{"id":98312,"date":"2018-07-09T18:02:11","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1172\/"},"modified":"2022-02-02T19:45:31","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T17:45:31","slug":"wall-1172","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1172\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20250518-to-20250524"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1172","date_from":"20250518","date_to":"20250524","book":"Nehemiah","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":"98620","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"Chayei Sarah: Chesed in Jewish Tradition\u00a0   ","post_title":"Chayei Sarah: Chesed in Jewish Tradition\u00a0","slug":"chayei-sarah-chesed-in-jewish-tradition","old_id":"98620","type":"song","iframe":"","writer":{"id":98618,"post_title":"Richard Schwartz","slug":"richard-schwartz","old_id":"98618","first_name":"Richard ","last_name":"Schwartz","description":"Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., is the author of Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World; Revitalizing Judaism; Judaism and Vegetarianism; Judaism and Global Survival, Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet; and over 250 articles at JewishVeg.com\/schwartz. He is President Emeritus of Jewish Veg.","short_description":"Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., is the author of Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World, and over 250 articles at JewishVeg.com\/schwartz. He is President Emeritus of Jewish Veg.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":98619,"alt":"","title":"richard schwartz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/richard-schwartz.jpg","width":225,"height":225,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/richard-schwartz-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/richard-schwartz.jpg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/richard-schwartz.jpg","medium_large-width":225,"medium_large-height":225,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/richard-schwartz.jpg","large-width":225,"large-height":225,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/richard-schwartz.jpg","1536x1536-width":225,"1536x1536-height":225,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/richard-schwartz.jpg","2048x2048-width":225,"2048x2048-height":225,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/richard-schwartz.jpg","post_full_size-width":225,"post_full_size-height":225,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/richard-schwartz.jpg","home_baner-width":225,"home_baner-height":225}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1172","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The idea of chesed, and acts of gemilut chasadim, lovingkindness, is central to the Jewish tradition. The Shmita year, too, involves many aspects of legally-mandated chesed....","post_main_content_content":"<p>A main focus of parshat Chayei Sarah, which discusses the finding of a suitable wife for Abraham\u2019s son Isaac, is <em>chesed<\/em>, kindness. In his old age, Abraham sent his trusted servant Eliezer to find the proper woman from his extended family. While Abraham did not specify any character trait to stress, Eliezer, knowing that his master was a paragon of <em>chesed<\/em>, set up a test seeking kindness in a prospective bride.<\/p>\r\n<p>Rebecca passed that test admirably, not only drawing water for Eliezer but also for the ten thirsty camels with him. One test of kindness is doing positive things, even if not asked, or doing more than is asked, something that Rebecca did in abundance.<\/p>\r\n<p>The Shmita year, too, involves many aspects of legally-mandated <em>chesed<\/em>. This is expressed in kindness to poor people in terms of remission of debts and the permission to eat freely from the products of the fields; kindness to animals with that same permission; kindness to slaves, who regain their freedom; and kindness to the land and the environment; in terms of permitting the fields to remain fallow and improve its fertility.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>The idea of <em>chesed<\/em>, and acts of <em>gemilut chasadim<\/em>, lovingkindness, is central to the Jewish tradition:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The Jewish sages said the three most important Jewish character traits are modesty, compassion and kindness\u00a0(Bamidbar Rabbah 8:4).<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Kindness is the theme of the book of Ruth, which involves Ruth\u2019s kindness too Naomi and Boaz\u2019s kindness to Ruth.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Talmud (Sotah 14a) teaches that the purpose of the entire Torah is to teach <em>gemilut chasadim<\/em> (loving kindness). It starts and ends with such acts. For \"The Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin and clothed them\" (Genesis 3:21), and the final chapter of the Torah indicates: \u201cand He buried him (Moses) in the valley\" (Deuteronomy 34:6).<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The sages interpret \u201cacts of loving kindness\u201d to include many types of gracious actions, such as hospitality to travelers, providing for needy brides, visiting the sick, welcoming guests, burying the dead, and comforting mourners. <em>Chesed<\/em> has become a fundamental aspect of Jewish life\u00a0in modern society, with all of these acts stressed.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><em>Gemilut chasadim<\/em> is deemed superior to acts of charity in several ways: No gift is needed for it but the giving of oneself; it may be done to the rich as well as to the poor; and it may be done not only to the living, but also to the dead (through burial; Sukkah 49b).<\/li>\r\n\t<li>One who gives a coin to a poor man is rewarded with six blessings, but he who encourages him with kind words is rewarded with eleven blessings\u00a0(Baba Batra\u00a088b). Of course, providing both money and blessings is best<strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>May we continue to learn throughout\u00a0the shmita year from the wisdom of our tradition and continue to act with <em>chesed<\/em> to the earth and to each other.<\/p>\r\n<p><em>This year is the shmita year: 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<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hazon.org\/shmita-project\/hazon-shmita-blog\/\">See here for more information on the Hazon Shmita project, and its blogs.<\/a><\/p>","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":"Chayei Sarah: Chesed in Jewish Tradition\u00a0","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":"Nehemiah","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1172"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"98508","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Sanballat Becomes An Icon  ","post_title":"Sanballat Becomes An Icon","slug":"sanballat-becomes-an-icon","old_id":"98508","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":92960,"post_title":"Calev Ben-Dor","slug":"calev-ben-dor","old_id":"92960","first_name":"Calev ","last_name":"Ben-Dor ","description":"Having grown up in London, Calev Ben-Dor now lives in Jerusalem with his family. He writes and teaches about Israel and Judaism and is involved in a Whatsapp facilitated 929 learning group with members from across the world.","short_description":"Calev Ben-Dor lives in Jerusalem and writes and teaches about Israel and Judaism.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92962,"alt":"","title":"calev ben dor","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","width":428,"height":414,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1-300x290.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":290,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","medium_large-width":428,"medium_large-height":414,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","large-width":428,"large-height":414,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":428,"1536x1536-height":414,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":428,"2048x2048-height":414,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":428,"post_full_size-height":414,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","home_baner-width":428,"home_baner-height":414}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"857","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Quisling, Benedict Arnold and fifth-columnist all rolled into one","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Norman Bentwich, the new chair of \u2018International Peace\u2019 at the Hebrew University was giving his inaugural lecture on the topic \"Jerusalem, City of Peace.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A British liberal Zionist in the mould of Ahad Ha'am, Bentwich was also sympathetic to Brit Shalom which called for a binational state in Mandatory Palestine, a policy also supported by the University\u2019s first chancellor Judah Magnes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bentwich\u2019s views and position were enough to cause disruption led by students connected to the Revisionist Movement of Ze\u2019ev Jabotinsky. A leaflet handed out mocked Bentwich\u2019s title as Chair of \u2018International Peace\u2019 arguing such a position was \u2018an anti-Zionist measure.\u2019 Jerusalem was not \u2018a city of peace\u2019, they argued, but rather a volcano ready to erupt.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bentwich and the Brit Shalom movement were not the only members of the Zionist movement to arouse the ire of the Revisionists. In 1930, Uri Zvi Greenberg, a poet on the radical end of the Revisionist Movement, bewailed a situation in which \u201cthe Zionist leadership was in the hands of the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sanbalats<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d It was a disaster, thought Greenberg, that \u201cthe nation's economic, political and spiritual affairs are at the helm of a ship left in the hands of these evil captains.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1932, Jabotinsky emphasised that the focus for action should be on the British administration rather than domestic opponents. He urged the Jewish public not to settle for a confrontation against the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sanbalatim<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cThere is a danger that they will be satisfied with that since it is easier to attack Bentwich and Mr Magnes than an external opponent\u201d he wrote.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the 1930s progressed \u2013 with the rise of Nazism, Arab riots in Palestine, increased antisemitism in Eastern Europe, and disappointment with the British \u2013 the allure of territorial maximalism was on the rise. At a 1934 Beitar conference in Warsaw, Greenberg argued that maximalism was an integral part of Jewish tradition. Labor Zionists (who preached moderation) were now \u2018<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sanbalatim<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Referring to treacherous individuals allegedly working against the national interest as <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sanbalatim<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was based on a main character in the Book of Nehemiah, Sanballat the Horonite, the governor of Samaria, who opposes Nehemiah\u2019s rebuilding project.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps the most amazing thing about Sanballat is that he was a real historical figure. The Elephantine Temple Papyrus, which contains 30 lines of inked Aramaic text dating to circa 407 BCE, describes a request by the Jewish community of Elephantine in Egypt for help rebuilding a temple they established. They write that they have already made the same request to \u201cDelaiah and Shelemiah, the sons of <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sanballat, governor of Samaria<\/span><\/em><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jerusalem today retains its potential of being both a city of peace and a volcano ready to erupt. Yet as the people of Israel continue to face significant challenges \u2013 both domestic and foreign \u2013 we can only hope that Sanballat\u2019s descendants no longer live amongst us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>See also:<\/p>\r\n<p>Monty Noam Penkower, <em>Twentieth Century Jews Forging Identity in the Land of Promise and in the Promised Land;\u00a0<\/em><br \/>\r\nColin Shindler, <em>The Triumph of Military Zionism<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u05ea\u05de\u05e8 \u05d5\u05d5\u05dc\u05e3-\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d6\u05d5\u05df, <em>\u05d0\u05d5\u05ea\u05d5 \u05e1\u05e0\u05d1\u05dc\u05d8 \u05e9\u05dc \u05ea\u05e8\u05e4\"\u05d8 \u05d1\u05ea\u05e8\u05e6\"\u05d5<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: Sanballat, wood engraving, 1886 (truthsnitch)<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98509,"alt":"","title":"neh6-sanballat","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","width":768,"height":692,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat-300x270.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":270,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat-768x692.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":692,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","large-width":768,"large-height":692,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","1536x1536-width":768,"1536x1536-height":692,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","2048x2048-width":768,"2048x2048-height":692,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","post_full_size-width":768,"post_full_size-height":692,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat-466x420.jpg","home_baner-width":466,"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":"Sanballat Becomes An Icon","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Quisling, Benedict Arnold and fifth-columnist all rolled into one","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98509,"alt":"","title":"neh6-sanballat","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","width":768,"height":692,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat-300x270.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":270,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat-768x692.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":692,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","large-width":768,"large-height":692,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","1536x1536-width":768,"1536x1536-height":692,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","2048x2048-width":768,"2048x2048-height":692,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat.jpg","post_full_size-width":768,"post_full_size-height":692,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh6-sanballat-466x420.jpg","home_baner-width":466,"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":"6","chapter_main_number":"857","date":"20281211","wall_id":"857"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"98494","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"l - Yahrtzeit  ","post_title":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"l - Yahrtzeit","slug":"rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks-zl-yahrtzeit","old_id":"98494","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"857","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"8th March 1948 - 7th November 2020 \r\n(Shabbat Kodesh 20th MarCheshvan 5781)","post_main_content_content":"<p>It's been one year since the passing of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the much respected former chief rabbi of the UK, and <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/19gFmbdsSbJGz36fKrlkmuz_L31Q6atXB\/view\">international honorary president of 929.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>Sacks was highly esteemed around the Jewish world for his erudition, his wisdom, and his prolific authorship of works on Jewish thought.<\/p>\r\n<p>Rabbi Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013, succeeding Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits. He was succeeded by the current chief rabbi, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis. Before being appointed as chief rabbi of the UK in 1993, Sacks served as principal of Jews\u2019 College, now the London School of Jewish Studies, and Rabbi of the prestigious Marble Arch synagogue in Central London.<\/p>\r\n<p>Sacks wrote numerous books on Jewish thought, tolerance, extremism, a commentary on the weekly Torah portion, commentaries on Jewish liturgy, and more, as well as producing documentaries series. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/author\/33923\">929 is proud to host over 150 essays of his.<\/a> He was widely seen as a voice of morality and ethical integrity, and his positions and opinions were frequently sought by the British media on crucial issues of the day, including in a regular column in The Times newspaper, and as guest on current affairs TV and radio shows.<\/p>\r\n<p>On <a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/page\/1\/post\/23865\">the first day of the cycle of 929 English, Rabbi Sacks shared a video<\/a> in which he discussed how God created the world though words. Rabbi Sacks led this generation through his words, both his elegant and articulate spoken words and his brilliant and thought-provoking written word. 929 English has been honored by his leadership and participation in a project that he appreciated and loved. You can see a series of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/tag\/754\">five short videos of his here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>929 has also produced a series of educational modules based on his teachings, \"929 Sparks\" on the following themes: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/tag\/750\/post\/84025\">Gratitude<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/tag\/750\/post\/84452\">Education as Dignity<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/tag\/750\/post\/84753\">Work and Humility<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/tag\/750\/post\/85746\">Brotherhood and Power<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/tag\/750\/post\/86223\">Moses, The Anti-Myth<\/a>. They are visually striking, thought-provoking collections of his teaching especially appropriate for educational settings.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>May his memory be for a blessing. \u05d9\u05d4\u05d9 \u05d6\u05db\u05e8\u05d5 \u05d1\u05e8\u05d5\u05da<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98495,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Sacks cover for FB videos","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Rabbi-Sacks-cover-for-FB-videos.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Rabbi-Sacks-cover-for-FB-videos-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Rabbi-Sacks-cover-for-FB-videos-300x169.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Rabbi-Sacks-cover-for-FB-videos-768x432.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Rabbi-Sacks-cover-for-FB-videos-1024x576.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Rabbi-Sacks-cover-for-FB-videos.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Rabbi-Sacks-cover-for-FB-videos.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Rabbi-Sacks-cover-for-FB-videos-1200x675.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Rabbi-Sacks-cover-for-FB-videos-747x420.png","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"929 Remembers","tile_main_caption":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z\"l - Yahrtzeit","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"1948 - 2020 \/ 5708 - 5781","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":33924,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Lord-Jonathan-Sacks.jpg","width":220,"height":249,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Lord-Jonathan-Sacks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Lord-Jonathan-Sacks.jpg","medium-width":220,"medium-height":249,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Lord-Jonathan-Sacks.jpg","medium_large-width":220,"medium_large-height":249,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Lord-Jonathan-Sacks.jpg","large-width":220,"large-height":249,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Lord-Jonathan-Sacks.jpg","1536x1536-width":220,"1536x1536-height":249,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Lord-Jonathan-Sacks.jpg","2048x2048-width":220,"2048x2048-height":249,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Lord-Jonathan-Sacks.jpg","post_full_size-width":220,"post_full_size-height":249,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Lord-Jonathan-Sacks.jpg","home_baner-width":220,"home_baner-height":249}},"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":"6","chapter_main_number":"857","date":"20281211","wall_id":"857"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"354","name":"Rabbi Sacks","old_id":"754"}]},{"order":4,"id":"98569","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"What Does It Mean To Be God-Fearing?  ","post_title":"What Does It Mean To Be God-Fearing?","slug":"what-does-it-mean-to-be-god-fearing","old_id":"98569","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":"858","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The Talmud and Heraclitus agree: people change!\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nehemiah successfully led the rebuilding efforts concerning the Temple and the surrounding city of Jerusalem. But he understood that material structures were only as reliable and stable as those who were responsible for them, and mandated to keep the peace.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, Nehemiah chose first his brother Hanani, due to familial proximity, a value that to this day, is prized in the Middle East. Close family members will be more loyal and therefore reliable, than someone from outside one\u2019s immediate family.\u00a0 While sibling rivalry is rife in the Bible, when these individuals trust one another, the relationship is considered a guarantor for stability.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But of even greater interest is what is said about the other, Hananiah: \u201c\u2026 for he was a more trustworthy and God-fearing man, than most\u201d (verse 2).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malbim invokes a Talmudic anecdote to explain Nehemiah\u2019s thinking in this regard:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">R. Johanan ben Zakai<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) students said to him: Our teacher, bless us. He said to them: May it be His Will that the fear of Heaven shall be upon you like the fear of flesh and blood. His students said: To that point? He said to them: Would that a person achieve that level of fear. Know that when one commits a transgression, he says I hope that no man will see me (Berachot 28b).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malbim surmises that Nehemiah was looking for someone who would have no fear with regard to other human beings, and Hananiah\u2019s fear of God qualified him for the job.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But how can we be certain? Metzudat David <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reflects the uncertainty of assuming \u201cGod-fearingness\u201d about another by inserting the word \u201c<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nir\u2019eh<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d\u2014\u201che <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>appears<\/em> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to be.\u201d The Talmud often will often question the sincerity and integrity of certain actors. Just because an individual \u201cseems\u201d to be \u201ctrustworthy\u201d and \u201cGod-fearing\u201d does not mean that he actually is.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, individuals <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">change<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Even if it could be ascertained that at one point a person possessed these character traits, who is to say that he will remain so? The Talmud states:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do not be sure of yourself until the day you die, as Yo\u1e25anan, the High Priest, served in the High Priesthood for eighty years, and ultimately became a Sadducee (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ibid. 29a<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, expressed the idea: No man ever steps in the same river twice. This is because not only is the river constantly changing, but so is the person! We are all in a state of flux, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally, and this pertains equally to admirable and despicable personal qualities. The same impermanence that makes repentance a reality can also result in ever-increasing sinfulness. While \u201c<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mitzva goreret mitzva<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d (fulfilling one commandment makes the next one that much easier to carry out), so too \u201c<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">avera goreret avera<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d one sin often leads to another, which describes the slippery slope that we all find ourselves upon.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>image:\u00a0Heraclitus. Line engraving \/ wikimedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98570,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus.jpg","width":2236,"height":2508,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-267x300.jpg","medium-width":267,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-768x861.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":861,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-913x1024.jpg","large-width":913,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus.jpg","1536x1536-width":1369,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus.jpg","2048x2048-width":1826,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-1070x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1070,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-374x420.jpg","home_baner-width":374,"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":"What Does It Mean To Be God-Fearing?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The Talmud and Heraclitus agree: people change!","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98570,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus.jpg","width":2236,"height":2508,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-267x300.jpg","medium-width":267,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-768x861.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":861,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-913x1024.jpg","large-width":913,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus.jpg","1536x1536-width":1369,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus.jpg","2048x2048-width":1826,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-1070x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1070,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh7-Heraclitus-374x420.jpg","home_baner-width":374,"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":"7","chapter_main_number":"858","date":"20281212","wall_id":"858"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"98579","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"The 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":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our chapter includes a dramatic description of what seems to have been the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Nehemiah.8.5-8?lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">first public reading of the Torah<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interestingly, according to the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.146.4?lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shulchan Arukh<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 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><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> century Poland), and Ashkenazi practice, there are those who are stringent and do stand.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Jerusalem_Talmud_Megillah.27a.1?vhe=Mechon_Mamre_Talmud_Yerushalmi&amp;lang=he\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talmud Yerushalmi<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Megillah.32a.2-5?vhe=William_Davidson_Edition_-_Vocalized_Aramaic&amp;lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talmud Bavli<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 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><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nd<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> century CE <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tanna, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gemara<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.139.4-5?lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shulkhan Arukh<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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":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":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is one major difference, though.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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>&nbsp;<\/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 Offering Sacrifices to Torah Learning","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We can see the beginning of transition","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_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}},"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":7,"id":"98586","color":"#e0e9ef","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":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hakhel<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This cyclical public Torah reading continued until the 6<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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>&nbsp;<\/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 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Praise Is Insulting  ","post_title":"When Praise Is Insulting","slug":"when-praise-is-insulting","old_id":"98609","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":"860","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And when saying too much is not enough...\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast to the convocation held between Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot that was marked by \u201cvery great rejoicing\u201d (8:17), the assembly detailed in this chapter was defined by solemnity, \u201cfasting, in sackcloth, and with earth upon them\u201d (1; compare Lamentations 2:10) due to their \u201cgreat distress\u201d (37). It was held on the 24<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> day of the seventh month (1), two days after the conclusion of Sukkot, since \u201con the 23<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rd<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it was impossible to fast because it is the day after Sukkot on which fasting is prohibited\u201d (Malbim).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The assembled confessed to their own sins, as well as to those of their ancestors (16 ff.), in implicit fulfillment of one of the stipulations of the \u201cchastisement\u201d (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tokhechah<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) recorded in the Torah: \u201cAnd they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, in that they trespassed against Me, yea, were hostile to Me\u201d (Lev. 26:40). Their accompanying prayer harks back to the patriarch Abraham (7 ff.), and hits some of the high and low points of early Israelite history in a manner reminiscent of Psalms 78 and 106. Verses 7-11 were even incorporated into the daily pre-Shacharit service known as <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">p\u2019sukei d\u2019zimra<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and the reference to \u201cthe covenant\u201d made with Abraham (8) yielded the custom for a <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mohel<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to recite them aloud during that service on a day on which he is to perform a <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">b\u2019rit<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another liturgical echo in this chapter derives from the following portion of their prayer:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And now, our God, great, mighty, and awesome God (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ha\u2019el hagadol hagibor v\u2019hanora<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), who stays faithful to His covenant, do not treat lightly all the suffering that has overtaken us\u2014our kings, our officers, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all Your people\u2014from the time of the Assyrian kings to this day. Surely You are in the right (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tzaddik<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) with respect to all that has come upon us, for You have acted faithfully, and we have been wicked. (32-33)<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Talmud reports (B\u2019rakhot 33b):<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A certain [reader] went down in the presence of R. Hanina and said, \u201cO God, the great, mighty, awesome, majestic, powerful, awful, strong, fearless, sure and honored.\u201d He waited till he had finished, and when he had finished, he said to him: Have you concluded all the praise of your Master? Why do we want all this? Even with the three that we do say [i.e., great, mighty, awesome] had not Moses our Master mentioned them in the Law (Deut. 10:17) and had not the Men of the Great Synagogue come and inserted them in the Tefillah, we should not have been able to mention them, and you say all these and still go on! It is as if an earthly king had a million denarii of gold, and someone praised him as possessing silver ones. Would it not be an insult to him?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98610,"alt":"","title":"neh9-men clapping 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word choice reflects underlying theology\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In chapter 9 of Nehemiah, the Levites sing a song of praise to God. They recall God\u2019s involvement in key events in history: the creation of the world, the selection of Abraham, the redemption from Egypt, the giving of the Torah, and more.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In one verse, they mention the miracle at the Sea of Reeds: \u201cYou split the sea before them; they passed through the sea on dry land, but You threw their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into the raging waters.\u201d (Nehemiah 9:11)<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They describe the miracle with the Hebrew verb <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">baka\u2019<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u2013 \u201csplit.\u201d This same verb is used in the original story in Exodus (14:16 and 14:21), and in Psalms 78:13. In light of this verb, it is not surprising that in English, we refer to the event as \u201cthe splitting of the Sea.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, in Hebrew today, it is usually called <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kri\u2019at yam suf<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. That would be literally translated as \u201cthe tearing of the Sea of Reeds.\u201d We never find the verb <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kara\u2019<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u2013 \u201cto tear\u201d used to describe this miracle in the Bible. We do, however, see it in Rabbinic Hebrew, as in the \u201c<em>Dayenu<\/em>\u201d song recited at the Passover Seder. Why did the verb change during the transition from Biblical to Rabbinic Hebrew?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scholars suggest two possible reasons. One might be from Aramaic influence, as is frequently found in words adopted in Rabbinic Hebrew. The Aramaic translations of the Bible use the root <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">baza<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0to translate both <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">baka\u2019<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kara\u2019<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which may have led to the shift of one usage to the other.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other suggestion says this is due to a change in the perception of the nature of the event. While the Torah uses the word <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">baka\u2019<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, that verb is generally applied to the splitting of a solid, hard object, like a rock or a block of wood. That type of splitting cannot be repaired or restored. The action of <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kri\u2019ah<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, however, is associated with the tearing of softer items like garments (as is practiced, for example, in Jewish mourning.) According to this theory, those who preferred to refer to <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kri\u2019at yam suf<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0visualized the sea closing up on itself after the split. The split was not permanent, just as clothing can be repaired, or a zipper can close the opening in a garment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bible chose to focus on the force of the miracle, which split the sea as one would break open a block of wood, while the Sages preferred the image of the water letting Israel pass through, only to close upon the pursuing Egyptians.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the song of the Levites in Nehemiah, we see both aspects of the miracle \u2013 the splitting of the Sea, and the defeat of the Egyptians. Only later, however, would that second aspect be reflected with a different verb.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>image:\u00a0by Bracha Lavee, courtesy of the artist<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98605,"alt":"","title":"neh9-splitting of the sea - Lavee","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee.jpg","width":1024,"height":833,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-300x244.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":244,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-768x625.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":625,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-1024x833.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":833,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":833,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":833,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":833,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-516x420.jpg","home_baner-width":516,"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":"Of Seas, Solid And Liquid","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"How word choice reflects underlying theology","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98605,"alt":"","title":"neh9-splitting of the sea - Lavee","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee.jpg","width":1024,"height":833,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-300x244.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":244,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-768x625.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":625,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-1024x833.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":833,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":833,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":833,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":833,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-splitting-of-the-sea-Lavee-516x420.jpg","home_baner-width":516,"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":"9","chapter_main_number":"860","date":"20281214","wall_id":"860"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"98598","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"The Shabbat Window  ","post_title":"The Shabbat Window","slug":"the-shabbat-window","old_id":"98598","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.  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