Text of the Haftorah of Ki Tavo – Yeshayahu 60:1–22

Praise and Glory

As the sixth of the Seven Haftoros of Consolation, the haftorah of Ki Savo describes an advanced stage of Redemption. Unlike earlier stages, which are called by Chazal, עתיד לבא, “the Future,” this stage is called עולם הבא, “the World to Come.” The haftorah is the source of the following fact about the World to Come: 

כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא שנאמר ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ נצר מטעי מעשי ידי להתפאר—

All of the Jewish People have a share in the World to Come, for the Torah says, “Your nation will all be righteous, forever they will inherit the Land, the blossoms that I planted, My handiwork, in which I glory (Yeshayahu 60:21).” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1)

Surprisingly, even though we learn from the haftorah that all of the Jewish People will be righteous and have a share in the World to Come, a very small portion of its text describes the Jewish People and how righteous they are. The bulk of the haftorah talks about the nations of the world and their desire to contribute toward our Redemption. For instance, one of the topics in the haftorah is the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash. We might have thought that it would describe how the Jewish People all contribute toward building it, just as the Torah had described the donations that were used to build the Mishkan in the desert. Instead, it says the following:

כָּל צֹאן קֵדָר יִקָּבְצוּ לָךְ אֵילֵי נְבָיוֹת יְשָׁרְתוּנֶךְ יַעֲלוּ עַל רָצוֹן מִזְבְּחִי וּבֵית תִּפְאַרְתִּי אֲפָאֵר… כִּי לִי אִיִּים יְקַוּוּ וָאֳנִיּוֹת… כַּסְפָּם וּזְהָבָם אִתָּם לְשֵׁם ה’ אֱ-לֹהַיִךְ וְלִקְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי פֵאֲרָךְ… כְּבוֹד הַלְּבָנוֹן אֵלַיִךְ יָבוֹא בְּרוֹשׁ תִּדְהָר וּתְאַשּׁוּר יַחְדָּו לְפָאֵר מְקוֹם מִקְדָּשִׁי וּמְקוֹם רַגְלַי אֲכַבֵּד  —

All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you, the rams of Nevayos, in your service, to be brought willingly at My Altar, the House of My Glory, I will make glorious . . . to Me the islands gather, ships . . . their silver and gold with them, in the Name of Hashem, your God, for the Holy One of Yisrael, who makes you glorious . . . the best of the forests of Lebanon will come to you, fir trees, pine trees, and boxwood, all together, to make glorious the place of My Beis HaMikdash, and the place of My Abode I will make honored. (Yeshayahu 60:7, 13)

According to these verses, the bulk of the donations of the Beis HaMikdash will not come from the Jewish People. The nations of the world will contribute both money and raw materials toward its construction, with the goal of making it outstandingly beautiful and glorious.

Even when the haftorah talks about our achievements during that era, it does so in terms of how they look to the nations of the world:

וְקָרָאת יְשׁוּעָה חוֹמֹתַיִךְ וּשְׁעָרַיִךְ תְּהִלָּה —

Your walls will be called salvation, and your courts, a source of praise. (Yeshayahu 60:18)

The implication is that the World to Come is not about us and what we do. Instead, it is about what we project to others, and their reaction to it. It is all about the praise and the glory.

This is not how we normally see ourselves and our objective in serving God. However, the same theme is found in Parashas Ki Tavo:

וַה’ הֶאֱמִירְךָ הַיּוֹם לִהְיוֹת לוֹ לְעַם סְגֻלָּה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְלִשְׁמֹר כָּל מִצְוֹתָיו: וּלְתִתְּךָ עֶלְיוֹן עַל כָּל הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לִתְהִלָּה וּלְשֵׁם וּלְתִפְאָרֶת וְלִהְיֹתְךָ עַם קָדֹשׁ לַה’ אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֵּר —

Hashem has committed you today to be for Him a unique nation, as He has told you, and to keep all His commandments. And to place you supreme among all the nations that He has made, for praise, for the name, and for glory, and for you to become a nation holy to Hashem, your God, as He has told you. (Devarim 26:18, 19)

These verses begin with our familiar mission statement, to be God’s People and keep His commandments. Then it states the objective of this mission, the effect that it needs to achieve: praise, reputation (“name ”), and glory.

According to this statement in Ki Tavo, it is not enough for us to be holy and keep God’s commandments. The Torah tells us that in order to be God’s representatives on Earth, the other nations must be aware of our serving Him. If people don’t see what it is like to have God’s Presence among human beings, then they will never believe that it is possible. If God’s light is hidden from them, then they will never aim to share in it. In order to fulfill the purpose of the Torah, the entire world must be aware of the holiness that keeping it creates. There needs to be praise and glory.

The haftorah teaches us that during the time of Redemption, this mission will be accomplished. In the World to Come, the actions of the Jewish People will not only be consistent with God’s will, but will also be understood by all to be God’s will. The relationship between God and the Jewish People will be so strong, so palpable, so visible, that it will inspire universal admiration and emulation, fulfilling the mission as stated in the parashah. The nations of the world will wish to be a part of the glory, they will wish to contribute to the Beis HaMikdash and to the connection with God that it represents, and God will welcome their participation. In this way, they, too, will have their share in the World to Come.