such as the so-called people of the land (˓am hā˒ārets)?154 Did he call for voluntary submission to this social or economic condition?155 Did he simply try to console those living in a state of depravity?156 Or did he have a more comprehensive message? These questions are answered by the expression “poor in (the) spirit,” but this expression has become a question itself. The term “the poor” has unquestionably always referred to persons living in social and economic misery. Therefore, it is