Rashi on the Prophets and Writings
Jeremiah 16
house of mourning feasting. In Sifrei, in the section dealing with Beth-peor (Balak), I saw. They returned to make feasts (מַרְזֵיחִין) for them, but our Rabbis explained מַרְזֵחַ as ‘a mourner.’
you bemoan you shall lament.
for I have gathered in My peace, etc. When their father Abraham performed charity and justice, I gave his children loving-kindness and mercy, as in Deut. 7:12: “And the Lord your God shall keep for you the covenant and the loving-kindness, etc.” Also (Deut. 13:18), “And He shall give you mercy.” They turned “justice into wormwood, and cast righteousness to the ground” (Amos 5:7). I, too, have returned and gathered in to Me My loving-kindness and My mercies.
I have gathered in (ote in O.F.), taken off. Comp. (Gen. 30:23) “God has gathered (אסף) in my disgrace.”
And large and small shall die And since everyone will die, why should you lament?
and they shall not cut their flesh nor shall they tear their hair for them It is the custom of mourners to cut and tear their flesh and to tear their hair our of their head. In any case, it is forbidden for Jews, but he mentions it here only as an example of mourning.
And they shall not break [bread] for them an expression of breaking. Comp. (Dan. 5:25) “Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin, (divided).” This alludes to the practice of giving a meal to the mourners in the city square and they break for them the bread upon reciting the blessing of ‘hamotzi.’ (I Sam. 9: 13) “For he will bless the sacrifices,” Jonathan renders: He will break (פָרִיס) bread.
neither will they give them to drink etc This is the reason for what I said, “Neither go to lament.”
And to a house of feasting that I said to you above, “You shall not go,” this is the reason: Behold, I will cut off from this place, etc.
and you will serve there other gods Jonathan paraphrases: And you will serve there nations that worship idols day and night.
Therefore An expression of an oath. Although you betrayed Me, I have an oath that I will redeem you.
and it shall no longer be said Our Rabbis expounded: Not that the departure from Egypt shall be uprooted from its place, but the final redemption will be the most important and the departure from Egypt secondary to it.
and they will fish them Just as the fisher takes - it i.e., - the fish from its habitat, so will these capture them within the city, and just as the manner of a fish, that when he is caught he dies, so will I bring killers upon them, and afterwards I will send hunters for the survivors and for those who flee from the sword to the mountains and the hills, and they will hunt them to exile them in captivity.
the doubling of their iniquity Because they repeated their iniquity to do the iniquities of their fathers. And Jonathan renders in this manner: And I will recompense the second ones like the first ones double.
and my refuge (mon vantement in French), my boast. And Menahem (Machbereth p. 123) classified it as an expression of a wonder. Cf. (Psalms 60:6) “You have given those who fear You a wonder to be wondrous (נֵס לְהִתְנוֹסֵס).”
to You nations will come Eventually, the heathens will come to you and worship You of one accord, and they will say, “How did they make gods for themselves, and they are no gods?”
from the ends of Like מִקְצֵה, from the end of.
handed down an expression of an inheritance.
avail an expression of use (תּוֹעֶלֶת).
that My name is the Lord As its apparent meaning, a ruler and a sovereign to fulfill My decree.
You arrive at the cited line; the whole work is yours to read around it. The text is set from the cited public-domain edition.