Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Matos-Masey: The Jealousy of Hashem

Between the fasts of 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av the three haftorahs of “retribution” are read. These are the rebukes of the prophets for the sins that caused the destruction of the First Temple. The idea is to relive the period before the destruction of the Temple and in doing so to rectify the sins which caused this calamity.

The first two haftorahs are from the book of Jeremiah and the third from Isaiah. Isaiah was the earlier prophet and he prophesied during from the reign of King Uzziah into the reign King Hezekiah. His main concern was the gradual social decay which was leading to disaster. Jeremiah came later and prophesied starting with Josiah, king of Judah, until after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple. In the interlude between Isaiah and Jeremiah, King Menashe and his son Amon ruled Judah. Menashe is considered as the wickedest of the kings of Judah and because of him, the exile became inevitable.

This haftorah does not rebuke Israel for evil deeds like robbery or violence. Also they are not being accused of bad character or neglect of Torah study. The nation is being rebuked for rejection of Hashem. It is basically a soliloquy where, if it’s possible to say, Hashem is a spurned soulmate. He is pondering and speaking out His feelings towards His beloved who has rejected him in favor of being a cheap whore. The haftorah is more or less a metaphor in which Israel rejects Hashem in favor of empty vanities and foreign values. Because of this they have become plundered and the beautiful land has become desolate. Nothing they do can remove the stain which was caused by this rejection.

The tone of the book of Jeremiah is considerably upset, excited and urgent for the obvious reason that he is witnessing the progressive destruction and exile of Judah with its attendant horrors. The northern Kingdom of Israel has already gone into exile. The southern Kingdom of Judea has become a vassal of Babylon. Much of the population has gone into exile and there has been much desolation from war. G-d has told them through the prophet that if they serve its ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, things will improve. Both the general population and its king, Tsidkiyahu, though, are rebellious. Even so, Jerusalem and the Temple still stand.

Nebuchadnezzar is not one to be trifled with and eventually they vex him once too often. When he besieges Jerusalem, Tsidkiyahu fetches Yirmiyahu from the dungeon to request his advice. Yirmiyahu is in jail because he was telling the nation they must cooperate with Nebuchadnezzar. He tells him in the name of G-d to immediately surrender and if he does so his life and the city will be spared, and if not, not. Tsidkiyahu rejects the advice and throws Yirmiyahu back in the dungeon. Not long after that the Babylonians take the city.

King Tsidkiyahu and his party flee the palace, but are quickly captured by the Babylonians. The King of Babylon then slays the sons of Tsidkiyahu in front of him then puts out his eyes. Tsidkiyahu is to be taken into captivity but does not survive the journey. Although it’s generally not observed, the date of this horror, the seventh of Marcheshvan, is deemed a fast day by the Shulchan Aruch (Laws of Fasts 580:1).

The book of Jeremiah ends on a somewhat positive note. After being in exile for 37 years the King Judah, Yehoyachin, who preceded Tsidkiyahu, is released from jail. He had surrendered to the Babylonians, like he should have, during a previous rebellion. He is then treated royally and his throne is placed above the thrones of the other kings conquered by Babylon.

In fact the book of Jeremiah can be extremely optimistic about the future. It invokes the lamentation and bitter weeping of Rachel, our mother, crying for her children. G-d assures her that her deeds will be rewarded and that there is hope for the future. Her children will return to their own borders from the land of their enemy. He has heard Ephraim moaning saying I have been chastised and I was chastised, return me and I will return, for You Hashem are my G-d. For I have turned away and I have repented, after I was instructed, I smote my own thigh, I was ashamed and also confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth. The holy One blessed be He continues, is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? For whenever I speak of him, I earnestly remember him. Inside I am moved by him. I will surely have mercy upon him (see Jeramiah 31:15-19).




לע"נ הדוד לייב הערש בן אהרן ז"ל נלב"ע יז תמוז תש"ל.  
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