Hope Through Tears
Haftarot of the High Holy Days
On the Haftarah for the Second-Day of Rosh Hashanah (Jer. 31:2–20)
The haftarah for the second day of Rosh Hashanah echoes both the violence and the promise of the Akedah, the Binding of Isaac, as Israel is described as “the people escaped from the sword” (Jer. 31:2), while God promises, “There is hope for your future—your children shall return to their country” (31:17).
The haftarah is also well known for its descriptive image of the matriarch Rachel weeping bitterly for her children: “Thus said Adonai: A cry is heard in Ramah, wailing, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children who are gone” (31:15).
Our liturgy is a constant—our lives are forever the variable. This year, it feels like our haftarah speaks to the indescribable sorrow following the horrific attack on Israel of October 7. More than 1,200 people—soldiers and civilians, mothers and fathers, children and grandparents—were not saved from the sword, and over 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza. We, the Jewish people, are in a persistent state of loss, bitterness, and despair.
As I write this, 10 months have passed, and many of us feel like Rachel, still weeping, still unable to find comfort over the loss of so many innocent souls. Some of us mark the bitterness with pieces of tape, counting each day of captivity. Others wear dog tags or ribbons, daily reminders of the pain of our people.
While acknowledging the pain, let us also take comfort in the words of this haftarah, promised to the Jewish people over a millennium ago: “There is hope for your future—your children shall return to their country.”
Despite the aching pain of this year for Israel, for the Jewish people, and for all the innocent who suffer, we are alive in a miraculous era of Jewish history, one which has seen Rachel’s children return to the Land. Through our tears, let us also find tikvah in God’s promise for a better future.
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