[Ashekanzim/Sefardim:
Yirmiyahu 46:13-28
Yemenite
Jews: Yeshayahu 18:7-19:25]
The
unthinkable occurred! We witnessed the
disintegration of the Egyptian Empire!
The Empire which not so long before had persecuted us and made every
effort to eliminate us was now crumbling before our very eyes. And yet we were still here.
This
momentous downfall was brought about by the young King Nebuchadnezar, full of
ambition and known for his stormy temperament, who would expand the Baylonian Empire's
borders to include this region. His
elderly father, Nabopolassar, had destroyed the Assyrian Empire and was thus
freed from its dominion.
Before
this, Pesmatik, one of the twelve kings of Egypt, was victorious over all
others, and became an extremely great man.
He conquered Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and protected its ruins
from Nabopolassar. Pesmatik died and his
young passionate son, Pharaoh Neco, conquered – among other places – the
nations of Canaan. Later Nebuchadnezar
became King of Babylonia and in the first year of his reign, a fateful year for
world history, the two giants met. The
elder Egyptian giant and the young Babylonian giant waged the final Battle in
Carchemish (Yirmiyahu 46:2). Nebuchadnezar,
well-trained in the art of war and full of unparalleled cruelty (he had previously
served as the head of the national army), mercilessly crushed the Egyptian
Empire.
On
that fateful day, still suffering from their memories in Egypt, the Hebrews knew
Divine justice when they saw it. Their
former oppressors were finally being punished in equal measure to their level
of cruelty.
We
went down to Egypt following Yosef, who had saved Egypt from famine, and
instead of being eternally grateful, the Egyptians mercilessly persecuted
us. They forced us to live in
concentration camps and watched over us in order to throw our new-born sons
into the Nile.
On
that day, we felt that justice had been served.
And there was a special prophecy to make it clear: "The word that
Hashem spoke to Yirmiyahu the prophet, Nebuchadnezar, King of Babylonian, will
come to strike the land of Egypt. Said
in Egypt…Stand firm and prepare yourselves, for the sword will devour all of
your surroundings" (ibid. v. 13-14).
This was the military disintegration of Egypt.
But
this Egyptian destruction was not only on the military level, since we know
that an Empire only truly crumbles when its civilization also has
disintegrated. Our Rabbis have
formulated this idea in the following way: "You have no nation that is
stricken whereby its god is not stricken with it" (Sukkah 29a), as it
says: "And I will exact judgments from all the gods of Egypt" (Shemot
12:12). "The Holy One, Blessed Be
He, does not exact judgment from a nation below until he lowers its princes
above (i.e. in heaven. End of Shir
Ha-Shirim Rabbah). He therefore first
destroyed the gods of Egypt and then decimated its army. In relation to Babylonia, its god was struck
first and then the people. "Why
have the mighty ones been washed away?" – i.e. their gods, "because
Hashem repelled him" (Yirmiyahu 46:15).
Egypt
was accustomed to its supremacy and was confident of a miraculous victory. They were certain that they would be
successful in battle and they were not at all concerned before the young,
brazen king. This was a fatal mistake. "Make
yourself vessels of exile, daughter who dwells in Egypt, for Nof (another name
for Egypt) will be a wasteland and desolate without inhabitants. Egypt is a beautiful calf, but a slaughterer
is surely coming from the North" (ibid. v. 19-20).
In
the jungle, revenge is the only argument capable of convincing and granting
protection. It is the power which is
able to guard those free of sin and teach the wicked a lesson. "For the day of disaster is coming upon
them, the time of their reckoning" (ibid. v. 21). Their enemy is a serious one. "The Babylonians will come in force,
they will come against her with axes, like men who cut down trees. They will cut down her forest, says Hashem,
for they are beyond calculation. They
are more numerous than locusts, they cannot be counted" (ibid. v. 22-23).
No
nation on Earth, and no empire – no matter how strong – lasts forever. Nations appear on the stage of history,
fulfill their historical role and disappear.
This is what Yaakov Avinu understood when he saw the angels ascending
and descending the ladder. The meaning
of the dream is that each nation is represented by an angel and it can reach
great heights, but in the end it will go down into the annals of history. Yaakov Avinu began to fear that this would
also be our fate, and he asked Hashem, who calmed him: No, you are different
from the others. You are an eternal
Nation. It may be that you have a
difficult history, but you will overcome the trials! You are incapable of being destroyed! (Midrash
Tanchum – Vayetze 2 and see Ramban on Bereshit 28:12).
The
logo of the city of Paris shows a ship sailing with the Latin motto: "It
sails and will never sink." The
future will show us if the city of Paris has the trait of eternity, but in the
meanwhile the unsinkable ship of human history is the Nation of Israel!
This
is what Yirmiyahu promised us: "And you, do not fear, My servant Yaakov,
says Hashem, for I am with you; for I will destroy all of the nations amongst
which I have scattered you, but I will not destroy you. I will punish you with justice, but I will
not completely destroy you" (ibid. v. 28).
If we are deserving of punishment, we will receive it, but we will not
be obliterated. The Nation of Israel
will survive and arise from its ashes.
Yirmiyahu,
who is the prophet of destruction, is also the prophet of revival and
building. "But you, do not be
afraid, My servant Yaakov; do not fear, Israel, for I will save you from a
distance and your offspring from the land of their captivity; and Yaakov will
return. Be tranquil and secure and no one will frighten" (ibid. v.
27). This prophecy teaches us that we
must stand firm, and that there is nothing to fear, not in the Exile and all
the more so not in our Land. Despite all
of the clear societal, economic and cultural difficulties, and despite the
constant threat of our enemies, we can overcome these difficulties just as we
overcame others. There is nothing for us
to fear. The Nation of Israel has
suffered so much that we have become fearful, but if we listen to the call of
Yirmiyahu to trust and have hope, we can also overcome this fear.
"For
I am with you" (ibid. v. 28), Hashem promises us. This promise, like the others, is fulfilled
each day. Just as He dismantled and
caused each and every one of our worst enemies to fall, He also returned the
Children of Yaakov to their Land in order to enjoy eternal peace and security.
