Illustration credit: Rebecca Kerzner
Haftarah הַפְטָרָה
About 1,000 years after Benei Yisrael left מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim, Egypt) and entered the Land of Israel (which was about 2,500 years ago), an enemy from Bavel threatened to hurt and exile the Jewish people from their land. The Jewish people hoped that Mitzrayim might help protect them, so they made an alliance with them. But Mitzrayim let them down.
In our haftarah, God tells the prophet Yehezkel to deliver a message to the Pharaoh of Mitzrayim in those days: You will get what you deserve.
כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלֹקִים הִנְנִי עָלֶיךָ פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם הַתַּנִּים הַגָּדוֹל הָרֹבֵץ בְּתוֹךְ יְאֹרָיו אֲשֶׁר אָמַר לִי יְאֹרִי וַאֲנִי עֲשִׂיתִנִי׃
וְנָתַתִּי חַחִים בִּלְחָיֶיךָ וְהִדְבַּקְתִּי דְגַת יְאֹרֶיךָ בְּקַשְׂקְשֹׂתֶיךָ וְהַעֲלִיתִיךָ מִתּוֹךְ יְאֹרֶיךָ וְאֵת כׇּל דְּגַת יְאֹרֶיךָ בְּקַשְׂקְשֹׂתֶיךָ תִּדְבָּק׃
וּנְטַשְׁתִּיךָ הַמִּדְבָּרָה אוֹתְךָ וְאֵת כׇּל דְּגַת יְאֹרֶיךָ עַל פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה תִּפּוֹל לֹא תֵאָסֵף וְלֹא תִקָּבֵץ לְחַיַּת הָאָרֶץ וּלְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם נְתַתִּיךָ לְאׇכְלָה׃
וְיָדְעוּ כׇּל יֹשְׁבֵי מִצְרַיִם כִּי אֲנִי ה'...
This is what Lord God said:
I am against you, Pharaoh king of Mitzrayim.
You are a huge sea monster, sprawling in your river, saying, “The river is mine, and I made it!”
I will put hooks in your cheeks, and make the fish from your river stick to your scales. I will lift you out of your river and all the fish there will stick to you.
I will put hooks in your cheeks, and make the fish from your river stick to your scales. I will lift you out of your river and all the fish there will stick to you.
Then I’ll chuck you into the wilderness - you and all the fish of your river - you’ll fall all across the open fields. You won’t be gathered in or brought back. You’ll become food for the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.
Then all of Mitzrayim will know that I am God…
- What do you notice? What are the big ideas here?
- How many times does the river appear in these pesukim? How might this connect to Parashat Va’era?
- Can you see a connection between what Pharaoh claims in this prophecy and what Rashi said about Pharaoh in our parashah? What does Pharaoh mean by saying that “The river is mine, and I made it!”?
- How many times does God call the river “your river” when speaking to Pharaoh? What kind of point is God trying to rub in?
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