Chapter 9 in Ezra is a breaking point. Ezra arrived in the Land of Israel, organized the caravan, and established the Kohanim and Levi'im in their positions. Yet, a mere four months after their arrival, the most devastating news falls upon him: the holy seed has intermingled with the peoples of the lands. Ezra had been sent, as explained, in the role of a spiritual overseer, to teach the people Torah and establish the religious hierarchy. Consequently, when a spiritual issue arises, it is brought directly to him. The entire chapter describes his reaction: tearing his clothes, fasting, and ultimately a profound, piercing confession before the Holy One, blessed be He. Let us follow the sequence of verses according to the commentary of the Malbim.
The Fish Stinks from the Head
וּכְכַלּוֹת אֵלֶּה נִגְּשׁוּ אֵלַי הַשָּׂרִים לֵאמֹר: לֹא־נִבְדְּלוּ הָעָם יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם מֵעַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת כְּתֹעֲבֹתֵיהֶם, לַכְּנַעֲנִי הַחִתִּי הַפְּרִזִּי הַיְבוּסִי הָעַמֹּנִי הַמֹּאָבִי הַמִּצְרִי וְהָאֱמֹרִי. כִּי־נָשְׂאוּ מִבְּנֹתֵיהֶם לָהֶם וְלִבְנֵיהֶם, וְהִתְעָרְבוּ זֶרַע הַקֹּדֶשׁ בְּעַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת, וְיַד הַשָּׂרִים וְהַסְּגָנִים הָיְתָה בַּמַּעַל הַזֶּה רִאשׁוֹנָה. - "Now when these things were done, the officers approached me, saying: 'The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed has mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands; and the hand of the officers and prefects has been first in this unfaithfulness.'"
"Now when these things were done" - once this matter was concluded, merely four months after their arrival. The officers approach Ezra and inform him: there is no separation between Israel and the peoples of the lands. First, they act according to their abominations. Second, they have taken of their daughters for themselves and their sons, going out and marrying foreign women. And lest one think this was confined to the fringes of the camp, at the outskirts of the people, they add: "and the hand of the officers and prefects has been first in this unfaithfulness." Who started it all? The officers and dignitaries. As the popular saying goes: the fish begins to stink from the head. Here too, the trouble lies with the leadership, the prominent figures; the issue started with them, and the common people saw it and followed suit.
Tearing Clothes and Sitting Desolate
וּכְשָׁמְעִי אֶת־הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה, קָרַעְתִּי אֶת־בִּגְדִי וּמְעִילִי, וָאֶמְרְטָה מִשְּׂעַר רֹאשִׁי וּזְקָנִי, וָאֵשְׁבָה מְשׁוֹמֵם. - "And when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down desolate."
Ezra was shaken to the depths of his soul. He tore his inner garment and his outer robe as a sign of grief and mourning, plucked out hair from his head and beard as an expression of mourning as well, and sat "desolate" - that is, isolated and forlorn, like someone sitting in a barren wasteland.
וְאֵלַי יֵאָסְפוּ כֹּל חָרֵד בְּדִבְרֵי אֱלֹהֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל מַעַל הַגּוֹלָה, וַאֲנִי יֹשֵׁב מְשׁוֹמֵם עַד לְמִנְחַת הָעָרֶב. - "Then were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of them of the captivity; and I sat desolate until the evening offering."
People began gathering around him - anyone who feared and trembled over the betrayal of the exile, meaning anyone who felt the pain and distress just as Ezra did: How could it be that people from the nation of Israel went and mingled holy seed with the impure, with gentile nations of the world? How could such a thing have happened? They gathered around him, while he sat there forlorn, desolate, grieving and in deep mourning, until the evening offering.
וּבְמִנְחַת הָעֶרֶב קַמְתִּי מִתַּעֲנִיתִי, וּבְקָרְעִי בִגְדִי וּמְעִילִי, וָאֶכְרְעָה עַל־בִּרְכַּי וָאֶפְרְשָׂה כַפַּי אֶל־ה' אֱלֹהָי. - "And at the evening offering I arose from my fasting, with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto Hashem my God."
At the evening offering he arose from his fasting, already weakened from a full day of fasting, and then tore his clothes in full view of everyone. Why before everyone's eyes? So that they would rend their hearts. When they see the leader of the generation tearing his garments, when they see the leader of the generation falling to his knees, when they see the leader of the generation spreading out his palms to Hashem, they will comprehend and internalize the gravity of the iniquity and their deep culpability.
Shame and Humiliation: Two Types of Disgrace
וָאֹמְרָה: אֱלֹהַי, בֹּשְׁתִּי וְנִכְלַמְתִּי לְהָרִים אֱלֹהַי פָּנַי אֵלֶיךָ, כִּי עֲוֺנֹתֵינוּ רָבוּ לְמַעְלָה רֹאשׁ, וְאַשְׁמָתֵנוּ גָדְלָה עַד לַשָּׁמָיִם. - And I said: "O my God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have multiplied higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens."
What is the duplicate phrasing of "I am ashamed and humiliated" (boshti venikhlamti)? The Malbim explains: shame (boshet) is when a person feels ashamed within himself, whereas humiliation (kelimah) is when one feels ashamed before others. Sometimes a person does something and is ashamed within himself: "How could I have done such a thing?" At other times he feels no personal shame, but in the presence of others he is humiliated by them.
Therefore, the two parts of the verse correspond to these two concepts. Corresponding to "I am ashamed," where I am already ashamed of the act before myself, he says: "for our iniquities have multiplied higher than our heads." The word avon (iniquity) stems from the root of distortion (ivut) - a distortion of the intellect, where a person deviates from the straight path and acts contrary to reason and proper conduct. And where do reason and conduct reside? In the head. "Our iniquities have multiplied higher than our heads" - our distortion has already risen above the head, spreading outward, beyond the mind. That alone is reason enough to feel ashamed within oneself.
And corresponding to "and humiliated," which comes from others, he says: "and our guilt has grown up to the heavens." Guilt (ashmah) refers to liability to punishment - that which a person deserves to be punished for: "I am guilty of this and deserve punishment." Here there is humiliation before others, as others see before their eyes what iniquity lies within us and what punishment we deserve, and in this lies complete and overwhelming humiliation.
Historical Guilt: The Measure That Filled Up
מִימֵי אֲבֹתֵינוּ אֲנַחְנוּ בְּאַשְׁמָה גְדֹלָה עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה, וּבַעֲוֺנֹתֵינוּ נִתַּנּוּ אֲנַחְנוּ מְלָכֵינוּ כֹהֲנֵינוּ בְּיַד מַלְכֵי הָאֲרָצוֹת, בַּחֶרֶב בַּשְּׁבִי וּבַבִּזָּה וּבְבֹשֶׁת פָּנִים כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. - From the days of our fathers we have been in great guilt until this day, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests were delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, by sword, by captivity, by plunder, and by humiliation of face, as on this day.
Here Ezra begins to recount history. The liability to punishment does not stem merely from the present; we have been guilty since the time of our ancestors. In the days of our fathers the measure was filled, as they committed numerous acts that provoked Hashem - such as filling Jerusalem with bloodshed from end to end, and engaging in idolatry, forbidden relations, and murder. Already back then the measure was filled, and we became liable to punishment from Hashem "until this day" - meaning that to this day our measure remains full, and we still persist in those very iniquities.
And everything that befell us - that we, our kings, and our priests were delivered into the hands of foreign kings by the sword, in captivity, in plunder, and in humiliation - all of this was due to our iniquities, strictly in accordance with what we deserved. According to strict justice and the punishment due, the time for the ultimate redemption had not yet arrived, for our iniquities had not yet been atoned for, and we should rightfully have continued to suffer.
A Pardon Before Its Time
וְעַתָּה כִּמְעַט־רֶגַע הָיְתָה תְחִנָּה מֵאֵת ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ, לְהַשְׁאִיר לָנוּ פְּלֵיטָה וְלָתֶת־לָנוּ יָתֵד בִּמְקוֹם קָדְשׁוֹ, לְהָאִיר עֵינֵינוּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וּלְתִתֵּנוּ מִחְיָה מְעַט בְּעַבְדֻתֵנוּ. - And now, for a brief moment, there was grace from Hashem our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a foothold in His holy place, to enlighten our eyes, our God, and to grant us a little revival in our servitude.
"For a brief moment" - for a short while, the Holy One, Blessed is He, granted us a pardon. And a pardon, we must understand, is not granted according to strict justice, but beyond the letter of the law. If someone was sentenced to 150 years in prison and sought a pardon, reducing his sentence by fifty years, that is a pardon. So too here: Hashem gave us what we did not deserve, for according to our sins we ought to have remained even to this day in the hands of the kings of the lands, facing sword, captivity, plunder, and humiliation, and even today we would not have been worthy of redemption.
Why, then, for the time being, "for a brief moment," did we merit this pardon? The verse outlines four reasons. First, "to leave us a remnant," for had we remained in exile, we would have been completely wiped out and nothing would have remained of us. Second, "and to give us a foothold in His holy place," enabling us to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash and establish our dwelling in the Land. Third, "to enlighten our eyes," for until now we walked in darkness - "who walks in darkness and has no light" - and now, seeing the redemption, the drawing near to Hashem, the light of Hashem upon us, and the pardon He grants us, that itself will enlighten our eyes and lead us to walk in Hashem's path, making us worthy that His wrath be turned away from us. And fourth, "and to grant us a little revival in our servitude," so that we might experience some success while in our Land, even though we are still in servitude and have not yet achieved true redemption, remaining under the rule of Cyrus. Imagine a person doing backbreaking labor, and someone comes and directs a fan toward him. That is "a little relief": you have not exempted him from the labor, but at least he has some comfort and can now work more easily. So too here, Hashem brought us out to grant us a little revival in our servitude, even though we are indeed still in exile.
כִּי־עֲבָדִים אֲנַחְנוּ, וּבְעַבְדֻתֵנוּ לֹא עֲזָבָנוּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, וַיַּט־עָלֵינוּ חֶסֶד לִפְנֵי מַלְכֵי פָרַס לָתֶת־לָנוּ מִחְיָה, לְרוֹמֵם אֶת־בֵּית אֱלֹהֵינוּ וּלְהַעֲמִיד אֶת־חָרְבֹתָיו, וְלָתֶת־לָנוּ גָדֵר בִּיהוּדָה וּבִירוּשָׁלָיִם. - For we are slaves; yet in our servitude our God has not forsaken us, but has extended kindness to us before the kings of Persia, granting us a revival to exalt the House of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
Here he explains: we are not yet in the complete redemption, for we are still subjects to the kings of Persia, and this redemption comes by way of a divine pardon from Hashem. This is a "minor redemption": even though we are subjects of the Persian king and under his authority, at the very least the Holy One, blessed be He, has not forsaken us. He extended kindness to us before the kings of Persia to grant us a livelihood, and to exalt the House of our God. Furthermore, "to restore its ruins" - to establish the building so that it would not be destroyed by the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin. After all, we saw earlier how they came and tried to halt the construction, and indeed, for eighteen years the building of the Temple ceased. Yet behold, Hashem aided and assisted us.
And what is "and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem"? That He helped us remain separate from the surrounding nations, so that they could not harass us or prevent us from building the Beit HaMikdash. Behold, He granted us a governor of our own, while they had their own governors and ministers, just as He appointed Zerubbabel over us. Through this, a fence and a barrier were created between us and them. And how did all this come about? Through Hashem's kindness toward us.
What Shall We Say After All This
וְעַתָּה מַה־נֹּאמַר אֱלֹהֵינוּ אַחֲרֵי־זֹאת, כִּי עָזַבְנוּ מִצְוֺתֶיךָ. - And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments.
Now, when the redemption is not yet complete and earlier iniquities have not yet been cleansed, the entire purpose of this redemption, as explained, was that through the abundance and light with which Hashem illuminates His face toward us, we would strengthen ourselves and merit the ultimate redemption. As discussed regarding Sefer Daniel, the building of the Second Temple was intended to be only the prelude, after which the dispersed of Israel would assemble and a third Temple built of fire would descend. This was a "minor redemption", for we were still subjects of idolatrous monarchs. But regrettably, we failed this test, and the third and final redemption was postponed until the redeemer arrives, and we still do not know when that will be.
As it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: "I see that if I leave you in exile a little longer, nothing will remain of you; you will assimilate among the nations, and the Jewish people will be lost entirely. Very well, let Me bring you out, give you an early pardon, and see how you conduct yourselves." And Hashem took us out with an early pardon, yet we repeat the very same mistakes and continue along the same path of ruin. What an iniquity, and what immense guilt, reaching up to the heavens!
Therefore, "what shall we say, our God" - what pretext or excuse do we have after all the kindness You bestowed upon us, even though we were unworthy? After we had sinned and required atonement, and You, in Your abundant mercy, brought us out prematurely, what can we say now that we have done the exact opposite? Not only did we fail to rectify our past failings, but we added new ones by intermarrying with the peoples of the lands.
An Impure Land and the Prohibition of Intermarriage
אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָ בְּיַד עֲבָדֶיךָ הַנְּבִיאִים לֵאמֹר: הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם בָּאִים לְרִשְׁתָּהּ אֶרֶץ נִדָּה הִיא בְּנִדַּת עַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת, בְּתוֹעֲבֹתֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר מִלְאוּהָ מִפֶּה אֶל־פֶּה בְּטֻמְאָתָם. - Which You commanded by the hand of Your servants the prophets, saying: 'The land that you are entering to possess is an impure land through the impurity of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations with which they have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness.'
וְעַתָּה בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם אַל־תִּתְּנוּ לִבְנֵיהֶם וּבְנֹתֵיהֶם אַל־תִּשְׂאוּ לִבְנֵיכֶם, וְלֹא־תִדְרְשׁוּ שְׁלֹמָם וְטוֹבָתָם עַד־עוֹלָם, לְמַעַן תֶּחֶזְקוּ וַאֲכַלְתֶּם אֶת־טוּב הָאָרֶץ וְהוֹרַשְׁתֶּם לִבְנֵיכֶם עַד־עוֹלָם. - Now therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, nor ever seek their peace or their welfare, so that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.'
What shall we do now? For this is the very land concerning which the Holy One, blessed be He, constantly warned, "You shall not do according to the deeds of the land of Canaan." The nations who dwelt here were the Canaanites, and with them the iniquity of the Amorite was fulfilled; they practiced every abomination here, engaging in forbidden relationships, licentiousness, and depravity, carrying immense sins and idolatry. Hashem expelled them from here because of this, brought us here, and warned us not to cling to their deeds.
And He warned us: Do not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, and even "never seek their peace or their prosperity." Why this as well? Because if peace begins to develop between you, you will associate with him, drink a cup of wine with him, friendship will form, he will invite you to his meal, and through this you will ultimately give your daughter to his son and take his daughter for your son, leading you to assimilate among them. But if you maintain this barrier between yourselves and the nations, then "so that you may be strong and eat the good of the land," and you are promised all the goodness of the land, "and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever" - the land will be an eternal inheritance for you, and you will never be exiled from it.
And behold, this land had become "an impure land through the impurity of the peoples of the lands," tainted and abhorrent from the sins they committed, "they filled it from end to end [literally: from mouth to mouth]." And what does "from mouth to mouth" mean? What does it mean when the verse says, "He filled Jerusalem with blood from mouth to mouth," or when an auditorium is filled from mouth to mouth? The explanation is: from entrance to entrance. A "mouth" (peh) is an opening or entrance, and "from mouth to mouth" means the hall was packed from one entrance to the other. So too, the land was filled from mouth to mouth - as it were, from this entrance of the land to that entrance of the land, the entire land was completely full.
You Held Back Below Our Iniquities: Discounted Rates
וְאַחֲרֵי כָּל־הַבָּא עָלֵינוּ בְּמַעֲשֵׂינוּ הָרָעִים וּבְאַשְׁמָתֵנוּ הַגְּדֹלָה, כִּי אַתָּה אֱלֹהֵינוּ חָשַׂכְתָּ לְמַטָּה מֵעֲוֺנֵנוּ וְנָתַתָּה לָּנוּ פְּלֵיטָה כָּזֹאת. - And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, for You, our God, have withheld punishment, holding back below what our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant.
After all that has come upon us, after all the misfortune we suffered as a result of our evil deeds - our exile from the land, the sword, death, and how much hardship we endured. Seemingly, when someone speaks this way, it sounds as though he is lodging a complaint and saying: "After all our sins, You struck us with such harsh blows," which would be, as it were, a disparagement of the Creator of the World. Therefore, he immediately adds and emphasizes two points. First, "for our evil deeds and for our great guilt" - we deserved it, it was entirely just. And second, "for You, our God, have withheld punishment below our iniquities" - in Your mercy, You gave us far less than what we had coming to us. You did not collect the full tariff from us for every single sin, but rather collected at discounted rates, far below what our iniquities warranted.
And through this, "and You have given us such a remnant." For had You dealt with us strictly according to our iniquities, what would have remained of us? No remnant would have survived at all. But since You gave us less than what was due according to our sins, we consequently survived as a remnant.
"Would You Not Be Angry with Us Until Destruction?"
הֲנָשׁוּב לְהָפֵר מִצְוֺתֶיךָ וּלְהִתְחַתֵּן בְּעַמֵּי הַתֹּעֵבוֹת הָאֵלֶּה, הֲלוֹא תֶאֱנַף־בָּנוּ עַד־כַּלֵּה לְאֵין שְׁאֵרִית וּפְלֵיטָה. - Shall we return to break Your commandments and intermarry with these abominable peoples? Would You not be angry with us until destruction, leaving no remnant or survivor?
If now, after all Your mercies and acts of kindness that were bestowed upon us, we return to anger You, to violate Your commandments and intermarry with these abominable peoples, such a thing would surely provoke the greatest wrath. The Malbim consistently explains the distinction among the various expressions of anger and wrath: the term hit'anef denotes anger unto total destruction. The root anaf always signifies the ultimate extremity, reaching the very end where something is finished completely. "And Hashem was angry (hit'anef) with me" - it is final, there is no recourse, you will not enter the Land under any circumstances. So too here: "Would You not be angry (te'enaf) with us until destruction?" In such a state, it would be a wrath of utter annihilation, not a partial wrath that leaves a remnant behind, but rather "leaving no remnant or survivor." And why? Because we have already repeated the sin. We were granted another chance, and we returned to our former ways.
You Are Righteous: Beyond the Letter of the Law
ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל צַדִּיק אַתָּה, כִּי־נִשְׁאַרְנוּ פְלֵיטָה כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. הִנְנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ בְּאַשְׁמָתֵינוּ, כִּי אֵין לַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶיךָ עַל־זֹאת. - Hashem, God of Israel, You are righteous, for we remain a remnant as of this day. Here we are before You in our guilt, for no one can stand before You because of this.
What does the word tzaddik mean here? Tzaddik denotes acting lifnim mishurat hadin, beyond the strict letter of the law. Where do we see this? "Hashem performed tzedakah with us" - what is tzedakah? Beyond the letter of the law: you do not deserve it, yet I give it to you. Whenever tzedek or tzedakah is used in reference to Hashem's conduct toward us, it means acting beyond the strict requirement of justice. Therefore, "You are righteous (tzaddik ata)" means: You treated us far more leniently than we deserved; You acted with us beyond the strict letter of the law.
And this applies both to the past and to the future. Regarding the past: "for we are left as a remnant this day" - You gave us a punishment far lighter than what we deserved, as mentioned earlier, "You withheld [punishment] below our iniquity," and it is all in the merit of Your righteousness. And regarding the future: if You become angry with us, no remnant will remain of us, since we now carry an additional guilt, and we cannot endure in our guilt. "Behold, we are before You in our guilt, for none can stand before You because of this." And if, despite this, You continue to sustain us this day, while we are still acting contrary to Your will, this itself demonstrates Your righteousness, Master of the Universe. You, Hashem, are the righteous One, and we, through our deeds, have acted wickedly.
In summary: Ezra hears that the people, headed by the officers and leaders, have intermingled with the peoples of the lands, and his response is tearing his clothes, plucking out his hair, fasting, and sitting desolate, culminating in a public confession designed to rend the hearts of the people. In his confession, he distinguishes between bushah (shame within oneself, over the iniquity [avon], the distortion of the intellect that has risen above our heads) and kelimah (disgrace before others, over the guilt [ashmah], the liability to punishment that has mounted to the heavens). He lays out the historical perspective: from the days of our fathers the measure of sin was full, and the entire exile was strictly deserved; even the release from exile did not come as a matter of strict justice, but as an early reprieve - to leave a remnant, to grant a secure peg in His holy place, to enlighten our eyes, and to grant a little revival in our servitude. This entire opportunity was granted so that we would improve our deeds and become worthy; if we now turn back to break the commandments and intermarry with these abominable peoples, it will provoke a wrath of total destruction, leaving no remnant or survivor. Above all, Ezra proclaims: "Hashem, God of Israel, You are righteous" - everything is beyond the letter of the law, while we have acted wickedly. Through this, Ezra came to confess before Hashem and thereby overturn the reality in which many of Israel had married foreign women.