e-TiM: Online Program
e-TiM: Shoftim: Leadership, Loyalty, and Deliverance - The Struggle for Israel's National and Religious Identity
Shoftim: Leadership, Loyalty, and Deliverance - The Struggle for Israel's National and Religious Identity
Spanning almost a third of the history of our people in the land of Israel, the period of the Judges was filled with turmoil, internal and external struggles for leadership, and the quest of our people to find their national and religious identity. Reexamine the leadership of Devorah, Gideon, Yiftach, Shimshon, and many others - as we seek to understand the period of the Judges and unlock its mysteries as we answer the fundamental question: What went right and what went wrong?
From Hero to Hubris: The Rise of Gideon and the Ruin of Avimelech
Gideon personifies the paradox of leadership in Shoftim, ascending from hiding farmer to fearless general. He secures one of the most miraculous, divinely orchestrated victories over Israel’s enemies—a triumph that continues to impact the ethos of modern Israel today. Yet his tragic hubris leads to his own failures, paving the way for his son Avimelech’s bloody revolt and Israel's earliest treacherous struggle for a crown.
