Cytowanie Komentarza do Izajasza 53:1

Both the mention of G’d’s “hand” and mention of G’d’s “arm” are references to the attribute of Justice at work. The attribute of Justice operates on different levels of intensity, however. Just as red wine comes in different shades of red so the attribute of Justice becomes manifest in different degrees of severity. The manifestation of a weak form of the attribute of Justice presupposes that there must be a stronger form from which the weaker form derives its input. I have explained this in connection with the two letters ה in מי כמוכה in Exodus 15,11. This is also the meaning of Isaiah 53,1: וזרוע ה' על מי נגלתה, “against whom has the “arm” of the Lord become manifest?” When David (Psalms 44,4) speaks of כי ימינך וזרועך, “Your right hand and Your arm,” he also refers to G’d employing His power against the Canaanites as first relatively mildly, ימינך, followed by a stronger dose, i.e. זרועך. I have alluded to all this in my commentary on Exodus 14,31 “Israel saw the great hand, etc.”

ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו. Belief consists of 4 different parts.
There is belief in the Lord, as we know from Chronicles II 20,20 האמינו בה' אלוקיכם ותאמנו, “believe absolutely in the Lord your G’d and you will be able to stand firm!” This is the kind of belief that our verse speaks of when it reports the Israelites as ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו, they believed in the Lord and in Moses His servant.”
The second type of belief is the belief in the authenticity of His prophets which implies the duty to accept the prophet’s instructions. We find a direct reference to this in Isaiah 53,1 מי האמין לשמועתנו? “Who does believe in our assurances?”
The prophet speaks about the promise of there being an hereafter, demanding that we must believe in this as well as the fact that the reward for performing good deeds in this life will be forthcoming in this afterlife. This is also what David spoke of when he said in Psalms 27,13: לולא האמנתי לראות בטוב ה' בארץ חיים, “Had I not the assurance that I would enjoy the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, etc.”
There is the obligation to believe in the eventual arrival of a redeemer. This is a cornerstone of Judaism. This is also what is meant by Isaiah 28,16 הנני יסד בציון אבן, אבן בוחן פנת יקרת מוסד מוסד המאמין לא יחיש, “Behold I will found in Zion, stone by stone, a tower of precious cornerstones, exceedingly firm; he who believes need not fear.” All those who believe in this assurance will acquire numerous merits.
We know that G’d Himself cited Avraham’s belief in the promises He made to him for the far distant future as an act of righteousness as documented in Genesis 15,6והאמין בה' ויחשביה לו צדקה, “He believed G’d’s promise, and He accounted it for him as an act of righteousness.”
People believing in this promise of a rosy future will also wind up in Gan Eden as we know from Isaiah 26,2 פתחו שערים ויבא גוי צדיק שומר אמונים. “Open the gates, and let a righteous nation enter, a nation that keeps faith.” Such a person will experience the life in the world to come as we know from Chabakuk 2,4 וצדיק באמונתו יחיה, “and the Just will live (eternally) due to his faith.”
Anyone who does not believe in these precepts of Judaism falls into the category of people of whom we read in Job 15,22: לא יאמין שוב מני חושך וצפוי הוא אלי חרב, “he is never sure he will come back from the dark; a sword stares him in the face.” He will not participate in the redemption when it comes. We know this from the prophet Ezekiel 20,38אברותי מכם המורדים והפושעים בי, “I will remove from you those who rebel and transgress against Me.“ It is also written in Psalms 31,24: אמונים נוצר ה' ומשלם על יתר עושה גאוה, “the Lord guards and requites the loyal, and more than requites him who acts arrogantly.” The meaning of the verse is clear: G’d rewards the ones who have displayed faith in Him, whereas the ones who have failed to believe in Him He will punish for having acted so arrogantly. They will not be granted life in the future. This is implied by the first part of the verse from Chabakuk 2,4 we quoted already in which the prophet states הנה עופלה לא ישרה נפשו בו,; “Lo his spirit is puffed up within him not upright; but the righteous man is rewarded with life for his fidelity.”

וייראו העם ויאמינו, “The people were afraid and they believed.” Fear and Faith are the cornerstones of the entire Torah. Rabbeinu Chananel writes in this connection that faith may be divided into four parts. 1) Faith in the Lord; this is meant when we read in Chronicles II 20,20 (King Yehoshaphat speaking) “Trust firmly in the Lord your G’d and you will stand firm.” 2) Faith in the prophets. This is what is meant when the Torah wrote here “they believed in G’d and in His servant Moses.” In order to demonstrate this faith in G’d’s prophets we are obligated to obey the prophets’ instructions. 3) one must have faith in the existence of life after death on earth. This is part of the belief in reward and punishment for performance of the commandments of the Torah. David referred to this when he said (Psalms 27,13) “Had I not had the assurance that I would enjoy the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, etc.” 4) The belief in the coming of the Messiah. This too is an important cornerstone of Torah philosophy. This is confirmed in Isaiah 28,16: “Assuredly, thus said the Lord G’d; ‘Behold I will found in Zion, stone by stone, a tower of precious cornerstones exceedingly firm; he who trusts need not fear.” Everybody who has faith will will be credited with many merits. We know this already from Avraham who was the source of all the faithful. G’d credited him for his trust when the Torah wrote (Genesis 15,6) “he had faith in G’d and He (G’d) considered this as an act of righteousness on his part.” Amongst other advantages accruing to the faithful is the promise that they will experience a return to Gan Eden as we have been told by Isaiah 26,2: “open the gates, and let a righteous nation enter; a nation that keps faith.” This is a reference to life in the hereafter. We have a further verse in Chabakuk 2,4: “the just will live by his faith.”
Anyone who does not have faith in these cornerstones of Judaism belongs to the group of people of whom Eliphaz said in Job 15,22: “he is never sure he will come back from the dark; a sword stares him in the face.” Such people will not share in the life in the hereafter nor will they take part in the redemption. We base this on Ezekiel 20,38: “I will remove from you those that rebel and transgress against Me.” It is also written in Psalms 31,24: “the Lord guards the faithful but more than requites him who acts arrogantly.” The meaning is that whereas G’d protects those that have faith, He will punish the faithless because the root of their lack of faith is their arrogance. They will not participate in the life of the future as it is written (Chabakuk 2,4) “the haughtiness is blown up, not upright; but the righteous will live by his faith.” Thus far Rabbeinu Chananel