Yeshayahu 4

לעילוי נשמת Barbara Atlas, Bracha bas Avraham. She was a beacon of light to all who knew her. Barbara’s kindness and generosity had no bounds.

Burning Sun is Bad Enough, But Burning Rain?

Our last chapter ended that many men would die in battle. So many would die that seven widows would each ask a man to marry them. They did not really need the support of a husband, but they needed to be at least nominally married so that they would not be molested by the Babylonian troops.

After the egotistical have been humbled, the sprout of G-d - possibly referring to the Moshiach - will be for beauty and honor. The righteous, who remain from the war, will be in Jerusalem and will be called holy.

G-d will wash away the filth of the women's sins and the blood of the men's with a spirit of purification. Then, the Temple Mount will be covered with a cloud of G-d's glory, as there was over the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the Beis HaMikdash (Temple). There will be a shelter from sun and protection from rain, alluding to various other prophecies. (Malachi 3:19 says that the sun will burn up the evil like straw; Psalms 11:6 says that G-d rains on the evil like fiery coals. These sources are quoted in our chapter by Rashi.)

Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz