Jeremiah might be the most tragic figure in all of Tanach. He foretold what was going to happen to Jerusalem, but no one believed him, so he was powerless to stop it. It seems from chapter 27, one of the sharpest chapters in his book, that the people of his age simply could not imagine that they would lose their hold on Eretz Yisrael. Instead, they believed false prophets who told them what they wanted to hear. Then, when the destruction arrived, Jeremiah counseled that all was not lost, that it was possible to rebuild, that they should remain in Eretz Yisrael – and again the people failed to heed him as they fled to Babylon and Egypt.
I often wonder whether, if Jeremiah was alive today, we would have the ability to hear him, or whether we would simply dismiss him as some sort of Leftist pacifist or condemn him for his lack of patriotism. True, many public figures claim the mantle of Jeremiah and speak of impending doom. They are (thankfully) almost always wrong. But the question remains: Would we have the ability to recognize one that speaks the truth?
