{"id":98306,"date":"2018-07-09T18:02:07","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1171\/"},"modified":"2022-02-02T19:45:27","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T17:45:27","slug":"wall-1171","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1171\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20250511-to-20250517"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1171","date_from":"20250511","date_to":"20250517","book":"Nehemiah","books_group":"Writings","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"98461","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Vayera: Training in Hospitality ","post_title":"Vayera: Training in Hospitality","slug":"vayera-training-in-hospitality","old_id":"98461","type":"song","iframe":"","writer":{"id":98460,"post_title":"Irene Lancaster","slug":"irene-lancaster","old_id":"98460","first_name":"Irene ","last_name":"Lancaster ","description":"Dr. Irene Lancaster is a Bible scholar, theologian and historian, who chairs the Broughton Park Dialogue Group, Greater Manchester, UK. Irene contributes regularly on Jewish and global subjects to the international network, Christian Today.","short_description":"Dr. Irene Lancaster is a Bible scholar, theologian and historian, who chairs the Broughton Park Dialogue Group, Greater Manchester, UK.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":98462,"alt":"","title":"irene lancaster","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/irene-lancaster.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/irene-lancaster.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/irene-lancaster.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/irene-lancaster.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":150,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/irene-lancaster.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":150,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/irene-lancaster.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":150,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/irene-lancaster.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":150,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/irene-lancaster.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":150,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/irene-lancaster.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":150}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1171","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Let\u2019s hope that the world leaders meeting in Glasgow in a week or two - in this shmita year - are inspired by our Patriarch, Abraham, to do their best for the world, our children and our grandchildren.","post_main_content_content":"

The parsha this week is Vayera (Genesis 18-22),\u00a0which means And God appeared\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

God appears to 99-year-old Abraham in the heat of the day, three days after his circumcision. God tests Abraham by sending him three visitors. Together with wife Sarah, Abraham rushes to offer as much hospitality as possible to these three strangers. The strangers turn out to be angels, i.e. guiding lights, but Abraham of course hadn\u2019t known that.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

This story is a paradigm for our own age. As we come out of Covid, the UK will be hosting the\u00a0UN Climate Conference<\/a>\u00a0(COP26) in Glasgow from October 31st-November 12th.<\/p>\r\n

During the Covid epidemic, many forms of hospitality have increased. There are tales of people contacting their neighbors \u2013 and even people they didn\u2019t know - in order to help with shopping and other services. This emphasis on lovingkindness throughout the world is based on one of the seminal teachings of Judaism, epitomized by our present Parsha.<\/p>\r\n

Even more so this shmita year, we are also encouraged to respect the land that the book of Genesis encourages us to \u2018serve\u2019 through working with it in a mindful way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The shmita year and tackling climate change go together.\u00a0In our global community we are all connected, and of all Biblical characters, Abraham epitomizes this positive trait of chesed<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n

Chesed <\/em>is often translated as \u2018lovingkindness\u2019. But chesed<\/em> also means faithfulness, loyalty, trustworthiness, reliability and steadfastness.<\/p>\r\n

What the world needs now is reliable leadership \u2013 also epitomized by Abraham, the \u2018servant\u2019 par excellence, who puts himself out to help the wayfarer.<\/p>\r\n

From the reading of Vayera, we can become inspired to train ourselves in hospitality, by doing it little and often \u2013 phoning a lonely person; offering to do shopping; tending someone else\u2019s garden; picking up street litter \u2013 the list goes on and on, until it becomes internalized and part of our daily routine.<\/p>\r\n

As we come out of Covid and slowly return to normal, this teaching from Abraham\u2019s life might inform us as to the way forward \u2013 let\u2019s hope that the world leaders meeting in Glasgow in a week or two - in this shmita year\u00a0 - are inspired by our Patriarch, Abraham, to do their best for the world, our children and our grandchildren.<\/p>\r\n

The shmita year began on Rosh Hashanah 2021<\/span>! Shmita means a sabbatical year for the Earth but also for ourselves, our communities, and our world. Each week we continue to 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

See here for more information on the Hazon Shmita project, and its blogs.<\/a><\/p>","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":"Vayera: Training in Hospitality","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"in conjunction with 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Akedah Project","post_title":"The Akedah 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The Akedah Project explores the story of the Binding of Isaac (\u201cakedah<\/em>\u201d means \u201cbinding\u201d in Hebrew), which is one of the most confounding narratives in the Bible. Scholars, rabbis, artists, teachers, poets, and readers have tried to make sense of this story for millennia, which has given us a range of lenses through which we can read it, even as we bring the new questions, ideas, and perspectives that come with every new generation of readers.<\/p>\r\n

We have invited some of the most prominent scholars, teachers, thinkers, activists, and artists to investigate and present the story in their own way.<\/p>\r\n

Here you will find more than 30 videos, each offering coming to the Akedah from a different angle. If you like what you see here, The Akedah Project is just the beginning. We believe that a plurality of voices can be brought together to explore the vast canon of Jewish literature. Tradition tells us that the Torah has \u201cseventy faces,\u201d and we look forward to exploring them with you.<\/p>\r\n

Click here for the full collection of videos at the Akedah 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Vayera","tile_main_caption":"The Akedah Project","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Music, art, videos, 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clarification of the fortress of Shushan\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In the opening verse of the first chapter of his book, Nehemiah says that he was in <\/span>Shushan habira<\/span><\/em>. Shushan was the capital of the Persian empire, and in Hebrew today, <\/span>bira<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means \u201ccapital (city).\u201d So why do the recent English translations render the word as \u201cfortress\u201d or \u201ccitadel\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Well, the word, borrowed into Hebrew from Akkadian, originally meant fortress. Another example of this usage can be found in the next chapter of the book, when Nehemiah asks the king for supplies for his trip to Jerusalem: \u201ctimber for roofing the gatehouses of the temple fortress (<\/span>bira<\/span><\/em>) and the city walls and for the house I shall occupy.\u201d (Nehemiah 2:8). In this verse, the word is clearly referring to a building, not the entire city.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The phrase <\/span>Shushan habira<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is perhaps even more familiar to use from its frequent use in the book of Esther. In that book, there are times where that phrase is used, but in other cases, there is mention of <\/span>ha\u2019ir Shushan<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cthe City of Shushan.\u201d They aren\u2019t synonyms, because in some verses (Esther 3:15, 8:14-15), both phrases are used.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Once we understand that <\/span>bira<\/span><\/em>\u00a0meant \u201cfortress\u201d and was distinct from the City of Shushan, some passages in Esther become more clear.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For example, in Esther 1:5 it says that the king made a banquet in his garden for everyone who lived in <\/span>Shushan HaBira<\/span><\/em>. If it referred to the entire city, it would be hard to understand how thousands of people could fit in his garden. But if it was only for those who lived in the king's fortress, it is a reasonable (although still impressive) number.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Additionally, in Esther 9:6, it says that the Jews killed 500 men in <\/span>Shushan habira<\/span><\/em>. But in Esther 9:15 it describes how after receiving permission from the king, the Jews killed 300 people in the city of Shushan. This indicates two different incidents.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So if <\/span>bira<\/span><\/em>\u00a0doesn\u2019t mean \u201ccity\u201d, why does it mean \u201ccapital city\u201d today? It is not clear exactly when the practice began, but already in medieval Jewish books we find references to capital cities such as Prague, Amsterdam, and Venice with the title <\/span>habira<\/span><\/em>. It seems that at some point, people didn\u2019t realize that there was a difference between <\/span>Ha\u2019Ir <\/span>Shushan<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Shushan habira<\/span><\/em>, and thought that <\/span>bira<\/span><\/em>\u00a0was an adjective that described the city of Shushan. And so today those two are placed together: <\/span>ir bira<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means \u201ccapital city.\u201d I\u2019m sure Nehemiah would be thrilled to hear that most people who say <\/span>bira<\/span><\/em>\u00a0today think of Jerusalem, and not Shushan.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98383,"alt":"","title":"neh1-castle fortress","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress.png","width":1920,"height":1278,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-300x200.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-768x511.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-1024x682.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1022,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1278,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-1200x799.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":799,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-631x420.png","home_baner-width":631,"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":"Capital Idea","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Important clarification of the fortress of Shushan","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98383,"alt":"","title":"neh1-castle fortress","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress.png","width":1920,"height":1278,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-300x200.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-768x511.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-1024x682.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1022,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1278,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-1200x799.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":799,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh1-castle-fortress-631x420.png","home_baner-width":631,"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":"Nehemiah","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"852","date":"20281204","wall_id":"852"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"98414","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Nehemiah, Man Of Faith ","post_title":"Nehemiah, Man Of Faith","slug":"nehemiah-man-of-faith","old_id":"98414","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":"853","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Loyal to the king, and to the King\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

While Nehemiah would have been able to attribute his successes to good fortune or to his own astuteness, he instead gives God the credit whenever he succeeds. Like Eliezer before him (see Genesis 24:12, 21, 26-7) God is very much a part of his planning and his actions. Nehemiah offers a prayer to God before requesting materiel from the king (v. 4); when the king grants his requests, he feels God\u2019s benevolence (v. 8); he claims that his plans are the result of God placing ideas into his head (v. 12); he encourages his beleaguered countrymen by sharing with them the inspiration that he draws from God\u2019s considerate treatment (v. 18); and he refutes the anti-Semitic mocking of Somballat and Tobiah by telling them that God has and will continue to assist him (v. 20.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cGod-talk,\u201d like what Nehemiah tells the Jews of Jerusalem and his adversaries, could simply be the ploy of a secularist who uses religion to achieve his ulterior motives. However, Nehemiah\u2019s deep sincerity comes across when he prays privately in the hope that his desires be fulfilled, and his overwhelming sense of being the object of God\u2019s benevolence whenever his plans prove successful.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

MalbIm explains that Nehemiah\u2019s prayer described in v. 4, consisted of a \u201cdouble entendre,\u201d i.e., he would say \u201cking\u201d when he entreated Artaxerxes, but would actually have in mind the Divine king, God Himself. And whenever the this-worldly king granted his requests, Nehemiah parsed this as if God had answered his prayers. MalbIm\u2019s interpretation is reminiscent of the mystical rabbinic comment regarding Megillat Esther, to the effect that despite there not being a single explicit mention of God in the biblical text, every time the word h<\/em><\/span>a-melech<\/span><\/i> (\u201cthe king\u201d) appears, it is an implicit reference to the heavenly king.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nehemiah, as the king\u2019s cupbearer, and Esther the queen, who joins Ahasuerus\u2019 harem replacing Vashti, were court Jews, whose true religious aspirations had to be kept hidden, in order to surreptitiously assist their Jewish brothers and sisters while serving in a non-Jewish government.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As part of his secret mission, Nehemiah described travelling alone in the middle of the night, without the\u00a0 military escort that the king had sent with him, even proceeding part of the way on foot, in order to survey the ruins that he intended to rebuild (v. 12-5). Ralbag (1288-1344) interprets Nehemiah\u2019s actions pragmatically, with the word <\/span>sover<\/span><\/em> (\u201csurvey\u201d) connoting \u201ccontemplating\u201d the difficulty of the work that lay ahead in light of the massive destruction that the walls of the city suffered at the hands of the invading army and the fires that had been lit. In contrast, R. Binyamin ben Yehuda (1285?-1330) understands the word <\/span>sover<\/span><\/em> as a cognate of Psalms 145:15 \u201cThe eyes of all look to You <\/span>yesabeiru<\/em> <\/span>(expectantly,) and You give them their food when it is due,\u201d suggesting that Nehemiah once again trusted in God to help in the rebuilding of the holy city.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Robert Alter, while acknowledging that its purpose is \u201cto present a kind of honor roll of all those who had played an active part in the rebuilding of the walls of the city,\u201d nevertheless wrote of our chapter:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The entire passage through to the end of verse 32 is articulated in stereotyped formulaic phrases and is surely one of the least interesting in the Bible\u2026 In general, biblical literature exhibits a certain attachment to lists and genealogies that is unlikely to be congenial to modern readers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Curiously, a very different opinion is presented by a Mishnah that stipulates that the books of Ezra and Chronicles were read to the Kohen Gadol, the high priest, on Yom Kippur night to ensure that he would not fall asleep! (Yoma 1:6).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I would submit that the task of interpretation is to prevent the merely arcane from becoming archaic. Interpretation makes the difference between seeing the Bible as entertainingly antiquarian or accepting it as a valid and vital factor in determining lifestyles and attitudes. The task facing religious education is to facilitate the encounters between the biblical text and the modern reader through the benevolent medium of interpretation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Here are just some of the items of \u201cinterest\u201d in this chapter:<\/span><\/p>\r\n