Kaisipang Hudyo sa Isaias 10:5: Akeidat Yitzchak & Derashot HaRan

There are occasions when the delegation of power by G-d to man does not signify partnership or the right to act independently. Isaiah 10,5 describes such an instance when he says, "Ashur is the rod of My anger, and the staff in the hand of My wrath." When G-d employs the might of Ashur to vanquish the ten tribes and lead them into captivity, He is not acting as melech hakavod, as the king who imparts His glory to mere mortals, but rather He employs Imperial Ashur as one would employ one's staff to do one's bidding. When Ashur boasts of its might, and imagines that it has acted on its own, the prophet sarcastically asks "Can the axe boast of the stonecutter? Whoever heard of such a thing? Since when does the saw brag about the person using it?" To enable us to know which kind of authority is wielded, remember the following: The former kind is usually wielded by a prophet, so that miracles can be recognized when they do occur, and the prophet prepares us for their occurrence, to strengthen our belief in the true nature of hashgacha peratit, Divine Providence. When events occur that we describe as being part of the natural order of things, this shows that G-d employs midat hadin, the attribute of justice. When they occur in what we call "supernatural order," the midat harachamim, i.e. the attribute of mercy is at work. Both methods point to the fact that history is supervised. Predictability of events points towards supervised management, whereas the occasional unpredictable abnormal occurrences confirm that the manager has retained freedom of action, which in turn enhances His stature.

All of this because the beginning of repentance is that a man place his sin before his eyes, as it is written (Psalms 51:4): "And my sin is always before me." And it is also written "until they are guilty," for so long as they do not acknowledge their guilt they will not be cured. And this is the intent of (Hosea 7:1): "When I heal Israel, then the transgression of Ephraim will be revealed and the evils of Shomron…" Now this is indeed cause for wonder, for the very opposite would seem to be dictated, as it is written (Jeremiah 50:20): "In those days and at that time the transgression of Israel will be sought, but it will not be there; and the sins of Judah, but they will not be found." If so, how can it be stated here that when Israel is healed, the transgression of Ephraim will be revealed! The verse, however, is to be understood as follows: The Prophet is comparing the forgiving of a sin to a doctor's coming to heal a grave wound over which has formed a surface coating of skin and flesh, the boil lurking beneath. That doctor will not begin to be able to heal the wound unless the patient allows him to open it, widen its edges, and bare its core. This is what the Blessed One is saying. At the time when Israel is healed, their sin will have to be revealed, for otherwise it cannot be healed. However, just as when the skillful doctor has opened the wound, widened its edges, and healed it, the wound will be sought and not be found, in the same way, after Israel has performed a perfect repentance and been cured of its sin, the sin will be sought and not be found. The administration of the treatment, however, requires the revealing of their sins; they cannot be cured otherwise. This is the intent of "until they are guilty" — that is, until they acknowledge themselves as guilty and bare their sins to Me. Then they will seek the L-rd and say (Hosea 6:1): "Let us go and return to the L-rd; for He has torn and healed us. He has smitten us and He will bind us up" — unlike the king of Ashur, who had the power only to do evil but not good, as it is written (Isaiah 10:5): "Woe, Ashur, the rod of My anger!" The verse continues (Hosea 6:2): "After two days, He will revive us. On the third day He shall lift us up and we shall live before Him." That is, when they will have repented completely after having placed their sins before their eyes, then all the days of their affliction, though extremely long, will be considered only as two days, all of their afflictions seeming as nothing in proportion to their sins — as is, indeed, the case. This is the intent of the statement: He will revive us from the days of affliction and exile, which amount to two days relative to our sins. The idea corresponds to (Ezra 9:13): "For You, our G-d, have been sparing, below our sins; and You have given us deliverance such as this." That is, the Blessed One does not exact payment of a man according to his sins, but far below them, as it is written (Deuteronomy 85): "And know in your heart that just as a man chastises his son, so the L-rd your G-d chastises you."