[Par-reg] Sefer Yirmiyahu & the Three Weeks

Fri Jul 29 10:26:56 EDT 2005

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     THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org]
          In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
     Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag
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                  HAFTARA -- Sefer Yirmiyahu

     Slogans - we certainly hear a lot of them in Israel
today; and they often carry very powerful messages.
     Things were not very different during the time period of
Yirmiyahu, before the First Bet ha'Mikdash was destroyed - and
in Sefer Yirmiyahu, we find several examples of how the
prophet related to such popular slogans.
[See Yirmiyahu 5:12, 6:14, 7:4, 8:11, 31:28-29 - Yechezkel
18:2, 8:12, 12:22-23.]

    As the Haftara for the first two weeks of the 'Three Weeks' is
taken from the book of Yirmiyahu, the following shiur will
discuss that book and its time period.
     How do those prophecies relate to current events?  That you'll
have to figure out on your own (but I don't think that it will
be very difficult).

INTRODUCTION
     Even though he First Bet ha'Midkash [Temple] stood for
some four hundred years, there was one thing that most Jews
living then were quite sure of - that it could never be
destroyed.  How could it be - it was God's House!
     In fact, the people had experienced some very difficult
times during those four hundred years, including military
conquests by Egypt, Aram, and Ashur (e.g. see II Divrei
Hay'amim 12:1-4, 32:1-4).  Yet, not matter how angry God had
been with them, and no matter how bad they were defeated, the
Temple itself was never destroyed.  It also made sense, for
just as God's choice of the nation of Israel was eternal, so
too was the existence of His House - the Bet ha'Mikdash.
     To merely suggest that His House could be destroyed would
be considered 'heretical'.  In fact, when Yirmiyahu himself
merely raises this possibility, he is immediately accused as a
'false prophet'; then tried and sentenced to death by the high
Jewish court that sat in the Temple courtyard.  [See (and
read) chapter 26 for the complete details of that incident.]

THE SLOGAN
     In Yirmiyahu chapter seven, we find the details of the
prophecy that led to his 'trial' in chapter 26.  As your
review the opening psukim of that chapter, note how Yirmiyahu
is addressing specifically those Jews who have come to the Bet
ha'Mikdash, to serve and pray to God [i.e. - he is speaking to
the "datiim"].
  "God spoke to Jeremiah saying: Stand in the gate of the
  HASHEM'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say: Hear
  the word of God, all you of Judah, that enter in at these
  gates to worship God - Thus says HASHEM... Amend your ways
  and your doings, and you will remain to dwell in this place.
  --- but, trust you not in 'false words', saying: 'The temple
  of the HASHEM, the temple of the HASHEM, the temple of the
  HASHEM..."  (see 7:1-4)
    [in Hebrew "heichal Hashem, heichal Hashem, heichal
    Hashem" (repeating the same phrase three times!).]

     From Yirmiyahu's opening words, he refers to what had
become a popular slogan "heichal Hashem" - and his repetition
of this phrase three times indicates that his forthcoming
message stands in direct contrast to that slogan.  To
understand why, we simply need to quote the conclusion of
Yirmiyahu's rebuke, where he explains what will happen to the
Temple, should the people not mend their ways:
  "For go to My place which was in Shiloh [obviously referring
  to the Mishkan], where I caused My name to dwell at the
  first, and see what I did to it - because of the wickedness
  of My people Israel.  And now, because you have done all
  these bad things... and I spoke unto you... but you heard
  not, and I called you, but you answered not; Therefore I
  will do unto the house, whereupon My name is called, wherein
  you trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to
  your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh."  (see 7:12-15)

     God's warning is very specific and clear, His House -
i.e. the Temple - will be destroyed (should the people not
repent), just as the Mishkan in Shilo was destroyed several
hundred years earlier.  Yirmiyahu mentions Shilo as precedent
to prove that a House of God can be destroyed - to counter
what the people are countering - claiming that God's House
cannot be destroyed.  Hence, the slogan "heichal Hashem" seems
to imply that the Temple is different than the Mishkan - for
it is a "heichal" - a permanent edifice; in contrast to the
Mishkan which was only a temporary structure.
     Instead of heeding Yirmiyahu's rebuke, the people prefer
to attack the prophet's credibility - using slogans to support
their claim - which ultimately leads to Yirmiyahu's trial (for
this specific prophecy), as described in chapter 26.  [See
26:1-6, and compare with 7:1-5, to verify that both chapters
describe the same event.]

WHO WANTS VISITORS?
     But what was there in Yirmiyahu's rebuke that made the
people so angry?  Let's return to chapter seven to take a
closer look at why God was so angry with His nation:
  "But if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings;
  if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his
  neighbor; if you oppress not the stranger, the orphan, and
  the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place,
  neither walk after other gods to your demise; then you will
  be able to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to
  your fathers, for ever and ever."  (see 7:5-7)

     Considering that Yirmiyahu is addressing the people who
have gathered in the Mikdash to pray and serve God, it seems
that God is angry precisely for that reason, i.e. they want to
find God's favor, yet are not willing to act in the proper
manner.  Or stated simply, they are dedicated to ritual, and
the laws "bein adam la'Makom" [between God and man], yet
remain very lax in the commitment to the laws of social
justice - "bein adam la'chaveiro" [between fellow men].  In
fact, as Yirmiyahu continues his rebuke, he makes this very
point:
  "Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear
  falsely [note parallel to last five Dibrot], and offer unto
  Baal, and walk after other gods...
    And then you come and stand before Me in this house,
  whereupon My name is called, and say: 'We are saved!' - in
  order that you may do all these abominations?!
    Has this house, whereupon My name is called, become a den
  of robbers in your eyes?"  (see 7:8-11)

     Note how Yirmiyahu first mentions sins from the last five
Dibrot (or the Ten Commandments) - i.e. specifically those
that relate directly to the relation mitzvot "bein adam
la'chaveiro", and that the people come to the Temple, even
though they have transgressed those laws - to 'clear their
conscious'!
  God is so angered by this attitude, that He tells Yirmiyahu
not to pray for them:
  "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up
  cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to Me;
  for I will not hear you..."  (see  7:16)

	And  if that is why the people have come to the Mikdash, God
tells Yirmiyahu that He'd rather they not bring Him any
offerings:
  "Thus says HASHEM,,, - Add your OLOT [burnt-offerings] to
  your ZEVACHIM [sacrifices that the owner can eat], and you
  eat you meat [as God does not want it].  For I spoke not
  unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I
  brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning OLOT &
  SHLAMIM - rather this thing I commanded them, saying:
  'Hearken unto My voice, and I will be your God, and you
  shall be My people; and walk you in all the way that I
  command you, that it may be well with you."  (see 7:21-24)

RITUAL VS ETHIC - SETTING PRIORITIES
     Yirmiyahu's primary point, just like His many
predecessors such as Yeshayahu and Hoshea, is rather clear.
God's primary interest is not receive prayers or offerings,
rather He wants a nation of moral and just people that will
represent Him properly, primarily by the way they act (and
interact) with one another.  The rituals of "korbanot" and
"tefilla", albeit their importance, only become significant
once "tzedek u'mishpat" is established, and emerges as the
nations primary character.  [See Breishit 18:17-19  Yeshayahu
42:5-6, Devarim 4:5-8, and Melachim Aleph 10:1-9.]
     Yet the people don't seem to understand.  They are so
sure that God 'is on their side' - for they serve Him, and
bring the proper offerings to the Bet ha'Mikdash.  They see
Yirmiyahu as a prophet of doom, who only serves to demoralize
the nation and their hopes.

     We will continue this topic next week, and will see what
caused this problem (and how 'political' his later prophecies
become), and why there are so many 'false prophets'; but for
this shabbos (and as preparation for the next shiur) -it is
recommended that you review the following sources in
Yirmiyahu, that highlight how the people think that their
behavior is fine, that God will save them from their enemies -
while Yirmiyahu consistently points out why God is so upset:

See 2:29-35  re: how the people think they are fine.

3:21 thru 4:4  re:  hw God calls upon Am Yisrael to do
       complete Teshuva, not only partial

5:20-29 re: what the people are doing wrong.

6:13-15 re: how their leaders mislead them

8:4-12 re: their self-righteousness

9:22-23  - re: what God sees as most important
    (happens to be concluding line of Haftara for Tisha b'av)

14:1 thru 15:5  re: how Yirmiyahu prays for them, yet God
doesn't listen - and how God blames the false prophets for
misleading the people and giving them false hopes.

21:11 thru 23:6  - re: how the King of Yehuda can save the
nation
         as long he can focus on "tzedek u'mishpat"

that's only a short sampling, but we'll continue this topic in
the next shiur, till then

               shabbat shalom,
               menachem