YISRO
Yeshaya 6:1–7:6, 9:5–6

Man’s Contribution to Hashem’s Glory
When one contemplates the extent of Hashem’s mastery over the universe and all the heavenly spheres, one can become awe stricken by His magnificent glory. In fact, after such a humbling experience one can almost forfeit one’s self worth. (Rambam Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah, Chapter 2, 1) Accordingly, how can lowly “man” make any significant contribution to Hashem’s glory? What value do his mitzvah acts have when compared to the loftiest praise of billions of heavenly angels from morning to night and from night to morning? (Tanna D’vei Eliyahu Zuta 12) This week’s Haftarah addresses these questions and displays how the lowness of man actually contributes to Hashem’s glory in an unparalleled way.

Yeshaya Beholds Hashem’s Presence

The Haftarah begins with Yeshaya Hanavi’s magnificent vision of Hashem’s Heavenly Presence. Yeshaya said, “Fiery angels stand before Hashem in service . . . They call to one another and say [in unison], ’Holy, Holy, Holy is Hashem the master of the legions
whose glory fills the entire land.’” (6:2-3) Yeshaya saw one of the holiest visions ever to be seen by man, and he responded to it with the following words, “Woe is to me for I remained silent because I am a man of impure lips…and my eyes beheld the Divine Presence itself.” (6:5) The above verses record Yeshaya’s humble response to his awesome privilege and express his sense of unworthiness to behold a glimpse of Hashem’s magnificent glory. Yet, they also reflect that Yeshaya was troubled by his personal silence during those lofty moments. Yeshaya attributed his silence to his human imperfection and inadequacy and bemoaned the fact that his impure speech rendered him unworthy of uttering a sound in Hashem’s intense Divine Presence. (Mahari Kra ad loc.)
Yeshaya’s vision continued and he beheld Hashem commanding a fiery angel to deliver Yeshaya a burning coal. Yeshaya said, “And with tongs the angel removed the coal from the altar, touched my mouth and said [to me], ’Your sin is removed and your error forgiven’”. (6:6-7) Hashem then asked, “Whom shall I send?” and Yeshaya responded, “Here I am; send me.” (6:8) In essence, Yeshaya’s awesome vision and
humbling experience initiated him to prophecy. After his quick spiritual cleansing process, he became worthy of transmitting Hashem’s penetrating messages to His

people. (Mahari Kra 6:7)
This intriguing incident suggests the unthinkable, that man can actually rise to the lofty status of complete spirituality. Although Yeshaya was privy to the innermost levels of sanctity he sensed his mortality and felt unworthy of associating with such elevated levels of holiness. Alas, he was only a human being, far from a spiritual entity. He was, by nature, identified with impurity and sin and did not deserve to behold such sacred revelations, all the more so, to converse with Hashem in his vision. Hashem responded to Yeshaya’s concern and informed him of his potential to rise above all human constraints and that after some minor refinement he could and would attain supreme levels of spirituality. We must admit that when we reflect upon this incident we tend to side with Yeshaya. We also wonder in amazement what position can any impure mortal occupy amongst the lofty spiritual beings!

Torah is Fashioned for Mortals

The answer to these questions can be learned from the essential discussion of mortality that took place between Hashem and the heavenly angels. Chazal relate that the angels complained to Hashem when He chose to share His precious Torah with His people. They argued, “Your glory [Your Torah] should remain amongst the spiritual beings. . . We are holy and Your Torah is holy. We are pure and Your Torah is pure. We
are everlasting and Your Torah is everlasting.” Hashem responded that the Torah would not remain amongst the angels because they are perfect spiritual beings with no mortality, impurity or illness. Hashem concluded that His true glory would ultimately come from man plagued by imperfection, impurity and mortality. (Midrash Tehillim 8)
Hashem’s response to the angels is quite puzzling to us because, in truth, we tend to agree with the angels. Is not perfect fulfillment of Hashem’s bidding the greatest tribute to His honor? What could be more glorious than the angels’ purest praises of Hashem? In addition, how can mortality and impurity serve as positive facets in Hashem’s honor and glory?
Chazal’s words in this week’s Haftarah provide insight into this matter. They reflect upon the burning coal and note that the fiery angel held it with tongs. This suggests that the coal’s heat was too intense for an angel to endure. Yet, Yeshaya’s lips underwent
direct contact with the burning coal without being harmed by it. Chazal explain this symbolism and state that indeed the human being’s spiritual potential far surpasses that of an angel. They draw support to their point from the prophetic words of the prophet Yoel who said, “For His camp is massive, but mightier are those who fulfill His word.”

(Yoel 2:11) Chazal explain that the “massive camp” refers to the angels and that “those who fulfill His word” refer to His prophets. We learn from these words that when a prophet fulfills Hashem’s will, he displays greater strength than that of an angel. (Rashi to Yeshaya 6:7 taken from Midrash Tanchuma, Vayishlach 2)

The Prophet Sings Above All

This reality is based on man’s equal ability to obey or disobey Hashem’s commandments. The angel’s clear perception of Hashem leaves no room for anything but perfect behavior. Man, on the other hand, is plagued with impurity, weakness of character, cravings and temptations. When he decides to prioritize Hashem’s desire and interest over his personal desire, interest and craving he bears true testimony to Hashem’s greatness. In essence, man’s tremendous accomplishment of total subjugation to Hashem displays the incredibly penetrating power of Hashem’s word. Although a human being was created with an extremely impure nature of self-pursuit and self-absorption, replete with all the animalistic drives that feed his ego, he was also blessed with a spiritual essence that can drive and refine that same human being to the point of total kindness and selflessness.
Chazal continue and explain that if this holds true for an ordinary pious Jewish person, what can be said to describe the greatness of a prophet!? Indeed, the prophet’s unfathomable spiritual ascent proves that a freethinking individual can be so subservient to the Master of the universe that he can actually transcend all physical barriers and attain a level of sanctity similar to the heavenly angels. Rambam outlines the road to prophecy and explains its progressive development. He states that one who conditions oneself for prophecy must exert total control over all human passions and emotions and must never succumb to any physical urges or drives. After attaining that consistent level of self-control, he continues to remove himself from mundane affairs and he dedicates his entire being to spirituality, never allowing his mind to stray into thoughts of frivolity or vanity. He continues his spiritual ascent until he becomes transfixed on Hashem’s innermost sacred principles, thus rendering him worthy of Hashem’s direct contact through prophecy. During his prophetic experience he senses that he has temporarily transcended all human barriers and has actually joined the ranks of the angels. (based on Rambam Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 7:1)

The Incredible Praise of a Mortal’s Ascent

This paramount accomplishment of man supersedes the glory of the angels during their loftiest praises of Hashem. Although man, unlike angel, begins from a point far away from perfection, he is actually capable of ridding himself of all earthly cravings and drives and of dedicating his entire essence to spirituality. Chazal inform us that Hashem told the angels that He was giving His Torah to the Jewish people because His greatest glory would be displayed through them. In essence, Hashem gave the Jewish people His Torah because of their impurity, weakness of character and mortality. Hashem challenged them through His Torah to rise above their human shortcomings, impure motives and animalistic drives and to replace them by traversing the road to spiritual perfection. Through the Torah, Hashem gave His
people the ability to cleanse themselves from all human impurities and to aspire to attain a spiritual level similar to that of the heavenly angels. Indeed, Hashem’s ultimate glory rests in the acts of man who can prove through his earthly, spiritual struggle, ascent and
conquest the incredible power of Hashem’s word and desire.

Jewish People’s Patriarch Status

We read this haftarah in conjunction with Parshas Yisro because the Jewish people at Mount Sinai attained the highest level of spiritual purity and subsequent prophecy. Chazal teach us that during the moments of their prophecy they almost reached Moshe Rabbeinu’s clarity of prophecy [the greatest prophet ever] and that their lofty spiritual essence transcended their physical being. Ohr Hachaim explains that because of their semi corporal state Hashem addressed every Jewish soul in a personal form and conveyed upon him [at that time] the lofty status of our sacred patriarchs and identified Himself to every Jewish soul as his personal Hashem. (Ohr Hachaim to Shemos 20:1)
The Torah teaches in Parshas Shoftim (18:16) that due to the intensity of their experience the Jewish People approached their leader and asked him to intercede on their behalf and Hashem agreed. After that point, Hashem’s loftiest praise was reserved for the prophet who rises above his people and his animalistic nature and makes the spiritual ascent.
We now understand that the human being truly sings the greatest of all praises to Hashem far beyond that of the loftiest Heavenly beings. The epitome of this praise comes from a prophet whose incredible efforts and spiritual achievements display how the adherence to Hashem’s word transforms a low, beast-like human being into a Heavenly angel.
Yeshaya, due to his human limitations and imperfections, felt unworthy of participating
in the Heavenly angels’ display of glory. Hashem informed him that his conscious decision to subjugate himself to Hashem surpassed all heavenly praise. In fact, once Hashem cleansed Yeshaya from his slight impurity of speech he became worthy  participating in the greatest of all praises. In Yeshaya’s prophetic vision, albeit a mortal being, he merited to converse with Hashem in His Holy Presence in His uppermost
sphere.

Mitzva Observance in Our Times

This penetrating message has great bearing on our times. Chofetz Chaim raises the deep concern how the final generations of the world scene can even entertain the possibility of meriting the advent of Mashiach? If previous generations, much purer and more pious than ours, did not merit Mashiach, how could our disgraceful generation even consider the thought? Chofetz Chaim answers that, in truth, no generation ever deserved Mashiach more than ours. The reason for this is because of the tremendous value of mitzvos in our times. In previous generations general mitzvah observance was not a major psychological and sociological challenge. In general, Torah observance was the way of life and its absolute standard could not be easily trespassed. Although mitzvah observance at times came with great difficulty and sacrifice, adherence to Torah principle was the essential component of every Jew. After the cursed haskalah movement and similar foreign influences, basic mitzvah observance has become a serious challenge and requires a strong degree of devotion and self-sacrifice. (Tzipisa
Liyshua) We might add that in our generation morality has fallen so low that attaining and, certainly, maintaining any level of spiritual purity and self-negation is an awesome task. In this light, all our pure acts of devotion have tremendous spiritual value. Even the fragment of Torah-true Jewry scattered around the world brings incredible honor and glory to Hashem. It attests to the fact that Hashem’s truths can and do prevail under the most adverse conditions. In our days, any individual who cleaves to the road of spirituality and attempts to climb the ladder of perfection vividly displays the preciousness and incredibly motivating force of Hashem’s word. Undoubtedly Hashem responds to our generation’s humble display of His glory and declares to the heavenly angels, “Come and observe My people who have remained moral, ethical and pure amidst their totally immoral and self-centered environment and have cleaved to My will above all. Can one bring Me greater glory than them?!”