Eliyahu's Journey to His Place of Ascent (III)
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
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The Bnei Ha’Nevi’im, who know of Eliyahu’s imminent departure, attempt to draw close to this mysterious event in different ways - dialogue with Elisha and...
Eliyahu's Journey to His Place of Ascent (II)
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
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Eliyahu is commanded to pass through Beit El and Yeriho in order to part from the Bnei Ha’Nevi’im. The reader, Elisha and the Bnei Ha’Nevi’im know that...
Eliyahu's Journey to His Place of Ascent (I)
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
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Gilgal mentioned in this story does not seem to correspond with other places with the same name mentioned in the Tanakh. It appears to be North of Beit El...
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
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The chapter divides into two sections: Elisha accompanies Eliyahu to his eventual ascent in a storm to heaven, and Elisha’s assumption of the role as...
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
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The story of Eliyahu ascending to the heavens in a storm does not end when Eliyahu ascends, nor when it is conclusive that he is gone. Rather, the unit...
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
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As in many other biblical narratives where God's word stands the test of prevailing over its opponents, here too the root d-b-r appears as the key word in...
The Structure of the Story
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
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The structure of the story sheds an additional light on the story. The subject of our story is the victory of God's word and the victory of its bearer...
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
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In this story those whose ascent was positive, merit also to come down. Those whose ascent was bound up with sin (Ahazya and the first two captains) do...
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
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Verbs describing "Ascent" and "Descent" are used multiple times throughout the story. At the beginning of the story the Angel of God commands Eliyahu to...
The Third Captain of Fifty
Rabbi Elchanan Samet
Source:
In order to save his life from the fate of the previous two captains, it would be sufficient for the captain to refuse to comply to the Ahazya's orders....