Torah: Exodus 18.1-20.23
Haftarah: Isaiah 6.1-7.6 & 9.5-6
Jews, being a minority people, seem to be in a constant struggle to maintain their unique identity & belief within the context of the world around them. In other words, Jews are constantly battling assimilation, both national & spiritual. This is not a new phenomenon. We see it in the Torah Portion for this week, along with the Haftarah Reading. Isaiah prophesied during times which were also characterized by these problems. He lived during the reign of Ahaz, a king who, like many aristocrats, was smitten by the culture of the aristocrats of the surrounding nations & led his people to acculturate alien ways & beliefs.
Obviously, for Isaiah, a prophet of God, these ways were completely unacceptable. He envisioned better times when his people would again appreciate their own ways & their own God. He envisioned an ethical leader who would prompt this return: “For a child has been born to us and authority has settled on his shoulders. He has been named ‘The Mighty God is planning grace, the Eternal Father, a peaceable ruler’ – In token of abundant authority and of peace without limit upon David’s throne and kingdom that it may be firmly established in justice and in equity, now and evermore.” [9.5-6]
The identity of this child has been a source of much discussion & disagreement. Christianity, Islam, & even Bahai have identified this child-king with a Jewish teacher known as Jesus of Nazareth in order to establish prophetic precedent for their sacred texts. The “peshat” or plain meaning of this verse, however, lies elsewhere in the text Isaiah wrote. All movements of Judaism identify this child within the contemporary framework of Isaiah’s prophecy as Hezekiah, the righteous son of Ahaz who through his loyalty to God would rescue his people from their dire situation. The medieval French commentator Rashi notes: “even though Ahaz was wicked, the son who was born to him years ago to be king in his place will be righteous. He will serve God & bear His yoke, busying himself with Torah & the observance of the commandments… & he will be called the ‘peaceable ruler’.” (Abridged) Rabbi David Kimche explained: “In the days of his kingship, the redemption came to Israel, for God struck the Assyrian camp, on account of the merit of the child who was born.”
For Isaiah the son of Amoz, Jewish existence was precarious…similar to our own times now. The abandonment of our Torah & the adaption of ways which negated Jewish uniqueness were the seeds of the First Jewish Commonwealth’s destruction under the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE. King Hezekiah, unlike his father Ahaz, looked to his own tradition for his spiritual nourishment. For Isaiah, this quality was a great virtue, worthy of making Hezekiah “the anointed one,” a messiah figure, & worthy of bringing the redemption of God’s people at that time as well. Thankfully this time, the fruit did fall a bit farther from the tree. As usual, thank you everyone. Shabbat Shalom to all.
~Christo Chaney [כָּלֵב דָּנִיֵּאל]
Congregation Sha’areth Israel - Lubbock TX