Parashat Matot (Tribes) - Masei (Journeys) Numbers 30:2 -36:13
Jeremiah 2:3-28, Jeremiah 4:1-2
Dear Friends,
This Shabbat we complete the reading and study of the Book of Bamidbar (Numbers).
In the Hebrew calendar, we are now in the period known as the three weeks, that is the period between the 17th day of the month of Tammuz and the 9th day of the month of Menachem Av. This translates into July 23rd through August 13th when we observe the saddest day of the year Tisha B’Av a day of mourning and of reading the prophet Jeremiah’s Book of Lamentations. During this sad period, we remember the calamites that befell the Jewish people through the ages some of which I will detail later. But in my view, this concept of memory (called Zachor in the Hebrew language) is not for the purposes of feeling sorry for oneself (the very unproductive and destructive practice of victimhood), but to have empathy for all who suffer and use this period as a springboard to for Tikkun Olam, the concept of healing the world, and to help ensure that violence and suffering are not repeated.
Again, Tisha B’Av is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, when the destruction of both the First and Second Temples is commemorated. According to scripture, the following tragic events occurred on this day in Jewish history:
The twelve spies sent by Moses to scout the Land of Israel returned, with ten of them bringing a damaging report that led to forty years of the children of Israel wandering in the desert until the entire generation had died out.
The First Temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, and the population of the Kingdom of Judah was sent into exile.
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, scattering the people of Judea and signifying the beginning of a two-thousand-year exile.
The subsequent destruction of the city of Beitar in Judea, killing over 500,000 Jewish civilians in 135 CE.
Also in 135 CE, Roman commander Turnus Rufus ploughed the site of the Temple and the surrounding area of Jerusalem.
And of course, there have been so many additional calamities which occurred later right into our current time. To name just a few, the death and destruction caused by the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the regular pogroms which occurred constantly right up until the Holocaust. And these are just what has occurred to the Jewish people over the centuries, not to mention the horrors perpetrated upon other religions, races, and nationalities!
So, we ask ourselves, how do things like this happen? Nobody is born evil and nobody should be referred to as an evil person. Evil is a behavior, not a person, and evil is learned. I think of the recent film “42” the story of Jackie Robinson as the first African American to play baseball in the previously all white major leagues. Jackie and his teammates are playing on the road in St. Louis and warming up prior to the game. A young white fan obviously attending his first game is cheering on Jackie and all the others as they play catch in front of him. His father then returns to his seat next to the young lad with the beer he has purchased and immediately begins to hurl racist epitaphs at Jackie Robinson. The boy looks inquisitively at his father and at first, he is puzzled. But then, he too mimics his father and shouts racist threats at Jackie and thus evil is passed from one generation to the next.
So, rather than feeling sorry for ourselves or for the world for that matter, we need to take advantage of these three weeks for reflection and determination that evil in all its forms must come to an end.
Throughout this short but intense period, we read and study the early prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah and I would like to share some of these with you. Last week, we read Chapters 1 and the first three verses of chapter 2 of Jeremiah. This week, we will read the remainder of chapter 2 and selections from chapters 3 and 4. Then the following week, we will read chapter 1 of Isaiah. Finally, on Tisha B’Av, Tuesday, August 13th at 9:30 am we will read Jeremiah’s Book of Lamentations (Eicha) in-person at the synagogue or virtually, on Zoom.
Let’s begin with Jeremiah who lived from approximately 650 to 570 BCE. He began his prophecies around the year 626 BCE at the age of approximately 24 during the reign of King Josiah, a righteous leader who attempted to undo the wrongs of his predecessors (but with little success) by restoring the Temple which had been neglected and replaced with idol worship—meaning that greed and plunder had taken the place of worshipping Adonai. Jeremiah continued his prophesies during the reign of the four kings who came in quick succession after Josiah. Jeremiah was born into the privileged priestly class and was a reluctant prophet who paid dearly for his activist life, suffering from ridicule, opposition, exile, and other personal tragedy. He saw his predictions come to life with the destruction of Israel and the start of the two thousand years of exile. He spoke and wrote against the injustices and moral decay which the people of Israel had succumbed to and how it would lead to ultimate catastrophe.
In Chapter 2, Jeremiah quotes Hashem “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved Me and followed me through the wilderness through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of his harvest; Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all the people of Israel. This is what the Lord says:
What unrighteousness did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels, and no one resides? I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.”
But even in his darkest moments when he predicts and then is forced to live through the most unspeakable calamities, he does not lose his faith in Adonai and speaks of ultimate redemption if only people will repent and return to a life of morality and obedience to Adonai’s commandments (mitzvot). He reminds those who will listen of the miracles that Hashem brought throughout biblical times from the rescue from Egyptian bondage, to the sustenance provided in the wilderness, to the establishment of a holy society in the land of Israel. Yes, Hashem has forsaken the Hebrew nation because of its wanton behavior, but has not forgotten its potential for recovery. In Chapter 4, verses 1 and 2, Jeremiah prophesises “if you will return Oh Israel and if you will put away your detestable things in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then shall the nations bless themselves by Hashem and in Hashem, shall they glory”.
The words of Jeremiah and of Isaiah which we will read and study next rang so true in ancient Israel and perhaps even more so today. Let’s take advantage of these words to help make our world safer for us and for all those around us.
Next week’s message will concentrate on the third and last Haftorah of Rebuke authored by Isaiah and on the Book of Lamentations itself.
Let’s continue our discussions and study this Shabbat during our weekly services tonight at 7:30 pm and tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9:30 am in-person or virtually on Zoom.
Shabbat Shalom!
Ron Becker,
Spiritual Leader
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FRIDAY:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Shabbat Service, Friday 08/02/2024 7:30 pm
Time: Aug 2, 2024 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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SATURDAY:
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Saturday service, 08/03/2024 9:30 am
Time: Aug 3, 2024 09:30 am Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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