Parshat Pinchas

This Shabbat we inaugurate the three-week mourning period that precedes Tisha B’Av with the reading of the first perek in Sefer Yirmiyahu, in which the navi is charged with his mission. The Divine mission, as described in the haftarah, was to “uproot and smash, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” The seeming contradiction of destruction and building is easily understood if we realize that the destruction was for the purpose of rebuilding. The navi’s task was never meant to be one of admonition alone but rather one of education and inspiration; criticism that would lead to improvement; destruction only for the purpose of construction.

It is important to recognize that Yirmiyahu had a particularly difficult mission for it went beyond warning the people of the impending devastation and exile. His goal of changing the hearts and minds of the generation was a charge made far more challenging by the fact that the people did not recognize that their behavior was in any way sinful and that, therefore, God was not really angry with them.

Making his task even more challenging was the fact that Yirmiyahu’s message was contradicted by false prophets who labeled him a traitor and even a non-believer. After all, these false prophets argued, our God is the most powerful of all, so no other “god” could ever destroy His temple or banish His people from their land! For this reason Yirmiyahu was despised by the people and eventually imprisoned in a pit. This is also the reason why the navi’s warnings of exile and of the destruction often fell upon deaf ears. The people could not believe such predictions; they were urged by the false prophets not to believe the dire forecasts and they simply did not want to believe the frightening prophecies.

So it was that the prophet had to harshly criticize a wayward people, convince them of their sinfulness and of Hashem’s resulting punishments that would befall them. At the same time, he had to reassure them of the efficacy of teshuva, the undying hope for a bright future and God’s everlasting love for His people. How fittingly, therefore, does our haftarah end with the inclusion of the opening of the second chapter of Yirmiyahu:

“Go and call out into the ears of Jerusalem: Thus says Hashem: I remember the kindness of your youth when you followed me into the wilderness… Israel is holy to Hashem…and those who devour her will be held guilty!”

God retains His love for us even when we fall short of His expectations.

By Rabbi Neil N. Winkler

Rabbi Neil Winkler is the rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel of Fort Lee and now lives in Israel.