Introduction
In this section of the chapter, we focus on two main axes: completing the prophecy of consolation concerning David's throne and the Messianic kingdom, and from there turning to the Ten Tribes who joined Rezin king of Aram to distress Judah, followed by a detailed prophecy about the tribulations destined to come upon them. We will begin with the verse that concludes the prophecy of salvation and continue in the order of the pesukim.
To Establish It with Justice and Sustain It with Righteousness
לְמַרְבֵּה הַמִּשְׂרָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם אֵין קֵץ עַל כִּסֵּא דָוִד וְעַל מַמְלַכְתּוֹ לְהָכִין אֹתָהּ וּלְסַעֲדָהּ בְּמִשְׁפָּט וּבִצְדָקָה מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם קִנְאַת ה' צְבָאוֹת תַּעֲשֶׂה זֹּאת׃ - For the increase of authority and for peace without end, upon David's throne and upon his kingdom, to establish it and to sustain it with justice and with righteousness, from now and forever; the zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall accomplish this.
The Malbim explains: The primary foundation of a king's throne at the outset is for the king to execute justice. Why do we need a king? "A king by justice establishes a land," for without a king, men would swallow each other alive. This is the primary purpose of appointing a king, to enforce justice between man and his fellow, and this is the preparation of the throne: "to establish it with justice." And justice (mishpat), in the Malbim's consistent understanding, always refers to interpersonal matters between man and his fellow, in the sense of "Now these are the ordinances (mishpatim) that you shall set before them," matters between man and his fellow.
However, this throne cannot endure on justice alone. It must also incorporate matters between man and God, and that is what upholds the royal throne. "And to sustain it" (ul'sa'adah) means supporting it so that it will not fall, and through what? "With righteousness" (b'tzedakah): by the king also performing righteousness between man and God, as it is written, "He shall write for himself a copy of this Torah... and it shall be with him all the days of his life... so that he may prolong his days over his kingdom." If one has this support of righteousness, clinging to Hashem's commandments without turning aside, complementing the pursuit of justice between man and his fellow, then the kingdom will endure forever. And even if we are unworthy of this, "the zeal of Hashem shall accomplish this": the Holy One, Blessed be He, is zealous over what Sennacherib did, having reviled and blasphemed the ranks of the living God, and in response, the Holy One says: the zeal of Hashem will accomplish this, exacting retribution from the wicked.
"From Now and Forever" - Did Hezekiah Have an Eternal Kingdom?
This seems difficult to understand: Did Hezekiah truly have a kingdom "from now and forever"? That was certainly not the historical reality. There are two explanations for this. One explanation is that "ad olam" (forever) does not necessarily mean eternity. How do we know this? "And he shall serve him forever (l'olam)" - and what does that mean? Until the Jubilee year. Likewise, Hannah dedicated Samuel "forever," and Chazal speak of "the olam of the Levites" regarding Samuel. Thus, "olam" does not strictly denote eternity, and "from now and forever" does not necessarily mean perpetually without end.
Alternatively, another explanation can be offered: Chazal teach that the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to make Hezekiah the Mashiach. Had Hezekiah become the Mashiach, his reign indeed would have lasted forever, and that is what the prophet proclaimed: "from now and forever." That was the inherent potential. In reality, however, this did not come to pass because Hezekiah did not recite shirah (song of praise), and therefore he did not realize this potential, and his kingdom was not made eternal. But had he fulfilled it, in accordance with the promise, it would indeed have been "from now and forever," and "the zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall accomplish this."
The Closed Mem in the Middle of a Word
The Radak notes regarding the word "לְמַרְבֵּה" (l'marbeh): Notice that the letter mem is closed (a final mem, ם), yet we pronounce it like an open mem that appears in the middle of a word. The Radak observes that there is no other instance like this in the entire Tanach, though there is an opposite phenomenon: an open mem at the end of a word. Where is that? In the Book of Ezra, "הם פרוצים" (hem perutzim), where the mem is an open mem, which can be read both as "ha-meforatzim" and as "hem perutzim."
Chazal expound: What is being spoken of there? The walls of Jerusalem, which were breached, leading them to go and reinforce them. The Midrash explains: When the breached walls of Jerusalem - breached throughout the exile - are finally closed up at the time of salvation, then "to the increase of authority" (l'marbeh ha-misrah) will be realized. That is to say, this closed mem inside the word is waiting for that open mem at the end of the word: when the breached walls of Jerusalem are closed, this closed mem will open up, and authority will increase. Currently, the word appears as if split in the middle, "לם רבה המשרה", but when the walls of Jerusalem are closed up, the letter mem here will open. Moreover, this does not merely refer to a physical, technical sealing of stone walls, but rather that when we become worthy through our deeds so that all the breaches of Jerusalem are repaired, we will merit the coming of Melech HaMashiach, speedily in our days, Amen.
Furthermore, our Sages taught: The Holy One, blessed be He, sought to make Chizkiyahu the Mashiach and Sancheriv Gog and Magog. The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Shall one who stripped the doors of the Sanctuary and sent them to the king of Ashur be made Mashiach? Immediately, the verse sealed it. Hashem wished to grant him "למרבה המשרה" - abundance and increase - but as soon as the ministering angels argued, saying, "Master of the Universe, he stripped the doors and sent them to the king of Ashur," they closed the mem. And just as Yaakov sought to reveal the final end of days and it was concealed from him, so too here: the Holy One, blessed be He, intended this to be "from now and forever," but it was sealed: "לםרבה המשרה" (with a closed mem).
The Common Catchphrase Among the People
דָּבָר שָׁלַח אֲדֹנָי בְּיַעֲקֹב וְנָפַל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - The Lord sent a word into Yaakov, and it has fallen upon Yisrael.
Now the prophet turns his attention toward the Ten Tribes and begins to prophesy in detail about the tragedy destined to befall them. As we recall, the Ten Tribes, led by Pekach ben Remalyahu, had joined forces with Retzin king of Aram to distress Yehudah and march against it.
The Malbim explains by way of introduction: Ancient peoples used to believe in a common saying among the masses, a notion that a certain event was simply decreed from Heaven. Just as there is a popular expression, "It is all from Allah," they too believed that events were, as it were, divinely ordained fate. And this slogan began among the common folk, spread from there to the leaders, and eventually took hold of the entire nation.
This is what the prophet says: "The Lord sent a word" - you treat this matter as though Hashem sent it and it was decreed from Heaven. "Into Yaakov" - this saying spread among "Yaakov," for Yaakov always symbolizes the people of Israel on their lower level, the common masses. "And it has fallen upon Yisrael" - afterward, the prominent leaders as well - for "Yisrael" denotes nobility and governance (serarah) - began repeating this refrain.
וְיָדְעוּ הָעָם כֻּלּוֹ אֶפְרַיִם וְיוֹשֵׁב שֹׁמְרוֹן בְּגַאֲוָה וּבְגֹדֶל לֵבָב לֵאמֹר׃ - And all the people shall know, Ephraim and the inhabitant of Shomron, saying in pride and greatness of heart:
From there, the phrase became a household saying among the entire nation: "And all the people shall know." Both the populace throughout the country and the inhabitant of Shomron, the royal capital - the seat of Achav, who had long since passed away - echoed this phrase, placing their confidence in it "in pride and greatness of heart." And what is the difference between "pride" (ga'avah) and "greatness of heart" (godel levav)? The Malbim explains: Sometimes a person boasts about something even though he knows internally that it is false and untrue, yet he still boasts. But "greatness of heart" describes someone who is genuinely convinced that what he says is true and that he has firm ground to rely on.
לְבֵנִים נָפָלוּ וְגָזִית נִבְנֶה שִׁקְמִים גֻּדָּעוּ וַאֲרָזִים נַחֲלִיף׃ - "Bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with hewn stone; sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars."
This was their catchphrase. When people would say to them: Retzin king of Aram, on whom you relied, has fallen to Ashur, so where is your support? They would answer: Do not worry, it is all from Heaven, it is all for the best. "Bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with hewn stone." A brick is made of dried clay, whereas hewn stone (gazit) is quarried directly from rock. How was it quarried? They would drill holes into the rock, insert wooden pegs, pour water over them, and as the wood expanded, the stone would split away from the bedrock. To this day, one can see the round drill marks in quarried stones where they bored into the rock to cut it. Hewn stone was considered extremely expensive, like marble nowadays - a genuine solid stone rather than manufactured clay. Therefore they said: Bricks have fallen? Retzin has fallen? Do not worry, "we will rebuild with hewn stone." It is only for the best. Until now we had a house of bricks, and from now on we will have a house of hewn stone, stronger and far superior.
This is also the idea behind the second phrase: "Sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars." The sycamore is an inferior type of fig tree producing cheap fruit, as in "like the sycamores that are plentiful in the lowlands." Although our sycamore field was cut down, do not worry; in its place, "we will replace them with cedars" - we will now have fine, sturdy wood for beams, majestic cedar trees.
Why did they double the expression? Would the first metaphor not have sufficed? The Malbim explains: "Bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with hewn stone" implies that I will end up with something better, but it is not simple, for it entails considerable labor and expense. I had a house, and now I must clear the rubble, procure hewn stone, purchase materials, and rebuild, all at great cost. To address this, they added: No, "sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars." If a man owns a sycamore field that yields little benefit and he would much rather have a cedar grove, and someone comes and tells him that an enemy destroyed his entire field and uprooted all the sycamores, he actually thanks him and blesses him: I would have had to hire a crew to uproot all those sycamores and do all that backbreaking work, and this person came and cleared it all for free! What is left for me? Merely to bring saplings and plant them. The hard labor was already done for me. In this respect, the second metaphor goes beyond the first: in the first, "we will rebuild with hewn stone" still requires arduous effort, but "sycamores have been cut down" on their own, showing that everything has happened solely for my benefit without my even needing to exert myself. Thus they said: We have all the more reason to rejoice over Retzin's downfall. Retzin was a weak ally on whom we could hardly rely; now Ashur has come and toppled him, which is a clear sign that Heaven is orchestrating something far superior for us, comparable to cedars.
"Hashem strengthened the adversaries of Retzin" - Half of the statement is true
וַיְשַׂגֵּב ה' אֶת צָרֵי רְצִין עָלָיו וְאֶת אֹיְבָיו יְסַכְסֵךְ׃ - And Hashem strengthened the adversaries of Retzin against him, and stirred up his enemies.
The prophet tells them: True, what you said will indeed come to pass. The bricks will fall, the sycamores will be felled. And why? Because Hashem will strengthen the adversaries of Retzin against him. "Yisagev" means He will strengthen, as in "He raises up [vayesagev] the needy from affliction" (Tehillim 107:41) - Hashem will empower those who distress Retzin against him, and through this, the frail support you had from Retzin will collapse.
"And his enemies He will stir up [yesakhsekh]" - the Malbim explains: Usually when armies fought, the mighty warriors stood in the center to face the enemy army directly, while those who were less valiant stood all around to provide cover [mesakhkhim], sheltering like a wall, so that when the warriors struck the enemy and the enemy began to flee, they would catch him in a pincer movement, attack the stragglers, and not allow him to escape. The mighty warriors were on the front line, straight against the enemy. Here the Malbim distinguishes between a "tsar" (adversary) and an "oyev" (enemy): a tsar is one who actively afflicts, while an oyev is one who harbors hatred in his heart but does not cause harm in practice. "The adversaries of Retzin" are those who actively distress him, and they will overpower him in battle. And "his enemies", who hate him in their hearts but do not actively afflict him, "yesakhsekh", from the root meaning to hedge around or cover: they are the weaker ones stationed all around, waiting for you to flee so they can strike you, and they will cut down those who flee from the battlefield.
Rashi explains "and his enemies He will stir up" in reference to the Shechinah: The Holy One, blessed be He, will stir up His enemies against one another. The Jewish people have enemies, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu ensures that "I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian" (Yeshayahu 19:2). According to Rashi, this is literal: there will be conflict among the enemies. Admittedly, conflict among enemies is not always good for us, but the moment they fight among themselves, a certain calm is surely created for the people of Israel, at least in the immediate term.
To give an example: Some time ago there was a protest march and a very serious Supreme Court hearing regarding yeshivah students not enlisting in the army - an event that left-wing activists prepared for over four months, rallying numerous organizations. Yet not a single newspaper ran a headline about it, and not a single news broadcast aired a single sentence. The organizer lamented: Exactly at this moment they decided to make a revolution in Egypt! The media did not even hesitate; they are well-networked and well-connected, and when there is an issue they want to advance, the entire focus usually shifts to them, yet here nobody even mentioned it. The Chazon Ish said: When trouble is stirred up at home against Shomrei Mitzvos, the Holy One, blessed be He, sees to it that those people are preoccupied with external matters, so that their burden is removed from us. Baruch Hashem, He brought troubles in Egypt and not here, and all the focus was directed there - what is happening with Mubarak - so who cared about what was happening here with yeshivah students? This teaches us that all their obsession with yeshivah students only exists when the media has a slow news cycle and nothing to report, so they think, "Let's bash the Chareidim, that always sells." But when there is something more interesting, who cares about this tired, worn-out topic? Even dry wood is eaten when there is nothing else. This is "and his enemies He will stir up": when there is conflict over there, they leave us alone here.
"Aram from the east and the Pelishtim from behind" - The continuation is incorrect
אֲרָם מִקֶּדֶם וּפְלִשְׁתִּים מֵאָחוֹר וַיֹּאכְלוּ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכָל פֶּה בְּכָל זֹאת לֹא שָׁב אַפּוֹ וְעוֹד יָדוֹ נְטוּיָה׃ - Aram from the east and the Pelishtim from behind, and they devoured Israel with an open mouth; yet throughout all this, His anger has not turned back, and His hand is still outstretched.
The Malbim explains: The prophet tells them that everything you said in the first half of the statement is true. "The bricks have fallen" is true - the bricks will fall. "The sycamores have been felled" is true - the sycamores will be felled. Half of the statement is correct. But regarding the continuation, you are mistaken. "We will build with hewn stone"? "We will replace them with cedars"? Your downfall will be an absolute fall; you will not succeed in recovering from it, and you will have no new allies. On the contrary: Aram, who until now came to your aid, will come against you from the east, and the Pelishtim will attack you from behind, from the west, devouring you with an open mouth. And do not think that this is the end of it. Know that this is only the first course, and a long feast still lies ahead of you. With this, the Holy One, blessed be He, has only just begun; "yet throughout all this, His anger has not turned back, and His hand is still outstretched."
Returning to the Blow instead of to the One Who Strikes
וְהָעָם לֹא שָׁב עַד הַמַּכֵּהוּ וְאֶת ה' צְבָאוֹת לֹא דָרָשׁוּ׃ - Yet the people did not return to the One Who struck them, nor did they seek Hashem of Hosts.
Why has His anger not turned back, when He is already striking them through the Pelishtim and Aram? The prophet says: Because "the people did not return to the One Who struck them." Instead of the people turning back in repentance to the Holy One, blessed be He, what do they do? They continually turn to seek help from the very ones who strike them. You turn to Aram, who comes to strike you, and ask him for help; you turn to Egypt, with whom you had conflict, in order to lean upon them. And so we find throughout the generations that they went to seek help from their enemies.
The Malbim notes that this phrase contains a striking grammatical nuance. What does "unto Him Who strikes him" (ad hamakehu) mean? After all, if Assyria strikes us, who is truly striking us? The Holy One, blessed be He, as we learned explicitly: "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger." And likewise, if Aram strikes us, who is the real smiter? The Holy One, blessed be He. This is what the verse means by "Yet the people did not turn unto Him Who strikes him": instead of turning back to the true Smiter, Who is Hashem, blessed be He, you only turn toward His instrument, toward whoever holds this rod called Aram and strikes you. And Who is the true Smiter? The verse itself clarifies: "And Hashem of Hosts they did not seek." Therefore, as written in the previous verse, "His anger has not turned back, and His hand is still outstretched," for you failed to draw the proper conclusions.
Head and Tail, Palm Branch and Reed
וַיַּכְרֵת ה' מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל רֹאשׁ וְזָנָב כִּפָּה וְאַגְמוֹן יוֹם אֶחָד׃ - Therefore Hashem cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day.
The Holy One, blessed be He, cuts off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed. "Head" refers to the leaders, "tail" refers to the lowly followers, and in the next verse the prophet explains more specifically who is meant. And what are kipah and agmon? The Malbim explains that kipah refers to a strong branch (like a palm frond), as it says in Iyov, "and his branch [kipatow] will not be green." Agmon is a weak stalk that grows in a marsh, growing in water, an even frailer reed. In other words, Hashem will cut off from Israel - the Ten Tribes - both the heads and the tails, both the strong branches representing the mighty and the weak reeds representing the ordinary people. Everyone shares the blame, as we shall see further on.
זָקֵן וּנְשׂוּא פָנִים הוּא הָרֹאשׁ וְנָבִיא מוֹרֶה שֶּׁקֶר הוּא הַזָּנָב׃ - The elder and the dignitary, he is the head; and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
One who is an elder in wisdom and years, and a dignitary who is respected - these two qualities make someone a head, a genuinely prominent leader. In contrast, the false prophet is the tail. The Malbim explains: when an animal walks forward, it follows its head; this corresponds to when the nation follows the Torah sages and the elders. But when they stray from the path and follow the false prophets, refusing to appoint an elder and dignified leader, choosing instead a prophet who teaches lies, they are following the tail - like a dog walking backward, following its tail. Instead of following the head, who is the elder and honored leader, one follows a prophet who teaches falsehood, who instructs you to turn away from Hashem's ways.
Radak explains that the false prophets came from the lowly among the people. And what was their incentive to prophesy falsely, for no one acts without an agenda? They sought to curry favor with the kings, falsely prophesying comforting things. And how people love to hear good news: "Do not worry, Hashem will not destroy the Temple, He will not exile the sacred vessels, the Jewish people will not be exiled, the Holy One, blessed be He, loves His people - after all, sacrifices are offered here!" They constantly soothed the people with lies, and this always found a receptive ear. When Yeshayahu or Yirmiyahu came and delivered harsh prophecies, people would say: "Those religious folks always love to scare people! Leave those extremists alone, all they do is talk about doom and disasters, Shabbat desecration, and modesty. Look, there are other voices, more agreeable prophets, like modern reformists who are pleasant, unlike those who only relish delivering bad news." These were the false prophets. Radak explains: because they prophesied favorably for the leaders and made reassuring promises, it was a matter of "one hand washes the other." The ministers and kings in turn gave them bread and wine and honored them, saying, "After all, he is running my campaign and standing up against Yeshayahu and Yirmiyahu." As Scripture states: "I will preach to you of wine and strong drink, he shall even be the preacher of this people" (Michah 2:11), meaning they falsely spoke favorable prophecies in order to receive material benefits from the king. Petty individuals, who for bread and wine manufactured prophecies out of thin air, while the people followed right behind them.
Those Who Validate and Those Who Are Validated
וַיִּהְיוּ מְאַשְּׁרֵי הָעָם הַזֶּה מַתְעִים וּמְאֻשָּׁרָיו מְבֻלָּעִים׃ - For those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided by them are destroyed.
Here the prophet explains why Hashem will cut off both the branch and the reed, both the strong and the weak. "For those who guide this people mislead them": those who validated and approved the people's actions - in the sense of "And now we call the arrogant fortunate" (Malachi 3:15) - telling them, "How fortunate you are! What you are doing is wonderful, do not worry," they were leading them astray. Therefore, destruction was decreed upon both the head and the tail. But know that "and those who are guided by them are destroyed [mevula'im]": there is the me'asher, the prominent figures who direct us to do evil, and there are the me'usharim, those who receive approval and direction from these guides - the ordinary people who seek that validation. And they themselves, on their own account, were mevula'im, utterly corrupted. The Malbim explains that mevula evokes swallowing something and completely destroying it.
In plain terms: they did not simply come and mislead innocent bystanders; rather, they misled those who wanted to be misled. The people themselves wanted to err; they actively sought validation from false prophets who would lead them astray. Therefore, palm branch and reed are cut off together - both the strong branches and the weak reeds. No one can claim, "I was merely misled!" You were not simply misled; you were misled because you eagerly lent a listening ear and personally wanted to stray. The followers themselves were corrupt in their own right.
"Therefore Hashem Shall Have No Joy in Their Young Men" - The Hypocrite, the Evildoer, and the Speaker of Villainy
עַל כֵּן עַל בַּחוּרָיו לֹא יִשְׂמַח אֲדֹנָי וְאֶת יְתֹמָיו וְאֶת אַלְמְנוֹתָיו לֹא יְרַחֵם כִּי כֻלּוֹ חָנֵף וּמֵרַע וְכָל פֶּה דֹּבֵר נְבָלָה בְּכָל זֹאת לֹא שָׁב אַפּוֹ וְעוֹד יָדוֹ נְטוּיָה׃ - "Therefore the Lord shall not rejoice over their young men, nor shall He have compassion on their orphans and their widows; for every one of them is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks vile words. Despite all this, His wrath has not subsided, and His hand is still outstretched."
Not only will Hashem cut off those who mislead them, who are the leaders, but also "over their young men" - who are the mighty warriors, as "bachurav" always connotes the choicest - Hashem will not rejoice. This is the meaning of the palm branch, which represents a strong bough. And not only that, but also the weak, who correspond to the reed: "Nor shall He have compassion on their orphans and their widows" - He will not spare the reed either.
And why does it say "shall not rejoice" regarding the young men, yet regarding the orphans and widows, "shall not have compassion"? The Malbim explains: A king takes care not to destroy his warriors because they bring him joy through their might, and he also takes care not to destroy the vulnerable of his kingdom, the orphans and widows, because he feels compassion for them. But Hashem says: Whereas a king normally rejoices in his warriors, I will not rejoice over their young men; and whereas a king normally pities the orphans and widows, I will not have compassion on them.
And why? "For every one of them is a hypocrite and an evildoer." "Every one of them," as explained, includes both the general populace and the vulnerable. And what is a "hypocrite" (chonef)? The Malbim explains: Outwardly they pretended and acted as if they were servants of Hashem, but their hearts were not with Him. That is the essence of flattery and hypocrisy: on the outside greeting someone warmly, "Shalom, how are you?", while cursing him in his heart and wishing him dead. This is an extremely corrupt character trait, and the faction of hypocrites is one of the groups that do not receive the Divine Presence. Moreover, not only were they hypocrites, but also "evildoers" - actively committing evil. Even worse: "and every mouth speaks vile words." Sometimes a person does evil but is ashamed to speak of it, yet among them, not only did they do evil, they even produced programs and broadcasts about it, with each person recounting all the wicked deeds and awful things he had done. Had the evil been done in secret, it would be bad enough; but here they were hypocritical, actively wicked, and had mouths speaking vulgarity. That is the reason His wrath has not subsided, and His hand is still outstretched.
Our Sages expound upon this: What is the meaning of "and His hand is still outstretched"? Everyone knows why a bride enters the wedding canopy; yet whoever defiles his mouth with vulgar speech, even if a decree of seventy good years has been sealed for him, it is overturned against him for evil. This is dreadful - look at the severity of the punishment for foul speech, it is truly terrifying. How careful a person must be to maintain clean speech, and how vigilant never to utter anything tainted by improper language! Everyone knows that a bride enters the chuppah for marital intimacy, but if someone expresses this crudely, even if a favorable decree of seventy years was sealed for him, it will all be overturned against him for evil.
Rashi explains that this is derived from the word "ve'od" (and still), as if it were read "ve'ad yado netuyah" - that His hand remains outstretched forever (ad), throughout all the days of a person's life, as in "The days of our years are seventy years." The Maharsha explains that the punishment is measure for measure: Who are those who speak vulgarly about "why a bride enters the chuppah"? The young men, not the elders. Therefore, the punishment is: "Therefore the Lord shall not rejoice over their young men" - at the time of a young man's rejoicing upon marriage, you defile your mouth, and in return, you will not merit, Heaven forbid, to attain the joy of a wedding canopy. This is "and every mouth speaks vile words," and yet His anger has not subsided; and what is "His hand is still outstretched"? That a decree of seventy years, even if it was for good, will be overturned, Heaven forbid, for evil.
The Parable of the Forest Fire: Thorns, Branches, and Trunks
כִּי בָעֲרָה כָאֵשׁ רִשְׁעָה שָׁמִיר וָשַׁיִת תֹּאכֵל וַתִּצַּת בְּסִבְכֵי הַיַּעַר וַיִּתְאַבְּכוּ גֵּאוּת עָשָׁן׃ - "For wickedness burned like fire; it consumes thorns and briers, and kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke."
The prophet compares wickedness to a burning fire, and compares the nation to a dense forest full of trees. It is well known that when a forest begins to burn, the trunk does not catch fire first. How does it start? From the thorns, as in "If fire breaks out and catches in thorns." At first, travelers ignite the thorns along the roadside, and the blaze spreads from there. And what burns first on the trees? The thickets of the trees, the upper branches, because they are thinner. The fire sweeps through them without yet consuming the main body of the trees, and these branches become fuel for the fire, while the lower trunks are usually only blackened by the smoke. But if there is a great storm wind, the wind drives and whips the fire everywhere, forcing it into the trunk as well, and the tree trunks also become fuel for the fire.
And so the prophet describes: The forest represents the nation, referring here to the Ten Tribes. This nation will be engulfed in fire, and the fire "consumes thorns and briers" - meaning the thorns, which in the parable represent the wicked of the nation, for the wicked are compared to thorns, providing no benefit whatsoever and only inflicting harm and pain. Afterward, "and kindles the thickets of the forest" - the branches forming the upper canopy of the tree, representing the ordinary people of middle standing, until they too are enveloped in smoke and consumed by the flames, "and they roll upward in a column of smoke."
בְּעֶבְרַת ה' צְבָאוֹת נֶעְתַּם אָרֶץ וַיְהִי הָעָם כְּמַאֲכֹלֶת אֵשׁ אִישׁ אֶל אָחִיו לֹא יַחְמֹלוּ׃ - "Through the wrath of the Lord of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people have become like fuel for the fire; no man will spare his brother."
In the next stage, a great wrath (evrah) will arrive, and "evrah" signifies intense fury. There will be a fierce wind, and this wind will drive the fire downward. "Ne'etam," the Malbim explains, is related to "otem" (sealed or obstructed): it will block the fire from dispersing outward, forcing it downward instead to consume the lower part, which is the trunk.
The Malbim explains: It is well known that when you blow out a candle, what rises from it? Smoke. And if you hold a lit match a few inches above that smoke, what happens? Instantly, the flame travels downward and catches the wick. Why? Because the rising smoke contains flammable vapors, and when you hold a flame above it, the fire leaps straight down into the candle. You can test this at home; it is a proven phenomenon - just do not hold it too high - and you will see how the fire jumps down and seizes the candle. The Malbim explains that the fire here is similar, like a pillar of fire descending forcefully from above. This is "Through the wrath of the Lord of Hosts" - through the anger of the Holy One, Blessed be He, which will act like a mighty wind - and "the land is darkened (ne'etam)," meaning the fire is contained and directed downward.
Consequently, "and the people shall be as fuel for fire" all at once. And what is meant by "the people"? The nation as a whole, who correspond to the trunks. If up until now we spoke of the wicked as thorns, and then of the average people as branches, we are now speaking of the collective nation, the very foundation of the nation, which is the trunks. The meaning of the allegory is that fire will seize the entire nation: the exile and punishment of the Kingdom of Israel will be a severe decree engulfing everyone, from the most wicked, through the ordinary, to the simple folk, who were neither wicked nor average, though truly righteous and elevated people were not to be found in that part of the Jewish people.
This fire will spread and ignite from one person to the next. The Malbim explains: Just as fire naturally passes from trunk to trunk and from tree to tree, so too here the fire will spread from neighbor to neighbor and from brother to brother. This is what is meant by "no man shall spare his brother": they will have no mercy on one another. Just like a tree that burns the tree beside it without pity, and the fire moves on from it to the next tree, so "no man shall spare his brother," and the fire will consume the entire nation.
Nuances in the Terminology of Kindling
The Malbim notes that there are several distinct expressions used for kindling fire, and here the verse uses "ba'arah" (burned), "tochal" (devours), and "vatitzat" (ignited). The verbs "bi'er" and "hitzit" refer to the initial igniting of the fire: when one wants fire to catch onto something, one kindles it or ignites it. By contrast, "eating" - when the fire devours - describes what happens to the combustible material once the fire is already burning. If you light a log, what happens to it? It is devoured. That is the consumption spoken of in connection with fire.
What, then, is the difference between lighting (lehadlik), kindling (lehav'ir), and igniting (lehatzit)? "Lehadlik" refers to the very first catching of the flame - lighting a candle, the initial act by which fire takes hold. "Lehav'ir" refers to what follows, that the candle continues to burn by virtue of having been lit; lighting is the initial action, while burning (be'erah) is the continuous state. And "lehatzit," says the Malbim, symbolizes a sudden, eruptive blaze, usually a destructive fire that brings no constructive benefit, as in "and He kindled a fire in Zion." When one lights wood to cook or keep warm, it is not called hatzatah; rather, hatzatah always connotes a blaze that consumes and ruins, as in "and I will kindle a fire in its forest," or "and I will kindle a fire in her palaces." Therefore, the Malbim explains, this term is linked to another expression denoting desolation, as in "desolate (nitzetah) like a wilderness without inhabitant," referring to complete ruin, because hatzatah is entirely destructive. One does not ignite a candle to read by its light; one ignites to burn and destroy. Here, the prophet describes wickedness burning like a fire: first devouring the thorns, then erupting violently into the thicket of branches, and descending in a sudden rush to burn all the trunks, which represent the nation as a whole.
"They Shall Eat Every Man the Flesh of His Own Arm"
וַיִּגְזֹר עַל יָמִין וְרָעֵב וַיֹּאכַל עַל שְׂמֹאול וְלֹא שָׂבֵעוּ אִישׁ בְּשַׂר זְרֹעוֹ יֹאכֵלוּ׃ - "And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied; they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm."
Now the prophet describes the rampant bloodlust that will prevail among them. As is known, the First Temple was destroyed because of idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed; there was extreme brutality among them, and they devoured one another. "Vayigzor" comes from the language of snatching; a person who plunders something from his fellow tears it from his hand and severs it from its place, like one gripped by an insatiable craving. "And he shall snatch on the right hand" - and do you think that helps him? "And be hungry" - he remains hungry, because the voracious lust controlling him prevents him from being satisfied by what he snatched on the right. "And he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied" - he devours everything to his left, yet it does not satisfy him, until out of sheer frenzy and the sickness of lust and starvation, "they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm." A person begins to eat the flesh of his own arm, meaning he consumes the very thing that sustains him, which brings no real benefit. If one eats something external, the body receives energy; but if one eats part of oneself, one is consuming one's own substance. This is the allegory: the nation is like a body eating its own parts, as we saw earlier - "no man shall spare his brother" - each grabbing from the other. If one takes from an outside source, plundering a foreign troop, the cistern can be filled; but "a pit cannot be filled from its own dug-out earth." A point is reached where, out of lust and violence, they destroy themselves.
The question is asked: What is the meaning of "they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm"? Have we ever heard of such a thing, or seen a person literally biting into and eating his own arm? The explanation is that when a person has nothing to eat, what happens? He wastes away. Why? Because wasting away means the body begins to consume itself. Everything in the body consists of energy reserves; the larger a person is, the more stored energy he has, and that energy slowly burns away as the body's fuel. The body feeds on itself until a point is reached where there is no more fat or tissue left to break down to keep itself alive, and the person breathes his last from starvation. This is the reality of "they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm": not that he literally takes a bite out of his arm, but that when the body has no nourishment, it consumes itself, progressively shrinking and living off its own reserves. So it will be with the nation: there will no longer be anything left to take from others, and it will begin devouring itself.
Menashe Against Ephraim, and Ephraim Against Menashe
מְנַשֶּׁה אֶת אֶפְרַיִם וְאֶפְרַיִם אֶת מְנַשֶּׁה יַחְדָּו הֵמָּה עַל יְהוּדָה בְּכָל זֹאת לֹא שָׁב אַפּוֹ וְעוֹד יָדוֹ נְטוּיָה׃ - "Menashe devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Menashe, and together they are against Judah; for all this His anger is not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still."
"Menasheh with Ephraim" (Menasheh et Ephraim) is like "with Jacob" (et Yaakov) in the verse "each man and his household came with Jacob" - meaning an alliance: Menasheh will join with Ephraim, and Ephraim will join with Menasheh, and both of them together against Judah. And as we have mentioned, our chapter deals with the alliances formed within the Kingdom of Israel against the Kingdom of Judah. "Yet throughout all this His anger did not turn back, and His hand is still outstretched": after everything they suffered, they still harbor sinister schemes, and because of this, the Holy One, blessed be He, says that His anger has not subsided. "His hand is outstretched" symbolizes the hand raised aloft to bring down a blow, as if His hand is raised to strike those who, despite all they received and all the blows they sustained, persist in their evil, corrupt ways.
In summary:
The chapter opened with the promise of David's throne, established through justice between man and his fellow and supported through righteousness between man and God, and with the potential of "from now and forever" that was sealed, like the closed mem in "lemarbe hamisrah", until the breaches in the walls of Jerusalem are repaired by our actions. From there, the prophet turned to the Ten Tribes, who were consoling themselves with the slogan, "Bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with hewn stone," telling them that half the statement is true while the other half is false: the fall will be total - Aram from the east and the Philistines from the rear. All this occurred because they did not return to the true Smiter, the Holy One, blessed be He, but focused instead on whoever struck them in practice. Therefore, head and tail, palm branch and reed, leaders and followers, those who misguide and those who are misguided, are cut down, for they led astray those who desired to be misled. The parable of the fire in the forest teaches that the punishment will consume everything: the thorns, who are the wicked; the branches, who are the intermediate; and the trunks, who are the nation as a whole, until "each man eats the flesh of his own arm." And woven into all this is a tremendous lesson in guarding one's speech: that whoever utters foul language, even a favorable decree of seventy years is overturned against him for evil, and measure for measure, "the Lord shall have no joy in their young men."