Chapter 34 in Yechezkel serves as the haftarah for Parashat Bechukotai according to the Yemenite and Italian customs. This chapter follows the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, after the monarchy of the House of David was suspended: Tzidkiyahu was blinded, Yechanyah was in exile, and now a prophecy comes addressing the shepherds, the leaders of Israel, who were the cause of this state of affairs. The shepherds are the leaders of Israel, and the flock is the Jewish people - "And you, My flock" - the people of Israel are considered the flock of the Holy One, Blessed is He. The shepherds did not pasture the flock properly, meaning they did not lead the Jewish people appropriately, and therefore Hashem removed them from their post. The entire chapter demonstrates that Hashem's judgments were just: the Holy One, Blessed is He, stripped the shepherds of their royalty because their leadership was corrupt and unworthy.
וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ בֶּן־אָדָם הִנָּבֵא עַל־רוֹעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִנָּבֵא וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵיהֶם לָרֹעִים כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה הוֹי רֹעֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ רֹעִים אוֹתָם הֲלוֹא הַצֹּאן יִרְעוּ הָרֹעִים׃ - And the word of Hashem came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, to the shepherds: Thus said the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! Should not the shepherds pasture the flock?
The Malbim notes that the prophetic call is doubled: "Prophesy against the shepherds of Israel," and once again, "prophesy, and say to them, to the shepherds." He explains: "Prophesy against the shepherds of Israel" refers to a prophecy concerning the future, regarding those shepherds who are destined to shepherd them later on. "Prophesy, and say to them, to the shepherds" is directed to the shepherds present at that very time, who also need this message and for whom it is directly relevant. "Woe" (hoi) is an expression of anguish, while some explain it as an oratorical cry of pathos.
There are two kinds of shepherds. There is a shepherd whose entire purpose is to benefit the flock; his whole aim is to provide what the sheep need. Such individuals are called "shepherds of the flock" - their true objective is to shepherd the flock. This is how the Holy One, Blessed is He, chose the leaders of Israel: "He chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds." Chazal teach that the Holy One, Blessed is He, tested David through sheep, and similarly tested Moshe Rabbeinu through sheep, and Yaakov Avinu was also a shepherd. In contrast, there is a shepherd whose sole concern is what he can gain from the sheep: he takes the fleece, he takes the milk. In his eyes, it is the flock that shepherds him; the flock bestows upon him and sustains him.
Sometimes this dynamic is reciprocal: he shepherds the flock and the flock shepherds him - he leads them with justice and integrity, and they provide him with benefits from what they produce, such as milk and wool. The Malbim explains that in earlier generations, the shepherds of Israel were those "who pastured them" - they took no personal benefit from the public, but only tended the flock, their sole desire being to do good for the flock. Consider Moshe Rabbeinu, who even suffered harm by shepherding the Jewish people: "Erase me, please, from Your book which You have written" - he was willing to lay down his life for them, for he was truly shepherding them, and his entire focus was to lead them and do good for them.
Therefore the prophet cries out: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing them!" - where are those shepherds whose sole desire was to lead the people of Israel and do good for them? Today the reality has been inverted: "Should not the shepherds pasture the flock?" - the flock is now shepherding the shepherds; they are the ones constantly giving and providing to the leaders, while the shepherds give nothing back to the flock. From here on, throughout the entire chapter, the prophet details this grim reality: how the leaders' sole concern was to take from the public and seize everything it had, without giving anything in return.
אֶת־הַחֵלֶב תֹּאכֵלוּ וְאֶת־הַצֶּמֶר תִּלְבָּשׁוּ הַבְּרִיאָה תִּזְבָּחוּ הַצֹּאן לֹא תִרְעוּ׃ - You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fattened animal, but you do not pasture the flock.
You consume the fat of the sheep and wear their wool. "You slaughter the fattened animal" - the healthy, robust sheep, from which you could have benefited through fleece and milk while they were still alive, you slaughter instead. It would have been fitting for you to watch over them and care for them, but instead, "you do not pasture the flock" - you do not shepherd them, but slaughter them, thinking only of what you can take and what you can gain. You have no intention at all of benefiting them or giving to them.
אֶת־הַנַּחְלוֹת לֹא חִזַּקְתֶּם וְאֶת־הַחוֹלָה לֹא־רִפֵּאתֶם וְלַנִּשְׁבֶּרֶת לֹא חֲבַשְׁתֶּם וְאֶת־הַנִּדַּחַת לֹא הֲשֵׁבֹתֶם וְאֶת־הָאֹבֶדֶת לֹא בִקַּשְׁתֶּם וּבְחׇזְקָה רְדִיתֶם אֹתָם וּבְפָרֶךְ׃ - The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, and the lost you have not sought; but with force and with harshness you have ruled over them.
Here the prophet enumerates how the shepherds dealt with the flock, and how cruel their conduct was. "The weak" (nachlot) and "the sick" (cholah) appear at first glance to be identical, but the Malbim explains the distinction between them: nachlot is in the passive form, referring to a sheep that has become slightly ill, not in full health - the onset of illness, frail and in need of strengthening. Cholah refers to one that has already fallen into outright illness and requires healing. You did not strengthen the weak that needed strengthening, and you did not heal the sick that required healing. "And you have not bound up the broken" - one that suffered a fracture and needed its break bound, you did not bandage.
The Malbim likewise distinguishes between "the driven away" (nidachat) and "the lost" (ovedet): the driven away is one pushed out of its place but still in the vicinity, whereas the lost has strayed completely and vanished altogether, requiring someone to go out and search for it. You did not bring back the driven away to its place, nor did you seek the lost. Thus, the entire enterprise of tending the flock was not for the flock's benefit, but to its detriment.
This is the summary: "And with force and with rigor you ruled over them." Rediyah (ruling) denotes subjugating the people, wielding forceful dominion over them; and "with rigor" (befarech) means that you worked them with crushing labor. The entire purpose was merely to consume their flesh, rather than managing and leading them with care and compassion, as befits one who shepherds a flock.
וַתְּפוּצֶינָה מִבְּלִי רֹעֶה וַתִּהְיֶינָה לְאׇכְלָה לְכׇל־חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה וַתְּפוּצֶינָה׃ - So they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and became food for all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.
Sheep, notes the Malbim, must be gathered together, and they need a shepherd to guard them in their gathering - sheep are always pastured as a flock. Here, not only were individual sheep driven away or lost, but the entire flock was scattered - "and they were scattered" - because there was no shepherd and no one to care for them. And as a result of being scattered, "they became food for all the beasts of the field" - every beast of the field could overpower them, for there was no shepherd guiding them.
Why is "and they were scattered" repeated a second time? The Malbim explains: the initial scattering occurred because there was no shepherd, and when the beasts of the field arrived, they scattered even further - scattering upon scattering. Therefore, the verse repeats, "and were scattered."
יִשְׁגּוּ צֹאנִי בְּכׇל־הֶהָרִים וְעַל כׇּל־גִּבְעָה רָמָה וְעַל כׇּל־פְּנֵי הָאָרֶץ נָפֹצוּ צֹאנִי וְאֵין דּוֹרֵשׁ וְאֵין מְבַקֵּשׁ׃ - My flock wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill, and across the entire face of the earth My flock was scattered, with none to inquire and none to seek.
There had still been a possibility that they might return on their own and regroup by themselves. But through the second scattering, when the beasts of the field came and they fled far away, they climbed the mountains, and from the mountains they scattered to every high hill - to the hill below the mountain. The mountain is higher, and below it lies the lower terrain where the hill stands. This is similar to what is said in Yirmeyahu, chapter 50: "Lost sheep were My people; their shepherds misled them, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they went, they forgot their resting place" - by ascending the mountain and descending to the hill, they forgot their proper place, and then their dispersal was vast, scattering in every direction. This is the meaning of "and across the entire face of the earth My flock was scattered" - they were scattered so widely that they forgot the place to which they needed to return.
What is the reason for this repetition? The Malbim explains: when sheep go missing, the shepherd goes out to search for them (levakesh). If he does not find them, he begins asking people: Have you perhaps seen sheep wandering around here? And if he discovers who has them, he claims them back with identifying signs (doresh). Bakashah is the active search in order to find, as in "and you shall seek and you shall find," or "I sought him, but I did not find him." Derishah is when one approaches the person holding the sheep and provides identifying marks, as it says, "until your brother inquires (derosh) after it, and you shall return it to him," on which Chazal teach that the return of lost property is accomplished through identifying marks. The natural sequence is first to search (levakesh) and then to claim (lidrosh). Here, Scripture comes to show just how total the indifference was: there is none to claim them, and there was not even anyone who went out to search for them in the first place.
לָכֵן רֹעִים שִׁמְעוּ אֶת־דְּבַר יְהֹוָה׃ חַי־אָנִי נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה אִם־לֹא יַעַן הֱיוֹת־צֹאנִי לָבַז וַתִּהְיֶינָה צֹאנִי לְאׇכְלָה לְכׇל־חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה מֵאֵין רֹעֶה וְלֹא־דָרְשׁוּ רֹעַי אֶת־צֹאנִי וַיִּרְעוּ הָרֹעִים אוֹתָם וְאֶת־צֹאנִי לֹא רָעוּ׃ - Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but the shepherds pastured themselves and did not pasture My flock.
"As I live" represents a decree accompanied by an oath, and Chazal say that this is a decree that cannot be annulled. When God swears, it will happen come what may. "Because My flock became a prey" - there was no one to pasture them, and every beast of the field dominated them, and the reason: "for lack of a shepherd", for had there been a shepherd, he would have guided and led them securely. The halachic status of these shepherds is like that of one who led an animal into a place frequented by packs of wild beasts and bandits, regarding whom the Halachah states that he is liable. Even if you were to argue that the nations who attacked are akin to armed bandits, which normally falls under the category of an unavoidable circumstance (ones) - one who led the flock into an area of wild beasts and bandits cannot claim an unavoidable circumstance: Why did you take the flock to such a place to begin with? Similarly, one who abandoned the flock cannot claim it was an unavoidable circumstance.
"And My shepherds did not search for My flock" - they were also required to exert effort to rescue them, with other shepherds and with clubs. The Halachah dictates that if predators or marauders attack the flock, the shepherd is obligated to go and summon help, so that people arrive with clubs and forcefully drive off the wolves or the bandits. If he sat idly by and did not do so, he bears full responsibility for whatever befell the flock. So too here: they did not go to rescue them with shepherds and clubs.
In particular, the Malbim explains that their halachic status is that of a paid bailee (shomer sachar), since "the shepherds pastured themselves" - meaning they derived personal benefit from the flock. This is similar to what Chazal expound regarding the sons of Yaakov who went "to pasture the flock of their father" (lirot et tzon avihem), where the word et is dotted in the Torah scroll - teaching that they went to pasture themselves. The simple meaning is that they went to attend to their own needs, similar to what is said here, that the shepherd does not seek the welfare of the flock, but his own. On a deeper level: through that very pasturing, they ultimately provided for themselves, for out of it they seized Yosef and threw him into the pit; he descended to Egypt, became ruler there, and sustained them, so that the tribes were supported by virtue of his rule. Thus, through this entire chain of events, they "pastured themselves," and in the end secured sustenance for themselves.
In any case, "the shepherds pastured themselves" means that the leaders pastured themselves, directed themselves, and looked out solely for their own interests. And should you suggest, in light of the phrase "for lack of a shepherd," that perhaps the shepherds decided to abandon the post altogether and no longer bear responsibility for the flock, severing ties with them, so why hold them accountable now? To this the verse responds: That cannot be, for "the shepherds pastured themselves" - they took from the flock and derived benefit from it, which constitutes misappropriation (shelichut yad). Once a bailee misappropriates an object, he immediately assumes full liability, remaining obligated to shepherd them and answer for whatever happens to them. If so, after having fed themselves and benefited from the flock, they certainly were required to provide them with protection - and therefore, "and My flock they did not pasture."
לָכֵן הָרֹעִים שִׁמְעוּ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה׃ כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה הִנְנִי אֶל־הָרֹעִים וְדָרַשְׁתִּי אֶת־צֹאנִי מִיָּדָם וְהִשְׁבַּתִּים מֵרְעוֹת צֹאן וְלֹא־יִרְעוּ עוֹד הָרֹעִים אוֹתָם וְהִצַּלְתִּי צֹאנִי מִפִּיהֶם וְלֹא־תִהְיֶיןָ לָהֶם לְאׇכְלָה׃ - Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My flock from their hand, and cause them to cease from pasturing the flock, and the shepherds shall no longer pasture themselves; and I will rescue My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.
Why does Scripture repeat, "Therefore, shepherds, hear"? To eliminate that very excuse, lest they argue, "We severed ties with them and did not assume responsibility." Hashem tells them: You are the shepherds - since you took from the flock and benefited from them, you are their shepherd and remain obligated toward them. And now the punishment corresponds measure-for-measure to every detail: Corresponding to the flock becoming prey and food - "and I will demand My flock from their hand," meaning they will be obligated to pay restitution, for they were grossly negligent in guarding them. Corresponding to "and My shepherds did not search for My flock" - "and cause them to cease from pasturing the flock," meaning I will dismiss them and no longer permit them to shepherd My flock; that is, the Holy One, blessed be He, will strip them of their kingship and office and take the realm away from them. And corresponding to "and the shepherds pastured themselves," deriving personal benefit from them - "and the shepherds shall no longer pasture themselves." "And I will rescue My flock from their mouth" - for they enjoyed the flock and ate their meat without giving anything in return; "so that they will not be food for them," as they will no longer be able to benefit from them, because I will remove them from the leadership of the Jewish people.
כִּי כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה הִנְנִי־אָנִי וְדָרַשְׁתִּי אֶת־צֹאנִי וּבִקַּרְתִּים׃ - For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, will search for My flock and seek them out.
Do not think that the moment I take away the shepherds, the flock will be left without any leadership at all, with no one to guide them. Hashem says: After I have removed the shepherds from them, I Myself will be their shepherd - "Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and inspect them."
In Tanach, the root bikkur always carries the meaning of inspection and evaluation. This is actually a common misunderstanding in modern Hebrew: people say bikur cholim (visiting the sick), and from this they derive "dropping in to visit someone" even when they are not sick. According to Lashon HaKodesh, this is not precise, because bikkur comes from the concept of inspection. When a person goes to perform bikur cholim, the point is not merely to drop by and say hello, but to assess his condition, to see what he lacks, and to take care of his needs. This is like the story of Rabbi Akiva, who went and found a certain student in terrible distress, and he helped him, cleaned, and arranged things for him, and said that whoever does not visit the sick is like one who sheds blood.
So too here: "And I will inspect them" (u-vikartim) - in the words of the Malbim, to know the nature and state of the matter, to know what they are missing, what they need, and what their requirements are. Through this, they will have a shepherd responsible for providing what they truly need, and that is the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself. There are two aspects here: "I will inspect them" - an inspection of the flock in general, to see how many are missing, and "I will search for My flock" - My flock, examining each and every one individually to see precisely what it lacks and what I can provide for it.
כְּבַקָּרַת רֹעֶה עֶדְרוֹ בְּיוֹם־הֱיוֹתוֹ בְתוֹךְ־צֹאנוֹ נִפְרָשׁוֹת כֵּן אֲבַקֵּר אֶת־צֹאנִי וְהִצַּלְתִּי אֶתְהֶם מִכׇּל־הַמְּקוֹמֹת אֲשֶׁר נָפֹצוּ שָׁם בְּיוֹם עָנָן וַעֲרָפֶל׃ - As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My flock, and I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of cloud and thick darkness.
"As a shepherd seeks out his flock" - specifically his own flock. When a person works in someone else's business, we all know how much he cares and how he looks for ways to wrap up and leave; but when he works in his own business, he stays until midnight even though no one is paying him extra, because it is his own business. So says Hashem: I will inspect them like a shepherd caring for his own flock, who genuinely cares about them and watches over them with great care.
"On the day he is among his scattered sheep" - when the sheep become separated, from the term for straying and drifting apart. And when does this happen? "On a day of cloud and thick darkness," which is a dark day when the sheep cannot see where to gather, and so they wander off and become scattered. Immediately, he inspects them: counting them, seeing how many are missing, and going out to search for those that are gone. So says Hashem: In this way I will inspect My flock, and I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of cloud and thick darkness - both because of the leaders who were blind and led them blindly as on a day of darkness, and because of the enemies who attacked them. A time of cloud and thick darkness caused their dispersion, and Hashem says: I will gather them.
וְהוֹצֵאתִים מִן־הָעַמִּים וְקִבַּצְתִּים מִן־הָאֲרָצוֹת וַהֲבִיאוֹתִים אֶל־אַדְמָתָם וּרְעִיתִים אֶל־הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּאֲפִיקִים וּבְכֹל מוֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ׃ - And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their own land; and I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
On a day of cloud and thick darkness they were scattered among the nations, and many of them were captive among the peoples, as it is written, "Because My flock has become prey" and "My flock became food" - for the nations that conquered them devoured them voraciously. Hashem says: I will take them out from their control, and I will gather them from the countries where they were scattered, and bring them to their own soil, to Eretz Yisrael. There I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
בְּמִרְעֶה־טּוֹב אֶרְעֶה אֹתָם וּבְהָרֵי מְרוֹם־יִשְׂרָאֵל יִהְיֶה נְוֵהֶם שָׁם תִּרְבַּצְנָה בְּנָוֶה טּוֹב וּמִרְעֶה שָׁמֵן תִּרְעֶינָה אֶל־הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - In good pasture I will shepherd them, and on the high mountains of Israel shall be their dwelling; there they shall lie down in a good fold, and in rich pasture they shall graze on the mountains of Israel.
The Malbim explains that sheep need two things: grazing ground where they graze during the day, and a resting place where the sheep lie down at night, which is called the sheepfold (neveh). Here, the Holy One, Blessed be He, promises that the pasture will be good, and the fold will be in the mountains - an elevated place where they are safe from bandits and predators, and there they will lie down.
Now, ordinarily mountain pastures are not lush and the fold there is not ideal, since it is difficult to climb up there and the vegetation does not compare to the valley, where growth is far richer. Yet here the Holy One, Blessed be He, promises: the fold will be good, there they will lie down, and there they will graze. They will not need to descend to find pasture, for in the mountains themselves He will provide them with good, fitting pasture, contrary to the natural course of things. Thus, they will be protected and secure, as mountains naturally afford protection and safety, while on the other hand lacking nothing of all the goodness He will shower upon them.
Yechezkel's prophecy in chapter 34 is an indictment against the shepherds of Israel, the leaders of the people, who turned things upside down: instead of pasturing the flock and caring for its welfare, they pastured themselves and profited from the sheep - eating their fat, wearing their wool, and slaughtering the healthy animals, yet failing to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bandage the broken, return the stray, or search for the lost, ruling over them instead with harshness and rigor. As a result, the sheep were scattered and became prey for every beast of the field, with no one searching or seeking after them. Against this comes a decree issued under oath: the Holy One, Blessed be He, demands His flock from the hand of the shepherds and removes them from pasturing the flock, stripping them of their office and sovereignty, and promising that He Himself will be the Shepherd - He will search out and inspect the flock like a shepherd inspecting his herd on a day of cloud and thick darkness, bring them out from among the nations, gather them from the lands to their own soil, and graze them in good pasture and a rich fold upon the mountains of Israel, in a place of shelter and protection, and they will lack nothing.