Messages of the ProPhets __________________________________________________________________________________ Haftara of Parshas Shoftim 5780
by Jonathan Shooter
‘It is I’ What’s the Haftara about? ‘It is I, I am He Who comforts you’ (51:12) begins the Haftara, continuing the theme of the Seven Haftaras of Comforting. Yisrael should not be afraid of their enemies, who are mere mortals, for Hashem watches over them. The Jews have suffered much, but it will be time to ‘wake up, wake up . . . shake the dust from yourself’ (51:12) and prepare for the Redemption. The oppressors of the Jews will be punished and a herald will announce the Redemption. Then it will be time to ‘burst forth in joy, sing glad song together’ (52:9). There will then be a need for cleansing from impurity as the new era is ushered in. What’s the connection to the Parsha? This is the fourth of the Seven Haftaras of Comforting and it contains much detail about the future Redemption. The Haftara says, ‘There is no guide for her among all the children she has borne’ (51:18), referring to the lack of leadership at that time; the Parsha contains the mitzvah of appointing judges and a king. The Parsha says that the Jews shouldn’t fear when going to war against their enemies; the Haftara says not to fear enemies who are of mere flesh and blood, because they have Hashem with them. The haftara begins ‘It is I, I am He Who comforts you’ (51:12). The Midrash relates that in the future, Hashem will tell Avraham to comfort the people yet they will refuse to be comforted by him because he called the Beis Hamikdash a mountain. He will then tell Yitzchak to comfort them, yet they won’t accept it as he called it a field. Then Hashem will tell Yaakov, and again they won’t accept it, as he said ‘This is none other than the abode of Hashem’ (Bereishis 28:17), ‘none other than’ being a negative connotation. Then Hashem Himself will comfort the people as in our verse. Rav Yehonoson Eibshutz explains this Midrash. Really there is no need for any comforting at all. The Beis Hamikdash itself will be the biggest comfort. Yisroel won’t be comforted by it, as they will worry that maybe sin will cause this new beautiful Beis Hamikdash to be destroyed also. Hashem will then comfort them, and say that indeed they will not go into exile again. Avraham had called it a mountain as in the verse ‘on the mountain Hashem will be seen’ (Bereishis 22:14). If it were to be called a mountain, there would be a high standard expected of them, as in the verse ‘Who may ascend the mountain of Hashem…One with clean hands and pure heart’ (Tehillim 24:3-4). They may not reach such levels that would allow them to ascend this mountain, so they would not accept Avraham’s comfort. Why would Yitzchak’s comfort not be accepted? When Shlomo prayed as the Beis Hamikdash was being dedicated, one condition was that if the nations would come and pray, their prayers would also be accepted. This was because the nations had been involved in its construction, so they would get this benefit, and this was also the reason why the enemies would be able to destroy it. However with the future Beis Hamikdash there will be no foreign assistance. When Yitzchak called it a field, that was symbolic of the idea that a field is open for all to pass through, even the nations of the world, therefore they didn’t accept his comforting. Yaakov had said ‘This is none other than the abode of Hashem’ (Bereishis 28:17). His negative expression was also unfavourable to the Jews. Yaakov had taught that they would need to be righteous during the building as ‘none other’ connotes making oneself insignificant through humility. Righteousness is