A short and piercing chapter stands before us: a single, sharp parable that revolves entirely around the wood of the vine. The prophet is asked a seemingly simple question - what use is the wood of the vine? - and from the answer a sobering parable is constructed regarding the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Following the order of the pesukim, we will examine the interpretation of the Radak and the novel insight of the Malbim, and arrive at the profound principle the Malbim establishes here concerning the very essence of the Jewish people.
(א) וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ (ב) בֶּן־אָדָם מַה־יִּהְיֶה עֵץ־הַגֶּפֶן מִכׇּל־עֵץ הַזְּמוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר הָיָה בַּעֲצֵי הַיָּעַר׃ - (1) And the word of Hashem came to me, saying: (2) Son of man, what is the wood of the vine more than any other wood, the branch which was among the trees of the forest?
The Radak explains "mah yihyeh" in the sense of "in what way is it different," which is also the understanding of Rashi and Targum Yonatan, who translates: "How is the vine tree different from all other trees?" That is: In what way is the wood of the vine worse than any other tree? The Radak clarifies that this certainly does not refer to a fruit-bearing vine, for a vine that produces fruit is the finest of trees, as we know from Yotam's parable. Rather, the verse speaks of "the branch which was among the trees of the forest" - a wild vine growing in the forest that bears no fruit. That is the subject of the question, and it is inferior even to the forest trees themselves: although forest trees do not bear fruit, their timber is useful for work - for building, tools, rafters, or pegs. This vine, by contrast, yields no fruit, and vine wood has never been considered suitable for carpentry. It turns out to have no utility at all, neither for fruit nor for lumber.
The Malbim charts a completely different course. In his view, "mah yihyeh" does not mean "in what way is it different," but rather "what will become of it." The question concerns grafting. It was the practice of arborists to graft and layer shoots from one tree onto another (we are discussing not the halachic aspect here, but the botanical technique common in antiquity). Grafting was done as follows: a T-shaped slit was cut into the bark of the host tree, the flaps were peeled back, and into this opening they inserted a shoot snapped from another tree - not cut with a blade, but torn off at the node where it joins the trunk. The flaps of bark were then closed over it and bound tightly until the shoot took hold. The resulting fruit would combine the traits of both trees, since the graft draws nourishment from the host tree.
The purpose of grafting was to enhance the grafted branch. For instance, growers would take shoots from a grapevine and graft them into a fig tree so that the vine shoots would absorb sweetness from the fig, as the fig tree declared in Yotam's parable, "Shall I leave my sweetness?", being renowned for its rich sweetness. Chazal similarly mention that one should not insert a vine shoot into a watermelon so that it absorbs its moisture - people would plant a vine shoot inside a watermelon so its juice would nourish the vine and impart sweetness. Likewise, they would take a weak barren tree and graft it into a sturdy barren tree so that it would grow thick and strong.
However, says the Malbim, if you take a shoot from a vine and graft it into a barren forest tree, you have achieved nothing. The vine shoot will not become strong enough to be used for lumber, and on the other hand, the fruit it once produced will deteriorate or cease entirely, since the host tree is barren. You are left with a branch fit neither for craftsmanship nor for fruit. This is the meaning of "what will become of the wood of the vine from any other tree" - what will emerge from it if it is grafted onto any other tree? "The branch which was among the trees of the forest" - if you graft a weak barren tree into thick forest trees, you produce thick, strong wood; but from a vine shoot, which is naturally weak, nothing useful will come.
The Malbim also finds support for his explanation in the precise wording of the text: "zemorah" (shoot or branch) always denotes a branch that has been cut or snapped from a tree. According to other commentators, the verse speaks of a vine standing and growing naturally in the ground, in which case why would it be called a "zemorah"? Only according to his approach, where the verse refers to a shoot severed from its vine and grafted into another tree, does the term fit perfectly.
(ג) הֲיֻקַּח מִמֶּנּוּ עֵץ לַעֲשׂוֹת לִמְלָאכָה אִם־יִקְחוּ מִמֶּנּוּ יָתֵד לִתְלוֹת עָלָיו כׇּל־כֶּלִי׃ - (3) Shall wood be taken from it to do any work? Or will men take a peg from it to hang any vessel upon?
Will you gain anything by the wood growing thick and hard, to the point that you could fashion this shoot into a tool for work? And if not an actual utensil, could you at least use it as a peg - a wooden pin driven into the wall to hang vessels upon? Not even that. Thus, you have gained nothing and suffered only a loss: previously it was capable of producing grapes, and now it can no longer do even that.
(ד) הִנֵּה לָאֵשׁ נִתַּן לְאׇכְלָה אֵת שְׁנֵי קְצוֹתָיו אָכְלָה הָאֵשׁ וְתוֹכוֹ נָחָר הֲיִצְלַח לִמְלָאכָה׃ (ה) הִנֵּה בִּהְיוֹתוֹ תָמִים לֹא יֵעָשֶׂה לִמְלָאכָה אַף כִּי־אֵשׁ אֲכָלַתְהוּ וַיֵּחָר וְנַעֲשָׂה עוֹד לִמְלָאכָה׃ - (4) Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire consumes both ends of it, and the middle of it is scorched; is it fit for any work? (5) Behold, when it was whole, it could not be used for any work; how much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is scorched, can it ever be used for work?
The Radak explains that this is a parable: the Jewish people are compared to a vine. The vine is slender, tender, and weak, and so too is Israel - "the fewest of all peoples." When it produces good fruit, its fruit is exceptional; but in the body of the tree itself there is no virtue, and its uses are few, neither for construction nor for crafting utensils. Its entire purpose lies in its fruit. And so Isaiah said: "My beloved had a vineyard on a fruitful hill, and he planted it with the choicest vine, and he hoped that it would produce grapes, and it produced wild grapes."
And behold, the Jewish people, instead of bearing fruit, became like a vine branch in the forest - a vine growing wild in the woods that bears no fruit. And what is its use? Only for fuel. When the people of Israel commit evil deeds, their only rectification is through fire, that is, through suffering: through famine, sword, and pestilence. And the prophet says: so it indeed was. "Fire consumed both its ends" - as we saw, "Aram in the front and the Philistines in the rear, and they devoured Israel with an open mouth"; the fire had already begun to seize this branch, "and it burned him up, yet he did not know; and it consumed him, yet he did not lay it to heart" (Isaiah 42).
"And its middle was scorched" - do not say that only the edges were affected. What is the middle, what is the center of the Land of Israel? Jerusalem. And see: everything that happened to the Ten Tribes and to all the mountains of Judah did not influence Jerusalem in the slightest to change its ways. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were already charred by the fire - and even so, they did not take chastisement to heart.
If so, what hope is there that the fire will not consume them? "Can it be made fit for any work?" - one cannot expect them to do teshuvah and mend their ways. There is no remedy for them other than returning them to the fire, so that it may finish its work and burn them completely, leaving Jerusalem desolate. And this is the meaning of "they came out from the fire, but the fire shall consume them": at first I thought that Jerusalem would not be burned, and I sent them prophets early and late to rebuke them and correct their ways so the city would not be destroyed - but when that did not happen, the fire will consume them.
"Behold, when it was whole, it could not be made into anything" - when the Jewish people were still in their land in their completeness, they did not repent, even though I constantly warned them through the prophets and brought enemies upon them to seize spoil and plunder loot, so that through afflictions they might return. "How much less, when fire has consumed it and it is charred" - all the more so now, when these evil deeds have become a habit, when all of Eretz Yisrael has been destroyed except for Jerusalem, and they harden their hearts even further, accustoming themselves to the ways of the nations and going from bad to worse. They see that the nations succeed in their ways and say: We will do so as well. Just as was said of King Achaz, that when he fought against the king of Aram he said: The gods of Aram help them, "to them I will sacrifice, that they may help me." Thus he went and cleaved to the ways of the nations. If so, they have no hope, and fire will consume them.
The Malbim adds in his own way: since it serves no purpose, neither for fruit nor for craftsmanship, it is therefore fit only for fire. And Scripture is precise in saying, "I have given it to the fire for fuel" - not for heating, cooking, or baking, for its heat is weak and it is useless even for that, but solely for consumption by the fire. And once it was cast into the fire, and it consumed both of its ends and its middle was scorched - "can it be made fit for any work?" After it is burned, can any work possibly be fashioned from it? If even when it was intact, before it was burned, it was unfit for work, how much more so now.
(ו) לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה כַּאֲשֶׁר עֵץ־הַגֶּפֶן בְּעֵץ הַיַּעַר אֲשֶׁר־נְתַתִּיו לָאֵשׁ לְאׇכְלָה כֵּן נָתַתִּי אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - Therefore thus says the Lord God: As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Here the Malbim explains the parable's deeper meaning. The people of Israel are compared to the vine: from the standpoint of matter, of physical substance, they are weak; their distinction lies in their form, that is, in their inner essence and spiritual stature. The Jewish people never boasted of sheer physical strength. Anyone who looks back at history will see that the Jewish nation was never built on physical might, but always took pride in its connection to the Master of the World and in its spiritual fortitude. Only in the last seventy years have we become a nation of an army, projecting military prowess and power - but this was never our essence. As long as spirituality defined the nation, that was the source of its praise and glory, not military parades and the like.
Furthermore, in no Jewish museum or pantheon will you find weapons. Anyone who visits a museum of the nations of the world finds bows, swords, spears, and instruments of war; but among Jews, you will not find an ancient Jewish weapon on display. You will find a Chumash, a Sefer Torah, Judaica - but not weapons. "By your sword you shall live" is not Jewish; that is the way of Esau. This is what the Malbim means by: weak in its material, yet noble in its form. And this is precisely the vine: a weak wood in its material substance, yet no other tree yields such exquisite grapes, from which wine - the finest of all beverages - is produced. And all this is with the purpose that it be ready to bear fruit - to practice justice and righteousness, as it is written: "For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel... and He hoped for justice, but behold, violence; for righteousness, but behold, a cry" (Isaiah 5), "and he hoped that it would produce grapes, and it produced wild grapes."
The Malbim adds an interesting and profound point: the philosopher has already explained that those of complete form are weak in matter. And this is reality. Look at the yeshivah students, the avreichim, the Torah scholars - and not only them, but even in the secular disciplines: go and look at the professors and the great scientists, you will not find them with a two-meter wingspan of muscle and brute force; they are not athletes and are not preoccupied with physical prowess. And one who is an athlete and engrossed in all physical matters is generally weak in intellect. The two do not go together. This is not to say that it is impossible, but it is very rare. King David is an example of this: he was a powerful warrior who went out to battle, fought, and would not return until they were consumed, striking down eight hundred slain in a single battle on his own - yet with all this, he would make himself tender as a worm and composed the Book of Psalms for us. But such cases are exceedingly rare; generally, one comes at the expense of the other.
Thus, Israel's strength and power derive from their Divine form - from keeping the Torah and mitzvos and cleaving to Hashem - not from material substance or physical might, for "you are the fewest of all peoples." But what did they do? They intermingled with the trees of the forest: they went to seek help from Egypt, they went to seek help from Assyria. This is the grafting being spoken of - taking a branch of the vine and grafting it onto barren trees. As it is said, "You plant pleasant plants and set them with foreign shoots" (Yeshayahu 17), and "Yet I had planted you a noble vine, wholly a seed of truth; how then have you turned into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine to Me?" (Yirmeyahu 2). In such a graft, not only have you lost the form, but you have also lost the material substance - the branch does not become strong at all. So too here: you gained no help from the nations among whom you mingled; you were merely given to the fire as fuel. Nevuchadnetzar came and exiled them in the exiles of Yehoyakim and Yehoyachin, and those remaining in the days of Tzidkiyahu were already like a branch whose two ends were consumed by fire and whose middle was scorched. Simply put: only harm came to you from this alliance, and no benefit whatsoever.
(ז) וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־פָּנַי בָּהֶם מֵהָאֵשׁ יָצָאוּ וְהָאֵשׁ תֹּאכְלֵם וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־אֲנִי יְהֹוָה בְּשׂוּמִי אֶת־פָּנַי בָּהֶם׃ - "And I will set My face against them; they came out from the fire, but the fire shall consume them; and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them."
"And I will set My face against them" - the Malbim explains that the Holy One, blessed be He, is still prepared to punish them. The expression "and I will set My face against that man" expresses that the Holy One, blessed be He, so to speak, clears away all His matters and turns all His attention to that person, Heaven forbid. "They came out from the fire, but the fire shall consume them" - those who remained in the days of Tzidkiyahu had already come out of the fire and were no longer fit for any work, so what use are they? Only to be returned to the fire so that it may consume and destroy them.
And what is gained through this? Two things. First: "And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them" - since this is a providential punishment, coming directly from Hashem Himself, the hand of Hashem is clearly evident in it. This is also the reason for the repetition in the verse: "And I will set My face against them" and again "when I set My face against them" - the gain is that you will know that I am Hashem, that you will see that this was a providential punishment. We have already seen in the past that when punishment comes through Divine providence, the hand of Hashem is unmistakably recognized in it.
(ח) וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־הָאָרֶץ שְׁמָמָה יַעַן מָעֲלוּ מַעַל נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - "And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, says the Lord God."
And this is the second thing: "And I will make the land desolate" - a punishment deserved in accordance with their evil deeds. Since "they have committed a trespass," justice demands that they be punished according to the strictures of the law, which means the land will become desolate.
Targum Yonatan explains "they came out from the fire, but the fire shall consume them" homiletically: "They transgressed the words of the Torah that were given from the midst of the fire, and nations that are as fierce as fire shall destroy them" - you transgressed the words of the Torah that came forth from the fire, for the words of the Torah were given in fire at Mount Sinai, out of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness; therefore, the punishment will be with fire: nations that are as fierce as fire will destroy you, and through this you will know that I am Hashem when My wrath rests upon them.
Chapter 15 is one short parable: the vine. According to the Radak, the question is in what way the wood of the vine is inferior to all other wood - since it is fit neither for fruit nor for craftsmanship, and serves only as fuel for fire; while according to the Malbim, the question is what becomes of the branch of the vine when it is grafted onto a barren tree - where one loses the fruit without gaining any strength. Yet the lesson is one and the same: the Jewish people are compared to a vine, weak in physical substance but noble in spiritual form, whose entire strength lies in their spiritual stature and cleaving to Hashem, not in physical might. When they mingled with the trees of the forest, sought the aid of Egypt and Assyria, and imitated the nations, they lost their spiritual form without gaining physical strength. The two ends of the branch had already been consumed by the fire of the exiles, and its middle - Jerusalem - was scorched and took no heed to learn the lesson. If there was no improvement when they were still whole, all the more so now; therefore, "I will set My face against them... and the fire shall consume them," and the land shall be made desolate. And through this providential punishment itself, all will know that I am Hashem.