Haftarah Lech-Lecha- Can A Worm Take Comfort?

Deutero-Isaiah, the “Second Isaiah,” whose portion begins in Chapter 40,
with the unforgettable line “Comfort, oh comfort My people, says your God,”
is famous for soothing, elevated poetry. The anonymous prophet who lived
around 545-539 BCE, at the very end of the Babylonian Exile, is also called
“The Great Comforter.” How startling it is to read, only one chapter after the
beginning of this portion, a reference to the people Israel as a “worm”!

If Israel is the Lord’s Chosen People, why are they called a “worm,” the
lowly insect that crawls on the ground? For that matter, why are they called
“Jacob” and not “Israel”? We remember that Jacob was renamed Israel
after he had wrestled with the angel. God renames Jacob because “you
have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” (Genesis
32:28) Yet whenever Israel behaves like a fallible person and not one of

God’s “Chosen,” he is again called Jacob. Certainly, if he is only a “worm”
he is lucky to have a name at all!

Names are important in the Bible. Abraham and Sarah were originally
Abram (exalted father) and Sarai (my princess), names that refer only to
their status in a single family. By adding the letter “h” or “heh”, God elevates
them to the progenitors of the Hebrew nation. Abraham means “father of a
multitude” and Sarah, “mother of nations.” So it matters whether their
grandson is Jacob or Israel.

But the larger question is: If God thinks the people are only lowly worms,
why is God promising to save them? Could it be that Isaiah is referring to
Israel as a worm because that is the way the people see themselves? They
are captives in a strange land. They feel that they have lost everything –
their homes, their Temple, and the right to worship their God. When
catastrophes happen to people, they are likely to resort to self-doubt, to
say, “God must be punishing me for something terrible I did.” They feel like
the lowliest of the low, like worms. God is addressing this self-doubt and
saying to them, “Even if you are not worth saving, I the Lord will save you.”

Even if they are only Jacob, God will remember his promise to make them
Israel, the Chosen People.

Isaiah goes on to enumerate all the nations who have contended with Israel
and overcome them in the past and to say that, with God’s help, Israel will
contend with them and overpower them. Israel will prevail, return to
Jerusalem and build another Temple.

That seems like an audacious promise to make. Why does Isaiah sound so
sure it will happen? Isaiah may be called a “prophet,” but he didn’t need a q
crystal ball to make this prediction. It was already happening. In 539/538, at
the end of Second Isaiah’s era, King Cyrus of Persia, called Cyrus the
Great, conquered Babylon and issued a decree allowing the Jews to return
to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. It is a safe bet that, even before the
return began, Isaiah could tell that Babylon was weakening and could be
conquered.

But the Jews had been captives for several centuries. A majority had
probably never been to Jerusalem. None of them remembered living there

as a proud, self-governing people. Isaiah’s job was to give them self-
confidence. Does calling the people a “worm” accomplish that end?

In this case, maybe it does. Isaiah is saying that being lowly does not
matter. Trusting in God is what matters. Whether a people is mighty like
Babylon or defeated like Israel, having God on their side is all-important.
This section is full of assurances that all the people need to do is trust in
God; God will help them.

I close with a quote from Isaiah that typifies the kind of assurance the
prophet wants to give to the people. I love both the message and the
beauty of the poetry.

“Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard
That the everlasting God, the Lord
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Fainteth not, neither is weary?
His discernment is past searching out,
He giveth power to the faint;
And to him that hath no might He increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall;
But they that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
They shall run, and not be weary;
They shall walk, and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-32