Yeshayahu 51 | "They Will Return, Those the Lord Has Claimed, Arriving In Zion In Song"

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January 30 2025
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Nearly the entire chapter is a message of consolation for those dwelling in desolate Zion, filled with promises of a brighter future. The prophet employs imagery, allegories, and references to familiar stories to encourage the small remnant of the people residing in Jerusalem. Let us highlight three key themes:

References to Familiar Stories from the Torah: The prophet recalls the forefathers of the nation, who began as a small family and grew into a great nation: "Look to your father, Avraham, to Sara who gave you birth, for I called him, one alone, and blessed him, made him many(Yeshayahu 51:2). He speaks of Gan Eden, declaring that Jerusalem and its surroundings will become like it: "And the Lord has comforted Zion, brought comfort to all her ruins; He has made her desert like Eden, her arid land like the Lord’s garden; celebration, Joy are found in her, and thanks, and sounds of song" (51:3). The prophet also evokes the splitting of the Sea: "Was it not You who dried the ocean, the waters of endless deeps, making the depths of the ocean a path for redeemed ones to travel?" (51:10).

Jerusalem's Enemies: A significant portion of the prophecy addresses Jerusalem's enemies, emphasizing their transience and insignificance in contrast to God's eternal power: "For moths will eat them up like cloth, like wool, the grubs will eat them while My justice, that will always be, My rescue though all ages" (51:8). Following this prophetic assurance of the downfall of God's enemies, the prophet bursts into prayer, pleading for salvation to arrive: "Rise, rise, and don your dress of might, the Lord’s strong arm. Rise as long ago in the earliest time" (51:9). The prophet observes Jerusalem's suffering, knowing that God can instantly reverse it, and struggles to understand why the enemies still trouble them. God's response is to reassure them once more that they have nothing to fear from their temporary oppressors: "It is I, I who comfort you. Who are you to fear mortal man, humanity, that ends like grass, forgetting the Lord who made you, who stretched out the skies, lays down the earth? All day you fear the oppressor’s rage as he makes his schemes of violence, yet where is the oppressor’s rage?" (51:12–13).

The Poisoned Goblet: The prophecy uses the motif of the "the poisoned goblet," which God will cease to give to the people of Israel and will instead hand to their enemies. First, the prophet describes how Jerusalem has finished drinking the cup and can therefore cease to suffer and be afflicted: “Rouse, rouse yourself and rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the Lord’s hand, His full cup of rage, the poisoned goblet, drunk and drained it." (51:17). But this is not enough; in the next stage, the cup must be taken away from Jerusalem, lest she continue to pour more for herself: "So says the Lord, your Lord; so your God fights His people’s cause: Behold: I have taken the poisoned cup from your hand, the goblet of My rage; you will drink from it no more. I shall place it in the hands of those who torment you, who have said to your face, 'Bow down to let us pass.'" (51:22–23). The imagery is that of a drunken woman who cannot manage her issues and continues to pour herself more "poison" that harms her. The allegory suggests that the sins of the people are the poison, linking this image to other places in the Tanakh where God promises to help Israel return to Him, thereby preventing them from bringing punishment upon themselves.

Series: Nach Yomi

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Collections: Sefi Eliash Sefer Yeshayahu

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    Learning on the Marcos and Adina Katz YUTorah site is sponsored today by Miriam & Alan Goldberg and Ruth Peyser Kestenbaum to mark the twelfth yahrtzeit of their father, Irwin Peyser, Harav Yisroel Chaim ben R' Dovid V' Fraidah Raizel Peyser and by Francine Lashinsky and Dr. Alexander and Meryl Weingarten in memory of Mary Wininger, Matel bat Ephraim, z"l on the occasion of her yahrzeit on the 29th of Shevat and in honor of their children, Mark, Michael, Julie, Marnie and Michelle, and in gratitude to Hashem for the release of Agam bat Meirav Berger and for the zechut of the other hostages and the chayalim