Explanation of the Haftarah Parshat Shoftim

Explanation of the Haftarah Parshat Shoftim

27 Av 5785 | Aug. 21 2025

The connection between the Haftarah and the Parsha

This haftarah is the fourth of seven haftarot of consolation, which are read on the seven Sabbaths of consolation starting from the first Shabbat after Tisha B'Av.

Content of the Haftarah

Hashem says to Zion that He Himself will console her, and she has no reason to fear human beings whose end is to die, but she forgot Hashem and feared those who oppress her, and not only that, but even if they only planned to oppress her, she is already afraid.

But despite all this, Hashem promises that He will bring them out of exile quickly, if only they contemplate and know His power and rely on Him, because as long as the word of Hashem is in your mouth I will protect you until the time of gathering of the exiles comes, for then I will plant new heavens and establish a new earth, and everyone will see regarding the children of Zion that they are the nation of Hashem.

And therefore, he turns to Zion to awaken in repentance, and to be redeemed immediately because the matter depends on her, for she has already been punished for all her sins, as part of her children died of famine and part of them died by the sword, therefore Hashem will remove the calamity from her and bring it upon the nations, who caused Israel grief and sighing.

And Jerusalem will return to its glory as it was in the past, through repentance and good deeds. And when He redeems them, behold, joy and singing will abound in Jerusalem and everyone will acknowledge His name, blessed be He,

And when they depart from the exile they will not depart in haste in the manner that Israel departed from Egypt, but rather they will depart in calm and tranquility and Hashem will go before them and behind them to guard them so that they are not harmed.

Yishayahu Chapter 51 Verse 12 - Chapter 52 Verse 12

12   I, I am He who consoles you [1] I am He who consoles you, and if so, it is consolation that has real substance (Metsudat David), and please contemplate: who are you, a daughter of righteous ones and full of merits, and if so, why should you fear man who dies (Rashi), and He repeated His words and said, and a son of man who shall be made as grass, [herbage and grass] whose end is to wear out and dry up (Metsudat David):

13   And how have you forgotten Hashem your Maker [2] who made you, and you did not rely on Him, and behold everything is His, for He stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth [3] and you feared continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, of the enemy who oppresses and enslaves you, and you, moreover, as he established—, the enemy merely established and prepared to destroy, and already you fear him, and where is the fury of the oppressor? Behold tomorrow he is gone for he will die, and if so, why did you forget the Omnipresent, blessed be He, and fear the oppressor? (Rashi and Metsudat David):

14   Behold, the fury of the oppressor will not harm you, for the wanderer [a matter of wandering] Israel who was wandering, roving, and exiled, hastens to be untied [4] to be freed from exile (Radak), and even in exile he shall not die [the righteous one (Targum Yonatan)] in the pit, and they will not be dead and destroyed (Metsudat David), nor shall his bread fail:

15   And why do you not rely on Me? Behold I am Hashem your L-rd, and everything is in My hand; at times He stills splits the sea [5] so it does not walk in its course, and at times He commands [6] and its waves roar, the L-rd of Hosts is His name, He is the ruler over the hosts of heaven and earth (Metsudat David):

16   And I have placed My words, the words of the Torah [7] in your mouth to speak in them (Metsudat David) and with the shadow of My hand I covered you and protected you from enemies, and all this until the time comes to plant heavens [8] and to lay the foundations of earth [9] anew in the gathering of exiles, so that the people of Israel will be a new world and to say to Zion (Radak), "You are My nation" [10] and all will see regarding them that they have abundance and great goodness:

17   Rouse yourself, rouse yourself, Jerusalem, stand up, O Jerusalem, from the slumber of exile and grief, go out from exile (according to Radak and Metsudat David), for the matter depends on you (Malbim), you who have drunk from the hand of Hashem the cup of His fury, the dregs, the lees at the bottom of the cup (Rashi) of the cup of staggering, which contains deadly poison, you have drunk, you have drained, and you sucked out even the last drops, and his intention is that all bad things and curses have already come upon you and will not continue to come anymore (Radak):

18   While she is in exile (Radak), there is none to guide her there is no one to console her (Targum Yonatan), and some explain: there was no one to direct and lead her (Malbim) from all the children she bore, [her young children (Malbim)] and there is none to take her by the hand so that she does not fall to the ground from all the children she raised, [her older children (Malbim)] for all of them are devoid of strength and governance (Metsudat David):

19   These two two misfortunes have befallen you, who shall lament for you? [11] [lament (Rashi Yirmiyahu 15:5) and console (Malbim)] for you: the desolation and the destruction, and the famine and the sword; (Radak) [12] by whom shall I console you? Which nation suffered like you that would serve as a consolation to you, to say that such-and-such nation also suffered? (Rashi):

20   Your children have fainted they fainted (Radak) from lack of bread and water, and those who died of famine and the sword they lay at the head of all the streets and there is no one to bury them (Metsudat David) like a wild bull like a wild ox in a net trapped in a net (Radak) who is unable to move from his place (Metsudat David), and this is because Israel in the time of exile are those filled with the fury [anger] from Hashem, the rebuke [and reprimand] of your L-rd [the fury of Hashem – the attribute of mercy relative to those who died by the sword, which is lighter than those who died of famine who are called the rebuke of your L-rd – the attribute of strict judgment (Ahavat Yonatan)]:

21   Therefore since you have received retribution for your sin hear this now, you afflicted, and drunk confused like a drunkard (Metsudat David) and not with wine [13] but rather from the troubles (Radak):

22   Thus said your Master, Hashem and your L-rd who pleads for His nation to pay retribution to those who harm them behold I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering full of poison and deadly drug, and He doubled and said the dregs the lees fixed at the bottom of the cup, which is the cup filled with My fury I will take from your hand you shall no longer drink it anymore and you will no longer have any troubles (Metsudat David):

23   And I will place it the cup of staggering (Metsudat David) into the hand of those who torment you into the hand of those who caused you troubles, grief, and sighing who said to your soul and your spirit (Malbim) "BEND DOWN bow to the ground AND WE WILL PASS OVER" over you (Metsudat David) and you set your back like the earth and like the street like a marketplace, to be a path for the sole of the foot for passersby to come and go (Radak):

1   Awake, awake awaken Zion from the slumber of sorrow and exile put on your strength the strength and power you had in the past Zion, put on your garments of glory, Jerusalem the holy city and be in joy for there shall no longer come into you any uncircumcised and unclean [14] to rule over you (Metsudat David):

2   Shake yourself from the dust of exile (Radak) arise from the ground (Rashi) sit, O Jerusalem upon the throne of royalty (Targum Yonatan) [loose yourself] loose the bands loosen the yoke tied upon your neck, O captive daughter of Zion who is held captive in exile (Radak):

3   For thus said Hashem [15] "For nothing without money but rather through your sins were you sold" and therefore "and not with money shall you be redeemed" through repentance (Radak) and good deeds you shall be redeemed:

4   For thus said my Master Hashem "To Egypt My people went down at first to dwell there" and they sustained them, and therefore what they held them with afterward was not a great iniquity (Rashi), [and some explain that even Egypt had no right to make them labor with rigor because they came to dwell (Radak)] "and Assyria" but the king of Babylon, who exiled Israel from the Land of Israel, certainly "for nothing without cause oppressed him" [robbed him] without justice (Rashi and Radak):

5   And now in this third exile, the exile of Titus, what have I here why am I staying and delaying My children here, says Hashem, that My nation is taken away for nothing? they do not remain in exile to pay money, but rather for their sins, and they have already received their punishment (Metsudat David), and those who rule over them those who rule over them (Radak) make them howl boast of their success (Targum Yonatan) that they took them as servants for nothing (Malbim) [and some explain that this is the cry of My children – from the language of wailing (Radak)], says Hashem, and My name is continually blasphemed all day profaned and despised in their eyes (Metsudat David):

6   Therefore when I redeem them, My nation shall know My name for it teaches and instructs that I am the master and ruler, therefore in that day [they shall also know] that I am He who speaks and promises to redeem them, behold, here I am I have fulfilled My promise (Rashi):

7   How beautiful how pleasant and beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good news who ascends, and who proclaims the redemption, proclaiming [from afar (Metsudat David)] a voice of peace [from the enemy], a voice bringing good news of good the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and the sprouting of the horn of David, a voice proclaiming salvation the gathering of the exiles (Malbim), saying to Zion, "Behold, your L-rd reigns!" [16] He showed His kingdom and His rule to the entire world (Metsudat David):

8   The voice of your watchmen the voice of the watchmen standing on the towers (Rashi) [and some explain: your leaders (Targum Yonatan), and some explain: your prophets (Radak)] they raised all of them lifted up their voice, together they shall sing [17] in joy, for eye [18] to eye [19] they shall see and also in the vision of prophecy (Radak) when He returns when He returns, Hashem, to Zion to rest His Divine Presence there (Metsudat David):

9   Burst forth open your mouth to raise a voice of joy and sing together, waste places of the ruined houses that are in Jerusalem, for Hashem has comforted His people by what He brought them goodness (Metsudat David) and the gathering of the exiles (Malbim), and by what He redeemed Jerusalem from the hand of the idolaters who rule over it (Metsudat David):

10   Has bared [revealed (Rashi)] Hashem His holy arm to strike them (Metsudat David), meaning the salvation of Israel will be in the open (Radak) before the eyes of all the nations and through this and all the ends of the earth shall see those who dwell at the edges of the earth (Metsudat David) the salvation of our Hashem for through this the kingdom of heaven will be revealed in the entire world, for they will see that the salvation is not accidental or natural, but rather it is the salvation of our L-rd (Malbim):

11   Depart, depart quickly from the land of the nations who worship the host of heaven, go out from there, and touch no unclean thing because of the purity of the body and thought (Malbim); go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves cleanse yourselves from all uncleanness, you who carry the vessels of Hashem the kindness of the Almighty and His mercy will be your instruments through your fulfillment of the Torah and commandments, and not sword and spear (Radak and Metsudat David):

12   For not in haste not in bitterness and pursuit like a fleeing person shall you go out, nor in flight shall you go like a fleeing person, for going [20] before you is Hashem to guide you on the way, and He also waits and your rear guard and gathers all the stumblers who remain behind is the L-rd of Israel to guard you also from behind against any pursuer (Rashi), and some explain that He is destined to gather and collect all the exiles (Targum Yonatan):

 Notes and Insights

1. I, I am He who consoles you – Both for your sorrow over your own troubles, and for your sorrow because of the desecration of the Divine Presence, by the nations who pursued you and reviled the name of Hashem. And it was said in double language – "I, I", meaning, even though there was one destruction and there was destined to be a second destruction, do not despair of redemption, for I, I am He who consoles you, for the first redemptions were through an emissary and therefore bondage followed them, but not so the future redemption destined to be through the Holy One, blessed be He, for it will be a building the work of Hashem's hands, and it will be an eternal building forever and ever.

And further, I, I am He who consoles you, since I as it were feel your sorrow, as it is said (Yishayahu 63:9): "In all their affliction He was afflicted", behold the consolations are faithful, and therefore accept them (Me'am Lo'ez).

I, I am He who consoles you – At Sinai they received two "I"s (Exodus 20:2): "I am the Hashem your L-rd", (ibid. ibid. 4); "For I Hashem your L-rd am a jealous Almighty one", and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, consoles with two: "I, I".

Another interpretation: With "I" I created the upper realms and the lower realms; (Yishayahu 45:7): "I am Hashem who makes all these"; with "I" I created man (Yishayahu 45:12): "I made the earth, and created man upon it"; with "I" I spoke with Avraham (Genesis 15:1): "Fear not, Avram, I am a shield to you"; with "I" I spoke with Yitzchak (ibid. 26:24): "I am the L-rd of Avraham your father"; with "I" I spoke with Yaakov (ibid. 46:4): "I will go down with you to Egypt and I will also surely bring you up"; and also to Moshe He was revealed with "I" (Exodus 3:6): "I am the Almighty the L-rd of your father", therefore "I, I am He who consoles you".

I, I am He who consoles you – This is what the Scripture said: "Insult has broken my heart, and I have become mortally ill," the insult that the Ammonites and Moabites insulted. You find that once sins caused it and enemies entered Jerusalem, the Ammonites and Moabites entered with them into the Holy of Holies, and took the cherubim and placed them in a cage, and brought them around through all the streets of Jerusalem, and were saying: Did not Israel used to say "We do not worship idols"? Look at what they are doing... At that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, said: I have heard the insult of Moab and the revilings of the children of Ammon, therefore as I live, says Hashem, Moab shall be like Sodom and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah. And mortally ill—a mighty and debilitating blow came upon me, and I looked for someone to grieve with me, but there was none, and for consolers, but I found none; said the Holy One, blessed be He: I, I am He who consoles you. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: The way of a father is to have mercy, "As a father has mercy on children," and the way of a mother is to console, "As a person whose mother consoles him"; said the Holy One, blessed be He: I have performed the role of father and mother, I, I am He who consoles you. (Yalkut Shimoni)

Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: A parable of a king who was angry with the matron and drove her out and removed her from his palace; after some days he sought to bring her back. She said: Let him double my marriage contract (ketubah) and after that he may bring me back. Thus said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: My children, at Sinai I said to you one time "I am Hashem your L-rd," and in Jerusalem in the future to come I say to you two times "I, I am He who consoles you"... With "I" I bring a redeemer, "Behold, I send to you Eliyahu the prophet," with "I" I console you, "I, I am He who consoles you." (Pesiqta).

He consoles you – Rabbi Menahma in the name of Rabbi Avin: From that very roaring that you roared at Sinai and said "All that Hashem has spoken we will do and obey," I, I am He who consoles you. Who are you that you should fear—are you not the one who said to Me at the sea "Who is like You," and yet you fear man who dies? Why are you afraid? Is it perhaps that you do not know who you are? Are you not the daughter of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov? The daughter of three mountain-peaks of the world are you, and you fear a creature and a man—a man who today lives and tomorrow is dead? Do you not know what I did to all those who joined against them? Amraphel who joined against Avram, the Philistines and Avimelech who joined against Yitzchak, Eisav who joined against Yaakov—I felled them by their hands; so too anyone who comes and joins against you shall fall before you. (Yalkut Shimoni)

"I, I am He who comforts you" [Yishayahu 51:12] – It will be explained according to what they said in the Holy Zohar: that the nations [exist] through their heavenly ministers [patron angels], and when their minister falls, their nation falls, for without the fall of the minister, it will not fall, as the verse says, "Hashem will punish the host of the high heaven above, etc." [Yishayahu 24:21]. However, we are children of the Almighty who lives, we are sons to Hashem and just as He lives and endures, so shall Israel stand in their place. And this is what is written: "I" [אנכי]—that I live and endure; "I" [אנכי]—the first and the last; "is He who comforts you" [הוא מנחמכם]—since I live and endure, this is your comfort, that you too shall endure. (Tsavare Shalal)

2. "And you forgot Hashem your Maker" [Yishayahu 51:13] – Scripture speaks of the distress caused by Haman, when they [Israel] became afraid for a moment and despaired of redemption. Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel (alt. version, Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman) said: Israel was worthy of not being redeemed from the distress caused by Haman, were it not that they agreed with the mindset of their father Yaakov, who heard directly from the Divine Voice, "Behold, I am with you" [Genesis 28:15], yet still feared Eisav: "And Yaakov was greatly afraid and distressed" [Genesis 32:8]. (Yalkut Shimoni)

3. "Who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth" [Yishayahu 51:13] – The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: You have forgotten what I said to Yirmiyahu: "If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below searched out, [I too will reject all the seed of Israel]" [Yirmiyahu 31:37]. You see the heavens in their place, yet you are afraid—"and you dread continually all day" [Yishayahu 51:13]. His decree (prozdogma / royal edict) was spread out all day, extended in the first month, which is the month of Nisan [Esther 3:7], and they were terrified every day. "Because of the fury of the oppressor" [Yishayahu 51:13]—this is Haman. "And Haman was filled with wrath against Mordechai..." [Esther 3:5]. (Yalkut Shimoni)

4. "The captive hastens to be freed" [מהר צעה להפתח] – Like a person who hastens in his steps to open [the door] so that he does not die and runs to every place so that his bread will not be lacking, and you are afraid of him. Rav Sheizvi said in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah: A person's sustenance is as difficult as the splitting of the Red Sea, as it is said, "The captive hastens to be freed, etc." [Isaiah 51:14], and it is written right after it: "And I am Hashem your L-rd who stills the sea" [Isaiah 51:15]. Rabbi Hama bar Hanina said: It is harder than the splitting of the Red Sea, for right after it, it is written: "who stills the sea." Rav Sheshet said in the name of Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah: A person's excretory bodily functions (nekevaiv) are harder than the day of death as it is said, "The captive (alt. translation, excrement) hastens to be freed, etc. (Pesachim 118).

 Nor shall his bread fail, and I am Hashem your L-rd who stills the sea, why was the exodus from Egypt juxtaposed to bread? Rather, just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, performed many miracles to redeem Israel, so He does with this slice [of bread]. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: Harder is the slice [of bread] than redemption. In the exit from redemption, you find the redemption attributed to an angel: "the angel who redeemed me" [Genesis 48:16]; but when it comes to a slice [of bread], it is written: "The L-rd who shepherds [sustains] me" [Genesis 48:15]. (Yalkut Shimoni)

And it is brought in the book Me'am Lo'ez a reason for this: For just as the splitting of the Red Sea was for the sake of faith—for the waters had reached up to their necks—so too is the matter of livelihood/sustenance. If they are not given from Heaven—it is in vain for a person to toil. And therefore, Seder Zera'im, (literally, the order of seeds, the first order of the Six Orders of the Mishnah) is called Emunah (Faith)—because in the growth of seeds, a person clearly sees that he needs help from Heaven. And so too with livelihood/sustenance: if a person makes calculations to himself that he will surely earn such-and-such—in the end he will lose; and specifically, through a lapse of attention (hesech hada'at), gain comes to him.

5. Yonatan translated: "who stilled the sea" [רגע הים] – rebuked/scolded the sea. "And its waves roared" [ויהמו גליו] – Radak explained it in a different way, see there.

6. "And its waves roared, the Lord of Hosts is His name" – And what did the sea see that it fled? Rabbi Yehudah says: The staff of Moshe. Rabbi Nechemiah said: The Explicit Name was engraved upon it: "the L-rd of Hosts"—it (the sea) saw and fled. (Pesikta)

7. "And I have put My words in your mouth, etc." [Isaiah 51:16] – Anyone who engages in Torah for its own sake (lishmah), it is as if he built a palace (palterin) above and below, as it is said, "And I have put My words in your mouth, etc., to plant heavens and to lay the foundations of earth" (Sanhedrin 99b).

Yonatan translated: and I placed my prophecy in your mouth — and his words refer to Yishayahu, and not concerning Israel, and see Radak. And Malbim [explains]: as translation [of Jonathan], "I placed My word in your mouth" [means] what I promised to save you.

8. And Yonatan translated: "To plant heavens and lay the foundations of earth" — this is Israel, about whom it was said that they shall multiply like the stars of the heavens and like the dust of the earth. And Malbim [explains]: the allegory is that just as the laws of heaven and earth and the ways of nature will not hold me back from doing this, for the only consideration is that I fulfill My words which I placed in your mouth to say to Zion: "You are My Nation."

9. There we learned: Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: Upon three things the world stands: upon the Torah, upon the service [sacrifices/prayer], and upon acts of lovingkindness. Rabbi Yehoshua de-Sichnin in the name of Rabbi Levi [said]: Three of them in one verse: "And I have put My words in your mouth" — these are words of Torah; "and covered you with the shadow of My hand" — these are acts of lovingkindness, that anyone who engages in acts of lovingkindness merits to take shelter in the shadow of the Holy One, Blessed be He; this is what is written: "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O L-rd! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings" [Psalm 36:8]. "To plant heavens and lay the foundations of earth, etc." — these are the sacrifices. (Yerushalmi Ta'anit 4).

10. Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa said: We reviewed the entire Scripture and we did not find a place where those of Israel were called "Zion", and where did we find it? Here: "and to say to Zion: You are My nation" [Yishayahu 51:16]. By the merit of the Torah were heaven and earth created, as it is said, "And I have put My words in your mouth, etc. to plant heavens and lay the foundations of earth." Another interpretation: By the merit of Zion were heaven and earth created, as it is said, "and to say to Zion: You are My nation." (Pesikta)

11. And Yonatan translated: You were not able to arise.

12. And Yonatan translated: That they are 4 evils/calamities, see there. And according to this, what is written "Two calamities came upon you". It is as Rashi who wrote that the troubles came doubled, and in reality they are four.

13. Rabbi Sheshet said in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah: "I could exempt the whole world entirely from judgment from the day the Temple was destroyed until now, as it is said: 'Therefore hear now this, you afflicted, etc.' [Yishayahu 51:21]. An objection was raised: If a person bought, sold, or committed a transgression punishable by death, they execute him; if he committed a transgression that is punishable by flogging, they flog him; and for all matters he is held accountable for all his words—except that he is exempt from prayer! What does 'I could exempt from judgment' mean? It means exempt from the judgment of prayer. Rabbi Hanina said: 'They only taught this for someone who did not reach the drunkenness of Lot, but if he reached it, he is exempt from all of them' (Eruvin 64)."

Rabbi Zerika and Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yosi the Galilean: "A drunk person is forbidden to pray. What is the reason? Because it is said: 'Therefore hear now this, you afflicted, etc.' (Jerusalem Talmud, Berakhot chapter 5)."

14. It is told about the 'Chafetz Chaim' ZT"L, that when the Nazis (may their names and memories be erased) came to power in Germany in the year 5693 [1933], and their leader Hitler announced that his goal was to erase, Heaven forbid, the name of Israel, one of the heads of the yeshivas in Radin turned to the 'Chafetz Chaim' with a question filled with anxiety: "What will be the fate of our brothers, for the wicked persecutor says to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate?" The 'Chafetz Chaim' replied to him: "The matter will not succeed in his hand! Never has any oppressor or enemy succeeded in destroying our people scattered across lands, for it is explicitly said (Genesis 32:9): 'If Eisav comes to the one camp and smites it — then the remaining camp shall escape.'"

From the answer of the 'Chafetz Chaim', the questioner understood that a great danger threatened the Jewish world. He added to ask: "And what if, Heaven forbid, the oppressor succeeds in destroying part of our people, where will the remaining camp be, that escapes?" The 'Chafetz Chaim' replied: "This matter too is stated explicitly in the words of the Prophets. And so, it is said in the Book of Ovadiah (1:17): 'And on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and it shall be holy.'"

Upon hearing the answers of the 'Chafetz Chaim', the questioning rabbi left the room of the righteous man agitated and trembling. He understood that in his holy eyes, which looked far ahead, the 'Chafetz Chaim' foresaw destruction that would strike European Jewry. And against this, he was sure and confident, as he heard from the mouth of the righteous man, that the Land of Israel would be saved from the calamities.

Not many years passed. The "Chafetz Chaim" was already called to the Heavenly Academy — but the things that were heard from his mouth directly in the year 5693 [1933] indeed came to pass. Upon European Jewry, the terrible destruction unfolded, while those sitting in Mount Zion were left as a remnant.

15. In the Holy Zohar (Part III, 108a): "'And you were sold' — through your sins the Sitra Achra [the 'Other Side' / evil forces] grew great and increased, spark(s) of holiness from the Mitzvot and Torah study. And through this you became subjugated to the nations, because through that which was sent above it was strengthened, as was its power when subjugating you. 'And not with money shall you be redeemed' — the meaning is that the Sitra Achra will be 'for free', without money of holy sparks and Mitzvot which are silver/money, and it will be empty and devoid of any true good, then 'you shall be redeemed'." (Tzav'arei Shalal, letter 1)

16. How beautiful upon the mountains when the Holy One, Blessed be He, redeems Israel: three days before Messiah comes, Eliyahu comes and stands upon the mountains of Israel, weeping and lamenting over them, and says to them: "Mountains of the land of Israel, until when do you stand in a dry and desolate land?" And his voice is heard from one end of the world to the other. Afterwards, he says to them: "Peace has come to the world, peace has come to the world!" As it is said, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings, who announces peace." Since the wicked hear this, they rejoice and say, "This peace has come for us." On the second day, he comes and stands upon the mountains of Israel and says, "Goodness has come to the world, goodness has come to the world!" As it is said, "Who brings good tidings of good." On the third day, he comes and stands upon the mountains of Israel and says, "Salvation has come to the world, salvation has come to the world!" As it is said, "Who announces salvation." And when he sees the wicked saying so, he says to Zion, "Your L-rd reigns!" (Pesiqta Rabbati).

17. Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: From here we derive [a Biblical source for] the resurrection of the dead from the Torah: "singing" is not said, but rather "they shall sing." And Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: In the future, all the prophets will all say song with one voice together, as it is said: "Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voice, together they shall sing, for eye to eye they shall see" (Mechilta).

18. In this world, whoever sees the face of the Shechinah [Divine Presence] diminishes and passes away, as it is said: "for man shall not see Me and live." And so you find in the tribe of Levi, that when they would see the face of the Shechinah, they would diminish in the Tent of Meeting; and even when Israel ascended from the exile, they sought them and did not find them, as it is said: "and I contemplated the people and the priests, but of the sons of Levi I found none there." But in the World to Come, I reveal My glory unto all Israel and they see Me and live forever, as it is said: "for eye to eye they shall see when Hashem returns to Zion." And not only that, but they point out My glory with a finger, as it is said: "And it shall be said in that day: Behold, this is our L-rd; we have waited for Him, and He will save us..." and everyone hears of the victory of Israel that the Holy One, Blessed be He, achieves for them, as it is said: "Hear this, all you nations; give ear, all you inhabitants of the world! Set your heart unto the bulwark [cheilah], raise up her citadels..." another interpretation: le-cheilah [unto the bulwark] = le-shurah [to the row] (Yalkut Shimoni, Psalms chapter 48, remez 753).

And in Tanchuma [it is found]: Come and see that when the Holy One, Blessed be He, reveals His Shechinah unto Israel, He does not reveal Himself to them all at once, because they cannot stand that great good all at once; for if He were to reveal to them their good all at once, they would all die. See what is written (Yishayahu 64): "From time immemorial they have not heard, nor has an ear perceived, nor has an eye seen a God besides you, who performs for those who wait for him.” Go and learn from Yoseph; for when he made himself known to his brothers after so many years, [when] Yoseph said to them (in Gen. 45:3), “I am Yoseph, your brother” they all died, and could not answer him, etc.

How much more so the Holy One, Blessed be He! Rather, what does the Holy One, Blessed be He, do? He reveals Himself to them little by little: at first, He gladdens the wilderness, as it is said: "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad," and afterwards: "and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the lily," and afterwards: "it shall blossom abundantly," and afterwards: "the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it," and afterwards: "they shall see the glory of Hashem, the majesty of our      L-rd." Therefore David said (Psalms 102): "For Hashem has built up Zion, He has appeared in His glory," and it says (Yishayahu 52): "for eye to eye they shall see when Hashem returns to Zion," and it says (ibid. 25): "And it shall be said in that day: Behold, this is our L-rd; we have waited for Him, and He will save us" (Midrash Tanhuma, Devarim, chapter 1).

19. The genius, the Chida wrote: First authorities explained that the Ayin [letter ע] of "yacharsamenah chazir mi-ya'ar" [the boar out of the forest wastes it] (Psalms 80:14) is small and suspended, while the Ayin [letter ע] of "Shema" [Hear, O Israel] (Deuteronomy 6:4) is fixed and large. And through the merit of the Ayin of Shema, the Ayin of mi-ya'ar—which hints at Eisav—will be nullified/canceled. And this is what is written: "for eye [ayin] to eye [ayin] they shall see when Hashem returns to Zion," until here his words. (Nachal Sorek, Ot 2).

20. In this world, when Israel ate the Pesach [Passover offering] in Egypt, they ate it in haste, as it is said: "And thus shall you eat it... in haste" (Exodus 12:11), because "in haste you came forth out of the land of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 16:3). But for the time to come (Yishayahu 52:12): "For you shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight."

To what is this compared? To a merchant who entered to stay at an inn. He stood there all day; at night he stood up and took everything he had and went on his way. The innkeeper stood in the morning and began shouting, see the merchant (pragmateutes) stood up in the night and took all my possessions and left; that merchant (pragmateutes) heard and said who caused me to hear this? Rather because I left during the night, therefore I swear, that I will no longer leave during the night; so too, Israel prepared themselves in the night to leave early in the morning; the Egyptians stood up after they had left and said we will pursue after them, because they took everything we had," as it is said (Exodus 14:9): "And the Egyptians pursued after them..." The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: "Who caused you all this? The haste with which you went out." From here on: "For you shall not go out in haste..." In the past, I and My court went before them, as it is said (ibid. 13:21): "And Hashem went before them by day..." But for the time to come, I alone [will lead], as it is said (Yishayahu 52:12): "For Hashem will go before you, and the L-rd of Israel will be your rear guard" (Midrash Rabbah, Exodus, parashah 19, section 6).