2.
In the twelfth century, Rabbi Judah Halevi asked with emotion: "Zion, will you not ask after the welfare of your captives, your seekers of peace who are the remnant of your flocks? And later, he longed to wander through "the places where God appeared to your prophets and messengers." In his imagination he reached Hebron and the resting place of the great founders of the nation: "Even as I stand upon the graves of my forefathers, I am struck silent in Hebron before your choicest tombs."

When Moses sent spies to scout the land of Israel, the only place they knew from the stories was Hebron and within it the Cave of the Patriarchs: "They went up and scouted the land... they went up through the Negev and came to Hebron" (Numbers 13:21–22).

Two of them withstood social pressure and clung to the truth against the ten who slandered the land. One was Caleb son of Jephunneh, who after the entry into the land conquered Hebron and made it the capital of the tribe of Judah. Years later, the reign of King David began in Hebron, and from there, it spread across the land and history, until it reached Jerusalem.

3.
The negotiations  between Abraham and Hittites described in the Torah echo well-known conventions of the ancient Near East and Hittite documents, yet they contain a unique innovation. Abraham says to the Hittites: "I am a resident alien among you. Grant me a burial holding among you so that I may bury my dead before me" (Genesis 23:4).

A resident alien was someone who arrived from another country and settled in a place, typically with the consent of the local landowners. His residence was considered temporary and he lacked rights to acquire land permanently, certainly not for a family burial estate.

Rabbi David ben Amram al Adani, author of the Midrash Hagadol (Yemen, mid-14th century), writes: "Come and see the humility of our father Abraham. The Holy One blessed be He promised to give him and his descendants the land forever, yet now he found no burial place except by paying money, and he did not question the ways of God or protest. Moreover, he spoke to the inhabitants of the land only with humility, as it says, a resident alien. God said to him: Because you lowered yourself, I swear I will make you a lord and leader over them."

It is a timely message: faith is measured in historical patience regarding the gap between what is hoped for and what is present, both personally and nationally. Many times, we protest political or military decisions that appear weak, only to discover later that they were part of broader stroke, whose value becomes clear with time.

4.
The Hittites offer Abraham their choicest burial sites as a gift, but he insists on purchasing one. A gift can be regretted, if not now then in future generations. So what of the prohibition on selling land to foreigners? The solution comes through a legal workaround: the place is given as a gift for which one pays a tremendous price. "Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver he had spoken of before the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver of the accepted weight. And the field of Ephron in Machpelah, facing Mamre, was established as Abraham's property in the presence of the Hittites and of all who entered the gate of his city") Genesis 23:16–18(. And today we may add: before all of humanity.

The cave held within it the fathers and mothers of the nation, like seeds planted in the earth that sprouted not as words in books but as living reality. A central symbol weaving through the Book of Genesis is the womb. The Garden of Eden appears as a cosmic womb containing the embryo of humanity in the form of Adam and Eve. Noah's Ark is a human-made womb that also holds humanity in its embryonic state. Then comes the cave to which Lot and his daughters fled, where Moab was born, from whom came Ruth, the ancestral mother of King David. And now the Cave of Machpelah. And what is the cave if not a womb holding the memory of the nation until its rebirth?

5.
In many myths and folktales we meet a hero who sets out in search of a treasure hidden in a cave. This reflects a quest for the treasure that the psychoanalyst Carl Jung called the self, the deep core of our being beneath disguises and masks. Jung distinguished the self from the ego, which is only the center of consciousness, while the self is the whole personality toward which we grow.

Guardians protect the treasure: a dragon, a serpent, a monster. They symbolize the binding force of the Great Mother, a figure whose dominance can overwhelm us and prevent the development of an independent self. Overcoming the dragon represents the triumph of the emerging self over the old ego, shedding the masks and emotional chains that imprison us. It is the release from the heavy shadow of our parents. After a painful and demanding process, the hero gains his essence and independent identity and is reborn in the cave. This is true both personally and nationally.

"Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening, and he lifted his eyes... and Rebekah lifted her eyes, saw Isaac and fell from the camel... and she took the veil and covered herself" (Genesis 24:63–65). Isaac goes out to pour out his soul in the field of Machpelah. He had mourned his mother for three years, her only son, visiting her grave throughout that time. Even now he enters the cave where his mother lies, a place where his self is bound to her memory. Something within him is stuck. The Abrahamic movement of lech lecha has frozen. Isaac stops laughing.

Did Abraham see this paralysis in his son? Perhaps that is why he sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac, to release him from the paralyzing memory and help him build an independent life. And so, Isaac emerges from the cave with eyes blurred by tears and longing. Then Rebekah approaches him, and the hope of the house of Abraham is reborn, the hope of thousand years: "Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother. He married Rebekah, she became his wife and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted after his mother" (Genesis 24:67). And with him, we too are comforted.

6.
Judah Halevi ends his poem of longing for Zion: "Happy is he who waits and arrives and sees the radiance of your dawn, whose mornings break forth upon him, who sees the goodness of your chosen ones and rejoices in your joy when you return to the days of your youth."

Here is a great Jew who lived nearly a millennium ago and expressed the essence of Zionism: the Jewish people return home to their father and mother. Once our first father was a resident alien here, but then our mother Sarah, the first Hebrew woman, died. Abraham purchased a burial estate, and from it began our permanent settlement. We returned not because our ancestors are buried here, but because they lived here, because these were "the days of Sarah's life", because here they created and founded a nation with an eternal message.

As I write these words, my eyes are filled with harsh videos of the wave of antisemitism sweeping the Jewish world. These verses are more relevant than ever: our brothers and sisters, come home. This is your place.

And not only in his poems. Judah Halevi ended his great philosophical work, the Kuzari, with a Zionist call as well, in the classic translation of Judah ibn Tibbon: "For Jerusalem will truly be rebuilt when the people of Israel long for her with the utmost longing, until they cherish her very stone and dust."

Will we listen?

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Rabbi Zamir responded that this is indeed a topic that intrigues many. "In the Torah itself, the Garden of Eden is mentioned only at the beginning of the book of Genesis – as a garden located in a place called Eden, not as the World to Come. When we talk about the Garden of Eden today, we are referring to what will be after a person dies, to reward and punishment. But it is surprising to know – in the Written Torah, in all five books of the Torah, there is not a single word about life after death. The Torah speaks only about how to live correctly here, in this world," Rabbi Zamir said.

According to the rabbi, the Torah is not a book about higher worlds or what happens after death, but rather "a book that guides us how to be better people and build a better world." He emphasized that "the entire subject of the World to Come belongs to other realms of Judaism – the literal, the allegorical, the homiletical, and the mystical. These are ways to understand reality and our relationship with God, and also to touch on questions about what happens after life, but this is not part of the Written Torah."

The rabbi concluded with a sober but faith-filled approach. "I leave this question open. Yes, I too am curious to know what will be, but the Torah teaches me how to live correctly here and now, and that is what I focus on," Rabbi Zamir said.

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But who actually determines what is right? And what is moral? Israel's government? Emmanuel Macron? Or perhaps the UN?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe once said that "there are two types of laws – laws that create life and laws created by life. Human laws were created from life, therefore they differ in every country according to the country's conditions. God's Torah is a divine constitution that creates life. The Torah is equal in all places and at all times, an eternal Torah. There is no value to justice and righteousness when these are built only on laws established by people."

The most basic codex of humanity's laws was received at Mount Sinai. Commandments such as "I am the Lord your God," "Honor your father and mother," and "You shall not murder." From those Ten Commandments emerged and continue to reach us today thousands of laws and regulations that create life. They are not pragmatic, they do not rise to a second, third, or fourth reading, and they do not change back and forth according to political weather or poll results. They primarily ensure, like a compass needle, that we will always find the true north – and also the compass in our hearts.

Often, one of the things that demonstrates to us more than anything else the dimensions of hatred and evil directed toward us from Gaza is found in footage of local children. Whether in dreams about "killing Jews," in educational materials, or in terror camps. And this is far more distressing and disheartening than seeing such adults. Why? Because children are a preview of what is still buried in the ground – of the seeds that contain the blossoming of the future.

Like a perfect mirror image, the Midrash tells that when God wanted to give the Torah to Israel, He requested guarantors, as before signing a loan. The children of Israel offered various distinguished guarantors, but only when it was suggested that "our children will be guarantors for us" did the Holy One agree and give the holy Torah to the people of Israel.

And why specifically the children? Because when God wanted to give the Torah, He essentially made a trade – He gave the Jewish people His most precious possession ("Your Torah is better to me than thousands of gold and silver"), and expected to receive something in return. A win-win situation. Precisely millions of children of the people of Israel, the future of the Jewish people at any given moment, are the reason that convinces God that the investment in us will always be quite worthwhile.

May we merit a joyful holiday, and may we receive the Torah this year with joy and inwardly together with all IDF soldiers, the hostages and their dear families, and feel as we did then, beside Mount Sinai – one united people.

Rabbi Moni Ender is the head of Chabad's public relations

The post A moral compass that never fails: What Shavuot is all about appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Why couldn't the sages simply refer to the Torah to resolve the dispute by confirming the correct date? Remarkably, the Torah omits the specific date of Shavuot, unlike other holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Passover, which have clearly defined dates in the Jewish calendar. Shavuot, marking the covenant between God and Israel at Sinai, is unique in that its precise date is not recorded in the Torah. What, then, does the Torah provide?

The Torah states that the giving occurred "in the third month after the children of Israel left Egypt," meaning Sivan, but it offers no specific day. The only guidance is to "count fifty days" from the day following the first day of Passover. However, because Hebrew months can be either full (30 days) or short (29 days), the lengths of Iyar and Nisan that year could result in multiple possible dates.

Both months might have been short, both full, or one of each, meaning the Torah could have been given on the 5th, 6th, or 7th of Sivan. Further complicating matters, the Torah does not confirm that the Torah was given on the fiftieth day, only that this day is a "holy convocation" when "no work shall be done." Thus, it's a day for rest and celebration – but of what exactly? The Torah remains silent.

The debate over Shavuot's precise and official date might seem like a technical matter of calendar calculations, but it holds a deeper significance. The lack of clarity may reflect a deliberate intent to prevent the Jewish people from tying the Torah to a single day. The Torah is a timeless guide, eternally relevant, and Jews are meant to embrace it anew daily, as expressed in the blessing "who gives the Torah" in the present tense, not "who gave the Torah" in the past.

Yet one question persists: Why didn't the Torah clarify that Shavuot is the day of the giving of the Torah? Why did it take the sages to later define it as "the time of the giving of our Torah"?

Rabbi Sacks explains that Shavuot carries an additional layer of meaning that might have been overlooked if it were solely associated with the giving of the Torah. Every mention of Shavuot in the Torah is linked to agricultural practices, such as the omer offering, roasted and fresh grain, the wave offering, and the first fruits. Additionally, in Emor portion, right after mentioning Shavuot among Israel's festivals, the Torah addresses the commandment of pe'ah – leaving a portion of the field for the poor – and leket, the gleanings for the needy. This indicates that Shavuot also celebrates the Land of Israel. Rabbi Sacks suggests that Shavuot honors two divine gifts: the Torah and the Land.

Thus, the three pilgrimage festivals reflect three phases of the Jewish people's redemption from Egypt: Passover recalls their enslavement and exodus, Sukkot commemorates the 40 years of desert wandering, and Shavuot marks their entry into the Land of Israel.

The link between the Torah and the Land of Israel is clear: the Torah's commandments are fully realized in the Land. Hence, one holiday celebrates both. Today, with the Jewish people's return to their homeland after 2,000 years of exile, during which they safeguarded the Torah's teachings worldwide, it can again be declared, "From Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of God from Jerusalem." The surge in Shavuot night study sessions in recent years proves this, as tens of thousands of Israelis – secular, traditional, religious, and ultra-Orthodox – engage in their own way with the Torah's timeless messages, given thousands of years ago.

Rabbi Elie Kling heads the "Atid Chemed" program at the Chemed Academic College in Sdot Negev,.

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Lavi Furniture Industries, the leading company in designing and manufacturing synagogue furniture, has launched three technological innovations in the past year that enhance the prayer experience in synagogues. Even after thousands of years of Jewish tradition, there is still room for innovation.

The innovations include a retractable partition to separate men's and women's sections, a multi-position prayer book holder that improves reading comfort, and a unique drawer system for storing and retrieving Torah scrolls. These solutions, developed in response to specific needs of synagogues, have become standard products available to all communities. "There is nothing that cannot be solved," says Roni Evron Dasberg, a senior designer at Lavi. "The original thinking of our customers challenges us and drives us to develop innovative solutions."

The retractable partition

The traditional partition between men's and women's sections has received a significant upgrade. It was designed by Lavi's engineering department with an understanding of usage scenarios in the synagogue. The partition can be raised and lowered by any woman or man in the synagogue. No physical strength or usage instructions are required. The mechanism has been tested in environmental conditions and usage cycles and is suitable for thousands of opening and closing cycles.

"The partition comes down in two cases," explains Eran Shamir, CEO of the company, "during Torah lessons and bar mitzvah celebrations, when candies are thrown at the celebrant. This way, women can also participate in this tradition." The new partition, which combines traditional wood carvings with contemporary design, allows for simple raising and lowering – even on Shabbat. The partition can be installed in both existing and new synagogues.

Multi-position prayer book holder

Many worshippers, especially those over 50, struggle with reading from prayer books and the Torah. Lavi's R&D team developed an innovative prayer book holder that offers a comprehensive solution: while standing, the holder elevates the book and brings it closer to eye level; while sitting, it positions it at an optimal angle for reading. The holder also retains previous features such as a flat position for placing tefillin. The innovation, which was integrated into Lavi's seating system about a year and a half ago, received enthusiastic responses from worshippers.

Revolution in the Holy Ark

At the synagogue in Tal Menashe, established in memory of Captain Yedidya Lev who fell in Gaza, a unique engineering solution was born. "We were required to develop a system that would allow access to each Torah scroll separately, without moving others," says Doron Klein, Operations Manager. "It was a challenge that required creative thinking."

The solution: an advanced drawer system that carries three to four Torah scrolls. Each drawer moves smoothly on special steel rails, combining strength with gentle movement. Custom metal supports ensure secure holding of the Torah scrolls. The innovation, which began as a local solution, has become a product suitable for many communities in Israel and around the world.

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In an unprecedented diplomatic gesture that underscores growing ties between Argentina and Judaism, President Javier Milei orchestrated a historic swearing-in ceremony for his new Foreign Minister Gerardo Wertheim using a Torah scroll, while delivering an unexpected biblical commentary about Abraham's divine mission.

The extraordinary ceremony, which took place at the Argentine Parliament, marked a significant departure from traditional state protocols. The event gained particular attention following Milei's decision to replace former minister Diana Mondino, who had voted to support lifting US economic sanctions against Cuba.

"Today, we've departed from conventional format by conducting the oath on the Torah, making it particularly fitting to discuss this week's portion, Lech Lecha," Milei told the assembled dignitaries. "It's fascinating to consider what this portion teaches us, what messages are being sent to you from above, Gerardo."

The president, who has previously declared his deep affinity for Israel with statements such as "I want to be like Israel" and "I stand with Israel in the war against forces of darkness," drew parallels between the biblical narrative and contemporary diplomacy. "The portion speaks about Abraham's journeys throughout the world, as he decides to spread the Creator's messages. The Almighty tells Abraham that his role is to influence the nations of the world and places upon him the important responsibility of conveying Torah's messages of life and liberty to the entire world," he explained.

The President of Argentina, Javier Millay, quoted this week's Torah section (parasha) at the swearing-in ceremony of the new foreign minister, Gerardo Werthein. pic.twitter.com/MxHVtugcm3

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) November 5, 2024

 The ceremonial oath itself carried profound significance. "Mr. Gerardo Wertheim, do you swear by God and the homeland and on the Torah to faithfully and devotedly fulfill the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Religion?" Milei asked, adding after Wertheim's affirmation, "If you do not do this, God and the nation will demand it of you."

Since assuming the presidency, Milei has demonstrated an unprecedented embrace of Jewish traditions and support for Israel. He maintains regular consultations with a rabbi, studies biblical texts, and has established himself as a strong advocate of the Chabad movement. His first international visit as president was to Israel, where he demonstrated emotional solidarity at the Western Wall, announced plans to relocate Argentina's embassy to Jerusalem, and repeatedly affirmed his commitment to Israel's security.

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As the Jewish community prepares to welcome the year 5785 on the Hebrew calendar, Rosh Hashanah 2024 brings unique challenges and opportunities. Set to begin on Wednesday, October 2, and conclude on Friday, October 4, this year's observance will seamlessly transition into Shabbat, necessitating additional preparations. From traditional foods to the blowing of the shofar, the celebration encapsulates renewal, reflection, and hope for the coming year.

Rosh Hashanah symbols

Every year, on the night of Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to eat symbols – foods that symbolize blessings for the new year. Each symbol is accompanied by a special blessing and deep spiritual meaning. The holiday symbols are an integral part of the holiday and accompany the family meal in a spirit of renewal and blessing.

1. Pomegranate: The many seeds of the pomegranate symbolize abundance.
2. Apple in honey: Symbolizes a sweet year.
3. Rubia (beans): The rubia symbolizes multiplication and growth.
4. Leek: The leek symbolizes hope for the removal of enemies.
5. Fish head: To be like the head and not the tail.

Shofar blowing

Shofar blowing is one of the central customs of Rosh Hashanah. The blowing symbolizes a call to repentance, the coronation of God as King of the universe, and the opening of the gates of heaven for our prayers. Types of blasts:

1. Tekiah: A straight, long sound.
2. Shevarim: Three short blasts.
3. Teruah: A series of short and continuous blasts, totaling nine.

In every synagogue, 30 blasts are sounded before the Musaf prayer, and another 70 blasts during it. The blasts are considered a central stage in the prayer, and it's important to listen to them with concentration and without distractions.

Eruv Tavshilin: What is it and how to perform it?

When Yom Tov connects to Shabbat, one must perform an eruv tavshilin that allows preparation of food for Shabbat during the second day of Yom Tov. One should take challah bread and a prepared dish, say the blessing, give it to someone else who will also say a blessing, and thus, it is permissible to cook on Yom Tov for Shabbat.

It's important to know that eruv tavshilin permits cooking from the second day of Yom Tov for Shabbat, but not from the first day of Yom Tov to the second. It is forbidden to cook or set the table for the second evening meal of Rosh Hashanah before the end of the first day, that is, Thursday evening, a minute or two before the time corresponding to the end of the second day of Yom Tov on Friday.

Lighting Shabbat and Yom Tov candles

Shabbat and Yom Tov candles need to be prepared in advance, and one should ensure that memorial candles or other candles will burn for the entire required time so that we can transfer fire from existing fire during the holiday and Shabbat.

When is Rosh Hashanah 2024? Entry times

1. Jerusalem: 17:47
2. Tel Aviv: 18:03
3. New York: 18:17
4. Los Angeles: 18:16

When is Rosh Hashanah 2024? Exit times

1. Jerusalem: 18:56
2. Tel Aviv: 18:58
3. New York: 18:14
4. Los Angeles: 18:14

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Shalom Boguslavsky's new book boasts probably the longest book title you have ever read: "The Unlikely and Oft-Overlooked Story of the Rise and Fall of Jewish Eastern Europe." The first sentence in this highly popular history book, written by the tour guide, lecturer and blogger, who has a strong passion for Eastern Europe, proudly tells us that, "It is a ridiculous feat to recount five hundred years of history in one book."  But Boguslavsky was forced to tell this story in one book as it is precisely this 500-year period from the 15th century to the Holocaust that creates a clear narrative arc: at the start of the 16th century (the period of the Expulsion of the Jews of Spain, the growing strength of the Ottoman Empire and the conquest of America by the Europeans) there were only a few tens of thousands of Jews in Eastern Europe; by the mid-18th century (prior to the American War of Independence and the French Revolution) this number had already grown to 750 thousand; and by the end of the 19th century (the birth of Zionism, the eve of the First World War, against the backdrop of a tremendous wave of emigration to America), there were some 6.5 million Jews there.

But Boguslavsky's book does not necessarily deal with these relatively well-known global events, which accompanied the rise of Judaism in Eastern Europe, but actually focuses on the no less interesting but much less remembered (or "oft-overlooked" in his words) developments of that particular area. Who are the people and the cultures who shared the Eastern-European domain with the Jews? What is the connection between the Jewish mythology of that period – the shtetl, the incessant battles between the Hasidim and the Litvaks (the Misnagedim or "opponents" who later took on the term Litvaks as they came from Lithuania) and so on – and the reality of the other surrounding nations and states? Our inability to perceive the conditions leading to the development of such a major force in world Jewry, does to a large extent underscore the importance of one of the maps presented at the beginning of the book: that large land of two kingdoms Poland-Lithuania, which at the time encompassed Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, and Kaliningrad. This is an immense swathe of land that has changed over the years, it expanded and was later downsized, it was partitioned and then reunited, and for the duration of those hundreds of years it was plagued by revolutions no less than those occurring in Western Europe. This certainly had an impact on the Jewish population.

Boguslavsky's interest in the Jews of Eastern Europe began as a necessary part of his profession. "I began to travel to Eastern Europe, mainly to Ukraine, due to personal circumstances, and also as I was extremely interested by it," recounts Boguslavsky. "The more I traveled the more I became captivated with it, and I thought: I travel in any event and deal with guiding and tourism, so why shouldn't they pay me for those trips? So, I began to take groups of tourists with me. I obviously needed to engage in an orderly effort to learn the relevant material so as not to talk garbage when providing commentary on the sites in question. When I learned the general history of those places, it cast Jewish history in a completely different light, and gave me the broader context that I had been missing until then, and that people usually are not aware of. The second thing that happened is that I was overly critical of certain images that had been traditionally associated with the Jews of Eastern Europe. They still remained firmly implanted in my head, but then, gradually I began to see things that did not really fit in with those images."

The first thing that Boguslavsky noticed, which contradicted those preconceptions that had "been implanted in his head," he claims was the number of Jews spread across the lands of Eastern Europe. "There were simply masses of Jews there," he says. "At some point, more than three-quarters of world Jewry were concentrated in that region. This was information that was already available, but it became much more present and tangible when I was there and saw the little that remained of it with my own eyes. It is still possible to feel the prominent presence of the Jews in that region to this day. The first example that caused me to understand this was one of the remains of the synagogues that I saw. Even the little that remained of it was extremely grand and majestic. I thought to myself that it is from the literature written about that period, rather than the academic research, that we always tend to gain the impression of the small, shabby and pitiful shtetl with the non-Jews on one side of the river and the Jews on the other side, and everything is so small and abjectly impoverished. And then, all of a sudden, you see a synagogue hewn from stone in the center of the town, a magnificent edifice built by the King of Poland's own personal architect. Thus, a number of factors began to accumulate that did not correspond with the image that I had entertained, and so I began to delve into this subject a little more.

"In the beginning, I thought to myself, 'Wow, how smart I am, I have unearthed completely new ground here,' but as soon as I began to read I immediately grasped that I had not uncovered anything at all. Everything that I thought I understood – the world of academic research already knew. Prof. Majer Bałaban, Prof. Israel Heilperin and all the leading lights in this field have already written everything there is to write much more eloquently than I could write. But it transpires that there is a gap between what is known to the world of academic study and the popular perception of things. And I, in my profession, am supposed to give this out to people who do not hail from an academic background or who have been dealing with such issues for their entire lives. And so, this is how I decided to take the leap and try and bridge that gap."

Where did the Cossacks come from?

The book weaves the general history of the region with the local Jewish history and the Jewish memory, or the Jewish mythology of Eastern Europe. Familiarity with the broader view of the story, says Boguslavsky, sheds a different light on our story, that of the Jews. "If you ask historians dealing with Jewish history what was the greatest event that occurred in the last third of the 18th century, the rise of the Hasidic movement will always stand out together with the bitter split between the Hasidim and the Misnagedim, Boguslavsky points out. "Ostensibly, this is an internal Jewish theological-ideological dispute, a fight for the spiritual leadership of the Jews, and similar issues. However, when you study the wider picture, you come to understand that all this took place in parallel to the Civil War, revolutions, invasions, and severe internal political strife in the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom. The Jews were involved in all these affairs. At that time, the historic Four-Year Sejm (Parliament) discussions were well underway, which were intended to determine the fate of the kingdom, and the Jews sent their emissaries to it, took part in the rebellions, and played an important role in the wars – both as victims but also as fighters, here and there. So, to what extent did the Jews who lived at that time really regard the halakhic disputes, such as the question of whether it is permitted to stand on your head during prayers, as a central issue? I don't know and there is no way of checking this. But we really should not be telling our story without the broader context."

How does that context have a specific impact?

"The issue of the denunciatory letters sent by opponents of Hasidism to the Russian government is a central pillar in the conflict between the Hasidim and the Misnagedim. I have heard this story more times than I care to remember, and I have never come across anybody who mentions that there is a wider context to the use of such a tool: the Russian government in those areas, which were given over to Russia following the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom, was completely new, it had just materialized there. So, everybody was trying hard to prove to the new administration that they were loyal to it and that the other side was full of treachery and plans to undermine it. This is also a government, and once again it is important to mention here the wider context, which until that point had not come across any Jews at all. Until that time, there had been no Jews in Russia so that its government had absolutely no idea who these people were and what was happening among the Jews. So now, each side was convinced that it had been presented with a golden opportunity to go to the new administration and present to it the reality of the situation as it saw it, and in a manner that would support its own cause.

"This is not the only context. This dispute is also connected to the processes of modernization that were just beginning to take shape at that time. The leadership crisis in the Jewish world that led to the rise of Hasidism is a direct outcome of the crisis of modernity. The Enlightenment is not the only thing that was born out of that crisis. Hasidism too, as well as the Misnagedim movement, along with the Enlightenment, are modern phenomena. These are three distinct movements that appear at the same time, against the same background, and under the same circumstances. I believe that this puts the whole story in a much more interesting context than the purely internal Jewish theological and sociological aspect that it has been customary to talk about."

Another example is that of the Khmelnytsky Uprising in the mid-17th century, clearly one of the more severe traumas that is indelibly etched in Jewish historical memory – but without any context. "The story usually goes something like this: people called Cossacks, known by and familiar to only a handful of people, suddenly appeared from nowhere, and they slaughtered us because they are antisemites with a deep-rooted hatred of anything Jewish," says Boguslavsky. "The truth is that this is correct, as who did not hate Jews during that period? Having said that, when you zoom out from what was clearly a horrific series of pogroms, you see a historical event in dimensions that are reminiscent of the Thirty Years' War, one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in Western European history, which was just coming to an end when the Khmelnytsky Uprising began. We are talking about several decades of wars resulting in millions of dead and wounded, with a whole spectrum of factors involved. An epic drama of which we remember an episode that lasted for a year and a half and which was not necessarily the most fatal event for the Jews at that time, but regarding which the most eloquent text was written, which also survived, the book "Yeven Mezulah" or the "Abyss of Despair", written by Rabbi Nathan Nata ben Moses Hannover. What would have happened had this book not been written or had it not survived? We might have completely forgotten about this event or not even known about it."

A highly selective memory

The book is replete with figures we have heard of, but also brings to life from the 'abyss of despair' colorful characters, who might not have left a personal stamp on history but their stories are no less riveting. One of these figures, whose story to a large extent is the story of the entire period, is Fabus Abramovich of Kraków. "A rogue and a con artist who took over the community in Kraków at the end of the 18th century. This is an amazing story. He was the leader of the opposition in the community. In the Jewish communities of that period, an oligarchy comprising just a few families was able to rule all the community institutions for more than a hundred years on occasion, even though elections were actually held annually. In terms of the situation in those days, this was one of the most democratic forms of government that existed on Earth, but such an oligarchy also gives rise to opposition, which is usually composed of those people who were not given the jobs that they believed they ought to have been given. In the 18th century, when the initial buds of mass politics were just beginning to sprout, the opposition began to portray itself as ostensibly being the force that represents the 'simple people' against the 'arrogant elite'. Of course, had they succeeded and risen to power they would have acted precisely as those preceding them did. These struggles were always a sordid affair, but the events in the community of Kraków were especially sordid and violent.

"Our man, Abramovich, took advantage of the fact that Kraków was conquered time and again by various forces during the period of the partition of Poland-Lithuania. Against the background of this tumult, he succeeded in creating a devious bureaucratic manipulation that would appoint him as a dictator to rule over the community. Jewish communities in Europe were run for hundreds of years by a joint leadership of four 'parnasim' (heads of the community), each one running the community for one month at a time on a rotation. Underneath the parnasim were the 'tovei ha'ir', the good (elder) citizens, who themselves were above the rest of the community. This form of government, which has roots in the Hellenistic-Roman world, ensured decentralization of power, creating checks and balances. The community rabbi too had his own form of power. Abramovich left this entire structure in place in Kraków but then placed himself above it all as a sort of dictator. He managed to convince the community that the governor had appointed him to this position; while he persuaded the governor that the community had asked him to assume that position. He relied on the fact that both sides would fail to uncover the deception.

"In the end, it failed, and the deception was indeed exposed. This story, apart from the fact that it is extremely entertaining, reflects the fact that the leadership structure of the Jewish communities, which worked so well for hundreds of years, had ceased to function by the end of the 18th century. Due to its inherent weakness, all sorts of issues began to crop up, such as the Hasidic takeover and manipulations such as that of Abramovich.'"

One of the declared goals of the book is to change the image of Jewish Eastern Europe. "The image that we have is of a later period, the end of the 19th century and the turn of the 20th century. The period about which authors such as Sholem Aleichem and others wrote, the era of mass emigration to America, was one rife with crises. People tend to emigrate when bad things occur. The Jewish town was old and decrepit at that point, and the majority of the Jews were living under the rule of the Russian Empire, an extremely despotic and antisemitic form of government. This is the period addressed by the literature with which we are familiar and these are the memories that people carry with them.

One of the declared goals of the book is to change the image of Jewish Eastern Europe. "The image that we have is of a later period, the end of the 19th century and the turn of the 20th century. The period about which authors such as Sholem Aleichem and others wrote, the era of mass emigration to America, was one rife with crises. People tend to emigrate when bad things occur. The Jewish town was old and decrepit at that point, and the majority of the Jews were living under the rule of the Russian Empire, an extremely despotic and antisemitic form of government. This is the period addressed by the literature with which we are familiar and these are the memories that people carry with them. They are not historians, they do not have an overall perception of the periods from the 15th century onwards, in some of which life was better and in some it was much worse. They are familiar with what they remember, and the tendency is to assume that the reality with which we are familiar is the fixed, permanent situation. This picture is not completely baseless, although it is somewhat exaggerated, and this is the death knell. But we are interested in the entire period, not only the demise but also the ascendancy and the golden period of prosperity.

"To all of this, we need to add the existing image that we have regarding Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and the rest of the places that make up the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. We regard these as being extremely antisemitic areas, where the local inhabitants are breastfed on antisemitism. This has always been a matter of concern for me. Could the Jews be such complete idiots who specifically went to those places where they were so hated? That is simply not logical. If so many Jews chose to live there of all places, this must mean one of two things. Either the fact that there were so many Jews there led to the hatred of our people, and this is not very flattering for us as Jews, or that the situation there was not as bad as in other places.

"And lo and behold, just as it was clear to anybody living throughout those eras, it was indeed not as bad there. In other places, where we do not regard the local inhabitants to be antisemites from birth, they simply did not allow the Jews to settle among them. The best method of not being attributed the current image of an antisemite was prevalent already back in the Middle Ages, by expelling all the Jews, and in this manner, nobody would accuse you of antisemitism. This is the reason why nobody accuses the English of being antisemitic. They threw out all the Jews back in the 12th century and since then, everything there has been just 'peachy keen'. The Jews lived in Eastern European countries and thus they were subject there to the best things and the worst things too. And it is from here too that we have the most historical sources and memories."

The fact that masses of Jews lived in this region distorts the perception as to the actual scope of persecution of the Jews. "If a war is being waged – and wars at the time were without intervention from the High Court of Justice or human rights groups such as B'Tselem, with armies massacring civilian populations without any remorse, just for the fun of it – then in a place that was home to tens of thousands of Jews, then it is a predictable consequence that hundreds and thousands of Jews would be killed. If the same type of war occurs elsewhere, where only a few thousand Jews were living, then a few dozen or perhaps a few hundred Jews would be killed. Clearly, thousands of Jews being killed leaves a much more lasting impression, but this does not necessarily mean that the warlords and the soldiers in those places with a much denser Jewish population were more antisemitic. We remember one event, and the other, smaller event, we have never heard of – and this is what shapes the story."

Their rise and fall

The book paints the rise of Jewish Eastern Europe in bold colors along with the years of its glory and grandeur, but it also focuses equally on the long and hard years of its demise. Boguslavsky succeeds in persuading the reader of the existence of a strong bond between the overall geopolitical processes and the severe crisis experienced by the Jewish population. "In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Jews developed into a status of their own within the feudal order, just like the classic classes of the nobility, the peasants and the bourgeois," he explains. "In Poland-Lithuania there were two parallel urban classes: A Christian urban class and a Jewish urban class, more or less equal in size. One of the issues that set the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth apart from Western Europe was that it was engaged in the conquest and settlement of non-developed lands, mainly in Ukraine and Belarus. In the process of the settlement and regulatory organization of these territories, the government and the nobility encouraged different types of people to settle there: urban dwellers, peasants, and Cossacks. The Jews had good reason to take an interest in settling down there, as they had been pushed aside and removed from other locations, and this led to a situation whereby they developed into an extremely important factor in these areas.

"Therefore, the entire system in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth became dependent on the Jews in relation to a number of matters – for example, in the mediation efforts between the nobility and the peasants, or in the field of public administration. Somebody had to manage the estates, postal services, fishponds, and forests. The concept of a 'leaseholder', which is very familiar to us from Jewish literature, comes from here. Leaseholding is the accepted method of management in the feudal regime – a type of privatization: the government or the noblemen who own the estate do not manage the day-to-day running of the lands on their own. They issue a 'tender' and then check to see who is ready to run everything and pass on the profits to them. This is privatization in its pre-modern form. The Jews were also responsible for the transportation of goods. The peasants would grow agricultural produce and the Jews would then export this. The local Jewish merchant purchased the goods from the peasants and then sold them wholesale at a regional fair, and from here the produce was then transferred to the next fair, and it would proceed from one fair to another until it was eventually shipped abroad. The imported goods would also be passed on via the Jews. The result is that large parts of the largest country in Europe were simply unable to function without the Jews.

"In other places, the Jews were not involved in leaseholding. In Medieval times, the Jews were traditionally involved in commerce, but here the commerce actually moved aside somewhat in favor of the leaseholding. This is based on the fact that the Polish nobility took control of the Jews in the 16th century: the Parliament of Nobles was much more powerful than the king, and the nobles simply succeeded in taking control of the asset that was called the Jews. They took it from the king for themselves, just as they took other assets, and in essence, they used the Jews for whatever they deemed to be important to them."

All this was turned on its head once modernity appeared at the doorway and the social order was undermined. "The nobility began to decline and the state became more centralized. During this modern era, the king was not made any weaker and actually gained power: suddenly there was no such thing as every nobleman doing whatever took his fancy. And so, the status of the Jews was undermined. Their unique role was eroded. And as soon as the Jews become like everybody else, then those selfsame 'everybody elses' no longer wished for the Jews to be part of them. And this is what leads to their demise. Prior to the rise of nationalism, society was divided up into groups – there were nobles and peasants, there were Catholics and Protestants, and there were also Jews. But, then when all of a sudden there is a collective identity, the question inevitably arises: Are the Jews really part of it? These questions arise and this is also the trigger for the revival of Jewish nationalism, which did not occur in a vacuum, disconnected from what was happening in the greater environment surrounding the Jews at that time."

Jewish Eastern Europe has become a genuine magnet for young Israelis these days. Do you understand why this is happening at this specific juncture?

"The truth is that I have no clear answer to this. I can however hazard a guess: This is a reaction to the dismissal of the Diaspora, which was an extremely acceptable approach in Israel until not so long ago. People who made aliyah from Eastern Europe preferred to leave behind what was there, but after a few generations there is no longer any sense of urgency to escape from this, and now, all of a sudden, they are beginning to show interest and they really wish to learn. This is part of a natural process of searching for your roots, even among today's youngsters. The discourse surrounding identities picked apart the liberal 'Israeli' identity, and so young people whose families came from Eastern Europe are now asking themselves why everybody has an identity apart from me. Suddenly everybody is looking for their own personal identity."

Boguslavsky (47), a resident of Jerusalem ever since he made aliyah at the age of five, is married with two children. Until a number of years ago, he was known to the followers of the blog entitled "Drop the Scissors and Let's Talk about it". Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he became a social media influencer and even almost a media star. The strongly opinionated and well-reasoned analyses he published on social media regarding the war attracted considerable attention, turning him into one of the leading commentators in that field for some time, even though he is neither a journalist nor an academic researcher of the conflict.

"It became a part of my routine," he says. "I used to travel to Ukraine several times a year, I have friends there, colleagues, acquaintances, and relatives, and so when the war broke out, it naturally preoccupied me and is still doing so. Writing on that topic provided me with a form of escapism. This is a war that I felt was 'close to home' so that by writing about it on a more intellectual level, I was able to stand back and distance myself from it to some extent. Apart from that, I also saw that many people were writing nonsense about what was going on there and that really annoyed me.

"Truth be told, this is often the trigger that gives me the impetus to start writing: I see that someone else is writing absolute baloney and I feel a need to correct them. That's the reason that people write on the internet, no? And indeed, the knowledge that people in the West and in Israel have about Ukraine is sorely lacking, to put it delicately. I don't claim to be an expert on that country, but in view of the overall paucity in that field I am a genuine 'lily in a field of thorns'. The professional experts, almost all of them, are experts on Russia – and based on their expertise on Russia they tend to extrapolate and project their knowledge onto other post-Soviet states, usually looking at issues via a Russian prism. This is why what they said was hot air, and somebody had to portray a different picture of things and write less nonsense. I'm sure that there are those who will beg to differ but this is how I saw things."

You have recently ceased to write about this topic.

"I don't like repeating myself. If I have written something a number of times, then I get fed up. In addition, during the initial months of the war I spent long hours, often close to 12 hours a day, just going over all sorts of Telegram channels and other sources of information in a variety of languages in order to get my hands on the rawest of information available. It is not possible to go on living in that fashion for a long time. So today, I still try and keep up to date but not with the same intensity.

"And also – I wore myself out. There is a limit to the number of atrocities to which you can become exposed. When October 7 came round, I had already developed the ability, even before you actually see what is in the photo, to scroll down the feed as you know that this will be a trigger. Your finger knows to skip over it before your eye identifies what is in the image, because you really need to maintain your sanity."

The post Beyond 'Fiddler on the Roof': The untold story of Jewish life in Eastern Europe appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

1.

"Come speak with Darya's class," Hadas, the teacher, told me. "Share some life advice as they finish elementary school." The "Bereshit" school in Rehovot insists on calling itself an "educational home." And what a year they've had; such young students whose learning and play were interspersed with existential issues.

This week, Darya told me her generation has experienced more pandemics, wars, and alarms in their young lives than other generations. She stated it as fact, not complaint. In our conversations, I've noticed a historical awareness growing within her ("In thirty years, I'll tell my children that fields once stood where we walked"). I looked at her, wondering how to respond to a child with adult insights. You know, I said, it's precisely this thought that encourages me and assures me your generation will be better than ours – more resilient, unique, and profound. You will build the next floor of our lives here in the treasured land of our forefathers.

2.

I entered the classroom. The boys arrived breathless from their games while the girls sat with inner calm. I asked them to try to retain some of my words for the coming years. Words are seeds that need time to blossom and bear fruit. Perhaps you'll remember me decades from now, just as I recall something from finishing elementary school, right before leaving my childhood neighborhood, which until then seemed a distant star, to study at the Junior High Kiryat Ya'akov Herzog, an institution I can only liken to Harry Potter's Hogwarts...

You stand before the great sea of your lives, I told the children. It will not part on its own; it awaits your entry. The sea is deep, its depths filled with treasures, challenges, and dreams. Dangers also lurk there. We adults stand on the opposite shore, seeking to guide and warn you from our experience. You will face obstacles and difficulties. You may resent and rage against your fate. But you can view hardships as challenges meant to improve and build you. The difficulty will be the same, but your interpretation will determine how you overcome it and grow from it.

I still remember a classmate who played marbles and cards with me. I was privileged to soar while he remained on life's margins. One day I heard an explosive was planted on his scooter and he was killed. Gang warfare. The news shook me. I thought of our innocent starting line and the deceptive blink of an eye in which our fates could have been reversed under different circumstances. Not everything depends on adults or society, dear children; an important part of your destiny depends on you.

3.

It's vital to stay in constant motion, not rest on your laurels but to walk, not be lazy, to gather knowledge, ideas, friends, experiences, taking something from each station for the journey ahead. This is the first commandment given to Abraham, our forefather: "Go forth..." If we keep going, we ultimately reach the good land. The second commandment is Abrahamic: "Do not make for yourself an idol..." – don't turn yourself into a statue, don't become enamored with yourself, and think you know everything with nothing to learn from others. Remember Narcissus? Yes, some answered (Darya is now also discovering Greek mythology). He fell in love with himself when he saw his reflection in the river, closing himself off and missing out on life. So be sure to stay in motion and look around you. Be curious.

An important condition for success in life is the desire for knowledge. In physics, there is a law of conservation of energy. In education, there is a law of conservation of knowledge. No information you've learned will fail to serve you someday. You sit in a classroom, so even if you're bored, make an effort and listen, use the time to add more knowledge to your repository. Read books; it's the best gift you can give yourself. Whoever turns off the phone on Shabbat will be forced to read, even if they don't want to, like in the old days. Study the weekly Torah portion on Shabbat; this way the Bible will be part of who you are.

I told them the Quran calls us "Ahl al-Kitab," People of the Book, because of the Bible. But we are the People of the Books. We received the Torah, then came the Prophets and Writings, and in the second century, Rabbi Judah the Prince wrote the Mishnah. In subsequent centuries the Talmuds were written in Israel and Babylon, then Biblical commentaries in the Middle Ages, the Zohar, legal rulings, philosophy, and countless other books, until we erected a colossal skyscraper unmatched by any other nation for its descendants. Each generation added its own floor to the multidimensional edifice, and you, dear children, have the right to visit any floor you wish. Don't miss the opportunity; after all, you already speak the language.

4.

Study history. This way you will remember throughout your long journey where we came from and where we wish to go. I told them when we adopted the word in Hebrew, some spelled it "historyah," meaning God (Yah) concealing (Hester) himself behind national and global events and directing them. Soon we will reach the 9th of Av and commemorate the first destruction (586 BCE) and the second (70 CE). The Jews in the first exile despaired; they thought it was the end of Israel and there would be no continuity in the next generation. "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, we are cut off." But the prophet Ezekiel insists "our hope is not yet lost." He tells them of a tremendous historical vision God showed him: A valley full of dry bones turning into a multitude representing our people. And he promises that God will open our graves and return us home to the Land of Israel.

In the 1880s, a Hebrew poet in Romania wrote to his generation that as long as a Jewish soul stirs in our hearts, and as long as our eyes gaze eastward toward Zion, our hope to return to our ancestral homeland is not lost. I don't remember if they knew the poet's name, so I repeated it: Naftali Herz Imber. You understand, I told them, our national anthem corresponds with Ezekiel's prophecy. Indeed, our hope was not lost, and at the end of a long, painful process we came home to Zion. And from national history, we learn for our private lives: Even if you find yourselves in difficult situations later on, do not lose hope. Your redemption awaits just around the corner.

5.

"Dad," Darya whispered to me afterward, "two kids told me you could have spoken faster, and you repeated things." Honest children. "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou founded strength, because of Thine adversaries; that Thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger (Pslams 8:3)" You're right, my daughter, because I understand the gravity of the task assigned to me and the importance of this conversation. I acted according to the eternal command "teach them to your children" (Deuteronomy 11:19 ) –  sons and daughters – hoping something of my words will be seared into the memory of one child, provisions for the road ahead, just as I remember to this day the kind eyes of my parents and teachers accompanying me, just before we entered the great sea of our lives.

The post The next phase of our lives in the Land of Israel appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Prof. Israel Knohl is an Israeli biblical scholar and historian, the author of the book "From the Fountain to the Mountain" (published by Carmel and the Shalom Hartman Institute), a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, and a visiting lecturer at Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, and Chicago universities. Emeritus professor in the Department of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Q: Prof. Israel Knohl, in your new book "From the Fountain to the Mountain - The Hidden Roots of the Story of the Giving of the Torah", you shed new light on a very significant moment in Judaism – the revelation at Mount Sinai. You claim that the giving of the commandments and the revelation of God did not occur at Mount Sinai or in a dramatic scene, as is commonly believed, but rather beside a spring, in a much quieter place. Before we get to the crux of the matter, how did you come to think of this in the first place?

A: "I grew up within the Jewish tradition, and throughout the years I heard the familiar story of the giving of the Torah that we all know. I grew up thinking that this was the only story and there was no other. Shortly before the coronavirus outbreak, I led a seminar on the Book of Hosea, and when the pandemic broke out, we could not meet physically, so I suggested, casually, that we read on Zoom the ancient poem at the end of the Torah, chapter 33 in the Book of Deuteronomy. As we began reading the poem, we reached Moses' blessing on the tribe of Levi, and for the first time, I thought - what does it actually say? What happened there at the Waters of Meribah?"

Q: This is not the first time you have read this blessing, but it seems to be the first time you realized something about it. After about 60 years of reading the same text over and over again, you suddenly deciphered it differently.

A: "We read this blessing ritually every Simchat Torah. But during COVID, I gained a new perspective on this blessing. I understood it meant something else, and from there it snowballed. So yes, only after about 60 years of reading the same text over and over again, did I suddenly understand that the commandments were given in a different location. I attribute this insight, this discovery, to the outbreak of the Corona pandemic."

Q: The discovery you are talking about is closely related to the desire of the biblical narrators to reach an audience. This is quite an interesting angle.

A: "My general claim, in terms of the development of literary genres within the Bible, is that the writing of a story is linked to the emergence of an audience. If you want to publish a book, you need an audience of readers. However, in ancient Israel, until the 8th century BCE, it seems there was no established audience of readers. We know this from archaeological evidence, which shows few archaeological inscriptions before the 8th century BCE. Another evidence for this is the prophets – We have numerous stories about the prophets Elijah, Elisha, and Samuel, but their actual prophecies were not recorded in book form until after the 8th century BCE.

"Only after that can we find prophets who wrote down their prophecies – Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah. These are the first four prophets whose prophecies were written in a book, all in the 8th century BCE. Before that, there may have been elitist writing at the royal court – a poet would sit and write, for example, about Jezebel and Ahab's marriage. But it was only for the elites."

Q: And the writing you refer to from a later period was much more widespread.

A: "It was widespread and comprehensive. For example, even the opposition had their words recorded in a book. The words of Amos, the outright opponent of the king of Israel and his official cult, are included in the book. These are sharp, oppositional prophecies that challenged the regime. By the way, it's unclear whether Amos himself could read and write, but if not – he had someone beside him who wrote down his prophecies in a book."

The beginnings of Israelite consciousness

Q: You are describing an inherent problem: if the prophet Amos, for example, did not necessarily know how to read and write, then large segments of the people probably did not either. So how were important contents disseminated when most of the people did not know how to read and write?

A: "The primary medium before the 8th century BCE was poetry. Poetry, because of its rhythms, was considered easy to memorize and transmit, and it tells us about the main events of the period. In the current book, I proposed separating what the ancient poem tells us about the foundational events from the narrative recounted later in the Torah. To my great surprise, I realized that the situation depicted in the poem is very different.

"True, Mount Sinai does appear there, but Mount Sinai is only God's starting point because it seems they worshipped him there. We know this through ancient Egyptian records, which indicate that even before the biblical period began, around 1,400 BCE, tribes in that area worshipped a god named Yahweh.

"So God sets out from Sinai, which is a volcanic mountain in Shei'r, Edom, Midian – indicating a place in southern Transjordan or northwestern Saudi Arabia. This departure shakes the mountains, but according to the poem, it is not accompanied by any speech from God. However, speaking, giving of the commandments, making of the covenant, and its violation – all take place in a completely different location, beside a spring near Egypt, in the western Sinai Peninsula. He speaks to all the people, without the mediation of Moses. So as you said at the beginning – the giving of the commandments and the revelation of God did not occur on Mount Sinai or in a dramatic scene, but rather beside a spring, in a much quieter place."

Q: Can we regard the poetry as a reliable source?

A: "Let's take, for example, the Song of Deborah, which begins with the story of 'When you, Lord, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured,  the clouds poured down water. And then it mentions 'the mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord' – meaning, molten lava streaming down from Mount Sinai. But the opening about Mount Sinai is not the main point. The main focus of the poem is a battle between the Canaanites, who lived in the valleys, and the Israelites, who lived in the hill country, and it seems to have occurred around 1,100 BCE.

"At that time, there was no king in Israel, no taxes were collected, and therefore it was not possible to maintain a standing army. So the soldiers were actually farmers who volunteered for war. In the Song of Deborah, there is mention of a small village – Meroz – which is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible: ''Curse ye Meroz', said the angel of the Lord...because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.' It's not 'with the Lord's help' but 'to the help of the Lord' – meaning, God needs the help of the warriors of Israel. And that village, which did not send soldiers to the war, is cursed.

"So to answer your question, I don't think a later poet would bother to mention such a minor detail. Many scholars believe that this is an extremely ancient poem, reflecting the state of consciousness of the people of Israel, in its very beginnings."

"The quiet power of water"

Q: Is it coincidental that the prominent and widespread description of the event at Mount Sinai was associated with a dramatic, volcanic phenomenon? The story about the solid spring did not resonate with the people, perhaps because it was perceived as less memorable.

A: "The poem, along with all its beauty, is a text written in a language that is not always easy to understand. In addition, the Torah was sanctified as the founding document that is read on Shabbat and during the week. Moreover, the thundering and roaring volcanic revelation certainly has a strong visual and auditory effect. It leaves a powerful impression, instilling fear, and becomes etched in memory. But the spring has a different uniqueness. It is etched in the national memory by the demand for one God – 'There shall be no strange god in you' (Psalm 81:10). This is the core of monotheism, which demands a profound change in religious practice. So at the spring, there is a foundational event, not dramatic, but on a level of content that profoundly affects religious life."  

Q: But this commandment is quickly violated.

A: "Part of the people violate it and worship other gods because they were asked to go against their habit, against what was acceptable. Monotheism was revolutionary at the time, but ultimately – that revelation by the waters, which is based on the commandment not to worship other gods – has survived until our very days. This shows the power of it."

Q: "Still waters run deep." In the book, you also refer to the narrator. What do we know about him? 

A: "He takes the core elements from the poem and creates a volcanic motif, endowed with greater authority since everything that was said to Moses at Sinai by God carries immense weight. I believe the narrator was affiliated with prophetic circles, a fierce opponent of the official cult and the golden calves. He opposes prosperity and splendor, and encourages a simple and elementary cult with stones and ashes, without hewn stones, silver, or gold. He is against the priesthood and believes that all the people of Israel have a status of holiness – 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation', that is his motto. The narrator opposes the king, and in a socio-economic way cares for and supports the poor and weak in society through relevant commandments. He is a religious-social reformer."

Q: In the book, you also refer to the role of Moses as a national leader, and not as one whose role is to mediate religious knowledge. Does this make religion more egalitarian, and more accessible?

A: "Yes, because we are used to looking at the biblical religion as prophetic, with Moses as a founding and establishing figure. In the poem, Moses is much more of a political leader, who leads the children of Israel when they cross the Red Sea. He is not the one who mediates religious knowledge, which according to the poem is transmitted equally to everyone. We do not need a religious establishment to mediate between us and God, because we have direct access to God."

Q: How is this approach manifested?

A: "The question is whether a person needs to go to Bethel, where he will meet God and speak with Amaziah the priest of Bethel, who will mediate the word of God for him; or whether a person can go to the sons of the prophets, who sit in all kinds of tents, devoid of splendor, silver, and gold – and they are the ones who will mediate religious knowledge for him. The narrator takes a traditional approach that testifies to a more egalitarian and accessible religion, as mentioned."

"Society drives progress"

Q: What does the traditional approach you mentioned, which makes religion accessible, attest to?

A: "I think this tradition attests that the public, in general, as a whole, holds more power than the leadership.  According to the poem, it is essentially the public, not the leaders, who are important and decisive. The public is the one that leaves its mark, has direct contact with the divine, and needs to internalize the fundamental commandments.

"The tradition of the poem, written in a pre-monarchic society, in the period of the Judges, a time when there was no king in Israel, without a permanent regime – is a tradition that believes more in the people and its strength, its survival, than in the ruling figures. This tradition entrusts the people with the responsibility of preserving tradition and culture, alongside recovery and revival after severe crises."

Q: This is a message that resonates greatly with our times.

A: "Absolutely. For example, the poem describes a terrible civil war within the tribe of Levi: 'Who said of his father, and of his mother: 'I have not seen him'; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew he his own children; for they have observed Thy word, and keep Thy covenant.' An enormous crisis that tears families apart, with strife and disagreement. But the people still have the strength to overcome this internal war. I think this is a wonderful message for our times.

"I believe that even today, we must have faith in the strength of society and the public, even if the leadership fails. It is the society that drives progress. Even during a harsh civil war, there is no need to panic. The people have resilience, and I sincerely hope this is what we will see in these times as well."

Q: How are your new insights received in the world of biblical studies and academic research? Surely, some strongly disapprove of them.

A: "The book was only released three weeks ago, and so far I have received positive responses from academics, but we have to wait and see."

Q: Will the religious establishment accept your thesis? 

A: "I don't expect great things, but it's important to remember that I'm also not writing for the religious establishment, that's not my target audience. However, I'm aware my books are studied in the yeshiva world. There are yeshiva students who keep my book 'Sanctuary of Silence' under their Talmud. This book delves into the priestly literature of the Torah, and at the time it was quite innovative.It didn't receive much enthusiasm from the academic community back then, but today it has become widely accepted as the consensus."

Q: Will this also be the case with the current book?

A: "I don't rule it out, but it takes time, perhaps many years. We'll wait and see."

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