Kaisipang Hudyo sa Isaias 1:20: Akeidat Yitzchak & Guide for the Perplexed

"Behold the Heavens, and the Heavens of the Heavens, belong to the Lord, the earth and all there is therein." (10,14) This points out the difference between G'd and any other deities. Since the latter, not even laying claim to own the universe, cannot inspire "fear" as we have defined it, they are also unable to elevate man. G'd, by reason of His ownership of the universe, can claim obedience of all creatures. Should we ask that since He owns it all, what difference can one nation's claim to consideration by G'd make?, the answer given is "He only took a liking to your ancestors, to love them and their seed after them." (10,15) Even though the Jewish people are far from perfect, "like the lily amongst the thorns," G'd chose Israel because of its relative merit. By the time you have realised and appreciated the meaning of your national history, says Moses, you will have arrived at the stage of love for G'd. At that point performance of the mitzvot will no longer be an act of obedience, but an expression of your love for G'd the Lawgiver. Reviewing the whole chapter, one is forced to conclude that far from making impossible demands upon us, G'd is in fact granting us privileges. The etnachta, tone sign under the words "from you" in verse twelve, as well as under the word "today" in verse thirteen, supports our view that the lines between have to be read as if in parenthesis. The verse then reads "and now Israel what is it that the Lord asks of you this day; in order that you will be well off?..except to..." After all that, the passage describing the land of Israel as one that needs rainfall, as distinct from Egypt, is a reminder that even after attaining their reward and successful takeover of the land of Canaan, Divine help will continue to be needed. The land will only deliver its bounty to Israel when such Divine help is forthcoming. The second paragraph of the keriyat shema which follows, spells out the conditions for such Divine help, and the consequences should Israel fail to meet these conditions.

The consideration of the first process led to the figurative use of the verb in the sense of “consuming,” “destroying”; hence it includes all modes of depriving a thing of its form comp. “And the land of your enemies shall destroy (lit. eat) you” (Lev. 26:38); “A land that destroyeth (lit. eateth) the inhabitants thereof” (Num. 13:32); “Ye shall be destroyed (lit. eaten) with the sword” (Isa. 1:6); “Shall the sword destroy (lit. eat)” (2 Sam. 2:26); “And the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and destroyed (lit. ate) them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp” (Num. 11:1); “(God) is a destroying (lit. eating) fire” (Deut. 4:24), that is, He destroys those who rebel against Him, as the fire destroys everything that comes within its reach. Instances of this kind are very frequent.

Instances of organs of locomotion being applied to the Creator occur as follows:—“My footstool” (Isa. 66:1); “the place of the soles of my feet” (Ezek. 43:7). For examples of organs of touch applied to God, comp. “the hand of the Lord” (Exod. 9:3); “with the finger of God” (ib. 31:18); “the work of thy fingers” (Ps. 8:4), “And thou hast laid thine hand upon me” (ib. 139:5); “The arm of the Lord” (Isa. 53:1); “Thy right hand, O Lord” (Exod. 15:6). In instances like the following, organs of speech are attributed to God: “The mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isa. 1:20); “And He would open His lips against thee” (Job 11:5); “The voice of the Lord is powerful” (Ps. 29:4); “And his tongue as a devouring fire” (Isa. 30:27). Organs of sensation are attributed to God in instances like the following: “His eyes behold, His eyelids try” (Ps. 11:4); “The eyes of the Lord which run to and fro” (Zech. 4:10); “Bow down thine ear unto me, and hear” (2 Kings 19:16); “You have kindled a fire in my nostril” (Jer. 17:5). Of the inner parts of the human body only the heart is figuratively applied to God, because “heart” is a homonym, and denotes also “intellect”; it is besides the source of animal life. In phrases like “my bowels are troubled for him” (Jer. 31:20); “The sounding of thy bowels” (Isa. 63:15), the term “bowels” is used in the sense of “heart”; for the term “bowels” is used both in a general and in a specific meaning; it denotes specifically “bowels,” but more generally it can be used as the name of any inner organ, including “heart.” The correctness of this argument can be proved by the phrase “And thy law is within my bowels” (Ps. 40:9), which is identical with “And thy law is within my heart.” For that reason the prophet employed in this verse the phrase “my bowels are troubled” (and “the sounding of thy bowels”); the verb hamah is in fact used more frequently in connection with “heart,” than with any other organ; comp. “My heart maketh a noise (homeh) in me” (Jer. 4:19). Similarly, the shoulder is never used as a figure in reference to God, because it is known as a mere instrument of transport, and also comes into close contact with the thing which it carries. With far greater reason the organs of nutrition are never attributed to God: they are at once recognized as signs of imperfection.