This week’s Haftorah is taken from Sefer Yirmiyohu, from Chapter 2 verse 4 till verse 28. After that, Ashkenazzim add verse 4 from Chapter 3 and Sefaraddim add further the first two verses from Chapter 4.
1. As was pointed out in last week’s Haftorah sheet, the weekly Haftorahs now until the end of the Sidras of the Torah have a connexion with the calendar rather than with the Sidra of the Week. Thus, the “three Haftorahs of warning and rebuke” which started with last week’s Haftorah lead up to Tisha b’Av. This week’s Haftorah is really a continuation of the warning and rebuke by Yirmiyohu that was last week’s Haftorah.
2. The point has been mentioned before that although the Jewish People through the ages merited to have “as many prophets as double the number of people coming out from Egypt,” nevertheless only those prophecies which carry a message for future generations were included in the timeless Holy Scriptures. Those prophecies that were only topical or were only for a specific situation were not included.
3. This gives rise to the following question: Seeing that the warnings of many of our Nevi’im were against the idolworship that was rampant in those times (as indeed is the Haftorah of this week) and seeing that the silliness of idolworship was something that existed only in those times and was bound to disappear as people became more knowledgeable and sophisticated, how does it come about that these prophecies concerning idolatry should be part of Holy Scripture — and such a great proportion of Holy Scripture, too? After all, the absurdity of the idolworship of the ancient world is exactly that — it was nothing but a passing fad in the ancient world! So why should the prophecies and warnings about them be a part of the timeless Holy Scriptures?
4. The simple answer is that idolatry takes many forms and idolatry in modern times takes modern forms. So the prophecies about idolatry are not at all restricted to “those times” — they apply very much to today. (For a further discussion about idolatry, see also the explanation sheet to the HAFTORAH OF ויקרא.)
5. But it could also be that these prophecies and words of rebuke are not referring to the idolworship of those times, which in its crudely primitive form was only of limited duration (and which should not therefore be part of the timeless Holy Scriptures) so much as to the disloyalty of turning away from HaShem and His Torah. This turning away from HaShem can indeed be a temptation present in all times and all places.
6. First of all, we have to acknowledge that the ancients were not fools or idiots — and this is especially true of the Jews of ancient times. But idolatry was alluring and the Novvi often has to paint a dramatic picture to portray the foolishness of idolworship, with the bowing and scraping before sticks and stones, in ridiculous contrast with the...
