Monday, February 20, 2017

Perush Yeshaya 63

The fragment Yeshaya 63 verses 1-6.

מִי-זֶה בָּא מֵאֱדוֹם, חֲמוּץ בְּגָדִים מִבָּצְרָה, זֶה הָדוּר בִּלְבוּשׁוֹ, צֹעֶה בְּרֹב כֹּחוֹ; אֲנִי מְדַבֵּר בִּצְדָקָה, רַב לְהוֹשִׁיעַ. מַדּוּעַ אָדֹם, לִלְבוּשֶׁךָ; וּבְגָדֶיךָ, כְּדֹרֵךְ בְּגַת. פּוּרָה דָּרַכְתִּי לְבַדִּי, וּמֵעַמִּים אֵין-אִישׁ אִתִּי, וְאֶדְרְכֵם בְּאַפִּי, וְאֶרְמְסֵם בַּחֲמָתִי; וְיֵז נִצְחָם עַל-בְּגָדַי, וְכָל-מַלְבּוּשַׁי אֶגְאָלְתִּי. כִּי יוֹם נָקָם, בְּלִבִּי; וּשְׁנַת גְּאוּלַי, בָּאָה. וְאַבִּיט וְאֵין עֹזֵר, וְאֶשְׁתּוֹמֵם וְאֵין סוֹמֵךְ; וַתּוֹשַׁע לִי זְרֹעִי, וַחֲמָתִי הִיא סְמָכָתְנִי. וְאָבוּס עַמִּים בְּאַפִּי, וַאֲשַׁכְּרֵם בַּחֲמָתִי; וְאוֹרִיד לָאָרֶץ, נִצְחָם

The boldfaced verse appeared in our list. The English Standard Version is as follows:

Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel." "For [read also: But] the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come." "I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me. I trampled down the peoples in my anger; I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

"Who is this who comes from Edom?" It is Esav, or the Sar of Esav, the Satan. The 'almighty' wolf speaks with staggering Chutzpah about his 'righteous' plan to devour the flock: “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” The verse in bold says in response that Hashem does it all alone, against Satan, because "there was no one to help." What does Hashem do? "I trampled down the peoples in my anger; I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.” And which peoples deserve this terrible fate? "Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?" The "red apparel," the "crimsoned garments," are references to the clothing וַתִּקַּח רִבְקָה אֶת-בִּגְדֵי עֵשָׂו בְּנָהּ הַגָּדֹל, הַחֲמֻדֹת, the Chamudot, of Esav. The term Chamudot refers to Chamutzot (Zakovitch), the sour clothing of Esav, the red clothes of Edom, whose name means Adom, red. Now we see why Edom is called red: "their lifeblood spattered on my garments." It is because of anti-Semitism, because of the Holocaust, that the clothes of Edom are stained: "and it stained all my apparel." It is this stain, Jewish blood, which identifies Edom. וְיֵז נִצְחָם עַל-בְּגָדַי, let everybody check his/her clothes. The Sar of Esav, the Satan, says "For the day of vengeance was in my heart," but Hashem says "But the day of vengeance was in my heart." When will "the day of vengeance" be? The Satan and Hashem agree: in "the year of My redemption." Sic.