Sefer Yechezkel, chapter 22. Our chapter is the haftarah for Acharei Mot according to the Sephardim and Yemenites, while most Ashkenazim have the custom of reading it as the haftarah for Kedoshim.
"And the word of Hashem came to me, saying." "And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the city of blood, then make known to it all its abominations." After we saw that Yechezkel prophesied that Nevuchadnetzar stood before two roads and cast lots to see which way to go, whether to go to Yerushalayim or against Rabbat Bnei Ammon. And behold, the lot came out, according to all the signs, that he was heading toward Yerushalayim. Now the prophet wonders and says: is it possible that Bnei Ammon are more righteous than Am Yisrael? Why does Nevuchadnetzar come specifically against Am Yisrael and not against Bnei Ammon? Therefore Hashem must show him the sins and corruptions that Bnei Yisrael had committed, and precisely because of them Nevuchadnetzar comes against Am Yisrael.
"And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the city of blood, then make known to it all its abominations." If you wish to judge them in order to try to understand why they became liable to destruction, and whom to judge? The city of blood. Why the city of blood? Because they shed blood within it through murder. Another matter: the enemy will come and kill, will slay corpses. It emerges then that this is called the city of blood, both because of what we did inside, and because of what the enemy did to us. If you wish to judge and know why the punishment is coming to them, "then make known to it all its abominations," in order to show them that the judgment and verdict are true and just.
What is the meaning of the repetition, "will you judge, will you judge the city of blood"? The Malbim explains that the prophet was in doubt within himself whether to judge and investigate the sins of Yerushalayim, whether to examine them. Hashem says to him: since you are in doubt about judging and investigating this, whether to judge the city of blood, I tell you, make known to them all their abominations. You are in doubt whether to judge the city of blood? I tell you: on the contrary, reprove them for how greatly they corrupted, and through this they will have an explanation for why Nevuchadnetzar comes against them.
"And you shall say: Thus said Hashem Elokim: A city that sheds blood within itself, that her time may come, and that has made idols upon herself to defile herself." "A city that sheds blood," a city whose people shed blood. The Radak says: although it is written "city," the intent is not to the city but to the people dwelling in the city, as it is written "a noisy, tumultuous city," and so on, referring to the people of the city. "A city that sheds blood within itself." What is the emphasis of "within itself"? The Radak explains that this comes for two reasons. The first reason: the more a thing is done publicly, the greater the sin. Behold, she sheds blood not in secret but "within itself," meaning openly, in the center of the city. They shed blood publicly. Another matter: "sheds blood within itself" is as if to say her interior is full of blood. This is the meaning of "sheds blood within itself." Her interior was filled with blood, as it is written of Menashe that he filled Yerushalayim from end to end, as if her interior was full of blood. Therefore this thing causes the time of her destruction to arrive, "that her time may come," her time has arrived.
"And has made idols upon herself to defile herself." Besides this, he says she also made idols. Idols, that is idolatry upon the mountains and upon the hills, "to defile herself." What does "to defile herself" mean? The Radak explains that the impurities against which Am Yisrael are warned are according to levels. There is impurity by contact, there is a more severe impurity, which is the impurity of forbidden relations, and there is an even more severe impurity, which is idolatry, which is truly impurity in the soul. Regarding the two latter matters, we saw that Hashem caused the nations in the land of Canaan to be exiled. Regarding these two matters, the Torah indeed says: do not do as the deeds of the land of Canaan; these were the deeds of forbidden relations and idolatry, these being the two more severe things. Also in the Torah it is written "You shall be holy," and afterward it says what the opposite of this is: "Do not turn to the idols." Turning to the idols, to idolatry, is the opposite of holiness and the peak of impurity. When Rachel sits upon the terafim, she says to her father Lavan, "the way of women is upon me." Chazal say that idolatry defiles like a niddah, meaning the severe impurity is the impurity of idolatry, it is impurity in the soul. Therefore he says "and with your idols that you made," you made idols upon her to defile herself. This is the greatest impurity.
The Malbim also explains that he comes to tell them that the main verdict came about through the shedding of blood; through this "her time came," the time of destruction arrived, and besides this also idolatry, she made idols and the rest of the abominations as he will detail here further on.
"By your blood that you shed you have become guilty, and by your idols that you made you have become defiled; and you have brought your days near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands." "By your blood that you shed you have become guilty." The main guilt and punishment, says the Malbim, that the prophet testifies before them, was on account of the shedding of blood. And we also see that when ultimately the destruction came, it is written regarding the sin of Menashe, Menashe who filled Yerushalayim with blood from end to end. We see from here that their main guilt was in the matter of the shedding of blood.
"And by your idols that you made you have become defiled." Through the idols you became defiled, because for the guilt we spoke of, the shedding of blood, it could be atoned for them after they accept the punishment. But they still continue to bring impurity upon themselves. How? They continue with idols, they continue with idolatry. Therefore he says to her: through the shedding of blood "you have brought your days near," the time of destruction will come swiftly. And through the idols "you have come to your years," the time of downfall will come and various years will begin for you. Let us explain the intent of these words.
The Malbim brings in several places that "years," whenever the expression "years" is used, comes to speak of changes. "Years" comes to express the changes that occur in the world. And "days," if it does not refer to a few days but he wishes to speak of long years, sometimes he expresses this with the term "days," describing the duration of time, not necessarily for the worse. But when "years" is written it is generally for the worse. Because "years" comes to express the changes that the Malbim says are generally not for the good. When a person grows older, the changes are generally not for the good. They are generally for the worse. A person becomes drier, his moisture and temperament change, he wastes away and is ruined and approaches old age. So then "years" generally comes to express a change for the negative. This is also what Pharaoh asks Yaakov: "How many are the days of the years of your life?" The intent is: how long is the duration of your life. "Days" comes to express duration, not necessarily in a negative aspect. "The fear of Hashem adds days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened." What did they observe? "The fear of Hashem adds days," which is positive, is expressed with the term "days." In contrast, regarding the wicked, "the years of the wicked," is expressed with the term "years." "The years of the wicked will be shortened," because for the wicked, as we said, it is in the aspect of "years," of changes, which is generally negative. Therefore here he said "you have brought your days near," the days of goodness are completed, it is finished, "you have brought your days near," your days have drawn near and ended. And you have come to what? To your years. Days of changes, of years, have already arrived, since years, as we said, are changes that are for the worse.
"And you have brought your days near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands." He says to them: therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations, even among the nations where you will be exiled, there too you will be a disgrace, you will have no rest, I have made you a disgrace among the nations. What are "the nations"? The Malbim explains in several places that "the nations" refers to the nearby peoples. "The lands" are the distant peoples. And the expression in the verses is always: I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you in the lands. "Among the nations" means among the nearby nations, "in the lands" means the distant lands, and these were the two stages in Yisrael's exile. Am Yisrael, for example, were exiled to Bavel, and afterward from there they were scattered to all the lands. So then it emerges that here now he mentions "I have made you a disgrace to the nations," the intent being the neighboring nations. "And a mockery to all the lands." What is "mockery"? The Malbim explains that there is a difference between disgrace and mockery. Disgrace is when one is reviled, it is humiliation. Mockery is when one is made an object of ridicule and derision, and that is even worse. So he says: it was not enough that you were among the nations, but you also passed to all the lands, you were scattered further. And it was not enough that they disgraced you, but they also mocked you, you were made an object of derision and mockery, and this even to all the lands. And why? Because the nations still recognize us, they have, so to speak, an account with us, so when they see our downfall they rejoice, they mock, they disgrace. In contrast, the lands do not recognize us, they have no quarrel with us. So one might think that if Am Yisrael are exiled there, what does he have against the Jew? He does not recognize the Jew, he had no prior problems with him, he had no border with him. So one might say perhaps there we will find rest. He tells you: no, "a mockery to all the lands." Even in the lands that are distant lands where seemingly we had no dealings with them, when we are exiled there we will be an object of derision and mockery, "a mockery to all the lands." And these things, to our sorrow, were fulfilled in us in a very very precise manner, even in places where we did not expect that there we would undergo humiliations and there we would undergo persecutions, for they had no quarrel with us. The gentile always found a reason to persecute the Jew, with reason or without reason, the Jew was always persecuted and the Jew was always an object of derision and mockery, and as the Torah promised, "and among those nations you shall have no repose, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot."
And the Torah also promises that in those places where we will be, the nations will constantly talk about us. The nations will gossip about us. They will constantly speak against the Jew, make caricatures of him, and he will always star at the top of the news broadcasts, "and you shall become an object of proverb and byword." They will constantly gossip about you. And this thing has no logic whatsoever, this thing cannot possibly be anticipated in advance. And with all this, the Torah foresees it thousands of years earlier, that this would be the state of Am Yisrael, and this was their state. Der Stürmer was full of caricatures of the Jews wanting to conquer the world. And everywhere they spoke and made caricatures and presented the Jew in a ridiculous light. And when the enemies from outside were not enough for us, then the enemies from within also came. Those from among us, all the informers from among us, those leftists of today, they are already the third and fourth and fifth generation of those fifth columns we had there. Those who today establish new foundations against Am Yisrael have already been doing this for 200 years in Europe and even longer. There they attack the Jews among them, write about them with a pen dripping venom and with degrading and humiliating words. Terribly awful for anyone who knows a little history. And the Torah testifies to this in advance.
"Those near and those far from you shall mock you, defiled of name, full of tumult." "Those near and those far shall mock you." The far ones will mock us, as we said, with derision and mockery, because "you are defiled of name." You gained a reputation far and wide that you are impure. And the near ones will mock you because you are "full of tumult." They will see the tumults within you, they will see the inner turmoil, the inner hatred, the inner murders as we spoke of, and as a result of this, from what they see with their eyes, they will disgrace you.
And this too, as he describes here, "you are defiled of name." What does this mean? Even distant places that never saw Jews. Someone told, some rabbi, that once some man at the edge of the world met him, I don't know, in Australia, I don't know where. And he looks at him like this and looks and looks. He asked him: can I help you with something? He said to him: are you a Jew? He says to him: yes. He said to him: can you take off your hat for a moment? He asked him: why? He says to him: I want to check something. He took off his hat. That fellow came and began feeling his head, his skull. He said to him: what are you looking for? He said to him: I am looking for the horn. They told me that Jews have a horn, they have a horn coming out of their head. He says: this is how they used to draw them in caricatures too, whoever saw would draw the Jews with a horn. He says: I am looking for the horn, I don't know, they said Jews have a horn, he asks, don't Jews have a horn? Understand, terribly awful, to the point that people became complete fools, "and they shall mock you because you are defiled of name," because the so-called bad name of Am Yisrael reaches the entire world, and he never saw a Jew in his life, never suffered from a Jew, the Jew did not take his job nor lend to him with interest, but he hates the Jew because "you are defiled of name." You have an impure name that reaches far, until even the far ones mock you. "Defiled of name, full of tumult."
"Behold, the princes of Yisrael, each according to his arm, were in you for the shedding of blood." He says to them: the people, generally, what directs them, what brings them to walk in the straight path, is when they heed their great ones. We once told what Rav Yitzchak Yosef related, that when he came to Russia they told him this was an opportunity because President Putin wanted to meet him. Well, they warned him beforehand: know that when President Putin comes with him to conduct a conversation, the intent is not really to conduct a conversation but mainly to listen. Well, he relates that he arrived there, and then Putin said to him: tell me, I want to know, what preserved the Jewish people? What preserved the Jewish people for 3,300 years so that the Jewish people did not change? All the nations changed, scattered, assimilated, the Jewish people did not change. What preserved the Jewish people all these years? And he came to answer him, but he says Putin signals to him like this with his hand, it was non-stop, as if to say when I tell you to speak, then speak. In short, I understood not to speak to him either. In any case, he said to him: I will tell you. He said to him: I will tell you, he says to him, what preserved the Jewish people is your great ones. He says: the fact that the Jewish people had rabbis and had guides and leaders of the community, that is what preserved the Jewish people throughout all the thousands of years. And he is very correct, because in all the places where there were no leaders of the community, they assimilated, they scattered, even if at first there were God-fearing people. But little by little they crumbled away. What happened to Bulgarian Jewry? What happened to the Ethiopians? Among whom there are perhaps kessim but they had no Torah, so there was no one to teach them, so their studies were very very superficial and not really connected to the Shulchan Aruch and to halacha. In contrast, Jewish communities that were not seen for thousands of years, Yemenite Jewry, for 2,000 years had no contact with the outside world, and when they came here they all keep the same Torah, put on the same tefillin, pray the same prayers, everything is identical. Why? There were rabbis, there were great Torah scholars. Every place where there were rabbis was preserved, and where there were not, then not.
So here the Malbim says: the people rectify their deeds through heeding their great ones. And the great ones are their princes, those chosen because of their virtue, or the fathers, since naturally a son heeds his father. That is how it was in any case, once. Yes, at any rate then there was some guide who would educate. But here he says: behold, see, they do not accept what their princes teach them. And why? Because the princes themselves are wicked. The princes themselves shed blood not according to justice. And this is what is written here, by the power of the arm, "each according to his arm were in you." This is what he says regarding the princes. What is the intent? The Malbim explains that the arm is the beginning of strength, that when a person wants to do something he acts with the power of the arm. The prince who upholds justice through the power of the law and the power of judgment, his arm is justice. That is his power. Through the power of justice that judges Yisrael when they stray from the path, that is his arm, that is his power. But if he prevails by his own power rather than through justice, then he is merely a man of arm. What does "merely" mean? He has only the arm alone, so-called violent. He has the power of might in his arm. From what power do you come? If you come from the power of halacha, from the power of Torah, then you empower the Torah, the halacha, the justice, the law. But if not, but rather you come from your own account, then you empower the strength of the arm. And this is what he says here, "each according to his arm were in you." Each one acted by the power of his arm and not by the power of righteousness and justice. This much concerning the princes.
Now let us see that they did not accept from their parents either. "Father and mother they treated lightly within you; to the stranger they dealt with oppression within you; orphan and widow they wronged within you." "Father and mother they treated lightly within you." Just as fear and honor departed from them regarding the great ones, because the great ones corrupted their way, so too, come and see, honor departed also from the father and mother, "they treated lightly." "To the stranger they dealt with oppression within you," and on the contrary, they even oppressed the weak, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, these they oppressed, these they wronged. Rashi says: all the abominations that appear in Parashat Kedoshim, all the abominations against which they were warned, appear here. The Radak explains that here he enumerates for them the severe transgressions that were among them, which it would have been fitting for every person to distance himself from even without the Torah's warning. Even without the Torah's warning, common sense, straight logic says not to oppress an orphan. Every person understands this. Not to wrong a widow, these are inherently despicable people. And precisely these they would oppress. Precisely because of this, for who would protect them? Who would guard them? So therefore they would oppress the stranger, for the stranger has no family, no relatives and helpers. The orphan and the widow, the widow has no husband, the orphan has no father, so there is no one to protect them. And consequently through this they permitted themselves to oppress the orphan and the widow and the stranger and to wrong them.
"My holy things you despised, and My Shabbatot you profaned." You despised the holy things. What does "you despised the holy things" mean? The Radak explains, as it is written "and you brought the stolen, the lame, and the sick," all of this is a way of contempt. To bring an offering that is sick, that is lame, is a way of contempt, it shows how lowly the service of Hashem is in your eyes. "And My Shabbatot you profaned," as Yirmeyahu warned them regarding the matter of profaning Shabbat, as we saw above.
The Malbim explains: as for what is written "My holy things you despised," the Malbim says, as is known according to Sefer Yetzirah there is in the world "ashan" (smoke). An acronym for olam (world), shana (year), nefesh (soul). These are three kinds of holiness. The holiness in the soul is man. The holiness in the year is the holiness of time. And the holiness of the world is the holiness in place. So for example, when we speak of the holiness of the soul, that is Yisrael. Within Yisrael, that is the Kohanim. When we speak of the holiness of time, we have Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Pesach, Sukkot, Shavuot, we have times that are sanctified. That is the year, the holiness of time. And there is the holiness of place. What is the holiness of place? Eretz Yisrael is holier than all lands, Yerushalayim is holier than it, the Har HaBayit, the Beit HaMikdash, the Beit Kodesh HaKodashim, these are sanctified places, that is the world, there is a place in the world that is holier. The Malbim says: here they damaged all three of these matters. Regarding the holiness in the soul, which is the parents, the princes, the exalted person, the important person, the person whom the Torah said to honor, they damaged it, that is the holiness in the soul. And we already saw that they disgraced them. Regarding the holiness in the world, that is the Kodesh HaKodashim, the Mikdash, the sanctified places, about this he says "My holy things you despised." The places sanctified to Me you despised. We saw that Menashe brought an idol into the Heichal. We saw that Yechezkel, this appears further on too, Yechezkel takes a tour in the Beit HaMikdash, when he was already at the river Kevar, we will see that Hashem gives him a tour there inside and shows him the idolatry that they engraved in the inner chambers of the Beit HaMikdash. So this means they disgraced even the sanctified place. And the holiness in the year, which are the Shabbatot, the festivals, "My Shabbatot you profaned."
"Men of slander were in you for the shedding of blood; and upon the mountains they ate within you; lewdness they committed within you." "Men of slander were in you," they would go about slandering from the weak to the strong in order to shed the blood of the innocent for nothing. They would go to the thuggish men and say to him: did you see, so-and-so did such, this one did such. Whoever wanted to settle a score with someone would go to those thugs so that they would eliminate him. "And upon the mountains they ate, they ate within you." Rashi explains that the intent is that on the mountains they served idolatry. So the Targum says, "and on the mountains they served you unto error." Since they would perform the idolatry upon mountains, as it is brought that they would do this upon the mountains and under every leafy tree, such was the way of the idolaters. "Lewdness they committed within you." "Lewdness" is in general, and further on we will see a detailing of the matters of lewdness. Rashi explains "lewdness" as being from the language of "zemem," to scheme. "Lewdness they committed within you," the intent is schemes of wickedness, that is the meaning of "lewdness." In contrast, the Radak, and so too we see from the Malbim, explain "lewdness" in the sense of counsel of sinners as the Targum says, counsel of sinners, which generally speaks of matters of forbidden relations.
The Malbim explains: the shedding of blood was among them from three aspects. First, as we saw above, through the princes who would shed blood within her. Second, as he tells us here, "men of slander were in you." The men of slander would inflame and cause incitement and through this bring about the shedding of blood. Third, through bribery, as we will see in verse 12, "bribes they took within you for the shedding of blood." These were three causes that brought about the shedding of blood. The Malbim says: it is not for nothing that he enumerated all three of them, since these are three matters about which it is said that they remove a person from the world. The first thing is jealousy, which is the men of slander. He is jealous of him, he slanders him, did you see this, he did so, this one does so, speaking from one to another, that is jealousy. The second thing is desire, through bribery. When he receives a bribe, the desire for money brings him too to shed blood. The third thing is the princes, that is through honor. Jealousy, desire, and honor remove a person from the world and also bring people to remove others from the world, yes, they bring them to murder. Besides the shedding of blood, there was also idolatry and forbidden relations. Against idolatry he says "upon the mountains they ate," the intent being from offerings of idolatry. Against forbidden relations, about this he said "lewdness they committed within you." Behold, he enumerated for us three severe transgressions.
"A father's nakedness he uncovered within you; the impurity of the niddah they afflicted within you." Why does he enumerate specifically "a father's nakedness"? The Radak explains because it is the most severe of the forbidden relations. And this is what is written in the Torah, "the nakedness of your father you shall not uncover," the intent being that it is forbidden for a person to come upon his mother. Let us note, it is written here in the singular, "a father's nakedness he uncovered within you," it is not written "they uncovered within you." And the rest is written in the plural, "the impurity of the niddah they afflicted within you," it is not written "he afflicted within you." What is the difference? It comes to hint at what Chazal say, that Amon had much guilt because he came upon his mother. So too it is written of Yehoyakim, and this is what is written "a father's nakedness he uncovered" in the singular, regarding those individuals who stumbled in this.
The Malbim explains, let us mention the Radak, who says: why is it written "the impurity of the niddah they afflicted within you"? Why is it not written "he uncovered within you" or "they lay with within you"? Why "afflicted"? Let us note that this is also the expression afterward, in the next verse, "and a man his sister, his father's daughter, he afflicted within you." There too a language of affliction is written. The Radak explains: since, as is known, both for a woman in her time of niddah and for a virgin there is affliction in relations with her. Therefore both regarding the impurity of the niddah and regarding the virgin he mentioned an expression of affliction.
"And a man his neighbor's wife committed an abomination; and a man his daughter-in-law defiled with lewdness; and a man his sister, his father's daughter, he afflicted within you." "And a man his neighbor's wife committed an abomination," the Radak says: do not think that we are speaking here of a man, one man, but rather we speak in the language of "man" of many as well, like "a man came from Baal Shalisha," where the intent there is in the plural. "A man of your offspring," the intent being each and every man. Each and every man defiled his neighbor's wife. "And a man his daughter-in-law and a man his sister" - so we said his sister is understood why it is written "he afflicted within you," since it speaks of an ordinary virgin sister who still lies with him while she is in her father's house. And another matter, that certainly a person close to her and her brother, relations are affliction for her.
"Bribes they took within you for the shedding of blood; interest and increase you took; and you gained from your neighbors through oppression; and Me you forgot, says Hashem Elokim." "Bribes they took within you for the shedding of blood." The kings and officials took bribes from litigants in order to shed innocent blood. That is to say, if one would emerge liable in his judgment, then he would pay him, so he would find his neighbor liable against him, decree death upon him. So he would receive a bribe for the shedding of blood, in order to shed innocent blood. "And increase you took, interest and increase you took." First of all, "lakachat" (you took) is like "lakachat," only since expressing "lakachat" is difficult in the pronunciation of the tongue, because there are two shevas in succession, "lakachat," two shevas in succession, therefore it is written "lakacht." Like "and you shall know that I am Hashem," it is written "veyadat," yes, it is written with a patach. And in several other places we see that it is mentioned with a patach even though it should have been a sheva. So too here where it is written "shakhachat," the intent is "shachacht." What we say in the Hebrew language, only since two shevas are difficult in pronunciation, therefore they express it with a patach. Therefore they say "shachacht" and "lakacht," even though the intent is "lakachat."
The Radak explains: what is the doubling of "interest and increase you took"? Indeed, Chazal already address this question. So Chazal simply say: this is neshech, this is tarbit, only to transgress upon it with two prohibitions. "You shall not take from him neshech and tarbit." In truth, this is spoken in the language of Chazal; we already learned in the Mishnayot in the chapter "Eizehu Neshech," we learned there that when one expresses in the language of "tarbit" they generally mean rabbinic interest. But that is only when speaking in the words of Chazal, you cannot say this about the Torah. When the Torah writes "you shall not take from him neshech and tarbit," the intent is actually about something from the Torah, because the Torah forbids it. So what is the difference between them? One explanation says: to transgress upon it with two prohibitions. There are those who wish to say that neshech and tarbit are two expressions for what the taking of interest does. When a person takes interest he creates two situations. One situation: he bites (noshech) his fellow across from him. The interest eats away at the person who must pay. Another matter: it increases the assets of the lender. Since the counter is constantly ticking and he is constantly earning more and more. So that is the expression neshech and tarbit. Neshech is in the borrower, and tarbit, the assets of the lender increase. In essence, the two actions created as a result of taking interest.
So "interest and increase you took. And you gained from your neighbors through oppression." The Targum says: "and you gratified your loved ones by force." The intent is: you caused your loved ones to benefit from what you took by force and took money from others. You gave your neighbors to benefit from what you gained and oppressed the peoples, the members of your people who were weak, as we saw the orphan, widow, stranger, all these they oppressed with oppression. Who is "you gained from your neighbors through oppression"? Who are your neighbors? Who are the neighbors who received this oppression? This oppression they gave to Ashur and to Mitzrayim. They gave them bribes, because when the troubles began they hired mercenaries to come help them. It does not matter that ultimately the payment was for nothing, since not only did they not help, but it was a broken reed staff, as the prophet tells them, that it pierces the hand of the one leaning upon it, so ultimately it did not benefit them. But in any case, you went to plunder your people in order to give to your neighbors, to whom? To Ashur and to Mitzrayim.
"And Me you forgot, says Hashem Elokim." "Me you forgot," the intent is: you did not trust in Me, you did not turn to Me for help. You turned for help to the nations who came to destroy you. "And Me you forgot," I warned you about all these transgressions and you went after your desires and did not remember that I commanded you to refrain from this. So then there are here two explanations of what "Me you forgot" means. "Me you forgot" in one explanation: for going to pay the enemies and forgetting that I am your protector and savior from of old. And the second explanation: you did all the abominations I mentioned earlier and forgot that I commanded you not to do these things.
The Malbim says: after mentioning the matters of forbidden relations, he returns to the shedding of blood, since the completion of the verdict was over the shedding of blood. As we said above at the beginning of the chapter, the beginning of the wrath and the destruction was over the matter of the shedding of blood, and therefore he mentions mainly the matter of the shedding of blood, so after he returns, after he spoke of forbidden relations, he returns once again to the matter of the shedding of blood. As for what is written "and you gained (vativtzi)," the Malbim explains that this is from the language of robbery, like "so are the ways of everyone greedy for gain (botzeia betza)," where the intent is one who robs. Another explanation he offers is that "betza" is also from the language of profit. "What profit (betza) is there if we kill our brother?" where the meaning is: what profit will we gain from this? About this he says: you went to oppress in order to do what? To enrich your neighbors, which are Mitzrayim and Ashur. "And behold, I have struck My palm at your ill-gotten gain that you made and at your blood that was within you." "And behold, I have struck My palm," the Radak explains that this is like a parable of a person who is distressed, so he strikes, clapping palm to palm. That is "I struck My palm." As he said before, "and I too will strike My palm to My palm," as we saw above. "At your ill-gotten gain" means "over your ill-gotten gain." And Chazal say...
Whoever examines here what Yechezkel enumerates for us, Yechezkel enumerates twenty-four sins, and over all of them he sealed only with robbery. As it says "and behold, I have struck My palm" over what? "At your ill-gotten gain." The wrath was mainly over the matter of robbery. "At your ill-gotten gain that you made and at your blood that was within you." What is "your blood"? The Radak says: it is written "your blood" (damech) in the singular but the intent is in general. "Your blood" means the abundant blood, like "and I have had an ox and a donkey," where the intent is oxen and donkeys. So many times it takes the singular language when the intent is about the plural.
The Malbim explains: as for "I have struck My palm," as we saw above in the previous chapter "and I too will strike My palm to My palm," the fact that the verdict was completed that Nevuchadnetzar would go to destroy Yerushalayim, this was not over idolatry and forbidden relations, but only over "your ill-gotten gain," mainly on account of the oppression as the Radak brought. And about this the Malbim says: we saw similar to this also in the generation of the Flood, that their verdict was sealed only over robbery.
"Will your heart stand, will your hands be strong, in the days when I deal with you? I, Hashem, have spoken and have done it." The Malbim explains: if the verdict were on account of transgressions between man and God, there would still be room for repentance, you would repent and Hashem would atone for you. But since the verdict was completed over transgressions between man and his fellow, here repentance does not help until he returns the oppression that he oppressed and the robbery that he robbed. So Hashem says: how will your heart stand, yes, "will your heart stand, will your hands be strong in the days" when I execute judgment upon you, "and I, Hashem, have spoken and have done it." And once I have spoken the verdict, it is as if the deed is already done. It is impossible to reverse something that has already been done. And the Malbim explains this in several places, that Hashem's speech is already like its execution. "I, Hashem, have spoken" is already like its execution, as you see that Hashem created the world with ten utterances. That is to say, there was room to say He spoke, well, now He needs to do. They tell you: no, He spoke and it was. "He commanded and it stood." With Hashem, the speech is already the fulfillment of the matter. This is what he says: "I, Hashem, have spoken and have done it." If I have spoken, it is already as if I have done, so there is now no room to nullify the matter.
"And I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you in the lands, and I will consume your impurity from you." Therefore Hashem says: I will scatter you among the nations, and as we spoke, there is an expression "to scatter" and an expression "to disperse," and there are "nations" and there are "lands." "To scatter" means to spread, and "to disperse" means an even greater spreading. And this is what he says "and disperse you in the lands." "And I will consume your impurity from you," through this your impurity will be consumed from you. How will your impurity be consumed from you? The Radak says that they did not serve idols in exile. All the idol worship, we see, was here only in Eretz Yisrael. When they were exiled they no longer served idolatry. And even though the Torah says "and you shall serve there gods of wood and stone," and so on, Chazal say "and you shall serve there" peoples who worship idols of wood and stone. That is the intent. The intent is not that you will worship idolatry, but that you will serve peoples who worship idolatry. And what is "wood and stone"? Wood is the Christians and stone is the Muslims. The Christians have the cross made of wood, and the Muslims have the stone, which is the Kaaba in their impure place, yes, there is the Kaaba which is the impure stone, and whoever comes there is called a sheikh and hajji, and I don't know, he has a happy holiday and in short makes celebrations. That is their impure place in Mecca. So then, this matter of "and you shall serve there," the intent is not that you will worship idolatry, because indeed they did not worship idolatry in the places where they were exiled. Rather what, they served idolaters, worshippers of stars, worshippers of idolatry. They served the nations who worshipped idolatry, and this is considered that we are lowly before idolatry, because I serve someone who worships idolatry. I am subjugated to someone who worships idolatry. So this is what is written here "and I will consume your impurity from you." This impurity of idolatry will be consumed there, it will not continue and accompany you among the nations.
"And you shall be profaned within yourself in the eyes of the nations, and you shall know that I am Hashem." As we mentioned earlier, here is an example, "veyadat." It is written "veyadat." For the same reason, since two shevas are difficult in pronunciation, therefore it is not written "veyadata" but "veyadat, that I am Hashem." What is "and you shall be profaned within yourself in the eyes of the nations"? What is "nichalt"? There are several explanations in this. Rashi brings "nichalt in the eyes of the nations" meaning: you will shudder over what you did. That is the meaning of "nichalt." "You will shudder" simply means from the language of illness. So here too "nichalt" is simply from the direction of illness, like "and Queen Esther shuddered (vatitchalchal)." There are commentators, so the Radak brings, thus he brings in the name of some commentators, that this is from the language of profanation (chilul). "And you shall be profaned within yourself in the eyes of the nations," the intent is: the honor of Am Yisrael will be profaned in the eyes of the nations. In contrast, the Malbim explains that "nichalt" is from the language of nachala (inheritance). Not shuddering and not profanation, but from the language of inheritance. Its meaning is: "and you shall inherit within yourself in the eyes of the nations," you will inherit within yourself. What is the meaning of "inherit within you"? What is "you will inherit within yourself"? The Malbim explains that Am Yisrael, our inheritance from our forefathers is that we were a holy people. That is our inheritance, a holy people, Hashem is our inheritance. On whom does this inheritance depend? On us. The more we sanctify ourselves, the more Hashem will be our inheritance. If not, as we see, He will disperse us among the nations. Now he says: "and you shall inherit within yourself in the eyes of the nations," there you will return to your original inheritance. And what is that original inheritance? You will inherit yourself, within you, what is yours, what belongs to you from your forefathers, that you are a holy people; this Hashem bequeathed to you through your forefathers, return to inherit yourself. In simple words, the powers you had before, and what are they? The holiness within you, what you inherited from your forefathers, "and you shall inherit within yourself." Now you will return to settle in those matters, to inherit that same inheritance. And what is that inheritance? "And you shall know that I am Hashem." You will return to know Hashem as in the days of old, which is the inheritance you inherited from your forefathers.