Haftorah Parashat Lech Lecha
HAFTARAT LECH LECHA
12 November, 10 MarHeshvan
Yesh. 40:27—41:16 (Note that our haftarah continues the book of Yeshayahu from just after the end of the haftarah for Shabbat Nahamu).
Apparent Reason for Reading this Haftarah: I assume most of us believe that we read this section of the Prophets because of 41;8, where the Jews are referred to as “zera Avraham ohavi, the descendants of Avraham who loved Me.”
The Haftarah, Summarized: A closer look at the section as a whole suggests that it is taking on a central issue of Jewish faith, the belief in Providence and how to go about interpreting it. Yeshayahu opens up by referring to the Jewish people as Yaakov, which the Midrash (BR 91;10) thinks refers to that Patriarch’s having always experienced God’s hand as punishing, even when—as with Yosef’s sale—it was the Divine way of bringing about a future in a gentler fashion than originally planned. (The Midrash thinks that Yaakov had originally been slated to be dragged to Egypt in chains; God instead had him brought there by his love of Yosef).
The Jewish people’s error seems to be slightly different, in that they think God has simply stopped paying attention to them. The linking of the two (meaning, the prophet’s calling the people as a whole by the name Yaakov, assuming that the characteristic of Yaakov has stayed with the people) suggests that both are problematic experiences of God’s impact on the world—we can err in denying the impact or by misinterpreting it, seeing as punitive that which is meant as helpful.
The antidote to these errors is to remember the legacy of Avraham Avinu. Shabbat 156b reads 45;2 as meaning that Hashem brought Avraham from the East, a “bringing” that includes with it the weaning of Avraham from astrology. Avraham rejected idol-worship—which Jewish tradition has often seen as an attempt by people to try to control their futures—but still thought that Nature would control what happened to him. When Yitshak is born, Avraham (and, we hope, all the rest of human history) learn that God controls what happens, and does so with positive goals.
As a nation, then, we have a multifaceted legacy from our forefathers, with each one having particular strengths. In this haftarah, the strength of Avraham is helping forestall what eventually overtook Yaakov, the sense of either abandonment or of being repeatedly and continually punished by a forbidding God. Hashem comes here to point out that Avraham had it right, and that we as a nation should feel confident that a) Hashem is paying attention to us, and b) is doing so with positive intent and value in mind. To secure the best form of that Providence, all we need to do is to shape our lives and turn our hearts towards Hashem, and then we will have all the benefits mentioned.
A Broader Perspective on the Connection: One of the aims of the Torah—and of Avraham’s role—that I only slowly have come to realize is its interest in combating people’s attempts, from the beginning of time, to control Nature in supernatural ways. Rather than being a victim of the vagaries of time, people want to be captains of their ship; there are acceptable and even laudable ways of doing that, such as by rotating crops or learning how to better nutrify the soil. Other ways, such as idol worship or witchcraft, are decidedly not. In the parasha, we see Avraham walking a different path than the rest of the world, learning to place his ultimate faith in God (although he also paid attention to the natural means he had of controlling his future). The haftarah is reminding us of that legacy, encouraging us to remember that God is and will be the source of good happenings for us, if only we remember to put our faith in that Providence wherever we cannot ourselves influence or shape what happens to us.
Famous Verses and Their Ramifications:
The second verse of the haftarah starts with the words “halo yadata, im lo shamata, do you not know, have you not heard,” which were used by Jewish philosophers as reminders that we need to take advantage of our different ways of learning to get to know God. There is traditional knowledge (which comes first in time), but then there is the knowledge we acquire for ourselves, and Yeshayahu is implying we need to use both. Those of philosophical bent in fact stressed that after absorbing traditions (often as children), we need to then go back and re-acquire them using our own intellects.
Hovot haLevavot takes the first two verses as asserting that God is aware and involved in what occurs on Earth; the end of this verse tells us “ein heker litvunato, there is no grasping His wisdom,” that we cannot even begin to understand how Hashem keeps track of all Creation. Sefer haIkkarim, on the other hand, just sees the phrase as emphasizing the difference between God’s knowledge and our own, a more academically inclined view.
Verse 31 has the famous phrase “ve-kov’ei Hashem yahalifu koah, and those who place their hopes in Hashem will find renewed strength,” which sources use for a variety of purposes. Kiddushin 82b uses it as part of proving that Torah knowledge is a valuable asset for a person in youth and in old age. R. Saadya Gaon, in his Emunot ve-Deot, sees it as one proof that Hashem only commands us to act in ways we have the strength to (so we can’t claim that “it’s just too hard” to keep the mitsvot of the Torah).
R. Bahya, in Hovot haLevavot, uses that verse to support one of the ways in which he differentiates between those who strive for natural success and those who study Torah; the former cannot be confident that they are immune to illness, which might ruin their enjoying the fruits of their labor. Our verse promises that will not be true for those who study Torah and seek God (unless it is as expiation for sin).
Chapter 41, verse 4 refers to Hashem as “Kore haDorot MeRosh, who calls the generations from the beginning,” which some read as meaning that Hashem knows the course of history ahead of time. This is obviously a concept that needs to be nuanced, since not all of history is predetermined. In one example, R. Yehoshua ibn Shueib assumes that God knew the Jewish people would have three exiles (Egypt, Bavel, and now), which means that they were in some way inherent to the plan of history. While too complex a topic for me, I find it interesting to wonder about from time to time— what is necessary to history (Mashiach, e.g.) and what is accidental?
[27] Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
[28] Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
[29] He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
[30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
[31] But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
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Isa.41
[1] Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
[2] Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
[3] He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
[4] Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
[5] The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
[6] They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
[7] So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
[8] But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
[9] Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
[10] Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
[11] Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
[12] Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
[13] For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
[14] Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
[15] Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
[16] Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.