Chapter 4 of Sefer Shoftim opens a new cycle of sin, subjugation, and salvation, but this time with a significant shift in direction: the oppressor is not a foreign nation from outside the Land, but Yavin, king of Canaan - one of the seven nations we were commanded to destroy. In this chapter we will meet two heroic women: Devorah the prophetess, who judges Israel beneath the palm tree, and Yael, the wife of Chever the Kenite, through whom Sisera fell. We will follow the order of the pesukim according to the explanations of the Malbim, along with the words of Chazal, the Radak, the Rama MiPano, and others.
וַיֹּסִפוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַעֲשׂוֹת הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה וְאֵהוּד מֵת׃ - And the children of Israel again did evil in the eyes of Hashem, and Ehud had died.
This is puzzling: after Ehud came Shamgar, and if you wished to say that they again did evil, you should have written "and Shamgar died." Why skip Shamgar and go back to Ehud? The Radak explains: in the days of Shamgar, Israel was not saved with a complete salvation. True, he struck down six hundred men with an ox goad, but he did not succeed in removing the Philistine threat from them entirely. This is a sign that the people did not fully return to Hashem and did not fully mend their ways, and consequently the salvation was not complete either, and therefore the Land did not have rest in his days. That is why it says there "and he too saved Israel," and in those very days "the roads ceased."
The Malbim adds a wonderful precision: "and they again did evil" does not refer only to the days of Shamgar, but already to the days of Ehud himself. Notice the order: had they begun to sin only after Ehud's death, it should have been written "and Ehud died, and the children of Israel again did evil" - Ehud dies, and the people return to their corruption. But the verse reversed the order: first "they again did evil," and afterward "and Ehud died." That is, already during Ehud's lifetime they strayed from the path. This fits with what we explained in the previous chapter, that it was not said of Ehud that he judged Israel, only that salvation was brought about through him - and consequently the trouble returns.
וַיִּמְכְּרֵם יְהֹוָה בְּיַד יָבִין מֶלֶךְ־כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ בְּחָצוֹר וְשַׂר־צְבָאוֹ סִיסְרָא וְהוּא יוֹשֵׁב בַּחֲרֹשֶׁת הַגּוֹיִם׃ - And Hashem sold them into the hand of Yavin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Chatzor, and the captain of his army was Sisera, and he dwelt in Charoshet HaGoyim.
We have already seen the meaning of the expression "and He sold them": on their own they could not have overcome us, "unless their Rock had sold them and Hashem had delivered them up." The Holy One, blessed be He, sold us into his hand, that is, He gave him strength far mightier and greater than his natural ability.
Says the Malbim: at first they were in the hand of Aram and in the hand of Moav, and here there is a shift in direction. Yavin, king of Canaan, is one of the seven nations concerning whom we were warned "you shall not let any soul live," whereas Aram and Moav are nations from outside the Land of Israel and do not belong specifically here. Those whom we were warned to eradicate and did not eradicate - with them we begin to clash, and by them we begin to be harmed. It is fulfilled in us: "and it shall be that those you allow to remain of them will be as thorns in your eyes and as pricks in your sides."
The Malbim further adds that the complication here is more severe: Yavin reigned in Chatzor, and Chatzor was conquered by Yehoshua. He therefore has an open account with us - we drove him out from the seat of his kingdom, and now he dwells in Charoshet HaGoyim, in a place unnatural to him, a place to which he was exiled after we defeated him. The account remains open and he seeks an opportunity to settle it, harboring hatred against us and seeking to take his revenge upon us.
And what is "Charoshet HaGoyim"? The Malbim says it is a fortress city, the name of a strong and dominant city. And some say it was a place where craftsmen were concentrated - "charoshet" from the language of a factory (beit charoshet), from the language of "the craftsman and the smith" (hacharash vehamasger), craftsmen. The Radak, on the other hand, explains that Charoshet HaGoyim is a forested place, from the language of choresh and chursha, a grove.
וַיִּצְעֲקוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־יְהֹוָה כִּי תְּשַׁע מֵאוֹת רֶכֶב־בַּרְזֶל לוֹ וְהוּא לָחַץ אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחָזְקָה עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה׃ - And Bnei Yisrael cried out to Hashem, for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed Bnei Yisrael harshly for twenty years.
The Malbim notes: pay attention to the wording. Until now we saw "they cried" (vayizaku), and here it says "they cried out" (vayitzaku) - and a tzeakah is greater than a zeakah. This teaches that the earlier slaps did not suffice; now they receive a harsher slap, and therefore they are already crying out and not merely crying. And why is the situation harsher? Three reasons.
First, "for he had nine hundred iron chariots." Naturally there is no chance whatsoever of winning. In our terms it is as if infantry were required to fight a nation coming with nine hundred tanks. How can one, with bare hands, or even with light weapons, subdue someone who comes with tanks? Nine hundred iron chariots are a clear decision of the battle. There is no chance of winning, so what does one do? Cry out.
Second, "and he oppressed Bnei Yisrael harshly." What is oppressing harshly? The Tanchuma says: with revilings and blasphemies. This was their method. Psychological warfare was not invented in Vietnam; it was invented much earlier. So we find with Goliath, who would go out and blaspheme the ranks of the living God morning and evening, and specifically at the time of the recitation of Shema (we will get to that later, bli neder). That is, this is someone who comes to negate them as a nation, to strip their national dignity and break them morally. This is far harder, and this is the cry that comes from their mouths.
Third, "harshly for twenty years." Who can grasp what twenty years of torment and suffering are? But here too, as we have discussed before, this is not said to Yisrael's credit: twenty years and you do not cry out? Twenty years and you do not turn to Hashem? That is, you thought you would manage on your own, and only when you saw that you could not, only then did you turn to Hashem.
וּדְבוֹרָה אִשָּׁה נְבִיאָה אֵשֶׁת לַפִּידוֹת הִיא שֹׁפְטָה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּעֵת הַהִיא׃ - And Devorah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidot, she judged Yisrael at that time.
Why was she called "eshet Lapidot"? One explanation: because when the divine spirit rested upon her, her face was like torches (lapidim). And the more familiar explanation: because she used to make wicks for the Beit Hamikdash. Devorah was married to Barak ben Avinoam, whom we will meet later in the chapter. Chazal say that Barak was an unlearned man, and some say that Devorah separated from him following the prophecy. This seemingly is implied by the fact that she sends to summon him from "Kedesh Naftali," that is, he lived elsewhere, but there is no necessity to say so.
And in what merit did she attain the level of prophecy? Chazal say: her husband Barak was an unlearned man. She said to him: I will make you wicks and you shall bring them to the Beit Hamikdash and thereby earn merit. In other words: what shall I do with you? To send you to the beit midrash - you do not understand, you fall asleep during the lesson, you do not grasp what they are saying there. She sought every way to bring merit to her husband. And she was called "Lapidot" because she made the wicks thick like torches. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: you intended to increase My light; I too will increase your light in Yehudah and Yerushalayim, that all shall walk by your light, for you are a prophetess to them and you save them.
But there is a wonder here: can one make the wicks as thick as one wishes? After all, the size of the bowl in which the oil sits is fixed, and if you make the wick too thick, the oil will run out in the middle of the night, whereas it needs to last until morning light. I heard a wonderful explanation on this: the night in summer is short and in winter long, and the nights of Tevet are especially long. If you always use the same wick thickness, a situation arises where what suits the long winter nights will leave a third of the bowl of oil over on the short summer nights. Devorah was exceedingly wise, and she would weave the wicks in such a way that on the short summer nights the wick would be as thick as maximally possible, so that the oil would run out exactly with the morning, while on the long winter nights the wick would be thinner, so that the oil would last until morning light. Her wisdom was to fit the thickness of the wick to each season, so that the oil would neither run out prematurely nor be left over requiring it to be taken to be burned. It emerges that she truly "intended to increase My light," and the Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: I will grant you that your light shall increase and you shall merit prophecy.
The commentators ask, and I believe I saw this in the name of Rabbi Yaakov Galinsky: are there no righteous women? Are there no women who do the will of their Maker? Why did she in particular merit this? And he says a wonderful thing: there are many women who advanced their husbands, who drove them to study and raised up great men, but that is not the wisdom. The wisdom is to recognize the husband's limitations, and to know that chasing after him and distressing him will not help. What must she do? Understand what his abilities and capacities are, and direct him to the maximum he is capable of reaching. This was her special wisdom, in whose merit she was rewarded. For naturally any woman would say: what will come of you? Why don't you study? Go to the beit midrash! But she knew that in this way she would not build him but only destroy him, for he was not capable. The wisdom is to know how to recognize limitations and to know how to work with them, and see what she merited.
The Rama of Fano speaks about Barak son of Avinoam, the husband of Devorah. Incidentally, his name "Barak" (lightning) connects to her title "Eshet Lapidot" (woman of torches): a torch gives light and lightning gives light. Barak was reincarnated in Ner, the grandfather of Shaul son of Kish, the father of Avner. And just as Barak was an unlearned man whose wife made wicks for him so that he would merit the lighting in the Beit HaMikdash, so too Ner: this was his intention. He would light lamps in the dark passageways along the road to the synagogues and study halls, so that those going to learn Torah would not be afraid in the darkness of the night, and he made special lanterns in the streets, and he would light lamps in the study hall so that people could occupy themselves with Torah until the small hours of the night. And since they themselves did not occupy themselves with Torah, neither Ner nor Barak - for they were unlearned men - this merit stood by them.
And afterwards, says the Rama of Fano, they were reincarnated in Herod. Herod extinguished the light of the world, killed all the Sages and left only Bava ben Buta. And how did they reach this state? Because they themselves did not occupy themselves with Torah and had no connection to the endeavor of Torah, therefore in their reincarnation as Herod they killed the Sages. And in the second stage, when Herod saw that the Sages were truly not against him and were not harming him and did not intend to do him evil, he regretted it. He came to Bava ben Buta and asked: what is my remedy? He said to him: you extinguished the light of the world, go and occupy yourself now with illuminating the light of the world - build the Beit HaMikdash. And so Herod built the structure of the Beit HaMikdash, and whoever did not see Herod's building never saw a beautiful building in his life. So we see that just as the first time they gave light, so too they merited to give light in the reincarnation of Herod, when they occupied themselves with the light of the world in building the Beit HaMikdash. And there is also a closing of the circle here: at first he lit lamps in the Beit HaMikdash, and in the end he illuminates the Beit HaMikdash itself, building it and establishing it in its place.
Chazal say that the level of Devorah was like the level of Sarah our mother. And Yaakov our father prophesied about her and said "Naftali is a hind let loose, who gives beautiful words" - she was from the tribe of Naftali and gave beautiful words, refined and praiseworthy words. And what are they? The Song of Devorah, which we will see in the next chapter.
And what is the meaning of "at that time"? That even though in that generation there was Pinchas, nevertheless who was it that judged Israel? Devorah. And this is her greatness. To be great and a judge in a generation that has no one else in it - there is nothing remarkable in that. But when there are great men in the generation like Pinchas, and yet she judges Israel - this shows her greatness and her level.
The Malbim teaches that this pasuk enumerates the reasons that came together now for the salvation of Israel. The first reason: the people of Israel cry out, but crying out alone did not save them. The second reason: the merit of Devorah, who was a person of high level and a righteous woman, and whose deeds were performed with alacrity like torches - "Eshet Lapidot." The third reason: "she judged Israel" - which neither Ehud nor Shamgar did. That is to say, she repairs the people, leads them and judges them, and this is another reason to redeem them. And the fourth reason appears in the next pasuk.
וְהִיא יוֹשֶׁבֶת תַּחַת־תֹּמֶר דְּבוֹרָה בֵּין הָרָמָה וּבֵין בֵּית־אֵל בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם וַיַּעֲלוּ אֵלֶיהָ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַמִּשְׁפָּט׃ - And she would sit beneath the palm of Devorah between Ramah and Beit El in the hill country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel would go up to her for judgment.
Chazal expound "beneath the palm of Devorah" - she had palm trees in Jericho, as well as property between Ramah and Beit El in the hill country of Ephraim. That is to say, she was a wealthy woman, and we will explain the importance of this shortly.
And why did she sit beneath the palm tree? Because of modesty. People would come to her for judgment, and there was a concern of yichud (seclusion), and therefore she sat in an open place. And if you ask: after all, two people come for judgment, and with two people there is no concern of yichud? The answer: that applies specifically to upright people, whereas litigants should be "in your eyes as wicked people," and how could a woman seclude herself with two wicked people? Therefore she sat in a place where there was no yichud. And I thought of a simpler explanation: it is possible that a man sues a woman in court or a woman sues a man, and then a man and two women stand before her - and with a man and two women there is certainly a prohibition of yichud. Therefore she sat in an exposed place, where it could be seen that they would not come to any prohibition.
And even though regarding the sons of Shmuel we find that it was considered a fault that they sat in their place and did not travel about from place to place as Shmuel their father did, here this is not a fault. One reason: this is a woman, and "all the honor of a king's daughter is within," and therefore it is fitting that she sit and judge beneath the palm and not travel about the cities of Israel. A second reason: she was wealthy. Of the sons of Shmuel it is said that they wished to increase the wages of their attendants and scribes, whereas she had no need of that at all - she had vineyards and olive trees and property, and therefore she judged Israel in her home and there was no fault in this at all.
The Rema of Fano, in his work Gilgulei Neshamot at the letter tav, writes: Devorah is the reincarnation of Tamar. This is Tamar who sat at Petach Einayim, the daughter in law of Yehudah, from whom Yehudah fathered Peretz and Zerach when he thought she was a harlot. That same Tamar now comes to make a rectification: now she judges Israel and sits in a place where she straightens the path of Israel, in contrast to Tamar who sat at Petach Einayim, in a place that was not modest, and was taken to be a harlot. Now she sits in a modest place and even judges Israel. And where is this hinted? "Under the palm of Devorah" (tomer). "Tomer" is written without a vav, and if you wish you may read "Under Tamar, Devorah": in the place of Tamar comes the rectification, for she returns again as Devorah.
And here, says the Malbim, is the fourth reason for the salvation of Israel in that generation: the merit of Israel themselves. For you see that all of Israel came to her of their own accord for judgment. In the generation of Shmuel the judge had to come to them, whereas in the generation of Devorah the people were upright, and when a matter arose among them they would say: let us go to the judge. It emerges that there is a great virtue here in the people of Israel, that they sought justice and uprightness and would go up to her for judgment. This is the fourth virtue through whose merit they merited salvation.
Our Sages further expounded regarding the palm tree: just as the palm has but one heart, so did Israel then have one heart toward their Father in Heaven. And further: just as the palm gives little shade, so were the Torah scholars few at that time. And indeed, had the Torah scholars not been few, they would not have gone to a woman to judge them, for naturally the judges were men and not women. And from the fact that here a woman judges, you learn that Torah scholars were few in that generation.
וַתִּשְׁלַח וַתִּקְרָא לְבָרָק בֶּן־אֲבִינֹעַם מִקֶּדֶשׁ נַפְתָּלִי וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הֲלֹא צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵךְ וּמָשַׁכְתָּ בְּהַר תָּבוֹר וְלָקַחְתָּ עִמְּךָ עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים אִישׁ מִבְּנֵי נַפְתָּלִי וּמִבְּנֵי זְבֻלוּן׃ - And she sent and called for Barak ben Avinoam from Kedesh Naftali, and she said to him: Has not Hashem, the God of Israel, commanded, Go and draw toward Mount Tavor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naftali and from the sons of Zevulun.
What is meant by "Has He not commanded"? As if He had already commanded long ago. The commentators explain: the command was already given through Moshe, "You shall utterly destroy them," regarding the seven nations. And here it speaks of Yavin king of Canaan, who is of the Canaanites among the seven nations. If so, "Has not Hashem commanded" already long ago, and now the command must be fulfilled.
And what is meant by "and draw"? There are two possibilities. The first, to draw them with words, in the way Rashi explains "take Aharon" as drawing him with words. When "take" is said of an animal, one grasps the halter and pulls; but when "take" is said of a person, the intention is not to bundle him up and carry him off, but to persuade him to agree to come. The second possibility, as in "when the ram's horn sounds long, they shall go up the mountain," for their way was to gather the people to the army by drawing with the horn, that is, blowing the shofar, and so too here.
And why specifically from the sons of Naftali and the sons of Zevulun? Because if these come, all the rest will be drawn after them. And so it indeed was, that apart from Reuven, all were drawn along. And why ten thousand men? For we learned from Sodom that a place cannot be saved with fewer than ten righteous men, and Shlomo said, "One man among a thousand I have found," meaning that among a thousand men there is one righteous man. To reach ten righteous men one needs ten thousand men, and then it is assured that among them will be ten righteous men worthy that salvation be brought about through them.
Says the Malbim: after we have the preparation from the side of the merit of the judge and from the side of the merit of the generation, Devorah says to him: know that what I am telling you is not a recommendation and not a strategic counsel, but a prophecy. And as a king or a judge you are obligated to heed the voice of Hashem. And she further tells him: I have a precise command, that you draw men to Mount Tavor, that their number be ten thousand, and that they be from Zevulun and from Naftali. Our Sages give various reasons why specifically Zevulun and Naftali, but the main point is that you should know that for every detail precise instructions were received. And why? Because there is a continuation to this.
וּמָשַׁכְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ אֶל־נַחַל קִישׁוֹן אֶת־סִיסְרָא שַׂר־צְבָא יָבִין וְאֶת־רִכְבּוֹ וְאֶת־הֲמוֹנוֹ וּנְתַתִּיהוּ בְּיָדֶךָ׃ - And I will draw to you, to the brook of Kishon, Sisera, the commander of Yavin's army, and his chariots and his multitude, and I will give him into your hand.
I am telling you to take them specifically to Nachal Kishon, because it is there that the Holy One, blessed be He, will draw Sisera. There Hashem designates the miracle, and therefore it is precisely there that the people must be brought.
The Radak says: Sisera's astrologers saw that he should not go out to that battle, for if he went out he would be defeated. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He drew his heart to go out. This is the meaning of "and I will draw to you": on his own he was apprehensive, but the Holy One, blessed be He, says that He will draw him to you. Further on we will also see a slightly different opinion, that the Holy One, blessed be He, changed the arrangement of the stars so that they would be convinced to go out.
And what is "his multitude" (hamono)? A multitude of people. The expression comes from the root of humming (hemyah), for when there is a multitude there is a hum and there is noise. The multitude is named for the hum, the noise heard when there is a large gathering. We will see more such expressions further on, with Hashem's help.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ בָּרָק אִם־תֵּלְכִי עִמִּי וְהָלָכְתִּי וְאִם־לֹא תֵלְכִי עִמִּי לֹא אֵלֵךְ׃ - And Barak said to her: If you go with me, then I will go, but if you do not go with me, I will not go.
Chazal say: Two people were the essential ones and made themselves secondary - Avraham and Barak. Avraham said to Sarah "Please say that you are my sister," and made himself secondary to her; and Barak said to Devorah "If you go with me, then I will go," and made himself secondary to her. And in truth Barak should not have diminished himself, but rather should have gone on the mission of the Master of the world.
The Malbim already asks: this is astonishing. A prophet comes and tells you that you must go, and you answer "If you go with me I will do what Hashem says, and if not, I will not"? Here there is a command through a prophet, and you are obligated to carry it out! Rather, says the Malbim, do not err: Barak did not doubt the prophecy, nor did he reveal any lack of faith in her words, and he had no doubts at all. He was certain that if she says she received a prophecy from Hashem, then this is what Hashem said, and one who defies the word of a prophet is liable to death. Rather this is what he claimed: You tell me to draw ten thousand men to battle against Yavin and Sisera. If you go with me, the people will believe and will come; and if you do not go with me, they will not come. This, then, is not a refusal to go by the word of Hashem, but rather: I cannot go. Where are the people? Who will come with me? And why go in vain?
And he had another argument: You tell me that they will fall through a miracle, and a miracle requires merits. The merits are like you - a righteous woman like you who will come with me, and then we will be worthy of a miracle. But if you do not come, we will not be worthy of a miracle. And therefore I make the matter dependent on this, so that we can carry out the task properly.
וַתֹּאמֶר הָלֹךְ אֵלֵךְ עִמָּךְ אֶפֶס כִּי לֹא תִהְיֶה תִּפְאַרְתְּךָ עַל־הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ כִּי בְיַד־אִשָּׁה יִמְכֹּר יְהֹוָה אֶת־סִיסְרָא וַתָּקָם דְּבוֹרָה וַתֵּלֶךְ עִם־בָּרָק קֶדְשָׁה׃ - And she said: I will surely go with you, however the glory will not be yours on the way that you are going, for into the hand of a woman will Hashem deliver Sisera. And Devorah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.
She says to him: I am ready to go with you as you request, for both things - both to Kedesh in order to gather the people, since you claimed "How will I gather ten thousand men, who will listen to me?", whereas to the voice of the prophetess they will listen; and also to battle, so that you will have the merit of a prophetess. But know that you are about to lose on both of these counts.
First: you want me to gather the people, and if I gathered them - it is not you. You will not be able to say "I gathered the army here," rather Devorah gathered them, and in this you will have no honor and glory. And if you say: it is fine, I will strike the final blow, I will do the final completion myself - do not be confused, this too will be by the hand of a woman, for in the end, by whom will Sisera die? By Yael, as we will see further on. This is the meaning of "your glory will not be on the way that you are going": the conquest to which you are going will not give you glory, "for into the hand of a woman will Hashem deliver Sisera" - a woman gathered the people, that is me, and a woman will cut off his head, that is Yael. In what, then, will your name be remembered concerning this battle?
And by the way, here I found an allusion to the fact that Devorah was Barak's wife, for it is written "and she went with Barak to Kedesh," and one who wishes may read this slightly differently: "Barak betrothed her" - that Barak betrothed her and took her as a wife. This is by way of allusion, but Chazal indeed say that she was his wife.
וַיַּזְעֵק בָּרָק אֶת־זְבוּלֻן וְאֶת־נַפְתָּלִי קֶדְשָׁה וַיַּעַל בְּרַגְלָיו עֲשֶׂרֶת אַלְפֵי אִישׁ וַתַּעַל עִמּוֹ דְּבוֹרָה׃ - And Barak summoned Zevulun and Naftali to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up on foot after him, and Devorah went up with him.
At first he invites Zevulun. Why? Because Naftali was his own tribe, and so that the men of Zevulun would not say: he went to call his friends first, and only now comes to call us. Therefore he goes first to the men of Zevulun so that they would not feel slighted. And we will see further on that in those days they were very particular and greatly offended if they were not called first to battle. Today, when someone is not called, they say "Thank God, they held a draft and did not call me." But in those days, one who was not called to battle was offended, and would even go out to fight against the one who did not call him: how did you go to battle and not call us? Therefore, in order to prevent grievances, Barak turns first to Zevulun, for with Naftali, his own tribe, he would manage more easily.
And what is the meaning of "and he went up on foot"? Two explanations. The first: on his account, in his wake - on his account ten thousand men went up. And we see from here that they did not go up on Devorah's account, but rather they relied on him, and his own strength succeeded in rallying the people. Like "and Hashem has blessed you on my account" that Yaakov said to Lavan, which means on my account. And the second explanation, which is the simplest: Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots, whereas Barak went up on foot - he did not have even a single chariot. And this magnifies the miracle, as we will see further on. "And Devorah went up with him" - in keeping with her words "if you go with me I will go," she indeed rose and went with him.
וְחֶבֶר הַקֵּינִי נִפְרָד מִקַּיִן מִבְּנֵי חֹבָב חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה וַיֵּט אָהֳלוֹ עַד־אֵילוֹן בְּצַעֲנַנִּים אֲשֶׁר אֶת־קֶדֶשׁ׃ - And Chever the Kenite had separated from Kayin, from the descendants of Chovav the father-in-law of Moshe, and he pitched his tent as far as Elon Betzaananim, which is by Kedesh.
This verse is an introduction to what we will see further on. For Devorah said "into the hand of a woman Hashem will deliver Sisera," and now the verse describes for you that Chever the Kenite separated from the rest of his brethren who dwelt in the wilderness of Yehudah and pitched his tent near Kedesh - in order to be ready for the day of deliverance, that the deliverance would come through him. The verse mentions this beforehand so that you should not wonder: how would the deliverance come through him when he is in a completely different place? To this it tells you: not so, beforehand he separated from Kayin, left them and came to this region, and now you will understand why he was here as an aid to the salvation of Israel.
וַיַּגִּדוּ לְסִיסְרָא כִּי עָלָה בָּרָק בֶּן־אֲבִינֹעַם הַר־תָּבוֹר׃ - And they told Sisera that Barak son of Avinoam had gone up to Mount Tavor.
And what does it matter that Barak went up to Mount Tavor? Rather, as is well known, one who wishes to succeed in battle does better to seize a strategic location, and a strategic location - as we will see several more times further on - is a high place. One who controls a high place has more power and more options, and victory is usually assured to him. One who knows how difficult it was to conquer the Golan Heights and other high places understands how hard it is when the enemy has you in its sights from above and you are supposed to climb and capture the mountain. Therefore, when Sisera hears that Barak son of Avinoam, from the people enslaved to him, has gone up onto the mountain - he understands that there is a plan of rebellion here.
וַיַּזְעֵק סִיסְרָא אֶת־כָּל־רִכְבּוֹ תְּשַׁע מֵאוֹת רֶכֶב בַּרְזֶל וְאֶת־כָּל־הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ מֵחֲרֹשֶׁת הַגּוֹיִם אֶל־נַחַל קִישׁוֹן׃ - And Sisera summoned all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Charoshet HaGoyim to the Kishon River.
He summons all his chariots and all the people who are with him and gathers them all for battle, for he understands that this is no easy fight: strategically he is at a disadvantage, being positioned lower down, and therefore great force is needed to storm the heights. And he gathers them all at Nachal Kishon.
The verse emphasizes the quantity: nine hundred iron chariots. And we all remember how many chariots Pharaoh had when he pursued Bnei Yisrael: six hundred. It is brought there that at a certain point the Holy One, blessed be He, asked the prince of the Sea of Reeds to spit out the Egyptians. He said before Him: Master of the Universe, a servant whose master gives him a reward, a servant whose master gives him a gift, takes it. You gave them to me, let me enjoy them! Why do You now tell me to spit them out? But they had to be spat out so that Bnei Yisrael would have the spoils of the sea. In any case, the sea felt that something had been taken from it, like one who was brought a sweet and then had it snatched away. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: I will see to it that you receive one and a half times as much. He asked: And who will be the guarantor? He said to him: Nachal Kishon will be the guarantor.
And this is exactly what we see here. The Holy One, blessed be He, promised one and a half times as much: instead of six hundred, nine hundred, and Nachal Kishon is the guarantor. And indeed Nachal Kishon swept them away and washed them into the sea.
And the Malbim says: notice that this was from Hashem, and that is the meaning of "and I will draw." For how many men did Barak have? Ten thousand men. And against them you organize nine hundred iron chariots and all the people and bring even more men from Charoshet HaGoyim? For what and against whom? Against such a small number you gather an entire army? This can only be "and I will draw." For the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to bring them down, and how can they fall if they do not all come? What kind of defeat would it be if five thousand or ten thousand men fell? Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, brings them all, and without any logic Sisera gathers his entire army, so that in the end they will all be punished.
וַתֹּאמֶר דְּבֹרָה אֶל־בָּרָק קוּם כִּי זֶה הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהֹוָה אֶת־סִיסְרָא בְּיָדֶךָ הֲלֹא יְהֹוָה יָצָא לְפָנֶיךָ וַיֵּרֶד בָּרָק מֵהַר תָּבוֹר וַעֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים אִישׁ אַחֲרָיו׃ - And Devorah said to Barak: Arise, for this is the day on which Hashem has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not Hashem gone out before you? And Barak went down from Mount Tavor with ten thousand men after him.
What is the meaning of "Arise," and why does he need to be roused? Chazal say: because he saw Sisera's chariots, he was afraid. Barak is apprehensive, and it is good that he brought Devorah along with him. Devorah gives him a little jab and pushes him forward: Arise, take courage, we have here a command from Hashem.
And what is the emphasis of "this is the day"? Because on this day a special angel went out to make your ways succeed, and he comes precisely today. And there is another explanation, which seemingly contradicts what we saw earlier: we saw that Sisera's astrologers foresaw that this day would not succeed for him, but there is another explanation, that Sisera's mother, who was a great astrologer - and as we will see later, "and she looked out through the window" - gazed with astrology. And "window" does not necessarily mean a window as we know it, but rather a kind of crystal ball. And according to her charts, apparently synoptic charts that were not up to date, she saw that he was actually about to succeed. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He upended the arrangement and changed the positions of the stars. And this is what Devorah says in her song, "from heaven the stars fought": this is not a war of stars, but rather that Hashem changed the courses of the stars, and a star that had indicated success suddenly stood on the horizon indicating failure and loss. Therefore she says to him: Today! Today the Holy One, blessed be He, did this, this is a special miracle for right now - do not delay.
"And Barak went down": here too we see his faith. In descending from the mountain he loses the advantage of one positioned above, but if Hashem commands, one goes down, even when it involves danger. The principle is one: to be victorious according to Hashem. And if I am victorious according to Hashem, I am willing to do things that by nature run counter to victory, for I have a promise from Hashem, may He be blessed.
And the Malbim is precise regarding "which Hashem has delivered Sisera into your hand": "has delivered" is in the past tense, for the Holy One, blessed be He, has already begun to strike them down with casualties. That is, there is already a giving here, Hashem has already delivered them and begun to strike them. And this is exactly what we see in the following verse.
וַיָּהָם יְהֹוָה אֶת־סִיסְרָא וְאֶת־כָּל־הָרֶכֶב וְאֶת־כָּל־הַמַּחֲנֶה לְפִי־חֶרֶב לִפְנֵי בָרָק וַיֵּרֶד סִיסְרָא מֵעַל הַמֶּרְכָּבָה וַיָּנָס בְּרַגְלָיו׃ - And Hashem threw Sisera and all the chariots and all the camp into panic before the sword of Barak, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.
"And Hashem threw into panic" - He created confusion there. Chazal say that even before Barak's sword arrived, Sisera saw the sword of the angel drawn and brandished against him, and he began to flee. And since the chariot moves heavily (this reminds us of Pharaoh's chariots) he simply abandons it and begins to run on foot. And the purpose of all this was that he should flee to the tent of Yael, for only if he ran on foot would he seek a place to hide.
וּבָרָק רָדַף אַחֲרֵי הָרֶכֶב וְאַחֲרֵי הַמַּחֲנֶה עַד חֲרֹשֶׁת הַגּוֹיִם וַיִּפֹּל כָּל־מַחֲנֵה סִיסְרָא לְפִי־חֶרֶב לֹא נִשְׁאַר עַד־אֶחָד׃ - And Barak pursued the chariots and the camp as far as Charoshet Hagoyim, and the whole camp of Sisera fell by the sword, not one remained.
Notice, says the Malbim: it does not say that Barak fought or struck, but rather "Barak pursued." He pursued them, and the entire camp fell slain. And according to this, "by the sword" can be explained in two ways: either "by the sword" means "through the sword," for if he only pursued, how did they fall by the sword? Or the second possibility: a man's sword against his fellow, that out of the panic that fell among them, they stabbed one another.
וְסִיסְרָא נָס בְּרַגְלָיו אֶל־אֹהֶל יָעֵל אֵשֶׁת חֶבֶר הַקֵּינִי כִּי שָׁלוֹם בֵּין יָבִין מֶלֶךְ־חָצוֹר וּבֵין בֵּית חֶבֶר הַקֵּינִי׃ - And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Yael, wife of Chever the Kenite, for there was peace between Yavin king of Chatzor and the house of Chever the Kenite.
From here we see what Chazal said: a man's feet are his guarantors, to the place where he is destined, there they lead him. To the place he is wanted, there his feet carry him. And where did his feet carry him? To the tent of Yael.
The Malbim brings the question of the Abarbanel: it is stated that there was peace between Yavin king of Chatzor and the house of Chever the Kenite, and if so, how did Yael do this evil thing to kill Sisera, while there is a peace agreement between her husband's house and the house of Sisera? He calls this an act against the laws of nations. There is a non aggression agreement between them, and he comes there in trust (this is like an embassy, a protected place) and suddenly they kill him there?
The Malbim says: there are two answers, one according to the approach of the Abarbanel and one according to my own. According to his approach: first, note the wording - "peace between Yavin king of Chatzor and the house of Chever the Kenite," and this is a comprehensive peace with all the Kenites who dwelt in the wilderness of Yehuda. But we saw that Chever separated from his brothers and pitched his tent among Bnei Yisrael, and it turns out that he had already separated from the covenant. He is not part of the union, he does not belong to them, and he is no longer bound by the peace between you.
Another reason, which the Abarbanel also brings: he fled to the tent of Yael, and a woman is exempt from matters of statecraft. So it was accepted in their time: agreements, treaties, a non extradition agreement, a peace agreement - all this is the affair of the men, and the women are not part of the story. She is not obligated by what her husband signed. What you sign is you, and what I sign is me. If so, she says to him: you made an agreement, I signed no agreement and am not bound to you - and by virtue of this she was able to do what she did.
But the Malbim says: I myself do not need all these answers. For the house of Chever were of Bnei Yisrael, and how should they not take up the quarrel of their people and their God? Should it be that because of some strange peace agreement between you and me, at a time when you threaten my people and seek to kill, I would suddenly become a bleeding heart? On the contrary: to cut off your head, and not a hair shall fall from the head of a Jew. For here we are dealing with a danger to Bnei Yisrael. And therefore, says the Malbim, from the outset there is no question - from the very beginning there is no question at all.
וַתֵּצֵא יָעֵל לִקְרַאת סִיסְרָא וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו סוּרָה אֲדֹנִי סוּרָה אֵלַי אַל־תִּירָא וַיָּסַר אֵלֶיהָ הָאֹהֱלָה וַתְּכַסֵּהוּ בַּשְּׂמִיכָה׃ - And Yael went out to meet Sisera and said to him: Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me, do not fear. And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
Yael comes out of the tent and calls to him. As we recall, there is peace between them, so he feels safe. The purpose of covering him with the blanket was to ensure that whoever saw the place would not sense that someone was there, for when the blanket covers him, it is not apparent that a person is lying there.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ הַשְׁקִינִי־נָא מְעַט־מַיִם כִּי צָמֵאתִי וַתִּפְתַּח אֶת־נֹאוד הֶחָלָב וַתַּשְׁקֵהוּ וַתְּכַסֵּהוּ׃ - And he said to her: Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened the skin of milk and gave him to drink, and covered him.
He asks for water and she gives him milk. Why? Because milk creates thirst, and the goal was for him to be thirsty and tired, that the milk would create heaviness and fatigue and bring him to fall asleep. And this is not the milk of our times - today they have taken everything out of the milk, except for the silicone they have put into it. In their days the milk was full and rich with fats, and a person who eats fatty cheese or fatty meat digests it with more difficulty, and this tires him out. And that was the goal: that he would fall asleep.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ עֲמֹד פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וְהָיָה אִם־אִישׁ יָבֹא וּשְׁאֵלֵךְ וְאָמַר הֲיֵשׁ־פֹּה אִישׁ וְאָמַרְתְּ אָיִן׃ - And he said to her: Stand at the entrance of the tent, and it shall be, if any man comes and asks you and says, Is there a man here, that you shall say, There is none.
Why did he say "stand" in the masculine form? Some say that he was already dazed, and therefore addressed her in the masculine form. And there is another possibility: "stand" is not directed specifically at her, but rather that there is a need for someone to stand at the entrance of the tent. And another possibility: that he did not want anyone to suspect that there was a woman there, and therefore he spoke in the masculine form.
And why would a man come and ask "Is there a man here"? The Malbim explains: because it is not the way of propriety to enter the tent of a woman in which there is no other man of the household - there is a lack of modesty in this. Therefore, if someone comes he will first ask whether there is anyone else there, meaning: may I enter? And the intention is not that they would come searching for him, for we have seen that the pursuers continued chasing after the chariot all the way to Charoshet HaGoyim. Rather, an ordinary person who seeks to enter a tent asks the mistress of the house whether there is anyone else there, and if not, he will not enter.
"That you shall say, There is none" - she prophesied and did not know what she prophesied. For when someone comes and asks whether there is a man here, indeed Sisera would be in the category of "none": he is already gone, he will no longer be here.
וַתִּקַּח יָעֵל אֵשֶׁת־חֶבֶר אֶת־יְתַד הָאֹהֶל וַתָּשֶׂם אֶת־הַמַּקֶּבֶת בְּיָדָהּ וַתָּבוֹא אֵלָיו בַּלָּאט וַתִּתְקַע אֶת־הַיָּתֵד בְּרַקָּתוֹ וַתִּצְנַח בָּאָרֶץ וְהוּא־נִרְדָּם וַיָּעַף וַיָּמֹת׃ - And Yael, the wife of Chever, took the tent peg and put the hammer in her hand, and came to him softly, and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground, for he was in a deep sleep and weary, and he died.
What is the emphasis of "the wife of Chever"? We saw that Chever the Kenite separated from Kayin, and Kayin was a shedder of blood. Chever separated from the way of Kayin and kept no weapon of war in his house at all. And if so, if there was nonetheless a need for a way to kill Sisera - how? By means of the tent peg and its hammer. The peg is a kind of chisel that they would drive into the ground, to which they tie the cords of the tent, and this was the only thing that could be used.
And there is another well-known explanation: she did not want to transgress "a man's garment shall not be upon a woman." A woman who takes up a weapon violates "the item of a man shall not be upon a woman," which refers to a weapon. And although in a situation of danger to life the matter is permitted, but if she could do it in another way, why should she do it in a manner that is not fitting? Therefore she took specifically the tent peg.
And the Malbim is precise about "and drove it in": she took the hammer, which is the mallet, in one hand, and the peg in the other, and she did not have the strength to strike with the hammer upon the peg. Rather, from Heaven it was caused that the peg dropped into the ground of itself from the weight of its heaviness, and then it split through and passed. And since he was in a deep sleep from the milk, his blood flowed and he was weary and immediately died. For naturally a person who receives a blow immediately jumps up, but here his fatigue caused that he was in a deep sleep and slept an eternal sleep and felt nothing at all.
וְהִנֵּה בָרָק רֹדֵף אֶת־סִיסְרָא וַתֵּצֵא יָעֵל לִקְרָאתוֹ וַתֹּאמֶר לוֹ לֵךְ וְאַרְאֶךָּ אֶת־הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּה מְבַקֵּשׁ וַיָּבֹא אֵלֶיהָ וְהִנֵּה סִיסְרָא נֹפֵל מֵת וְהַיָּתֵד בְּרַקָּתוֹ׃ - And behold, Barak was pursuing Sisera, and Yael came out to meet him and said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek. And he came to her, and behold, Sisera lay dead, with the peg in his temple.
Why did she leave the peg in his temple and not pull it out? First, out of concern that if she pulled it out he might suddenly awaken. Second, she wanted Barak to see that it was she who had killed him, so that he would not think that perhaps Sisera had taken his own life. She wanted him to see that Sisera had no such intentions at all, but rather needed someone to help send him to the world that is entirely evil.
The Rama of Fano says that Yael returns and is reincarnated in Yehudit. And who was Yehudit? At the time when there was a decree that any woman who wished to marry must first be with the governor, whose name was Eliphorni, and he would be intimate with her and only afterward would she go to her groom - a harsh and terrible decree. And this Yehudit decided to put an end to it. What did she do? She gave him milk to drink, and afterward gave him wine, and then she cut off his head.
And see how she corrected what had happened here with Yael. For regarding Yael, our Sages bring, and we will see this later, that Sisera was intimate with her several times. And our Sages say that the kindness of the wicked is an evil thing to the righteous, and she certainly derived no pleasure from this. But in any case, with Yehudit the correction was more complete, for there he did not touch her at all - before he came to sin with her she killed him. It turns out that there was here a correction of the deed that had happened then.
וַיַּכְנַע אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אֵת יָבִין מֶלֶךְ־כְּנָעַן לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And on that day God subdued Yavin king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
The Malbim says: afterward Yavin returned to fight a second time, but the hand of Israel grew heavy upon him until they destroyed him. And we see that they rested throughout that entire period, for all the days of Devorah they had rest, since throughout her days they still stood in their righteousness. And as we saw, there is a situation in which Hashem raises up a savior and saves them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge - and in the time of Devorah it was so, all the days of the judge.
וַתֵּלֶךְ יַד בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל הָלוֹךְ וְקָשָׁה עַל יָבִין מֶלֶךְ־כְּנָעַן עַד אֲשֶׁר הִכְרִיתוּ אֵת יָבִין מֶלֶךְ־כְּנָעַן׃ - And the hand of the children of Israel grew steadily heavier upon Yavin king of Canaan, until they destroyed Yavin king of Canaan.
That is, they were not content with their downfall, but destroyed them completely. "Grew steadily heavier" - that little by little they struck them again and again, until they destroyed them entirely.
Chapter 4 teaches us that the sin which had already begun in the days of Ehud brought about an especially harsh subjugation - at the hand of Yavin king of Canaan, from among the nations we had not driven out, one holding an open account since the conquest of Chatzor, with nine hundred iron chariots, taunts and revilings, and twenty years of oppression. On the other hand, four causes for salvation gathered together: the cry of the people, the merit of Devorah who was granted prophecy on account of the wicks she made for her husband, her being a judge and setting the people right, and the merit of Israel who came up to her of their own accord for judgment. The salvation itself was done entirely "by the hand of a woman": Devorah who gathered the people and pressed Barak, and Yael who put Sisera to death with the tent peg. And above all stands out "and I will draw" - that the Holy One, blessed be He, was the one who drew Sisera and all his army to the Kishon stream, disrupting for this purpose the arrangements of the stars, and fulfilling at the banks of the Kishon stream His promise to the prince of the sea. And just as Devorah intended to increase the light of the Omnipresent, so did the Holy One, blessed be He, increase her light, until Israel rested all her days and destroyed Yavin king of Canaan.