Chapter 2 of Chagai opens with a new prophecy, delivered on the twenty-first day of the seventh month. The prophet was dispatched on a special mission to the leaders of the Return to Zion and to the entire people, to strengthen their hands in the rebuilding of the Temple. The builders saw before them a modest and lowly structure compared to the First Temple, and their spirits fell; this prophecy came to declare that within this very House lay the potential for the ultimate redemption - provided the people do their part.
בַּשְּׁבִיעִי בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הָיָה דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה בְּיַד־חַגַּי הַנָּבִיא לֵאמֹר׃ - In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of Hashem came through Chagai the prophet, saying:
Radak notes that in all the prophecies here, Scripture repeatedly mentions "Chagai the prophet." One reason: this prophecy represents a specific mission to the people to actively implement what he is commanding them now; therefore, it emphasizes that he is the prophet delivering prophecy to them to say. A second reason: as seen earlier, prophecy had already ceased and was now being renewed here; hence, it was necessary to emphasize repeatedly that this is the word of Hashem, and that Chagai is indeed a prophet receiving his prophecy directly from Him, blessed be He. For this reason, the title repeats so many times.
אֱמׇר־נָא אֶל־זְרֻבָּבֶל בֶּן־שַׁלְתִּיאֵל פַּחַת יְהוּדָה וְאֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן־יְהוֹצָדָק הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל וְאֶל־שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם לֵאמֹר׃ - Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Yehoshua the son of Yehotzadak, the Kohen Gadol, and to the remnant of the people, saying:
The message was delivered to three parties: to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, who was the "pechat Yehudah" (governor of Judah), to Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak the Kohen Gadol, and to the people themselves. This raises an obvious question: why was Zerubbabel mentioned before Yehoshua the Kohen Gadol, whose spiritual stature was seemingly greater? Ibn Ezra explains: Do not wonder at this, for honor is always accorded to monarchy above priesthood and prophecy. Thus you find Yehoshua mentioned before Calev, and similarly "after Saul and after Samuel" - Saul was the king and Samuel the prophet, yet the king is mentioned first because honor is accorded to royalty. So too, "whom David and Samuel... established" - David the king is mentioned first, followed by Samuel. Here as well, Zerubbabel is mentioned first because he was a descendant of Yehoyachin, of royal lineage.
Ibn Ezra adds that there is one exception: in Hashem's words regarding the spies, Calev appears before Yehoshua, even though Yehoshua was older than Calev. The reason is that a unique virtue was demonstrated by Calev - "And Calev silenced the people" - and Hashem therefore gave him precedence. Aside from that exception, however, in all other places precedence follows the rank of honor, and the honor of royalty comes first.
מִי בָכֶם הַנִּשְׁאָר אֲשֶׁר רָאָה אֶת־הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה בִּכְבוֹדוֹ הָרִאשׁוֹן וּמָה אַתֶּם רֹאִים אֹתוֹ עַתָּה הֲלוֹא כָמֹהוּ כְּאַיִן בְּעֵינֵיכֶם׃ - Who among you is left that saw this House in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Is it not in your eyes like nothing?
"Who among you is left" - who is still left among you from the time of the exile and the destruction of the First Temple. This refers to elderly people over eighty years old, as we are standing some seventy years after the destruction and the Babylonian exile, and even after the return began, the building did not commence immediately. The prophet says to them: whoever saw the House in its former glory, when he looks at the Second Temple standing before him - "is it not in your eyes like nothing?" You consider it as nothing, for it appears lowly both in its external physical appearance and in its sanctity, as five things were missing in the Second Temple.
This is what we find in the verses and in the Gemara, that when the House was being built, some were weeping while others were rejoicing. And why? Those who remembered the First Temple wept upon seeing this House, whereas those who had never known the First Temple - the younger generation - rejoiced that a Temple was being built.
וְעַתָּה חֲזַק זְרֻבָּבֶל נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה וַחֲזַק יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן־יְהוֹצָדָק הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל וַחֲזַק כׇּל־עַם הָאָרֶץ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה וַעֲשׂוּ כִּי־אֲנִי אִתְּכֶם נְאֻם יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת׃ אֶת־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־כָּרַתִּי אִתְּכֶם בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם וְרוּחִי עֹמֶדֶת בְּתוֹכְכֶם אַל־תִּירָאוּ׃ - Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel, says the Lord, and be strong, Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak the Kohen Gadol, and be strong, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and act, for I am with you, says the Lord of Hosts. According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, and My spirit abides among you, do not fear.
The prophet tells them: Why are you afraid? You have nothing to fear unless you lack resolve in serving Hashem; but if you strengthen yourselves in the service of Hashem, you need not fear anything. "And act... according to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt" - the words "for I am with you" are a parenthesis, and the meaning is: fulfill the words of the Torah and the mitzvot regarding which a covenant was forged between Me and you from the time of the Exodus from Egypt, as it is written there, "And he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people." And if you do so, the glory of this House will surpass the glory of the First House.
And why? "For I am with you," "and My spirit abides among you." The Holy One, blessed be He, says to them: I am with you now just as I was with you at the Exodus from Egypt. Yet all this is on condition that you are as you were then, that you observe the mitzvot and uphold the covenant as of old; then, truly, My spirit will abide among you, just as it did then. And even though the spirit does not awaken to perform overt miracles and wonders, know that it is within you - and that is the emphasis of "among you." You will not witness the splitting of the Red Sea here, as the Holy One, blessed be He, no longer performs overt miracles, but you will certainly see and sense the presence of Hashem within you, enduring, working, and exerting its influence.
כִּי כֹה אָמַר יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת עוֹד אַחַת מְעַט הִיא וַאֲנִי מַרְעִישׁ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְאֶת־הַיָּם וְאֶת־הֶחָרָבָה׃ - For so said the Lord of Hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
Rashi explains: When the kingdom of Persia comes to an end - under whose rule you currently live - one more empire will arise to rule over you and distress you, and its dominion will be brief; this is the meaning of "in a little while" ("it is brief"), that the duration of its rule will be short. "And I will shake the heavens and the earth" - through the miracles that were performed for the Hasmoneans. Then the nations will realize that My Shechinah rests in this House, and as a result, they will bring gifts of silver and gold, as recorded in Sefer Yosippon regarding what transpired after the miracles and the victory of the Hasmoneans over the Greeks.
The Malbim explains differently, as though reversing the word order: "it is a little; yet one more." That is to say, the spirit that currently abides among you is limited; it does not accomplish great wonders and creates no great commotion. Therefore, "yet one more" is needed - an additional infusion of spirit. And from where will this additional spirit come? From the people themselves, who will clothe themselves in a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of knowledge and fear of Hashem. And by having this spirit join with that initial spirit, it will generate a spirit of great commotion, through which Hashem will shake the heavens and the earth.
And what is the message? The Malbim explains that the metaphor here refers to the spirit of prophecy that has now returned, for they now have prophets upon their return to the Land, the last prophets who prophesy in the name of Hashem. But Hashem says: This is only a small measure. Do not think that because My spirit has returned it will persist and continue indefinitely; the generation is not yet worthy for prophecy to endure and for the Ruach HaKodesh to rest upon them permanently. Action is needed on your part; spirit is needed on your part. This initial spirit was granted from My side, but you must bring a spirit of your own. Your good deeds are what will cause Hashem to shake the heavens - meaning, to alter the natural order and perform signs and wonders in the heavens, in the sea, and on dry land - which signifies that the time of redemption will have arrived.
This is a major principle that we will see again later in the chapter: the potential for the complete redemption was placed within their hands. Had they altered their deeds, they could have reached the complete redemption already with the building of the Second Temple. Therefore He says: Yet one more is needed, just a bit more, and then I will cause My spirit to dwell fully within you, and you will witness signs and wonders in heaven, on earth, in the sea, and on dry land - the very things we hope and long will be realized in the ultimate redemption.
וְהִרְעַשְׁתִּי אֶת־כׇּל־הַגּוֹיִם וּבָאוּ חֶמְדַּת כׇּל־הַגּוֹיִם וּמִלֵּאתִי אֶת־הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה כָּבוֹד אָמַר יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת׃ - And I will shake all the nations, and the desirable things of all the nations shall come, and I will fill this House with glory, says the Lord of Hosts.
The Radak explains: "And I will shake all the nations" - I will put into their hearts to tremble from their places, and each one will be stirred and arise from his place to come and see the glory of this House, bringing with them silver and gold in honor of the House. And "the desirable things of all the nations shall come" means they will come with the desirable things of all the nations; that is, they will bring in their hands all the prized possessions they cherish: vessels of silver and gold, garments, and precious stones - everything that is prized by the nations they will bring in honor of the Beit HaMikdash.
Do not wonder why it is written chemdat (the desire of) rather than bechemdat (with the desire of), for Scripture frequently omits the prepositional prefix beit. (To clarify: a prepositional beit serves as a prefix meaning "in" or "with", unlike a root beit. In the word bayit [house], the letter beit is part of the root, whereas when one says bebayit [in a house], the first beit is the prepositional prefix and the second is the root letter.) We find similar examples: "and in a vision, and not in riddles" (Bamidbar 12:8), which is understood as though written u-vemar'eh; and likewise "all the silver found [in] the House of Hashem" (Melachim II 12:11), as though written beveit Hashem. So too here: "and the desire of all nations shall come" means they will come with the precious treasures of all nations.
The Malbim continues with his consistent approach: that the Jewish people had the opportunity before them to attain the complete Redemption. When that time arrives in which "I shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land" - which refers to the future Redemption - Hashem tells them that it is in their power right now to bring this about: that all the necessary signs preceding the future Redemption should come to pass. The nations would be shaken and gather here to wage the war of Gog and Magog, until ultimately they would bring the precious treasures of all the nations here as an offering to Hashem. And then, "and I will fill this House with glory" - the final House for which we yearn would be honored, great, exalted, and elevated, as it says, "And the mountain of the House of Hashem shall be established at the top of the mountains... and all nations shall stream to it." Everyone will come to see the glory of this House and bring offerings in it - they will not be coming for the American embassy, but for the House of Hashem in Jerusalem.
לִי הַכֶּסֶף וְלִי הַזָּהָב נְאֻם יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת׃ - "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold," says the Lord of Hosts.
The Radak explains: In whomever's hand the money currently rests - it belongs to Me. Do not think that if it is in your possession, it is truly yours. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: It is within My authority to take it from one person and give it to another, and therefore I will put it into the hearts of the nations to spend from their wealth and give it to the Beit HaMikdash.
גָּדוֹל יִהְיֶה כְּבוֹד הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה הָאַחֲרוֹן מִן־הָרִאשׁוֹן אָמַר יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת וּבַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה אֶתֵּן שָׁלוֹם נְאֻם יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת׃ - "The glory of this latter House shall be greater than that of the first," said the Lord of Hosts, "and in this place I will grant peace," says the Lord of Hosts.
The Malbim connects this verse to the preceding one: everyone will recognize that the silver and the gold all belong to Me, and consequently they will bring it to Jerusalem, to the true Owner, who is the Holy One, blessed be He. When it is universally recognized that everything belongs to Hashem, it will not be difficult for a person to give to the House of Hashem. After all, why is it difficult today for a person to take money out of his pocket? Because he feels that he is giving to the synagogue from his own property, giving to charity from what is his. But once he realizes that "Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold," he understands that he is giving back what is already His - "for from Your hand we have given to You." In the future, the nations will recognize and know that "Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold, says Hashem," and this will make it effortless for them to come and give to the Master of all, the Master of silver and gold.
Through this, "the glory of this latter House shall be greater than that of the first," meaning this House will truly be the final House. That is to say, in this prophecy Hashem expected them to act in such a manner that the Second Temple would become the eternal Temple, a House that would never again be destroyed. And "in this place I will grant peace" - there would be no baseless hatred among you. For what caused the destruction of the Second Temple was baseless hatred; instead of baseless hatred, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: In this place I will grant peace, there will be peace among you.
According to this, the Malbim explains, it turns out that everything we have seen up to this point was conditional: if an additional spirit of awakening comes from your side, and if you keep and fulfill the mitzvot of the covenant that I forged with you when I took you out of Egypt - then this House will indeed be the final House, a House followed by no other, and it will be greater than the First Temple, and all the prophetic destinies will be fulfilled: Gog and Magog, the complete Redemption, and history will reach its culmination right here.
However, the condition was not met. They did not keep the covenant of Hashem, and instead of "in this place I will grant peace" - quite the contrary, they brought strife into this place. Great disputes arose among them, and lawless factions and sects proliferated. Anyone who reads the history of that era finds Essenes, Sadducees, Boethusians, and Pharisees - the Pharisees being us, the traditional keepers of the mitzvot, while those who arose and disputed against them splintered into many sects; this is likewise evident from the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Qumran caves, showing they were fractured into numerous factions. This led to baseless hatred and alienation from one another, leaving no alternative but for all these prophecies to await the time of the end. They had the potential then for that to be the ultimate end, but because they did not prepare their spirit, they caused the redemption to be deferred for another two thousand years - and we pray that it will arrive swiftly in our days.
The Malbim further explains that the adjective "latter" applies to the glory, not to the House. That is to say: greater will be the latter glory of this House than the first glory. And why can this be said? Because the Malbim explains that the designation "House" applies to it even when it lies in ruins, and Scripture describes it as though it is standing. And the reason: the Second Temple was the beginning of the building of the Third Temple; it was meant to be the prelude to the Third Temple. Moreover, the sanctity was never nullified, and the Shechinah never moved from that place. Thus, the glory that this House will have at the end, when the Third Temple is built, will be greater than the glory it had at first, during the time of the Second Temple. If so, this is a future destiny for the End of Days.
Similarly, the Ibn Ezra quotes in the name of Rabbi Moshe that this prophet was prophesying about the Third Temple, and this entire prophecy refers to it. His proof: during the Second Temple era we did not see all the nations coming and bringing their treasures, so perforce the prophecy must be speaking about the Third Temple. However, the Ibn Ezra rejects this and says that this is not correct; rather, the prophecy was spoken about the Second Temple, and what is written, "and the precious things of all nations shall come," was said conditionally - had they been completely righteous, as Zechariah said: "And it shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey."
In the Gemara, Rav and Shmuel dispute this, and Rashi cites it: one says in structure - that the glory of the House in its construction would be greater than that of the First Temple; and one says in years. And indeed, the First Temple stood for four hundred and ten years, while the Second Temple stood for four hundred and twenty. A mnemonic for this is: "and fire fell down upon the earth" (va'esh titach artzah) - tav yud (410), tav chaf (420). Some bring an allusion from "pure olive oil beaten (katit) for the light," yet when you say "katit" you do not know which came first and which second, whereas when you say "titach" you know: tav-yud (410), tav-chaf (420). Thus, in practice, the Second Temple indeed stood for more years than the First Temple.
And according to the opinion that it refers to the structure - which building was more magnificent, Shlomo's or that of the Second Temple? One intentionally does not ask about the building constructed by Ezra and Nechemiah, which was undoubtedly lesser, as explicitly stated in the verses; rather, about the building constructed by Herod. There we find expressions among Chazal that it was an extraordinary edifice: "Whoever has not seen Herod's building has never seen a magnificent building in his life." And how do we know that this splendor was greater than Shlomo's? Because Rashi explains the Gemara's question, "What is it?" - which of the buildings: of Shlomo, of Nechemiah the son of Chachalyah, or of Herod who demolished and rebuilt it? And to this Abaye said: this is Herod's building. Thus, the most magnificent building ever seen was Herod's, even more than Shlomo's edifice.
The Sforno wrote similarly in Parashat Pekudei, that the wealth in Herod's building was greater than that of the First Temple. Radak wrote so as well in our passage, citing from Sefer Yosippon (Yosef ben Gurion) that regarding the building Herod constructed - never was there seen a building as fine and beautiful as it. This is also the plain meaning of the verse: "Greater will be the glory of this latter House than of the first" - its glory would be greater in that it would be more splendidly built and magnificent than the First Temple. In contrast, the Abarbanel disagrees, maintaining that Herod's building was not more beautiful than Shlomo's building, and this is also implied by the Maharsha, who holds that Shlomo's building was more magnificent. According to their view, the glory spoken of here is not the glory of external aesthetic beauty, for in terms of external beauty Shlomo's building was more magnificent.
There was room here for heretics to come and argue, and the Rashba already addressed this, as did commentators in later periods: How can you say that a Third Temple will be built, when the prophet writes explicitly "this latter House," and to which House does he refer as "latter"? To the Second Temple; if so, once it was destroyed, there is no other House!
The Rashba replies in his Responsa (Siman 187) that whoever asks this question does not understand the Holy Tongue. For in the Holy Tongue, there is an "acharon" (latter/last) followed by another "acharon." And not merely as a common idiom such as "the last is the most cherished," but in explicit Scripture: "And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after (acharonim), and Rachel and Yosef hindmost (acharonim)" - here are acharonim followed by yet another group of acharonim. A further proof: "And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe you, neither heed the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign (ha'ot ha'acharon)," and afterward: "And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither heed your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land... and it shall become blood upon the dry land." Here it is called "the latter sign," yet a third sign follows it. You learn that "acharon" does not necessarily denote finality; there can be an "acharon" after which comes another "acharon."
And very interesting is what the Chatam Sofer said in his childhood, when he was nine years old: that there is an allusion to this exposition in the verse. For the third sign was blood - taking from the water and pouring it upon dry land, becoming blood - and this is what is said: "And the blood shall be to you for a sign upon the houses": the blood, which is the third sign after "latter" was applied to the second sign, shall be to you for a sign regarding the "houses," the Batei HaMikdash - that there is a "latter House" followed by yet another latter one, which is the Third Temple.
Indeed, one should know that Herod's building was magnificent in the extreme. The Gemara relates that it had stones of an azure-blue hue resembling the sea, and that Herod wanted at a certain point to overlay the Beit HaMikdash with gold, but the Sages told him: Leave it as it is, for that is its beauty. Thus, it possessed such singular splendor that overlaying it with gold was considered, as it were, a demotion in stature.
Incidentally, Herod himself, according to historians, was mad - and not just mad, but obsessed with building. He left behind immense monumental structures here, executing projects in an utterly manic fashion. He had no qualms about squandering vast fortunes, nor about subjecting people to grueling forced labor, for he was exceptionally cruel. He built the Beit HaMikdash according to his own grand conception, and undoubtedly constructed an extraordinarily magnificent edifice, to the point that many maintain it was even more magnificent than the House built by Shlomo.
In this prophecy, Chagai came to encourage Zerubavel, Yehoshua the Kohen Gadol, and all the people, so that their hearts would not sink at the sight of the modest House compared to the First Temple. Hashem promises, "For I am with you" and "My spirit stands in your midst" - yet everything hinged on a condition: that they uphold the covenant forged at the Exodus from Egypt. The spirit granted by Hashem from His side was measured, and "one more" was needed - an additional spirit from the people themselves, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, knowledge and the fear of Hashem. Had they done so, the Second Temple would have truly become the ultimate House, followed by no destruction; all the nations would have brought their treasures to it out of the recognition that "Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold," and in place of baseless hatred, peace would have reigned. Yet the condition was not fulfilled; factions and dissension multiplied, baseless hatred intensified - and these prophesied destinies were deferred to the end of days. And as for anyone who claims from the word "the latter" that there will be no Third Temple, the Rashba and the Chasam Sofer answered: there can be a "latter" that is followed by yet another "latter" - and may it be Hashem's will that we merit it speedily in our days.