We resume our discussion of the words of prophets in the Haftarot of the seven weeks of comfort.
The prophet this week is Yeshaya HaNavi, who gives many words of comfort. He starts this
week off with רָנִּי עֲקָרָה לֹא יָלָדָה
The barren
woman who has not yet given birth will
rejoice.
This is a mashal referring to Yerushalayim, which was
like a barren woman in that, for so many years she was empty, without her
children, but she will rejoice.
This is a beautiful haftara, for many reasons, one of which is that
there’s a beautiful Midrash that contrasts the different generations to the
Avot/Patriarchs.
The Midrash says that when our forefathers moved from place to
place in Eretz Yisrael, G-d didn’t guarantee or make promises about where they’d end up. Hashem didn’t have
to tell them because they were Baalei Emunah. They just moved around.
They had faith, and therefore they didn’t need that extra
scaffolding.
But later on, generations needed promises from G-d, and even with
that, we still hope
that they’ll believe. The generation in Mitzrayim was
promised that they’d go into the land of milk and honey, and even so, they were
doubtful. The Midrash continues on to say that we are no different. We are
still doubtful and unclear, despite having received so many promises.
For example, the promise we mentioned above: רָנִּי עֲקָרָה לֹא יָלָדָה
We have a promise that the barren woman who has not
yet given birth will one day rejoice with her children.
There are other positive haftaras listed as proof of this,
ואף כל פי כן, אנו מתפוגגים
but even so, our hearts still flutter.
We still aren’t confident in the Geula.
So, the Midrash is bemoaning the
fact that even with all of these promises, we still aren’t calm. At the very least, we need to read
these Haftaras and these promises, so that we can’t be held accountable, but we
might not be paying attention to what the Haftara says.
As we said at the beginning of this seven-week series, G-d is
talking to every generation. These words are for us, to teach us important lessons.
There will come a time when we are going
to spread out.
כִּי יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול תִּפְרֹצִי we will burst out, to the
right and to the left. And the desolate cities will once again be dwelled in. We will no
longer be embarrassed because although we looked like we were widowed (as it says in the beginning of Echah היתה כאלמנה
we were like widows),
and the prophet says,
וְחֶרְפַּת אַלְמְנוּתַיִךְ
The shame of your widow will be forgotten- status
We felt alone and ignored.
But in the end, it will all be forgotten when G-d, the G-d of the
hosts becomes our husband once again. And everyone realizes clearly that we are
not alone. It looked like we were widowed but we were not. The prophet says two very eye- opening pesukim:
The first one says
, בְּרֶגַע קָטֹן עֲזַבְתִּיךְ וּבְרַחֲמִים גְּדֹלִים אֲקַבְּצֵךְ:
For a millisecond I forsook you, and I’ll gather you in with great
mercy.
And the second is,
בְּשֶׁצֶף קֶצֶף הִסְתַּרְתִּי פָנַי רֶגַע מִמֵּךְ וּבְחֶסֶד עוֹלָם רִחַמְתִּיךְ אָמַר גֹּאֲלֵךְ ה’:
With a little bit of anger, I hid My face for a second, and for an
everlasting kindness, I will have mercy.
Rav Wolbe commented, as do the Rishonim, on the wording of these
pesukim.
It’s been almost 2,000 years since we had a Bet HaMikdash, but G-d
looks at those 2,000 years and calls them a millisecond!
He says, “I forgot about
you, I hid myself, I got angry at you... for a millisecond.”
In the larger picture, it’s just a blip on the radar. It won’t even
show up in the
larger picture. We can’t fathom what forever, and ever, and
ever, and ever means, but that’s what it will be. We have to constantly remind ourselves of
these comforting words- it will be forever and ever. And all of these doubts
and worries will be forgotten.
And it continues, כִּי מֵי נֹחַ זֹאת לִי אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי מֵעֲבֹר מֵי נֹחַ עוֹד עַל הָאָרֶץ כֵּן נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי מִקְּצֹף עָלַיִךְ וּמִגְּעָר בָּךְ:
Like I swore that they would never be a flood so too I will swear
never to get upset at you again.
So G-d says, “Just
like the
Mabul happened once and will never
happen again,
the Galut will be a thing of the
past.” We will look back and see it as just
a thing in the past, that will never happen again; a one-time occurrence.
The prophet ends with:
הֶהָרִים יָמוּשׁוּ וְהַגְּבָעוֹת תְּמוּטֶינָה וְחַסְדִּי מֵאִתֵּךְ לֹא יָמוּשׁ וּבְרִית שְׁלוֹמִי לֹא תָמוּט אָמַר מְרַחֲמֵךְ ה’:
Large mountains rarely move, but even if it does happen, my kindness will never leave you. And the covenant of My peace will never falter. So said the One who
loves you, G-d.
This is G-d talking to us. It’s not a thing of the past. With all
the situations that are going on, G-d is saying that it’s all just a little
blip. Hang on. It’s important to always
look at the larger picture. Don’t get caught up in the moment. The moment might
not look great, but look at what Hashem is describing. It’s just a millisecond.
These are the words that we
have to tell ourselves, in these uncertain times. As we get ready for the high
holidays, we must realize that Hashem wants to bring the Geula.
We have to believe in it. That’s why Hashem promises us things
first. Why did Hashem make promises? why not just make things happen? Because when He
promises, and we rely and believe, that is a merit for it to happen. So, let’s
read these 10
pesukim of the Haftara in English, and pay
attention to them. Take out your Hebrew English Humash, and get charged with
your belief that this is really going to happen one day. We are going to look
back on all of this, and it will just be a fleeting moment in a larger picture.
Have a Shabbat Shalom.
