Yirmiyahu the Traitor

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1. The Last Days of Jerusalem

   Part 1

   Rabbi David Sabato

   King Tzidkiyahu requests of Yirmiyahu to pray on behalf of the city, which is under siege, and Yirmiyahu refuses to do so. This scenario is reminiscent of Hizkiyahu’s request of Yishyahu to pray when the city is facing an Assyrian siege.  While Yishyahu answers Hizkiyahu’s request affirmatively, Yirmiyahu refuses Tzidkiyahu’s request.

   This difference is reflected in the circumstances surrounding the request. Unlike Hizkiyahu, who performs actions of repair and repentance, rending his garments and going to the Temple, Tzidkiyahu contents himself with sending messengers to Yirmiyahu with the request to repeat the miracle from the days of Hizkiyahu. Whereas Hizkiyahu sets God's honor in the center and prays for the cessation of the insults hurled at God by the king of Ashur, Tzidkiyahu asks Yirmiyahu to pray for him and the people.

   When the Babylonian siege is lifted due to Egyptian intervention - an event that was viewed as miraculous, but was ultimately temporary - Yirmiyahu attempts to leave the city fearing he would be arrested as a false prophet.  He fails to leave and is accused of attempting to defect to the enemy by none other than the grandson of Hananya ben Azzur. This accusation reflects the perception of officials and princes of Jerusalem, who saw Yirmiyahu as a traitor who was helping the Babylonians against his people. This fundamental misunderstanding of the people and their ministers concerning Yirmiyahu's objectives has accompanied Yirmiyahu throughout his mission.

2. The Last Days of Jerusalem

   Part 2

   Rabbi David Sabato

   The chapter opens with a difficult prophecy of Yirmiyahu to the people, which is delivered in the presence of the princes of Yehuda. Yirmiyahu holds fast to his prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, but he now goes even further and preaches to the people that they should go out to the Babylonians and surrender. Delivering this prophecy in public is a justification for killing Yirmiyahu for weakening the spirit of the fighters and lowering the people's morale in a time of crisis. Like in the previous chapter, Yirmiyahu is accused of a crime, however, the respective positions become more extreme, and the consequences become harsher and more severe. Yirmiyahu is saved only by a non-Jewish attendant of the king.

   Yirmiyahu being thrown into the pit is reminiscent of Yosef being thrown into the pit. In both instances the majority overrules a single opinion and throws the person in question into the pit, in an attempt to indirectly kill him. Just as Yosef’s intentions towards his brothers were misunderstood, so too Yirmiyahu sought the welfare of the people, but was accused of being a traitor. Just as Yosef prepared his family for their first exile, so too Yirmiyahu is preparing the nation for their first exile. Both Yosef and Yirmiyahu see the future, but their visions arouse the anger of those around them.

   Tzidkiyahu stands between two forces: the political pressure of his ministers, on the one hand, and the truth of Yirmiyahu's prophecies on the other. His hesitation and fear of his princes overcome his recognition of the truth in the words of Yirmiyahu. Tzidkiyahu prefers to adhere to the known position of refusing to surrender and passively preserve the status quo, rather than to change his perception and policy in the wake of reality and the prophecy and to adopt the clear-eyed policy of Yirmiyahu, against the advice of his princes.

   Tzidkiyahu's portrayal in these chapters is not that of an evil or dense king, but rather that of a weak and spineless one. Tzidkiyahu's inability to stand up to the pressures of his princes, despite his personal acquaintance with Yirmiyahu, wipe out the last chance to save Jerusalem and lead to its destruction.

3. Yirmiyahu and Yosef in the Pit

   Rabbi David Sabato