A famous passage in the Book of Jeremiah speaks of a “bush in the desert that doesn’t sense the coming of good” and a “tree planted by waters…that does not sense the coming of heat.” These images illustrate curse for “the individual who trusts in mortals” and blessing “for the individual who trusts in God” (Jer 17:6,8).

…Jer 16:19 – 17:14 is the haftarah (prophetic portion) for parashat Bechukotai, the final Torah portion in Leviticus. Find full text at Mechon-Mamre, or see haftarah and annotations at Sefaria; pertinent verses also copied below….

Like much of Jeremiah, this passage alternates between threat of doom for those who go after lies, no-gods, “things that are futile and worthless” [hevel v’ein bam mo’il] (16:19) and promise of abundant resources for those who seek divine guidance, the “Fount of living waters [m’kor mayim chayyim]” (17:13).

On its own, the image of the “bush in the desert” seems to leave the cursed individual forever without access to good. However, the haftarah concludes: “Heal me, Eternal One, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved. For You are my glory” (17:14). This hopeful prayer suggests the possibility of change.

Heal me, Heal us

The passage doesn’t spell out a mechanism for change, beyond the prayer: “Heal me.” So, it is noteworthy that Jer 17:14 enters the liturgy in the plural: “Heal us…Save us…” (see note in Matir Asurim guiding concepts).

Maybe Jeremiah believed that an individual could somehow turn from “futile things” to trusting God and so move, with divine assistance, from curse to blessing. Or maybe his worldview did not see individuals as essentially separate from community. In either case, later Jewish tradition leans heavily toward communal experience, collective prayer, and joint responsibility.

Jeremiah’s separate bush and tree images might suggest that individuals are each responsible to overcome our own desolation and will reap our own rewards when we give up on futile things. But is this really meant to be a lone endeavor?

• Where some of us are unable to sense coming good, can — should — others among us simply enjoy a lack of coming heat?
  • As a matter of practicality, does it serve the communal whole to leave some folks to their own desolation?
  • As a matter of practicality, will the fortune of those not even sensing heat hold in the long run?
  • As an ethical matter, what is the responsibility of those who have access to water in terms of reaching out to those who do not?
• “Scorched places in the wilderness,” without anyone around, are harsh spots in which to pursue healing: Did Jeremiah envision an individual remaining there without even a taste of fruit from trees with roots by a stream? Do we?

As a whole, this haftarah suggests that there is abundance, and there is need, and we will all better thrive in a precarious world when we help one another (re-)connect with the Fount of living waters.

Jeremiah

וְהָיָה כְּעַרְעָר בָּעֲרָבָה

וְלֹא יִרְאֶה כִּי־יָבוֹא טוֹב

וְשָׁכַן חֲרֵרִים בַּמִּדְבָּר

אֶרֶץ מְלֵחָה וְלֹא תֵשֵׁב

He shall be like a bush in the desert,
Which does not sense the coming of good:
It is set in the scorched places of the wilderness,
In a barren land without inhabitant.

וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל-מַיִם

וְעַל-יוּבַל יְשַׁלַּח שָׁרָשָׁיו

וְלֹא ירא יִרְאֶה כִּי-יָבֹא חֹם

וְהָיָה עָלֵהוּ רַעֲנָן

וּבִשְׁנַת בַּצֹּרֶת לֹא יִדְאָג

וְלֹא יָמִישׁ מֵעֲשׂוֹת פֶּרִי

He shall be like a tree planted by waters,
Sending forth its roots by a stream:
It does not sense the coming of heat,
Its leaves are ever fresh;
It has no care in a year of drought,
It does not cease to yield fruit.

רְפָאֵנִי יְהֹוָה וְאֵרָפֵא

הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי וְאִוָּשֵׁעָה

כִּי תְהִלָּתִי אָתָּה׃

Heal me, O ETERNAL One, and let me be healed;
Save me, and let me be saved;
For You are my glory.

— Jeremiah 17:6, 8, 14