From barrenness to a place of joy and plenty.

Our chapter features the first usage of the term “Zion” as a moniker for Jerusalem. Yet the meaning of the word is shrouded in mystery, leading commentators to offer a host of different interpretations. Perhaps the most common is the association between Zion and the biblical word “tziya,” a place of desert and barrenness. On this suggestion, the name Zion is associated with the fact that Jerusalem is less bountiful than other areas of Israel. What is more, at a later point in history, the name became associated with the destruction of Jerusalem, which was symbolized by barrenness.

Professor Yair Zakovich, however, notes that in a number of biblical texts, the symbolism of Zion is inverted, so that it refers to bountiful plenty. Psalm 126, recited as the introduction to the Grace after Meals on Sabbath and holidays, refers to Zion in context of bounty. We anticipate that God will restore Jerusalem “like watercourses in the Negev” (126:4), and that “they who sow in tears shall reap with songs of joy” (126:5). In these verses, we “dream” of a Zion that is suddenly no longer barren, but filled with (unexpected - as in the Negev) watercourses. The Jews will once again reap their harvest in the time of redemption - precisely the opposite of the symbolism of Jerusalem as a barren wasteland.

Second, Psalm 133 reads:

A song of ascents of David. How good and how pleasant it is that brothers dwell together.
It is like fine oil on the head running down onto the beard, the beard of Aaron, that comes down over the collar of his robe, like the dew of Hermon that falls upon the mountains of Zion. There the Lord ordained blessing, everlasting life. (v. 1-3)

Taken together, a striking juxtaposition emerges between Zion and bounty. While we do not initially know that the referent is Zion, in light of verse 3, verse 2 compares Zion to “fine oil… running down onto the beard.” God has ordained for Zion “blessing, everlasting life.”

Finally, Zakovich notes, the book of Isaiah takes one final step, clinching the transformed symbolism of Zion:

Truly the Lord has comforted Zion, Comforted all her ruins; He has made her wilderness like Eden, Her desert like the Garden of the Lord. Gladness and joy shall abide there, Thanksgiving and the sound of music (51:3).

Remarkably, the verse compares Zion during the redemption to nothing less than the Garden of Eden, the ultimate paragon of bounty. 

Biblical names, then, with Zion as a chief example, may be examined not only for their original etymology, but also for their evolving symbolism throughout the Bible. In the case of Zion, nothing less than a stunning inversion of the word’s symbolism occurs over the course of biblical history.

Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky is the Director of Interdisciplinary Learning and Educational Outreach at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, NJ.

Avraham Norin shared this piece from one of this week's 929 many posts.

What is 929?  Click on the link for more details:  https://www.929.org.il/pages/aboutEN.html

From barrenness to a place of joy and plenty.

Our chapter features the first usage of the term “Zion” as a moniker for Jerusalem. Yet the meaning of the word is shrouded in mystery, leading commentators to offer a host of different interpretations. Perhaps the most common is the association between Zion and the biblical word “tziya,” a place of desert and barrenness. On this suggestion, the name Zion is associated with the fact that Jerusalem is less bountiful than other areas of Israel. What is more, at a later point in history, the name became associated with the destruction of Jerusalem, which was symbolized by barrenness.

Professor Yair Zakovich, however, notes that in a number of biblical texts, the symbolism of Zion is inverted, so that it refers to bountiful plenty. Psalm 126, recited as the introduction to the Grace after Meals on Sabbath and holidays, refers to Zion in context of bounty. We anticipate that God will restore Jerusalem “like watercourses in the Negev” (126:4), and that “they who sow in tears shall reap with songs of joy” (126:5). In these verses, we “dream” of a Zion that is suddenly no longer barren, but filled with (unexpected - as in the Negev) watercourses. The Jews will once again reap their harvest in the time of redemption - precisely the opposite of the symbolism of Jerusalem as a barren wasteland.

Second, Psalm 133 reads:

A song of ascents of David. How good and how pleasant it is that brothers dwell together.
It is like fine oil on the head running down onto the beard, the beard of Aaron, that comes down over the collar of his robe, like the dew of Hermon that falls upon the mountains of Zion. There the Lord ordained blessing, everlasting life. (v. 1-3)

Taken together, a striking juxtaposition emerges between Zion and bounty. While we do not initially know that the referent is Zion, in light of verse 3, verse 2 compares Zion to “fine oil… running down onto the beard.” God has ordained for Zion “blessing, everlasting life.”

Finally, Zakovich notes, the book of Isaiah takes one final step, clinching the transformed symbolism of Zion:

Truly the Lord has comforted Zion, Comforted all her ruins; He has made her wilderness like Eden, Her desert like the Garden of the Lord. Gladness and joy shall abide there, Thanksgiving and the sound of music (51:3).

Remarkably, the verse compares Zion during the redemption to nothing less than the Garden of Eden, the ultimate paragon of bounty. 

Biblical names, then, with Zion as a chief example, may be examined not only for their original etymology, but also for their evolving symbolism throughout the Bible. In the case of Zion, nothing less than a stunning inversion of the word’s symbolism occurs over the course of biblical history.

Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky is the Director of Interdisciplinary Learning and Educational Outreach at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, NJ.

Avraham Norin shared this piece from one of this week's 929 many posts.

What is 929?  Click on the link for more details:  https://www.929.org.il/pages/aboutEN.html