Commentaire de citation sur Isaïe 1:19

Another reason why Moses chose the simile of rainfall to describe Torah study may have been to alert his listeners that just as the absence of rainfall for a prolonged period would result in death for those deprived of it, so the absence of Torah for a prolonged period would also bring death in its wake. It is similar to what Isaiah said in Isaiah 1,19: "if you agree and give heed, you will eat the good things of the earth; but if you refuse and disobey, you will be devoured by the sword." לקחי, אמרתי, Moses repeats the message in different words in order to make them apply to the two Torot, i.e. the written Torah as well as the oral Torah. Moses aims the word לקחי at the written Torah whereas he refers to the oral Torah when he tells the people to listen to his אמרתי. Moses referred to the Torah G'd had handed him personally, written by G'd's own finger. Although G'd only gave him two tablets containing Ten Commandments, these Ten Commandments contained within them everything that is written in the entire Torah, compare (Bamidbar Rabbah 13). As to the oral Torah, Moses used the term אמרתי, seeing the oral Torah was received by Moses from G'd on a mouth to mouth basis. It was not recorded in writing. Moses labelled the written Torah מטר, rain, whereas he labelled the oral Torah טל, dew. The reason he did this is because the written Torah is the more important of the two. It is the foundation of everything. The oral Torah is a collection of details none of which were spelled out clearly enough in the written Torah. What appears in the oral Torah has only been hinted at in the written Torah. This is why the Torah (Moses) describes the written Torah as rain which is basic and fundamental to nature. Dew, on the other hand, is something which improves the basic work of rainfall just as the oral Torah rounds out the written Torah.

A possible weakness with this approach is that it appears to be inconsistent with how Neviim usually deliver their speeches. There is almost always a "but you can change it" part that comes afterwards. Examples of offering the Teshuvah option include Yeshayahu 1:19, Hoshea 14:2-10, and Malachi 3:7-12. In addition, this seems inconsistent with Yonah’s personality. When speaking to sailors in chapter one Yonah either said nothing or went far beyond the scope of the question asked. The “half in half out” style with which he approaches Ninveh is not his motif.

One reason to read Yeshayahu 1 on Shabbat Chazon is to demonstrate that Hashem is fair. Yeshayahu promises us that if we improve, we shall “eat the goodness of the land” (Yeshayahu 1:19). On the other hand, he presents Hashem’s warning that if we refuse to improve and continue to rebel, “we shall be consumed by the sword.” Accordingly, we cannot complain to Hashem about the Churban, since He sent prophets to warn us even more than a century before the catastrophe.