Shaphan the Scribe's Family and Yirmiyahu

Found 5 Search results

1. The Exiles In Babylon

   Rabbi David Sabato

   In the interim period between the exile of Yekhonya and the exile of Yehuda in the days of Tzidkiyahu, a complex situation was created in which there were two Jewish centers: one in Bavel, which included the elite of Jerusalem, and one in Jerusalem, where the poorest of the people of the land remained. There is a king in both centers: Yehoyakhin in Bavel and Tzidkiyahu in Jerusalem. This complex situation raised the question of the status of each center and the relationship between them.

   One perception arises in Bavel among the elders of Israel who come to Yehezkel thinking that the covenant between God and Israel has been annulled and that they should now integrate themselves among the nations.

   In contrast stands the opposite position, expressed primarily in the words of the false prophets, which views the exile as a temporary and fleeting event that will come to a close in the near future.

   Yirmiyahu proposes a third possibility, one that is different and more complex. Yirmiyahu argues that the exile is not a passing event, but rather a significant one. It is a long and extended process for which preparation is necessary. The people must settle into it and build upon it, while knowing that its goal is the return to Eretz Yisrael. Exile is a necessary condition for redemption. However, for the first time, Yirmiyahu also expresses the idea that will accompany exiled Jews for thousands of years – identification with the country in which they are found.

   Historically, the complex picture that Yirmiyahu tried to fix in the nation's consciousness in the exile was not always successfully absorbed. Sometimes, Jews became overly settled in their lands and over-emphasized seeking the peace of exile; occasionally, they strongly opposed their country and preached rebellion. 

2. The Scroll of Yirmiyahu

   Rabbi David Sabato

   The fourth year of the reign of Yehoyakim is a pivotal one for the prophecies of Yirmiyahu. Babylon’s victory over Egypt made Babylon the most powerful empire in the region. This victory was a clear proof of the validity of Yirmiyahu's prophecies over the course of twenty three years. Now it became clear to all that Babylon was the primary enemy threatening the kingdom of Yehuda. Yirmiyahu is commanded to summarize all of the prophecies that he delivered until that time and to record them in a scroll. This scroll is read in Beit Hamikdash and ultimately in the ears of King Yehoyakim. The account of the reading of the scroll in the ears of Yehoyakim brings to mind a similar event involving his father, Yoshiyahu, when the Torah was read in his ears.

   There is an enormous difference between the responses of the two kings. While Yoshiyahu rends his garments when they read the scroll before him, Yehoyakim abstains from rending his garments, and instead tears up the scroll itself! Yoshiyahu is shocked to the depths of his soul, and he drags his princes and the entire people after him to take dramatic action to change the decree. In contrast, Yehoyakim demonstrates terrible scorn. While his princes are shocked by the scroll and bring it before the king, the king himself holds it in contempt, tears it up, and burns it. Rather than the king influencing his princes and dragging them after him, the reverse takes place here; the king stops his princes and refuses to listen to the princes who plead with him not to burn the scroll. Yoshiyahu immediately sends a delegation to seek the word of God from the mouth of Chulda the prophetess, whereas Yehoyakim sends his emissaries to kill the prophet and prevent him from sounding the word of God.

   Yehoyakim is absolutely impervious to the words of the prophet; he is not prepared to listen even after the Babylonian enemy begins to go up against Yehuda, and all of his behavior demonstrates scorn and contempt. Yehoyakim's conduct, which is described here and in other places in the book of Yirmiyahu, brings the people one step closer to the destruction.

    

3. The Assassination of Gedalya

   Part 1

   Rabbi David Sabato

   Yirmiyahu decided to join Gedalya out of religious-prophetic motives, since he saw in his appointment God's desire to rebuild the nation. The military personal decided to join him for political motives, relying on Gedalya's official status vis-à-vis the Babylonian kingdom, which they feared. And the Diaspora Jews joined Gedalya out of nationalistic-popular motives and a desire to return to their own country.

   Yohanan ben Kareah and his men attempt to convince Gedalya of the assassination plot of Yishmael ben Netanya.  Gedalya's refusal to heed the warning is not merely complacency on the personal plane regarding the danger posed to his life, but also a great risk on the public-national level. The political struggle against Gedalya has widespread national consequences.

   Having failed to heed the warning of Yohanan, Gedalya falls into a trap that was set for him by Yishmael the son of Netanya and his men; he is killed in his house in Mitzpa in the course of a Rosh Hashana dinner that he hosted for them. Here Gedalya's naiveté reveals itself in a most striking manner – not only did he not agree to prevent the assassination, but he did not even take any precautions against Yishmael.

   What were the motives of Yishmael the son of Netanya? It is likely that this murder is just the tip of the iceberg of the fierce political struggle that took place in the kingdom of Yehuda prior to the destruction. The royal family and most of the ministers supported the rebellion against Babylon, and apparently received support from the people of Ammon in the east, who opposed Babylonian rule. Against them stood the "pro-Babylonian" faction, with Yirmiyahu's support and led by members of the family of Shafan the scribe. Thus, the assassination plot stems from deep political memories and from the tension between the royal family of Yishmael and the family of Shafan, to which Gedalya belonged. Apart from this, there is also a deeply personal cause: Yishmael, who was of royal descent, cannot accept the possibility that Gedalya, who came from a family of scribes, should become the political leader of the people of Yehuda.

   Three biblical events are alluded to as the backdrop for the story of the murder of Gedalya: the massacres of Yehu, the war between Asa and Basha, and the story of the meeting between Avner and Yoav at Givon. These events paint Yishmael's deed with the red color of mass murder and civil war, and turn it into another link in the chain of internal civil wars in the history of the people of Israel that led to the destruction. Internal strife and narrow personal and political motivations joined together in the story of the assassination of Gedalya to become the fatal blow to the last chance to rebuild the nation in its land.

4. The Deeds of the People in the Temple

   Part 1

   Dr. Tova Ganzel

   Yehezkel pronounces a Divine vision whose message is that although the Temple is still standing, it is effectively empty and worthless. Yehezkel sees, by means of a Divine vision, four symbolic sins, each sight worse than its predecessor. Yehezkel uses terms unique to Devarim chapter 4 which describes the prohibitions of idolatry at length, the covenant with God and the warning of exile if the covenant is violated through idol worship.

5. Politics and Murder: the Assassination of Gedalya

   Rabbi David Sabato