Chapter 9 of Yechezkel is a direct continuation of the vision of abominations the prophet saw in the previous chapter. After all the terrible deeds committed in the Beit HaMikdash were presented before him, the prophetic vision of the destruction itself now arrives. Everything seen in this chapter is a vision, a prophetic spectacle beheld by Yechezkel, and this vision portrays the destruction that is destined to come - the entire devastation revealed before his eyes even before it actually took place.
This vision comes to express to us the causes and factors behind the physical destruction. It tells you: everything began with spiritual destruction. We know that every campaign and struggle taking place here in this world is essentially a battle occurring in the upper worlds, between the positive spiritual forces of the Jewish people and the forces of the nations of the world, and according to the outcome there, so will be the outcome down below. Therefore, the prophet witnesses the battle and the decree as they unfold within the reality of the higher realms.
וַיִּקְרָא בְאָזְנַי קוֹל גָּדוֹל לֵאמֹר קָרְבוּ פְּקֻדּוֹת הָעִיר וְאִישׁ כְּלִי מַשְׁחֵתוֹ בְּיָדוֹ׃ - And He called out in my ears with a loud voice, saying, "Draw near, overseers of the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand."
The prophet hears a great voice calling out in his ears and commanding: "Draw near, overseers of the city." Rashi explains that these are the agents appointed to destroy the city. The voice summons and invites them to carry out their task. After all the great abominations we saw previously, an order is now issued, as it were, summoning those appointed over the destruction of the city: the time has come for them to come and destroy Yerushalayim and the Beit HaMikdash.
וְהִנֵּה שִׁשָּׁה אֲנָשִׁים בָּאִים מִדֶּרֶךְ־שַׁעַר הָעֶלְיוֹן אֲשֶׁר מָפְנֶה צָפוֹנָה וְאִישׁ כְּלִי מַפָּצוֹ בְּיָדוֹ וְאִישׁ־אֶחָד בְּתוֹכָם לָבֻשׁ בַּדִּים וְקֶסֶת הַסֹּפֵר בְּמָתְנָיו וַיָּבֹאוּ וַיַּעַמְדוּ אֵצֶל מִזְבַּח הַנְּחֹשֶׁת׃ - And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate that faces northward, each with his shattering weapon in his hand, and one man among them was clothed in linen with a scribe's inkhorn at his waist; they came and stood beside the copper altar.
The prophet sees the destroyers drawing near to strike the city, each carrying a weapon of destruction. Radak explains that these six men, along with the seventh among them who was the king's scribe, correspond to the ministers of Nevuchadnezzar who entered the city when its walls were breached: Nergal, Samgar, Nevo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer, and Rabmag. Although eight appear to be listed in the verse, the first was the officer appointed over the other seven. All of this was shown to him beforehand in the prophetic vision.
Rashi explains that he is being shown the upper spiritual forces that execute the task, and these are: Kezeph (Wrath), Aph (Anger), Cheimah (Fury), Mashchit (Destroyer), Meshabeir (Breaker), and Mechaleh (Consumer). These are forces of darkness, forces of evil that come to destroy the city, and they are the spiritual forces that clothe themselves in the physical forces that ultimately devastated the city. All of these angels are destructive angels, "demolition contractors."
And with them, the prophet sees the angel clothed in linen with a scribe's inkhorn at his waist. Radak explains that he was the leader of all those angels. A "scribe's inkhorn" refers to a notebook and inkwell used for writing. Chazal teach that the one clothed in linen is Gavriel, an angel of fire, for he was the one who cast fire upon the city. We likewise find in Daniel that he saw in a vision a man clothed in linen, "and his appearance was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes like torches of fire" - this is the angel Gavriel, who is appointed over fire.
Why is the scribe's inkhorn emphasized here? Because later this angel will be instructed to mark a sign on the foreheads of the people, and therefore the text notes in advance that he has the inkhorn with him, with which he will make the mark. Further on, we will see what this mark is and for what purpose it was placed.
The question arises: Was there actually a copper altar in the Temple of Shlomo? After all, there was the golden altar, which was the inner altar, the incense altar; and opposite it outside was a large stone altar, measuring thirty-two cubits by thirty-two cubits - about sixteen meters by sixteen meters. One would ascend this altar via a ramp and offer the sacrifices on its top. If so, there was no copper altar there.
Rather, Chazal explain: "the copper altar" refers to the altar that stood in place of the copper altar. For in the Mishkan, the copper altar was designated for offering sacrifices, whereas upon the golden altar they did not offer sacrifices, but only incense and sprinklings. The replacement for the portable copper altar of the Mishkan era was the stone altar, and the verse continues to refer to it as "the copper altar" because it took its place.
The Malbim explains that while these are destructive angels that came to destroy the city, this is an allegory for those who destroyed the city in actual practice. And who were they? They were the six officers of the city who had access to the king - meaning the six ministers and overseers of the city, the city council members. They corrupted the city and killed many people at the end of the siege. The prophet was shown, as it were, that six angels of destruction clothed themselves within these six flesh-and-blood men, acting through them to kill and ruin the city. This also teaches that through their evil deeds, the city was ultimately destroyed. These are six angels, and they have six counterparts in the city - those six men through whom the city was ruined spiritually, and corresponding to them came six destroying angels who clothed themselves within them and slaughtered the city's inhabitants.
And who is the one clothed in linen according to the Malbim? That is the prophet Yirmeyahu. Yirmeyahu was a Kohen, from Anatot, a city of Kohanim, which is why he is clothed in linen garments meant for sacred service. And why does he have the scribe's inkhorn at his waist? In order to write his prophecies, for Yirmeyahu wrote his own book as well as Megillat Eichah, with Baruch ben Neriyah writing at his dictation. And he was the one who tried to calm the confusion and turmoil in the city, advising the people to repent. The one clothed in linen is the one who came, as it were, to prevent those destroying angels from ruining the city.
And why was Jerusalem destroyed in the First Temple era? For bloodshed. Menashe filled Jerusalem with blood from end to end, and lawless murder was rampant. The Malbim describes a situation like the one at the end of the Second Temple era, where people walked about with short daggers and stabbed one another in the marketplace; suddenly a person would collapse and die, and no one knew what happened to him. These six ministers were the ones under whose command the bloodshed took place within the city, killing fellow Jews as well.
וּכְבוֹד אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נַעֲלָה מֵעַל הַכְּרוּב אֲשֶׁר הָיָה עָלָיו אֶל מִפְתַּן הַבָּיִת וַיִּקְרָא אֶל־הָאִישׁ הַלָּבֻשׁ הַבַּדִּים אֲשֶׁר קֶסֶת הַסֹּפֵר בְּמָתְנָיו׃ - And the glory of the God of Israel ascended from upon the cherub, where it had rested, to the threshold of the House; and He called to the man clothed in linen, who had the scribe's inkhorn at his waist.
The resting place of the Shechinah in the Beit HaMikdash was between the cherubim. Therefore, we say that one who prays in the Diaspora faces toward the Land of Israel; in the Land of Israel, one faces toward the holy city of Jerusalem; toward the Beit HaMikdash and toward the Holy of Holies, for there is the gate of heaven and the Shechinah between the two cherubim. This is how one must direct his intention before every Shemoneh Esreh prayer.
And one should know that this intention is indispensable. The Rambam writes that if a person did not intend that he is standing before the King, it is as if he did not pray at all. You stood, perhaps recited Tehillim, but you did not pray Shemoneh Esreh. Some say it is sufficient to have this awareness once during the prayer. The view of Rav Chaim of Brisk is that one must have this intention throughout the entire prayer, constantly mindful, "I am now standing before the King," and if not, he has not fulfilled his obligation. The Chazon Ish maintains that although ideally one should certainly concentrate throughout the entire prayer, if he had this in mind even once, it suffices.
Here it is mentioned that the glory of the God of Israel ascended from above the cherub. Chazal teach that the Shechinah departed in ten stages: from cherub to cherub, from cherub to the threshold, and so forth. This is also found in the Kinot of Tisha B'Av, where the Shechinah is described wandering from place to place - from the Heichal, and from the Heichal ascending to the roof, seeing that even there they worshiped sun-pillars and pagan deities, until it declared: "I will go and return to My place until they say, 'Let us return to Hashem,' until they seek Hashem." There is a particularly moving and poignant kinah there regarding the departures of the Shechinah. In our verse, it is expressed that the Shechinah had already moved from above the cherub to the threshold of the House - meaning it is about to depart from the House; we are already in a state where the Shechinah is distancing itself.
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלָיו עֲבֹר בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר בְּתוֹךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם וְהִתְוִיתָ תָּו עַל־מִצְחוֹת הָאֲנָשִׁים הַנֶּאֱנָחִים וְהַנֶּאֱנָקִים עַל כָּל־הַתּוֹעֵבוֹת הַנַּעֲשׂוֹת בְּתוֹכָהּ׃ - And Hashem said to him: Pass through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are done in its midst.
The Shechinah calls to that advocate for merit - and according to the Malbim, to Yirmiyahu - and commands: Pass through the midst of the city and mark a mark. A tav means a sign, a mark in ink upon those people who sigh and groan over the abominations, those who feel pain and sorrow over what is being done in the city.
There are distinct levels here. Just as we find by the Golden Calf: there were those who served it, there were those who danced before it, which was even more severe, there were those who watched and rejoiced in their hearts, there were those who merely observed and remained neutral, and there were those who grieved. The Holy One, Blessed is He, says: I am not looking for the neutral ones. Place a mark - which is a sign of salvation, as we will see later - specifically upon those who sigh and groan over all the abominations done in its midst.
From this we learn that a person must feel distress when witnessing an evil deed. If one does not feel sorrow, it implies that one says in his heart, "It is not so bad, I do not mind, it is not so terrible." When one sees a desecration of Shabbat, one must feel grief. And if one does not feel grief, one must grieve over the fact that he does not grieve! The situation itself ought to arouse sorrow within him: Why does it not pain me to see someone angering his Creator? And specifically regarding such people it is said, "who sigh and groan"; ne'enakim (groan) comes from an expression of an outcry, emitting a sound from one's mouth as an expression of pain.
וּלְאֵלֶּה אָמַר בְּאָזְנַי עִבְרוּ בָעִיר אַחֲרָיו וְהַכּוּ אַל־תָּחֹס עֵינְכֶם וְאַל־תַּחְמֹלוּ׃ - And to the others He said in my hearing: Pass through the city after him and strike; let not your eye spare, neither have pity.
"And to the others" - to those six destroying angels, Hashem commanded that they pass through the city after the linen-clad man and strike, without pity and without sparing. There is an explicit prophecy here that the city is destined to be destroyed.
זָקֵן בָּחוּר וּבְתוּלָה וְטַף וְנָשִׁים תַּהַרְגוּ לְמַשְׁחִית וְעַל־כָּל־אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־עָלָיו הַתָּו אַל־תִּגַּשׁוּ וּמִמִּקְדָּשִׁי תָּחֵלּוּ וַיָּחֵלּוּ בָּאֲנָשִׁים הַזְּקֵנִים אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵי הַבָּיִת׃ - Slay utterly old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women; but do not come near any man upon whom is the mark, and begin at My Sanctuary. So they began with the elders who were before the House.
No one is to be pitied: old man, young man, maiden, infants, and women - all of them to destruction, to be struck down by destructive power. Yet do not approach any man who bears the mark, for the mark signifies that he is not part of the corruption, having been among the righteous who sighed and groaned within it. "And begin at My Sanctuary" - from where should they start? From the Beis HaMikdash.
Why specifically with the people in the Beis HaMikdash? The Malbim explains: These individuals stood in the holiest place yet committed the most heinous deeds; therefore, judgment must begin specifically with them. They were the watchmen and overseers of the Beis HaMikdash, entrusted to serve Hashem, and it is precisely with them that the retribution begins. The parallel meaning is that the princes of the nation, the appointed leaders represented by the six destroying angels, were the very ones behind whom all the destruction unfolded - the overseers betrayed their duty.
According to the Malbim's approach, "and mark a mark" means: Go, Yirmiyahu, and attempt to bring them to repentance, and whoever repents will have his life spared. Marking the sign represents salvation. Go and bring them back in teshuvah, and anyone you bring back will be judged on his own merit as innocent and will be saved. Yirmiyahu is the linen-clad man sent to rescue them so they would not fall under the decree of the destroyers. And "begin at My Sanctuary" - because in reality, the rebellion and the slaughter began in the Beis HaMikdash, when the people gathered there, and it was there that they began striking the elders before the House. From there the angels began to wreak destruction, and through there Nevuchadnezzar and his forces entered; therefore, in the prophetic vision as well, "begin at My Sanctuary."
Thus far according to the plain meaning of the text. Now let us see how Chazal expound it. It is brought in Masechet Shabbat (55a): Rabbi Zeira said to Rabbi Simon, "Rebuke the members of the household of the Exilarch for their actions." Rabbi Simon said to him, "They will not accept it from me." He replied, "Even though they will not accept it, rebuke them. For Rabbi Acha bar Rabbi Chanina said: Never did a favorable attribute go forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, and He retracted it for the worse, except for this matter."
We must understand the general rule: if the Holy One, blessed be He, promises a decree of retribution, there is a chance it will not be fulfilled. Nineveh was to be overthrown - yet in the end it was not overturned; while commentators explain that it underwent a spiritual revolution through repentance, in any case death was meant to strike there and did not. And yet it is written, "He is not a man, that He should repent" - how then does Hashem relent? He relents concerning retribution. Evil can turn to good if the people have changed, and this is not a change in His blessed will, for His true will is to bring evil when evil deeds are done, and when evil deeds cease, it is no longer His will to bring retribution. But if Hashem promised good, it will never change for the worse. Even if we change our ways and are no longer deserving, a decree for good remains. And here lies the sole exception.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel: Go and mark upon the foreheads of the righteous a mark (tav) of ink, so that the angels of destruction will have no power over them; and upon the foreheads of the wicked a mark of blood, so that the angels of destruction will have power over them. The Attribute of Justice said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, how are these different from those? He replied: These are completely righteous, and those are completely wicked. The Attribute of Justice pleaded before Him: Master of the Universe, it was within their power to protest and they did not protest, and whoever has the power to protest and does not protest is held accountable for their sin. He answered: It is revealed and known before Me that had they protested, the people would not have accepted it from them. The Attribute of Justice said before Him: Master of the Universe, if it is revealed before You, is it revealed to them? You know that they would not have accepted it, but they do not know this; and if they do not know, it remains their duty to rebuke and protest.
And this is what is written: "Slay utterly the old man, the young man and the maiden, little children and women... and begin at My Sanctuary," and it is written: "Then they began with the elders who were before the House." Rav Yosef taught: Do not read mikdashi ("My Sanctuary"), but rather mekudashai ("My sanctified ones") - these are the people who fulfilled the entire Torah from Aleph to Tav. Notice: the very ones about whom it was initially said that a mark would be placed upon them for salvation, from them Hashem said to begin the slaughter, so that they would die first.
The Gemara asks: Was there a copper altar? Did a copper altar exist in that era, when it was a stone altar? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: Begin from the place where song is recited before Me - from the Altar. And who are the six men? Rav Chisda said: Wrath, Anger, and Fury, and Destroyer, Crusher, and Annihilator.
And why specifically a tav? Why specifically the letter Tav, and not Aleph or Bet? Rav said: Tav stands for tichyeh ("you shall live"), Tav stands for tamut ("you shall die"). Upon the wicked they wrote a Tav in blood, and upon the righteous a Tav in ink; the Tav upon the righteous signifies "you shall live," and the Tav upon the wicked signifies "you shall die." Shmuel said: Tav stands for tammah zechut avot - the merit of the Patriarchs is exhausted, meaning there is no longer ancestral merit, and whoever has merit in his own right stands by the power of his deeds. Rabbi Yochanan said: tachon zechut avot, from the language of grace (chaninah), that He show them grace through ancestral merit. Reish Lakish said: Tav is the final letter of the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He, as Rabbi Chanina said: The seal of the Holy One, blessed be He, is Emet (truth). And Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: These are the people who fulfilled the entire Torah from Aleph to Tav.
And why specifically is "truth" the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He, and not another attribute - holy, eternity, splendor? The explanation is that every other attribute can be imitated. One can put on a show of kindness, an imitation of kindness, and there is still an act of kindness present - kindness through imitation. But truth cannot be imitated: if it is an imitation, it is no longer truth, but falsehood. Truth is only truth. Therefore, the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He, is truth - a seal that cannot be forged.
Even so, observe how terrifying the claim was: because they did not protest, here the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, altered His ways and retracted the benevolent decree to save the righteous, decreeing death upon them as well. From this we learn that even when it seems obvious that people will not listen, one is still obligated to rebuke.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם טַמְּאוּ אֶת־הַבַּיִת וּמַלְאוּ אֶת־הַחֲצֵרוֹת חֲלָלִים צֵאוּ וְיָצְאוּ וְהִכּוּ בָעִיר׃ - And He said to them: Defile the House and fill the courts with the slain; go out! And they went out and struck in the city.
Since they were commanded to begin with the Beit HaMikdash, they might well have hesitated: the Beit HaMikdash is a holy place, and is it permitted to bring a corpse inside, all the more so to kill and murder people there? Therefore He says to them: Defile the House, have no hesitation. And why should they not hesitate? The Radak explains: because they defiled it first with their idols. After what they had done, defiling the House with their abominations, its holiness had departed, as we have already seen that the Shechinah departed to the threshold. Therefore, carry out your mission without hesitation.
וַיְהִי כְּהַכּוֹתָם וְנֵאשְׁאַר אָנִי וָאֶפְּלָה עַל־פָּנַי וָאֶזְעַק וָאֹמַר אֲהָהּ אֲדֹנָי ה' הֲמַשְׁחִית אַתָּה אֵת כָּל־שְׁאֵרִית יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּשָׁפְכְּךָ אֶת־חֲמָתְךָ עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָם׃ - And it came to pass, as they were striking them and I was left behind, that I fell upon my face and cried out, saying: 'Ah, Lord Hashem! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in Your pouring out of Your fury upon Jerusalem?'
The word ve-ne'eshar (ונאשאר) is a compound of two words: nishan (נשאר - was left) and eshar (אשאר - I remain). It expresses both "I alone remain" and "only I was left behind," combining both meanings. There is another example of such a compound form: mishtachavitem (משתחויתם), which combines mishtachavim (bowing) and ve-hishtachavitem (and you bowed).
The prophet says: the people were either exiled or struck dead, and the only one left there was me alone, for even the righteous in the courtyards of the House of Hashem were struck. And then I cried out to Hashem: Master of the Universe, do You intend to destroy all of Israel so that nothing remains of them? Jerusalem was the surviving remnant; everyone else had already been exiled, and who remained? Only those who were inside the siege in Jerusalem. If they die as well - nothing will be left.
The Malbim explains the phrasing "in Your pouring out of Your fury upon Jerusalem": I see that You wish to pour out Your wrath upon Jerusalem - upon the wood and stones, burning the city with fire. The prophet pleads: let that suffice, and do not destroy Israel. Destroy the city and be satisfied with that, but let the Jewish people endure.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי עֲוֺן בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה גָּדוֹל בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ דָּמִים וְהָעִיר מָלְאָה מֻטֶּה כִּי אָמְרוּ עָזַב ה' אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְאֵין ה' רֹאֶה׃ - And He said to me: 'The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversion; for they say: Hashem has forsaken the land, and Hashem does not see.'
"And the land is full of bloodshed" - murders. "And the city is full of perversion (mutteh)" - that they pervert justice and judgment, delivering crooked verdicts and corrupting the law, with no true justice. When there is no justice below, it awakens, Heaven forbid, severe judgments Above, leaving no choice but to bring destruction upon them. And why was the land full of perversion? "For they say: Hashem has forsaken the land, and Hashem does not see" - they perverted justice assuming they would never be punished for it: the Holy One, blessed be He, is no longer here; He has abandoned the land; no one is watching our deeds. In other words, they denied Hashem's Divine providence.
וְגַם־אֲנִי לֹא־תָחוֹס עֵינִי וְלֹא אֶחְמֹל דַּרְכָּם בְּרֹאשָׁם נָתָתִּי׃ - 'And as for Me also, My eye shall not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their way upon their own head.'
Notice the punishment that follows this denial of providence, and how everything is measure for measure. Just as they showed neither spare nor pity for the poor and destitute, but perverted their judgment, so too "My eye shall not spare." And just as they said, "Hashem does not see," the Holy One, blessed be He, says to them: Do not cry out to Me to see. You claimed I do not see, so I will not look upon you. If a person claims that Hashem does not exercise providence, let him not wonder when troubles strike, nor should he say, "Look, Hashem, upon my affliction." This is "I will bring their way upon their own head" - measure for measure.
וְהִנֵּה הָאִישׁ לְבֻשׁ הַבַּדִּים אֲשֶׁר הַקֶּסֶת בְּמָתְנָיו מֵשִׁיב דָּבָר לֵאמֹר עָשִׂיתִי כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתָנִי׃ - And behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the inkhorn at his waist, reported back, saying: 'I have done as You commanded me.'
According to the literal meaning, he meant: I marked a sign upon the foreheads of the righteous men. The Malbim explains that in the allegory, the angel advocating for merit comes to assist, reporting that he indeed found righteous people worthy of being saved. The deeper reality is that Jeremiah came and rebuked the nation, and in truth, there were people among them who supported Jeremiah. As we see, when they threw Jeremiah into the pit, Ebed-melech the Cushite came to rescue him together with thirty men. We also see that the ministers who heard the severe prophecy were afraid of how to convey it to the king, and were also concerned for Jeremiah's safety. There was, therefore, a group that accepted his words and believed in them.
If so, "I have done as You commanded me" means: I went and rebuked those who needed to be rebuked. Yet in the end, even those people who believed his words were punished. And why? Because they did not protest - it was in their power to protest against others who were doing wrong, yet they did not. And who truly protested? Only Yirmiyahu himself. He was the only one who protested: "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who plucked out hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting." He endured terrible humiliations, and initially hesitated to go with the word of Hashem and did not want to prophesy, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were compelled him to go and deliver the prophecy in order to save the Jewish people.
Chapter 9 is a prophetic vision of the destruction before it arrived: six angels of destruction - Wrath, Anger, Fury, Destroyer, Shatterer, and Annihilator - and among them a man clothed in linen with a scribe's inkhorn at his waist, who according to Chazal is Gavriel, and according to the Malbim is Yirmiyahu the prophet. Opposite them stand the six officers of the city, who through their deeds and commands corrupted and killed. The Shechinah rises from above the keruv to the threshold as a sign of departure, and the one clothed in linen is commanded to place a mark upon the foreheads of those who sigh and groan over the abominations. Yet the Attribute of Justice made its claim: it was in their power to protest, but they did not protest. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, withdrew the decree of mercy - and from the Sanctuary, from His sanctified ones who observed the Torah from Aleph to Tav, the retribution began. From here we derive two great lessons: the obligation to feel pain over an evil deed one witnesses, and the obligation to rebuke even when it seems clear that it will not be accepted, for man cannot know what is revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He.