The Yom Kippur morning haftarah (from the book of Isaiah1 ) tells us what a meaningful fast is and what it can accomplish. There are also other messages that connect to the theme of Yom Kippur.

If I were to sum up the haftarah in one sentence it would be this: G‑d wants us to be good and real; and when we are, He does amazing things for us, including sending Moshiach. There are also messages of healing. Some of them include how G‑d is always with us and the great reward for keeping Shabbat with pleasure.

The haftarah begins: "Make a path, make a path, clear the way, remove obstacles from My people's way."2 In other words, Moshiach is coming soon and we will be on the path to redemption. The rest of the haftarah tells us how we get there.

Teshuvah And Humility

G‑d says, "I dwell on high in holiness, yet I am with the broken hearted, and humble of spirit..."3 This refers to the baal teshuvah, who realized how far he was from G‑d. Now, as he is going through the process of teshuvah, he is broken-hearted and humble of spirit.

Being with the broken hearted and humble of spirit G‑d shows us that He too is humble. This is difficult to understand. How could G‑d be humble when He is all-powerful?

There are two kinds of humility. The common kind of humility comes as an intellectual decision. Like Moses, of whom the Torah says, "And the man, Moses, was humblest of any person on the face of the earth." Moses, who spoke face to face with G‑d, lead the Jewish people for forty years, did amazing miracles and wonders, and transmitted the Torah, was able to remain humble. How could that be? Didn't he know who he was? Rather, he felt that if someone else would have been given his qualities, perhaps he would have achieved even more. Intellectually he felt that he wasn't greater than the next person. It was just that he was given gifts.

Then there is an essential, instinctive humility. This humility is a part of the person’s essence. As our sages said about G‑d, "In the place where you find His greatness, there you will find His humility."4 We see this in our verse, "I dwell on high in holiness, yet I am with the broken hearted and humble of spirit..." This is different from Moses’ recognition that someone else could accomplish more than him. After all, no one can accomplish more than G‑d.

Moses had both of these qualities, intellectual humility and essential, instinctive humility. That is why he felt humble before every person.5

The haftarah continues to say that when G‑d sees that we repent, He makes everything good and right for us.

Those Who Are Far and Those Who Are Near

The haftarah then says: "I will create utterance of the lips, ‘peace peace to those who are far and to those who are near,’ said the L‑rd G‑d, ‘and I will heal him.’ ”6 What is this new utterance of the lips that G‑d will create? An “utterance of the lips” implies spontaneous speech that comes automatically, without thought. How does this happen? Also, what do “far and near” refer to?

The Radak7 gives us two explanations:

  1. The sages8 say that “far” refers to baal teshuvah, and “near” refers to those who were righteous all along. Accordingly, “utterance of the lips” refers to the confession of the baal teshuvah, which comes automatically from the depth of his heart, because he feels so broken and distant.
  1. “Far” and “near” refer to a person’s location vis a vis Jerusalem. Those who are distant lack fear of Heaven, as one of the meanings of the word Jerusalem, or Yerushalayim, is “yirat shamayim (fear of Heaven).9 Thus the “utterance of the lips” refers to Torah study, because the way to combat the lack of fear of Heaven is through Torah study. It is automatic because he puts himself into Torah study to the degree that it becomes a part of him. He doesn't even think about it. This is hinted in the last words of the verse, "said the L‑rd G‑d, ‘and I will heal him.’ ” Through what will he be healed? Through that which G‑d says: the Torah.

You may ask: Why are those who are distant listed in the verse before those who are near?

Our sages learn from this that "In the place where the baal teshuvah stand, even the completely righteous cannot stand.10 This means that there is something about a baal teshuvah that is greater than a complete tzadik. What is that?

The next word in this verse is urefuasiv (“and I will heal him”). This teaches us that repentance, (teshuvah) is like healing. When a doctor prescribes a medicine, even a tiny amount may be all that is needed to have the desired effect. The same is true about the baal teshuvah. In one moment and with one thought of repentance he is transformed, reaching the highest levels that even a tzadik who served G‑d his whole life couldn’t achieve. This is because, while a tzadik is always close to G‑d, his service is limited to his abilities. However, the act of repentance of the baal teshuvah is not limited, since it comes from a place of feeling distant. It is ever so powerful, breaking all limitations and reaching higher than a complete tzadik possibly can.

Now you may ask, if G‑d says, "peace peace to the far and the near," it would seem that the baal teshuvah has already come near. So why does He say, "and I will heal him"? Isn't the baal teshuvah already healed?

The answer is that though he has come near, he still has a lot of healing to do. And that healing comes through Torah study.

The Kind of Fast G‑d Wants

G‑d now sends Isaiah to rebuke the Jewish people for their insincere fasting, for going through the motions, while remaining wicked. Is this the kind of fast I desire?!"11

Rather, the prophet continues, "This is the fast I desire, loosen the bonds of wickedness, unlock the fetters of injustice, set the oppressed free, and break every yoke. You should divide your bread among the hungry, and bring the moaning poor into your house; when you see a naked person, you should clothe him, and don't ignore your own kin."12

He continues to say that if we do this, we will be successful, and when we call out to Him, He will answer. If we stop the oppression of the poor, the pointing-finger and the corrupt speech and open our hearts to the hungry and satiate the afflicted, our light will shine in the darkness. The deepest darkness will then be as bright as the morning. G‑d will always guide you, satisfy your needs in times of drought, and strengthen your bones. You will become like a well watered garden, like a spring whose water never ceases. Our ruins will be rebuilt, and our foundations reestablished.

Keeping, Enjoying and Honoring Shabbat

The haftarah now tells us about keeping Shabbat. "If you will restrain your foot because it is Shabbat, from doing your desires on My holy day, and you will declare Shabbat as a [time of] pleasure, a holy day of honor for G‑d, and you will honor it by not carrying out your [regular] activities, not pursuing your desired [labors], and not speaking about [financial] things. Then you will find pleasure with G‑d, and I will raise you on the high places of the earth, and you will enjoy the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of G‑d has spoken."13

The Rambam says: "Anyone who keeps Shabbat according to its laws, and honors it and finds pleasure in it to the best of his ability, it has been clearly handed down that his reward will be in this world, in addition to what is hidden away for him in the world to come, as it says, 'Then you will find pleasure with G‑d...' "14

The Rambam is explaining the simple meaning of the verses. "If you will restrain your foot because it is Shabbat, from doing your desires on My holy day," means keeping the laws of Shabbat. "And you will declare Shabbat as a [time of] pleasure..." means enjoying Shabbat. "And you will honor it by not carrying out your [regular] activities..." means honoring the Shabbat.

Shabbat is special, in that its reward is threefold.

First, there is the regular reward. As the Rambam explains15 that the reward for mitzvot is in the world to come, when we will bask in the light of G‑d. This is "enjoying the heritage of Jacob." On top of that, we will enjoy the light of G‑d in this world as well. That is why he says, "in addition to what is hidden away for him in the world to come," because it is the same kind of reward, but in this world. This reward is unique to keeping Shabbat, and is learned from the words, "Then you will find pleasure with G‑d."

Then there is a physical reward. This reward is different from the other rewards in two ways: Firstly, it is not really a reward. It is just that because you are doing the mitzvot, G‑d gives you your needs, so you can continue to do so without difficulty. Secondly, it is a limited reward, while the others are unlimited.

Since it is limited, there could be various levels of comfort rewarded. So the verse says, "I will raise you on the high places of the earth." That the reward will be the best of the earth.

Why does Shabbat have such a great reward, greater than any other mitzvah?

Rambam quotes that "both Shabbat and idol worship are equal to all the other mitzvot of the Torah, and Shabbat is the sign between us and the Holy One, Blessed Be He..."16

Idol worship is a denial of the essential underpinnings and sanctity of the Jewish people. By comparing Shabbat to idol worship, he is saying that Shabbat is different than the other mitzvot. While all the other mitzvot add to our holiness, not doing them does not constitute a denial of the essential underpinnings and sanctity of the Jewish people. Shabbat, on the other hand, is an essential part of who we are. Keeping Shabbat is therefore upholding the essential underpinnings and sanctity of the Jewish people.

Shabbat is the time when our unity with G‑d shines bright. It is therefore a taste of the world to come, when we will experience G‑d's essence. This is the pleasure of Shabbat, a taste of G‑d's essence.17

Now we can understand why we read about this on Yom Kippur. The Torah calls Yom Kippur, "Shabbat shabbaton,"18 the ultimate Shabbat, the essence of our essence. When our unity with G‑d shines brightest, it is the ultimate expression of our Jewishness.

May we soon merit to experience the time that is called, "The day that is entirely Shabbat,"19 the time of Moshiach. The time has come.