Ha’azinu is not always read; every third year or so, it comes out on Shabbat Shuva, and that Haftarah is read instead.
But when it is its own Shabbat, sometime during the Tishrei holiday season, then we read David’s poem from Shmuel II, which parallels Moshe’s poem of He’ezinu
Linear annotated translation of the Haftarah of Ha’azinu
Among the parallels is the importance placed on the quality called Tamim
Filed under He'ezinu, Sefer Devarim
In Parshat Ha’azinu, Moshe uses a poetic form to describe how G-d runs the world, in particular, how He deals with the Jewish People. He starts off by saying:
הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ כִּי כָל דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט אֵל אֱמוּנָה וְאֵין עָוֶל צַדִּיק וְיָשָׁר הוּא:
The Rock, His work is ‘tamim’, for all His ways are just; a G-d of faithfulness, no evil, righteous and straight is He. (Devarim 32:4)
‘Tamim’ is usually translated as “perfect” or “unblemished.” The reason for that translation is the numerous times this word is used to refer to sacrificial animals, which are required to be “tamim,” free of blemish. The word for “blemish” is “moom”, and it is used to contrast the behavior of the Jewish People with that of G-d:
שִׁחֵת לוֹ לֹא בָּנָיו מוּמָם דּוֹר עִקֵּשׁ וּפְתַלְתֹּל
They have corrupted, His non-children, with their blemish; a generation that is perverse and cunning. (Devarim 32:5)
The Parsha is not talking about animals, which might have a torn ear or a broken leg. What, then, is the blemish of the Jewish People, and conversely, what is the quality of ‘unblemished’ that is ascribed to G-d?
There is a commandment in the Torah,
תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה עִם ה’ אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ:
Be ‘tamim’ with Hashem, your G-d. (Devarim 18:13)
If the quality of ‘tamim’ belonged only to G-d, we could have translated this term as “perfect” and “unblemished.” But what does the Torah mean when using it in reference to human beings? How can we be commanded to be perfect and unblemished?
In the Haftarah, King David lists the different ways in which he has done G-d’s will. On that list we find:
וָאֶהְיֶה תָמִים לוֹ
I have been ‘tamim’ to Him. (Shmuel II, 22:24)
So whatever this quality might be, David has been successful in achieving it.
Like Parshat Ha’azinu, the Haftarah describes how G-d runs the world, in particular, how He deals with the Jewish People. This is how King David puts it:
עִם חָסִיד תִּתְחַסָּד עִם גִּבּוֹר תָּמִים תִּתַּמָּם: עִם נָבָר תִּתָּבָר וְעִם עִקֵּשׁ תִּתַּפָּל:
To a loyal person, You are loyal; to an ‘tamim’ man, You are ‘tamim’
To a clean person, You are clean, and to a perverse person, You are cunning
(Shmuel II, 22:25-26)
According to the Haftarah, if a person is ‘tamim’, then G-d is ‘tamim’ to him back, and if a person is perverse, than G-d is cunning to him back – just like the terms used in Ha’azinu. But here, the opposite of ‘tamim’ is not “blemished,” it is “perverse” and “cunning”.
“Perfect” is not a fitting antonym of “perverse” and “cunning.” What, then, is this quality of ‘tamim’, that is one of the ways we describe G-d, and is also one of the ways that we are expected to behave?
The commandment, ‘Tamim be with Hashem Your G-d’ appears in the context of fortune telling. We are forbidden to engage in any form of spiritualism, necromancy, or divination. Instead, we are asked to be ‘tamim’. The Torah is telling us not to play games with G-d, not to try to outguess Him, not to try to get insider information that we are not meant to have. The blemish that we need to avoid is guile.
The Haftarah says that when a person acts toward G-d without guile, without attempting to manipulate Him or trick Him, then G-d, too, acts toward him without guile, and rewards him according to his actions, pure and straightforward. King David points out that the converse is also true – when a person attempts to be perversely crooked, and thinks that G-d will not notice and will just go along with his plans, in fact, the opposite happens. G-d continues to reward him according to his actions, but being that his actions are crooked, the outcome is anything but straightforward.
In the ancient world, there were theologies and pantheons whose gods were cunning and manipulative, toward each other, and toward their worshippers. They would destroy or reward based on their transitory whims and fleeting desires.
When Moshe Rabbeinu and David HaMelech teach us how G-d runs the world, the most important point they make is that our G-d is not like that. He is a “rock,” He does not act on whims; He is ‘tamim’, guileless. He has a plan for the Jewish People and a plan for the world, and He acts to further that plan. Moreover, our own actions dictate how He acts towards us. When we are “perverse and crooked” and figure that we know better how the world should be run, and try to force G-d to our will, then that is a blemish that G-d does not tolerate in us. When we let Him run the show and follow His ways, then He protects us from all obstacles so that we can fulfil His plan.
We do not always see this happening. To our human eyes, it sometimes seems that the world goes in every which way but straight. As prophets, Moshe Rabbeinu and David HaMelech were able to see G-d’ ways as ‘tamim’. We are not prophets, but we are the descendants of prophets. Maybe if we do our part, if we are ‘tamim’, guileless, with G-d, and don’t try to manipulate or outguess Him, then we shall see it, too.
Filed under He'ezinu, Sefer Devarim
The Shabbat between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shuva, based on the Haftarah that is read that begins with the words “Shuva Yisrael.”
שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד ה’ אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ כִּי כָשַׁלְתָּ בַּעֲוֹנֶךָ: קְחוּ עִמָּכֶם דְּבָרִים וְשׁוּבוּ אֶל ה’ … אֶרְפָּא מְשׁוּבָתָם אֹהֲבֵם נְדָבָה כִּי שָׁב אַפִּי מִמֶּנּוּ: אֶהְיֶה כַטַּל לְיִשְׂרָאֵל יִפְרַח כַּשּׁוֹשַׁנָּה
Return, Israel, to Hashem your G-d! For you have stumbled in your sin.
Take with you words, and turn back to Hashem. …
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for My anger has turned from him. I will be like dew to Israel, he will blossom like the lily (Hoshea 14:2-6)
In this Haftarah, G-d urges the Jewish People to return, and promises to accept and love them. The prophet Hoshea uses the metaphor of dew; unlike rain, which is withheld if we don’t deserve it, dew appears year-round no matter what. By comparing Himself to dew, G-d states that His relationship with us is eternal and constant, and His love for us is unconditional.
Parshat VaYelech, which is usually read on Shabbat Shuva, tells us of one of the very last things that G-d says to Moshe, which appears to be in stark contrast to the above message:
וַיֹּאמֶר ה’ אֶל מֹשֶׁה הִנְּךָ שֹׁכֵב עִם אֲבֹתֶיךָ וְקָם הָעָם הַזֶּה וְזָנָה אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהֵי נֵכַר הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הוּא בָא שָׁמָּה בְּקִרְבּוֹ וַעֲזָבַנִי וְהֵפֵר אֶת בְּרִיתִי אֲשֶׁר כָּרַתִּי אִתּוֹ…
וְאָנֹכִי הַסְתֵּר אַסְתִּיר פָּנַי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא עַל כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה כִּי פָנָה אֶל אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים…
Hashem said to Moshe: you are about to rest with your forefathers, and this nation will get up and whore after the foreign gods of the land that it is going to, and leave Me, and break My covenant that I made with it….
And I will definitely conceal My face on that day, because of all the evil that it does, for it turned to other gods… (Devarim 31:17-18)
G-d says to the Jewish People: I know you are going to fail. I know that you are not capable of doing what you have committed to do. And I want you to know that I know.
From a perspective of rational logic, this does not add up. Why does G-d even bother choosing the Jewish People if He knows that failure is inevitable? If there is no hope of the Jewish People actually keeping their commitment to G-d, what is the purpose of the entire enterprise? And besides, what is the point of telling us this? “Bye, Moshe, you’ve done a great job, but you should know, the moment you die, these people will turn their backs on everything you’ve taught them. Just saying.”
This is the Parsha that we read between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, the days of repentance and introspection? Is it not utterly fatalistic and defeating, the opposite of the Haftarah of Shuva with its unconditional love?
Perhaps not. Perhaps the only way for us to understand the power of Teshuva, of the ability to return, is by understanding the message of Parshat VaYelech.
G-d does not have to be “rational.” He chooses to bind Himself to the Jewish People even though He knows that we will fail. He tells us that we will fail so that we do not for a moment consider that our disappointing Him can nullify our relationship. He tells us that He will “conceal His face” from us, so that we do not for a moment think that He has left us.
Teshuva is not “rational,” either. Using the verses of the Haftarah, the Midrash analyzes all the different ways that Teshuva breaks the rules of logic:
אמר ריש לקיש: גדולה תשובה, שזדונות נעשות לו כשגגות, שנאמר +הושע יד+ שובה ישראל עד ה’ אלהיך כי כשלת בעונך. הא עון מזיד הוא, וקא קרי ליה מכשול.
Reish Lakish said: great is Teshuva, for it turns deliberate sins into accidental misdeeds, as it says, ” Return, Israel, to Hashem your G-d! For you have stumbled in your sin”. Sin is deliberate, and it calls it stumbling.
בא וראה שלא כמדת הקדוש ברוך הוא מדת בשר ודם. מדת בשר ודם, מקניט את חבירו בדברים – ספק מתפייס הימנו ספק אין מתפייס הימנו, ואם תאמר מתפייס הימנו – ספק מתפייס בדברים ספק אין מתפייס בדברים. אבל הקדוש ברוך הוא, אדם עובר עבירה בסתר – מתפייס ממנו בדברים, שנאמר +הושע יד+ קחו עמכם דברים ושובו אל ה’, ולא עוד אלא שמחזיק לו טובה, שנאמר וקח טוב
Look how different the ways of G-d are from the ways of a human being. A human being, if his friend humiliates him, maybe he would make up with him, maybe he wouldn’t make up with him. And even if he would make up with him, maybe he would be swayed by words, or maybe he wouldn’t be swayed by words. But G-d, if a person sins in secret, makes up with him and is swayed by words, as it says, “take with you words, and turn back to Hashem” (Hoshea 14). Not only that, but He even considers it goodness, as it says, ” and take only the goodness.” (Talmud Yoma 86b)
G-d is not human. He can turn back the clock and He can reverse cause and effect. He can allow us to retroactively turn our actions from malicious crimes into accidental mistakes. He can allow us to “take words to turn back to Him” – to change our narrative and then turn that new narrative into reality. He can know that we will fail, and still keep us as His People, forever, unconditionally.
He can conceal His face from us, and still be with us. There is nothing that we can do to make Him leave us. Even when we fail, even when it feels that we are far from Him, He is with us anyway. The path back to Him is much shorter than the path away. It may not be rational or logical in our eyes, but that is how G-d has chosen to run His world, and that is what He has communicated to us through His prophets, Moshe and Hoshea.
And in the words of R’ Nachman, popularized in this song: Afilu Be’Hastara
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Copyright © Kira Sirote
In memory of my father, Peter Rozenberg, z”l
לעילוי נשמת אבי מורי פנחס בן נתן נטע ז”ל
Filed under Connections, Sefer Devarim, VaYelech
Zot HaBracha, the last Parsha of the Torah, is read on Simchat Torah, when we celebrate finishing the entire Torah, and start over at Breishit. The Haftarah of Zot HaBracha is the first chapter of Yehoshua, the Book of Joshua, which talks about the events that take place immediately after the Torah ends and Moshe dies.
Linear annotated translation of the Haftarah of Zot HaBracha
For what we learn from the Haftarah about Zot HaBracha, and about Torah in general, see Chazak!
Filed under Sefer Devarim
Zot HaBracha is the last Parsha of the Torah. We read it on Simchat Torah, and just as soon as we finish and say, “Chazak Chazak ve’Nitchazek”, we take out a different scroll, rolled to the beginning, and start reading Parshat Breishit.
The Haftarah that we read on Zot HaBracha does not go back to the beginning. Instead, it goes forward:
וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי מוֹת מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד ה’ וַיֹּאמֶר ה’ אֶל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן מְשָׁרֵת מֹשֶׁה לֵאמֹר: מֹשֶׁה עַבְדִּי מֵת וְעַתָּה קוּם עֲבֹר אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה אַתָּה וְכָל הָעָם הַזֶּה אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לָהֶם לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
After the death of Moshe, the servant of Hashem, Hashem said to Yehoshua bin Nun, Moshe’s assistant: “My servant Moshe is dead. Now rise and cross this Yarden, you and this entire nation, to the land which I am giving to them, to Bnei Yisrael.” (Yehoshua 1:1)
Moshe is dead and the Torah is complete, but Jewish History is only just beginning. Yehoshua now must lead the Jewish People across the Jordan River, conquer the land, settle it, and create a society founded upon the laws that G-d gave to Moshe.
Moshe failed to do this, yet Yehoshua, his student, must succeed. Not only must Yehoshua step into the shoes of his teacher, not only must he lead the uncooperative and cantankerous Jewish People into the Land of Israel, but he must take the Torah from its theoretical existence in the desert and into the real world of living as a nation. All the many commandments in Sefer Devarim that begin with, “when you enter the land”, will now need to be fulfilled.
This is far from trivial. The Torah requires the Jewish People to obey their judges, but our judges must never abuse their power. We must respect commercial enterprise, but we must never take advantage of consumers. We must fight wars against fierce enemies, but never degenerate into wanton cruelty.
It is no wonder that the most repeated phrase in the Haftarah is חֲזַק וֶאֱמַץ – be strong and brave. What Yehoshua is asked to do – what the Jewish People are asked to do – is truly daunting.
The Haftarah tells us how it can be accomplished:
לֹא יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה מִפִּיךָ וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה לְמַעַן תִּשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכָל הַכָּתוּב בּוֹ כִּי אָז תַּצְלִיחַ אֶת דְּרָכֶךָ וְאָז תַּשְׂכִּיל: הֲלוֹא צִוִּיתִיךָ חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ
The book of this Torah must not leave your mouth, you must dwell upon it day and night, so that you make sure to do all that is written in it. For only thus will your paths succeed, thus will you prevail. As I have commanded you, be strong and brave… (Yehoshua 1:8,9)
It is possible to turn the theory of the Torah into reality, but, in addition to the strength of character required by its execution, it demands continuous dedication to its study.
But is this continuous dedication, described as “the Torah must not leave your mouth, you must dwell upon it day and night”, meant to exclude all other endeavor? How will the land be conquered and settled if all Yehoshua does is study Torah day and night?
According to R’ Yishmael, that is not in fact what the Torah expects:
דבר אחר ואספת דגנך, למה נאמר לפי שנאמר +יהושע א ח+ לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך שומע אני כמשמעו תלמוד לומר ואספת וגו’ דרך ארץ דברה תורה דברי רבי ישמעאל
Why does it say, “you shall gather your grain”? Because it says, “The Torah must not leave your mouth,” and I might interpret it literally. Therefore, it says, “you shall gather your grain.” The Torah speaks in terms of the way of the world – according to R’ Yishmael. (Midrash Sifri Devarim Eikev 42)
The Torah does not ask of us to do the impossible, only the very difficult. It is impossible to learn Torah all day and never grow anything, or there will be no food to eat. Therefore, the Torah reassures us, “you shall gather your grain.” At the same time, if all we do is grow grain, and not learn any Torah, and try to observe it on auto-pilot, based on what we think we already know, then we will fail to live up to its challenging and subtle expectations.
The Midrash suggests how a balance might be achieved:
רבי יהושע אומר שונה אדם שתי הלכות בשחרית ושתי הלכות בערבית ועוסק במלאכתו כל היום מעלין עליו כאלו קיים את כל התורה כולה וקיים והגית בו יומם ולילה (יהושע א)
R’ Yehoshua says: If a person studies two laws in the morning and two laws in the evening, and is busy with his work all day, that counts as if he fulfilled the entire Torah and fulfilled “You will dwell upon it day and night” (Midrash Tanchuma BeShalach 20)
Studying a little bit, but consistently, is sufficient to place the Torah at the forefront of one’s priorities. It is sufficient to make it the arbiter of one’s values and the guide for one’s actions. And this level of dedication also requires great strength of character and strength of purpose.
In order to succeed at the building of a society based on Torah, the Haftarah urges Yehoshua: חֲזַק וֶאֱמַץ, be strong and firm,. As we finish reading the entire Torah, and the new year begins for us to implement all that we have learned, we all say together:
חזק חזק ונתחזק!
Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!
Copyright © Kira Sirote
In memory of my father, Peter Rozenberg, z”l
לעילוי נשמת אבי מורי פנחס בן נתן נטע ז”ל
Filed under Sefer Devarim, Zot HaBracha
Shabbat Shuva (not “Shabbat Teshuva”) is named after the Haftarah from Hoshea that begins with the words, “Shuva Yisrael”. It comes out on either VaYelech or He’ezinu. In addition to Hoshea, we also read a few verses from Michah, and half a chapter of Yoel.
Linear annotated translation of the Haftarah of Shabbat Shuva
It connects to He’ezinu through the theme of dew. G-d’s love for the Jewish People is compared to dew, which unlike rain, never fails, and nurtures the land every day regardless of circumstances. The difference between Tal (dew) and Matar (rain), unconditional and conditional love, can tell us a great deal about our relationship with G-d.
The connection to VaYelech is similar, but with a twist: The Illogic of Teshuva
Filed under He'ezinu, Sefer Devarim, Shabbat Shuva
The seventh and last of the Sheva de’Nechemta from Yeshayahu, this Haftarah describes a time when the relationship between G-d and the Jewish People consists purely of joy, with no baggage from the past or fear of the future.
Linear annotated translation of the Haftarah of Nitzavim
This Haftarah is read for Nitzavim, regardless of whether it is alone or joined with VaYelech like it is this year.
What does Nitzavim teach us about this stage of Redemption? What does it teach us about the entire set of seven? See: Hindsight
Filed under Nitzavim, Sefer Devarim, VaYelech
The final in the series of seven Haftarot of Consolation, the Haftarah of Nitzavim describes what it will be like when Redemption is in full bloom.
שׂוֹשׂ אָשִׂישׂ בַּה’ תָּגֵל נַפְשִׁי בֵּא-לֹהַי …וּמְשׂוֹשׂ חָתָן עַל כַּלָּה יָשִׂישׂ עָלַיִךְ אֱ-לֹהָיִךְ:
I will rejoice in Hashem, my soul will delight in my G-d…with the joy that a bridegroom feels for his bride, your G-d will rejoice in you. (Yeshayahu 61:10, 62:5)
The feeling of joy that will be felt by the Jewish People, and by G-d Himself, is compared to that of a bridegroom and his bride. The joy of a bride and groom at their wedding is unadulterated. There is no baggage between them, no history of disappointments and anger, nor do they think of the future and the mistakes that might yet be made.
So, too, at the final stage of Redemption, there will no longer be any baggage between G-d and the Jewish People. Our past failures will be erased, our anger and resentment at the tragedies of Jewish History will be gone. Nor will we need to fear for the future. In Parshat Nitzavim, after warning the Jewish People that they will betray G-d and of the consequences of that betrayal, the Torah tells us that ultimately we will come back to Him.
…כִּי יָשׁוּב ה’ לָשׂוּשׂ עָלֶיךָ לְטוֹב כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׂשׂ עַל אֲבֹתֶיךָ
…for Hashem will return to rejoicing over you, and be good to you, as He rejoiced over your ancestors. (Devarim 30:9)
When the prophecies of pain and suffering in the Torah had been fulfilled in every detail, what is left are the prophecies of good things to come. When there is no possibility of failure or disappointment, there can be pure joy.
There is no worry for the future, but what about the past? G-d and the Jewish People definitely do have baggage. In the Parsha, G-d says that He will forgive us for what we’ve done to Him, so His side is taken care of. But what about us? How do we forgive Him for two thousand years of suffering?
In the final verses of the Haftarah, the prophet looks back at our history from the vantage point of Redemption, when all the prophecies have come to pass and all of G-d’s plans have already born fruit:
חַסְדֵי ה’ אַזְכִּיר תְּהִלֹּת ה’ כְּעַל כֹּל אֲשֶׁר גְּמָלָנוּ ה’ וְרַב טוּב לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר גְּמָלָם כְּרַחֲמָיו וּכְרֹב חֲסָדָיו: ….
The kindnesses of Hashem I mention, Hashem’s praises, for all that Hashem has bestowed upon us, and much goodness to the House of Israel, that He has bestowed upon them in His mercy and great kindness. .. (Yeshayahu 63:7)
The prophet looks back at Jewish History, and he sees only G-d’s kindness, goodness, and mercy. From the perspective of the End of Days, of the World To Come, everything is clear, all the pieces fall into place, and we see that all that we have gone through were steps on the road to ultimate joy.
There is one more thing that the prophet needs to tell us. The final verse of all of the Sheva d’Nechemta, the Seven Haftarot of Consolation, that we have been reading since Tisha b’Av says the following:
בְּכָל צָרָתָם (לא) לוֹ צָר וּמַלְאַךְ פָּנָיו הוֹשִׁיעָם בְּאַהֲבָתוֹ וּבְחֶמְלָתוֹ הוּא גְאָלָם וַיְנַטְּלֵם וַיְנַשְּׂאֵם כָּל יְמֵי עוֹלָם:
In all their pain, He has felt pain, His personal angel has redeemed them, in His love and His compassion He liberated them. He has borne them and carried them for all eternity. (Yeshayahu 63:9)
All along, throughout all our suffering, G-d has been with us. He has been personally carrying us, all along, towards a goal and a purpose.
There is a famous parable in popular culture, called Footprints in the Sand, which reads, in part:
You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
(see: http://www.wowzone.com/fprints.htm, for 3 attributed versions)
The last verse of the Haftarah looks back at all of Jewish History, and tells us that the entire time, there has ever only been one set of footprints. Going forward, in the time of ultimate Redemption, there will still only ever be one set of footprints, as we walk together with G-d in pure, unadulterated joy.
And now that we are at the end of the Sheva d’Nechemta, so let us also look back at the progression of the seven stages of Redemption, and try to understand the comfort that we are meant to find in each.
1. Va’Etchanan: The First Step: An end to the oppression of the Jewish People by the nations of the world. We are reminded that it is G-d who runs history, not the so-called super-powers and empires.
2. Ekev: Impossible Hope: The return of the Jewish People to Jerusalem, as they make the desert bloom like the Garden of Eden. The years of waiting were not a sign of hopelessness and abandonment, but rather of our faith that everything He does for us has meaning and purpose.
3. Re’eh: The Standard of Leadership :The leaders of the Jewish People, who will be paragons of justice and righteousness, bring about universal knowledge of G-d and an end to war. It is G-d who determines whether weapons are effective or not; there is no one to fear but Him.
4. Shoftim: Seeing Eye to Eye : G-d’s Presence returns to Jerusalem, and with it, prophecy. With the prophetic eye aligned with our physical eyes, we see G-d’s justice in His world.
5. Ki Teitzei: What If? – No matter what happens, from this point on, the process will not be reversed. G-d will never let us fail again.
6. Ki Tavo: A Portion in the World To Come A time when G-d’s Presence is so palpable and visible, the entire world acknowledges our relationship with Him and wishes to be a part of it. The Beit HaMikdash, the Temple, is rebuilt.
7. Nitzavim: All the blessings that G-d promised in the Torah come to pass, and we realize that all of Jewish History that has led to this point was actually a function of G-d’s kindness and His unconditional commitment to us.
Our generation has been privileged to see some of the early stages of these Haftarot with our own eyes, as Jerusalem is no longer abandoned, and the Land of Israel is no longer desolate. The other stages are ahead of us. Like all the generations of the Jewish People who have read the Haftarot and were comforted, we know that the future that awaits us is full of beauty, peace, and joy. We know that G-d is with us and we know that everything we go through has purpose.
More than that, we do not know. As Parshat Nitzavim tells us:
הַנִּסְתָּרֹת לַה’ אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ וְהַנִּגְלֹת לָנוּ וּלְבָנֵינוּ עַד עוֹלָם לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת:
What is hidden is for Hashem, our G-d; what is revealed is for us, and our children, forever, to fulfill all the words of this Torah. (Devarim 29:28)
It is tempting to try to predict what will happen and when, and it is tempting to try to influence spiritual forces to make things happen sooner rather than later. But the Torah tells us that we, human beings, are limited. There are things that we cannot know. We have what the prophet tells us, and we derive comfort from it and wait. And while we wait, we do the only thing that we can do: keep the Torah and carry on….
Copyright © Kira Sirote
In memory of my father, Peter Rozenberg, z”l
לעילוי נשמת אבי מורי פנחס בן נתן נטע ז”ל
Filed under Connections, Nitzavim, Sefer Devarim, Sheva de'Nechemta
This is the sixth of the seven Haftarot of Consolation, the Sheva d’eNechemta, from Yeshayahu. This stage is a time of such overwhelming connection to G-d that Chazal refer to it as “Olam Haba”, The World to Come. It is also the first time that building the Temple is mentioned.
Linear annotated translation of the Haftarah of Ki Tavo
The combination of the Haftarah and the Parsha shows us something about the World to Come that we probably would have overlooked otherwise: A Portion in the World to Come
Filed under Ki Tavo, Sefer Devarim, Sheva de'Nechemta
As the sixth of the seven Haftarot of Consolation, the Haftarah of Ki Tavo describes an advanced stage of Redemption. Unlike earlier stages, which are called by Chazal, “עתיד לבא”, “the Future”, this stage is called “עולם הבא”, “the World to Come”. Some of what we know about the World to Come is learned from a verse in this Haftarah:
כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא שנאמר (ישעיה ס’) ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ נצר מטעי מעשי ידי להתפאר
All of the Jewish People have a share in the World to Come, as it says, (Yeshayahu 60:21): “Your nation will all be righteous, forever they will inherit the land; the blossoms that I planted, My handiwork, in which I glory.”
(Mishna Sanhedrin 10:1)
Surprisingly, even though we learn from the Haftarah that all of the Jewish People will be righteous and have a share in the World to Come, a very small portion of its text describes the Jewish People and how righteous they are. The bulk of the Haftarah talks about the Nations of the World and their desire to contribute toward our Redemption. For instance, the Haftarah talks about the rebuilding of the Temple. We might have thought that it would describe how the Jewish People all contribute toward building it, just as the Torah describes the donations that were used to build the Mishkan in the desert. Instead, it says the following:
כָּל צֹאן קֵדָר יִקָּבְצוּ לָךְ אֵילֵי נְבָיוֹת יְשָׁרְתוּנֶךְ יַעֲלוּ עַל רָצוֹן מִזְבְּחִי וּבֵית תִּפְאַרְתִּי אֲפָאֵר…
כִּי לִי אִיִּים יְקַוּוּ וָאֳנִיּוֹת … כַּסְפָּם וּזְהָבָם אִתָּם לְשֵׁם ה’ אֱ-לֹהַיִךְ וְלִקְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי פֵאֲרָךְ…
כְּבוֹד הַלְּבָנוֹן אֵלַיִךְ יָבוֹא בְּרוֹשׁ תִּדְהָר וּתְאַשּׁוּר יַחְדָּו לְפָאֵר מְקוֹם מִקְדָּשִׁי וּמְקוֹם רַגְלַי אֲכַבֵּד
All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you, the rams of Nevayot, in your service, to be brought willingly at My altar, the House of My glory, I will make glorious….To Me the islands gather…their silver and gold with them, in the Name of Hashem, your G-d, for the Holy One of Israel, who makes you glorious…..
The best of the forests of Lebanon will come to you, fir trees, pine trees, and boxwood, all together, to make glorious the place of My Temple, and the place of My abode I will make honored. (Yeshayahu 60:7,13)
According to these verses, it will not be the Jewish people who build the Temple. It will be the Nations of the World who contribute both money and raw materials toward its construction, with the goal of making it outstandingly beautiful and glorious.
Even when it talks about our achievements during that era, the Haftarah phrases them in terms of how they look to the Nations of the World:
וְקָרָאת יְשׁוּעָה חוֹמֹתַיִךְ וּשְׁעָרַיִךְ תְּהִלָּה
Your justice system will be called salvation, and your courts, a source of praise. (Yeshayahu 60:18)
Usually, the prophets describe the courts of the Jewish People as just and righteous. Here, the Haftarah describes them as being praised throughout the world.
The implication is that the World To Come is not about us and what we do. Instead, it is about what we project to others. It is all about the praise and the glory.
In Parshat Ki Tavo, we read a handful of verses can be easily overlooked, as they do not appear to tell us anything that we haven’t heard before:
וַה’ הֶאֱמִירְךָ הַיּוֹם לִהְיוֹת לוֹ לְעַם סְגֻלָּה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְלִשְׁמֹר כָּל מִצְוֹתָיו:
וּלְתִתְּךָ עֶלְיוֹן עַל כָּל הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לִתְהִלָּה וּלְשֵׁם וּלְתִפְאָרֶת וְלִהְיֹתְךָ עַם קָדֹשׁ לַה’ אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֵּר
Hashem has committed you today to be for Him a unique nation, as He has told you, and to keep all His commandments. And to place you supreme among all the nations that He has made, for praise, for the Name, and for glory, and for you to become a nation holy to Hashem your G-d, as He has told you. (Devarim 26:18,19)
It begins with our familiar mission statement: to be G-d’s people and keep His commandments. Then, it lays out the objective of our mission: praise, reputation (“Name”), and glory.
It is not enough to just be holy, just to keep G-d’s commandments. It is not meaningful to be G-d’s representatives on Earth if nobody is aware that this is what you are doing . If people don’t see what it is like to have G-d’s Presence among human beings, then they will never believe that it is possible. If G-d’s light is hidden from them, then they will never aim to share in it. Therefore, in order to fulfil the purpose of the Torah, the entire world must be aware of the holiness that it creates in the Jewish People. There needs to be praise and glory.
The Haftarah tells us that the World to Come will be a time when the actions of the Jewish People are not only consistent with G-d’s will, but they are also understood by all to be G-d’s will. The relationship between G-d and the Jewish People will be so strong, so palpable, so visible, that it will inspire universal admiration and emulation, fulfilling the mission as stated in the Parsha. The Nations of the World will wish to be a part of the glory, they will wish to contribute to the Temple and to the connection with G-d that it represents, and G-d will welcome their participation.
All of the Jewish People have a portion in the World to Come. According to the Haftarah, the World to Come is not limited to the Jewish People; it has enough portions for the entire world.
Copyright © Kira Sirote
In memory of my father, Peter Rozenberg, z”l
לעילוי נשמת אבי מורי פנחס בן נתן נטע ז”ל
Filed under Connections, Ki Tavo, Sefer Devarim, Sheva de'Nechemta
