We have just started the three weeks. The three weeks have three special Haftarah readings on
Shabbat, starting with the Haftarah of Divreh
Yirmiyahu, who was the prophet right before the
destruction of the first Bet HaMikdash. He eventually wrote Echah, איכה which stands for:
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אני I
ירמיה Yirmiyah
כהן Kohen
הענתות from (the
town of) Anantot
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Besides the actual prophecy that Yirmiyah gives, we also have a
lesson on how G-d prepared Yirmiyah for his prophecy.
Being that we are in the first of the three weeks, we will speak about that lesson. We are introduced to Yirmiyah, who
he was, when he lived, and then Hashem tells him that before he was even
conceived, Hashem knew he’d be great. And even before he came out of the womb,
Hashem had already designated him as a prophet.
So Yirmiyah was being told that he had powers. Yirmiyah responded with, Aha, Woe!
הִנֵּה לֹא יָדַעְתִּי דַבֵּר כִּי נַעַר אָנֹכִי
I don’t know how to talk, I’m
still just a lad.
But G-d told him,
אַל תֹּאמַר נַעַר אָנֹכִי
“Don’t say you’re a lad, I’ll send you,
and you will speak.
Don’t be afraid
of them, because I’m with you.”
*Yirmiyah had a
lot of challenges in his life. He was taunted, he was ridiculed, he was accused
of being a traitor, he was thrown in jail, but he persevered. He remained a prophet
till the end, and
we have a lot to say about Yirmiyah, not just in this class today.
Again G-d told him- strengthen yourself, you’ll do My job
אַל תֵּחַת מִפְּנֵיהֶם פֶּן אֲחִתְּךָ לִפְנֵיהֶם
Don’t be broken in front of them, unless they
break you in from of them
The Radak says this means, “if you’re not afraid of them and you rely on Me I’ll save you. But if
you are afraid you will fall.”
So even a prophet, with all his greatness still
needs this hizuk/strengthening. Hashem had to encourage him, not to say “I’m a lad.” And Hashem had to tell him not to be afraid.
We will soon see that that speech is for us as well, in every generation, and for every individual.
Both the Hovot HaLevavot and the Bet HaLevi
quote these pesukim of Yirmiyah as proof of the importance of Bitachon, and as proof of
one of the great advantages of Bitachon, that a person can fulfill his mission
without being afraid or concerned with outside pressures, or public opinion,
because he knows he’s doing G-d’s mission
Rav Nosson Wachtfogel, the saintly Mashgiach of
Lakewood said that if you don’t know who you are, you can’t accomplish anything
in life. And you have to know not only who you are, but that G-d will help you.
He said, in the name of Rav Yerucham Levovitz, That many great people fell, (or didn’t reach their potential), because
they didn’t hear this message of “Don’t
say ‘I am a lad’”
This is relevant all year long.
The pasuk in Kohelet, which tells us about the Yetzer HaRa and the
Yetzer HaTov, says as follows:
ספר קהלת פרק ד-יג
טוֹב יֶלֶד מִסְכֵּן וְחָכָם מִמֶּלֶךְ זָקֵן וּכְסִיל אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַע לְהִזָּהֵר עוֹד:
An impoverished lad, if he’s wise, is better off than an old
foolish king.
So, it’s better to be a young, impoverished, but wise lad than an old and foolish
king.
Rashi says that this refers to the Yetzer
HaTov, which is better than the Yetzer HaRa. Why is the Yetzer HaTov
called “a lad?” Because the Yetzer
HaTov enters the body at age thirteen, whereas the Yetzer
HaRa has been in the body since birth,
and so it has a thirteen-year edge.
The Alschich adds that the Yetzer
HaTov is called a lad because it’s one of
his weaknesses.
The Alschich says that every individual must hear,
אַל תֹּאמַר נַעַר אָנֹכִי
Don’t say you’re a lad
You are strong, you can overcome. Don’t be afraid to show them.
This will give you the ability to overtake these
challenges.
This is an important lesson for always, but
especially in our days. It’s especially important at this time of year, which is the
three weeks. The Mesilat Yesharim says
that one might say,
מָה אֲנִי וּמָה אֲנִי סָפוּן שֶׁאֶתְפַּלֵּל עַל יְרוּשָׁלַיִם וכו',
Who am I ? Am I important that I should start praying in the three weeks for
Yershalayim to be rebuilt?
הֲמִפְּנֵי תְפִלָּתִי יְכֻנְּסוּ הַגָּלֻיּוֹת וְתִצְמַח הַיְשׁוּעָה?
Can my prayers cause the exiles to be gathered in and the redemption to sprout?
The Mesilat Yesharim answer is, as it says in
the famous Mishnah in Sanhedrin, “Man was created alone; only one Adam and one Chava, so that every individual
could say -
בִּשְׁבִילִי נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם-for me, the world was created ,I’m the only one in the world and I can make
a difference.
We all make a difference, but even if we don’t
see it,
נַחַת רוּחַ הוּא לְפָנָיו יִתְבָּרֵךְ
We are making G-d feel good
that His children are praying and asking for this. And even if we aren’t
answered, because it’s not the right time for whatever reason, he says, You’ve made G-d happy.
So we have an opportunity during these weeks:
Firstly, don’t say “I’m
a lad.” Don’t underestimate your powers.
Don’t think, “Who am I? I’m a
little guy”. You’re not so little. You’re
empowered. Don’t make that mistake.
Secondly, Rav Chaim Vital quotes the Arizal as saying, “You should
know that the greatness of a soul is not dependent on the deeds down here,
rather by the times that you’re in, כי מעשה קטן מאד בדור הזה שקול לכמה מצות גדולות שבדורות אחרים
Because a very small deed in this generation
weighs in like many great mitzvot in the previous generations. We
are greater because our
generation has a lot of resistance, much more than previous generations. When
you see someone lifting weights it may not look like he’s doing
anything because there is tremendous resistance. But the little bit that he’s
seemingly doing is doing a lot to his muscles. You just don’t see it.
That’s our generation. There is a lot of resistance,
and if we can overcome some of that resistance and challenge, and take out the
time to ask Hashem for redemption during the three weeks, whether:
- in our Amidah prayers, whether it be in Et Semah David, or Bonei Yerushalayim
-in our Al Hamihya prayers, because as we have mentioned in the past from Rav
Wolbe, when we say Al Hamihya, we are requesting that the Bet HaMikdash be
rebuilt.
- in Birkat Hamazon, which has this as well.
-in Retzeh, which we say in Shabbat has it too.
Pick a spot that talks to you and pray for the
redemption.
Don’t say, “Who am I?”
You’re not as small as you think. If you’re
reading this, and you’re working on yourself, that’s pretty good. Not that many
people are doing that.
Therefore, let’s start with that
opening and important message in Yermiyah HaNavi.
Don’t say, נער אנכי-Don’t say, ‘I’m a lad ’Have a wonderful day.
