Chapter 12 in Yechezkel is a chapter of prophecies demonstrated through action. The prophet does not suffice with speech alone, but is commanded to perform physical acts before the eyes of the people: to bring out baggage for exile, to dig through the wall, to carry on his shoulder, and to cover his face. All of these are signs and portents of what is destined to happen to Jerusalem and its king, Tzidkiyahu. The backdrop to all this is a people who have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear: the exiles in Babylonia, who have already been stricken and have already paid the price, yet still send false prophets and diviners to those remaining in Jerusalem to reassure them that they will not be exiled.
(א) וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ (ב) בֶּן־אָדָם בְּתוֹךְ בֵּית־הַמֶּרִי אַתָּה יֹשֵׁב אֲשֶׁר עֵינַיִם לָהֶם לִרְאוֹת וְלֹא רָאוּ אׇזְנַיִם לָהֶם לִשְׁמֹעַ וְלֹא שָׁמֵעוּ כִּי בֵּית מְרִי הֵם׃ - (1) The word of Hashem came to me, saying: (2) Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see and did not see, who have ears to hear and did not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Yechezkel: You dwell in the midst of rebellious people, people who defy. "Who have eyes to see and did not see" - they see with their own eyes that they were exiled, yet it is as though they did not see; as if one pays no heed to the calamity that has befallen him. "And did not hear" - you rebuke them with admonitions, yet it is as if they did not hear, and they persist in their evil ways. This refers to the inhabitants of Babylonia, who encourage those remaining in Jerusalem, telling them: You have nothing to fear. They would send prophets and diviners to them to say, do not worry, you will not be exiled. Look at such rebelliousness: you have already been stricken, you rebelled and paid the price, yet you send emissaries to tell others that there is nothing to worry about! Among them was also Shemayahu the Nechelamite, who would send letters to all the people in Jerusalem to make false promises and reassure them that nothing would happen. Concerning these people it is said: "You dwell in the midst of a rebellious house."
The Malbim explains: Anyone who is not naturally disposed to recognize Hashem's miracles and wonders through His deeds, and lacks the roots of faith, is not called rebellious (mamreh), but rather a fool and senseless. Why? Because by his very nature he is incapable of seeing; he lacks the foundations of faith. Such a person cannot be called rebellious, for a rebel is one who knows the truth and deliberately defies it. Who, then, is called rebellious? Those who have eyes to see and nevertheless do not see, ears to hear and nevertheless do not hear, as it is written: "Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see."
A parable illustrates this: A certain heretic heard that in another town there was a Jew named Yankele the Koifer (the Heretic), who was legendary for his heresy, and he decided to travel to meet him. He arrived at his house and asked where he was; they told him he was not home. He asked where he could be found; they answered: In the beit midrash. He was astonished and asked again: But I am looking for Yankele the Koifer! They replied: Yes, in the beit midrash. He went there, and they pointed out a man sitting in the corner, wearing a flat cap, a large volume of Gemara open before him, deep in study. He approached and asked: Are you Yankele the Koifer? He replied: Yes. The visitor said: I am also a heretic, but first of all I do not understand: what kind of heretic are you, sitting in the beit midrash studying Gemara? That Jew countered with a question: You are a heretic? He said: Yes. He asked: Tell me, have you ever studied Gemara? Have you studied Bavli? Yerushalmi? Shulchan Aruch? Beit Yosef? It turned out he had studied none of these. Yankele said to him: In that case, you are not a heretic; you are simply an ignoramus.
To be a heretic, you must know what you are denying. A person could declare that he denies quantum mechanics; but if he has no idea what it is, what exactly is he denying? If you know nothing about a subject, do not speak of it. This is the Malbim's point: One who lacks the capacity to recognize Hashem's miracles and wonders and lacks the roots of faith is neither called a heretic nor called rebellious, but a fool and senseless. The rebellious are "those who have eyes to see and did not see, who have ears to hear and did not hear, for they are a rebellious house" - with them, it does not stem from foolishness, but from active defiance against the word of Hashem.
(ג) וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם עֲשֵׂה לְךָ כְּלֵי גוֹלָה וּגְלֵה יוֹמָם לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְגָלִיתָ מִמְּקוֹמְךָ אֶל־מָקוֹם אַחֵר לְעֵינֵיהֶם אוּלַי יִרְאוּ כִּי בֵּית מְרִי הֵמָּה׃ - (3) And you, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes; and you shall go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes, perhaps they will see, though they are a rebellious house.
Here Hashem sends Yechezkel to perform a physical action in order to lead the people to realize their error. What is "baggage for exile" (kelei golah)? The items a person takes with him into exile: a drinking vessel, a kneading trough to knead the dough he wishes to bake, a knapsack, a walking stick. This is a sign to the people of Israel in Jerusalem that they will need all these utensils there, and if they do not prepare such vessels, they will have to knead their dough on the ground. When dough is kneaded on the ground, Rashi explains, it gathers gravel and dirt adheres to it. They did not listen to him and did not prepare baggage for exile, which is why it says in Eichah, "He has broken my teeth with gravel stones" - they truly reached a state where they had no vessels, and when they needed to bake something, they did so in a pit in the earth, and subsequently crushed gravel with their teeth. They did not heed the prophet who warned and rebuked them that they were about to go into exile, and they refused to believe that they would be exiled.
"And go into exile by day before their eyes" - perform an act in which you depart into exile, and the exiles will see you going into exile, and you will say to them: This is a sign that Tzidkiyahu will go into exile. Just as you now see me going into exile from my home, so is this a sign for Tzidkiyahu. Then those inhabitants of Babylonia will send their messengers to inform the Land of Israel of what they witnessed in the prophet's actions, and through this the people of Jerusalem will take the rebuke to heart, unlike the present situation where they send false prophets and words of encouragement for their corrupt path. "Perhaps they will see" - perhaps these things will make an impression on them and they will understand. Yet it is only a "perhaps," "for they are a rebellious house": they are defiant, and there is a strong likelihood that they will mock these actions as well, and reassure others against them by saying there is nothing to worry about, this will only happen in the distant future, it is not near. And since this is the case, it is by no means certain that they will accept these words.
The Malbim explains that the prophet is commanded here to perform symbolic actions depicting what is destined to occur, and to interpret and explain it to them. Three distinct elements are included here. The first: "Prepare for yourself exile vessels and go into exile by day" - "by day" (yomam) means that he should go into exile for one day in their sight, meaning going into exile to a nearby place, such as a nearby forest. The second: "and you shall go into exile from your place to another place in their sight" - from the city he is in, he will exile himself to another city. This is why exile is mentioned twice here: the first time leaving his house to a nearby forest, and the second time leaving the city entirely for another city. Both of these serve as a sign of two exiles that had already taken place.
We know that Israel went into exile three times: Sancheiriv came twice, and then the third exile was under Nevuchadnetzar, which was the final exile. The first exile was when the two and a half tribes across the eastern side of the Jordan were exiled; the second was when Shomron was exiled; and the third was when Yerushalayim was exiled. However, from the Malbim's words here, it appears he is not referring to those exiles, but rather to the exiles of Yerushalayim itself, which also went into exile three times: the exile of the craftsmen and smiths (Cherash and Masgeir), followed by a second exile, and finally the exile of the remnant during the time of Gedaliah ben Achikam. It seems more likely that he is referring to these exiles. Therefore, He tells him: go into exile from your place corresponding to the second exile of Yerushalayim, which aligns with Chazal's statement, "they were exiled in eight, they were exiled in nine" - in the eighth year and the ninth year, two exiles. Through this, "perhaps they will see": perhaps they will recall the exiles that already occurred and realize that the anticipated third exile will surely come as well. The prophet is not speaking in the abstract; he is referring to historical facts, and from this you should understand that it is about to occur, and not much time will pass before these words are fulfilled in reality.
The Malbim asks: what is the reason for performing these actions as a visual demonstration, "before their eyes"? He answers: sometimes Hashem commanded a prophet to perform actions on his own in order to give concrete reality to the prophecy, while at other times the purpose was to arouse the people to ask questions. When the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Yirmiyahu to put on a linen belt, it was to give concrete reality to the prophecy. But here, the goal is to arouse the people to ask: Why are you going into exile? What are these vessels of exile? What is the purpose of this?
This brings to mind what happens today in the advertising world: in order to make an impact, one needs an eye-catching hook, an action that commands attention, for otherwise who pays attention to signs and billboards? Therefore, behind a billboard of a soup pot, they place a device that emits real steam, and suddenly the eye is drawn; one advertiser uses a spinning propeller, another a hot-air balloon. How much more so in their time: when the prophet repeated his words again and again, something was needed to make the people ask - what happened? Why is the prophet suddenly leaving? Why is he taking such gear? As we will see further on, the prophet performs even stranger actions. All of this was designed to stir the people to observe and take note of the prophet's actions, and thereby inquire about what he was doing, enabling him to influence them to accept the word of Hashem. Hence the repeated emphasis six times: "before their eyes," "before their eyes," "before their eyes" - so that they see, ask, and awaken.
(ד) וְהוֹצֵאתָ כֵלֶיךָ כִּכְלֵי גוֹלָה יוֹמָם לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְאַתָּה תֵּצֵא בָעֶרֶב לְעֵינֵיהֶם כְּמוֹצָאֵי גוֹלָה׃ - "You shall bring out your gear like the gear of exile by day, in their sight; and you shall go out in the evening in their sight, like those who go out into exile."
This is the third command, corresponding to the upcoming third exile. The two exiles had already occurred, and corresponding to the third time, which would be the permanent exile, he is told: take out your gear with you like the gear of exile. When does one take out all his belongings? When leaving home leaving nothing behind - like a person going into exile with everything he possesses, never to return. And what is meant by "like those who go out into exile"? As explained, like one who goes out into exile with all his belongings. Radak explains: that you should go out sullen and dejected, like a person departing into exile, who does not leave smiling, but rather as one who is broken and depressed. You must do this in their sight so they understand that this will be an agonizing exile, one in which the exiles are distraught and brokenhearted.
The Malbim adds: in this third exile, the prophet is commanded to act as one attempting to flee from exile, to evade the decree - to flee from captivity by the enemy. Therefore, he was told to depart in the evening, in secret. Why in the evening? Because when the enemy arrives, he carries you off by day; but when you want to flee the enemy's captivity, you exile yourself in another direction, you flee, and so you go out in the evening covertly, so that they will not see you and capture you. This is the meaning of "like those who go out into exile" - like one who departs into another exile by his own choice, not an exile forced by the enemy, but as a fugitive fleeing for his life.
And what does this symbolize? It is an allegory for what Tzidkiyahu did. When the enemies breached the city, Tzidkiyahu attempted to flee through an underground tunnel beneath his palace that led outside the city. But the Holy One, blessed be He, arranged for a deer to run alongside, and Nevuchadnetzar's soldiers pursued the deer, when suddenly Tzidkiyahu fell right into their hands like ripe fruit. That entire plan to flee in secret came to naught. This is the meaning of "and you shall go out in the evening in their sight" - that you shall depart covertly in the evening, symbolizing Tzidkiyahu, who departed in secret under cover of darkness.
(ה) לְעֵינֵיהֶם חֲתׇר־לְךָ בַקִּיר וְהוֹצֵאתָ בּוֹ׃ - "In their sight, dig through the wall for yourself, and bring [your gear] out through it."
In this, the prophet is commanded three signs. First, that he should go out in the evening, in the dark, and not during the day. Second, that he should not go out through the city gate, but rather by digging through a breach. This is "dig through the wall for yourself and bring them out through it" - a sign for Tzidkiyahu, who would escape through a tunnel, just as they fled there through the gate between the two walls.
(ו) לְעֵינֵיהֶם עַל־כָּתֵף תִּשָּׂא בָּעֲלָטָה תוֹצִיא פָּנֶיךָ תְכַסֶּה וְלֹא תִרְאֶה אֶת־הָאָרֶץ כִּי־מוֹפֵת נְתַתִּיךָ לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - In their sight you shall carry it upon your shoulder; in the darkness you shall bring it out; you shall cover your face so that you cannot see the ground, for I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel.
The third sign: that he carry all his belongings at once upon his shoulders, like a fleeing person who takes everything in the darkness before being caught. Furthermore, he is commanded, "you shall cover your face so that you cannot see the ground" - after all the signs pointing to Tzidkiyahu's flight, including the escape through a tunnel, he is told to cover his face, a sign that Tzidkiyahu's face would be covered: that he would cover his face and conceal himself so as not to be seen during his escape. Regarding all this, it says, "for I have set you as a sign" - a portent of what would happen to the people of Israel and to their king, Tzidkiyahu.
(ז) וָאַעַשׂ כֵּן כַּאֲשֶׁר צֻוֵּיתִי כֵּלַי הוֹצֵאתִי כִּכְלֵי גוֹלָה יוֹמָם וּבָעֶרֶב חָתַרְתִּי־לִי בַקִּיר בְּיָד בָּעֲלָטָה הוֹצֵאתִי עַל־כָּתֵף נָשָׂאתִי לְעֵינֵיהֶם׃ - And I did so as I was commanded: I brought out my gear like exile gear by day, and in the evening I dug through the wall for myself by hand; in the darkness I brought it out, carrying it on my shoulder before their eyes.
The prophet says: Just as Hashem commanded me, so I did. "I brought out my gear" - leaving no vessels behind in the house, which indicates the third exile. Regarding the first two exiles, Hashem hinted to him with "and go into exile by day" and "and exile yourself from your place," referring to exiles that had already occurred; now he comes to demonstrate the coming exile. Therefore, "and in the evening" - after exiling himself by day from the city, he seemingly returns, slipping stealthily back into the city and fleeing elsewhere through a breach. For the first exiles represented what had already taken place, which is why he went out; but now there is a third exile, so he must return to his house and exile himself this time in another direction, through the tunnel.
"I dug through the wall for myself by hand" - how does one dig a tunnel? One takes a hammer and chisel to breach a wall. Yet he says: No, I did it by hand, in the darkness. And why by hand? So that the sound of hammers and iron tools would not be heard, for striking a tool would be heard from afar, as if he feared no one. Yet the parable he came to demonstrate is that Tzidkiyahu flees secretly and quietly, and making noise would contradict the parable. Therefore, he made no sound during his escape.
The Radak explains that digging by hand showed they had no iron tools with which to dig, because they departed in haste and did not have time to take iron implements with them, forcing them to dig with their bare hands. If you ask: it is not stated explicitly there in the historical narrative that they dug through the wall, so how do we know this took place? Radak answers: First, it is written here, "they will dig through the wall," so this must be what happened; even if the text there did not elaborate on how they broke through, here you have a description showing it indeed occurred. Furthermore, this also stands to reason, for they escaped by way of the king's garden: they entered through the garden gate, broke through the opposite wall, and escaped through there. The logic is simple: if there is a secret tunnel through which to flee, could it be imagined that it was left open? Surely there was a wall or covering over the tunnel, for if it remained open, it would no longer be secret. Since its entire purpose relied on secrecy, they had a wall concealing it so no one would know a tunnel existed; at the decisive moment, he would breach the wall and escape through it, without anyone discovering the plan. Therefore, it stands to reason that there was a wall they breached to escape, even though this is not spelled out explicitly in Scripture.
(ח) וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי בַּבֹּקֶר לֵאמֹר׃ (ט) בֶּן־אָדָם הֲלֹא אָמְרוּ אֵלֶיךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּית הַמֶּרִי מָה אַתָּה עֹשֶׂה׃ - And the word of Hashem came to me in the morning, saying: Son of man, did not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, say to you, "What are you doing?"
Hashem reveals Himself to him in the morning: after showing them all this before their eyes, He left them the night to "sleep on it," so they could contemplate and reflect on the message they received. And He says to him: Did they not ask you what exactly you are doing? That is, the plan worked as intended. It was said, "they have ears to hear but do not hear," yet they were not deaf; when they saw such an act, they understood there was a message here, their curiosity was piqued, and they asked: Yechezkel, what are you trying to show by this? And the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: Their question must be answered.
(י) אֱמֹר אֲלֵיהֶם כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה הַנָּשִׂיא הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה בִּירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וְכׇל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר־הֵמָּה בְתוֹכָם׃ - Say to them: Thus says the Lord Hashem: This pronouncement concerns the prince in Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel who are among them.
"The prince is this burden in Jerusalem" - the subject to which this burden alludes is the prince. He is the object of the entire parable; he is the one being spoken of. And the place where this will unfold is Jerusalem, and there he will go out in the evening "as those who go out into exile," and there he will cover his face. And the others alluded to here are "all the house of Israel that are among them" - wherever they live in Eretz Yisrael, they too will be exiled in this same exile that I am describing to you.
(יא) אֱמֹר אֲנִי מוֹפֶתְכֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי כֵּן יֵעָשֶׂה לָהֶם בַּגּוֹלָה בַשְּׁבִי יֵלֵכוּ׃ - Say: "I am your portent; as I have done, so shall be done to them: into exile, into captivity shall they go."
"I am your portent" - everything I did is a sign and a portent of what will happen to you; a mofes (portent) is a sign and an example. Corresponding to the prophet acting out exile three times, this is the sign that they will be exiled a third time: two exiles had already taken place, and the third time is the exile in which one goes out with one's vessels, and that was in the days of Tzidkiyahu.
And notice the precision: captivity (shevi) is harsher than exile (golah). The Malbim explains that there is an exile that is not captivity - if you are exiled to France and you are free to walk around there, you are in exile, but not in captivity; but if you are exiled to France and put into a labor camp that you cannot leave, then you are in exile in captivity. Thus, captivity is worse than exile. Therefore it says, "into exile, into captivity shall they go": this will not be a mere exile, but an exile where they will also be captive prisoners.
(יב) וְהַנָּשִׂיא אֲשֶׁר־בְּתוֹכָם אֶל־כָּתֵף יִשָּׂא בָּעֲלָטָה וְיֵצֵא בַּקִּיר יַחְתְּרוּ לְהוֹצִיא בוֹ פָּנָיו יְכַסֶּה יַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִרְאֶה לַעַיִן הוּא אֶת־הָאָרֶץ׃ - And the prince who is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark and go out; they shall dig through the wall to carry out through it; he shall cover his face, because he shall not see the land with his eyes.
What was told to the prophet, "and you shall go out at evening as those who go out into exile," alludes to the prince who will try to escape at night. "Shall bear upon his shoulder" - he will take all his gear on his shoulder, and this will be in the darkness, in gloom, and they will dig through the wall between the two walls to escape. And corresponding to "cover your face," it is said here that so it will be with the prince, with the fleeing Tzidkiyahu: he will cover his face, "because he shall not see the land with his eyes."
What does the covering of the fleeing king's face symbolize? The Malbim explains: just as the prophet covers his face voluntarily, so too the king until now covered his face voluntarily. Had the king cared, he would have seen to the welfare of the people and worked to bring them to repentance; and since he did not do so, it was as if he wrapped his face in his cloak and preferred not to look. Just as the prophet covered his face willingly, so too the king put a cover over his face and did not see everything happening to the people. And this is the meaning of "he shall not see the land with his eyes" - referring to the king himself. Instead of supervising his people and seeing what was happening, and realizing that Hashem's decree would certainly come to pass and that they must therefore heed the prophet's voice and prepare for exile, they took actions to resist the exile and escape it - which availed them nothing. But the king was forbidden to take such actions against the Divine command. And what, in essence, did he do? He placed a veil over his face so as not to see what was happening to the people, and as a result, he did not rectify their ways.
There is also another hint in this covering: just as one who covers his face cannot see the ground, so too the king now, in covering his face, will not see the correct path. He will not see the right path by which he should escape, as we saw that he fled and fell like ripe fruit into the hands of the enemies. And how does the Malbim know that this was a punishment for the king? From the word "ya'an" ("because") in the verse. The Malbim explains: "ya'an" always indicates something caused by a prior reason, a retribution for what preceded it. And when it says, "because (ya'an) he shall not see the land with his eyes," it is as if to say: do you know why this happened? Because of what he did, he will now receive what he receives. Thus, according to the Malbim, this is a punishment for his prior conduct.
The Radak explains the covering of the face differently: he wished to hide his face so that people would not see him fleeing, for it is a disgrace for a king to flee; and it is an even greater disgrace for a king who flees and leaves the ship to sink - the people remain in Jerusalem, while the king is all set, having a tunnel through which he exits and saves himself. Anyone who saw this might attack him or speak harshly against him, and the very sight of people gazing at him would be a humiliation for him. Therefore, he will wrap his face and cover it to minimize his disgrace.
And Targum Yonatan interprets differently: "because he shall not see the land with his eyes" already refers to the punishment. We will see later that Tzidkiyahu was punished by having his eyes gouged out, and this is what the Targum says: "Chalaf dechav yenakrun yat einohi" - since he was guilty and deserved punishment, they will gouge out his eyes. Thus, already here it is stated that he will not see the land, as a consequence of his blinding. We will see this even more explicitly later on.
Yechezkel is commanded to turn his body and his home into a living warning sign: exile gear, going out by day, going out at evening, digging through the wall by hand, carrying upon the shoulder, and covering the face - six times "before their eyes," so that the people will ask, reflect, and accept the word of Hashem. These signs correspond to the three exiles of Yerushalayim, and primarily to the final exile, as well as to Tzidkiyahu's failed escape attempt through the breach in the wall, in which he was caught like ripe fruit. And within all of this lies a profound moral lesson: the king who willingly covered his face from seeing the suffering of his people and from correcting their ways was punished by having his face covered so that he would not see the land; and one who has eyes to see and ears to hear, yet does not see and does not hear - is not merely a fool, but one who actively rebels against the word of Hashem.