Isaiah 27:6-28:13; 29:22-23.
This week's haftorah parallels the week's Torah reading on many
levels. One of the parallels is the message of Redemption conveyed by Isaiah --
"and you shall be gathered one by one, O children of Israel" -- that is
reminiscent of the message of Redemption that G‑d spoke to Moses at the burning
bush; a message that Moses then communicated to Pharaoh.
The haftorah vacillates between Isaiah's prophecies concerning the
future redemption, and his admonitions concerning the Jews' drunken and G‑dless
behavior. Isaiah starts on a positive note: "In the coming days, Jacob will take
root, Israel will bud and blossom, filling the face of the earth..." He mentions G‑d's
mercy for His nation and the measure-for-measure punishment He meted out upon the Egyptians
who persecuted them. And regarding the future redemption: "And you shall be
gathered one by one, O children of Israel. And it shall come to pass
on that day, that a great shofar shall be sounded, and those lost in the
land of Assyria and those exiled in the land of Egypt shall come and they shall
prostrate themselves before the Lord on the holy mount in Jerusalem."
The prophet then proceeds to berate the drunkenness of the Ten Tribes, warning them of the punishment
that awaits them. "With the feet, they shall be trampled, the crown of the pride
of the drunkards of Ephraim..."
The haftorah ends on a positive note: "Now Jacob shall not longer be ashamed, and
now his face shall not pale. For, when he sees his children, the
work of My hands, in his midst, who shall sanctify My name . . . and the God of Israel they shall revere."
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