Q&A: Does God Yield to a Problematic Reality?
Does God Yield to a Problematic Reality?
Question
In Jeremiah 16, at the end of verse 6:
Is this simply a statement to the prophet that this is what people do in ordinary mourning, and in the future they will not even “merit” that, God forbid?
Or is it even more serious than that…
That God acknowledges this reality, and although He prohibited it in the Torah, now it is being done and is in some sense “permitted” at that time?
Meaning, after the people sin and this is how they actually behave, has the prohibition already been weakened?
Is that possible?
True, it sounds strange, but that seems much more fitting to the plain meaning of the text, and the threat sounds more credible and effective…
Answer
Rashi and Radak address this there. Rashi says that this is only an expression of mourning, rooted in what was accepted practice then; doing this as mourning became an independent expression. “To gash oneself” means “to mourn.” Like the expression “to sit on the ground,” whose meaning is to mourn, and not necessarily literally to sit on the ground. Radak wrote that because this is what Israel did there, the prophet speaks sarcastically: when everyone dies, they will no longer be able to gash themselves or make a bald spot in their usual way.
But as I have written more than once, from the prophets one can learn whatever one wants, and therefore I do not see much value in dealing with this.
Forgive me, honored Rabbi,
but the plain meaning that emerges from the whole chapter seems more enjoyable and flows better, as the Rabbi explained from Jeremiah.
Rashi and Radak are less enjoyable, less smooth. In my humble opinion.