Rabbi Natasha Mann

This piece first appeared in Rabbi Natasha's commentary on the 929 Tanakh Project here . The tearing of garments is symbolic of (and responsive to) overwhelming grief. It is an outward display of internal turmoil. In the midst of Joel’s call to repentance, he shares the words of the Divine (2:13): ‘Rend your hearts, not your garments, and turn back ( v’shuvu ) to the Eternal your God.’  One reading is that we can, at times, be guilty of performative emotional measures, the same way that we can be guilty of performative worship. In Joel’s example, it is simply not good enough to perform repentance ( t’shuvah ); it must come from within. However, this reading does not address the fact that Joel tells us to rend our hearts instead of our garments . Here, Rashi suggests that the text could mean that if we rend our hearts, we will no longer need to rend our garments. If we do t’shuvah properly, in our hearts, we will no longer be in a situation that requires the tearing of garments....

Background of Joel Time:  UNKNOWN Place: Judah Kings:  UNKNOWN Political Backdrop: UNKNOWN Pre-Exilic Work: ·        Oncoming day of destruction could be Babylonian exile ·        Joel doesn’t need to identify the Babylonians – because it’s obvious? ·        References the Temple – is the Temple still standing? (1:14) Post-Exilic Work: ·        Against Edom (4:19), who aided in the destruction of the First Temple. ·        Mention of Ionians in 4:6 – Greek inhabitants from Ionia (today’s Turkey), implies quite late. ·        Intertextuality implies later than other books, e.g. Jonah, Amos, Ezekiel. ·        Is Joel prophetic or apocalyptic? Primary Themes of Joel: ·        Famine and/or Invas...