From chapters eight through ten, Isaiah continues to rebuke the people, with a focus on the Southern Kingdom’s failure to properly trust in God. Starting in this lesson, we’re going to select some of the most notable verses from this section in Isaiah.

For a full background on the people and history of this prophecy, please see His Story.

Jeff

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Overview

These verses are part of the prophecy exhorting the Southern Kingdom to follow God and not face the fate of the Northern Kingdom.

Verses

טז. צ֖וֹר תְּעוּדָ֑ה חֲת֥וֹם תּוֹרָ֖ה בְּלִמֻּדָֽי׃

.יז. וְחִכִּ֙יתִי֙ לַיהֹוָ֔ה הַמַּסְתִּ֥יר פָּנָ֖יו מִבֵּ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְקִוֵּ֖יתִי־לֽוֹ׃

יח. הִנֵּ֣ה אָנֹכִ֗י וְהַיְלָדִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָתַן־לִ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה לְאֹת֥וֹת וּלְמוֹפְתִ֖ים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מֵעִם֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת הַשֹּׁכֵ֖ן בְּהַ֥ר צִיּֽוֹן׃

16. Bind up the testimony seal the Torah in My disciples

17. I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope for Him.

18. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me, are to become signs and wonders in Israel, from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

Photo by cottonbro studio

Question

Abarbanel does not explicitly raise questions on these verses. However, based on his explanations, it is clear that he is addressing the following:

• What is the message of “bind up the testimony”?

• Why are his children described as signs and wonders?

Answers

After rejecting interpretations that apply this passage to Jesus, Abarbanel explains that the term “bind” is a language of guarding. The prophet is speaking either to the people of his generation or to Ahaz:

After you have seen—or after I have told you—the future that will come upon the house of Israel, namely the destruction of Samaria because they abandoned the Lord, angered the Holy One of Israel, and did not keep His Torah, you must guard yourselves so that such a fate does not befall you.

Accordingly, “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah” can be understood as a command to every individual in the generation, as well as to the king. The message is to guard and preserve the Torah and the testimony that I am teaching you. Through this, you will be saved from the hand of the king of Assyria, and you will not be exiled as the children of Israel were.

Abarbanel then addresses why Isaiah should be trusted. One reason is the signs and wonders that the Lord has given him in this matter—namely, his two children:

• Maher-shalal-hash-baz, meaning “quick to plunder, swift to spoil,” which alludes to the imminent downfall and exile of Israel.

• Shear-yashuv, meaning “a remnant will return,” which alludes to the eventual return of Judah to God and His mercy upon them.

Since God commanded Isaiah to give these names to his children, they serve as living symbols of God’s promises. Through repentance, Judah will be saved, as it is later stated: “A remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.”

God will show this mercy because His presence dwells on Mount Zion—the Temple. Therefore, He will have compassion on the city, His house, and His sanctuary.

Takeaway

In these verses, Isaiah reflects on how to respond when it seems that society is heading toward destruction. The Northern Kingdom is seeking protection through foreign alliances, while the Southern Kingdom is not repenting. How, then, should one respond?

Isaiah answers: I will wait for God. Although He has hidden His face, I will trust in Him, for He has given me these children as signs to Israel.

We all experience moments when the world feels unstable or uncertain. One source of comfort and faith can be our children. In a very real and tangible way, they remind us of continuity and hope—that God intends for the world, and the Jewish people, to endure.

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As you may be aware, Christians often take verses from Isaiah or other parts of Tanach and claim that they apply to Jesus. We, of course, reject these out of hand. I once fell into a conversation with an Evangelical. He tried to convince me, on the basis of Paul’s vision on the road to Damascus, that we should all convert.

I responded with:

If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams….

Deuteronomy 13:2–4

We don’t accept visions for the simple reason that the Torah tells us not to.

So, I was a little surprised to see how Abarbanel addresses the Christian claim. Rather than dismissing it out of hand, he assumes that they could be correct and then uses textual analysis to prove why the claim makes no sense. Here it is.

Photo by Brett Jordan

Abarbanel’s Argument

However, the Christians took from Gospel of Matthew the claim that the verse:

“The Lord will give you a sign: behold, the young woman is pregnant and will bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel”

refers to Mary, who conceived as a virgin and gave birth to Jesus. Yet there are several contradictions to this claim:

First:
The word “behold” (הנה) תמיד indicates something happening immediately. How could it refer to an event hundreds of years later? It should have said “in the end of days.”

Second:
They claim “young woman” (עלמה) means “virgin.” This is false. In Hebrew it can refer even to a woman who is not a virgin, as seen in Proverbs 30, where it clearly refers to a sexually active woman.

Third:
The word “pregnant” (הרה) is in the present tense—she is already pregnant—not that she will become pregnant centuries later.

Fourth:
It says “she will call his name Immanuel.” Yet no one ever called Jesus “Immanuel.” Their claim of “natural vs. assigned names” is empty, because Scripture uses “you shall call” only for assigned names.

Fifth:
It says the child will not yet know good and evil, contradicting their belief that Jesus was perfectly wise from birth.

Sixth:
The prophecy is meant as a sign to Ahaz regarding immediate political danger. How could the sign be something happening 600 years later? A sign must precede or coincide with the event it confirms.

Seventh:
The continuation of the chapter clearly remains focused on Ahaz’s time and the Assyrian threat. It is unreasonable to insert a distant future prophecy in the middle of a continuous historical context.

Some of their scholars tried to argue that sometimes a sign comes after the event (e.g., Moses or Hezekiah), but these arguments are unfounded and misinterpret the verses.

My Takeaway

First of all, Abarbanel was writing to an audience who very well could have been very confused. He says as much earlier in his commentary—that he’s adding in this section “to remove stumbling from my people.”

Abraham Senior, a prominent leader of Spanish Jewry and a close associate of Abarbanel, converted to Christianity in 1492. His conversion led many people to assume that converting was the correct path. So Abarbanel knew he needed to take these claims seriously to keep his people on the correct path.

What’s so remarkable about Abarbanel’s argument is how he stays within the assumptions of his disputant, with the objective of convincing “his people”—not trying to change the Christian’s belief.

There is a great post that I just read by Mijal Bitton, “The Freedom to Be Ourselves,” that I think has an important lesson here. Reflecting on the terror attack this week in London, she writes: “If Hatzalah needs explaining, we’ve already lost.”

Her point—and I highly suggest you read her entire post—is that Jews need to live as Jews without the need to explain or apologize for themselves. And that is what Abarbanel does here: he writes for the Jews, to keep the Jews clear-headed about what is right and wrong. We’ll never convince people who already believe that Jews are the source of suffering in this world.

Instead, let’s focus on ourselves.

I can think of no better thought for us to hold in our minds as we gather together with our families to tell, and reenact, our story.

In this lesson, we’re going to dive into Abarabanel’s fourth question on this prophecy. This touches on one of the debates between Jewish tradition and Christians who attempt to interpret these verses as a reference to Jesus. Spoiler alert: Abarbanel totally dismantles their claims.

We’ll cover the verses, Abarbanel’s questions, and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway. For a full background on the people and history of this prophecy, please see His Story.

Jeff

Overview

The overarching intent of this prophecy is to make known the predictions that Isaiah the prophet foretold concerning the ascent of Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remalyahu to wage war against Jerusalem in the days of Ahaz king of Judah, and also what he foretold regarding the coming of Sennacherib against Jerusalem and his downfall at the hand of Hezekiah his son, as well as the success of Hezekiah’s generation and the destruction of Damascus and Samaria—all of which will be explained in the verses themselves.

Verses

י. וַיּוֹסֶף ה’ דַּבֵּר אֶל אָחָז לֵאמֹר׃

יא. שְׁאַל לְךָ אוֹת מֵעִם ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ הַעְמֵק שְׁאָלָה אוֹ הַגְבֵּהַּ לְמָעְלָה׃

יב. וַיֹּאמֶר אָחָז לֹא אֶשְׁאַל וְלֹא אֲנַסֶּה אֶת ה’׃

יג. וַיֹּאמֶר שִׁמְעוּ נָא בֵּית דָּוִד הֲמְעַט מִכֶּם הַלְאוֹת אֲנָשִׁים כִּי תַלְאוּ גַּם אֶת אֱלֹהָי׃

יד. לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא לָכֶם אוֹת הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ עִמָּנוּ אֵל׃

טו. חֶמְאָה וּדְבַשׁ יֹאכֵל לְדַעְתּוֹ מָאֹס בָּרָע וּבָחוֹר בַּטּוֹב׃

טז. כִּי בְּטֶרֶם יֵדַע הַנַּעַר מָאֹס בָּרָע וּבָחֹר בַּטּוֹב תֵּעָזֵב הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה קָץ מִפְּנֵי שְׁנֵי מְלָכֶיהָ׃

יז. יָבִיא ה’ עָלֶיךָ וְעַל עַמְּךָ וְעַל בֵּית אָבִיךָ יָמִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא בָאוּ לְמִיּוֹם סוּר אֶפְרַיִם מֵעַל יְהוּדָה אֵת מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר

10. The Lord continued speaking to Ahaz, saying:

11. Request a sign for yourself from the Lord your God Deepen your request,or raise it above

12. Ahaz said: I will not ask and I will not try the Lord.

13. He said: Hear now, house of David: Is it not enough for you to weary people, that you weary my God as well?

14. Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the young woman, alma, will conceive and bear a son, and she will call his name Imanuel,

15. He will eat butter and honey, to teach him to spurn the bad and choose the good,

15. For before the child will know to spurn the bad and choose the good, the land that you abhor will be abandoned due to its two kings.

17. The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house days that have not come since the day of the secession of Ephraim from Judah: the king of Assyria.

Photo by Jaya Endean

Question

The fourth question concerns His statement:

“Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the young woman alma will conceive and bear a son, and she will call his name Imanuel.”

We do not understand in what way this was a sign.

If the sign was that the young woman would conceive—this is not a sign nor a wonder, for from three months of pregnancy and onward, anyone can recognize that a woman is pregnant.

And if the sign was that she would bear a son—this too would not be a wonder, for many people can discern from the appearance of pregnant women whether they will give birth to sons or daughters, and it is something close to being knowable in his view.

Answers

Abarbanel goes through a lengthy analysis to establish that the תנ׳׳ך uses different words for different types of miracles. We’ll pick up with his conclusion:

The conclusion that emerges from all of this is that these four terms (previously discussed), although at times they are used for matters that depart from the natural order, nevertheless in most instances they are also used for signs and proofs that people establish regarding their affairs — and that is their primary and original meaning…

Accordingly, the term “sign” (ot) in particular—which is the intention in this passage—is not something we are required to interpret as referring to an event that departs from the natural order.

In other words, the word אות isn’t referring to a miracle. But a sign, or a marker, of something that will happen. Returning to Abarbanel:

In this same manner it is fitting to interpret here as well:

“Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign.”

The sign is not the conception of the young woman nor her giving birth. Rather, He will give them a sign for good—in their salvation from their enemies.

Not only this time, from the hands of Rezin and the son of Remaliah, but also later from the hands of Sennacherib, who will come against Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah—and afterward they shall eat of the good of the land.

Therefore, in order to clarify the sign He mentioned and when it would occur, he said:

“Behold, the young woman will conceive and bear a son.”

Meaning: you should certainly know that the young woman—who was either the wife of Ahaz or his daughter, as I have mentioned—although she is young in years, is already pregnant and will bear a son.

She will call his name Immanuel, because in his days the Blessed God will be with Israel and save them from their troubles.

Takeaway

(By the time this post gets published, we’ll just have celebrated Purim. There are tons of connections between this takeaway and Purim. I’ll let you uncover them yourself.)

There’s a German word, fernweh, which means missing a faraway place. It means something slightly deeper than just wanting to go somewhere. More like an ache.

This prophecy gives me that feeling, except instead of going to a place, going to a place in time. I wish to be alive at a time when prophets could tell us about a salvation that was going to happen, and it would all be so clear that a young woman would see it clearly (no surprises there) and name her son Immanuel, “God is with us.”

And yet, I know all this angsty longing isn’t what God wants from us. My proof? Song of Songs, 6:5.

Let me set the scene. A man (God) is upset with his beloved (Israel). And yet, his heart melts when he looks into her eyes. So he says to her:

ה. הָסֵ֤בִּי עֵינַ֙יִךְ֙ מִנֶּגְדִּ֔י שֶׁ֥הֵ֖ם הִרְהִיבֻ֑נִי שַׂעְרֵךְ֙ כְּעֵ֣דֶר הָֽעִזִּ֔ים שֶׁגָּלְשׁ֖וּ מִן־הַגִּלְעָֽד׃

5. Turn your eyes away from me, they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilad.

The Sforno explains this verse as follows:

5. Turn your eyes away, the prophets are referred to as “your eyes”, as it says, “He has closed their eyes…the prophets” (Isaiah 29:10). From me, so they won’t encounter a vision, even if they are worthy of it. They overwhelm me, they were the reason I took vengeance on you since you didn’t listen to their rebuke, making you more deserving of punishment than if there were no prophets at all.

Your hair, however, the customs you have from your ancestors are pleasing and precious to me like a flock of goats, which are ready to be prepared into a fine garment. So, keep practicing these honored customs, as it says, “We took commandments on ourselves…” (Nehemiah 10:33), and you no longer have a need for prophets.

This is our time. When we had prophets, we didn’t listen. But by following the customs our ancestors took on, we will always be beloved by God.

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In this lesson, we’re going to dive into Isaiah’s guidance during a moment of political and religious decay.

We’ll cover the verses, Abarbanel’s questions, and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway. For a full background of this prophecy, please see His Story.

Jeff

Overview

The overarching intent of this prophecy is to make known the predictions that Isaiah the prophet foretold concerning the ascent of Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remalyahu to wage war against Jerusalem in the days of Ahaz king of Judah, and also what he foretold regarding the coming of Sennacherib against Jerusalem and his downfall at the hand of Hezekiah his son, as well as the success of Hezekiah’s generation and the destruction of Damascus and Samaria—all of which will be explained in the verses themselves.

Photo by cottonbro studio

Verses

10. The Lord continued speaking to Ahaz, saying:

11. Request a sign for yourself from the Lord your God Deepen your request,or raise it above

12. Ahaz said: I will not ask and I will not try the Lord.

13. He said: Hear now, house of David: Is it not enough for you to weary people, that you weary my God as well?

14. Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the young woman alma, will conceive and bear a son, and she will call his name Imanuel,

Question

Abarbanel identifies two reasons why, on face value, it’s okay to not ask for a sign. 1) The Torah explicitly says not to test God and 2) We are supposed to trust a verified prophet.

The third question concerns the prophet’s rebuke of Ahaz’s response, when he said, “I will not ask, and I will not test the Lord.” To this the prophet replied, “Is it not enough for you to weary people, that you also weary my God?”

Yet, on the face of it, there was nothing improper in Ahaz’s refusal to ask for a sign, for he spoke appropriately when he said, “I will not ask and I will not try the Lord,” since it is written in the Torah, “You shall not test the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:17).

Moreover, there is a commandment regarding the prophet: “The man who does not listen to the words of the prophet who speaks in My name…”—all the more so here, after the prophet had already said to him, “If you do not have faith, it is because you are not faithful.” For who could hear such words and then respond afterward by saying, “I do not believe”?

And yet, Ahaz’s response is problematic.

And yet Ahaz refuses and says, “I will not ask.” Therefore the prophet says to him, “Hear now, house of David: Is it not enough for you to weary people, that you weary my God as well?” And so the Lord Himself gives a sign, even without being asked.

Answers

“Ahaz said: I will not ask and I will not try the Lord.”
This statement is not consistent inwardly with its outward appearance. For its surface meaning conveys piety and fear of Heaven—as though Ahaz truly believed the words of the prophet and therefore had no need for a sign, since a sign is only requested either to test the prophet or to test God. And since Isaiah was an established and trusted prophet, asking for a sign would indeed amount to testing God.

However, the clarification of this statement emerges from the fact that the prophet said to him: “Request a sign for yourself from the Lord your God—deepen your request or raise it above,” and Ahaz replied: “I will not ask and I will not try the Lord.”

That is to say: I will not ask for a sign, as you suggested—something that would be a limited indication or proof; nor will I test, meaning I will not require a miracle, which would be far greater. For in his view, all of this is inappropriate with respect to the Blessed Name.

This is because Ahaz believed that divine providence does not extend to particular individuals, and therefore it was not fitting, in his estimation, to trouble God—neither by requesting a sign nor by requesting a miracle—since it is not within God’s domain to oversee matters of this kind.

Alternatively, his intention may have been corrupt, even though the outward wording sounded virtuous. That is, he portrayed himself as one who believed in God’s power and therefore would not put Him to the test. Indeed, later sages explained that the commandment “You shall not test the Lord” applies specifically when a person tests God due to a lack of faith in His power, as it says, “as you tested Him at Massah,” where they said, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Similarly, this type of testing is described in “Can God provide bread as well?”

But when a person tests in order to know the will of God, as in the test of Gideon, there is no flaw whatsoever in such testing, for it is done solely to determine whether God desires to act in this manner.

Takeaway

In these verses, Isaiah is following the advice of King Solomon:

“The simpleton believes everything; the clever man considers his footsteps.”
Proverbs 14:15

It’s worth noting that Isaiah isn’t using prophecy to know what Ahaz is thinking. Instead, he’s using his intellect. He’s applying what he knows about Ahaz—that Ahaz doesn’t believe that God is aware of individual actions—and as such, Isaiah sees the lie behind Ahaz’s piety.

This story makes me consider all the ways people sometimes hide behind piety to avoid the effort of being honest.

Rabbi Greenberg, A’H, was the rabbi of my synagogue, Ezra Bessaroth, when I was growing up. Whenever he met someone and asked them how they were doing, if they said, “Baruch Hashem,” he’d retort, “pious but uninformative,” along with a small chuckle.

Of course, there might be a place for not sharing every detail of your life when someone asks how you are. Yet it’s worthwhile to go to the effort of being honest and to avoid, at all costs, hiding behind piety.

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In this lesson, we’re going to dive into Isaiah’s guidance during a moment of political and religious decay.

We’ll cover the verses, Abarbanel’s questions, and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway. For a full background, please see the previous lesson.

Jeff

Subscribe now

Overview

The overarching intent of this prophecy is to make known the predictions that Isaiah the prophet foretold concerning the ascent of Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remalyahu to wage war against Jerusalem in the days of Ahaz king of Judah, and also what he foretold regarding the coming of Sennacherib against Jerusalem and his downfall at the hand of Hezekiah his son, as well as the success of Hezekiah’s generation and the destruction of Damascus and Samaria—all of which will be explained in the verses themselves.

Verses

(א) וַיְהִ֡י בִּימֵ֣י אָ֠חָ֠ז בֶּן־יוֹתָ֨ם בֶּן־עֻזִּיָּ֜הוּ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֗ה עָלָ֣ה רְצִ֣ין מֶֽלֶךְ־אֲ֠רָ֠ם וּפֶ֨קַח בֶּן־רְמַלְיָ֤הוּ מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה עָלֶ֑יהָ וְלֹ֥א יָכֹ֖ל לְהִלָּחֵ֥ם עָלֶֽיהָ׃

(ב) וַיֻּגַּ֗ד לְבֵ֤ית דָּוִד֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר נָ֥חָה אֲרָ֖ם עַל־אֶפְרָ֑יִם וַיָּ֤נַע לְבָבוֹ֙ וּלְבַ֣ב עַמּ֔וֹ כְּנ֥וֹעַ עֲצֵי־יַ֖עַר מִפְּנֵי־רֽוּחַ׃

(ג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהֹוָה֮ אֶֽל־יְשַֽׁעְיָ֒הוּ֒ צֵא־נָא֙ לִקְרַ֣את אָחָ֔ז אַתָּ֕ה וּשְׁאָ֖ר יָשׁ֣וּב בְּנֶ֑ךָ אֶל־קְצֵ֗ה תְּעָלַת֙ הַבְּרֵכָ֣ה הָעֶלְיוֹנָ֔ה אֶל־מְסִלַּ֖ת שְׂדֵ֥ה כוֹבֵֽס׃

(ד) וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵ֠לָ֠יו הִשָּׁמֵ֨ר וְהַשְׁקֵ֜ט אַל־תִּירָ֗א וּלְבָֽבְךָ֙ אַל־יֵרַ֔ךְ מִשְּׁנֵ֨י זַנְב֧וֹת הָאוּדִ֛ים הָעֲשֵׁנִ֖ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה בחֳרִי־אַ֛ף רְצִ֥ין וַאֲרָ֖ם וּבֶן־רְמַלְיָֽהוּ׃

(ה) יַ֗עַן כִּֽי־יָעַ֥ץ עָלֶ֛יךָ אֲרָ֖ם רָעָ֑ה אֶפְרַ֥יִם וּבֶן־רְמַלְיָ֖הוּ לֵאמֹֽר׃

(ו) נַעֲלֶ֤ה בִֽיהוּדָה֙ וּנְקִיצֶ֔נָּה וְנַבְקִעֶ֖נָּה אֵלֵ֑ינוּ וְנַמְלִ֥יךְ מֶ֙לֶךְ֙ בְּתוֹכָ֔הּ אֵ֖ת בֶּן־טָֽבְאַֽל׃

(ז) כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֖ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִ֑ה לֹ֥א תָק֖וּם וְלֹ֥א תִֽהְיֶֽה׃

(ח) כִּ֣י רֹ֤אשׁ אֲרָם֙ דַּמֶּ֔שֶׂק וְרֹ֥אשׁ דַּמֶּ֖שֶׂק רְצִ֑ין וּבְע֗וֹד שִׁשִּׁ֤ים וְחָמֵשׁ֙ שָׁנָ֔ה יֵחַ֥ת אֶפְרַ֖יִם מֵעָֽם׃

(ט) וְרֹ֤אשׁ אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ שֹׁמְר֔וֹן וְרֹ֥אשׁ שֹׁמְר֖וֹן בֶּן־רְמַלְיָ֑הוּ אִ֚ם לֹ֣א תַאֲמִ֔ינוּ כִּ֖י לֹ֥א תֵאָמֵֽנוּ׃

1. It was in the days of Ahaz, son of Yotam, son of Uziyahu, king of Judah, that Retzin king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remalyahu, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem in war against it, but they could not conquer it.

2. It was told to the house of David, saying: Aram has allied with Ephraim. His heart and his people’s heart trembled, like the trembling of the trees of the forest from the wind.

3. The Lord said to Isaiah: Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and She’ar Yashuv your son. to the end of the channel of the upper pool, on the path of the launderer’s field.

4. Say to him: Take care and be calm, do not fear, and let your heart not be faint from these two smoldering butts of firebrands used from the inflamed wrath of Retzin and Aram, and the son of Remalyahu.

5. Because Aram plotted evil against you, with Ephraim and the son of Remalyahu, saying:

6. Let us go up against Judah, sunder it, and breach it for ourselves. We will crown a king in its midst, the son of Tave’al.

7. So said the Lord God: It will not stand and it will not be.

8. For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Retzin, and in sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, no longer being a people.

9. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remalyahu. If you do not have faith it is because you are not faithful.

Photo by Ivan S

Question

The second question concerns his statement: “For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin,” and likewise when he says, “and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remalyahu,” and so on.

For what purpose are these statements about “heads”?

If the doubt concerned their coming to wage war against Jerusalem, and the prophet foretold that it would not come to pass, what argument is there in saying that the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin?...

And behold, with regard to Ephraim he says, “and within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, no longer being a people,” but with regard to Aram he says nothing of the sort.

Moreover, that prophecy—that within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people—is not a promise that they will not wage war against Jerusalem or breach it, even if Ephraim’s ultimate end is to be cut off after sixty-five years.

Answers

Therefore, it is proper to explain “for the head of Aram” as deriving from the word ella (“but / rather”), which is one of the four usages that the Sages, of blessed memory, stated that the word ki can serve. He, Isaiah, is saying that what those kings counseled together—to say, “Let us go up against Judah and breach it”—will not stand and will not come to pass; rather, this will be the outcome: the head of Aram will be Damascus, and the head of Damascus will be Rezin—that is, the king of Assyria will come up against them and capture Damascus and kill Rezin. And just as Aram’s counsel against Jerusalem will not be fulfilled there, so it will instead be fulfilled upon Damascus and upon Rezin.

And after briefly mentioning the downfall of Damascus and Rezin, he also mentioned the downfall of Samaria and the son of Remalyahu. Concerning this he said, “and within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, no longer being a people.”

And you already know that the kingdom of Israel is called Ephraim by Scripture, because Jeroboam, who first reigned over Israel, was from the tribe of Ephraim. He is saying that the aforementioned decree will likewise be fulfilled upon the head of Ephraim, which is Samaria, and upon the head of Samaria, who was Pekah son of Remalyahu, whom Hoshea son of Elah killed, as is mentioned in the book of Kings (II 15:30).

Thus, this entire prophecy was to assure Ahaz that these two kings would not harm him nor wage war against Jerusalem, for their counsel would not be fulfilled in Jerusalem; rather, their toil would return upon their own heads, and their counsel would be fulfilled in Damascus and in Samaria, and upon Rezin and the son of Remalyahu…

Thus, the verses have been explained, and the second question has been resolved.

Takeaway

This is one of the finest examples of poetic justice. Two kings, Rezin and Pekah, decide to overthrow another king, only to find the same thing happening to them years later.

It’s a somber reminder to be careful what you wish for.

The flip side of this is also true, as in the verse:
רַבִּים מַכְאוֹבִים לָרָשָׁע, וְהַבּוֹטֵחַ בַּה׳, חֶסֶד יְסוֹבְבֶנּוּ

The wicked have many pains, but those who trust in Hashem are surrounded with kindness.
Psalms 32:10

We should constantly watch our thoughts, because they become our emotions. When we are certain that bad things will happen, we’ll find that bad things will surround us. But trusting in Hashem, knowing that there is a silver lining even in the hardest of times, is a golden ticket to finding His kindness everywhere.

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In this lesson, we’re going to dive into Isaiah’s guidance during a moment of political and religious decay.

For this lesson, we’re going to go deep into the overview so we can appreciate the geopolitical and religious moment that is depicted in this chapter. We’ll then see the verses, Abarbanel’s questions, and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway.

Jeff

Overview

If you’ve ever tried following Israeli politics, you’ll know how confusing it is to understand what’s happening in another country. The names, regional players, religious parties, and so much more are all foreign and often hard to follow.

I think we find ourselves in a similar situation when we try to learn the seventh chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah assumes we know the people, kingdoms, geography, and religions involved. To make matters more confusing, just one part of this story is told here in Isaiah. Other parts of this narrative come up in II Kings 16 and II Chronicles 28. So this chapter is like listening in on a specific conversation without knowing the back story.

Before we get into the particulars here, there’s something else that’s important to keep in mind. I heard this idea recently in an amazing lecture titled True and False Prophets by Rabbi Tamir Granot. In it, he mentions that while we are very clear who was a true prophet and who was a false prophet, things were not as clear to the people of that time. There are ways of demonstrating who is a true prophet.

A false prophet, however, is only known to be false when what they say doesn’t happened. Since they’re making a predication for sometime in the future, they will only be proven wrong once that point passes. So long as their prediction hasn’t been proven false, people may believe them. If the false prophet was saying things that appealed to the political leadership, it was easy for leaders to be beguiled.

Of course, there’s another layer of complexity: many people at this time believed in multiple gods. They didn’t necessarily not believe in Hashem, they might have believed in Him and other gods too.

We now have the benefit of thousands of years to be confident in our religion and faith in Hashem. Hashem performed miracles for us when leaving Egypt. He never abandoned us throughout thousands of years of exile, and we didn’t abandon Him. People in the time of Isaiah should have had supreme confidence in Hashem. Yet the feeling that perhaps Hashem would going to leave us was a common fear and adds to the moral confusion of Isaiah’s time.

With this major backdrop in place, let’s jump into the elements of this chapter so we can appreciate its story, drama, and lessons.

The People

This chapter intorduces three new people, besides Isaiah:

1. Ahaz son of Jotham, king of Judah. The navi describes him as “he did not do what was pleasing to God” (II Kings 16:2). He brazenly served idols. In this chapter, Isaiah rebukes Ahaz.

2. Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel. He continued in the ways of the kings of Israel in serving other gods. During his son’s reign Assyria conquered and exiled Israel.

3. Rezin, king of Aram, a country to the northeast of Israel.

4. Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, a massive country quickly becoming the world’s superpower through successive successful military campaigns and expansion to the west.

The Places

Aram is in the northeast and on the front lines of Assyria’s westward expansion. Israel is significantly larger than Judah, both in territory and in resources. Judah, as you can see, is surrounded by enemies.

What Happens

Rezin (king of Aram) and Pekah (king of Israel) join together to fight against Judah. Perhaps their political calculation was that if they had a vassal king in charge of Judah, they’d be able to fight back against Assyria. In any case, we see their political calculations as a failure of faith in God’s protection and promise.

Rezin fights against various outlying cities of Judah and conquers them, including Eilat (II Kings 16:6). This creates a situation where Judah, and Jerusalm its capital city, is surrounded by Rezin with Damascus in the north and Eilat to the south.

Ahaz doesn’t want to join with Rezin and Pekah. Rather than trust in God, he sends a message to Tiglath-Pileser (king of Assyria), pledges fealty to him, and begs him to protect Judah from Israel and Aram. Ahaz sends some of the Temple’s silver and gold to Tiglath-Pileser. The Assyrian king agrees and captures and kills Rezin. Ahaz figures that since Aram is so powerful, perhaps he should serve their gods instead of Hashem, “If the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them. I will sacrifice to them, and they will help me.” (II Chronicles 28:23).

This prophecy covers Isaiah’s message to Ahaz and his attempt to convince the king of Judah to have faith in Hashem.

Abarbabanel’s Overview

The overarching intent of this prophecy is to make known the predictions that Isaiah the prophet foretold concerning the ascent of Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remalyahu to wage war against Jerusalem in the days of Ahaz king of Judah, and also what he foretold regarding the coming of Sennacherib against Jerusalem and his downfall at the hand of Hezekiah his son, as well as the success of Hezekiah’s generation and the destruction of Damascus and Samaria—all of which will be explained in the verses themselves.

Verses

1. It was in the days of Ahaz, son of Yotam, son of Uziyahu, king of Judah, that Retzin king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remalyahu, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem in war against it, but they could not conquer it.

2. It was told to the house of David, saying: Aram has allied with Ephraim. His heart and his people’s heart trembled, like the trembling of the trees of the forest from the wind.

3. The Lord said to Isaiah: Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and She’ar Yashuv your son. to the end of the channel of the upper pool, on the path of the launderer’s field.

4. Say to him: Take care and be calm, do not fear, and let your heart not be faint from these two smoldering butts of firebrands used from the inflamed wrath of Retzin and Aram, and the son of Remalyahu.

5. Because Aram plotted evil against you, with Ephraim and the son of Remalyahu, saying:

6. Let us go up against Judah, sunder it, and breach it for ourselves. We will crown a king in its midst, the son of Tave’al.

7. So said the Lord God: It will not stand and it will not be.

Question

The first question concerns the statement, “Retzin king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remalyahu, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem in war against it, but they could not conquer it.”

For we find in the book of Chronicles, in the account of Ahaz, the opposite of this. There its written: “The Lord his God delivered him (Ahaz) into the hand of the king of Aram, and they struck him and took from him a great captivity and brought them to Damascus; and he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a great blow…” (II Chronicles 28:5-6) and so on.

This contradicts what is said here: “but they could not conquer it.”

Answers

Abarbanel offers two reasons for why these kings couldn’t defeat Ahaz in Jerusalem. The first—based on the midrash—is due to the merit Ahaz had from his ancestors. The second is based on the plain reading of the text: Rezin and Pekah were God’s messengers to attack certain Judean cities but not to go and destroy Jerualem. Let’s see the second reason in the text.

And the matter of this narrative is as follows: because of Ahaz’s wickedness, troubles and evils encountered him. For in the earlier days, the king of Aram, by himself, went up against his land and took from it a great captivity and brought it to Damascus, as is mentioned in Chronicles (II 28:6). And likewise Pekah son of Remalyahu, king of Israel, by himself, went up against the cities of Judah and struck them with a great blow and an enormous captivity, as is also mentioned in Chronicles.

But those wars were each one by itself. And now the two kings took counsel together—meaning the king of Aram and the king of Israel—that they would go together to wage war against the people of Judah, and not against the cities alone as they did at first, but rather that they would go up against Jerusalem, thinking that when they were joined their strength would be doubled and multiplied, and the strength of the king of Judah would not be able to stand before them, and therefore Jerusalem would inevitably be captured.

And it was among the wonders of the One perfect in knowledge that when the king of Aram went alone, or when the king of Israel went alone, they succeeded in war against the people of Judah, because each one of them individually was an agent of His providence, may He be blessed.

However, when they joined together, and the children of Israel mixed with the nations against their brothers, the people of Judah, and also because they extended their hand and their intention toward Jerusalem and toward the Temple of the Lord that was in its midst, it was from the compassion of the Lord that they did not succeed in that war…

And there is no contradiction to what is written in Chronicles, because what is mentioned there occurred on other occasions, when each of those kings went separately to wage war against the people of Judah and they succeeded in their wars, because each one acted by himself and they did not go up against Jerusalem. And what is mentioned here was on another occasion, when both of them joined together to go up at once—and with this the first question is resolved.

Takeaway

I love this story. Picture it: two kings who are full of their own egos and consider themselves masters of their universes. They have fought multiple battles against Judah and conquered many cities. The entire time they’re on their ego-fueled wars they attribute all their success to themselves and their gods, not realizing their victory was coming from Hashem to teach a lesson to Ahaz. Tragically, Ahaz never got the memo.

They then see an advancing Assyrian army and think to themselves: wow, let’s ally up with Judah. Ahaz doesn’t want to join, so Rezin and Pekah go in for regime change. They must have been supremely confident that they would capture Jerusalem.

But they can’t.

I don’t know if Rezin and Pekah ever learned humility and recognized Hashem. Yet the lesson they teach us is so clear: world events are under Hashem’s command:

לֶב־מֶ֭לֶךְ בְּיַד־ה׳ עַֽל־כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֖ר יַחְפֹּ֣ץ יַטֶּֽנּוּ׃

The heart of the king is in Hashem’s hand; He tilts it wherever He desires.

Proverbs 21:1

We don’t know why world events unfold the way they do. We only know that world events are the revelation of Hashem’s plan. It’s our gift to watch, pray, hope, and act as best as we can to be part of His story.

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In this lesson, we’ll cover the fifth question Abarbanel addresses in this prophecy. If you’ve been keeping track, you’ll have noticed that we’re skipping the fourth question. It addresses the number of wings that Isaiah sees (six), in contrast to the number of wings Ezekiel sees (four). If you’re thinking, “Wow, that’s probably really complicated and esoteric and should probably be addressed in person and not on Substack,” I totally agree.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway.

Jeff

Overview

This lesson focuses on Isaiah’s response to seeing the vision of God sitting on a high, raised throne. In the lesson The Lord Sitting on His Throne | Isaiah 6:1–4 Abarbanel explained that God revealed to Isaiah that Uzziah had sinned in believing that God didn’t see what each individual does.

Photo by Bri Schneiter

Verses

5. And I said, “This ache—I am condemned. My mouth has been defiled, one man among a people with their mouths defiled, and my eyes see the King, the Lord of Hosts.”

6. One of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a coal, taken with tongs from the altar top.

7. With this he touched my lips and said, “When this has touched your lips, your iniquity is gone, and all your sin forgiven.”

Question

The fifth question concerns Isaiah’s statement, “This ache—I am condemned. My mouth has been defiled,” and so on. Why does the prophet lament over himself? After all, in what he saw there was no apparent sin that he had committed which would justify such a reaction.

Moreover, Ezekiel, when he experienced a vision similar to this one, did not speak this way.

And even the angel who responds to Isaiah—saying, “Your iniquity is gone, and your sin is forgiven”—does not explain what Isaiah’s wrongdoing was, or what specific sin required atonement on his behalf.

Answers

Because of this, having seen that God is in charge of everything and that Uzziah had sinned as mentioned in an earlier lesson, the prophet was compelled to admit his failure. He had spoken wrongly and had misjudged the matter of Uzziah, effectively justifying or softening what God had done to him. That realization caused him deep anguish, and this is what he expresses when he says, “This ache—I am condemned.”

The phrase “And I said” signals a moment of reconsideration and regret. It shows that Isaiah is correcting himself.

It is as though he is saying: Now I understand—this pain is on me, because I was mistaken. In the case of Uzziah, he had followed imagination and surface impressions rather than truth. He had not known what was in the king’s heart or the hidden intentions behind his actions.

That is why he describes himself as someone whose mouth has been defiled. His failing was not merely emotional—it was expressed in speech. And he recognizes that this problem was widespread: he was one man among a people with their mouths defiled…

…He places the weight of blame on himself more than on the rest of the people. Although many spoke wrongly, his responsibility was greater. “My eyes see the King, the Lord of Hosts.” He was a prophet who had encountered God’s majesty directly. Because of that closeness, his error was more serious and more blameworthy than that of ordinary people.

For this reason, the correction comes through purification of speech. One of the seraphim approaches him with a coal taken from the altar, and touches his lips—the very place where the failure occurred. The angel then declares the result: “When this has touched your lips, your iniquity is gone, and all your sin forgiven.” The sin is not left vague; it is precisely addressed, cleansed, and removed.

This reading follows the straightforward flow of the verses and explains why Isaiah reacts so strongly, why the purification focuses on his lips, and why forgiveness is explicitly announced.

In this way, the fifth question is fully resolved.

Takeaway

Obviously, these verses illustrate a well-known point: pain is used to purify sin. The Rambam states in Hilchot Teshuva that there are some sins that require only repentance. Yet there are others that require repentance and suffering to achieve full atonement.

If a person violated sins punishable by karet or by execution, and repented, repentance and Yom Kippur suspend the punishment, and the sufferings that come upon him complete the atonement, as it is said: “I will punish their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with afflictions” (Psalms 89:33).

Rambam, Hilchot Teshuva 1:4.

But perhaps there is another lesson here. One of the great religious experiences comes from internalizing the grandeur of the world. In those moments, we feel small as we contemplate God’s greatness. We don’t have visions of God like Isaiah did. But as we stand by a mountain, see a sunset, or watch the light dance across a lake, we understand just how magnificent God is and how we should forever strive to be worthy to be part of it.

Along these lines, Rav Hayyim Sabato writes the following in his introduction to the Koren Siddur:

Included in the things that awaken a person is prayer in a synagogue. But not one that is closed, but one that has windows, so you can be astonished by the world and desire to influence the world. You should pray at sunrise and sunset—the times that a person is awake to the wonders of creation and its beauty.

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In this lesson we’ll cover the third question Abarbanel addresses on this prophecy where he explores the order of the vision.

My additions here are in italics. I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow. As usual, this is a slightly abridged version.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway.

Jeff

Photo by Miriam Espacio

Overview

A little background is in order about how Abarbanel viewed the world. Abarbanel followed in the footsteps of Maimonides in write in the Guide to the Perplexed:

All we wish to point out is this: in the first place, that the whole Creation is divided into three parts, from highest to lowest:

1. The pure Intelligences (the realm of God and the angels).

2. The bodies of the spheres endowed with permanent forms (the stars).

3. The transient earthly beings, all of which consist of the same substance.

Guide for the Perplexed, Part 2 11

Of course, we don’t see God as being just in one place. The angels are also able to travel down to earth as God sees fit. And yet, there is a concept that is rooted in various verses that there is a “homebase” of sorts where we view each.

This will help us understand Abarbanel’s question presented in today’s mini-lesson.

Verses

1. In the year in which King Uziyahu died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high, raised throne, the hem of His clothing filling the Sanctuary.

2. There were seraphim standing above Him, each with six wings—with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

3. And they called out one to another, “Holy, holy, holy—the Lord of Hosts—all the world’s fullness, His glory.”

4. The door pillars shook with the voice of him who called—and smoke filled the House.

Question

The third question regarding this vision concerns the order in which it is presented.

He begins with the first cause—God—when he says, “I saw the Lord,” then immediately mentions the upper sphere when he says, “the hem of His clothing filling the Sanctuary.” After that, he returns to speak again about the separate beings—who inhabit the upper sphere— saying, “Seraphim standing above Him,” and then once more speaks of the upper sphere, saying, “the door pillars shook,” and so on. Abarbanel attributes the movement of the door pillars as a cosmic reverberation from what was happening in the upper worlds.

But it would have been proper for him to relate everything concerning the separate beings together, and afterward to bring everything concerning the spheres together, and afterward everything concerning the lower world—not to mention them in a mixed and interwoven manner.

Abarbanel’s question is why is the vision presented as:

1. The first cause, separate beings—the realm of God and the angels “I saw the Lord.”

2. The sphere—the celestial realm, “the hem of His clothing…”

3. The first cause, separate beings— “Seraphim standing above Him.”

4. The sphere— “the door pillars shook.”

It should have mentioned it in order from upper worlds to lower: 1, 3, 2, 4.

Another question which Abarbanel addresses, but doesn’t explicitly ask, is how is it possible for Isaiah to have seen God, when Moshe Rabenu taught: “No man can see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20).

Answers

The prophet further mentioned here that, together with all that he saw of God’s exalted greatness—which no account could possibly contain—he also perceived the lowliness and particularity of His providence.

Concerning this he said, “and the hem of His clothing filling the Sanctuary” meaning that the hem of His garment, which alludes to His actions and His providential governance, fills the Sanctuary, that is, the lower world—or else he intended the Temple Sanctuary, indicating that His influence is directed there.

Clothing is a metaphor for an extension of a person. The idea that God’s hem filled the Sanctuary simply means that God was aware of what is happening in the lower—our—world.

After mentioning this vision in general, he then explained how he saw it—whether he saw and apprehended the First Cause itself, or how this vision should be understood. Thus he said afterward, “Seraphim standing above Him,” and “the door pillars shook,” and so on.

The order of the verses is correct. The vision opens with a general perception—that of God on His throne and the hem of His clothing filling the sanctuary. Then the vision proceeds to detail what was happening—the angels declaring God’s holiness followed by the door pillars shaking.

This means that what he said, “I saw the Lord,” does not mean that he apprehended God Himself, but rather that he apprehended His angels—the separate intellectual beings—who stand first in the kingdom (a play on Esther 1:14), and who are related to Him, that is, caused by Him and receiving influence from Him, blessed be He. He saw them proclaiming holiness in threefold form, as I will explain.

In this way he clarified the statement “I saw the Lord,” and he likewise clarified what he meant by “His train filled the Sanctuary.” He did not mean that God Himself directly moves the lower world without mediation, but rather that the separate beings, whom he saw as emanating from Him, are the movers of the heavenly bodies. This is the meaning of “door pillars shook with the voice of him who called”—for from the motion of the heavens, whatever comes into being in the lower world comes into being. This is the meaning of “and the house was filled with smoke.”

…One should therefore not be astonished by his saying “I saw the Lord,” even though he did not see Him in His essence, but only the beings emanated from Him. For the prophets received their prophecy through an angel, yet they attributed it to God, saying, “And the word of the Lord came to me,” or “And the Lord said to me,” because the agent is mentioned in place of the one who sends him.

So this isn’t a contradiction to “No man can see Me and live” since Isaiah didn’t actually see God. Rather, he perceived the messengers who do God’s will.

Takeaway

I’ve gotta admit, the idea of God operating via angels isn’t how I typically think things work. In our daily life, we say blessings explicitly thanking God. It seems like there is some theological gymnastics we’re actually doing when we respond to someone’s inquiry about how we’re doing with a “Baruch HaShem—Thank God.” In fact, all things are coming via the angels, but God is the author of it all. I tend to just leave the angels out, honestly.

And yet, the angels are part of the warp and weft of our faith. Consider the morning blessings for reciting the Shema. After recognizing the world, its majesty, the cycle of day and night, we switch to focus on how the angels praise God, with the words from these verses in Isaiah, “Holy, holy, holy—the Lord of Hosts; all the world’s fullness is His glory.” And in the next paragraph we switch to:

With an eternal love, You have loved us, Hashem, our God.

God has the most celestial and holy beings possible. Yet, He desired us, humans, with flesh and blood, and souls. The Midrash Tanchuma captures this idea:

The Holy One, Blessed Be He, desired to have a dwelling in the lower worlds.

With all our frailties, all our faults, all our temptations and shortcomings, we are the part of creation that God loves most. God has the angels surrounding Him, and even so, His providence is down here on earth.

And so, the blessing from the morning Shema continues:

The Merciful One, have mercy on us.

Place in our hearts the understanding to reflect, comprehend, listen, learn and teach, guard and do, and fulfill all the words taught in Your Torah with love.

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In this lesson we’ll cover the second and sixth questions.

My additions here are in italics. I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow. As usual, this is a slightly abridged version.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own.

Jeff

Overview

From the Abarbanel

The overall intention of this prophecy is to convey a vision of the supernal realms that the prophet saw concerning the structure of existence and its components. This was in order to make known to him the exaltedness and majesty of the Holy One, blessed be He, as well as the minute, detailed nature of His providence in human affairs.

For this was where Uzziah erred—in thinking that God did not pay attention to human affairs, when leprosy broke out on his forehead. And since the people of his generation were also stumbling in that same heresy, the Holy One, blessed be He, foretold their punishment—as will be explained in the verses.

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Verses

1. In the year in which King Uziyahu died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high, raised throne, the helm of His clothing filling the Sanctuary.

2. There were seraphim standing above Him, each with six wings—with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

3. And they called out one to another, “Holy, holy, holy—the Lord of Hosts—all the world’s fullness, His glory.”

4. The door pillars shook with the voice of him who called—and smoke filled the House.

~

9. Go—tell this people: Hear, you shall hear but understand it not, see it all but know it not.

10. Fatten the heart of this people; make their ears heavy; coat their eyes with plaster, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their hearts understand and they return—and are healed

Questions

The second question is: what was it that Isaiah saw—this exalted vision of God, His throne, the seraphim, the threefold holiness, and all the other elements—when the subject of the vision and its purpose were to rebuke the people, as it says: “Hear, you shall hear but understand it not… Fatten the heart of this people”?

What connection is there between rebuking the people and the vision of the Divine Chariot? Isaiah prophesied many times rebuking Israel and Judah, and so did the other prophets, yet they did not see this great vision at the beginning of their rebuke.

The sixth question concerns what God commanded him to say to the people: “Go—tell this people: Hear, you shall hear but understand it not, see it all but know it not. Fatten the heart of this people; make their ears heavy; coat their eyes with plaster, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their hearts understand and they return—and are healed” (Isaiah 6:9-10).

For this itself was the cause of their sin—that they did not understand the words of the prophet, and that there was no knowledge or insight in his rebukes for them; they did not look to the work of the Lord, nor did they see the work of His hands. How, then, could He command them to act in the opposite way of what was incumbent upon them according to the ways of the Torah and of truth?

All the more so since He explained the reason by saying, “Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their hearts understand and they return—and are healed” This sounds as if such an outcome were inappropriate—when on the contrary, this is precisely what ought to happen!

Indeed, perhaps they will see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, repent in repentance, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, will heal them!?

Answers

As we mentioned last week, the people fell into the same belief as Uzziah, that God was unaware of human actions. In answer to the second question, Abarbanel writes:

Now, God showed Isaiah this great vision to inform him of the immense exaltedness of God, and yet, despite all His greatness and elevation, He still exercises awareness over the actions of human beings.

This was so that the prophet would reflect on what Uzziah’s sin truly was—namely, that he did not believe in individual divine providence. This is what is meant by the verse: “ I saw the Lord sitting on a high, raised throne.” And with all His exaltedness and elevation, the hem of His garments filled the Sanctuary, and the entire earth was filled with His glory.

Now on to the answer the sixth question:

This is what is meant by the phrase, “Fatten the heart of this people.” The word hashmen (“fatten”) is an infinitive, as if it said: their heart is fat, sealed, and uncircumcised.. All of this stems from the uncircumcision of the heart, “uncircumcised heart” is a biblical expression for one with a dull intellect.

Thus, the expressions “their ears are heavy” and “their eyes are blinded” may all be understood as infinitives—or the words “heavy” and “blinded” may be traced back to the heart that was mentioned, since it is in its uncircumcised state that it makes the ears heavy and blinds the eyes.

As for the phrase, “lest he see with his eyes,” it is as if to say: should we think that there is still hope that they will return to seeing with their eyes, hearing with their ears, and that their heart will understand through their perceptions—so that they will return to Him and be healed of this evil sickness? This, without a doubt, is impossible. For they are so deeply ingrained in this sickness that they have no remaining hope.

The rebuke is total—the goal is to spurn the people into action, perhaps to prove God wrong. Ineed, Abarbanel offers another approach later in his commentary, suggesting that God was using reverse psychology on the peope: tell them they won’t repent since they always do the opposite of what He asks.

Takeaway

The idea of trying to prove God wrong seems like an odd source of motivation. But in fact, it was the driving force for the Jewish people in the desert after the sin of the spies when they were told that they would not be able to enter the land. Instead, they go fight to try to enter. Of course, they were not successful in their attempt.

What’s interesting here is how God seems to realize that the Jewish people will want to rebel against Him. So, if He says, “You’ll never repent” the people will repent, just to prove Him wrong. Of course, that was God’s plan from the start.

Our relationship with God is deep and complex. Karl Marx infamously said, “Religion is the opium of the people.” I think this statement reveals more about who irreligious Marx was rather than anything about religion.

Having faith means, at times, being confronted with questions. What is happening to our world right now? Why are the Jewish people once again being persecuted? What does the future hold?

The atheist has no struggle with these questions. They are beyond his frame of concern. But for believers, we’re blessed by struggling with these and so many more slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

I don’t think I need to be explicit: the pogrom on Bondi beach is weighing heavily on all our minds.

Credit: Chabad.org

Perhaps the lesson of Hanukkah can heal us. We celebrate Hanukkah as a great victory. But it wasn’t a victory without tremendous suffering as well. Indeed, there can’t really be a victory without suffering.

We can ask: what are the areas of life we think we can’t change? What are the things that we are so stuck in our ways? Perhaps those are the things we need to change first.

שבת שלום.

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Abarbanel identifies all of chapter 6 as just one prophecy. We’ll be covering over several weeks, God willing.

My additions here are in italics. I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow. As usual, this is a slightly abridged version.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own.

Jeff

Overview

From the Abarbanel

The overall intention of this prophecy is to convey a vision of the supernal realms that the prophet saw concerning the structure of existence and its components. This was in order to make known to him the exaltedness and majesty of the Holy One, blessed be He, as well as the minute, detailed nature of His providence in human affairs.

For this was where Uzziah erred—in thinking that God did not pay attention to human affairs, when leprosy broke out on his forehead. And since the people of his generation were also stumbling in that same heresy, the Holy One, blessed be He, foretold their punishment—as will be explained in the verses.

Photo by Felix Schickel

Verses

1. In the year in which King Uziyahu died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high, raised throne, the him of His clothing filling the Sanctuary.

2. There were seraphim standing above Hi,. each with six wings—with two they covered their faces, with tho they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

3. And they called out one to another, “Holy, holy, holy—the Lord of Hosts—all the world’s fullness, His glory.”

4. The door pillars shook with the voice of him who called—and smoke filled the House.

Question

The first question is: what did the prophet see that led him to state that this prophecy happened in the year of King Uzziah’s death? This is a strange connection, since we do not usually find prophecies dated by the deaths of kings.

Moreover, in this prophecy we find nothing that is specifically related to Uzziah—neither to his death nor to his leprosy—according to the Targum, he didn’t die, just got leprosy which is considered like a type of death.

Answers

The verse attributes this vision to the death of Uzziah—or to his leprosy—because in the Book of Kings it is mentioned that in his old age his heart turned away from God, as it is written: “When he became strong, his heart grew proud, to his destruction, and he trespassed against the Lord his God” (II Chronicles 26:16).

Now, why was his punishment that leprosy broke out on his forehead? It would have seemed more fitting that his hand should have withered when he approached to offer incense, as happened to Jeroboam, or that he should have died as Nadab and Abihu did, or as Korah and his congregation did when they offered incense?

Rather, the matter was without doubt that foreign ideas entered his heart. He adopted a corrupt belief concerning the nature of God—namely, that because of God’s exalted greatness, He does not exercise individual particular awareness over human actions.

Because of this belief, Uzziah came to offer incense, thinking that this act would bring him honor and elevate his status in the eyes of the people, and that God would not see it. This was a great trespass against the Lord his God. Therefore, his punishment was that leprosy broke out on his forehead—the place of wickedness, that is, the head, which is where he had formed this false thought.

When Isaiah saw that Uzziah had become leprous, he mourned greatly, seeing the anointed king of the Lord afflicted with leprosy and confined to the house of isolation. And since Uzziah had always done what was right in the eyes of the Lord, the prophet’s anger burned over his suffering, because Isaiah did not know the hidden thoughts of his heart or the corruption of his faith.

Therefore, this prophecy came to him in the year that Uzziah became leprous, according to the Tragum, in order to remove Isaiah from that mistaken assumption.

And if we say that “the year of his death” refers to an actual death, then we will say that prophecy departed from Isaiah for many days because of his grief—just as happened to Moses our teacher during all the days of the decree of the spies, when prophecy withdrew from him.

Now, God showed Isaiah this great vision to inform him of the immense exaltedness of God, and yet, despite all His greatness and elevation, He still exercises awareness over the actions of human beings.

This was so that the prophet would reflect on what Uzziah’s sin truly was—namely, that he did not believe in individual divine providence. This is what is meant by the verse: “ I saw the Lord sitting on a high, raised throne.” And with all His exaltedness and elevation, the hem of His garments filled the Sanctuary, and the entire earth was filled with His glory.

Takeaway

The obvious message of these verses is to appreciate that God is aware of everything; nothing escapes His gaze, nothing goes unrewarded or unpunished, as the case may be.

But I think Abarbanel’s explanation brings out another idea: Isaiah perceived God on His throne, saw the angels surrounding Him—yet he still did not know what was in Uzziah’s heart. Even the most exalted prophet, capable of receiving the highest divine revelations, has no access to what is happening inside another person’s mind.

The Mishnah in Avot captures this lesson powerfully:

אל תהי דן יחידי, שאין דן יחידי אלא אחד.

Do not act as a lone judge, for the only One who judges alone is God.

(Avot 4:8)

It is so tempting to look at others and pass judgment on their actions. But this teaching shows us that Isaiah—one of the greatest prophets—had no idea what was unfolding in another’s heart and mind. How much more foolish, then, for us to think we can know, or judge, someone else.

My additions here are in italics. I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow. As usual, this is a slightly abridged version.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own.

Jeff

Overview

This single verse presents a promise of divine protection. One of the challenging aspects of studying these prophecies is understanding what time period they reference, and perhaps more importantly, what lesson we’re supposed to learn.

Photo by Simon Migaj

Verse

ד:ו. וְסֻכָּ֛ה תִּהְיֶ֥ה לְצֵל־יוֹמָ֖ם מֵחֹ֑רֶב וּלְמַחְסֶה֙ וּלְמִסְתּ֔וֹר מִזֶּ֖רֶם וּמִמָּטָֽר׃

4:6 There will be a sukkah for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from storm and from rain.

Questions

The sixth question concerns his statement: ‘And the Lord will create over every dwelling-place of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud by day, and smoke, and the brightness of flaming fire… and a sukkah shall be for shade by day…’ What time does this promise refer to? …To Daniel and his companions who went to Babylon, or to Zerubbabel and the people of the Second Temple, or to the days of Hezekiah—as the commentators explain?

And moreover, we do not find a pillar of cloud by day or a pillar of fire by night, nor actual booths, nor clouds of glory that hovered over them! It seems as if this promise hasn’t happened yet. Which might lead you to think that it is talking about the days of the Messiah.

Yet even if we interpret this regarding the days of the Messiah… we do not find that our Sages, of blessed memory, mentioned that such things will occur in those days. When and where, then, was this promise fulfilled, or when will it be fulfilled—especially since at times he calls it a ‘cloud,’ and at times a ‘sukkah’?

Answers

After proving how all the other explanations offered are unsatisfactory, Abarbanel says, I maintain that this entire statement is metaphorical and not according to its plain meaning.

It is saying that in the days of Hezekiah, the Blessed One would guard Jerusalem and its inhabitants with wondrous providence and superior protection, like the protection they had when they came up from the land of Egypt.

And therefore it expresses this figuratively: ‘And the Lord will create over every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and over those who assemble there, a cloud by day, and smoke, and the brightness of flaming fire by night’—which is a metaphor for divine protection and higher protection. And for this reason he also compared it to a sukkah, which would be for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from storm and rain.

And the heat, the storm, and the rain are metaphors for the enemies—especially for Sennacherib and all his army, who came upon Jerusalem to destroy it. But He, who guards the souls of His faithful ones, protected the city for His sake and for the sake of David His servant, as he will relate afterward, in Isaiah 36.

And with this, the sixth question is resolved.

Takeaway

The story of Sennacherib’s advance on Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah is one of the most dramatic in the Bible. In it, the most advanced military power of the day threatens to conquer Jerusalem. God protects the people by destroying 185,000 Assyrian soldiers and sparing Jerusalem without a battle.

Abarbanel identifies several different reasons for why the people at that time merited such divine providence. One of the reasons is that Hezekiah relied on God alone and didn’t turn to foreign alliances, like Egypt, for protection.

To me, this provides another data point in how to walk the tightrope of having perfect faith in God while also expending our own efforts in conducting ourselves in the physical world. It isn’t a simple path to follow. I know I tend to lean into taking action. This story, and the promise of protection, is a spark of inspiration to fully open my heart and trust in God.

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One of the big challenges we face — and I think this has been discussed widely across our nation, and really across most Western democracies — is how we create a sense of shared commonality in a society that’s built on deep respect for the individual. Rabbi Sacks, in The Home We Build Together, explores this tension in depth.

I’d like to add to that conversation with a thought from Rav Kook in Musar Avichah, Ethics of the Fathers, in his entry on Emunah, on faith. He writes the following:

“A person who the light of faith is revealed in him in its purity, he loves all of creation entirely, without any measure at all. And his entire focus is on their exaltedness, and on their repair. And the ways of repairing them become full of rebuke, ethics, and uprightness, according to the degree in which faith is revealed in his heart.”

What this means, I think, is that the more a person’s faith in Hashem is revealed and illuminated, the more they begin to see all of civilization — everyone around them — as beings created by the Creator. And once that becomes clear, a person naturally desires goodness, growth, and spiritual elevation for all the people in their family, their city, and their country.

Hopefully this thought can give us a bit of motivation as we try to be active participants in making our little corners of the universe more filled with faith in Hashem.

Shabbat Shalom.

Jeff

My additions here are in italics. I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow. As usual, this is a slightly abridged version.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own.

Jeff

Overview

The overall intent of this prophecy is to foretell the punishments of the people of Judah and Jerusalem for the two transgressions of which they were guilty: the first, the wickedness of the leaders; and the second, the haughtiness and foolishness of the licentious women.

Leighton, Frederic - Jezabel and Ahab - c.1863 via Wikimedia Commons.

Verses

13. The Lord is ready for His case to be heard: He stands up now to judge nations.

14. The Lord is coming to trial with His people’s elders, its princes: “It is you who have ragged the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your homes.

15. By what right do you crush My people, grinding the faces of the poor?” So speaks the Lord God of Hosts.

16. The Lord says: Because the daughters of Zion are proud, walking with their heads poised, casting their eyes around them, walking their dainty walk, their feet ringing with anklets,

17. the Lord will scab over the skulls of the daughters of Zion; the Lord will lay their heads bare.

Questions

We’ll cover Abarbanel’s fourth and fifth questions on this prophecy, as well as one of my own.

The fourth question concerns his statement, “The Lord is ready for His case to be heard: He stands up now to judge nations.” For if the “peoples” here refers to the nations, the entire verse becomes difficult, as it would be out of place… Why mention the other nations in a passage directly about the people of Israel?

But if “peoples” refers to Israel, then the statement “The Lord is coming to trial with His people’s elders” becomes redundant after he has already said “and stands up now to judge nations.” So who is God judging, the nations or the leaders of Israel?

The fifth question concerns his statement, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud…,” for the style of the passage indicates that because the daughters of Zion grew haughty, all the calamities mentioned will come upon them—including what is stated immediately afterward: “Your men shall fall by the sword, and your warriors in battle, and her gates shall lament and mourn.” This is very difficult, for such a severe punishment does not correspond to the sin.

Their sin was quite minor: that the daughters of Zion became haughty in their foolishness, walked with an affected gait, and made their steps tinkling. How can we say that because of this Jerusalem and Judah will be desolated, and its men will fall by the sword, until seven women will take hold of one man? It would have been fitting that the punishment fall upon the women who sinned, not on the men who did not sin.

And for one of my own, why are these seemingly unrelated crimes described in the same prophecy?

Answers

I believe, however, that the verse does not come to inform us that God judges the ends of the earth and judges the nations, for this has already been stated earlier, and this is not the proper place for it. Rather, “the LORD is ready for His case to be heard” serves as a prelude to what follows—as if to say:

Since the LORD is ready for His case to be heard to judge peoples, because He is the Judge of all the earth who gives to each person according to his ways and the fruit of his deeds, then all the more so the LORD must enter into judgment with the elders of His people and its officers.

For it is more proper—and prior—for a good judge to judge and correct the people of his own household before he judges and corrects others. And it is more fitting that He judge the elders and officers, upon whom disgrace and wrongdoing are more serious and blameworthy—particularly since their sin involved taking advantage of the poor—than to judge the common people.

This, then, is the meaning of “the LORD is ready for His case to be heard.”

….With all this, the text now answers the earlier statement “My people—its oppressors are children,”—people without understanding acting in their self interest—and this resolves the fourth question.

….And after this, he returns to rebuke the women who ruled over them because of their licentiousness, as it is said, “And women ruled over him.”

The women at this time took advantage of the leaders by being seductive and hence—controlling them. And now it makes sense why these two crimes are indeed related. The men were crushing the common people at the behest of the women who drove them further into moral decrepitude.

Takeaway

Sadly, the trope of weak men being controlled by evil women predates the time period Isaiah was discussing. The picture above depicts Ahab and Jezebel being visited by Eliyahu. Jezebel is defiant, confident that she was right to coerce her husband to steal what didn’t belong to him.

I think there is a modern—and perhaps more secular—critique of the Bible that goes like this: women get the blame for everything. Starting with Eve, we find that the תנ״ך is full of examples of women who cause their men to sin.

But I see another perspective. The Bible’s narrative is almost exclusively about sins, since those are the times when we can learn how to be better. So there is a powerful message here. Women are not evil. They have power. They can use that power to advance their husbands and influence future generations, like Sarah, Rivkah, Leah, and Rachel. Or they can use their sway for evil.

Forgive me for taking a small tangent here that illustrates the point of this lesson in a small way. I’d like to share a video I came across that was just published this past week. In it, Israeli singer Bini Landau sings an absolutely lovely Shabbat song, God I Yearn, written by Rabbi Aharon of Karlin. It is dedicated in memory of Teferit Lapidot ה״יד, a girl who was seeking God in her own way and was killed on October 7 at the Nova festival. In the video, family and friends join the song.

Here are the lyrics, loosely translated:

~~~
God, I yearn for the sweetness of Shabbat—

the Shabbat that harmonizes and unites with Your treasured people.

Draw down the pleasantness of Your awe upon the nation that seeks Your will.

Sanctify them with the holiness of Shabbat,

the Shabbat that joins together with Your Torah.

Open for them delight and favor,

so they may open the gates of Your favor.

The One who was and is—

guard those who keep and eagerly await Your holy Shabbat.

“As a deer longs for streams of water,”

so their souls long to receive the sweetness of Shabbat,

the Shabbat united with Your holy Name.

Protect those who delay separating from Shabbat,

so that the six days—

which receive their holiness from Your holy Shabbat—

not be closed off from them.

Purify their hearts in truth and with faith,

so they may serve You.

May Your mercies overflow upon Your attributes,

and may Your mercies overflow upon Your holy people—

to give drink to those thirsty for Your kindness

from the river that flows out of Eden,

to crown Israel with the splendor

of those who glorify You through Your holy Shabbat

all six days of the week,

bequeathing to them the heritage of Jacob, Your chosen one.

Shabbat is the delight of souls,

the seventh day is the pleasure of spirits,

and Eden for the inner beings—

to be refined in Your love and Your awe.

Holy Shabbat—my soul is lovesick for You.

Holy Shabbat—

the souls of Israel, in the shade of Your wings,

find shelter and are satiated

from the richness of Your house.

~~~

Watch it for yourself all the way till then end, on YouTube, or here:

And finally, one of the viewers, @imalele, left this comment on the video. I think this captures it all.

A shiver of excitement, sorrow, pride, and joy —
fortunate is the nation whose daughters are like her,
fortunate is the nation whose children are like these.

Tiferet’s radiant smile in the video at the end,
when she sings with her eyes closed from some far edge of the world,
accompanies me every Shabbat.
It reminds me what simplicity of longing is,
what purity without theatrics looks like,
what love is, in its own way.

Thank you for a child who brought light into the world.
We are moved for you — that you were blessed to accompany her here,
that she chose you and no one else
for this short yet immense journey,
and what an incredible job you did protecting her light.

We love you with all our hearts. ❤

Tiferet — wondrous, radiant, longing and beloved —
may her soul be bound in the bond of life. 🙏🏼

My additions here are in italics. I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow. As usual, this is a slightly abridged version.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own.

Jeff

Overview

The third prophecy begins with ‘For behold, the Master, the Lord of Hosts, removes from Jerusalem and from Judah support and staff’ (Isaiah 3:1), and continues until ‘I will now sing to my beloved’ (Isaiah 5:1).

It contains five sections:

1. Isaiah 3:1–15 — ‘For behold, the Master, the Lord of Hosts…’

2. Isaiah 3:13 — ‘The Lord stands to contend.’ This overlaps with section 1 but forms a distinct unit according to his division.

3. Isaiah 3:16–4:1 — ‘And the Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty…’

4. Isaiah 3:18–23 — ‘On that day the Lord will remove the beauty of their anklets.’

5. Isaiah 4:2 — ‘On that day the sprout of the Lord will be for splendor and for glory,’ and so on.

In today’s lesson, we’re just going to cover the first section.

The overall intent of this prophecy is to foretell the punishments of the people of Judah and Jerusalem for the two transgressions of which they were guilty: the first, the wickedness of the leaders; and the second, the haughtiness and foolishness of the complacent women which will be covered in next weeks lesson, God willing.

Afterward, it foretells the goodness and protection that they would experience in the days of Hezekiah, as will be explained in the interpretation of the verses.

Photo by Mikołaj Kołodziejczyk

Verses

(1) For behold, the Master, the Lord of Hosts, is removing from Jerusalem and from Judah support and staff — every support of bread and every support of water.

(2) The mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder,

(3) the captain of fifty and the dignitary, and the counselor, and the wise craftsman, and the skillful enchanter.

(4) And I will make youths their princes, and capricious ones shall rule over them.

(5) And the people will oppress one another — each man his fellow; the youth will be arrogant toward the elder, and the base toward the honorable.

(6) For a man will seize his brother in his father’s house and say: “You have a cloak — be our leader, and let this ruin be under your hand.”

(7) He will cry out on that day, saying: “I will not be a healer; in my house there is no bread and no cloak. Do not make me a leader of the people.”

(8) For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen, because their tongue and their deeds are against the Lord, to rebel against the eyes of His glory.

(9) Their very appearance testifies against them, and their sin, like Sodom, they declare — they do not conceal it. Woe to their souls, for they have brought evil upon themselves.

(10) Say to the righteous that it is good, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

(11) Woe to the wicked — it is bad; for the reward of his hands shall be done to him.

(12) My people — their oppressors are children, and women rule over them. My people — your leaders mislead you, and they swallow up the course of your paths.

(13) The Lord stands to contend, and He rises to judge the peoples.

Question

The first question is: Why, in the punishment of Judah and Jerusalem, did the Holy One, blessed be He, decree that He would remove from them every support of bread and every support of water — the mighty man, the warrior, and so on — and that He would place youths as their princes, etc.?

And he did not mention why God would do this to that land — what is the cause of this great anger? For the prophet does not mention here the sin of Judah and Jerusalem for which they became liable to all this punishment. He mentioned the punishment but did not mention the sin.

All the more difficult, then, that he says, ‘For behold, the Master…,’ and the word ki (‘for’) gives a reason and is a clause that depends upon and is connected to the previous statement.

Answers

ָAbarbanel starts by explaining what their sin was….he did not rebuke them regarding matters of idolatry, but rather for the corruption of leadership and the wickedness of the rulers — because they were placing their trust in their princes, and the lesser people were relying upon the greater ones. And therefore he said, ‘For behold, the Master, the Lord of Hosts, removes from Jerusalem and from Judah support and staff’ — meaning: because you do not place your trust in the Master of the land but in its leaders, therefore the Master, the Lord of Hosts, who is truly and essentially the Master, and not the princes in whom you trust, He will remove from Jerusalem support and staff from those very princes, as he will list.

…But what seems correct to me is that in prophecies, the cause often appears before the description of the result — as if one were to recount first the wickedness of the people and their sins, and afterward their punishment…

…In this manner the prophet Isaiah acted here: he began by recounting their calamity and punishment in saying, ‘For behold, the Master, the Lord of Hosts, removes from Jerusalem…,’ and afterward he explained its cause in saying, ‘The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and its princes,’ and he explained their crimes by saying, ‘And you have burned the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.’ This is the cause for what he foretold — that every kind of leader would be removed from them.

And with this, the first question is resolved.

Takeaway

One of the consistent themes in these prophecies of rebuke is the culpability of the leaders. This observation has a lot of implications. One of them that speaks to me is to not hold the masses accountable for their errors. Most people are so busy with the daily work of just living that they can’t be held responsible. The leaders, people of scholarship, the doers, those are the ones most responsible for setting the tone and standard for the community.

And also, each of us has our own sphere of influence. Hopefully we’ll use this rebuke as a reminder to not abnegate our responsibilities but instead lead those around us—to the best of our ability—to live life and serve God better.

My additions here are in italics. I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow. As usual, this is a slightly abridged version.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own.

Jeff

Overview

Isaiah contrasts human pride, wealth, and idolatry with the coming revelation of God’s majesty. On that future day, all human arrogance will collapse, idols will be cast aside, and the Lord alone will stand supreme.

Photo by Pixabay

Verses

(5) House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

(6) For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east, and they practice divination like the Philistines, and they join hands with the children of foreigners.

(7) Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots.

(8) Their land is also filled with idols—they bow down to the work of their own hands, to that which their fingers have made.

(9) And man shall be brought down, and each person is humbled; but do not lift them up.

(10) Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the fear of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.

(11) The lofty eyes of man shall be humbled, and the height of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day.

(12) For there shall be a day for the Lord of Hosts against all that is proud and high, and against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;

(13) against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, and against all the oaks of Bashan;

(14) against all the high mountains and against all the lifted-up hills;

(15) against every high tower and against every fortified wall;

(16) against all the ships of Tarshish and against all the precious vessels.

(17) The haughtiness of man shall be bowed down, and the pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day.

(18) And the idols shall completely vanish.

(19) And men shall go into the caves of the rocks and into the holes of the dust from before the fear of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble.

(20) On that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made for him to worship, to the moles and to the bats,

(21) to go into the clefts of the rocks and into the crags of the cliffs, from before the fear of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble.

(22) Cease yourselves from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for of what value is he to be accounted?

Question

The fifth question concerns why, in this prophecy, the same idea is stated and repeated three times. For it says, “And man shall be brought down, and each person shall be humbled.” And shortly afterward it again says, “The lofty eyes of man shall be humbled, and the pride of men shall be brough low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day.” And a third time, near it, it says, “The haughtiness of man shall be bowed down, and the pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day.” And the commentators have not taken notice to give a reason for this repetition.

Answers

The Abarbanel doesn’t directly address why the similar thought—man being humbled and God exalted on that day—is repeated three times. Instead, he explains the repetition indicates the importance of that specific day.

Indeed—what is this “day” that the prophet mentions, calling it “a day belonging to the Lord of Hosts, upon all who are proud and exalted,” and which he names “the end of days”?

…But I say that although the phrase “in that day” may indeed apply to any of those times—the time of King Hezekiah, dedication of the first Temple, or about the future ingathering of the exiles—the expression “the day of the Lord” in the prophets refers only to the unique day when God will judge the ends of the earth, the dead will come back to life, and the entire world will accept His kingship.

The prophets and sages received the tradition that this will coincide with the resurrection of the dead, and that it will be close in time to the ingathering of the exiles.

And since they also received that the inhabited world will eventually cease and be destroyed some time afterward, therefore Isaiah called that period the end of days—because it will come at the end of the world’s existence.

As Rabbi Ketina said (Sanhedrin 97a): “Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one thousand shall be desolate,” as it is written, “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day.”

Thus, the day of the Lord mentioned here refers to the time of the resurrection, at the very end of the current formation of the world.

Therefore, the prophet reveals here that at the end of the exile and the final days, the nations of the world in their lands will come to believe in the Divinity of God and His Torah in wondrous agreement, saying: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways and we will walk in His paths.”

They will remove pride and arrogance from their hearts and abandon their evil ways, as it says: “Man shall be humbled and people brought low.”

They will also remove from the earth the rule of kings and the exaltation of princes, and will no longer serve any ruler or power but the Lord alone, as it says: “The haughtiness of man shall be bowed down, and the loftiness of men brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day.”

They will abandon idols and all forms of idolatry because of the fear of the Lord and the majesty of His glory.

There is no doubt that human beings will not come to accept the kingship of Heaven, abandon idols, and remove kings and princes from their thrones merely through their own reasoning—how could all people agree on something so contrary to their natural habits?

Abarbanel now explains how this change of heart will come about.

Nor will it come about through wars fought by the Messiah—for how could he, being in the East or in the Land of Israel, wage war against those at the ends of the West, for example?

Nor will it happen through the influence of the Jewish people teaching the nations around them to walk in God’s ways, for in most parts of the world today, Jews are scarcely found.

And we cannot say that God will force people to serve Him, for He does not compel human free will, nor does He desire that all humanity should be coerced into faith or wake one morning with knowledge and belief that they never had before.

Rather, the truth of this matter is what I explained in the introduction to this book: The Lord will bring about this great transformation through the resurrection of the dead.

When the dead rise—men and women alike—in every region, province, and nation, from among their most righteous, wise, and prophetic figures, and from those near to them in time, and when people see them rising from their graves and hear them proclaim: “Our ancestors have handed down falsehood and vanity with no benefit! The Lord alone is God, and His Torah is truth!”—when they tell of the spiritual reward awaiting those who fear the Lord and of the severe punishment awaiting idol worshipers, and command the living to abandon their idols, kings, and rulers, and to follow the Lord who alone is true—then surely the hearts of all people will be moved.

They will submit to faith in God and follow Him, speaking a pure language and calling upon the Name of the Lord, as Zephaniah said (3:9): “That they may all call upon the Name of the Lord.”

For they will learn the true Name of God from the mouths of those resurrected from the dead.

When a son sees his father, or a father his son—long buried—rise from the grave; or when they behold Moses, Aaron, Samuel, Elijah, and the other prophets, together with their own sages and philosophers, rising and testifying to the truth of faith—surely all people will be drawn to it, turn from their evil ways, and no longer set their hearts on anything false or material, but only on divine truth and faith.

And about this it says:

“He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.”

This is the meaning of the prophecy: that all the nations will say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,” removing from their midst every form of pride and abandoning idols completely—because humanity will follow truth and not illusions or lies.

Through this, the human race will attain the true purpose of its creation—its ultimate perfection—brought about through the resurrection of the dead.

And since, as a result of this, people will cease worshiping idols and following kings and earthly rulers—who are themselves idols of a sort—the prophet concludes, “Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils.”

Meaning: abandon idolatry, kingship, and pride, when you see man—whose breath returns to his nostrils—rising from the dead.

For what is man worth before the Creator in the spiritual world? In what sense is he truly “something”—through genuine faith or through imagined delusions?

Thus the depth and meaning of this prophecy are revealed, and the fifth question is resolved.

Takeaway

One of the things I appreciate most about Abarbanel’s approach is how he sticks to reason to the extent possible. For example, he rejects the idea that the Jewish people are going to teach the world about God, because the Jewish people aren’t spread all throughout the world. The wars of the Messiah aren’t going to move people all around the world, since they’ll only take place in one part of the world.

Now that there’s the internet, it’s fair to assume that Abarbanel might be willing to update his approach in light of the mass media technology.

And yet, getting past the creepy part of the dead rising, I think the vision of people rejoining with their ancestors—the people who have seen the world of truth come back to tell their families—indicates the deep link between families and their faith. We embrace the family—not as an accident of evolution—but as the prime driver of who we are and who we will become.

My additions here are in italics. I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow. As usual, this is a slightly abridged version.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own.

Jeff

Overview

The overall intention in this prophecy is to inform the children of Judah and Jerusalem what will happen in the end of days — that all the nations will agree together to serve the honored Name and to keep His Torah, and that the idols will be removed from the land — in order to prove from this that it would have been more fitting for the children of Judah to do this themselves, because of the Torah and the Temple of God that are among them.

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Verses

3. Many peoples will come, saying: “Come, let us go up to the mount of the Lord, to the House of Yaakov’s God; He will teach us of His ways; we will walk in His pathways,” for teaching will come forth from Zion, from Jerusalem, the Lord’s word.

4. He will judge among nations and arbirtrate for many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, the spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not raise sword against nation; no more will they learn to make war.

5. House of Yaakov, come, let us walk by the Lord’s light.

Question

The… question concerns the fact that we find the opening section of this prophecy repeated in the words of Micah…. There, it says about this matter (Micah 4:5): “For all the peoples will walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”

This implies that the nations will not go forth to seek the word of the Lord nor will they accept His divinity, as is stated here. Rather, each one will continue to walk in the name of his own god.

The question arises: if they will continue to walk in the name of their own gods, what benefit or purpose is there to this prophecy?

Answers

This prophecy should be understood as the prophet’s rebuke to the people. The meaning would be:

“Do you not know that the days are coming when all the nations will say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways,’ and warfare will cease from the earth? And even though the nations have never seen the light of Torah and mitzvot, they will nevertheless awaken on their own to seek the word of the Lord and, by His word, dwell in peace. You, House of Jacob—meaning, house of stubbornness and deceit—take an example from this! Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord, to walk in His Torah and to dwell securely and alone. Do not provoke evil—you and Judah with you,” for the people of Israel were always at war with the people of Judah.

The nations will stop following their gods, once they come to the house of the Lord. So the nations will cease following their gods at the end of days. However, the point of this prophecy is not talking about the end of days, as Abarbanel explains next.

According to this understanding, we must say that the prophet did not mention this prophecy about the end of days for its own sake—for it would not have been appropriate in this context—but rather in order to derive from it this moral teaching for his own generation.

And with this, the third question is resolved.

Takeaway

We see people all around us enamored with the craziest of ideas. If even those people are one day going to dedicate themselves to the study of Torah and serving Hashem, shouldn’t we do the same now?

My additions here are in italics. I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow. As usual, this is a slightly abridged version.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own. I hope you’ll share yours.

Jeff

Overview

The overall intention in this prophecy is to inform the children of Judah and Jerusalem what will happen in the end of days — that all the nations will agree together to serve the honored Name and to keep His Torah, and that the idols will be removed from the land — in order to prove from this that it would have been more fitting for the children of Judah to do this themselves, because of the Torah and the Temple of God that are among them.

Photo by TheOther Kev

Verses

1. The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: This will be in the days to come:

2. The mountain of the Lord’s House will be rooted firm, the highest of mountains, raised high above all hills, and all the nations will stream to it.

3. Many peoples will come, saying: “Come, let us go up to the mount of the Lord, to the House of Yaakov’s God; He will teach us of His ways; we will walk in His pathways,” for teaching will come forth from Zion, from Jerusalem, the Lord’s word.

4. He will judge among nations and arbirtrate for many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, the spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not raise sword against nation; no more will they learn to make war.

Questions

The first question:
The statement “The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem” — this would seem to indicate that this prophecy was directed only toward Judah and Jerusalem.

But that is not so — for it is also meant for the nations, since it speaks about the end of days when all the nations will run and go up to the mountain of the Lord.

If so, how could it say that this prophecy was seen “concerning Judah and Jerusalem” alone?

The second questions:
The statement “And He shall judge among the nations and rebuke many peoples” — Isaiah did not mention who the judge and the rebuker is.

Radak wrote that the judge and the rebuker will be the King Messiah.

But his name and his role are not mentioned in this verse — so how could there be a hidden reference to him?

Answers

Answer to the first question
The general purpose of this prophecy is to foretell the exalted state of Jerusalem and the Temple — as it says: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob,” and “For out of Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” — therefore, from this perspective, the verse says “which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.”

For what it mentions about the other nations merely serves to express the greatness of Zion and the Temple.

And thus, the first question has been resolved.

Answer to the second question
As for “And He shall judge between the nations” — in this prophecy it does not refer specifically to the King Messiah. Rather, it means that the judgment and rebuke will issue from the House of the Lord which he mentioned earlier.

As Rashi wrote: “He shall judge that mountain,” meaning the Temple itself.

The meaning is that this House will be exalted above all the kings of the earth, and there will be thrones of judgment established there. That House — through its holiness and through the prophecy that will go forth from it — will judge among the nations and rebuke many peoples concerning their wars against one another.

Or, alternatively, the phrase “He shall judge between the nations and rebuke many peoples” refers to “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” mentioned earlier — that God’s word and His prophecy will serve to judge and rebuke among the nations and will establish peace on earth.

For the new prophecy that will be renewed in the world at that time will accomplish what had never been accomplished before.

And with this, the second question is resolved.

Takeaway

This vision of Isaiah has inspired—and continues to inspire—so many to seek to end war. There is a sculpture in front of the United Nations titled, Let Us Beat Swords into Ploughshares.

Ploughshares.org confidently declares that they are “Building a future beyond nuclear fear.”

And there are probably more songs about the end of war than I could reasonably mention. In this context, Matisyahu’s lyrics in “One Day” will suffice:

All my life, I’ve been waitin’ for
I’ve been prayin’ for, for the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There’ll be no more wars, and our children will play.

Isaiah’s vision is truly remarkable. As far as I can tell, it is the first time in the Bible where we are presented with a vision of universal peace. There are many times in the Chumash where God promises us that the Jewish people won’t face war, like “וחרב לא תבא בארצכם—The sword shall not pass through your land” (Leviticus 26:6). But a vision of no nation fighting against another, I think this is the first such instance.

This vision also illustrates to us that war is not a Jewish ideal. We’ll engage in war when needed, but we do so with an acute awareness that we’re still living in the pre-messianic times.

Yet, however inspiring this vision is, what people forget is that the universal peace envisioned by Isaiah is the outcome of two antecedents: 1) People will choose to go to learn Torah, 2) They will accept the teachings that come from Jerusalem. In Abarbanel’s explanation, it is either the holiness of the House of the Lord or the words of the prophecies that will rebuke the nations.

So what we should truly be longing for is for all people to seek God and His ways. There’s much more that could be said—especially in light of recent events and the renewed talk of peace. I won’t venture into politics, but I will say this: we must remember the root cause of conflict and pray with all our hearts for the spiritual renewal that will allow us to look back in wonder at all the human ingenuity once devoted to weapons of war—and to see it, at last, turned toward building a lasting peace.

For today’s lesson, we’ll put Isaiah on pause and dive into something special for Yom Kippur—the book of Yona, the text we read on this holy day.

We’ll look at just the first three verses, but even these opening lines hold insights that can guide us through the rest of the book and make our Yom Kippur more meaningful.

I’ve lightly abridged Abarbanel’s commentary. My additions are in italics, and I’ve used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow.

I’ll share Abarbanel’s overview, the verses, his questions and answers, and finally conclude with a short takeaway of my own. I hope you’ll share yours as well.

Jeff

Overview

The general intent of this prophecy, the entire book of Yona, is to make known that the counsel of the Lord stands forever, and the word of our God endures always. Therefore the prophets trusted their prophecies and declared future events, knowing truly that God is not a man to lie.

This was already seen in practice with Yonah son of Amittai, whom God commanded to prophesy not to Israel but to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. Yonah did not want to go, because he knew the evils and exiles Assyria would bring on the tribes of Israel. He wished instead that Assyria be destroyed, and Nineveh, its capital, wiped out. For this reason he fled. But the Lord, who directs all deeds, sent a storm at sea, until the sailors were forced to throw Yonah, the sinful soul, into the water.

Even there he was not abandoned: the fish that swallowed him guarded him like the pupil of the eye, until Yonah was driven to pray to God. Then He brought him out, and he went to fulfill his mission. For nothing is hidden from the Lord, and all is in His hand, like clay in the hand of the potter, to shape as He wills.

Photo of the Jaffa coast by רון סרפיק

Verses

1. The word of the Lord came to Yona son of Amitai:

2. “Rise up—go to the great city of Nineveh and cry out against it, for its cruel evil has come into my sight.”

3. But Yona rose instead to flee to Tarshish, away from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Yafo, found a ship bound for Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down inside the ship to sail away with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord’s presence.

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Questions

First question
Why did God send Yonah to Nineveh? God’s special providence was promised only to Israel—“The Lord’s portion is His people” (Deut. 32:12). Other nations are under the rule of ministering forces, and God never sent prophets to rebuke Egypt, Babylon, or other sinful nations. Why then Nineveh?

Second question
Why did Yonah try to flee from before the Lord? Scripture teaches there is no escaping God’s presence. The sages offered two reasons: (1) because gentiles were quick to repent, and this might shame Israel; (2) because if Nineveh repented, they might say Yonah was a false prophet. But both explanations seem weak, since their repentance itself proved they believed him, and what did it matter to Yonah if they later called him false? Besides, at first God only told him to proclaim their evil, not to announce destruction.

Answers

First Answer
God’s command that Yonah go to Nineveh, “the great city,” was not because of any special providence or love for them, as there is for Israel. Ibn Ezra had suggested that Nineveh was long God-fearing and only recently began to do evil, which is why a prophet was sent. But this is not correct. The meaning of “great city to God” will be explained later.

The true reason is this: Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the nation decreed to bring punishment on Israel for its sins. God had already determined that Assyria would be the rod of His anger against Samaria and its daughters, as the prophet says: “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My wrath.”

If Nineveh and Assyria were destroyed for their own violence and corruption, they would no longer be able to serve as God’s instrument of judgment.

Therefore, God sought to warn them through Yonah—not to grant them the same divine oversight and providence given to Israel, but to prevent their immediate ruin. By sparing them, they would remain prepared to carry out the destruction of Israel at the appointed time. This is the reason for Yonah’s mission: not because of God’s affection for Nineveh, but so that Assyria would be preserved as the tool of divine punishment.

Second Answer
Yonah understood that if he went to Nineveh and they repented, Assyria would be spared and later become the instrument to destroy Israel. He could not bear to be the cause of saving Israel’s enemies and bringing calamity on his own people.

So he chose to flee from before the Lord—that is, to leave the land of Israel, where prophecy rests, thinking that outside the land prophecy would not come upon him and he would not be forced to deliver the message.

The sages explained that Yonah sought “the honor of the son and not the honor of the Father”—meaning he preferred to protect Israel even at the expense of disobeying God’s command. Like Moses and David, who offered themselves for Israel, Yonah was even willing to perish at sea rather than deliver salvation to Assyria.

His flight was not denial of God’s power—he knew there is no escaping God’s presence—but an attempt to remove himself from the state of prophecy, so he would not be the means of sparing Assyria. In this way the second question is resolved.

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Takeaway

A few themes stand out from Abarbanel’s answers.

First, prophecy is bound to the land of Israel. While there are rare exceptions, the central point is the spiritual elevation of the land—it is uniquely suited for God’s presence to rest upon His prophets.

Second, God’s plan encompasses everything, even painful moments like the destruction of the First Temple. We may not always understand why suffering occurs, but we can know how it occurs—through God’s will and design.

Third, Yonah shows us that it can be acceptable, even praiseworthy, to struggle and argue with God. Yet in the end, like Yonah, we must also learn to accept His will.

With these reflections, may we all enter Yom Kippur with deeper faith and acceptance, and may this Yom Kippur greet us in peace.

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My additions here are in italics. I've used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow.

I’ve included a brief overview, the verses, an abridged version of Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own. I hope you’ll share yours.

I’m going to take a short break for the Jewish Holidays, with the exception of a special lesson for September 26 on the Book of Yonah.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, שנה טובה, Anyada buena i dulse.

Jeff

Overview

This prophecy fortells God’s destruction, redemption, and destruction once again.

Before we look at Abarbanel’s explanation, here are a few foundational concepts to keep in mind:

• Children of Israel — Refers to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. After King Solomon’s reign, the united kingdom split into the north and south. The northern kingdom was steeped in idol worship—partly due to the influence of surrounding cultures, and partly for political reasons, to prevent people from traveling south to Jerusalem for worship.

• Children of Judah — Refers to the Southern Kingdom. Judah remained more faithful to God and was always ruled by a descendant of King David.

• Sennacherib — King of Assyria (705–681 BCE) who conquered the Northern Kingdom. He advanced toward Jerusalem and openly mocked God, until God forced him to retreat to Assyria.

• Ahaz — King of Judah (735–720 BCE), remembered as an evil king.

• Hezekiah — King of Judah (715–686 BCE), one of the most faithful and devoted kings in Judah’s history.

Okay, now let’s get into the verses.

Verses

24. And so, says the Master, the Lord of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
    Woe! I will find consolation—crush My foes,
    Wreak vengeance on my enemies.

25. I shall set My hand against you again,
    As if smelting, refining away your dross;
    I will remove all your lead.

26. I will set up your judges again as first they were,
    Your counselors as long ago.
    Then you will be called Righteous City, Faithful Metropolis.

27. Zion will be redeemed by justice,
    Those who return to her by righteousness.

28. Rebels and sinners will all be broken,
    Those who forsook the Lord, all gone.

29. How ashamed you will be of the oaks that you longed for,
    How mortified over the gardens you chose.

30. For you will be like an oak with withered leaves,
    Like a garden that sees no water.

31. The mighty oak will become flax fibers
    And the one who once carved them the spark;
    The two will burn together,
    And no one will be there to quench the fire.

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Questions

The sixth question: in that here the matters came mixed, from evil to good and from good to evil. For they said, “Alas, I will be comforted from My adversaries and I will take vengeance on My enemies” (Isaiah 1:24) — that is an evil prediction. And they said immediately, “And I will restore your judges as at first… Zion shall be redeemed with justice” (Isaiah 1:26–27) — that is a good prediction and consolation.

And it returned immediately to an evil prediction in saying, “And the breaking of transgressors… for they shall be ashamed of the terebinths… and the strong shall be as tow” (Isaiah 1:28–31).

And so the matters came confused, evil with good and good with evil, which is not proper.

Verses 24-25 foretell destruction. 26-27 are a promise of redemption. Then 28–31 again foretell destruction. It seems mixed up.

Answers

…Isaiah said, “And I will turn My hand upon you and smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy” (Isaiah 1:25) — for all this was said concerning the sinners of Israel in the days of Ahaz.

He also promised them—the children of Judah—that they would not go into exile at that time, for yet a little, in the days of Hezekiah his son, their honor would return to its strength.

And concerning him, Hezekiah, it said, “And I will restore your judges as at the first and your counselors as at the beginning” (Isaiah 1:26). And this will be after Jerusalem is called “The city of righteousness, the faithful city,” meaning that the children of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will return from their evil ways and cleave to their God.

Then, “Zion shall be redeemed with justice” (Isaiah 1:27) — and the redemption was from the hand of Sennacherib when he came upon them in the days of Hezekiah, as he will mention afterward. And “her returnees” — that is, the children of Jerusalem who returned to the Lord — will be redeemed from under his hand through the righteousness that will be found among them.

And after mentioning what would happen to the children of Judah, he mentioned the punishment of the children of Israel, the calf-worshippers. And concerning them he said, “And the breaking of the transgressors and the sinners together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed” (Isaiah 1:28)...

…So it has become clear from this that the prophet foretold evil things according to what happened — whether what was in the days of Ahaz, or what was in the days of Hezekiah, the good in being saved from the hand of Sennacherib, and also the destruction of Samaria which was in his—Isaiah’s—days.

And with this the sixth question which I raised is resolved, and the explanation of the prophecy is completed.

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Takeaways

Based on Abarbanel’s answer, the takeaway is that God’s messages to His people always follow a clear logic and order. The righteous will ultimately be rewarded, while the wicked will be punished.

At the same time, perhaps the very tension—the mixing of redemption and destruction—is itself part of the message. As I follow what is happening to the Jewish people in Israel and around the world, I can’t help but notice how much of life feels mixed up. One day brings terrible news. The next, an astonishing miracle. Then comes tragedy again. And through it all, God remains present, guiding the story from behind the scenes.

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Today’s lesson is the second part of Isaiah’s opening rebuke of the Jewish people, chapter 1, verses 10-17. For the first part, see The Vision of Isaiah.

I’ll include the a short overview, the verses, Abarbanel’s questions and his answers. I’ll conclude with a short takeaway of my own. I hope you’ll share yours.

My additions here are in italics. I've used bold to highlight key ideas and make the content easier to follow.

Jeff

Overview

This is the second part of the opening prophecy. In it, Isaiah continues to tear into the Jewish people for their lack of sincere service. During the First Temple, people focused more on the action—bringing a sacrifice—than on the worship behind it.

For background: Sedom and Amora are the cities God destroyed in Genesis for their extreme corruption and wickedness, Genesis 18–19.

Isaiah expresses God’s disgust at the people’s observance of the holidays, which is where Abarbanel directs his questions.

This section closes with a plea for the Jewish people to improve, to seek justice, judge the case of the orphan, fight for the widow.

I highly encourage you to read the verses slowly. Try to experience them Imagine you’re listening to Isaiah actually deliver them, perhaps in the city square. If you feel like you could use some help with poetry, read my short essay The Poetry of Prayer. Or just read Psalm 19 while watching the sun rise; or Psalm 8 on a starry night.

Verses

10. Listen to the word of the Lord, you officers of Sedom;

    Hear the teachings of our God, you townsmen of Amora.

11. Why, says the Lord, would I want all these offering?
    I’m sated with burnt offerings, with rams and fleshy creatures’ fat.
    The blood of bulls and sheep and goats—I do not want them.

12. You come, appear before Me.
    Who asked this of you?
    Who asked you for all of this—trampling my courtyards?

13. Bring no more your empty gifts—they are foul incense to Me;
    New Moon and Sabbath, the feast days you proclaim—
    I cannot endure these sins and assemblies.

14. Your New Moons and festivals, how I hate them;
    they have become a burden to me.
    I am weary, I cannot bear them.

15. When you spread your hands skyward, I turn My eyes away.
    When you keep praying, I’m not listening.
    Your hands are covered in blood.

16. Wash them, be clean now, remove your terrible deeds from My Sight;
    Stop bringing about such evils.

17. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct what is cruel.
    Rule justice for the orphans; fight the widows’ cause.

Questions

About the verse: “Your New Moons and festivals, how I hate them; they have become a burden to me. I am weary, I cannot bear them.”

But the festivals and new months were commanded by the Torah! It says: “These are the appointed festivals of the Lord, sacred assemblies…”

So how could it say that His soul hated them?

And if you say it was because of the people's many sins—then it still shouldn't say that He hated the festivals and new months, but rather that He hated their evil deeds.

And it’s also difficult: Why did it only mention your new months and your festivals and not also your Sabbaths? The Sabbaths were mentioned in the previous verse, why not in this one also?

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Answer

“Your New Moons and festivals…”

Because they would gather on the festival days that they themselves made, for the service of the foreign gods that they worshiped, therefore Isaiah said the new moons and the appointed times that you make for yourselves.

Those I have hated…they have been a burden upon Me, and I have grown weary of bearing them.

And He did not mention the Sabbath, because idol worshipers did not make the Sabbath on their own, but rather only festivals and new moons.

After answering both questions, Abarbanel now offers a different approach.

And it is also possible to explain that He hated the festivals and new moons that the Torah mentioned, that they were doing—because all of them were for eating to fullness… and they did not mention God or serve Him at all.

For even while they were idle on those days, and eating and drinking wine, they would strike one another with stone or with fist. And it was as if those days, which were holy in themselves, would in their deeds become causes of sins and crimes, and they became brokers of transgression. And therefore He said that His soul hated them. And with this, the fifth question has been resolved.

In summary, Abarbanel offers two answers:

1. The people were idolatrous, and celebrated idolatrous practices. That’s why God hated those holidays. They didn’t celebrate the Sabbath, which would only be kept by people trying to recognize God’s divinity.

2. The people “kept” the law of the festivals, but did so only to eat and drink and ended up fighting. They didn’t worship God in any meaningful way.

According to this second answer, it’s not clear why “Sabbaths” were not also mentioned. Perhaps because on the Shabbat, just stopping work indicates that one recognizes God who also stopped working after seven days. But on the festivals, where some types of work are permitted, they day is only imbued with holiness if people make an effort to dedicate themselves to God.

Takeaway

There’s a pretty obvious lesson to learn from this: make the holidays a time to focus on and celebrate God. That goes for during the holiday and the lead up to it.

How often do we complain about the amount of work needed to get ready for Passover? Or how expensive are all the preparations for the fall holidays?

We need to take a step back and remember why we’re doing and observing what we do and approach each holiday as a special destination, event, and opportunity to connect with God.

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