The Haftarah for Parashat Yitro 5762

Read from the Prophet Yeshayahu's (Isaiah) Book.
Chapter 6:1-13,7:1-6,9:5-6
Isaiah's Vision of Hashem on his Throne of Glory.

The Story Line of This Week's Haftorah: Isaiah's call to prophesy starts with the Ma'aseh Merkavah or the Vision of the Heavenly Chariot (also seen by Ezekiel). Isaiah prophecies include a vision of Hashem and his heavenly throne surrounded by angels. The angels recite the famous passuk "Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, Hashem zevakot meloh chol ha'aretz i," "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, His Glory fills the World!" The door posts of the Bait Hamikdash shook from the sound of the voices and the Temple was filled with smoke. Then Isaiah says "I'm not worthy to see these things, because I am a man of unclean lips who lives amongst a people of unclean lips." What Isaiah was saying was "I'm not worthy for this job because I've spoken Loshon Hara and the nation of Israel speaks Loshon Hara." Isaiah was shown the Vision of Hashem's throne for three reasons. One of them, was because it was like the like the "tip of the iceberg" spiritually, it was to open Isaiah's mind so that it would be exposed to experience the infinite holiness of Hashem. If Isaiah could experience it, he could begin to share it with other people. He would be able to share how great and awesome Hashem was. Another reason Hashem wanted Isaiah to see the throne being lifting up and out from the Bait Hamikdash was the foreshadowing symbol of the process of the Jewish people going into exile is about to happen. An angel then touches Isaiah's lips with a hot coal and "removes" the sin of Loshon Hara. Then Isaiah hears Hashem's voice asking, "Whom shall I send to tell the people and Isaiah says, 'Send me!" Hashem then gives Isaiah. Yeshayahu is instructed to give a message to King Achaz of Judah. He was told that enemies will try to rise up against them however they will be unsuccessful. The Haftorah concludes with our being told of the birth of a righteous King, Chizkiyahu who had the potential to be the Mashiach and would be capable of uniting the people of Israel to do teshuvah and bring on the Messianic period.

The Haftorah's Connection between the Parasha and Haftorah: In This weeks Parasha (torah reading) the Jewish nation experienced the revelation of the Hashem's Sheeting at Mount Sinai during the giving of the Ten Commandments. In the Haftorah the prophet Isaiah also has a prophetic vision of the Shechina.

Haftorahman's Lesson of the week: Whoops! Isaiah should never have said anything bad about Hashem's people. Even if the accusation is true, Hashem is very protective of his "children" and everyone should be careful before they even think of saying anything bad about Hashem's nation.

Isaiah's Biography:· Name means "Salvation of Hashem"
· Wrote his own book 66, chapters long
· Father was a prophet named Amoz
· Was from a royal family and had access to the Bait Hamikdash. ( The Holy Temple)
· He was born in the year 765 b.c.e. (8th century) about 2760 years ago.
· 25 years old when he had his first prophetic vision.
· After Moses he was considered to be the greatest of all prophets.
· 4 prophets lived in Isaiah's time - Hosea, Amos, Michah and Isaiah.
· Born circumcised
· He survived 4 kings - Uzziah, Yotham , Ahaz, Hezkiah
· He lived 120 years
· Isaiah said he saw a "vision" of f Hashem's throne.
· He had one wife and two sons. His sons names were Maher Shlal Baz & Shear Yashuv.
· He was killed by Menasheh the King of Judah.
· He predicted Israel's demise

Timeline: This story occurred about 2600 years ago.

Map: Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem.

Written by: The Haftorahman - Reuven Gavriel ben Nissim Ebrahimoff 5762-2001

If you have any thoughts or questions, please contact me at: haftorahman@aol.com