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Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed.

— Joseph Addison^[1] 

Life takes us by surprise and orders us to move toward the unknown — even when we don’t want to and when we think we don’t need to.

— Paulo Coelho

Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. He founded The Spectator magazine.

Isaiah 66:1-24

Synopsis

Our haftara is taken from the last chapter of Yishaya. The penultimate verse makes explicit reference to Rosh Hodesh: ‘And it shall come to pass, that every new moon, and every Sabbath, shall all flesh come to bow down  to the ground before Me, says the Lord’. (66:23) The prophecy begins with a criticism of Israel, yet,  the bulk of the prophecy highlights the Israel of the future that will be post-Teshuba (repentance/return). It speaks of the opening  of boundaries, rebirth, renewal, and return.

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On 23rd March 1792, Joseph Haydn debuted his 94th Symphony in London. On a whim, at the last minute, he decided to add a ‘surprise’ to the soft and gentle second movement with a startlingly loud and abrupt chord^[1]. There is much speculation as to why exactly he did this, but one point is consistent in all of the accounts: he wanted to present something new and exciting that had not been heard before to the audience. The ‘Surprise’ symphony was a great success and he achieved great acclaim in London.

People tend to have a love-hate relationship with surprises. On the one hand we like the excitement of being presented with something utterly unexpected, but on the other it causes us a significant amount of unease. This is because we are reminded that life is unpredictable and although we think we have a handle on things, surprises shock us to the contrary.

God’s introductory words to this week’s haftara proclaim that He is beyond all limits.

Thus said God: The heaven is My throne And the earth is My footstool: What house could you build for Me,  What place could serve as My abode? (66:1)

On 23rd March 1792, Joseph Haydn debuted his 94th Symphony in London. On a whim, at the last minute, he decided to add a ‘surprise’ to the soft and gentle second movement with a startlingly loud and abrupt chord^[1]. There is much speculation as to why exactly he did this, but one point is consistent in all of the accounts: he wanted to present something new and exciting that had not been heard before to the audience. The ‘Surprise’ symphony was a great success and he achieved great acclaim in London.

People tend to have a love-hate relationship with surprises. On the one hand we like the excitement of being presented with something utterly unexpected, but on the other it causes us a significant amount of unease. This is because we are reminded that life is unpredictable and although we think we have a handle on things, surprises shock us to the contrary.

God’s introductory words to this week’s haftara proclaim that He is beyond all limits.

Thus said God: The heaven is My throne And the earth is My footstool: What house could you build for Me,  What place could serve as My abode? (66:1)

This sets the tone for the prophecy that follows. God is without limit and his Creation abounds with the new and unexpected that draws from the infinity of His being.

We read this on Rosh Hodesh because Rosh Hodesh celebrates the new moon and the renewal of life and creation itself. We do not simply see God as the Creator, but as the one who always renews Creation.

Sing to God, bless His name, proclaim His salvation day after day. (Psalms, 96:2)

‘His salvation day after day’ – His salvation is renewed every day, for He renews creation every day and sprouts new salvations every day. The proclamation (mentioned in the verse) will not be on something expected and usual, rather on something doubtful, irregular and infrequent. Usual events need no proclamation. (Malbim, ibid.)

Being devoted to God includes being open to the surprise developments of the world and to responding to them. The haftara calls such open people, חרדים – haredim – lit., ‘those who tremble’.

Hear the word of God, You who tremble from His word! Your kinsmen who hate you,

 Who reject you because of Me…. (66:5)

The word חרד – hared is used throughout Tanakh as a word that expresses shock.

With Yitshak and Esav:

Yitshak his father said to him (Esav) Which one are you? He said: I am your firstborn, Esav. Yitzhak trembled (חרד) with very great trembling and said: Who then was he that hunted down game and brought it to me??

 I ate it all before you came and I gave him my blessing! (Gen., 27:32-33)

Joseph’s brothers:

He said to his brothers: My silver has returned — yes here in my pack! Their hearts gave way, and they trembled (חרד) one to another, saying: What is this that God has done to us?? (ibid., 42:28)

Rashi^[2] explains based on the Targum Yonatan that the word hared itself expresses surprise.

As its translation [in Targum Yonatan]: חרד = ותוה – “he was astonished,”
the language of surprise.

To be a proper haredi then, we must be open to the new developments of the world and its surprising twists and turns. It is for this reason that the theme of this haftara about haredim is novelty and renewal. The more that we are rigid and set in our ways the further we are from becoming haredim. 

For as the new heaven and the new earth which I will make shall endure by My will… And new moon after new moon, And Sabbath after Sabbath, All flesh shall come to bow before Me —said the Lord. (66:22-23)

The fact that it coincides with perashat Korah is profoundly meaningful.

Korah’s attack on Moshe and Aharon was not one that came from a care for God or His plans but rather from his own selfish agenda for power. He cleverly used God as a cover for his jealous assault.

Korah betook himself…to rise up before Moshe…they assembled against Moshe and Aharon and said to them:  Too much is yours! Indeed, the entire community are holy, and God is in their midst!  Why then do you exalt yourselves over the assembly of God?
(Num., 15:1-3) 

In reality though it was only about Korah and his aim to secure power and superiority. He was so committed to this that he was prepared to watch hundreds of people die so that he might achieve it.

Moshe warned them, ‘The man that God chooses, he is the one sanctified…’(Num., 16:7). Is that not obvious? But he was telling them, you are 250 men here — the one who is chosen he will be the one to  walk away alive — the rest of you are dead! …Korah was a wise fellow – how did he allow himself to go along with such a trial?  His vision of the future fooled him — he saw that great people would descend from him,  Like Shemuel the prophet, who was as great as Moshe and Aharon…So he agreed to the plan, assuming that the others would all be killed but one would be chosen — himself!
(Tanhuma, Korah, 5)

Korah could not come to terms with how God had actually established the reality. He had convinced himself that he was right and that God was on his side.

When we resist the developments of the world and build fortifications against them, we cannot be the haredim that Yishaya refers to. Why? Because we reject the new and shun surprise. We become desperate and attempt to maintain control over any and all developments. But God works in mysterious and unpredictable ways.

For My plans are not your plans, nor are My ways your ways —declares God…But as the heavens are high above  the earth, So are My ways high above your ways and My plans above your plans. (Isaiah, 55:8-9)

There is a special future that the Jewish people hope for as part of the cornerstone of their belief system that draws from this celebration of the new. We believe that by our efforts and dedication to always remaining engaged in God’s changing world, we thus maintain our true bond with Him — never assuming but instead, responding to his astonishing ways. In doing so, we will merit living again even after we die so that we may see the fruits of our labour that we invested across the millennia.

The King who puts to death and brings to life and sprouts salvation, You are faithful to bring the dead to life….(Siddur, Amida)

This is one of the thirteen core tenets of faith in Judaism. For it is only fitting that those people who, across time have lent their hands to the development and unfolding of the world,  rather than its hinderance, should merit seeing it at its culmination, even if it means rising from the dead.

The exact opposite happens to those of Korah and his ilk who seek to stop, with all their force and might, God’s guidance of the world’s ever-surprising growth.

But if God creates a new creation and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them…then you shall know that these men scorned God. Now it was, just as he (Moshe) finished speaking all these words,… The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all the human beings that belonged to Korah…so they went down, they and all theirs, alive into She’ol (the underworld). (Num., 16:30-33)

Korah experienced the antithesis of Tehiyat haMetim (revival of the dead). It is the Haredim of Yishaya who merit living again.

‘They tremble at my word’ (66:5) — they are destined to be revived from the dead in the days of Mashiah.  (Radak, ibid.)

Korah teaches us that we can be quite adept at convincing ourselves that we are correct. We can go through all the right motions to look like we are right. And while evidence in the world may steadily mount to prove us wrong we tend to block the cracks that this evidence creates in our constructs time and again. At this point we have a vital choice to make. We can give way to the natural instincts that whisper ‘kill or be killed’ in our ears, or we can pause and choose to lean into the discomfort, question its points, and perhaps reconsider the nature of our fortifications and whether they are truly serving us best. In the end, regardless of our personal choices, what is true and viable prevails. It always does. And while we may or may not live to see it with our own eyes, we should be thankful that we can recognise it, be honoured to serve its purpose and await its coming.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Joseph Dweck

^[1] The clip can be heard in the audio reading of the essay.

^[2] Gen., 27:33.