Yaakov and Yosef, Rachel and Israel: Weeping for the Exiled and Hope for Return
This unique prophecy exalts the figure of Rachel and has been a source of inspiration for future generations. It has engraved the image of a loving and compassionate mother on the consciousness of the exiled and tormented people for thousands of years.
Yaakov's lack of reconciliation with the loss of Yosef expresses his inner recognition that Yosef is alive. This is the principle alluded to by Rachel's continuous bitter weeping. Her non-stop weeping and refusal to be comforted testify to a similar cognition: Deep inside, Rachel knows and feels that her children will one day return to their land. This weeping is not a weeping of despair but a weeping meant to stir up the mercies of Heaven for her children and return them to their land. Just as Yaakov merited to be comforted and to see his lost son, so too Rachel is promised that her weeping will have an effect, and in the end her children will return to their land.
In contrast, the second part of the prophecy describes a return of a different kind. Here, the son is active in the process; Ephraim's desire to return is what drives the wheels of salvation. Indeed, here too there is parental love for a lost son, but this is a father's love for his son, which symbolizes God's love for Israel.
The difference between the two parts stands out in the root "shov." In the first part, it appears twice and denotes the children's return to the land as a result of Rachel's weeping. In contrast, in the second part, it appears three times and describes Ephraim's repentance, which will bring about his salvation.
Abridged and adapted by HaTanakh.com Staff. For further reading, see the full article.
Visions of Disaster and Solutions: Yirmiyahu's Figs and Pharaoh's dreams
The prevalent mood among those who remained in the Land of Israel after the exile of Yehoyakhin was that their brothers had been exiled from the land and they viewed themselves as heirs to the land. Yirmiyahu struggled against this perception, arguing that it is precisely the exiles, who are likened here to good figs, who will return to the land and inherit it, while those who remained in the land, who are likened to bad figs, will become diminished in numbers and disappear.
There are several lines of similarity between the vision concerning the figs in Yirmiyahu's prophecy and the dreams of Pharaoh that were interpreted by Yosef. Yosef interprets Pharaoh's dream and reveals to him that a great calamity is about to fall upon Egypt. However, Yosef, who was sold as a slave to Egypt, succeeds in saving his family in the years of famine and sustaining them in the exile of Egypt.
In the same way, Yirmiyahu, the prophet of destruction and exile, stands before a great calamity that is threatening to befall the people. In this vision, Yirmiyahu reveals that it is precisely in the depths of the calamity that we find a bright spot in the form of the good figs, the exile of Yehoyakhin, who were "picked" at an earlier stage, before they became ruined, in order to constitute a base for the renewal of the people after the destruction and after the exile in Babylon.
Abridged and adapted by HaTanakh.com Staff. For further reading, see the full article.
מפתח לפענוח נבואות ירמיהו
פרק זה מהווה מפתח הכרחי לפענוח נבואות ירמיהו הראשונות (ב' עד ח' + י"א עד כ'); נשים לב לנקודות הבאות:
1. מגילת התוכחות כללה נבואות מימי יאשיהו ועד השנה החמישית ליהויקים (ל"ו, ב,ט); ואכן, נבואות ירמיהו הראשונות (ב' ו-ג') הן מימי יאשיהו;
2. המגילה נועדה לקריאה בציבור בבית ה' ביום צום, כדי לחולל סערה (ל"ו, ו-ח); לכן, לא יכלו להיכלל בה קטעים אישיים ורדיפות; ואכן, קטעים אלה מופיעים רק בפרקים י"א עד כ', שנוספו כנראה בכתיבה השנייה (ל"ו, לב);
3. הנביא כבר היה נרדף, עצור ומסתתר (אחרי המשפט, ואחרי העינויים); ואכן, נבואות פרק ז' קשורות בפירוש למשפט (שבפרק כ"ו), ולעינויים (שבפרק כ');
4. בעמודה הרביעית במגילה נכתבה לראשונה, ככל הנראה, נבואה על בואו הצפוי של מלך בבל, מצפון – "ויהי כִקרוֹא יהודי שלֹש דלתות (=עמודות) וארבעה, יִקְרָעֶהָ (יהויקים) בתַעַר הסֹפֵר, והַשלֵך אל האש אשר על האָח, עד תֹם..." (ל"ו, כג);
ואכן, בתחילת פרק ד' כתובה לפנינו נבואה כזאת, בהתאמה יוצאת דופן – "...כי רעה אנכי מביא מצפון ושבר גדול;... והיה ביום ההוא... יֹאבַד לב המלך ולב השרים..." (ד', ו-י). ומכאן נראה לומר שנבואה זו בפרק ד' היא העמודה הרביעית במגילת התוכחות אשר עוררה את זעמו של יהויקים.
כשקוראים בפרק ד', וחושבים על יהויקים, שהומלך על ידי המצרים ורוב הזמן נשאר נאמן להם, מבינים היטב מדוע יהויקים השתולל מזעם; מדוע קרע ושרף מגילה נבואית, ורדף את הנביאים, שאיימו על ליבת המדיניות האנטי-בבלית שלו.
השרים, שרבים מהם גדלו והתעצבו אצל יאשיהו, "פחדו" מאד מדברי הנבואה הכתובים על ספר (כמו ספר תורה), ואחדים מהם ניסו למנוע את שרפת המגילה (ל"ו, יב, טז, כה) – אבל מי יכול לעמוד מול הטרוף המתפרץ של שליט המוביל לאסון בעיוורון מוחלט?!
באדיבות אתר 929
Babylonian Exile: Fleeting or Enduring?
In the interim period between the exile of Yekhonya and the exile of Yehuda in the days of Tzidkiyahu, a complex situation arose in which there were two Jewish centers: one in Bavel, which included the elite of Jerusalem, and one in Jerusalem, where the poorest of the people of the land remained. There was a king in both centers: Yehoyakhin in Bavel and Tzidkiyahu in Jerusalem. This complex situation raised the question of the status of each center and the relationship between them.
One perception arises in Bavel among the elders of Israel who come to Yehezkel thinking that the covenant between God and Israel has been annulled and that they should now integrate themselves among the nations.
In contrast stands the opposite position, expressed primarily in the words of the false prophets, which views the exile as a temporary and fleeting event that will come to a close in the near future.
Yirmiyahu proposes a third possibility, one that is different and more complex. Yirmiyahu argues that the exile is not a passing event, but rather a significant one. It is a long and extended process for which preparation is necessary. The people must settle into it and build upon it, while knowing that its goal is the return to Eretz Yisrael. Exile is a necessary condition for redemption. However, for the first time, Yirmiyahu also expresses the idea that will accompany exiled Jews for thousands of years – identification with the country in which they are found.
Historically, the complex picture that Yirmiyahu tried to fix in the nation's consciousness in the exile was not always successfully absorbed. Sometimes, Jews became overly settled in their lands and over-emphasized seeking the peace of exile; occasionally, they strongly opposed their country and preached rebellion.
Abridged and adapted by HaTanakh.com Staff. For further reading, see the full article.
True or False: Yirmiyahu vs. Hananya
Yirmiyahu hears the words of Chananya which negate his prophecy. He does not counter them, but merely warns Chananya against false prophecy. Moreover, Yirmiyahu who loves his people with all his heart, hopes and wants to believe that his own prophecy of calamity will be cancelled. Only after God speaks to him does he know that Chananya's speech was a false prophecy. A true prophet is aware of the possibility of change and of the dynamic quality of prophecy.
The decree is not fixed and absolute, but rather dynamic and conditioned on the situation.
In contrast, Chananya presents the opposite position. He extrapolates from prophecies he heard from others and attempts to draw conclusions from them. The falseness in his prophecy stems from his failure to understand that God's word does not fit every generation in the same way. In this regard, he is the total opposite of Yirmiyahu, the true prophet.
Abridged and adapted by HaTanakh.com Staff. For further reading, see the full article.
Why does Yirmiyahu's Message Change?
Chapter 27 of the Book of Yirmiyahu contains a three part prophecy: The first to the kings of the nations who plan a rebellion against Babylon; another one to Tzidkiyahu king of Yehuda; and a third to the priest and the people. All three prophecies have a similar structure: They open with a positive command – to submit to the king of Babylonia – and then they warn against listening to the words of the false prophets who prophesy just the opposite.
King Nevuchadnetzar does not conquer countries by his own power. Rather, God puts them in his hands, and therefore anyone who rebels against Nevuchadnetzer rebels against God who gave him rule over the world. At the end, Nevuchadnetzer will be punished too since he did not act out of a sense of mission, but simply in an attempt to glorify his own name, he has no real right to do so, and he will therefore be punished for his actions.
Until the rise of the king of Babylonia, Yirmiyahu’s goal was to bring about the mending of Israel's ways so that they not become subjugated to the people from the north. However, now that this period has come to a close, Yirmiyahu's prophetic message changes. Now he preaches to accept the yoke of the king of Babylonia, and warns of the greater dangers that may fall upon the people should they try to turn back the clock and undo the decree.
Abridged and adapted by HaTanakh.com Staff. For further reading, see the full article.
The Enemy from the North: Nevukhadnetzar's Ascent
After twenty-three years of prophecy during which Yirmiyahu and his fellow prophets warned about the impending calamity, the geopolitical situation becomes clarified: The "enemy from the north"(about whom Yirmiyahu had warned over the years of his prophecy) takes on concrete form in the figure of Nevuchadnetzar, king of Babylonia. Nevukhadnetzar functions as God's agent, and will come and punish the people for their refusal to hear God's words during those years.
Additionally, Yirmiyahu provides a long list of nations and kings who will fall into the hands of Nevuchadnetzar, and he thus highlights the global revolution that will take place in the wake of his conquests. After seventy years, though, Babylonia too will be destroyed.
Abridged and adapted by HaTanakh.com Staff. For further reading, see the full article.
Moshe's Travel Log of Forgettable Moments
Some moments are unforgettable, some you work hard to forget, and then there are those for which forgetting just comes naturally. It is these last ones that Moshe feels compelled to record for posterity on the banks of the Jordan, in chapter 33.
The miraculous splitting of the sea is given three words. The giving of the Torah, the manna, the quail, the great military victories- none. Nor do we hear about the complaints, the sins, the ensuing plagues. The highs and the lows are easy to remember; they don't require mentioning now. We do hear of a whole list of places that have been unmentioned until now. The period between the second and 40th year in the desert, during which nothing of note happened, during which God's voice was not heard in the camp, finally gets some attention. But why? Wouldn't it be better to let those days sink easily into oblivion?
No, teaches Moshe. "And Moshe wrote the starting points of their journey (motza'eihem lemaseihem) by God's word, and these are their journeys to their starting point (maseihem lemotza'eihem)." If you want your journey to bring you to a whole new point of departure, you need to understand exactly where it began. If you want to know where you are, you have to know where you've come from. Every step of the journey until now has brought you to this point. The good, the bad, certainly, but especially the boring and the mundane. It is in these that can be found the small moments of chesed, God's for us, and our own as well. "Thus says the Lord: I remember for your sake the loving-kindness of your youth, the love of your newlywed days, when you walked after me in the desert, in an unsown land" (Yirmiyahu 2:2).