11 Lectures
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 1
Introduction to Be`er Sheva and connection to Rosh Hashanah We will follow the special connection of the three patriarchs with Be`er Sheva. Ahat is so special about this city in the lives of the patriarchs? We will try to clarify the special connection of Be`er Sheva to Rosh Hashanah. Why – in the two-day Torah reading, do we read about Be`er Sheva? We will propose as an initial suggestion that the message of Be`er Sheva fits perfectly with the central idea of Rosh Hashanah – reaching out to other nations and the reign of God over the whole world
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 2
After we proposed as an initial assumption that Be`er sheva symbolizes the turning to other nations, we will see how this characteristic of the city is expressed in the geographical map of the city in the topographical map – being in an area of water wells and also in the map of the tribes. And if we return to the Torah reading of Rosh Hashanah – we can now recognize the alternative that the Torah offers to Be`er sheva: the Be`er sheva desert. A place without water and without people, where Abraham sends Ishmael, and where later… Isaac also goes!
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 3
Some interesting ideas in the context of Beersheba and the encounter with the nations: 1. It is implied from the Torah that if not for “Akedat Yitzchak”, Beersheba would have been the holiest place for the people of Israel! 2. In 1979, Egyptian President Sadat specifically requested to visit Beersheba, as the first place where Israel made a covenant with their neighbors. Going back to the beginning – it seems that the Torah describes the calling of the city’s name twice. Once, by Abraham and once – by Isaac! What is the Torah trying to teach us with this unnecessary…
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 4
When you analyze the stories of Abraham and Isaac, you see that not only did they both call the city Be`er sheva, but they both went through exactly the same experiences. Everything that happened to Abraham happened to Isaac. This emphasizes the fact that there is one place their paths parted. After the Akedah, each goes to the well: Abraham to Be`er sheva, and Isaac to “Be`er Lahai Roi”. Where is this place? Where does it appear in the Torah? And what does it symbolize? This is the key to understanding Abraham and Isaac.
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 5
An analysis of the references in the Torah to “Be`er Lahai Roi” teaches us that it was a place that served as a place of solitude and meditation for Isaac, and that Isaac would come and go (“ba mibo”) there until his father died. Then he settled there permanently, as an expression of his solitary outlook, which was different from Abraham’s. So who was right? Abraham or Isaac? God’s revelation to Isaac provides a clear answer: God commands Isaac to return to the path of Abraham. Isaac understands – and he returns to Be`er Sheva!
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 6
The divine command to Isaac uses exactly the same phrase that was said to Abraham at the end of the Akedah: “And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” The message to Isaac is clear: the goal should be – all the nations of the earth. Not isolation. Looking further at the similar stories of Abraham and Isaac, it seems that in each story Isaac draws lessons and behaves better than his father. We`ll go through the stories in order to reach the last story – most important to us – giving the name: Be`er…
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 7
A special lesson in honor of the 100th anniversary of the great battle of the Australian Cavalry in World War I, in order to conquer Be`er Sheva. In light of everything we`ve learned, we now understand why it was so important for them to conquer the city. The British army under the command of General Allenby, and the Australian Cavalry, in the last cavalry battle in history, succeeded in conquering the city, a battle that is still considered to this day as the beginning of the fall of the Ottoman Empire and restoration of the land of Israel.
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 8
Back to Abraham and Isaac… We began to explain how Isaac surpasses Abraham in all life events that both of them experienced in a similar way: in the way he treats his wife’s infertility, in the way he treats his wife when they are in a foreign land because of famine, in the way he treats the Land of Israel in cases of dispute, in the way he treats the son of the sinner and, as we will see later, also in relation to Beersheba.
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 9
Did Isaac improve on Avraham’s actions also in what happened in Be`er Sheva? A careful analysis of the two parallel stories about the covenant with Avimelech in Be`er Sheva will show us the important difference between them: Isaac learned a lesson from Avimelech’s breach of the covenant, and therefore he does not call the city of Be`er Sheva after the oath. Isaac’s more cautious attitude has been fixed in the name of the city to this day, teaching us an important aspect about the Be`er Sheva theme of reaching out to the nations
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 10
We have established the message of Be`er Sheva – reaching out to other nations and the encounter with the material world. We still need to clarify: Whose approach was right – Avraham or Isaac? And does this message of Be`er Sheva appear later on in the Bible? Through Jacob’s encounter with Be`er Sheva, the Torah teaches us that Isaac’s path was more accurate. And the following references in the Bible of Be`er Sheva – by the prophet Elijah and by King Jehoash, we see again the essence of the city – as a boundary between the realistic world and the…
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Be`er Sheva – lecture 11
Two final insights that complete the picture: What is the meaning of the phrase so common in the Bible: “From Dan to Be`er Sheva”? What distinguishes these two cities? And how does it relate to the unique altar found in Be`er Sheva? Why is Jacob afraid precisely when he is on his way to Be`er Sheva? How does this relate to the central theme of the city as we have learned – the encounter with other nations and the material world? And with this theme, we will conclude the series of lectures on Be`er Sheva!