The vision of Yeshayahu son of Amotz. (Haftarah)
We are in the midst of a series of ten haftaros that have a special theme. There are three that speak of punishment, to which this week’s haftarah belongs, and then come seven that speak of consolation. Ten in all.
The number ten, throughout the Torah, corresponds to the ten sefiros, which are the foundation of the whole world. The world was created through ten Divine statements, and at Har Sinai there were Ten Commandments, and so on.
The number ten encompasses the entire range of a given subject. It represents fullness and completion and perfection. And ten always divides into three and seven. This is a rule without exception. The subset of seven is alluded to in the verse לֹי כִּד כֹהוַהְח וַצֵּנַהְת וֶרֶאְפִּתַהְה וָרּבוְּגַהְה וָּלֻדְּגַ הָךְץ לֶרָאָבּם וִיָּמָּׁשַּב.
This is the seven sefiros of chesed, gevurah, etc. And the subset of three is comprised of keser, chochmah and binah. Another way to break them down is chochmah, binah and daas. Ten always divides into three and seven.
However, the pasuk quoted above, from Tehillim, speaks only of the seven and not of the three. Why? Because the three are always the root. They are hidden, just as roots are not usually visible to the eye. The Torah “hides” the three because הנסתרות לה’ אלקינו – “The hidden things are for Hashem our G-d.”
To illustrate the point, let’s say you see a certain object. This object expresses the seven above-mentioned traits. Chesed, gevurah, etc. But how was this object made? By chochmah, by binah and by daas.
In other words, whenever we encounter three and seven, the three are the root, the source, and the seven are the edifice itself, that which is built by the hidden three.
This is wonderfully alluded to by a verse from Parshas Eikev:
Hashem your G-d is bringing you to a good land, a land of streams of water, springs and underground water sources that emerge in the valleys and mountains. A land of wheat and barley and grapevines and figs and pomegranates; a land of oil-producing olive trees and honey-producing date trees.
Three sources are mentioned in the pasuk: streams of water, springs, underground water sources. And that which is built on top of them is seven: “Wheat, barley, etc.” They are the seven species for which Eretz Yisrael is praised.
Now let’s apply the idea. We see that there are three haftaros speaking of punishment, followed by seven speaking of consolation. This means that the punishment and mourning are actually the root of the nechamah that follows!
This is an amazing idea. The three weeks of mourning are the root and fountain from which grows the nechamah. As Chazal say: Whoever mourns over Yerushalayim will merit seeing its joy.
These days of mourning cause the nechamah to come, may we all merit seeing it very soon.
