The Festive Season starting at the next, the 7th, New Moon of the year, pre-figures and serves as an allegory for the concluding Event of this Age, i.e. the Final Redemption. The entire Purpose of God for humanity, viz. the perfecting of a Body of humans in the fullness of His Image. This Body of souls will then act as a Living Tabernacle for Him to dwell in and, through them, He will rule in His Universal Kingdom. This Kingdom will rule over all the nations who will be subjected to His Rule.
The past week has heralded the Peace announcements between Israel and its former Arab enemies the UAE, while Saudi Arabia and more such Peace deals are on the cards already. This is another barrier which is falling to make way for the Final Redemption (Geulah). Together with the exciting signs of the progress in the Return of the Lost House of 10-Israel, it serves as confirmation of the approaching Geulah. Scripture abounds with predictions that at some future time ALL nations will draw up to Jerusalem to worship the God of Creation who will rule over them from Jerusalem. For this to happen, two factors are vitally required at this time:
- The return of 10/12ths of the Israel Nation to join with Judah (the Jews) to form the Living Temple of God which will serve as “A Light unto the Nations”, and
- Peace with the Arab Nations who are indeed brothers and cousins of Israel, stemming from the same Patriarchal father, Avraham.
Such Peace had already been achieved 40 years earlier between Israel and Egypt. Now several other Arab countries are in the waiting.
What does the Bible say about such future association between Israel and its enemies?
Isa. 19
16 In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the Lord Almighty is planning against them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing[b]on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
Who is Assyria today?
“Assyrians – are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a region in the Middle East. Some self-identify as Syriacs, Arameans, and Chaldeans….
The tribal areas that form the Assyrian homeland are parts of present-day northern Iraq (Nineveh Plains and Dohuk Governorate), southeastern Turkey (Hakkari and Tur Abdin), northwestern Iran (Urmia) and, more recently, northeastern Syria.” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_people#Arab_conquest “ – Read the full article for enlightening details).
Blessed with Jewish Israel as “His People”? Surely, much needs to change – and this seems to start happening?
Rabbinic commentary on this week’s Parashah
Shoftim Haftorah in a Nutshell
DISCLAIMER – the authors and promoters of the articles and videos that we place here are mostly not connected in any way to KOL HATOR and may well not share our views and interpretations. We do however thank them for their insight and pointers that confirm our understanding and often broaden our insight.
Be sure to read the KOL HATOR Comments here below after you have viewed this inspiring video for further Scriptural confirmation of “Seek God in Jerusalem.”
Isaiah 51:12-52:12
This week’s haftorah is the fourth of a series of seven “Haftarot of Consolation.” seven haftarot commence on the Shabbat following Tisha b’Av and continue until Rosh Hashanah.
The haftorahs of the past two weeks open with Israel’s complaint that they have been abandoned by G‑d. Israel is not content with consolations offered by the prophets — instead they demand that G‑d alone comfort them. In response, this week’s haftorah begins with G‑d’s response: “I, indeed I, will comfort you.”
After briefly reprimanding Israel for forgetting their Creator for fear of human and finite oppressors, the prophet describes the suffering and tribulations which Israel has endured. However, the time has arrived for the suffering to end. The time has come for Israel’s oppressors to drink the “cup of suffering” which they had hitherto forced Israel to drink: “Awaken, awaken, put on your strength, O Zion; put on the garments of your beauty, Jerusalem the Holy City, for no longer shall the uncircumcised or the unclean continue to enter you. Shake yourselves from the dust, arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; free yourself of the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”
Isaiah extols the beauty of the messenger who will announce the good tidings of Redemption. “Burst out in song, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the L-rd has consoled His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.”
KOL HATOR Comments
These consolations coming after the dreadful Tisha b’Av point to the eventual Joy of the Geulah (Final Redemption) which are depicted by the 7 month Feasts which follow from the 50th Day after Tisha B’Av (7 weeks). It changes the mood from sadness to excitement about the Final Redemption, i.e. the Restoration of all things, the achievement of the Purpose of HaShem, the Return of His Shechinah Presence (referred to as ‘the Coming of Mashiach’) at the End Time.
According to the Lubavitch Rebbe Schneerson, this Time of Final Redemption has already started in 1991. He saw this as a sign to even stop the fasting and sadness of the 3 weeks from 17 Tammuz up to Tisha B’Av. The sadness of these days should now be replaced with the excitement of the reality of the ‘Coming of Mashiach’ for the Time of Geulah.
For a full review of this topic, ref. this YouTube-Video.
This theme is further confirmed by the pattern and message of the 7 weeks of Comfort that follow Tisha B’Av and culminate in Rosh HaShanah and the following Feasts of the 7th month as reviewed in the following Haftarah commentary:
Shoftim Haftarah
Rabbi Mendel Dubov is the director of Chabad in Sussex County, NJ, and a member of faculty at the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, NJ.
DISCLAIMER – the authors and promoters of the articles and videos that we place here are mostly not connected in any way to KOL HATOR and may well not share our views and interpretations. We do however thank them for their insight and pointers that confirm our understanding and often broaden our insight.
Be sure to read the KOL HATOR Comments which follow this enlightening Haftarah commentary:
Isaiah 51:12-52:12
These seven Haftarot are all taken from the book of Isaiah. Many of the commentators make note of the fact that we do not read these segments in the order in which they appear in Scripture. As an example, the third reading (for Parshat Re’eh) begins in Isaiah 54, the haftarah for this week is in chapter 51, while the next reading (for Ki Teitzei) is back in chapter 54—but is the first half of that chapter (with the haphtarah for Re’eh, two weeks earlier, comprising that chapter’s second half).
So it becomes clear that there must be another cause for the order of these haft rot.
The commentary of Tosafot on the Talmud picks up on this, and remarks briefly that “the way about these consolations is that they become finer as they continue.” There are greater and more intense levels of consolation in each of the readings as they go on. This idea is expounded upon in Siddur Rashi, a siddur (prayerbook) with commentary and laws attributed to the great sage Rashi:
“After beginning with Nachamu (“Comfort,” the first of the seven readings) the ensuing Haftarot acknowledge the deep bereavement of the people. As such, the next two readings begin “Zion said, ‘G‑d has forsaken me, my L‑rd has forgotten me” and “O afflicted, storm-tossed one, who has not been consoled.” These segments are read before the [fourth] reading, which begins “I, only I, am He who comforts you.” Only after G‑d consoles His people with His great mercy is there is no room to call her “[one] who has not been consoled.” Until now it had been the prophets who consoled her, but from now on it is the Almighty Himself. After this comfort has been offered, the Almighty apportions it much goodness and greatness—these which appear in the next three readings (Rani Akarah, Kumi Ori and Sos Asis).”
In other words, the way in which these consolations become continuously “finer” is reflected in the first verse of each Haftarah. After the prophet comforts the people, they are still not completely consoled. This is reflected in the first two verses of the next two Haftarot (quoted above), in which the anguish of the people is still felt. This week’s Haftarah begins with the comfort coming from G‑d Himself, this being a full and total comfort. Once this has been achieved, the next three Haftarot speak of tremendous elevation for the Jewish people in the time of Moshiach.
And so, the beginning of this fourth Haftarah is the Divine response that indeed “I, only I, am He who comforts you.” The first verses of next two readings speak of the spouse-like relationship of G‑d and the Jewish people (Rani Akarah), and the G‑dly light in which the people will bask (Kumi Ori). Finally, in the first verse of the seventh reading, the Jewish people are at peace: “I will rejoice intensely with G‑d.”
It is in this 4th Haftarah that we have turning point in the process of healing and redemption. Since the days of Moses, the Jewish people have insisted on settling for nothing less than direct communication with G‑d Himself. Before the giving of the Torah, G‑d suggested to Moses that “Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of the cloud, in order that the people hear when I speak to you, and they will also believe in you forever.”7 Moses relayed the message to the people, and they were dissatisfied:
“They want to hear directly from You,” Moses told G‑d. “They maintain that there is no comparison between one who hears a message from the mouth of the messenger and one who hears it from the mouth of the king himself. They say, “We want to see our King!”8
Even after the sin of the Golden Calf, when G‑d stated that “I shall send an angel ahead of you” to lead the travel in the wilderness, Moses retorted: “If Your presence does not go along, do not bring us forward from here!”
KOL HATOR Comments
This Presence of God with His People is the great Event that the 7th month Feasts depict, i.e. when God will return His Presence amongst His people. This Process is extracted from the 9 consecutive chapters in Isaiah ch. 40 – 49 where the preparation of “The Servant of God” is described. Ref. The Servant of God
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Independent research scholar. He works tirelessly as an activist promoting Israel and settlement of the Land of Israel, and as Webmaster and co-ordinator of Kol HaTor. Read More.
