Chapter 43 is a direct continuation of the preceding chapter. The remnant of Judah, led by Yochanan ben Kareach and the army officers, had approached Yirmiyahu asking him to pray and show them the way, promising to obey the voice of Hashem whether it seemed good or bad. Yirmiyahu delivered Hashem's word to them explicitly: remain in the land of Judah and do not go down to Egypt. In the chapter before us, we see the people's response - an outright denial of the prophecy, descending to Egypt despite everything, and dragging Yirmiyahu and Baruch ben Neriah along with them. And there, in Tahpanhes, Yirmiyahu receives a new prophecy: even Egypt will not be a refuge, and Nebuchadnezzar will reach there as well.
וַיְהִי כְּכַלּוֹת יִרְמְיָהוּ לְדַבֵּר אֶל־כָּל־הָעָם אֵת כָּל־דִּבְרֵי ה' אֱלֹהֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחוֹ ה' אֱלֹהֵיהֶם אֲלֵיהֶם אֵת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה׃ - "And it came to pass, when Yirmiyahu had finished speaking to all the people all the words of Hashem their God, with which Hashem their God had sent him to them, even all these words."
At first glance, the repetition in the verse is puzzling: it had already stated "all the words of Hashem their God," so what does the ending add with "even all these words"? The Malbim explains: from the end of Yirmiyahu's words, it might have appeared as though the warning about the troubles that would befall them in Egypt was not from Hashem, but rather a personal threat from the prophet. Therefore, Scripture emphasizes - this too was from Hashem. Not only the command to remain in the land, but also the description of what would happen to them if they did not remain, were all truly the words of Hashem.
And even though the matter was dependent upon their free choice, and they could still choose good, Yirmiyahu understood from hearing their words that they had already resolved in their hearts not to remain in the land. Therefore, the prophet stressed in advance that everything - including the impending calamity - was sent from Hashem. And we immediately see that this was indeed the case, as they explicitly answer him accordingly.
וַיֹּאמֶר עֲזַרְיָה בֶן־הוֹשַׁעְיָה וְיוֹחָנָן בֶּן־קָרֵחַ וְכָל־הָאֲנָשִׁים הַזֵּדִים אֹמְרִים אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ שֶׁקֶר אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר לֹא שְׁלָחֲךָ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ לֵאמֹר לֹא־תָבֹאוּ מִצְרַיִם לָגוּר שָׁם׃ - "Then spoke Azaryah son of Hoshaiah, and Yochanan son of Kareach, and all the insolent men, saying to Yirmiyahu: 'You speak falsely; Hashem our God has not sent you to say: Do not go to Egypt to sojourn there.'"
Notice the precision in their wording: they do not deny the entire prophecy. What you told us about remaining here - that we believe is from Hashem. But the prohibition against descending to Egypt, that you added from your own heart: "Hashem our God has not sent you to say: Do not go to Egypt to sojourn there."
כִּי בָּרוּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּה מַסִּית אֹתְךָ בָּנוּ לְמַעַן תֵּת אֹתָנוּ בְיַד־הַכַּשְׂדִּים לְהָמִית אֹתָנוּ וּלְהַגְלוֹת אֹתָנוּ בָּבֶל׃ - "For Baruch son of Neriah instigates you against us, in order to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to put us to death and to exile us to Babylon."
Their claim: Baruch ben Neriah went in and out among the people and heard that they were planning to go down to Egypt. It was he who incited you to come and warn us not to go down, in order to hand us over into the hands of the Chaldeans. And behind this claim lay a "logical" calculation: by natural means, Nebuchadnezzar will surely come here and avenge the killing of Gedaliah upon us. Could it be possible that Hashem would command us not to save ourselves? Natural salvation lies in Egypt, whereas remaining here in a place of danger would require a miracle. And Hashem always commands man not to rely on miracles, but rather to act according to the natural course of events. From this, they deduced that it was impossible that Hashem had commanded them to remain in harm's way and avoid retreating to safe harbor. Because of this calculation, they refused to believe him.
וְלֹא־שָׁמַע יוֹחָנָן בֶּן־קָרֵחַ וְכָל־שָׂרֵי הַחֲיָלִים וְכָל־הָעָם בְּקוֹל ה' לָשֶׁבֶת בְּאֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה׃ - So Yochanan son of Kareach, and all the army officers, and all the people, did not obey the voice of Hashem, to remain in the land of Yehudah.
Yochanan son of Kareach, who was the leader, and all the army officers refused to listen to Yirmiyahu's words and were unwilling to stay in the land of Yehudah.
וַיִּקַּח יוֹחָנָן בֶּן־קָרֵחַ וְכָל־שָׂרֵי הַחֲיָלִים אֵת כָּל־שְׁאֵרִית יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר־שָׁבוּ מִכָּל־הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר נִדְּחוּ־שָׁם לָגוּר בְּאֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה׃ - And Yochanan son of Kareach and all the army officers took all the remnant of Yehudah, who had returned from all the nations where they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Yehudah:
This refers to those who had already been exiled and had returned to their land. And why does the verse specifically emphasize "the land of Yehudah"? Because the rest of Eretz Yisrael was already desolate. From the time Shomron and the Ten Tribes were exiled, no inhabitants remained there, and if any were there, they were the Cutheans and various peoples brought from elsewhere. The gathering and settlement of the Jewish people at that time was concentrated primarily in the land of Yehudah.
אֶת־הַגְּבָרִים וְאֶת־הַנָּשִׁים וְאֶת־הַטַּף וְאֶת־בְּנוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֵת כָּל־הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר הִנִּיחַ נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב־טַבָּחִים אֶת־גְּדַלְיָהוּ בֶּן־אֲחִיקָם בֶּן־שָׁפָן וְאֵת יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא וְאֶת־בָּרוּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּהוּ׃ - The men, the women, the children, the king's daughters, and every person whom Nevuzaradan, captain of the guard, had left with Gedalyahu son of Achikam, son of Shafan, along with Yirmiyahu the prophet and Baruch son of Neriyahu.
"With Gedalyahu son of Achikam" - meaning together with Gedalyahu son of Achikam, all those individuals whom Nevuzaradan had entrusted into his care. And dragged along among them were Yirmiyahu the prophet and Baruch son of Neriyahu as well.
וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כִּי לֹא שָׁמְעוּ בְּקוֹל ה' וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד־תַּחְפַּנְחֵס׃ - And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of Hashem; and they arrived at Tachpanches.
The Malbim explains: through this, the final curse in Mishneh Torah was brought about and fulfilled in them - "And Hashem will return you to Egypt in ships." And why, in truth, were they brought there? It was a punishment for their earlier sins, for angering the Creator of the world through idolatry, forbidden relationships, and bloodshed - all the iniquities of the First Temple era. And they, in their naivety, imagined that specifically there they would find tranquility and rest. Yet take note: Yirmiyahu goes down with them as well - to accompany them, to deliver prophecies to them, and to remain by their side.
וַיְהִי דְבַר־ה' אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ בְּתַחְפַּנְחֵס לֵאמֹר׃ קַח בְּיָדְךָ אֲבָנִים גְּדֹלוֹת וּטְמַנְתָּם בַּמֶּלֶט בַּמַּלְבֵּן אֲשֶׁר בְּפֶתַח בֵּית־פַּרְעֹה בְּתַחְפַּנְחֵס לְעֵינֵי אֲנָשִׁים יְהוּדִים׃ - The word of Hashem came to Yirmiyahu in Tachpanches, saying: "Take large stones in your hand and conceal them in the mortar in the brick pavement that is at the entrance of Pharaoh's palace in Tachpanches, before the eyes of the men of Yehudah."
What is melet? It does not refer to the cement of our day bought in bags. Rashi explains: the letter mem in melet is a prefix that is not part of the root - just as in the words makom, ma'amad, and ma'aseh. In the word ma'aseh the root is asah, in ma'amad the root is amad, and likewise here the root is lat. It stems from the expression "and he wrapped his face in his mantle" (vayallet panav be'adarto) - an idea of covering and concealing. So too with Goliath's sword that was kept in the Sanctuary with Achimelech son of Achituv: "Behold, it is wrapped in a garment" (lotah besimlah) - covered in cloth. It follows that the letters lamed-tet convey covering, and "conceal them in the melet" means in a material used to plaster and cover over.
Incidentally, for those who grasp the deeper layers of these matters, Lot himself was called by this name because he conducted his affairs under a veil of concealment. In relation to Avraham he appeared righteous and upright, but where did his heart truly aspire to go? To Sedom. With whom did he envision building his life? With the wicked of Sedom, serving as a judge among them. He was therefore called Lot, for he masked his true ways, and only later was the real character behind the facade revealed.
And a malben is a brick courtyard or brick structure, and it was located at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tachpanches. Yirmiyahu was commanded to perform this act specifically "in the sight of the men of Judah." And here the question arises: why did Yirmiyahu need to perform a physical action? Since when does a prophet turn into a mason? Wouldn't it have been enough to deliver the prophecy in words? We will return to this question at the end.
וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵיהֶם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִנְנִי שֹׁלֵחַ וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶת־נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל עַבְדִּי וְשַׂמְתִּי כִסְאוֹ מִמַּעַל לָאֲבָנִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר טָמָנְתִּי וְנָטָה אֶת־שַׁפְרִירוֹ עֲלֵיהֶם׃ - "And you shall say to them: So says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am sending and I will take Nevuchadrezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I will place his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them."
Did you think the story with Nevuchadnezzar was over? He will come here as well. And above those very stones that you concealed, he will place his throne, "and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them" - he will pitch his royal tent over them.
וּבָא וְהִכָּה אֶת־אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲשֶׁר לַמָּוֶת לַמָּוֶת וַאֲשֶׁר לַשְּׁבִי לַשֶּׁבִי וַאֲשֶׁר לַחֶרֶב לֶחָרֶב׃ - "And he shall come and strike the land of Egypt: those who are destined for death to death, those destined for captivity to captivity, and those destined for the sword to the sword."
וְהִצַּתִּי אֵשׁ בְּבָתֵּי אֱלֹהֵי מִצְרַיִם וּשְׂרָפָם וְשָׁבָם וְעָטָה אֶת־אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כַּאֲשֶׁר־יַעְטֶה הָרֹעֶה אֶת־בִּגְדוֹ וְיָצָא מִשָּׁם בְּשָׁלוֹם׃ - "And I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and take them captive; and he will wrap himself in the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, and he will depart from there in peace."
"Veshevam" (and take them captive) - from the language of captivity. And the parable is: just as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, taking the cloak, placing it over his shoulder, and going on his way with ease, so too Nevuchadnezzar will come, burn Egypt's temples of idolatry, take its inhabitants captive, take all its spoil, load it upon his shoulder - and depart from there in peace.
וְשִׁבַּר אֶת־מַצְּבוֹת בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וְאֶת־בָּתֵּי אֱלֹהֵי־מִצְרַיִם יִשְׂרֹף בָּאֵשׁ׃ - "And he shall shatter the monuments of Beit Shemesh that is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire."
What are the "monuments of Beit Shemesh that is in the land of Egypt"? Rashi explains: these are the altars built by those who converted in the days of Chizkiyahu - captives from Cush and Egypt whom Sancheriv led before Jerusalem on the day of his downfall. It is said in Yeshayahu: "On that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing by the Lord of Hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction (Ir HaHeres)." And what is the "City of Destruction"? Targum Yonatan translates: "The city of Beit Shemesh, which is destined to be destroyed, shall be said to be one of them." These are the cities built by those converts in the days of Chizkiyahu, who witnessed the great downfall of Sancheriv and Chizkiyahu's victory through the angel of Hashem; they built cities for themselves in Egypt, spoke the language of Canaan, and had altars upon which they served God. And these, Nevuchadnezzar will shatter.
How is it possible to call the wicked Nevuchadnezzar "My servant"? Furthermore, regarding Cyrus an even stronger expression is used - "to His anointed, to Cyrus." Could anyone imagine that he was the Messiah? Rather, one must distinguish between two types of "servant." Moshe Rabbeinu is called "Moshe My servant" because he himself made himself a servant of Hashem, nullifying his own will to the will of the Creator. Nevuchadnezzar, by contrast, is the exact opposite: he is a tool and a rod in the hand of Hashem, carrying out the will of Hashem without intending to do so. Scripture does not mean that Nevuchadnezzar will receive reward for fulfilling the will of God, but rather that he is like a rod in the hands of the Creator of the world - in the words of the prophet, "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger." Therefore he is called "My servant": the one who carries out My will. The only difference is who is using whom.
Let us return to the question: Why was it not enough to convey the prophecy merely in words, requiring Yirmiyahu to bury stones in mortar in the brickwork? The Ramban explains this as follows: When a prophet accompanies a prophecy with a sign and a wonder - and this does not mean a wonder in the sense of a supernatural miracle, but rather the addition of a physical action - that physical action brings the spiritual chain of descent down into the physical world of action. The matter no longer remains within the realm of "Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in heaven," but its realization begins here on earth. And once the application of the deed has begun on earth, it can never be revoked. It becomes, as it were, a prophecy from which there is no turning back.
This holds true even for negative decrees. The general rule is that the Holy One, Blessed is He, may relent from a prophecy of doom, whereas He does not retract a promise of good. However, a prophecy of doom in which the prophet performed a physical action here in this world will not be annulled. We find many prophecies in which the prophet performed a physical act: taking an earthenware flask and throwing it into water, or Elisha's words to Yehoram, "An arrow of Hashem's salvation against Aram," when he instructed him to shoot arrows toward Aram. All these acts bring the prophecy down from a theoretical spiritual reality into a practical, tangible reality, and then - says the Ramban - the decree will certainly be fulfilled, for the action establishes the matter.
Based on this principle, false prophets also acted in this manner to validate their claims: "And Tzidkiyah the son of Kena'anah made himself horns of iron and said, 'With these you shall gore Aram.'" Why did Tzidkiyah the son of Kena'anah need iron horns? He was a false prophet, but he sought to prove that his words were true. He went and fashioned horns, placed them on his head, and said: Hashem told me that with these you shall gore Aram. In other words, he brought the matter from the abstract realm of prophecy into a practical, tangible reality, as if to prove that it would indeed come to pass. In his case, however, it was entirely false. But in a true prophecy, when it is brought down into the world of action, it signifies that it will inevitably be fulfilled.
Chapter 43 presents the peak of denial: the people who had asked Yirmiyahu to inquire of Hashem and swore to obey His voice now reject the prophecy, claiming, "You speak falsely," and accuse Baruch ben Neriyah of instigation. The root of their error was an apparently natural calculation - that Hashem would not command a person to remain in a place of danger and rely on a miracle. Yirmiyahu emphasized to them that all his words, including the warning regarding the future, were sent by Hashem. They descended to Egypt and dragged the prophet with them, thereby fulfilling the curse upon themselves: "And Hashem will bring you back to Egypt in ships." In Tachpanches, Yirmiyahu was commanded to bury stones at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace as a sign that Nevuchadnezzar, "My servant" - the rod in the Creator's hand - would establish his throne there, strike Egypt, burn the houses of its gods, and take its spoils just as a shepherd wraps himself in his cloak. And the physical action performed by the prophet was no mere ceremony: it was the bringing down of the prophecy from heaven to earth, and once its application began in the world of action, there was no turning back from it.