Newsgroup: it.cultura.ebraica
Titolo: HAFTORA -14: Parashat Va'era (on Rosh Chodesh)

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                   YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
      ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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         Haftora for Rosh Chodesh (Yishayahu 66)
                    Rav Yehuda Shaviv
 
  When Rosh Chodesh, the New Moon, falls on Shabbat,  the
regular  haftora  for that Shabbat is not  read;  in  its
place  we  read a special excerpt from the end  of  Sefer
Yishayahu.   This  excerpt was no doubt selected  on  the
basis  of the next-to-last verse: "And it shall  be  each
month  and each Shabbat that all flesh will come  to  bow
down to Me, says God."
a.   Closing the Circle
 
  Close   analysis   reveals  that  our  haftora,   which
represents  the final prophecy of the book of  Yishayahu,
is  reminiscent of the first prophecy of the book,  which
we  read  on the Shabbat preceding Tish'a B'Av -  Shabbat
Chazon.   In  many  respects our haftora complements  and
completes  that prophecy.  Specifically, while chapter  1
contains  harsh rebuke of Bnei Yisrael's service  in  the
Temple and their pilgrimage there at the appointed  times
("When  you  come to appear before Me, who  has  required
this at your hand, to trample My courts?... New moons and
Shabbatot...  My  soul  hates your  new  moons  and  your
festivals."  (12-14)), in our concluding chapter  we  are
promised  that on each Shabbat and on each  Rosh  Chodesh
all  flesh  will come to bow down before  God,  and  this
prostration will be acceptable to God.  This is a promise
of hope for Israel, for Shabbat, and for Rosh Chodesh.
b.   All Flesh Will Come
  On  Sukkot  we  read  the prophecy  of  Zekharia,  that
describes  the Sukkot festival as one in which the  other
nations  are also called upon to participate.  On Shabbat
Rosh  Chodesh we share the vision of Yishayahu concerning
Rosh  Chodesh, too, as a day in which all are called upon
to  participate  and  to  come and  prostrate  themselves
before  God.   "All flesh will come ^Ö this means  all  of
humanity;  the  other nations included  (Radak  on  verse
23)."
  This is indeed a startling innovation.  Shabbat came to
the world before there was a nation of Israel, as we read
in  Bereishit:  "And  God blessed  the  seventh  day  and
sanctified it" (2:3), and the Midrash teaches  that  Adam
himself  was  commanded with regard to Shabbat:  "And  He
placed  him  in  the Garden of Eden... He  gave  him  the
commandment  of  Shabbat" (Bereishit Rabba  16:5).   Rosh
Chodesh,  on the other hand, was given to Israel  at  the
time  when  they  became a nation.  This  was  the  first
commandment with which specifically the nation of  Israel
was  commanded: "This month shall be FOR YOU the head  of
all  months"  (Shemot 12:2).  And yet now in  Yishayahu's
vision  of  redemption both Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh  are
"open" to all.
c.   Sanctity of Time and Sanctity of Place
  The  Haftora  opens  with an expression  of  awe:  "The
heavens  are  My throne and the earth My footstool;  what
house  could  you build for Me; which place could  be  My
abode?" This is reminiscent of the awe of Shlomo  at  the
dedication of the Beit Ha-Mikdash (the Holy Temple): "For
will  God indeed dwell upon the earth? Behold, the heaven
and  the  heaven of heavens cannot contain You; how  much
less  this house which I have built!" (Melakhim I  8:27).
Surely  He  Whose glory fills the earth cannot limit  His
sanctity to one specific place or house.
  The answer to this paradox lies neither in the words of
Shlomo  nor in the words of Yishayahu.  But when we  read
this  on  Shabbat  Rosh  Chodesh we  are  directed  to  a
contemplation  of  the comparison between  the  place  of
sanctity (the Beit Ha-Mikdash) and the sanctified  times,
since  in  the  case  of the latter  we  face  a  similar
question:  What makes these days intrinsically  different
from  other days? How is it that certain times are imbued
with  sanctity? Yet we know that Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh
are indeed special times.
  The  sanctity of the Beit Ha-Mikdash (build Me a house;
My  abode)  may  represent the two types of  sanctity  of
Shabbat  and  Rosh Chodesh.  The sanctity of Shabbat  was
established by God at the beginning of creation ^Ö "And He
created...  and  He  sanctified." The  sanctity  of  Rosh
Chodesh, in contrast, is entrusted to Israel, for  it  is
they  who determine the new month and sanctify the months
^Ö  "This month shall be for you^Å" The Beit Ha-Mikdash may
combine  the  character of both these types of  sanctity.
The  edifice itself is constructed by human hands  (build
Me  a  house),  but  the presence  and  sanctity  of  the
Shekhina  (Divine  Presence) depend on  God  (My  abode).
This  latter  element ultimately also  depends  on  human
action.
d.   A Mother's Comforting
  We  may  add  one further point, which might  at  first
appear somewhat unrelated.
  The  prophet declares in God's name: "Like a man  whose
mother consoles him, so shall I console you" (13).   This
implies  that  the consolation provided by  a  mother  is
somehow  unique;  that a mother understands  her  child's
deepest feelings in a way that no one else can.
  >From  a certain perspective Rosh Chodesh may be viewed
as  a  sort of "Mothers' Day"; it is the special  day  of
Jewish  women.   We  learn  in  Pirkei  de-Rebbe  Eliezer
(chapter 45): "Aharon judged himself... I hereby  say  to
you,  Give the earrings of your wives and your  sons  and
daughters... The women heard and did not want to  do  so;
they  did  not  accept  upon  themselves  to  give  their
earrings  to  their husbands... and God gave  them  their
reward  in  this  world ^Ö that they  would  observe  Rosh
Chodesh  more than men; and He also gave them  reward  in
the World to Come ^Ö that they were destined to be renewed
like the New Moon..."
  This  applies to all the women of Israel, but there  is
one  matriarch who has a particular connection with  Rosh
Chodesh:  Rachel.  The Chida writes in his book,  "Midbar
Kedamot":  "It  was owing to the merit of  the  matriarch
Rachel, of blessed memory, that Rosh Chodesh was given to
Israel... and it was Rachel who instituted the "musaf" of
Rosh Chodesh, for she saw with prophetic vision that  the
women  of the desert would not stumble in this sin.   Her
name  represents  an abbreviation of the  words,  "Roshei
Chodashim Le-amkha" ^Ö New Moons for Your nation."
  Rosh  Chodesh therefore inspires us to remember Rachel,
the matriarch who cries for her children and who comforts
them.  They, too, are promised renewal:
 
     "For  as  the new heavens and the new earth which  I
     shall  make,  shall remain before Me, says  God,  so
     shall your descendants and your name remain." (22)
     "And you shall find comfort in Jerusalem." (13)
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 down to Me, says God."
Vehaia midde-chodesh bechodsho umidde shabbat beshabbato iavo kol-basar
lehishtachaoth lefanai amar haShem.
Ed avverra' che ogni capomese ed ogni sabato ogni essere vivente verra' a
prostrarsi davanti a Me, dice il Signore. (Isaia, 66,23)
Tale verso, pur essendo il penultimo, in realta' viene ripetuto alla fine,
per non terminare la haftara con parole di castigo, ma con parole di
speranza.
Shabbat Shalom veShevat tov veShana tova lekol!
