Please forgive me if I am being redundant by mentioning something you already know. The book of Yeshayahu frequently employs a literary style of repeating words. Perhaps the most famous of these is the opening phrase of the haftarah for parashat Va’etchanan. This haftarah is read on the Shabbos after Tisha B’Av. It begins with the famous double phrase: “Nachamu, nachamu.” It is the first of seven haftarahs usually referred to as the haftarahs of consolation. The last of these haftarahs is read just before Rosh Hashanah. The haftarah for parasha Shoftim also begins with a double phrase: “Anochi, anochi.” It is intriguing that when we examine the text of almost all the seven haftarahs of consolation we will find additional double phrases.
The first haftarah, aside from its memorable opining words, also contains the double phrase: אַ֣ף בַּל־נִטָּ֗עוּ אַף בַּל־זֹרָ֔עוּ אַ֛ף בַּל־שֹׁרֵ֥שׁ בָּאָ֖רֶץ גִּזְעָ֑ם (Yeshayahu 40:24). The haftarah for Eikev has the phrase: (בַּבֹּ֣קֶר בַּבֹּ֗קֶר (50:4. The haftarah for Re’eh contains two double phrases: ה֚וֹי כָּל־צָמֵא֙ לְכ֣וּ לַמַּ֔יִם וַֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵין־ל֖וֹ כָּ֑סֶף לְכ֚וּ שִׁבְרוּ֙ וֶֽאֱכֹ֔לוּ וּלְכ֣וּ שִׁבְר֗וּ בְּלוֹא־כֶ֛סֶף וּבְל֥וֹא מְחִ֖יר יַ֥יִן וְחָלָֽב (55:1 and (שִׁמְע֨וּ שָׁמ֚וֹעַ (55:2. At this juncture it should be noted that this haftarah constitutes the second half of the haftarah read for parasha Noach, while the haftarah for Ki Teitzei constitutes the first half of the haftarah for Noach. If the haftarah for Re’eh is skipped, owing it to being Rosh Chodesh or Machar Chodesh, many shuls have the custom to read on the Shabbos of Ki Teitzei that parasha’s designated haftarah followed by the haftarah of Re’eh, in other words—the haftarah for Noach.
The haftarah for Shoftim not only has the opening double phrase: “Anochi, anochi,” but also contains the phrase: (הִתְעֽוֹרְרִ֣י הִֽתְעֽוֹרְרִ֗י (51:17. The haftarah for the double parsha of Nitzavim-Vayelech contains the phrases: (עִבְר֚וּ עִבְרוּ֙ בַּשְּׁעָרִ֔ים פַּנּ֖וּ דֶּ֣רֶךְ הָעָ֑ם סֹ֣לּוּ סֹ֚לּוּ(62:10, which contains two double phrases.
Why the double phrases for five out of this set of seven—and why are two haftarahs lacking such phrases?
The repeated use of repeated words in phrases should prompt our minds to recall the most prominent usage of this device. That usage is, of course, in the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, the repetition of Hashem’s name. Even before we begin to recite Selichot and utter the Thirteen Attributes, seemingly innumerable times, the rabbis, via the haftarahs, are seeking to focus our attention. The day of judgment is coming, we need to prepare ourselves. We need to be ready for the opportunity to appear before the King of Kings and plead our cause. We need to be able to make an accounting of how we used the chance we were afforded a year ago when He showed us mercy. We need to be cognizant of our successes of the last year and argue that they bode well for our continuing to improve—if we are given the opportunity. We also need to admit our failings, while having a plan to correct them in the coming year. “Just, please Hashem, give us a second chance.”
Second chances are the other message of the double phrases. As we ask for a second chance in the coming year, we must be reminded that we were already given a chance last Rosh Hashanah and, to an extent, squandered that chance. This point is made by use of the dual motif in the form of a dual absence. No double phrases appear in two consecutive haftarahs, those of Ki Teitzei and Ki Tavo, before it resumes in the haftarah for Nitzavim.
The first of these absences is the haftarah for Ki Teitzei, which itself makes the point about failing to seize the moment through its reference to Noach (54:9). Noach was given the ultimate second chance, he was to rebuild the world and, to an extent, misused that chance (Bereshit 9:20-21). We are to learn from Noach and do better. If we do not improve, even if we make a vidui, confession, then curses may come upon us, in a similar manner to how another type of vidui precedes the curses found in Ki Tavo, whose haftarah also lacks a double phrase. But, I already made that point. Please forgive me for being redundant.
William S.J. Fraenkel received a Bachelors of Arts in Religion and a law degree from NYU and served as a Board member and officer of several orthodox shuls. The opinions expressed in this devar Torah are solely his own.
