Isaiah 2024
I’m in Baltimore until Monday helping my father adjust to being back home after being in the hospital and rehab for 2 months.
It’s a strange feeling being in Baltimore now, like I flew 12 hours only to find myself in a suburb of Israel.
At shul this morning, the rabbi’s sermon focused on the war in Israel. And all the flyers by the entrance and the signs outside the shul are about the war in Israel. And the Baltimore policeman on guard and his car sitting outside the shul have replaced the private guards the shul use to employ because of the war in Israel and the subsequent rise in antisemitism.
It feels, to me, like a tangible manifestation of the oneness of the Jewish people. Wherever we are across the globe. In London, Antwerp, Buenos Aires, Sydney, we stand together. Our cursed enemies are reminding us how much we share and love one another. May we also manage to stand together in times of joy and peace.
Today at shul, I skipped over the Torah portion with all its curses (enough worrying news in the newspaper…too much to read even more bad news in the parsha:) And I read through the haftorah instead, and found it so current. So inspiring. So comforting regarding the conflicts we find ourselves embroiled in today, despite the fact that Isaiah wrote these eternal words 2600 years ago:
לֹֽא־יִשָּׁמַ֨ע ע֚וֹד חָמָס֙ בְּאַרְצֵ֔ךְ שֹׁ֥ד וָשֶׁ֖בֶר בִּגְבוּלָ֑יִךְ וְקָרָ֚את יְשׁוּעָה֙ חֽוֹמֹתַ֔יִךְ וּשְׁעָרַ֖יִךְ תְּהִלָּֽה:
לֹא יִהְיֶה לָּךְ עוֹד הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לְאוֹר יוֹמָם וּלְנֹגַהּ הַיָּרֵחַ לֹא יָאִיר לָךְ וְהָיָה לָךְ יְהוָה לְאוֹר עוֹלָם וֵאלֹהַיִךְ לְתִפְאַרְתֵּךְ.
לֹא יָבוֹא עוֹד שִׁמְשֵׁךְ וִירֵחֵךְ לֹא יֵאָסֵף כִּי יְהוָה יִהְיֶה לָּךְ לְאוֹר עוֹלָם וְשָׁלְמוּ יְמֵי אֶבְלֵךְ.
“Violence [Hamas] shall no longer be heard in your land, neither robbery nor destruction within your borders, and salvation [will be your] walls and praise [will be your] gates.
“You shall no longer have the sun for light by day, and for brightness, the moon shall not give you light, but the Lord shall be to you for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.”
I read Isaiah’s messianic vision 2 times from start to finish, savoring every word. The return of the dispersed Jewish people to Jerusalem from the 4 corners of the earth, the defeat and submission of our enemies who come to respect the Jewish people and join us to serve Hashem together in a redeemed Jerusalem.
Reading it, the vision was so sweet, I didn’t want to leave it behind. I just wanted to stay on that page, within that page.
Please Hashem bring it from the page to life.
[Painting by Baruch Nachshon]