Parshat Re’eh
This week’s haftarah is a selection taken from the 54th and 55th perakim of sefer Yishayahu and is the shortest of the seven haftarot of consolation (and the shortest haftarah of all the parshiyot in sefer Bamidbar and sefer Devarim). Together with that fact, I would add that it is arguably the most difficult of all these haftarot to understand.
“Aniya soarah lo nuchama,” the haftarah opens with a description of the “afflicted, tempest-tossed, distressed nation,” who is comforted with Hashem’s promise that He would lay their foundation on pearls and rubies. Struggling to understand Yishayahu’s portrayal of the glorious rewards awaiting this “afflicted” nation, our meforshim explain that the comforting response of the prophet is to be found in his description of the yemot haMashiach, the events and rewards that await Israel in the future Messianic era. If so, this—certainly—is a proper choice made by Chazal for these weeks of consolation.
The difficulty that I have when studying these prophetic promises—a difficulty that I confront each time I prepare these messages—is that I cannot imagine these words as foretelling events of the distant future and not the events of this very day, assurances that we witness coming to fruition before our very eyes. How else can I understand Yishayahu’s prediction (54:13), “Vechol banayich limudei Hashem”—that there will be a time when,“Our children will be students of God,” unless I choose to be blind to the unprecedented explosion of Torah study in the yeshivot, in the batei midrash and on the web? Perhaps, I’d have trouble comprehending the prophetic promise if I opted to ignore the reality that tells us how never before—throughout all of our history—have there been so many students learning so much Torah as they do today.
In a similar vein, I wonder how I could not view Yishayahu’s cry (54: 17), “Kol kli yutzar alayich lo yitzlach—any weapon sharpened against you shall not succeed,” as referring to Israel’s miraculous success in defending her population from her many adversaries—in developing weapons to protect her citizens from lethal attacks and successfully defeating her enemies, their massive militaries and their powerful weapons.
Or, could I ignore the Navi’s claim (ibid), “Vechol lashon takum itach lamishpat tarshi’i—that any tongue raised against you in court will be condemned,”—when we read today of the constant attempts to criminalize the Jewish state and her most moral army in the world for the “sin” of defending its people? Who could have imagined that there would ever be a court—an international court—one that would include representatives of nations—the very nations who passively watched the murder of 6,000,000 innocents—and would then attempt to prevent the descendants of those martyrs from protecting the surviving remnants? Who could have imagined such a thing? Yishayahu did … because Hashem told him it would … “in the distant future,” that is … now!
You see, this is my difficulty. I cannot understand the prophet’s words as “yet to occur”—because I see them coming alive before my eyes. So, perhaps, I am overly emotional regarding these events and overly optimistic about the future of our nation. Perhaps, I am misleading my readers. Perhaps, I am seeing only what I want to see. Perhaps, I am wrong.
Perhaps … But … perhaps not.
Rabbi Neil Winkler is the rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel of Fort Lee, and now lives in Israel.
