Special Haftarah for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh - Today Israel, tomorrow everyone
Note: When Shabbat coincides with Rosh Chodesh, a special haftarah is recited instead of the one usually associated with that week's parshah. Last Saturday was Rosh Chodesh, so we heard the following haftarah instead of the one for parshah Noach.
Isaiah 66:1-24
Once again Isaiah prophesies the wonders that God will do for His people Israel, once again with little requirement from the people that they do anything to earn it. This was apparently written shortly after the end of the Babylonian exile, when joy and exultation were widespread as the Israelites were permitted to return home and rebuild the Temple. It opens with Isaiah quoting God, who says, "The heaven is My throne/And the earth is My footstool;/Where could you build a house for Me,/What place could serve as My abode?"
Next, God lashes out at pagans and idolators before calling on those who "Hear the word of the Lord,/You who are concerned about His word!" Again, God rages against those who scorn His people, promising them shame and retribution.
There follows a section rather puzzling to me full of metaphors about labor and birth. "Before she labored, she was delivered;/Before her pangs came, she bore a son./Who ever heard the like?...Can a land pass through travail/In a single day?/Or is a national born/All at once?...Shall I who bring about labor not bring about birth?...Shall I who cause birth shut the womb?"
Presumably, this means that God would not lead His people only so far only to deny them the fulfillment of His promise, their dream. Because the next passage is full of lush promise and hope, maternal love, and divine protection. "I will extend to her/Prosperity like a stream...You shall be carried on shoulders/And dandled upon knees./As a mother comforts her son/So I will comfort you...The power of the Lord shall be revealed/In behalf of His servants."
But then, God immediately threatens His foes again. But this is immediately followed by a prophecy of eventual universal worship of God, including, apparently, conversion of the nations.
Finally, the passage concludes with a promise that all who worship God shall endure, while those who don't will perish. "So shall your seed and your name endure/And new moon after new moon,/And sabbath after sabbath,/All flesh shall come to worship Me...They shall go out and gaze/On the corpses of the men who rebelled against me...And new moon after new moon,/And sabbath after sabbath,/All flesh shall come to worship Me/- said the Lord."
From the final lines, it's clear why this was chosen as the haftarah for Rosh Chodesh Shabbat. God is both father and mother in this passage, stern patriarch and loving matriarch, demanding and comforting, expecting and protecting. Israel has come through a harsh time when its very existence was in doubt. Now that the exile has ended, they need to hear that God has been with them all along and that a glorious future lies immediately ahead. Those who have been faithful in exile need no disparagement of their sins; they have been living the reminder of their failure. Now they need - and deserve - comfort and the promise of hope and joy. To know that God will reward His faithful - and punish those who do not believe in Him. And that Israel will one day be the centerpiece of universal faith in God.
(Note: all citations from Eitz Chayim ("Tree of Life"), the official Chumash (printed version of the Torah) of the Conservative Movement (copyright 2001 by the Rabbinical Assembly; Hebrew text, based on Biblia Hebraica Stuttgarensia, copyright 1999 by The Jewish Publication Society; English translation copyright 1985, 1999 by The Jewish Publication Society).
(Except as otherwise specifically noted and referenced, all commentaries are mine.)
Isaiah 66:1-24
Once again Isaiah prophesies the wonders that God will do for His people Israel, once again with little requirement from the people that they do anything to earn it. This was apparently written shortly after the end of the Babylonian exile, when joy and exultation were widespread as the Israelites were permitted to return home and rebuild the Temple. It opens with Isaiah quoting God, who says, "The heaven is My throne/And the earth is My footstool;/Where could you build a house for Me,/What place could serve as My abode?"
Next, God lashes out at pagans and idolators before calling on those who "Hear the word of the Lord,/You who are concerned about His word!" Again, God rages against those who scorn His people, promising them shame and retribution.
There follows a section rather puzzling to me full of metaphors about labor and birth. "Before she labored, she was delivered;/Before her pangs came, she bore a son./Who ever heard the like?...Can a land pass through travail/In a single day?/Or is a national born/All at once?...Shall I who bring about labor not bring about birth?...Shall I who cause birth shut the womb?"
Presumably, this means that God would not lead His people only so far only to deny them the fulfillment of His promise, their dream. Because the next passage is full of lush promise and hope, maternal love, and divine protection. "I will extend to her/Prosperity like a stream...You shall be carried on shoulders/And dandled upon knees./As a mother comforts her son/So I will comfort you...The power of the Lord shall be revealed/In behalf of His servants."
But then, God immediately threatens His foes again. But this is immediately followed by a prophecy of eventual universal worship of God, including, apparently, conversion of the nations.
Finally, the passage concludes with a promise that all who worship God shall endure, while those who don't will perish. "So shall your seed and your name endure/And new moon after new moon,/And sabbath after sabbath,/All flesh shall come to worship Me...They shall go out and gaze/On the corpses of the men who rebelled against me...And new moon after new moon,/And sabbath after sabbath,/All flesh shall come to worship Me/- said the Lord."
From the final lines, it's clear why this was chosen as the haftarah for Rosh Chodesh Shabbat. God is both father and mother in this passage, stern patriarch and loving matriarch, demanding and comforting, expecting and protecting. Israel has come through a harsh time when its very existence was in doubt. Now that the exile has ended, they need to hear that God has been with them all along and that a glorious future lies immediately ahead. Those who have been faithful in exile need no disparagement of their sins; they have been living the reminder of their failure. Now they need - and deserve - comfort and the promise of hope and joy. To know that God will reward His faithful - and punish those who do not believe in Him. And that Israel will one day be the centerpiece of universal faith in God.
(Note: all citations from Eitz Chayim ("Tree of Life"), the official Chumash (printed version of the Torah) of the Conservative Movement (copyright 2001 by the Rabbinical Assembly; Hebrew text, based on Biblia Hebraica Stuttgarensia, copyright 1999 by The Jewish Publication Society; English translation copyright 1985, 1999 by The Jewish Publication Society).
(Except as otherwise specifically noted and referenced, all commentaries are mine.)
posted by Tom Beck at 5:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home