Introduction: Prophecy Through Action
Chapter 4 of Yechezkel opens a series of commands in which the Holy One, Blessed be He, instructs the prophet to perform tangible actions that serve as an allegory and a message. This is a recurring motif in prophecy: the prophet performs an external act, and the action itself expresses the divine idea. We saw this with Tzidkiyah, who made iron horns for himself and proclaimed, "Thus said Hashem: With these you shall gore Aram" - and even though he was a false prophet, in this very act he sought to resemble the true prophets, whose way was to perform a concrete physical act that would embody the word of Hashem.
The Brick - Jerusalem Has No Independent Existence
וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם קַח־לְךָ לְבֵנָה וְנָתַתָּה אוֹתָהּ לְפָנֶיךָ וְחַקּוֹתָ עָלֶיהָ עִיר אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - "And you, son of man, take for yourself a brick, place it before you, and engrave upon it a city, Jerusalem."
Why specifically a brick, and not a tablet upon which it would be far easier to engrave and sketch? The Radak explains: cities were built with bricks or stones, and the brick is an allegory for Jerusalem, which was built of stone. A brick is made of clay that is dried in the sun or fired in a kiln, as in the phrase "let us make bricks" (nilbenah levanim), and by its nature it is easy to engrave - it is not real stone, and therefore it is easy to carve the outline of Jerusalem into it.
The Malbim reveals the deeper message here: Jerusalem has no independent existence whatsoever. Its entire reality and existence stem solely from Hashem's Divine Providence and the will of the Creator, may He be blessed. On its own, it is like a brick - a mere block of clay, containing nothing. And if you see in it an engraving, a form, and a city, know that Divine Providence is what fashioned and sustains this entity called Jerusalem.
This explains the phrase "and place it before you": set the brick before you, just as Jerusalem stands before the Holy One, Blessed be He. Hashem gazes upon Jerusalem, and by virtue of that gaze and watchful Providence, it exists. Therefore you, too, after the engraving, must place it before you.
The Instruments of Siege
וְנָתַתָּה עָלֶיהָ מָצוֹר וּבָנִיתָ עָלֶיהָ דָּיֵק וְשָׁפַכְתָּ עָלֶיהָ סֹלְלָה וְנָתַתָּה עָלֶיהָ מַחֲנוֹת וְשִׂים־עָלֶיהָ כָּרִים סָבִיב׃ - "And lay siege against it, and build a siege tower against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps against it, and place battering rams against it all around."
All these actions were performed upon that same drawing on the brick. "And lay siege against it" - the Malbim explains that due to its sins, the Holy One, Blessed be He, brings enemies against it to besiege it in order to destroy it. Here too, the point is identical: the One Who built Jerusalem is also the One Who places it under siege. Hashem commands the prophet to do this; everything is through His power. It all comes to express that Jerusalem has no independent existence, and its entire survival is solely by virtue of Divine Providence.
"And build a siege tower (dayek) against it" - Rashi explains that this was an engine with which they would hurl stones into the city, a type of catapult. The Radak explains that it was a wooden siege tower built opposite the city in order to conquer it.
"And cast up a mound (solelah) against it" - the city was surrounded by a wall, and it was impossible to breach it except in one of two ways: by piling up a siege ramp, or with an iron battering ram. A solelah is earth that was beaten down with sticks and paved smooth, as in the phrase "a paved road" (derech selulah); it is called "casting" or "pouring" because the earth was brought from afar and poured there. The purpose was to create an incline, a ramp of sorts, across which soldiers could ascend to the wall. Had they ascended by ladder one by one, it would have been exceedingly difficult, as the defenders poured boiling oil on them and hurled stones; but by means of the ramp, a large mass of soldiers could surge upward at once and conquer the wall.
"And set camps against it" - camps of besiegers surrounding the city to breach the wall. "And place battering rams [karim] around it" - Rashi cites one explanation, encampments, as Targum Yonatan renders: villages. The conquering king would establish a sort of village on each of the city's four sides, an encampment for his soldiers besieging the city. Rashi also brings another interpretation: karim refers to the commanders appointed over the army, each commander responsible for one direction, ensuring that the people of the city could not flee and the siege would not be broken.
The Radak brings another explanation, related to the usage in "The pastures are clothed with flocks [karim]" (Tehillim 65:14) and "with the fat of rams [karim]" (Devarim 32:14), meaning rams - an iron battering ram with which to strike the city. How was it constructed? They would build two wooden beams leaning toward each other at the apex, forming a triangle fixed into the ground, and opposite it another such triangle a few meters away. A chain hung down from each, and between them hung a huge horizontal log, each chain holding it near an end - like a heavy swing. They would bring it close to the wall, and men would rock and swing it with force; the impact would dislodge and topple the lower stones, causing the upper ones to collapse, and thus the wall would fall. It was called an iron ram because the central beam was usually a very heavy iron bar.
The Iron Pan - The Dividing Wall
וְאַתָּה קַח־לְךָ מַחֲבַת בַּרְזֶל וְנָתַתָּה אוֹתָהּ קִיר בַּרְזֶל בֵּינְךָ וּבֵין הָעִיר וַהֲכִינֹתָה אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ אֵלֶיהָ וְהָיְתָה בַמָּצוֹר וְצַרְתָּ עָלֶיהָ אוֹת הִיא לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - "And you, take for yourself an iron pan, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall besiege it. This is a sign for the House of Israel."
Why specifically a pan (machavat)? The Radak explains: A flat baking pan has no deep receptacle; it is flatter than a pot or other iron vessels, and therefore resembles a wall the most. The prophet is still standing beside that brick upon which he engraved the image of Jerusalem, and now he sets up the pan as an iron wall, to symbolize that Jerusalem will enter into a siege.
There are two symbolic allusions here, according to the Radak. First: iron is extremely strong, and so too the heart of Israel is hard as iron - Hashem speaks to them, sends prophets, seeks to persuade them, yet their hearts are like brass; they are unwilling to change or accept. Second: iron is black, an allusion to the blackness of their sins, as in the phrase, "Their faces grew black like the bottom of a pot." This may also relate to the pan itself, whose underside is blackened by fire. We already find that blackness represents sins, such as the comparison of sins to black figs, and as expressed in Shir HaShirim, "Do not look down upon me because I am dark" - where darkness alludes to sins, and to this she answers, "for the sun has tanned me," meaning it is not an expression of sin. And this is the barrier dividing us from Hashem.
"And set your face toward it" - setting one's face can occur in two ways: there is "May Hashem lift His face toward you" (Bamidbar 6:26), which is directing the face in mercy; and there is "And I will set My face against that man" (Vayikra 20:5), which is directing the face in anger and judgment. Therefore: if they repent, it will be a countenance of mercy, and if they do not repent, a countenance of strict judgment.
"And it shall be besieged, and you shall besiege it" - having already said "and it shall be besieged," why does the verse repeat "and you shall besiege it"? The Radak answers: Maintain the siege until its walls fall. Do not imagine this will be a temporary siege; rather, it is a siege that will persist until they breach the city. This is the sign: the enemies will besiege Jerusalem and not come and go, but will remain until they succeed in breaching its walls.
Siege in Place of Siege - The Malbim's Explanation
The Malbim explains differently. After describing the enemies besieging it with siege towers, mounds, battering rams, camps, and the surrounding army commanders, God commands him to take an iron pan and place it as an iron wall between the prophet and the city. Notice: not a wall between the people and Hashem, but between the prophet and the city. Indeed, this fits the literal text much better, for in practice he places the pan between himself and the brick. The wall expresses the barrier between the prophet, who is Hashem's messenger, and the city. There is a deeper message here: the prophet does not come of his own accord but as an emissary; if there is a barrier between you and the prophet, it is effectively a barrier between you and Hashem, as though His messenger has no access to you. And it was their sins that separated like an iron wall between Israel and their Father in Heaven.
And despite all this - "and set your face toward it." Even though there is an iron wall, Hashem directs His face toward it. In what way? By continuing to send prophets. He has not given up on them; there is still hope. An iron wall implies total severance, yet Hashem says: it is not so; still, "the voice of my Beloved knocks," even through the iron wall. "Set your face toward it" - through the prophets, day after day, rising early and sending them.
It turns out that they were subjected to two sieges. On the one hand, a spiritual siege: day after day, prophets come and hammer at them - repent, mend your ways, or else disaster will strike, the city will be destroyed, and the Temple will be laid waste. On the other hand, the physical siege by the encircling enemies. This is what the verse means: through the iron wall, it will be besieged by the enemies, for Divine providence has departed from them; and because Hashem directs His face toward the city - "and you shall besiege it" yourself. A siege in place of a siege. It is difficult and unpleasant to hear the words of the prophet, but this siege is far better for you, for if not, the other siege will come - the siege of the enemies - and with it exile, destruction, and all afflictions.
This is comparable to a woman who came to the Steipler Gaon and shared that she suffers tremendously during her pregnancies, and having already been blessed with several children, she asked for permission to stop bearing children. He told her: Know that for every person, their measure of suffering is decreed, exactly how much pain they are destined to receive. If one receives it through childbirth, so it will be through childbirth; and if not, one will receive their allotted measure of suffering in another way - there is no escaping it. The Steipler added an incident about a pregnant woman who was suffering terrible distress in her pregnancy, and someone advised her, "Changing one's place changes one's fortune" (Meshaneh makom meshaneh mazal) - move to another city. The Steipler observed: How absurd! When she moves to another city, will she not take her belly with her? Will she not experience the pain of pregnancy there as well? In this manner, a person carries their troubles with them, and whatever is decreed must be borne. However, the Holy One, Blessed be He, directs this along a beneficial path: you merit bringing a child into the world, and you will ultimately have great nachas from that child. If not, Heaven forbid, there could be endless trips to hospitals, difficulties with children, and other afflictions. Is it not far better to receive one's suffering through a good channel?
Parenthetically, someone once asked concerning his wife, who wanted to undergo a cesarean section even though she was medically capable of delivering naturally, solely due to trauma from a previous prolonged labor with a large baby. In principle, there is great value in birth occurring at the time determined by the Holy One, Blessed be He; therefore, it is often preferable to avoid elective inductions unless medically required, so as not to alter the exact moment designated for the newborn to enter the world, as every person is created at the precise hour and moment allotted to them. Yet certainly one should not be overly stringent at his wife's expense in the face of great anguish. I told him: Simply share with her the words of the Steipler, that every person has an allotted measure of suffering. In a similar vein, the prophet tells us here: There is psychological siege and there is physical siege, and the prophet's siege is far preferable to the siege of the enemies.
With this, the Malbim resolves the difficulty noted by Radak regarding the apparent repetition, "and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it." Radak explained that the siege would be prolonged, not merely temporary. According to the Malbim, however, "and it shall be besieged" refers to the siege imposed by the enemies, while "and you shall lay siege against it" addresses the prophet himself, through your rebukes and harsh words, so that your prophetic siege may take the place of that enemy siege. Two alternatives lay before them, leaving them to choose which siege they preferred.
Lying on the Side - 390 and 40
וְאַתָּה שְׁכַב עַל־צִדְּךָ הַשְּׂמָאלִי וְשַׂמְתָּ אֶת־עֲוֺן בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל עָלָיו מִסְפַּר הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁכַּב עָלָיו תִּשָּׂא אֶת־עֲוֺנָם׃ - "And you, lie on your left side, and place the iniquity of the House of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that you lie upon it, you shall bear their iniquity."
וַאֲנִי נָתַתִּי לְךָ אֶת־שְׁנֵי עֲוֺנָם לְמִסְפַּר יָמִים שְׁלֹשׁ־מֵאוֹת וְתִשְׁעִים יוֹם וְנָשָׂאתָ עֲוֺן בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - "For I have laid upon you the years of their iniquity according to the number of days, three hundred and ninety days; so shall you bear the iniquity of the House of Israel."
וְכִלִּיתָ אֶת־אֵלֶּה וְשָׁכַבְתָּ עַל־צִדְּךָ הַיְמָנִי שֵׁנִית וְנָשָׂאתָ אֶת־עֲוֺן בֵּית־יְהוּדָה אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה נְתַתִּיו לָךְ׃ - "And when you have completed these, you shall lie on your right side a second time, and you shall bear the iniquity of the House of Judah forty days; a day for a year, a day for a year, I have appointed it to you."
First, Yechezkel was commanded to lie on his left side for 390 days, and afterward on his right side for 40 days. We must understand what the left side symbolizes and why 390 days were designated, and what the right side symbolizes and why only 40 days were designated.
Rashi explains that lying on the left side was intended to endure pain and suffering corresponding to the number of years that they provoked and angered Him. As will be explained further, the people of Israel angered Hashem for 390 years, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, says to the prophet: You shall suffer by lying on your left side for 390 days, a day for a year, a day for a year.
Radak explains that this was a sign and a symbol for them: Most of a person's sleep is on their left side, and so shall you lie corresponding to Israel. For the tribes were divided into two - Judah, meaning Judah and Benjamin, and Israel, meaning the Ten Tribes. In the Kingdom of Israel, there were always wicked kings, with not a single righteous king among them, whereas in Judah there were periods of wicked kings and periods of righteous kings. Israel went into exile never to return, for there were the golden calves made by Yeravam ben Nevat, followed by the wicked rule of Achav and his kind, and therefore they were exiled first.
The 390 days correspond to the overall years of iniquity, primarily attributed to Israel - the Ten Tribes. Thereafter, 40 days correspond to the 40 years of the iniquities of Judah, for after Israel was exiled, another forty years of sin remained for Judah and Benjamin. That is to say, the 390 years speak generally of all of Israel and include Judah within them, but their primary focus is the Kingdom of Israel; and the final forty years, during which Israel was already exiled, remained resting upon Judah alone.
And why left and right? Rashi explains that since Shomron is located to the north - to the left of the land of Judah, as it is written, "Your elder sister is Shomron... who dwells at your left" - therefore, corresponding to Israel, which is Shomron, he was commanded to lie on his left side.
"You shall bear their iniquity" - Lying on one side causes discomfort, and anyone unable to turn over in his sleep suffers greatly from it. Time-lapse footage of a sleeping person shows him moving almost like a boxer in his sleep, his movements sharp, constantly tossing and turning. A person cannot remain lying on one side continuously; it is grueling. Here, the Holy One, blessed be He, requires the prophet to lie on one side, introducing an element of pain and affliction. This conveys the message: all those years during which you did not serve Hashem involved an aspect of suffering - suffering for the people and sorrow before the Holy One, blessed be He, which finds expression in the prophet's suffering for 390 days on his left side.
Did This Occur in Reality or in a Prophetic Vision?
The Radak maintains that this lying down did not occur in physical reality, but rather within a prophetic vision. As discussed at length regarding the approaches to scriptural interpretation: do verses describe physical events, or things the prophet perceived in a prophetic vision? The Rambam maintains in many places - and at times with a radical approach that nearly all commentators contest - that these events were not physical occurrences but prophetic visions. This includes the entire account of the revelation to Avraham Avinu, the guests who visited him, the slaughtering of the calf, and the angels who appeared to him, all of which he considers part of a prophetic vision. In other places, however, other commentators share this view. As examined at length regarding Hoshea, who was commanded to take Gomer bat Divlayim, a notorious harlot, bear children with her, and give them specific names - as a response to his words when the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Your children have sinned," and he retorted, "Replace them with another nation." The commentators debate that episode: some say he was commanded to marry her in physical reality, while others say it unfolded entirely within a prophetic vision - the taking, the birth of the children, the command to divorce her, and his protest, "How can I divorce her when I have children from her?" Here, too, the Radak explains that everything transpired within a prophetic vision.
Right and Left in Hashem's Governance - The Malbim
The Malbim explains "Lie on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it" - the primary root of the sin lies with the Ten Tribes, who correspond to the left side. This is not merely for the reason Rashi cites, that Samaria lies to the left of Judah, but reflects a deeper principle: we find that the Holy One, blessed be He, acts at times with His right hand and at times with His left - "Hashem has sworn by His right hand," "You stretched out Your right hand." What is the difference? An action of the left signifies natural governance, governed by strict justice (din), as the left represents the attributes of judgment. Governance of the right, by contrast, is the governance of loving-kindness (chesed), which operates above the laws of nature - "The right hand of Hashem does valiantly; the right hand of Hashem is exalted."
Toward the Ten Tribes, the Holy One, blessed be He, conducted Himself through the governance of the left, via strict justice and natural order: He did not perform an abundance of signs and wonders for them, nor did He continuously send prophets to admonish them, as the primary rebukes of the prophets were directed toward the people of Judah. Consequently, they stumbled into idolatry. This reveals a mitigating plea on their behalf: lying on the left side expresses that Hashem's governance toward them remained within the bounds of justice and nature, rather than supernatural intervention, and prophets were not constantly sent to perform signs and wonders to turn them back; hence, there is a ground to judge them charitably despite their decline. True, prophets were occasionally dispatched to them, as seen when the altar was torn apart and Yerovam ben Nevat cried, "Seize him!", and Eliyahu operated among the Ten Tribes, confronting Achav in the kingdom of Samaria with "Have you murdered and also taken possession?" - yet this was a minute fraction compared to the prophets whose work centered in Judah and Jerusalem, where divine governance was distinctly supernatural and spiritual.
"The Years of Their Iniquity" - Years Turned into Days
"And I have assigned to you the years of their iniquity according to the number of days" - had you been required to bear the actual years of their iniquity, you would have had to lie there for 390 years. But the Holy One, blessed be He, mitigated the prophet's burden and converted the count of years into a count of days: "I have eased your burden to absorb the distress I endured, corresponding to the tally of years they sinned before Me." Thus, "shenei avonam" means the years of their iniquity.
Targum Yonatan interprets "shenei" as an expression of two: "And I have given you double for their sins," meaning twofold. The Radak expresses surprise at this explanation, noting that it is difficult to arrive at a doubled tally - if their base liability were 185 years, how would that yield 390? We therefore adhere to the plain meaning: 390 days corresponding to the 390 years during which they provoked Him.
The Calculation of the 390 Years
It is valuable to trace this calculation precisely, as it will be needed again later. This is the computation followed by the Radak, Rashi, and the Abarbanel. The Radak explains that most of these years are stated explicitly in the verses. The periods of subjugation between one judge and the next during the era of the Judges - when the people did evil in the eyes of Hashem and were subjugated to foreign nations, from Yehoshua until Shimshon - total 111 years. During the era of the kings of Israel who did evil in the eyes of Hashem and were subjugated to heathen monarchs, from Yerovam until Hoshea ben Elah, there are 241 years. Together, these equal 352 years during which they were held under the yoke of their enemies.
This leaves 38 years remaining. Add the twenty years of Shimshon during which the Philistines ruled over them, as it is written, "Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us?" Although Shimshon delivered them, that salvation was incomplete, as explained in the commentary on the Prophets: the Holy One, blessed be He, brought deliverance through a solitary individual so that it would not be a complete national redemption wrought by the whole of Israel. Rather, it appeared as though a single man was battling them alone, preventing the Philistines from waging collective war against Israel - "What do you want from us? It is this one man; seize him." Consequently, there was no comprehensive national salvation, but only a lifting of the enemy's yoke, for the hearts of the people were not whole with Hashem.
This leaves another 18 years, and these are the days between the era of Shamgar ben Anat - as it says, "בִּימֵי שַׁמְגַּר בֶּן־עֲנָת בִּימֵי יָעֵל חָדְלוּ אֳרָחוֹת" - "In the days of Shamgar son of Anat, in the days of Yael, the highways ceased," meaning people did not travel the roads out of fear of enemies, showing that the enemies ruled over them; as well as the period between Shimshon and Eli, where it is likewise said, "בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם אֵין מֶלֶךְ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל אִישׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו יַעֲשֶׂה" - "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes," when the idol of Micah was set up. Thus, those 18 years are subsumed within these intervals. Here you have, says Radak, a tally of 390 years during which they rebelled against the word of Hashem.
Why Specifically a Day for a Year?
The Malbim asks: Why did He count the years of their sin as days? He explains that there is a certain similarity between a day and a year, as both involve a complete cycle of the sun. The seasons of the year are determined by the sun, and 365 days is the count of the solar year, in which the sun returns to the same point it occupied at the beginning of the year - so the sun completes a full cycle in a year. Likewise, there is a daily cycle, with the sun rising and setting (setting aside the question of whether the Earth revolves around the sun or vice versa; in any case, from our vantage point, we observe a daily cycle). Thus, both are solar cycles, one being a major revolution and the other a minor revolution, which is why it is fitting to designate "a day for a year, a day for a year."
And this is what He meant when He said, "For I have assigned you the years of their iniquity according to the number of days": since there was a merit in their favor, in that throughout that entire period they were subject to nature and the heavenly constellations, under the solar sphere - meaning, according to the Malbim's explanation, this served as an argument in their defense, that they lacked prophets and rebukers, and Hashem did not deal with them in a supernatural manner - He therefore reckoned their years as days, counting 390 years as 390 days.
In Summary:
The chapter opens with a series of tangible signs commanded to Yechezkel. The brick upon which Jerusalem is engraved teaches that the city has no independent existence, and its entire reality stems from the Creator's providence - He is the One Who built it, and He is the One Who brings the siege upon it. The siege implements, the siege wall, the mound, the camps, and the battering rams portray its impending destruction. The iron pan is a dividing wall - according to Radak, an allusion to a heart as hard as iron and the blackness of sin; and according to Malbim, a barrier between the prophet, Hashem's messenger, and the city. Even so, "you shall set your face toward it," meaning that Hashem still directs His attention toward it and sends prophets, presenting them with a choice between the siege of rebuke and the siege of enemies - as the Steipler taught, the measure of suffering was decreed, and the only question was in what manner it would be received. Finally, lying on the left side for 390 days corresponding to the years of Israel's iniquity, and on the right side for 40 days corresponding to Judah's iniquity, entails suffering and sorrow that mirror the sorrow of the Holy One, blessed be He. The left side indicates the conduct of strict justice and nature through which He dealt with the Ten Tribes - which also served as a defense for them, and for this reason He commuted their years into days.