"Arise, Shine; for Your Light is Come, and the Glory of the Lord is Risen upon You"
SICHOT
OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
Parashat
ki tavo
GUEST SICHA
BY RAV MOSHEH LICHTENSTEIN
"Arise,
Shine; for Your Light is Come,
and
the Glory of the Lord is Risen upon You"
Translated
by
Regarding the seven haftarot of consolation, Tosafot state
(Megilla 31b, s.v. Rosh Chodesh): "It is the way of consolations
to be increasingly consoling." This position forces us to see this week's
haftara (the sixth in the series of seven) as prophesying about
grand acts of deliverance and consolation. And, in fact, the haftara for
Parashat Ki Tavo, "Kumi ori" (Yeshayahu 60:1-22), does not
disappoint us; it promises Israel full and uplifting redemption.
THE
SHINING OF GOD'S GLORY - A CHANGE IN THE NATURAL ORDER
The consolation offered in our haftara does not promise rest from
the troubles of exile and a cessation of Israel's afflictions. Nor does it
promise political-spiritual success in the historical framework familiar to us.
Rather, it is a vision of the redemption that will take place in the end of
days, when the natural order of the world will change and the material and
spiritual worlds will once again become a monistic reality, where spirit rules
over matter and dictates reality.[1]
This point is emphasized already at the beginning of the haftara,
and it accompanies the prophetic vision throughout the chapter. The prophet
opens with a declaration that speaks of the Divine glory that will reveal itself
to man and illuminate his path:
Arise,
shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For,
behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples: but
the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you.
(Yeshayahu 60:1-2)
The replacement of the natural illumination of the created world with
Divine-spiritual light is a clear expression of the breaching of the boundaries
between the world of the spirit and the world of nature, boundaries that exist
in the natural world familiar to us. This change is one of the harbingers of the
coming of the messiah and the end of days. As a rule, the cancellation of the
natural order and its replacement with spiritual providence depends upon an
exceedingly high spiritual level whether with respect to unique individuals
who merit personal providence in this world, or with respect to the nation as a
whole in the future. It happens when God actively intervenes in the world and
does not allow the natural order that He Himself had established to govern.[2]
In our haftara, this testifies to the elevated level that Israel will
reach at that time, for the shining of God's glory in place of natural light
will follow from their closeness to God and their spiritual attainment. In this
context, we should note the famous midrash that speaks of the light that was
hidden away during the six days of creation to be used by the righteous in the
future:
For
Rabbi Eliezer said: The light which the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the
first day, one could see thereby from one end of the world to the other; but as
soon as the Holy One, blessed be He, beheld the generation of the Flood and the
generation of the Dispersion, and saw that their actions were corrupt, He arose
and hid it from them, as it is said: "But from the wicked their light is
withheld" (Iyyov 38:15). And for whom did He reserve it? For the
righteous in the time to come. As it is said: "And God saw the light that it was
good" (Bereishit 1:4); and "good" means only the righteous, for it is
said: "Say you of the righteous that he is good" (Yeshayahu 3:10). As
soon as He saw the light that He had reserved for the righteous, He rejoiced, as
it is said: "He rejoices at the light of the righteous" (Mishlei
13:9). (Chagiga
12a)
The concealment of the primal light was not merely a punishment for the
sins that would be committed in the future; rather, it gave expression to a
change in approach and governance. The primal light was not subject to the
natural order, but rather it was light that stemmed from the Shekhina's
presence in the world, and therefore it was affected by sin and designated
exclusively for the righteous. Its concealment on account of future sins
indicates that we are not dealing here with punishment, for punishment is not
meted out for sins that have yet to be committed. Rather, it reflects the
understanding that already from the beginning of creation, there was a pure,
spiritual world that demanded closeness to God, and therefore the decision was
made to transfer the governance of the world from the track of matter directly
influenced by the spirit to one that operates according to the laws of nature.
The possibility of returning to spiritual governance that cancels and replaces
natural law may have been raised at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai,
but this attempt was spoiled by the sin of the golden calf. This is the meaning
of the obscure verse that speaks of "putting off your ornaments from you"
(Shemot 33:5) and the verse that describes its execution, "And the
children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Chorev" (v.
6), that are found in the framework of the discussion between Moshe and God,
what is better direct Divine governance (= the world of nature/history being
subjugated to spiritual governance and nullified by it), or governance by way of
an angel who will guide Israel as God's agent (= a world with natural laws and
Divine providence within the framework of the natural world). In any event,
Moshe Rabbenu merited at that time that his face shined from the Divine light
that accompanied him, but he was forced to cover his face with a veil. This was
because the world in its natural state was incapable of bearing such an elevated
connection to the presence of the Shekhina in the framework of the
natural order. But a promise was given that that same light would reappear in
the future and shine for the righteous in that same world after it would be
repaired and elevated.
The idea that a spiritual light will appear in the future and illuminate
the world with light breaking forth from the presence of the Shekhina,
and not from natural forces - that finds expression in the midrash about God's
hiding of the primal light - is taken from our verses. It is not the light of
the sun that will shine upon Israel, but rather the glory of God. The light
shining upon Israel is not the light of the sun, but rather the glory of God
"Arise, shine, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon
you" (60:1). And therefore the ordinary atmospheric processes that dictate light
and darkness will not effect it "For, behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth, and gross darkness the peoples: but the Lord shall arise upon you, and
His glory shall be seen upon you" (60:2). The earth (= nature) and the peoples
(= the natural providence in the world) are influenced by darkness, but it is
God who will shine upon you, and His glory that will give light. This motif with
which the haftara opens appears again at the end of the haftara:
The
sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon
give light to you; but the Lord shall be to you an everlasting light, and your
God your glory. Your sun shall no more go down; nor shall your moon withdraw
itself: for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your
mourning shall be ended. Your people also shall be all righteous: they shall
inherit the land for ever; they shall be the branch of My planting, the work of
My hands, that I may be glorified. (60:19-21)
As we can see, it is emphatically repeated that the natural
meteorological system will be replaced by spiritual governance that will
illuminate the world with Divine glory, as was stated already in the opening
verses of the haftara. Thus, the passage opens and closes on a similar
note, creating a literary framework that delimits the entire prophecy within
that framework.
FUTURE REDEMPTION
As
stated above, governance that subjugates the natural world to spiritual reality
can only be found in a world that is found in close and intimate contact with
the Creator, namely, in the world of the righteous. Therefore, when the prophet
prophesies that this will apply in the future to the entire nation, he adds the
stipulation that the people will be at a high spiritual level. Thus, he adds in
this connection, "Your people shall be all righteous," and that they will be the
glory of creation, "the work of My hands, that I may be
glorified."
The
midrashim in fact see our chapter and the promises contained therein as relating
to the messianic period. Thus, we find in Yalkut Shim'oni (ad loc.,
499):
Our
Rabbis taught: When the messianic king will arrive, he will stand on the roof of
the Temple and proclaim before Israel: "Afflicted ones, the time of your
redemption has arrived. And if you do not believe me, see my light that shines
upon you, as it is stated: 'Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory
of the Lord is risen upon you.' It shines upon you alone, and not on idol
worshippers, as it is stated: 'For, behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth.'" At that time, the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause the light of the
messianic king and of Israel to shine.
The midrash also notes the correspondence between the elevated spiritual
reality of the past, when Israel dwelt under the wings of the Shekhina
and were removed from the natural order, and the prophetic promise regarding
the future found in our chapter (ibid. 503):
"The
sun shall be no more your light by day." Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said: All forty
years that [the people of] Israel were in the wilderness, nobody needed the
light of the sun by day or the light of the moon by night. Rather, when the
clouds shined, they knew that the sun had set, and when they turned white, they
knew that sun had risen. One would look at a barrel and know what was inside,
[or look] at a pitcher and know what was inside, because of the cloud of the
Shekhina that was in their midst, as it is stated: "In sight of all of
Israel, throughout all their journeys" (Shemot 40:38). So too in the
future, as it is stated: "Arise, shine; for your light is come." And it is
stated: "The sun shall be no more your light by day." And it is stated: "Your
sun shall no more go down."
Anyone who examines Yalkut Shim'oni (ad loc.) will find many
midrashim dealing with the messianic days, hanging them on verses in our
haftara, too many to cite them all here. In light of what we have seen
above, it is absolutely clear why the midrash assigns this chapter specifically
to the messianic period, and what the role of this chapter is in the framework
of the haftarot of consolation.
A REVERSAL OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS
Now that we have examined the opening and closing verses of the
haftara, let us consider the rest of the prophecy. As a whole, we can
describe what is stated in the intervening verses as a total reversal in the
relationship between Israel and the nations. Israel, who had been weak, few in
number and wretched, will enjoy an ingathering of its exiles, and the nations
will stream to them, offering bounty, glory and assistance. The nations will
also recognize God and His kingship and sing His praises. The verses expand upon
these ideas in rich and poetic language:
Lift
up your eyes around about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they
come to you: your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed
at your side. Then you will see, and be filled with light, and your heart shall
fear and be enlarged; because the abundance from the sea shall be turned to you,
the riches of the nations shall come to you. The multitude of camels shall cover
you, the dromedaries of Midyan and Efa; all they from Sheva shall come: they
shall bring gold and incense; and they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nevayot
shall minister to you: they shall come up with acceptance on My altar, and I
will glorify the house of My glory. What are these that fly as a cloud, and as
the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for Me, and the ships of
Tarshish first, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with
them, to the name of the Lord your God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because
He has glorified you. And the sons of strangers shall build up your walls, and
their kings shall minister to you: for in My wrath I smote you, but in My favor
have I had mercy on you. Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they
shall not be shut day or night; that men may bring to you the riches of the
nations, and their kings with their train. For the nation and kingdom that will
not serve you shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. The
glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the maple, and the box tree,
together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of My
feet glorious. The sons also of them that afflicted you shall come bending to
you; and all they that despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of
your feet; and they shall call you, the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy
One of Israel. Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no man went
through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
You shall also suck the milk of the nations, and shall suck the breast of kings:
and you shall know that I the Lord shall save you, and the mighty One of Ya'akov
shall redeem you. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver,
and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make your officers peace,
and your taskmasters, righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in your
land, wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls
Salvation and your gates Praise. (60:4-18)
We are dealing here with a radical upheaval "Whereas you have been
forsaken and hated, so that no man went through you, I will make you an eternal
excellency, a joy of many generations." However, we are not dealing merely with
an improvement in Israel's state, but in a change in the natural order in a
deeper sense. The nations will serve the people of Israel not only to repair the
injustice committed during the period of their exile. Their conduct will reflect
a new and different definition of their role and status in history. They will
not only free Israel from exile and allow for an ingathering of the exiles, each
nation going off on its own as an independent national entity, but rather they
will become subject to Israel and put in their service.
It seems that this must be understood in light of what was stated above.
In the historical reality familiar to us in the pre-messianic period, the demand
placed upon the nations is that they not harm Israel or rejoice in their
troubles. But there is no expectation that "the sons of strangers shall build up
your walls, and their kings shall minister to you: for in My wrath I smote you,
but in My favor have I had mercy on you. Therefore your gates shall be open
continually; they shall not be shut day or night; that men may bring to you the
riches of the nations, and their kings with their train. For the nation and
kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yea, those nations shall be
utterly wasted." Each nation has its own historical reality. A situation in
which all the nations stream to Jerusalem and subordinate all their actions to
its rebuilding, reflects the change that will take place in the end of days, and
therefore it appears in our haftara. In a world in which the light is not
the light of the sun, but rather the glory of God, and the natural order is
entirely different from that which is familiar to us, the historical world will
also change in the same manner. It too will be entirely different from that with
which we are familiar in our world. We can see the correspondence between the
change in the natural order and the change in the historical situation in the
following verses:
Violence
shall no more be heard in your land, wasting nor destruction within your
borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation and your gates
Praise.
The
sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon
give light to you; but the Lord shall be to you an everlasting light, and your
God your glory.
Your
sun shall no more go down; nor shall your moon withdraw itself: for the Lord
shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be
ended.
As we can see the prophet creates a correspondence between these three
verses, each one opening with a similar wording: "
shall no more be heard
," "
shall be no more your light
," "
shall no more go down." This succession of
verses describes the change that will take place and God's intervention in
Israel's world in the aftermath of that change. This series of verses includes a
verse that deals with the historical change that will take place and the
historical reality that will follow in its wake, in the same way that it has a
verse that relates to the change in the natural order and the new situation that
will be created. This teaches us that the two changes are of similar nature;
just as the one depends on a transition from natural governance and ordinary
providence in the physical world to a messianic spiritual reality, so too the
other depends on a transition from historical governance and ordinary providence
on the political level to the historical reality of the end of
days.
The
future redemption in our haftara according to the
Midrash
Indeed, the midrash (Yalkut Shim'oni 499-501) also
assigns the verses in our chapter that deal with the nations to God's appearance
at the end of days and to the historical changes that will take place in the
future during the messianic period:
"And
the nations shall walk in your light." Rabba bar bar Chana said in the name of
Rabbi Yochanan: In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will build a booth
for the righteous from the hide of the leviathan
and the rest will be spread
out by the Holy One, blessed be He, over the walls of Jerusalem, and their light
will shine from one end of the world to the other. As it is stated: "And the
nations shall walk in your light." Jerusalem is the light of the world, as it is
stated: "And the nations shall walk in your light." And who is the light of
Jerusalem? The Holy One, blessed be He, as it is stated: "For the Lord shall be
your everlasting light."
Similarly,
the midrash adds as follows:
Rav
Hosha'aya said: In the future Jerusalem will serve as a torch for the nations of
the world, and they will walk in its light. What is the reason? "And the nations
shall walk in your light." And so too the verse states: "The mountain of the
Lord's house shall be established" (Yeshayahu 2:2). This is what the
verse says: "For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light"
(Tehillim 36:10).
The
people of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the
universe, because of the Torah which You gave me and is called "the fountain of
life," I will in the future delight in Your light. What is [the meaning of] "in
Your light we see light"? This refers to the light of the messiah, as it is
stated: "And the Lord saw the light that it was good." This teaches that before
the world was created, the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw the generation of
the messiah and its deeds, and hid it [= the light] for the messiah and his
generation under His Throne of Glory. Satan said to the Holy One, blessed be He:
The light that is hidden away under your Throne of Glory whose is it? He said
to him: It belongs to him who in the future will turn you back in shame. He said
to the Holy One, blessed be He: Show him to me. He said to him: Come, and see
him. When he saw him, he trembled and fell on his face, saying: He is certainly
the messiah who in the future will cast me down into Gehinom along with all the
officers of the idolaters.
At
that time, the Holy One, blessed be He, will shine the light of the messianic
king and of Israel, and they will all walk in the light of the messianic king
and of Israel. As it is stated: "And the nations shall walk in your light, and
kings at the brightness of your rising." And they will come and lick the dust
under the feet of the messianic king, as it is stated: "And they will lick up
the dust of your feet" (Yeshayahu 49:23). And they will all come and fall
on their faces before the messiah and before Israel, saying: We will be servants
to you and to Israel. And every member of Israel will have twenty eight hundred
servants.
In conclusion, it should be noted that in light of Chazal's
attribution of the haftara to the messianic period, the economic
abundance described therein should also be understood in a similar manner.
Indeed, a world in which "for brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring
silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron," and also the concentration of
wealth and resources described in the chapter, are very suited to the period in
which delicacies will be as common as dust, and all of man's thoughts will be
focused on recognizing God as the light of the world.
There is no better way to close than with the concluding words of the
haftara: "The least one shall become a thousand, and the smallest one a
strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in its time" (60:23). May this verse be
fulfilled in us speedily in our days.
[1] Needless to say, I
will not deal in this framework with the metaphysical issues connected to the
question of the relationship between matter and spirit and changing the natural
order at the time of creation and/or in the messianic future. My use of these
terms comes in the wake of the haftara, which speaks of the
shining of the glory of God, whether as parable and metaphor or in the literal
sense.
[2] The Ramban
describes unique individuals across the generations, whose souls conjoin with
God with particular intensity, as subject to a unique providence that removes
them from the ordinary human order. This point is emphasized by him in his
discussion of Avraham, where he notes that also the Rambam shares this view
(though in the framework of different metaphysical assumptions regarding the
nature of providence):
"The correct
interpretation appears to me to be that the word yedativ literally means
'knowing.' He is thus alluding that God's knowledge, which is synonymous with
His providence in the lower world, is to guard the species, and even the
children of men are subject despite it to the circumstantial evil occurrences
until the time of their visitation comes. But, as regards His pious, He directs
His providence to know each one individually so that His watch constantly
attaches to him, His knowledge and remembrance of him never departs, as it says:
'He withdraws not His eyes from the righteous' (Iyyov 27:7). There are
many verses on this theme, as it is written: 'Behold, the eye of the Lord is
toward them that fear Him' (Tehillim 33:18), and other
verses."
The Ramban expands
upon this idea in his commentary to Iyyov 36:7:
"For this reason He
watches over the righteous, for just as their hearts and eyes are upon Him at
all times, so too the eyes of the God are upon them from the beginning of the
year to its end, to the extent that the absolutely pious man who cleaves at all
times to God, that conjunction being maintained even when he thinks about
worldly matters, will be protected at all times from all the accidents of time,
even of nature, and he will be protected from them by way of a miracle that will
continually be performed for him."