Prophetic Symbols

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The Rise of Nevuchadnetzar and the Beginning of the Babylonian Era
Rabbi David Sabato
After twenty-three years of prophecy during which Yirmiyahu and his fellow prophets warned about the impending calamity, the geopolitical situation becomes clarified; the "enemy from the north" about whom Yirmiyahu had warned over the years of his prophecy takes on concrete form in the figure of Nevuchadnetzar, king of Babylonia, serving as God's agent, who will come and punish the people for their refusal to hear His words during those years. Additionally, Yirmiyahu provides a long list of nations and kings who will fall into the hands of Nevuchadnetzar, and he thus highlights the global revolution that will take place in the wake of his conquests. After seventy years however, Babylon too will be destroyed.
Yirmiyahu’s Prophecy of Consecration - The Visions
Rabbi David Sabato
Despite the similarities between the vison of the almond rod and the vision of the boiling pot, there is a striking difference between the two visions. In the vision of the pot, the calamity is explicitly stated in the words of God, and even the direction from which it will come is explicitly noted. In the vision of the almond tree rod, on the other hand, the impending calamity is not explicitly mentioned. Indeed, references to God’s “haste” in fulfilling His Word appears later in Yirmiyahu's prophecies and allows for interpretation in two directions. It falls upon Yirmiyahu to identify in his prophecies of doom not only the catastrophe, but also the good that is concealed within them as the foundation for rebuilding.

Additionally, it falls upon Yirmiyahu to stand firm and fearlessly proclaim the words of God; at the same time, God will strengthen him and protect him from those who wish to harm him. The threat and the encouragement highlighted in these verses were meant to prepare Yirmiyahu for the difficult trials that he would be forced to undergo over the course of his prophetic mission – real mortal danger and acute suicidal thoughts.
The Potter's House and the Earthen Bottle
Rabbi David Sabato
In the prophecy in the potter’s house, the house of Israel is like clay in the hand of God, the creator of history, and the fashioning of its destiny is based on its moral quality. But Israel's moral quality does not depend upon God's will because from the moment that God created the world and constricted Himself, He entrusted the choice between good and bad in the hands of man alone. If they choose to do that which is good in God's eyes, their historical destiny will be fashioned in a positive manner. But the moment that they corrupt their ways, their destiny will perforce change in accordance with their deficient moral quality. Despite the resoluteness of the prophecy itself and the decree of calamity that it contains, there is always the possibility of change, which depends exclusively on the people.

In contrast, the breaking of the bottle prophecy symbolizes the hopeless situation – the potter's vessel that cannot be made whole again. The first prophecy was delivered to the people at a stage when there was still a place for repair and renewal, while the second prophecy reflects the crisis to which the people arrived when the malleable clay hardened to the point that it turned into a bottle that could no longer be changed and that can no longer be fixed, but only broken.
Yehezkel’s Prophetic Mission
Dr. Tova Ganzel
Yehezkel is told at the outset that he is being sent to the nation to convey God’s word, for them to know that a prophet was among them before the Destruction. But the people dwelling in Jerusalem – like those in Babylon – will not change their ways. The role of the prophet is not to bring about repentance but rather to convey God’s word and thereby justify the imminent punishment. Therefore when he is commanded to eat the scroll, he is ambivalent. Just as the scroll contains lamentations, with no hint of redemption, so too Yehezkel’s prophecy includes, initially, only the coming of the Destruction.

Nonetheless, there is a message that the prophet addresses to each individual in his generation: the Temple is going to be destroyed, and the nation will be exiled from its land, but every person bears personal responsibility for his own fate, because even at this most bitter time there will be those who will die and those who will be saved. Every individual is responsible for his own actions. Yehezkel must therefore carry out his mission even if the nation’s fate is already sealed.
Yehezkel's Silence: Symbolic Actions and Their Meaning
Dr. Tova Ganzel
Among the many symbolic actions that God commands Yehezkel to perform as part of his prophecy, one is to bind himself up with cords and remain silent. Up until now the prophet has been commanded to go and prophesy to the people. Now it seems that before he has a chance to say anything, he receives another prophecy that contradicts everything that has come before: he must shut himself in his house and refrain from reproving the nation, until he is instructed otherwise.

For how long was Yehezkel shut inside his house? If he was silent until the survivor came to inform him of the destruction of Jerusalem, to who were the many prophecies he received conveyed throughout these years?

Many possibilities are suggested, but all of them give rise to the same message: despite the skepticism of the exiles dwelling with Yehezkel, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem is imminent, and the prophet’s message will have no effect on the people.
Yehezkel's Symbolic Actions and their Meaning
Dr. Tova Ganzel
Generally speaking, the Latter Prophets, unlike the Earlier Prophets, do not perform miracles. Therefore, in order to convey their messages effectively, they must employ both elevated speech and symbolic acts. Perhaps for this reason Yehezkel only conveys his prophecies after a series of symbolic actions performed at the beginning of his prophetic career. Indeed, the difficulty of convincing the nation of the authenticity and reliability of God’s prophets is clearly demonstrated in Yirmiyahu’s struggle against the false prophets. In Sefer Yehezkel too – even in the prophecies that follow the Destruction – the prophet’s audience treats his words as mere poetry and they continue sinning.

Yehezkel’s symbolic acts are a step-by-step demonstration of what is yet to happen due to the sins of the nation: first the siege with no response from God; the unbearable hunger and thirst; and finally – annihilation of most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, only a few of whom will escape and be saved.
Tzidkiyahu
Part 1
Dr. Tova Ganzel
Tzidkiyahu is not mentioned by name in Sefer Yehezkel. The kingdom of Babylonia is likewise only mentioned in these chapters indirectly and there is no prophecy that deals with the future of Babylonia and its destruction in the upcoming group of chapters that offer prophecies to the nations. Because Yehezkel is based in Babylonia, he is unable to denounce the empire in which he dwells. For the kings of Babylonia, the coronation of Tzidkiyahu in Jerusalem had the effect of creating an artificial quiet, while in effect discontinuing the monarchy of the dynasty of David in Jerusalem. Therefore, paying explicit attention to Tzidkiyahu as king may have aroused the ire of the Babylonians.

Through a symbolic act, Yehezkel is commanded to “exile” himself, carry his “gear for exile.” The departure into exile is undertaken in the evening, in the dark, with his face covered, through a hole he digs in the wall. This prophecy is God’s response to Tzidkiyahu’s rebellion against Babylonia, which contravenes God’s order conveyed to him by the prophet. The descriptions in Melakhim and in Yirmiyahu of Tzidkiyahu’s exile match the details of Yehezkel’s prophecy: the capture of the king, bringing him to Babylon, his judgement, blindness and the fate of his company.
Yirmiyahu's Initiation: The Pot and the Almond Rod
Rabbi David Sabato
Clay Pottery and Broken Bottles: Free Will and Destiny
Rabbi David Sabato
Yirmiyahu 13-14
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David Sabato
Perek 13 opens with God's command to Yirmiyahu to perform a symbolic act (1-11). Many biblical prophets were instructed to perform physical tasks in order to visually convey God's messages to the nation (eg. Yirmiyahu 32: 1-15, Yechezkel 4, Hoshea 1). After completing the three stages of the action, God appears to Yirmiyahu and explains its significance . The perek continues with a description of the arrival of the "enemy from the north" who will reach as far as Israel's southern Negev region. Yirmiyahu urges the nation's leaders, who have betrayed their public positions and turned to idol worship, to be humbled by the severe punishment they will soon receive.

Perek 14 opens with a horrifying description of a drought that strikes the kingdom of Yehuda and describes the dire situation of both the humans and animals in the kingdom (1-6). The prophet describes the hopeless state of the nation in pasuk 18: "If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! And if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! For both the prophet and the priest are gone about to a land and knew it not." The severe drought motivates the people to turn to God in prayer, to admit their sins, and beg for forgiveness (7-9, 19-22). Yirmiyahu attempts to defend the nation, however, the gates of heaven have already been closed.
Yirmiyahu 17-18
Rabbi David Sabato
Perek 17 opens with harsh criticism given to the people of Yehuda who, in contrast to other nations who will one day forgo their foreign worship (16:9), have let idol worship become an intrinsic part of their identity (1-4). The perek's next section includes a series of psalms and reflections surrounding the topic of belief in God and divine justice (5-18). In the third and most central section of the perek (19-27), Yirmiyahu is commanded to publicize a prophecy about the city's failure to properly observe Shabbat by the gates of Yerushalayim.

Perek 18 opens with a prophetic parable: Yirmiyahu is commanded to go to a potter's shop and wait for the continuation of God's message. The prophecy recieved in the potter's shop is comprised of a parable (1-4) and its explanation (5-12) relating to the ethics of divine decrees. The perek continues with Yirmiyahu's personal struggle with those who vehemently object to his prophecies. As we saw in perek 11 regarding his enemies from Anatot, here too the unbearable harrassment and persecutin incite Yirmiyahu to beg God not to forgive the nation's sins.