In the Haftorah reading for this past week's Parshat Mishpatim, Yirmiyahu delivers a frightening message of impending doom for the Jews in Yerushalayim. The Jews really messed up this time, because they went against the will of God and harmed their fellow Jews. God commanded them to let their Jewish slaves go free, which they did. But then, the Jews chased after their ex-slaves and and forced them back into servitude. God becomes very mad at the Jews for such a horrible act, and through Yirmiyahu, delivers the following message:
"Therefore, so says the Lord: You have not hearkened to Me to proclaim freedom, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor; behold I proclaim freedom to you, says the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine, and I will make you an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18. And I will deliver the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not kept the words of the covenant which they made before Me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts. 19. The princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the officers and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 20. I will deliver them into the hand[s] of their enemies and into the hand[s] of those who seek their lives, and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth. 21. And Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his princes I will deliver into the hand[s] of their enemies and into the hand[s] of those who seek their lives, and into the hand[s] of the army of the king of Babylon who have gone up away from you. 22. Behold I command, says the Lord, and I will return them to this city, and they shall fight against it and capture it, and burn it with fire, and the cities of Judah I will make desolate without an inhabitant."
Does this look frighteningly familiar to anyone else? It's the same time period, talking about the same characters and empires, about the same downfall and exile, and about the spiral of doom destined for Yerushalayim! The princes and officers- it's all there! Could this be a "behind-the-scenes" look at what Yerushalayim is being punished for? Or perhaps is this a separate incident at the same time? Most importantly, though- why have we not heard more about this?! One would think that this would be a story worth mentioning when describing Yerushalayim's guilt. Or, from a separate vantage-point, why is this not brought up around Tisha- B"av time? This would really help us understand the meaning of "baseless hatred" for fellow Jews, a main reason the temple was destroyed.
Once again, I leave everyone with plenty of questions and very few answers. If you have any ideas, or even more questions, feel free to comment!
No comments:
Post a Comment