The Haftarah for Parashat Ki Teitzei is drawn from Isaiah 54:1–10, a passage that contains a lot of imagery concerning restoration, covenantal fidelity, and the unshakeable mercy of Mar-Yah toward His people. The reading follows the great Servant Song of Isaiah 53, where the Suffering Servant bears the sins of many. Thus Isaiah 54 is a natural continuation, presenting the results of that redemptive act – joy, expansion, and everlasting love.
The Barren One Shall Sing (verses 1-3)
“Rejoice, you who are barren…break forth and cry, you that do not travail: for the children of the desolate are more than the children of her that has a husband: for Mar-Yah has said, Enlarge the place of your tent, and of your curtains, fix them: spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your pins; spread forth yet on the right and left: and your seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and they shall make the desolate cities to be inhabited.”
The imagery of barrenness reflects Zion’s humiliation and apparent fruitlessness during exile. Yet the command is paradoxical. She who is barren is to sing. Alaha promises a miraculous reversal—many children will be born to the once desolate woman. This recalls Sarah, who in her old age conceived Isaac, the child of promise (Genesis 21). St. Paul explicitly applies this verse to the Assembly of Mshikha when he said, “For it is written, Rejoice, barren that beares not; break forth and cry, you that travail not: for the desolate has many more children than she which has an husband” (Galatians 4:27). Here the imagery describes the Jerusalem above, the mother of believers, whose children are born through the promise of Yeshua.
The command to enlarge the tent and lengthen the cords indicates growth beyond all expectation. Israel is not only restored but also expanded, embracing the nations. The “seed” that inherits the Gentiles is ultimately the Seed, Mshikha Himself (Galatians 3:16), through whom the desolate cities are rebuilt into dwelling-places of righteousness.
From Shame to Honour (verses 4-6)
“Fear not, because you have been put to shame, neither be confounded, because you were reproached: for you shall forget your eternal shame, and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood. For it is the Lord that made you; Mar-Yah of hosts is his name: and he that delivered your, the God of Israel, shall be called the God of the whole earth. For the Lord has not called you as a deserted and faint-hearted woman, nor as a hated woman from her youth, says your Alaha. For not long ago I left your, and I said, Return to me: but with great mercy will I have compassion upon you, saith the Lord your deliverer.”
Zion is depicted as a wife abandoned for a moment, yet soon to be restored. Shame and widowhood characterised exile, but Alaha declares that these will be forgotten, swallowed up in His compassion. This is covenantal language of marriage. Israel is not forsaken forever; her Maker is her Husband. Yeshua embodies this truth, for He is the Bridegroom who redeems His Assembly. The temporary abandonment—“for a small moment I left you”—points both to the exile of Israel and to the seeming forsakenness of Yeshua upon the Cross. Yet just as Zion’s shame was overturned, so the resurrection vindicates Yeshua and those united to Him.
The Momentary Wrath, the Everlasting Mercy (verses 7-8)
“In a little wrath I left you, and in great mercy will I have compassion upon you. In a moment of anger I turned my face away from you: but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy upon you, says the Lord that delivers you.”
Divine wrath is but momentary, divine mercy everlasting. The exile is presented as a short outburst of anger, but the restoration is eternal in scope. This connects with other passages such as Psalm 29[30]:5, where it says, “For his anger endures but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning”. In Mshikha, this truth is fulfilled. The wrath due to sin fell upon Him; the everlasting mercy is extended to all who believe.
Theologically, this reveals the character of Alaha, namely, that justice requires discipline, but His deepest will is compassion. Wrath is His “strange work” (Isaiah 28:21), while mercy is His nature.
The Covenant of Peace (verses 9-10)
“From the time of the water of Noah this is my purpose: as I sware unto him at that time, saying of the earth, I will no more be angry with you, neither when you are threatened, shall the mountains depart, nor shall your hills be removed: so neither shall my mercy fail you, nor shall the covenant of your peace be removed: for the Lord who is gracious to you has spoken it.”
The promise is anchored in the covenant with Noah. Just as Mar-Yah swore never again to destroy the earth by flood, so He now swears never to remove His covenant of peace. The mountains may be shaken, but His steadfast love is immovable. This covenant of peace is fulfilled in Yeshua, who declared, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27). The Apostle affirms, “He is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Ephesians 2:14). In Him, the everlasting mercy of Isaiah 54 finds its ultimate embodiment.
Conclusion
The Haftarah of Isaiah 54:1–10 proclaims the overflowing mercy of Alaha toward His people. From desolation to fruitfulness, from shame to glory, from momentary wrath to everlasting kindness, Zion is renewed by the covenantal love of her Husband.
For those in Mshikha, this promise is present reality and future hope. The barren one sings, for the Seed has come who gathers both Jew and Gentile into the tent of Israel. The shame of abandonment is gone, for the Bridegroom has embraced His bride. And the covenant of peace is sure, sealed not with the blood of bulls, but with the blood of the Lamb who was slain and yet lives.
Thus, in reading this Haftarah alongside Parashat Ki Teitzei, we discern that the justice and mercy of the Aurayta, with its concern for family, neighbour, and covenant fidelity, finds its consummation in the everlasting mercy and covenantal love promised in Isaiah, fulfilled in Yeshua, and preserved through the witness of the guardians of the Assembly in Jerusalem.