Destruction

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1. Eliyahu in Horev (Part 7)

   The Mission (Part 1)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   The three destructive forces of wind, earthquake, and fire in Eliyahu’s revelation parallel the destructive swords of Haza’el, Yehu and Elisha, which Eliyahu is instructed to appoint as a result of his zealotry. The forth element – the small silent voice – parallels God’s mercy on the core of people who are not defiled by idolatry and are therefore spared.

2. Human Suffering in Eikha

   Dr. Yael Ziegler

3. Yirmiyahu 33-34

   Matan Al Haperek

   Rabbi David Sabato

   The section of the prophecies of consolation in Yirmiyahu ends in perek 33, with a prophecy which foretells the return of Judah and Israel and the revival of Jerusalem (1-13). This prophecy is given in the court of the guard, and appears to be a continuation to the prophecy of Yirmiyahu about the purchase of the field of Chanamel and the message of consolation which follows that. The second half of the prophecy deals with the eternal covenant between God and the house of Levi and the house of David. In contrast to the people's understanding, this covenant will not be broken with the destruction of the Temple, rather will continue eternally (14-26).

   The historical background to the prophecy is described in the first pesukim in perek 34 (1-2): the siege on Jerusalem in the tenth year of Tzidkiyahu's reign. Immediately afterwards we see a personal prophecy of calamity for Tzidkiyahu which is mixed with a small amount of consolation (3-5). The main section of the perek tells us how during the siege, about a year and a half before the destruction, the people of Jerusalem made a covenant agreeing to free their slaves. When the siege was removed due to the victory of Pharaoh over the Babylonians (which turned out to be a temporary respite), the people of Jerusalem took back their slaves, thus breaking the covenant. Yirmiyahu rebukes the nation strongly for this act, prophesying that the destruction will come because of this infringement. 

4. Ramban on Parshat Haazinu - The History of the Jewish People

   Rabbi Ezra Bick | 36 minutes

   Ramban’s comments on verse 26 of Chapter 32 have a great deal of meaning in terms of understanding Jewish History. Ramban focuses on the word af’eihem, which, he argues, is a compound word meaning “However, where are they”? The verse comes in the midst of the Song of Haazinu, at a point where Israel has abandoned God. God is angered and the people are to be punished with exile.

   God has “initially” proposed that there is to be no remnant or memory amongst the nations. But what does this mean? Ramban posits, 500 years before political nationalism and the Zionist movement, that the meaning of the verse is that the Jews will not have their own national identity while they are dispersed among the nations. According to the attribute of strict judgement, this fate should have been eternal. As it is, the Ramban believes that the “merit of the forefathers” (Zekhut Avot) has been all used up in Exile.  But for the sake of God’s Great Name—for the sake of Kiddush HaShem- the lack of Jewish political status and national identity will not last forever, and the song conveys that the Jewish people will be a nation again.

   Other biblical and midrashic sources are used to delve further into the ideas about the reasons for creation of humanity and the meaning of Kiddush HaShem.

5. The Weeping of Yosef and Binyamin and the Exiles to Come

   Rabbi David Silverberg

6. Can There Be a Third Destruction? A Reading of the Curses in Light of Ramban’s Commentary

   Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin Nun

   Ramban’s commentary on the Torah features systematically historical exegesis. We shall examine a few citations that demonstrate this point and then focus more closely on the curses in our parasha and their implications for us.  

   Ramban presents his unique exegetical approach: the rebuke in Vayikra is a prophecy concerning the destruction of the First Temple, while the rebuke in Devarim foretells the destruction of the Second Temple.  The most important implication of Ramban’s interpretation is that there can be no third destruction. After the ingathering of the exiles described in Parashat Nitzavim, there may be terrible suffering – as foretold in the song of Haazinu – but there is no room for a third destruction, as the Torah offers no third set of curses.

7. Eikha: Theology and Human Suffering (Part I)

   Shiur #05

   Dr. Yael Ziegler

   Eikha views God in a variety of ways, at times going so far as to depict God as either indifferent or hostile to Israel – even as Israel’s enemy. Before examining Eikha’s view of God, we must ask: To what extent does Jewish tradition regard such extreme depictions as legitimate? After all, is not reverence a prerequisite for and a central element of the relationship with God? And if so, does reverence preclude the ability to react negatively to God’s deeds, to question bitterly God’s inscrutable designs?