MAS’EI
Yirmiyahu 2:4–28, 3:4

Hashem’s Endless Hope for His People
This week’s Haftarah continues the theme of the three weeks of mourning and introduces the month of Av.

Hashem Never Gives Up on Us
Yirmiyahu Hanavi began his message with Hashem’s sharp words of reprimand. After reminding them of all His favors over the years. He asked, “What wrong did your fathers find in Me for [which] they distanced themselves from Me. They went after emptiness and diminished themselves to nothingness? I brought them to the fertile land of Eretz Yisroel to partake of its fruits and goodness and they came and defiled My land and disgraced My inheritance.” (2:5, 7) Hashem essentially faulted the Jewish nation for rejecting Him and for instead following the shameful path of idolatry.
In truth, the blame was not limited to the common folk, but it extended to their leaders and prophets. Hashem described their spiritual decline in the following words, “The priests did not say [rebuke the idolators], ‘Where is Hashem?’, and the upholders of Torah did not publicize My name, and the shepherds [kings] rebelled against Me, and the prophets delivered false prophecy.” (2:8) This disheartening picture of the Jewish nation’s spiritual status was certainly not comforting but suggested immediate retribution and ultimate destruction.
Instead, we read that Hashem responded to their behavior in an unpredictable fashion. Hashem surprisingly concluded His heavy message and stated, “Therefore I will continue to quarrel with you… and I will [even] quarrel with your grandchildren.” (2:9) Rashi interprets this to mean that Hashem vowed to send more prophets in attempt to inspire the nation to return to the proper path. (Rashi ad loc.) Although every attempt thus far had been unsuccessful, Hashem continued to reach out to His people. He simply refused to reject them even after their multitude of atrocities. Although their leaders had not faithfully rebuked and inspired the nation, maybe a new group would reverse that direction. In essence, Hashem refused to give up on His people until He exhausted every possible approach to awaken them, thereby determining that no hope remained for them.

Remembering the Inception of His People
The rationale behind this unlimited compassion is revealed in the verses immediately preceding this week’s Haftarah. Hashem instructed Yirmiyahu to tell His precious people, “I remember you [for the] kindness of your youth, the love of your bridal relationship, [when] you [blindly] followed Me into the desert.” (2:2) These words, moments before their exile, displayed the incredible degree of Hashem’s appreciation for His people. Even after they totally disregarded Him and in place of approaching their true Father in Heaven, they resorted to empty idolatrous practices for their false sense of security, Hashem vividly remembered their initial devotion and commitment to Him. Rashi explains that Hashem conveyed to them with this, that He yearns to be compassionate to them, if they would only turn to Him and forsake their sinful ways. (Rashi ad loc)
This startling perspective explains why Hashem persisted to send so many prophets to His people shortly before their exile. Chazal teach us that during those last days Hashem sent prophets literally every day to forewarn the Jewish nation of its impending fate. (Rashi to Yirmiyahu 7:25) Hashem forever yearns to return to His earliest relationship with His people, the one that provided Him full opportunity to shower them with love and boundless goodness.

Hashem’s All Encompassing Mercy
Tomer Devorah deduces from this, the unlimited degree of Hashem’s thirteenth and all-encompassing merciful attribute entitled, “From the earliest days.” He explains that when the Jewish people reach a point that they become undeserving of any of Hashem’s twelve merciful attributes, Hashem applies His final and all-inclusive merciful attribute. Hashem, when activating this attribute, focuses on His beloved people’s earliest and perfect days with Him and increases their merit through that vantage point.
He begins by remembering their initial commitment to Him when they followed Him into the desolate desert without preparing for themselves ample provisions for their basis sustenance. Hashem then continues from that point and recalls all their special deeds and meritorious acts performed throughout the generations, and He produces through this His perfect picture of a nation deserving all His compassionate ways. (Tomer Devorah att. 13) Rashi explains here that Hashem told them immediately preceding their exile that He yearns to be merciful to them in the merit of their earliest perfect commitment to Him when they became His people, if they would only return to Him.
Yirmiyahu continued his words and stated, “Yisrael are sacred to Hashem, “reishis” — the beginning [alt. choice] — of His produce.” Chazal explain the phrase “beginning of His produce” to mean the choice of His production. They explain with this the opening word of the Torah, “Bereishis,” that literally means in the beginning. Since this “beginning” is not followed by the explanatory words “of all,” Chazal interpret the word “Bereishis” to mean for the sake of “reishis,” the choicest. They explain that the Torah proclaims at the outset that Hashem created the entire universe for the sake of His chosen nation, the Jewish people. Because Yirmiyahu refers to the Jewish people’s bridal commitment and follows it with their “chosen” status, Chazal explain that the Jewish people’s total commitment to Hashem at the time they left Egypt established them the focal point and purpose of all creation.

Hashem’s Tefillin
This perspective sheds light on Chazal’s figurative message that Hashem dons tefillin every day. They explain that the tefillin He dons contain similar verses to the ones contained in our tefillin. The verses in our tefillin declare Hashem as the absolute supreme being of the universe and accordingly the verses in Hashem’s tefillin declare the Jewish people as the absolute supreme nation of the world. (Berachos 6a)
Maharsha explains the concept of tefillin as the declaration of an everlasting commitment to the truths contained in its verses. He adds that in the same manner we adorn ourselves through our everlasting commitment to Hashem as the supreme being above all, Hashem “adorns” Himself through His everlasting commitment to His people as the supreme nation above all. When one contemplates Chazal’s words, one is astonished by their message. How can Hashem constantly adorn Himself through His supreme nation above all, even during their rebellious years replete with all their atrocities, and throughout the years of their extended exile?
In view of the above, we can explain that Hashem in His incredibly merciful way, expresses through “donning” His tefillin His all-inclusive attribute entitled “from the earliest days.” Chazal reveal here that Hashem expresses daily His yearning to return to His earliest relationship with His people. After He reviews their outstanding bridal commitment to Him followed by all their special deeds and meritorious act since that point, in truth, they are the supreme nation above all who deserve all His merciful ways.

Just One Cry
Through this perspective we appreciate Chazal’s recounting what transpired at the doorstep of the Jewish people’s exile. They relate that Yirmiyahu Hanavi accompanied them to the Euphrates River and then informed them of his departure from them, to join the remaining segment of people in Eretz Yisroel. They suddenly burst into uncontrollable sobbing over their abandonment. Yirmiyahu said, “I call the heavens and the earth to attest, that had you cried one sincere outcry back in Zion, your exile would never have happened!” (Midrash Tehillim 137)
Hashem’s compassion for His people is so great that even after all their spiteful, rebellious behavior, one sincere response to His rejection would have sufficed to spare them from their painful exile. Hashem cares so deeply for His people that He was prepared to call off their impending exile even at the last moment. We can suggest that Yirmiyahu understood that at that crucial moment Hashem was reviewing their bridal commitment and all their meritorious acts ever since and He yearned to respond to their slightest gesture of return to Him.

Torah’s Strongest Warnings for Preservation
Our Haftarah is always read together with Parshas Maasei, the Parsha that prepares the Jewish people for their entry to Eretz Yisroel. It recounts all their experiences that brought them up to the Jordan River, defines the boarders of the land and discusses the rules of its apportioning. Amidst all this, the Torah inserts stern warnings about capturing the land and states, ”As you cross the Jordan River into Eretz Canaan you shall drive out all its inhabitants from before you…If you do not… all those who remain will be thorns in your eyes…and they will battle with you… and what I planned for them I will do to you.”
Rashi quotes here Chazal’s interpretation of the first warning to mean that the Jewish people were told that as they miraculously cross the Jordan river if they do not accept on themselves to drive out all the land’s inhabitants then the Jordan waters will sweep the Jewish people away. Malbim explains here the second warning to mean that in place of Hashem’s interest to drive out all foreign nations from His land, He will drive out the entire Jewish nation from their precious inheritance.
After reading the Torah’s drastic warnings that Hashem gave His people to ensure their privilege of being with Him, and after reading its concurring Haftarah that displays the extent of their repulsive foreign influences and the degree they disregarded their stern warnings, we are astonished by the compassion Hashem retained for them and yearned to share with them even moments before their exile.
In conclusion, although it may not be evident to us, Hashem always yearns to relate to us as His perfect nation, the way we related to Him at our inception. If we could only respond to His silent gestures and feelers, Hashem would undoubtedly redeem us from our long painful exile and would welcome our return to Him with open arms! May we witness this very soon.