{"id":98317,"date":"2018-07-09T18:02:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-2037\/"},"modified":"2021-11-02T16:39:52","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T14:39:52","slug":"wall-2037","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-2037\/","title":{"rendered":"book-Writings-Nehemiah"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"book","wall_id":"2037","book":"Nehemiah","books_group":"Writings","date":"","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","date_from":"20211103","date_to":"","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"98298","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"Crying and Laughing in a New Jewish Reality ","post_title":"Crying and Laughing in a New Jewish Reality","slug":"crying-and-laughing-in-a-new-jewish-reality","old_id":"98298","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":"2036","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"with Leah Sarna","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/FUCZjxCeaoA","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Reflections on Ezra and Nehemiah","tile_main_caption":"Crying and Laughing in a New Jewish Reality","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"with Leah Sarna","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/FUCZjxCeaoA","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":"Ezra","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"2036"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"332","name":"24 in 24","old_id":"732"}]},{"order":2,"id":"98388","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Nehemiah To The Rescue ","post_title":"Nehemiah To The Rescue","slug":"nehemiah-to-the-rescue","old_id":"98388","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. 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The Book of Nehemiah begins \u201cIn the month of Kislev of the twentieth year\u201d (1), without specifying the era to which it belonged. We assume that it is the same year, \u201cthe twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,\u201d with which chapter two begins. This assumption was shared by Malbim, who began his commentary to the book as follows:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe twentieth year: To [the reign] of Artaxerxes, who was introduced in the Book of Ezra. This clarifies that this book follows upon that of Ezra, which precedes it. As the Sages wrote in Sanhedrin (93b): \u201cThe entire subject matter of Ezra was narrated by Nehemiah,\u201d which is why they count as only one book among the [canonical] twenty-four. Otherwise, [Nehemiah] would have had to specify [the reign of] Artaxerxes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nehemiah was visited by some kinsmen and countrymen from Judea bearing the mournful news that \u201cthe survivors who have survived the captivity there in the province are in dire trouble and disgrace; Jerusalem\u2019s wall is full of breaches, and its gates have been destroyed by fire\u201d (3). Nehemiah resolved to assist them. Paraphrasing Deut. 30:4-5: \u201cEven if your outcasts are at the ends of the world,<\/span> from there the LORD your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the LORD your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it,\u201d he began by addressing a prayer to God invoking that divine promise: \u201cIf you turn back to Me, faithfully keep My commandments, even if your dispersed are at the ends of the earth, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I have chosen to establish My name\u201d (9).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like Daniel and Ezra before him, Nehemiah translated his position at the Persian court into a royal authorization to assist the returnees, and like the earlier prayers of Daniel and Ezra, his prayer has also found its way into the penitential liturgy, particularly that of the High Holy Days.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Gustave Dor\u00e9, Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, 1866 \/ 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While Nehemiah would have been able to attribute his successes to good fortune or to his own astuteness, he instead gives God the credit whenever he succeeds. Like Eliezer before him (see Genesis 24:12, 21, 26-7) God is very much a part of his planning and his actions. Nehemiah offers a prayer to God before requesting materiel from the king (v. 4); when the king grants his requests, he feels God\u2019s benevolence (v. 8); he claims that his plans are the result of God placing ideas into his head (v. 12); he encourages his beleaguered countrymen by sharing with them the inspiration that he draws from God\u2019s considerate treatment (v. 18); and he refutes the anti-Semitic mocking of Somballat and Tobiah by telling them that God has and will continue to assist him (v. 20.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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

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

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

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

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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":"854","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Mission, passion, cooperation, action\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Nehemiah has arrived back in Jerusalem with a mission. The Temple has been rebuilt, Ezra is taking care of reinstating the Temple service, but there is another very pragmatic threat to the resurgence of the Jewish nation in Jerusalem. The walls of the city that were destroyed along with the Temple remain in wreckage, and that exposes the Temple and the newly returned nation to the risk of interference at best, attack at worst.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After freedom from slavery in Egypt, the Jewish nation was given a job to do \u2013 build the Tabernacle, the precursor to the First, then Second Temple. We are told in Exodus 35 that Moses broached the entire community to participate, and they all, men and women alike, rose to the task with a full heart (Exodus 35: 4-29).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Now the nation is once again rebuilding. Nehemiah draws on the wisdom of Moses and leads the project in a similarly collaborative, community-based approach. He divvies up the work to be completed by assigning sections of wall to community teams. Nehemiah\u2019s list of builders includes leaders and tradespeople, men and women (specifically the daughters of Shallum, a district ruler - 3:12), and of course, himself. The destruction of the Temple and subsequent exile had impacted them all, and so the rebuilding would fall on them all.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One might think that the task of assigning people to teams and teams to sections is a political minefield, ripe with the potential for in-fighting and competition for the best spots along the wall. But Nehemiahh anticipated that, and his solution was to assign many families to the section of wall nearest their own home. In doing so, the builders\u2019 vested interest in the laborious task at hand was sharpened, as was perhaps their ultimate sense of pride and ownership in the completed work.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Both Moses\u2019 and Nehemiah\u2019s leadership of these building projects reflected the best practices of team-building as described by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his commentary on the building of the Tabernacle. \u201cTeam building is done by setting the group a task, one that speaks to their passions and that no subsection of the group can achieve alone. It must be constructive. Each (participant) must be able to say, with pride: I helped make this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Just like we read of the full hearts of the builders in Exodus, so too we are told of the wall builders that \u201cthe people\u2019s heart was in the work (3:38)\u201d, a necessary component of team building as well as a natural outcome of a successful collaborative project.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98431,"alt":"","title":"neh3-team work team building","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-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 Best Way To Build A Team","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Mission, passion, cooperation, action","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98431,"alt":"","title":"neh3-team work team building","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh3-team-work-team-building-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":"3","chapter_main_number":"854","date":"20281206","wall_id":"854"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"98447","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"The Miraculous Non-Miracle ","post_title":"The Miraculous Non-Miracle","slug":"the-miraculous-non-miracle","old_id":"98447","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":"855","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Nehemiah fortifies both the city and the people\u2019s faith\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Faced with continuous harassment by Sanballat and his cadre, Nehemiah is faced with an additional problem. He must not only work towards completing the walls, but he must now also protect the workers. Nehemiah\u2019s plan is threefold. First, he sets up a patrol around the wall with a shofar warning. At the sound of the shofar he tells the nobles to \u201cgather yourselves to me at that place; our God will fight for us!\u201d (verse 14). He also sets up a system whereby each worker is given a partner whose job is to protect the worker. Each pairing of swordsman and chiselman ensures continuous protection and continuous work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Finally, Nehemiah himself joins the building and works by example. \u201cNor did I, my brothers, my servants, or the guards following me ever take off our clothes, each his weapon, even at the water.\u201d (verse 17). Nehemiah and his retinue do not stop to even change their clothes. They all work around the clock either by helping to build or by guarding. Recall that Nehemiah is the royal appointee to the building effort. He could simply watch from afar and organize without working. By emphasizing that he is one of the people and is also invested in the building, he helps raise the spirits of the people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He also helps solve another issue that the people have with the Second Temple: a seeming lack of divine intervention present in the building of the Tabernacle and the First Temple. This is explained in the Midrash Shemot Rabbah 52:4, which tries to reconcile two verses in Exodus that describe the Tabernacle\u2019s construction. One states that the Tabernacle was built (Exodus 40:17) and the other that Moses built the Tabernacle. The Midrash explains that there was a combination of miraculous and manmade in the building of the Mishkan. The same was said of Solomon\u2019s Temple. \u201cFor the house, in its being built\u2026\u201d (I Kings 4:7). By combining the miraculous and the man made both the Tabernacle and first Temple were able to straddle both worlds in the mind of the people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Second Temple did not have a miraculous component. By making sure that he is intimately involved in the fortification of Jerusalem, Nehemiah tries to rectify this problem in the eyes of the people. In verse 8 and 14 Nehemiah mentions that God is there to protect the people. By being intimately involved in the protection scheme and construction, he ensures the people will have their faith restored.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Bracha Lavee, by courtesy of the artist<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75744,"alt":"","title":"jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","width":454,"height":635,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee-214x300.jpg","medium-width":214,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","medium_large-width":454,"medium_large-height":635,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","large-width":454,"large-height":635,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","1536x1536-width":454,"1536x1536-height":635,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","2048x2048-width":454,"2048x2048-height":635,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","post_full_size-width":454,"post_full_size-height":635,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee-300x420.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"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 Miraculous Non-Miracle","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Nehemiah fortifies both the city and the people\u2019s faith","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75744,"alt":"","title":"jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","width":454,"height":635,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee-214x300.jpg","medium-width":214,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","medium_large-width":454,"medium_large-height":635,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","large-width":454,"large-height":635,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","1536x1536-width":454,"1536x1536-height":635,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","2048x2048-width":454,"2048x2048-height":635,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee.jpg","post_full_size-width":454,"post_full_size-height":635,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/jo15-jerusalem-bracha-lavee-300x420.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"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":"4","chapter_main_number":"855","date":"20281207","wall_id":"855"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"98508","color":"#faeed8","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":"

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

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

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

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>Sanbalats<\/span><\/em>.\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

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>Sanbalatim<\/span><\/em>. \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

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>Sanbalatim<\/span><\/em>\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Referring to treacherous individuals allegedly working against the national interest as <\/span>Sanbalatim<\/span><\/em> 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

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>Sanballat, governor of Samaria<\/span><\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

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

See also:<\/p>\r\n

Monty Noam Penkower, Twentieth Century Jews Forging Identity in the Land of Promise and in the Promised Land;\u00a0<\/em>
\r\nColin Shindler, The Triumph of Military Zionism<\/em><\/p>\r\n

\u05ea\u05de\u05e8 \u05d5\u05d5\u05dc\u05e3-\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05d6\u05d5\u05df, \u05d0\u05d5\u05ea\u05d5 \u05e1\u05e0\u05d1\u05dc\u05d8 \u05e9\u05dc \u05ea\u05e8\u05e4\"\u05d8 \u05d1\u05ea\u05e8\u05e6\"\u05d5<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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":7,"id":"98609","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"When 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":"

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>th<\/span> day of the seventh month (1), two days after the conclusion of Sukkot, since \u201con the 23<\/span>rd<\/span> it was impossible to fast because it is the day after Sukkot on which fasting is prohibited\u201d (Malbim).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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>tokhechah<\/span><\/em>) 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>p\u2019sukei d\u2019zimra<\/span><\/em>, and the reference to \u201cthe covenant\u201d made with Abraham (8) yielded the custom for a <\/span>mohel<\/span><\/em> to recite them aloud during that service on a day on which he is to perform a <\/span>b\u2019rit<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Another liturgical echo in this chapter derives from the following portion of their prayer:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And now, our God, great, mighty, and awesome God (<\/span>ha\u2019el hagadol hagibor v\u2019hanora<\/span><\/em>), 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>tzaddik<\/span><\/em>) 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

The Talmud reports (B\u2019rakhot 33b):<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98610,"alt":"","title":"neh9-men clapping praise","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise.jpg","width":1920,"height":1489,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-300x233.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":233,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-768x596.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":596,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-1024x794.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":794,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1191,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1489,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-1200x931.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":931,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-542x420.jpg","home_baner-width":542,"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":"When Praise Is Insulting","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And when saying too much is not enough...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98610,"alt":"","title":"neh9-men clapping praise","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise.jpg","width":1920,"height":1489,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-300x233.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":233,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-768x596.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":596,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-1024x794.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":794,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1191,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1489,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-1200x931.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":931,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh9-men-clapping-praise-542x420.jpg","home_baner-width":542,"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":8,"id":"98579","color":"#e0e9ef","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":"

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":9,"id":"98640","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Cold Compact ","post_title":"Cold Compact","slug":"cold-compact","old_id":"98640","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"861","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Nehemiah\u2019s \u201cAmana\u201d wasn\u2019t a household appliance\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Which Hebrew word has made its way around the world into more than a thousand languages? The answer is true and reliable \u2013 that is, \u201camen.\u201d The word <\/span>amen<\/span><\/em> is used as an affirmation, be it of a blessing or a statement. It comes from the Hebrew root \u05d0-\u05de-\u05e0<\/em>, which means firm, straight, steadfast, enduring, trustworthy, or faithful.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The root gives us the verb <\/span>ma-amin<\/span><\/em>, which means believe, trust, be devoted to or have confidence in. Like English, Hebrew distinguishes between <\/span>ma-amin l-<\/span><\/em> which is to \"believe\" the veracity of something, used to affirm that someone is telling the truth, versus <\/span>ma-amin b-<\/span><\/em>,<\/em> which means to \"believe <\/span>in<\/span><\/em>\" or trust in the existence of something, such as whether God exists. The word for religious faith, often used in names of synagogues, comes from the same root: <\/span>emunah<\/span><\/em>. And we can sum up our own personal beliefs in a personal credo (a word from the Latin for \"I believe\"), as my \"<\/em><\/span>ani ma-amin<\/span><\/em>,\" <\/em>literally, my \"I-believe.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Closely related is the fundamental Hebrew word <\/span>emet<\/span><\/em>, meaning \"truth\" (the sound \"n\" had been swapped for a \"t\" at some point). The word is the same, whether we\u2019re talking about God's truth or simply about not fibbing. The word <\/span>emet<\/span><\/em> is said to be God's seal, and also the seal of Brandeis University (copycats). In the English-speaking world, the Yiddish pronunciation of <\/span>emet<\/span><\/em> is also common: <\/span>emmes<\/span><\/em>. \"The emmes-truth\" used to be slang for \"the real McCoy,\" a cross-your-heart kind of truth. For example, a news segment in the 1976 movie \"Network\" was introduced as: \u201cIt's Jim Webbing and his \u2018It's-the-Emmes-Truth Department.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A different sort of order is reflected in a noun that combines the idea of mutual trust with a vision of social order: <\/span>amanah<\/span><\/em>, meaning a covenant, pact, treaty, contract, or convention. This is used in contemporary Hebrew in terms like <\/span>amanah chevratit<\/span><\/em>, \"social contract,\" and international agreements, such as <\/span>amanat Geneva<\/span><\/em>, \"the Geneva convention.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If it sounds like the name of a refrigerator, that\u2019s because an industrious branch of German Lutherans set up a network of communal settlements, first in New York, and then in Iowa, under the name Amana. They chose the name for its covenantal associations and ended up creating a large corporation for household appliances \u2013 the Amana brand \u2013 which was later sold to Whirlpool.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The word <\/span>amanah<\/em> <\/span>appears in our chapter, in which the people, who are faithful servants of the land, object to the riches produced going only to the wealthy and powerful. They make an <\/span>amanah<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> a pledge of solidarity that eases these harsh conditions, calling on all sectors of society to respect labor laws, anti-commercialism (by not violating the Sabbath rest), and observing the sabbatical year's remission of debts. They also consensually agreed upon a voluntary tax, in money and foodstuffs, for the upkeep of crucial public institutions and goods. For impoverished agricultural workers in the ancient world, clearly, these weren't just <\/span>amen<\/span><\/em>-ities!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98641,"alt":"","title":"neh10-amana","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","width":354,"height":608,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana-175x300.jpg","medium-width":175,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","medium_large-width":354,"medium_large-height":608,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","large-width":354,"large-height":608,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","1536x1536-width":354,"1536x1536-height":608,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","2048x2048-width":354,"2048x2048-height":608,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","post_full_size-width":354,"post_full_size-height":608,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana-245x420.jpg","home_baner-width":245,"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":"Cold Compact","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Nehemiah\u2019s \u201cAmana\u201d wasn\u2019t a household appliance","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98641,"alt":"","title":"neh10-amana","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","width":354,"height":608,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana-175x300.jpg","medium-width":175,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","medium_large-width":354,"medium_large-height":608,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","large-width":354,"large-height":608,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","1536x1536-width":354,"1536x1536-height":608,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","2048x2048-width":354,"2048x2048-height":608,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana.jpg","post_full_size-width":354,"post_full_size-height":608,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/neh10-amana-245x420.jpg","home_baner-width":245,"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":"10","chapter_main_number":"861","date":"20281217","wall_id":"861"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"98673","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"Do Tribes Always Mean Tribalism? ","post_title":"Do Tribes Always Mean Tribalism?","slug":"do-tribes-always-mean-tribalism","old_id":"98673","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":"862","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Nehemiah takes his chances\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Chapter 11 of Nehemiah is yet another census. But this time, the census includes real estate apportionments. \u201cThese are the heads of the province who lived in Jerusalem\u2014in the countryside<\/span> of Judah, the people lived in their towns, each on his own property, Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and the sons of Solomon\u2019s servants\u2026 while in Jerusalem some of the Judahites and some of the Benjaminites lived\u201d (verses 3-4).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The term \u201cin his property\u201d last appeared in the Book of Joshua chapter 21, during the apportionment of the land to the tribes following the conquests of Joshua. Similarly here, Nehemiah metes out certain cities and towns to the tribe of Judah and others to the tribe of Benjamin. The priests and the Levites fill in between the apportioned land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Does Nehemiah do the right thing here?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Returning people to their tribal lands is one way to instill pride for the returnees. After 70 years of exile, the people were probably thrilled to be able to return to the cities and towns where their families had lived for centuries. It was also a way to try to mimic the way the country was set up before the exile: giving certain portions to the priests and the Levites and to each tribe.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, as we saw throughout the books of Judges and Kings, separated tribes do not always beget national peace. In Judges, tribes appointed their own leaders that ran independent foreign policy. In Kings, the nation itself split in two based on tribal boundaries. One could look at this as a strategic mistake. Ultimately, we know that this tribal division did not really rear its ugly head as it did during the first Temple period, but the possibility was there.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In hindsight, this was probably a smart decision, but at the time, it may have been much more of a risk than the text reveals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Wall Is A Wall Is A Wall ","post_title":"A Wall Is A Wall Is A Wall","slug":"a-wall-is-a-wall-is-a-wall","old_id":"98709","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64450,"post_title":"David Curwin","slug":"david-curwin","old_id":"64450","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Curwin ","description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","short_description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64452,"alt":"","title":"david curwin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","width":427,"height":464,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-276x300.png","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","medium_large-width":427,"medium_large-height":464,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","large-width":427,"large-height":464,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","1536x1536-width":427,"1536x1536-height":464,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","2048x2048-width":427,"2048x2048-height":464,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","post_full_size-width":427,"post_full_size-height":464,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-387x420.png","home_baner-width":387,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"863","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Or is it? Hebrew actually has three terms....\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Chapter 12 of Nehemiah describes the Levites who returned to Zion. After listing the various Levite families, the book tells us how the Levites were involved in the dedication of Jerusalem\u2019s wall:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cAt the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites, wherever they lived, were sought out and brought to Jerusalem to celebrate a joyful dedication with thanksgiving and with song, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres\u201d (12:27).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The word used for wall here is <\/span>choma<\/span><\/em>. That is one of the three common words for \u201cwall\u201d in Hebrew. Let\u2019s take a look at them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Choma<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>is generally used to describe the protective wall around a city. Scholars say it derives from the root <\/span>chama<\/span><\/em>\u00a0meaning \u201cto see, protect.\u201d That root is common in Aramaic, and is used in the declaration made when disowning any <\/span>chametz<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>before Passover \u2013 <\/span>kol chamira ... d'chamitey u'dlo chamitey<\/span><\/em>\u00a0- \"any chametz ... that I saw or did not see\".<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The most common word for wall in Modern Hebrew is <\/span>kir<\/span><\/em>. Some sources say it may be related to <\/span>kora<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2013 \u201cbeam.\u201d Others say it is related to the Akkadian word <\/span>qiru<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and the Arabic <\/span>qir<\/span><\/em>, both meaning asphalt. So the original meaning may have been \"something paved or painted with asphalt.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One interesting verse that uses both <\/span>kir<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and <\/span>choma<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is Joshua 2:15. Here is the translation with the words for walls transliterated:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cShe let them down by a rope through the window\u2014for her dwelling was at the outer side of the city wall (<\/span>b'kir hachoma<\/span><\/em>) and she lived in the actual wall (<\/span>bachoma<\/span><\/em>).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this translation <\/span>kir<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>means \u201cside\u201d and <\/span>choma<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means \u201cwall.\u201d According to this opinion, <\/span>kir<\/span><\/em>\u00a0referred to the outside surface of the wall.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Others translate the verse as \u201cfor her house was in a wall of the fortification, and she lived in the fortification.\" So in this case <\/span>kir<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means wall, and <\/span>choma<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means fortification. This theory points out that in order to save on construction material it was common to include houses inside the city wall, and sometimes these houses would share their walls with the city walls.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The last word for wall is <\/span>kotel<\/span><\/em>. It only appears once in the Bible, in Song of Songs 2:9. It has origins in Aramaic, and may be related to the Akkadian <\/span>kutallu<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cback side.\u201d It became more popular in Rabbinic Hebrew, and today it's generally reserved to describe the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount - the <\/span>kotel hamaaravi<\/span><\/em>. Since the destruction of the Temple, it is one of the last remnants of that holy sanctuary.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So while in Nehemiah\u2019s day the wall associated with Jerusalem was a <\/span>choma<\/span><\/em>, today it is the <\/span>Kotel<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image:\u00a0Photo taken by Noam Chen for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, 2012 \/ flickr<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98716,"alt":"","title":"neh12-walls","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls.jpg","width":2048,"height":1350,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-300x198.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":198,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-768x506.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":506,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-1024x675.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":675,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1013,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1350,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-1200x791.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":791,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-637x420.jpg","home_baner-width":637,"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":"A Wall Is A Wall Is A Wall","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Or is it? Hebrew actually has three terms....","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98716,"alt":"","title":"neh12-walls","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls.jpg","width":2048,"height":1350,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-300x198.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":198,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-768x506.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":506,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-1024x675.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":675,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1013,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1350,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-1200x791.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":791,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh12-walls-637x420.jpg","home_baner-width":637,"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":"12","chapter_main_number":"863","date":"20281219","wall_id":"863"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/98317"}],"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=98317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}