Parashat Toldot tells a story of twins born fighting for status, and continuing to struggle throughout their lives. These twins, Jacob and Esau, are the children of Rebekah and Isaac, and their family\u2019s story is one of deep love with an undercurrent of deceit. Isaac and Rebekah love each other, Isaac loves Esau, and Rebekah loves Jacob. Jacob, the younger of the two, buys Esau\u2019s birthright and receives his blessing, effectively supplanting Esau as the older, more powerful sibling.<\/p>\r\n
In the middle of the parashah, we have the only narrative that focuses solely on Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esau. There is a famine in the land and Isaac travels to Gerar to seek relief as his father Abraham had done under similar circumstances. While there, Isaac farms the land and becomes impressively wealthy, but he finds himself in the midst of disputes with the locals over water. The wells that his father had dug are compromised, so Isaac re-digs those, and adds more wells. These new wells lead to more disputes as Isaac and his neighbors fight for ownership over the water. At last, Isaac digs a well that is not disputed, leading to peace with the inhabitants of Gerar. We don\u2019t get much information about Isaac\u2019s character other than this: Isaac, digger of wells.<\/p>\r\n
While this story reads like an intimate portrait of a family at odds, it is also one of relationship to land. Isaac is a farmer. Esau is a hunter and Jacob stays home and cooks. And yet, Isaac favors Esau. He prefers the taste of game and he is comforted by the rugged outdoorsiness of his older child. In many ways, Esau and Isaac temper each other in the way that shmita is meant to temper our own relationship with the land.<\/p>\r\n
Isaac the farmer is a symbol of attachment to land. He puts down literal roots, and that leads to disputes over water rights and ownership. Esau is at the mercy of the land, living every moment with the uncertainty of the future.<\/p>\r\n
The shmita year asks us to release our attachment to the dominance of land, to live in the utter immediacy of the season, to sustain ourselves with whatever the earth provides when we step away for a moment. In short, shmita is asking us to be a little more like Esau.<\/p>\r\n
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 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":"Toldot: Releasing Our Attachment To Dominance","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":"I Chronicles","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1173"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"98713","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Remembering How To Be Happy ","post_title":"Remembering How To Be Happy","slug":"remembering-how-to-be-happy","old_id":"98713","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":"863","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"An important skill, forgotten in Exile...\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" In Nehemiah 12, after many of the Jews exiled to Babylonia, returned to Jerusalem, the biblical text describes the celebrations that were conducted as a result.<\/span><\/p>\r\n A curious turn-of-phrase appearing in v. 43 - \u201cOn that day, they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God made them rejoice greatly\u201d - appears to attribute the deep joy of these celebrations to God. Malbim explains this, naturally and logically, that the joy emanated from the hearts of the people:<\/span><\/p>\r\n There was no joy resulting directly from the festive meals that were prepared. But rather it was due to <\/span>rejoicing in God<\/span><\/em>, to the point where even the children shared in the communal happiness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Metzudat David, however, suggests a more metaphysical reading of the text: \u201cGod placed the rejoicing within their hearts.\u201d This biblical commentator understands the rejoicing as supernatural, and the result of God\u2019s direct intervention in the emotional lives of His people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n One wonders why, according to Metzudat David, would God \u201ccare\u201d if due to His own intercession, the people rejoiced? Two sources in the book of Exodus could offer a precedent for Metzudat David\u2019s interpretation:<\/span><\/p>\r\n 1) God manipulates the responses of the Egyptian ruler during the last of the plagues: \u201cBut <\/span>the LORD stiffened the heart of Pharaoh<\/span><\/em>, and he would not heed them, just as the LORD had told Moses\u201d (Ex. 9:12 - similar terminology is used in Ibid. 10:1, 20, and 27).<\/span><\/p>\r\n However, one could say that there is a difference between God intervening with rulers whose policies affect God\u2019s plans for His creation, and the \u201ceveryday\u201d people that comprise Nehemiah\u2019s masses.<\/span><\/p>\r\n 2) With respect to the construction of the Tabernacle the Torah depicts God as inspiring the artistic abilities of the artisans: \u201cNext you shall instruct all who are <\/span>wise of heart, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom<\/em> <\/span>to make Aaron\u2019s vestments, for consecrating him to serve Me as priest\u201d<\/span> (<\/span>Ex 28:3 - <\/span>similar assertions are made in Ibid. 31:3,6; and 35:31).<\/span><\/p>\r\n While the individuals who made the Tabernacle and the priests\u2019 special clothing were more \u201crun-of-the-mill\u201d than a ruler like Pharaoh, one continues to wonder why rejoicing over the return to Jerusalem was apparently so important?<\/span><\/p>\r\n Perhaps, just as enslaving the Jewish people in Egypt had deprived them of fine arts, and therefore Divine encouragement had to be forthcoming in order that they be able to execute the jewelry, weaving, woodworking skills, etc. necessary to create the Tabernacle and its vessels, the exile in Babylonia had created a state of deep depression that people literally no longer knew how to rejoice. Verses in Psalms 137:1-4 reflect this state of affairs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n By God instilling in Jewish hearts the ability to rejoice, He was teaching the people yet another skill that circumstances had driven underground, and that had to flourish once again.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":90853,"alt":"","title":"ps137-by the rivers of 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How To Be Happy","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"An important skill, forgotten in Exile...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":90853,"alt":"","title":"ps137-by the rivers of 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And The Laws Of Muktzah ","post_title":"Nehemiah And The Laws Of Muktzah","slug":"nehemiah-and-the-laws-of-muktzah","old_id":"98745","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":"864","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A historical perspective on one of the earliest extra \u2018safeguards\u2019 of Shabbat\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem after the Second Temple had been rebuilt, he was discouraged to find that there was a considerable amount of Sabbath violation occurring, often in the form of commercial activity. Nehemiah recorded his observations about people treading on wine presses, bringing sheaves, and loading donkeys, grapes, wine, and figs on the Sabbath (12:15), and spoke of the distress this caused him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The original commandment to observe Shabbat is vague: \u201cGuard the Sabbath to keep the Sabbath \u2013 <\/span>v\u2019shamru et haShabbat l\u2019asot et haShabbat<\/span><\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/i> (Exodus 31:16). It lacks specificity.\u00a0 Since this directive immediately follows the instructions for building the tabernacle, our sages decided that keeping Shabbat is aligned with not doing the kind of work that was involved in that construction \u2013 generally categorized into 39 different kinds of work. But beyond that, it has been up to our rabbinical leaders to delineate the specifics, and Nehemiah lays the groundwork for the set of Shabbat laws known as \u201c<\/span>muktzah<\/span><\/em>\u201d \u2013 items that are set aside and not to be handled on Shabbat.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Talmud (Shabbat 123b) teaches that in this first instance of <\/span>muktzah<\/span><\/em> regulations, Nehemiah mandated that any object not specifically required for Shabbat be deemed <\/span>muktzah<\/span><\/em> except for three \u2013cake knives, spoons, and table knives \u2013 the utensils Necessary for eating. (Evidently cake has always been a necessity of life.) As time went on, and future generations became more vigilant in Sabbath observance, these restrictions were eased, little by little, until eventually and until today, we have a relatively short list of items that are <\/span>muktzah<\/span><\/em>, rather than only three items that are not.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The tactic of creating a very restrictive condition and eventually easing it, is a perfect example of what I previously mentioned in my post<\/span> Wisdom of Mind and Heart<\/span><\/a>. Maimonides\u2019 Golden Mean recognizes that sometimes moving from one extreme (in this case a wholesale desecration of Shabbat) to another (touching almost nothing) is the only way to break free of ingrained habits. But the goal of starting with an extreme is to land in the middle.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Nehemiah\u2019s focus on the minutiae of Shabbat laws is in keeping with his role as the spiritual leader of this new incarnation of the Jewish nation.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a long, hard slog to get where they are at this point in Jewish history. Rest has not been a given in their lives. As pointed out in a primer on <\/span>muktzah<\/span><\/em> from<\/span> chabad.org<\/span><\/a>, rest is, in fact, an unnatural state. The natural world is in perpetual motion, from the smallest of atoms to plants, animals, humans, the planet, and galaxies. To rest is a gift from God - a gift that should not be taken cavalierly. By putting into place some safeguards (<\/span>v\u2019shamru<\/span><\/em>), Nehemiah helped us all to hold on to the gift of Shabbat.<\/span><\/p>\r\n <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98746,"alt":"","title":"neh13-fence","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence.png","width":1920,"height":732,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-300x114.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":114,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-768x293.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":293,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-1024x390.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":390,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":586,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":732,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-1200x458.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":458,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-1102x420.png","home_baner-width":1102,"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":"Nehemiah And The Laws Of Muktzah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A historical perspective on one of the earliest extra \u2018safeguards\u2019 of Shabbat","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98746,"alt":"","title":"neh13-fence","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence.png","width":1920,"height":732,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-300x114.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":114,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-768x293.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":293,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-1024x390.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":390,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":586,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":732,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-1200x458.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":458,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-fence-1102x420.png","home_baner-width":1102,"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":"13","chapter_main_number":"864","date":"20281220","wall_id":"864"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"98748","color":"#e8ecf6","size":"1","name":"The Value - and Price - of Shabbat Observance ","post_title":"The Value - and Price - of Shabbat Observance","slug":"the-value-and-price-of-shabbat-observance","old_id":"98748","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":"864","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Was Nehemiah successful in his campaign? Ask the Maccabees!\r\n\r\n\u00a0","post_main_content_content":" In the previous chapter (12:43), we noted the predominance of the element of rejoicing over the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. That element is present, too, in the concluding portion of the Book of Nehemiah, which actually begins at 12:44: \u201cAt that time men were appointed over the chambers that served as treasuries for the gifts, the first fruits, and the tithes, into which the portions prescribed by the Teaching for the priests and Levites were gathered from the fields of the towns; for the people of Judah were grateful to the priests and Levites who were in attendance.\u201d (Robert Alter\u2019s translation is \u201cthe joy of Judah was upon the priests,\u201d making the Hebrew <\/span>simchah<\/span><\/em> more recognizable.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n This, then, is the first of a series of enactments (<\/span>takanot<\/span><\/em>) made by Nehemiah with which his book concludes: the granting of gifts to the divisions of priests, levites<\/span>\u00a0and others (12:44-47); the seclusion of all aliens (13:1-9); Levitical tithes (10-14); Shabbat laws (15-22); and actions taken to prevent intermarriage (23-28).<\/span><\/p>\r\n Nehemiah was astonished at the sight of rampant public profanation of Shabbat: \u201cAt that time I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the sabbath, and others bringing heaps of grain and loading them onto asses, also wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of goods, and bringing them into Jerusalem on the sabbath\u201d (15) and he strove to expand Shabbat observance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n How successful he was can be estimated from the following incident that occurred at the start of the Hasmonean era later in the Second Temple period:<\/span><\/p>\r\n The [Greeks] arose, suddenly, to fall upon them on Shabbat, saying to them:\u00a0 How long will you refuse to obey the king? And the men in their midst did not raise their hands to hurl a stone or to silence them\u2026 and [the Greeks] fell upon them on Shabbat and killed all those in the cave\u2026 about 1,000 people. (1 Maccabees 2:29-37)<\/span><\/p>\r\n Arguably, the people\u2019s attitude towards Shabbat had changed so radically that they were now even reluctant to violate it in defense of their own lives. Since the purpose of the Law, however, is to preserve and prolong life and not to abbreviate it, the Maccabees responded to this challenge.<\/span><\/p>\r\n They said to one another: If we all act as our brothers have, and refuse to defend our lives and beliefs, we will shortly be destroyed. They decided on that day: Whosoever will attack us on Shabbat, we will fight back; we will not die like our brothers in the caves. (1 Maccabees 2:38-41).<\/span><\/p>\r\n image: Shabbat icon (CC 4.0) \/ wikimedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98749,"alt":"","title":"neh13-Shabbat Icon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","width":360,"height":357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","medium_large-width":360,"medium_large-height":357,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","large-width":360,"large-height":357,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","1536x1536-width":360,"1536x1536-height":357,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","2048x2048-width":360,"2048x2048-height":357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","post_full_size-width":360,"post_full_size-height":357,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","home_baner-width":360,"home_baner-height":357}},"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 Value - and Price - of Shabbat Observance","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Was Nehemiah successful in his campaign? Ask the Maccabees! \u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98749,"alt":"","title":"neh13-Shabbat Icon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","width":360,"height":357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","medium_large-width":360,"medium_large-height":357,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","large-width":360,"large-height":357,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","1536x1536-width":360,"1536x1536-height":357,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","2048x2048-width":360,"2048x2048-height":357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","post_full_size-width":360,"post_full_size-height":357,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/neh13-Shabbat-Icon.jpg","home_baner-width":360,"home_baner-height":357}},"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":"13","chapter_main_number":"864","date":"20281220","wall_id":"864"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"98757","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Begin The Begats ","post_title":"Begin The Begats","slug":"begin-the-begats","old_id":"98757","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"865","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"For the modern reader, scarcely an inviting way to begin a book\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" 1:1 \u201cAdam, Seth, Enosh.\u201d<\/span> Chronicles begins abruptly with a patrilineal genealogical list that runs from the first man to Saul, his sons, and his grandsons, at the end of chapter 9. Here at the very beginning, only the names are stated, without even the verb \u201cbegot,\u201d which is not used until verse 10. For the modern reader, this is scarcely an inviting way to begin a book. In fact, it may not be the actual beginning of the original book but a set of appended \u201cfiles,\u201d as Jacob M. Myers has called it, important to the editor because it makes the history of the line of David a culmination of the history of humankind, which exhibits its first great fulfillment in Abraham and his descendants. The author draws directly on genealogical lists in Genesis and, evidently, on some extra-biblibcal sources that were available to him. Narrative content emerges only after nine chapters of these \u201cfiles.\u201d The first part of the list here closely follows the Table of the Nations in Genesis 10, and the reader is referred to the comments there.<\/span><\/p>\r\n From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 3: Writings, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Begin The Begats","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"For the modern reader, scarcely an inviting way to begin a book","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"I Chronicles","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"865","date":"20281221","wall_id":"865"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"98838","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"\u201cThe World Was Created For Me\u201d ","post_title":"\u201cThe World Was Created For Me\u201d","slug":"the-world-was-created-for-me","old_id":"98838","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":98697,"post_title":"David Mark","slug":"david-mark","old_id":"98697","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Mark","description":"Rabbi David E. Mark is the founder of Nachmans Wisdom (www.nachmanswisdom.com) and the head of Urban Sustainability for Ateret Cohanim (www.ateretcohanim.org). He is a teacher, counselor, and rabbi, who is a thought leader in relating the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and the broader Chassidic world in an accessible and meaningful way. \r\n","short_description":"Rabbi David E. Mark is the founder of Nachmans Wisdom (www.nachmanswisdom.com) and the head of Urban Sustainability for Ateret Cohanim.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":98870,"alt":"","title":"david mark","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/david-mark.jpeg","width":718,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/david-mark-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/david-mark-210x300.jpeg","medium-width":210,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/david-mark-718x1024.jpeg","medium_large-width":718,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/david-mark-718x1024.jpeg","large-width":718,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/david-mark.jpeg","1536x1536-width":718,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/david-mark.jpeg","2048x2048-width":718,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/david-mark.jpeg","post_full_size-width":718,"post_full_size-height":1024,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/david-mark-294x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":294,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"865","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Each has a mission, but no one person\u2019s mission taking precedence over another\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" The first verses of Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) is a simple list of names - \u201cAdam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noach, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.\u201d We of course know these names already from Genesis, but here they are simply listed with no context or background story.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Why?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n There are many different ways to answer this. One way is to explain that Chronicles is merely a chronicle of world history with a clear focus on the nation of Israel, so the Tanach speed through them in order to reach the main story. However, to say that this is just a mere literary device, would be reducing the Tanach to \u201cjust\u201d a book. But I believe that it is not just a \u201cbunch of stories;\u201d there is a message in everything.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Each one of us descends to this world with a deep and cosmically relevant mission that only we can carry out.\u00a0 It is the very descent that is the purpose of our true being, because without it we would not be able to \u2018fix\u2019 ourselves nor the world around us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n This is why Rebbe Nachman explains the famous quote in the Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin in the following way:\u00a0 \u201cSince each man must say, \u2018The whole world was only created for me.\u2019 (Sanhedrin 37) -- hence, insofar as the world was created for me, I must at all times see and look into <\/span>tikkun olam<\/span><\/i>\/rectifying the world and to fill the deficiencies of the world and pray for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n The state of the world is such that it requires each of us to take responsibility for it. We do not need a backstory or context, for each of us has a specific mission here, with no mission being more precious than the other. \u201cAdam, Seth, Enosh\u2026\u201d at the end we descend and rise back having either completed or not completed our task. The descending and ascending is the integral rectification and it is this flow that we must be attuned to. Each one of us, from the beginning of the Creation until the messianic age\u00a0 must be part of it. We descend when we are born and we ascend when we pass from this world, but this also happens daily. Some days we are following the path that is meant for our own actualization and transcendence and other days\u00a0 we are just flat - bound to a\u00a0 world that within it, strives to pull us in until we forget our mission.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Our mission is arduous, with no one person\u2019s mission taking precedence over another. Like the first verses, we are all names - points of holy light enwrapped in the physicality of this world -\u00a0 a note in the melody of Creation.\u00a0 No context is needed in Chronicles, because it is the names themselves that are the central focus of the world -\u00a0 we are why the world was created and being created every moment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98840,"alt":"","title":"1chron1-individual","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"\u201cThe World Was Created For Me\u201d","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Each has a mission, but no one person\u2019s mission taking precedence over another","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":98840,"alt":"","title":"1chron1-individual","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1chron1-individual-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"I Chronicles","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"865","date":"20281221","wall_id":"865"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"98842","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Names And Families ","post_title":"Names And Families","slug":"names-and-families","old_id":"98842","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":"865","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The firstborns were not necessarily born first\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" The book of Chronicles opens with a list of names starting with Adam mimicking the opening chapters of the book of Genesis. What is the point of having these names here? To answer this question, we must look at the very first Rashi in Genesis 1:1. Rashi poses the following question: Why does the Torah start with the creation of the world? If the essence of the Torah is the story of the Israelites and laws of Moses, then it should start with the first law in Exodus 12:2 \u201cthis month shall be unto you the first of the months.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Rashi answers \u201cshould the peoples of the world say to Israel, \u2018You are robbers, because you took by force the lands of the seven nations of Canaan\u2019, Israel may reply to them, \u2018All the earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whom He pleased. When He willed He gave it to them, and when He willed He took it from them and gave it to us.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The point of the lineage here is similar. The purpose of the book of Chronicles is to act as the official record of the ruling dynasty of the house of David.\u00a0 It would make sense, therefore, that the author would want to connect this dynasty all the way back to Adam bolstering the idea that it is the chosen dynasty.<\/span><\/p>\r\n There are also a few interesting things to note in the lineage. For example: Ishmael\u2019s descendants are\u00a0 listed as \u201cThis is their line: The first-born Ishmael\u2026\u201d; while the sons Isaac are listed as \u201cThe sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael\u201d with Isaac listed first. When Isaac\u2019s sons are listed,\u00a0 \u201cAbraham begat Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel\u2026The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.\u201d Esau is listed first but he is not referred to as the first born. The order of both emphasizes the status of Isaac and Jacob as the \u201cfirst born\u201d child even if they were not born first. Ishmael was the first born of Abraham, but Isaac was the first born of Sarah and was then given inheritance. Esau was born first, but he sold his birthright away, so the lineage does not refer to him as a first born.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62613,"alt":"","title":"1kings15-family-tree","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-family-tree.png","width":1280,"height":1263,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-family-tree-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-family-tree-300x296.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":296,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-family-tree-768x758.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":758,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-family-tree-1024x1010.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1010,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-family-tree.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1263,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-family-tree.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1263,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-family-tree-1200x1184.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1184,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-family-tree-426x420.png","home_baner-width":426,"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":"Names And Families","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The firstborns were not necessarily born first","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61652,"alt":"","title":"1kings4-family-tree","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings4-family-tree.png","width":1280,"height":1263,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings4-family-tree-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings4-family-tree-300x296.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":296,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings4-family-tree-768x758.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":758,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings4-family-tree-1024x1010.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1010,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings4-family-tree.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1263,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings4-family-tree.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1263,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings4-family-tree-1200x1184.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1184,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings4-family-tree-426x420.png","home_baner-width":426,"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":"I Chronicles","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"865","date":"20281221","wall_id":"865"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"98847","color":"#fafafa","size":"1","name":"The First Generations Of Humankind ","post_title":"The First Generations Of Humankind","slug":"the-first-generations-of-humankind","old_id":"98847","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":"865","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"There\u2019s a lesson in those lists\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" The Books of Chronicles begin by listing the first generations of mankind<\/span> from Adam to the sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel (i.e. Jacob)<\/span><\/a>, based on<\/span> Genesis 1:26 to 35:27<\/span><\/a>. Clearly, the interest of the Chronicler is to situate the people of Israel in the family of nations. This opening section of the First Book of Chronicles may be seen as a kind of inner-biblical midrash on \u201cThe Book of the Generations of Adam\u201d mentioned at the beginning of<\/span> Genesis Chapter 5<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Significantly, the 5<\/span>th<\/span> to 7<\/span>th<\/span> century CE mosaic inscription discovered in the<\/span> ancient synagogue at Ein Gedi<\/span><\/a> begins with a similar, but much shorter, list of the first generations of mankind from Adam to the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japhet, which simply cites I Chronicles 1:1-4: \u201cAdam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Midrash Tanhuma Buber<\/span><\/a> relates the Biblical commandment of tithing to the recurrence of repeated series of ten early generations of mankind. \u201cYou shall set aside every year a tenth part (i.e. a tithe) of all the yield of your sowing that is brought from the field\u201d (<\/span>Deut. 14:22<\/span><\/a>). \u201cMoses said, \u2018Lord of the Universe! From here should we learn that we are commanded to withhold and pay out as a tax one tenth of all produce?\u2019 The Holy One, blessed be He, answered by citing<\/span> Scripture<\/span><\/a>: \u201cAsk the generation past. Study what their fathers have searched out, for we are of yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are a shadow. Surely they will teach you and tell you, speaking out of their understanding.\u2019 How so (i.e. where in the first generations of mankind do you learn the importance of the number ten?)? Note that there were ten primeval generations from Adam to Noah. Then from Noah to Abraham there were another ten generations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n This midrash may be related to<\/span> Mishnah Avot<\/span><\/a> which records that there were ten generations from Adam to Noah, in order to make known how long-suffering is God. For all those first ten generations kept on provoking Him, until He brought upon them the waters of the flood. And yet again there were ten subsequent generations from Noah to Abraham, in order to make known how long-suffering is God. For those ten generations also kept on provoking God, until Abraham came and received the reward of all of them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Tanna de-Bey Eliyahu Rabbah<\/span><\/a> explains that the first generations of mankind were granted exceptionally long lives as a test. The third generation Enosh was willing to serve his father Seth but not his grandfather Adam. And so it was until the tenth generation Noah, who provided not only for his father and his grandfather but for all those still then living. And for his righteousness, Noah was rewarded by God, as it<\/span> says<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThen the Lord said to Noah, \u2018Go into the ark, with all your household, for you alone have I found righteous before Me in this generation.\u2019\u201d<\/span>
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n
\r\n
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