Yitro - A Parasha of Peace (Yishayahu 6)

 

Revelation at Sinai and Revelation in the Temple

 

It is obvious that the revelation at Sinai is the climax and focal point of the parasha, and it would seem fitting that the haftora chosen to accompany such a parasha should also concern itself with the subject of the giving of the Torah. It is therefore most surprising to discover that the haftora selected in fact deals with the consecration of the prophet Yishayahu. It appears that the intention was to draw a parallel between the two revelations – the one at Sinai and the one that Yishayahu witnessed in the Temple.

 

Although many elements of the two revelations are not similar, the common theme concerns the connection between the Creator of the Universe, seated on His elevated and lofty throne, and His creations – or at least some of them. This teaches us that the vision at Sinai was not a one-time experience, but rather a type of introduction to future revelations. In fact, this was promised to Moshe when God first spoke to him at Sinai: "And they will believe in you also forever" (19:9). Explains the Mekhilta: "[They will believe] in you and in the prophets who are destined to follow you."

 

An important difference between the two revelations is that the revelation at Sinai took place before the eyes of the entire nation: "And the whole nation saw the sounds..." (20:15). They heard the first two of the Ten Commandments from God Himself (Makkot 24a), and this was a national experience. In the case of Yishayahu, on the other hand, God revealed Himself to Yishayahu alone. True, he was asked thereafter to bring God's word to the nation, but the crux of the revelation was his own private prophetic experience.

 

Perhaps this prophecy was chosen as the haftora in order to teach us that even the revelation at Sinai had a personal aspect to it. The fact that the entire nation witnessed it together in no way negated the utterance directed at each and every individual personally: "The [ten] commandments were all uttered in the singular... for He spoke to each person; each was commanded [individually]" (Ramban, commenting on "I am the Lord your God...," 20:2). And according to the midrashim, not only did each person hear, but each absorbed what was said according to his own level and ability. In the words of our Sages (Shemot Rabba 29:1), "'God's voice [came] in strength' – i.e., according to the strength [ability] of each individual; the learned ones according to their ability and the younger ones according to theirs." And in the Midrash Tanchuma we learn, "Rabbi Levi said, God appeared to Israel as a vision that had a face on every side, so that a thousand people could [simultaneously] be looking at it and it could be looking at all of them; so it was that when God spoke, each person of Israel said, 'He spoke to me.' [Thus] it does not say, "I am the Lord your [plural] God," but rather "...your [singular] God." This is not such a surprising phenomenon, for we find in the case of the manna that fell for Israel that its taste was suited to each person individually, and if this could happen with manna, then how much more so could this have been the case concerning God's word."

 

Thus, the entire nation reached a level of prophecy, and each individual was a prophet almost on the level of Yishayahu. And the revelation to Yishayahu, who saw God sitting on His great and elevated throne, may be meant to remind the listeners to his prophecy of another revelation that took place close to the time of the giving of the Torah – a revelation which appears not in our parasha but rather in parashat Mishpatim: "And they saw the God of Israel and under His feet it was as though paved with sapphires... and they beheld God..." (24:10-11).

 

The First and the Last

 

On the eve of the revelation at Sinai, the nation was presented with a lofty ideal: "And you shall be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (19:6). Reading this, we too are seized with the inspiration and enthusiasm of the nation who answered together, "Everything that God has spoken we shall do" (19:8).

 

What a gloomy picture arises, in contrast, from the haftora! Yishayahu testifies, "I dwell amongst a nation of impure lips" (6:5), and his vision for the nation is a harsh one: "...Until the cities be laid waste without inhabitant, and the houses without a single person... and God will have removed man far away..." (6:11-12). It seems that of the Sinaitic vision there remains neither any ideals nor any people to realize them.

 

But on the strength of the first revelation at Sinai, there arises the great hope that, despite all the problems, if the people will only look and listen and understand, then they will "return and be healed" (6:10). There still remains hope of repentance and healing. Although the "holy nation" appears on the point of destruction, a remnant will still remain: "...the holy seed is its immovable stump" (6:13).

 

Filling the Earth

 

Yishayahu hears the angels calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the entire world is filled with His glory" (6:3). It is as though the angels are declaring, 'God's glory is not confined to the Temple; it fills the world.'

 

It is important that such a declaration be heard in juxtaposition with the description of the Sinaitic experience. It would appear at first that there is something unique about the mountain, which is consecrated in preparation for the revelation ("Set bounds about the mountain and sanctify it" (19:23)). But in fact, the sanctity of the mountain is only temporary: "And when the long blast is sounded they will ascend the mountain" (19:13), for God's glory indeed fills the entire world.

 

Subjugation

 

Yishayahu was different from the other prophets. The others were not immediately willing to go out and fulfill their mission. Even Moshe Rabbeinu, the father of all prophets, remained steadfast in his refusal for a while, and Yirmiyahu, too, asked not to be given the prophetic mission. Yishayahu, on the other hand, "volunteers" to go even before he is asked to do so: "And I heard God's voice saying, 'Who shall I send, and who shall go for us?', and I said, 'Here I am – send me'" (6:8).

 

The special mission may have held an element of coercion, such that afterwards it would be impossible not to accept the mission. And this is like the "overturning of the mountain like a bucket" which occurred, we learn, at Sinai (see Shabbat 88a). This is interpreted as a sort of internal coercion – a person could not but respond in the face of the unique revelation (as explained by the Meshekh Chokhma on the words, "and they stood at the foot of the mountain" (19:17)).

 

All its Paths are Peace

 

According to Sefaradi custom, the haftora consists of chapter 6. The Ashkenazi custom is somewhat strange: A few pesukim (verses) are added from chapter 7, and then a long section is omitted (from 7:7 through 9:4) in order to arrive at the pesukim deemed appropriate to conclude the haftora. Although the phenomenon of leaving out certain pesukim is not unique to this haftora, the length of the omission in this instance makes it unusual. (The pesukim from chapter 7 were apparently added in order to ensure that the haftora would still have the minimum 21 pesukim.)

 

It seems that it was particularly important that the haftora conclude with the specific pesukim selected from chapter 9. What is common to them is the theme of peace: "And his name will be 'pele yo'etz el gibor avi-ad' prince of peace; for the increase of the realm and for peace without end..." (9:5-6).

 

If we seek a theme common to all parts of the parasha, we arrive again at the idea of peace. At the start of the parasha, Tzippora returns to Moshe after having been sent away, and when Yitro and Moshe meet they "asked each other of their welfare [peace]" (18:7). The very arrival of Yitro in the Israelite camp brings tidings of peace, especially in light of what took place at the end of parashat Beshalach – the war against Amalek. Yitro's advice as to the organization of a judicial system is also intended so that "all of this nation will go to their place in peace" (18:23).

 

Peace within the camp of Israel, "like one person with one heart" (Rashi on 19:2) is what made it possible for the Torah to be given. The Torah itself was given only in order to bring peace to the world: "Great is peace, for the whole Torah was given in order to bring peace to the world, as it is written: 'Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace'" (Rambam, end of Sefer Zemanim). An analysis of the Ten Commandments shows that their goal, too, is to create peace.

 

Even at the end of the parasha, we find a hint at the importance of peace: "And if you build Me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stone, for if you raise up your sword to it then you have defiled it" (20:22). The Mekhilta explains, "We are told 'Build it of complete stones (avanim sheleimot)' – stones which bring peace. And we may deduce as follows: If concerning stones – which do not see or hear or speak, but which bring peace between Israel and their Father in heaven [because they serve as the altar for the sacrifices] – God says that no metal shall be raised over them, then someone who makes peace between one person and another, between man and wife, between one city and another, between two nations, between governments, between families – surely no harm will come to him."

 

This may have been the intention behind the selection of the haftora – the emphasis of the theme of peace, which runs throughout the parasha. And it is to be found in chapter 9 of Yishayahu – "Prince of peace – for the increase of the realm and for peace without end."

Translated by Kaeren Fish