Yirmiyahu's Loneliness

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1. The Personal Dimension of Yirmiyahu’s Prophecy

   Part III

   Rabbi David Sabato

   God prohibits Yirmiyahu from partaking in normative life cycle events. He may not go to comfort mourners, attend wedding celebrations nor may he marry or procreate. As with Hoshea and Yehezkel, the command regarding his marital relations is a negative sign of the calamity that will strike the people. But in contrast to Hoshea and Yehezkel, Yirmiyahu is commanded to abstain from marriage from the outset.

   Prophecy is described here as the prophet's fate, from which there is no escape. Prophecy is forced upon Yirmiyahu and he has no choice but to utter it with his mouth, lest it burn him from the inside. The word of God fills Yirmiyahu with joy and gladness, as he is called by His name. At the same time, however, the hand of God isolates him and fills him with deep rage. Yirmiyahu feels ostracized from society, and he can cannot sit and rejoice in the company of other people, owing to the heavy burden of prophecy and the calamity that is expected to arrive.

2. Yirmiyahu and the People

   Rabbi David Sabato

3. Yirmiyahu's Prophetic Joy and Agony

   Rabbi David Sabato

4. Yirmiyahu 15-16

   Matan Al Haperek

   Rabbi David Sabato

   In perek 15 we once again encounter Yirmiyahu's personal life and the duality which troubles his tortured soul. In the first section of this perek (1-9), Yirmiyahu responds to God's refusal to accept his prayers which was discussed in perek 14. God tells Yirmiyahu that even if the greatest leaders of past generations would stand before Him in prayer, they wouldn't be able to save the nation. The perek continues to describe the many facets of the exile: plagues, death by the sword, famine, and captivity. In the second section of the perek (10-21), Yirmiyahu laments the suffering, mockery, and isolation he has endured and gives expression to the anguish caused by his life's mission. God's response to this outcry encourages Yirmiyahu to continue marching forward despite his desperation.

   Perek 16 continues the portrayal of Yirmiyahu as a man struggling with his divinely ordained fate to live a life which reflects his tragic prophecies. The perek opens with an unbearable and unusual commandment: Yirmiyahu is forbidden to marry and create a family; The instruction to disconnect from general society is meant to symbolize the future destruction which is described in great detail by the continuation of the perek.