Parshas Devarim (Chazon) 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Aug 1
- 1 min read
חזון ישעיהו בן אמוץ ... שמעו שמים והאזיני ארץ ... (ישעי' א-א-ב)
Shabbos Chazon is the final Haftorah of the three weeks of calamities. Yeshaya HaNavi delivers a scathing rebuke to the nation prophesizing about the moral erosion of Klal Yisroel and the impending destruction of Yerushalayim and the entire country. In the Haftorah, Yeshaya declares, “Let the heavens hear, and let the earth understand ...” But in Devarim, Moshe Rabbeinu said, “Take heed O’ heavens and understand ... let the earth hear...” Why do they use similar language only in reverse of each other?
R’ Yaakov Ashkenazi zt”l (Tze’enah Ure’enah) explains that Chazal note that Yeshaya HaNavi was an earthly who had more “control” over the earth while Moshe Rabbeinu had more “control” over the heavens. As such, while Moshe commanded the heavens to understand him, Yeshaya HaNavi was only able to tell the earth to understand him. But what indeed is the difference?
Based on the above we can say that Moshe and Yeshaya’s individual rebukes were like one admonishing his friend with the friend’s relative standing there. It creates a conducive atmosphere for adherence as the friend will be embarrassed to commit a wrongdoing in front of his relative. Man was created from heaven and earth, and they are considered like a person’s relatives. The soul was given from heaven, and the body is from the earth. Both Moshe and Yeshaya used their respective relationships to admonish the nation “in front of their relative,” in the hopes of getting them to repent.