from the teachings of the Rebbe on the Torah portion
This week we read the Torah portion of Ki Teitzei. The Haftora is a prophecy Yishayahu (Isaiah).
The Haftora has a double theme. First, when Moshiach comes, things will be so good that we will forget the hardships of the exile. Second, the redemption will be absolute, never to be followed by another exile.
The Haftora begins, “Sing, barren one, who has not given birth.” Who is this barren one?
A simple explanation is that G-d is talking to the city of Jerusalem, which feels like a barren woman, who has never given birth, because she is desolate during this long exile. G-d tells her to sing, as now that Moshiach is here, her streets are once again filled with her children and she doesn’t feel barren any more.
On a deeper level, G-d is talking to the Jews who claims that the Jewish people are barren and have not given birth to him. Meaning, he has totally disassociated himself from the Jewish nation. G-d is saying that even the person who is unaffiliated or disaffected will sing the song we will sing when Moshiach comes.
The revelation will be so great that we will break out in song, just as we did at the splitting of the sea. Every Jews will be included, even the “barren” one, who is in the darkest place. The revelation and transformation will be so great, that s/he too will break out in song.
The exile will then seem as a fleeting dream as the Haftora says, “For a brief moment I forsook you.” This will be because, as the verse continues, “with great compassion I will gather you.” The next verse continues, “With a little wrath, I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness, I will have compassion on you... “
What is clear from these verses, is that when Moshiach comes, it will be so good, that the exile will feel like we endured it only for a brief moment.
Now the Haftora says, “Like the waters of Noah, this is to Me, just as I swore to never again cover the earth with the waters of Noah, so have I sworn not to be wrathful with you and not to rebuke you (ever again).” G-d calls the flood “the waters of Noah” because the name “Noach” is like the word “nachat,”–pleasure–indicating that the floor was positive and changed the world for good. The same is true about this exile. When Moshiach comes, we will see how everything we went through in this exile directly made the world ready for Moshiach. We will see the positive in it all.
Like beacons of light, this Haftora is read two times in the year - once with the portion of Noach at the beginning of the year and now at the end of the year–to remind us that though our work is difficult and the exile is dark, what we are accomplishing is tremendous and our reward is even greater.
Adapted by Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz from the teachings of the Rebbe, yitzihurwitz.blogspot.com. Rabbi Hurwitz, who is battling ALS, and his wife Dina, are emissaries of the Rebbe in Temecula, Ca.
