{"id":34774,"date":"2025-12-07T12:42:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T12:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/?page_id=34774"},"modified":"2025-12-07T12:48:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T12:48:34","slug":"between-bezrat-hashem-and-baruch-hashem-new-article-by-ono-ethiopian-scholar","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/between-bezrat-hashem-and-baruch-hashem-new-article-by-ono-ethiopian-scholar\/","title":{"rendered":"Between B\u2019ezrat Hashem and Baruch Hashem: New Article by Ono Ethiopian Scholar"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\">\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"294\" height=\"302\" class=\"wp-image-34775 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/12\/Thank-God-12.25.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/12\/Thank-God-12.25.jpg 294w, https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/12\/Thank-God-12.25-292x300.jpg 292w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 294px) 100vw, 294px\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom, the founder and director of the International Center for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry at Ono Academic College, recently wrote an article in the \u201cShabbaton\u201d newspaper, entitled \u201cWhat Is the Difference Between <em>B\u2019ezrat Hashem<\/em> and <em>Baruch Hashem<\/em>?\u201d<\/strong><br \/>In this new piece, Rabbi Shalom draws on his experiences guiding visitors in Ethiopia to explore why communities living in deep material poverty often radiate profound joy. He describes how Ethiopians answer the simple question \u201cHow are you?\u201d with <em>Alena<\/em>\u2014\u201cI am here\u201d\u2014or with phrases meaning \u201cI thank God,\u201d revealing a spiritual worldview rooted not in control but in gratitude, presence, and inner calm.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Rabbi Shalom explains, through a distinction cited from Prof. Avi Sagi, the phrases used by Rabbiic Jews to respond to a question of how they are. <em>\u201cB\u2019ezrat Hashem\/With God\u2019s help\u201d<\/em> expresses a belief that God actively intervenes to change events, while <em>\u201cBaruch Hashem\/Blessed be God\u201d<\/em> expresses thanks for the world as it already exists, along with the human responsibility to care for it. These two expressions reflect different religious approaches: one centered on divine action in history, the other on human partnership and appreciation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Ethiopian Jewish tradition, he argues, uniquely holds both truths together. Just as modern life distinguishes between <em>standard of living<\/em> and <em>quality of life<\/em>, Ethiopian thought distinguishes between the \u201clevel\u201d of one\u2019s faith and its \u201cquality.\u201d Their theology does not attach spiritual meaning to material wealth. Instead, it emphasizes hope over fantasy, acceptance over control, and gratitude over anxiety.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Joy, he writes, emerges not from dreaming about what could be, but from giving thanks for what already is. Ethiopian Jews have long understood that the same place in the heart that feels <em>lack<\/em> also feels <em>grace<\/em>\u2014and that both are part of a shared experience of God\u2019s presence in the world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The original article in Hebrew can be read here: <a href=\"https:\/\/shabaton1.co.il\/?p=44262\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/shabaton1.co.il\/?p=44262<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-34774","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34774"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34779,"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34774\/revisions\/34779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}