"Crossing the Sea", Yoram Raanan
 

Akedah

 

"The Akedah in the Work of S.Y. Agnon", Jeffrey Saks
 

Leonard Cohen

 

"It's Torn"

 "I see you in windows that open so wide
There's nothing beyond them and no one inside
You kick off your sandals and shake out your hair
The salt on your shoulders like sparks in the air
There's silt on your ankles and sand on your feet
The river too shallow, the ocean too deep
You smile at your suffering, the sweetest reprieve
Why did you leave us, why did you leave

You kick off your sandals and shake out your hair
It's torn where you're dancing, it's torn everywhere
It's torn on the right andit's torn on the left
It's torn in the center which few can accept

It's torn where there's beauty, it's torn where there's death
It's torn where there's mercy but torn somewhat less
It's torn in the highest from kingdom to crown
The messages fly but the network is down
Bruised at the shoulder and cut at the wrist
The sea rushes home to its thimble of mist
The opposites falter, the spirals reverse
And Eve must re-enter the sleep of her birth
And up through the system the worlds are withdrawn
From every dominion the mind stood upon
And now that it's over and now that it's done
The name has no number, not even the one

Come gather the pieces all scattered and lost
The lie in what's holy, the light in what's not
The story's been written the letter's been sealed
You gave me a lily but now it's a field

You kick off your sandals and shake out your hair
It's torn where you're dancing, it's torn everywhere"  

 

 

וַיְמַ֤ן יְהוָה֙ דָּ֣ג גָּד֔וֹל לִבְלֹ֖עַ אֶת־יוֹנָ֑ה וַיְהִ֤י יוֹנָה֙ בִּמְעֵ֣י הַדָּ֔ג שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה יָמִ֖ים וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה לֵילֽוֹת

The LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah remained in the fish’s belly three days and three nights.

וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֣ל יוֹנָ֔ה אֶל־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהָ֑יו מִמְּעֵ֖י הַדָּגָֽה

Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish.

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר קָ֠רָאתִי מִצָּ֥רָה לִ֛י אֶל־יְהוָ֖ה וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֑נִי מִבֶּ֧טֶן שְׁא֛וֹל שִׁוַּ֖עְתִּי שָׁמַ֥עְתָּ קוֹלִֽי

He said: In my trouble I called to the LORD, And He answered me; From the belly of Sheol I cried out, And You heard my voice.

וַתַּשְׁלִיכֵ֤נִי מְצוּלָה֙ בִּלְבַ֣ב יַמִּ֔ים וְנָהָ֖ר יְסֹבְבֵ֑נִי כָּל־מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ וְגַלֶּ֖יךָ עָלַ֥י עָבָֽרוּ

You cast me into the depths, Into the heart of the sea, The floods engulfed me; All Your breakers and billows Swept over me.

וַאֲנִ֣י אָמַ֔רְתִּי נִגְרַ֖שְׁתִּי מִנֶּ֣גֶד עֵינֶ֑יךָ אַ֚ךְ אוֹסִ֣יף לְהַבִּ֔יט אֶל־הֵיכַ֖ל קָדְשֶֽׁךָ

I thought I was driven away Out of Your sight: Would I ever gaze again Upon Your holy Temple?

אֲפָפ֤וּנִי מַ֙יִם֙ עַד־נֶ֔פֶשׁ תְּה֖וֹם יְסֹבְבֵ֑נִי ס֖וּף חָב֥וּשׁ לְרֹאשִֽׁי

The waters closed in over me, The deep engulfed me. Weeds twined around my head.

לְקִצְבֵ֤י הָרִים֙ יָרַ֔דְתִּי הָאָ֛רֶץ בְּרִחֶ֥יהָ בַעֲדִ֖י לְעוֹלָ֑ם וַתַּ֧עַל מִשַּׁ֛חַת חַיַּ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָֽי

I sank to the base of the mountains; The bars of the earth closed upon me forever. Yet You brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God!

בְּהִתְעַטֵּ֤ף עָלַי֙ נַפְשִׁ֔י אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה זָכָ֑רְתִּי וַתָּב֤וֹא אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ תְּפִלָּתִ֔י אֶל־הֵיכַ֖ל קָדְשֶֽׁךָ

When my life was ebbing away, I called the LORD to mind; And my prayer came before You, Into Your holy Temple.

מְשַׁמְּרִ֖ים הַבְלֵי־שָׁ֑וְא חַסְדָּ֖ם יַעֲזֹֽבוּ

They who cling to empty folly Forsake their own welfare,

וַאֲנִ֗י בְּק֤וֹל תּוֹדָה֙ אֶזְבְּחָה־לָּ֔ךְ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָדַ֖רְתִּי אֲשַׁלֵּ֑מָה יְשׁוּעָ֖תָה לַיהוָֽה

But I, with loud thanksgiving, Will sacrifice to You; What I have vowed I will perform. Deliverance is the LORD’s!

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָ֖ה לַדָּ֑ג וַיָּקֵ֥א אֶת־יוֹנָ֖ה אֶל־הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה)

The LORD commanded the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon dry land. 

 

Jonah 2

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

 

"Pursuing Happiness with the Dalai Lama"
 

William Bradford

 

 

Vida

 

Common cranes fly at sunset, east of Budapest, Hungary
 

Amor

 

 

 "Does God Love the Jews?", Meir Soloveichik & Shai Held (2016)
 

Akedah

 

 

"What the Akedah Can Tell Us About Leadership", Erica Brown

Sarajevo

 

Sephardi Jewish couple from Sarajevo in traditional clothing (1900) 

 

 

וְהָֽעֹלָה֙ עַל־ר֣וּחֲכֶ֔ם הָי֖וֹ לֹ֣א תִֽהְיֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ אַתֶּ֣ם אֹמְרִ֗ים נִֽהְיֶ֤ה כַגּוֹיִם֙ כְּמִשְׁפְּח֣וֹת הָאֲרָצ֔וֹת לְשָׁרֵ֖ת עֵ֥ץ וָאָֽבֶן

And what you have in mind shall never come to pass—when you say, “We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, worshiping wood and stone.”

חַי־אָ֕נִי נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֑ה אִם־לֹ֠א בְּיָ֨ד חֲזָקָ֜ה וּבִזְר֧וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֛ה וּבְחֵמָ֥ה שְׁפוּכָ֖ה אֶמְל֥וֹךְ עֲלֵיכֶֽם

As I live—declares the Lord GOD—I will reign over you with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with overflowing fury.

וְהוֹצֵאתִ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ מִן־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים וְקִבַּצְתִּ֣י אֶתְכֶ֔ם מִן־הָ֣אֲרָצ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר נְפוֹצֹתֶ֖ם בָּ֑ם בְּיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ וּבִזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבְחֵמָ֖ה שְׁפוּכָֽה

With a strong hand and an outstretched arm and overflowing fury I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered,

וְהֵבֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֔ם אֶל־מִדְבַּ֖ר הָֽעַמִּ֑ים וְנִשְׁפַּטְתִּ֤י אִתְּכֶם֙ שָׁ֔ם פָּנִ֖ים אֶל־פָּנִֽים

and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples; and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 

 

Ezekiel 20:32-35

Leonard Cohen

 

"The Hills"
 

 

"I can make the hills
The system is shot
I'm living on pills
For which I thank G-d
My animal howls
My angel's upset
But I'm not allowed
A trace of regret
For someone will use
The thing I could not be
My heart will be hurt impersonally
She'll step on the path
She'll see what I mean
My will cut in half
And freedom between
For less than a second
Our lives will collide
The endless suspended
The door open wide
And she will be born
To someone like you
What I left undone
She will certainly do
I know she is coming
And I know she will look
And that is the longing
And this is the hook
I can't make the hills
The system is shot
I'm living on pills
For which I thank G-d
My page was too white
My ink was too thin
The day wouldn't write
What the night penciled in
But I know she is coming
And I know she will look
And that is the longing
And this is the hook
(I know she is coming)
And I know she will look
(That is the longing)
And this is the hook
I can make the hills
The system is shot
I'm living on pills
For which I thank G-d
I sailed like a swan
I sank like a rock
But time is long gone
Past my laughingstock
And I can make the hills
The system is shot
I'm living on pills
For which I thank God" 

Mikhail Zhvanetsky

 

"To become younger"
 

Vida

 

 Cranes fly above a lake during the migration season on a foggy morning at the Hula Nature Reserve in northern Israel 

 

Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits

 

Akedah

 

  "God commands Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice", Domenichino (1628)

Leonard Cohen

 

"Thanks for the Dance"
 

"Thanks for the dance
I'm sorry you're tired
The evening has hardly begun
Thanks for the dance
Try to look inspired
One two three, one two three one

There's a rose in your hair
Your shoulders are bare
You've been wearing this costume forever

So turn up the music
Pour out the wine
Stop at the surface
The surface is fine
We don't need to go any deeper
Thanks for the dance
I hear that we're married
One two three, one two three one
Thanks for the dance
And the baby you carried
It was almost a daughter or a son

And there's nothing to do
But to wonder if you
Are as hopeless as me
And as decent

We're joined in the spirit
Joined at the hip
Joined in the panic
Wondering if
We've come to some sort
Of agreement

It was fine it was fast
We were first we were last
In line at the Temple of Pleasure
But the green was so green
And the blue was so blue
I was so I
And you were so you
The crisis was light
As a feather

Thanks for the dance
It was hell, it was swell
It was fun
Thanks for all the dances
One two three, one two three one" 

Roma

 

The casts of what are believed to have been a rich man and his male slave fleeing the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago (79 C.E.)    

 

 

"Bamidbar", Yoram Raanan
 

 

וַיִּֽירְא֤וּ הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙ יִרְאָ֣ה גְדוֹלָ֔ה וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ אֵלָ֖יו מַה־זֹּ֣את עָשִׂ֑יתָ כִּֽי־יָדְע֣וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים כִּֽי־מִלִּפְנֵ֤י יְהוָה֙ ה֣וּא בֹרֵ֔חַ כִּ֥י הִגִּ֖יד לָהֶֽם

The men were greatly terrified, and they asked him, “What have you done?” And when the men learned that he was fleeing from the service of the LORD—for so he told them—

וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ מַה־נַּ֣עֲשֶׂה לָּ֔ךְ וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק הַיָּ֖ם מֵֽעָלֵ֑ינוּ כִּ֥י הַיָּ֖ם הוֹלֵ֥ךְ וְסֹעֵֽר

they said to him, “What must we do to you to make the sea calm around us?” For the sea was growing more and more stormy.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם שָׂא֙וּנִי֙ וַהֲטִילֻ֣נִי אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם וְיִשְׁתֹּ֥ק הַיָּ֖ם מֵֽעֲלֵיכֶ֑ם כִּ֚י יוֹדֵ֣עַ אָ֔נִי כִּ֣י בְשֶׁלִּ֔י הַסַּ֧עַר הַגָּד֛וֹל הַזֶּ֖ה עֲלֵיכֶֽם

He answered, “Heave me overboard, and the sea will calm down for you; for I know that this terrible storm came upon you on my account.”

וַיַּחְתְּר֣וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים לְהָשִׁ֛יב אֶל־הַיַּבָּשָׁ֖ה וְלֹ֣א יָכֹ֑לוּ כִּ֣י הַיָּ֔ם הוֹלֵ֥ךְ וְסֹעֵ֖ר עֲלֵיהֶֽם

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to regain the shore, but they could not, for the sea was growing more and more stormy about them.

וַיִּקְרְא֨וּ אֶל־יְהוָ֜ה וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ אָנָּ֤ה יְהוָה֙ אַל־נָ֣א נֹאבְדָ֗ה בְּנֶ֙פֶשׁ֙ הָאִ֣ישׁ הַזֶּ֔ה וְאַל־תִּתֵּ֥ן עָלֵ֖ינוּ דָּ֣ם נָקִ֑יא כִּֽי־אַתָּ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר חָפַ֖צְתָּ עָשִֽׂיתָ

Then they cried out to the LORD: “Oh, please, LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not hold us guilty of killing an innocent person! For You, O LORD, by Your will, have brought this about.”

וַיִּשְׂאוּ֙ אֶת־יוֹנָ֔ה וַיְטִלֻ֖הוּ אֶל־הַיָּ֑ם וַיַּעֲמֹ֥ד הַיָּ֖ם מִזַּעְפּֽוֹ

And they heaved Jonah overboard, and the sea stopped raging.

וַיִּֽירְא֧וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֛ים יִרְאָ֥ה גְדוֹלָ֖ה אֶת־יְהוָ֑ה וַיִּֽזְבְּחוּ־זֶ֙בַח֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה וַֽיִּדְּר֖וּ נְדָרִֽים

The men feared the LORD greatly; they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and they made vows. 

 

Jonah 1:10-16

Vida

 

 

A tiny northern saw-whet owl, named Rockefeller, who was found in the Christmas tree 

transported from Oneonta, New York state, to the Rockefeller Center in New York City, 170 miles away

 

Rebeca

 

"Isaac Blesses Jacob", Gustave Doré (1866)
 

Heinrich Heine

 

 

 (1829)

 

Leonard Cohen

 

"Moving On"
 

 

"I loved your face I loved your hair
Your t-shirts and your evening-wear
As for the world the job the war
I ditched them all to love you more

And now you're gone, now you're gone
As if there ever was a you
Who broke the heart and made it new?
Who's moving on, who's kiddin' who?

I loved your moods I love the way
They threaten every single day
Your beauty ruled me though I knew
Twas more hormonal than the view

Now you're gone, now you're gone
As if there ever was a you
Queen of lilac, queen of blue
Who's moving on, who's kiddin' who?

I loved your face I loved your hair
Your t-shirts and your evening-wear
As for the world the job the war
I ditched them all to love you more

And now you're gone, now you're gone
As if there ever was a you
Who held me dyin' pulled me through
Who's moving on, who's kiddin' who?

Who's moving on, who's kiddin' who?"

Jean Améry

 

 (Hanns Chaim Mayer)

 

 

"Adam and Eve. Downfall", Andrey Mironov (2012)
 

 

וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר יִצְחָ֤ק לַֽיהוָה֙ לְנֹ֣כַח אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י עֲקָרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וַיֵּעָ֤תֶר לוֹ֙ יְהוָ֔ה וַתַּ֖הַר רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ

Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD responded to his plea, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

וַיִּתְרֹֽצֲצ֤וּ הַבָּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔הּ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִם־כֵּ֔ן לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה אָנֹ֑כִי וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ לִדְרֹ֥שׁ אֶת־יְהוָֽה

But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” She went to inquire of the LORD,

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה לָ֗הּ שְׁנֵ֤י גיים [גוֹיִם֙] בְּבִטְנֵ֔ךְ וּשְׁנֵ֣י לְאֻמִּ֔ים מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְ יִפָּרֵ֑דוּ וּלְאֹם֙ מִלְאֹ֣ם יֶֽאֱמָ֔ץ וְרַ֖ב יַעֲבֹ֥ד צָעִֽיר

and the LORD answered her, “Two nations are in your womb, Two separate peoples shall issue from your body; One people shall be mightier than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”

וַיִּמְלְא֥וּ יָמֶ֖יהָ לָלֶ֑דֶת וְהִנֵּ֥ה תוֹמִ֖ם בְּבִטְנָֽהּ

When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb.

וַיֵּצֵ֤א הָרִאשׁוֹן֙ אַדְמוֹנִ֔י כֻּלּ֖וֹ כְּאַדֶּ֣רֶת שֵׂעָ֑ר וַיִּקְרְא֥וּ שְׁמ֖וֹ עֵשָֽׂו

The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau.

וְאַֽחֲרֵי־כֵ֞ן יָצָ֣א אָחִ֗יו וְיָד֤וֹ אֹחֶ֙זֶת֙ בַּעֲקֵ֣ב עֵשָׂ֔ו וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְיִצְחָ֛ק בֶּן־שִׁשִּׁ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה בְּלֶ֥דֶת אֹתָֽם

Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau; so they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

וַֽיִּגְדְּלוּ֙ הַנְּעָרִ֔ים וַיְהִ֣י עֵשָׂ֗ו אִ֛ישׁ יֹדֵ֥עַ צַ֖יִד אִ֣ישׁ שָׂדֶ֑ה וְיַעֲקֹב֙ אִ֣ישׁ תָּ֔ם יֹשֵׁ֖ב אֹהָלִֽים

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in camp. 

 

Genesis 25:21-27

Vida

 

 

A crown-of-thorns starfish at Swains reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia 

 

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

 

 

"The Way of Responsibility: The Jewish Future"  

 

Armistício

"The Memorial Board Up Close", Bevis Marks Synagogue
 

Akedah

 

 "The Challenge of the Akedah", Jon Levenson
 

Leonard Cohen

 

"Happens to the Heart"
 

"I was always working steady
But I never called it art
I got my shit together
Meeting Christ and reading Marx
It failed my little fire
But it's bright the dying spark
Go tell the young messiah
What happens to the heart

There's a mist of summer kisses
Where I tried to double-park
The rivalry was vicious
The women were in charge
It was nothing, it was business
But it left an ugly mark
I've come here to revisit
What happens to the heart

I was selling holy trinkets
I was dressing kind of sharp
Had a pussy in the kitchen
And a panther in the yard

In the prison of the gifted
I was friendly with the guards
So I never had to witness
What happens to the heart

I should have seen it coming
After all I knew the chart
Just to look at her was trouble
It was trouble from the start
Sure we played a stunning couple
But I never liked the part
It ain't pretty, it ain't subtle
What happens to the heart

Now the angel's got a fiddle
The devil's got a harp
Every soul is like a minnow
Every mind is like a shark
I've broken every window
But the house, the house is dark
I care but very little
What happens to the heart

Then I studied with this beggar
He was filthy, he was scarred
By the claws of many women
He had failed to disregard
No fable here no lesson
No singing meadowlark
Just a filthy beggar guessing
What happens to the heart

I was always working steady
But I never called it art
It was just some old convention
Like the horse before the cart
I had no trouble betting
On the flood, against the ark
You see, I knew about the ending
What happens to the heart

I was handy with a rifle
My father's .303
I fought for something final
Not the right to disagree"  

Thomas LaRue, "Der Shvartzer Khazn."

 

 

 "Yidele, Farlir Nit Dayn Hoffnung" ("Don't Give Up Hope, Mr. Jew")
 

 

וַיִּקְרַ֤ב אֵלָיו֙ רַ֣ב הַחֹבֵ֔ל וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ מַה־לְּךָ֣ נִרְדָּ֑ם ק֚וּם קְרָ֣א אֶל־אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ אוּלַ֞י יִתְעַשֵּׁ֧ת הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים לָ֖נוּ וְלֹ֥א נֹאבֵֽד

The captain went over to him and cried out, “How can you be sleeping so soundly! Up, call upon your god! Perhaps the god will be kind to us and we will not perish.”

וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֗הוּ לְכוּ֙ וְנַפִּ֣ילָה גֽוֹרָל֔וֹת וְנֵ֣דְעָ֔ה בְּשֶׁלְּמִ֛י הָרָעָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לָ֑נוּ וַיַּפִּ֙לוּ֙ גּֽוֹרָל֔וֹת וַיִּפֹּ֥ל הַגּוֹרָ֖ל עַל־יוֹנָֽה

The men said to one another, “Let us cast lots and find out on whose account this misfortune has come upon us.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֔יו הַגִּידָה־נָּ֣א לָ֔נוּ בַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר לְמִי־הָרָעָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לָ֑נוּ מַה־מְּלַאכְתְּךָ֙ וּמֵאַ֣יִן תָּב֔וֹא מָ֣ה אַרְצֶ֔ךָ וְאֵֽי־מִזֶּ֥ה עַ֖ם אָֽתָּה

They said to him, “Tell us, you who have brought this misfortune upon us, what is your business? Where have you come from? What is your country, and of what people are you?”

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם עִבְרִ֣י אָנֹ֑כִי וְאֶת־יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ אֲנִ֣י יָרֵ֔א אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה אֶת־הַיָּ֖ם וְאֶת־הַיַּבָּשָֽׁה

“I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the LORD, the God of Heaven, who made both sea and land.” 

 

Jonah 1:6-9

Vida

 

 

Akedah

 

 

 "Sacrifice of Isaac", Basilica of San Vitale, Italy (built 547 CE)
 

Rei David

A Fortified Building from the Time of King David is Discovered in Israel

 

Rebeca

 

"Rebecca and Abraham’s Servant at the Well", William Hilton (1833)

 

Moshe Halbertal

"The Threshold of Forgiveness"

Kristallnacht

 

 

9-10 November, 1938

 

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l

 

Vida

 

A gentoo penguin in Port Lockroy on the Antarctic peninsula
 

Hagar

 

"The Banishment of Hagar", Claude Lorrain (1668)
 

 

יהוָ֗ה הֵטִ֤יל רֽוּחַ־גְּדוֹלָה֙ אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם וַיְהִ֥י סַֽעַר־גָּד֖וֹל בַּיָּ֑ם וְהָ֣אֳנִיָּ֔ה חִשְּׁבָ֖ה לְהִשָּׁבֵֽר

But the LORD cast a mighty wind upon the sea, and such a great tempest came upon the sea that the ship was in danger of breaking up.

וַיִּֽירְא֣וּ הַמַּלָּחִ֗ים וַֽיִּזְעֲקוּ֮ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־אֱלֹהָיו֒ וַיָּטִ֨לוּ אֶת־הַכֵּלִ֜ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר בָּֽאֳנִיָּה֙ אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם לְהָקֵ֖ל מֵֽעֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְיוֹנָ֗ה יָרַד֙ אֶל־יַרְכְּתֵ֣י הַסְּפִינָ֔ה וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב וַיֵּרָדַֽם

In their fright, the sailors cried out, each to his own god; and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make it lighter for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the vessel where he lay down and fell asleep.

Jonah 1:4-5 

Midian

 

 

 "War against the Midianites" (detail), Balthasar Bernards (ca. 1720-1728)
 

Willie "The Lion" Smith

 

"Maple Leaf Rag"
 

Odessa

 

"Odessa Port", Vassily Kandinsky (1898)
 

Moisés

    "The Sense of an Ending: Finding Moses in Midrashic Literature", Avivah Zornberg

 

Vida

 

A Sperm Whale feeding her calf
 

Crown Heights

 

"Hanging with Hasidics"
 

וַֽיְהִי֙ דְּבַר־יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־יוֹנָ֥ה בֶן־אֲמִתַּ֖י לֵאמֹֽר

The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:

ק֠וּם לֵ֧ךְ אֶל־נִֽינְוֵ֛ה הָעִ֥יר הַגְּדוֹלָ֖ה וּקְרָ֣א עָלֶ֑יהָ כִּֽי־עָלְתָ֥ה רָעָתָ֖ם לְפָנָֽי

Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim judgment upon it; for their wickedness has come before Me.

וַיָּ֤קָם יוֹנָה֙ לִבְרֹ֣חַ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֑ה וַיֵּ֨רֶד יָפ֜וֹ וַיִּמְצָ֥א אָנִיָּ֣ה ׀ בָּאָ֣ה תַרְשִׁ֗ישׁ וַיִּתֵּ֨ן שְׂכָרָ֜הּ וַיֵּ֤רֶד בָּהּ֙ לָב֤וֹא עִמָּהֶם֙ תַּרְשִׁ֔ישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵ֖י יְהוָֽה

Jonah, however, started out to flee to Tarshish from the LORD’s service. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went aboard to sail with the others to Tarshish, away from the service of the LORD.

Jonah 1:1-3 

Shai Held

 

The Akedah Project
 

Willie "The Lion" Smith

 

"Nacha Bissell"
 

Sefer Torah

 

 

 Decorative silver Torah shields signed and dated by Elimelekh Tzoref of Stanislav (1782)
 

Benjamin Sommer

 

 

The Bible For Normal People  

 

Vida

 

 

Silver-throated tits, also called panda birds, Heilongjiang province, China