Haftarah of Parshat Shoftim - 5760

"I, Even I, Am the One that Comforts You"

(Yeshayahu 51:12)

The Haftarah of Shoftim is the fourth of the "Haftarot of Consolation," in the series of seven such Haftarot.  Both the Ashkenazic and Sefardic communities take this Haftarah from the Book of Yeshayahu, beginning with "Perek"/Chapter 51, Verse 12, through (and including) Chapter 52, Verse 12.

Introduction

In the conversation that Avudraham constructs from these Haftarot, the "shiva d'nechemta," among HaShem, His Prophets and the People of Israel, this is the one in which HaShem responds directly to the complaint of the People of Israel, voiced in Yeshayahu 49:14,

"And Zion said, 'The L-rd has forsaken me,
And G-d has forgotten me.' "

There is in that complaint the idea that G-d has given up on the world, and has withdrawn to His celestial abode, declaring the experiment with the human race a failure.  HaShem responds, "Not so fast!  I'm in this for the long haul.  We can put Our relationship back together."

The Haftarah - Translation and Commentary

Yeshayahu 51:12

"I, even I, am the One that comforts you:
Who do you think you are,
To be afraid of Man who will die,
And of the son of Man,
Who will be made as grass."  

HaShem uses the word "Anochi" for "I," the same word that begins the "Aseret HaDibrot," the "Ten Commandments," to remind the Jewish People of their great past, including that transcendent moment that they stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai, and received the Torah.

Turning around their complaint, HaShem argues, as RASHI and Metzudat David explain "Daughter of righteous parents, full of the merit of  observance of the Commandments, why did you abandon Me, your  Eternal source of strength, Who is worthy of being feared, in favor of human tyrants  who are here today and gone tomorrow?"

Yeshayahu 51:13

HaShem continues to reverse the complaint voiced by the Jewish People, now dealing with the second half of the "Passuk"/Verse, where they said of G-d, "You forgot us!""

"And you forgot HaShem,
Who made you; 
Who spreads out the heavens,
And lays the foundation of the earth,
And you were afraid all day
Of the anger of the (human) oppressor,
Who was prepared to destroy;
But where is the fury of the oppressor?" 

Yeshayahu 51:14

"He that is bent down shall speedily be untied,
And he shall not go down dying into the pit;
Neither shall his bread fail."

HaShem says, "You will have survived the terrors of the Exile, and those who have perished will be brought back to life, for I am the 'Memit U-Mechaye,' the One Who kills and restores to life.' "  

Yeshayahu 51:15

"For I am the L-rd your G-d,
Who quiets the sea or makes its waves roar,  
The L-rd of Hosts is His Name." 

I rule over Nature; I split the sea when you left Egypt, and I can make a storm at will; I rule above and I rule below. (RADAK)

Yeshayahu 51:16

"And I have put My Words in your mouth,
And have covered you in the shadow of My Hand;
That I may plant the heavens,
And lay the foundations of the earth,

And say unto Zion,
'You are My People.' "

I gave you the Torah (Metzudat David), because I am the Author of Morality, without which Heaven and Earth would not exist, and you are a necessary part of My plan for the world.  

I will plant you on your Land under the heavens, to which I have compared you, when I instructed your father Avraham to count the stars, if he could count them. (M.D.)

And you will be as if planted in your land, to which I have also compared you when I said, "And I will make the number of your descendants like the sand of the earth." (M.D.)

"Covered you in the shadow of My hand" - protected you during all of the Exile, as long as you obeyed the Torah" (RADAK)

"To plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth" - until the time of ingathering of the Exiles, when Nature itself will be re-created.  (RADAK)  

Yeshayahu 51:17

"Awaken yourself, awaken yourself,
Stand up, Jerusalem;
That has drunk at the Hand of the L-rd
The cup of His fury;
The very dregs of the cup of confusion
You drank, and drained."  

You have suffered the full measure of HaShem's anger, and your sin is atoned; now I command you to awaken yourself. (M.D.)

Yeshayahu 51:18

"There is none to guide her
From all the sons she has brought forth;
And there is none to strengthen her hand,
From all the children she has raised."  

In Babylonia, she seems exhausted, with no leaders able to rise up to help her. (M.D.)  

Yeshayahu 51:19

"These two have befallen you,
Who can comfort you?
Desolation and destruction,
Famine and the sword;
Whose suffering can I compare to yours,
To comfort you?"

The "two" forms of suffering are presented as a pair, followed by a corresponding pair, in reverse sequence.  Thus, "desolation" corresponds to "the sword" and "destruction" to "famine." (M.D. )

Which nation can I compare to you, in terms of degree of suffering, the knowledge of which might bring you some measure of comfort?  (M.D.)

Yeshayahu 51:20  

"Your sons have fainted,
Lain down in the streets,
As a wild ox trapped in a net;
Full of the fury of HaShem,
The shouting of your G-d."  

Your sons have fainted from lack of water and food.  The dead lie in the streets with none to bury them, as motionless as a wild ox trapped in a hunter's net, unable to move.

Yeshayahu 51:21

"Therefore, listen to this,
O afflicted one,
Drunk, but not on wine." 

"Therefore" - Because you have experienced the full measure of suffering, that atones for all your sins;

and you are "drunk" - confused as if drunk, but not from the drinking of wine, but rather as the effect of all your suffering.  (M.D.)

Yeshayahu 51:22

"Thus says your Master, HaShem,
'The L-rd shall fight for His Nation -
Behold, I have taken from your hand 
The cup of confusion,
The drained cup of My fury,
You will not have to drink from it again.' "  

Before the Final Redemption, Israel will have drunk deeply and fully of the Cup of Agony and Suffering throughout its history.

Yeshayahu 51:23

"And I will place it in the hand of those that afflict you;
Who said to you, 'Lie down so that we will walk on you;'
And you made your back as if it were the earth;
And as if it were the street for passers-by."  

HaShem will take revenge for the suffering of Israel.

Yeshayahu 52:1

“Awaken, Awaken, 
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the Holy City;
From now on, there will never enter you
The uncircumcised and the unclean.”  

Metzudat David:  “Awaken, Awaken” - Wake up from the deep sleep of pain, and wear again the spirit that emboldened you before.  Yerushalayim, the Holy City, wear again the clothing of your glory and of your happiness!

Yeshayahu uses three different but similar words to mean, essentially, “Wake up!”: “Hitoreri,” “Uri,” and “Hitna’ari.”  The last has a slightly different connotation, actually, and means “Shake yourself.”  The first two, however, reflect an interesting contrast.  In “Passuk” 51:17, Yeshayahu turned to the City of Yerushalayim and urged it to “Wake yourself up! Wake yourself up!”  The City would be required to look inward, as it were, gather its strength, and pull itself out of its mourning.  It apparently was unable to do so.  So in “Passuk” 52:1, Yeshayahu uses a different term, “Wake up! Wake up!” not asking the City to use its own resources, which had been greatly diminished, but providing help for it, by issuing a command, in the Name of HaShem.  With this Divine assistance, it was finally able to rise.

Yeshayahu 52:2

“Shake yourself free of the dust,
Arise and be seated, O Jerusalem;
Loosen yourself from the bands around your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.”  

Just living in the Diaspora, in a country, no matter how affluent, that is not governed by an independent Jewish government, especially when a country that is so governed is available, is a form of slavery for a Jew.

Yeshayahu 52:3

"For thus says Hashem,
'You were sold for nothing;
So shall you be redeemed without payment of silver.' "  

"You were sold for nothing" - That is, only because of your sins  (RADAK)

"So shall you be redeemed without payment of silver" - Rather, only through your Repentance (RADAK)

Yeshayahu 52:4

"For thus says the L-rd HaShem,
My People went down to Egypt only to live there for a while,
And Ashur oppressed them for no reason."  

Both Egypt and Assyria/Babylonia overstepped their bounds in the persecution of Israel.  For although HaShem had made a decree requiring that the Jewish People be enslaved, in the first case, and punished, in the second, Egypt should not have imposed such harsh, back-breaking tasks upon them, and Ashur/Bavel should not have shown such cruelty as they did.  They exhibited excessive cruelty when Sancheriv exiled the Ten Tribes and Nevuchadnezzar destroyed Yerushalayim and exiled the Tribes of Yehudah and Binyamin.  (RADAK)

Yeshayahu 52:5

" 'And now, therefore, for what reason am I here?'
Says HaShem,
'For My People was taken for nothing;
Those who ruled over them made them wail,'
Says HaShem,
'And continually all of the day,
My Name is blasphemed.' "

The context of this Passuk is the Third Exile.  Hashem, as it were, asks, "Why have I made this Exile so long and hard?  The oppressors of My People have shown them no mercy; nor have they refrained from killing them for the 'crime' of clinging to their faith."  

I've translated the expression "yehelilu," as "they made them wail," following the RADAK, who takes the root as being "to wail;" as found in connection with the Shofar blast of "Teruah," which the Talmud describes as "yelala," a wailing cry.  RASHI and Metzudat David translate that expression as meaning "they cried out triumphantly."  

Yeshayahu 52:6

Therefore, let My People know My Name;
Therefore, on that day, let them know that
I am the Speaker!
Here am I."  

Let them know, at the time of the Redemption, that I am worthy of My Name, for I have kept all the promises that I spoke. (RASHI and Metzudat David)

Yeshayahu 52:7

"How beautiful on the hills,
Are the feet of the messenger who brings good news!
Who announces peace, brings word of goodness,
Announces Salvation,
Saying to Zion, 'Your G-d has ruled.' "  

How wonderful will it be when the messenger comes, announcing the salvation of Israel, for then it will be evident to all, not just to people of faith, that HaShem is, was and always will be King! (RADAK)

"Peace" is the cessation of war, "Goodness" is the return to radiant potential, as the World possessed at the time of Creation, and "Salvation" is redeemed potential.

Perhaps the reference to the "feet" of the messenger has to do with the re-institution of the "Shalosh Regalim," the three major Pilgrim festivals, Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, when the Jewish People would travel on the hills of Jerusalem to the Temple to be seen their by HaShem.

Yeshayahu (52:8)

The call of your watchmen is heard!
Together they lift up their voices, and sing;
For they shall see, eye to eye,
The L-rd, returning to Zion."  

"Your watchmen"

• the watchmen on the walls, their duty being to report on who approaches the city (RASHI and Metzudat David)

• the Prophets of Israel, who are called "Tzofim," "People who See," because they see the future.  They see that the Spirit of Prophecy that left the People of Israel after the time of Chaggai, Zechariah and Malachi, will return in even greater measure to Israel at the time of the Redemption, when again all the People will be privileged to experience knowledge of HaShem. (RADAK)

Yeshayahu 52:9

"Break forth into joy, sing together,
Ruins of Jerusalem;
For the L-rd has comforted His People,
He has redeemed Jerusalem."  

When one walks through Yerushalayim today, with his outer and inner ears open, he or she can hear this singing.

Yeshayahu 52:10

"HaShem has revealed His Holy Arm,
To the eyes of all the nations, 
And all the ends of the earth shall see,
The Salvation of our G-d."

Notice that the "Passuk" does not refer to the "Mighty Arm," but rather to the "Holy Arm," of HaShem, for a Name of HaShem is "Shalom," Peace.  He is indeed the Almighty, but He is also the Holy King, who infinitely prefers peace to war.  

Yeshayahu 52:11

"Depart! Depart! Go out from there;
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out from the midst of her,
Be clean;
You that bear the vessels of HaShem." 

"Those who bear the vessels of HaShem" refers to the "Kohanim" and "Leviim", who  carried the sacred vessels in the desert (we see in RASHI text in parentheses, casting some doubt as to the authenticity of the text in RASHI, that says, "Here is an allusion to the Revival of the Dead.")

According to Metzudat David, the "vessels of HaShem" refer to Torah and Mitzvot, and their bearers are those Jews who have remained faithful to the Torah of HaShem.

The uncleanness referred to is the "uncleanness" of the Lands of the Exile vis-à-vis the holiness of the Land of Israel.

Yeshayahu 52:12

"For you will not depart in terror,
Nor will you leave in haste,
For HaShem goes before you,
And the One Who gathers you up from behind is also
The G-d of Israel!  

RASHI explains that the end of the Passuk explains the beginning, because one whose messenger goes before him to locate possible danger, does not leave in terror.  And one who has someone reliable walking behind to gather up the weak and the stragglers, and to fend off attack, as the Tribe of Dan did when the Jewish People marched through the desert, need not worry about problems from the rear, and can concentrate on the road.

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel