Pensamento Judaico sobre Isaías 52:3

The question posed by the Jews in the twentieth chapter of Ezekiel, was asked by believing Jews, since the parable they use begins with describing G'd as their Master, i.e. "they came to enquire from the merciful G'd." They wanted to know whether in view of their Master having sold them, the basic relationship between G'd and the Jewish people had undergone a change. It was this possibility that Ezekiel denied so vehemently. He explained that G'ds intent was merely to exercise His rule over them through making them suffer privations. Re-establishment of the former "loving care" relationship could begin only after repentance of their abominable deeds. The references in that chapter to what had occurred in the desert after the Exodus, are only to stress that just as at that time the eternal character of the Israel/G'd relationship had not been severed, so there would once again come a time when Israel would learn the error of its ways and then an in-gathering of the exiles could take place.

Even the as yet unborn will all succeed in their allotted task, if they will heed the same principles. (verse 14) In stage number two, Moses addresses himself to the few who instead of coming closer to G'd, remove themselves further and further from Him, until He exiles them and they taste the result of their estrangement. Having described the nation in its constituent parts and state of near perfection, Moses proceeds (verse 15) to express the fear that even at this stage the odd person might suffer a relapse and return to the corrupt Egyptian ways. Such individuals might comfort themselves by the thought that by reason of their belonging to the meritorious majority, their individual misdeeds would go unheeded. Moses therefore emphasizes that such individuals will not escape the wrath of G'd, and would be dealt with in accordance with the punishments listed in the previous section of the Torah. Moses describes that if the estrangement from G'd should become wholesale and lead to banishment of the people from their land, a teshuvah movement will commence amongst the exiles. Since this represents a return to G'd, G'd in turn will reciprocate with an ingathering of the exiles to the land of our inheritance, until, eventually, G'd will be doing even more for us than He has done for our forefathers. (30,1-10) Exile from the land of Israel, is the natural consequence of wilful estrangement from G'd and His Torah. The teshuvah discussed here is that of the nation as a whole, just as the estrangement though initially comprising only a few individuals, had gradually embraced the nation as a whole, with the resultant devastation described in our chapter. Once started on the road to rapprochement with G'd, the latter will also reverse the process of physical removal from the land. A man who is desperately sick and rejects all food intake due to a feeling of revulsion, will die unless he overcomes his distaste for food, and summons up enough willpower to eat at least a little. Once he has eaten a little, the newly supplied energy will make it easier for him to eat more and thus regain more of his former strength. In this way we can understand Isaiah chapter 55, who at first glance appears to contradict Moses. In Deut. 4,29, Moses seems to make successful establishment of the bond between Israel and G'd dependent on Israel making the first move. Isaiah 55,6, on the other hand, seems to say that there are moments when G'd is approachable regardless of human input. The fact is, that there is no contradiction here at all. Moses addresses himself to the beginning of the penitence process; at that time there has to be an input by the sinner. Isaiah speaks of the continuation of the penitence process, the second stage as it were. The first stage arrests the ongoing estrangement from G'd; the second stage concerns itself with the rapprochement to G'd. Our chapter thirty in Parshat Nitzavim deals with three stages of the penitence process and the respective responses by G'd. Each stage represents a higher and more comprehensive level of penitence, followed by a correspondingly greater response from G'd. Each level of teshuva, stems from loftier motivations. Isaiah 46,2, makes the point that when a beast is loaded down with idols, it must shake off its load in order to survive. If, on the other hand, a beast is loaded with fodder, shaking off its load will expose it to death by starvation. On the contrary, the taking on of additional supplies will enable the beast to complete its trek through the desert successfully. Jews in exile who want to shake off the yoke of the Torah will only advance the day of their total destruction. However, if they increase their burden in the knowledge that they carry the seeds of their survival, they will gradually become stronger and ultimately overcome their exile. The message of our Parshah is that teshuvah has to begin due to one's feeling afflicted. It will bring redemption in its wake. Since the mitzvah of teshuvah is so powerful in its ramifications, one could have assumed that one would have to ascend to Heaven to secure it. But Moses tells us, that it is not so difficult to attain, the matter is very close at hand, "you can perform it with your mouth and with your heart." (30,11-14)