Introduction
In this part of the chapter, we continue the prophecy of the war of Gog and Magog: following the depiction of Gog's downfall upon the mountains of Israel, the prophet turns in figurative language to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field, inviting them to the great feast that the Holy One, blessed be He, is preparing for them from the corpses of the camp. From there, the prophecy proceeds to the overarching divine process behind it all: eradicating the Chillul Hashem (desecration of God's Name) caused by the exile, sanctifying His blessed Name throughout the world, restoring the captivity of Jacob and showing mercy to the House of Israel, bringing about a complete ingathering of the exiles without leaving anyone behind, revealing His face, and pouring out the spirit of holiness upon the House of Israel.
Inviting the Birds and Beasts to the Great Sacrifice
וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה אֱמֹר לְצִפּוֹר כׇּל־כָּנָף וּלְכֹל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה הִקָּבְצוּ וָבֹאוּ הֵאָסְפוּ מִסָּבִיב עַל־זִבְחִי אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי זֹבֵחַ לָכֶם זֶבַח גָּדוֹל עַל הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲכַלְתֶּם בָּשָׂר וּשְׁתִיתֶם דָּם׃ - And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God: Speak to every winged bird and to every beast of the field: Assemble and come, gather from all around to My sacrifice that I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood.
Here it is explained why no flesh will remain on the bones of this vast multitude, leaving only bare bones: because the Holy One, blessed be He, summons all the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky, every winged bird, and says to them: Assemble and come, gather from all around to My sacrifice that I am preparing for you. As it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, is preparing a feast and a great sacrifice for them, and this feast will consist of flesh and blood.
בְּשַׂר גִּבּוֹרִים תֹּאכֵלוּ וְדַם־נְשִׂיאֵי הָאָרֶץ תִּשְׁתּוּ אֵילִים כָּרִים וְעַתּוּדִים פָּרִים מְרִיאֵי בָשָׁן כֻּלָּם׃ - You shall eat the flesh of mighty men, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth; rams, fattened lambs, he-goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Radak explains that "rams, fattened lambs, he-goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan" is an allegory for the leaders: you will consume the prominent and the choicest among them. Metzudat Tziyon explains: "Karim" are fattened sheep, "atudim" are male goats, "meri" refers to fattened and plump livestock, as in the phrase "nor will I look upon your fat peace offerings" (Amos 5:22), and "Bashan" is a rich pastureland, as in "the cows of Bashan" (Amos 4:1). Thus, the verse refers to the fattest and prime livestock of Bashan. Malbim explains that Scripture is describing the quality and richness of the food: the flesh of mighty men, the blood of princes of the earth, all of them like prime rams and fattened sheep, with choice and abundant meat and blood.
וַאֲכַלְתֶּם־חֵלֶב לְשׇׂבְעָה וּשְׁתִיתֶם דָּם לְשִׁכָּרוֹן מִזִּבְחִי אֲשֶׁר־זָבַחְתִּי לָכֶם׃ - And you shall eat fat to the full and drink blood to drunkenness, from My sacrifice that I have sacrificed for you.
I will give you fat to eat until you are sated, an immense quantity sufficient to satisfy you. "And drink blood to drunkenness" - to the point that they are, as it were, intoxicated from the abundance of blood. "From My sacrifice that I have sacrificed for you" - from My feast that I have prepared for you.
וּשְׂבַעְתֶּם עַל־שֻׁלְחָנִי סוּס וָרֶכֶב גִּבּוֹר וְכׇל־אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - And you shall be sated at My table with horse and chariot rider, mighty man and every man of war, says the Lord God.
At My table I will give you your fill: besides the mighty men mentioned, you will also have horse and chariot rider, and all other forms of nourishment from the rest of the fallen. Not only human beings, but also the horses and every man of war; all will serve as a feast for you.
"And I Will Set My Glory Among the Nations" - Measure-for-Measure Judgment and the Hand of God
וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־כְּבוֹדִי בַּגּוֹיִם וְרָאוּ כׇל־הַגּוֹיִם אֶת־מִשְׁפָּטִי אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי וְאֶת־יָדִי אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי בָהֶם׃ - And I will set My glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid upon them.
"And I will set My glory among the nations" - the nations will see how I punish them for their sins measure for measure, and through this the Name of Hashem is magnified and sanctified. And where is the measure for measure here? This is what was explained: why does the Holy One, blessed be He, bring Gog here, rather than destroying him in his own land? Because "in the place of judgment, there is wickedness" - the very place where the nations acted wickedly, here in the Land of Israel, in Jerusalem, where they destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, is where the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring Gog to enter into judgment with him. Through this, "And I will set My glory among the nations," for "all the nations shall see My judgment that I have executed" - they will see that this is measure for measure. "And My hand that I have laid upon them" - they see that the hand of Hashem is at work here; this is not a natural punishment but a miraculous one, and when a miraculous punishment is seen, it is clear to all that it comes from Hashem, blessed be He. These two elements together, the judgment of measure for measure and the manifest hand of Hashem, will bring about the recognition that everything is from Him, blessed be He, and through this His Name will be magnified in the world.
וְיָדְעוּ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם מִן־הַיּוֹם הַהוּא וָהָלְאָה׃ - And the House of Israel shall know that I am Hashem their God from that day onward.
From that day onward, the House of Israel will know that I am Hashem their God, watching over them in a miraculous manner.
Nullifying the Chillul Hashem Created in Exile
וְיָדְעוּ הַגּוֹיִם כִּי בַעֲוֺנָם גָּלוּ בֵית־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל אֲשֶׁר מָעֲלוּ־בִי וָאַסְתִּר פָּנַי מֵהֶם וָאֶתְּנֵם בְּיַד צָרֵיהֶם וַיִּפְּלוּ בַחֶרֶב כֻּלָּם׃ - And the nations shall know that for their iniquity the House of Israel went into exile, because they trespassed against Me, and I hid My face from them and delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword.
As mentioned, at first there was an aspect of Chillul Hashem in this. For the world sees that Am Yisrael is the people of Hashem, yet instead of being the most protected nation, the most safeguarded, possessing the strongest economy and the greatest security - they are the most persecuted, battered, and suffering of nations. It reached such a point that the Christians arose and argued: on the contrary, the very fact that Israel is persecuted is proof that Hashem abandoned them and chose us instead. This generated a tremendous Chillul Hashem in the world. Regarding this, Hashem says: when they see how I exact retribution from the nations, the gentiles will understand that everything that occurred until now was because Am Yisrael sinned, and therefore I punished them, and not, Heaven forbid, due to any lack of power on Hashem's part, nor because He despised them. Through this, that original Chillul Hashem will be erased. "Because they trespassed against Me, and I hid My face from them" - and on account of this concealment of the Divine face came all their suffering: "and delivered them into the hand of their adversaries," through persecutions, massacres, and devastation, "and all of them fell by the sword."
כְּטֻמְאָתָם וּכְפִשְׁעֵיהֶם עָשִׂיתִי אֹתָם וָאַסְתִּר פָּנַי מֵהֶם׃ - According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.
Now they will know that My hiding My face from them during the exile was "according to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions." And as explained in previous lessons, when the Holy One, blessed be He, hides His face from us, it is measure for measure: "And I will surely hide My face" - when Am Yisrael turns its face away from Hashem, Hashem hides His face from them, for "Hashem is your shade upon your right hand." In the future it will become clear that the initiative began with Am Yisrael; the defilement and transgression began with them, and that is why Hashem hid His face. Consequently, there is no Chillul Hashem here of saying, "Because Hashem was unable," for it now becomes clear that Hashem is all-powerful and capable, and behold, He brings them out and redeems them.
"I Will Bring Back the Captivity of Jacob" - The Ten Tribes, and "I Will Have Mercy" - The House of Israel
לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה עַתָּה אָשִׁיב אֶת־שְׁבוּת יַעֲקֹב וְרִחַמְתִּי כׇּל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְקִנֵּאתִי לְשֵׁם קׇדְשִׁי׃ - Therefore so says the Lord God: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole House of Israel, and I will be zealous for My holy Name.
"Therefore" - since they have already received their punishment, the time has come that I will bring back the captivity of Jacob and have mercy upon the whole House of Israel. Corresponding to the exile that occurred, the verse says, "I will bring back the captivity," and corresponding to the suffering they endured, it says, "and have mercy" - I will no longer exile them, nor will I continue to afflict them.
Why does the verse say "the captivity of Yaakov" rather than "the captivity of the House of Yaakov," and what is the difference between "Yaakov" and "the House of Yisrael"? The Malbim explains, based on Chazal: "Yaakov" refers to the Ten Tribes. The name Yaakov is associated with akavah (crookedness), deviating from the straight path, whereas "Yisrael" denotes dominion and the upright path. When the Jewish people are in a diminished state, they are called Yaakov, and when they are on an elevated level, they are called Yisrael. The Ten Tribes are exiled and we do not know their whereabouts, but they did not suffer persecutions and destruction; rather, they assimilated among the nations and lived quietly in their places. "The House of Yisrael" refers to Yehudah and Binyamin, who were the ones to endure persecutions and pogroms. Therefore, the verse states: "I will restore the captivity of Yaakov" - I will return the exile of the Ten Tribes, who were exiled and are destined to return (and although there is a dispute in Chazal about this, according to the Malbim's explanation, the intent here is clear that their exile will return). And "I will have mercy on the whole House of Yisrael" - this mercy corresponds to the persecutions and pogroms suffered by Yehudah and Binyamin. "And I will be zealous for My holy Name" - through this, there will no longer be any element of Chillul Hashem as before; rather, I will be zealous for My Name to make it renowned and exalted among the nations.
"And They Shall Bear Their Shame" - Two Explanations
וְנָשׂוּ אֶת־כְּלִמָּתָם וְאֶת־כׇּל־מַעֲלָם אֲשֶׁר מָעֲלוּ־בִי בְּשִׁבְתָּם עַל־אַדְמָתָם לָבֶטַח וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד׃ - And they shall bear their shame and all their trespass that they trespassed against Me, when they dwell safely on their land, with none to make them afraid.
The plain meaning of the verse is that venashu is a term of bearing or carrying, like venas'u (and they shall bear), as it is spelled with a shin and not a samech, as if the letter aleph is omitted. The meaning is that after they receive their punishment and the Holy One, blessed be He, elevates them, they will speak of and remember the shame that befell them in exile. When they dwell securely in their land, they will remember all their treachery against Hashem and thank Him that despite everything we did and how we provoked His anger, behold, "when they dwell safely on their land, with none to make them afraid" - Hashem repays us with good instead of evil, not treating us as we deserved, but putting an end to the exile and returning us to our land.
The Malbim offers an additional interpretation: their exile brought them humiliation, and the phrase "and they shall bear their shame" corresponds to this humiliation, while "and all their trespass" corresponds to sin. Here, the term for bearing (nesiah) is an expression of atonement and forgiveness, as in "Fortunate is he whose transgression is forgiven (nesui pesha)." That is, their past will be atoned for and no longer remembered; rather, it will be forgotten, because Hashem will forgive (yisa) their iniquity. The Malbim adds that this term is also closely related to the root nasheh, which denotes forgetting, as in "Hashem has made me forget (nashani) all my toil" - that the matter will be forgotten by them.
"When I Bring Them Back from the Nations" - Ingathering of the Exiles Against Their Will
בְּשׁוֹבְבִי אוֹתָם מִן־הָעַמִּים וְקִבַּצְתִּי אֹתָם מֵאַרְצוֹת אֹיְבֵיהֶם וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בָם לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם רַבִּים׃ - When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified through them in the eyes of many nations.
The literal meaning of shovevi is an expression of returning: when I bring them back from the nations. Yet it can also be interpreted to mean that the redemption will not be simple, and they will not return easily. Just as we saw regarding Gog, "and I will turn you back (veshovevtikha)," meaning that I will bring you against your will, so too here: "When I bring them back from the nations" - I will compel them to come. The Jewish people will not readily abandon the lands where they have settled in exile, and it will be necessary to compel them. This is similar to what we see today with those arriving from France and other places because the ground is burning beneath their feet and they feel unsafe; yet when conditions become more comfortable there, the immigration halts once again.
The Chatam Sofer said that he did not fear the persecutions of exile, but rather that the exile would become pleasant to us. Similarly, the Chazon Ish said that he did not fear that the government here would harm us, but rather that the government would become pleasant to us and we would become its partners for the sake of favors and benefits, and then we would forget the Torah and cut corners to satisfy the government's will. Therefore the verse says: I will turn them back from the nations; I will take them, as it were, against their will. It will not be simple to bring them out, and it will be necessary to pressure them and gather them by force from all the lands.
"And I Am Sanctified Through Them" - Two Paths for Kiddush Hashem
"And I am sanctified through them in the eyes of many nations" - that Hashem will be sanctified before the eyes of many nations through the good deeds that Israel performs and through the miracles He performs for them. When the Jewish people stand in their elevated standing, in their sanctity, and on their high spiritual level, and all the nations see how we walk in the way of Hashem and how Hashem bestows goodness upon us, His Name is thereby magnified and sanctified in the world.
Rav Dessler explains that the entire purpose of creation is for His blessed Name to be magnified and sanctified in the world, as it is written: "Everyone who is called by My Name, I have created him for My glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him" - all of creation proclaims glory to Hashem, may He be blessed. The Jewish people have two paths through which to sanctify His Name, and everything depends on them and their choices. One path is the way Hashem desires of us: to do His will. If you do Hashem's will, all the favorable promises are assured to you, as was the case in the era of Shlomo: abundance in the land, and visitors coming from all the nations to behold "your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples," and everyone declaring, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." Delegations will come to observe how a proper economy is run and how a nation lives when dedicated to the service of Hashem, fear of Heaven, and moral living. Hashem will bestow abundant blessing upon you before the eyes of all the nations, who will see that there is a God in Israel and that this nation lives in a supernatural manner - and this is an immense Kiddush Hashem.
On the other hand, if we choose not to follow the path of Hashem, seemingly the world misses the very purpose for which it was created. Rav Dessler explains that this is not so. Know that ultimately, the will of Hashem will be fulfilled, and Kiddush Hashem will take place in the world. And how? When you stray from the path, Hashem brings upon you blows and suffering, and a terrible and dreadful exile and dispersion, and there will be no nation that does not persecute you. And every passerby will be appalled and hiss, saying, "Why did Hashem do this to this land? What is the meaning of this great, burning wrath?" Everyone will wonder: How is it possible that such a small nation, persecuted for so many years, enduring so much agony and suffering - it is a tremendous wonder how it survives, and another wonder what this great wrath is. Then they will arrive at the conclusion: "Because they abandoned their God" - this people rebelled against Hashem, and therefore they suffer. Thus, the Name of Heaven is sanctified this way as well. In simple terms, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: My Name will be sanctified in the world, and you choose how - whether through you or upon your back.
Therefore, it says here: When I return them from the nations and gather them from the lands of their enemies, "and I am sanctified through them in the eyes of many nations" - I will be sanctified through them when they do what is good in the eyes of Hashem. And whereas previously there was a sanctification of Hashem's Name before the eyes of many nations by the Jewish people receiving blows, then there will be a far greater Kiddush Hashem, through the Jewish people doing the will of Hashem and receiving goodness from Him, blessed be He.
"And They Shall Know That I Am Hashem" - That the Exile Too Was from His Hand and for Their Benefit
וְיָדְעוּ כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם בְּהַגְלוֹתִי אֹתָם אֶל־הַגּוֹיִם וְכִנַּסְתִּים עַל־אַדְמָתָם וְלֹא־אוֹתִיר עוֹד מֵהֶם שָׁם׃ - "And they shall know that I am Hashem their God, when I caused them to be exiled to the nations and gathered them onto their land, and I will leave none of them behind there anymore."
That I redeem them now - it is obvious to all that this is from Hashem. Rather, when I redeem them, it will become clear to everyone in retrospect that the One who exiled them was also Me, Hashem. It was not because Nevuchadnezzar arrived here and decided to destroy the Beit HaMikdash and exile us, nor because Titus arrived, destroyed the Second Temple, and exiled us, nor because of any political circumstances. It will become clear to all that the exile was planned and that it was a punishment for our conduct, and the proof is that behold, Hashem redeems us now - the One who redeems us is the very One who exiled us.
Furthermore, it will then become clear that the exile itself was for our benefit. For had they remained here in the Land, they would have deteriorated to a point of no return, and through the exile they returned to the proper path. Who brings Israel back to the good? Esav. "The voice is the voice of Yaakov, and the hands are the hands of Esav" - when the voice is not the voice of Yaakov, the hands of Esav prevail, and when we take blows, we return to Hashem. Thus, the entire exile had a positive purpose, through which the Jewish people would preserve their path and their service of Hashem. And this is a reality that we see with our own eyes: Where did the Jewish people draw close to Hashem? In those exiles where they were persecuted. But in the lands of exile where they were not persecuted, when the Emancipation and equal rights began and they allowed us to draw close to the gentile - that was where the greatest catastrophe struck. Where did the Haskalah strike full force? In Europe. In those places where they did not persecute us, that was where the Jewish people began to invent a new Torah for themselves.
Even during the return under Ezra and Nechemiah, those who came during the era of Cyrus were a minority: fifty thousand, sixty thousand are mentioned in the pesukim, but they were a minority, and the majority remained in their lands of exile. It was not only the Yemenite Jews who did not ascend, but also many from other lands did not come up. But here the verse states that in the future Redemption, "and I gathered them onto their land, and I will leave none of them behind there anymore" - not a single Jew will remain among the nations.
"And I Will Not Hide My Face from Them Anymore" - The Return of Prophecy
וְלֹא־אַסְתִּיר עוֹד פָּנַי מֵהֶם אֲשֶׁר שָׁפַכְתִּי אֶת־רוּחִי עַל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - "And I will not hide My face from them anymore, for I have poured out My spirit upon the House of Israel, says the Lord Hashem."
During the period of the Return to Zion in the days of Ezra and Nechemiah, there was still concealment of the Divine Face (Hester Panim), and not a state of revelation and illumination of His Face. How many battles were fought against those who came to disrupt their work, and against the informers who slandered them to Cyrus, claiming that they were rebelling against him! They faced very difficult struggles, and this was a reality of Hester Panim. But in the future Redemption, it will not be so; rather, it will be a state of Gilui Panim, open revelation.
"For I have poured out My spirit upon the House of Israel" - during the Second Temple era, prophecy no longer existed. Prophecy came to an end with Chaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, and after them began the era of the Men of the Great Assembly and the era of the Zugot, but there was no prophecy. And Chazal say that five things were missing in the Second Temple, among them the Ark, the Urim VeTumim, and prophecy. Regarding this, the Holy One, blessed be He, announces that the future Redemption will be different: "For I have poured out My spirit upon the House of Israel," as it is said, "your sons shall dream dreams, your elders shall see visions" - children, sons, and adults alike will all attain a state of Divine revelation. "As waters cover the sea" - there will be no need for great exertion to attain prophecy; rather, it will flow like a rushing stream, so that with slight effort a person will be able to attain it. Ruach HaKodesh and prophecy will return to them, and there will no longer be any concealment of the Divine Face.
In Summary:
This part of the chapter opens with the great sacrificial feast that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prepares for the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field from the hordes of Gog - a choice sacrifice of "the flesh of the mighty" and "fatlings of Bashan" - and proceeds from there to the ultimate purpose of this entire process: "And I will set My glory among the nations." The nations will witness measure-for-measure justice and the revealed hand of Hashem, recognizing that the exile and suffering did not stem from any inability on the part of Hashem, but rather from Israel's iniquity and according to their uncleanness and their transgressions; through this, the desecration of the Divine Name generated by the exile will be nullified. Afterwards, Hashem promises to bring back the captivity of Yaakov (the Ten Tribes) and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel (Yehudah and Binyamin) who endured the persecutions, to forgive their shame and their unfaithfulness, and to gather them from the nations even against their will. The sanctification of His blessed Name will then take place through the good path - through their good deeds and through abundance and miracles - and not upon their backs through affliction. And finally: a complete ingathering from which not a single Jew will be left behind in exile, an end to the concealment of the Divine Face (hester panim), and the pouring out of the spirit of Hashem upon the house of Israel with the return of prophecy. May Hashem help us, and may this be realized speedily in our days, Amen.