The first haftarah of admonition

The Haftarah portion for Pinehas (Jer. 1:1-2:3) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman. Questions for Discussion: In this haftarah, the opening of the prophecy of Jeremiah, God responds to Jeremiah’s unarticulated sense of inadequacy for the task, essentially by saying that this is what Jeremiah was created to do. • Do you ever feel called to particular work in the world but feel inadequate? What would give you the reassurance you need to move forward? • The prophet is specifically called to speak difficult truths to the people Israel, in the hopes of moving them to repent. Are there difficult conversations that you are avoiding? What do you need to do to be able to have them in a productive way? • Who do you see finding an effective way to speak difficult truths in the public sphere? JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.