׳׳ד׳ חפץ למען צדקו יגדיל תורה ויאדיר׳׳ ישעי׳ מב:כא
“Hashem desired for the sake of righteousness that the Torah be made great and glorious”
Isaiah 42:21

The Chidah explains this famous proclamation found in the Haftorah of Parshas Bereishis. The Navi Yirmiya begins to prophesize about the End of Days and declares that ׳׳כי מלאה הארץ דעה את ד׳ כמים לים מכסים׳׳ – “For the earth will be as filled with knowledge of Hashem as water covering the seabed” the commentators explain that the Navi does not intend that every person will know and understand the ways of Hashem to the same extent, for it is inconceivable that a תלמיד חכם – a Torah Scholar who has invested so much hard work and effort into his Torah learning in this world will now at the End of Days stand at a place equal to that of a simpleton who did not toil one iota in the Torah. Rather, – כמים לים מכסים just as the water in the sea appears smooth and equal across the surface of the ocean, whilst underneath the waves there are both deeper depths and shallow coves, so too it shall be at the End of Days – everyone will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem, however the wise man who labored in his learning of the Torah will be gifted an ever deeper understanding of Hashem; infinitely more than his inferior counterparts, even if they all appear even to the untrained eye. Which brings us back to the pasuk in the local Haftorah. The Chidah explains that when Hashem decides in the (hopefully near) future to make righteous the world and give דעת – real knowledge to mankind which will result in יגדיל תורה , as we will all know of the Torah, then יאדיר , Hashem will expand and deepen the understanding exponentially to those who strived towards grasping the Torah during their lifetime with blood, sweat and tears.

Even though this particular Shabbos we will not be reading the standard Haftorah for Parshas Bereishis, for Rosh Chodesh falls on Sunday and we therefore read the passage of ׳׳מחר חודש׳׳ , it is still important to remember that the message of the traditional Haftorah should be at the forefront of our minds as we prepare for launch into the upcoming winter. Our efforts will not be in vain. The struggle is real and Hashem will repay us in kind for our efforts in this world when it comes time for the ultimate revelation and we will be zoiche to experience ׳׳יגדיל תורה ויאדיר׳׳.

Moshe Rothenberg / MMHK