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Chaim Rubin provides information about a new movie that has come out, "One Night With the King", which is based on Megillas Esther. The story is mangled to some extent (as evidenced by the presence of Shmuel HaNavi), but according to the description on the website, it seems to hit enough of the basics to possibly be a worthwhile view (coming from someone who seldom watches movies). Chaim concluded his post with the question of what other episodes from Tanach would make good movies. In a comment there, I suggested the end of Bayis Rishon.

The opening scene would take place on the erev Pesach of King Yoshiyahu, with the main character of the movie, a fictional character, being born on this night. The movie would follow the life of this fictional character - birth, marriage, growth of family, etc. - as he witnesses many of the events described in II Melachim, II Divrei HaYamim, and Yirmiyahu. If he was born on the night of Yoshiyahu's Pesach, he would be 13 years old when Yoshiyahu was killed in battle, 18 years old when Yehoyakim tore up the prophecy of Yirmiyahu, in his early 20s when Babylonia replaced Egypt as the major power broker in the region, 24 at the exile of Yechoniah, and 35 at the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and the assassination of Gedaliah, which would be the final significant scene of the movie. The last few minutes would be an emotional epilogue in which the main character, by now very advanced in age, would return to the land.

Where do I sign up for my Oscar?

Yirmiyahu

I will tentatively be giving a shiur on Tish'a B'Av night at the Hillel. I was originally thinking about reworking a shiur that I gave one Shabbos afternoon as an undergrad several years back on the narrative of Gedaliah in Yirmiyah, but am now leaning towards talking about the life and times of Yirmiyahu. In an attempt to organize myself, I reviewed the book of Yirmiyah, and will probably read through whatever midrashim I can get my hands on tonight. I probably won't post the shiur here, unless there are any especially interesting midrashim that I find, but here's a quick summary of the book of Yirmiyahu that I jotted down. It might not be so intelligible unless one has learned the sefer before.
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The Life and Times of Jeremiah

Introduction: 13th year of Yoshiyahu, Yehoyakim until end of 11th year of Tzidkiyahu, galus
1) Call to prophecy – image of almond rod, boiling pot. Encouragement.
2) Kindness of youth – why rejection? Why reliance on Ashur and Egypt? Idolatry, murder of innocent.
3) Unfaithful wife. (v.6 – Yoshiyahu) Israel, Judah. Shuvu!
4) Return! Else, prepare for invasion.
5) Find one man. Susim m’zuyanim. I shall bring a nation upon you. Persecution of poor, false prophecy.
6) Prepare for attack. Shalom, shalom – v’ein shalom.
7) (Gate of BH”M) Impove your ways! Do not trust in heichal Hashem, etc. Rather, improve your ways! Steal, murder, oppress poor, idolatry, swear falsely. Shiloh. Do not pray for this nation. Tophet. V’hishbati kol sasson, etc.
8-9) Sin, punishment
10) Idolatry
11) (v.1) Punishment. (v.21) Punishment of Anasos.
12) Complaint of Jeremiah. Destruction, opportunity to return.
13) Linen belt
14) Re: droughts. Do not pray. False prophets
15) Even Moshe and Shmuel. Four kinds. B/c of Menashe. Complaint of Jeremiah.
16) Do not marry or bear children here. Do not go to house of mourning, house of feasting. Removal of joy of chasan, etc. Egypt and lands of north.
17) Iron pen, point of diamond. Trust in man/God. Personal prayer. (v. 19) Shabbos.
18) Potter’s house. (v. 18) Plots.
19) Bottle. Break bottle.
20) Pashchur ben Immeir hits Jeremiah, imprisons him. Prophecy to Pashchur, complaint.
21) Tzidkiyahu asks about Bavel – negative reply.
22) Prophecy to king – do justice, or else. Punishments to Shallum, Yehoyakim, Konyahu.
23) Against shepherds. Redemption – Tzemach tzaddik. Egypt, north. Against false prophets. Against use of word “masa”.
24) Vision of figs.
25) (4th year of Yehoyakim – 1st of NN) Repent! B/c not… Kosh Cheima to Israel, nations.
26) Beginning of Yehoyakim. Debate over killing Yirmiyahu. Achikam intervenes.
27) Beginning of Yehoyakim. Send bands and bars to Judah and neighbors – under Bavel. Vision against keilim.
28) Beginning of Tzidkiyahu. Prophecy of Chananya ben Azzur – break yoke. Yirmiyahu – Amen! Iron yoke. Death.
29) Letter to Bavel – build house, dirshu es sh’lom ha’ir. Return after 70 years. Prophecy to Achav ben Kolaya and Tzidkiya ben Ma’aseiah. To Shemaya haNechelami.
30) Record in book. Redemption.
31) Redemption. Rachel. Ephraim. New covenant.
32) 10th year of Tzidkiyahu – in prison. Chanam’el
33) 2nd vision in jail – redemption. Everlasting covenant with AIJ
34) Invasion. Prophecy to Tzidkiyahu. Slaves.
35) Yehoyakim. Reichavim.
36) 4th year of Yehoyakim. Scroll – Baruch reads in BHM. Second scroll.
37) Tzidkiyahu reigns. Sends to Yirmiyahu – pray for us – not in prison. Bavel leaves b/c of Egypt, but shall return. Arrested by Iriah ben Shelemya ben Chananya – accused of treason, imprisoned. Recalled by Tzidkiyahu. Complaint to Tzidkiyahu – transferred from dungeon to guardhouse.
38) Shephatya, et.al, get permission to arrest Yirmiyahu, throw into pit of mud.
Saved by Eved Melech. Summoned by Tzidkiyahu**
39) Teivet, 9th year of Tzidkiyahu – siege. 9 Tammuz – breach in wall. Tzidkiyahu flees, but is captured. House burned, people taken captive. Poor left in land. Yirmiyahu given to Nevuzar’adan, given to Gedaliah. Prophecy to Eved Melech.
40) Nevuzaradan speaks to Yirmiyahu. Gedaliah. Warning of Yochanan.
41) Assassination by Yishmael. Massacre of Shechemites. Yishma’el defeated – people retreat to Gerut Kimham.
42) Advice from Yirmiyahu – prophecy. Stay in land.
43) Rejection of Yirmiyahu’s words – flee to Egypt – prophecy against Egypt.
44) Prophecy against Jews of Egypt – rejection of his words.
45) 4th year of Yehoyakim – prophecy to Baruch.
46) Against Egypt.
47) Against Phlishtim.
48) Against Moav.
49) Against Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar/Chatzor, Elam.
50) Against Bavel.
51) Against Bavel. Throw prophecy of Bavel into Euphrates. Ad heina divrei Yirmiyahu.
52) Copied from Melachim II. Tzidkiyahu reigns. 10 Tevet, 9 Tammuz, capture of Tzidkiyahu, destruction of BHM, exile. Details of destruction of keilim. Execution of Seraya kohein gadol and other leaders.
Epilogue: 37th year of exile of Yehoyachin - Yehoyachin released from prison by Evil- Merodach, set above other captive kings, given daily food allotment.

Divrei Yirmiyahu

Last year, Josh Waxman at parshablog made an interesting post (which he reposted this year) in which he suggests that Yirmiyahu's complaint "Lo yadati dabeir ki na'ar anochi" - "I cannot speak, for I am a child" is not merely a figurative statement that, because he is young and from the countryside, he does not have the necessary speaking skills needed to be a prophet, but rather it is a literal statement that he is physically unable to speak - in other words, that is a young infant who is physically unable to speak. See there for the full post.

In a comment there, I provided both an additional support and an attack on his contention. On the one hand, Yalkut Shim'oni Yirmiyahu 1:262 mentions a prophecy that Yirmiyahu delivered immediately after his birth:

"My mother! You have not conceived me like the normal way of women, and you did not bear me like the normal way of childbearing women. Perhaps you are like a wayward woman, and you have set your eyes upon another man, like a Sotah? Why do you not drink the accursed waters of the Sotah? You have been very brazen!"

When his mother protested her newborn son's false accusations (especially in light of that he shouldn't be speaking at all at this age), he responds that he is referring to Tzion and Yerushalayim, not to her, his physical mother.

Hence, we see a Midrashic source which supports the possibility that Yirmiyahu's call to prophecy was when he was in utero (as opposed to his merely being designated as such at that time, as in v. 5).

However, I'm not sure how well this reading of the verse in Yirmiyah works. My impression is that the word na'ar refers more to a lad or a teenager - examples of the word's usage include Yishma'el (at age 14, when he was sent away by Avraham) and Yosef (at age 17). The word is used by Moshe when he was found by Bas-Par'o (Sh'mos 2:6 - va-tiftach va-tir'eihu es ha-yeled v'hinei na'ar bocheh), but there, Rashi comments on the strange usage of the word, and explains that, while he was only a yeled, his cries were stronger, like those of a na'ar; this implies that the word usually refers to an older child.

I do not have a concordance handy (is there a good Hebrew one online?), but one possible argument against this contention of mine is Yeshaya 7:16: "For before the lad knows to reject evil and choose good, the land which you fear shall be abandoned of its two kings". Here, it would seem that na'ar can also refer to a very young child, although it would seem to still be one who is able to talk.

Update: In a response to my comment, Josh W. quoted the Ramban on the above verse in Shmos, who brings several clear proofs that na'ar, indeed, can refer to a newborn child, as well as to an older child.