haftarat Devarim: Yeshaya 1

The haftara for parshat Devarim is the beginning of sefer Yeshaya, Chazon Yeshayahu. Although this starts the sefer, this is not necessarily Yeshayahu's first prophecy. Rather, we see in Yeshaya 1:1 that Yeshaya prophesied through the reigns of several Davidic kings, the first of whom was Uzziah:

א חֲזוֹן, יְשַׁעְיָהוּ בֶן-אָמוֹץ, אֲשֶׁר חָזָה, עַל-יְהוּדָה וִירוּשָׁלִָם--בִּימֵי עֻזִּיָּהוּ יוֹתָם אָחָז יְחִזְקִיָּהוּ, מַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה.

1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Many identify Yeshaya's first prophecy, and thus his initiation prophecy, as that in Yeshaya 6.

א בִּשְׁנַת-מוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ עֻזִּיָּהוּ, וָאֶרְאֶה אֶת-אֲדֹנָי יֹשֵׁב עַל-כִּסֵּא רָם וְנִשָּׂא; וְשׁוּלָיו, מְלֵאִים אֶת-הַהֵיכָל.

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

It happens in the year of Uzziah's death, but perhaps his death was later that year, or that this is enough to be considered prophesying in his reign, or his death is not meant but rather his affliction with leprosy and stepping down from the throne. (A discussion of the merits of the last would take us too far afield, but it is an interesting subject.)

And perek 6 has all the marks of an initiation prophecy. Just as Moshe protests that he is of slow of speech {Shemot 4:10-12}:

י וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-ה, בִּי אֲדֹנָי, לֹא אִישׁ דְּבָרִים אָנֹכִי גַּם מִתְּמוֹל גַּם מִשִּׁלְשֹׁם, גַּם מֵאָז דַּבֶּרְךָ אֶל-עַבְדֶּךָ: כִּי כְבַד-פֶּה וּכְבַד לָשׁוֹן, אָנֹכִי.	10 And Moses said unto the LORD: 'Oh Lord, I am not a man of words, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.'
יא וַיֹּאמֶר ה אֵלָיו, מִי שָׂם פֶּה לָאָדָם, אוֹ מִי-יָשׂוּם אִלֵּם, אוֹ חֵרֵשׁ אוֹ פִקֵּחַ אוֹ עִוֵּר--הֲלֹא אָנֹכִי, ה.	11 And the LORD said unto him: 'Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh a man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? is it not I the LORD?
יב וְעַתָּה, לֵךְ; וְאָנֹכִי אֶהְיֶה עִם-פִּיךָ, וְהוֹרֵיתִיךָ אֲשֶׁר תְּדַבֵּר.	12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt speak.'

and Yirmiyahu (last week's haftara), in his initiation prophecy, said that he could not speak eloquently, being a child:

ד וַיְהִי דְבַר-ה, אֵלַי לֵאמֹר.	4 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:
ה בְּטֶרֶם אצורך (אֶצָּרְךָ) בַבֶּטֶן יְדַעְתִּיךָ, וּבְטֶרֶם תֵּצֵא מֵרֶחֶם הִקְדַּשְׁתִּיךָ: נָבִיא לַגּוֹיִם, נְתַתִּיךָ.	5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.
ו וָאֹמַר, אֲהָהּ ה אלקים, הִנֵּה לֹא-יָדַעְתִּי, דַּבֵּר: כִּי-נַעַר, אָנֹכִי.	6 Then said I: 'Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child.'

In Yeshaya 6, as well, we see an initiation prophecy, with a call to be a prophet {Yeshaya 6:8-9}:

ח וָאֶשְׁמַע אֶת-קוֹל אֲדֹנָי, אֹמֵר, אֶת-מִי אֶשְׁלַח, וּמִי יֵלֶךְ-לָנוּ; וָאֹמַר, הִנְנִי שְׁלָחֵנִי.	8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: 'Here am I; send me.'
ט וַיֹּאמֶר, לֵךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ לָעָם הַזֶּה: שִׁמְעוּ שָׁמוֹעַ וְאַל-תָּבִינוּ, וּרְאוּ רָאוֹ וְאַל-תֵּדָעוּ.	9 And He said: 'Go, and tell this people: hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

and a protest that he is unable to be God's spokesman, being of unclean lips:

ה וָאֹמַר אוֹי-לִי כִי-נִדְמֵיתִי, כִּי אִישׁ טְמֵא-שְׂפָתַיִם אָנֹכִי, וּבְתוֹךְ עַם-טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם, אָנֹכִי יוֹשֵׁב: כִּי, אֶת-הַמֶּלֶךְ ה צְבָאוֹת--רָאוּ עֵינָי.	5 Then said I: Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
ו וַיָּעָף אֵלַי, אֶחָד מִן-הַשְּׂרָפִים, וּבְיָדוֹ, רִצְפָּה; בְּמֶלְקַחַיִם--לָקַח, מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ.	6 Then flew unto me one of the seraphim, with a glowing stone in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar;
ז וַיַּגַּע עַל-פִּי--וַיֹּאמֶר, הִנֵּה נָגַע זֶה עַל-שְׂפָתֶיךָ; וְסָר עֲו‍ֹנֶךָ, וְחַטָּאתְךָ תְּכֻפָּר.	7 and he touched my mouth with it, and said: Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin expiated.

One major theme in Yeshaya perek 1 is how Hashem does not want sacrifices and visits to His Temple. This seems at odds with much of Torah, in which Hashem commands the particulars of various sacrifices - olot, shelamim, etc., and commands visits to the mikdash 3 times a year. Yet in the haftara we read:

יא לָמָּה-לִּי רֹב-זִבְחֵיכֶם יֹאמַר ה, שָׂבַעְתִּי עֹלוֹת אֵילִים וְחֵלֶב מְרִיאִים; וְדַם פָּרִים וּכְבָשִׂים וְעַתּוּדִים, לֹא חָפָצְתִּי.	11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the LORD; I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.
יב כִּי תָבֹאוּ, לֵרָאוֹת פָּנָי--מִי-בִקֵּשׁ זֹאת מִיֶּדְכֶם, רְמֹס חֲצֵרָי.	12 When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample My courts?
יג לֹא תוֹסִיפוּ, הָבִיא מִנְחַת-שָׁוְא--קְטֹרֶת תּוֹעֵבָה הִיא, לִי; חֹדֶשׁ וְשַׁבָּת קְרֹא מִקְרָא, לֹא-אוּכַל אָוֶן וַעֲצָרָה.	13 Bring no more vain oblations; it is an offering of abomination unto Me; new moon and sabbath, the holding of convocations--I cannot endure iniquity along with the solemn assembly.
יד חָדְשֵׁיכֶם וּמוֹעֲדֵיכֶם שָׂנְאָה נַפְשִׁי, הָיוּ עָלַי לָטֹרַח; נִלְאֵיתִי, נְשֹׂא.	14 Your new moons and your appointed seasons My soul hateth; they are a burden unto Me; I am weary to bear them.
טו וּבְפָרִשְׂכֶם כַּפֵּיכֶם, אַעְלִים עֵינַי מִכֶּם--גַּם כִּי-תַרְבּוּ תְפִלָּה, אֵינֶנִּי שֹׁמֵעַ: יְדֵיכֶם, דָּמִים מָלֵאוּ.	15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood.
טז רַחֲצוּ, הִזַּכּוּ--הָסִירוּ רֹעַ מַעַלְלֵיכֶם, מִנֶּגֶד עֵינָי: חִדְלוּ, הָרֵעַ.	16 Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes, cease to do evil;
יז לִמְדוּ הֵיטֵב דִּרְשׁוּ מִשְׁפָּט, אַשְּׁרוּ חָמוֹץ; שִׁפְטוּ יָתוֹם, רִיבוּ אַלְמָנָה.	17 Learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

I don't believe there is any contradiction here. The Torah, after all, also commands us to eschew bloodshed and iniquity, seeking justice and relieving of the oppressed. At issue here is priority. When the commands relating to conduct between man and his fellow are not followed, and the private keeping of bein adam lamakom as well are not followed (see verses 2-4 above) -- the fact that they follow rituals and bring sacrifices mean little. They are מִנְחַת-שָׁוְא - vain oblations, reflecting nothing deeper. If Israel conducts itself properly, keeps the mitzvot relating to man and to God, and seriously desires a heart-felt connection to God, then the korbanot - sacrifices, can mean something, and bolster this connection.

Similarly, in verse 15, Hashem speaks of ignoring tefilla - prayer. This is not because Hashem dislikes prayer as a way of connecting to Him, but rather, they are spreading forth their hands to seek help from Hashem, but those same hands are filled with blood from the innocents they have actually or metaphorically killed. Remove the iniquity from their hands (as in verses 16 and 17) and Hashem will accept the tefilla once more. The same goes for the korbanot, and visits to the Mikdash.

Let us focus now on verse 15.

טו וּבְפָרִשְׂכֶם כַּפֵּיכֶם, אַעְלִים עֵינַי מִכֶּם--גַּם כִּי-תַרְבּוּ תְפִלָּה, אֵינֶנִּי שֹׁמֵעַ: יְדֵיכֶם, דָּמִים מָלֵאוּ.

15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood.

While often people think of tefillah as a post-destruction of the Temple institution, since sacrifices could no longer be brought, here we see that there was a concept of tefillah even back then, with spreading out the hands as part of the practice. We know of various Biblical prayers, such as that of Yaakov, and such as that of Moshe to heal Miriam and to enter the land. Here we see that people in general pray - and it is in some way juxtaposed to korbanot.

{I should also mention here Hoshea 14:3, which Chazal point to as a source for tefillah substituting for sacrifices:

ג קְחוּ עִמָּכֶם דְּבָרִים, וְשׁוּבוּ אֶל-ה; אִמְרוּ אֵלָיו, כָּל-תִּשָּׂא עָו‍ֹן וְקַח-טוֹב, וּנְשַׁלְּמָה פָרִים, שְׂפָתֵינוּ

3 Take with you words, and return unto the LORD; say unto Him: 'Forgive all iniquity, and accept that which is good; so will we render for bullocks the offering of our lips.

}

The gemara has an interesting take on verse 15, from Niddah 13b, (which the Rif cites "lehalacha," and which I'll be posting fairly soon when the Rif digresses, on page 39a in the Rif on Shabbat). Here, the "blood on the hands" which causes Hashem to ignore one's tefillah refers to a different sin:

Rav said: A man who wilfully causes erection should be placed under the ban.
But why did he not say, 'This is forbidden'?
Because the man merely incites his evil inclination against himself.
Rabbi Ammi said: He is called a kofer, because such is the art of the evil inclination: To-day it incites man to do one wrong thing, and to-morrow it incites him to worship idols and he proceeds to worship them.

Some say, Rabbi Ammi said: He who excites himself by lustful thoughts will not be allowed to enter the division of the Holy One, blessed be He. For here it is written {Bereishit 38:10}:

י וַיֵּרַע בְּעֵינֵי ה, אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה; וַיָּמֶת, גַּם-אֹתוֹ.

10 And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of the LORD; and He slew him also.

and there it is written {Tehillim 5:5}:

ה כִּי, לֹא אֵל חָפֵץ רֶשַׁע אָתָּה: לֹא יְגֻרְךָ רָע.

5 For Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness; evil shall not sojourn with Thee.

Rabbi Eliezer said: What is meant by לֹא יְגֻרְךָ רָע? In your dwelling evil shall not sojourn.

And Rabbi Eliezer said: What is meant by that which is written {Yeshaya 1:15}:

טו וּבְפָרִשְׂכֶם כַּפֵּיכֶם, אַעְלִים עֵינַי מִכֶּם--גַּם כִּי-תַרְבּוּ תְפִלָּה, אֵינֶנִּי שֹׁמֵעַ: יְדֵיכֶם, דָּמִים מָלֵאוּ.

15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood.

Those that commit sexual impropriety {=masturbation} with their hands.

It was taught at the school of Rabbi Yishmael: {Shemot 20:12}

יב לֹא תִרְצָח, {ס} לֹא תִנְאָף; {ס} לֹא תִגְנֹב, {ס} לֹא-תַעֲנֶה בְרֵעֲךָ עֵד שָׁקֶר.

12 Thou shalt not murder. {S} Thou shalt not commit adultery. {S} Thou shalt not steal. {S} Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. {S}

implies, Thou shalt not practise sexual impropriety {=masturbation} either with hand or with foot.

Similarly, Chazal (on Brachot 8a, cited by the Rif on 4a in his pages) have a more practical, day to-day, concrete application of forsaking Hashem, mentioned in in Yeshaya 1:28.

And Rav Chiyya bar Ami further cited Ulla: What is meant by the pasuk in Yeshaya 1:28?

כח וְשֶׁבֶר פֹּשְׁעִים וְחַטָּאִים, יַחְדָּו; וְעֹזְבֵי ה, יִכְלוּ.

28 But the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

This is the one who leaves the Sefer Torah when it is opened, and exits.

Rabbi Abahu left between aliyot. {between one man and the next}
Rava asked: Between verses, what? {may one leave?}

Teku. {the question stands.}