"95259","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":93055,"post_title":"J.J. Kimche","slug":"j-j-kimche","old_id":"93055","first_name":"J.J. ","last_name":"Kimche ","description":"J.J. Kimche is a student, teacher, translator, archiver, and writer of Jewish texts. He is currently a PhD candidate at Harvard University, specialising in Jewish intellectual history. ","short_description":"J.J. Kimche is a student, teacher, translator, archiver, and writer of Jewish texts, and a PhD candidate at Harvard University in Jewish intellectual history. ","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":"785","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Like most of Elihu\u2019s arguments, this offering is superficially profound yet profoundly superficial\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Can you help him stretch out the heavens, Firm as a mirror of cast metal? Inform us, then, what we may say to Him; We cannot argue because [we are in] darkness.<\/em> <\/span>(37:18-20)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the introductory chapter to his monumental work of political philosophy <\/span>The Open Society and its Enemies<\/span><\/i>, Karl Popper (1902-1994) posed the following philosophical-anthropological question: When and how did the political development of societies begin? What cognitive epiphany, what paradigm shift, allowed humans to advance from primitive tribal arrangements to complex, multi-dimensional metropolises and empires? The philosophical revolution came to fruition, Popper claims, when humans managed to divorce natural law from social convention. Prehistoric societies were characterised by the belief that the habits and customs of the tribe \u2013 including cultic worship, hierarchies of dominance, and taboos of food and sex \u2013 were as immutable as the rising of the sun. Everything was the way it was precisely because the world presented no alternative. History, however, properly began when humans realised that while one could not revoke natural law (gravity is gravity) one could alter human practices and ordinances. Unlike the rigidity of natural processes, social processes are dynamic, evolutionary, and alterable. The separation of nature and society granted humans the cognitive capacity to adapt their social spaces and modes of self-governance, heralding the start of political history.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Whether or not Popper\u2019s analysis is historically correct, the sharp separation between natural and interpersonal processes is of philosophical import, not least to the text in this chapter. Elihu, on the cusp of exhausting his patience as well as his battery of philosophical arguments, makes one last-ditch attempt at convincing Job of the error of his ways. Elihu points out that God quite clearly orchestrates a magnificent system of nature that, despite its mystery and impenetrability, is nonetheless a finely balanced and smoothly functioning system. God, whose knowledge of all the interlocking components is beyond human comprehension, may be trusted to create a perfectly coherent natural cosmos. Does it not stand to reason that he dispenses justice in a similar manner \u2013 inscrutable and yet perfectly coherent? If God tailors creation to perfect specifications can he not be trusted to tailor his actions to the specifications of justice?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like most of Elihu\u2019s arguments, this offering is superficially profound yet profoundly superficial. The comparison between orchestrating nature and orchestrating justice is seductive, yet unsatisfactory. As Popper knew well, humans are not entirely natural beings. They are capable of self-reflection, moral reasoning, growth of character, individual choice, and self-transcendence. One cannot measure the worth of a person as one would measure a river or an earthquake. The relational dimension, the consideration of a human as an end in itself, is an essential consideration in the dispensation of justice. Elihu, having failed to articulate even this essential point, is summarily dismissed from the stage.<\/span><\/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":"Natural Law and Relational Justice","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Like most of Elihu\u2019s arguments, this offering is superficially profound yet profoundly superficial\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":"37","chapter_main_number":"785","date":"20280831","wall_id":"785"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"95257","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Pounding The Heavenly Pavement ","post_title":"Pounding The Heavenly Pavement","slug":"pounding-the-heavenly-pavement","old_id":"95257","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. 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37:18 \u201c\u2018Will you pound out the skies with Him, which are as strong as a metal mirror?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The prevalent notion in the ancient Near East was that the sky was a great slab (<\/span>raqi\u2019a<\/span><\/em>, the \u201cvault\u201d of Genesis 1, a noun derived from the Hebrew verb that means \u201cto pound out\u201d). Since that verb appears only here in this particular conjugation, some interpreters understand it as \u201csoar to the skies\u201d (the sense that this conjugation of the root has in modern Hebrew). However, the reference to the solidity of the skies in the second verset makes the sense of pounding out a metallic slab more likely.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 3: Writings, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Pounding The Heavenly Pavement","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The great mirror in the sky","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Job","chapter":"37","chapter_main_number":"785","date":"20280831","wall_id":"785"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/94932"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}