The third haftarah of admonition, the opening chapter of Isaiah, is the prophet’s chilling depiction of a “faithful city” (kiryah ne’emanah) that has become distorted and debased, a once noble society that has sunk to the level of Sodom and Gomorrah. What sins does Isaiah associate with such faithlessness? Isaiah notes ironically that there is no dearth of external piety, in fact, God is over-satiated to the point of disgust with the people’s offerings and prayers, nor is there any charge of sexual impropriety or impurity. Rather it is the ethical failure that the prophet decries, that the suffering of the people is caused by injustice, that there is indifference to the cries of the vulnerable, oppression caused by systemic greed, and a cadre of selfish and self-serving leaders.
Isaiah’s words are frightening and demand of us that we answer the question, “What is our vision of a righteous city?” What “pieties” are being used to justify ignoring immorality, greed, and self-interest? How should we view our communities? Have we fostered righteous conduct within and without, or are our communities becoming selfish and materialistic?
The prophet begins to answer these questions for his generation and for us. Isaiah tells us that society can be healed, and his terrifying vision of complete destruction avoided, by care and concern for the most vulnerable members of our society. Zion will be rebuilt through righteousness Isaiah says in the closing line of the haftarah. There will be righteous judges, dependable leaders, and the city will once again be faithful. The prophet is clear, only a just society can survive. This is the repentance envisioned by our prophets and is meant to guide our reflections in the coming weeks our long season of repentance.
On Saturday night, we will end our reading of the book of Eikhah, Lamentations, with the famous line, “Turn us, Lord, to You, and we shall return; renew our days as of old.” Even as we mourn the destructions of the past and the societal failures which led to them, we embrace this mission of return both individually and communally, a mission to restore our cities and society to those which become known, once again, as faithful towns filled with justice and compassion.
Shabbat Shalom –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
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