We begin today the study of the Book of Jeremiah. The first three verses are not prophecy, but an introduction: they come to describe for us the character of the book and the persona of the author, and serve as a preparation for everything we will read later on. We will proceed according to the order of the verses, bringing the insights of Rashi, Radak, and the Malbim.
דִּבְרֵי יִרְמְיָהוּ בֶּן־חִלְקִיָּהוּ מִן־הַכֹּהֲנִים אֲשֶׁר בַּעֲנָתוֹת בְּאֶרֶץ בִּנְיָמִן׃ - The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
The Radak asks who this Hilkiah was, and answers: we have already met Hilkiah - he is Hilkiah the Priest who served in the Temple and discovered the Sefer Torah in the days of Josiah (Yoshiyahu). The scroll was open to the passage stating, "The Lord will lead you and your king," and he came and reported this to the king, whereupon the king tore his garments, as we already learned in the Book of Kings. His son is the prophet Jeremiah.
"Of the priests" - the Targum translates this as "from the trustees (amarkalin)," meaning from the prominent leaders among the priests who were in Jerusalem. And Anathoth was one of the priestly cities, as recorded in the Book of Joshua, which notes that the priests had cities allocated for their dwelling, one of which was Anathoth.
Rashi cites the words of Chazal: "Let the descendant of the flawed woman whose deeds were rectified come and rebuke the descendant of the upright woman whose deeds are corrupted." The flawed woman refers to Rahab, and Jeremiah was one of her descendants. Nevertheless, this lineage did not adversely affect him; quite the contrary, he became an absolute tzaddik. In contrast, the People of Israel are the descendants of upright, righteous matriarchs, yet their deeds are corrupted. If he, who descended from a flawed woman, became a tzaddik, all the more so are you - who descend from righteous women - expected to be righteous. Therefore, the divine demand comes specifically through him, for his very life serves as the whip and the living mussar book from which they must learn.
The Radak cites a Midrash: Why does the book open with "The words of Jeremiah" rather than "The vision of Jeremiah"? Because this book includes prophecies concerning Israel and the nations, as well as his own personal words and the events that befell him in the course of his prophecy with Israel. This is not merely a collection of prophecies, but also the personal narrative of the trials he underwent, which is why it opens with "The words of."
The Radak brings an additional Midrash: Three prophets wrote in their own phrasing - that is, they composed their books in the first person: "The words of Kohelet," "The words of Amos," and "The words of Jeremiah." And why? Because their prophecies consisted of words of sharp rebuke that provoked the hearts of the people; therefore, their prophecy was attributed to themselves. In simple terms, this implies, as it were: Do not think this comes directly from Me, says the Almighty; I did not command it to be delivered in such an abrasive manner. This is comparable to what we find regarding the creation: "And to the darkness He called night" - the Divine Name is not mentioned explicitly in connection with darkness, where it simply states "He called," whereas regarding light it states, "And God called the light day." Certainly, the darkness was also created by God, yet the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not attach His Name directly to it. So too here: the harsh rebukes are expressed, as it were, under the prophet's own name, even though the entirety of the prophecy undoubtedly originates with God.
And so we find among them: "I, Kohelet, was king in Jerusalem"; Amos similarly speaks of himself; and Jeremiah likewise recounts in the first person - God said to me, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you," and I replied to Him that I was not worthy, and later in the book he recounts the persecutions inflicted upon him. Significant portions of the book are related in the first person, which is why it opens with "The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah."
The Malbim teaches that the first three verses form a systematic introduction. When a person approaches a book, there are several criteria he wants to evaluate. In prophetic writings, of course, there is no question of whether it is worthwhile to open it or not, yet even so, an introduction must be provided regarding what lies before us.
First: what is the nature of this book? There are books of rebuke, books of poetry, books of wisdom such as Mishlei and Kohelet, books expressed through allegory and metaphor like Shir HaShirim, and narrative history books. To address this, the very first word comes - "The words of" (Divrei), which encompasses everything: visions, prophecies, narratives, and rebukes.
Second: it is crucial to know who the author is. A book may be fascinating and beautiful, but you open it, see who wrote it, and immediately send it to genizah. If the author is not an upright, worthy person, we do not read his books.
A man once came to the Brisker Rov and said: "I heard that the Rosh Yeshiva told his students not to attend my lectures." He replied: "Yes, that is true." The man asked: "Why? Everything I say comes straight from Chazal, written words; I do not present any views of my own at all." The Brisker Rov, knowing that the man had warped hashkafic views, said to him: "Let me ask you a question in halachah." The man was pleased. The Rov asked: "What is the halachic status of a pot that is completely non-kosher, but in which one cooked meat that is glatt kosher with the strictest Badatz hechsher - what is the status of the food?" The man answered: "What do you mean? It is strictly forbidden to eat!" The Rov said: "I do not understand; the meat is completely kosher!" The man replied: "True, but look at the pot in which it was cooked!" The Brisker Rov said: "Do you hear what you are saying? Your Torah is very kosher, but what kind of pot was it cooked in?" - and he pointed to his head. "When things are cooked in a warped pot, even the most kosher food comes out contaminated."
Therefore, Scripture tells us: "Yirmiyahu the son of Chilkiyahu" - a prophet of distinguished lineage, whose father was a Kohen Gadol and a prophet, and wealthy as well, for the Kohen Gadol was enriched by his brethren, as the verse says, "The Kohen who is greater than his brothers" - make him great from what belongs to his brothers. Scripture tells us of the stature and prominence of the book's author.
Third: his place of origin. "Who were in Anatot in the land of Binyamin." Anatot was a city of Kohanim inhabited by individuals exceptional in their fear of Hashem, and he was from the land of Binyamin rather than from Yerushalayim. Why this emphasis? Because a prophet is not accepted in his own hometown. When a local comes forward to rebuke, people do not accept it from him: "Look at him acting righteous; he is just one of us!" When rebuke needs to be delivered, it is far more effective for someone from elsewhere to step forward and speak uncompromisingly. Such is human nature, and people find it easier to accept rebuke from an outsider.
There was an incident involving a local rabbi who passed away. In that town lived an elderly talmid chacham, truly upright and worthy, but the community would not appoint him - a prophet is not honored in his own town. Instead, they brought in a young man who did not understand much, but appealed to their fancy. That elderly talmid chacham said to them: "Now a difficult question of mine is resolved. I could never understand the sin of the Golden Calf - 'For this man Moshe, we do not know what has become of him.' The leader is gone; let us assume you were right. But who should replace Moshe? Aharon is right here, take Aharon! From this I learned that people would rather bring in an outsider, even a golden calf, than accept Aharon whom they already know."
Yirmiyahu, not being from Yerushalayim, could rebuke them without fear or favor. He would not cover up for anyone or calculate personal interests: "Maybe this person will employ me, that one is renting me an apartment, and a third just sent me a lavish mishloach manot so it would be awkward to speak harshly to him." He could come and deliver the unvarnished truth without sugarcoating.
Rav Ba'adani once went to Rav Shach to purchase copies of his Avi Ezri, and Rav Shach told him that two volumes were out of print. He asked: "What do you mean out of print?" Rav Shach replied: "When a new printing is done, I will have them." He asked: "And when will that be?" He said: "I do not know; when I save up enough money, I will do a printing." Rav Ba'adani said to him: "Money? With a few phone calls I can find donors who will print the entire set for the Rosh Yeshiva free of charge!" Rav Shach told him: "I could do it with a single phone call; I do not need a few. But ever since I became a leader of the public, I took upon myself never to accept a single penny from anyone. Why? Because if an organization supports me and funds my sefarim, and tomorrow or the next day I see that they are about to establish, for example, a modern yeshivah ketanah - could I say anything to them? Could I come out and protest against them? Could I stand up for the integrity of the Torah? Once you accept something from someone, you are bound to him and beholden to him, and you have lost your voice." He concluded: "I am waiting until I save enough personal funds, and when I have enough, I will print."
Similarly, a story is told of the Rav of Kiryat Ata, a great talmid chacham, who refused to accept money from the religious council. Once, they tried to pressure him: let the Rav become an official rabbi on behalf of the council and receive a salary. He said to them: No. They asked: What is the Rav afraid of, his halachic independence? We will not dictate to you how to rule; act according to your own understanding. He told them: Do you think that after you give me a salary I will wait for orders from you? I will run to you to ask what you want me to do! Whoever receives a salary becomes subordinate and bound, doing whatever they tell him. Therefore, specifically this prophet, who came from the territory of Binyamin and not from Jerusalem, when he arrived in Jerusalem to prophesy, had no reckoning with anyone and owed nothing to anyone.
אֲשֶׁר הָיָה דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלָיו בִּימֵי יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ בֶן־אָמוֹן מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה בִּשְׁלֹשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה לְמׇלְכוֹ׃ - To whom the word of Hashem came in the days of Yoshiyahu son of Amon, king of Yehudah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
A fourth point, says the Malbim: it is important to know from what source these words are spoken. When a person says something, one wants to know what his documentation is, what he relies upon, and what the foundations of his words are. It could be that they stem from his own intellect, it could be that he conducted research and reached conclusions, and it could be that he received them from scholars and books. Concerning this, the verse states, "to whom the word of Hashem came" - know that he drew his words from a fountain of living water, from the word of Hashem Himself.
וַיְהִי בִּימֵי יְהוֹיָקִים בֶּן־יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה עַד־תֹּם עַשְׁתֵּי עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה לְצִדְקִיָּהוּ בֶן־יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה עַד־גְּלוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁי׃ - It came also in the days of Yehoyakim son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, until the end of the eleventh year of Tzidkiyahu son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
A fifth point: the timing of the prophecy. And not merely an ordinary timeframe, but three periods distinctly different from one another, during which the spiritual standing of both the nation and the king shifted. The beginning of his prophecy was in the days of Yoshiyahu son of Amon, when both he and his generation were righteous; it began in the thirteenth year of his reign, when he had attained the maturity to serve Hashem. Afterward, his prophecy continued in the days of Yehoyakim, in whose days the generation was righteous but the king was wicked. Finally, it extended until the completion of the eleventh year of Tzidkiyahu, when the situation reversed: the people were wicked while Tzidkiyahu himself was righteous. Throughout all these eras - when both nation and king were righteous, when the nation was righteous and the king wicked, and when the nation was wicked and the king righteous - he prophesied, and all of his prophecies were fulfilled.
וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ בְּטֶרֶם אֶצׇּרְךָ בַבֶּטֶן יְדַעְתִּיךָ וּבְטֶרֶם תֵּצֵא מֵרֶחֶם הִקְדַּשְׁתִּיךָ נָבִיא לַגּוֹיִם נְתַתִּיךָ׃ - The word of Hashem came to me, saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you emerged from the womb I sanctified you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
Here Yirmiyahu begins recounting the words of his prophecy. Rashi explains "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you": already from the days of Adam HaRishon, the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Adam each generation and its prophets, which means that already then He showed him Yirmiyahu as a prophet.
Rabbi Naftali of Ropshitz remarked on this: The Holy One, blessed be He, showed Adam HaRishon each generation and its expositors, each generation and its sages, each generation and its prophets. Seemingly, while Adam HaRishon would certainly be interested in seeing the prophets, the sages, and the expositors, why did he need to see the generation itself? He explained: They showed Adam HaRishon Naftali, and he wondered - is Naftali also among the sages? Is Naftali also among the expositors? Then they showed him the generation, and he said: Ah, relative to this generation, even Naftali is suitable! Therefore, it was necessary to show him each generation along with its expositors, so that he would look at the generation to understand the standard by which its expositors are measured, and not think that its great leaders are insignificant, but understand that relative to that generation, they truly are great.
"I appointed you a prophet to the nations" - Rashi explains: to Israel, who conducted themselves like the nations, for most of his prophecies were directed at Israel. Targum Yonatan renders it: "A prophet who gives the cup of curse to the nations to drink have I appointed you" - a prophet who makes the nations drink a cup of hemlock, as he would prophesy harsh and severe things against them. Another explanation: "Before you emerged from the womb I sanctified you" - concerning you I said to Moshe, "A prophet I will raise up for them like you," for this one rebuked them and that one rebuked them, this one prophesied for forty years and that one prophesied for forty years.
The Radak cites in the name of his father: When Hashem created the four elements, He knew him in potential through the laws of nature, and later brought him into actuality. That is to say, already within the primordial elements, the potential prototype of Yirmiyahu was embedded, and later, "before you emerged from the womb I sanctified you" - He brought him into actuality and dispatched him to prophecy.
The Radak asks: Surely the Holy One, blessed be He, knew all the prophets, all the righteous, and even the wicked before they came into being, for otherwise, Heaven forbid, He would not be the One Who "declares the generations from the beginning." If so, what is unique here? He answers that the intention is that his father and mother were meticulous in sanctity and purity from the time of conception, and this holy conduct brought about the birth of this extraordinary child.
The Radak then cites the words of the Rambam, which are fundamental: This applies to every prophet; it is impossible without a natural predisposition in his fundamental makeup to be fit for prophecy, coupled with training. That is to say, Heaven prepared him with a natural capacity for prophecy, but intentional training and study are also necessary, for without training, natural predisposition alone will not suffice. For this reason, the disciples of the prophets - the bnei hanevi'im - would follow the prophet to hear and absorb the paths to prophecy until they attained it: immense sanctity, immense purity, and intensive personal refinement. Yet without that foundational natural predisposition, one cannot receive prophecy, no matter how much he trains.
Based on this, the Radak asks: If so, why was this said specifically to Yirmiyahu, when it should rightly apply to every prophet? He answers: Here there was a need for a special declaration, because the Holy One, blessed be He, knew that Yirmiyahu was destined to decline, and words of persuasion were required: "Even before I formed you in the womb, I designated you for this mission, so how can you attempt to refuse? From the very start, I created you for this purpose."
The Radak asks further: If this is the explanation, why wasn't this said to Moshe, who also declined Hashem's command? He offers two answers. First: To Moshe, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave signs to fortify his heart - the sign of the burning bush, the staff turning into a serpent, and the leprous hand - miraculous signs by which he could act before Pharaoh, which were more powerful than any verbal statement. Second: Moshe Rabbeinu did not need such a statement, as he was extraordinarily wise and understood on his own that anyone destined to prophesy possesses an innate natural predisposition for prophecy from his very creation. Yirmiyahu, however, may not have realized this, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, needed to tell him this explicitly to persuade him to accept his mission.
The Radak shares another vital principle: Any wisdom or trait that dominates a person has some innate predisposition in his fundamental creation, which is then strengthened through practice and cultivation. This is a profound rule, applicable in both positive and negative directions. A person who is naturally inclined to kindness - if he activates it, trains in it, and repeats it, it will become deeply ingrained in him. A person inclined toward intellectual pursuits and wisdom has that root within him, and if he studies, he can develop it far further. And the reverse is also true: an intensely arrogant, wicked, or cruel person has that root within him, and as he acted cruelly and exercised it repeatedly, he effectively trained himself until it became second nature. Yet know that had he exerted himself and striven against it, he could have subdued and neutralized that inner inclination.
The Malbim adds that every prophet requires two conditions in order to prophesy. First, a natural predisposition: his temperament must be suited for prophecy, possessing perfection of the imaginative faculty, the intellect, and the other faculties of the soul. For if there is any defect in him, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not rest His prophecy upon a flawed vessel. Second, an earned preparation achieved through free will: what he accomplished through his own choices - sanctification, divine service, attachment to Hashem (deveikut), and fear of Heaven. Indeed, the Rambam writes regarding a prophet that his evil inclination does not overpower him in anything in the world, which reflects immense spiritual levels and attainments. Even when one possesses the natural predisposition, he still requires this earned preparation, actively making choices to become worthy of having the Shechinah rest upon him.
Here the Malbim introduces a novel insight: There is a distinction among the prophets, for there are two types of prophets - prophets for their own personal sake, and prophets for the sake of the community. This is something many do not realize, yet anyone who reflects on the matter must arrive at it. After all, how many prophets were there in Israel? Twice the number of those who left Egypt, 1,200,000. Yet when we open the books of the Prophets, how many do we find? Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses. Where are all the rest? The simple answer is: Prophecy that was needed for future generations was recorded, while prophecy that was not needed for future generations was not recorded.
On a deeper level: Many people assume that prophecy exists merely because Hashem wishes to communicate His word to the nation, and therefore delivers it through a prophet. This is a complete misconception. A prophet receives prophecy primarily as a vehicle to advance his own service of Hashem. When a person elevates and sanctifies himself, he becomes worthy and prepared for Hashem's word to accompany him, guiding him along the upright path. This is akin to the Maggid - the angelic mentor - who visited Rabbi Yosef Karo and taught him Torah; a substantial portion of the work Maggid Meisharim, transcribed from the angel's words to him, consists of rebukes, ethical teachings, and words of encouragement. This is the essence of prophecy: it comes to build the prophet's spiritual world and advance him. He reaches attainments where he unites with the Holy One, blessed be He - as we say, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" - for the Holy One, blessed be He, desires intimacy with those who serve Him and elevates him to sublime heights. And while the prophet is communing with Hashem, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: "I also have a mission for you; go and tell the people such-and-such." But the essence of prophecy is not primarily for the mission; rather, it is for the prophet's personal service of Hashem, his sanctification, and his ascent through levels of closeness to Hashem, may He be blessed.
The Malbim explains: Everything we stated regarding natural predisposition and earned preparation applies when a prophet attains prophecy for his own personal sake. But when the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to send an emissary to rebuke the nation and warn the nations, and no one is personally worthy of it - will He refrain, as it were, from delivering His word? To this, the Malbim says: When Hashem needs to send an emissary to the people and no individual has prepared himself for this on his own, Hashem chooses someone who finds favor in His eyes and readies him for prophecy; He alters his nature and assists his free will, so that through him He may achieve the desired purpose. In simple terms: If no one has accomplished this through his own efforts, Hashem says, "I will take someone and do it for him - I will change his nature and assist him in choosing good, and thereby he will be prepared to deliver My words to the people."
With this, the Malbim resolves a question frequently raised against the Rambam, who wrote that prophecy rests only upon those prepared for it: What then of Gideon? What of Manoach? And what of others about whom Chazal state that they were unlearned or simple individuals, and yet prophecy rested upon them? This explains it beautifully: The Rambam's words refer entirely to a prophet who attains prophecy for his own sake. But where there was a necessity to dispatch an emissary to the people, the Holy One, blessed be He, spiritually formed and elevated him so that he would be fit for the mission. This occurred not on account of the recipient's personal merit, but because of the needs of the Giver.
According to this, the verse is explained: Corresponding to the natural preparation, which occurs at the time of formation in the womb, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, "Before I formed you in the belly I knew you" - I Myself provided you with this preparation beforehand. And corresponding to the preparation through free choice, which begins the moment of emergence from the womb - for in his mother's womb a person has no free choice, and from that point onward everything depends on his choices - He says to him, "and before you came out of the womb I sanctified you." The meaning of this is: For your prophecy, you require neither natural preparation nor preparation through free choice like other prophets, for I established them for you and initiated this within you in a special way. And what is the reason? "A prophet to the nations I have appointed you" - since I have an assignment for you that is not a personal matter but a mission, and I have no one else fit and worthy of it, your prophecy is for My needs, so that you will proclaim My words to the nations.
In clarifying the terms, the Malbim explains the difference between "belly" (beten) and "womb" (rechem): The belly always denotes the stage prior to birth, where Hashem formed his faculties in potential, which constitutes the natural preparation. The womb designates the point of emergence at birth. Therefore, regarding the belly He says, "I formed you" (etzorcha), for the root of formation (yetzirah) refers to the shaping of the fetus's form, which takes shape after forty days of gestation; this is the specific verb for formation as distinct from creation (beri'ah) or completion (asiyah). And He says, "I knew you" (yeda'ticha), meaning that you are attached to the knowledge of Hashem, as in "Let us know, let us strive to know Hashem" (Hoshea 6:3), meaning that Divine Providence will accompany you because I desire that you deliver My prophecy to the people. And regarding the womb, which is the moment of birth and the onset of preparation through free choice, He says, "I sanctified you" - that you are holy and separated from all material concerns.
וָאֹמַר אֲהָהּ אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה הִנֵּה לֹא־יָדַעְתִּי דַּבֵּר כִּי־נַעַר אָנֹכִי׃ - And I said: "Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth."
The Malbim explains: Yirmiyahu argues that he lacks both preparations. I lack the natural preparation - "for I am a youth," lacking as yet intellectual perfection and character perfection. And I lack the preparation of free choice - "I do not know how to speak," I do not know how to rebuke or how to articulate these matters.
The Radak explains that he had two distinct arguments. First: "I do not know how to speak" - I do not know how to speak eloquently, in lofty rhetoric and fitting language. Second: "for I am a youth" - I lack the boldness to speak before great people; I am diffident. Would I truly confront an eminent person and rebuke him? Furthermore, public speaking requires experience, and anyone who speaks before an audience can attest to how much is gained through experience alone. Experience is the greatest teaching tool in every field, and all the more so in the art of speech; a youth does not know how to arrange his words eloquently and fluently, which requires extensive practice. There was yet another concern regarding the people: the people will not show respect to a youth, and in time they will rise up against me and kill me - as we will indeed see later in the book that they attempted to do to him.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי אַל־תֹּאמַר נַעַר אָנֹכִי כִּי עַל־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר אֶשְׁלָחֲךָ תֵּלֵךְ וְאֵת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוְּךָ תְּדַבֵּר׃ - But Hashem said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' for wherever I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak."
"Wherever I send you" and "whatever I command you" appear repetitive. Rashi explains: "I send you" - to the nations; "I command you" - to Israel. But the Malbim explains that here the Holy One, blessed be He, addresses all three of his concerns: two on his own part, and one on the part of the people.
The first concern - I lack the courage to speak before great men. To this He says, "for wherever I send you, you shall go": When is a person afraid to go? When he must speak words of his own. But the king's emissary - does he lack the courage to go and speak? He does not come in his own name, but in the name of the king. You come on My mission, as the emissary of a great King, and you have nothing to fear or be embarrassed about.
The second concern, regarding the people - that they will not accept it from me. This, too, falls away for the same reason: they would not accept it from you if you came in your own name, as a mere youth and child, where they might say, "What do you have to tell us?" But when you come in the name of the King, what difference does it make whom He sent? The words are the King's words, and the King is exalted and supreme.
And the third concern - that I do not possess the eloquent rhetoric necessary to address the people. To this He says, "and whatever I command you, you shall speak": You are not speaking words of your own, but words that I command you; I place My words in your mouth, and you are simply reciting what was told to you. Therefore, you need not fear that your language will not be fitting or rich enough for words of prophecy.
אַל־תִּירָא מִפְּנֵיהֶם כִּי־אִתְּךָ אֲנִי לְהַצִּלֶךָ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה׃ - "Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says Hashem."
Here there is a sort of promise for all generations: do not fear and do not worry; if you walk with the Holy One, blessed be He, He will be there to help you. Yirmiyahu still feared that they might kill him, so the Holy One, blessed be He, tells him: this really does not depend on you, I will save you. However, the promise was to save him from being killed, not that he would be spared all harm. Indeed, throughout the entire book we see that Yirmiyahu was saved from the sword and saved from death, but they inflicted harm upon him many times.
וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהֹוָה אֶת־יָדוֹ וַיַּגַּע עַל־פִּי וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי דְבָרַי בְּפִיךָ׃ - "Then Hashem put forth His hand, and touched my mouth; and Hashem said to me: Behold, I have put My words in your mouth."
The Radak explains that "Hashem put forth His hand" refers to an angel that appeared to him and spoke in the name of Hashem. This is an explanation that recurs often throughout Tanach: when the Name of Hashem is written, it does not mean that the Infinite Essence directly contacts a person, but rather that it occurs through an angel. Therefore, at times matters are expressed in the Name of Hashem, and at times in the name of the angel. An example is the Akeidat Yitzchak, where the Holy One, blessed be He, speaks to Avraham, and afterwards the angel says to him: "Do not lay your hand upon the lad, neither do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God" - and who is saying "I know"? Surely nothing is new to an angel; rather, the way the Holy One, blessed be He, establishes contact is through the angel in whom His Name resides, and therefore the angel can say "I know."
The Radak further asks: If the Holy One, blessed be He, came to speak with him, the verse should have said "and He touched my ear," since He was conveying a message to him. Why "and He touched my mouth"? It is because Yirmiyahu had claimed that his mouth was unrefined; his mouth was still that of a youth who did not know how to speak in an eloquent and fitting manner. Therefore, a touch was made to the mouth that transformed something within him, so that his mouth would be perfected and he would be able to speak with clear enunciation and authoritative language. "And He touched my mouth" - He performed an action through which his mouth would be able to fulfill the mission.
The Malbim explains that every extension of the hand mentioned in the context of prophecy refers to the granting of power from the Holy One, blessed be He, to act and function according to the Divine command. "The hand of Hashem" always expresses the capacity to act, to fulfill something, and to operate within reality and nature. When it comes with a strong hand, like the mighty hand and the great hand at the Exodus from Egypt and the Splitting of the Red Sea, it signifies a powerful action operating with tremendous force. When it appears in the context of prophecy, it means that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives the prophet immense strength and courage to deliver the words to the people, granting him heavenly assistance, or moving him and transporting him from his place with a strong hand as written in Yechezkel, or carrying him to see wondrous visions, which is also mentioned in Yechezkel. And He says to him, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth": in response to your fear that you will not know how to speak - I have placed the words themselves in your mouth, and thereby I have also granted you the power of speech in its ultimate perfection.
רְאֵה הִפְקַדְתִּיךָ הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה עַל־הַגּוֹיִם וְעַל־הַמַּמְלָכוֹת לִנְתוֹשׁ וְלִנְתוֹץ וּלְהַאֲבִיד וְלַהֲרוֹס לִבְנוֹת וְלִנְטוֹעַ׃ - "See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
Anyone familiar with the Malbim knows that a verse of this sort provides fertile ground for his exposition. "Over the nations and over the kingdoms" - what are nations, and what are kingdoms? Furthermore, there are six expressions here: to root out, to pull down, to destroy, to overthrow, to build, and to plant. Each one requires an explanation as to why it is not a mere repetition of the preceding one. As we already know from the Malbim's consistent approach, there is no such thing as redundant phrasing or synonymous repetition; rather, every single expression comes to articulate precisely the specific point it intended to convey.
The Malbim explains: Whether we speak of the destruction of the nations and kingdoms, destroying them and tearing them down, or whether we speak of their building and planting - with the Holy One, blessed be He, there is no destruction for its own sake. Destruction is always for the sake of rebuilding, and uprooting and tearing down are always for the sake of planting, for with the Holy One, blessed be He, absence always precedes existence.
We have already discussed this several times: before every good beginning, there is absence. Before the day, there is darkness. Before the redemption, there is a state in which redemption is concealed. Before the Exodus from Egypt, there were two hundred and ten years of servitude, and a moment before the departure, "Let heavier work be laid upon the men, and let them not regard lying words," the height of darkness and gloom: "Straw is not given to your servants, yet they say to us: Make bricks!" The morning star is always at the deepest, darkest point of the night, just moments before the morning light breaks forth. And so it is with the emergence of life: when a seed is placed in the soil, the first stage is decomposition, and only the second stage produces growth. When seed enters a woman's womb, the first stage is breakdown, and the second stage brings forth life. All along the way, we see that before emerging into great light, there is a stage of darkness and absence, for absence precedes existence and death precedes life.
From here we turn to the precise meaning of the terms. The Malbim explains: the verb natash is not used here in the sense familiar to us in modern spoken Hebrew (to abandon); rather, in Lashon HaKodesh it is an expression specific to plantings. One who 'abandons' (notesh) a planting actually uproots it. In contrast, natatz and haras are expressions specific to buildings: when one destroys a building, one smashes and tears it down, but when one uproots a planting, one plucks it up (notesh).
Proof of this comes from the verses: "That which I have built I am tearing down, and that which I have planted I am plucking up" - tearing down corresponds to building, and plucking up (netishah) corresponds to planting. Likewise: "And I will build them and not tear them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up." We see clearly that planting corresponds to uprooting what was planted, which is netishah, while building corresponds to tearing down.
We began with Chapter 1 of Sefer Yirmiyahu. The first three verses form an orderly introduction: the nature of the book ("The words" - everything is contained within it), the identity of its author (Yirmiyahu son of Chilkiyahu, of distinguished lineage and the son of the Kohen Gadol), his location (Anatot in the land of Binyamin, so that he could rebuke without partiality and without being beholden to anyone), its source ("to whom the word of Hashem came" - from a spring of living water), and when he prophesied (during three different eras in the standing of the king and the nation, with his prophecies fulfilled in all of them). Afterwards, we learned the secret of his mission: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" - that the Holy One, Blessed is He, Himself prepared both his natural disposition and his capacity for free-willed preparation, because this prophecy was not for his own sake but for the sake of bestowing upon others: "a prophet to the nations I appointed you." Yirmiyahu argued, "I am a youth" and "I do not know how to speak," and the Holy One, Blessed is He, addressed all of his concerns: you are the emissary of the King, My words are in your mouth, and do not fear, for I am with you to deliver you. And finally, his appointment "over nations and over kingdoms" - to pluck up and to smash, to build and to plant, teaching us that with the Holy One, Blessed is He, destruction exists only as a prelude to building, for absence always precedes existence.