Jeremiah is the prophet of weeping
אָמַ֙רְתָּ֙ אֽוֹי־נָ֣א לִ֔י כִּֽי־יָסַ֧ף יְהֹוָ֛ה יָג֖וֹן עַל־מַכְאֹבִ֑י יָגַ֙עְתִּי֙ בְּאַנְחָתִ֔י וּמְנוּחָ֖ה לֹ֥א מָצָֽאתִי׃
“Woe is me! GOD has added grief to my pain. I am worn out with groaning, and I have found no rest.”
These harrowing words of Jeremiah’s echo through the centuries to find us today in the midst of war. I can imagine that this is not on the minds of all readers, so please pardon me, with understanding that it seems impossible to separate the past from present, with the pressing need to learn from what was towards a better future for us all. The prophetic visions of our ancestors, even the wrathful ones of Jeremiah, offer perspective and at times a chilling reminder of how we fail and how perhaps we can rise and repair.
The words that echo from these final chapters of Jeremiah are still on our lips today:
“Jerusalem” “Egypt” “Sword” “War” “Refugees”
And in the weekly cycle of the sacred Jewish story - this week’s Torah portion, two more words echo in a haunting way that somehow weaves it all together.
This week’s tale is Noah and the flood. The flood is God’s way of hitting reset on the planet because the creator is displeased with the way humanity behaves. It is all rage, God says is chapter 6 of Genesis - the land is all HAMAS. Yes, that word shows up here for the first time - Hebrew and Arabic for ‘Rage’ or ‘Lawlessness’.
And once the flood is over, so many dead, a world destroyed, there yet is hope: The dove will fly and find a leaf, a rainbow will appear to promise life, again.
Jeremiah and Noah, destruction and hope, and yes, future rainbows, are what gives us hope when all around us is groaning and grief.
I am grateful for the sacred stories, all these cycles, that give us words both terrible and helpful, when no words suffice at all.
Next week we begin to say goodbye to Jeremiah and prepare for our next adventure - get ready for Ezekial and his psychedelic visions.
Thank you for joining me @belowthebiblebelt on this Friday. I am writing these words in Jerusalem, with deepest hopes for better days, less violence and rage, more healing and hope.
Shabbat Shalom.
Words Endure, Like Hope, Like Weeping.