Haftorah Reading for Shavuot Day 2 with Commentaries

20But the Lord is in His Holy Temple.
Silence the whole earth before Him.

1A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning the errors.

2O Lord, I heard a report of You; I feared, O Lord, Your deed. In the midst of the years, revive it; in the midst of the years, let it be known. In anger You shall remember to have mercy.

3God came from Teman; yea, the Holy One from Mt. Paran, with everlasting might. His glory covered the heavens
and His splendor filled the earth.

4And there was a brightness like the light; they had rays from His hand, and there was His strength hidden.

5A pestilence went before Him, and sparks went out at His feet.

6He stood and meted out to the earth; He saw and caused nations to wander. And the everlasting mountains were shattered; the everlasting hills were humbled.
The procedures of the world are His.

7Because of iniquity I saw the tents of Cushan;
the curtains of the land of Midian quaked.

8Was the Lord angry with the rivers? Is His wrath against the rivers, or His fury against the sea? Only that You rode on Your steeds with Your chariots of salvation.

9Your bow revealed itself; The oaths to the tribes were a perpetual statement; You split the earth into rivers.

10Mountains saw You and quaked. A stream of water passed. The deep gave forth its voice. The heaven raised up its thanks.

11The sun and the moon stood in their dwellings; to the light of Your arrows they go, to the brightness of the
lightning of Your spear.

12With fury You tread the earth; with wrath You trample nations.

13You went forth to rescue Your people, to rescue Your anointed. You have crushed the head of the house of the wicked, uncovering it from the foundation to the neck-forever.

14You pierced the heads of his villages with his war clubs. They storm to scatter me. Their joy was when they could
devour a poor one in secret.

15You trampled in the sea with Your steeds, a heap of many waters.

16I heard, and my inward parts trembled; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones, and I quaked in my place, that [the time] I would rest is destined for a day of trouble-to bring up a people that will troop back.

17For a fig tree shall not blossom; neither is there produce on the vines. The labor of the olive tree shall fail, and the grain field shall not produce food. The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no cattle in the stalls.

18Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord; I will jubilate in the
God of my salvation.

19God the Lord is my strength. He made my feet [as swift] as the hind's, and He guides me on my high places. To the conductor [to play] with my melodies!

And now, some commentary from Chabad.org…

For an informed reading of Habakkuk 2:20–3:19

By Mendel Dubov

Learning the Haftorah for the Second Day of Shavuot

Background to the Haftarah

The prophet Habakkuk lived during the time of Menashe (Manasseh), king of Judea.¹ During this period, G‑d decided that the Temple would be destroyed and the Jewish people would be exiled. In this small but penetrating book, we read of Habakkuk’s reaction to the Jewish suffering that he foresaw.

Different prophets reacted in different ways to visions of an ominous future for their people. Habakkuk was one of those who initially could not bear to see it. The first chapter of his book is a deep protest, a painful demand as to how it is possible that the good suffer and the wicked prosper.

Our sages² tell us that Habakkuk was one of those challenged the Almighty in an open and unrestricted way. “He saw [with prophetic vision] Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah go into the fiery furnace and be saved,³ but then he saw R. Chanina ben Tradyon and his colleagues be burned in fire [by the Romans]. Upon seeing this, Habakkuk cried out in anguish and said: Master of the universe, both these groups of men are righteous, both these groups of men are pure; but these are saved and the others are burned! ‘Why do you allow me to see iniquity, and You look at evil deeds! That is why the Torah is weakened and justice never emerges!’”

Even if the righteous are not subject to torment, it is still often the case that the wicked have the upper hand. And so, says the Midrash, Habakkuk continued haranguing his Creator:

“Take Nebuchadnezzar, an uncircumcised and defiled being, and Daniel, a holy and pure individual. Yet it is Nebuchadnezzar who is [promoting Daniel by] dressing Daniel in purple.⁶ Take Achashverosh, an uncircumcised and defiled being, and Mordechai, a holy and pure individual. Yet it is Achashverosh who is [promoting Mordechai by] dressing Mordechai in purple.⁷ The same is true with Pharaoh and Joseph. ‘Since the wicked surround the righteous, therefore
justice emerges distorted!’”

At the end of it all, the prophet states in no uncertain terms that, after posing the challenge of all time to G‑d, he is expecting an adequate response: “I will stand upon my watch… and I will wait to see what He will speak to me, and what I can answer my reproof.”

The response doesn't take long to come. In classic biblical style, there is no justification given. Instead, G‑d allows him a glimpse of the more distant future when Babylon, the oppressive and wicked kingdom, will have a decisive downfall. It will take patience and endurance, but in the end it will surely come.

The Midrash records the response of G‑d in this way: “The Almighty revealed Himself to Habakkuk and said: Is it against Me that you are quarreling? Does not the verse state,
‘[He is] a G‑d of faith, without iniquity’?”

Either way, Habakkuk realized that he had gone too far, and offers a prayer “for erroneous utterances.” This prayer of Habakkuk comprises this haftarah. It is profoundly evident from the prayer that the soul of the prophet remains astir. His prayer is an outpouring, a cascade of emotion and ecstasy,
of trepidation and—of joy.

One Prophet Prays

The connection of this reading to the holiday of Shavuot appears in the beginning of Habakkuk’s prayer. He begins by appealing to G‑d that He remember his love for the Jewish people and fulfill His covenant never to forsake them. “In wrath,” the prophet pleads, “remember to be merciful.”

He then proceeds to recall some of the great moments between G‑d and His people, the times when the love of G‑d to them was apparent in all its glory. The first of these was at the giving of the Torah. At this time the most lofty and intense levels of G‑dliness were revealed to the entire people. Reference to this is made in terms such as the “glow,” “rays of light” and “hidden strength” that was experienced at this event.

The descriptions above are prefaced by the fact that “G‑d came forth from the south, the Holy One from Mount Paran.” The Talmud¹⁰ explains that before the Jews were given the Torah, the Almighty “offered” this priceless gift to the other great nations of the time—in particular, to the descendants of Esau and Ishmael, who lived in the south (of Israel) and in the desert of Paran, respectively. In whichever way the “offer” to accept the Torah was made, the response of the nations was a flat refusal. This repeated itself, says the Talmud, with every nation and group on earth.

Now, had the Jewish people not accepted the Torah, the entire purpose of creation would have been jeopardized. According to one interpretation, Habakkuk refers to this by stating that a “plague” and “pestilence” accompanied G‑d at the giving of the Torah:

had the Torah failed to win acceptance, G‑d would have destroyed the world as we know it. Just for this, said Habakkuk, the Jews are worthy that G‑d should be merciful to them.

Other glorious instances that Habakkuk invokes include the Jews’ defeat of the Midianites against overwhelming odds, the splitting of the Jordan River upon their entry into the Land of Israel, the splitting of the sea at the Exodus, the stopping of the entire solar and lunar orbit in the days of Joshua, and the Jews’ salvation from the Assyrian onslaught in the days of Hezekiah. All these events, and others, demonstrated G‑d’s intense love for His people.

After all this, Habakkuk dreadingly looks once again into the uncertain future. The events of the “War of Gog and Magog,” the frightful times right around the coming of Moshiach, torment the righteous prophet to no end. His people, already ravaged by the long exile—how will they cope with this new
tidal wave threatening their survival?

But in his penultimate stroke, Habakkuk places his trust in G‑d and rejoices in the salvation that will surely come. Just as it was in the past, miracles will take place again. G‑d will give His weak and hurting people the swiftness of a hart and the
might of a powerful army.

Overcome with feeling, Habakkuk breaks out in song.

Now, let’s review some Soul Memories
from MyJewishLearning.com:

Soul Memories

What actually happened at Mount Sinai?

BY RABBI MICHELLE MISSAGIEH

This week’s portion, Yitro, contains a deep memory of our people: the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

How do we remember this event in our people’s memory? Perhaps it’s the same way we remember family stories – differently.

All of us have sat around a holiday table reminiscing of past times … when, according to Uncle Joe, he fell off his bike while trying to impress a girl … or maybe Aunt Margie’s version was more accurate: The girl he was trying to impress pushed him off the bike. Or possibly it was the memory of when cousin Lucy vomited all over the Thanksgiving table because she ate an entire watermelon … or was Grandma Ethel’s version accurate: that Lucy got sick because she had stayed up all night studying for an exam?

Each parent, child, aunt, uncle and grandparent tells the story differently, and each swears their account is the correct telling. They’re not lying; it’s just that different truths impact
their memory and history telling.

So, too, we remember the Mount Sinai story in different ways, at different times throughout history, depending on
who is telling the story.

Telling Number 1: Receiving the Torah in Fear

The rabbis of the Talmud ask, Why do we read in this week’s portion that when the Israelites were about to receive the 10 commandments,“They stood beneath the mountain”? (Exodus 19:17) Because, Rav Avdimi bar Hama bar Hasa teaches,
“God vaulted the mountain over the people of Israel like a barrel and said to them: If you accept the Torah well and good, and if not, this mountain will fall on you and you
will stand in your graves.” (Shabbat 88a)

Consider whether you and Rav Avdimi understand each other. Are you someone who often does the right thing when you are threatened? Do you keep Jewish laws because you fear God’s anger? Do you follow through on a work assignment because if you don’t you might lose your job? Are you motivated by the punishment of getting in trouble? It worked for Rav Avdimi, and maybe this telling of your life’s story works for you.

Telling Number 2: Receiving Torah as an Act of Searching

The great modern Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai boldly imagines that the Torah wasn’t given at Mount Sinai, but left there by mistake and we, the Jews, accidentally found ourselves possessing it. In “Gods Come and Go, Prayers Remain Forever,”
Amichai writes:

When God left the earth He forgot the Torah with the Jews
and since then – they look for him
and cry after Him, “You forgot something, You forgot,”
in a loud voice
and others think that this is the prayer of the Jews.
And since then,
they strain to find hints in the Bible
as to the place He might be found
as it says, “Seek the Lord where He is to be found,
Call upon him when He is close”.
But He is far.

According to Amichai, we read Torah because we try to find God in order to give God something God mistakenly left behind, the Torah. Amichai radically suggests that Torah isn’t ours, but God’s. We cry, “You forgot something, You forgot,” because we don’t want Torah. It’s too much of a burden and we wish to return it to its rightful owner. Ironically the only way we can give the Torah back to God is by combing it for evidence of God’s presence.

When are you like Amichai? When do you cry out in confusion, not knowing what’s up or down, left or right? When do you feel as lost as God, missing something, but not quite knowing what it is? When do you feel burdened and left behind?

Our rabbis also taught, “Moses received Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua who transmitted it to the elders; from the elders to the prophets; the prophets to the
members of the Great Assembly.”

(Pirkei Avot 1:1) In this game of Torah telephone, I wonder what got remembered and what got lost? Whose voices became forgotten: the children, women, disabled, gay or stranger? Whose stories were left on the cutting floor? What stories of motivation to keep Jewish are still told, and what
stories will we need to create?

Rav Avdimi bar Hama bar Hasa and Amichai: Torah, our greatest collective story, is a compelling force in Israel’s life. The story might threaten us into submission or cause us to wander, but it is compelling and life-defining, just like our shared stories are around the holiday dinner table.

My desire is for you to share this teaching with everyone you know and that you continue to pray that Debra & I remain in strength with good health so that we may continue to serve HaShem through
our service to His people.

Please check out & SHARE Debra’s music
and her weekly podcast, A Story & A Song is now there too
Sunday mornings @ 11:30 ET
is always worth a half hour of spiritual uplifting:
You can find it easily on YouTube:
@JewishRockMusic

Or on Instagram at: debracohenmusicdotcom
Debra has a brand new book on Amazon
that everyone should read & review…
https://a.co/d/aAmG4pH

And please share this teaching with those
whom you suspect could do with a little insight
into G-d’s Word & His Ways…