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Post by alon on May 18, 2016 14:35:36 GMT -8
Haftara for Par’shah Behar, Jeremiah 32:6-27
The par’shah (Behar) is concerned with laws of land possession and inheritance, and redemption of property in sabbatical and jubilee years. The time of this haftarat is @ 586-588 BCE. The prophet Yir’meyahu is in prison for sedition because he prophesied Gd had given Jerusalem into hands of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Melech Zedekiah, king of Judah had imprisoned him for prophesying that the Babylonians would prevail over the Judeans and send Zedekiah into exile.
Yir’meyahu tells of the prophecy he received concerning the request to be made by his cousin Hanamel, who would come to ask Jeremiah to buy his land in Anathoth. And lo, this is what happened.
Jeremiah 32:6-8 (ESV) Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
The reasoning behind Hanamel’s request comes from Parashat B’har:
Leviticus 25:25-28 (ESV) “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.
As an act of faith Yir’meyahu agrees to purchase the land, even though Judah is under siege and exile is imminent.
Jeremiah 32:9-12 (ESV) “And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard.
The price of seventeen shekels seems low, considering the field where Avraham buried Sarai cost 400 shekels (Gen 23). This may be because it was close to a sabbatical year (not sure), or just because the land was about to be taken anyhow. Regardless, Yir’meyahu gives the deed to Baruch son of Neriah, who often assists him. In fact, the role of this scribe in scripture is greater than that of any othr scribe in any prophetic work. Because of this, some scholars assert that Yir’meyahu was illiterate.
A bullah, which is a clay tablet or seal, bearing the name Baruch son of Neriah has been found in excavations at Yerushalayim; so he is a known historical figure. Here he is instructed by Yir’meyahu to prepare the deed of sale for storage.
Jeremiah 32:13-14 (ESV) I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time.
Yir’meyahu explains that this is symbolic of G-d’s promise that the Jewish people would again return to ha’eretz.
Jeremiah 32:15 (ESV) For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’
Yir’meyahu next goes to G-d in a prayer which basically enumerates His historical relationship with the people of the nation of Yisro’el from creation, even before there was a Hebrew people; right up to the present. He is in fact trying to gain some understanding of “why”- that question we often ask of Elohim.
Jeremiah 32:16-24 (ESV) “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it.
So G-d knows of their plight, yet He still told Yir’mayahu to purchase the land. Why?
Jeremiah 32:25 (ESV) Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”
Here I think we see the real question. Even though he knew the people had sinned and that this was a punishment from Elohim Shophtim Ba’aretz- God Who Judges in the Earth (Ps 58:11), still he asks “why?” We’ve all done this in heartfelt anguish, even anger. This was a very human thing for the prophet to do. Yet the L-rd answers him:
Jeremiah 32:26-27 (ESV) The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”
No matter what our predicament, we have a champion, YHVH Maginnenu- The Lord Our Defense (Ps 89:18) for whom nothing is too difficult.
Dan C
My primary resource for this was my JPS Study TNK. However I should list those who’ve had influence on my theology, my father and others, including Rabbi Stanley Chester.
