Haftorah: The Exiles in the Lands of Ashur and Egypt

Haftorah: The Exiles in the Lands of Ashur and Egypt

הרב אברהם ריבלין, המשגיח הרוחני לשעבר

Parshat Shemot describes the difficult exile of Bnei Yisrael in Egypt. In the Haftorah there are two verses that talk of the redemption of Israel from Egypt in the future (Yeshaya 27:12-13):

It shall be on that day that Hashem will thresh (beat), from the surging [Euphrates] River to the Brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, O Children of Israel.It shall be on that day that a great shofar will be blown, and those who are lost in the land of Ashur and those cast away in the land of Egypt will come [together], and they will prostrate themselves to Hashem on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim.

The two expressions, "Hashem will thresh (beat) ... and you will be gathered up one by one," are images taken from an agricultural setting. With certain trees and with grain, the process of gathering the fruit begins with beating the tree or threshing the grain -- "When you beat your olive tree" (Devarim 24:20); "threshing wheat" (Shoftim 6:11) -- and continues with gathering the fruit or grain that fell on the ground. In our context, the beating serves in two directions. First, it is a punishment of the nations, who will be beaten for having afflicted Israel and exiling them. At the same time, the beating serves as the beginning of the process of redemption, since, through the beating, the fruit (or kernels of grain) are separated from the tree (or stalk) and it is possible to collect them. In the same way, the beating of the nations makes it possible to take Bnei Yisrael out from amongst them and from assimilating in the exile -- "and you will be gathered up one by one, O Children of Israel."

Each of the two verses identifies two corresponding geographic places. The "River" mentioned in v. 12 is "the great river, the Euphrates River" (Bereishit 15:18), which is found in the corresponding boundary, "the land of Ashur" (v. 13), which is to the north of Israel. "The Brook of Egypt," which is mentioned in v. 12 is found, obviously, in "the Land of Egypt," which is to the south. The mention of these two rivers and these two kingdoms has a double purpose. First, "since they were the two great kingdoms of that time, and most of the exiles of Israel were in them." (Daat Mikra) In addition, the two rivers form the boundaries of the Land promised to Avraham -- "On that day Hashem made a covenant with Avraham, saying, 'To your descendents I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River.'" (Bereishit 15:18) Thus, according to either explanation, both the reality (the exiles that are in Ashur and Egypt) and the ideal (the borders of the promised land) -- both the dark exile of the present and the future dream of the redemption of the people and the Land -- are bounded between the two rivers and the two lands that Yeshaya mentions in these verses.

In the Chasidic works, the exiles in "the Land of Ashur" and "the Land of Egypt (Mitzrayim)" symbolize two different facets of the exile. There is the exile in the land of "Ashur," in which the Jews are "ma'usharim" (happy) in the exile. They enjoy equal rights and good income and don't feel (at the moment) an oppressive environment and anti-Semitism towards them. There is also an exile in the land of "Mitzrayim," where the Jews experience troubles and restrictions ("meitzarim"), and the surrounding non-Jews oppress them with various harsh degrees. As we know, both from the admonitions of the Torah and the Prophets, as well as from the course of Jewish history, the first exile in the land of Ashur is more dangerous than the other exile in the land of Egypt. In the latter one, the Jews are separated from the other nations, even though it is through troubles and afflictions. However, in the "exile of Ashur," because of the good economic conditions of the Jews, the desire to be like the other nations and the tendency to mix with the non-Jewish inhabitants are cause for greater and greater assimilation, which lead the nation to its being lost.

Yeshaya hints parenthetically to this difference in each of the verses. In v. 12, the exile of Ashur in called "the surging [Euphrates] River," and that of Egypt is called, "the Brook of Egypt." "The Brook of Egypt" is a gentler and calmer expression than "the surging River." A river is bigger than a brook, and there is a greater risk of drowning and sinking in it. The expression, "the surging river" ("shibolet hanahar"), is especially sharp. According to the Radak, this refers to the forceful flow of the water. In today's terms, "shibolet hanahar" is a whirlpool, from which most do not return. Yeshaya's usage of this expression specifically regarding the exile of Ashur signifies an explicit warning against an exile in which the Jews feel "me'usharim" (happy).

In v. 13, as well, Yeshaya emphasizes the difference between the exiles. Those exiled to the land of Ashur are called "lost," whereas those who are in the exile of Egypt are called "cast away." The expression, "cast away," is more mild than the expression "lost," since something that is cast away is possible to gather, even if it entails difficulty. "Lost," on the other hand, means complete annihilation, G-d forbid, since the owner generally gives up hope of recovering something that is lost. In the land of Egypt and an exile of "meitzar" (straits) perhaps the Jews are cast off, but in the land of Ashur the danger is very likely that the Jews, G-d forbid, will become lost.

Both for these and for those, G-d willing, the complete redemption will come: "It shall be on that day that a great shofar will be blown, and those who are lost in the land of Ashur and those cast away in the land of Egypt will come [together], and they will prostrate themselves to Hashem on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim."

 

 

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