Parashat Pinhas: Haftarah
User Profile Picture
ByHadar Institute
Collection Logo
Devash: Haftarah

Haftarah הַפְטָרָה

In this week’s haftarah, we read about God appointing Yirmiyahu as a prophet. His job will be to warn Benei Yisrael about bad things coming their way.
Here’s how Yirmiyahu describes the conversion when God recruits him. What do you notice in these pesukim? What stands out to you?
ירמיהו א׳:ד׳-ו׳
וַיְהִי דְבַר ה' אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃
בְּטֶרֶם אֶצׇּרְךָ בַבֶּטֶן יְדַעְתִּיךָ
וּבְטֶרֶם תֵּצֵא מֵרֶחֶם הִקְדַּשְׁתִּיךָ
נָבִיא לַגּוֹיִם נְתַתִּיךָ׃
וָאֹמַר אֲהָהּ ה' אֱלֹקִים הִנֵּה לֹא יָדַעְתִּי דַּבֵּר
כִּי נַעַר אָנֹכִי׃
Jeremiah 1:4-6
The word of God came to me saying:
“Before I formed you in the belly I knew you,
Before you left your mother’s womb I made you holy.
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
And I said: “Ah, Lord God! I don’t know how to speak because I am a child.”
  • How did Yirmiyahu feel when he heard God’s call? What’s your evidence?
  • How do you understand “because I am a child”? What about being a child would make Yirmiyahu want to turn down the job?
  • What does he mean by not knowing how to speak? When do you feel that way? Why?
    • Our פַּרְשָׁנִים (parshanim, commentators) understand this line in different ways.
    According to Abarbanel, Yirmiyahu was saying: “I won’t be a successful prophet because I’m a child and so I can’t speak really well and convince people.”
    Rashi thinks he was saying: “People won’t listen to me and won’t take me seriously because I’m just a kid.”
    Both of these parshanim believe that Yirmiyahu was worried about the success of his mission.
    But a midrash suggests that Yirmiyahu was actually concerned about his own safety and well-being, as a child. This midrash describes Yirmiyahu mentioning the ways that prophets before him, like Moshe and Aharon and Eliyahu and Elisha, were all mocked and mistreated. According to this midrash, Yirmiyahu was saying: “I’m a kid! I can’t handle such a stressful job!”
    • How would you respond to Yirmiyahu’s concerns, if they are what Rashi and Abarbanel suggest? How would you respond to Yirmiyahu’s concerns as presented in the midrash? What might you tell Yirmiyahu to encourage him?
    • Check out God’s response to Yirmiyahu in verses 7 and 8. How could this response help Yirmiyahu feel better?
    • Why do you think it was important that Yirmiyahu became a prophet while he was still a child? What can we learn from that?
    -------------------
    -------------------