* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
1) Twelve children were murdered in Majdal Shams in a Hezbollah attack, they are being laid to rest now. On Shabbat morning in synagogues around the world, we read the haftarah from Jeremiah which includes the following words: “From the north shall disaster break loose…” referring to the Babylonians who conquered Israel before the destruction of the temple.
A mere few hours later, disaster struck in northern Israel.
We need to internalize the fact that our enemy aims to kill children playing in a soccer field. It’s important to emphasize that for Hezbollah this was no accident; it’s their modus operandi. We are justifiably horrified because this time Hezbollah managed to strike its target, but each missile launched over the past few months was meant to end the same way.
2) Jeremiah continues. First, he says that the enemy won’t be satisfied by its strikes in northern Israel. Its main target will be Jerusalem: “…every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around.” In contemporary terms, our story is not about a soccer field in Majdal Shams. It’s an important symbol, but the focus of this conflict is Jerusalem.
3) The prophet then speaks beautiful words of consolation: He tells us how God remembers the 40 years in which we followed Him through the desert:
“Thus said God:
I accounted to your favor
The devotion of your youth,
Your love as a bride—
How you followed me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.”
Jeremiah recalls a story of kindness, devotion, and commitment— an eternal covenant of love between God and Israel. Whenever we are faced with a challenging period in which we feel as desolate as a “desert” and filled with fear and uncertainty— we must remember that it is precisely trials such as these that are transformative in the life of a nation or individual.
4) Our haftarah ends with the punishment that was meted out to our enemies:
“Israel was holy to God.
The first fruits of God’s harvest.
All who ate of it (the enemies of Israel) were held guilty;
Disaster befell them—declares God.”
We extend our deepest sympathies to the Druze community and to the residents of the Golan Heights, and we pray that these moving prophecies of consolation will soon come true.
