Introduction: From Chapter 1 to Chapter 2
Chapter 2 of Nechemya is a direct continuation of the end of Chapter 1. As is well known, the division into chapters is not a Jewish division but a Christian one. Therefore, the verse that opens our chapter connects directly to the conclusion of the previous verse: "For I was cupbearer to the king" - and its continuation here is "wine was before him." That is, with what did I serve the king to drink? Wine. And "mashkeh" (cupbearer / server) is used in two senses: both as the title of the position and as the action itself, like an iron and one who irons. Nechemya held the position of the king's royal cupbearer, and he would actively pour and serve him drink.
"And I Had Not Been Sad in His Presence" - A Cheerful Demeanor in the Royal Palace
וַיְהִי בְּחֹדֶשׁ נִיסָן שְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא הַמֶּלֶךְ יַיִן לְפָנָיו, וָאֶשָּׂא אֶת הַיַּיִן וָאֶתְּנָה לַמֶּלֶךְ, וְלֹא הָיִיתִי רַע לְפָנָיו. - And it came to pass in the month of Nissan, in the twentieth year of King Artachshasta, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king; and I had never been sad in his presence.
The king was always strict that his servants should not appear before him with a gloomy expression. First of all, it is unpleasant to see a sullen face; it is not appealing. People like to see others with a smile on their faces. Once, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter was walking and saw a man with a sullen countenance. He said to him: "You are an open pit in the public domain." What is an open pit in the public domain? A hazard, into which anyone passing by falls. So he said to him: Anyone who looks at you becomes depressed - you are literally a hazard causing damage to others. A person must walk around with a radiant countenance, so that whoever sees him feels an enthusiasm for life, rather than becoming depressed.
And if a person has troubles and is suffering from various difficulties, their place is in the "batei gavai," in the innermost chambers, as the Gemara says: "My soul shall weep in secret places." Outwardly, however, one must show people a cheerful and joyful countenance. This is the meaning of "and his teeth white with milk" - greater is one who shows the whiteness of his teeth (smiles) to his fellow than one who gives him milk to drink. There is no need for teeth-whitening treatments; the very fact that you smile at him and show him your white teeth causes his own teeth to whiten in a smile, and that is more precious than giving him milk to drink.
The king also had another reason to be strict: when a servant appears before him with a sullen face, there is room to suspect that he harbors ill will, that he is displeased with his master, and that perhaps he is plotting something - such as poisoning his drink and the like. Nechemya knew that it was the king's nature to be exacting about this, and therefore he was always careful to appear before him with a pleasant demeanor, and of this he testifies: "and I had never been sad in his presence."
The King Notices - Even Though He Tried to Conceal It
וַיֹּאמֶר לִי הַמֶּלֶךְ מַדּוּעַ פָּנֶיךָ רָעִים וְאַתָּה אֵינְךָ חוֹלֶה, אֵין זֶה כִּי אִם רֹעַ לֵב, וָאִירָא הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד. - The king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not ill? This is nothing but sorrow of heart." Then I was exceedingly afraid.
Even though Nechemya tried very hard to project outwardly that he was cheerful and content in the king's presence, the king had keen discernment and succeeded in noticing it on his face. The Malbim explains two possibilities: It is possible that the signs of fasting were evident upon him, for he had fasted for several days and his appearance had darkened, so that anyone looking at him could see that his countenance was not as it had been before. Alternatively, this occurred through divine providence (Hashgachah Pratit) from Hashem, so that the king would wonder and ask, thereby opening the door for the king himself to help him carry out his plan.
"Then I was exceedingly afraid" - when the king asked, "Seeing you are not ill, this is nothing but sorrow of heart," Nechemya feared that the king suspected him of plotting some evil against him, and would consequently execute him or send to torture him to extract why his face was so troubled. He became terrified, and a great dread fell upon him.
The Difficulty in the Verses and Rashi's Interpretation
It is worthwhile to understand the difficulty here: there is an apparent contradiction between verse 1 and verse 2. In verse 1 it says, "and I had not been sad before him," yet in verse 2 the king says to him, "Why is your face sad?" According to the Malbim, the simple meaning is that Nechemya tried very hard not to look sad in his presence, but the king noticed anyway. Rashi explains differently: "and I had not been sad before him" refers to the past - whenever I appeared before him, I was never sad-faced; I was always smiling and appeared in good spirits. Precisely for this reason, when I came today with a sad countenance, the king immediately noticed the difference. For until today it had never been so - so why suddenly today is my face sad? According to Rashi, he indeed came today looking visibly dejected, and "I had not been sad before him" is a description of all the preceding days.
"The Cemetery of My Ancestors" - Knowing Which Chords to Strike
וָאֹמַר לַמֶּלֶךְ הַמֶּלֶךְ לְעוֹלָם יִחְיֶה, מַדּוּעַ לֹא יֵרְעוּ פָנַי אֲשֶׁר הָעִיר בֵּית קִבְרוֹת אֲבֹתַי חֲרֵבָה וּשְׁעָרֶיהָ אֻכְּלוּ בָאֵשׁ. - And I said to the king: May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors' graves, lies desolate, and its gates are consumed by fire?
Nechemya does not attempt to hide it, nor does he deny it. He tells the king: My face is sad for a genuine reason, not Heaven forbid out of any malice toward the king, but because of something that pains my heart - that the cemetery of my ancestors, which is Jerusalem, lies desolate, and its gates have been consumed by fire.
The Malbim asks: Is the cemetery truly what concerns you? Speak of the Beit HaMikdash, speak of the breach in the city walls, speak of your Jewish brethren who are suffering - why suddenly "the cemetery of my ancestors"? Rather, Nechemya knew which chords to strike. He knew that the Persians attached great importance to their ancestral burial sites, guarding and maintaining them; to them, a gravesite was of paramount importance, even more important than the plight of a living people. Therefore, when he came to explain what was paining his heart, he deliberately chose this phrasing - in order to strike the exact chord that would resonate pleasantly with the king.
"So I Prayed to the God of Heaven" - The Righteous Speak to the Above
וַיֹּאמֶר לִי הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל מַה זֶּה אַתָּה מְבַקֵּשׁ, וָאֶתְפַּלֵּל אֶל אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם. - Then the king said to me: What is it that you request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Here too there is a difficulty: the king asks, "What is it that you request?" and the details of the request should have followed immediately - yet instead, it is written, "So I prayed to the God of heaven." Are you speaking with the king or praying to the God of heaven? The answer is not at all obvious. Therefore Rashi explains: Nechemya answered the king and said to him - My lord the king, this is what I requested today from Hashem: may it be the will of the God of heaven that He open your heart to grant my petition and request. This was the answer he gave the king.
The Malbim explains: "What is it that you request?" means - what specific thing are you asking for? Do you wish to renovate your ancestors' graves, or to rebuild the entire city? Would you like me to send a contracting firm, or will you go to build it yourself? The king wanted to know precisely what the request entailed. To this Nechemya says, "So I prayed to the God of heaven" - within the answer I gave to the king, my intention was in fact directed toward the Creator of the world, that He grant me favor before the king and accept my petition and request.
And this is a fundamental principle: the way of the tzaddikim is that even though they appear to be operating here in this world, their real focus is not here at all; rather, all their action is in the higher realms. The tzaddikim know that battles are not decided here and decrees are not determined here - everything is determined from Above. And if matters are settled Above, they cascade downward and resolve themselves below on their own. We saw this similarly in the Book of Daniel, who saw the guardian angel of Persia entering, appearing like a bear, and understood that there was no one to help him against it - for the ministering angels are in Heaven, and the battles are waged in Heaven. What we actually see here is like a developed photograph: the negative is already up there. The tzaddikim act at the source. This is analogous to a person standing before a clerk, and the clerk says: Sir, this is the law, I am sorry. Instead of arguing with him, he asks to speak to the department head - because the clerk merely executes what he was told, whereas with the department head things can change; that is where action can be taken.
So it is with the tzaddikim: when they conduct a dialogue, it appears as though they are speaking to the person standing in front of them, but in reality they are speaking to the Creator of the world. Thus we find with Esther: when Achashverosh asked, "Who is he and where is he whose heart has emboldened him to do so?" she pointed and said, "An adversary and an enemy" - referring to Achashverosh himself, until an angel came and deflected her hand, and then she said, "this wicked Haman." Was she suicidal? This was a golden opportunity, he could revoke the letters, so why would she point at him? Rather, when she heard "Who is he and where is he" and came to recount her plight, "for we have been sold, I and my people," she knew that the matter did not depend on this earthly realm; Achashverosh was merely a puppet, and she was speaking to the Holy One, Blessed be He. She said: Master of the Universe, this is the man who sold us, this Achashverosh. And then she recalled that she was also in this world, and that one must act on the earthly plane as well - and an angel came and deflected her hand toward Haman.
And another example is found with Daniel: when Nevuchadnezzar recounted to him his terrible dream, how he would be driven away from his kingdom for seven years and dwell like the beasts of the field, Daniel said to him, "May the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies" (chelma lesan'ach ufisreh le'arach). But Nevuchadnezzar was a corrupt villain, the destroyer of the Beit HaMikdash, and his haters and enemies were the people of Israel! He should have said: What a dream you had; may Hashem fulfill it quickly, Amen, may it be His will - or at least remained silent. Rather, Daniel was speaking here to the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, let this dream apply to Your haters, and its interpretation to Your enemies - and the hater and enemy is Nevuchadnezzar himself, so apply the interpretation to him. And Nevuchadnezzar felt comforted, because he thought Daniel was speaking to him - precisely because Daniel was not speaking to him at all, but to Hashem. The tzaddikim are always before Hashem: "I shall walk before Hashem in the lands of the living" - here, while still alive, and not only after one hundred and twenty years.
The Request - To the "King" on High
וָאֹמַר לַמֶּלֶךְ אִם עַל הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב וְאִם יִיטַב עַבְדְּךָ לְפָנֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁלָחֵנִי אֶל יְהוּדָה אֶל עִיר קִבְרוֹת אֲבֹתַי וְאֶבְנֶנָּה. - And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it."
To whom is he speaking? To the Holy One, blessed be He. "And I said to the king" - to the King of the Universe. This is in the manner that Chazal expounded regarding Megillat Esther, that an unspecified mention of "the king" alludes to the King of the Universe, as in, "And Esther said, 'If it pleases the king... let it be granted tomorrow also'" - meaning that all her requests were directed to Hashem, and Achashverosh was merely an instrument. So too here: Master of the Universe, if it please the King, if this matter is good before You, and if Your servant finds favor in Your sight - that I should be the messenger - send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it. This was also the answer to the king's question: I asked to rebuild the entire city, and I asked that I myself be the one to go and build it.
"And the Queen Was Sitting Beside Him" - Esther's Hand
וַיֹּאמֶר לִי הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהַשֵּׁגַל יוֹשֶׁבֶת אֶצְלוֹ עַד מָתַי יִהְיֶה מַהֲלָכְךָ וּמָתַי תָּשׁוּב, וַיִּיטַב לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיִּשְׁלָחֵנִי וָאֶתְּנָה לוֹ זְמָן. - And the king said to me, while the queen was sitting beside him, "How long will your journey be, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time.
The king asks: When do you intend to set out, and when will you return? Yet two things here are puzzling. First, "and the queen was sitting beside him" - seemingly this has no bearing on the matter at all. Shegal means the queen, as in the Book of Daniel, "his queens (sheglateih) and his concubines (lecheinatai)" - sheglateih refers to the queen, while lecheinatai refers to the concubines; similarly, "a queen (shegal) stands at your right hand." Why do we need to know that the queen was sitting beside him? The Malbim explains that the speaking was done by both of them together: "And the king and the queen who was sitting beside him said to me" - both the king and the queen spoke to me. And Chazal identify who this king was: Darius the son of Esther. According to this, says the Malbim, it is very possible that the queen (shegal) mentioned here was Esther herself. She encouraged him, and out of love for his mother, he hurried to send Nechemya. That is why the queen is mentioned here - to show that she too had a hand in the matter, encouraging and urging that the city be rebuilt quickly.
The second puzzling detail: the sequence should have been reversed. The king asked when he would go and when he would return; Nechemya should have first stated his timeline, and only then should it say, "so it pleased the king to send me." Yet here, it first says "so it pleased the king to send me," and only afterward "and I set him a time." The Malbim explains that even before Nechemya provided a timeframe, the matter already found favor in the king's eyes - precisely because the queen was sitting beside him. Esther, whose sole concern was to help her brethren rebuild Jerusalem, urged him to consent, and the king agreed before he even heard the timeline. Only afterward did Nechemya designate the time when he planned to return.
The Letters - A Visa from the King
וָאוֹמַר לַמֶּלֶךְ אִם עַל הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב אִגְּרוֹת יִתְּנוּ לִי עַל פַּחֲווֹת עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר, אֲשֶׁר יַעֲבִירוּנִי עַד אֲשֶׁר אָבוֹא אֶל יְהוּדָה. - And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me until I come to Judah."
Nechemya requests that the royal scribes write him official letters - like a visa - and that he be escorted with an army and horsemen for protection until he arrives in Judah. These letters were to be addressed to the governors beyond the river, so that they would know that everything he was doing was by royal commission. For we have already seen that the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin hindered the rebuilding of the Temple initially, and sought to interfere again when the construction resumed eighteen years later. Nechemya therefore feared that agitators would arise - and his fear was well founded, as we will see later that agitators indeed arose this time too. He therefore requested letters that would serve as proof that he was an emissary of the king carrying out his royal will.
Asaph the Keeper of the King's Park and the House Where I Shall Go
וְאִגֶּרֶת אֶל אָסָף שֹׁמֵר הַפַּרְדֵּס אֲשֶׁר לַמֶּלֶךְ, אֲשֶׁר יִתֶּן לִי עֵצִים לְקָרוֹת אֶת שַׁעֲרֵי הַבִּירָה אֲשֶׁר לַבַּיִת וּלְחוֹמַת הָעִיר וְלַבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר אָבוֹא אֵלָיו, וַיִּתֶּן לִי הַמֶּלֶךְ כְּיַד אֱלֹהַי הַטּוֹבָה עָלָי. - And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's park, that he give me timber to beam the gates of the fortress which belongs to the House, and for the wall of the city, and for the house where I shall go. And the king granted it to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
Asaph was the overseer of the royal forests of Lebanon. Nechemya required a vast amount of timber - to fence and seal the breaches in the wall, to build the gates of the fortress, and for the house in which he would reside - and from where was he to obtain all this timber? He therefore requested that the king issue an order to the keeper of the royal park to supply him with wood. "To make beams" (lekarot) - from the word tikrah (ceiling or roof), for gates have a roof above them. "The gates of the fortress of the House" refers to the Beit HaMikdash.
And what is meant by "and for the house into which I shall enter"? The Malbim explains that the king would build a house for himself in every province under his dominion, so that wherever he traveled, he would have an estate. Here, Nechemya requested that the king build such a royal residence in Jerusalem. That is why he did not say "and for my house" - for the house would truly belong to the king, designated for him in that place, and Nechemya would merely reside in it in the meantime. This also resolves an obvious difficulty: How did he have the audacity to ask for a private residence? The walls of Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash are understandable, but a private home for yourself? Rather, he did not ask for "my house," but for "the house into which I shall enter" - the king's house, where he would stay temporarily.
"And the king granted them to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me." Notice: when the king accedes to his request, Nechemya does not say, "out of the king's great goodness and favor," but rather, "according to the good hand of my God upon me." Hashem is the One Who granted me favor in the king's eyes, and Hashem is the One through Whom the king was appeased toward me. He always recognizes the true Foundation and the Source from Whom everything stems.
The Escort to Beyond the River
וָאָבוֹא אֶל פַּחֲווֹת עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר וָאֶתְּנָה לָהֶם אֵת אִגְּרוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ, וַיִּשְׁלַח עִמִּי הַמֶּלֶךְ שָׂרֵי חַיִל וּפָרָשִׁים. - "Then I came to the governors of Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. And the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me."
At first glance, the verse seems out of order: it should have said first, "And the king sent captains of the army and horsemen with me," and only then, "Then I came to the governors of Beyond the River," since the army and horsemen had escorted him on the journey from Shushan in Persia all the way to the governors of Beyond the River, the officials in the region of the Land of Israel. Rather, the Malbim explains that the order is deliberate: I came to the governors of Beyond the River and gave them the letters - and how did I arrive? "And the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me" - through them, I arrived here safely.
The First Adversaries
וַיִּשְׁמַע סַנְבַלַּט הַחֹרֹנִי וְטוֹבִיָּה הָעֶבֶד הָעַמֹּנִי וַיֵּרַע לָהֶם רָעָה גְדֹלָה אֲשֶׁר בָּא אָדָם לְבַקֵּשׁ טוֹבָה לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. - "When Sanballat the Horonite and Toviyah the Ammonite servant heard of it, it displeased them exceedingly that a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel."
Two men were there, Sanballat the Horonite and Toviyah the Ammonite servant, and the very idea that good fortune might come to the people of Israel troubled them deeply - that a person had arrived to seek the welfare of the Jewish people. They saw my arrival, and it distressed them.
The Secret Night Inspection
וָאָבוֹא אֶל יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וָאֱהִי שָׁם יָמִים שְׁלֹשָׁה. - "So I arrived in Jerusalem, and I was there for three days."
וָאָקוּם לַיְלָה אֲנִי וַאֲנָשִׁים מְעַט עִמִּי, וְלֹא הִגַּדְתִּי לְאָדָם מָה אֱלֹהַי נֹתֵן אֶל לִבִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת לִירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם, וּבְהֵמָה אֵין עִמִּי כִּי אִם הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי רֹכֵב בָּהּ. - "And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; and I did not tell anyone what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there was no animal with me except the animal upon which I rode."
Nechemya recounts: I arose in the middle of the night, took a few men with me, and did not reveal the core of the plan. Why? Because he did not want to cause a stir or let the matter become widely known. For this reason, they also did not set out with an army or horsemen; Nechemya alone rode his animal, while everyone else went on foot - since walking on foot draws less attention and makes less noise.
וָאֵצְאָה בְשַׁעַר הַגַּיְא לַיְלָה וְאֶל פְּנֵי עֵין הַתַּנִּין וְאֶל שַׁעַר הָאַשְׁפֹּת, וָאֱהִי שֹׂבֵר בְּחוֹמֹת יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם אֲשֶׁר הֵם פְּרוּצִים וּשְׁעָרֶיהָ אֻכְּלוּ בָאֵשׁ. - "And I went out by the Valley Gate at night, toward the Jackal Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the broken walls of Jerusalem whose gates were consumed by fire."
What did he do there? "And I was breaking (va'ehi shover) into the walls of Jerusalem" - this refers to actual breaking. What purpose was there in breaking the walls? Like a person who taps on a vessel to check if it is sturdy and can endure. Nechemya took hammers and began tapping against the wall: if it crumbled and broke apart as soon as the hammer touched it, he knew this wall was unsound and had to be replaced; but if he struck it and the wall held firm, he knew it was strong, with no need to tear it down and rebuild from scratch, but merely to seal the breaches.
"Shover" or "Sover" - Two Complementary Readings
The Malbim reads shover with a right-dot shin, and this is also Rashi's reading. However, reading it sover with a sin (left dot) follows the text of Ibn Ezra. And what does the word sover mean? It comes from the root of sevara, reasoning and contemplation. And if you ask, isn't sevara spelled with a samech? That is no contradiction, for Chazal converted many words spelled in Tanach with a sin into a samech so people would not err, since the shin can be read either right- or left-dotted. Thus eirusin - "if a man betroths (te'ares) a woman" with a sin, whereas today we write eirusin with a samech (in the newspaper Hamodia they still spell it with a sin, but in standard spelling it is with a samech). Likewise ka'as (anger) - spelled with a samech in the Torah, yet in Iyov it appears as ka'ash with a sin. So too cheresh (earthenware shard) with a sin in Tanach, and in the words of Chazal cheres with a samech. And similarly sid (lime or plaster) - "and you shall coat them with plaster (ba-ssid)" with a sin, whereas in the words of Chazal it is "the plaster (sid) of the Heichal" with a samech.
According to Ibn Ezra, therefore, sover means I was contemplating and examining the walls. The Malbim notes that according to his explanation, this works out wonderfully: he went and tapped on the walls to see if they were strong enough - thus he was "breaking" (shover) the wall to test its strength, and through this he was "contemplating" (sover), examining and considering whether it was sufficiently sturdy or needed replacement. Both explanations are true, and the two readings complement each other.
וָאֶעֱבֹר אֶל שַׁעַר הָעַיִן וְאֶל בְּרֵכַת הַמֶּלֶךְ, וְאֵין מָקוֹם לַבְּהֵמָה לַעֲבֹר תַּחְתָּי. - "And I passed on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no place for the mount beneath me to pass."
I reached places where I had to pass through the breaches in the wall in order to examine and see if the wall was strong enough. Yet at times the breaches were small and he could not pass through with his mount, so he had to dismount and squeeze through, so as to inspect the wall from both sides and determine its exact condition.
וָאֱהִי עֹלֶה בַנַּחַל לַיְלָה וָאֱהִי שֹׂבֵר בַּחוֹמָה, וָאָשׁוּב וָאָבוֹא בְּשַׁעַר הַגַּיְא וָאָשׁוּב. - "And I went up by the brook by night and inspected the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and returned."
I began ascending along the valley - that is, toward the southern side, the ascent being the steps leading up from the City of David. Afterwards I turned back and headed toward the Valley Gate, and returned home. Incidentally, we see from here that the Valley Gate (Sha'ar HaGai) was not at the location called by that name today (Bab el-Wad); the Valley Gate was immediately adjacent to Jerusalem, not far from the walls, roughly in the area where the walls stand today.
Secrecy - Until the Time Came
וְהַסְּגָנִים לֹא יָדְעוּ אָנָה הָלַכְתִּי וּמָה אֲנִי עֹשֶׂה, וְלַיְּהוּדִים וְלַכֹּהֲנִים וְלַחֹרִים וְלַסְּגָנִים וּלְיֶתֶר עֹשֵׂה הַמְּלָאכָה עַד כֵּן לֹא הִגַּדְתִּי. - "And the officers did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, nor had I yet told the Jews, the kohanim, the nobles, the officers, or the rest who performed the work."
The prefects saw that he was not at home, but they did not know where he had gone, nor did they know what he was doing - nor did they have any idea why Nechemya had come to Yerushalayim in the first place. After all, he was a distinguished person, holding a prominent position as the king's cupbearer and an important minister in the royal court; what business did he have here? What was this visit - a trip to his ancestral homeland? What was the purpose? None of this did he reveal. He did not tell them that Chanani had come and informed him of the dire situation of the people of Yerushalayim, and that he had therefore resolved to come and help. "Hitherto I had not told" - until now, I had not disclosed at all the purpose of my coming to Yerushalayim.
The Call to Build
וָאוֹמַר אֲלֵהֶם אַתֶּם רֹאִים הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר אֲנַחְנוּ בָהּ אֲשֶׁר יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם חֲרֵבָה וּשְׁעָרֶיהָ נִצְּתוּ בָאֵשׁ, לְכוּ וְנִבְנֶה אֶת חוֹמַת יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וְלֹא נִהְיֶה עוֹד חֶרְפָּה. - And I said to them, "You see the bad state we are in, that Yerushalayim lies in ruins and its gates are burned with fire; come, let us rebuild the wall of Yerushalayim, that we may no longer be a disgrace."
He said to them: You see that we are suffering here. And why do we suffer from the adversaries of Yehudah and all those who harass and distress us - such as Sanballat the Choronite, Toviyah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arabian, whom we will encounter further on, who was also a great harasser? Because we have no walls. Had we walls, we would be secure behind wall, gates, and crossbars, and they would not be able to torment us. Therefore: Come, let us build the wall of Yerushalayim, so that we may no longer be a disgrace - they will not be able to enter here and mock us, subjugate us, and afflict us.
וָאַגִּיד לָהֶם אֶת יַד אֱלֹהַי אֲשֶׁר הִיא טוֹבָה עָלַי וְאַף דִּבְרֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר אָמַר לִי, וַיֹּאמְרוּ נָקוּם וּבָנִינוּ וַיְחַזְּקוּ יְדֵיהֶם לַטּוֹבָה. - And I told them of the hand of my God that was good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me; and they said, "Let us rise up and build!" And they strengthened their hands for the good.
I recounted to them how the Holy One, blessed be He, gave me favor in the eyes of the king, that the king dispatched me and even supplied me with timber from the park of Asaf, the keeper of the park, so that we would have building materials for the walls of Yerushalayim. Through this, I encouraged them, and they accepted my words: "Let us rise up and build," "and they strengthened their hands for the good" - agreeing with one another to rally for the cause and rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim.
The Derision and the Slander: "Are You Rebelling Against the King?"
וַיִּשְׁמַע סַנְבַלַּט הַחֹרֹנִי וְטֹבִיָּה הָעֶבֶד הָעַמּוֹנִי וְגֶשֶׁם הָעַרְבִי וַיַּלְעִגוּ לָנוּ וַיִּבְזוּ עָלֵינוּ, וַיֹּאמְרוּ מָה הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם עֹשִׂים הַעַל הַמֶּלֶךְ אַתֶּם מֹרְדִים. - And Sanballat the Choronite, Toviyah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arabian heard, and they mocked us and despised us, and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?"
Let us recall why the adversaries of Yehudah and Binyamin halted the construction of the Temple the first time, eighteen years before it was finally built: they slandered them, alleging that they were building the city walls, when in truth they were building the walls of the Beis HaMikdash. There was great cunning involved, altering the facts through translation so the letter implied they were building city walls - and building the walls of the city was considered an act of rebellion against the king. For fortifying the city walls meant creating a stronghold in which to take refuge, so that if the king wished to come and subjugate them, he would be unable to enter. Here, this is precisely what they seized upon with astonishment, asking: What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?
The Response: "The God of Heaven, He Will Grant Us Success"
וָאָשִׁיב אוֹתָם דָּבָר וָאוֹמַר לָהֶם אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם הוּא יַצְלִיחַ לָנוּ וַאֲנַחְנוּ עֲבָדָיו נָקוּם וּבָנִינוּ, וְלָכֶם אֵין חֵלֶק וּצְדָקָה וְזִכָּרוֹן בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם. - And I returned them an answer, saying to them, "The God of Heaven, He will grant us success, and we, His servants, will arise and build; but you have no portion, right, or memorial in Yerushalayim."
I responded to them: First, everything we are doing is with the express permission of the king. And second, the God of Heaven will make our way prosper; we have special Siyata DiShmaya (divine assistance) in this. Moreover, all that we do will be for merit and remembrance - our deeds will generate lasting blessing, and Hashem will remember for us all the toil and effort we invest, for we are His servants and we build for the sake of Heaven. But you are foreigners, gentiles: you have no share in this, nor any merit - for you are not servants of Hashem - and no memorial of your deeds will ever be remembered before Hashem.
This is especially true according to what the Nefesh HaChaim writes: that a Jew's deed exerts influence across all the upper realms, whereas a gentile's deed barely reaches the acoustic ceiling - it does not ascend above. A gentile's deed does not affect the upper worlds; it is an action confined to this physical world alone. To channel divine bounty in the upper worlds, or to diminish bounty through an act of transgression - a gentile influences nothing; only Israel does. Therefore, he told them: "You have no portion, right, or memorial in Jerusalem" - neither in the earthly Jerusalem nor in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Do not misunderstand: reward, yes. A gentile who performs a mitzvah receives reward. In the view of the Rambam, for every mitzvah out of the 613 mitzvos that he performs - provided it is not one of the mitzvos forbidden to him, such as matters that are a covenant between us and Hashem, like Sabbath observance and Torah study - the gentile receives reward. For example, regarding a gentile who performs shiluach haken (sending away the mother bird), the Rambam states that he receives reward, not as one who is commanded and performs, but as one who is not commanded and performs. Even so, the rectification of the cosmic worlds does not depend on him; hastening the coming of Mashiach, perfecting the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty, and thereby drawing down divine bounty to all of Israel - none of this depends on the deeds of a gentile at all, neither for good nor for ill.
"Ground Flour You Have Ground" - And Yet, "Counted as One Who Struck on High"
This is what we find regarding the destroyers of the Temple: they said to Titus, "Ground flour you have ground." For how could a mortal touch the Beis HaMikdash, which is something spiritual and holy? He had no power to do so; all he destroyed was mere stones, since we ourselves had already destroyed the Temple through our negative deeds, and nothing remained but the outer physical shell - and that was all he accomplished.
Regarding this, the Nefesh HaChaim cites the verse: "יִוָּדַע כְּמֵבִיא לְמָעְלָה בִּסְבָךְ עֵץ קַרְדֻּמּוֹת" ("He is known as one who swings axes high up into the thicket of trees"). What does this mean? Even though all the deeds of Nebuchadnezzar and Titus took place only down here below - for "ground flour you have ground," and they did not truly destroy the House of Hashem - nevertheless, Master of the Universe, reckon it to him as if he swung axes on high, as though he actually destroyed the heavenly House of Hashem! Let this not be a reason to lighten his punishment. For on one hand, there is reason to be lenient with him, since he only destroyed an already-ruined house; therefore the verse states: "יבוא דא כמביא למעלה" - let this be reckoned as if he swung axes against that supernal thicket of trees, in the sacred tree, and not down here, so that he may be punished as he deserves, and the destruction of the heavenly Beis HaMikdash will be reckoned against him.
In summary:
In this chapter, Nechemya stands before the king, careful to maintain a pleasant countenance yet not hiding his grief, knowing which chords to strike in the ears of the Persian monarch. Every answer he gives is in truth a prayer to the King of the universe - in the manner of the righteous, who speak down here and effect change on high. He receives the letters, the timber, and the escort, and in every action he attributes everything to "the good hand of my God upon me." In Jerusalem, he conducts himself with caution and secrecy, inspecting the walls by night, examining them through careful deduction and reasoning, and only then calls out to the people: "Come, let us build." And against the mockery and false accusations of Sanballat, Toviyah, and Geshem, he responds with absolute certainty: "The God of heaven will grant us success, and we, His servants, will arise and build" - and you have no portion, right, or memorial in Jerusalem, neither of below nor of above.