Exile
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The Difference Between Haftarat Shoftim and "Nahamu"
Haftarot: Shoftim/Nahamu
Rabbi Mosheh LichtensteinThere are many parallels between the haftara of Shoftim and the haftara of Shabbat Nahamu. The repetition is part of the emotional process of being comforted. This haftara offers a detailed account of the fears and concerns of Bnei Yisrael that were mentioned in general terms in the previous haftara - "Nahamu." The prophet focuses on fear as a problem in itself.
Redemption as Creation
Haftarot: Bereisheet
Rabbi Mosheh LichtensteinThe haftara of Bereisheet provides another perspective on creation, according to which God, and not man, is at the center of creation. God's honor is provided as a reason for the redemption of Am Yisrael, and the prophet explains how the fear and awe of God relate to the nation's punishment. The haftara describes the redemption as a renewed creation.
The Difference Between "Roni Akara" and "Aniya So'ara"
Haftarot: Noah
Rabbi Mosheh LichtensteinInfertility symbolizes the lack of hope for a better future, even if the present reality is tolerable, while desolation represents present suffering with the hope of a better future.
Idolatry and Hedonism
Haftarot: Shemot
Rabbi Mosheh LichtensteinThe first part of the haftara discusses the idolatry practiced by Bnei Yisrael, while the second half claims that the greater sin of the nation is hedonism.
Religious Sin, Ethical Sin and the Punishment of Exile
Prof. Jonathan GrossmanThis article compares the sins of Adam and Cain; and suggests that Adam’s sin is a prototype for religious sin; while Cain’s sin is a prototype for moral sin.
The Inadvertent Murderer and the Cities of Refuge
Prof. Jonathan GrossmanThe Cities of Refuge serve a dual purpose: They protect the accidental killer from the blood avenger, and if the killing is indeed found to be accidental, the city serves as an exile for the killer until the death of the High Priest.
The Crisis and the Consolation
Haftarot: Bemidbar
Rabbi Mosheh LichtensteinHosea is the first prophet to speak about the exile; he therefore needs to convey the message of an everlasting relationship between God and His nation. A similar need arises in Sefer Bemidbar: while the nation sins severely, the book also includes commandments that enable atonement, and others that attest to the fact that the nation will indeed inherit the Promised Land. The Sin of the Spies is founded on the desire to live easily, without great effort, while the trials and tribulations of the desert convey the opposite message, and allow the nation to start anew.
Between Sabbath and Sanctuary (Audio)
Rabbi Chanoch Waxman | 18 minutesThis shiur explores the striking “shabbat” motif in Vayikra's presentation of the Shemitta year (as opposed to the Shemitta laws in other books), in Parshat Behar and in the punishment section in Bechukotai, and reveals how the Seventh Year expands on and fuses together the themes of “holiness of time” and “holiness of space.”
In the Market for Genocide - Dispatchers of Dread
Chazal's Preambles to Megillat Esther: Part 3
Rabbi Moshe Taragin | 17 minutesThis shiur examines the significance of dispatching letters - a newly implemented advancement for a vast empire - and the fear experienced by the Jews after hearing Haman's edict of destruction. The fear is immediate—and the dread gradually builds up, as the people have to wait months for the day of their impending doom. There is a sickening feeling as the advanced technology of the day is being used against them.
Introduction - Daniel
Rabbi Yaakov MedanThe beginning of Sefer Daniel dates back to the Exile of Yehoyakim – the first Exile of Yehuda. Yehoyakim’s father Yoshiyahu was the final independent ruler of Yehuda and after his death a power struggle began between Egypt and Babylon. The date at the beginning of the book is reconciled with the dates in other books and the description of Yehoyakim’s demise is reconciled with description of his death and burial in Jerusalem.
The Inadvertent Murderer and the Cities of Refuge (Audio)
Prof. Jonathan Grossman | 15 minutesWhy are the laws of the “cities of refuge” brought here, when they seemingly belong in Parashat Misphatim? This shiur compares the laws of Arei Miklat in vaYikra with the presentation in Sefer Devarim. While Devarim emphasizes the protection provided by the cities, our parasha relates to the land, and reveals a dimension of exile and punishment for the accidental killer.
A Fresh Look at Eicha Chapter 5
Rabbi Chaim Brovenderתאריך פרסום: תשס"ט | | 52 minutes
This shiur examines chapter 5 in Megillat Eikha, which seems to differ in both style and content from the rest of the megilla. These differences can be explained through an analysis of the process of categorizing the books of Tanach, and the differences between the books in Nevi'im and Ketuvim. Noticing the differences between the books in each category teaches us about the goals of the books, and sheds light on chapter 5 of Eikha - focusing on the concepts of teshuva, zachor, and what they mean for us today.
Yirmiyahu and the Goal of Prophecy
Rabbi Menachem Leibtagתאריך פרסום: תשס"ט | | 10 minutes
Who is Yirmiyahu? This short shiur explores the personality of this prophet who is commonly associated with the destruction of the Temple and the exile. Through a discussion about the seventy years usually attributed to the length of exile, we can learn about Yirmiyahu and the goal of prophecy in general.
The Fall and Exile of Shomron
Rabbi Alex IsraelHoshea ben Ella rises to power as an apparent appointment of the Assyrian King, but soon after he joins an anti-Assyrian coalition. While Hoshea does not follow in the footsteps of the kings of Israel and residents of the northern kingdom participate in the Pessah Korban with Hizkiyahu in Jerusalem, this change is too late to stop the destruction and exile of the northern kingdom.
The Assyrian policy of population transfer is aimed at crushing hostile populations. By dispersing the exiles to far-flung locations, Ashur succeeds in destabilizing and disorienting the defeated. This technique absolutely destroys the internal cohesion of the exiled community and strangles its political opposition. For Israel this policy is a death knell. Domestically, as alien populations are transferred to Shomron, along with a foreign governor, it essentially becomes impossible for Israel to reinstate itself as an independent entity and leads to the disappearance of the ten tribes.
The people - not only the kings - of Israel chose to go in the ways of the surrounding nations and, just as the Torah warned, God and the land of Israel rejected them.
King Menashe – An Idolatrous Kingdom
Rabbi Alex IsraelMenashe introduces idolatry and bloodshed into Yehuda in ways previously unknown. He accepts complete Assyrian domination and sets the wheels of destruction and exile into motion. Sefer Melakhim ends the description of Menashe on this note. However, Divrei HaYamim describes Menashe being taken into captivity by the Assyrian general, praying to God, repenting, God returning him to his kingdom and Menashe removing the idolatry that he instituted. This enormous gap between the two stories shed light on the different agendas of the two books. Despite his repentance, Menashe's negative influence impacted beyond his reign, and specifically to his son Amon who followed in his evil ways.
The Decline towards Hurban
Rabbi Alex IsraelThe last four kings of Yehuda struggle under the crippling hegemony first of Egypt and then of Babylon, suffering military defeat, vassalage, humiliation, deportation, siege and torture. The sun is setting on the First Temple period and it will swiftly end in the conquest of Jerusalem and the exile of its people.
Soon after Yehoahaz becomes king, Pharaoh Nekho makes his brother Yehoyakim the king placing on him a heavy tax. Yehoyakim and the higher strata of society lead a lavish lifestyle oppressing the regular people to pay the tax and for their lifestyles - something that the prophet Yirmiyahu fights against. Despite the growing power of Babylon and despite Yirmiyahu's prophecies, the people remain indifferent and believe the Beit HaMikdash to be invicible. Yehoyakim is removed by the Babylonian king and the child king Yehoyakhin rules for a mere three months. He, the skilled laborers and the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash are taken to Babylon beginning the exile of Yehuda and creating two centers - in Jerusalem with Tzidkiyahu and in Babylon with Yehoyakhin.
The End
Rabbi Alex IsraelSefer Melakhim has little to say about the life of the last king of Yehuda, Tzidkiyahu. No specific happening or event that occurred during the first nine years of his eleven year rule are recorded. It is as if his reign was almost inconsequential and the Hurban just happens to transpire on his watch.
From the book of Yirmiyahu, King Tzidkiyahu emerges as a weak leader, a spineless and fickle character. On the one hand, he seeks Yirmiyahu's advice and assistance, and then, when intimidated by his own officials, he submits to their demands that Yirmiyahu be imprisoned as a traitor. When conditions get dire, Tzidkiyahu tries to escape Jerusalem, saving his own life but abandoning his nation still entrapped within. Tzidkiyahu conspires with other kings to rebel against Babylon, supported by local false prophets, but Yirmiyahu continues to prophesy the imminent destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.
In the aftermath of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, Gedaliah is murdered, sealing the fate on any chance of continued Jewish life in Israel. Yehoyakhin's reprive at the end of Sefer Melakhim gives a glimmer hope for a better future for the Jewish people.
Exile, the Land in Desolation and the Land Lying Fallow
Rabbanit Sharon RimonThe description of exile in the curses section of Parshat Bechukotai emphasizes the desolation of the land of Israel. We can understand that the desolation of the land is part of the punishment for the nation, but possibly also contains within it a promise to the nation - that the Land of Israel is destined specifically for them. Additionally, there seems to be a strong correlation between the desolation of the land during the years of exile and the laws of the Shmitta year.
Teshuva: Reciprocal Return or Automatic Redemption?
Rabbi Alex Israel | 33 minutesWe explore teshuva as presented in Nitzavim. The paradigm of teshuva (return) presented is a loving reciprocal process that is initiated by the people of Israel after sin and exile. God then responds to Israel’s return and continues to raise Israel to new heights. Apparently, though, the end of Vayikra presents a different model of teshuva: one that is initiated by God after Israel’s punishments. Redemption in Vayikra may not be contingent on Israel’s behavior, but the redemption presented in Devarim may be more worth the wait.
Babylonian Exile: Fleeting or Enduring?
Rabbi David SabatoYirmiyahu and Yosef in the Pit
Rabbi David SabatoRamban on Parshat Haazinu - The History of the Jewish People
Rabbi Ezra Bick | 36 minutesRamban’s comments on verse 26 of Chapter 32 have a great deal of meaning in terms of understanding Jewish History. Ramban focuses on the word af’eihem, which, he argues, is a compound word meaning “However, where are they”? The verse comes in the midst of the Song of Haazinu, at a point where Israel has abandoned God. God is angered and the people are to be punished with exile.
God has “initially” proposed that there is to be no remnant or memory amongst the nations. But what does this mean? Ramban posits, 500 years before political nationalism and the Zionist movement, that the meaning of the verse is that the Jews will not have their own national identity while they are dispersed among the nations. According to the attribute of strict judgement, this fate should have been eternal. As it is, the Ramban believes that the “merit of the forefathers” (Zekhut Avot) has been all used up in Exile. But for the sake of God’s Great Name—for the sake of Kiddush HaShem- the lack of Jewish political status and national identity will not last forever, and the song conveys that the Jewish people will be a nation again.
Other biblical and midrashic sources are used to delve further into the ideas about the reasons for creation of humanity and the meaning of Kiddush HaShem.
Mordechai and Esther
Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein | Hour and 8 minutesWhat makes Purim a special yom tov and why is it a day of festivity and celebration? Why is Purim unique as opposed to other days of Jewish salvation? Why is the megilla called Megillat Esther and not Megillat Mordechai? A close examination of the Purim story within its historical context provides answers to these questions, by understanding Purim as a celebration of the renewal of the covenant between Israel and God.
Yosef Wandering and Israel Wandering - What Do You Seek?
Rabbi David SilverbergIn the Land of Egypt - In the Land of Goshen
Rabbi David SilverbergNight Vision and Prophecy of Exile
Rabbi David SilverbergThe Weeping of Yosef and Binyamin and the Exiles to Come
Rabbi David SilverbergVayetze: The Parasha of Exile
Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 20 minutesParashat Vayeitze seems to be the parasha of galut. Both forced and voluntary aspects of exile are present. We attempt to define "galut" and ask why Yaakov - and later, Israel - is in exile? Is it merely a punishment, or is there something more - another purpose? Why is the Torah given outside of Eretz Yisrael? Perhaps acceptance is a step that is necessarily before the period of implementation - exile lessens responsibilities, and perhaps offers an important opportunity for growth and development.
Shemot - Purpose and Nature of Exile
Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 20 hoursParashat Shemot makes us think of many issues of galut and geula (exile and redemption). -What is the nature and purpose of this exile? Is it a punishment for the selling of Yosef? But how would this explain God telling Avraham that his descendants would be enslaved for hundreds of years, after which they would leave triumphantly?
Should we really be asking why the exile happened, or what our response should be - what behavior or changes should exile prompt?
Eretz Yisrael in Tanakh and Jewish Thought
Rabbi Chaim NavonDoes the Tanakh portray the Land of Israel as a homeland, or as a place of exile? What type of qualities are unique and special about the Land? Are the geographical and natural features a source of abundant blessing or of vulnerability and dependence upon God? What is meant by the various biblical descriptions of the Land as the place of the Divine Presence? We examine the role of the Land of Israel throughout Tanakh, and explore perspectives of midrashim and Jewish philosophers and scholars. Some of the responses may be surprising.
Bechukotai: The Pursued with no Pursuer
Rabbi Shlomo Dov RosenBehar: Idolatry, Shabbat, and the Mikdash
Rabbi David SilverbergVayechi: Blossoming in Exile
Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky"Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own" Why the decree of exile?
Dr. Brachi ElitzurMidrashei Chazal offer many instances of judgmental evaluations of biblical characters that are different – sometimes even quite contrary – to the impression we receive from a reading of the plain level of the biblical narrative. Often, a midrash will judge a person favorably concerning an act that seems, on the literal level, to be a sin; there are also instances in which the midrash attributes a sin to a character even where no such act is mentioned in the text, nor is there any sign of any rebuke or punishment. An example of this phenomenon is the accusation of Avraham, by no less than four different sages, of bearing responsibility for the decree of subjugation that Bnei Yisrael will suffer in Egypt for 210 years. This article explains the seemingly unbridgeable gap between Avraham's character as depicted in the biblical text, and as reflected in the midrash and the question of Divine retribution on a nation that has not yet been born, which already pervades the decree of future subjugation. Through an exploration of the midrashim and the biblical text we can understand that the sages are attempting to inculcate values for the guidance of national and political life for the generations to come.
Yaakov – The Exiled Man
Dr. Brachi ElitzurYaakov's request of God as he is about to leave Eretz Yisrael may point to the main challenge that he faces, and his success will serve as a model for later generations.
The Spiritual Rehabilitation of Bat Zion in Eichah 1
Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman | 57 minutesWhat is the purpose of Megillat Eicha? This lecture analyses the first perek of Eicha by defining two distinct voices throughout the perek, and highlights the 7-stage spiritual awakening that the characters experience. This allows us to attempt to come to an understanding of the destruction and exile, and brings to light a new interpretation of Megillat Eicha.