God's response to Job (excerpt)
(1) Then the LORD replied to Job out of the tempest and said: (2) Who is this who darkens counsel, Speaking without knowledge? (3) Gird your loins like a man; I will ask and you will inform Me. (4) Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? Speak if you have understanding.
(כח) הֲיֵשׁ־לַמָּטָ֥ר אָ֑ב א֥וֹ מִי־ה֝וֹלִ֗יד אֶגְלֵי־טָֽל׃ (כט) מִבֶּ֣טֶן מִ֭י יָצָ֣א הַקָּ֑רַח וּכְפֹ֥ר שָׁ֝מַיִם מִ֣י יְלָדֽוֹ׃ (ל) כָּ֭אֶבֶן מַ֣יִם יִתְחַבָּ֑אוּ וּפְנֵ֥י תְ֝ה֗וֹם יִתְלַכָּֽדוּ׃
God's response to Job (excerpt)
(28) Does the rain have a father? Who begot the dewdrops? (29) From whose belly did the ice come forth? Who gave birth to the frost of heaven? (30) Water is hidden as with a stone, and the face of the deep forms a solid mass.
Job and His Friends, by Gustave Dore
Hannah's Prayer (excerpt)
(6) The LORD deals death and gives life,Casts down into Sheol and raises up. (7) The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He casts down, He also lifts high. (8) He raises the poor from the dust, Lifts up the needy from the dunghill, Setting them with nobles, Granting them seats of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s; He has set the world upon them. (9) He guards the steps of His faithful, But the wicked perish in darkness— For not by strength shall man prevail.
Discuss:
(1) How would you feel if God spoke to you the way God speaks to Job (1st source)?
(2) Explain how Hannah understands God's role in the world (2nd source).
(3) Describe how you understand God's power in your own life.
Hannah's Prayer, by Wilhelm Wachtel
(א) וּבָעֵ֣ת הַהִיא֩ יַעֲמֹ֨ד מִֽיכָאֵ֜ל הַשַּׂ֣ר הַגָּד֗וֹל הָעֹמֵד֮ עַל־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּךָ֒ וְהָיְתָה֙ עֵ֣ת צָרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־נִהְיְתָה֙ מִֽהְי֣וֹת גּ֔וֹי עַ֖ד הָעֵ֣ת הַהִ֑יא וּבָעֵ֤ת הַהִיא֙ יִמָּלֵ֣ט עַמְּךָ֔ כָּל־הַנִּמְצָ֖א כָּת֥וּב בַּסֵּֽפֶר׃ (ב) וְרַבִּ֕ים מִיְּשֵׁנֵ֥י אַדְמַת־עָפָ֖ר יָקִ֑יצוּ אֵ֚לֶּה לְחַיֵּ֣י עוֹלָ֔ם וְאֵ֥לֶּה לַחֲרָפ֖וֹת לְדִרְא֥וֹן עוֹלָֽם׃ (ס) (ג) וְהַ֨מַּשְׂכִּלִ֔ים יַזְהִ֖רוּ כְּזֹ֣הַר הָרָקִ֑יעַ וּמַצְדִּיקֵי֙ הָֽרַבִּ֔ים כַּכּוֹכָבִ֖ים לְעוֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד׃ (פ)
(1) “At that time, the great prince, Michael, who stands beside the sons of your people, will appear. It will be a time of trouble, the like of which has never been since the nation came into being. At that time, your people will be rescued, all who are found inscribed in the book. (2) Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence. (3) And the knowledgeable will be radiant like the bright expanse of sky, and those who lead the many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.
Source: "Picture Stories from the Bible: Complete Old Testament Edition, 1943, published by M. C. Gaines
Rebekah Osborn, "Dry Bones"
I am standing in a valley filled with dead, dry bones
I don’t know if they could ever live again
He says, “I am calling you from your grave.
You will know I am Lord when I bring you from the dead.”
Rise up, dry bones
Breathe the air, live again
Rise up, dry bones
Death shall be master over you no more
I am standing in the valley when the Lord God says,
“Prophesy, son of man, over the dead,
For their bones dried up, and their hope is lost,
But they will know I am God when I bring them from their graves.”
(Chorus)
Oh Breath, breathe on these slain
That they may live
Oh Breath, breathe on these slain
That they may live
(Chorus)
Discuss:
(1) What need do humans have for thinking about a resurrection?
(2) How does a chance for eternal life influence our behavior?
סדור סים שלום:
ונאמן אתה להחיות מתים. ברוך אתה ה' מחיה המתים.
סדור קול יעקב:
ונאמן אתה להחיות מתים. ברוך אתה ה' מחיה המתים.
יצחק מאיר וויס:
...מחיה נשמות המתים.
משכן תפילה:
ונאמן אתה להחיות הכל (מתים). ברוך אתה ה' מחיה הכל (המתים).
III. Liturgy
Siddur Sim Shalom:
Faithful are You in giving life to the dead. Praised are You, LORD, Master of life and death.
Siddur Kol Y'akov (Orthodox):
And You are fatihful to resuscitate the dead. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who resuscitates the dead.
Isaac Mayer Wise Siddur (early Reform):
Thou art faithful to the living and the dead. Praised be Thou, O God, who keepest alive the souls of dying mortals."
Siddur Mishkan T'filah (modern Reform):
Blessed are You, LORD, who gives life to all.
Commentary from Artscroll Siddur:
"The Resuscitator of the dead. The concept that God restores life is found three times in this section, alluding to the three kinds of resuscitation: man's awakening every morning after deathlike slumber; the rain that has the life-sustaining quality of making vegetation grow; and the literal resuscitation of the dead, that will take place in the Messianic age (Abudraham)."
Discuss:
(1) Rank order the prayer books according to which one you agree with the most.
(2) What do we mean when we call God, in English, "Master of life and death"?