How wonderful it is, being a citizen of a country with a democratic process! A country in which the people making the "big decisions" are doing so with the consent of the governed (that's you and me :- ) ), acting as servants of the people!
Elections are truly occasions worth celebrating, in which our voices are heard as we either show our approval for how things have been done, or else appoint others to try to do things a little differently. This is truly a privilege and a blessing, one worth rejoicing over!
On that note, I'd like to look at something from our TaNaKh to read through and think about together.
But first, we have to meet the man behind the words:
Prophet Profile
Jeremiah, aka, The Weeping Prophet
- Place: Anathoth (a city slighty north of Jerusalem) followed by Egypt
- Time: 7th-6th century
- Main Events: Unfortunately for him, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Temple. (We learned about the Temple just before Yom haKippurim)
What's amazing is that for a select few of our prophets, the TaNaKh gives us a glimpse into the moment when their careers began. Before looking at our verse of interest, just to get to know him a little more, let's look briefly at Jeremiah's beginning.
(ד) וַיְהִ֥י דְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃ (ה) בְּטֶ֨רֶם אצורך [אֶצָּרְךָ֤] בַבֶּ֙טֶן֙ יְדַעְתִּ֔יךָ וּבְטֶ֛רֶם תֵּצֵ֥א מֵרֶ֖חֶם הִקְדַּשְׁתִּ֑יךָ נָבִ֥יא לַגּוֹיִ֖ם נְתַתִּֽיךָ׃ (ו) וָאֹמַ֗ר אֲהָהּ֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהֹוִ֔ה הִנֵּ֥ה לֹא־יָדַ֖עְתִּי דַּבֵּ֑ר כִּי־נַ֖עַר אָנֹֽכִי׃ (פ) (ז) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֵלַ֔י אַל־תֹּאמַ֖ר נַ֣עַר אָנֹ֑כִי כִּ֠י עַֽל־כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֤ר אֶֽשְׁלָחֲךָ֙ תֵּלֵ֔ךְ וְאֵ֛ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲצַוְּךָ֖ תְּדַבֵּֽר׃ (ח) אַל־תִּירָ֖א מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם כִּֽי־אִתְּךָ֥ אֲנִ֛י לְהַצִּלֶ֖ךָ נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ (ט) וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח יְהוָה֙ אֶת־יָד֔וֹ וַיַּגַּ֖ע עַל־פִּ֑י וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֵלַ֔י הִנֵּ֛ה נָתַ֥תִּי דְבָרַ֖י בְּפִֽיךָ׃ (י) רְאֵ֞ה הִפְקַדְתִּ֣יךָ ׀ הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֗ה עַל־הַגּוֹיִם֙ וְעַל־הַמַּמְלָכ֔וֹת לִנְת֥וֹשׁ וְלִנְת֖וֹץ וּלְהַאֲבִ֣יד וְלַהֲר֑וֹס לִבְנ֖וֹת וְלִנְטֽוֹעַ׃ (פ)
(4-9) The word of YHWH came to me!
Before I created you in the womb, I selected you; Before you were born, I made you sacred!; I appointed you a prophet concerning the nations!
I replied: Ah, Lord-YHWH! I don’t know how to speak, for I am still a boy!
And YHWH said to me:
Do not say, “I am still a boy,” But go wherever I send you And speak whatever I command you. (8) Have no fear of them, For I am with you to deliver you —
declared YHWH.
YHWH then put out his hand and touched my mouth, and YHWH said to me:
Herewith I put my words into your mouth. See, I appoint you this day over nations and kingdoms: To uproot and to pull down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant!
Talk about a tall order! To be over nations and kingdoms, to destroy, overthrow, build and plant... Any thoughts on what Jeremiah might be being called here to do?
(א) וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ דִּבְרֵ֣י הַסֵּ֔פֶר אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁלַ֛ח יִרְמְיָ֥ה הַנָּבִ֖יא מִירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם אֶל־יֶ֜תֶר זִקְנֵ֣י הַגּוֹלָ֗ה וְאֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֤ים וְאֶל־הַנְּבִיאִים֙ וְאֶל־כָּל־הָעָ֔ם
...
(ד) כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לְכָל־הַ֨גּוֹלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־הִגְלֵ֥יתִי מִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם בָּבֶֽלָה׃ (ה) בְּנ֥וּ בָתִּ֖ים וְשֵׁ֑בוּ וְנִטְע֣וּ גַנּ֔וֹת וְאִכְל֖וּ אֶת־פִּרְיָֽן׃ (ו) קְח֣וּ נָשִׁ֗ים וְהוֹלִידוּ֮ בָּנִ֣ים וּבָנוֹת֒ וּקְח֨וּ לִבְנֵיכֶ֜ם נָשִׁ֗ים וְאֶת־בְּנֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ תְּנ֣וּ לַֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְתֵלַ֖דְנָה בָּנִ֣ים וּבָנ֑וֹת וּרְבוּ־שָׁ֖ם וְאַל־תִּמְעָֽטוּ׃ (ז) וְדִרְשׁ֞וּ אֶת־שְׁל֣וֹם הָעִ֗יר אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִגְלֵ֤יתִי אֶתְכֶם֙ שָׁ֔מָּה וְהִתְפַּֽלְל֥וּ בַעֲדָ֖הּ אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֣י בִשְׁלוֹמָ֔הּ יִהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶ֖ם שָׁלֽוֹם׃ (פ)
(1-7) This is the text of the letter which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the priests, the prophets, the rest of the elders of the exile community;
...
(4) Thus said YHWH-of-Legions, the elohei-Israel, to the whole community which I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon:
Build houses and live in them! Plant gardens and eat their fruit!
Get married and beget sons and daughters!; Take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters! Multiply there, do not decrease!
And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to YHWH on its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper !
This is a hugely important passage in the TaNaKh, which is quite hard to appreciate these days. In his time, the Israelites had never been forced to live away from their precious ancestral homeland before! When the Babylonians first started forcing our ancestors into exile, this is how they reacted:
(1) By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept, as we thought of Zion.
There on the willows we hung up our lyres, for our captors asked us there for songs, our tormentors, for amusement:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing a song of YHWH on alien soil???
They didn't even know how to sing songs to the Almighty outside of the land of Israel! (Can you imagine???)
Here are some questions I'd like to think about:
- Why might Jeremiah have felt that sending this letter was important?
- How might people have reacted to it?
- How does this relate to Jeremiah's "origin story" we looked at at the very beginning?
- How might this affect how you think about the answer to the question we started with, about seeing ourselves as being Jewish-Americans or American-Jews?
With that, may we take Jeremiah's words to heart!; Praying for this country in which we live, and doing our best to contribute to its welfare and its success! May we cherish the opportunity to participate (even if you're not old enough to cast a ballot, I'm sure you can still participate somehow. And if you already have, I'd love to hear about it!);
How fortunate we are to live in a nation which celebrates diversity of thought, being made up of peoples across many different cultures, colors, religions and beliefs, and that altogether, we, the people, make up the final jury.
Have a wonderful election week!
