VaYikra (Leviticus 1-5) Haftorah is Isaiah 4:21-44:23
By Irv Jacobs, M.D.
LA JOLLA, California — This entirely poetic Haftorah by 2nd Isaiah was written during the Babylonian exile, in anticipation of the permitted return to Judea. The Persian conqueror Cyrus (c. 580-529 BCE) was soon to conquer Babylon and release the exiled Judeans in 538 BCE.
Second Isaiah died in Babylon, though this ‘prophecy’ promised that his fellow exiles would be forgiven for their idolatry by God, and returned to their land. Accordingly I would date this writing to about 540 BCE.
The connection to the Torah reading is that Vayikra details the varieties of public sacrifice in the desert Tabernacle, whereas in this Haftorah, Isaiah decries the abandonment of proper sacrifice, for which the exiled Judeans were being punished. [1]
Speaking for God, the Haftorah opens with chastisement of those exiled with him (Isaiah 23:21-24) for failure to bring sacrifices:
You have not brought me sheep for your burnt offerings
and with your sacrifices you have not honored Me.I did not burden you with grain offerings
nor weary you with frankincense.You did not buy for Me cane [2] with silver
nor sate me with the fat of your sacrifices.But you burdened me with your offenses
wearied me with your crimes.” [3]
Next Isaiah, for God, offers to erase the people’s sins (Isaiah 43: 25-26)
I wipe away your transgressions for My sake,
and your offenses I do not recall.Help Me recall, let us join in judgment,
you, recount it, that you be proven right. [4]…
Next comes an ego trip-promise, by Isaiah, on God’s behalf (Ch. 44:2-7)
Thus said the Lord your Maker,
your Fashioner in the womb, Who helps you: …I will pour My spirit on your seed
and My blessing on your offspring.And they shall sprout among the grass
like willows by brooks of water. [5]…
Thus said the Lord King of Israel
and its Redeemer, the Lord of Armies.I am the first and I am the last—
and besides Me there is no god.Who is like Me? Let him call out,
let him tell it and lay it out to Me…Is there any God besides Me?
Is there any Rock? [6] None have I known…
Now comes a literary tirade against idolatry and manufacture of idols (Ch. 44:9-20)
Fashioners of idols, they are all mere wind…
and their witnesses cannot see,
nor know, and hence they are shamed…The ironsmith with an adze [7]
works it with coals
and with hammers fashions it
and works it with his strong arm…The carpenter stretches a line,
marks the outline with a stylus,
he makes it with a plane,
marks the outline with a compass,
and makes it in the form of a man,…cutting down cedars for it,
taking plane trees and oak,
he picks from the trees of the forest,
plants cedar, and the rain makes it grow.
And it turns into fuel for man,
and he takes it and warms himself.
He lights it and bakes bread and is sated.
He also makes a god and bows down,
makes it an idol and worships it. [8]
Last comes the mandatory upbeat ending for a Haftorah (Ch. 44:21-23)
I have wiped away your crimes like a cloud,
and like the sky’s mist your offenses…Burst forth in glad song, you mountains,
the forest and all trees within it,
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and shall glory in Israel. [9]
Poetry in this Haftorah emanates throughout. Within it are shifts in mood: from chastisement of God’s people, to recollection of God’s choice of and rearing of Israel, to God’s egoism, to litany against idolatry, and finally to promise of redemption. All of this is with dramatic images.
This Haftorah invokes the deepest feelings of the reader.
Though I don’t personally understand the Hebrew, I appreciate in this, a translation by Robert Alter, differences in style between 1st Isaiah and this writing by 2nd Isaiah.
*
NOTES
[1] Etz Hayim,The Jewish Publication Society, 2001, New York, p. 607
[2] The Hebrew Bible, Vol. 2, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2019, Robert Alter, p.766, an aromatic used in sacrificial offerings, and also a fragrance in ‘Song of Songs.’
[3] Ibid, p. 766—meaning ‘you habitually offered sacrifices while persisting in depravity.’
[4] Ibid, p.766—sounds like a wishy-washy memory by Isaiah, or a subsequent editor
[5] poetic metaphor and simile devices
[6] Ibid, p. 768—metaphoric epithet for God, the stronghold
[7] Ibid, p. 768—ancient tool, not identified. These lines are strong images of the idol-making process.
[8] Ibid, p. 769—the same wood from which from which fuel is taken to bake bread also furnishes, from the ‘leftovers,’ material for idols. Isaiah shows a remarkable range of awareness of the cutting, carving, and finishing processes, along with sophisticated tools of the time.
[9] simile and metaphor abound, along with this exuberant cosmic image.
*
Irv Jacobs is a retired medical doctor who delights in Torah analysis. He often delivers a drosh at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, and at his chavurah.