Sunday, July 25, 2010

A Beautiful Thought

I have been banned from my local shul because of my rebellious behavior, but I continue my readings at home -- in exile.

This week's haftorah is the second of a series of seven "haftorot of Consolation." These seven haftarot commence on the Shabbat following Tisha b'Av and continue until Rosh Hashanah.

The exiled Jewish people express their concern that G‑d has abandoned them. G‑d reassures them that it is not so, comparing His love and mercy for His people to that of a mother for her children, and even greater than that, too.

The prophet Isaiah then touchingly describes the ingathering of the "rootless cosmopolitans" which will occur with the Messiah's arrival and returning to the initial subject matter of this haftorah, that of the Jewish people's complaint of being abandoned by G-d, he reminds them of their rebellious behavior that brought about the exile and suffering. He concludes with encouraging words, reminding us of what had happened to our ancestors, Abraham and Sarah. Just as they were blessed with a child when they had all but given up hope, so too, G‑d will send us the Messiah.

1 comment:

My Daily Struggles said...

I subscribe to chabad.org

They send me an email every day telling me about my weekly readings and everything else a Jew needs to do that day and week. It's magnificent. Every Jew should subscribe.

It's sponsored by the Lubavitchers. They keep the candle burning for Jews who don't even know what a candle is.

One of the things about the Jewish religion I love is that everything is parables and metaphors.