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Jeremiah 33.15-26

15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause a shoot of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he

shall executejusticeand righteousness in the land.16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name wherebyshe shall be called, the LORD is our righteousness. {S}17 For thus saith the LORD: There shall not be cut off unto David a man to sit upon the throne of the

house of Israel;18 neither shall there be cut off unto the priests the Levites a man before Me to offer burnt-offerings,

and to burn meal-offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. {P}19And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying:20 Thus saith the LORD: If ye can break My covenant with the day,

and My covenant with the night, so that there should not be day and night in their season;21 Then may also My covenant be broken with David My servant, that he should not have a son toreign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, My ministers.

22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply

the seed of David My servant, and the Levites that minister unto Me. {S}23 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying:24 'Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying: The two families which the LORD did

choose, He hath cast them off? and they contemn My people, that they should be no more a nation

before them. {S}25 Thus saith the LORD: If My covenant be not with day and night, if I have not appointed the

ordinances of heaven and earth;26 then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David My servant, so that I will not take of hisseed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will cause their captivity to return,

and will have compassion on them.' {P}

How are we to understand the passage of Jeremiah? It clearly speaks of a) David, b) a man, c) arighteous shoot, d) a son, e) his seed, and, f) rulers (plural) ruling over the House of Israel. If the

passage is understood within the context of the verses preceding 15-26, which speak of the sheep

dwelling in all the cities of Israel, then we must understand the resolution to this question to mean thatDavid is the Shepard of Israel for flocks do not dwell in cities.

The preceding verses speak of "a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down (12) and theflocks again pass under the hands of him that counts them,..." (13)

Rambam clearly states when the era of Moshiach comes, do not expect that the natural order of theworld will change, but that things will continue as they have. He relates that the passage in Isaiah 11.6

is a metaphore for the political change that will occur - the lamb, like the calf will dwell safely with the

wolf and lion. Israel is the lamb, the calf is the nation which has willingly served HaShem and the

wolves are those who have been their enemies. Nachmanides however believes Isaiah to take the Isaiahpassage to be literal and states that all animals will be domesticated and sweet-tempered.

To understand the era of the Moshiach, we must look to what Jeremiah says elsewhere about David:23.5 "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and he

shall reign as king and prosper, and shall executejustice and righteousness in the land."

This passuk reads in part, in the Hebrew vahaqimoti l'David zehmachtzedek. Yet there is a perplexing passage of intrigue, 2 Samuel 14.14 wherein the pretending "widow"

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Literature, Samuel E Loewenstamm, Verlag Butzon & Bercker, 1980.

In sum, we must understand the word Kimot as, "like death" or sleeping in the dust, as nothing but a

temporal "wound" as it were. For an essential feature of Judaism is the hope of resurrection.