This Haftarah portion occurred in the mid-eighth century, when Assyrian power quickly expanded, threatening the Northern Kingdom. Micah foresees destruction-- and beyond it, to the better times that can one day follow.
The portion begins with Micah's prophecy and then moves to a much deeper and more profound discussion about what God wants from us, as human beings.
In the midst of the many peoples,
Like dew from GOD,
Like droplets on grass—
Which do not look to anybody
Nor place their hope in mortals.
Michael Fishbane, JPS Bible Commentary, Haftarot, p 244
The haftarah provides a vision of the restored community of Israel. Renewal will come like the dew, says the prophet an unbidden gift of God.
Shall be among the nations,
In the midst of the many peoples,
Like a lion among beasts of the wild,
Like a fierce lion among flocks of sheep,
Which tramples wherever it goes
And rends, with none to deliver.
First Micah compares the Israelites to "dew," and now to "a fierce lion," a symbol of the people's strength.
And all your enemies shall be cut down! (9) In that day
—declares GOD —
I will destroy the horses in your midst
And wreck your chariots. (10) I will destroy the cities of your land
And demolish all your fortresses. (11) I will destroy the sorcery you practice,
And you shall have no more soothsayers. (12) I will destroy your idols
And the sacred pillars in your midst;
And no more shall you bow down
To the work of your hands. (13) I will tear down the sacred posts in your midst
And destroy your cities. (14) In anger and wrath
Will I wreak retribution
On the nations that have not obeyed.
Come, present [My] case before the mountains,
And let the hills hear you pleading. (2) Hear, you mountains, the case of GOD —
You firm foundations of the earth!
For GOD has a case against this covenanted people—
A suit against Israel. (3) “My people!
What wrong have I done you?
What hardship have I caused you?
Testify against Me. (4) In fact,
I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I redeemed you from the house of bondage,
And I sent before you
Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
Remember what Balak king of Moab
Plotted against you,
And how Balaam son of Beor
Responded to him.
[Recall your passage]
From Shittim to Gilgal —
And you will recognize
The gracious acts of GOD.”
והיינו דקאמר להו נביא לישראל (מיכה ו, ה) עמי זכר נא מה יעץ בלק מלך מואב ומה ענה אותו בלעם בן בעור מן השטים ועד הגלגל למען דעת צדקות ה' מאי למען דעת צדקות ה' אמר להן הקב"ה לישראל דעו נא כמה צדקות עשיתי עמכם שלא כעסתי כל אותן הימים בימי בלעם הרשע שאילמלא כעסתי כל אותן הימים לא נשתייר משונאיהן של ישראל שריד ופליט
And that is what the prophet said to Israel: “My nation, remember what Balak, king of Moab, advised, and how Balaam, son of Beor, responded; from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord” (Micah 6:5). What is the meaning of the phrase “So that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord”? The Holy One said to Israel: Know how many acts of kindness I performed on your behalf, that I did not become angry during all the days of Balaam the wicked, as had I become angry during all those days, no remnant or refugee would have remained among the enemies of Israel, a euphemism for Israel itself. Instead, God restrained God's anger and Balaam’s curse went unfulfilled.
Do homage to God on high?
Shall I approach with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old? (7) Would GOD be pleased with thousands of rams,
With myriads of streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for my sins?
You chieftains of Sodom;
Give ear to our God’s instruction,
You folk of Gomorrah! (11) “What need have I of all your sacrifices?”
Says GOD.
“I am sated with burnt offerings of rams,
And suet of fatlings,
And blood of bulls;
And I have no delight
In lambs and he-goats. (12) That you come to appear before Me—
Who asked that of you?
Trample My courts (13) no more;
Bringing oblations is futile,
Incense is offensive to Me.
New moon and sabbath,
Proclaiming of solemnities,
Assemblies with iniquity
I cannot abide. (14) Your new moons and fixed seasons
Fill Me with loathing;
They are become a burden to Me,
I cannot endure them. (15) And when you lift up your hands,
I will turn My eyes away from you;
Though you pray at length,
I will not listen.
Your hands are stained with crime— (16) Wash yourselves clean;
Put your evil doings
Away from My sight.
Cease to do evil; (17) Learn to do good.
Devote yourselves to justice;
Aid the wronged.
Uphold the rights of the orphan;
Defend the cause of the widow. (18) “Come, let us reach an understanding,
—says GOD.
Be your sins like crimson,
They can turn snow-white;
Be they red as dyed wool,
They can become like fleece.” (19) If, then, you agree and give heed,
You will eat the good things of the earth; (20) But if you refuse and disobey,
You will be devoured [by] the sword. —
For it was GOD who spoke.
And what GOD requires of you:
Only to do justice
And to love goodness,
And to walk modestly with your God;
What does God require of us, according to Micah? How can we do justice? Love goodness? Walk humbly with God?
הגיד - זאת היא תשובת הנביא ככה הגיד לך - אתה האדם האומר במה אקדם ה', מה טוב בעיניו שתעשה?
והוא איננו מבקש אילים ולא בנך, רק עשות משפט, שלא תעשה עול בעמיתך ולא תוננו בדיבור או בהון. רק תעשה חסד עמו בכל יכולתך.
והצנע לכתך עם השם לבדו, שתלך בדרכיו בתם לבב, הפך קשי עורף.
This is the response of the prophet.... He does not request sacrifices or your son, only that you should do justice. You should not do ill against your fellow, not to harm him by word or by wealth (possessions). You should only do kindness with him to your fullest. To walk humbly: you should walk humbly with HaShem alone; you should walk in His ways with a simple (obedient) heart, the opposite of stubbornness.
And this is what Rabbi Elazar said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “It has been told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord does require of you; only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)? “To do justly”; this is justice. “To love mercy”; this is acts of kindness. “To walk humbly with your God”; this is referring to taking the indigent dead out for burial and accompanying a poor bride to her wedding canopy. The Gemara summarizes: And are these matters not inferred a fortiori? If, with regard to matters that tend to be conducted in public, as the multitudes participate in funerals and weddings, the Torah says: Walk humbly, then in matters that tend to be conducted in private, e.g., giving charity and studying Torah, all the more so should they be conducted privately.
Abraham Joshua Heschel
What we need is a total mobilization of heart, intelligence, and wealth for the purpose of love and justice. God is in search of man, waiting, hoping for man to do His will.
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Path of the Just,, 18th C
There are some additional matters of piety, which if a person were to do before common people, they will laugh at him and ridicule him, thereby sinning and incurring punishment through him, and this is something he could have abstained from doing since these things are not complete obligations. Thus, for such things, it is certainly more proper for the Hassid to abstain from it than to do it. This is what scripture says: "and walk discreetly with your God" (Micah 6:8). Many great Hassidim abstained from their pious practices when in the presence of the common masses because it appears like arrogance.
Alan Morinis, Everyday Holiness, p.51-2.
Do you express humility by limiting yourself to taking up just the appropriate space while leaving room for others? Next time you sit on a bench, watch how much of it you occupy. There is no need to cringe on the edge, because you’re entitled to sit. Yet there is also no justification for sprawling into a space that ought to accommodate someone else. Or when someone shares a piece of news with you, do you come right back with your own concerns, filling the space they’ve opened, or do you make room to follow up what the other person has introduced? One Mussar student reports on how her insights in this area have changed her behavior. Now, she says, “when friends, family, and associates tell me their troubles, I no longer rush in with my brilliant advice or suggestions as to how to solve their problems. My capacity for self-restraint has developed, and I no longer feel as much need to look smart, wise, good, etc.” Understanding that her behavior was meant to gratify her own needs at the expense of caring for others, she said, “I’m now willing to take up less space in this domain.”
Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed Part 3, 52:1-2
(1) We do not sit, move, and occupy ourselves when we are alone and at home, in the same manner as we do in the presence of a great king; we speak and open our mouth as we please when we are with the people of our own household and with our relatives, but not so when we are in a royal assembly. If we therefore desire to attain human perfection, and to be truly Children of God, we must awake from our sleep, and bear in mind that the great king that is over us, and is always joined to us... The king that cleaves to us and embraces us is the Intellect that influences us, and forms the link between us and God. We perceive God by means of that light that He sends down unto us, wherefore the Psalmist says, "In Thy light shall we see light" (Ps. 36:9): so God looks down upon us through that same light, and is always with us beholding and watching us on account of this light. "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?" (Jer. 23:24). Note this particularly.
(2) When the perfect bear this in mind, they will be filled with fear of God, humility, and piety, with true, not apparent, reverence and respect of God, in such a manner that their conduct, even when alone with their wives or in the bath, will be as modest as they are in public intercourse with other people. Thus it is related of our renowned Sages that even in their sexual intercourse with their wives they behaved with great modesty. They also said, "Who is modest? He whose conduct in the dark night is the same as in the day." You know also how much they warned us not to walk proudly, since "the fulness of the whole earth is His glory" (Isa. 6:3). They thought that by these rules the above-mentioned idea will be firmly established in the hearts of men, that is they would be able to retain the consciousness about being always before God, and it is in the presence of His glory that we go to and fro.
Rabbi Chaim Stern, "When Evil Darkens Our World" as quoted in Prophetic Voices: Renewing and Reimagining Haftarah, p. 271.
When evil darkens our world, let us be the bearers of light,
When fists are clenched in self-righteous rage, let our hands be open
For the sake of peace.
When injustice slams doors on the ill, the poor, the old, and the stranger,
Let us pry the doors open.
Where shelter is lacking, let us be builders.
Where food and clothing are needed, let us be providers.
Where knowledge is denied, let us be champions of learning.
When dissent is stifled, let our voices speak truth to power.
When the earth and its creatures are threatened, let us be their guardians.
When bias, greed, and bigotry erode our country’s values,
Let us proclaim liberty throughout the land.
In the places where no one acts like a human being,
Let us bring courage;
Let us bring compassion;
Let us bring humanity.