Haftarah for Vaetchanan

This Haftarah is drawn from the book of Yeshayahu, the prophet whose words of both warning and comfort span the years of Yehudah's kings and its looming exile. Here the prophet turns from rebuke to consolation, speaking of how it will be in the days of the Mashiach, the anointed redeemer who will gather Israel from exile.

The passage addresses Yerushalayim directly, telling her that her term of service is over and her sins expiated. The prophet reminds us that Israel has endured two exiles, one in Bavel and the second the one in which we still find ourselves, both consequences of the great sins the people committed. Against that background, the opening cry of comfort carries its full weight.

A voice calls to clear a path in the desert, so that Israel may travel to Yerushalayim from their exile, and this same road becomes a highway for our God, who will be the leader guiding Israel home. In those days the road will be made level, so that the people will not tire in their walking as one does when climbing a mountain. Because the Holy One will provide all Israel's needs even in the desert, His glory will be revealed to all the nations, and the whole world will see that the prophecies have been fulfilled, for they came from God.

A prophetic voice then bids the prophet proclaim. Those who come with Gog and Magog will be destroyed like grass that quickly withers, and even their acts of kindness will not be remembered, for their sins are too many, while the word of our God endures. The prophet is told to ascend a high mountain, from which his voice carries far, and to bring good news to Zion and Yerushalayim, the primary cities of the land, that they in turn may announce the Redemption to the other cities and not be afraid.

Behold, the Lord comes in might, ruling by Himself, needing no help from any person or angel. His reward is with Him, for the one who relies on the Holy One in exile and believes He will bring him out will soon receive his reward for the good. Like a good shepherd who carries the small lambs in his hands and leads the mother slowly, so will God lead Israel gently out of exile.

Should the nations wonder how God can redeem Israel after so many years of captivity, the prophet answers that this is nothing new for Him. He measured the waters of the world in the hollow of His hand, created the heavens with a span, and divided the earth into three parts, and He weighed the mountains with proper measure. Who has ever advised or taught the Holy One how to create the world? Before Him the nations are like a drop in a bucket or a speck of dust one can blow away, and He can overturn them as easily as something thin and light.

The prophet warns the nations not to compare their foreign gods to our God. Their idol is shaped by a woodworker and overlaid with gold by a smith, or, for the poor person lacking silver, carved from a strong wood that will not rot, set firm so it should not topple. How can they be so mistaken? A person of intelligence can understand who is Lord of the world, who is enthroned on high, seeing everything from a distance while the earth's inhabitants seem as grasshoppers. He spreads the heavens like a tent and brings proud rulers to nothing, for they are neither rooted nor planted, and a wind blows them away like straw. Finally He bids us lift our eyes to the stars He created, knowing each one's number and calling each by name, for not one fails to appear.

The heart of this Haftarah is comfort grounded in the boundless power of the Creator. The very God who measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and weighed the mountains on a scale is the God who will surely redeem Israel from the strong hands of the nations, for nothing before Him is difficult. It is a great mitzvah to rely on the Holy One during exile and to believe that He will bring us out of it, awaiting the day when His glory is revealed and all flesh, as one, will behold the fulfillment of His word.