Jeremiah 32

Studying this week, I was inspired to write about the Haftarah at greater length than I have in the past.

In the Haftarah we come upon the prophet Jeremiah in prison. He has been imprisoned by the King of Judah for public pronouncements that the Kingdom would fall.

The ruler at the time is King Zedekiah. He was crowned around 597 BCE and reined until the exile in 586 BCE. (Nancy Reuben.)

As he sits in his cell "The word of the L*rd came" to him. It tells him that his uncle Hanamel son of Shallum will come offering him land because "for the right of redemption is thine to buy it" (32:6).

The right of redemption is discussed in the corresponding Parsha, B'har.

"If thy brother be waxen poor, and sell some of his possession, then shall his kinsman that is next unto him come, and shall redeem that which his brother hath sold. And if a man has no one to redeem it, and he is waxen rich and find sufficient means to redeem it;" (V25:25-26)

Verses 9-14 of Jeremiah 32 detail this purchase of land. They describe the writing of the deed, the weighing out of money, the witnessing, and of presenting the deed to "all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard." (12)

Jeremiah then prays in a way very much like a psalm.

"Ah Lord GOD! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and by Thy outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for Thee; who showest mercy unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, the LORD of hosts is His name;great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings; who didst set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel and among other men; and madest Thee a name, as at this day; and didst bring forth Thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror; and gavest them this land, which Thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey." (32:17-22)

Jeremiah then thinks of the iniquity of his time and is frightened. To him they all seem to deserve destruction.

"They came in, and possessed it [The land]; but they hearkened not to Thy voice, neither walked in Thy law; they have done nothing of all that Thou commandedst them to do; therefore Thou hast caused all this evil to befall them;" (23)

The voice of the L*rd speaks to him again. He tells Jeremiah of how they have worshipped other gods and provoked him. G*d tells Jeremiah he will give them to the Babylonians, that they will be scattered, and they will suffer but:

"Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, whither I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them back unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God;" (37-38)

Comments.
It must have seemed impossible to the people of Jeremiah's time that their kingdom could fall. We all take things for granted. Yet the message of the Torah has been heard by Jeremiah. G*d repeatedly 'redeems' them and they repent. Yet they continue to put other things first. Echoing from G*d's throne, resounding through the Torah, and set again before us in the prayer of Jeremiah we are remineded it is our duty to be righteous.

The obvious interpretation is that it is Jeremiah's faith that leads him to continue to observe the law (In this case the right of redemption) even though he knows that the kingdom will be destroyed.

Again and again, we are delivered by miracles only to fail into idolatry. Perhaps it is not so obvious that the field which is redeemed can also be thought of as faith of our brother. The field is the land, the land is the covenant, and not being able to 'pay for it' is iniquity.

Inspiring others to a greater commitment is the work of the saintly but ultimately faith comes from the individual relating to G*d.

How many of us are convinced to fall in love with someone? Whose beliefs come to them in percentages? How then can anyone expect to argue with someone about the validity of the law? Arguing helps us all share and appreciate each other's unique thoughts. Even though reason is important it is like a rigged card game always tending towards what is easiest to prove. (And usually towards what we want to believe)

I ask G*d's forgiveness for seeing myself in this story but perhaps we all can. Imagine yourself having heard him literally say "They have turned unto Me their backs, and not their faces; and though I taught them, teaching them betimes and often, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction." (33)

Imagine that you had found the courage to rebuke others and for this you were imprisoned like Jeremiah.

We all share the ideal that we don't want others to tell us how to live. We all want our lives to be easier. Perhaps if we recall as Jeremiah does that all we have, all our strength, and all that matters comes only from G*d then we can change.

We don't have to save the kingdom. Each person only has to put G*d first. I don't believe in shame and guilt. I do believe that the time has come to break the cycle of decadence and self importance.

The only life that matters is the life of the spirit. The only food for the spirit is the light of G*d. Let us "Turn" our faces to him. If we do this, the world opens of itself to holiness.

Halleluyah!