Chapter 5 of Daniel opens with a scene of intoxication with power: Belshazzar king of Babylon makes a massive feast for a thousand of his nobles, and out of pride and drunkenness commands that the vessels of the Beis HaMikdash be brought so they may drink from them. On that very night, the mysterious inscription is written on the wall, which no one knows how to read or decipher. We will follow the order of the verses, explain them according to the Malbim, and add the teachings of Chazal and the commentators.
בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר מַלְכָּא עֲבַד לְחֶם רַב לְרַבְרְבָנוֹהִי אֲלַף וְלׇקֳבֵל אַלְפָּא חַמְרָא שָׁתֵה׃ - Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and drank wine before the thousand.
King Belshazzar made a great feast for "a thousand of his nobles" - for a thousand of his officers. "And drank wine corresponding to the thousand": according to Rashi, which is essentially the explanation of Chazal, he drank wine equivalent to all his men - just as much as all of them drank combined, so did he drink by himself. He drank wine against a thousand men.
Rashi states that he was the son of Nevuchadnetzar, and reigned after Evil-Merodach, who was also a son of Nevuchadnetzar. Chazal relate that during the period when Nevuchadnetzar's heart was transformed into that of a beast and he was driven from his kingdom, Evil-Merodach arose and ruled in his place. Later, when Nevuchadnetzar returned, he cast him into prison - for ruling while he was still alive was tantamount to rebellion. And when Nevuchadnetzar finally died, it is recorded that Evil-Merodach came, removed his corpse from the grave, and dragged his bones. About this it is said of him in the Prophet, "And you were cast out of your grave like a rejected sprout" - he was cast out from his grave, which was part of the punishment he deserved. Evil-Merodach also did this to ensure that this time his father was completely dead and could never return. For on previous occasions he had vanished and no one knew what had become of him, only for it to emerge that he was merely missing, and behold, he returned. Therefore, he wanted to verify that he would never return again.
It is stated in Chazal, and also appears in the Book of Josippon, that Belshazzar went to war against Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian, defeated them in battle, and put them to flight. He therefore made a feast to rejoice over the victory. Yet on the very day he held the feast, the enemies returned, attacked the city, and conquered it. We are still at the stage of the feast, before the enemies' return.
Another reason cited by Chazal: Belshazzar calculated that the Jewish people, who had gone into exile from their land, were destined to return after seventy years, as promised in the prophecy of Yirmiyahu - "seventy years for the ruins of Jerusalem." According to his calculations, seventy years had already elapsed and they had not been redeemed. Chazal explain at length where Belshazzar's error lay and why seventy years had not truly passed and the time for redemption had not yet arrived. But he was certain: seventy years have passed and they have not been redeemed - from now on, they are firmly in my hands. This is what led him to the insolent acts we will see further on.
According to the Malbim, "and drank wine before the thousand" means that he drank wine in front of his thousand ministers and dignitaries. At first, Scripture states that he made a great feast for all his dignitaries, and then it adds that he drank wine before them. The custom of kings was not to drink wine in front of the people or the nobles, but rather in a private chamber. Here, he apparently wished to show them: See, I am with you at eye level, not retreating into a corner of my own to drink - and therefore he drank together with them, to demonstrate closeness to them.
בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר אֲמַר בִּטְעֵם חַמְרָא לְהַיְתָיָה לְמָאנֵי דַּהֲבָא וְכַסְפָּא דִּי הַנְפֵּק נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר אֲבוּהִי מִן הֵיכְלָא דִּי בִירוּשְׁלֶם וְיִשְׁתּוֹן בְּהוֹן מַלְכָּא וְרַבְרְבָנוֹהִי שֵׁגְלָתֵהּ וּלְחֵנָתֵהּ׃ - Belshazzar, while tasting the wine, commanded to bring the vessels of gold and silver that Nevuchadnetzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem, that the king and his nobles, his consorts and his concubines, might drink from them.
"Under the influence of wine" (b'ta'am chamra) - at the counsel of wine. Since he was intoxicated; and if he was drinking in front of all his nobles, he was certainly thoroughly drunk. He demanded to bring the vessels of silver and gold that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem. As we noted, according to Rashi, Nebuchadnezzar was Belshazzar's father, which would mean Belshazzar was the brother of Evil-merodach. Yet there is another opinion in Chazal that Belshazzar was the third generation from Nebuchadnezzar - the son of Evil-merodach and the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. According to this view, there is no difficulty with the phrase "Nebuchadnezzar his father," for a grandfather is also sometimes referred to as a father. "Shegalteh" refers to the queen, as in the verses, "the queen [shegal] stands at your right hand" and "and the queen [hashegal] was sitting beside him." "Ulechenateh" refers to the king's other wives and concubines.
The Malbim explains: What did he intend to demonstrate through this? Prophecy had foretold that the Babylonian Empire would fall, and that following this, Israel would return to their land. Now seventy years had elapsed and this had not occurred - which meant, in his eyes, that the Babylonian Empire would endure. Therefore, he declared: I no longer have anything to fear from the God of the Hebrews; there is no longer any reason to dread the God of Israel. Bring all the vessels of the Temple in Jerusalem!
Let us take note: in the following verse it states, "the temple of the house of God that was in Jerusalem" (heichla di veit Elaha di viYerushlem), whereas here he speaks casually of "the temple in Jerusalem" (heichla di viYerushlem). The Malbim explains that there were several transgressions involved here. First, he refused to refer to it as the House of God at all: to him it was merely a hall, an ordinary palace in Jerusalem. There is no such God, no such power - for they claimed He would redeem His people, yet seventy years passed and He did not redeem them. There was deliberate contempt in this, treating it as if it were a mundane hall of commoners.
Furthermore: he ordered that both the silver vessels and the gold vessels be brought. The gold vessels were the more precious ones, the innermost sacred utensils used for the inner service, whereas the vessels of the Temple that were not used for the inner service were made of silver. He was effectively saying: To me, it is all the same - silver or gold, inner or outer, it makes no difference. Bring everything; there is no Mikdash, no Temple, no God, and I fear nothing.
Beyond this, present at this feast were the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines - another transgression that will be detailed in the next verse.
The Malbim notes: even in ancient times, the accepted norm among the nations was not to desecrate the sanctities of any people. Every nation had its own holy objects and faith, an understood freedom of worship and religion - let each believe as they wish, and even if you do not share that belief, do not desecrate it. Therefore, Scripture emphasizes that what he did was "under the influence of wine" (b'ta'am chamra): only through the counsel of wine could he commit such folly, for this was an act unacceptable even by the standard protocols of the gentiles in those days.
בֵּאדַיִן הַיְתִיו מָאנֵי דַהֲבָא דִּי הַנְפִּקוּ מִן הֵיכְלָא דִּי בֵית אֱלָהָא דִּי בִירוּשְׁלֶם וְאִשְׁתִּיו בְּהוֹן מַלְכָּא וְרַבְרְבָנוֹהִי שֵׁגְלָתֵהּ וּלְחֵנָתֵהּ׃ - Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.
Then they brought before him the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple of the House of God in Jerusalem. The ministers and servants did not follow the king's open contempt and scorn for the House of Hashem. When they went to bring the vessels, they brought them with awe and respect, knowing that this hall was the House of God and that these were vessels taken from it. Notice, therefore, what they brought: "golden vessels" alone - only the gold vessels that had been used in the service before Hashem, in order to praise their idolatry with them for supposedly prevailing over God. That is, they believed that God exists, but they maintained that their idols had overpowered Him and emerged victorious.
The additional sacrilege: the king, his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. Royal wives customarily celebrated in a more private, inner banquet in the women's quarters - as we find in Megillat Esther with the banquet Vashti made for the women separately. Yet he brought them into the main hall and had them drink from these vessels, the sacred utensils of the Beit HaMikdash. Not only did he bring the women into the men's gathering, breaching the standards of decency accepted even among gentiles, but he also had them drink from the holy vessels, not limiting it to his ministers - and in this, there was great disrespect and wrath.
אִשְׁתִּיו חַמְרָא וְשַׁבַּחוּ לֵאלָהֵי דַּהֲבָא וְכַסְפָּא נְחָשָׁא פַרְזְלָא אָעָא וְאַבְנָא׃ - They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
The fourth sacrilege was that they drank wine from them. Drinking wine is a far greater offense than drinking any other beverage, as it is said, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is riotous." Wine releases all inhibitions, opening the door to mockery, idle talk, and frivolous banter. Thus, the text tells us that he was not content merely to serve an ordinary drink in these vessels; he specifically served wine, which leads to much greater levity, ridicule, and contempt toward the service of Hashem. And the fifth sacrilege: they began to praise the gods of gold and silver, as if the idols had triumphed over the Almighty.
בַּהּ שַׁעֲתָה נְפַקָה אֶצְבְּעָן דִּי יַד אֱנָשׁ וְכָתְבָן לׇקֳבֵל נֶבְרַשְׁתָּא עַל גִּירָא דִּי כְתַל הֵיכְלָא דִּי מַלְכָּא וּמַלְכָּא חָזֵה פַּס יְדָא דִּי כָתְבָה׃ - At that moment, fingers of a human hand emerged and wrote opposite the lampstand upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the palm of the hand that wrote.
At that moment, fingers of a human hand came forth and wrote opposite the chandelier - the candelabrum holding the lamps. "Upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace" - on the whitewashed upper part of the wall of the royal hall. "And the king saw the palm of the hand that wrote" - the king saw the forearm or the hand, the limb from the elbow to the fingertips, or perhaps even from the shoulder down. Initially, the verse states that fingers were seen, and afterward it says that the king saw the hand. And why does it mention only "the king" here?
The Malbim explains: The Navi is making sure we do not mistakenly think this vision was a mere illusion, a mirage, or a play of light and shadow that led him astray. First, everyone saw the fingers emerge and write - could they all have been mistaken? That is extremely difficult to accept. Second, it occurred opposite the chandelier, directly in front of the strong light. Had there merely been a flickering candle in the corner casting shadows on the wall, one might argue that someone moved their hand and made it appear as though a hand were writing - an illusion. But here it was directly opposite the light, in the most brilliantly illuminated spot, ruling out any trick of light and shadow.
Third, it was on the plaster of the palace wall: the lower part of the wall was bare stone, while the upper section was plastered, and that was where the writing appeared. It could not have been someone standing below performing a trick unnoticed - it was high up on the wall, completely out of reach. Fourth, Belshazzar's vision differed from that of the other nobles: all the ministers saw only the fingers, whereas the king saw the entire hand and arm. How could it be that he saw something different from everyone else? It is clear, then, that this was a miraculous, supernatural sight. When everyone is looking at the same scene, yet one person sees something beyond what the others see, it indicates that a higher power intended to show him something exclusive. All these details combined ensured that Belshazzar could have no doubt about what he was seeing, making it unmistakably clear that this was an authentic revelation.
אֱדַיִן מַלְכָּא זִיוֺהִי שְׁנוֹהִי וְרַעְיֹנֹהִי יְבַהֲלוּנֵּהּ וְקִטְרֵי חַרְצֵהּ מִשְׁתָּרַיִן וְאַרְכֻבָּתֵהּ דָּא לְדָא נָקְשָׁן׃ - Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts terrified him; the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees knocked one against the other.
The sight indeed took its toll. "His countenance changed" - his appearance altered. "His thoughts terrified him" - alarmed by what was unfolding. "The joints of his loins were loosed" - his belt came undone and his body went limp. "His knees knocked one against the other" - his knees began knocking together, just as a trembling person shakes uncontrollably. All of this stemmed from sheer dread.
This terror teaches that the vision was real. As Chazal say regarding a person who is suddenly seized by fright: "Even though he does not see, his heavenly counterpart sees." Why does such fear suddenly take hold? Evidently, the soul senses that something is happening in the spiritual realms. As noted in the work *B'Mishnat HaChalomot*, this is one of the hallmarks of a true dream: when a person is suddenly gripped by fear and dread, waking up distraught and heavy-hearted - such fear indicates that something profound is taking place. Otherwise, why the intense dread? A person dreams many dreams without being affected by them. If the spirit is deeply agitated - as with Pharaoh ("and his spirit was agitated"), with Nevuchadnezzar ("and his spirit was agitated"), and here with Belshazzar, where it impacts him in such an extreme manner - it is a clear sign that the soul perceives far more than the conscious mind can grasp.
There was another extraordinary aspect here: his belt loosened and came undone on its own. In those days, people practiced divination and relied on numerous omens to decide whether or not to take action. For instance, if a warrior could not locate his sword, it was taken as a sign that he would fail in battle; if a black cat crossed his path, it portended a bad day; if a morsel of bread fell from his mouth, it meant his livelihood was lost - bread symbolizing livelihood - especially if it fell jelly-side down. And so on with many such superstitions practiced by the Amorites and other diviners and soothsayers. One must understand that such practices are strictly forbidden according to Halachah, and one may not believe in them - but this was the worldview of the pagan nations.
The belt symbolizes strength, as in the phrase, "Gird your loins like a man." When one wants to express that a person is seized by strength, he ties his belt - just as Eliyahu, before running before Achav, girded his loins and tied his belt. Here, Belshazzar saw that his belt had opened on its own: a sign of weakness, a sign that he was vulnerable to misfortune. All these things added further to the dread and fear that had already gripped him.
קָרֵא מַלְכָּא בְּחַיִל לְהֶעָלָה לְאָשְׁפַיָּא כַּשְׂדָּאֵי וְגָזְרַיָּא עָנֵה מַלְכָּא וְאָמַר לְחַכִּימֵי בָבֶל דִּי כׇל אֱנָשׁ דִּי יִקְרֵה כְּתָבָה דְנָה וּפִשְׁרֵהּ יְחַוִּנַּנִי אַרְגְּוָנָא יִלְבַּשׁ וְהַמְנִיכָא דִי דַהֲבָא עַל צַוְּארֵהּ וְתַלְתִּי בְמַלְכוּתָא יִשְׁלַט׃ - The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing and reveals its interpretation to me shall be clothed in purple, wear a gold chain around his neck, and rule as third in the kingdom."
The king entered into severe distress, and only this explains why he offered such lavish rewards to whoever could solve the riddle. There was writing on the wall, and no one knew what it was or what it meant. Therefore, the king called "aloud" (literally, with force) to bring in all the specialists mentioned earlier: the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers - those who supposedly had access to lower spiritual entities, who claimed to know the decrees that were determined.
The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read the writing and make known its interpretation - note that there are two unknown elements here: first, reading the script, and second, interpreting what was read. First decipher what is written, and then explain what it means. Whoever succeeds at both, "shall be clothed in purple" - he will wear royal purple garments, and a golden chain will be placed around his neck, an honor reserved only for the highest ministers closest to the king. "And rule as third in the kingdom" - that he will rule over a third of the kingdom; and some explain: I will make him third to the king - there is the king, there is the viceroy, and there is the third ruler in the kingdom.
From all this we understand that he realized the solution was not simple at all. Had he thought the solution was easy, he would have told them: whoever fails to solve it, I will execute, just as his grandfather had done. Rather, he too recognized that the solution here was extraordinarily difficult, and therefore he did not want to destroy all the wise men. For who knows how to read writing inscribed by angels? This is not something that is meant to be easily understood.
אֱדַיִן עָלִּין כֹּל חַכִּימֵי מַלְכָּא וְלָא כָהֲלִין כְּתָבָא לְמִקְרֵא וּפִשְׁרֵהּ לְהוֹדָעָה לְמַלְכָּא׃ - Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could neither read the writing nor make its interpretation known to the king.
Then all the king's wise men whom he had summoned came in, and they were able neither to read the script nor to make its interpretation known to the king. There are two distinct challenges here. Sometimes a person might be able to read the script but not know its meaning - give someone a foreign word, and he might be able to read the letters without knowing what it means. And the reverse is also possible: they might discern the meaning without deciphering the script, for these Chaldeans might have claimed to know the message through methods of sorcery, divination, and astrology, even if they could not read the letters themselves. Scripture comes and tells us that these self-styled sages could neither read the script nor understand the message - lest one think they succeeded in at least one of these tasks.
אֱדַיִן מַלְכָּא בֵלְשַׁאצַּר שַׂגִּיא מִתְבָּהַל וְזִיוֺהִי שָׁנַיִן עֲלוֹהִי וְרַבְרְבָנוֹהִי מִשְׁתַּבְּשִׁין׃ - Then King Belshazzar was greatly terrified, his facial complexion changed upon him, and his nobles were thrown into confusion.
This agitated him even further. Not only was the phenomenon itself terrifying, but there was also no one to offer a solution. "His facial complexion changed upon him" - his color changed again; and it had already been said earlier, "his facial complexion changed," meaning a change upon a change: if he looked bad before, he now looked far worse. "And his nobles were thrown into confusion" - his ministers and dignitaries were completely bewildered and did not know what to do.
First, until now he still held hope that someone would decipher the riddle. If they do not know, it implies the riddle has no answer. As long as there is hope that someone somewhere knows, a person remains somewhat composed; but when that hope also evaporates, the panic intensifies.
Second, he concluded that since they were unable to solve it, this was likely not some minor earthly message from the celestial princes and angels governing the lower realm of the world, but a message originating from the supreme God who directs the great affairs of the world - for such was their worldview. The Chaldeans, soothsayers, and sorcerers knew what took place among the lower powers, spirits, and sublunary forces, but they had no access to the supreme God. If so, this was something monumental: not some minor personal misfortune, but a catastrophic calamity looming on the horizon - and this agitated him all the more.
Thirdly, when a decree is issued and a person is informed of what it is, it is a sign that there is hope for rectification. Therefore, he is told: the decree is such-and-such, and then he begins to reflect and understand why it happened, and he makes amends. But when there is a terrible decree and you do not know what it is, that is what is called waiting for the absolute worst. First of all, the very uncertainty casts a terror far greater than knowledge itself. Furthermore, the very fact that he was not told indicates that there is no possibility of rectification, and whatever he does will not help - the decree will inevitably come to pass. This was an additional reason for his panic.
Belshazzar, through a mistaken calculation of the seventy years and in wine-fueled drunkenness, breached every boundary: he desecrated the Beit HaMikdash with his speech, mixed the vessels of silver and gold, brought his wives and concubines into the banquet, drank wine from the sacred vessels, and praised the gods of gold and silver. Immediately at that moment, a hand emerged and wrote upon the wall of the palace. Every detail of the vision - that everyone saw it, that it was opposite the light, high up on the wall, and that the king saw more of it than anyone else - precluded any possibility of dismissing it as an illusion. The terror that gripped him, and the loosening of his loins, attested that his soul sensed what his intellect had not yet grasped. And when all the wise men of Babylon were unable either to read it or to interpret it, Belshazzar understood that this was a message from the Supreme God, a momentous decree beyond repair - and therefore his panic increased sevenfold.