Explanation of the Haftarah of Parshat Lech Lecha

Explanation of the Haftarah of Parshat Lech Lecha

7 Cheshvan 5787 | Oct. 18, 2026

The Connection between the Haftarah and the Parsha

In the Haftarah, it speaks about Avraham, as it is written: "Who raised up one from the east whom righteousness met wherever he set his foot, gave the nations before him," etc., which speaks of his war with the four kings, and this is similar to the Parsha in which the war of Avraham with the four kings is written.

The Content of the Haftarah

The prophet complains about Israel that while they are in exile, they say that their way is hidden, Heaven forbid, from Hashem because He does not watch over them.

Why does the way of the wicked prosper? And concerning this, He says to them: Have they not heard and known of His greatness, blessed be He, which has no search and limit? And He is the one who gives strength to the weary.

And lift up your eyes on high and see who created all the host of the heavens, that Hashem watches over you and your way is not hidden from Him, Heaven forbid, except that it is not within our ability to understand His way.

Afterwards, the prophet turns to the nations of the world, who say that He has no power, Heaven forbid, to save Israel, and says to them: Who helped Avraham in his war with the four kings when he fought against a great and numerous people and not a man was missing from him, and they all returned in peace. "Is not Hashem the caller of the generations from the beginning," He is the one who helped him and certainly will help Israel and take them out of exile, and their enemies, the worshippers of idols, will be ashamed and humiliated when they see the greatness of Israel.

The Holy One, blessed be He, strengthens Israel so that they will not fear, "For I am with you," "Fear not, you worm Yaakov," for He will help you, and all your enemies will be like chaff that the wind carries away, and you will rejoice and exult in Hashem, blessed be He.

Yishayahu Chapter 40 Verse 27 - Chapter 41 Verse 1

27 The prophet asks Why do you say, O Yaakov — they are the multitude of the nation — and speak, O Israel — they are the great ones and the leaders of the people (Malbim) — "My way is hidden from Hashem that Hashem left me in exile and does not watch over me, and my judgment [a]  is passed over from my L-rd" and my judgment that I had against the Gentiles passed away from Him and He did not judge them (Radak): 28 Have you not known? Behold, you can understand on your own knowledge have you not heard from the teacher, for the L-rd of the world, Hashem, he is the one who created the ends of the earth that created the earth from end to end, He neither tires nor wearies and continues to supervise them every moment and second, there is no fathoming of His understanding and we cannot research and know His wisdom, and therefore He certainly did not remove His providence from you (Radak): 29 He gives power to the tired [c] the time will come and the Holy One, blessed be He, will give power to Israel who are tired and weary from the exile, and to him who has no might to Israel who are very weak in exile He increases strength He will give them great power and strength to go out from the exile (according to Radak): 30 Youths may grow tired [d] and weary the wicked of the nations of the world who add strength like youths will tire and their strength will cease [when the time of redemption arrives], and young men will utterly stumble and those wicked ones who are strong like young men, when Hashem wills it, their strength will not avail them (Radak): 31 But those who wait for Hashem shall exchange their strength the nation of Israel who trust in Hashem and hope for His salvation will be renewed with great powers and will merit new strength at every time, they shall mount up with wings as eagles they will grow a wing like eagles quickly to fly to their land [for the eagle mounts up for ten years very high, and from the heat of the sun falls into the sea and replaces its feathers and so is the order up to a hundred years and after that dies; so with Israel they will always be renewed], they shall run and not be weary they will run to their land and not tire on the way, they shall walk and not tired and also when they walk they will not tire at all (Radak):

Chapter 41

1 Keep silence before Me, O islands [e] be quiet and listen to Me, dwellers of the islands, and let the peoples exchange their strength let them strengthen themselves with claims against Me if they can answer Me, let them draw near, to judgment and let them listen to My words then let them speak, and then let them speak if they have at all any more claims, let us together draw near for judgment I and they, let us draw near to rebuke them to their face and they will see that I save my nation  (Radak): 2 Who aroused from the East [f] Avraham our father, who came from the East to leave his land and his birthplace, and to reject the idols of his land: Righteousness calls him to his foot To be a wanderer from place to place on foot, to call upon the inhabitants of the world to serve Hashem, and to practice righteousness and justice. He gives nations before him and subdues kings Who is it that will give before Avraham the nations, and make him king and ruler over the kings, for all submitted to him? He makes his sword like dust [g] With his sword he will strike down many slain like dust. Like driven straw is his bow And with his bow he will crush his enemies, and they will fall before him like driven straw. (Radak): 3. He pursues them, passing in safety, a path by his feet he does not tread Avraham pursued the kings and passed in peace, for not a single one of his men died in battle. And he passed along a path he had never walked before, and through all this he succeeded over his enemies and no bad mishap befell him (Rashi and Radak): 4. Who performed and did Who is it that performed and did this? Is it not Hashem? Who calls the generations from the beginning Who calls the generations from the beginning, and says from the outset what will happen at the end of generations; [h] I, Hashem, am the first To perform wonders and to help all the generations that have passed, and with the last ones I am He And to the latest generations, I am also there to help and to save (Rashi): 5. The islands saw and feared [i] The inhabitants of the islands saw what I did for Avraham and feared, and also the inhabitants at the ends of the earth they trembled feared. They drew near and came They drew near and came to Avraham (Radak), and despite all this: 6. Each one helps his neighbor And even though they saw the wonders of Hashem in the days of Avraham, through all this each one helped another to make idols, and to his brother he says, "Be strong!" In the making of idols (M.D.): 7. And the craftsman encourages In his words, the smith The craftsman who makes idols, the refiner [j] To be prompt in smelting for the need of the idols, smooths with the hammer The one who strikes with a small hammer to smooth the metal plate at the start of hammering, strikes the anvil Strikes with a large hammer to flatten and straighten the metal plate further and with great force; he says of the cement, "Behold, it is good," When he sticks the metal plate onto the idol, he says, Behold, it is good, and fastens it with nails so that it will not topple And he strengthens it with nails so that it will not separate (Radak): 8 Indeed and you Israel are not like them, for My servant Yaakov you are whom I have chosen to be My nation, because you are the offspring of Avraham who love me [k] who cleaved to Me very much (Radak): 9 Whom I took I held you and took you out from the exiles from the ends of the earth and from its noble ones [l] and from the great ones of the earth and the rulers in it I called you that you should leave their domain and they would not have the power to stop you (Radak) and I said to you: 'You are My servant' since ever I have chosen you and not rejected you and even though you have many intentional sins and rebellious transgressions: 10 Fear not do not fear for I am with you [m] in every place where you are be not dismayed let not your heart melt and do not turn away from Me (Rashi and Radak) for I am your L-rd as until now I have strengthened you I strengthened you and gave you courage yes, I helped you in earlier days yes, I upheld you with My righteous right hand when you were in the hand of the enemy, and all this is in charity (righteousness), not as a reward (Metzudat David): 11 Behold, ashamed and confounded shall be [they shall be ashamed in themselves and humiliated by others (Malbim)] all who were incensed against you who quarrel and are angry with you they shall be as nothing and perish, the men of your strife who fight with you (Metzudot): 12 You shall seek them and not find them [n] even if you seek them you will not find those who quarrel with you the men quarrelling with you, and so they shall be as nothing and as nought, the men of your war the people who make war with you (Radak): 13 For I, Hashem your L-rd, hold your right hand [o] I hold your right hand so you will not fall, and since I am Who says to you: 'Fear not therefore be strong and confident and do not fear (Radak and Metzudat David) I have helped you' and also now I will help you: 14 Fear not, worm of Yaakov [p] congregation of Israel the weak [like a worm whose power is only in its mouth, so Israel's power is only in their mouth] (Rashi) men of (Radak) Israel who dedicate themselves to the sanctification of God's Name as if they were dead I help you, says Hashem, therefore from who are you afraid, there is no fear and your Redeemer, from then onwards, for I am the Holy One of Israel: 15 Behold, I have made you a new sharp threshing sledge the children of Israel when they went out from the exiles I made them like a threshing instrument that has sharp points of iron, that has sharp points a sharp double-edged tool that has mouths and many sharp points You shall thresh the mountains and grind them to powder and you will destroy and remove the kings of the nations and their princes (Radak) until all of them are fine as fine sand and perish (Malbim) and the hills and the servants of the kings of the nations you shall make like chaff you shall make them like the waste of grain (Metzudat David): 16 You shall winnow them you shall scatter the enemies and a wind shall carry them away by themselves to Gehenom (Rashi) and a whirlwind shall scatter them to every side and you shall rejoice in Hashem in the salvation of Hashem and glory in the Holy One of Israel you shall glorify yourself in what you have placed your trust in Hashem, the Holy One of Israel (Metzudat David).

Studies and Insights

a. During the time of the exile, the spirit of Israel would be impatient because of the troubles and the length of the exile, and they would think that the Name Havayah—the attribute of mercy—departed from them, Heaven forbid, and they are judged with judgment which is the secret of Elokim, and from Elokei – the letters of Elokim. And the prophet comes to comfort them and says that the troubles come for correction, like a sick person who drinks a bitter medicine, yet it is the medicine for living, because they will be healed by it.

b. Did you not know – you should know that the Name Havayah—mercy always sweetens the judgment which is the secret of Elokim, Elokei olam Havayah creator of the ends of the earth. Elokim is hinted at in the filling of the letters of Ha'aretz – Hei, Aleph, Reish, Tzadi. The filling (namely 1+ 30+80 +10 +300 +4 +10) equals 435 corresponding to five times Elokim, which are the secret of Hei"Gimmel with the five letters of the root. And the word Bor"ei – is the Name Havayah – in clearness – mercy – sweetens it.

c. He gives power to the tired – power is a term for repentance because Binah is called power and supernal repentance is in Binah. Repentance was given only to Israel, and through it they perform great might where the intentional sins are counted as merits.

He gives power to the tired – to the nation of Israel who are weary in Torah and bear upon themselves the yoke of the study of Torah, and by virtue of this they merit repentance, unlike the nations of the world.

and to him who has no might – Israel, who are low and humble. He increases strength – meaning internal organs, brain, heart, and kidneys, where that one who hits them creates a difficult situation; he will increase them so that they will not break, even though they grew weary in Torah on account of sin.

d. And he called them youths – for Israel was a youth and I loved him, whom He judged like youths; behold, now those who wait for Hashem – Israel, through repentance, will exchange power, for besides their merits, they exchange powers so that intentional sins become as merits. And also the commandment of action will rise from Action (Asiyah) to Emanation (Atzilut), and they will also sanctify themselves until they do not feel the exertion of the toil of Torah and commandments – and they shall run to a matter of a mitzvah and not be weary.

and those who wait for Hashem shall exchange their strength – Rabbi Nehorai taught: I set aside all the crafts in the world and teach my son only Torah, for all the crafts in the world stand for a person in the time of his youth, but in the time of his old age he dies and is cast into hunger; but Torah stands for a person in the days of his youth and gives him a future and hope in the time of his old age; in his youth what does it say? "And those who wait for Hashem shall renew their strength"; and in his old age what does it say? "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age" (Kiddushin 82b).

Another explanation for this is Yaakov, at the time he crossed the ford of Yabboq, an angel met up with him (attacked) who was a third of the world, as it is said: "and his body was like Tarshish," and he could not prevail over him, and he took him and trampled him beneath him, as it is said: "and a man wrestled with him" (Yalkut Shimoni).

e. It came to teach the obligation of companionship and mutual help to one another – a foundation upon which the world stands.

Keep silence before Me, O islands – these are the organs of a person, for they are awesome in their action; and there are organs that are called nations, as they are ruler-organs and prince-organs from the perspective of actions. Therefore, silences the awesome organs and exchanges power for ruler-organs.

shall exchange – they shall diminish the power of their activity so as not to yield help to the organs.

the awesome ones – and then they shall draw near to judgment, to say: Why must I engage and toil for the sake of the rest of the organs?

Keep silence before Me, O islands. The prophet is speaking here about what there is to claim against the Israeli nation concerning the length of the exile, and all the nations are on the highest level, while we, the children of Israel, are low and despised, and therefore they say that Hashem chose them and their law, and exchanged us in exchange for them, Heaven forbid. And indeed, against a single nation we have no way to win by arguing that the prophet who gave its law revoked the Law of Moshe. But when all the nations gather together, we have decisive proof from themselves that our Torah has not been exchanged, Heaven forbid.

And the matter will be understood by way of a parable: A certain king requested an artist to paint his portrait, and the king said that the greatest artist who succeeds in painting his portrait accurately will be first and foremost in the craft and will receive a certificate of honor for it. And behold, many painters gathered before the king, and the king commanded that each one paint a wonderful painting, and afterwards they should bring the painting before the king, and whichever he chooses he will bring near to him to be the first and chief.

After a certain time all the painters came to the king, each holding his painting in hand, and each boasted before the king that he excels in his craft more than his fellow. The king said to them: Go now on your way, and on the appointed day I will send after you to choose who is the chief and first. They went on their way, and each one thought in his heart that surely the king would choose him to paint his portrait, for who is a greater craftsman than he?

Afterwards the king acted with cunning, and sent to call one of the painters and said to him: Be aware that your craft found favor in my eyes to a wondrous degree, and you will be the chief and first to do my craft, but I ask of you to tell me the truth as to who could be second to you. The painter answered him: Truthfully, I tell you that painter So-and-So is a master craftsman in his work, and he is fit to be second to me. The king heard his words and told him he could go on his way. And so the king did to all the painters—he called each and every one, and asked each one who could be second to him, and all of them pointed to that same wonderful painter, that he is a wondrous artist in his craft; and from this the king understood that that painter was the chosen of all, and chose him to paint his portrait.

And the allegory, in this way the prophet says: "then let them speak; let us draw near together to judgment"—meaning that all the nations shall draw near together, and then it will be seen that Moshe is true and his Torah is true, for all will acknowledge that the religion of Israel is the true and best of all religions (Petchat HaSha'ar).

f. And then he says to them, look to Avraham, peace be upon him, who went out to fight for another and the Holy One, blessed be He, stood at his right hand and helped him. For who was he that gave strength among. Behold it is not the Almighty, blessed be He, calling the generations from the beginning.

g. He makes [their sword] as dust: It is related in the Talmud: The Jews of the Land of Israel wanted to send a gift to the king of Rome, and they decided to send the gift via Nachum Ish Gam Zu, who was accustomed to miracles. Indeed, they sent with him a box filled with precious stones and pearls. On his way to Rome, it happened that he stayed overnight at a non-Jewish inn. At night, the innkeepers got up and stole everything that was inside the box from him, and filled the box with dirt.

In the morning, when he saw that the box was full of dirt, he said: "This too is for the best," and continued on his way until he reached the king's palace. When he presented the box to the king, the king saw that inside it was dirt; the king grew very angry and said, "The Jews are mocking me and rebelling against me." He issued a decree to destroy all the Jews, Heaven forbid. Nachum said, as was his holy custom: "This too is for the best."

Eliyahu the prophet came before the king, appearing to him as one of his ministers, and said to the king: "It is possible that this dirt is from the dirt of Avraham our father, who, when he would throw it at his enemies, the dirt turned into swords and spears, as it is written: 'He makes his sword as dust, his bow as driven stubble.'" There was one province that the king was unable to conquer; they took from the dirt, threw it at the enemies of the province, and the dirt turned into arrows and swords, and they succeeded in conquering it.

When the joyful news reached the king of Rome, he sent for Nachum, brought him in, took him into his treasury, and commanded that his box be filled with precious stones and pearls, and sent him back to his home with great honor.

On his way back to the Land of Israel, Nachum stayed once again at that same inn where his property had been stolen, and told the innkeepers what had happened to him. When the wicked innkeepers heard his wondrous story about what occurred with the dirt they had put in his box, they tore down their house, gathered up the dirt, filled crates with it, brought them to the king's palace, and presented them to him, saying to him: "This is from the dirt that Nachum brought before you."

The king sent his servants to test the dirt, and when it became clear that this dirt was of no use at all, like any other regular earth, they executed the innkeepers (Taanit 21a).

h. He calls the generations from the beginning – Rabbi Simon says: He summoned a time for a guilty generation, that Israel would come and exact retribution from them, as it is stated, "like the practice of the land of Egypt," etc. (Torat Cohanim).

Calling the generations from the beginning – Had the generations merited it, the Holy One, blessed be He, would have called their names, just as He called Adam and Chava. And so you find that when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw a righteous person born, He Himself in His glory would call his name; He called Avraham, and "your name shall be Avraham." And from his name they knew his character and his deeds. Our Rabbis said: When Rabbi Meir saw a person, he would study his name, and from his name he knew his deeds (Tanchuma; see there the story regarding Rabbi Meir).

I, Hashem, am the first and with the last ones I am He – If you multiply the letters of the Name [Havayah], the result will always return to the letter itself:

Yod (Gematria value of 10) times Yod = 100 (Kof). Ten tens (Yod).

Hei (Gematria value of 5) times Hei = 25 (Kaf-Hei). Hei at the end.

Vav (Gematria value of 6) times Vav = 36 (Lamed-Vav). Vav at the end.

Hei (Gematria value of 5) times Hei = 25 (Kaf-Hei). As above.

*. The islands saw and feared – The righteous are called islands, which are like islands where the waters are pushed away from them and dry land appears; so too the righteous triumph over the treacherous waters of the evil inclination. And so they are called the ends of the earth because of their humility. Therefore, just as with My attribute in which I acted with you to help you overcome the evil inclination, and you feel that in your own strength you overcame it through acts of kindness—each man helps his fellow—and to his brother he says "be strong," to strengthen his heart so he is not ashamed, but rather thinks that the good is coming to him due to his own deeds.

The islands saw and feared – Rabbi Berechiah said: Just as these islands are distinct in the sea, so were Avraham and Shem distinct in the world; "and they feared," this one feared that one, and that one feared this one. This one feared that one, saying: Perhaps he holds a grudge in his heart against me because I killed his sons; and that one feared this one, saying: Perhaps he holds a grudge in his heart against me because I raised wicked offspring. Each man helps his fellow—this one helps that one with blessings, as it is stated: "And he blessed him and said: Blessed be Avram to the Most High Almighty"; and that one helps this one with gifts, as it is stated: "And he gave him a tenth of everything" (Bereshit Rabbah 44).

j. So the craftsman encourages – This is Shem who was a craftsman and made the Ark, "the smith" this is Avraham, who was refined in the furnace of fire, "smooths with the hammer" who smoothed with the hammer and stunned all the inhabitants of the world at once. "Says of the cement: It is good," these are the idol worshippers who say it is better to cleave to the G-d of Avraham and not to cleave to the idols of Nimrod. "And he fastens it with nails," and Avraham strengthened Shem with commandments and good deeds, "so that it shall not move" Avraham (Bereshit Rabbah 65).

k. But you, Israel, My servant, Yaakov whom I have chosen, offspring of Avraham who love me – It is known that after Avraham our father was called Avraham instead of Avram – the Holy One, blessed be He, was strict that he should not be called Avram, whereas Yaakov, even though he was named Yisrael, was called Yaakov again, why? Because Avraham was called Avram by his father Terach during the time of gentiles (when he was a gentile), but Yaakov was called by his father Yitzchak who was holy to his L-rd, therefore it says "Yisrael (Israel) My servant Yaakov."

l. Whom I have taken from the ends of the earth – It seems to hint at the future Redemption which will be with the letter Tzadi of the final letters Mem, Nun, Tzadi, Pei, Kaf (these 5 letters change in appearance if placed at the end of a word) and our Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropol explained: "From the ends of the earth we have heard songs, glory to the righteous," and the strength of Yaakov, even though the main part will be in the future Redemption which is from the last letter Tzadi of of the final letters Mem, Nun, Tzadi, Pei, Kaf. And regarding this it said "Whom I have taken from the ends of the earth" – the word Eretz (earth, ends with a Tzadi)  which is the letter Tzadi of the set of five final letters Mem, Nun, Tzadi, Pei, Kaf .

m. Fear not, for I am with you – Yaakov without the Vav has a gematria of 182, which is the numerical value of the two combined Names: Havayah – Adnut and Adnut – Havayah that we intend in Kaddish and in blessings, for "I am with you," for I have hinted at holy Names in your name literally.

Do not be dismayed [אל תשת ע] – Do not place [אל תשת] – Ayin [70] for the 70 nations and their seventy guardian angels whose dominion is destined to be revoked. Or Ayin for Ohr [skin/leather] due to the sin of Adam first man in place of Ohr [light]. And in the future, the crown will return to its former glory to be garments of Ohr [slin/leather]. "I have strengthened you, I have helped you, I have upheld you" three times, and this is a sign that even from the fourth [exile] I will redeem you.

n. Behold, all who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and confounded – Apart from the people of the dispute who quarrel with each other, there are the small foxes that destroy vineyards, who instigate disputes and tell lashon hara (evil speech) like Achithophel and Doeg. Those who are people of dispute, the Holy One, blessed be He, destroys them quickly, but these inciters will not perish quickly so that they will first be shamed and see that nothing came into their hand.

o. And if you shall say why they do not all perish, he says do not fear this, for from the abundance of their shame they will seek their own destruction and not find it.

p. For I, Hashem your L-rd, hold your right hand – There is a difference between the promise of flesh and blood, where even if he says "fear not," it is of no avail; but when the Holy One, blessed be He, says "fear not," His speech, blessed be He, becomes action.

q. Fear not, you worm of Yaakov – Do not think that this redemption is like other redemptions through peace. Rather, "I help you, says Hashem" – and this is certain, speedily in our days, Amen.

r. You shall winnow them – The chaff, the straw, and the wheat dispute with one another: The wheat says, "It is for our sake that the field was sown," and the straw says, "It is for our sake that the field was sown." The wheat said, "When the hour comes, you will see for whose sake the field was sown." When the winnowing floor season arrived, the owner of the field takes the straw and burns it, and throws away the chaff, while setting up the wheat in a heap, and everyone begins kissing it. So too, Israel and the nations of the world dispute, with the nations saying, "It is for our sake that the world was created," and Israel saying, "When the hour comes, you will see for whose sake the world was created," as it is stated, "You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away... and you shall rejoice in Hashem" (Bereshit Rabbah 63).