The Tanakh Podcast

In Chapter 11 and 12 we hear how the people of Anatot want to murder Jeremiah. Today we discuss 3 responses by Jeremiah to the threats on his life.

In Chapter 11 Jeremiah calls the people to express alliegance with God's covenant. Many suggest that here he is expressing support in the religious revolution of King Josiah who returned to God after years of Judah following idolatry. The chapter records how this return to and renewal of the ancient covenant of Israel was, tragically, extremely short-lived. The people returned to their idol wo...

This chapter intersperses depictions of God's greatness with statements belittling and making a parody of the idols that the nations serve, encouraging Israel to remain true to their faith.

Jeremiah can no longer countenance the corruption and deception of Jerusalem. He expresses a desire to escape to the wilderness. In today's podcast we discuss the wilderness as a counterpoint to a society of luxury and decadence, insensitivity and exploitation.

In this chapter, we speak of three themes: 1. Jeremiah imagines the destruction of king and country and depicts it all in graphic detail, as if he can see it, as if it brings him to tears. 2. Teshuva: When a man falls, he rises up! So why don't my people repent?! Learn from the bird migration. They know when to return! 3. The Loss of wisdom. The guardians of Torah in society - priests and prop...

What happens when society is thoroughly corrupt, but worships God in a false sense that the Temple of the Lord will protect Jerusalem? Here, Jeremiah stands at the Temple gates and tries to convince the people of their hypocrisy.

Chapter 6 intersperses warnings of the impending doom, with rebuke about the dismal state of social justice in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah critiques the people and warns of national calamity, due to the people's exploitation of the weak and vulnerable and for their failures in the sphere of social justice. Please support this podcast using my Patreon page: https://patreon.com/user?u=51407457

Our podcast addresses two aspects of this chapter: 1. The experience of the prophet, directly seeing and experiencing the events about which he is prophecying, and having a very visceral emotional response to the terrifying images that he is seeing 2. The usage of Creation language to express the spectre of the natural world disintegrating due to the sin of the nation. We dwell upon the deep conne...

God opens the chapter proclaiming that that Israel has betrayed her fidelity to God and therefore cannot return to God. And yet, with a play of words: "shuvu - return", and "shovav - rebel", God ultimately expresses his intent that of his "rebellious children" sincerely reform their behaviour, they will indeed be able to rebuild trust, and the relationship with God.

"I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me, and followed me through the wilderness!" Jeremiah reminds the people of their former commitment to God and the great blessings that He bestowed upon the nation. And then he expresses, in every way that he can, how Israel have broken their loyalty and commitment to God. Music Intro - Amir Dadon Closing - Rosh Hashanna Li...

Chapter 1 is Jeremiah's inaugural prophecy. We dwell on three points: 1. The reluctance of Jewish prophets to prophecy and God's imposition of prophecy upon them 2. Jeremiah is a prophet of doom, and yet, his role has an underlay: "to build and to plant" 3. Prophecy is visual. Our chapter affords us a window into the visions that form the backbone of the prophetic experience.

Is Isaiah's vision universal or parochial? Does it promise consolation or urge repentance? Does Isaiah offer salvation for all of Israel or a remenant. Today we discuss Isaiah's complex messaging. And yet, we leave with a clear sense that the long arc of history bends towards goodness, peace and redemption. In this regard, Isaiah offers the building blocks of our Messianic theology.

God tells the people that he has been waiting for them to repent. He reiterates that only the righteous will benefit from God's blessings and redemption whereas those who practice idolatry or other sins will suffer.

This chapter is a desperate accusation and protest - in the wake of the Temple destruction - at God's hidden face, and the deplorable national calamity that God brought upon Israel. It is also a plea for God to extend his mercy to the Jewish People.

Today we explain how our chapter forms the basis for a verse in the famous Shabbat song, "Dror Yikra".

Today we talk about Jerusalem finding her voice, and undergoing a name-change!

Mourning will be replaced by joy, destruction by rebuilding, and the world community will acclaim the Jews as global emissaries of God, doing all they can to assist Israel in that mission. This again is a romantic dreamscape of a messianic utopia.

This beautiful chapter depicts an utopian, unwordly, and idyllic scene as Jerusalem is bathed in a divine light, acclaimed by the world, and filled with peace, wealth and prosperity. Is this what the Messianic Age looks like?

Will Israel be redeemed despite their sins? Or will redemption come only after we have repented?

The people ask God: "Why did we fast, and you didn't see?" Apparently the people have been fasting and praying but they feel that God has not responded to their appeals. The prophet explains: It isn't about the fasting; it is about justice; religion isn't merely about ritual actions, it is about genuine authentic change.

Our chapter depicts a regime in which the righteous are persecuted, the leadership powerless and dumbstruck, and evil prevails, including the most heinous expressions of idolatry. It is difficult to know for sure to which historical period this refers. Is it King Ahaz? Menasseh? First Temple? Second Temple? And yet, the chapter ends with hope and promises of peace and healing: "Peace, Peace f...

Our chapter mentions the phrase "Yad Vashem" but what exactly does it mean? And why was this chosen as the name of Israel's Holocaust Museum?

One the one hand, God is close and present: "Seek God when He is present; Call out while God is near...Our God, Who freely forgives." On the other Hand we cannot fathom God's ways: " "My ways high above your ways; And My plans above your plans." This is the Haftara for Fast Days.

This chapter promises and unbreakable future for the Jewish People. Two models animate this chapter: 1. The infertile women who bears children, the forsaken wife who renews her marriage; and 2. The tortured slave who is released from his captivity and suffering. We examine these two metaphors and what they say about the God-Israel connection.