Eighth Day of Pesach

The choice of Chazal to have Perakim 11 and 12 in Yishayahu read on the final day of Chag Hageulah is a logical one. The depiction of the Messianic era that is expressed by the navi in these chapters is unparalleled in all of Tanach and reflects the view that Pesach is not only a celebration of our past redemption but also a reflection of our confidence that the future geulah will occur on Pesach as well. As our rabbis said, “Just as Israel was redeemed in Nisan, so they shall be redeemed in the future.” The vision of an idyllic world depicted in these perakim, a peaceful world realized through the leadership of a king from the Davidic dynasty, may be one not yet reached, yet we are confident in God’s promise that it will be reached. This prophetic vision includes the establishment of a just and righteous society, inspired by a divine spirit of wisdom and understanding, and a leader who would judge the destitute with righteousness and who would strike down wickedness. And when Yishayahu paints the picture of a world where even natural enemies, the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kid, will live in peace, we understand all too well that peace is the ultimate goal and the ultimate blessing.

However, the haftarah does not begin with the depiction of the idyllic world of Perakim 11 and 12. The haftarah actually begins with the final three verses of Chapter 10, a perek that is fully engaged with the world of the navi and the challenges of the era of the first Beit Hamikdash. The opening words “Od hayom b’Nov la’amod” describe the huge and powerful Assyrian enemy standing in Nov at the outskirts of Yerushalayim and contemptuously waving his hand over the Holy City, boasting of his inevitable victory. The Rabbanut of Israel in the last generation understood how well that portrayal expresses the Arab enemy in 1948, with the boastful claims that they would soon push the outnumbered and ill-equipped Jews into the sea. And they also knew how well the second and third verses reflect the miracles of 1948, as Yishayahu proclaims that Hashem will bring down the haughty enemy and that Israel’s foes will be crushed by God’s mighty agent. For that reason, they decreed that this haftarah, which is not read on Pesach in Israel, is chanted on Yom Ha’atzma’ut.

I believe, therefore, that we should give equal import and focus upon the opening pesukim that depict the beginning of the geulah, 74 years ago, as we do to the dream of a future completion of the redemptive process described in the rest of the haftarah.

We live in remarkable times. And as we dream of a peaceful future, when knowledge of God will fill the earth “kamayim layam mechasim, as the seas are filled with water,” so, too, we should be filled with the knowledge (and appreciation) of God’s miracles throughout history that have brought us to this day.

Rabbi Neil Winkler is the rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel Fort Lee and now lives in Israel.