* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
The dramatic events of the last few days leave us wondering where we are headed.
When so many question marks surround us, it is worthwhile to remember the exclamation marks that punctuate our lives: God, Torah, and the nation of Israel.
There are also eternal prophecies that remind us of the purpose of our story and where we are going. During these weeks between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hashanah, we read the seven haftarahs of consolation from the prophet Isaiah. This coming Shabbat we will read about the return to our land and to our faith when the world will recognize the truth emanating from the Land of Israel as the final redemption arrives and “The cries of violence (hamas in Hebrew) shall no longer be heard in your land, ruin and devastation within your borders.”
Violence (hamas), ruin, and devastation come from without and from within, but they will cease. Not only will Hamas and its well-dressed murderous leaders in Qatar be annihilated, but all the evil in the world and within us.
Isaiah’s prophecy continues: “You shall call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.”
During tumultuous days it is worthwhile to remember that, generation after generation, our ancestors read the prophecies of consolation that we are reading today. Isaiah helped them see where they were going and he helps us see where we are going too. May we merit not only to read Isaiah’s words but to see them materialize in full without delay.
