Yoshiyahu and the Sefer Torah

Found 7 Search results

1. Yoshiyahu and the Return to God

   Rabbi Alex Israel

   Despite who is father and grandfather were, Yoshiyahu is unsurpassed as a champion of God worship, cleansing the kingdom of its idolatry and returning the nation to God. A process that begins in his youth, it further intensifies with the shocking discovery of the Sefer Torah. The precise identification of this Sefer Torah and its ramifications are debated amongst commentaries. However, the aftermath of this discovery is a purging of idolatry on an unprecedented scope including in the territories of the non-existent Northern kingdom that culminated in a mass celebration of Pessah in Jerusalem.  

2. The Tragedy of Yoshiyahu

   Rabbi Alex Israel

   Yoshiyahu's dramatic religious revolution led him to two erroneous conclusions, giving him the confidence to confront Pharaoh Nekho who lead his army through Israel in order to confront the emerging Babylonian empire. Firstly, he believed that the religious level that was achieved was one that would make God support him against an idolatrous king. Secondly, he believed that the revolution was sincere and accepted among the people, when in fact in the short amount of time since the major change it was imposiible to uproot norms and beliefs that had set in over such a long period. This folly decision led to his death by the archers' arrows ending abruptly the reign of a righteous king. The lack of real change among the people means that wheels of Hurban that were set in motion by Menashe were not stopped - though they might have had the chage been sincere.

   Modern Biblical scholars claim that Devarim was the Sefer Torah that Yoshiyahu discovered and it was written in his time and not by Moshe. The claim of the 7th century authorship is refuted by a series of simple proofs.

3. The Scroll of Yirmiyahu

   Rabbi David Sabato

   The fourth year of the reign of Yehoyakim is a pivotal one for the prophecies of Yirmiyahu. Babylon’s victory over Egypt made Babylon the most powerful empire in the region. This victory was a clear proof of the validity of Yirmiyahu's prophecies over the course of twenty three years. Now it became clear to all that Babylon was the primary enemy threatening the kingdom of Yehuda. Yirmiyahu is commanded to summarize all of the prophecies that he delivered until that time and to record them in a scroll. This scroll is read in Beit Hamikdash and ultimately in the ears of King Yehoyakim. The account of the reading of the scroll in the ears of Yehoyakim brings to mind a similar event involving his father, Yoshiyahu, when the Torah was read in his ears.

   There is an enormous difference between the responses of the two kings. While Yoshiyahu rends his garments when they read the scroll before him, Yehoyakim abstains from rending his garments, and instead tears up the scroll itself! Yoshiyahu is shocked to the depths of his soul, and he drags his princes and the entire people after him to take dramatic action to change the decree. In contrast, Yehoyakim demonstrates terrible scorn. While his princes are shocked by the scroll and bring it before the king, the king himself holds it in contempt, tears it up, and burns it. Rather than the king influencing his princes and dragging them after him, the reverse takes place here; the king stops his princes and refuses to listen to the princes who plead with him not to burn the scroll. Yoshiyahu immediately sends a delegation to seek the word of God from the mouth of Chulda the prophetess, whereas Yehoyakim sends his emissaries to kill the prophet and prevent him from sounding the word of God.

   Yehoyakim is absolutely impervious to the words of the prophet; he is not prepared to listen even after the Babylonian enemy begins to go up against Yehuda, and all of his behavior demonstrates scorn and contempt. Yehoyakim's conduct, which is described here and in other places in the book of Yirmiyahu, brings the people one step closer to the destruction.

    

4. "The Words of the Covenant" in the Prophecy of Yirmiyahu

   Rabbi David Sabato

   In Yirmiyahu's three part prophecy in chapter 11, he relates to the historic covenants at Sinai and at Arvot Moav. He challenges the people to keep the covenant which was attempted during Yoshiyahu’s reign. In this regard, Yirmiyahu differed from the prophetess Hulda by expressing hope in Yoshiyahu’s ability to repair and save the covenant. But the days of Yoshiyahu’s reign ended with the realization  that his upheaval did not succeed in penetrating deeply and did not succeed in creating a real change.  With the arrival of Yehoyakim’s reign it becomes apparent to the initially optimistic Yirmiyahu that the covenant will not be repaired and the fate of the people is sealed to the extent that Yirmiyahu is forbidden to pray on behalf of the people.

5. Ripping Scrolls or Tearing Clothes: Yehoyakim is not Yoshiyahu

   Rabbi David Sabato

6. Composition of the Torah according to Tanakh and Jewish Tradition

   Part 1

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   The term "Torah,” and even "Sefer Torah,” appears many times in Tanakh, but in most cases, the plain meaning of the text is not referring to the Five Books of the Torah. The word "Torah" actually has multiple meanings in Tanakh, and only in some instances does the word refer to a written text.

7. Historical Introduction, Part III - Josiah’s Death

   Shiur #04

   Dr. Yael Ziegler

   תאריך פרסום: 5778 |

   The reign of Ashurbanipal, the last powerful king of the mighty Assyrian Empire, marked both the pinnacle of the Assyrian Empire’s power and the beginning of its decline. Josiah reigned as king of Judah during the period of Assyria’s deterioration and downfall. Significantly, biblical accounts describing Josiah’s reign focus primarily on his personal religious transformation and the way in which it affected his national policies. The nation likely concluded that the two were connected. To understand the repercussions of this, we will examine Josiah’s life and reign.

   Rabbinic sources suggest that the kernel of the book of Eikha begins to emerge in the aftermath of Josiah’s death, which is devastating to the nation. Various ways of dealing with the problem of theodicy ensue, and some different approaches can be found in the book of Eikha. Josiah’s death marks the beginning of the theological crisis and the first attempts to struggle with the complex questions that arise in the wake of unexplained human suffering.