Agricultural Parables

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1. Yeshayahu 17-18

   Matan Al HaPerek

   Rabbi David Sabato

   The prophecy recorded in perek 17 was most likely delivered following the alliance established between Aram and Israel during the reign ,of Pekach ben Remalyahu (refer back to perek 7). In this prophecy Yeshayahu describes the complete destruction of Damascus, the capital city of Aram, along with the destruction of the Northern Kingdom. The perek ends on a slightly more positive note (pesukim 12-14): Yeshayahu prophesies the collaboration of the gentile nations for war and their miraculous defeat by God as restitution for their cruel treatment of Israel.

2. Yeshayahu 27-28

   Rabbi David Sabato

   The first pasuk of perek 27 continues the same prophetic thread expressed by the two closing pesukim of perek 26. These pesukim describe the destruction of the world’s evil through vivid, symbolic images that connect the future redemption with the Exodus from Egypt and which hint to a war between God and His rebellious early creations. Pesukim 2-6 detail a positive ‘parable of the vineyard’ which contrasts with the critical parable detailed in perek 5. The rest of the perek describes the fortification of Israel in its land and the blessing the other nations will receive as a result. The prophecy concludes with the ingathering of the exiles in the land of Israel following the redemptive blast of the shofar.

   Yeshayahu 28 discusses the people and leaders of Ephraim (1-6), the leaders of Yehuda (7-22), and includes harsh rebuke of their drunkenness and exaggerated confidence. This perek also teaches us about the leaders’ mocking reactions to Yeshayahu’s prophecies of calamity, which warned the nation of Assyria’s imminent arrival. The perek’s conclusion includes a parable borrowed from the world of agriculture.

3. From Love to Betrayal: Yirmiyahu's First Prophecy of Rebuke

   Rabbi David Sabato

   Yirmiyahu's first prophecy conveyed to Israel is comprised of a series of sections, linked one to the next linguistically and substantively. Together they paint a difficult, varied, and penetrating picture of the moral and spiritual state of the people. The prophecy opens with one of the most moving accounts of the early relationship between God and His people, but it immediately takes a sharp turn to the difficult, spiritual reality in the days of Yirmiyahu, when the people have abandoned and betrayed their God. The description of Israel's youthful devotion in the wilderness serves only as a background and introduction to the essence of the passage – a prophecy of rebuke.

4. Yirmiyahu's First Address: Nostalgia or Confrontation?

   Rabbi David Sabato

5. A Message from Rekhav's Commandments: What can Israel Learn?

   Rabbi David Sabato

6. Trees in Tanakh and Tu B'Shevat - the New Year of the Trees

   HaTanakh.com Staff

7. Planting, Creation, and the New Year of the Trees

   HaTanakh.com Staff