Silent No More - Nitzavim
Last week we reflected on the name Tzion — a word that means “a mark” or “a sign,” pointing to the way Am Yisrael are marked as Hashem’s people. This week’s haftorah returns to that theme: לְמַ֤עַן צִיּוֹן֙ לֹ֣א אֶחֱשֶׁ֔ה וּלְמַ֥עַן יְרוּשָׁלַ֖͏ִם לֹ֣א אֶשְׁק֑וֹט עַד־יֵצֵ֤א כַנֹּ֙גַהּ֙ צִדְקָ֔הּ וִישׁוּעָתָ֖הּ כְּלַפִּ֥יד יִבְעָֽר׃, For the sake of Tzion I will not be silent, and for the sake of Yerushalayim I will not be still, until her righteousness emerges like the dawn and her salvation blazes like a torch (Yeshayahu 62:1).
In this week’s haftorah, Tzion is paired with Yerushalayim. They are one place, yet each word carries its own meaning and dimension. Tzion calls to mind the covenantal sign — the identity of Israel as Hashem’s people, chosen and destined for redemption. Yerushalayim is the city itself, the home where this covenant takes root in history.
How will that covenant be revealed? The Navi turns to two images — the dawn and the torch. Like the dawn, redemption may come gradually, almost unnoticed at first — a slow brightening on the horizon. And yet like a torch, salvation can blaze suddenly, consuming the darkness in an instant. Jewish history bears both patterns. Sometimes redemption is slow, built step by step through small, faithful acts that accumulate into light. Other times it breaks through suddenly, with events that alter our destiny in an instant. The prophet’s words remind us that both the quiet light of dawn and the blazing flame are part of the same process of redemption.
For Hashem, silence is not an option. “For the sake of Tzion I will not be silent.” And for us, it cannot be either. To bear the name Tzion means not only trusting in redemption, but also seeing and feeling the pain of our people — in exile, in suffering, and in uncertainty — and letting that awareness move us to action and prayer. Silence in the face of pain, or indifference to the brokenness of the world, is simply not an option for those who carry the name Tzion.
As we enter the Yamim Noraim, this verse calls us to renew our voices and our vision. We pray not only for our own forgiveness, but for the redemption of our people and the rebuilding of Yerushalayim. We add our voices to Hashem’s promise, refusing to rest until justice shines forth and salvation blazes like a torch. In our days of prayer and reflection, may the first light of dawn awaken us to return with sincerity, and may the torch of redemption blaze brightly for Am Yisrael, for Tzion, and for Yerushalayim, במהרה בימינו.