Noach
Noah and Isaiah: Images of Renewal
Today we read an oracle of comfort
from the Prophet Yishayah (Isaiah), offered to Jews
returning to Yerushalyim from the Babylonian exile.
Two metaphors of renewal and return leap out from the text. A husband who
regrets separating from his wife apologizes for his anger and asks her to come
back to him, promising to love her forever. A woman who has not given birth to
children is told that she will raise many children.
Yishayah's audience would have understood these metaphors
immediately. The suffering of the Israelites is over; the angry judgmental face
of God showed for a moment, but God's loving face is re-emerging. It's safe to
reconnect spiritually and to return to religious practice. The city of Yerushalayim, a spiritual mother bereft of her children for
decades, should open itself to welcome and help resettle Jewish refugees from
Babylonia.
This oracle complements Parshat Noach in several
beautiful ways. One is historical: Yishayah
explicitly compares the promise of eternal love and safety that God makes to
the returning Jews with the promise God made to Noach,
that the earth would never again be destroyed by flood. Another is ethical:
taken together, the Torah and Haftorah readings offer
two models of righteousness. Noach protects his
family. The city of Yerushalayim reaches out to the
many who need a spiritual and political home.
The message? Both types of action
are necessary to make sure that the world endures in love and safety.
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