ירמיהו, פרק ב׳, פסוק ח׳

A tragic collapse of the entire national leadership structure unfolds, revealing how those entrusted with guiding the people betrayed their roles and emptied them of meaning [מלבי״ם]. The pillars of society—the priesthood, the scholars, the political leaders, and the prophets—each failed in their unique responsibilities.

The priests, whose natural duty was to teach God's ways and stand before Him, abandoned their spiritual calling. The primary approach among commentators is that they refrained from rebuking the public and never questioned why the people had forsaken God. Their service in the Temple became entirely technical, devoid of any genuine search for closeness to the Divine [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. They were content to accept the meat of the sacrifices without demanding sincere repentance from those bringing the offerings [אדרת אליהו]. Furthermore, they ignored glaring spiritual warning signs. For instance, when the Yom Kippur lot for the scapegoat repeatedly came up in the left hand—a sign of strict divine justice—they did not pause to ask why God was angry [צוארי שלל, חומת אנך]. They also turned a blind eye to the obvious contrast between the miracles occurring in the Holy Temple and the complete absence of such wonders in the shrines of idols [אהבת יהונתן].

The members of the Sanhedrin and the Torah scholars [רש״י, מצודת דוד] similarly corrupted their positions. They treated the Torah merely as a tool or a profession to profit from, rather than a sacred pursuit [מלבי״ם]. Although they engaged deeply with the text, their study was not for the sake of Heaven, and it failed to penetrate their hearts or influence their actions [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This profound disconnect resulted in the desecration of God's name. When the general public observed these scholars disrespecting prayer, acting with arrogance, or bowing to wicked kings, the masses learned to sin even further [צוארי שלל, חומת אנך, אהבת יהונתן]. The scholars clung rigidly to the technical rules of the law but completely missed its essential demand for repentance [אדרת אליהו].

Following the corruption of the scholars, the political and social leaders—the kings, the wealthy, and the public officials—also rebelled against God [רש״י, רד״ק, צוארי שלל]. Their rebellion stemmed directly from their disrespect for the Torah scholars. Once respect for Torah was lost, there was no moral authority left to rebuke the generation, allowing crime to multiply [צוארי שלל]. These leaders failed to realize that if they had simply directed their hearts toward God, He would have stood by their side and assisted them in guiding the nation [צוארי שלל].

Finally, the spiritual visionaries of the generation were replaced by false prophets who spoke in the name of the idol Baal [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק]. Unlike true prophets, who were granted visions of both prosperity and calamity, these false prophets connected themselves to impure forces capable only of foreseeing disaster [אהבת יהונתן]. They led the nation toward idols and empty ideologies that offered absolutely no substance or benefit [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Ultimately, instead of waiting for disaster to pursue them as a natural punishment for their sins, these leaders actively chased after their own ruin [אדרת אליהו].