The way of the world is that small and local kingdoms are influenced in all their ways by the empires that surround them. The fall of one empire and the rise of another usually causes shocks among their protégés: existential concerns, adjustment difficulties, administrative changes and even philosophical questions. This is how the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah conducted themselves for many years. The prophets of Israel, who accompanied the turbulent political life, reacted to the social, political and religious reality and sought to restrain the heights of the people's hearts and the power of the government. They sought to instill their rebuke into the hearts of the people with power, with pain and above all with a lot of love: "With the ropes of a man, you will live, with the abundance of love" (Hosea, chapter 11). Eight Prophets focuses on eight of the twelve prophets mentioned in the books "The Twelve", which together tell the story of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The book opens in the days of the prophet Jonah, with the rise of the Assyrian Empire, and ends with the prophecy of Obadiah, with the destruction of the First Temple and the exile of Judah to Babylon. In between, the stories of the prophets Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum and Habakkuk are told. The historical and political background of each of them allows the reader to experience the voice of the prophet in the context in which he acted, but from that to immediately tap into the Israeli reality that seeks to renew itself in the homeland of its ancestors. Reading the Bible with a backward glance and forward-looking eyes may slightly expand the field of vision of the decision makers and their constituents. Rabbi Dr. Binyamin Lau serves as a rabbi in the Ramban community in Jerusalem and as the head of the "929 - Together Bible" project for reading a daily chapter of the Bible In his books and classes, Rabbi Lau conveys the sources of Jewish history and thought to the Israeli public. His books are about the Parshat of the week ("Ethanchata"), about the Bible ("Yeremiahu", "Isaiah", "Esther" and "Smuel") and about the world of sages ( "Sages" series) - all published by "Yediot Books" - were bestsellers.
