YHWH spoke: On the first day of the first month, you shall take a bull of the herd without blemish, and you shall cleanse the Sanctuary.
כֹּה־אָמַר֮ אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִה֒ בָּֽרִאשׁוֹן֙ בְּאֶחָ֣ד לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ תִּקַּ֥ח פַּר־בֶּן־בָּקָ֖ר תָּמִ֑ים וְחִטֵּאתָ֖ אֶת־הַמִּקְדָּֽשׁ׃
Ezekiel 45:18
Ezekiel now turns to an elaborate description of sacred time and societal structure, with the temple in the center as the heartbeat of the imagined community of the future. He begins with this first day of the new year (!) with ritual sacrifice meant to mark the moment and purify the place and the people each and every new year.
What is the scope of his radical vision? Prof. Adriane Leveen writes in Returning the Body to Its Place: Ezekiel's Tour of the Temple:
“Thanks to Ezekiel's innovations, this building does not simply recreate the destroyed temple but provides the exilic community with a new and expanded model. The temple is not as it was. Perhaps the prophet’s innovations might contribute an essential ingredient to the community's recovery from trauma.
Not only will the temple be new and improved but so too will the organization of the body politic as a restored community. The vision of the temple, written by the prophet a is addressed to a body politic, that includes the prince ( referred to as Nasi), the priests, and the people.
Ezekiel aims at doing nothing less than disrupt traditional social, political, and religious arrangements..that were in place prior to the destruction of the first temple.”
Ezekiel’s futurist visions, as Prof. Leveen points out, extend beyond the sacred space, to reimagine both the Judaic calendar of sacred time, as well as the allocation of land and the societal structure. In the next and last few chapters he devotes a lot of words ot an equitable distribution of real estate in the restored homeland, and to the limitation of power, He will never mention the word ‘King’, choosing instead to focus on ‘Nasi’ - usually translated as President or Prince, clearly indicating a ruler who is not of the priestly clan but may not be royalty either. Those days, Ezekiel suggests, are over.
In today’s chapter he begins outlining the land lots of Jerusalem, including the territorial terrains of priests and levites, and the plot allocated for the palace of the president or ruler. And then he throws in a serious warning and rebuke to the leaders of the future, reminiscent of what he likely remembers from the troubled and corrupt past:
,
לָאָ֛רֶץ יִֽהְיֶה־לּ֥וֹ לַאֲחֻזָּ֖ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹא־יוֹנ֨וּ ע֤וֹד נְשִׂיאַי֙ אֶת־עַמִּ֔י וְהָאָ֛רֶץ יִתְּנ֥וּ לְבֵֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְשִׁבְטֵיהֶֽם׃ כֹּה־אָמַ֞ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִ֗ה רַב־לָכֶם֙ נְשִׂיאֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל חָמָ֤ס וָשֹׁד֙ הָסִ֔ירוּ וּמִשְׁפָּ֥ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה עֲשׂ֑וּ הָרִ֤ימוּ גְרֻשֹֽׁתֵיכֶם֙ מֵעַ֣ל עַמִּ֔י נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֥י יֱהֹוִֽה׃
“That shall be the leaders’s property in Israel; and My leaders shall no more defraud My people, but shall leave the rest of the land to the several tribes of the House of Israel.
Thus said YHWH: Enough, leaders of Israel! Make an end of lawlessness and robbery, and do what is right and just! Put a stop to your evictions of My people—declares YHWH.
Ezekiel 45:9-11
In the future Jerusalem the leaders will be subjected to checks and balances that will enable all the people to enjoy more justice, freedom and security. The leader will be housed, but at a distance from the temple, with some rules that will restrict their conduct, and will be held back from territorial authority.
Worth noting that the Hebrew word Ezekiel uses here, translated as ‘lawlessness’ - is ‘Hamas’.
Once again the ancient visions of the future meet today’s complex reality as the imagined prophecy provides hope for a more just society, with less disputes and more equality, leaders who are accountable and a sense of societal responsibility.
On this first day of 2024 we can only hope that similar visions, ancient and brand new, will help all people everywhere hold leaders accountable, minimize violence and make life better for all.
Dear Below the Bible Belt Readers,
Join me to begin the new year with a conversation about the ways our ancient heritage informs our lives and can hopefully help us navigate and make sense of our unfolding brutal and tragic reality.
We’ll meet on January 4 2024, 5pm ET to say goodbye to the Prophet Ezekiel, celebrate the 500th chapter of Below the Bible Belt, and get a glimpse of our next section on this journey- the twelve so-called minor prophets.
Here’s the link to the next Below the Bible Belt Zoom Live Conversation:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88915392821
These monthly zoom conversations now welcome all subscribers of Below the Bible Belt, with gratitude to Paid Subscribers for the generous enabling of his blog to be free daily for all.
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We’ll share the recording with all subscribers.
Thank you.
We pray for healing and peace.
Go Below the Bible Belt. Link in bio. subscribe.Below the Bible Belt: 929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections.Become a free or paid subscriber and join Rabbi Amichai’s 3+ years interactive online quest to question, queer + re-read between the lines of the entire Hebrew Bible. Enjoy daily posts, weekly videos and monthly learning sessions. 2022-2025.
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