Torah reading is Ekev (Deuteronomy 7:13-11:25); Haftorah reading is Isaiah 49:14-51:3
By Irv Jacobs, M.D.
LA JOLLA, California — This fully poetic, artistic passage from Isaiah II comprises the second haftorah prophecy of consolation after the 9th of Av, leading up to the Sabbath before Yom Kippur. As stated in the previous essay, it has no connection to the corresponding Torah parasha.
It comes from the same time frame of last week’s haftorah, c. 538 BCE, Re: release, with attendant memories and anxieties, (as perceived by Isaiah II) from Babylon by Persian Emperor Cyrus. [1]
Here are excerpts from this Master composite poet, as translated and interpreted by Emeritus Professor Robert Alter of the University of California at Berkeley. [
Yet Zion says, “The LORD has forsaken me,
and the Master has forgotten me.” [3]
Does a woman forget her babe,
have no mercy on the child of her womb?
Though she forgot,
I will not forget you.
Why, on my palms I have inscribed you,
your walls are before Me always.
Your children hasten.
Those who ravaged you, destroyed you,
shall leave you. [4]…
and your ravaged land—
now you shall scarcely have room for dwellers… [5]
And you shall say in your heart:
“Who gave birth for me for these,
when I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and cast aside…? [6]
(the nations)…
…shall bring your sons in their laps,
and your daughters shall be borne on their shoulders.
And kings shall be your attendants
and princesses your wet nurses. [7]…
And you shall know that I am the LORD,
all who hope for Me shall not be shamed. [8]…
Here the prophet waxes with vengeance:
And I shall feed your oppressors their own flesh,
and as with wine they shall be drunk on their blood….
Thus said the LORD: …
Why for your crimes you have been sold…
Why did I come and there there was no one there,
I called out and no one answered?
Is My hand too short to redeem,
and is there no power in Me to save?
Why, when I roar, I dry up the sea,
I turn rivers into desert… [9]
Now the prophet speaks in first person—
The Master, the LORD, has given me
a skilled tongue,
knowing how to proffer a word to the weary…
My back I gave to the floggers
and my cheeks to those who plucked my beard
My face I did not hide
from abasement and spittle. [10]…
But the Master, the LORD, has helped me,
and so I was not disgraced,…
(My Abusers)
Why, they all shall wear out like a garment,
the moth shall eat them away. [11]…
Who among you fears the LORD,
heeding the voice of His servant…
let him trust in the name of the LORD…
But all you who glow hot with fire…[12]
From My hand this has come to you
in pain shall you lie down.
Now we come to the necessary upbeat end to the haftorah.
Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who spawned you.
For he was the one whom I summoned,
and I blessed him and made him many.
For the LORD has comforted Zion,
brought comfort to all her ruins
and made her desert like Eden,
her wasteland like the garden of the LORD…
*
Reading this, I had an insight! Isaiah’s ‘exiled’ audience is a second generation 48 years after the conquest by Babylon. Yes, they likely knew family stories from 586 BCE, but in fact they grew up in Babylon. It was realistically the home to which they had adapted. Why be uprooted?
The chances are they were comfortable there. Psychologically, they did not wish to be ‘returned,’ much like second generation Jews in America. Why re-build Jerusalem, a remote place to them?
Isaiah had a major sell to make to this generation. In fact, many if not most stayed behind and built a Jewish community there which lasted 2500 years.
*
[1] Etz Hayim, The Jewish Publication Society, 2001, New York, p. 1055 This haftorah expresses the despair of Zion, feeling forgotten by God during the Babylonian exile, since 586 BCE. However, see my comments below.
[2] Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, Prophets Vol. 2, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2019, pp. 788-794
[3] metaphor ascribing Zion as bride, abandoned by God, her husband. The exile period, now ending, is represented here.
[4] Image is the Babylonian conquerors of Zion had fled as Zion ‘rushes’ to return to Judea.
[5] The prophet’s promise is that the Judea you return to will (again) be crowded with fellow Judeans.
[6] Formerly few in number, you will grow in large numbers in your own land.
[7] Metaphorically, with hyperbole, you will be well-served by other nations.
[8] The prophet speaks as the voice of God
[9] The voice of God continues to assert His power, actually in response to this generation’s resistance.
[10] I, Isaiah, faced ridicule and rough abuse from this generation of exiles, for bringing this message.
[11] This is a strong simile image for his detractors.
[12] You resisters, with a destructive light source, more burning heat than light.
*
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.