"All Who Are Thirsty"/2

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"All Who Are Thirsty"

Exegetical Approaches

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Overview

Commentators differ in how they understand the prophet's cry, "all who are thirsty, go for water".  Is Yeshayahu speaking metaphorically or literally? The majority of sources understand his words to be a figurative call to learn Torah and return to Hashem. They differ, though, regarding whether the prophet is addressing Israel or Gentiles, with Rashi taking the former approach and Ibn Ezra the latter.  The Biur, in contrast, suggests that the chapter be read more literally. Hashem comforts the oppressed in exile, telling them that on their return to Israel, they will prosper and find food and drink without effort.

Call for Repentance

The chapter constitutes a call to return to Hashem and His Torah. This approach divides regarding the intended audience of Yeshayahu's words:

Call to Israel

The prophet's message is aimed at the Nation of Israel who have forsaken Hashem's teachings.

Time period
"כׇּל צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם" – According to this approach, the verse is metaphoric. Water symbolizes Torah, and wine and milk represent its ethical lessons.2  The prophet cries to the people to follow Hashem's Torah and its teachings. After all, they are free ("שִׁבְרוּ בְּלוֹא כֶסֶף") and accessible to all.
"לָמָּה תִשְׁקְלוּ כֶסֶף בְּלוֹא לֶחֶם" – This verse is understood figuratively as well.3  The prophet chides the people for chasing after foreign practices and wisdom which provide no nourishment ("בְּלוֹא לֶחֶם") for the soul.
"הַטּוּ אׇזְנְכֶם וּלְכוּ אֵלַי" – This explicit cry for repentance might support the fact that verses 1-2 are to be understood metaphorically.  It provides the explanation for the earlier analogy. "הוֹי כׇּל צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם" means "הַטּוּ אׇזְנְכֶם וּלְכוּ אֵלַי".
Mention of David – According to Rashi, Hashem promises that if the people change their ways, He will renew the covenant with David. This is David's reward for having been a "נָגִיד וּמְצַוֵּה לְאֻמִּים", someone who rebuked others and taught them the proper path.
"גוֹי לֹא יְדָעוּךָ אֵלֶיךָ יָרוּצוּ" – This verse might describes the larger religious reformation which will take place when Israel returns to the study of Torah.4  Hashem's teachings will spread beyond Israel's borders, leading other nations, too, to recognize Hashem and flock to Israel to learn.5
Scope of the prophecy – As the rest of the chapter, too, comprises a call to repentance, this approach can view the entire chapter as one prophecy. Verses 6-7 continue the exhortation to repent, while the rest of the chapter sends a message of encouragement, that if the people do confess and change, Hashem will accept them and redeem them from exile.

Call to the Gentiles

Hashem invites the Gentiles to recognize Hashem and learn His Torah.

Time period – These sources maintain that the prophet addresses the foreign nations in the Messianic era specifically. Radak suggests that idolators will come to recognize Hashem in the aftermath of the Battle of Gog and Magog, at which point they will be willing to heed Hashem's call.
"כׇּל צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם" – Ibn Ezra and Radak read the water, milk, and wine as metaphors for Torah.6  In the End of Days, the prophet will encourage the foreign nations to turn to Hashem and learn His Torah.7
"לָמָּה תִשְׁקְלוּ כֶסֶף בְּלוֹא לֶחֶם" – This verse, too, is figurative. The spending of money represents the search for false truths and the chasing after the wisdom of the Gentiles. Such learning is futile, and won't produce "bread" or result in satiation; i.e. it won't bring any benefit to the body or soul.
"וּתְחִי נַפְשְׁכֶם" – The prophet explains that if the Gentiles follow Hashem, they will have a place in the World to Come (their souls will live). Ibn Ezra also raises the possibility that Hashem is promising that they will merit to be resurrected by the Mashiach (their souls will be brought back to life).
Mention of David – The reference to David is an allusion to the Mashiach, his descendant.  Yeshayahu points out that the Mashiach will be a leader not just of Israel, but the world at large: "עֵד לְאוּמִּים נְתַתִּיו". He will guide Jew and Gentile alike.
"הֵן גּוֹי לֹא תֵדַע תִּקְרָא וְגוֹי לֹא יְדָעוּךָ אֵלֶיךָ יָרוּצוּ" – According to these sources, in this verse the prophet turns back to address Israel, telling them that in the End of Days, many foreign nations will indeed heed the prophet's call and head to Israel for the sake of Hashem.  Ibn Ezra claims that this verse supports his reading of the earlier verses; all speak of the repentance of the Gentiles rather than of Israel.
Scope of the prophecy – This position suggests that verse six ("דִּרְשׁוּ י"י בְּהִמָּצְאוֹ") opens a new prophecy, with a new audience, Israel.

Promise of Prosperity

Hashem promises the nation success and prosperity when they return from exile.

Time period – These sources differ in their understanding of the time period to which the prophecy refers:
  • Babylonian exile – The Biur understands the prophet to be speaking to those in exile in Babylonia. He calls on them to join those who have returned to Israel so that they, too, might benefit from the blessings of the land.
  • Present exile – According to Shadal, in contrast, the prophet is speaking to the nation in exile, close to the time of the Messianic redemption.
"הוֹי כׇּל צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם" – The Biur explains that while in exile, the people were forced to pay for everything, even items which should normally be free, as Yirmeyahu laments in Eikhah, "מֵימֵינוּ בְּכֶסֶף שָׁתִינוּ". Hashem promises that upon the return from exile this will no longer be the case. 8  Shadal adds that the "good" that Hashem will provide in the future won't be of poor quality, but it will be substantial and pleasant, like bread, milk, and wine. According to this understanding, the "thirsty" refer to those suffering economic distress in exile.
"לָמָּה תִשְׁקְלוּ כֶסֶף" – The Biur explains that Hashem questions why the people would want to continue in the dismal situation they find themselves in, where they are forced to pay money to enemy rulers and get nothing in return. Whenever they toil, it is for naught.9
"שִׁמְעוּ שָׁמוֹעַ אֵלַי " – The Biur understands this not as an exhortation to repent and listen to Hashem's laws, but an invitation to heed the call to return to Tziyon.
"הַטּוּ אׇזְנְכֶם וּלְכוּ אֵלַי" – The Biur explains that this verse, too, does not speak of a spiritual return to God, but rather a physical return to Israel.
Mention of David: "הֵן עֵד לְאוּמִּים נְתַתִּיו" – These sources differ in their understanding of this verse:
  • According to Shadal, the verse refers to the descendant of David who will rule in the Messianic era.  In exile they had long been without a monarch, but in Messianic times, the Davidic dynasty will resume.10
  • The Biur, instead, suggests that it refers to Zerubavel, from the Davidic line, who will lead the people back to Israel after the Babylonian exile.  His actions will serve as testimony to Hashem's prowess.
"הֵן גּוֹי לֹא תֵדַע תִּקְרָא וְגוֹי לֹא יְדָעוּךָ אֵלֶיךָ יָרוּצוּ" – During the future redemption, many foreign nations will rush to serve Israel and do her bidding.  This is another example of the blessings of the period.11
Scope of the prophecy – This approach could take one of two positions on this issue:
  • Verses 1-5 – It is possible that the prophecy ends in verse 5.  If so, it is essentially a description of the material blessings to be had upon the nation's return from exile.
  • Whole chapter – Alternatively, as Shadal suggests, the entire chapter comprises one prophecy.  After the blessings promised in the first half, the prophet continues to exhort the people to repent to ensure that they are able to partake of them.12 This reading of the chapter comes much closer to the first approach developed above. The prophecy is essentially a call for change, in which the prophet points out that the dire economic straits of the people are due to their disobedience.  If they repent, blessing will prevail.