With the help of Hashem we will act and succeed. Today we begin the study of Sefer Yirmiyahu. Yirmiyahu chapter 1.
"The words of Yirmiyahu son of Chilkiyahu, from the kohanim who were in Anatot in the land of Binyamin." The words of Yirmiyahu son of Chilkiyahu. The Radak asks: who is this Chilkiyahu? We have already met Chilkiyahu, Chilkiyahu son of Shafan the kohen, who was in the Beit HaMikdash and found a Torah scroll in the days of Yoshiyahu, and the scroll was open at the place where it is written, "Hashem will lead you and your king," and he came and told the king, and the king tore his garments, as we already learned in Sefer Melachim. His son was Yirmiyahu; this is Yirmiyahu son of Chilkiyahu. "From the kohanim who were in Anatot." "From" - Rashi renders it as from a portion of the kohanim, and the Targum says "from the amarkalim," meaning from the important men among the kohanim who were in Yerushalayim. Anatot was one of the cities of the kohanim, as is written in Sefer Yehoshua, that the kohanim had cities in which they dwelt, one of them being the city of Anatot, and there the kohanim lived.
Chazal say, and Rashi brings it: "The words of Yirmiyahu son of Chilkiyahu" - let the son of one who was corrupt yet whose deeds were set right come and rebuke the son of one who was set right yet whose deeds became corrupt. Let the son of the corrupt one whose deeds are set right come. The corrupt one is Rachav; Yirmiyahu is a descendant of Rachav, and his deeds were set right, that lineage did not influence him for the worse, and on the contrary he was completely righteous. And let him rebuke the son of the one who was set right yet whose deeds became corrupt, meaning let him rebuke Israel, who are the children of the one set right, that is, descended from righteous women, yet whose deeds became corrupt. The one who came from a corrupt source is righteous; you who came from a source that was set right - how much more so is it demanded of you to be righteous. Therefore the claim against them comes specifically through him, for he is the whip, he is the book of rebuke from which they must learn.
The Midrash, brought by the Radak, asks: why did it open with "the words of Yirmiyahu son of Chilkiyahu"? Why "the words"? Why not "the vision"? Why "the words"? It says: because this book includes words of prophecy that he prophesied concerning Israel and concerning the nations, as well as his own words, what happened to him in his prophecy with Israel. That is to say, there are not only prophecies here, but there is also the account of his own words, what happened to him personally. Since this is so, it opened with "the words." But the Radak brings a Midrash which states that three prophets wrote in their own idiom. What does this mean? That three prophets write their book in the first person: I recount what happened to me. And why? The Midrash says: because their prophecy consisted of words of reproach, therefore their prophecy was attributed to themselves. "Words of reproach" means they said sharp things to the people, they said things that provoked the hearts of the people, and therefore their speech is, as it were, in the first person. And simply one can say that the intent of the matter is, as it were, that you should not think this comes from Me, says Hashem, I did not say to say it in this manner, in a way of reproach, as it were; rather, when one must say words of reproach, it is like what is written, "and the darkness He called night" - it is not that Hashem calls the darkness night, He does not associate His Name, may He be blessed, with the darkness, but rather it is called in a general manner. "And Elokim called the light day" - that is Hashem, the day Hashem calls to it, but the night, as it were, is not from Hashem. Though it is certainly from Hashem, but Hashem does not single out His Name upon it. Here too there are words of reproach: say it, as it were, in your own name. Though it is certainly a prophecy from Hashem, just as the darkness was certainly created by Hashem, but as it were, Hashem does not single out His Name upon it.
Who are they? The words of Kohelet, the words of Amos, the words of Yirmiyahu. They speak as though recounting about themselves. "I, Kohelet, was king in Yerushalayim." Amos too recounts in the first person, "Amos has conspired against you," as one speaks of himself. Yirmiyahu too recounts his own words: Hashem said to me, "Before I formed you in the belly I knew you," I said to Him that I am not worthy, and so on. As it were, he recounts about himself in the first person, and further on we will also see that he recounts the troubles they did to him. So the whole book, its most significant portions, come in the first person, and therefore it opened with "the words of Yirmiyahu son of Chilkiyahu," for Yirmiyahu himself is the one recounting what befell him, since his words are words of reproach.
The Malbim says that the first three pesukim of the book here are in fact an introduction, to describe to us what we are about to read, to describe to us the character of the book and its author, and this is a kind of preparation for what we will read further on. First of all, when a person wants to approach a book, there are several matters, parameters, criteria that he wants to check in order to be interested at all, whether it is worthwhile for me to open it or not. When we are dealing with the holy books and the writings of prophecy, then it is certainly not a question of whether I am interested in opening it or not, but even so, one must be given some introduction as to what lies before me.
First of all, what interests us is: what is this book? There is a book of rebuke, there is a book of poetry, there is a book of words of wisdom, like Mishlei and Kohelet. What is this book? Is it a book spoken by way of metaphor and allegory like Shir HaShirim, or by way of narrative? What is this book? On this it says "the words," the first word. What is "the words"? As the Radak said, it includes everything. All the matters: visions, prophecies, narratives, rebukes, everything is in it. That is "the words."
Second, it is important for us to know who the author is. Because there may be a very interesting book, you open it, you see who the author is, it turns out to be some heretic or who knows what, and you immediately send it to the genizah. Yes, listen, he has nice things, interesting things, indeed, nice, interesting, but it is important to know who wrote it. If the one who wrote it is not an upright person, we will not read his books. Once a Jew came to the Brisker Rav and said to him: I heard that the Rav told his students not to come to my sermons. He said to him: yes, that is true. He asked him: and why? Everything I say is only from the words of Chazal, things that are written, and everything I say - I do not tell them views of my own, nor anything, only what is written. He recognized in him that his views were distorted. The Brisker Rav said to him: I will ask you a question in halachah. He was delighted - here the Brisker Rav himself understands that he knows halachah too, so that the Rav should not think he is an ignoramus. Yes, please, let the Rav ask. He said to him: tell me, what is the law regarding a pot which itself is a non-kosher pot, but we cooked in it meat that is kosher to the highest standard, with the certification of the Eidah HaChareidis. What is the status of the food? He said to him: what do you mean, it is forbidden to eat. He said to him: I do not understand, why is it forbidden to eat? After all, this is kosher meat. He said to him: yes, but in what pot was it cooked? The Rav said to him: do you hear what you are saying? Your Torah is very kosher, but in what pot was it cooked? And he says to him, pointing at his head: in what pot was this cooked? When it is cooked in a crooked pot, then even the most kosher food comes out crooked. And therefore it is important for us to know who the author is. On this it tells you Yirmiyahu son of Chilkiyahu, he was a prophet, he was of distinguished lineage, his father was a kohen gadol and a prophet, his father was also wealthy, for they would enrich the kohen gadol, "the kohen who is greatest among his brothers" - make him great from that of his brothers. So it also tells you about the author of the book, his stature and importance.
Another matter: it tells me about his place, "who were in Anatot." Why is it really important for me to emphasize "who were in Anatot"? Because Anatot was a city of kohanim where there were special people in the fear of Hashem, and he was from the land of Binyamin and not from Yerushalayim. Why this emphasis? Because we know that there is no prophet in his own city. You always know that when someone comes to rebuke and he is from the place, they do not accept from him. Ah, so he has become righteous, he is one of us, they do not accept from him. When you want to give rebuke, it is preferable that someone else come. Even now, when one wishes to rebuke his own congregation in his place, let him bring in a recruit. Bring another rav from another place to say things that are sharp. From you it is hard for them to accept. This is the reality of people. So in practice, had he been from Yerushalayim and tried to rebuke them, it would have been hard for them to accept. It is easier for people to accept someone from outside. We know that once there was a certain local rav who passed away, and in that place there was an elderly talmid chacham who was truly upright and worthy, but the community did not take him, as I said, there is no prophet in his own city. They went and brought some fellow, someone young, who did not understand much, not this, but he found favor in their eyes, so they brought him. The rav heard this and saw whom they had brought in his place, as it were - he was supposed to be appointed there, he was one of the local people and a talmid chacham and everything - and they went and brought such a fellow. He said to them: now a difficulty of mine has been resolved. What is the difficulty? He said to them: I never understood, the sin of the golden calf came in the wake of the fact that "this Moshe, the man, we do not know what became of him." Moshe the leader is gone. You are right, he is gone. Who is in Moshe's place? There is Aharon here. Take Aharon for yourselves. He said: from here I learned that they prefer to bring even a calf from outside rather than take Aharon. You understand whom he means to hint at, whom they went and brought. They prefer to bring a calf from outside, the main thing being not to bring someone we already know. In any case, it comes and tells you: he could rebuke them. He would not show favoritism, he would not cover for anyone, he would not think, no, that one, listen, maybe he will employ me someday, the second one rents me the house, the third one recently sent a very respectable mishloach manot, it is unpleasant to say hard things to him. He would take no one into account, he would come and say the things without embellishment.
I told you that once Rav Baadani went to Rav Shach in order to buy the Avi Ezri from him. So he told him that two volumes were missing. He asked him why, what do you mean missing? He said to him: when a printing is done I will have it. He asked him: when will there be a printing? He said to him: I do not know, when enough money is gathered I will do a printing. He said to him: money? With a few phone calls I can get you donors here who will print the entire book for the Rav for free. Rav Shach said to him: with one phone call I can. There is no need for several phone calls. But he said: ever since I became a leader for the public, I took upon myself not to accept a penny from any person. From anyone. Why? Some body would support me, would give to me, would print my books for me, and tomorrow or the day after I would see that they are establishing, who knows, some small "progressive" yeshivah. And Rav Shach, after all, always fought over every matter of Torah and Judaism with fire and spear. He said: could I say something to them? Could I go out to protest against them? Could I stand the faith firmly in place? It is over, you received something from him, you are already bound to him, you are attached to him, you have no word. Rav Shach said to him: I am waiting until I personally accumulate money, and when I have enough money I will print the book. So we understand that when a person is connected to people, he already owes them, he can no longer do things independently. I read about someone, I read about, well, the rav of Kiryat Ata, Rav Yaakobovitz I believe, I am not sure. About the rav of Kiryat Ata, a Jew who was a great talmid chacham. They tell about him that he never wanted to take money from the religious council or anything. Once they tried to pressure him, they said to him: let the Rav be an official rav on behalf of the council and receive a salary and so on. He said to them: no, no, I do not want. They said to him: what, what is the Rav worried about? Is the Rav worried about his halachic freedom? We will not dictate to you what to do, we will not dictate to you how to rule, you will be able to do things as you understand. He said to them: you think that after you bring me a salary I will wait for instructions from you? I will run to you to ask what you want me to do. Do you hear? I will not wait for you to come, I will run to you to ask what, what I now need to do. It is over, you received a salary, you are subordinate to him, you are attached to him, whatever he says you will do. Therefore it says no, here this prophet is from the land of Binyamin, he is not from Yerushalayim at all, therefore when he came to Yerushalayim to prophesy, he had no accounts with anyone, he owed no one anything, he could say the things without embellishment.
A fourth matter, says the Malbim: it is important for us to know from what source he says the things. When a person comes and says something, I can know what your documents are, on what you rely, what the foundations are for the things you are writing to me here. It may be from the intellect, it may be from examination - he did research and reached conclusions, it may be from the mouths of scribes and books. On this it says "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." Know that he drew his words from a source of living waters, from the word of Hashem Himself.
A fifth matter that is important for us to know, says the Malbim: what was the time in which the prophet prophesied. And on this it tells you it was in the days of Yoshiyahu son of Amon, and in fact it tells us that it was in three different periods. And not for nothing do I say "different," for these were truly periods different from one another - periods in which the standing of the people and the standing of the king changed. The beginning of his prophecy was in the days of Yoshiyahu son of Amon, king of Yehudah, who and whose generation were righteous. Yoshiyahu was righteous and his generation was righteous. And he began in the thirteenth year of his reign, for then he had the maturity to serve Hashem; then he begins to prophesy to Yoshiyahu. "And it was in the days of Yehoyakim son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, until the completion of the eleventh year of Tzidkiyahu son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, until the exile of Yerushalayim in the fifth month." It tells you his prophecy continued and persisted also in the days of Yehoyakim, when in the days of Yehoyakim the generation was righteous but Yehoyakim was wicked. The king was wicked. "Until the completion of the eleventh year of Tzidkiyahu," when the standing of the people changed, for the people were wicked but Tzidkiyahu himself was righteous. That is to say, in all the periods - both when the people and the king were righteous, both when the people were righteous and the king wicked, both when the people were wicked and the king righteous - in all these periods he prophesied, and all his prophecies were fulfilled.
"And the word of Hashem came to me, saying." Yirmiyahu now begins to recount the words of his prophecy. Hashem says to me: "Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." "Before I formed you in the belly I knew you" - on this Rashi says: from the days of Adam HaRishon the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Adam each generation and its prophets. This is "before I formed you in the belly I knew you," meaning already from then, from Adam HaRishon, already then I showed him Yirmiyahu as a prophet. You know that Rav Naftali of Ropshitz once said: the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Adam HaRishon each generation and its expositors, each generation and its sages, each generation and its prophets. He asks: fine, it is interesting for Adam HaRishon to see the prophets, the sages, the expositors, but what interest is it to Adam HaRishon to see the generation? Whom did he see? Lozianka the tavern keeper? What is that of interest to him? So he said: they showed Adam HaRishon Naftali. Thus said Rav Naftali of Ropshitz about himself. They showed him Naftali. So he said: ah, Naftali is among the sages? Naftali is among the expositors? They showed him the generation, ah, he said, all right, all right, relative to this generation Naftali too fits, that is fine. He says therefore it had to show him each generation and its expositors. The generation - He had to show him the generation so that he would understand, in accordance with it, the expositors, so that he would not think the great ones are so small, so that he would understand the level of the generation, and he would understand that the expositors in that generation are also truly great relatively.
"I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." What is "I have appointed you a prophet to the nations"? Rashi explains: to Israel, who conducted themselves crookedly. Do you hear? What is "to the nations"? After all, many of his prophecies are about Israel. Why do you say "to the nations"? So he says: to Israel, who behave like the nations. Targum Yonatan says: a prophet who gives the cup of cursing to the nations I have appointed you. A prophet who gives the cup of poison to the nations I have appointed you. It comes out that according to the Targum this in fact truly speaks of the nations, for the one who prophesies sharp and harsh things against them - that will be you. Another explanation: "before you came forth from the womb I consecrated you" - concerning you I said to Moshe, "a prophet I will raise up for them like you." When I said to Moshe, "a prophet I will raise up for them like you," I meant you. And why? Because this one rebuked them and this one rebuked them. Moshe rebuked them with harsh words, and so did Yirmiyahu. This one prophesied for 40 years and this one prophesied for 40 years.
The Radak explains: "before I formed you in the belly I knew you." My father and master wrote - thus he brings it in the name of his father - when Hashem created the four elements, He knew him potentially within nature and afterward brought him forth into actuality. The meaning is: when Hashem formed the elements, already then within the element the likeness of Yirmiyahu was placed, and afterward "before you came forth from the womb I consecrated you," He brought him forth into actuality and sent him to prophecy. He asks, seemingly: after all, all the prophets, all the righteous, and also the wicked, the Holy One, blessed be He, knew them even before they existed. For if not, God forbid, does Hashem not read the generations from the beginning? Does the Holy One, blessed be He, not know who will be and what will be and how it will be? Of course He does. So what is unique here in "before I formed you in the belly I knew you" - and the rest Hashem did not know? Is this a novelty for Him? He says that the intent of the matter here is that his father and mother were careful in holiness and purity already from the time of conception. This is the meaning of "before I formed you in the belly I knew you": already from the outset there was here an act of holiness that gave birth to this special child.
But he brings here things that the Rambam writes, and the Rambam's words are very fundamental. There were those who raised difficulties with them, but let us see the things relevant to us. The Rambam wrote: this is the matter of every prophet - it is impossible for him without a natural preparation in the essence of his formation, that he be fit for prophecy along with training. Every prophet has a natural preparation, that is to say, from Heaven the Holy One, blessed be He, prepared him within his nature to be capable of prophecy, and he also needs training. For if he does not train, he will not have it; the natural preparation alone will not help him. He also needs to practice, and he also needs to be among the disciples of the prophets, as we learned, that the disciples of the prophets would go with the prophet in order to hear and receive from him the ways of prophecy until they attained prophecy. Much holiness, much purity, much self-work, but he needs to have the preparation. He needs to have the preparation; without the basic natural preparation he will not be able to receive prophecy even if he trains a great deal. Accordingly the Radak asks: so why, if so, was this said specifically to Yirmiyahu? After all, these things you would have to say to every other prophet as well, for regarding every other prophet too, truly "before I formed you in the belly I knew you," he needs the natural preparation that the Holy One, blessed be He, prepares for him already from the outset. And he explains that here a special statement was needed because He knew that Yirmiyahu would refuse. And since this was so, words of persuasion were needed. And the words of persuasion are: what are you talking about, even before I formed you in the belly I designated you for this role, so how are you now trying to refuse? After all, from the outset I created you for this purpose. The Radak asks: ah, if this is the plain meaning, then why was this not said to Moshe? Moshe was also a prophet who refused the word of Hashem. He should have said to Moshe: Moshe, before I formed you in the belly I knew you, go redeem Israel. Moshe refuses, so why was this word of persuasion not said to him as well? He answers: to Moshe it was not needed, because to Moshe the Holy One, blessed be He, showed signs in order to strengthen his heart. He gave him the sign of the burning bush and the matter with the serpent and the matter with the leprous hand. So He gave him signs with which he could influence Pharaoh and perform them before Pharaoh. That is one thing, so to Moshe He did not need to say "before I formed you in the belly I knew you," when He gave him something stronger than that, and these are actual signs that he can perform and do. Another thing he says: because Moshe Rabbeinu did not need this statement. Moshe Rabbeinu was a great sage, wise enough of his own understanding to know that truly a person, from the essence of his formation, has within him a natural preparation for prophecy, for everyone who is destined to prophesy. So in practice, to Moshe He did not need to say "before I formed you in the belly I knew you," it was not new to him. But Yirmiyahu may not have known this, and this the Holy One, blessed be He, needed to say to him in order to persuade him to go on His mission.
Another thing he says: every wisdom and every disposition in a person in which he excels, he has some preparation for it in the essence of his formation, and it will grow strong through training. Well, this is truly a very important principle: to know that every disposition in a person, he has it, so to speak, in its root, and if you train in it, you will have it more. And this is both for the good and for the opposite. Also in good traits: a person who is one of kindness, that is to say, by his nature he does kindness, but if you activate it, train in it, repeat it, this will instill the matter in you more deeply. A person inclined to intellectual matters and to attainment in wisdom and so on, you have it in the root, but if you study, you will be able to develop it much more. And also wickedness: a person who is greatly haughty, a person who is greatly wicked, who is cruel, has it in the root, and since he went and became cruel and activated it more and more, he, so to speak, trained in it, and this thing became a second nature to him. But know that he truly has it in the root, and had he exerted himself and overcome it, he would have succeeded in nullifying this inner force.
The Malbim adds for us here a piece of knowledge, and the Malbim says that every prophet, in order to be able to prophesy, requires two conditions. First, as we explained according to the Rambam, natural preparation. What is natural preparation? That his temperament be prepared for prophecy. The perfection of the faculty of imagination, the intellectual faculty, the other faculties of the soul - all this is needed so that he be capable of receiving prophecy. If there is some deficiency in him, how can prophecy be given to him? The Holy One, blessed be He, does not rest His prophecy upon a flawed vessel. Another thing is the preparation of free choice. The preparation of free choice is what you did with your free choice: you sanctified yourself, service of Hashem, cleaving to Hashem, fear of Heaven. After all, the Rambam writes about the prophet that his evil inclination does not overcome him in anything in the world. We are speaking of levels, of tremendous attainments. This is the level of a prophet. So that is to say, even when you have the natural preparation, you need the preparation of free choice, that is, to perform acts by your choice in order to be worthy of that resting of the Shechinah.
Pay attention, and here is the great "however." The Malbim says: there is a distinction in this among the prophets. There are two kinds of prophets. There are prophets for their own need, and there are prophets for the need of the community. This is something that many do not know, but anyone who reflects must arrive at this conclusion. After all, we know how many prophets Israel had? Double the number of those who came out of Egypt. One million two hundred thousand. Even so, when we open the books of prophecy, how many prophets do we find? Forty-eight prophets - is there one more? Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses. Correct? That is the number of the prophets. Now, wait, you told me one million two hundred thousand, so where are they all? The answer is: a prophecy that was needed for the generations was written down, a prophecy that was not needed for the generations was not written down. And more deeply, one must know that the matter of receiving prophecy is not as many think. Why does a prophet receive prophecy? What do you mean why? Hashem wants to make His word known to the people, so He transmits it through a prophet. A complete error. The prophet receives prophecy as a vehicle to advance him in the service of Hashem. For when a person rises up in the service of Hashem, when a person sanctifies himself, he is worthy and prepared for the word of Hashem to be with him to guide him in the straight path, like the maggid, the angel that came to Rabbi Yosef Karo and taught him Torah, and a significant part of Maggid Meisharim, which is the book that Rabbi Yosef Karo composed from the words of the angel to him, consists of rebukes, these are words of mussar, words of encouragement. This is the prophecy. Prophecy comes to build the spiritual world of the prophet, it comes to advance him spiritually. He reached attainments where he unites with the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Holy One, blessed be He, as we say "let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth," the Holy One, blessed be He, desires to cleave to those who serve Him, and through this the Holy One, blessed be He, elevates him and brings him to attainments. Incidentally, when the prophet connects to Hashem, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: fine, I also have a mission for you. Go and say a message to the people such and such, go and say thus. But the essence of prophecy is not at all for a mission. The essence of prophecy is for the private service of Hashem of the prophet, the elevation of the prophet, the sanctification of the prophet, ascent in the levels of closeness to Hashem, may He be blessed. This is the essence of the matter of prophecy.
The Malbim says: all that we said, that it requires natural preparation and preparation of free choice - natural preparation, that he is worthy from the standpoint of his temperament, his nature, all these matters, and also preparation of free choice, service of Hashem and cleaving to Hashem - this is so that the prophet will receive prophecy for his own need. So that through this he will merit prophecy on his own account. But by contrast, when the prophet is sent by Hashem - if the Holy One, blessed be He, now wants to send a messenger to rebuke the people, to warn the nations and rebuke the peoples - and then we do not have such a one. As I said earlier, if there is such a one, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: excellent, you are worthy and upright, come and I will also give you missions. But if there is no such one, then what, the Holy One, blessed be He, will not send anyone? Because we do not have someone who is worthy of it, we do not have someone who is prepared for it, so the Holy One, blessed be He, is, as it were, prevented from saying His word? What is the plain meaning of this? The Malbim says: when Hashem needs to send a messenger to the people and there is no man prepared for it on his own account, Hashem chooses the man who is good in His eyes and prepares him for prophecy by changing his nature and assisting him regarding his choice, so that through him He attains the desired purpose. In simple words, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: if no one made this for himself, I will take someone and make it for him. What will I do for him? I will change his nature, I will help him choose the good, and through this he will be prepared for Me to say My words to the people. And with this you will find a resolution to what they greatly challenged the Rambam on, for the Rambam says that prophecy rests only upon those prepared for it. What will you say about Gidon? What will you say about Manoach? What will you say about others whom Chazal say were ignorant, who were unlearned people? And behold, prophecy rested upon them. What is the plain meaning of this? Very wonderful, according to what we have now explained: all that the Rambam speaks of is about a prophet who needs to attain attainments for his own need. What we are speaking of is when there was necessity to send someone to the people, so the Holy One, blessed be He, so to speak, built him up spiritually so that he would be worthy to be sent to transmit prophecy to the people. This was not because of the merit of the recipient, but because of the need of the One who bestows. Hashem has a need to bestow, so He transmitted and built someone up spiritually, and this is the man now fit to transmit the word of Hashem.
So corresponding to the natural preparation that a prophet requires, which can be when he is formed in the belly, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: I knew you even before I formed you in the belly. I of My own prepared this preparation for you, I provided this preparation for you in advance, for I know that you of your own account would not be upright. And therefore I provided you with this preparation in advance so that you would be ready for it. And corresponding to the preparation of free choice, which requires that he choose the good of his own account, on this He says to him: the preparation of free choice, from what stage does it begin? From the moment he comes forth from the womb. From here, from here you are independent. From here it all depends on your choice. When will he acquire some intellect - yes, of course. But from here you already depend on your choice. In his mother's womb he has no choice. So corresponding to the preparation of free choice He says to him: even before you came forth from the womb I consecrated you for prophecy. The meaning of the matter: you do not need, for your prophecy, either natural preparation or preparation of free choice, as the other prophets do, for I made this for you. For I in a special way initiated this in you. What is the reason? For "I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." That is the end of the pasuk. The meaning of the matter: since I have a role for you, and the role is not a private matter, but as we explained, I want you to carry out a mission and I wish for you to rebuke the people, and I do not have a man upright and worthy for this, therefore "I have appointed you a prophet to the nations," your prophecy is for My needs, so that you will say My words to the nations.
The Malbim, in explaining the words, explains that what He said, "before I formed you in the belly," and afterward He said "womb" - the difference between "belly" and "womb" is that the belly always expresses the stage before birth. And then Hashem formed within him the faculties as we said, potentially, meaning the natural preparation. The "womb" indicates the place of the child's emergence at the time of birth. And therefore regarding the belly He said "I formed you." "I formed you" is creation ex nihilo. It is the weaving of the child's form, that after 40 days of gestation the form of the child is woven. This is always the verb of formation, as distinct from "to create" or "to make." And He says to him "I knew you," which means that you cleave to the knowledge of Hashem, like "and she will know Hashem," that individual providence will accompany you - from what standpoint? From the standpoint that I wish for you to transmit My prophecy to the people. Regarding the womb He says to him "before you came forth from the womb," for as we explained, this comes to express the moment of birth, speaking of the preparation of free choice. "I consecrated you" comes to say that you are holy and separated from all matters of the material, which is the preparation of free choice.
And he says: "Alas, Hashem Elokim, behold I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth." Yirmiyahu hears the words, and he says: alas, Hashem Elokim, behold I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth. The Malbim says: Yirmiyahu claims that he lacks the natural preparation. Why? Because he is a youth. A youth, he does not yet have intellectual perfection, he does not have the perfection of character traits, he is still a youth. So I lack the natural preparation. Second, I lack the preparation of free choice. Why? Because I do not know how to speak. I do not know how to speak, I do not have the preparation of free choice, I do not know how to speak, how to rebuke, how to say the things.
The Radak explains: "Alas, Hashem Elokim, behold I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth." The Radak says: Yirmiyahu makes two claims. The first claim: I do not know how to speak. I do not know how to speak eloquently. I do not know how to speak in figurative language. I do not know how to speak in fitting language. The second thing: for I am a youth. I am a youth, and I do not have the boldness of face to speak before great ones. I am embarrassed, it is unpleasant for me. So I should come to a great man and rebuke him? Another thing: in order to speak, one needs experience. One needs experience. It is a reality: every person who speaks before a public will tell you how much he acquired with the help of his experience. Experience is the best learning tool in every field. In every field. Certainly also in the matter of speaking. And the youth does not know how to arrange his words in eloquence, in refined language; for this one needs much practice. Another thing, from the standpoint of the people: for the people will not show favor to a youth, and eventually they will rise up against me and kill me. As we will see further on that they once tried to. So in practice: Master of the Universe, with all the preparation and all the honor of this preparation, but still I am a youth, and as such I am not worthy of the mission.
"And 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." Hashem says to him: 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" - this is a repetition. Rashi explains: "wherever I send you," the meaning is I will send you to the nations. "Whatever I command you," the meaning is to Israel. The Malbim explains that here He in fact comes to answer him regarding the three concerns. You had two concerns from your side and one concern from the side of the people. From your side: I do not have the courage to speak before great ones. Second: I am not accustomed to speech of the kind that requires elevated and figurative language. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: you have nothing to fear. What you fear, from the standpoint that you are a youth and your heart will not embolden you to approach and speak before great ones - "wherever I send you, you shall go." The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: when is a person afraid to go on a mission? When I need to say things of my own. So how do I say such things? How will I stand? I do not have the boldness. But if I am the king's messenger, do I lack the boldness to go and speak? I do not come in my own name, I come to say what the king said. I have no concerns about this. Therefore He says to him: here you come on a mission, on the mission of a great King. "Wherever I send you," you come on My mission. And if you come on My mission, you have nothing to fear and nothing to be ashamed of, you are in the name of a great King. Another thing: what will you say, they will not accept the things from me? This too falls away by itself, for they would not accept from you when you come in your own name. A youth, a child, this is what you have to tell us? But by contrast, when I come in the name of the King, what difference does it make whom He sent? I come to say the word of the King, and the King is exalted and lofty. So these two concerns fell away. What remains, the last concern? That seemingly I do not have figurative language, language with which one can speak before the people. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: about this you have nothing to fear. "Whatever I command you, you shall speak." You will not speak your own words, but rather you will speak things that I command you. If these are things that I command you, I place My words in your mouth, and consequently you are only, so to speak, reciting what I tell you to speak. And since this is so, you have no need to fear lest your speech not be fitting and rich and elevated enough to speak words of prophecy.
"Do not fear before them, for I am with you to save you, says Hashem." There is here a kind of assurance for the generations: do not fear and do not worry, if you go with the Holy One, blessed be He, the Holy One, blessed be He, will be your help. What does Hashem say to him here? The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: do not fear before them, for I am with you to save you. The meaning of the matter: you are still afraid lest they kill you. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: this truly does not depend on you, I will save you. But as we explained above, I will save you from being killed. He did not promise to save him from harm. Harm - we saw that they indeed harmed him. They harmed him, but to save you from being killed, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, this I promise, "for I am with you to save you, says Hashem," and indeed we will see throughout the book that Yirmiyahu was saved from the sword, he was saved from death, but as for being saved from harm, on many occasions they indeed harmed him.
"And Hashem sent forth His hand and touched my mouth, and Hashem said to me: behold I have placed My words in your mouth." "And Hashem sent forth His hand." The Radak says that the meaning is the angel who appeared to him and speaks in the name of Hashem. And this is an interpretation that recurs many times in the verses, that when "Hashem" is written, then we say that it is not the Holy One, blessed be He, in His essence, the Infinite, forming a connection with man, but rather the meaning is the angel of the Holy One, blessed be He. And many times we see that these things are sometimes expressed in the name of Hashem, sometimes expressed in the name of the angel. For example, as the Holy One, blessed be He, speaks with Avraham at the Akeidah of Yitzchak, and afterward the angel comes and arrives and says to him, "do not send forth your hand against the lad and do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear Elokim." What is "I know"? Who is this "I know"? It is the Holy One, blessed be He. Correct? Not the angel; there is no novelty here regarding the angel, that does not interest us. Rather the meaning is that the way the Holy One, blessed be He, forms the connection is through the angel, "for My Name is within him," and therefore the angel can also say "I know." And therefore "and Hashem sent forth His hand," this could certainly also be the angel, for the angel in whom "My Name is within him," this is called Hashem's essence. And then the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I, "and touched my mouth, behold I have placed My words in your mouth." The Radak explains that "and touched my mouth" seemingly - if the Holy One, blessed be He, wants to speak with him, then it should say "and touched my ear." The Holy One, blessed be He, transmits something to me in the ear, He does not - why do you say "and touched my mouth"? Rather the meaning is that, as it were, he said: my mouth is not set right, my mouth is still that of a youth, I do not know how to speak in fitting and figurative language. "And touched my mouth," as it were, some touch was made to my mouth that changed something in the mouth, that caused a change so that now the mouth would be, as it were, set right, and through this the mouth would now be able to speak with clear articulation, with instructive language. This is the meaning of "and touched my mouth," the meaning of the matter is that He performed an act so that my mouth could carry out the mission on which the Holy One, blessed be He, is sending me.
The Malbim explains that every sending forth of the hand mentioned in the context of prophecy indicates the transmission of power from the Holy One, blessed be He, to do and act according to the divine command. The Malbim says: always, when you see "the hand of Hashem," it always comes to express some power of action to establish a thing, to act within reality, to act within nature. If it comes as "a strong hand," that is to say that this thing was a strong act that acts with force, like the strong hand, the great hand, as we saw at the Exodus, yes? As we saw at the splitting of the Sea. And if it comes in the context of prophecy, that is to say that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives him power, tremendous strength to transmit the things to the people. The Holy One, blessed be He, helps him with help from on high, or moves him and takes him out of his place with a strong hand, as is written in Yechezkel, or takes him in order to see wondrous visions, which is also brought in Yechezkel. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: see, I have placed My words in your mouth, and this addresses your concern that you would not know how to speak well - the things themselves I placed in your mouth. And if I placed the things themselves in your mouth, then certainly you also have here the power of speech that you were concerned you would not have, the fitting language and speech; I transmitted the power to you in completeness.
"See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." "See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms." So anyone who knows the Malbim knows that a pasuk of this type is a broad field for the Malbim to expound upon. "Over the nations and over the kingdoms." What is "nations," what is "kingdoms"? "To uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." Six expressions, seemingly, each one of which will require an explanation as to why it is not in fact a repetition of the expression preceding it. And as we already know according to the Malbim, there is no concept of repeating the matter in different words, for every expression comes to express precisely the very point that it wished to say. The Malbim says: I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms. Whether we speak of the destruction of the nations and the kingdoms, to destroy them, to overthrow them, or whether we speak of building them and planting them - and we will presently explain the differences among them. The Malbim says: with the Holy One, blessed be He, when we speak of destruction, it is not destruction for its own sake, it is always destruction in order to build. And when we speak of "to uproot and to pull down," the meaning is to uproot and to pull down in order to plant. For with the Holy One, blessed be He, absence always precedes existence. And we have already spoken about this several times in the past, that before every good beginning we see that there is absence. We see that before day there is darkness. Before the redemption there is a state in which the redemption is concealed. Before the Exodus there is enslavement of 210 years.
Come, let us see, in a year of harsh enslavement, right before the Exodus, "let the work be heavy upon the men and let them not heed lying words," the peak of darkness and gloom, "straw is not given to your servants, yet they say to us: make bricks." The dawn is always the peak of the strength and force of the night before the light of morning begins to sparkle. Also when we speak of emerging into life: a seed that you place in the ground - the first stage it rots, the second stage it sprouts. A seed in the woman's womb - the first stage it decomposes, the second stage it gives birth. And so on in this manner. Throughout the way we see that always before emerging into a great light there is a stage of darkness, of absence, that the absence always precedes existence, death precedes life, and so on in this manner.
Come, from the Malbim I will now explain to you all the expressions written here. The Malbim says "to uproot and to pull down" - the verb of uprooting is not as it is familiar to us in the holy tongue, in the spoken Hebrew language, yes, and in the holy tongue it is not so, but rather "natash" specifically is an expression designated and dedicated to plantings. That is to say, I plant, and when I want to uproot the planting I say "I uproot." "Uprooting" the planting means uprooting the planting. And this is corresponding to "pull down" and "overthrow," which is an expression dedicated to building. When we speak of a building and I demolish it, I pull down and overthrow. When we speak of a planting that I want to uproot, I uproot the planting.
And come, let us now explain. The Malbim says: come, let us see, there are pesukim, "what I have built I am pulling down." What did you see? Corresponding to the building is the pulling down. "What I have planted I am uprooting." "Uprooting" with a tet, yes? When the meaning is again the uprooting of what is planted. "And I will build and not pull down, and I will plant them and not uproot." Again you see in the verses in a very clear manner that corresponding to the planting is the uprooting of what is planted, which is the "uprooting."