[Ashekanzim
and Yemenite Jews: Yeshayahu 54:1-55:5
Sefardim:
Yeshayahu 54:1-10]
Can
the covenant between the Master of the Universe and the Nation of Israel be
cancelled on account of our sins?
This
is one of the central claims of Christian theology: the Jews ceased being the
Chosen Nation. The Nation of Israel remains only in body but not in
spirit. We were replaced by "Verus
Israel – the true Nation of Israel," which, according to their opinion, is
Christianity.
This
is certainly not the teaching of Yeshayahu in our Haftarah: "For the
mountains may move and the hills falter, but my kindness will not move from you
and My covenant of peace will not falter, says Hashem, who has mercy on
You" (Yeshayahu 54:10).
There
is no "Old Covenant" and there is no "New Covenant," just
one eternal love of the Eternal G-d for His Nation, which is also eternal. This is the "love which is not dependent
on anything" which is mentioned in Pirkei Avot (5:20); it is not
conditional and it therefore cannot be nullified. This is the love which we mention in
"Shacharit" (the morning prayers) before the Shema, i.e. "Ahavah
Rabbah" according to Ashkenazic tradition or "Ahavat Olam"
according to Sefardic tradition.
The
prophet Yirmiyahu is even more explicit: "Thus says Hashem, who gives the
sun for a light during the day and the laws of the moon and stars for a light
during the night, who sets the sea in motion and its wave to roar, the G-d of
Hosts is His Name. If these laws move
from before Me, says Hashem, then the offspring of Israel will also cease from
being a Nation before Me forever. Thus
says Hashem, if heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the earth
below searched, then I will cast off all of the offspring of Israel for all
that they have done, says Hashem" (Yirmiyahu 31:34:36). Just as the laws of nature are immutable, so
too is the law of the great history of the Chosen Nation of Israel. Yirmiyahu emphasizes that "for all that
they have done" (36), that is to say, despite all of our sins. Even if the entire natural world crumbles,
the Nation of Israel – the soul of the world – will not be consumed.
In
light of this incredible Divine love, how can we understand the Exile, and its
horrible suffering, which we experienced for such a long period? The prophet Yeshayahu encouraged us to see
this painful page of our history in the proper perspective: "For a brief
moment have I forsaken you, but with great mercies will I gather you"
(54:7). Is two thousand years of Exile
only a "brief moment"?! For
the Master of the Universe, and in relation to eternity, yes it is! Israel pleasantly confirms this in the Psalms:
"For a thousand years in Your eyes is like yesterday when it passed and
like a watch in the night" (Tehillim 90:4). In fact, we passed through the worst night,
but now the light of morning is shining on the horizon: "For you will
break forth to the right and the left, and your offspring will possess nations
and settle desolate cities" (Yeshayahu 54:3).
Are
all of these events not materializing right before our very eyes? Instead of giving our attention to the bad
news, which is spread daily by the media to depress us, we should once again
read the optimistic, positive and realistic promises of the prophet
Yeshayahu.
The
truth of the matter is that the prophet already knew that it would be difficult
for us to free ourselves from the trauma of the Exile, and the constant concern
and fear of our wanderings. So he teaches us about trust in Hashem. "Do not fear, for you will not be
shamed; and do not be humiliated, for you will not be mortified; but you will
forget the shame of your youth, and you will not remember the mortification of
your widowhood anymore" (4).
Do
not lose trust in Hashem, nor in ourselves, because of the difficult “moment”
in Exile. This period of lowliness and
destruction is finished once and for all – "In the overflowing of wrath I
hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness, I will have
mercy on you" (8).
The
era of love has returned: "Break out into song and be joyous" (1),
"Enlarge the place of your tent and stretch out the curtains of your
dwellings, spare not" (2), "Stay away from oppression for you do not
need to fear" (14).
The
era of love has arrived.
