Throughout all of Amos's prophecies, we see a constant oscillation: punishment followed by warning, punishment followed by warning. The prophet is always addressing them from these two opposite poles: first, understand what troubles are about to come; and second, here is what Hashem asks of you. And then once more troubles, and once more what Hashem asks of you. All of this follows this pattern to tell them: I am not coming to announce troubles so that they will occur. I am prophesying about the troubles so that you will mend your ways. There is no point in simply coming and speaking ill; what purpose does that serve? The entire purpose of prophecies of doom is that the people repent from their evil ways.
לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת אֲדֹנָי, בְּכׇל רְחֹבוֹת מִסְפֵּד וּבְכׇל חוּצוֹת יֹאמְרוּ הוֹ הוֹ, וְקָרְאוּ אִכָּר אֶל אֵבֶל וּמִסְפֵּד אֶל יוֹדְעֵי נֶהִי׃ - Therefore thus says Hashem, the God of Hosts, the Lord: In all broad places there shall be lamentation, and in all the streets they shall say, "Alas! Alas!" And they shall call the farmer to mourning, and those skillful of lamentation to wailing.
Since you do not repent, the prophet tells them, there will be lamentation in all the streets. The Malbim explains that this verse serves as an introduction to what follows: "Woe to you that desire the day of Hashem!" It was a known tradition among them from the prophets that there is a day when the Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal Himself, and it is called "the Day of Hashem" - the day when Israel will experience eternal salvation. Joel had already prophesied about it: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Hashem comes. And the people of Israel long for this day to arrive, the day when the Holy One, blessed be He, will come and redeem us, bringing all the nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat to judge them for all the evil they have inflicted upon the Jewish people: "And deliverers shall go up on Mount Zion to judge Mount Esau."
The prophet tells them: You are living in delusions. Indeed, the Day of Hashem will surely come, but not while you are committing evil deeds. The Day of Hashem will come when you straighten your ways, and only then will it be fitting to exact retribution from the nations who torment you. But right now you are not worthy of salvation, and right now, if Hashem passes through your midst, it will not be a day of light but a day of darkness and gloom, a day of retribution in which He will punish you, destroy you, and exile you. And this is the meaning of "for I will pass through your midst" - the Malbim explains that this is like "And Hashem will pass through to smite the Egyptians." I will pass through your midst not for salvation, but for suffering and affliction.
The expressions ho, hoy, oy, and nehi are all cries of lamentation, wailing, anguish, and pain. And what is the difference between rechovot (broad streets) and chutzot (passageways)? The Malbim explains this in several places: rechovot refers to the open area in front of the houses, what we call a street today. Chutzot, by contrast, refers to the area behind or between the houses. Their houses were built in the shape of the Hebrew letter mem (enclosing a central courtyard), with an inner courtyard from which one exited into alleys and then outward. Anyone who has studied Tractate Eruvin is familiar with the numerous examples of alleyways (mevo'ot) built in this manner, and anyone familiar with the Old City of Jerusalem sees even today courtyards from which one enters the homes. This inner, enclosed area was called chutzot, while the broad, external thoroughfare was called rechov.
Therefore: "In all broad places there shall be lamentation" - out in the open, where the public gathers, they will deliver eulogies over the disasters. "And in all the passageways they shall say, 'Alas! Alas!'" - in the narrower areas behind the homes, where the residents of the alley and courtyard stay, the women and children who did not venture out into the wide public street, they too will lament. This was patterned after the common practice of their time, where one calls out and the other responds. This responsive chanting is practiced to this day among Yemenite Jews in their style of singing, where one sings a line and the others respond to him; this was a widely accepted form of singing in the Middle Ages and even in ancient times. The Gemara notes: "When men sing and women respond, it is like fire in tow" - showing that already in Talmudic times, it was customary for some to lead the song and others to respond with a refrain. Here as well: in the wide streets the men will deliver the eulogy, and from within the courtyards the women will answer them, "Alas, alas," uttering expressions of grief, mourning, and distress.
The Malbim explains that their custom was to hold the eulogy (misped) first, followed by the formal mourning period (evel), as is customary whenever someone passes away: first the funeral and the eulogy, and then sitting shivah. Thus Scripture states: "And there they lamented with a great and very sore lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days" - eulogizing always precedes formal mourning. Here, however, the order is reversed: first mourning, and only afterward eulogy. Why? Because during wartime, people are killed and there is immediate grief, but it is impossible to deliver proper eulogies in the midst of battle. Only after the war concludes do they begin the formal eulogies.
"And they shall call the farmer to mourning" - the farmer, the simple laborer working out in the open field, is the first to encounter the invading enemy and the first to fall, and he is therefore the one who initiates the period of mourning. Furthermore, during mourning, people refrain from work, just as they do today. Normally, agricultural workers would not come to participate in communal mourning, as they have ongoing work in the fields and cannot abandon their land. But here the prophet tells them: summon even the farmer to come and mourn, for the land will be desolate anyway and he will have no labor to perform; he will not be neglecting his livelihood by coming to sit in mourning with you.
And what is the etymology of the Hebrew word ikar (farmer)? The Malbim explains: a pasture or field is called a kar, as in "The pastures (karim) are clothed with flocks"; open fields were known as karim. Consequently, the ikar is the one who tills the field and tends to the affairs of the pastures.
"And lamentation to those skilled in wailing" - those who know how to raise their voices in lament, to eulogize with a weeping voice and heighten the bitterness of the mourning. This refers to professional wailing women: there were women who possessed a special talent; they knew how to utter cries of weeping until everyone shed tears. This was an expertise, and they were even paid for it. It was a profession: just as one brings an orchestra to a wedding, so too they brought wailing women to a funeral, accompanied by musical instruments. The Gemara mentions that they would bring flutes and play them to stir the public to tears and to an awareness of the loss.
The Gemara further relates that the practice of darshanim and eulogizers was to stir weeping. It is told of a certain sage who said to his eulogizer: When you eulogize me, stir people to tears, "de-hatam ka'imna" - for I am standing right there; I am present. The deceased hears the words of the eulogizers, the Gemara says, as if in a dream. He is present and hears what is said about him, and when people feel pain over his passing, he finds satisfaction and comfort in this. Therefore here too: call for lamentation to those skilled in wailing - do not bring novices, but true experts, those who master the craft of wailing, and they will heighten the bitterness of the mourning.
וּבְכׇל כְּרָמִים מִסְפֵּד, כִּי אֶעֱבֹר בְּקִרְבְּךָ אָמַר יְהֹוָה׃ - And in all vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through your midst, said Hashem.
Vineyards are places of joy and wine. Maidens would go out and dance in the vineyards, and during the grape harvest people celebrated with festive rejoicing. Now, in the very place whose character was joy, there will be lamentation. "For I will pass through your midst" - as explained earlier, similar to "And Hashem will pass through to smite Egypt": I will pass through your midst to chastise you for the evil deeds you have committed.
הוֹי הַמִּתְאַוִּים אֶת יוֹם יְהֹוָה, לָמָּה זֶּה לָכֶם יוֹם יְהֹוָה, הוּא חֹשֶׁךְ וְלֹא אוֹר׃ - Woe to those who desire the day of Hashem! Why do you need the day of Hashem? It is darkness and not light.
Chazal bring a parable about this of a rooster and a bat who were both looking forward to the light. The rooster said to the bat: Why are you looking forward to the light? After all, you are blind. I look forward to the light because with it I can see; but as for you, what will the light give you? So too here: "Woe to those who desire the day of Hashem! Why do you need the day of Hashem" - what does the day of Hashem have to do with you? For the day of Hashem is light, but for you it will be darkness and not light, since you walk in darkness.
This is what the Malbim explains: they were eagerly waiting for Hashem to come, exact retribution from the enemies, and bring them to justice. He tells them: when I pass through your midst, it will not be a day of redemption, but quite the contrary - a day of darkness, of lamentation, and of troubles. The purpose of the day of Hashem is to punish the wicked, and in this scenario, you are the wicked ones. It is written that the wicked will be like straw and "the coming day will burn them up" - so where do you think you will fit into this picture? Why should you yearn for the day of Hashem? Out of the darkness of the troubles, light will shine only for the righteous at the time of rectification, but for you there will be only darkness and not light.
כַּאֲשֶׁר יָנוּס אִישׁ מִפְּנֵי הָאֲרִי וּפְגָעוֹ הַדֹּב, וּבָא הַבַּיִת וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל הַקִּיר וּנְשָׁכוֹ הַנָּחָשׁ׃ - As if a man flees from a lion and a bear encounters him, and he comes into the house and leans his hand against the wall, and a serpent bites him.
You will go from one trouble to the next. A person flees from the lion pursuing him, and just as he thinks he has found relief, the bear strikes him. He keeps running and enters a house, and when he calms down a bit and leans his hand against the wall, a snake emerges before him. A veritable horror story. And what is this coming to tell them? They think perhaps a trouble will arrive and then pass. He tells them: No. A first exile will come, followed by a second exile - a first exile at the hands of the king of Assyria, and then he will return a second time, so that whoever escapes the lion will still face a bear. And afterward a third exile will come, so that whoever escapes the bear will still encounter the serpent. And as it is written in Yeshayahu: "The first treated them lightly, but the last dealt severely."
הֲלֹא חֹשֶׁךְ יוֹם יְהֹוָה וְלֹא אוֹר, וְאָפֵל וְלֹא נֹגַהּ לוֹ׃ - Is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
On the surface, the prophet appears to repeat himself in different words: darkness (choshech) and gloom (afel) are both terms for dark, while light (or) and brightness (nogah) are both terms for illumination. However, the Malbim offers a wonderful explanation here. Nogah is not independent, self-generated light. Even in spoken Hebrew, we say that the moon has a nogah, the radiant glow around it. In fact, the Malbim explains that all moonlight is in the category of nogah, since it is not an independent source of light, but merely reflects the light of the sun. The same is true of the stars; they have no independent light of their own, but rather gleam and reflect the sun's light.
Therefore, there can be a darkness that still contains radiance (nogah). The prime example is nighttime: it is dark, but there are stars and there is the moon, so while it is dark, there is nonetheless nogah. Gloom (afeilah), however, means there is nothing at all, not even reflected radiance. That is far worse than mere darkness, for gloom is an absolute, total state in which there are neither stars nor moon. Thus it is written: "We look for light, and behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom" - the opposite of light is darkness, yet in darkness there can still be stars and a moon. Regarding this the verse says: we hoped for brightness (nogohot), for the light of the stars and moon, and behold, we walk in absolute gloom. Thus gloom is the opposite of nogah.
And how wonderfully he explains the Gemara on the verse, "who walks in darkness and has no light (nogah)": if he went for the sake of a mitzvah, he has brightness; but if he went for an optional, mundane matter, he has no brightness. The Gemara there speaks of a person who was accustomed to attend the synagogue and failed to show up one day, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, asks about him: What happened, where is so-and-so, why did he not come? "Who among you fears the Lord... who walks in darkness?" What does "walks in darkness" mean? That he did not come to the synagogue. This is not speaking only of someone who went to the cinema, which is certainly darkness, where people sit in darkness and gloom, but even if he went to attend to any mundane, permissible pursuit - that is considered walking in darkness. Yet it is quite possible that he did not go for an optional matter but for the sake of a mitzvah; then, although he did not come, "he has brightness": even though it is dark, it is a darkness that contains light, because the mitzvah radiates. But if he did not go for a mitzvah - "he has no brightness," total darkness, in the category of gloom. And this is what our verse means: not only will there be darkness and not light, meaning the sun will not shine, but know that even the moon will not shine - "and gloom with no brightness in it," for even the radiance of the moon and stars will be absent.
שָׂנֵאתִי מָאַסְתִּי חַגֵּיכֶם, וְלֹא אָרִיחַ בְּעַצְּרֹתֵיכֶם׃ - I hate, I despise your festivals, and I will not savor your solemn assemblies.
The Radak explains that these words were addressed to the kingdom of the House of Judah, since Amos prophesied in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. Why must we say this? Because if you were to claim that they were addressed to the kingdom of Samaria, how could he speak to them of burnt offerings, meal offerings, and peace offerings, as we see in the next verse? After all, they did not have a substitute Temple in Samaria; there was only the Temple in Judah. Therefore, this prophecy was spoken in the time of Uzziah against Judah.
He tells them: you place your trust in the sacrifices. As has been explained several times, they would say, "The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are these" - do not worry, the Beit HaMikdash will save us, the sacrifices will protect us, Hashem will not cause us distress or exile us. They trusted in the sacrifices and the service in the Beit HaMikdash, convinced that through them they would merit salvation and rescue. In simple terms, they viewed it as though the Holy One, Blessed be He, needs something from a person and one can bribe Him: Master of the Universe, take a sacrifice and leave me alone; I did what You asked, and now let me be, and by virtue of this we have protection and no trouble will come. Against this notion the Holy One, Blessed be He, warns in numerous places, telling them: you are utterly mistaken.
Notice the precise distinction made by the Malbim: hatred (sin'ah) applies to something that is inherently despised from the outset, whereas rejection or revulsion (me'isah) applies to something that was once loved but is now cast aside. An example of this is found with Eliab: when Shmuel came to anoint one of the sons of Yishai, he initially thought Eliab was the worthy one and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him," but the Holy One, Blessed be He, told him, "For I have rejected him (ki me'astihu)." Our Sages teach: this indicates that he was loved at first and then rejected because of the anger he exhibited. In and of himself he was fitting, but later he grew angry, and as a result he was rejected. The Malbim explains: ma'asti ("I have rejected") is the opposite of bacharti ("I have chosen"), whereas saneiti ("I hate") is the opposite of ahavti ("I love"), denoting a hatred from the very beginning.
Therefore, Hashem tells them: there are festivals that I hated from the very beginning. And if you should say: but what about the festivals that are for Hashem, the ones that I commanded, surely You desire those? To this He answers: indeed, they were originally beloved, but because of your misdeeds I have come to despise them as well. "And I will not savor your solemn assemblies" - even on the days when you assemble before Hashem and offer sacrifices, as in the phrase "it shall be a solemn assembly (atzeret) for you," this too provides no pleasing aroma to Me. And as it is written, "whom the Lord had chosen... and He rejected them."
כִּי אִם תַּעֲלוּ לִי עֹלוֹת וּמִנְחֹתֵיכֶם לֹא אֶרְצֶה, וְשֶׁלֶם מְרִיאֵיכֶם לֹא אַבִּיט׃ - Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your meal offerings, I will not accept them; and upon the peace offerings of your fattened beasts I will not gaze.
The Radak notes that this parallels the verse in Isaiah, "Why do I need the multitude of your sacrifices? says Hashem" (Isaiah 1:11). The Malbim cites Jeremiah: "Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to Me" (Jeremiah 6:20). The meaning is that there is no intrinsic value in a sacrifice for its own sake, just as Samuel rebuked Saul: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, to listen than the fat of rams" (I Samuel 15:22). As the Malbim explains there, the fat of rams and the sacrifice itself are not ends in themselves; their sole value lies in the principle, "I have spoken and My will was performed." The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: Do I need your sacrifice? "Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?" (Psalms 50:13). As we have discussed, anyone who imagines that the Holy One lacks anything holds a diminished conception of the Master of the Universe, as if He depends on you or needs you. Yet we declare in prayer that He was King before any creature was formed; He does not require you in order to be King. Why, then, did He create you? For your own good. Therefore, when you bring a sacrifice, you are heeding Hashem's will, and through that obedience it becomes a pleasing aroma before Him, because His will was fulfilled. But if one comes to offer a sacrifice while defying His will, it is a contradiction in terms, counterfeit at its very core.
What can this be compared to? To a man who buys his wife gifts every day, yet insults her, berates her, and speaks harshly to her, thinking that presents make up for it. It will not be long before she throws everything back in his face. In contrast, if he brings her even a single flower, but accompanies it with a kind word, makes her feel cherished, and expresses genuine appreciation, that flower will be more precious to her than all the expensive gifts in the world. Why? Because the gifts were brought merely to ease his own conscience, allowing him to continue his abusive and disgraceful conduct, followed by yet another gift: "Take this, and leave me be." This is precisely what the Holy One, Blessed be He, says. With one's spouse, a physical gift at least offers some tangible benefit, yet even so, a gift accompanied by a slap is intolerable. With the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who derives no physical pleasure and lacks nothing, the entire significance of a gift or sacrifice is solely to demonstrate devotion to the divine will. How much more so, then, is a sacrifice completely devoid of purpose when divorced from that obedience.
The Malbim explains: On the pilgrimage festivals, the people were obligated to bring burnt offerings of appearance (*olot re'iyah*) and peace offerings of celebration (*shalmei chagigah*), and along with the burnt offering they would offer a meal offering (*minchah*). Therefore the verse says, "and your meal offerings." Neither the burnt offerings nor the meal offerings do I desire. Even though a burnt offering serves to atone for neglecting positive commandments - a person who fails to fulfill a positive precept brings an *olah*, whereas for violating a negative commandment it depends on the offense: some require a sin offering (*chatat*) if the transgression incurs the penalty of *karet*, while other sins require guilt offerings (*asham*), such as the guilt offering for misuse of sacred property, robbery, a designated handmaid, or a Nazirite's defilement - the Holy One, Blessed be He, tells them: Even this will not bring you favor. All the more so peace offerings, "and the peace offerings of your fat beasts" - *meri'im* referring to fattened animals, as in the phrase "and the fat of fattened beasts" (*chelev meri'im*). None of these find favor, nor are they pleasing to Me.
הָסֵר מֵעָלַי הֲמוֹן שִׁרֶיךָ, וְזִמְרַת נְבָלֶיךָ לֹא אֶשְׁמָע׃ - Take away from Me the din of your songs, and the melody of your harps I will not hear.
The Levites would sing upon the platform (*duchan*), both chanting vocally and playing musical instruments. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to them: I have no interest in this either, as long as you rebel against My word. And what is meant by "the din (*hamon*) of your songs"? The Malbim explains that *hamon* is a disparaging term, as in "a bustling city" (*ir homiyah*), one filled with clamor and noise. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: Silence the noise of your singing. A person may imagine that he is producing sweet melodies, but in truth he is merely making a great deal of racket. This is not genuine song; it is hollow commotion. Remove the clamor of your songs from before Me; it brings no pleasure to My ears. "And the melody of your harps I will not hear" - the instrumental accompaniment I will likewise refuse to hear.
וְיִגַּל כַּמַּיִם מִשְׁפָּט, וּצְדָקָה כְּנַחַל אֵיתָן׃ - But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
"Let it roll down" (*veyigal*) is related to the word for revelation (*giluy*), echoing the verse, "To do righteousness and justice is preferred by Hashem over sacrifice" (Proverbs 21:3) - practicing righteousness and justice is far superior and more chosen than offering sacrifices. Justice (*mishpat*), as we have noted repeatedly, governs interpersonal relations (*bein adam le-chavero*), whereas righteousness (*tzedakah*) consistently pertains to one's relationship with God (*bein adam la-Makom*). The reference here is not merely to giving charity, but to being a *tzaddik*, conducting oneself uprightly before Hashem.
The Malbim explains: Water stems from a naturally flowing source, a spring that bubbles up on its own. Justice is likened to such a flowing spring. This is a profound insight: when we compare divine service with interpersonal ethics, which aspect is readily grasped by human intellect? Interpersonal conduct. Not to steal, not to rob, not to murder. This is basic common sense and healthy logic; moreover, the Holy One, Blessed be He, embedded it directly into the human soul. There is no society on earth that considers murder universally legitimate. Some may claim that killing a specific enemy is justified, or even label it a religious duty or jihad, but even they agree that murdering one another within their own community is wrong. Similarly, no group maintains that theft is inherently legitimate, and no state on earth writes into its legal code that citizens must steal. There was once such a place, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, wiped it out - Sodom. While there are countries where theft is more rampant - like the old joke about the man who traveled from land to land with a lantern searching for justice, and upon arriving in Romania had to search for his lantern - nowhere does the law prescribe that a person ought to steal. The core of the Ten Commandments consists of principles of simple logic accessible to all human reasoning.
Even a cannibal who says, "In our culture it is accepted practice to eat people," does not mean the person sitting beside him in his own tent; he means outsiders, those beyond his tribe. Furthermore, he might even argue that he acts with greater justice and integrity than you do. There is a story of an American who met a cannibal in the African jungle and decided to take him to America to show him civilization. They arrived during the Civil War. Hearing gunshots, the American pushed him down and warned, "Duck! It's dangerous, you could be shot." The cannibal saw bodies strewn across the field like flies and asked, "Tell me, what do you do with all these bodies?" That was his natural concern as a cannibal. The American answered, "What do you mean? We bury them." The cannibal said, "Forgive me, but you are corrupt people. Why? At least we kill a person to eat, but you kill for what? That is sheer wanton corruption." Thus, even a cannibal can view himself as moral by comparison; yet everyone recognizes that taking life pointlessly is unacceptable, running contrary to the universal human law that the Holy One, Blessed be He, implanted in us all.
And this is the meaning of "let justice roll down like waters": justice, which governs relations between man and his fellow, is recognized by everyone, and no nation believes it can endure without civil law and justice. It bubbles forth like living water, welling up naturally, requiring no elaborate proofs or novel philosophy; simple human reason demands that justice exist. By contrast, righteousness (*tzedakah*), which entails walking uprightly before God, is likened to a stream. How does water flow in a stream? It collects from outside sources. As we have explained, the proper path of divine service, true morality, and the fear of Heaven cannot be arrived at through human intellect alone; it must be received directly from Hashem and through the words of His prophets. Who could deduce on his own that one must wear tefillin? Who could define what is sacred and moral in the eyes of God? All of this must be received from Hashem. It is precisely like a stream, which receives its waters from distant channels, melting snows, and various tributaries, rather than welling up from its own bed. Therefore, the verse concludes: "and righteousness like a mighty stream."
The Malbim explains that the true intention here is that the primary purpose of ascending for the pilgrimage festivals and offering sacrifices is to learn Hashem's statutes there and cling to His laws, as it is written: "So that you may learn to fear Hashem your God." The ultimate goal is righteousness and justice. Is the ultimate goal merely that you take an animal, slaughter it, and bring it up to the altar? That is only the technical aspect. The ultimate goal is that you learn righteousness and justice. Therefore, this connects to what was stated earlier: do not bring Me burnt offerings and meal offerings, and to the peace offerings of your fatlings I will not pay heed, for what I seek is that "justice roll down like waters." And if you do not do so, but instead persist in your wicked deeds, what purpose is there at all in the sacrifice?
הַזְּבָחִים וּמִנְחָה הִגַּשְׁתֶּם לִי בַמִּדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - Did you offer sacrifices and meal offerings to Me in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?
This seems puzzling at first glance: Did they not offer sacrifices in the wilderness? After all, they brought offerings in the Mishkan, the princes brought sacrifices, and they offered the Pesach sacrifice. Rashi explains: Did I truly desire sacrifices and meal offerings? In the wilderness I did not command your forefathers to bring Me sacrifices; rather, I said, "When any man from among you brings an offering" - meaning when he wishes to offer, but I did not obligate them to bring sacrifices. And if you ask about the Pesach offering, it is written, "And the Children of Israel kept the Pesach in its appointed season," which teaches that Israel observed only that single Pesach in the wilderness, and thereafter did not bring Pesach offerings. Radak similarly cites from the prophecy of Yirmeyahu: "For I did not speak to your fathers, nor did I command them on the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices."
This is also what Chazal say regarding the burnt offering that was instituted at Mount Sinai. Rabbi Eliezer says: The instructions for the burnt offering were stated at Sinai, but it was not actually brought - meaning, it is true that at Sinai they were commanded regarding the burnt offering, but in the wilderness they did not offer it. Rabbi Akiva says: It was offered and never ceased, meaning it was offered in the wilderness as well. If so, how does Rabbi Akiva reconcile our verse? Rather, he interprets it thus: "Did you offer sacrifices and meal offerings to Me in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?" - "house of Israel," but not the tribe of Levi. The tribe of Levi is a distinct unit, and they were the ones who offered sacrifices, not the house of Israel. And so says Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: Israel did not bring offerings; who then brought offerings? The tribe of Levi, concerning whom it is said, "They shall put incense before Your nostrils," and it is said, "Whoever is for Hashem, come to me! And all the sons of Levi gathered unto him." But Israel, who engaged in idolatry, did not offer, for anyone who worshipped idols, even a kohen who worshipped idols, is disqualified forever from the Altar. It emerges that the only ones who offered sacrifices were the tribe of Levi, who had not worshipped idols.
The Malbim explains that the point is that they did not have an abundance of animals then for sacrifices, nor wine for libations - for libations require wine, grapes, and a vineyard, and where would they get them in the wilderness? Therefore, the essence of their service back then was justice and righteousness. This is what He asks of them: just as in the wilderness, where you did not have many sacrifices or wine for libations, what did you do there? "He executed the righteousness of Hashem, and His ordinances with Israel." That is what I ask of you now as well: righteousness and justice. The sacrifice is not the essence, just as in the wilderness there were not many sacrifices, yet nevertheless you fulfilled the will of Hashem there.
וּנְשָׂאתֶם אֵת סִכּוּת מַלְכְּכֶם וְאֵת כִּיּוּן צַלְמֵיכֶם, כּוֹכַב אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם לָכֶם׃ - But you shall carry Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun your images, the star of your god which you made for yourselves.
Here the commentators grapple with understanding the verse. Rashi explains that the prophet is returning to the retribution: he said above that it would be darkness and not light, and now he says that you will take your idols with you into exile. Those very deities you worshipped, which could not save you, you will carry on your shoulders and march with them into exile. And Sikkuth, Kiyyun, and Kochav - all of these, Rashi says, are names of idols.
Why is it called "your king"? Radak explains: because he made it an idol for himself and calls it king - from whom do you take orders? Who is your king? This idol. Alternatively, it refers to a prominent star in the heavenly host, which is like a king over its army, and therefore he calls it king, as in the verse "to burn incense to the queen of heaven," where the term likewise denotes sovereignty. And what is "Sikkuth your king"? Radak notes that some explain it from the root of "be silent and listen" (hasket), meaning your king to whom you pay heed and listen. Targum Yonatan renders it: "And you will carry the booth of your pagan priests," meaning that "your king" here refers to your priests, just as in the verse "and curse by his king," where the Aramaic translates it as priests; the pagan priests were their leaders. Similarly, "and those who swear by Malkam" - swearing by those priests and that idolatry.
And what is "Kiyyun your images"? Radak cites those who explain it as related to the cakes mentioned in "to make sacrificial cakes" (kavvanim), which was also part of idol worship. These cakes were foods brought as offerings to idols, like the famous incident with Terach's idols who fought among themselves over the offering a person had brought, as Avraham recounted to his father. Radak also notes that Kiyyun is the name of an idol in the Arabic and Persian languages, and they made an image of it to worship; this idol was known by the name Kiyyun, and until his day it was still known by that name in the Persian and Arabic languages.
The Malbim explains that this returns to what we saw above, darkness and not light: you will be exiled, all the sacrifices you offered will not avail you, and all the idols you worshipped will not save you, and you will carry Sikkuth your king. For they used to make a kind of booth (sukkah) for the idol, as we find: "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth," and in that place they would worship the idol. They also made sacrificial cakes (kavvanim), which is the meaning of Kiyyun: the women would knead dough, and from the dough they would fashion the shape of the idol and worship it, which is the meaning of "Kiyyun your images" - an object crafted to precisely match the form and likeness of that idol.
And how fascinating is the point the Malbim adds: When they left Egypt, in what did they dwell? “For I made the Children of Israel dwell in booths.” And what did they take with them? “Their dough before it was leavened.” But now, as you leave Jerusalem, come and see what you take with you: the booths you made for idolatry, and the dough you fashioned in the shape of your king. This is the exact antithesis of the booths and the dough you possessed during the Exodus from Egypt.
וְהִגְלֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵהָלְאָה לְדַמָּשֶׂק, אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ׃ - “And I will exile you beyond Damascus,” said Hashem, the God of Hosts is His Name.
Do not imagine that you are about to be exiled to the immediate vicinity, so to speak, close to home. He tells them: No indeed, I will exile you very far away. As the Malbim explained above on Chapter 3, Pasuk 12, at first [the enemy] exiled a portion to Damascus, and that exile did not seem so terrible in their eyes, because Damascus was adjacent to the border, and in the days of Yarovam ben Yoash it lay directly on the border of Israel. Therefore He says: Know that I will exile you beyond Damascus, to Chalach, and Chavor, and the river of Gozan - very distant places. And as Scripture states, “Hashem will bring upon you a nation from afar... a nation whose language you do not understand” - nations that come from a distant land. This is not a place from which one returns at any moment, but entirely remote, removing all hope of a return.
The Radak, on the other hand, explains that Damascus is mentioned because Damascus inflicted terrible evil upon Israel, as was said regarding the king of Aram, “and rip open their pregnant women,” Rachmana litzlan, for he would rip open pregnant women. There was horrific cruelty there. Anyone who wants to understand why Damascus is burning today should read what they did to us in Damascus and realize that the Day of Hashem has arrived. We are very close to what is written in the prophet, “The burden of Damascus,” that the Holy One, blessed be He, will exact retribution from Damascus for all the distress it caused us, and likewise He will exact retribution from Babylon for all the distress it caused us, as it is written concerning Babylon: “Praiseworthy is he who seizes and dashes your infants against the rock,” for all the atrocious deeds they committed against us. And behold, Babylon is burning and Damascus is burning, and anyone with eyes can see that the Holy One, blessed be He, is taking retribution from these nations, each nation according to the deeds it committed against us.
He says to them, therefore: I will not exile you merely to Damascus, though they were wicked, but even beyond Damascus, which is far worse. “Said Hashem, the God of Hosts is His Name” - all the legions are His, and consequently He is able to bring all of His will to fruition.
In this section of the chapter, Amos reaches the climax of the rebuke. He describes wailing in the streets and open squares, mourning that precedes the eulogy and keening women called upon after the war; and even in the vineyards, the place of joy, there will be lamentation, for “I will pass through your midst” for calamity and not for salvation. From here, he turns to those who yearn for the Day of Hashem: You are like the bat awaiting the dawn, for to you this day will be darkness and not light, pitch-black with no brightness to it, and consecutive tribulations like a lion, a bear, and a serpent - three successive exiles. His primary contention is that placing trust in sacrifices and Temple service without amending one's deeds is a false confidence: the Holy One, blessed be He, has no need for your sacrifices, and the entire concept of a sacrifice is an expression of submission to the Divine will. What He seeks is, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream” - justice that springs naturally from human reason, and righteousness received from a higher Divine source. Just as in the wilderness, without an abundance of sacrifices, they fulfilled the will of Hashem, so too is required of them now. If not, they will ultimately carry the booths of their idols and the dough of their molten images into exile - the very antithesis of the booths and dough of the Exodus from Egypt - and be exiled far beyond Damascus by the One whose Name is the God of Hosts, whose legions are all His and who possesses the power to bring any decree to pass.