Tafsiran Yesaya 44:1: Rashi, Ibn Ezra & Tze'enah Ure'enah

And now, hearken to return to My Torah, Jacob My servant.

but now hear the good which I shall do unto thee.

“Now hear, O Jacob” [44:1]. The Holy One said: you should not be despondent Israel, whom I have chosen to serve Me. Though I have profaned the princes, I love them. God said: I am your creator. I want to help you since I have made you holy when you emerged from the womb. As soon as a son is born, he will be circumcised when he is eight days old. From here we should learn that the commandment of circumcision is comparable to the sacrifices, since He punished them so that they brought no sacrifices. He says, because you have a commandment that is better than sacrifices, which is circumcision.⁹Yalkut Shimoni, Isaiah, Remez, 459.