Yirmiyahu 9:22-23

May this post be in merit of our soldiers, a swift return of the hostages and a speedy recovery for Dror Yisrael ben Rut Miriam (דרור ישראל בן רות מרים).

Once I read Yirmiyahu in a single sitting. It took a few hours, to be sure, but I studied it all during one seder erev (evening study period) at yeshiva. It was during the three weeks and I had tears in my eyes part of the time. I had been in the middle of writing an essay comparing Plato's writings with those of Yirmiyahu because of an old tradition that Yirmiyahu met Plato and perhaps even taught him. After going through some Platonic texts, as well as gathering as much info on their purported relationship as I could, I turned to studying Yirmiyahu. And so I read it all. And I was deeply immersed and moved. I found myself deeply relating to Yirmiyahu's difficult life. To this day I feel a deep connection to his character.

Two verses in particular caught my eye that night, 9:22-23:

"כֹּה אָמַר ה' אַל יִתְהַלֵּל חָכָם בְּחָכְמָתוֹ וְאַל יִתְהַלֵּל הַגִּבּוֹר בִּגְבוּרָתוֹ אַל יִתְהַלֵּל עָשִׁיר בְּעָשְׁרוֹ. כִּי אִם בְּזֹאת יִתְהַלֵּל הַמִּתְהַלֵּל הַשְׂכֵּל וְיָדֹעַ אוֹתִי כִּי אֲנִי ה' עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה בָּאָרֶץ כִּי בְאֵלֶּה חָפַצְתִּי נְאֻם ה'."

"Thus said the LORD:

Let not the wise glory in their wisdom; let not the strong glory in their strength; let not the rich glory in their riches. But only in this should one glory: In being earnestly devoted to Me. For I the LORD act with kindness, justice, and equity in the world; for in these I delight—declares the LORD."

At some point I concluded that these verses, in a certain way, were a core representation of who Yirmiyahu was when contrasted with the figure usually supposed to have been Plato's mentor, Socrates. I won't get into all of the bits and details of the theory I presented in my paper, but the gist was that the source of wisdom, strength and riches is not man but Hashem, something many fail to often see. It takes some humility to see, and unfortunately we may at times find ourselves lacking this trait.

Interestingly, I reached a similar conclusion with my very first Tanach paper, on David (some of it was summarized here): David certainly had military prowess and an excellent strategy when facing Goliath. But he was aware that he was coming in the Name of Hashem, as opposed to Goliath (see here). That was where his true strength lay.

Perhaps, in some ways, that's what all of Tanach boils down to: Everything is from Hashem. Our strengths, our weaknesses. Our triumphs and our falls. There's a song that comes to mind that relates to this notion, based on Mishna Rosh Hashanah 3:8:

"וכי ידיו של משה עושות מלחמה?

וכי ידיו של משה עושות מלחמה?

אלא בזמן שישראל מסתכלין כלפי מעלה ומשעבדין את לבם לאביהם שבשמים

היו מתגברים.

וכי נחש ממית?

וכי נחש מחיה?

וכי נחש ממית?

וכי נחש מחיה?

אלא בזמן שישראל מסתכלין כלפי מעלה ומשעבדין את לבם לאביהם שבשמים

היו מתרפאים.

Do the hands of Moshe make war?

Do the hands of Moshe make war?

Rather, when Yisrael looked up and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven

They would overcome.

Does a serpent kill?

Does a serpent preserve life?

Does a serpent kill?

Does a serpent preserve life?

Rather, when Yisrael looked up and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven

They would be cured." 

(one performance of the song with the tune we sang at yeshiva)

(a painting I made last Tisha b'Av, based on this well-known painting of Yirmiyahu.

The text in the corner is parts of verses 9:22-23 in paleo-Hebrew)