"Therefore I will return and take away My grain in its time, and My wine in its season, and I will rescue My wool and My flax that were to cover her nakedness." Therefore, Hashem says, it is incumbent upon Me to act in a way that proves to them that all the good and bad they experience or benefit from does not stem from the celestial order (the ma'arechet), but from Me. They are convinced that whether good or bad befalls them, it is due to the system - the celestial configurations, the stars, and the constellations. I will prove to them that this is not so. Therefore, Hashem says, I will perform actions that make it blatantly clear that everything is guided by Divine Providence (hashgachah). Until now, when Hashem withheld rain from falling, they thought, "This is not from Hashem; according to the celestial alignment, it is simply not meant to rain. It is not from Hashem." Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I will take steps that make Hashem's guidance undeniable. How? After all, if You withhold rain, they say it is due to the celestial order; if You bring rain back, they say it is due to the celestial order! What action could You possibly take that would make them say, "This is from Hashem," and not attribute it to the stars? The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: On the contrary! I will give rain, and the land will yield its produce. What does that prove? That according to the celestial order, your state is primed to receive good. For according to natural astrological cycles - just like a person who visits an astrologer and is told, "I see the stars are aligned against you, you are going through a bad period," or the opposite - the alignment is either against you or in your favor. Says the Holy One, Blessed be He: Naturally speaking, the celestial alignment will show that things are in their favor. Look, rain is falling, the land is yielding its bounty. But when the time of harvest arrives, what do I do? I take it away. I take it away! Now, if the celestial alignment had been against you, the rain would not have fallen in the first place. And if the alignment is in your favor, why was it taken from you? It is not the celestial order; it is Me. I gave, and I took away. This is what He means: "Therefore I will return and take away My grain in its time." I will provide the grain, but "in its time" - precisely when it is ready to be harvested - I will take it away. "And My wine in its season" - when the time comes to harvest the grapes, I will take them away. "And I will rescue My wool and My flax that were to cover her nakedness" - I will take the wool and flax that I gave her; I will strip them from her. Then she will realize that this does not come from the celestial alignment. For if the alignment gave it, why was it suddenly taken away? It was taken away because I took it! Through this, they will realize that attributing everything to the celestial order was a total mistake, and that everything is directed by Divine Providence from Him, Blessed be He.
The wheat grows, the stalks are full and beautiful. Notice: only when the wheat is one step away from harvest, the Holy One, Blessed be He, says, "I will return and take away My grain in its time." Just as the grain reaches completion, I will take it back. Then they will be forced to conclude that this is exclusively from Hashem. For if you say it is from the celestial order, on the contrary, we were riding high! Rain was falling, the wheat was growing, everything was flourishing wonderfully. What suddenly happened now? Blight! The wheat cannot be harvested; a mysterious plague struck everything. What happened? On the contrary, the stars were in our favor! When they see how everything was proceeding smoothly and then, at the very last moment, "I will take away the grain," says the Holy One, Blessed be He, it will become obvious to them that this is not from the celestial alignment, but a tribulation sent by Divine Providence. Likewise, Hashem says, "And I will rescue My wool and My flax." The same applies: after the wool and flax are fully produced and ready to cover her nakedness, the Holy One, Blessed be He, says, I will snatch them from her hand. Then they will see: How can this be? If everything was going well, why did something suddenly go wrong? It is by Providence! She will then see that even those she regarded as her lovers - as seen earlier, the stars, the constellations, and the natural order that seemed to always aid her - cannot help her or save her from Hashem's hand, because at the very last moment, Hashem takes it all. This is what the next verse states: "And now I will uncover her disgrace before the eyes of her lovers, and no one shall save her from My hand." I will expose her disgrace before the eyes of her lovers - meaning that even though her lovers (the celestial mechanisms) are seemingly with her, looking favorably upon her and assisting her, I will nonetheless strip her bare and uncover her nakedness. Then it will be clear that this is by Hashem's power. For if it were by the power of the celestial alignment, and the alignment is on our side, why does it not help us? The alignment seemed to be in our favor: look, our situation was good, there was grain, wine, oil, rain, everything was blossoming and thriving! So what happened that at the final moment it became impossible to harvest the crops or receive the wool and flax? The Holy One, Blessed be He, will take it all. Through this, she will realize that there is no power that can stand against Hashem, and the celestial order has no power to give anything unless the Holy One, Blessed be He, gives it; they cannot benefit her at all, for everything is entirely from Him, Blessed be He.
The Malbim points out: notice that it is written, "I will return and take away My grain in its time (be'ito) and My wine in its season (bemo'ado)." As is well known, according to the Malbim, there is no such thing as mere repetition of an idea in different words for poetic flair; no such thing exists in Tanach. If it says "in its time" (be'ito), there is a precise reason, and if it says "in its season" (bemo'ado), there is a precise reason. What is the fundamental difference? The Malbim explains that there is a difference between et (time) and mo'ed (an appointed season or date). An et is a natural time. The natural time has arrived, as in: "and behold, your time (iteich) was the time of love." An et is the natural, developmental time. A mo'ed, on the other hand, is an agreed-upon, designated time. What is a mo'ed? For example, when two people designate a meeting: "Can two walk together unless they have met (no'adu)?" That means there is a mo'ed - an agreed appointment. An agreement means that both parties settled on a specific time; that is called a mo'ed. In contrast, an et is something that arrives according to the natural course of things, such as the natural season for a tree to bear its fruit. That is an et, not a mo'ed, because one did not set a calendar appointment with the tree. The Malbim explains how beautifully this fits: grain is always harvested the moment the wheat reaches full maturity. It has a fixed natural time (et); as soon as its growth is complete, it is reaped. Grapes, on the other hand, are not always harvested at the moment they ripen. Sometimes they are left on the vine longer to mature further and absorb more sun, making them more suitable for wine or allowing winemakers to produce specific types and grades of wine, as vintners understand. This means that with the vine, man designates the appointment (mo'ed) for when to harvest, whereas grain has a fixed natural time (et) when it is cut. Therefore, the verse says: "I will return and take away My grain in its time (be'ito)" - its natural harvest time; and "My wine in its season (bemo'ado)" - according to the appointed time set by the owner, I will take it away at that designated time.
The Malbim further notes the wording: "and take away (velakachti) My grain in its time... and I will rescue (vehintzalti) My wool and My flax." What is the difference between "taking" (lekichah) and "rescuing" or snatching (hatzalah)? "Taking" refers to something that has not yet reached your possession; one can say, "I took it." You came to take it, but I took it before you could. That is, it was headed your way, but before it reached your hands, I took it. In contrast, "rescuing" (vehintzalti) always implies something that has already reached you and is in your possession, and I snatch it out of your hands. Therefore, regarding grain, it says: "I will take away (velakachti) My grain in its time" - before you even harvest it, I will strike it with blight. But regarding "My wool and My flax," which are already in your possession - the wool and linen have already been gathered - the Holy One, Blessed be He, says: "I will rescue" (vehintzalti). Rescuing applies once it is already in your hands, and I extract it from your grasp. This is like the verse: "And God took away (vayatzel) the livestock of your father and gave them to me" - because they were already in your father's hands, and Hashem rescued them from their grasp. Similarly, "and they despoiled (vayanetzelu) Egypt" - the wealth was already in the hands of the Egyptians, and it was taken from them.
"And now I will uncover her disgrace before the eyes of her lovers, and no one shall save her from My hand." And now, the Radak explains, I will uncover her ugliness and her evil deeds; they will be exposed. When I hide My face from her, they will be laid bare before the eyes of her lovers. "Before the eyes of her lovers" means, as the Malbim explained, that the stars and constellations will not be able to assist her or save her. The Radak's father explains that "before the eyes of her lovers" refers to the sun, as they worshipped the sun; thus, in full view of the sun, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will uncover her disgrace. "And no one shall save her from My hand": Rashi cites the Chazal teaching that the merit of the Patriarchs (zechut avot) had run out, and therefore even this will not serve to rescue her from My hand. The Malbim explains that the phrase "before the eyes of her lovers" applies to the entire statement: "I will return and take away My grain in its time, My wine in its season, and I will rescue My wool and My flax... I will uncover her disgrace" - all of these will occur before the eyes of her lovers. That is, her lovers - the stars and constellations - will be utterly powerless to prevent Me from taking away the grain and the wine. Everything will take place before their very eyes, and from this she is meant to draw the correct conclusion: they possess no independent power, and everything is governed solely by Divine Providence from Hashem.
"And I will cause all her mirth to cease, her feast day, her New Moon, her Shabbat, and all her appointed festivals." Furthermore, I will put an end to all her joy. Her mirth refers to the festivals and New Moons, which are times of gladness and celebration. During those times, they would celebrate in honor of idols, believing it to be an auspicious time when the stars bestow favor and blessing. As is well known, many ancient month names were pagan in origin, because people believed a particular deity governed that month and worshipped it accordingly. They even had rituals based on days: it is recorded that they had 365 types of deities corresponding to the 365 days of the year, with a specific idol designated for each day. But there were also festivals - times when they believed the celestial bodies had to be worshipped so they would channel bounty and blessing. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I will abolish these festivals of hers; I will put an end to these days, turning them into times of distress and darkness. This will serve as yet another sign that their welfare and happiness do not depend on the celestial system, but solely on Hashem. For look how Hashem changes the times and arranges the heavenly bodies as He wills! According to astrological worship, if you serve a star during its designated festival, at the height of its power, yet it fails to bestow any good upon you, Hashem says: this proves there is Divine Providence at work. "And I will cause all her mirth to cease, her feast day, her New Moon, her Shabbat, and all her appointed festivals." As explained elsewhere at length, this was also the significance of the Exodus from Egypt occurring on the fifteenth of Nisan. The Egyptians worshipped the ram (Aries), whose season is the month of Nisan, the sign of the ram. They worshipped it and believed: this is the time when we draw strength from our deity, and the God of the Hebrews will certainly have no power over us. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: When is the power of that constellation at its absolute zenith? On the fifteenth of the month, when the moon is full! It was precisely on the fifteenth of Nisan, at the peak of Aries' dominance, that the Children of Israel left Egypt - demonstrating the complete nullity of their gods and proving that everything is governed by absolute Providence. The same applies here: "And I will cause all her mirth to cease" - specifically on the holidays you celebrate for idolatry, the rejoicing will be halted. Through this, you will see that everything is guided by Divine Providence, and that Hashem changes the seasons; neither time nor the stars determine anything, but solely His will, Blessed be He. The Malbim explains the distinction between "her feast day" (chagah) and "her appointed festival" (mo'adah), New Moon, and Shabbat: chagah refers to the festivals when peace-offerings (shalmei chagigah) are brought in abundance; that is what defines a chag. In contrast, Chanukah, for instance, is not technically called a chag, even though colloquial songs refer to Chanukah and Purim as holidays ("Purim is a great holiday for the Jews"). These rabbinic days are not chagim in the biblical sense, because the concept of a chagigah offering does not apply to them. Similarly, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are not called a chag in the Torah, because shalmei chagigah were not offered on them (though by extension, Tehillim refers to Rosh Hashanah as "on our feast day [le'yom chageinu]," as Chazal expound). Appointed festivals (mo'adim), however, are fixed calendar dates, even if shalmei chagigah are not offered on them. Furthermore, a chag can also refer to a non-fixed occasion: if a person sets aside a day to bring offerings to Hashem, it can be called a chag, as in: "Tomorrow is a festival (chag) to Hashem." The offering of sacrifices expresses the essence of chagigah. This is in addition to mo'adah: not only the mo'ed, which is a predetermined calendar date, but even the chag, an occasion set spontaneously according to one's desire to offer sacrifices, will likewise be brought to an end.
"And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said: 'They are my pay that my lovers have given me'; and I will make them into a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them." A third consequence, says the Malbim: not only will Hashem withhold the land's produce, He will also turn the land into a wasteland and destroy even the choicest fruit-bearing trees - the grapevine and the fig tree. "And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees" - the Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I will desolate even the trees themselves. And why? "Of which she said: 'They are my pay (etnah) that my lovers have given me.'" The commentators explain that etnah means payment, like etnan zonah - the fee a paramour gives a harlot as her wage. Here she says, "They are my pay that my lovers have given me." What was she convinced of? That if she has vines and fig trees, they came from her lovers! And who are her lovers? The stars and constellations. Since she attributes this bounty to her lovers - to the Ba'alim, to idolatry, and to the astrological forces - she acts like a harlot who insolently takes the dowry her husband gave her and declares, "I received this from my lovers!" The husband bought her a diamond ring, and she flaunts it, saying, "This is from my lover," Heaven forbid! "I gave it to you, and you give credit to someone else? I gave you vines and fig trees, and you say it is from the stars? 'What good stars we have, what abundance they bestow upon us' - you say it came from lovers?!" Therefore, Hashem says: "I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees" - I will desolate these fruit-bearing trees, "and I will make them into a forest." What is a forest? A forest is a place where wild animals congregate, where fine fruit cannot grow because the beasts of the field destroy it. What is the deeper meaning (nimshal)? "And I will make them into a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them" - wild beasts will invade. Who are these beasts of the field? The Malbim explains that they represent the savage nations settled there by Sanncheriv (Sennacherib); they will consume the vine and the fig tree. What does this signify? The Malbim explains that after she said, "I will go and return to my first husband," indicating a faint spark of repentance had begun to awaken, this refers to the era of Hoshea ben Elah. Hoshea ben Elah removed the guards (the border checkpoints), as learned in Sefer Melachim; he abolished the sentries Yeravam ben Nevat had stationed to prevent the people from going up to Jerusalem. Yet the Holy One, Blessed be He, saw that their repentance was still incomplete. Their hearts were still attached to idolatry; they merely assumed that when things went wrong, it was because the stars were against them, failing to recognize that it was all from Hashem. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, brought the king of Assyria upon them to lay waste the land - this is the aspect of "and I will make them into a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them." They will become like a forest where the beast of the field - Sennacherib and Assyria with their savage hordes - will come, devour, and consume the people who believed their prosperity came from the stars rather than from Hashem.
Incidentally, as explained elsewhere regarding Sefer Melachim, why did the retribution strike precisely when Hoshea ben Elah abolished the checkpoints? After all, a positive step had been taken - the barriers were removed, so why did punishment strike then? Chazal explain that as long as the checkpoints were in place, if anyone asked the people, "Why do you not go up for the pilgrimage festivals?" they could answer, "What are you talking about? Yeravam posted armed guards; anyone who goes up will be shot or stoned! It is impossible, a bullet to the head - do you expect me to commit suicide?" Then Hoshea ben Elah arrived and removed the checkpoints. Now, why do you not make the pilgrimage? There was no longer any excuse! What appeared to be a virtuous act by Hoshea ben Elah actually turned into an accusation against them. By removing the checkpoints, he created a severe heavenly prosecution: look, there are no guards, yet they still do not go up! Why did they not go up? Because they were already deeply entrenched in sin; after hundreds of years of idolatry across generations, they had completely forgotten the entire concept of the pilgrimage. This triggered a severe prosecution against them. The Malbim explains that their repentance was fundamentally incomplete; they only turned toward Hashem because they felt the astrological tides were against them and had no other choice.
"And I will visit upon her the days of the Ba'alim, to which she burned incense, when she adorned herself with her earrings and her jewelry and went after her lovers, and forgot Me, says Hashem." The Malbim explains: in the end, when Hashem sees that all the measures designed to make them realize that everything comes from Him and is guided by Divine Providence have failed - for the rule is, "One who wishes to err may come and err." A mistake is never accidental; when a person wants to err, he will find plenty of reasons to justify it. Here, too, because they were unwilling to see the truth, everything the Holy One, Blessed be He, did to prove it to them fell on deaf ears. In such a state, there is no choice: "And I will visit upon her the days of the Ba'alim, to which she burned incense" - meaning, I will punish her corresponding to all the days she burned incense to the Ba'alim. Despite all this, they did not repent or mend their ways. Not only that, but: "when she adorned herself with her earrings and her jewelry and went after her lovers, and forgot Me, says Hashem." She goes and puts on her earrings and jewelry - ornaments and perfumes. She is compared to a harlot whose husband stripped off all her garments, as the Malbim explains, and took away all her jewelry to keep her from chasing promiscuity, leaving her with just a single earring or necklace; yet with that solitary ornament, she adorns herself to pursue her lovers! Hashem says: Look at what she does, even after all I did to her. When Hashem punished them in the days of Hoshea ben Elah and the king of Assyria stripped them of everything, they still did not return to Hashem. What did they do instead? They sent emissaries to So, king of Egypt, pleading, "Come and help us!" They continued serving idols, claiming, "Ever since we ceased burning incense to the queen of heaven, we have experienced only ruin." See how all the afflictions and the stripping of her garments did not deter her; with the meager remnants left to her, she went out to greet her lovers! "And forgot Me" - instead of returning to Hashem Who smites her, she sought help from foreign nations and salvation from alien gods. Thus, says Hashem, there is no choice but to bring the decree of devastation upon her.
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her into the wilderness, and speak to her heart." The Malbim explains that the prophet continues the parable of the harlot whose husband sees that all his efforts to separate her from her paramours have failed. He therefore allures her away from populated areas, where her illicit lovers dwell, and leads her into the wilderness. There in the wilderness, she will find no one with whom to stray, and she will be united exclusively with her husband. Hashem says: and there I will speak to her heart to restore her to My love - "and speak to her heart." This corresponds to the verse in Yechezkel: "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face." That refers to the exiles, where they were scattered into the "wilderness of the nations." Why is it called a wilderness if they are among nations? The Malbim explains: they are like people in a desolate desert. Even though we dwell among the nations, they do not draw us close; on the contrary, they alienate and persecute us. The Jewish people are left hungry, thirsty, and surrounded by snakes and scorpions - the nations acting as venomous serpents oppressing them. In that sense, being among the nations is even worse than a physical desert, for we are relentlessly persecuted. And there it is written: "And I will bring you into the bond of the covenant" - meaning that Hashem will lead her into the desert, just as they were under Hashem's direct Providence during the Exodus from Egypt. "And I will bring you into the bond of the covenant" means that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will, as it were, renew that ancient covenant with us.
"And I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt." "And I will give her her vineyards from there" - meaning the vineyards He took from them, as described in "and I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees," He will restore from there. What does this mean? The Malbim explains that this portrays the future state when the Holy One, Blessed be He, will renew our days as of old, when the Jewish people will return to their former closeness to God. She will return to her first husband, and Hashem will love the Jewish people just as during their youth. What is the parable? It is like their departure from Egypt, which was the time of the wedding. At that wedding, we experienced immense closeness to God. But afterward, like a straying wife, the Jewish people corrupted their ways and turned after foreign gods. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I will bring them back to the place of the chuppah and kiddushin - that is, to the conditions of their departure from Egypt, when they were in the desert, received the Torah, acquired faith, and witnessed Hashem's direct Providence. There, no illicit lovers are present - meaning the influence of astrological and natural forces is absent. In the desolate, howling wasteland, nature provides neither bread, nor water, nor vine, nor fig. If vines and figs nonetheless flourish for her in the wilderness, it will inevitably lead her to the conclusion that everything is guided by Divine Providence from Hashem. This is why He says: Only I will give her her vineyards, her sustenance, and her needs. For in exile, according to the celestial alignment and nature, they ought to be utterly destitute and bereft of all good. What is exile? Exile means the celestial forces are aligned against you; you are in a state devoid of abundance, hounded and persecuted. Naturally, there should be neither prosperity, nor vines, nor figs, nor anything of the sort. Yet the Holy One, Blessed be He, took pity on us even there in exile, fulfilling: "And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly." This is truly wondrous: anyone who contemplates Jewish history marvels at how the Jewish people managed to survive all the exiles and remain a nation. Naturally, every nation exiled among other peoples assimilated and vanished forever. Yet the Jewish people, cast among the nations in a state that should have been catastrophic according to natural odds, not only survived and endured, but in many places thrived, producing ministers and leaders in government - such as during the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry, or in European Jewry before the terrible horrors of the Holocaust. There were times when it was unmistakable that only through Hashem's Providence did He have mercy on them and grant them abundance, even though naturally they should never have experienced such prosperity. What do we see from this? That everything is guided by Hashem's Providence! Thus the Malbim explains: "And I will give her her vineyards from there" - precisely there, in exile, she will see that their abundance is directly from Hashem. Furthermore, the Malbim notes on a deeper level, this alludes to spiritual vineyards - Torah and faith. In Shir HaShirim, the vineyard ("Solomon had a vineyard," "my own vineyard I have not kept") represents the service of Hashem and its spiritual dimensions. For Torah is compared to wine, and the vineyard is where Torah is cultivated - as in the "Vineyard of Yavneh," the seat of the Sages. The vineyard symbolizes the acquisition of wisdom and spiritual, soulful attainments. The same applies here: "And I will give her her vineyards" refers to spiritual emanations - Torah and emunah. By all natural accounts, the Jewish people should have lost their faith long ago in exile. Yet even in exile, they gave their lives for the sanctification of Hashem's Name (kiddush Hashem) - thousands during the massacres of Tach veTat (1648-1649), millions during the Spanish Inquisition, and throughout history. We witnessed extraordinary self-sacrifice. Thus, not only did they receive physical "vineyards" in exile contrary to nature, but also spiritual vineyards - positive spiritual influences ensuring they would never lose their spirituality, granted through Divine assistance (siyata diShmaya) in exile. Until finally, "and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope": at the end of the exile, the harshness of the subjugation will be lifted in the End of Days, and what was once the Valley of Achor (Emek Achor) will become a doorway of hope (petach tikvah). What is the Valley of Achor? As the commentators and the Malbim explain, Achor is familiar from the story of Achan: "Why have you troubled us (achartanu)? Hashem shall trouble you this day," and the place was named the Valley of Achor. The site where judgment was executed upon Achan and where he was stoned for violating the ban (cherem) will become a door of hope. Chazal teach that for Achan himself, while the place was one of trouble, did it ultimately yield good or bad? Yehoshua said to him: "Hashem shall trouble you this day" - from which Chazal derive: on this day you are troubled, but you are not troubled in the World to Come! Achan received a share in the World to Come. Yehoshua told him to give glory and confess to Hashem regarding what he took from the cherem, thereby meriting a portion in the World to Come; he confessed, and indeed acquired his portion. Thus, a place that was a valley of trouble (emek achor) for Achan became a doorway of hope, granting him hope for eternal life and a portion in the World to Come. Here, too, this serves as a parable: the exile is a valley of trouble, but just as with Achan it transformed into a door of hope, so too the exile, despite being an emek achor, will become a doorway of hope for the future. They will find favor and grace in all their places of exile, and will begin anticipating the Redemption. "And she shall sing there as in the days of her youth" - what does this mean? The Malbim explains: the miracles performed for them in ancient times ("I remember for you the kindness of your youth... your following Me into the wilderness") will be renewed. They will experience miracles like those during the conquest of the Land and the building of the Beit HaMikdash in the days of Shlomo. "And as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt" refers to the miracles wrought for them in Egypt and at the Yam Suf, as it is written: "As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt, I will show him marvelous things." Thus, what was once the Valley of Achor will turn into a door of hope. "And she shall sing (ve'anetah) there as in the days of her youth" - the Malbim explains that ve'anetah means they will sing, as in "And Miriam answered (vata'an) them" (which Chazal interpret as song). They will sing and give thanks to Hashem as in the days of their youth, just as they sang praise to Hashem upon leaving Egypt - "Then sang Moshe and the Children of Israel" - so too are we destined to sing when the Valley of Achor transforms into a doorway of hope, when the Holy One, Blessed be He, returns and redeems us.