{"id":98310,"date":"2018-07-09T18:02:11","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-859\/"},"modified":"2021-10-26T22:49:15","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T19:49:15","slug":"wall-859","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-859\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Writings-Nehemiah-8"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"859","date":"20281213","book":"Nehemiah","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"859","books_group":"Writings","hide_acf":true,"home_image":{"ID":31837,"id":31837,"title":"","filename":"D7A0D797D79ED799D794_D7A4D7A8D7A7_D797_small_rnleb6-1.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/D7A0D797D79ED799D794_D7A4D7A8D7A7_D797_small_rnleb6-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/%d7%a2%d7%9d-%d7%94%d7%a1%d7%a4%d7%a8-%d7%97%d7%95%d7%96%d7%a8-%d7%90%d7%9c-%d7%94%d7%a1%d7%a4%d7%a8\/attachment\/31837\/","alt":"","author":"0","description":"\u05d0\u05d9\u05d5\u05e8: 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Very First Public Reading Of The Torah ","post_title":"The Very First Public Reading Of The Torah","slug":"the-very-first-public-reading-of-the-torah","old_id":"98579","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"859","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"You saw it here first, folks\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter includes a dramatic description of what seems to have been the<\/span> first public reading of the Torah<\/span><\/a>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cEzra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; as he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, \u2018Amen, Amen,\u2019 with hands upraised. Then they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord with their faces to the ground. Jeshua\u2026Pelaiah, and the Levites explained the Torah to the people, while the people stood in their places. They read from the scroll of the Torah of God, translating it and giving the sense, so they understood the reading\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Here, Ezra is described as not only reading but also reciting a blessing while the Torah scroll was open before him, and the people are explicitly said to have stood up and remained standing while the Torah was being read, translated and explained to them. To what extent this Biblical ceremony is reflected in subsequent practice is the subject of considerable discussion in the halakhic literature.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Interestingly, according to the<\/span> Shulchan Arukh<\/span><\/a>, there is no requirement that the congregation remain standing during the reading of the Torah. According to Rabbi Moses Isserles (\u201cRema\u201d \u2013 16<\/span>th<\/span> century Poland), and Ashkenazi practice, there are those who are stringent and do stand.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Talmud Yerushalmi<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> Talmud Bavli<\/span><\/a> preserve an extensive discussion of whether the Torah Scroll should be open or closed when the blessings before and after the reading are recited. According to the 2<\/span>nd<\/span> century CE <\/span>tanna, <\/span><\/i>Rabbi Meir, when a person reads from the Torah, he should open the scroll and see the place from where he will read, roll it so that it is closed, and recite the blessing, and then he should again open the scroll, and read.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But his contemporary, Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai said that one should open the scroll, see the place from where he will read, and, without closing it again, he should recite the blessing, and read. The <\/span>gemara<\/span><\/i> explains that it is preferable that the Torah scroll be closed so that people in the congregation should not think that the blessings are written in the Torah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, the halakhah is that the Torah Scroll may remain open while the blessings are recited. Indeed, this is in line with the original practice of Ezra reflected in our chapter. Significantly, the<\/span> Shulkhan Arukh<\/span><\/a> rules that the Torah scroll remains open during the recitation of the blessing before the actual reading from the Torah, but is closed before the recitation of the blessing after the reading. In a comment appended there, the Rema suggests that when reciting the first blessing over the open Torah Scroll one should turn one\u2019s face, preferably to the left, to avoid any appearance that the blessing being recited is written in the Torah Scroll.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Menachem Halberstadt \/ 929<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98580,"alt":"","title":"neh8-ezra reading the law","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":683,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":683,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":683,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Very First Public Reading Of The Torah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"You saw it here first, folks","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98580,"alt":"","title":"neh8-ezra reading the law","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":683,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":683,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":683,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-ezra-reading-the-law-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Nehemiah","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"859","date":"20281213","wall_id":"859"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"98586","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Sukkot And Renewal ","post_title":"Sukkot And Renewal","slug":"sukkot-and-renewal","old_id":"98586","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"859","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Cycles of Torah and of life\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Nehemiah 8 describes a public Torah reading undertaken by Ezra in the seventh month of the year. The description is very similar to that prescribed by Moses in Deuteronomy 10-12. In that first public reading, which was to occur every seven years at the time of the festival of Sukkot, every man, woman, and child gathered in their cities to hear the Torah reading \u201cin order to learn about and fear God and observe all the words of the Torah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the end of Nehemiah 7 we are told that the seventh month had arrived, and all the children of Israel were in their cities. So, the timing for this public Torah reading, assuming it was also the end of a 7-year cycle, was appropriate. The description of reading the Torah \u201cin the presence of the men and the women\u2026and the ears of all the people (8:3)\u201d certainly aligns with that of Deuteronomy. Nehemiah, however, provides more detail of the execution of the public reading of the Torah, later known as <\/span>Hakhel<\/span><\/i>. Ezra stood on a wooden tower built expressly for that purpose, and opened the scroll in front of the gathering. When the scroll opened, all the people stood, Ezra blessed God and the people answered \u201camen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This cyclical public Torah reading continued until the 6<\/span>th<\/span> century BCE at which time the Jews of Israel adopted a tradition to read through the entirety of Torah in a triennial cycle. It wasn\u2019t until the Jews were exiled in Babylonia that an annual cycle of Torah reading was established. The public reading described in this chapter, in the seventh month, may, in fact, have been the completion of that cycle, which not coincidentally occurred at the same time of year that we observe Simchat Torah, the completion and restarting of our annual cycle of Torah reading.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why would God prescribe this cycle to begin an end on Sukkot and not on Shavuot, when we received the Torah, or on Rosh Hashanah when we mark the beginning of a new spiritual year? The number seven signifies a cycle of renewal in Judaism. Seven days of the week; seven weeks of counting the Omer, seven years of the Sabbatical, seven Sabbatical cycles in the Jubilee. These are all periods of agricultural and spiritual renewal, as is the Sukkot season in the seventh month: a renewal and remembrance of God\u2019s protection over His people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On Shavuot we commemorate the reception of something brand new, the giving of the Torah. Likewise on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we commemorate a new beginning \u2013 not a renewal but a rebirth, with a clean slate of forgiveness.\u00a0 But when we celebrate the cycle of Torah reading, which today happens at the very end of Sukkot, and move seamlessly from the last chapter directly into the first, we are renewing our commitment to keeping Torah, beginning our next cycle the moment we complete the last one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98587,"alt":"","title":"neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","width":640,"height":425,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":425,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":425,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":425,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":425,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":425,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas-632x420.jpg","home_baner-width":632,"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":"Sukkot And Renewal","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Cycles of Torah and of life\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98587,"alt":"","title":"neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","width":640,"height":425,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":425,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":425,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":425,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":425,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":425,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh8-Etrog_Lulav_and_Hadas-632x420.jpg","home_baner-width":632,"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":"8","chapter_main_number":"859","date":"20281213","wall_id":"859"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"98582","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"Found In Translation ","post_title":"Found In Translation","slug":"found-in-translation","old_id":"98582","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":"859","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"How they read then, and how we read now\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

We come now to one of the most memorable events in the early history of the Second Temple: the festive public Torah reading \u201con the first day of the seventh month\u201d (i.e., Tishrei, 2), Rosh Hashanah, accompanied by the renewed celebration of the holiday of Sukkot. Some of these activities have repercussions or implications for our own practices today.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

First, \u201cEzra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; as he opened it, all the people stood up\u201d (5). In many synagogues, the Torah continues to be read from a raised platform (<\/span>bimah<\/span><\/em>) and many people are still accustomed to stand during public Torah readings.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Second, the reading was accompanied by a public explanatory process: \u201cThey read from the scroll of the Teaching of God, translating it and giving the sense; so they understood the reading\u201d (8),\u201d on which the Talmud elaborated:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThey read from the scroll of the Teaching of God,\u201d refers to Scripture; \u201ctranslating,\u201d to Targum; \u201cgiving the sense,\u201d to the division of sentences; \u201cso they understood the reading,\u201d to the accentuation; others say, to the traditions, [that determine the proper vocalization of the Bible] (Nedarim 37b)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Indeed, talmudic and geonic evidence demonstrate that\u2014at least\u2014the Shabbat Torah reading was supplemented by the public intoning of the Aramaic Targum of Onkelos and some evidence indicates that <\/span>haftarot<\/span><\/em> were likewise recited in their Aramaic versions. Today, this practice survives only in a handful of congregations, almost exclusively Yemenite, wherein the reader pauses after every verse and a youngster, who is being trained to participate in the custom, chants the Targum.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":94266,"alt":"","title":"job16-translate","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate.png","width":1280,"height":867,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-300x203.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":203,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-768x520.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":520,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-1024x694.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":694,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":867,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":867,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-1200x813.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":813,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-620x420.png","home_baner-width":620,"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":"Found In Translation","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"How they read then, and how we read now","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":94266,"alt":"","title":"job16-translate","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate.png","width":1280,"height":867,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-300x203.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":203,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-768x520.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":520,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-1024x694.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":694,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":867,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":867,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-1200x813.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":813,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/job16-translate-620x420.png","home_baner-width":620,"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":"8","chapter_main_number":"859","date":"20281213","wall_id":"859"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"98574","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"My Sukkah ","post_title":"My Sukkah","slug":"my-sukkah","old_id":"98574","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. His poems have won twenty-two prizes in international poetry competitions, and he has twice been awarded fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.","short_description":"Yakov Azriel is an English language poet who lives in Israel","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36670,"alt":"","title":"Yakov.Azriel.Photo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","width":1099,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":741,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","large-width":741,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","1536x1536-width":1099,"1536x1536-height":1519,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","2048x2048-width":1099,"2048x2048-height":1519,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-868x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":868,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"859","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Have you made an appointment with God? \/ I have; \/ In my sukkah\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\"And all the congregation of those who returned from the captivity made sukkot and dwelt in sukkot ...\"<\/em> (Nehemiah 8:17)<\/p>\r\n

Have you made an appointment with God?
\r\nI have;
\r\nIn my sukkah,
\r\nA hiding-place where I rendezvous with God,
\r\nTwo members of a secret club.
\r\nSitting at the table in our tent of meeting,
\r\nSpreading cheese on a slice of bread,
\r\nI feel God\u2019s Presence next to me,
\r\nAlmost warm, almost whispering.
\r\nReading a book, I raise my eyes from the pages
\r\nAs the Shechinah hovers above me, beside me, as a Friend.
\r\nLying in a sleeping-bag at night, shaking a little in the early autumn chill,
\r\nI know I\u2019m not alone
\r\nAs I glimpse His stars through the lattice of the roof\u2019s palm-fronds;
\r\nHis closeness \u2014 almost touching;
\r\nHis Presence, rustling by,
\r\nHeard
\r\nIn the ear of the soul.<\/p>\r\n

Have you built your sukkah yet
\r\nWhere you and God can meet?
\r\nNo?
\r\nThen come by mine. There\u2019s room enough
\r\nFor three.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":80735,"alt":"","title":"ps13-sukkah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","width":801,"height":598,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah-300x224.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":224,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah-768x573.jpeg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":573,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","large-width":801,"large-height":598,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","1536x1536-width":801,"1536x1536-height":598,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","2048x2048-width":801,"2048x2048-height":598,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","post_full_size-width":801,"post_full_size-height":598,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah-563x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":563,"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":"My Sukkah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Have you made an appointment with God? \/ I have; \/ In my sukkah","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":80735,"alt":"","title":"ps13-sukkah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","width":801,"height":598,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah-300x224.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":224,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah-768x573.jpeg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":573,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","large-width":801,"large-height":598,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","1536x1536-width":801,"1536x1536-height":598,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","2048x2048-width":801,"2048x2048-height":598,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah.jpeg","post_full_size-width":801,"post_full_size-height":598,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ps13-sukkah-563x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":563,"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":"8","chapter_main_number":"859","date":"20281213","wall_id":"859"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"98584","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"From Offering Sacrifices to Torah Learning ","post_title":"From Offering Sacrifices to Torah Learning","slug":"from-offering-sacrifices-to-torah-learning","old_id":"98584","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"859","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We can see the beginning of transition","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter seems out of place. It does not fit the narrative of the book of Nehemiah and there are many questions as to where it falls on the timeline. The book of Nehemiah has mostly dealt with the building of the walls of Jerusalem and the issues with the local people. Ezra hasn\u2019t appeared in the book until now.It is unclear whether Ezra and Nehemiah ever even overlapped during their time in Jerusalem. Suddenly in this chapter, we have the entire assembly gathering in the Temple to hear Ezra read from a Torah scroll.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then there is the question of Sukkot. In Verse 15, the people discover that they should be celebrating the holiday of Sukkot. But earlier, Ezra chapter 3 describes the people as already celebrating Sukkot. \u201cThen they celebrated the festival of Tabernacles as is written\u2026\u201d (3:4).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 8 here and Chapter 3 of Ezra seem to complement each other. In both chapters the nation gathers as one; \u201cthe entire people assembled as one man in Jerusalem\u201d (Ezra 3:1), \u201cthe entire people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate\u201d (Nehemiah 8:1). In both the people celebrate Sukkot, as mentioned above.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is one major difference, though.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Ezra the ceremony is centered around the altar and sacrifices. In Nehemiah, the reading of the Torah is the essence of the ceremony. Even the Sukkot ritual is described differently. In Ezra, it is about the sacrifices while here it is about gathering the species and building the Sukkot huts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This chapter in Nehemiah seems more like a post-Second Temple narrative. It is as if this chapter is meant for the generations following the destruction of the Second Temple and not for the generation that built it. This chapter links the ritual of the Temple with the study of the Torah and the details of the laws that highlights the post-Second Temple period. Perhaps Nehemiah added this chapter specifically to link the future ritual and learning centered Talmudic Judaism, with the sacrificial Temple cult of the past.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48536,"alt":"","title":"Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat.jpg","width":640,"height":551,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat-300x258.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":258,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":551,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":551,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":551,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":551,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":551,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num28-High_Priest_Offering_Sacrifice_of_a_Goat-488x420.jpg","home_baner-width":488,"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":"From 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Old-New Holiday ","post_title":"The Old-New Holiday","slug":"the-old-new-holiday","old_id":"98536","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"859","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Sukkot takes on a new status\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

8:17 \u201cAnd all the assembly of those returning from the captivity made booths and dwelled in the booths, for the Israelites had not done this since the days of Joshua son of Nun till that day, and there was great rejoicing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is surely not the case that Succoth had not been observed all these centuries since Joshua. Perhaps the least forced explanation is the one proposed by Michael Kuchman--that now the festival was celebrated as a national religious event, not primarily as a harvest festival. The reading from the Torah each day of the festival reflects this religious emphasis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 3: Writings, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. 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    \r\n\t
  1. The day is holy.<\/em> This chapter takes place in the seventh month (Tishrei), the month with the most holidays and commemorations (see e.g., Lev. 23). The Torah reading described here takes place on the first of Tishrei, which we know today as Rosh Hashanah, and continues on the next day. The holiday of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret occur in the second half of the chapter. Interesting that Yom Kippur isn\u2019t even mentioned.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Sweet!<\/em> People had a sweet tooth a few thousand years ago as well (see verses 10-12).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Tradition and change<\/em>. Of all the actions of Ezra mentioned in this chapter, which ones are simply expressions of existing traditions? Which are innovations? What interpretation does he give to the texts? It\u2019s interesting to compare what is described here to the relevant Torah laws (Lev. 23, Num. 29 and Deut. 16; and also to the mitzvah of <\/span>hakhel<\/span><\/i>, the gathering of the people described in Deut. 31).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. New furniture too.<\/em> The chapter not only describes the innovation of the public reading of the Torah, but also the accompanying furniture - \u201ca wooden tower made for the purpose\u201d - which is the origin of our <\/span>bimah<\/span><\/em>, the stage that many traditional synagogues have at the front or at the center of the sanctuary.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. A lot of details, but\u2026<\/em> The chapter describes the ceremonies and the activities in great detail. We can answer all sorts of questions: where? When? Who and how? But there are still some questions that remain unanswered: what sections of the Torah did they read, and why? What did the interpreters explain? And why did the reading cause the people to weep?<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Nehemiah 8","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder ","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Nehemiah","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"859","date":"20281213","wall_id":"859"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"98342","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Nehemiah 8 ","post_title":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Nehemiah 8","slug":"sefaria-source-sheets-nehemiah-8","old_id":"98342","type":"song","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42228,"post_title":"Sefaria","slug":"sefaria","old_id":"42228","first_name":"","last_name":"Sefaria","description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. 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    \u201cSigd: A Unique Celebration of Ethiopian Jewry\u201d<\/a> by Isaac Mayer: A brief history and sources which discuss the Ethiopian holiday of Sigd.<\/p>\r\n

    \u201cA Brief History of Prayer\u201d<\/a> by Jay Schlesinger: A collection of sources which discuss prayer and its origins.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - Nehemiah 8","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Nehemiah","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"859","date":"20281213","wall_id":"859"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/98310"}],"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=98310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}