Parshat Ki Tavo
This haftarah—the 60th perek of sefer Yishayahu—is one of complete nechama, a chapter of total solace and consolation and includes the following promises:
- Israel will bask in Hashem’s divine light.
- Those of our nation who remained in the Diaspora will return
- Outsiders will also be drawn to the divine light and will come.
- Those who arrive will praise Hashem and bring their wealth with them.
- Justice and integrity will rule in the land.
- The future generations will be filled with the righteous, in whom God will take pride.
Interestingly, we find the first visible, concrete steps of the Geula to be the return of the nation Israel—her “sons and daughters from afar”—in such an assemblage, that, upon witnessing it, you will have two reactions: אז תיראי ונהרת—“First, you will be ‘astonished and even startled,’” and then, ופחד ורחב לבבך—“Your hearts will be ‘frightened and broadened.’” And, although different parshanim suggest various definitions to the term, “pachad” (because, after all, it seems rather counterintuitive to have one’s heart broadened, yet frightened), I prefer to understand the word in its most obvious meaning of “frightened.” And I do so, perhaps because—as opposed to those outstanding scholars—I have the benefit of hindsight.
When I read these inspiring words of Yeshayahu, I cannot regard them as a prophecy that would yet be realized. When I study the ancient text that tells of a flood of immigrants that would cause “astonishment” and “fright” or of an unimaginable influx of Jews from the Diaspora returning to Eretz Yisrael … I realize that I’m reading recent history! I see in these promises the story of the early chalutzim who came from Russia and Eastern Europe to farm the land and bring it back to life; I remember the experiences of those who came in the “second aliyah” (1904-1914) and joined the agricultural “revolution” and that also included immigrants from Yemen and adults with families who settled in—and helped create—the urban areas. And, when hearing this haftarah, I think of the “illegal” arrivals to the shores of “Palestine”—those who sacrificed everything to kiss the holy ground of a place of which they had only dreamed and for which they had long yearned!
Did this not “startle” the world? Did it not “worry” the British and “frighten” the Arabs?
And did it not also “frighten” the early leaders of the nascent state of Israel who wondered how a population of 600,000—a not-yet developed country struggling for economic survival … How could they ever manage to absorb an influx of immigrants that numbered twice the amount of residents who lived in the state? Yes, ופחד ורחב לבבך—“Their hearts were both ‘frightened and broadened,’” frightened by the task at hand, yet broadened with the love of their people and with the generosity of heart that successfully met the (seemingly) impossible challenge!
This is why I strongly believe that Yeshayahu hoped to let us know that the hearts could be both frightened, as well as broadened.
Likewise, I also see the Navi’s description of Israel’s massive return to her homeland as a clear reference to our recent history. Allow me to explain: Throughout the Tanach’s depiction of Israel’s return, we usually find God “bringing” us back to our land, and “gathering” us from the four corners of the earth. But in our haftarah, Yishayahu does not speak of Hashem bringing the nation back, but of a nation being drawn back by the light that would shine upon them. In other words, this first step of the redemption will not be affected by a divine decision to reverse His laws of nature—but by the people’s desire to reverse their common history!
Although these are my own thoughts about this haftarah reading, I hope that some of you might share the same ideas and, if enough of us do, perhaps we can find a common ground upon which we can all build a future together.
Rabbi Neil Winkler is the rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel of Fort Lee, and now lives in Israel.
