Some general background on the "Haftarot"

Introduction to the Haftarah 

There are actually two separate and distinct versions of the Haftarah of Parshat  Kedoshim - that of the Sefardic community and that of the Ashkenazic community.

In the Sefardic custom, the Haftarah is taken from the twentieth chapter of Yechezkel (20:2-20), and deals, as we shall see, with the theme of HaShem's Justice; the  Ashkenazic custom is to read this week's Haftarah from Sefer Amos (9:7-15), which  deals with the theme of the special qualities of the People of Israel.  This essay will only deal with the Sefardic version.

Yechezkel fleshes out some details of the expression used by the Angels when they  protested HaShem's drowning of the Egyptian army in the crashing waves of the Yam   Suf, and His Redeeming of Israel, "Halalu V'halalu ovday avodah zarah," "Both these   (the Egyptians) and those (the Jewish People) are idol worshippers!" 

The Prophet of the Haftarah also describes how the Jewish People in the desert so mishandled their great opportunity that they almost caused the short-circuiting of their delivery into the Holy Land.

Yechezkel also emphasizes, as does Parshat Kedoshim, the centrality of the Command of Shabbat in the Jewish Religion.

Confrontation with the "Elders"

The Haftarah actually begins with the appearance of a certain group of "elders" of the Jewish People before Yechezkel and before G-d to discuss the harsh fate of the Jewish People.  It is a matter of dispute among the commentators as to whether these "elders" were wicked or righteous.

According to RASHI, these "elders" came to Yechezkel with the following question/demand, "We demand to know why we should remain loyal to the G-d of Israel and to His Torah!?  After all, does a servant who was sold by his master still owe allegiance to him?  Must a wife divorced by her husband still owe him faithfulness and loyalty?  Has not G-d treated us in this manner!  Selling us and exiling us among the nations and leaving us, as a divorcee, 'muteret l'chol adam,' available for attack and plunder by any nation that so desires!"

RASHI says that his interpretation is proved by the response of HaShem found later in  this Chapter of Yechezkel; specifically 20:32, where HaShem says, "And that 'great idea'  of yours will never be allowed to happen, that which you say, 'We will be as the nations,  as the families of all the lands, to worship trees and rocks.' 'By My Life, says HaShem, if I will not rule over you with a strong hand, and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of fury!' "

RADAK, Rav David Kimchi, on the other hand, is of the opinion that these "elders" were righteous.  They were asking a legitimate question, "Why was G-d punishing the Jewish People so severely?"  And they had no intention of abandoning the Torah, or their righteousness.  They were asking in all humility, as Avraham Avinu had asked concerning the fate of Sodom, "Would the Judge of all the World not do Justice?"  RADAK points out that according to the Seder Olam, these "elders" were none other than Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah!

HaShem's Response to the "Elders" Concerning Egypt

HaShem accuses the Jewish People of descending nearly to the depths of idol worship to which the Egyptians had sunk.  His rescue and redemption of the People of Israel was only by virtue of His Promise to them and to their ancestors to redeem them.

And also, to prevent "Chilul HaShem," the Desecration of His Name that would have inevitably occurred were the People of Israel to have perished along with the Egyptians.  For the Egyptians would have said, "their G-d is not strong enough to take His People out of Egypt."

Here we see the example that Moshe Rabbeinu used when he defended the Jewish People after they committed the sin of believing the "Meraglim," the "Scouts," concerning Eretz Yisrael.  Where he said to HaShem that if He would destroy the Jewish People in the desert, that would cause a "Chilul HaShem," because the nations of the world would say that HaShem could not defeat the powerful nations of Canaan.

Foreshadowing that great sin in the desert that would occur later, HaShem says, "On that day I swore to take them out to the Land which I had scouted out, flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands." (Yechezkel 20:6)

HaShem's Response to the "Elders" Concerning the Desert

In the desert, HaShem appeared to the Jewish People on Mt. Sinai and gave them His wonderful Commandments, that encapsulated the entire Torah, and were a set of instructions designed for man "to live by" (Yechezkel 20:11).

Yet the response was "And the House of Israel rebelled against me in the desert; they did not follow my Statutes, and rejected my Laws as repugnant, those made for a person to live by…" (Yechezkel 20:13)

HaShem's Response to the "Elders" Concerning the Shabbat

HaShem also gave to the Jewish People the Holy Shabbat - "The splendor of greatness and the crown of salvation, the day of contentment and holiness have you given to Your People." (from the "Atah Echad" Prayer of the Shabbat Minchah Shemoneh Esray)  But the Laws of Shabbat were disobeyed and its spirit violated!  And in connection with Shabbat, we find again a type of "chilul," or desecration.  "And My Shabbatot they profaned greatly." (Yechezkel 20:13)

Another Warning

As he reviews the early history of the Jewish People, HaShem, through Yechezkel, focuses on the generation that would enter and conquer the Land of Israel under Yehoshua.  That generation is warned against contaminating the Land of Israel by idolatrous and immoral behavior - that beautiful, sensitive and Holy Land.  But, in the verses that follow the Haftarah, we see that that generation also rejected holiness and clung to the old, debased culture of idolatry.

Connections to the Parshah

The main thrust of Parshat Kedoshim is Hashem's Command that His People become a Holy Nation, distinguished by its moral behavior and its faith in the true G-d.  Yechezkel rails against the People for continuously backsliding into their old self-destructive habits of idolatry and immorality.

Parshat Kedoshim warns the People against the contamination of the Holy Land of Israel, which has a moral barometer of its own, "and let that Land to which I am bringing you not spit you out …"   Yechezkel also speaks of the rejection by the Jewish people of the Holy Land of Israel, "the most beautiful of all the lands," mainly in the sense of its deep spiritual beauty.

Parshat Kedoshim commands the Jewish people to observe the Mitzvot of HaShem, to make themselves distinct from the other nations of the world (Vayikra 20:23);  Yechezkel recounts the rejection of the Commands of Hashem by the People of Israel in favor of idolatry and immorality.

Parshat Kedoshim commands a life of discipline and morality, "Vehitkadishtem," the reflexive verb form meaning "Make yourselves holy" (Vayikra 20:7); Yechezkel details how the Jewish People always chose the path of "chilul," or profanation, rejecting holiness and special-ness, "Chilul Shabbat" and "Chilul HaShem."

Conclusion

Throughout our history, we've experienced the consequences of abandoning the lifestyle advocated, even demanded by the Torah and its Author.  Perhaps now, as we return to Independence in the "Eretz HaTzvi," the beautiful and Holy Land, we will be wiser.

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel