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
mainly discerned through the trait of genuine humility. This was learnt from Moshe, who was extremely wise, and yet viewed himself as ‘nothing’, like in the expression ‘none other than’. Therefore they won’t take comfort from Yaakov either as they felt they would fall short in this too. Therefore they will only take comfort from Hashem Himself. Avoiding each other The verse says ‘The voice of your lookouts, they have raised a voice, together they sing glad song, for every eye shall see when Hashem returns to Yerushalayim’ (52:8). The Shaar Bas Rabim explains the verse as follows. When a father has a son who is precious to him, the father always tries to view things through the eyes of his son, to understand what he needs, what he is lacking. The son likewise is always looking out to understand the needs and desires of his father, as to what he can do for him, and find favour in his eyes. If the father becomes angry at the son and distances himself from him, the distance will mean that they can’t look at each other eye to eye and feel each other’s needs. If the son needs something from the father, he has to raise his voice in the hope that he will somehow be heard. If the father wants to act with compassion towards his son, he will look in the room where his son lived and cry out for him. When they finally meet, they will now see each other eye to eye again and indeed will cry out with joyful sounds. This is seen in our verse ‘The voice of your lookouts, they have raised a voice’, Yisroel spent millennia raising their voice to Hashem, that He should have mercy upon them. Hashem also raised His voice when He has mercy on His children. When Hashem is united with His people, then ‘together they sing glad song, for every eye shall see when Hashem returns to Yerushalayim’. That’s all you ask for? The verse says ‘Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who shall die…and you have forgotten Hashem Your Maker, Who spread out the heavens…yet you are continually in terror the whole day, of the oppressors fury as if her were preparing to destroy, where then shall be the oppressors fury?’ (51:12-13). The Dubno Maggid cites the following parable. Once there was a king who was angry at his son and he drove him out of the royal palace. The prince wandered around in a state of desperation, until he knocked on someone’s door for a place to sleep. The man graciously took the prince in, gave him food and lodging, and the prince worked for him to earn his keep. Many years passed with this arrangement and the prince forgot his upbringing and became like one of the country workers. After some time, his host died, and the prince began to work for the son. However the son was an evil, cruel man who would work him hard and mistreat him. He wouldn’t even give him enough food. At the same time, the king was sad that he hadn’t heard anything from his son all these years, he didn’t know where he was even. He was advised to go touring the land with his entourage, and announce in each place that anyone who had a question or a case to judge, or a servant with grievances against his master could come for a ruling. Many people presented their grievances against others, and indeed the prince turned up, and he didn’t even recognise his father. He came in front of the king, and cried about how terrible his new master was. When the first master was alive he was well treated, but now conditions were awful. When the king heard these words, he embraced his son and cried, and asked him how could he have forgotten his former prominence. The kingdom was his for the taking, all the officers would bow to him, and now all he could ask for is to have proper food and better treatment amongst the villagers! Similarly, in the golus, we forget the prominence we had as Hashem’s chosen people. When evil comes upon us, we cry out to be saved from it, yet forget our intrinsic worth and the privileged position we had. ‘Who are you that you should be afraid of a man… and you have forgotten Hashem’. People only look at the immediate oppressor, and forget what they are meant to be. Instead they should yearn for the return to Yerushalayim, and that will solve all the problems.