Open Door Policy

This reflection is part of the ongoing Forest Hills Haftorah Series. The rest of the content can be found here: https://www.sefaria.org/groups/FHJC-Haftorah-Series .

In the 42nd chapter (Deuter)-Isaiah, the Herald of Zion introduces us, to what might be, a new personality in the TaNaKh.

Here is how the chapter begins:

Pretty cryptic, right? Who is this servant? What is his role? Why have we never encountered him before? (Or... have we?)

As it turns out, this is one of first places of a series of passages, spread out throughout the oracles of the Herald, which speak about this figure; And these passages have come to be called Servant Songs.

But so far, we've only seen the beginning, and we haven't even gotten to the start of our Haftarah yet.

So let's see how it goes on:

So taking all of the above together, what information about this servant and his mission do we get here?

• He shall spread justice throughout the nations;
• He is soft-spoken and gentle;
• He will be recognized as a source of authority by even faraway coastlands who will hope to receive his teachings;
• He is a covenant of people (Though we have to note that in Dead Sea Scroll versions of the Herald's oracles, he is called to be a ברית עולם, not a ברית עם.)
• He is a light-of-nations;
• He shall bring sight to the blind;
• He shall free the imprisoned from darkness.

One reasonable reading is that YHWH here is speaking to Israel collectively, rather than to a particular individual.

And when reading the Herald's prophecies in order, this would probably be one's first inclination, for look at what YHWH states in the immediate prior chapter:

Before comparing the above passage to chapter 42, let's just pause, and really take a moment to marvel at the beauty of YHWH's words of encouragement here:

Do not fear; I am with you. I am your elohim! I strengthen, I aid, I hold you.

Every once in a while, I come across something in my readings of the works in the TaNaKh which express truths that, when reminded of them, I cannot help but feel lifted up, encouraged, strengthened. And whenever this happens, I think to myself - SY, drop everything, and commit this passage to memory!

I can't take credit for this idea, by the way. The TaNaKh itself gave it to me! Let's wander down this rabbit-hole temporarily, and the Herald will be waiting for us when we're done; It will be worth it. First, take a look at this proverb:

The "it" in this verse is referring to something mentioned just a couple of verses back; The commandment (mitzwath) and instruction (torath) of one's parents. But given that commandments and torah are two terms very much associated with mandates which come from On High, this proverb probably has in mind the collection of teachings and traditions which has been passed down, parent to child, since the early days of Israelite history, being a gift from YHWH-Almighty!

And so I read this as encouragement to treasure Israelite and Judean wisdom, always keeping the teachings with you, wherever you go and whatever you do.

And if you need more evidence that this is the intended association, look at the parallels of vocabulary and motifs between this passage and one of the most-recited passages from Deuteronomy. (The shared terms will be italicized and bold):

All that is to say that setting aside some time - ideally daily, if possible, if even for just a few minutes - to really sit with this literature, basking in its depth and wisdom and really soaking up as much as we can, is always time well spent, and should prove to be incredibly worthwhile and edifying. Having verses which speak deeply to you memorized, so that they're ever available to you to call upon and to sit with in any situation, is such a gift.

Okay; I couldn't help myself there after being inspired by the Herald to take a slight detour, thanks for bearing with me!

But let's now make our way back to the main point:

We were saying that the revelation in chapter 41 should put an end to the question as to the identity of the servant. It's not an individual; It is Israel collectively! How did YHWH put it?

And you, Israel, are my servant!

If we thought that there's ambiguity as to whether the servant in chapter 41 is Israel, an individual Israelite, or other, well this sounds like a slam-dunk, right???

And therefore, not that we needed any further confirmation, but consider the following parallels with the verses that we started with:

In both cases,

• YHWH chooses him(ב-ח-ר);
• YHWH grabs ahold of him (ח-ז-ק);
• YHWH summons him (ק-ר-א);
• YHWH upholds him (ת-מ-כ).

While this does seem to answer the question here, a word of caution is certainly in order; For if you read through the collected works of the Herald (Isaiah 40-66), you will encounter our Servant many times; And if you always assume it is referring to the same person (or entity, a la Israel), you will come across certain contradictions.

Here is one example; Later on in chapter 42, the Herald says the following, beginning with YHWH's words and then picking up the accusation with his own voice:

The servant, yet again, is Israel; and note that this is in very close vicinity with the other "servant passages" we have already looked at.

But then, consider another Servant Song later on, which begins at chapter 52:13 and goes until 53:12.

It starts off from YHWH's perspective, but then switches to the perspective of astounded onlookers:

Interesting! Can this be referring, yet again, to Israel? If so, here's the problem; In chapter 42, the servant is blind (seemingly morally), and is suffering only what he had brought upon himself.

But in chapter 53, we get a seemingly different picture. The servant acts wisely, with any suffering he undergoes being a kind of vicarious punishment. What the onlookers are deserving of, the servant is bearing.

So if the servant is always Israel, here is the problem; In one place, we learn that her suffering is due to her own sins (42), and in another place, we learn it is due to the sins of another (53). (And who are the onlookers, anyway?)

There are a number of ways of trying to reconcile the above. The simplest one in my opinion is that the Herald is simply not always using the term "servant" to refer to the same thing. Sometimes, as quoted above, the Herald makes it easy for us and says "Israel" explicitly; Other times, we have to really think about it.

Is this an individual within Israel? Is this a distinct group within Israel? Another person, or entity entirely?

But given that we are on pretty solid grounds for the identity of the Servant in chapter 42 (all of Israel), we should take another look at that long list of responsibilities above, but this time with the mindset that it is a call for each and every one of us, by virtue of being a part of the Israelite-collective, to fulfill.

Here it the list again:

• Spread justice throughout the nations;
• Be soft-spoken and gentle;
• Be recognized as a source of authority by even faraway coastlands who will hope to receive our teachings;
• Be a covenant of people, or, if we go with the Dead Sea version, be an eternal covenant;
• Be a light-of-nations;
• Bring sight to the blind;
• Free the imprisoned from darkness.

Wow; Talk about a tall order!

As I read through this list with the desire and intent to actually live up to it, I notice how universally-oriented it is.

This ties into an idea we spoke about just two weeks go, as we read Zecharia 8 and 14 and pondered whether we, as Israel, are being called to actively spread knowledge of our elohim, YHWH-Almighty, throughout the peoples of the earth. My inclination then was to say "yes."

And now, even more so!

You don't have to go too far to find another passage that ties some of the above ideas together nicely.

For here goes the Herald yet again:

Note, yet again, not only the shared motifs, but also the shared language with 42:19. (This is even more pronounced in the Hebrew, but I made bold the parallels in the English.)

Does it seem that the Herald, like Zecharia, is looking forward to a day when the whole world, gentiles as well, will join Israel in connecting to YHWH-Almighty through his commandments???

I'll share with you another interesting support for this idea. Consider this passage from the story of Job:

At some point in ancient Israelite/Judean history, one of our ancestors saw fit to compose this story, with the goal being in order to wrestle with the eternal question of theodicy. How do we maintain our belief in an all-powerful, all-good universal sovereign in light of tremendous suffering of the seemingly righteous?

In this passage quoted above, Job pleads his righteousness. The judge himself seems to agree:

In this story, the Israelite portrays YHWH lauding Job for indeed living a praiseworthy and upright life, confirming Job's very claim that he keeps the commandments of YHWH.

And finally, what do we know about Job's background?

Here is Robert Alter's take:

Many scholars have located this land in Edom, across the Jordan from the land of Israel. But it is really a never-never land somewhere to the east, as befits the fable and the universalizing thrust of the whole book. In this regard, the fact that 'uts in Hebrew means "counsel" or "advice" invites one to construe this as the Land of Counsel.

I find the implications here really interesting. Job is not an Israelite; And yet, it was expected of him to follow specifically YHWH's commandments!

And now we have two possibilities;

• (1) The Israelite-author of the story of Job thinks that the system of commandments, while they might have been given to Israel, was not meant to apply uniquely to Israel. Or;

• (2) The Israelite-author thinks that, just as YHWH gave Israel commandments, perhaps he also gave commandments to other peoples and nations.

Of course, we are speaking now about an ancient fable, not a prophetic work which presents itself as being the word-of-YHWH; So while it is interesting that we might have here an indication as to a fascinating Israelite-worldview, this Job story in-and-of-itself should not cause one to rush to any conclusions.

And yet - taken together with our passages from the Herald above (and Zecharia), we might start seeing precedence and prophetic justification for trying to share the joys of obeying YHWH's commandments with gentiles as well as Israelites!

Consider once more the passage from (Deutero-)Isaiah 51:

How could YHWH's instructions and commandments be a light to the nations unless the nations are themselves observing them?

Of course, these examples would probably be dwarfed by all of the other ones which speak about the commandments representing the unique relationship between YHWH and Israel; And many of them are said to be for the explicit purpose of celebrating a unique connection that YHWH and Israel enjoy having with each other.

One of the most readily recognized examples probably being the Sabbath:

If it's a sign between YHWH and Israel, well then of course it wouldn't make much sense for someone else to observe the Sabbath, would it?

And even more to the point, as we quoted in our discussion of Zecharia:

And finally this one, arguably one of the most important of them all:

The truth is that for every mere hint that YHWH values gentiles keeping the commandments as well as Israelites, there are probably dozens of other explicit statements which state that they are for the people of Israel. But that doesn't negate that these hints are out there.

While I don't have the definitive explanation for this, here are my current thoughts;

YHWH undoubtedly gave the commandments to Israel, very clearly detailing how his precious people could be in constant and close communion with him.

But doesn't YHWH love all the Earth, and everything and everyone upon it? And if someone, not from amongst the Israelites, recognizes his goodness and yearn to be in relationship with him as well, wouldn't it make sense to discern what his Israelites do to please him and connect with him, and to then model their practices off of this?

I'll leave you with an idea - and you can think of this as the Next Level Up from what was suggested at the end of the recent A Day is Coming... reflection (found here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/266794?lang=bi).

Keep your eyes open for opportunities to invite a friend - any friend, be them Israelite, Jewish, gentile, whatever it may be - to join you in doing something which you do in your life which helps you strengthen your communion with YHWH-Almighty. (Taking appropriate covid precautions, of course.)

Maybe it's a Sabbath-meal, maybe it's prayer, maybe reading through and talking about something from the TaNaKh together; maybe it's going on a walk somewhere scenic and just marveling at the world while meditating together on one of the lovely Israelite prayer-poems of nature (Psalms 8, 33, 65 are great ones, and there are many where they came from!)

And if you find yourself thinking; How can I invite someone? I struggle enough with my own relationship with YHWH, someone should be inviting me!!!

If that's you, trust me when I say you are in great company! I personally think that anyone who is honest with him- or herself would say that he or she - no matter how seemingly pious and devoted - struggles deeply. We live in a world surrounded by things which get in the way of really cultivating deep and lasting closeness with YHWH, all of the time. And if even the seemingly "spiritual giants" who composed our prayer-poems struggled (see Psalms 13, 88, and many others), then I think it's safe to say that everyone struggles.

But consider what YHWH himself says, according to the Herald:

Wait; If we are his witnesses, shouldn't we already know? Shouldn't it be whomever we are testifying to who doesn't yet know?

Not quite! For the key to truly understanding YHWH, he says, is to be his witnesses! In the broader context of the chapter above, all of the nations have been called together, and are standing to the side watching, waiting to see what information Israel has to share with them.

Imagine the joy and gratitude one would feel - if they truly believe it - upon being informed that one has the chance to connect, in the most intimate and personal of ways, with the compassionate and loving sovereign of the cosmos. And by extending a welcoming hand and inviting them in, YHWH says that it is we ourselves who will come to strengthen our knowledge and our faith and our understanding - and by extension, our intimacy and eternal connection - with YHWH-Almighty.