The eighth verse of the haftara
of Parashat Nitzavim, the final haftara of the “Seven of
Consolation,” reads:
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On your walls,
O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night, they shall
never be silent; those who call on the Lord, do not be silent. Isaiah
62:6
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Iyyun Yaakov [Ein
Yaakov, Berachot 3a] connects our verse to our Sages’ statement:
It has been taught: Rabbi Eliezer says: The night has three watches, and
at each watch the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and roars like a lion. For it
is written: “The Lord shall roar from above, and from His Holy Habitation He
shall give forth His voice; roaring He does roar over His habitation."
[Jeremiah 25:30]
As well, Iyyun
Yaakov brings our attention to our Sages’ comment concerning the content of
the statements of the watchmen, who are not to be silent:
“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all
night, they shall never be silent; those who call on the Lord, do not be
silent.” What do they say? — Raba son of Rabbi Shila said (They say,) “You will
rise, You will have mercy on Zion;” [Psalms 102:14 Rabbi Naḥman son of Yitzḥak
said, (They say,) “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem;” [ibid. 147:2]
And what did they say before this? (prior to Jerusalem’s destruction) Raba son
of Rabbi Shila said, (They used to say) “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He
desired it for His habitation.” [ibid. 132:13]
There are differing opinions
among the classical commentators as to the identification of the watchmen.
Radak presents three possibilities;
1) The
watchmen are God’s angels, “Who pray to God that He return Jerusalem its
settled state;”
2) They are
the mourners of Zion, “Who pray day and night for Jerusalem;”
3) They are “All
of Israel in their exile, for they keep watch and constantly look forward to
Jerusalem’s rebuilding and mention ‘Who rebuilds Jerusalem’ in their prayers
(the fourteenth blessing of the thrice-daily amida) and in their
blessings (the third blessing of the Grace After Meals).
If the watchmen are angels, the
intention is that it is God’s will that Jerusalem be rebuilt, since angels
are not independent entities, but
executors of the Divine will, who have no free choice. It seems that this is
the meaning of the comment of Midrash Zuta [Lamentations 1:16]:
When God destroyed the Temple, He appointed watchmen on Jerusalem’s
walls, (in effect saying:) “You must comfort Me, ‘Give comfort, give comfort,
My people’ [Isaiah 40:1] - Comfort Me, comfort Me.”
Parenthetically, according to
this Midrash, the conclusion of reading the seven haftarot of
consolation connects directly to its commencement, which is “Give comfort, give
comfort, My people.”
This being the case, the
question which begs asking is: if the Divine will is to rebuild Jerusalem and
the Temple, what prevents God from doing this? Why have we not yet been
privileged to see the Temple rebuild and Jerusalem reestablished?
However, the Divine will to
rebuild Jerusalem is the Divine attribute of mercy, which goes beyond the
strict letter of the law embodied in the attribute of justice. Because of our
sins (especially our failure to rectify “baseless hatred” which was the cause
of the destruction of the Second Temple), the attribute of justice requires maintaining
the state of the Temple’s destruction.
The angels express the Divine
will, however, realizing His will depends on us. Ultimately, through our
yearnings and prayers for the Temple’s rebuilding, and even more so, our proper
behavior in rectifying the sin of baseless hatred, we have the ability to
assist the angels in fulfilling the Divine will. This is our obligation.
As such, the three
identifications of the watchmen appointed on Jerusalem’s walls are
complimentary, not contradictory.
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