Torah Reading is Va-’Ethannan (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11)l Haftorah is Isaiah 40: 1-26
By Irv Jacobs, M.D.
LA JOLLA, California — These entirely poetic passages are attributed to Isaiah II, [1] after 538 BCE when Emperor Cyrus released the Judean Babylonian exiles, to return to Judea.
It is the first of seven haftorot after the 9th of Av, designated as prophecies of consolation, preceding a special haftorah on the Sabbath before Yom Kiippur. These haftorat have no connection to their corresponding Torah parashot readings.
This haftorah’s language does not speak of political freedom, rather it offers words of comfort and restoration. It is divided into two components: first consolation; then teachings that emphasize God’s majesty and might. [2]
Here are excerpts from the modern translation by Emeritus Professor Robert Alter of the University of California at Berkeley. These demonstrate the poetic finesse of the authors and redactors.
Comfort, O comfort My people,
says your God.
Speak to the heart of Jerusalem
and call out to her,
for her term of service is ended,
her crime is expiated,
for she has taken from the Lord’s hand
double for all her offenses [3]…
Clear a way for the Lord’s road,
level in the desert a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be lifted high
and every mountain brought low,
and the crooked shall be straight,
and the ridges become a valley. [4]…
Grass dries up, the flower fades,
but the word of our God stands forever. [5]…
Like a shepherd He minds his flock
in His arm He gathers lambs,
and in his lap He bears them…[6]
Who with his hand’s hollow has measured the waters,
the heavens has gauged with a span
and meted earth’s dust with a measure,
weighed with a scale the mountains
and the hills with a balance? [7]…
With whom did He counsel, who informed Him?
who taught Him the path to justice,
taught Him knowledge
and the way of discernment informed Him?
Why nations are a drop from the bucket.
like the balance’s dust are reckoned…
Lebanon has not enough fuel,
and its beasts not enough for burnt offering.
All the nations are as naught before Him [8]…
The craftsman has shaped the idol,
and the smith overlays it with gold…
Do you not know,
have you not heard?…
have you not grasped how the earth was founded?
He is enthroned on the rim of the earth,
and its dwellers are like grasshoppers.
He spreads out the heavens like a gauze
and stretches them like a tent to dwell in.
He turns princes into nothing,
earth’s rulers He makes as naught…
When He blows on them, they wither,
and the storm bears them off like chaff. [9]
Now comes the necessary upbeat haftorah ending.
Lift up your eyes on high,
and see, who created these?
He who musters their host by number
and all of them calls by name.
Through abundant strength and mighty power [10]…
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The array of contributions to this poetic prophecy, from an unknown number of writers, are redacted into a consistent single poem. It loyally follows ancient Hebrew poetry conventions. The overall intention is to represent God as the all powerful creator, and director of favorable events. God here is also the director of Persian Emperor Cyrus.
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NOTES
[1] Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, Prophets Vol. 2, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2019, pp. 617-8. Scholars believe that Isaiah II represents contributions from more than one main author, plus insertions by an unknown number of others.
[2] Etz Hayim,The Jewish Publication Society, 2001, New York, p. 1032
[3]Op. cit, Alter, p. 748 Words of comfort addressed to the Judeans, now free to return to Judea after the punishment of exile.
[4] Ibid, Alter, p. 748 Strong imagery to suggest God’s easing the return from Babylon, now Persian land.
[5] More emphasis Re: the constancy of God.
[6] A simile and metaphor: God’s tenderness
[7] Strong metaphor images of God in command.
[8] Answer to rhetorical questions: God, with wisdom and strength, considers sacrifices as trivial. The Lebanon reference refers to its lush forests and wildlife as sources for sacrifice.
[9] strong poetic images, metaphor, and similes.
[10] God created e.g. the infinite stars, and named them all!
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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.