NOTE FROM EDDIE:

   These "Seven Haftarot of Comfort" referred to below  is what Orthodox Jews
call the Messianic Redemption / Ingathering of the Exiles or the
restoration of BOTH houses of Israel (Ezekiel 37:15-28). This is a
MAJOR theme of the writings of the prophets.

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From:          Har Etzion Virtual Beit Midrash <yhe@vbm-torah.org>
To:            yhe-haftora@vbm-torah.org
Subject:       HAFTORA -43: Seven Haftarot of Comfort

                           
                   YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
      ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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                   THE WEEKLY HAFTORA
                  By Rav Yehuda Shaviv
                           
                Seven Haftarot of Comfort

a. Why specifically these prophecies
     The Tur, Orach Chaim siman 428 teaches:
    
     "From  (parashat) Bereishit until the 17th of Tammuz
     the  haftora follows the theme of the parasha;  from
     then onwards (the theme of the haftora is) according
     to  the  date and the events (related to it):   there
     are  three  (haftarot)  of  rebuke,   then  seven  of
     comfort...  the seven of comfort are  'Nachamu'   for
     parashat  Va'etchanan, 'Va-tomer Tzion' for parashat
     Ekev,  'Aniya  so'eret'  for  Re'eh,   'Anokhi'   for
     Shoftim,  'Roni akara' for Ki Tetze, 'kumi uri'  for
     Ki Tavo, and 'sos asis' for Nitzavim...."

     In  other words, the haftarot for most shabbatot  of
the  year were selected because of the similarity between
them  and the parashot which they accompany, while  those
read  from the 17th of Tammuz until the end of  the  year
were  chosen  on the basis of their connection  with  the
events of that period: there are three haftarot of rebuke
for  the  period  between the 17th of Tammuz  and  Tish'a
B'Av,   followed  by  seven  of  comfort  for  the   seven
shabbatot  after Tish'a B'Av - from parashat  Va'etchanan
until  parashat  Nitzavim. Thus  there  is  no  point   in
seeking  any  relation  between these  haftarot  and  the
parashot which they accompany, since they were all chosen
for their common theme: comfort.

     But it is necessary for us to understand why, out of
the  many  prophecies of comfort and redemption,  it  was
specifically  these  that were chosen,  as  well  as  the
reason for the specific order in which they are read. Our
initial  theory could be that the prophecies  of  comfort
were  selected  from those of the 'prophet  of  comfort,'
Yishayahu, and they were established one by one for  each
of  these  weeks. This theory could have been  maintained
had  the  order of the prophecies followed the  order  in
which  they  appear in Sefer Yishayahu,  i.e.,  that  the
prophecy  that  appears earliest in the  Sefer  would  be
selected for the first Shabbat, etc. But although this is
the  case  for  the most part, there are instances  where
this  order  is  not followed: the haftora  for  parashat
Shoftiom is from Yishayahu 51-52, while that of  Re'eh  -
which is read prior to Shoftim - is from the second  half
of  Chapter  54,  while the first part  of  that  chapter
accompanies parashat Ki Tetze, which comes later.

b. Hierarchy and dialogue
     The   Ba'al  Machzor  Vitri  discerns   a  deliberate
hierarchy in the order of the haftarot. He writes:
    
     "...  And  the  latter  ones,   which  all  speak  of
     comfort, are read from Tish'a B'Av until Yom Kippur,
     in  the  way  that  one comforts (a   human  mourner)
     slowly by stages, for someone who offers comfort too
     close  to  the  time  of tragedy  is   like  one  who
     predicts  the future: "Tomorrow you will  be   king,"
     which   the  bereaved  cannot   believe...  therefore
     "Comfort  you,"  "And Tzion shall   say"  -  although
     Tzion   is  destroyed,  do  not   say  that  she   is
     abandoned. Since Hashem has "comforted" her   already
     in  His mercy, He does not call for mercy again.  Up
     until this point the prophets comfort her; from here
     onwards  He comforts her. And once she has  received
     consolation,  we follow with: "Sing, O barren   one,"
     "Arise and shine," "I shall rejoice."

The  structure of the consolation is built  on  different
levels, and it grows continually stronger.

     A  different  explanation is offered  by  a   Midrash
quoted  by the Avudraham in his comments on the order  of
the parashiot and haftarot:
    
     "The   Midrash   suggests...  that    they   (Chazal)
     established  that the first of these haftarot  would
     be  "Comfort, comfort My people" - as though   Hashem
     is commanding the prophets to comfort His nation. To
     this  Knesset  Yisrael responds:  "And   Tzion  says,
     'Hashem  has  abandoned  me'  -  i.e.,   she  is  not
     consoled by the comfort of the prophets... And where
     the  haftora is "a stormy afflicted one who will not
     be  comforted," it is as if the prophets once   again
     declare before the Holy One: See, Knesset Yisrael is
     not  appeased  with our consolations. Therefore   the
     Holy  One  Himself  again  speaks:   "I,  I  am  your
     comforter," and then He says, "Rejoice, O barren one
     who has not given birth," and also "Arise and shine,
     for  your light has come." To this, Knesset   Yisrael
     responds: "I shall surely rejoice in Hashem" - as if
     to  say,  now  I have reason to rejoice  and   to  be
     joyful, "My soul will rejoice in my God for  He   has
     dressed me in garments of salvation...."

c. Connection with exegesis?
     Although, as mentioned, these haftarot were selected
for  their theme of consolation, there may still be  some
ideas common to each of them and to the parashot read  on
the same shabbatot.
    
     The  following ideas arise from an initial  reading,
and upon deeper examination no doubt more could be found.

Haftora of Va'etchanan - Nachamu (40:1-26)
     A  few  pesukim in this prophecy speak of the unique
Oneness of Hashem (for example, "To whom will you compare
Me,  that I will be compared, says the Holy One"  (25)  -
see  also  pesukim  13, 17, 18), and this  same  idea  is
expressed  in  the famous pasuk from the parasha:  "Shema
Yisrael"  -  "Hear O Israel, Hashem our God -  Hashem  is
One" (6:4).
    
     In  the Ten Commandments in the parasha we find  the
negative  commands, "You shall have no other gods  before
Me;"  "You  shall not make for yourself any carved  idol"
(5:7-8),  as  well  as other warnings: "Lest  you  become
corrupt  and  make for yourselves a carved  idol  of  any
image"  (4:16),  "Guard yourselves lest your  forget  the
covenant of Hashem your God... and make for yourselves an
idol  that  is the likeness of anything" (4:23).  In  the
haftora  the prophet mocks "The idol - a craftsman  casts
it,  and  a refiner covers it with silver... he  seeks  a
wise  craftsman to make an idol that will not  be  moved"
(19-20).

Haftora of Ekev - "Tzion says..." (49:14-51:3)
     In  the parasha we find a warning: "Guard yourselves
lest  your  hearts be tempted... and Hashem's anger  will
burn  against  you, and He will stop up the  heavens  and
there  sill  be no rain... and you will quickly  die  off
from upon the good land" (11:16-17). In the haftora,  the
prophet announces in Hashem's name: "At My rebuke  I  dry
up  the  sea, I make the rivers a desert... I clothe  the
heavens  in  black  garments..."  (50:2).  And    in   the
concluding  pasuk of the haftora, the prophet says:  "For
Hashem  will  comfort  Tzion, He shall  comfort  all  her
desolate places, and He shall make her desert like  Eden,
and  her  Arava like Hashem's garden" (51:3).  Eden,  the
garden  of Hashem, is none other than the primordial  Gan
Eden, the place where water flowed abundantly, irrigating
the  garden and all its vegetation. And thus all of Eretz
Yisrael  -  including its most arid regions  -  fits  its
description  in the parasha as "a good land,  a  land  of
streams of water, fountains and depths that flow from the
valleys and the mountains" (8:7).

Haftora of Re'eh - "O stormy afflicted one" (54:11-55:5)
     Firstly,  the prophet speaks of children:  "And   all
your  children will know Hashem, and there will be  great
peace  among  your children" (54:13). In the  parasha  we
already hear of Israel referred to as children: "You  are
children to Hashem your God" (14:1).
    
     Secondly,  the key to redemption - in the  prophet's
words  - lies in acts of righteousness: "In righteousness
shall you be established" (54:14). The parasha speaks  at
length  about  matters of righteousness.  We  are  warned
several  times to remember the Levi, who has  no  portion
and  inheritance in the land, and to include him  in  the
household (12:12, 12:18, 14:27, 14:29). Likewise  we  are
told  to give gifts to the poor, to the stranger  and  to
the   orphan  and  widow  (14:29).  There  is   also   the
obligation  to  cancel debts at the end  of  seven  years
(15:1-3),  and later on there are pesukim that  speak  of
the  obligation to open one's hand to one's  impoverished
brother  and to give him "sufficient for what  he  needs,
that which he lacks" (15:8). We are also commanded as  to
what to give the Hebrew man- and maid-servants at the end
of their period of indenture.
    
     Thirdly,  the parasha promises: "And you shall   lend
to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall rule
over  many  nations, but they shall not  rule  over  you"
(15:6).  In  the haftorawe are told that if  Israel  will
listen  to  Hashem,  then "I shall  make  an   everlasting
covenant  with  you, the everlasting loving  promises  of
David.  Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations,
a leader and commander of nations... and nations that did
not know you will run towards you" (55:3-5).

Haftora  of  Shoftim  - "I, I am your comforter"  (51:12-
52:12)
     The   parasha   deals  with  the    institutions   of
leadership  of  the nation: judges, officers,  the  king,
kohanim,  prophets. In the haftora, too,  we  hear  about
leadership:  "There is no leader for her  among  all  the
children she has borne; there is none who holds her  hand
of  all  the  children  she has raised"  (51:18).   "Their
rulers  yell" (52:5), "the voice of your watchmen -  they
have lifted their voices" (52:8).

Haftora of Ki Tetze - "Sing, O barren one" (54:1)
     The   prophet  announces,  "More   numerous  are  the
children of the desolate than the children of the married
woman"  (54:1). The prophet sees before him two  women  -
one desolate and alone, the other married. The one who is
married  is loved by her husband, while the desolate  one
is  hated  and  abandoned. Indeed, she is "like  a  woman
abandoned  and  of downcast spirit," like "the  woman  of
one's  youth  whom  one  has despised"  (6).  But   Hashem
promises  that  "with great mercy" and "with  everlasting
lovingkindness" He will return this "wife of  His  youth"
to Him. The subject of a beloved wife and a despised wife
is mentioned at the beginning of the parasha, and that of
separating  from the wife of one's youth and sending  her
away is dealt with further on (24:1-2).

Haftora of Ki Tavo - "Arise, shine" (chapter 60)
     The visions contained in this prophecy of redemption
can  be  summarized by a single pasuk from  the  parasha:
"Hashem has mandated you today to be a special nation for
Him... and to make you supreme over all the nations which
He has made, in praise and in name and in honor." This is
a  promise  that  the  nations  will  recognize   Israel's
supremacy,  a  recognition that  will  involve  the  many
details listed in the haftora, from pasuk 3 to pasuk 16.

Haftora for Nitzavim - "I shall surely rejoice in Hashem"
(61:10-63:9)
     Firstly, in contrast to the curse in the parasha - a
curse that will come upon the land if Israel violates the
covenant  - "brimstone and salt and burning  in  all  the
land;  it  shall not be sown, nor shall it bear  produce,
nor  shall any grass grow in it" (29:22), at the time  of
the  redemption a blessing will come upon the land:  "and
your land will no more be called 'desolate'..." (62:4).
    
     Secondly,    an   important    principle    regarding
redemption  and  repentance and  the  special  connection
between the Holy One and His nation arises from the  text
of   this  parasha  and  its  interpretation.  The   Torah
promises:  if  you will "return to Hashem  your  God  and
listen to His voice" (30:2), then "Hashem will BRING BACK
your  captivity and have mercy on you, and He will RETURN
and gather you from all the nations where Hashem your God
scattered you" (30:3). Rashi, quoting R. Shimon Bar Yohai
in  massekhet  Megilla (29a) comments: "The  text  should
have  read,  "He will RETURN your captivity."  Our  Sages
learned  from this that the Shekhina remains with Israel,
as it were, in the distress of their exile, and when they
are redeemed He brings redemption to Himself, for He will
return with them."
    
     This principle is echoed in the closing pasuk of the
haftora:  "In all their affliction He was afflicted,  and
the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and His
pity He redeemed them" (63:9). (The Ibn Ezra explains how
the "keri u-ketiv" - the traditional reading of the pasuk
which  differs slightly from the written text -  reflects
how  Hashem  Himself,  as  it  were,  is  afflicted,   and
therefore He hastens to deliver them.)
    
     This covenant of love and identity of destiny, as it
were, is what ensures the ultimate redemption, and it  is
a  most worthy conclusion to the series of prophecies  of
consolation.

YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH
ALON SHEVUT, GUSH ETZION 90433
Copyright (c) 1999 Yeshivat Har Etzion. All rights reserved.

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