Isaiah

Answer

Hi! Thank you for your interesting question.
Isaiah was a remarkable figure. He was from the nobility,
closely related to the king: Our sages say in Tractate Sotah that
Amatzia, king of Judah, was his uncle. But, unlike most of the nobility
of his time, he turned away from idol worship and physical pleasures,
and became one of the greatest prophets who ever lived. His vision of
the angels praising G-d we say to this day in our prayers: “Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of Hosts – the world is full of his glory.”
It’s hard for us today to really grasp what a prophet was. We
lack the “sense” that they were using.
We also have many people trying to diagnose the issues of the
world around them. They use their best judgment, rely on studies, etc.
Still, though they hopefully do their best, we know that they almost
always disagree with one another totally.
But imagine a different type of person, who saw all of humanity
in terms of its relationship with G-d. And more: who could truly know
exactly what was right and wrong with that relationship, and how the
problems were injuring society. A world with prophets was a different
kind of world. There was a real two-way communication with G-d.
Isaiah devoted his life to protesting the collapse of the
society he saw around him. He cried out against the idol worship,
pleasure-seeking, and contempt for the poor and helpless that had become
widespread in his society. He told anyone who would listen that the
world around them was going to collapse, and that they were going to go
to exile. And he comforted them with a vision of the beauty that would
be the Jewish people’s lot when they are finally redeemed.
The gemara in Tractate Yevamos says that in the end he was put
to death by an angry king, who wouldn’t accept that his ways and those
of his people were leading them into disaster.
Though Isaiah is one of the most difficult prophets to translate
in the entire Bible, we still read his words of warning and hope today.

Best wishes,
Michoel Reach