Prophet to the Nations

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1. Yirmiyahu and Moshe - Two Models of Prophecy

   Haftarot: Pinhas

   Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein

   The haftara describes Jeremiah's initiation as a prophet. This lesson compares Jeremiah's initiation with Moshe's consecration. Moshe refuses his appointment, while Jeremiah requests reinforcement. The different reactions stem from the different roles they are expected to fill.

2. 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.

3. The Attempted Rebellion against Babylon and Yirmiyahu's Prophecy Concerning the Bonds

   Rabbi David Sabato

   The chapter contains a three part prophecy: The first to the kings of the nations who plan a rebellion against Babylon; to Tzidkiyahu king of Yehuda; to the priest and the people. All three prophecies have a similar structure: They open with a positive command – to submit to the king of Babylonia – and then they warn against listening to the words of the false prophets who prophesy just the opposite.

   King Nevuchadnetzar does not conquer countries by his own power. Rather, God puts them in his hands, and therefore anyone who rebels against Nevuchadnetzer rebels against God who gave him rule over the world. At the end, Nevuchadnetzer will be punished too since he did not act out of a sense of mission, but simply in an attempt to glorify his own name, he has no real right to do so, and he will therefore be punished for his actions.

   Until the rise of the king of Babylonia, Yirmiyahu’s goal was to bring about the mending of Israel's ways so that they not become subjugated to the people from the north. However, now that this period has come to a close, Yirmiyahu's prophetic message changes. Now he preaches to accept the yoke of the king of Babylonia, and warns of the greater dangers that may fall upon the people should they try to turn back the clock and undo the decree.

4. Prophecies Concerning the Nations

   Dr. Tova Ganzel

   The prevailing perception in the Ancient East was that kings were emissaries of the gods or even gods themselves, and that every nation had its own god that ensured its victor in war. The prophet counters this perception by gathering all the prophecies about the nations into a single collection. This emphasizes that God, Lord of the entire world, decides the fate of each and every nation.

   These chapters in Yehezkel, unlike the prophecies addressed to other nations by other prophets, make scant mention of Israel’s redemption.

   In Chapter 25, Yehezkel conveys brief prophecies concerning Ammon, Moav, Edom and the Pelishtim, each of which has a lengthy historical relationship with Israel. These prophecies share a uniform structure.

   The transition between the first and second parts of the book is indirectly shown here through the content of the prophecy to Ammon, In response to their joy over the desecration of the Temple and the desolation of the land and the exile, Yehezkel prophesies their disappearance and annihilation.

5. The Enemy from the North: Nevukhadnetzar's Ascent

   Rabbi David Sabato

6. Why does Yirmiyahu's Message Change?

   Rabbi David Sabato

7. The Prophecies of Amos: Oracles against the Nations

   Shiur #03

   Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom

   תאריך פרסום: 5778 |

   In this chapter, we will introduce Amos’s famous prophecies against the surrounding nations, which make up the first twenty verses and comprise a “set-up” for his prime audience in Shomeron. Amos delivers oracles against Aram, Peleshet, Tzor, Edom, Ammon and Moav, then Yehuda before zeroing in on Yisrael.  Why does Amos deliver prophecies foretelling punishment specifically to these nations? Why does he not mention Assyria or Egypt, two major (and threatening) superpowers? What is his prophetic purpose, and what is the nature of these "prophecies to the nations?" 

   Looking at the map, we see that as the people of Israel hear the prophecies of doom for their enemies, they feel some relief. And then they realize that they are being entrapped instead of protected, and destruction is looming closer and closer. 

8. The Prophecies of Amos: Oracles against the Nations (continued)

   07

   Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom

   תאריך פרסום: 5778 |

   In this shiur, we will continue our study of Amos’s oracles against the nations. Last week, we surveyed the history of Aram in order to put the crime of which they are accused and the punishment designated for them into context. We will do much the same with the oracles against Philistia (“Peleshet”) and Phoenicia (“Tzor”). The rationale for studying these two together goes beyond convenience
   and their juxtaposition in the text. It may well be that these two coastal nations – the only two to be accused of the crime of handing over war refugees – have more in common than alphabetical proximity.

9. The Prophecies of Amos: Oracles against the Nations (Cont.)

   Shiur #04

   Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom

   In this lesson, we will analyze the rhetorical style of these prophecies, specifically the opening formula of each. In the next lecture, we will study the overall pattern of the oracles and identify the underlying message of this pattern. In the following lectures, we will study the substance of the first seven of these oracles and then we will, in the final lecture of this series, complete our study of this section, analyzing the final oracle in the section – the prophecy against Yisrael.

    

   Each of the oracles follows a common pattern – a pattern which is then greatly expanded in the final, culminating oracle against Yisrael.