PARASHAT KI TETZE
This week’s haftarah (Isaiah 54:1–10) continues the cycle of the shiv’ah d’nechemta—the “seven haftarot of consolation” after Tisha B’Av. The prophet Isaiah brings us a vision of compassion and kindness as God promises never again to abandon His people. We pray this is true on day 700 of our family members held captive by brutal terrorists. One verse in particular stands out:
“For the mountains may move and the hills may be shaken, but My kindness (chesed) shall never depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed—said the Lord, who has compassion (merachem) on you.” (Isaiah 54:10)
God, have compassion on us! Isaiah reassures us that, though the world may shift and tremble, God’s chesed and rachamim—kindness and compassion—are eternal. What truly anchors us, Isaiah teaches, is not the permanence of mountains or hills, but the faithfulness of compassion and the enduring power of kindness.
Our tradition links divine compassion to human responsibility: as God comforts us, so we must comfort others. As God’s kindness redeems us, so too can our acts of kindness bring redemption into our communities. The Talmud in Sotah reminds us that the fires of the Divine that burn within our souls should light our way towards comforting, compassionate and mitzvah-based communal action.
This week, may we hear Isaiah’s words not only as a promise, but also as a charge. Each time we lift another, each time we act with compassion, we add to the chesed that sustains the covenant of peace in our world. May that stir the Holy One to add godly measures of mercy and compassion to every heart.