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Dr. Lenore C. Kipper, Judaic Studies Director Emerita

After Torah: Time for Tanach, The Books of the Bible

The Book of Ezekiel, Priest and Prophet

Ezekiel was born in the kingdom of Judah and was from a priestly family. When he was a young man, he was exiled to Babylonia during the first period of captivity around 597 BCE. He was active as a prophet in Babylonia for about twenty-two years. He was different from the other prophets, for he was the first to prophecy outside the land of ancient Israel. Ezekiel lived among the others who were exiled in the village called Tel-aviv (not related to the modern city), located south of Babylon by a canal known as the River Chebar.

The ruler of Babylonia, Nebuchadnezzar, did not scatter the exiles throughout the kingdom. Instead, he established them in a place as a community with some self-governing organization. Ezekiel became the priest-leader of the community without a temple. On Shabbat and holidays, the people would gather in his home to worship God in a foreign land and to hear and study Torah. One can say he was establishing a model for a synagogue in the Diaspora, outside of Jerusalem.

Before and after the fall of Jerusalem, 586 BCE, was a time of great confusion. The temple, God’s dwelling place of worship, was still in Jerusalem. How could the people worship the Eternal One in a strange land? Ezekiel had to teach the exiles that God could be found and worshipped even in Babylonia. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel spoke and wrote words describing the idolatry of the people in Judah and some of the injustices of the priests and kings. After the destruction of Jerusalem, he changed his words from doom and lament to comfort, encouragement, and hope. He taught that God was the master of the whole world, and therefore the Eternal One could be worshipped anywhere. He taught them that the Jewish community could survive the national disaster through their trust and faith, their loyalty to Torah and mitzvot, and their hope of returning to the land and building a new Israel. Ezekiel was both a prophet and a priest. He combined spiritual ideals and observed rituals and ceremonies of Shabbat and holidays. He held the community together through the connection to religious life and the hope of return to national restoration in Eretz Yisrael.

Ezekiel will be remembered as the religious leader who helped his people to face the unknown future. He brought them comfort and faith. In their moment of weakness, he taught them, “God will strengthen.” This is the meaning of his name in Hebrew. He gave them the courage to overcome defeat and survive as a people.

From the Book of Ezekiel

“I will gather you from among the nations and take you from all countries, and I will bring you back to your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water over you, and you shall be clean from all your impurities and from all your idols. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you… I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to live by My laws, and you shall observe My commandments. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You shall be My People, and I will be your God.”

“I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the waste places to be rebuilt. …Then all the nations round about shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined cities and replaced the desolate land.” (Ez. 36)

Valley of the Dry Bones

Ezekiel was known to have visions for the future. One of the most interesting images is written in the valley of the dry bones.

“And the Lord led me forth and set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. He said to me: Son of man, can these bones live? Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live…And the bones came together, each into its place, then the sinews came upon them, then the flesh and skin covered them…then the Lord commanded, come from the four winds and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. These bones represent the whole house of Israel. They say, our bones are dried up and our hope is lost, we are completely cut off.”

“Thus says the Lord: I will open your graves and raise you from them. O, My People, and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

And I will put My spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will restore you to your own land, and you shall know that I have spoken and accomplished it, says the Lord.” (Ez. 37)

When I read the above selections, I think of the modern return to the land, the vision of Herzl and Zionism, the modern miracle of the rebirth of a Jewish nation, the return to Jerusalem, the rescue of the survivors of the Holocaust, the ingathering of many Jews, and the years of achievement!

As Ezekiel prophesied and Herzl wrote:

If you will it, it is no dream! Chai, Chai, Chai, Am Yisrael Chai! The Jewish People Survives and Lives!

I encourage you to read more selections from the Books of the Prophets and the Books of the Writings. There are so many relevant words that can guide us still in the 21st century! Enjoy the summer, and keep on learning.

Remembering the beginning years of the day school: 

This year completes 55 years of the K to 6 grades, now to the 5th grade.

The decade of the 90s was a time of innovation, evaluation, and reflection. Beth Am Day School, now Rambam, was a leader in the Reform Day School movement within Reform Judaism. After the UAHC resolution to finally recognize and accept the idea, a new organization was created by the existing day schools. First, it was called the Council of Reform Day Schools. Lenore Kipper became its Vice President, then President. It then became united with a committee of lay leaders from the Union, and was given the name PARDeS (Progressive Association of Reform Day Schools). This merger happened at a Conference held at Beth Am Day School.

Soon, many other communities began to be established. And they always came to visit and consult with us on how to get started and how to create the idea of the integrated curriculum,m which we had developed.

In 1993-94, Dr. Michael Zeldin and Sara Lee from the School of Education at HUC-JIR, in Los Angeles, asked us to be the first school to participate in a grant program called Jewish Day Schools for the 21st Century. It included a study and interviews with teachers, parents, school board leaders, students, and the school’s leadership team at the time.

This was Ceil Coonin, Director, Lenore Kipper, Judaic/Hebrew Director, and Marlene Price, Administrative Assistant. The final report was prepared in 1997. It included writing a revised mission statement and five curriculum vision statements that guided the goals of the Judaic studies for the future.

• The school as a Jewish community, a Kehillah K’dosah.
• Building a connection to God, prayer, and the Covenant.
• Building a connection to Jewish traditions through the study of Jewish texts, Talmud Torah.
• Learning Jewish values, Middot, and Tikkun Olam.
• Ahm Israel, building a connection to Jewish Peoplehood, Israel the people, the land, and the nation (this included aspects of Jewish history).
  The full description of each vision is written in the complete document. (It is in the Archive office.)

I believe that over the past 55 years, the day school has always included these vision statements.

L’Shalom,
Lenore