Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Isaias 58:3

press [Hebrew: yiggos̀] i.e., “oppress”, as in “you exact [Hebrew: tingos̀u] all your payments” [Isaiah 58: 3] (in which one can see the nun , which normally disappears in the future form of a peh-nun verb).

“There is no peace for the wicked” [57:21]. That is to say, the Holy One said: I will give the evildoers no peace and I will let them be warned by the prophets, in order to punish them, so that they should not say, we did not know what is a your sin. Therefore, the verse says here, “cry with full throat, without restraint; raise your voice, like a ram’s horn” [58:1]. This means, cry with your throat, shout very loud, like a ram’s horn, and tell Israel all of their sins. These same evildoers present themselves as very pious, just like they would love Me, God. They bow down at Modim [we thank you] often. Therefore the verse says, “they seek me daily” [58:2]. They come into the synagogue to seek Me, just like they wanted to know My path. Therefore he says, “eager to learn My ways” [58:2]. They always seek Me and do not desire to observe this. They fast and they do not receive what they desire. He says, why should we fast? Should we torment our bodies because He heeds our fasts? Concerning this, the verse says, “why, when we fasted, did You pay no heed?” [58:3]. That is to say, we fast and God does not look upon our fasts and we torment our bodies and you do not want to know. The Holy One responds, “because on your fast day you see to your business” [58:3]. That is, how should I accept your fasts when you fast? You follow all of you desires. You play cards and discuss the news. You spend the day and sometimes engage in slander about people in the course of your conversation.⁶Radak, Isaiah, 58:3.

אך בעשור לחודש השביעי, even though on all the other days described in this chapter as מקראי קודש it is proper to express our joy on these days by means of food and drink, as we know from Nechemyah 8,10 where Ezra asks the people on New Year’s day אכלו משמנים ושתו ממתקים, “eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks,” the tenth of this month the day known as Yom Hakippurim, Day of Atonement, is a day devoted to confession of our sins and a day when a person comes to grips with the sins he has been guilty of. On this day it is not in order to preoccupy oneself with anything other than the quest to obtain G’d’s forgiveness and to achieve expiation of one’s sins. Instead of eating and drinking, the order of the day has been best expressed by Isaiah 58,3 הן ביום צומכם תמצאו חפץ וכל עצביכם תנגושו, “because on your fast day you see to your business and you oppress your labourers!” [the prophet sarcastically chastises the people who, while technically fasting, expect G’d to listen to their requests while they continue in their wicked ways, going only through the motions in their religious observance. Ed.]