Lion-Fanged Locusts; Oh my!

This reflection is part of the ongoing Forest Hills Haftorah Series. The rest of the content can be found here: https://www.sefaria.org/groups/FHJC-Haftorah-Series .

(above: The prophet Yoel, with a quote from the second chapter of his oracles.)

Every single one of the prophetic oracles that our prophets of yore left us is dramatic, urgent, and memorable. (If it was bland and boring, it would not have been eternalized into the TaNaKh-collection, preserved for thousands of years unto this very day!)

But dramatic as they all are, many of them start with even a heightened moment of drama and intensity.

One such prophet is Yoel, of unknown time and unknown place!

But before I share with you his opening words, take a moment to picture this:

You have a wonderful view of the horizon; perhaps you are looking out from the edge of high cliff, maybe somewhere in the Galilee. As you enjoy and soak in the fresh air, you survey the land below and way off to the distance, enjoying the view of the beautiful rolling hills, the greenery, sunshine and blue skies...

And then, way off in the horizon, something catches your eye. It almost looks like a cloud. And before your very eyes, it gets bigger... and bigger... and bigger, growing at an increasingly impossible rate.

Before you know it, the sun itself is darkened.

If you were in said situation, the only reasonable things to do would be to get indoors as fast as you can, close all of the windows... and pray; For short of YHWH himself intervening, there is nothing that can stop what's coming, nor even slow it down.

Yoel's opening declaration in his oracles is terrifying, as he tells us that the above experience is right around the corner, the likes of which has never been seen: (Even though Yoel appears to be speaking in past tense, he is probably using what is called the prophetic-past-tense, in which a prophet speaks of things in the future that are so certain that they are described as if they they had a already happened. This is a popular rhetorical technique amongst the prophets.)

The translation to the last line is one of those which is hard to render in English, for in the Hebrew, Yoel draws on four different synonyms for locust, each word highlighting a different one of the locust's characteristics. (Some have suggested that they refer to locusts at different stages of their development.)

Gazam - From a root which means to cut off;

Arbeh - From rabbah, to multiply or become numerous;

Yahlek - From a root which means to lick up; devour;

Hasil - From a root which means to consume.

Here are two more translations of the last line for comparison. The first, from The Good News Bible, which is actually, less a "translation" and more of a "thought-for-thought" interpretation of the Bible. And the second, from The Scriptures 2009, which tries to be much more word-for-word:

In an agricultural-driven society, this was a very real, and possibly constant fear, which is evident in how often the authors of the works in the TaNaKh draw on locust-imagery. In the proverbs-collection, there is even a statement that locusts, while small, are one of the wisest of creatures, for reasons directly tied to their swarming tendencies:

And then of course, remember the Exodus narrative? The locust-swarm was one of the very plagues that YHWH had Moshe threaten the Egyptian Pharaoh with, when the Pharaoh continued to refuse to free Israel from servitude:

I find it noteworthy that both Moshe and Yoel describe the impending plague as being such that had never before been seen.

As terrifying as locust-swarms could be, it was certainly understandable that any Egyptian who hears this threat would begin to panic, and even to pressure their own Pharaoh to capitulate:

We have to just take a moment to appreciate the extent of the Egyptian people's fear so as to pressure their Pharaoh like this. Consider this excerpt from allabouthistory.org:

Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs were the ancient kings of Egypt. Pharaohs were considered one of the more important of all the Egyptian gods. While a pharaoh was ruling, he took on the "incarnation" of the god Horus and the son of Re. Once the pharaoh died, he was identified with the god Osiris, the god of the underworld.

Not only were Pharaohs gods, but they were incarnations of Horus, a god believed to be as expansive as the sky itself, one of his eyes the moon, and the other the sun!

It would either take an inhuman amount of courage to stand up to such a figure, or else a terror of something that is of such an intensity that one would stop at nothing to avoid it.

Yoel even takes things further than did Moshe!; for in his case, these are not just any old normal locusts, but some kind of strange horrific mutation:

If you've lasted this long and are still with us, but are starting to think you might not last much longer if all of this talk of locusts continues, let me assure you that this is all in the first of four total chapters of Yoel; and things do get better.

Much better.

In fact, in this week's Haftorah we get to read of salvation; but talk of salvation is only intelligible and meaningful if one knows and appreciates that which one is being saved from. The greater the threat, the more significant the rescue.

And just in case the pictures and the quotes from Yoel and Moshe above haven't quite gotten the point across yet, here's an episode from a "What If...?" series I found online:

Sorry for any nightmares! But I think if we don't appreciate the horror of the image that Yoel, or Moshe were trying to convey, then we really miss out on the full range of the intended emotional impact the authors of the works in the TaNaKh try to evoke within us, and then we ultimately miss out on the most meaningful TaNaKh-study experience we could have.

But let me tell you a wonderful secret about the prophets of ancient Israel and Judea; If, as your reading, things seem to get more and more bleak; more and more horrific and unbearable; just keep going!

For if a prophet seems to be so committed to portraying doom-and-gloom, it's all only a "set-up" for what will come after.

This is something I always try to remind myself of for whenever I need my own little boost or divine comfort. And there's one line from the Israelite and Judean collection of prayer-poems, as powerful as it is concise, which never fails to lift my spirits when needed. (You might recognize it if you regularly recite the introductory psalms in traditional Jewish settings.)

I've even wondered if this profound lesson was imbedded by the Almighty into the very fabric of the cosmos itself! Could this be why the very beginning of Genesis, we are reminded again and again that morning follows evening?

As dark as things might ever get - and remember, in this case we're even speaking of a literal darkness - dawn is right around the corner.

Ultimately, YHWH-Almighty is in control; and one of his most important roles - which we have a right to demand of him - is to be there for us, to redeem us completely, to be a shield for us from dangers.

The Herald of Zion was intending to be taken seriously when he said the following:

One of the very titles of the Almighty is Our-Redeemer! So if there is ever a moment when Israel is still in need of being redeemed, the story is not yet over.

And so as disturbing as all of the locust imagery in the beginning of the oracles of Yoel can be, you only have to get to the second chapter to get to the great redemption moment.

But before getting there, Yoel first tells us what we have to do in order to arouse YHWH's mercy, for we have a part to play as well. For while it's true that YHWH's love for Israel is unbounded, unconditional and uncompromising, we sometimes send him the wrong message; that we don't care for his kindnesses, we don't value, need, or even want his protection and his presence.

And so Yoel gives very clear, step-by-step instructions as to how Israelites can go about repairing their eternal relationship with the ever-patient Almighty:

Sometimes it's hard to know the right course of action; Though in this case, Yoel could not be any clearer:

1. Blow a horn in Zion;
2. Fast;
3. Gather together in community;
4. Purify selves;
5. Turn with all of our hearts to YHWH.

And in doing so, what, as a result, will happen? He tells us that, too.

This whole passage is worth reading and cherishing. But I highlighted the moments that I found to be either particularly relevant or beautiful.

Note how not only is Israel here promised an abundance of blessings (grain, grass, fruit, grain...), but what Yoel describes is a complete reversal of every single hardship that he warned about, just one chapter ago.

I read a really nice thought on this in the Pulpit Bible Commentary, a work published in 1897(!!!) that I think is worth sharing; That in the above passage we see YHWH bringing about a Twofold Restoration.

1. The restoration of the physical (i.e., agricultural) riches that were lost as a result of this beyond-devastating locust swarm. But, possibly more importantly:

2. Restoration of the privilege of true worship and communion, as can be seen in verses 26 and 27.

Here is how the commentary puts it:

Loving fellowship with the infinite Father is also another privilege which we have lost. The restoration of this is the consummation of blessedness. "In thy presence is fulness of joy." This last restoration is the most urgent and the most glorious one. The restoration of lost material mercies to a man, community, or country, is a Divine work for which gratitude should be cherished and practically exemplified; but the restoration of lost religious privileges, the true worship of God and true fellowship with him, is the transcendent restoration. When this is realized, the world’s redemption is completed.

I love this statement - that restoration of material things is a divine work "For which gratitude should be cherished." Having something to be grateful for, and having the ability to express this gratitude to the Almighty, is truly such a gift in and of itself; and while the restored rain and health of the land is a cause for much joy and celebration, what's even greater is that this symbolizes a restored and repaired relationship between YHWH, the god of Israel on one hand, and the people of Israel on the other.

One of my favorite rabbinic traditions is reciting a paragraph from the 11th chapter of Deuteronomy:

Of course, it is unclear how, and if at all, any of the above applies today, for this statement is placed in a particular context; The Israelites just on the verge of entering entering their homeland, living as an autonomous people under the sovereignty of YHWH, who is living right their with them in their very midst.

I have heard some even claim that we should no longer feel bound to recite this regularly, for we "know" that there is not a correlation between obedience to YHWH and the weather around us. I even believe that certain Jewish prayer-books have removed this paragraph, or presented it as one amongst several possibilities for daily recitation.

But wait a second... is it so clear that this paragraph is irrelevant? What this paragraph emphasizes is that there is supposed to be a wholesome, triangular relationship between man, land, and god. If the connection between any of these three parties breaks down, the rest will not be far behind.

I think Yoel, as well as his Israelite audience truly appreciated, in ways that we should really take to heart, that human beings have real power and influence over the world around them. If nature was unkind, if the locusts were out of control, if the rain schedule was off; then it was time to engage in a serious cheshbon ha'nefesh, or collective accounting of themselves. How were they conducting themselves in their lives in ways which might have caused a breakdown in a healthy relationship between them as a people, their land, and their god? And what behavior changes were therefore incumbent upon them?

And I cannot help but think that there is real urgency that we try to reclaim this type of orientation to the world around us today.