Text of the Haftorah of Lech Lecha – Yeshayahu 40:27 – 41:16

The Dawn

In the haftorah of Lech Lecha, Yeshayahu describes a person who represents God’s involvement in the history of mankind:

מִי הֵעִיר מִמִּזְרָח ,צֶדֶק יִקְרָאֵהוּ לְרַגְלוֹ —

Who arose from the east? Righteousness follows in his footsteps.(Yeshayahu 41:2)

The haftorah asks, “Who arose from the east?” According to the Medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 43:3), the answer is Avraham. As we read in Parashas Lech Lecha, God roused Avraham to leave his home in the east. Wherever he would go, he would advocate for justice and righteousness, influencing people to leave false idols and serve the Creator.

This verse is also used by a different Medrash to highlight the impact that Avraham had on civilization:

 ױאמר הקדוש ברוך הוא עד מתי יהא העולם מתנהג באפילה תבא האורה, ויאמר אלהים יהי אור זה אברהם הה”ד (ישעיה מא) מי העיר ממזרח צדק וגו’ אל תקרא העיר אלא האיר —

God said, “How long will the world be shrouded in darkness, how long till the light comes?” “And God said, let there be light”: this is Avraham, for it says, “Who arose from the east with righteousness,” do not read it as “arose” (העיר), but rather as “illuminated” (האיר). (Bereishis Rabbah 2:3)

According to this Medrash, the world before Avraham was dark; the light of Creation became visible only once Avraham appeared. What was the nature of this darkness that the world was shrouded in for all those generations, and what was the enlightenment that Avraham brought?

The “darkness” that the Medrash refers to is idolatry. In order to understand why the Torah considers it darkness and dedicates so much energy to fighting it,[1] need to understand the harm that polytheism causes.

First of all, polytheism is a lie. There is no such thing as a “god of rain,” nor a “god of war,” nor a “goddess of fertility,” nor a “goddess of lost objects.” God alone created the world. He alone controls it.

Nevertheless, people believe all kinds of things that aren’t true, and that is not necessarily destructive to them or the people around them. What happens, though, when one believes that there is a “god of life” and a “god of death,” is that one begin to see the world as a function of the struggle between them. The simplest explanation for the tension between life and death, between good and evil, is that they are governed by conflicting forces, and the “god of good” and the “god of evil” are locked in battle. If there is a “god of evil,” then one needs to placate that evil in order to survive. What some pagan societies chose to do to placate their evil gods is the stuff of nightmares.

Placating the “god of good” is also not morally neutral. If one relates to their god through the gifts they give it, quid pro quo, then the greater the gift, the greater the power one has over their god. This creates a society where giving is only valued for the power it earns, and kindness and mercy have no value at all. Not only did paganism fail to promote morality, but it undermined the basic morality that is innate to human beings.

This is the darkness that reigned in the world until Avraham “arose from the east,” like the dawn.

Avraham is often called the father of monotheism; all the billions of people who follow Christianity and Islam trace the origin of their religions to him. However, the Torah clearly states that Avraham was not the first monotheist. Adam spoke with the Creator; Noach did not worship anyone other than Hashem. If we trace the arithmetic of the “begats” in Bereishis, we will find that when Avraham was born, Noach was still alive. Moreover, in Parashat Lech Lecha itself, Avraham is granted an audience by Malkitzedek, King of Shalem, who is introduced as “the priest of the God Above.” There were plenty of people in Avraham’s generation who were aware that polytheism is a lie, and worshipped God. So what made Avraham different? How was it that he brought light, while the others did not?

Not only did Avraham reject paganism, risking his life to protest it publicly, but, as we read in Parashat Lech Lecha, Avraham spent his life going from place to place “calling in the Name of Hashem.” Unlike Noach, who kept his monotheistic beliefs to himself, Avraham taught everyone he came in contact with that there is a single Creator Who cannot be manipulated or placated, Who cares equally about all His creatures, Who is the source of justice and kindness, and that such actions matter to Him. Avraham showed the world that worshipping God is a path toward greater morality and a more just society.

This is the light that Avraham brought into a world of darkness.

Avraham, “arising from the east,” was the dawn of a new era of human history, the dawn of the light of truth, justice and kindness, the light that ultimately shone upon the entire world.

[1]. According to the Rambam, in addition to the many direct commandments against having any contact whatsoever with idolatry, commandments such as the prohibition against shaving, wearing wool and linen, and cross-dressing are also to meant to distance us from pagan practices.