Comentários de Citação sobre Isaías 43:22

את אשר יקרה אתכם, “what will befall you.” Yaakov referred to what would occur at the end of the 430 years when the people of Israel would be redeemed from slavery and exile. The wording used by Yaakov forces us to give this interpretation to his words. If this is not what he referred to, the Torah should not have added: באחרית הימים, “at the end of the years (that had been predicted),” but באחרית ימים בסוף העולם, “at the end of the history of the present world. I have heard an explanation that understands Yaakov as having alluded to the end of the first 5000 years of human history. (B’reshit Rabbah 98,2 and 99,5) Yaakov therefore was prevented by G–d from revealing whatever he had foreseen concerning that era. Yaakov could not understand why the vision was suddenly concealed from him, and he asked what his sons could be guilty of seeing that the letters ח and ט, both letters of the word חט(א) in the word “sin,” do not appear as part of the names of a single one of them. He was told by the Holy Spirit that at the same time none of the names of his sons contains the letters ק orצ , the letters forming the word קץ, end, (and צדיק, righteous) which are a prerequisite for such “end” being revealed to the bearer of such a name. The Holy Spirit added that as far as his having called upon his sons to gather around him was concerned, how come that he invited only them, but failed to include the Holy Spirit in his invitation? (Compare Isaiah, 43,22) ולא אותי קראת יעקב, “but you have not called upon Me, Yaakov?!” He was told that it was not part of his particular task, (virtue) to go revealing G–d’s secrets. (Proverbs 11,13) When Yaakov heard this, he changed course and began to address each son individually, i.e. ראובן בכורי אתה, “Reuven, you are my firstborn;”

I have found some support for this theory in Bereshit Rabbah (Vilna edition under the heading שיטה חדשה לברכת יעקב),”on the first of Yaakov’s blessings.” The Midrash says that what occurred at this stage in Yaakov’s life may be compared to the following parable. A king had a trusted servant and was in the habit of leaving everything in that servant’s care. When the servant was about to die he called in his sons in order to make free men out of them, and to tell them where they could find the documents proving that they were free men. When the servant suddenly noted that the King was observing what he was about to do, he did an about-turn by asking his sons to serve the King all their lives just as he himself had served him all his life.
Yaakov experienced something similar. First he wanted to reveal to his sons the end of their exile, when and how they would be redeemed. When he noted that G’d looked at the matter he was going to do with disfavour, he switched gears and exhorted his sons to remain loyal to G‘d throughout their lives just as he had been i.e. האלו-הים אשר התהלכו אבותי לפניו, “the Lord before Whom my fathers have walked.” G’d had expressed concern that whereas Yaakov had called upon his sons, he had not called upon Him. This is what the prophet (Isaiah 43,22) referred to when he said: “upon Me you did not call O Yaakov!” When Yaakov heard this he prostrated himself at the head of the bed and whispered “blessed be the name of His exalted Majesty forever more.”

And so explained in the Akeidah, regarding the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 157:49) which states that when Jacob sought to reveal the End [of Days], the Holy One Blessed be He said But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob (Isaiah 43:22). This means that you were not concerned for My honor, because from this knowledge would follow this damage: that the earlier generations would not call upon Me nor seek My presence, and would seek to settle [in exile] as those who despair of redemption. Therefore, God concealed and sealed the final End so that in each and every generation they would seek the presence of God and David their king, and would constantly await the time of His salvation. As in our sins, this trait is found among us even in times when the End is not known. Nevertheless, many are the common people who settle in the lands of the nations and build for themselves elaborate and important houses of stone — permanent structures. Because of this, they never seek God’s presence wholeheartedly to bring them to their land, and therefore the Holy One Blessed be He leaves them there. And to this settling refers the verse And Israel dwelt in the land of Goshen — it speaks of Israel’s guilt, for they sought to be settlers and to have a possession in a land not their own. This damage came to them because the end of the Egyptian exile was known to them. Therefore, the early generations who knew with certainty that the redemption would not occur in their days sought permanent settlement and possession in the land of Egypt. This is why the verse And Jacob lived follows this verse, to indicate that this damage that extended to those generations — due to their end being known — caused And Jacob lived, but not the spirit of Jacob, for only Jacob alone was alive so that he would not reveal the final End and this damage would not spread to [future] generations.