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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