Ki Tetzey Haftorah
Isaiah 54:1-10
Commentaries
From Rashi, Me & several folks much more qualified than I…
First, let’s read this Fifth Haftorah of Consolation
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1"Sing you barren woman who has not borne; burst out into song and jubilate, you who have not experienced birth pangs, for the children of the desolate one are more than the children of the married woman," says the Lord. |
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Sing, you barren woman: Jerusalem, who was as though she had not borne. |
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you who have not experienced birth pangs: Heb. חָלָה, an expression of childbirth, for the woman in confinement gives birth with pains and writhing. |
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for the children of the desolate one: The daughter of Edom. |
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2Widen the place of your tent and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations, do not spare; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. |
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and let them stretch forth: far off. |
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lengthen your cords: These are thin ropes that hang at the bottom of tents, and that are tied to stakes called ‘chevils’ in French, which are thrust into the ground. |
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3For right and left shall you prevail, and your seed shall inherit nations and re-people desolate cities. 1948, establishment of the modern state of Israel. |
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shall you prevail: Heb. תִּפְרֹצִי, shall you prevail. |
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4Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed, and be not embarrassed for you shall not be put to shame, for the shame of your youth you shall forget, and the disgrace of your widowhood |
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your youth: Heb. עֲלוּמַיִךְ, your youth. |
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5For your Master is your Maker, the Lord of Hosts is His name, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, |
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6For, like a wife who is deserted and distressed in spirit has the Lord called you, and a wife of one's youth who was rejected, |
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who was rejected: When she is rejected at times that her husband is a little wroth with her. |
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7"For a small moment have I forsaken you, and with great mercy will I gather you. |
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8With a little wrath did I hide My countenance for a moment from you, and with everlasting kindness will I have compassion on you," said your Redeemer, the Lord. Amazing, isn’t it, how G-D counts time? 2000 years are to Him, but a moment… |
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With a little wrath: Heb. שֶׁצֶף. Menahem (Machbereth p. 179) interprets this as, “with kindling of wrath,” and Dunash (Teshuvoth p. 20) states, “with a little wrath,” paralleling “For a small moment have I forsaken you,” and so did Jonathan render. |
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and with everlasting kindness: that will exist forever. |
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9"For this is to Me as the waters of Noah, as I swore that the waters of Noah shall never again pass over the earth, so have I sworn neither to be wroth with you nor to rebuke you. |
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For this is to Me [as] the waters of Noah: [i.e.,] it is an oath in My hand, and He proceeds to explain His words, “as I swore that the waters of Noah shall never again pass over the earth, etc.” |
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10For the mountains shall depart and the hills totter, but My kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of My peace totter," says the Lord Who has compassion on you. |
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For the mountains shall depart: Even if the merit of the Patriarchs and the Matriarchs is depleted, My kindness shall not depart from you. |
I find it strange but comforting that all of G-d’s promises are forever true. Even in the midst of this horrible war that has been raging in our Holy Land since the very worst massacre of Jewish people since the holocaust,
we should rest assured & believe that shalom
will return to our borders…
Now, let’s review the words of MyJewishLearning.com:
Haftarah for Ki Teitzei: Summary
Israel, likened to a barren woman, is promised countless children.
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Commentary on Parashat Ki Teitzei, Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
In slight anger, for a moment,
I hid My face from you;
But with kindness everlasting
I will take you back in love.
(Isaiah 54:8)
This heartfelt promise from God to Israel represents the overall message of reconciliation conveyed in this week’s haftarah . One of the seven Haftarot of consolation read between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hashanah, this Haftarah conveys a powerful, comforting message in a small number of verses.
Read the full text on Sefaria: Isaiah 54:1-10
In the first three verses of the Haftarah, an exiled Israel is compared to a woman who has never experienced the pleasure of bearing a child. “Shout, O barren one!” (54:1), the Haftarah opens, instructing this metaphorical woman to cry out in joyful celebration because she will soon be blessed with children. She is told to enlarge the size of her tent to make room for all the children she will have.
In the middle section of the haftarah, verses 4 through 8, Isaiah describes how God will bring Israel back to Him in mercy. Earlier, Israel was a barren woman. Now, Israel is described as a widow who lost her husband (God), but she is promised that she will “remember no more the shame of your widowhood” (54:4). In the next verses she is described as a third kind of woman–one whose husband left her, forlorn and forsaken. She is promised that her husband (again, God) will take her back in love.
The last two verses of the Haftarah strengthen God’s message by comparing it to the covenant with Noah in the Book of Genesis. Back then, God promised that He would never again flood the earth; now He pledges never again to be angry with or rebuke Israel. Even if the mountains move and the hills are shaken, God’s covenant will stand firm.
And now, let’s peruse the insights of Torah.org
Haftorah Commentary Ki Seitzei
By Rabbi Dovid Siegel
Yeshaya 54:1
This week’s haftorah displays Hashem’s boundless love for the Jewish people. In the end, after a long painful exile, the Jewish people will be granted permission to return to Eretz Yisroel. Most appropriately, the prophet Yeshaya opens and invites Yerushalayim to rejoice over the ingathering of her exiles. He says, “Rejoice barren city who never expected such an overwhelming influx within your walls…Extend your annexes without interruption…Because your children will inherit the cities of the nations and settle the desolate areas.” (54:1-3) The proportions of the Jewish redemption will be so overwhelming that Eretz Yisroel won’t be capable of containing it. Yerushalayim will overflow from her newly acquired inhabitants and the surrounding areas will rapidly fill to capacity. The entire Judean hills will be saturated with newly sprouted neighborhoods, but the Jewish influx will continue. The new wave of Jews will take possession of the entire land of Israel and settle therein but even these broadened quarters will not suffice. The return will be so encompassing that Zion will truly wonder in bewilderment from whence did all her people emerge.
Yet the kindness of Hashem won’t end here and the prophet continues to describe the setting of the future. Yeshaya tells the Jewish people, “Do not be afraid or embarrassed because your shameful past will never be remembered.” (54:4) He adds in the name of Hashem, “I forsook you for a brief moment and I will gather you in with great compassion. With mild anger I concealed My countenance from you and with everlasting kindness I will have mercy upon you.” (54:7,8) These passages reflect the concern of the Jewish people over their dark and rebellious past. They hesitate to return to Hashem because their previous wrong doings remain fresh in their minds. They cannot imagine bonding perfectly with Hashem given how unfair they acted towards Him in the past. Hashem responds that they should not hesitate to return because no trace will remain of their earlier ways. Hashem’s blessing will be so encompassing that it will be virtually impossible for the Jewish people to relate to their earlier experiences. They will develop such close relationships with Hashem that they will be incapable of imagining what it was like without Him. How could they have ever appreciated life without their close and perfect relationship with Hashem?!
The prophet continues and reveals to us the merit through which this unbelievable experience will transpire. Yeshaya says in the name of Hashem, “For the mountains may move and the hills may sway but My kindness will never leave you and My covenant of peace will never be swayed.” (54:10) In explanation of these words, our Chazal in Yalkut Shimoni (477)share with us a beautiful insight. They explain that the mountains mentioned here refer to the firm and sound merits of the Patriarchs and the hills refer to those of the Matriarchs. Although the Jewish nation continuously draws upon these merits for its basic existence there are times when even these merits do not suffice. The Jews stray so far from the proper path that they cease to identify with the virtues of the Patriarchs. During such times, Hashem doesn’t identify with the Jewish people as children of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs and the mountains and hills – merits of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs – begin to sway and can not be of any assistance. Yeshaya advises the Jews that in those difficult moments they should cleave to acts of loving kindness. In return for their loving kindness Hashem promises to show them His loving kindness resulting in the indescribable proportions mentioned earlier.
With the above insight we begin to comprehend the unbelievable Messianic era awaiting the Jewish nation. The Malbim (ad loc.) explains this merit of loving kindness and notes that, by nature, kindness is boundless. Unlike compassion and mercy which depend upon the recipient’s worthiness, kindness is shown without calculation or consideration. The recipient of pure kindness is never deserving of it and such acts are therefore not subject to limitations. In essence whenever Hashem showers His kindness upon someone it is, by definition, unlimited and everlasting. This,incidentally is the deeper meaning of Dovid Hamelech’s words in Tehillim,”For His kindness is everlasting.” (107:1) Accordingly, when the Jewish people will be the beneficiaries of Hashem’s kindness they will experience it in boundless proportions. They will be privileged to establish such closeness to Hashem that they will never be capable of understanding life without Him.
However, in order to elicit true kindness from Hashem the Jewish people must conduct themselves in a very special manner. To this end Yeshaya offers them an inside tip and advises them to cleave to acts of loving kindness amongst each other. When, in the end of time, we will be totally committed to benefiting others Hashem will reciprocate in that same manner. If we will provide for others above and beyond our obligation Hashem will do the same. We now understand that those acts of loving kindness – by definition beyond the call of duty – will truly serve as the keys to our glorious future. Such acts of pure kindness are not subject to calculations and computations and are the true expression of boundless concern for others. Hashem therefore responds with His acts of loving kindness and showers us with His boundless love in the most indescribable proportions. Eretz Yisroel will be continuously expanding to allow for the influx and our association with Hashem will be so perfect that our entire life will revolve totally around Him.
How about “Haftorah in a Nutshell” from Chabad.org?
Ki Teitzei Haftorah in a Nutshell
Isaiah 54:1-10.
This week's haftorah is the fifth of a series of seven "Haftarot of Consolation." These seven haftarot commence on the Shabbat following Tisha b'Av and continue
until Rosh Hashanah.
Forsaken Jerusalem is likened to a barren woman devoid of children. G‑d enjoins her to rejoice, for the time will soon come when the Jewish nation will return and proliferate, repopulating Israel's once desolate cities. The prophet assures the Jewish people that G‑d has not forsaken them. Although He has momentarily hid His countenance from them, He will gather them from their exiles with great mercy. The haftorah compares the final Redemption to the pact G‑d made with Noah. Just as G‑d promised to never bring a flood over the entire earth, so too He will never again be angry at the Jewish people.
"For the mountains may move and the hills might collapse, but My kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of My peace collapse."
Let’s conclude with some amazing insights from the Leader of Midreshet Berot, Rebbetzin Chana Bracha:
The Barren Woman Bursts Out in Song
Haftorat Ki Teitzei, Yesha’yahu 54:1-10
As the fifth of the seven haftarot of consolation read between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hashanah, this haftarah of only ten verses, conveys a compact, powerful and comforting message for the single woman, the divorced, widowed and barren. It is actually my birthday haftorah, and I totally feel that this haftorah relates to me personally. After over ten years of infertility, Hashem comforted and blessed me with a second son, and afterwards with three beautiful granddaughters – ken yirbu!
The Barren Woman Bursts Out in Song of Jubilation
The haftorah opens by comparing Israel to a barren woman, who is promised countless children.
“Sing barren woman, you who did not bear; burst out into song and jubilate, you who have not experienced birth pangs… (Yesha’yahu 54:1). When I was 35 years old and my only son was 13, I had almost given up hope of ever expecting another child. Yet, at a routine checkup, my gynecologist brought up the subject of fertility. I told her my story, and after we both shed tears together in her office, she gave me new hope. I remember when I received the good news that I was finally pregnant. How I had waited, hoped and prayed for this moment. I felt exactly like the barren woman described in our haftorah. I felt like bursting forth in a proclamation to the whole world: I am pregnant!!!! I AM PREGNANT! After all these years! It was unbelievable.
All I wanted to do was to publicize the miracle.
The Barren, Divorced and Widowed
During our long exile, Israel is compared not only to a barren woman, but also to a widow who lost her husband, and to a woman whose husband left her, abandoned and forlorn. “For, like a wife who is deserted and distressed in spirit has Hashem called you, and a wife of one’s youth who was rejected, said your G-d (Ibid.6).
The prophet assures all these bereaved women, that G d has not forsaken them. Although He has momentarily hid His countenance from them, He will gather them from their exiles with great mercy. I was trying to understand the metaphorical meaning of each of these deprived women. Which aspect of our thorny distressing exile do they each represent? The barren woman seems to allude to the lack of fertility of the land, and the freeze on the development of our vibrant Jewish neighborhoods. When the communities of Israel will become like a mother blessed with many children, every new-married couple will easily find affordable housing. We still await the time when Eretz Yisrael will produce even more wormless organic fruits, as there is no greater sign of the coming redemption than when the Land of Israel brings forth fruits in abundance (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a). The widowed woman, I believe, refers to the suffering of the terrorism in Israel. The prophet promises: “Fear not…the disgrace of your widowhood, you shall no longer remember (Yesha’yahu 54:4). When women are brutally murdered, and children are left orphans, we ask ourselves “where is Hashem? Why does He not protect and defend His people from this disgrace and terrible affliction?” Finally, the divorced woman seems to refer to the different divisions within Jewry: black hats, knitted kipot, secular, and settlers. Like “divorce”, the word “disengagement” signifies this division that includes the expulsion from Gush Katif and part of Shomron, the separation and estrangement of some Diaspora Jewry from the Land of Israel, the division of the Jewish people as a whole from the Torah lifestyle.
The Greatest Building Defrost
Our haftorah of consolation comforts the barren woman, who is told to enlarge the size of her tent to make room for all the children she will have. “Widen the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations, do not spare; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes; for you shall spread out right and left, and your seed shall inherit nations and settle desolate cities” (Ibid. 2-3). These prophetic verses don’t exactly suit our current political climate. Nonetheless, the hidden agenda of all the political figures trying to impose a building freeze on Israel, is to prevent the redemption of Tzion and the fulfillment of its prophecies. The United States, seemingly our ally, descends from Esav, and like him, is disguised in the veil of a cultured, civilized, modernity. Yet, behind the mask of friendliness hides the selfish greediness of a power-monger, promulgating individual advancement, at the expense of facilitating a dwelling place for the G-d of Israel. In spite of the resistance from the majority of the world, the proportions of the Jewish redemption will be so overwhelming that Eretz Yisrael won’t be capable of containing it. Yerushalayim will be flooded with newly arrived residents, and the surrounding areas will speedily overflow. Rabbi Dovid Siegel explains that even after the entire Judean hills will be saturated with newly sprouted neighborhoods, the Jewish aliyah will continue. The new wave of emerging Jews will take possession of the entire land of Israel and settle it. The return will be so encompassing that even these broadened quarters will not suffice.
Forget the Shame!
In order for all these blessings of redemption to take place, we all need to return to Hashem in perfect faith. However, the feeling of hidden embarrassment about our dark past often prevents and blocks us from reuniting with Hashem in the deepest way. We ask ourselves, “How will we ever overcome our past transgressions and establish an everlasting bond with Hashem?” Hashem responds, “Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed, and be not embarrassed, for you shall not be put to shame; for the shame of your youth you shall forget…” (Ibid. 4). Malbim explains that all the disgrace of exile will be totally forgotten, both our personal embarrassment for having acted immorally (תֵבוֹשִׁי), as well as the shame received from others (תִּכָּלְמִי). Now, during the month of Elul, Hashem is in the field, ready to welcome us back to His holy palace, even if we have dirty feet, as long as we brush off the mud. No matter what kind of murky past we leave behind us, Hashem is waiting for us to start anew, as a pure vessel for His blessings.
The Remarriage and Birth of Redemption
During the redemption, Hashem will finally gather His beloved people back, and renew His loving relationship with us, just like when we were His youthful bride. “I forsook you for a brief moment, but with great compassion I will gather you in” (Ibid. 7). My dear friend, whose husband was murdered in a terrorist attack, never allowed herself to despair, but always radiated joy and hope. This year, I happily participated in her remarriage. Another close friend who has been an aguna for many years, yet never allowed herself to become bitter, is now engaged to a wonderful loving man. All these examples of personal redemption are signs of the upcoming redemption of the congregation of Israel. “For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My faithful love shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed,” says Hashem, Who has compassion upon you (ibid. 10). Even if the mountains move and the hills are shaken, G-d’s covenant with Israel will stand firm. Rashi explains that the mountains refer to our Patriarchs and the hills to our Matriarchs. The merit of our Mother Sarah was so great that when G-d granted her a child, He blessed together with her all barren women, as well (Rashi, Bereishit 21:6). Yet, Hashem implores us to strengthen our emuna that even if the merits of our fathers and mothers will cease, Hashem’s loving/kindness to us will be everlasting. When I gave birth to my second son, I prayed not only for other women who struggle with infertility like me. I told myself, “Don’t pray only for the barren women, but pray for all of Israel. For our long exile can be compared to a childless woman, and a long and difficult labor.” Join me today in my prayer and blessing that all single women will find their soul-mate, all the divorced and widowed will remarry, and that all childless women will bear fruit! May G-d bring miracles to our nation the way He performed miracles for me, and may we give birth to complete redemption as speedily as I gave birth to my precious baby!
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