Parashat Devarim (the words) Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22
HafTorah Isaiah1:1-27
Dear friends,
This week, we begin the reading and study of the last book of the Torah, that of Devorim (Deuteronomy) with Moses's first discourse summing up all that has occured from the release from Egyptian bondage to the brink of entering the Promised Land.
And, we chant the third and final Haftorah of Rebuke leading up to Tisha B’Av, we transition from the prophesies of Jeremiah to those of Isaiah who lived about 100 years before Jeremiah active as a prophet between around 740 and 701 B.C.E. Like Jeremiah, Isaiah is born into nobility and could have lived a life of comparative leisure. However, during his lifetime, the Kingdom of Assyria arose and conquered the Kingdom of Syria and most of Israel, leaving the Kingdom of Judea and the city of Jerusalem threatened but still intact.
Isaiah witnesses the decay of society and predicts that this decay has the potential to destroy Israel and the moral fabric for which it had stood. In this time of upheaval, he attempted to convey a message of holiness to the leaders and the general public. He felt that the moral destiny of the entire world hung in the balance. And ultimately, he was correct. But like all the prophets, even though they might predict “gloom and doom”, they offer their fellow humans, the opportunity to return to a righteous and just life. Life Jeremiah, Isaiah’s end is a tragic one. His peaceful preaching and passion for morality brought him into conflict with the war party and the “shallow patriots and opportunistic politicians” of the day. Tradition has it that he was killed on the orders of King Menasseh. Here are his words From Isaiah 1:10-23,27 that we read and study on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av.
Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
21 See how the faithful city has become a prostitute She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves, they all love bribes and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless, the widow’s case does not come before them
27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice and they that return of her with righteousness.
To summarize, Isaiah unveils the hypocrisy of following the physical rituals, prayers, and sacrifices of his time saying that they are not enough. What good is it to perform these religious duties, but not accordingly live a moral life? Ultimately, his words are picked up by Jeremiah but not in time to prevent the complete collapse of Judean society and tragedy that occurred on Tisha B’Av. And on Tisha B’Av itself, Tuesday, August 13th, we will read Jeremiah’s Book of Lamentations (Eicha) a graphic description of the destruction of Israel and the exile of the Jewish people. As awful as it is depicted, it along with all of Jeremiah’s and Isaiah’s prophesies, ends on a hopeful note: “Restore us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old.”
The words of Jeremiah and of Isaiah which we have chanted and studied rang so true in ancient Israel and perhaps even more so today. Let’s take advantage of these words to help make our world safer for us and for all those around us.
Please join me in-person or virtually on Zoom this evening at 7:30 pm and tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9:30 am as we gather as a minyan to pray and study. And remember that we gather once again on Tuesday, August 13th at 9:30 am to read Eicha (the Book of Lamentations) on Tisha B'Av.
Shabbat Shalom!
Ron Becker,
Spiritual Leader
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