Sefer Yechezkel, chapter 13. "And the word of Hashem came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own heart: Hear the word of Hashem." The Holy One, blessed be He, delivers a prophecy to Yechezkel: prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy. Prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, but who are these that prophesy? One might have thought He is speaking about the true prophets, the prophets of truth. "And say to those who prophesy from their own heart": say to those who fabricate prophecies from their own hearts, who say things they never saw. It is about the false prophets that He is speaking here, those prophets who strengthened the people in their evil way. We have already spoken about this countless times, that they resembled the true prophets: in their manner of dress (they would wear a mantle in order to deceive), in their manner of speaking, and in that they would take part of the words of the true prophets and repeat them, and afterward, when it came to pass, the false prophet would prepare the ground by claiming, "I prophesied that it would be so," while in truth he had taken it from a true prophet. For the true prophet would prophesy in the upper marketplace and the false prophet would prophesy in the lower marketplace, and in this way the people would not know, and would think that the false prophet said it, and thus he acquired for himself the name of a true prophet. In any case, regarding these prophets Hashem says: I now have a prophecy that I want you to convey now to the people. And these prophets, their sin is great, since they are in the category of one who incites and leads astray, because through these prophets, the false prophets, the people do not repent. They strengthen them in their corrupt way, and the people did not always have the discernment to tell the difference between genuine techeiles and the imitation dye, to distinguish between truth and forgery, and since this was so, many were inclined after them. So the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I have a special decree against those false prophets. And the Malbim says: note that it is written "and say to those who prophesy from their own heart," "prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy." The Malbim says that whenever this is written in the reflexive form (mitpael), it means something imagined, not real. Yes? They do not prophesy, they do not truly deliver prophecy, rather one "prophesies" (mitnabei). Mitnabei means like one who delivers a prophecy, but in truth he has no genuine prophecy. And thus the Malbim explains throughout that the reflexive form always denotes something that is not real. "There is one who makes himself rich (mit'asher) yet has nothing," the Malbim says, not that he truly became rich, but that he made himself as though rich, that is mit'asher. So here too, mitnabei, he is not truly a prophet, he is as if a prophet.
"Thus says Hashem Elokim: Woe to the vile prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing." "Woe" is an expression of pain, of sorrow, over the vile prophets. The Malbim says: the prophet takes pride in his prophecy so that he can truly deliver some message to the people. First, that he prophesies a true prophecy, that what was conveyed to him is genuinely a message from Hashem. Second, the purpose of prophecy is to correct the people. Corresponding to the first matter, that he attain a true prophecy, He says "woe to the vile prophets": they are vile, the disgrace is with them, Hashem did not speak with them. The prophet, says the Malbim, the true prophet, would attain his prophecy either through the spirit of Hashem, that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought His spirit upon him and conveyed His word to him. He tells you: come and see, these, by contrast, follow their own spirit. They have no spirit of Hashem, rather the vile prophets follow their own spirit, the spirit of their imagination, of their delusions, it was not the spirit of Hashem that spoke in them. A further point: it is quite possible that the prophet sees great visions in his prophecy, which is why the prophet is also called a seer (chozeh) and a watchman ("I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel"). And here He says "and have seen nothing": they see nothing, they beheld no vision at all. So, first, they follow their own spirit and not the spirit of Hashem within them, and second, they saw no vision at all.
"Like foxes among ruins have your prophets been, O Israel." Corresponding to the second matter, which we said is that the purpose of the prophet is to correct the people, He says: come and see, your prophets, O Israel, the false prophets, are like foxes among ruins. The fox loves the breaches in the fence. This is the nature of a fox. And the reason is: first, through the breach he enters the vineyard in order to destroy it. Second, through the breach as well, if they come and catch him, if they come to strike him, if they pursue him, he escapes through the breach to flee. So it is good for him that there are several breaches, for if they come from this breach, he can go out and flee from the other breach. The Malbim says: so too were the false prophets. Through the breaches that existed among the people, they entered them, and the people would accept the words of the prophets, since the prophets, as we said, would flatter them, telling them: your way is good, your way is straight. The people were breached. "Breached" means the people were in a lowly state spiritually. There were none who repaired the fence, the people were breached spiritually. This breach among the people was convenient for the prophets, the false prophets, in order to penetrate through it and tell the people that their way is the way of truth. A further point: through the breaches they also fled when they were caught in a lie. That is, you said such and such and you said such and such, and it was seen that it did not happen as you said. They fled through the breaches. What did we say the breaches are? They are the deficiencies among the people, there is a breach among the people. He tells you: sir, you know the people, what can I say, they became corrupt, and therefore in the end what I said did not come. You promised good, you said salvation, that the vessels of the Beis Hamikdash would return, and all sorts of things that they promised. Look, it did not happen. He tells you: yes, but when I said it the people's situation was much better, and now their situation has deteriorated, they were no longer worthy, and thus he has an excuse for why his prophecy was not fulfilled. So the breaches of the people are convenient for him, since through this he comes and strokes their ego and reassures them, and afterward the additional breaches that exist among the people are convenient for him, so that when the prophecy is not fulfilled he can say: what can be done, the people are breached, and consequently the prophecy was not fulfilled.
"You have not gone up into the breaches, nor built up a wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of Hashem." "You have not gone up into the breaches." The true prophets, when there are breaches, first of all take action so that there will be no breaches. That is the first thing: to build a fence so that no breach will be found among the people. The second thing is to stand in the breach. Even when there is a place that has already been breached, they rise to fence in the breach, to seal the breach. And if an enemy comes, and what really is an "enemy" here when we are speaking of prophets? It is an aspect of an accuser, a spiritual force that, as it were, demands judgment against Israel. They would stand in the breach, they would advocate for the merit of Israel, they would pray for Israel, they would turn away wrath. It emerges, then, that these prophets truly did not allow the breach to widen; on the contrary, they went and stood at the place of the breach and fought there with their might. As the prophet says, we will see it later in chapter 22: "And I sought a man who would build up a wall and stand in the breach before Me." This is what Hashem seeks: that if there is some breach among the people, there be a man who builds up a wall and stands in the breach. First, building up a wall so that there will be no breach, and if there is already a breach, standing in the breach to fight against whoever tries to enter through the breaches. And in the parable of the warrior, the Malbim says, if there is some place in the wall that has been broken open, then the warrior stands there to fight against anyone who wants to penetrate through that breach in the wall. He tells them: but you did not go up into the breaches to wage war against the enemy, you did not go up into the breaches. On the contrary, He tells them, you were even like foxes among ruins, that when the enemy comes, they even flee through the breach. You did not build a fence around the house of Israel, as we explained: when there is a breach one must build a fence, one must repair, one must seal. Rather, on the contrary, you were like foxes for whom the breach is convenient, because through the breach they would enter. Through the corruption of the people they would find favor in his eyes, they would tell the people: your way is correct and good. And about this He says "to stand in the battle on the day of Hashem." By means of these two things you were able to stand in battle against the forces of evil, against the accusers who stand over Israel, either by means of the fence that prevents the enemy from coming, or by means of mighty men of strength when he has already come, not letting him enter through the breach. And here again you should understand, we are speaking in a parable, in essence about spiritual matters. For when there is a spiritual breach one must seal it, and if you seal it the spiritual accuser will not come and accuse, for if he accuses and his accusation is accepted, then, Heaven forbid, all of Israel immediately goes out into exile. You did not do things that would prevent the accuser from accusing, and moreover you further corrupted the people.
"They have seen falsehood and lying divination, those who say, 'The word of Hashem,' when Hashem has not sent them, yet they hope for the fulfillment of the matter." "They have seen falsehood and lying divination." The vision they see is falsehood, it is empty, it has no reality, as we said it is delusions and imagination. So what they see is falsehood. And the divination they perform, all sorts of divinations to foretell the future, is a lie (kazav). Kazav means something that does not come to be, like a deceptive stream (nachal achzav), something that seemingly is about to be but disappoints. So that in truth there is nothing to their words, neither from the standpoint of the thing itself, nor from the standpoint that he at least foresees what the future will be, for that too is a lie, since in the end what they say does not come to pass, so their words disappointed. A further point: beyond this, they attribute this falsehood to Hashem. "They have seen falsehood and lying divination, those who say, 'The word of Hashem.'" Everything he says, he knows how the prophet opens his words, "the word of Hashem." So he too opens with "the word of Hashem." And then he creates the impression of one who truly speaks in the word of Hashem. But He says "'The word of Hashem,' when Hashem has not sent them." But the Holy One, blessed be He, did not truly send them. So since their words have no reality, neither from themselves nor from the sender, how do you think that your words will be fulfilled? "They hope for the fulfillment of the matter": they hope that the words will be fulfilled, but nothing is fulfilled. "Have you not seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination, when you say, 'The word of Hashem,' though I have not spoken?" He tells them: it is impossible for the matter to be fulfilled from its own standpoint, for you have seen a false vision. And it is impossible from the standpoint of the sender that the Holy One, blessed be He, would fulfill it, for you say "the word of Hashem," and Hashem says: but I have not spoken. So how do you even think and hope that these words will be fulfilled?
"Therefore thus says Hashem Elokim: Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you, says Hashem Elokim." "Therefore thus says Hashem Elokim, because you have spoken falsehood." You deserve a double punishment, says the Malbim, for prophesying such things in the name of Hashem. For even if you were not causing the people to sin through your prophecy, a false prophet's death is by strangulation. Even if he said nothing wrong, even if he commanded a mitzvah. This false prophet comes to say a prophecy from Hashem that there is a harsh decree, that everyone needs three days of intensive Torah study now, that everyone leaves all their work to sit and learn Torah. Fine, what is better than that? He says it in the word of Hashem and everyone sat and learned Torah, wonders of wonders. Afterward it turns out he is a false prophet. What do they do to him? They put him to death. So it emerges that the false prophet's death is by strangulation even if he said something good and positive. The very fact that he says Hashem spoke with me when Hashem did not speak with him, this thing is a lie, and for this alone his death is by strangulation. So, first, what you say in the name of Hashem is already a sin. A further point, which is worse: you do not say in the name of Hashem to learn Torah, you do not say in the name of Hashem even ordinary, neutral things, you say in the name of Hashem to commit transgressions. This is far worse. You take, as it were, and use the name of Hashem to anger the Holy One, blessed be He, we validate the wicked in the name of Hashem. You tell them that their way is correct, and all of this in the name of Hashem. About this He first tells them, regarding the very false prophecy, "because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie." The Holy One, blessed be He, tells them: "behold, I am against you." Here you are dealing with the Master of the Universe, since this matter touches upon the honor of Hashem. "Behold, I am against you," as the Radak says, like it is written "and I will set My face against that man," that is "behold, I am against you." The meaning is vengeance against that person. The Targum Yonasan says "I send My wrath upon you": I send My face. "My face" is like anger, the face of Hashem, "My face will go and I will give you rest," "My face" is anger. So "and I will set My face" means My anger and My wrath against that man.
"And My hand shall be against the prophets who see falsehood and divine lies; they shall not be in the council of My people, nor shall they be written in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am Hashem Elokim." Corresponding to this, He tells them there will be three punishments. The first punishment: "they shall not be in the council of My people." They shall have no share in the council of Hashem's people. What is the council of Hashem's people? It is our Torah, it is our holiness, it is because of this that we merit to be Hashem's people. Because of the Torah and holiness. So "they shall not be in the council of My people." The second matter: "nor shall they be written in the register of the house of Israel." This means, says the Malbim, they shall have no share in the World to Come. And why? Because we always see that in the language of the prophets "writing" refers to a share in the World to Come. "Everyone written for life in Jerusalem." "Everyone written for life" in Sefer Daniel, "and a book of remembrance was written before Him," and so on. We see that the matter of writing denotes the World to Come. This is what we ask: "write us in the book of life," and so on. The third matter: He tells them they shall have no share in the land, "nor shall they enter the land of Israel." And so, says the Malbim, we have here three things that correspond to three good gifts that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to Israel: Torah, the Land of Israel, and the World to Come. All three are in essence completeness. The Land of Israel serves to perfect the life of the body, physical life, earthly, political life. The World to Come pertains to the life of the soul. And the Torah is the way by which you acquire both of these things. How do you acquire the perfection of the life of the body and the perfection of the life of the soul? The Torah is light, it is the lamp that illuminates both these perfections and binds them together.
"Because, yes, because they have led My people astray, saying, 'Peace,' when there is no peace, and when one builds a flimsy wall, behold, they plaster it with whitewash." The reason, says Hashem, "because, yes, because they have led My people astray." "Because, yes, because" (ya'an uveya'an), the Malbim explains, means punishment within punishment. A double punishment. Punishment for the fruit of the deed in addition to the deed itself. The deed itself is a terrible deed, and the fruit of the deed means the consequences of the deed. And what are the consequences of the deed? You lead My people astray to say there is peace. What is "there is peace"? The Malbim says that "peace" has two meanings, peace both internal and external. Internal peace: your way is peaceful, what you do is fine, you are decent, you are upright, and so on, and you are at peace. Beyond that, they promise them external peace: do not worry, the enemies will not arrive, there will be no wars, Nevuchadnetzar will not conquer you. That is external peace. Through this they strengthen them, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace. There truly is no peace. And through this He says "and one builds a flimsy wall." What is "and one builds a flimsy wall"? "And behold, they plaster it with whitewash." This is an expression that requires understanding, and therefore, as I have told you more than once, whenever there is an expression that requires understanding, the interpretations of it are many. Let us first explain what the Malbim says. The Malbim says there is a question first of all: who is "one builds a flimsy wall"? Does it refer back to the prophet, does it refer back to the people, who is "they"? So let us first explain according to the Malbim. The people, as it were, build a partition of weak reeds. That is "one builds a flimsy wall." A chayitz is a mere partition; he does not build a wall, he does not build a fortification, rather the people build a flimsy partition. "And behold, they plaster it with whitewash." "And behold, they" means the false prophets plaster it with whitewash. What is tafel (whitewash)? Tafel is something that is attached (nitpal). Chazal also use this expression to describe the plaster and mortar with which they would coat the wall, "he plastered it with tafel." Now when you plaster mortar and lime onto a wall, through this you strengthen the wall, you bond the stones, you create a wall that is uniform. But when you do this to a partition of reeds, you do not strengthen it; on the contrary, you cause this partition to become heavy, to fall and break. And in the parable, says the Malbim, there is an inner and outer meaning. First, the wall alludes to the fact that they strengthened and fortified the walls of Jerusalem against the enemy, and they thought that the enemy would not be able to conquer it. He tells them: know that this flimsy wall is a partition of reeds. You are relying on the wall? It is straw and chaff, it is nothing, it is nothing at all. It is a partition of reeds, it has no strength whatsoever. And they plaster this wall so that it will look strong; you think to plaster it, not that the wall will look mighty, He says this is whitewash that is attached and weighs down the wall, that has no strength in it, plaster that cannot help to strengthen the wall.
This is regarding the external aspect of the meaning of the matter. Now note that there is also an inner meaning here. This wall alludes to a wall you made, a partition you made between yourselves and the Omnipresent. Not only a wall between you and the enemy so that he will not enter, but rather, as it were, an iron partition has been erected between us and Hashem. There is an iron wall, as we saw earlier in chapter 4, "for it is an iron wall between the Holy One, blessed be He, and the city." You placed a partition, as it is written, "for your iniquities have separated between you and your God." Your iniquities are like a partition between you and Hashem. Consequently prayer is not accepted, consequently the Holy One, blessed be He, no longer watches over you as He did before. But by contrast, note, a partition-fence has crevices in it. "My Beloved peers through the crevices." So consequently the partition of reeds still allows one to see through it, so the providence of the Holy One, blessed be He, even if it is not revealed, still, seemingly, there is hidden providence here.
About this He tells you: they plaster it with whitewash, they cause providence to depart from them entirely. They corrupt the way of the people. What do they do? They seal it with plaster. And by placing plaster, what did you accomplish? Through this you turned the partition into a partition that cannot be seen through, into a partition that becomes sealed. So consequently it emerges that these actions cause Hashem's providence to be nullified from you entirely.
There are several more explanations here, all of which are on the same foundation of the partition and the same foundation of "they plaster it with whitewash." Let us perhaps mention just one more interpretation: that "they plaster it with whitewash" means, as the Radak brings, that this refers to the false prophets themselves. The false prophets themselves, "the prophet builds a flimsy wall and behold, they plaster it with whitewash": the meaning is that after he says things that are false, things that have no truth in them, they plaster it with whitewash, they would plaster their words. What does the plaster do? It smooths. They would plaster it in order to smooth over their words, to beautify them, to prove how their words are true, how their words would come to pass. This is "they plaster it with whitewash." After he would make a partition, he would afterward place plaster on it and beautify it, so as to show, as it were, that their words would be fulfilled. The Radak brings another explanation in the name of his father, that tafel refers to unfired bricks. A fired brick is durable. The brick that was not fired in the kiln is like a clay pot that was not fired in the kiln: what happens to it is that with just a little water it dissolves. It falls apart. So too here, these bricks were not fired in the kiln, and consequently with the first rain everything dissolves. So everything here is tafel, which has no strength, no might, as the Targum Yonasan translates "crumbling mud without straw," that is, mud without straw, it has no strength, it does not hold up for long. And through this there is no permanence to that with which the prophets reassure you, telling you that only good will be, these are things that will not be fulfilled in reality.
"Say to those who plaster with whitewash that it shall fall; there shall be a flooding rain, and you, O hailstones, shall fall, and a stormy wind shall break it." "Say to those who plaster with whitewash," to those who plaster with tafel, and we explained that tafel means the thing that is attached, which is essentially the plaster with which they coat the wall. He tells them: tell them that this whitewash, of itself, is not something enduring, it is something that of itself falls. All the more so if a flooding rain comes upon it, for the flooding rain will bring it down quickly. And it will wash away this plaster from the wall. And especially, says Hashem, when I, apart from the natural rain, in My providence place and give something that is not natural. That is "and you, O hailstones, shall fall." "You, O hailstones, shall fall," these are stones that shatter the wall itself. And beyond that, "a stormy wind shall break it." A stormy wind shall break the wall. So there is here both the natural aspect and the spiritual, providential aspect, that in the end your plans will not be fulfilled. What you planned, that through it you would have strength and might in the wall, know that this thing will not be fulfilled. What are those hailstones (avnei elgavish)? Rashi brings that avnei elgavish are great hailstones. And he says: I say that because they gleam like all crystal (gavish) stones, he compares them to gavish. Yes? Avnei elgavish, they resemble gavish. What is gavish? These are precious stones. A precious gem. As it is written "ramos vegavish," so it appears in Iyov. Chazal expound "elgavish," do not read it "elgavish" but rather "al gav ish" (upon a man's back). What is "upon a man's back"? This is Moshe Rabbeinu, for regarding Moshe Rabbeinu it is said "and no rain poured to the earth." Those that began to fall did not reach the earth. But now "the hailstones (avnei elgavish) shall fall." That which was held back "al gav ish," upon the back of Moshe, and did not descend, now it will descend and fall. "And behold, the wall shall fall. Will it not be said to you, 'Where is the plaster that you plastered?'" "And behold, the wall shall fall." He says, through this not only will the plaster fall, but the wall itself will fall. And then it will be said to you: where is the plaster that you plastered? If the wall did not stand, all the more so the plaster did not endure.
"Therefore thus says Hashem Elokim: I will break forth a stormy wind in My fury, and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and hailstones in fury to destroy." "Thus says Hashem, and I will break forth a stormy wind in My fury." The Malbim says: note that two things, and really three, are written here. "I will break forth a stormy wind in My fury (chamah)," there is fury here. "And there shall be a flooding rain in My anger (af)," there is anger here. "And hailstones in fury (chamah) to destroy." It returns again to fury. And why, really? What is the idea of these words? And why here is the fury a fury of destruction, "fury to destroy"? The Malbim explains, something we have already seen several times in the past and the Malbim is very consistent about this matter, that chamah is internal anger. "And his fury burned within him." It is something that burns inside. By contrast, af is external anger. "For a fire has kindled in My anger (af)." When a person is angry, his nose (af) reddens and flares, it begins to give off vapors. So it is something external, it is the aspect of the af. When the af burns, this indicates that there is punishment. When there is only chamah, then it is still internal anger, but it is not yet punishment. When the af burns, then it indicates that something visible is already seen. "A fire has kindled in My anger," meaning there is here a punishment that is visible. The Malbim says: when there is af without inner chamah, then it is less severe, since the af is external. And on the contrary, through the af all that anger comes out and is finished. But sometimes, says the Malbim, it is quite possible that through the af the anger does not come out, rather the inner chamah still remains. So there is af, there is punishment, but the inner wrath still exists. And then there is essentially no hope, since as long as the af brings out and calms the inner chamah, as we often see that when a person releases his anger he calms down, is at ease. That is to say, the wrath has subsided. But if you see that the inner chamah still remains, then what does a person who is still in inner chamah do? He is not satisfied with the af and the anger, which is anger directed outward, and struck or punished or did whatever he did; it still simmers and burns within him. The inner chamah still exists. And this is what the Malbim says, that this is what the verse says. The verse opens with "therefore thus says Hashem Elokim, and I will break forth a stormy wind in My fury." Hashem says: I will cause a stormy wind to break forth, and it will be from My fury. And when this thing comes out, then there will be af, it will materialize as a flooding rain. And this is already an external reality of af, something that is revealed and one sees a flooding rain that floods everything and destroys everything, and this is from the force of the af. What would you say? Well, then at least the fury, the king's fury has now subsided, since it came to expression in af and the external af calmed the internal chamah. He says: no, here that will not be the reality. Come and see that this thing will continue further. After "there shall be a flooding rain in My anger," "and hailstones in fury to destroy." Since the inner chamah has not yet subsided, then afterward the punishment still continues. There will still be hailstones. The rain itself will freeze, will congeal into hailstones, and through the chamah it will cause destruction, will bring, Heaven forbid, annihilation, since the chamah has not yet subsided, and when the chamah has not subsided then the af is not enough, and then the chamah still continues and burns and produces further results, produces further consequences.
"And I will demolish the wall that you plastered with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, and its foundation shall be laid bare; it shall fall, and you shall be consumed within it, and you shall know that I am Hashem." The Malbim says: here He describes for us three things. First, the wall will be demolished. This means the city will be breached. The city wall will be breached. That is "the wall will be demolished," that which you relied upon, the wall, will not endure. A further point, so that you not think it will be some local demolition at these points: "and bring it down to the ground." This means a complete collapse, that the wall will fall. And so that you not think it will only fall, He continues and says "and its foundation shall be laid bare." "Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundation." This means even the foundation will not remain. And do not think that the walls will fall but the people will not be harmed. He continues and says "it shall fall, and you shall be consumed within it." By the wall falling upon the people dwelling within it, through this, Heaven forbid, there will be annihilation for them. And only through this will you know that I am Hashem.
"And I will spend My fury upon the wall and upon those who plastered it with whitewash, and I will say to you: The wall is no more, and those who plastered it are no more." And then He informs them that the culmination of the fury, which is what we mentioned earlier, that it will be a fury unto destruction, this culmination of the fury will be only against the wall and against those who plastered it with whitewash. Meaning against Jerusalem and against the false prophets within it. Not against all of Israel. "And I will spend My fury," and upon whom will it be? "Upon the wall and upon those who plastered it with whitewash." Upon those who in essence led the people astray. And who are those who led the people astray? Who are those we saw earlier, "those who plastered it with whitewash"? These are the false prophets who would smooth over all their deeds for them and would convince them that they could continue in their evil way. He tells them: My fury will be upon them. "And I will say to you: The wall is no more, and those who plastered it with whitewash are no more." Where is the wall and where are those who plastered it with whitewash? Where are the prophets of Israel who are the false prophets about whom He is speaking here? Where are they who promised you that no trouble would come and no disaster would occur and everything would be fine? And also those who strengthen their words, all of them were consumed within it, by the sword, by famine, by pestilence. So the wall is no more and those who plastered it with whitewash are no more. All who promise you with falsehood will not be fulfilled.
"The prophets of Israel who prophesy about Jerusalem and see for it a vision of peace when there is no peace, says Hashem Elokim." This punishment will come upon the prophets of Israel, we said the false prophets, since they prophesy about Jerusalem and see for it a vision of peace, and through this they cause the people dwelling within it not to repent, for the people are not moved by the true prophets, since against them they have the false prophets and the media people who tell them a vision of peace. A new Middle East has arrived. "A vision of peace when there is no peace, says Hashem Elokim." There is no peace, says Hashem Elokim, since this thing, which immediately gives them the feeling that blessing is about to come, that there will be peace, this thing calms them, and through this they do not feel that they need to repent. But had they listened to the true prophets, the true prophets did not say such pleasant things. The true prophets informed them that there would be exile, that there would be killing and sword and destruction, may the Merciful One save us. And they did not listen to them, and therefore whoever misled them will in the end pay the price, and these are the ones who plastered it with whitewash, these are the ones who prophesy about Jerusalem and see for it a vision of peace; Hashem will exact payment from them.
Until now He spoke about the prophets who are male. Now He turns to speak about the women. "And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy from their own heart, and prophesy against them." Now He turns to speak about the daughters of your people who prophesy from their own heart, and they say that the spirit of Hashem spoke within them, they foretell the future, they declare and say this one will live and that one will die, this one will have blessing, that one will have a curse, and so on, and they have prophecies, and all of this they do by means of acts of sorcery, and they claim that they received these things through prophecy.
"And say: Thus says Hashem Elokim: Woe to the women who sew cushions upon all the joints of the hands and make coverings upon the head of every stature, to hunt souls. Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep your own souls alive?" The verses here, several verses until the end of the chapter, are rather difficult in terms of their understanding, and there are several explanations of them. We will explain according to the Malbim. "And say: Thus says Hashem Elokim: Woe to the women who sew cushions upon all the joints of the hands." The meaning is: they sew cushions, we will soon understand what this is, upon the joints of the hands, and make coverings (mispachos), for the coverings are also a type of kerchief as we will soon explain, and they do this upon the head of every stature. What, what is the idea of these words? The Malbim explains: just as in holiness we place the tefillin of the arm opposite the heart, and the purpose is to subjugate the desires of the heart to Hashem. And we place the tefillin of the head opposite the brain, in order to subjugate the intellect and the thought to the Holy One, blessed be He. So too, in the same image and the same likeness, as we explained that the false prophets always, and to this day all these false religions, Christianity and Islam, always, in order to draw the heart of the masses, go and make an imitation of that which already exists in holiness, they imitate it to do something similar. And so too here, what did those sorcerous women do? They would sew cushions, they would sew a sort of cushion, meaning a type of cloth, they would sew it onto the joints of the hand, meaning onto the arm, and there in the place of the tefillin of the arm they would make a kind of stitching of some particular cloth that they would attach here, and they were sorceresses who hunt for themselves the living souls of the people and the strength of their hearts, so that they would be captive under their authority. The meaning is that they did this thing, as I just said, that they would place upon them a type of cloth, they would perform a kind of sorcery with it so that this sorcery would act upon the heart. And through this the people would be drawn to lewdness, to lusts, to matters of evil things, by the power of the sorcery, in order to create influence from the thing situated opposite the heart. So what the Holy One, blessed be He, told us, to place tefillin opposite the heart in order to subjugate the desires to holiness, they did exactly the opposite. They would place opposite the heart all sorts of sorceries in order to subjugate the heart to lewdness and to evil lusts. Corresponding to this, they would also make coverings upon the head of every stature. The meaning is: on the head they would place coverings, which, as the Radak says, are a kind of kerchief, which they would tie on the head, and this corresponds to the tefillin of the head. And the tefillin of the head correspond to the brain, where the power of thought resides. And the purpose was so that they would incline their thoughts toward idolatry, toward heresy, toward the denial of faith in one God. Through this they would, as it were, gain control over their power of thought. So regarding the first part, that they wanted to control the desires of their hearts, He says: "Will you hunt the souls of My people?" Do you have the power to hunt the souls of My people under your authority? And in this, what is your aim? To keep souls alive. "And keep your own souls alive." The meaning is: through this you want, as reward for your deeds, to keep yourselves alive, in food, in sustenance. That is, all the actions of all the sorcerers and diviners and so on are for one purpose. In order to receive money. In order to keep their souls alive, food and sustenance. So He says: do you think that through all these matters your own souls will be kept alive? The Radak explains that they would do these things, says the Radak, and by this power they would, as it were, decree life upon the wicked and decree death upon the righteous. So He tells them: can you, by your word, by your word decree life upon this one and death upon that one? Can you destroy and sustain the souls of My people? So the Targum Yonasan explains: "can you not even sustain your own souls?" You cannot even sustain your own souls, so with the breath of your mouth you want by your decree to decree that this one will live and that one will die?
And this is what He says, "to hunt souls, will you hunt the souls of My people": you think to hunt the souls of My people, "and keep your own souls alive"? Are you able to keep your own souls alive? So if you cannot even keep your own souls alive, how do you want to determine who will live and who will die by means of all sorts of acts of sorcery?
"And you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for morsels of bread, to put to death souls that should not die and to keep alive souls that should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies." "And you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for morsels of bread." You bring the sanctity of My name into the profane, you cause My name to be profaned. For if earlier He spoke with us about those sorts of divinations that they placed opposite the heart, and about that He said the purpose is "and keep your own souls alive," now He comes and speaks about what they place opposite the brain. Those coverings that are placed opposite the brain, by their power you bring the sanctity of My name into the profane, My name is profaned. And here too, for the sake of what? For the sake of handfuls of barley and morsels of bread. Sha'al means like the measure of a fist. "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand (shoalo), and marked off the heavens with a span?" In any case, "in his sha'al" means his fist. So you do this, as it were, for the sake of what? For the profit of a fistful of barley, of a full handful of barley, and morsels of bread that they would give you? For this you are willing to put to death souls that should not die? "To put to death souls," the death of the soul means that you, as we explained, through the action of the coverings that are placed on the head, would distort the power of thought, which is the intellect, and then bring them to heresy, to put souls to death with the death of the soul. Or, as we explained, that you prophesy about the souls of the righteous that they will die and about the wicked that they will live. So according to the second interpretation this is "to put to death souls that should not die." You decree the death of souls, as it were, upon someone for whom death was not decreed. "And to keep alive souls that should not live." On the other hand, you decree the keeping alive of souls for whom life was not decreed. That is, upon the wicked you, as it were, decree that they will live, by your lying with words of falsehood and false beliefs, they accept your words, and through this the wicked receive vitality: "I can continue in my corrupt deeds," and the righteous, Heaven forbid, death, since he, as it were, sees how his good deeds do not help and do not assist, for behold the actions that those sorceresses and those enchantresses would perform, these actions would cause, as it were, one to see that there is no truth in the service of Hashem and to cling to false service. So you profane Me among My people.
"Therefore thus says Hashem Elokim: Behold, I am against your cushions with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let go the souls, the souls that you hunt like birds." "Therefore thus says Hashem," corresponding to the cushions that we saw they would place opposite the arm: "Behold, I am against your cushions," against your cushions, with which you hunt the souls there like birds. There, where you hunt the souls like birds, we will soon explain what this is, "and I will tear them from your arms." So these cushions I will tear from the arm. "And I will let go the souls that you hunt, your souls, like birds." I will let go the souls that you hunt, I will let go the souls, your souls, like birds. What is "your souls like birds" (nefashim leforchos)? What is the intent of these words? You hunt souls by hand, nefashim. What is the meaning? The Malbim says: you, as it were, hunt the souls and transfer them and lead them to the forces of impurity. The forces of impurity are called "souls of the fliers" (nefashim leforchos). "Souls of the fliers" means like the soul of demons, of harmful spirits. Why? Because it has no body, so what is it? A flier. What do you do? You take and hunt the souls of human beings and lead them and bring them to the forces of impurity and to the sitra achra, to the forces of impurity that are called "souls of the fliers." This is a soul, as it were, of a thing that flies in the air, of a thing that has no permanence, of the forces of impurity. So about this He tells them: what are you doing? Hunting the souls there like birds. You hunt and trap the souls and hand them over into whose hand? Into the hand of the "souls of the fliers." Into the hand of those who are the aspect of the forces of impurity, so that they will, as it were, be their portion, and not be part of holiness and the service of Hashem.
After He spoke about what He would do regarding what they placed opposite the arm, now He speaks about what corresponds to the head. "And I will tear off your coverings and rescue My people from your hand, and they shall no longer be in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am Hashem." I will tear off your coverings, what you place upon the head of every stature, the tearing of the cushions and the coverings, and through this I will rescue My people. Since by their power they believed in false belief, for through this they had control, as we explained, over the power of thought, so I will tear off your coverings, and through this I will rescue My people from your hand, and they shall no longer be in your hand to hunt them with this, and you shall know that I am Hashem. And through this all will know that I am Hashem and will recognize His Divinity, may He be blessed.
"Because you have grieved the heart of the righteous with falsehood, though I did not cause him pain, and strengthened the hands of the wicked so that he would not turn from his evil way to keep him alive." Besides this, you grieve the heart of the righteous with falsehood. "To grieve" (hach'os), like "and a grieved heart" (nach'eh levav), the meaning is from the language of pain. You strike the heart of the righteous with falsehood, you frighten him with your divinations and your sorceries that evil will come upon him, even though I did not frighten him; you say it is from Me, thus and so Hashem told us in prophecy, and Hashem says: it is not from Me, I did not convey to you such a thing and I did not cause him pain. And the wicked, you even encourage him "so that he would not turn from his evil way." The meaning is: you promise him life and blessing in his corrupt way.
"Therefore you shall no longer see falsehood, nor practice divination any more, and I will rescue My people from your hand, and you shall know that I am Hashem." Through this you will no longer see false visions, and divinations too you will no longer practice, and by this power "and you shall know that I am Hashem," and through this I will rescue My people from your hand.