How does private grief play out in public in our culture? Where and when did we become accustomed to the norms of hidden hurts, and why?
After years of railing against Jerusalem with the hopes of turning people’s hearts to God, justice, and repentance with the hopes of saving the city - Ezekiel has given up.
Chapter 24 concludes his chapters of rebuke and leads into grim acceptance and silence.
But this chapter contains two tragic losses - not just the loss of the temple but also the loss of Ezekiel’s wife, of whom we haven’t heard yet and whose name will never be known. Did she even exist? What is her story?
The prophet is told not to mourn his wife - and the people are ordered not to mourn the temple. What is the connection between the private and the public losses - and the held-back grief?
Ezekiel begins this chapter with a specific date - which will become significant - and then he mentions this personal mourning almost as an aside:
וָאֲדַבֵּ֤ר אֶל־הָעָם֙ בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וַתָּ֥מׇת אִשְׁתִּ֖י בָּעָ֑רֶב וָאַ֥עַשׂ בַּבֹּ֖קֶר כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר צֻוֵּֽיתִי׃
In the evening my wife died, and in the morning I did as I had been commanded.
Ezekiel 24:18
Tova Ganzel reflects on this nameless wife's death and the prophet's private life of which we know so little:
“Ezekiel tells us nothing about himself. This stems from a profound awareness that his own individual concerns are infinitely small in relation to the mission of eternity that he has taken upon himself, or which has been placed upon him by God. Throughout the narrative, we glean only small hints of who Ezekiel is, as he himself shies away from autobiography. What was his lie like in exile? What were his sources of joy and pain? There is not a word.
And yet here, all of a sudden, the prophet has a wife, and she is dear to him. She is “the delight of his eyes”, (24:16), a beloved, precious soul of whom the prophet has made not the slightest mention up until this last moment. Now a plagues breaks out in the city, in Babylonia, and she, too, dies. And since she was dear to him, he notes the date, The Tenth of Tevet (24:1), a fateful day of national punishment. His short phrase is an aside, almost swallowed up in the narrative: “In the evening my wife died” (24:18).
It is as though not connected. But no, his personal tragedy is but a symbol of the national cataclysm, and the two poignant expressions, “The delight of your eyes” and “desire of your heart” which could well express his intimate relationship with wife, refer to what is to follow: Jerusalem, about to perish in a plague.
Nevertheless we are touched by this hint of human emotion behind the prophet’s mask.”
Perhaps the command to hold back from mourning represents a deeper sense of acceptance - it is divine will to take a life or topple the temple. Or perhaps this is an indication of how dire the disaster was - and as tragically has occurred so often since in history - and can be sensed again these days: Mourning is only possible and helpful when there are others to console, support and give the mourner comfort -- what if there are none to comfort as all are mourners? Ezekiel’s loss, woven with those of the people, leave behind a lament that is silenced but still felt. It’s often the personal loses, the intimate stories, even nameless faces - that help us make sense of senseless and pause to mourn and hold each other’s grief.
Ezekiel & The Eternal Flame
Join me on December 6 2023, 5pm ET to prepare for Hanukkah as we explore the surprising links between Ezekiel’s prophetic parables, this political moment and a children’s toy that hides the secret to what Hanukkah is all about.
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.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber today at the level that works best for you.
details here. Sign up: Here
Your support means a lot.
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.
#Ezekiel #Ezekiel24 #ProphetEzekiel #יחזקאל #יחזקאלבןבוזי #BookofEzekiel #JewishMysticism #Prophets #Neviim #Hebrewbible #Tanach #929 #labshul #belowthebiblebelt929 #feministcriticism #feminist #Ezekiel’swife #mourning #privategrief #widower #howtogrieve #publicmourning #misogny #Jersualem #stoptheviolence #peace #prayforpeace #nomorewar #hope