Yirmiyahu chapter 32. The word that came to Yirmiyahu from Hashem in the tenth year of Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah, which was the eighteenth year of Nevuchadnetzar. Hashem reveals Himself to Yirmiyahu and hands him a prophecy. Now, before he tells us what the prophecy was, since the prophecy is going to be the revelation to buy the field of Chanamel, first he comes and tells you: come and see that this was in the eighteenth year of Nevuchadnetzar, and see what was happening at that time. And then the army of the king of Bavel was besieging Yerushalayim, and Yirmiyahu the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard which was in the house of the king of Yehudah.
The army of the king of Bavel is besieging Yerushalayim: what does he want to tell us with this? He wants to heighten the wonder. For in a moment we will see that Hashem tells Yirmiyahu to buy a portion in Yerushalayim, come at the very time when the army of the king of Bavel is besieging Yerushalayim and about to conquer it. And this heightens the wonder: everything is about to be conquered, and here I am delivering prophecies in the name of Hashem that everyone will be exiled, and now Hashem is about to tell him, despite all this, go buy a field here. This is something that would raise astonishment even in Yirmiyahu himself, and he will indeed ask the Creator of the world about it.
And Yirmiyahu the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard which was in the house of the king of Yehudah. What is the courtyard of the guard? From what root is the word matarah? A guarded courtyard, a prison. Matarah is from the root natar, meaning to keep or guard. As in noter eivah, bearing a grudge, guarding enmity, yes. Notrim, one who takes revenge and bears a grudge. No, with a tet, noter, with a tet. Why in fact was he in the courtyard of the guard? How did he get there? Correct, Naturei Karta, the guardians of the city. Naturei with a tet, yes. Guardians of the city. The Gemara there relates that when he was brought, he asked, where are the guardians of the city? They showed him the men manning the war engines. He said to them, are these the guardians of the city? These are the destroyers of the city. Show me the Torah scholars, they are the true guardians. This is noter, from the root meaning to guard.
Whom Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah had imprisoned, saying: Why do you prophesy, saying, Thus says Hashem, Behold I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Bavel and he will capture it. And Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah will not escape from the hand of the Kasdim, for he will surely be given into the hand of the king of Bavel, and his mouth will speak with his mouth and his eyes will see his eyes. And he will lead Tzidkiyahu to Bavel, and there he will remain until I remember him, says Hashem; though you fight against the Kasdim, you will not succeed.
He tells you how Yirmiyahu came to the courtyard of the guard, over what and why Yirmiyahu was imprisoned. Because Tzidkiyahu the king did not find Yirmiyahu's prophecies to his liking, and he charged him over this. Why do you prophesy, saying such things to them, Thus says Hashem, Behold I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Bavel and he will capture it. You prophesy about the destruction of the city, and you prophesy that even Tzidkiyahu will not survive. Why did Tzidkiyahu think he would survive? Do you think only Saddam Hussein had tunnels? Tzidkiyahu had prepared an escape tunnel for himself. He was certain that at least if the city fell, he would flee to Yericho; he had an escape tunnel all the way to Yericho. And you do not even leave me this escape route. And you go on prophesying and say, And Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah will not escape from the hand of the Kasdim. Even his cave will not help him, for he will surely be given into the hand of the king of Bavel.
How was he caught in the end? He entered the tunnel and fled, but it is written that Hashem sent a deer toward the men of the Kasdim and they began to chase after the deer. As they chased it, where did they arrive? The entrance of the tunnel. Suddenly Tzidkiyahu emerged before the Kasdim like ripe fruit. How? Hashem sent the deer to bring them there. Exactly as Yirmiyahu prophesied, Tzidkiyahu will not escape from the hand of the Kasdim, for he will surely be given, he will surely be given into the hand of the king of Bavel, and his mouth will speak with his mouth and his eyes will see his eyes.
First he says: the Kasdim will not kill him, but they will hand him over to the king of Bavel who hated him, and we will explain later why the king of Bavel hated him, over which oath he had transgressed. And his mouth will speak with his mouth, this refers to the trial he will conduct against him. He will judge him for transgressing the oath, and this is harder than death; he will speak judgments with him. And his eyes will see his eyes. He hinted to him that they would gouge out his eyes, for you will see only the eyes of Nevuchadnetzar king of Bavel, his eyes will see his eyes. You will not manage to see Bavel. Why? Because after you see his eyes, what will they do to Tzidkiyahu? They will gouge out his eyes. So his eyes will see his eyes, and no more; beyond that you will see nothing.
And he will lead Tzidkiyahu to Bavel, and there he will remain until I remember him. They will lead him to Bavel and there he will remain until I remember him. What is until I remember him? When does Hashem remember a person? When He calls him, when He takes him to Himself, the time of his reckoning has come. Until he dies, as it is written, and the reckoning of every man is that they die like these. The day of death. Until I remember him means until the time of his passing arrives. Though you fight against the Kasdim, you will not succeed. You were not content with this, Yirmiyahu, but you further brought faintheartedness into their hearts and told them, if you fight against the Kasdim you will not succeed.
Now which king would tolerate having such a prophet in his midst who weakens the heart of the people, telling them all the time to surrender, telling them, know that the battle is decided, there is no chance against the king of Bavel, you too will fall into his hand, the king too will fall into his hand, this king will blind his eyes, torment him. Hearing such things is not pleasant. What does Tzidkiyahu do? He imprisons Yirmiyahu. That way he will not continue telling the people bad things, and through this we will keep on celebrating. And this is exactly history repeating itself. What does the media do when rabbis say things it finds unpleasant? It imprisons them. What does it mean to imprison them? It does not broadcast them, it suppresses them.
Rav Amnon Yitzchak has not been mentioned in the media for ages. They made it a rule not to relate to him at all, neither favorably nor unfavorably. At first they said, let us write about him negatively, let us spread harsh things against him. And Rav Amnon Yitzchak began to sue all those newspapers that wrote against him and even won those cases against them, proving that they had said things about him that never happened, and he even received money. They saw this does not work with this man, every word said about him becomes publicity, and afterward he even releases a recording. We do not know him, we have not heard of him, we have not seen him, as far as we are concerned, nothing. There is no such person. But he held a rally at Yad Eliyahu, bringing tens of thousands of people there. Teddy Stadium. What about that? We did not know, we did not hear, there are traffic jams in the city. Why? We do not know why, there are traffic jams. That is it. Why? They do not tell the listeners. This reminds us exactly of the behavior back then. They do not want to hear? They silence. There is no such thing, we did not hear, we did not see. They imprison him and that ends the story. If they could put him in prison they would do it.
In Herzl's original plan, this was the plan. Does anyone know what Herzl wrote in his book, well... The Jewish State? Yes. That is what he said on the balcony. But what did he say there in the book The Jewish State? He said we will lock the rabbis in barracks. He said in the barracks we will have a kind of enclaves, we will have a kind of ghettos, there we will lock up the rabbis. Ben Gurion left Mea Shearim because he said it is important that in future generations we will come and show them how the Jews used to look. He did not know that they would not even manage to gather a minyan at his grave. And the Jewish people in Yerushalayim, thank God, are today the majority, they are already observant of the commandments, and so on, gradually the mitzvah observers keep multiplying, and those who thought they would lock up the rabbis suddenly discover that all of Israel was waiting for a Jew, a voice is heard on high, while they, generation after generation, keep vanishing.
But Tzidkiyahu thought that this way, if he silenced Yirmiyahu, then the prophecy would not come to pass. And Yirmiyahu said, the word of Hashem came to me, saying. All of this was an introduction, in which he tells us that Yirmiyahu received a prophecy in the courtyard of the guard. Why was he there? Because Tzidkiyahu imprisoned him. Why did he imprison him? Because he said unpleasant things. Now he tells you, let us return to the beginning. With what did we begin? There was a prophecy to Yirmiyahu. Now let me tell you what the prophecy was.
And behold, Chanamel son of Shalum your uncle is coming to you, saying, Buy for yourself my field which is in Anatot, for you have the right of redemption to buy it. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Yirmiyahu, Hashem tells Yirmiyahu, Chanamel son of Shalum your uncle will come to you. He will ask you, buy my field that is in Anatot. Where did Yirmiyahu live? Among the priests who are in Anatot. Buy my field that is in Anatot, for you have the right of redemption to buy it. What does this mean? Their custom was that the relative would buy the field, he was the first to buy the field. As we saw with Boaz, and he said to the redeemer, the parcel of the field, etc., which belonged to Elimelech, if you will redeem it, redeem it, and if not, I will redeem it. Why? Because you are the closer relative. Their custom was to keep property within the family. And why? Because if someone else bought it, at the Yovel it would in any case have to return to me, the closest relative. So why should I let the field pass to someone else and then return to him at the Yovel? Come, you redeem the field, you buy it yourself. If he did not want to redeem it, then someone else would redeem it or sell it to another person. But the right of first refusal in buying the field belongs to the relative. Therefore Hashem tells him, your relative, your uncle, will come to you and say, you have the right of redemption to buy it.
And behold, Chanamel my cousin came to me according to the word of Hashem to the courtyard of the guard, and he said to me, Buy please my field which is in Anatot which is in the land of Binyamin, for you have the right of inheritance and yours is the redemption, buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the word of Hashem. Exactly as Hashem told me, so I also see it: Chanamel my cousin comes to me and tells me, buy please my field which is in Anatot which is in the land of Binyamin, for you have the right of inheritance and yours is the redemption, buy it for yourself. When I hear these words, then I knew that this was the word of Hashem. Let us try to see the plain meaning of the verse, and we will see how puzzling the plain meaning is. When what Hashem told me was fulfilled, then it became known to me that what was said to me then was the word of Hashem, was from Hashem. What, God forbid, could one understand from this? As if until Chanamel came and said the words to me and they were fulfilled, there was room to doubt whether it was the word of Hashem or not the word of Hashem? But now, when this comes and is fulfilled just as Hashem said, then I knew that it was the word of Hashem. A wonder of wonders. There is a principle we hold, and all the Rishonim hold this way, that a prophet has no doubt when the word of Hashem comes to him that it is the word of Hashem. The prophet has no doubt, and I mention this also in the book Mishnat HaChalomot, bringing proofs for this, that it is impossible for the prophet to doubt whether perhaps it was a dream. Perhaps it was only a dream, for how does prophecy come? In a dream. So perhaps it was a dream. The Rishonim write that it is impossible for the prophet to doubt regarding the word of Hashem whether it is a dream or a prophecy. I once gave you a conclusive proof for this. Give me a proof for this. Very good. Avraham and the binding of Yitzchak. If you would entertain that there could be even the faintest shadow of doubt, perhaps this is not the word of Hashem, perhaps it is merely a dream, how could Avraham our father go and bind his son, ready to slaughter him at the word of Hashem? There is a one percent chance that perhaps it is a dream. So are you going to murder a person based on dreams? From here what do you learn? That a prophet has no doubt whether the word of Hashem came to him.
Rav Dessler mentions this. It is written concerning Yaakov our father, and I also ask this in the book, for concerning Yaakov our father, Yaakov said, indeed Hashem is in this place and I did not know. It is written that at first Yaakov was not certain that this was a revelation, a divine revelation. They ask, how is this possible? Or concerning Shmuel, who at first did not know that this was the word of Hashem. Ah, says Rav Dessler, only the very first time of the prophet can there be doubt for him, because he has not yet become accustomed to prophecy. After Hashem has revealed Himself to him once, it is never possible for the prophet to fall into doubt whether it is a dream or a prophecy. So how is it possible that Yirmiyahu comes and says, when I saw that Chanamel came to me, I said, ah, here it is, truly, if so, what was said to me the other day is apparently the word of Hashem, for behold Chanamel has come. It is impossible to say such a thing. What is the plain meaning here in the verses?
The Malbim says, the meaning is not that Yirmiyahu was in doubt about his prophecy until now. The prophet had no doubt at all, and Yirmiyahu had no doubt in the prophecy. Rather what? The command of Hashem could be understood in two ways. Let us ask you, let us return to the verse in which Hashem tells him what will be. Verse 7. Behold, Chanamel son of Shalum your uncle is coming to you, saying, Buy for yourself my field which is in Anatot, for you have the right of redemption to buy it. That is the entire prophecy. Tell me, what do you understand from this? Is Yirmiyahu to buy the field or not? Why did it not say? Hashem says, for you have the right of redemption to buy it, so Hashem tells him. So Hashem says what he will say. Ah, do you have to explain it as you say? No. And in this Yirmiyahu was in doubt. Yirmiyahu was in doubt: Behold, Chanamel son of Shalum your uncle is coming to you, saying, Buy for yourself my field which is in Anatot, there is no doubt, Hashem informed him that thus Chanamel son of Shalum will come and thus he will say to you, I am certain. But for you have the right of redemption to buy it, what is this? Is it a continuation of the quotation of Chanamel's words, and then, fine, I am not obligated to buy, Hashem is only telling me that he will come and tell you to buy? Or is it already a command from Hashem: up to here is what Chanamel said, and from here on is already the word of Hashem, for you have the right of redemption to buy it, Hashem is telling him you are commanded to buy it. So if so there is a doubt here, how to understand it? Am I obligated to buy the place, or is Hashem telling me that Chanamel will request it of me? To buy or not to buy? Consult a real estate expert. If it suits you, buy it; if it does not suit you, do not buy it. But perhaps Hashem comes and tells me, go buy it, you have the right of redemption to buy it, perhaps this is already the word of Hashem and not a quotation of Chanamel's words. This was Yirmiyahu's doubt.
The Malbim explains: how did Yirmiyahu know what is the word of Hashem and what is truly a command and what is Chanamel's request? What is the way by which he could examine the matter? He said, I will scrutinize Chanamel's words. If Chanamel says to me in the same wording Hashem told me, for you have the right of redemption to buy it, without any change, then what does this mean? That Hashem merely quoted Chanamel's words. For behold Chanamel came and said to me in these words, buy for yourself my field which is in Anatot, for you have the right of redemption to buy it. So if the Creator of the world told me in these very words, that means He too was quoting Chanamel's words, so I am not obligated to buy. But if Chanamel comes and says it to me in different words, then it turns out that "for you have the right of redemption to buy it" are not Chanamel's words but the word of Hashem, and then I have a command to buy the field. Now let us scrutinize Chanamel's words. And Chanamel my cousin came to me according to the word of Hashem to the courtyard of the guard and said to me, Buy my field which is in Anatot which is in the land of Binyamin, for you have the right of inheritance and yours is the redemption. He does not express himself in the same wording as Hashem, for you have the right of redemption to buy it, but rather he has different expressions. Ah, if so I understand, then I knew that it was the word of Hashem. What is the word of Hashem? The word of Hashem is, go buy it. The word of Hashem, you have the right of redemption to buy it, this is the word of Hashem, this is not the word of Chanamel, for Chanamel expressed himself in different wording. Therefore I understand that there is here an instruction to me from Hashem. For behold he adds here "and yours is the inheritance," this was not the word of Hashem. He did not say to me, you have the right of redemption to buy it, he said to me, buy it for yourself. If so, this indicates that what Hashem told me is the command to go and buy the field. No, this is what he says. If Hashem quoted Chanamel's words, then it should have been an exact quotation; Hashem knows exactly what Chanamel will say. But if Hashem did not quote him but only came to tell him a command of His own, then I can say Hashem tells him, I am telling you, you must buy it. No, if Hashem had told him that Chanamel would come and ask him to buy the field, is there here a divine command to buy it? Beautiful. It is clear that the spirit of the matter is that you should buy it. But since he did not express himself in exactly the same wording as the Creator of the world expressed Himself, this means the Creator of the world did not quote Chanamel's wording, for we see that Chanamel expresses himself in different wording; rather, the Creator of the world said a sentence of His own. So it turns out that in fact "you have the right of redemption to buy it" is already the word of Hashem. So Hashem tells me, go buy it, so it is a command. But on the other hand, if Chanamel had said it in these very words, then it is not a command, it is merely Hashem informing me that Chanamel will say these very words, and behold Chanamel says these very words, so I would have understood that it is not a command but only an announcement of what is destined to happen.
And I bought the field from Chanamel my cousin which is in Anatot, and I weighed out for him the money, seven shekels and ten pieces of silver. And I wrote in a document, and sealed it, and had witnesses testify, and weighed the money on scales. Yirmiyahu relates that following the command of Hashem, and by the way we still do not know at all for what purpose the field was purchased, what its aim is, and all these questions Yirmiyahu will soon ask. And on the contrary, seemingly the purchase of the field here contradicts the earlier commands of Hashem. For what did Hashem command until now? That Yirmiyahu tell those in Bavel to settle themselves there, to marry wives, to bear children, to marry off their sons to wives, to plant vineyards, correct? Thus he commands those who have already been exiled. Why? There are still seventy years, do not believe those who say you are about to leave. On the other hand, to those who are here, he tells them, bring yourselves under the yoke of the king of Bavel, for the yoke of the king of Bavel, if not, he will exile you. And he announces to everyone the coming exile. And suddenly Hashem commands him a completely opposite command: go buy yourself a field. This contradicts what I have been prophesying to them until now. Am I now to go and buy fields here when, in my opinion, this land is about to become a wasteland? But we will soon see him ask this question in a more explicit manner. In the meantime let us see how he fulfills the command of Hashem. He says, and I bought the field from Chanamel my cousin which is in Anatot, I acquired it through all the modes of acquisition. And I weighed out for him the money, I acquired it through acquisition by money, and it was no small amount of money, a large sum. Seven shekels and ten pieces of silver. Chazal say these were maneh, yes? Silver considered valuable currency. And I wrote in a document, and sealed it, and had witnesses testify, and weighed the money on scales. Besides this I acquired it through two more modes of acquisition. Another acquisition is by means of a deed. And I wrote in a document; a sefer, we once said, means a deed, a letter. I wrote a contract about it. One thing. And sealed it, with a seal. And had witnesses testify, and weighed the money on scales. Another thing, I also brought witnesses to the acquisition by money that I performed, that I weighed the money on scales and handed the money to the man before witnesses, so that they would see that there are witnesses who testify to the handing over of the money.
And I took the deed of purchase, the sealed one containing the terms and the statutes, and the open one. I took the deed of purchase. What is the deed of purchase? This is the deed of sale, the contract of sale. The document in which it is written that so-and-so bought a field from so-and-so, that so-and-so sold a field to so-and-so. And I took the deed of purchase, the sealed one containing the terms and the statutes, and the open one. What is the sealed one and what is the open one? The Malbim says, when they would write a deed, their custom was to write a copy. This copy was called the sealed document. In contrast, there was the open document, which is the original. Beautiful. Now, when they would want, for example, to bring proof, they would bring the open document. It is the document that stands open, unfolded, the open letter that serves as the proof. Now, in a situation where doubts arise regarding this letter, or a claimant, or for whatever reason, they would turn to the sealed one. The sealed one is a kind of backup for what is in the open document. Now, he says, I took the deed of purchase, the sealed one, meaning the sealed document, which was tied up, they would tie it, sealed and bound for safekeeping. And with this document there was also written the terms. What are the terms? The Malbim says, these are the conditions: the payment of the money, the law of return at the Yovel, how many harvests I am selling to you, how many years of harvest there are until the Yovel, which is what I am actually selling to you. And the statutes: the statutes are the laws of the state. In each and every state, when there is a sale of land and the like, there are laws regarding the manner in which the sale is carried out. This is what is called the statutes. The sealed one containing the terms, what does this mean? The terms and the statutes, all of this was sealed and bound with the deed of purchase. But besides this there was also the open one. This was the open deed of sale as we said; it would be in the hand of the buyer, so that he could show everyone, behold I have a deed that I bought the land, and through this I would not need to open the sealed document each time. Rashi, in contrast, explains that what is written "and the open one" means that they would perform an ashrata dedayanei, a court authentication, on the deed. That is, each deed would receive legal validation when they would authenticate the deed. How does one authenticate the deed? One goes to the beit din, and the beit din would confirm the signatures. This deed came before us... and we authenticated and confirmed it as is proper. This is how they would write. This means the beit din had to confirm that the signature is authentic. How does one do this? Yes, but how does one do this? How does one perform the authentication of the deed? One takes old deeds that the beit din has bearing the signatures of those same witnesses and compares them, meaning one places them side by side and sees whether it is the same signature. This is one type of confirmation. A type of comparison of signatures. A second type of confirmation: they would bring the witnesses themselves and ask them, is this your handwriting? If they say yes, this is confirmation of the signatures. A third type of confirmation: through people who recognize the witnesses' signatures. This person tells you, I am the brother of Reuven, I recognize his signature like the signature of my own hand; show it to me and I will immediately tell you whether it is his signature or not. There, perhaps he might be disqualified as a brother, perhaps due to relationship, but say another person comes to testify about the signature, I recognize the signatures and identify the signatures. Yes, identifies the signatures, no, now we are speaking of identification through knowledge, not through comparison of them to that. There are several possibilities for confirming deeds. He identifies the signatures because he recognizes his handwriting, and this too is considered confirmation of the deed as accepted in the beit din. Everything was also in the inner deed, certainly. That there were no contradictions, yes. There were no contradictions between them. This was before they invented the copier, one had to write it anew. Yes.
And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Machseiah, before the eyes of Chanamel my uncle, and before the eyes of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, before the eyes of all the Yehudim who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. Yirmiyahu describes, I took the deed of purchase, I gave it to that Baruch son of Neriah son of Machseiah. Why was it necessary to give it to that Baruch son of Neriah son of Machseiah? Because that Baruch was still young, and he lived a long time after Yirmiyahu, so that when they returned from Bavel, after seventy years, Baruch son of Neriah son of Machseiah was still alive. So he wanted someone who has longevity. Young, so that the deed could remain with him, and then what do I gain? That when my children return from the exile, there is someone here who can present the deed to them and tell them, you know, your grandfather, your father, bought this land. Therefore he wanted someone who could testify about this, a person who would be authentic, not some deed that they would suddenly find in a genizah. Someone who would say, I was there, I saw the acquisition, and I can testify about it. To Baruch son of Neriah son of Machseiah, before the eyes of Chanamel my uncle. Who was Chanamel? What was his relationship to Yirmiyahu? Verse 7, Behold Chanamel son of Shalum your uncle. Shalum is his uncle. Chanamel my cousin, as Yirmiyahu says, Chanamel my cousin, how many times does this appear. And behold here, yes, look at verse 9, and I bought the field from Chanamel my cousin. And behold here it is written, to Baruch son of Neriah son of Machseiah before the eyes of Chanamel my uncle. How did he suddenly become his uncle? So first of all Rashi says, I do not know what this is. Some say there were two of them. There was Chanamel the uncle, and Chanamel the cousin. One answer. Rashi says, some are inclined to say that this Chanamel was his uncle and his cousin. How is this possible? Look at Rashi how he works out the calculation, and rejects it in the end. Rashi says, this explanation is not acceptable to me. Rashi says, we learn always that when we see "dod" in Scripture, it is the father's brother. The mother's brother we never find called dod. Therefore Rashi does not accept this explanation. I do not know, I do not think it appears as this. Yes, no, chali and chalti, correct. In any case, in the language, in fact they would say, my mother's brother. Not my dod. They would express it with the phrase my mother's brother, not with the term dod. Dod is only when the family name is, as it were, the same, meaning we are from the same continuing lineage. In contrast to the mother, her brother is not the same continuing lineage, yes, because the family name already changes, one follows the father. The Radak says that what is written "my dod" means my cousin. Like "Lot his brother," which means his nephew. So also when it is written "my dod" it means my cousin. Or...
An additional explanation like Rashi's, that this was a different Chanamel. Yes, this is according to an additional explanation like the one Rashi explained. But according to the tree it is not, it is because he is the father's brother, not the mother's brother. Yes, yes, he is the father's brother and not the mother's brother. In contrast, the Malbim says that he truly was his cousin. Why did he call him his uncle? Because he came to sell the field by virtue of his father. Chanamel was the heir of his father, and he, Chanamel my cousin, son of Shalum. Shalum is my uncle. Chanamel is the son of Shalum, that is, my cousin. If we were to ask Chanamel, where is the field from? He would say, from my father, from Shalum. That is, you come to sell it by virtue of your father. So therefore he calls him Chanamel my uncle. Why my uncle? Because he comes by virtue of his father, and his father is my uncle. Thus the Malbim explains. And Lot too, says the Malbim, this is the same explanation. What it says, Lot his brother, since Lot as the heir of Avraham's brother stands in the place of Avraham's brother, therefore he is called his brother, even though he is actually his nephew.
And I commanded Baruch before their eyes, saying: Thus says Hashem of Hosts, the God of Israel, Take these documents, this deed of purchase, both the sealed one and this open document, and place them in an earthenware vessel so that they may last many days. He says to him, I ask of you, I have here a command from Hashem. Thus he commands Baruch son of Neriah son of Machseiah. Hashem thus said and thus commanded, take these documents, meaning the letters, the deeds. The deed of purchase and the sealed one, both of them, the open and the sealed. Yes? And place them in an earthenware vessel so that they may last many days. How does one bury a Sefer Torah, tefillin, and mezuzot that have worn out? In an earthenware vessel. Why? So that they may last many days. Correct? This is the way to bury them, in an earthenware vessel. How do we bury them today? In a plastic vessel. Today we bury in a plastic vessel because plastic vessels last much longer than earthenware vessels. Yes? They endure for many years, even a thousand years it can last in the ground. Rats eat plastic too. Correct, correct, you are right, rats eat plastic too. But in practice they bury it at such a depth that no rat reaches. Do you understand? They do not bury it at a depth of twenty centimeters, they bury it at a depth of four meters. A rat has nothing to do at such a depth. Yes.
For thus says Hashem of Hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards will yet be bought in this land. That is, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, do not think that what I am now sending Yirmiyahu to do, to buy a field here in the Land of Israel a few minutes before the exile, so that you would say, this man has thrown his money away. No, know that there is in this a hint that houses and fields and vineyards will yet be bought in this land. That is, the land will not be sold in perpetuity, but ultimately the people of Israel will return to it.
And I prayed to Hashem after I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, saying. Now Yirmiyahu will describe to us how he prayed to the Holy One, blessed be He, in order to understand the depth of the matter, what is the purpose of this entire acquisition that Hashem sent him to buy from Chanamel his cousin. Why the emphasis, "and I prayed to Hashem after I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah"? What is the emphasis, "after I gave"? Yirmiyahu says, if I had prayed and raised difficulties beforehand, there would have been room to come and say that Yirmiyahu, out of stinginess, is not interested in buying the field. What, do I have nothing better to do now than go spend a hundred dollars to buy a field that in a moment will, what, be conquered by the hand of the Kasdim? So when he asks questions, why is it, from what does it stem? Because it is hard for him to take money out of his pocket. So Yirmiyahu comes and says, first of all I performed the command of Hashem. Naaseh venishma. First of all I performed the command of Hashem. What Hashem said to do, I bought the field, I laid out the money, scorn for silver, scorn for gold, I made no calculation against the command of God. But after it was done, what is next? We will hear. It is permitted to ask questions. It is permitted to try to understand. But first of all, we will do. Therefore, "and I prayed to Hashem" only "after I gave the deed of purchase."
And then he says thus, verse 17: אֲהָהּ אֲדֹנָי אלוקים הִנֵּה אַתָּה עָשִׂיתָ אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ בְּכֹחֲךָ הַגָּדוֹל וּבִזְרֹעֲךָ הַנְּטוּיָה לֹא יִפָּלֵא מִמְּךָ כָּל דָּבָר - Alas, Lord God, behold You have made the heavens and the earth with Your great power and Your outstretched arm; nothing is too wondrous for You. Master of the world, You have made the heavens and the earth with Your great power and Your outstretched arm, and nothing is hidden from You. The Malbim explains; he explains here the depth of Yirmiyahu's prayer and his request. First of all, the "alas" is a matter of wailing, a cry. It shows distress and worry, that he is perplexed, he does not know what actually underlies the command of the Creator of the world, he does not quite understand it. And therefore he is troubled and worried about this, "Alas, Lord God," for nothing is too wondrous for You. Perhaps let us just read the verses in order to see the question, and afterward we will explain them one by one.
Who shows kindness to thousands and repays the sin of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them, the great, mighty God, Hashem of Hosts is His name. Great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give to each according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. Who set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt until this day, and in Israel and among mankind, and made Yourself a name as it is this day. And You brought out Your people Israel from the land of Egypt with signs and wonders and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and with great awe. And You gave them this land which You swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. And they came and inherited it, but they did not listen to Your voice and did not walk in Your Torah; all that You commanded them to do they did not do, and You caused all this evil to befall them. And behold the siege ramps have come to the city to capture it, and the city has been given into the hand of the Kasdim who fight against it, because of the sword and the famine and the pestilence; and what You spoke has come to pass, and behold You see it. Everything is being fulfilled. And You said to me, Lord God, Buy for yourself the field with money and have witnesses testify, while the city is given into the hand of the Kasdim.
Up to here is essentially his puzzlement, Yirmiyahu's question to the Creator of the world about the whole matter of buying the field, that this matter is puzzling in his eyes, for it contradicts the earlier commands I was commanded, to go and tell the people that the land will ultimately be delivered into the hand of the Kasdim. And how am I now to go and buy fields here in a place that within a short time will be delivered into the hand of the enemy? After we have seen a general overview of the question, let us now try to get to the depth of the matter, to explain his prayer.