Parshat Ki Teitzei
As we have noted in the past, the final chapters of Sefer Yeshayahu, from the 40th until the 66th, are known as the pirkei geula, the chapters of redemption, as they focus upon the glorious future that awaits Israel, rather than on the sins of the nation—sins that would soon lead to their exile. It is for this reason that all of the seven post-Tisha B’Av selections are taken from these very chapters, including the haftarah we read this Shabbat, which is taken from the 54th chapter.
We have mentioned in past articles that each individual haftarah is meant to exceed the prior one in reassuring and consoling the nation. In effect, the messages found in these selections are geared to lift us out of the despair and grief of Tisha B’Av and gradually bring us to the hope and even confidence for Hashem’s forgiveness on the Yamim Nora’im. It is interesting to ponder, therefore, what message we can find in the 11 pesukim that make up this week’s haftarah that led Chazal to see it as a more consoling prophecy than the ones that preceded it. Certainly, the promise to increase Israel’s population and broaden her borders was most welcome, but it was not new. In fact, it is a basic theme that many of the previous haftarot share. Likewise, God’s assurance to rebuild the ruined cities and return the people to their land had been heard in our earlier readings and bring no new message of comfort that we have not already heard.
I would suggest that the most powerful and comforting message that we find in this selection is Hashem’s declaration that, just as He vowed never again to flood the world as He did in Noah’s time, so He takes an oath never to pour out His wrath upon His people. A commitment taken through an oath by the Holy One was one the people fully believed and was, perhaps, the reason why the opening words of this prophecy call upon the nation to rejoice, “Rani Akara.”
Yet, in many ways, it is the final promise given at the end of this first section that speaks loudly to us today. It is God’s promise guaranteeing His love for His people even when they sin, even when He must punish them. Indeed, there are few prophecies that compare to these loving words, “For though the mountains may be moved and the hills may falter, My mercies will never be removed from you…says Hashem…”
It is only natural for a nation exiled from her land and from her Beit Mikdash to believe that she was rejected by her God. In truth, many felt that this was the case, and assumed that they should now adopt the worship practices of their captors whose “god” had “defeated” them and destroyed God’s house! The message taught by Yeshayahu, and echoed by other prophets as well, was that Israel was expected to remain faithful to Hashem—Who still loved them and would protect them. The relationship that God has with His people is one of a parent with his child: Punishment is not a sign of abandonment but of love. And when Israel learned that lesson and understood what was expected of them, they would be returned, once again, to their land.
Rabbi Neil Winkler is the rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel Fort Lee and now lives in Israel.
