Some general background on the "Haftarot"

Introduction to the Haftarah 

(Some of the material in the following discussion is based on that found in "The Midrash Says on the Weekly Haftaros," by Rabbi Moshe Weissman, published by Bnay Yakov Publications, in Brooklyn, N.Y.,  and in "Chazon HaMikra," by Rav Yissachar Yaakovson, published by "Sinai," in Tel-Aviv.)

This week's Haftarah, taken according to both the Ashkenazic and Sefardic traditions from the Book of Yirmiyahu (32:6-27) has many unique aspects.  One is that it presents a command of HaShem to Yirmiyahu that is used in the Talmud as a model of technical information; specifically, how to transfer property via a document, according to Jewish Law.  And yet the purchase of the property in the context of the Haftarah is on the surface absurd, with the Babylonian Army poised to strike and destroy at any moment, but it  has nevertheless tremendous symbolic value.  For it is an act of normal commerce that will be suspended in the Land of Israel, first for seventy, then for thousands of years after a second destruction, during the Diaspora of the Jewish People.  Yet it is a Prophetic declaration that such acts will be resumed in the Land, upon the Redemption of the Jewish People.

Another unique aspect of this Haftarah is that Yirmiyahu is the Prophet who had the bitterest news of all to tell the Jewish People; he foresaw, then saw with his own eyes the destruction of the City of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple.  His dire prediction of defeat is in fact what enraged King Tzidkiyahu, and resulted in Yirmiyahu's being imprisoned in the "Chatzar HaMattarah," the courtyard of the royal prison.  Yirmiyahu will shortly report "in tears" in "Megilat Eichah," the Book of Lamentations, how Yerushalayim "went from being filled with its People to being lonely as a widow, how Israel went from being the most powerful nation, the most dominant of states, to utter devastation." (Eichah, 1:1)  Yet it is none other than Yirmiyahu who, in this Haftarah, prays to HaShem to avert the disaster, at the last moment, with the "Tiger at the Gates" and, if that is not possible, guarantees, in the Name of HaShem, ultimate comfort and consolation and redemption for his People.

Summary of the Haftarah

Yirmiyahu's Purchase (32:6-12)

"And Yirmiyahu said, 'The word of the L-rd came unto me, saying: Behold, Chanamel, the son of Shalum your uncle, shall come to you, saying: Please buy my field, that is in Anatot; for the right of redemption is yours, to buy it."

Yirmiyahu's cousin, Chanamel, had to sell the field in question because of financial difficulties.  According to the Torah, in such cases, the closest relative is obligated to either buy it from the impoverished relative, or to "buy it back" from a third party who may have already purchased it.  In the language of the Torah, this obligation is called the obligation to "redeem" the field, as is also found in the book of Ruth, where Boaz "redeems" the field of Naomi and Ruth.

"So Chanamel, my uncle's son came to me in the courtyard of the royal prison, according to the word of HaShem," and asked Yirmiyahu to redeem it, as HaShem had said.

"And I bought the field,…, and weighed him the money, seven shekalim and ten selahs of silver."

"And I wrote down the sale in a deed, had the seller sign it, and called witnesses to testify to the sale…"

"I took the deed of purchase that was signed, according to the appropriate laws and customs, and had it ratified by the judges," (thereby creating a "galui," to verify the sale in the event of the death of the witnesses, which in this case was extremely likely.)

Yirmiyahu has thus gone through all the required legal steps for the purchase of property, creating the "shtar," or deed; however absurd that may be in this case, under these circumstances!

"I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, my student and assistant, in

the presence of my uncle Chanamel, and in view of the winesses who signed the deed,

and in view of all the Jews who were in the prison yard."

Note that Chanamel has been promoted from a "ben-dod," a "cousin" to a "dod," or "uncle."  We'll try to explain this below.

"I commanded Baruch in their presence, 'So says the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel,    "Take these contracts - the deed of purchase, the contract with the signatures and the one that publicly confirms the sale - and put them in an earthenware  vessel, so that they will be preserved for a long time."

"For so says the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel, Do not despair because the Kasdim are about to conquer the Land .  The time will yet come when Jews will again buy houses, fields and vineyards in this Land."

The Prayer of Yirmiyahu

"Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the L-rd, saying:"

"Ah L-rd G-d! Behold, You have made the heaven and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for You."

Who shows mercy unto thousands, and repays the sins of the fathers unto the children,

The Great and Mighty G-d, Whose Name is the L-rd of Hosts."

Note that Yirmiyahu refers to HaShem as the "Great and Mighty G-d," whereas in Devarim (10,7) Moshe refers to HaShem as the "Great, Mighty and Fearsome" G-d.  Why did Yirmiyahu drop "Fearsome" from his description of HaShem?  We will attempt to deal with this problem below as well.

"Great in counsel, and mighty in deed; your eyes are open upon all the ways of men, to give to each according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds."

The above segment of Yirmiyahu's Prayer expresses the fundamental Jewish belief in Reward and Punishment on an individual level.

"You made signs and wonders in the Land of Egypt…"

You brought out Your People, Israel, from the Land of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm…"

Note that the term for "outstretched arm," "zeroa netuyah," is purposely misspelled as "ezroa netuyah," perhaps because Yirmiyahu now saw that same "zeroa"  "netuyah al Yerushalayim," "outstretched against Jerusalem" he purposely  changed the spelling to mitigate the force of that punishing arm, and in fact said it  in such manner that it sounded like "ezra," the word that means "help" in Hebrew.

"And You gave them the Land that You had sworn to their fathers to give their descendants - a Land flowing with milk and honey."

"But they came and inherited it but they didn't obey You, and they didn't follow the ways of Your Torah, and all this has happened to them -

It is quite likely that when he said "all this" Yirmiyahu referred to the advancing Babylonian army and the "men on the mounds" of earth whose purpose was to scale the walls.

"Behold the 'men on mounds of earth' have come to capture the city, and the city is as good as given over into the hands of the Kasdim, who have battled for it, because of the sword, and the famine and the pestilence;  And that which you said that the City would be captured has happened, and You see it. "

"Yet you say to me, 'Buy the field with silver and bring witnesses - and the City is given into the hands of the Kasdim!"

Perhaps this was another last-minute attempt to arouse the mercy of HaShem, to restore normal activity to Yerushalayim - instead of visiting destruction upon her, via the Babylonians/Kasdim!

HaShem's Answer

Hashem's answer that ends the Haftarah at first seems inscrutable:

"And HaShem's Word came to Yirmiyahu as follows: 'Behold, I am Hashem, the G-d of all flesh.  Is there anything impossible for me?' "

But in the verses following the Haftarah, the meaning is made clear.  Just as I am capable of inflicting terrible, but deserved, punishment, so am I capable of pouring out blessing without limit, once the sins have been atoned for.

Verses 32:36-41describe the general blessing:

"And now therefore, this is what HaShem says concerning this City, about which you say that it is given into the hands of the King of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine and by the pestilence:  Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, where I have driven them in My anger, and in My fury and great wrath; and I will bring them back into this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely; and they shall be My People, and I will be their G-d.  And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them, and of the children after them.  And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing good for them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me.  And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this Land, in truth, with all My heart and all My soul.

And, as far as normal business practices, which you see as being interrupted forever, I say this to you (verses 32:42-44):

"For so says HaShem, 'Just as I brought all this great evil upon this People, so will I  bring upon them all the good that I hereby promise:  Fields will be bought in this  Land of which you say, 'It is desolate, without people or animals, given into the hands of the Kasdim!  Jews will buy fields with money and make contracts,  sealing them and summoning witnesses as of old, in the land of Binyamin, in the   suburbs of Yerushalayim, in the cities of Yehudah, in the cities of the mountains,  in the cities of the plain and in the cities of the South: for I will bring back their captivity, says HaShem!"

Promotion of Chanamel from Cousin to Uncle

In Verse 32:7 and 32:9 of the Haftarah, Chanamel is clearly Yirmiyahu's cousin.  Yet in verse 32:12, Chanamel is referred to as "my uncle!?"

There are various answers given to this question.  One I haven't seen is as follows:  Chanamel may refer to HaShem, Who is forced by the sins of Israel to "sell them and their Temple and their City" to their enemies.  But He intends ultimately to redeem them all and restore them to their former greatness.

The word "Dod" means both "uncle" and "beloved" in Hebrew, as we see in "Shir HaShirim," the Song of Songs, in such expressions as "Domeh Dodi LiTzvi…," "My Beloved is like a deer" (Song of Songs 2:9) or "Dodi li va-ani lo…," "My Beloved is Mine and I am His" (Shir HaShirim 2:16).  The reason for this is that it was common in ancient times for uncles to marry nieces.

Thus, HaShem wanted to retain the status of the "Beloved" of Israel, despite his inflicting of harsh punishment that was, so to speak, "forced" upon him by Israel's misdeeds. 

Omission of "HaNora"

Moshe praises HaShem in the Bible as "Gadol," Great, "Gibbor," Mighty and "Nora," Awesome or Fearsome, based on his incomparable miracles in Egypt and in the desert.

Yirmiyahu, in the Haftarah, omits "HaNora," the Fearsome One.  Why does he deviate from the pattern laid down by Moshe?  The answer is that one of the meanings of "Nora" is "intimidating," or causing fear.  As the Babylonian Army was preparing shortly to sack and burn the Temple and Yerushalayim, he could not see fear in them; rather, only brazenness and disrespect.  Therefore, he did not feel that he could honestly use that word in describing HaShem.

Similarly, Daniel omits "Gibbor," Mighty, because that word means that HaShem overcomes Israel's enemies.  With the Jewish people languishing in Exile, Daniel didn't feel that he could honestly describe HaShem under those historical circumstances as "Gibbor."

The "Anshei Kenesset HaGedolah," in their formulation of the Prayers for the generations of Jews who would carry forward the Jewish faith for thousands of years in Exile, restored both missing adjectives, with the following interpretations:

Hashem shows His great "Gevurah," Might, by controlling His anger and allowing wicked nations to afflict the Jewish people, when necessary.  Similarly, He shows His "Noraut," His fearsomeness by preserving Israel throughout its Exile as a "sheep among wolves."

"L'Dorot," for All Generations

The main criterion for inclusion of prophetic writing in the TANACH is that it have meaning "L'dorot," for all generations.  The question has arisen regarding Yirmiyahu's Prayer. 

One aspect of the answer to that question is the verse where Yirmiyahu says, "There will again be buying of homes and fields and vineyards in this Land." (Yirmiyahu 32:15)  He may be teaching that the Jew should never, even in the face of the most dreadful punishment, brought upon himself by his sins, or the sins of vast numbers of Jews, give up his faith in HaShem.  There is no room for "ye-ush," despair, in Judaism.

This lesson was, and is, especially meaningful for those who survived the Holocaust, who endured suffering beyond imagination, and to those who observed it from afar, and those who have learned about it.

In his book, Logotherapy, Dr. Victor Frankl (no relation), a survivor, explains that the way to survive the "camps," was to cling tenaciously to something of meaning in one's life.  For many Orthodox Jews, and other Jews, to cling to their faith despite the horrific questions and contradictions, probably saved the lives of many "campers" (sic).

Especially we, who have observed the re-creation, immediately following the Holocaust, of the State of Israel, should ponder the question of a relationship, and whether our "uncle" or hopefully, "beloved," is returning to his home.

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel