Jeremiah Chapter 23; I did not send those Prophets, but they rushed in.

God is assigning blame to those who have led his flock astray.  There is certainly enough blame to go around equally to the priests, kings and false prophets, but a ray of hope is offered to the remnant who can weather the exile. They shall be brought back to dwell in their own land.

 

Ellen: During this time of Passover isn’t all life sacred? Animals should be included.

Joel: I’ve met Chasidic Vegans.

Ellen: When God directs us to treat every flock well I believe he is saying to be a good steward. Raise your animals well and kill them compassionately.

Rabbi: At its best, Kashrut means that we treat animals compassionately.

Ellen: The land is included too. We are directed to be good shepherds of the planet. I have a hard time with the hypocrisy during Passover when people are arguing whether Quinoa is acceptable but then these same individuals are serving factory farmed meat at their Seder.

Corey: I think if you care for an animal knowing that you will eventually slaughter it then it is more meaningful to sacrifice it or slaughter it for food. There is something more honest about that because it means more to the person.

Ellen: I agree! If you choose to eat meat, then treat your animals well so they have a decent life. It’s a sense of heartfelt connection that is missing. Abraham could have slaughtered his son but he chose not to and refused.

Julie: No Ellen, God or the angel stopped Abraham’s hand. Abraham passed the test. It seems that he would have killed his son for God.

Corey: The lamb that magically appears is not connected to Abraham but it is used to take Isaac’s place.

Bill: If Abraham killed his miracle son how would the blood line continue?

Ellen: God doesn’t want human sacrifice but animals seem to be exempt from this requirement.

Bill: Referring to 23:14 “But what I see in the prophets of Jerusalem/Is something horrifying:…”

 Is Jeremiah saying that he is the only righteous man left?

Rabbi: Jeremiah has been rejected by his people. We see his humanity.

Joel: When Jeremiah or God says “the prophets of Jerusalem” does he mean the non-Jewish seers?

Rabbi: This can be an example of some North and South bias. The North is seen by the Jerusalem Scribes as the unseemly evil doers, but the Prophets say all are guilty – it’s a matter of degrees.

Bill: Referring to 23:13 “In the prophets of Samaria/ I saw a repulsive thing:…”

Were the prophets of Samaria pretending to be true prophets?

Joel: As far as I know there are Hebrews in Northern Samaria and then there are Samarians who are not. These are a Quasi-Jewish group, like the Good Samaritan of the New Testament or the Samarians in modern Israel today. The Samarians were hated as not real Jews. At any rate, there seems to be a comparison of the North and South’s sins. It’s a rivalry of sorts.

Rabbi: The pagan priests were practicing human sacrifice and probably Judean sympathizers were doing so as well.

Ellen: In the Garden of Eden, the world was so beautiful and we still haven’t improved upon it. This is very depressing! We see what it can mean, to be God but humans seem to have given up.

Bill: For this crowd there is no redemption.  Crap is going to happen!

Joel: We can’t be good enough to please God. In every age the issue seems to come up. The logic is that if every Jew followed the law and every person the more general Noahite Laws, then this wouldn’t happen, but it does every time. I can see the thought process that led to Jesus as the Savior/Messiah in Christianity. Humans want redemption.  The Prophets go from setting the bar for good behavior through the word of God, to Apostles writing about one person standing for all our sins, for original sin. In Judaism we have never accepted this logic. Our sins are our own. There is no original sin.  It’s our choice -the individual can choose to be good and he/she may still survive the Exile and get back to the land, but there are certainly no individual promises made. What is really created is a collective promise of redemption.

Rabbi: We have an interim promise from God. The remnant will not be all good or all bad. This is a communal punishment. This is the struggle for humanity.

Ellen: We are no closer to becoming actualized to our highest potential.

Joel: Last week you were so hopeful and positive about human nature Ellen – what happened?

Rabbi: We have developed. We don’t slaughter our children to Baal.

Julie: we just call it something else – we send our children off to war.

 

I wonder if the parents of the children who were sacrificed to Baal felt that they were insuring the community’s well-being. In the modern world, some parents whose children serve in the Military speak in parallel voices. They understand that their children are going to war with the possibility of their not returning in order to preserve the morals and values of our country. I do not wish to demean their efforts or sacrifice but why does this sound so similar? When making these decisions, have we actually exhausted all other possible options which would lead us to such a limited framework of thought and action? Why do we cop to a “sacrificial” position so quickly?  In reading the Jeremiah text I am always struck by how few things have actually changed and how frankly, human behavior does not seem very progressive. We certainly make technological advances but we are in this perennial moral dance where the steps are three forward then back two. We are instructed to take a higher moral position, but in doing so, we run the risk of putting ourselves in harms way because humanity’s efforts are not in synch . There is always the ideal and the reality and how we function within this space. As Jews and as individuals of the Human Race, this seems to be the challenge. Luckily we are provided with a guide book to assist us around those pointed sharp turns.

Jeremiah Chapter 22; A vessel no one wants.

                                                                Chapter 22

 

God directs Jeremiah to pay a visit to King Jehoiachim/Eliakim to emphatically remind him to heed the covenant; refusal to do so, will result in the end of the Davidic line. It is unclear whether this is a foregone conclusion regardless of the king’s actions. Adherence to this divine mandate seems like an improbability as Jehoahaz has already aligned with the Egyptians. The Egyptians have placed Jehoahaz on the king’s throne after taking Jehoahaz/ Shallum, Josiah’s younger son, the rightful ruler, to Egypt in Chains.  

 

Ellen: Referring to 22:5 “But if you do not heed these commands, I swear by Myself – declares the LORD – that this place shall become a ruin.”

I think it means that if bad things happen it is because you bowed to other gods – idolatry is the actual reason why they will be punished.

Jane:  Many reasons have been cited for the punishment. If you look at 22:9 “Because they forsook the covenant with the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.”  They call this an executive summary in legal terms. In one sentence its all broken down very clearly.

Ceil: I think the message is to follow the covenant and do not follow other gods. It’s both.

Joel: The idea that we only pray to our god who is the tribal god of the Jews but also happens to be the universal god of all things. Then it is also linked to an idea of universal morality. So it’s primed on tribal specificity, but it is couched on this God actually being the only viable game concerning worship in town.

Rabbi: An individual who does good may not be protected because the community as a whole is held accountable. Jeremiah has addressed the last four kings of Israel.

Ellen: People often say “trust in the lord” or “it’s God’s will.” Is God in the wings and then steps in when things are really awful?

Rabbi: I think God is saying that it is in our hands.

Julie: God provided the laws/ a code to live by which is the divine presence. If people adhered to it they would not require God’s punishment.

Ellen: Well, this implies that it is not always God’s will directing events and outcomes.

Rabbi: Both the bad and the good is attributed to God. The Babylonians came in because of our misdeeds.

Joel: If you continue the moral logic of the Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, there is a line of Ultra- religious reactionary thinking that attributes the Shoah to the secularization of the German Jews. I have heard it. God came in and used the Nazis as punishment because Jews stopped being observant.

Rabbi: My idea about God and my own personal theology is more like George Burns in the movie “Oh God”. When asked what happened and why did God create the catastrophes of history, he says” What do you mean why did I allow this? I gave you this world to take care of. I gave you each other to take care of. Why did you do this?

Joel: You have to ask yourself then, if God controls and is the motivating force behind history and did not intervene, then is he morally culpable for the Shoah? It’s a complicated issue, but if he is in charge, then he is bound by what happens too.

Rabbi: As hard as it is, we can’t have free will and then expect God to step in to change history.

Ellen: In the scheme of eternity I believe we are on the path to morality. We will develop, but it’s not all about us.

Julie: Wow Ellen I didn’t realize you were such an optimist. I can’t say that I agree with you about human nature.

 

Although we think we have mentally evolved so much compared to the religious "primitives" of times past, in fact a Police Officer was convicted this week for scheming to kidnap and cannibalize his wife.  If our presumptions are correct and the Tribal God of the Jews is the universal God of morality and history, there continues to be thorny issues concerning the nature of tragedy and how the innocent continue to suffer. The Prophets articulate a moral compass for why historical tragedy occurs. It is up to us to apply it for its best possible outcome.  We learn about and practise our culture’s morality so that in times of crisis our default is set to the highest good. For some this may allow them to feel the divine’s presence and for others it may reinforce a sense of hope that can carry us through to our next mitzvah.

Jeremiah Chapters 19-21; According To Your Deeds.

 

 

                                                           Chapter 19       

Jeremiah is directed by God to buy a ceramic jug and go with elders and priests to the entrance of the Harsith Gate to proclaim the people's impending destruction. They have defiled God’s laws and have sacrificed their children to the fires of Baal.  Jeremiah is instructed to smash the ceramic jug to illustrate how the Lord will smash the people and the city.

 

Rabbi: Referring to 19:11 “So I will smash this people and this city, as one smashes a potter’s vessel, which can never be mended.”

I believe that to break a jar next to another is meant to signify a wish for their death.

Ellen: How do we translate this practice when used during the wedding ceremony?

Corey: Jewish tradition uses it as a way to keep away evil.

Rabbi: I believe it entered from the Greek Tradition into the Jewish tradition sometime in early exile.

Paul: The Greeks break glass or ceramic for celebratory purposes.

Ceil: Breaking an object is meant to represent something that cannot be mended.

 

   Chapter 20

Pashhur, the son of the Head Priest hears Jeremiah prophesizing the coming destruction and so has him flogged and imprisoned for one day. Jeremiah’s mission does not allow him to temper his speech and so he further prophesies on the coming fate of Israel with a special message for Pashhur himself.  Pashur will survive the coming siege, but will die in exile. Rashi comments that the Hebrew word pashur which  means a great or noble man is a play on the word pasha which means to be cut- off.

 

Rabbi: This is one of the best chapters on the plight of the Prophet.

Ceil: This doesn’t sound like a special curse on Pashhur but rather on the whole community.

Paul: Where is the scribe Baruch at this time?

Rabbi: referring  back to 19:14 “When Jeremiah returned from Topath…he stood in the court…”

There is a switch in voice. Maybe this is Baruch’s voice.

Paul: Maybe Baruch left him.

Joel: I think Baruch dies with him in Egypt.

 

Ellen: This all sounds very neurotic.

Joel: No, this is therapeutic Jeremiah. This is stereotypical Jewish complaining. He’s getting all his stuff out.

 Ellen: “To spend my days in shame!”

Ceil: He is not being honored for being God’s servant ; he is being punished. “God you are great but WHY, are you doing this to me?

Joel: This is not the Buddhist message. Jeremiah is over- attached and can’t let go.

Ceil: Yes, he is asking God,” Why are you picking on me?”

Rabbi: We do see the interior of Jeremiah.

Ellen: We saw it with Moses too.

Julie: This is the experience of being the moral minority voice against the majority. They have the power to crush him, but he has to speak in spite of everything and everyone.

Rabbi: Yes, and he can’t or won’t filter his speech.

Corey: Are there any happy prophets?

Rabbi: In the midst of trauma, the prophets offer hope for others, even if they are not happy themselves..

Paul: Do all the prophets hail the coming of the Messiah?

Rabbi: Not across the board but they are saying that ultimately there will be redemption.

Joel: The prophets are illustrating what it takes to address institutionalized evil. In the past kings with total power would kill a dissenting voice, but in Judaism even kings must answer to a higher judge.

Ellen: I’m thinking about the difference between animals and humans. First you have people who think like animals. Then you have a tribal mentality where people do just what their leaders tell them to do, even if it’s killing or ritualized slaughter.  The human who burns its young in Baal’s fire is contrasted against the human who has developed past this idea or need. It’s the evolution of the human brain.

                                                      Chapter 21

Rabbi points out that at this point in the narrative the destruction of Jerusalem is taking place.

The people are experiencing what Jeremiah has foretold.

 

Rabbi: referring to 21:2 “Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us.”

Jeremiah now has the king’s attention. He is asking Jeremiah, “What will happen next?”

Joel: referring to 21:5 “And I myself will battle against you with an outstretched mighty arm…”

This is a quote from the Passover Haggadah, only now God’s wrath is being used against us. It’s the same language that God uses to lift us out of Egypt.

Ellen: referring to 21:6 “I will strike the inhabitants of this city…they shall die by a terrible pestilence.”

This is reminiscent of the plagues.

 

To fight is to incur an assured death; to acquiesce is to accept enslavement. These are not choices in so much as they are statements of fact.  There are no bargains to be had but only an unspecified amount of time to make payment on a debt  long overdue.

Jeremiah Chapter 18; They sacrifice to a delusion.

 

                                                                Chapter 18

 

My apologies to all that I must skip chapters sixteen and seventeen but my computer crashed and it was too difficult to juggle lap- top time with my son.

Chapter 18 commences with God directing Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house to be instructed. This pottery- making metaphor will be used as an abject lesson to illustrate the spiritual retooling of man with God cast as the master potter. Rabbi has pointed out that this will be a reoccurring thematic trope in many chapters to come. There are other references to pottery- making in the Tanakh found in: Genesis 2:7, 2:19, Job 10:8-9, and Isaiah 29:16, 45:9 and 64:8. Unlike ancient Israeli potters, contemporary potters have the option of purchasing pre-wedged slabs of clay in all manner of colors, firing capabilities and textures to suit one’s aesthetic sensibilities and needs. A profitable biblical potter’s business would have enabled the addition of an apprentice(s) to do the physical labor of collecting and preparing the clay for the master crafts- person/the “Yatsar”, the one who forms. Archeologists believe that there was a thriving pottery industry in ancient Jerusalem/Israel having found potter’s wheels (kick wheels), raw and prepared clays, kilns and potter’s tools. Many of these artifacts were unearthed in the Hinnom Valley outside of the city exiting from what Jeremiah calls the Potsherd Gate 19:2 ( our JPS translation referring to it as the Harsith Gate). As man creates vessels, so God formed man from the clay of the earth.

 

Jane: So, God is molding the people like a potter raising clay on the wheel.

 

Joel: I can’t figure Jeremiah out. He pleads for the people, then he is against them, then he is angry with God. And perhaps God is easier to figure out, but less sympathetic. He seems a trifle arbitrary, like the good and the bad will be re-sculpted all at the same time.

Bill: Do you think the potter can be making idols too? Do you think that’s what the metaphor is alluding to?

 

Joel: Well, once you form objects you are moving into that realm because you are making form. The form here is divine form made by the creator, not a human craftsman.

 

Ceil: Pottery is an essential vessel in the life of these people, but there is no indication that potters were in the same business as idol makers.

 

Jane: When throwing clay on the wheel, if your hands slip or are off- center, the clay responds and the vessel is off-center or thrown off entirely.

 

Rabbi: That is a situation that is either the fault of the potter or the material, but this feels more like… “I brought you into this world and I can take you out”. God seems to be saying that he has the power to determine what is right and what is wrong.

 

Jane: I don’t think this is a good metaphor. Clay is an inert material – it doesn’t have a will or an intention.

 

Ceil: There is a difference between God saying, if this creation, man is no good I will wipe him out and if I feel like it, for my own reasons , I will wipe him out.

Jane: God is all powerful so why doesn’t he eradicate evil? I understand the concept of free will but why not just dispense with the evil impulse altogether?

 

Joel: This is what I think. We are still developing – we are being sculpted to be a higher Jew. We are a work in progress. It’s like Clark Kent peeling off the suit.

 

Rabbi: This is very nuanced and complicated. If we are suffering we can feel that this is God’s will. We can also consider that we can be made stronger from hardship.

 

Bill: When clay is soft it is pliable and can be molded but, once it becomes dry, it is brittle and will crumble back to dust.

 

Julie: This is a great metaphor. I love it!

 

Joel: The writer/prophets really shake up the genres. They weave in and out of many forms such as poetry, prose, history, art metaphor etc.

Ceil: Yes, like a stream of consciousness.

 

Rabbi: I’m currently reading William Gibson essays and he discusses the challenge of switching from non-fiction to fiction.

 

Gerry: This was so long ago. There was a verticality of effort. People had to be experienced at doing many things. The potters had to dig their own the clay and

prepare it. They had to make their own tools. This was a long and involved process- not like today.

 

Bill: God seems angrier than usual.

 

Ceil: Maybe Jeremiah needs to be shaken up!

Bill: He is already shaken up. Reading him feels more direct than Isaiah – he is more concerned for his own safety and for good reason.

Jane: This is similar to Plato’s Cave. We don’t see who he is talking to. It’s like the shadows on the wall. This is a one way conversation.

 

Jerry:  We don’t know what the people thought.

 

Rabbi: We know what some of the people though – they want to silence/kill him. For example in verse 18, “They said, “Come let us devise a plot against Jeremiah…”

 

Jerry: It’s not a good sign when the people want to kill the artists.

 

Joel: Or, it is a very good sign.  The artist is saying something truthful which is shaking up the people. He’s doing his job.

 

Ceil: Referring to 18:19, “Listen to me, O LORD- And take note of what my enemies say!”

This is very self- serving.

 

Jane: He feels betrayed – he has pled the people’s case to God and now they turn on him.

 

Ceil: There is a bit of whining going on here.

 

Rabbi: This is a new low for Jeremiah. He has done all that has been asked of him and has pleaded on behalf of the people but now, his own townsmen are turning on him.

 I would like to point out that this is page 812. It marks the half- way point of the Tanakh. We should plan a celebration!

 

As an artist I feel that art making is one of the most human of endeavors. The artist empowers herself with the authority to determine what will remain in the work and what will be “wiped-out.”  One must know the tendencies and limits of a material’s capabilities in order to determine how it can best suit a process and a finished product. Every artist knows there is a profound relationship between one’s materials and oneself. This intimacy occurs over time from experience and mastery. It is gained not over the material by mere force, but rather by being in partnership with it. The metaphor is a good one. If there is to be a new or higher Israel, there is a synthetic process going on between the maker and the made. It is a potent formula in reshaping human consciousness and history.