Introduction: From the Affliction of the Daughters of Zion to the Consolation of the Remnant
Chapter 4 is the direct continuation of the end of Chapter 3. There we saw the description of the terrible immodesty that prevailed in Jerusalem - "and walk with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet" - and the curses decreed in response: "Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion," "In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments, and their cauls," "And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well-set hair baldness." In the chapter before us, the prophet continues by describing the peak of degradation, and from there turns to consolation: what will become of the remnant that remains, and how the honor of Israel will be rebuilt.
Pasuk 1: Seven Women to One Man
וְהֶחֱזִיקוּ שֶׁבַע נָשִׁים בְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר: לַחְמֵנוּ נֹאכֵל וְשִׂמְלָתֵנוּ נִלְבָּשׁ, רַק יִקָּרֵא שִׁמְךָ עָלֵינוּ, אֱסֹף חֶרְפָּתֵנוּ. - And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying: "We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach."
A situation will arise where widows will be so numerous that many women will take hold of one man and say to him: According to halachah, a husband obligates himself in the ketubah, "I shall feed and support and sustain," to provide her with food and clothing. We waive everything. "We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel" - do not obligate yourself to anything for us; we will provide our own food and clothing. "Only let us be called by your name" - only let us no longer be called by the name of our father's house, but rather by the name of a husband; just marry us, "take away our reproach."
The Malbim explains: This is measure for measure. That which they did out of haughtiness and scorn, that walking with outstretched necks - Hashem will humble their pride, to the point that seven women will grab hold of a single man and plead that merely his name be called upon them.
Rashi and Radak cite here the words of Chazal: Nebuchadnezzar decreed upon his soldiers not to violate married women, but only unmarried ones, because he knew that the God of these people detests promiscuity and he did not want them to be punished. Consequently, so as not to fall prey to his soldiers, every woman sought a husband - the main thing being that his name be associated with her, that she be registered as married. This is what caused "seven women [to] take hold of one man."
Pasuk 2: The Sprout of Hashem and the Fruit of the Land
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה צֶמַח ה' לִצְבִי וּלְכָבוֹד, וּפְרִי הָאָרֶץ לְגָאוֹן וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת לִפְלֵיטַת יִשְׂרָאֵל. - In that day shall the sprout of Hashem be for beauty and for honor, and the fruit of the land for pride and for glory, for the remnant of Israel.
After describing the terrible humiliation, the prophet comes and announces: Honor will not depart from the House of Israel. The generation that remains, the righteous found within it, will be a beauty and honor for the House of Israel. "Tzevi" (beauty) conveys the sense of something cherished and desirable - something a person covets and longs for. "The fruit of the land" refers to the deeds of the righteous, and their deeds will be for pride and for glory. "Ga'on" (pride) is an expression of prominence and fame, and "tiferet" (glory) is likewise a term of honor. And all this will be "for the remnant of Israel" - for those who escape and remain.
Here the Malbim offers an extensive explanation that is worth dwelling upon. Notice the fourfold repetition in the verse: "the sprout of Hashem" versus "the fruit of the land" - what is the difference between a sprout and fruit? Furthermore: "for beauty and for honor" versus "for pride and for glory" - what is the difference between beauty and honor, what is the difference between pride and glory, and what do pride and glory add to beauty and honor? And as we know, the Malbim's consistent principle is that no word in the Holy Tongue is superfluous, and nothing is written merely for rhetorical flourish.
Two Types of Virtues: Matter and Form
The Malbim explains: the virtues of acquisitions - everything a person acquires in his world - fall into two categories. There is an advantage from the perspective of physical substance, the exterior of the thing, and an advantage from the perspective of form, its inner essence and purpose. Take a cup as an example. One can make a simple cup, like a plastic cup: in terms of its essential form, it fulfills its purpose; one can drink water from it. But one can also make it ornate and beautiful, so that beyond its utility, the senses take pleasure in its beauty.
A material advantage is perceived by the senses - the eye beholds something beautiful. To this applies the term tzvi, meaning beauty, desire, and longing. Thus, regarding Chavah, the Torah says, "it was a delight to the eyes" - not because of the inner essence of the fruit, but because of its dazzling exterior. By contrast, an advantage in terms of form, the ultimate purpose of the object, is perceived not by the eyes, but by the intellect and understanding. One can look at an object and declare that it is beautiful - that is sensory perception. But to understand what it is intended for and what its function is - for that, one needs intellect.
The same applies to human virtues. A wise person may appear entirely unappealing on the outside, short and unimposing, and only one who converses with him grasps how wise he is. Likewise with the quality of old age: from the sensory standpoint, what can one see in an old man? Yet through the intellect, one understands that a zaken is zeh shekanah chochmah - one who has acquired wisdom, a person who has attained deep insights. To such an ethical virtue, grasped by the mind, applies the term kavod (honor). A material thing is desired and craved - that is tzvi; a spiritual virtue is respected and revered - that is kavod.
Thus, "for beauty and for honor" (litzvi ul'khavod) indicates that they will possess virtue from both perspectives: tzvi regarding the external, physical aspect, and kavod regarding the essential form and spirituality, the purpose for which it was created. Similarly, "for pride and for splendor" (l'gaon ul'tif'eret) parallels this: gaon refers to something evident to the senses - large, strong, standing proudly (not in the contemporary sense of a brilliant scholar, but in the sense of grandeur and stature); whereas tif'eret relates to the essential form of the object, the inner quality grasped by the intellect.
Inborn Virtue and Acquired Virtue
Yet a difficulty remains: why repeat "for beauty and for honor" and then "for pride and for splendor"? The Malbim explains: these qualities themselves are divided into two categories. There is a virtue, whether external or internal, that a person is born with, and there is an acquired virtue. If a person is born with a brilliant mind, why praise him for it? That is simply how he was born. If a person is born strong without ever having trained, what credit does he deserve? It is a natural gift. By contrast, when a person toils and achieves something, the esteem he receives is far greater. People have far more regard for a wealthy person who worked hard and succeeded on his own than for one who inherited everything from his father and grew up with a golden spoon in his mouth.
And in the words of the Malbim: we do not praise the bee for flying so fast, for the honey it produces, or for the honeycomb built with wondrous hexagons - for the Creator implanted this within its nature. Nor do we sing songs of praise to the spider for producing the strongest thread in the world. Modern science has still not succeeded in manufacturing a thread as strong as spider silk; what appears weak is only due to its extreme thinness - were it as thick as a steel cable, the strongest steel cable in the world would not match a quarter of its strength! And yet, there is nothing to praise it for - that is simply how it was created; that is its nature.
From here, says the Malbim, you can understand why we honor the elderly and glorify the wise. There can be no tif'eret (glory or splendor) for something a person is born with naturally; tif'eret applies only to one who has exerted effort and achieved. But kavod (honor) applies even to an inborn quality. Therefore, an elder is honored, since anyone who remains in this world for seventy years will reach old age; there is nothing to glorify, yet there is certainly reason to honor. A wise scholar, however - even if he is young - has invested his entire being in diligent toil and acquired the virtue of wisdom, and him it is fitting to glorify. This is the difference between kavod and tif'eret regarding the virtues of form. In parallel, regarding material virtues: tzvi refers to an inborn physical advantage - born handsome, born strong, born wealthy; whereas gaon applies to one who rose and achieved it through his own efforts.
Explanation of the Verse
Now the verse is elucidated. The prophet is describing the surviving generation, the remnants of the sword, after the general devastation and after the eighteen curses that Yeshayahu pronounced upon Israel. The Holy One, blessed be He, will begin anew to raise up righteous people of an elevated and sublime stature. "The sprout of Hashem" (Tzemach Hashem) - like an orchard whose branches have all been cut off and whose trunk was uprooted, and after everything seemed lost, it begins to sprout anew and produce shoots and branches. This is called "the sprout of Hashem" because Hashem Himself causes it to grow.
In the first stage, it is "for beauty and for honor" (litzvi ul'khavod) - two inborn virtues: tzvi in the physical realm and kavod in the spiritual realm. Yet both are gifts from Heaven; Hashem causes them to sprout, without human effort. In the second stage, those righteous individuals will begin to elevate themselves in Hashem and attain virtues through their own strength - and this is "the fruit of the land" (u'feri ha'aretz): from the plant develops fruit, and this represents their own effort. Therefore, it is "for pride and for splendor" (l'gaon ul'tif'eret) - gaon in the material realm and tif'eret in the realm of form. Both of these are acquired virtues that depend on their own free choice, not inherited merely from what the Holy One, blessed be He, granted them, but cultivated through their own investment. And this will be the honor and glory for the remnant of Israel.
Verse 3: The Remnant and the Survivor
וְהָיָה הַנִּשְׁאָר בְּצִיּוֹן וְהַנּוֹתָר בִּירוּשָׁלִַם קָדוֹשׁ יֵאָמֶר לוֹ, כָּל הַכָּתוּב לַחַיִּים בִּירוּשָׁלִָם. - "And it shall come to pass, that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem."
Those who remain will be people of great and exalted stature. However, the prophet qualifies this: not everyone will be called "holy," for inevitably some wicked people will remain as well. To whom, then, will it be said "holy"? "Everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem" - only to those who are inscribed for life will it be said holy, and not to the wicked who remain.
The Malbim notes the variation in terminology: "the one left" (ha-nisha'ar) versus "the one remaining" (ha-notar), and "Zion" versus "Jerusalem." Nisha'ar refers to something left behind intentionally, whereas notar is what is left over on its own - I took what I needed, and whatever was surplus remained. This can be compared to students going on a trip: regarding those whom the teacher decided in advance not to take, we say they were left behind at school - they were left intentionally. But when the bus was filled and there was no room left for five of those who signed up, we say: another five remained behind - unintentionally.
Accordingly: in Zion, where the prominent figures, the nobility of Israel, the royal children, and the Torah scholars resided - the enemy left them intentionally, not wanting to take them into exile, as explained in the Book of Daniel. And the prophet says: not only the one left in Zion (Zion being the area adjacent to the Temple, the site of the Temple Mount), but also the one remaining in the rest of the city of Jerusalem - those who were not taken not because of their prominence, but simply because the enemy did not exile everyone and for whatever reason they remained behind - they too shall be called holy, and all will be of great and exalted stature. Yet the wicked are not included, and therefore he emphasizes: "Everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem."
Verse 4: Washing and Rinsing
אִם רָחַץ אֲדֹנָי אֵת צֹאַת בְּנוֹת צִיּוֹן וְאֶת דְּמֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם יָדִיחַ מִקִּרְבָּהּ, בְּרוּחַ מִשְׁפָּט וּבְרוּחַ בָּעֵר. - "When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from its midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning."
Now the prophet explains: this holiness will not come about immediately. First, Hashem will wash away the filth of the daughters of Zion - referring to the adulterers, and rinse away the sin of the people of Jerusalem - referring to the shedders of blood. And how? "By the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." The destruction will not be a sweeping annihilation without distinction between the righteous and the wicked or the pure and the impure; rather, first comes a "spirit of judgment" - Hashem will judge each person according to their deeds. Once it becomes clear who the wicked are, a "spirit of burning" will follow - a spirit of purging and destruction that will consume them. Only after this process will "he who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem be called holy," for judgment must first determine who is worthy, and burning must purge those who are unworthy.
Here again there is a change of phrasing: "washed" (rachatz) the filth of the daughters of Zion, as opposed to "purged" (yadi'ach) the blood of Jerusalem. The Malbim explains: there are three terms for cleaning, and they are not equivalent. Rachatz means a simple rinsing - one opens the hose, rinses it off, and that is it. Kibeis means thorough laundering through repeated scrubbing, as one washes a garment. Hidi'ach refers to something that has crusted over and formed a scab-like layer, such as dried blood or congealed fat, which requires vigorous scrubbing to remove the encrusted layer.
A proof for this comes from Divrei HaYamim: "He also made ten lavers... to wash in them; the work of the burnt-offering they rinsed in them." The dung in the animal's stomach requires merely a rinse, and that is rechitzah; but the blood of the burnt offering, which dries, adheres, and crusts over, requires hadachah.
So too here: for "the filth of the daughters of Zion," washing suffices, whereas "the blood of Jerusalem" requires scouring and scrubbing. Why? Because relative to murder, immorality is still considered a lesser offense. Concerning bloodshed it is written, "and no atonement can be made for the land... but by the blood of him that shed it," and the cleansing is far more difficult - therefore a simple washing does not suffice there, but rather He "purges it from its midst."
Mussar: Who Purifies You
From here, the masters of Mussar teach: "Fortunate are you, O Israel! Before Whom do you purify yourselves, and Who purifies you? Your Father in Heaven." This is like a person who was a guest at the home of a wealthy and distinguished nobleman, whose house was carpeted wall to wall, his table set honorably with a precious silk tablecloth spread upon it. That guest ate excessively; they told him to stop, but he did not listen, until he threw up - if you will pardon the expression - everything he had eaten onto the table and carpet. The wealthy host then approaches, gets down on his knees, takes a rag, plugs his nose, and begins to clean up the mess, rinsing the rag and returning to wipe down the table. Such a sight is utterly inconceivable; we would expect him to simply replace the carpets rather than clean it himself!
And so, as it were, "When Hashem washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion" - we ruined and we soiled, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory and by Himself, cleans it up. Like a mother who cleans up after her child and does not feel disgusted by it, for he is her child. And this is a great moral lesson for a person not to sin: let him see and realize that all of our filth, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, must clean up, and how much indignity toward the Holy One, blessed be He, lies in this.
Verse 5: Cloud and Smoke, Brightness and Flaming Fire
וּבָרָא ה' עַל כָּל מְכוֹן הַר צִיּוֹן וְעַל מִקְרָאֶהָ עָנָן יוֹמָם וְעָשָׁן, וְנֹגַהּ אֵשׁ לֶהָבָה לָיְלָה, כִּי עַל כָּל כָּבוֹד חֻפָּה. - And Hashem will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud and smoke by day, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there shall be a canopy.
Here the prophet adds: just as the righteous will delight in the sweetness of Hashem, so that very same light will consume the wicked. This parallels the prophecy of Malachi: "For behold, the day comes, burning like an oven, and all the arrogant and all evildoers shall be stubble, and the day that comes shall burn them up," and immediately afterward, "And for you who fear My Name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings." Our Sages explain: the very same sun that will consume evildoers and burn them like stubble is the one that will shine for those who fear His Name, becoming for them a sun of righteousness and healing.
And so it is here: "And Hashem will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion" - the place where Mount Zion is established, "and over her assemblies" - over all those summoned within her, the righteous and the wicked alike. By day there will be "a cloud... and smoke": for the righteous, it will be a divine cloud, a wondrous cloud sheltering and shielding them for honor and glory, like the seven Clouds of Glory that accompanied us in the wilderness; but for the wicked, that very same manifestation will be "like smoke to the eyes," troubling them, harming them, and destroying them.
Malbim offers a parable for this: sunlight. For us it is a wonderful thing - by it we see, walk, and function. Yet for a bat, it is intensely harsh; it blinds it and ruins its eyes, so that it cannot remain anywhere there is sunlight and must hide in hidden places. So it is with the cloud: for us it is a sheltering cloud, while for them it is smoke getting into their eyes.
And likewise at night: "And the brightness of a flaming fire by night." "Brightness of fire" - like the pillar of fire that illuminated the way for Israel in the wilderness when they left Egypt, and this is for the righteous; while that very same fire will be a "flame" to the wicked, burning and consuming them.
"For over all the glory shall be a canopy" - do not imagine that this canopy, the canopy of the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, will shelter everyone. "Over all the glory" - the canopy will rest only over every place worthy of honor, not over the wicked; upon the wicked there will be smoke and blazing fire. Do not think that everyone who remains in Jerusalem will immediately be called holy; only after Hashem purges the wicked, and after that same sun which illuminates the righteous consumes them - only then will whoever remains in Jerusalem be called holy.
Verse 6: The Sukkah
וְסֻכָּה תִּהְיֶה לְצֵל יוֹמָם מֵחֹרֶב, וּלְמַחְסֶה וּלְמִסְתּוֹר מִזֶּרֶם וּמִמָּטָר. - And there shall be a sukkah for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from storm and rain.
After comparing the redemption to the Clouds of Glory and the pillar of fire that Israel had in the wilderness, the prophet turns to the booths (sukkot) they had there, as it says, "For I made the Children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt." The sukkah will protect from two types of afflictions: from the scorching heat, which is a constant hardship - drought, nothing to drink, impossible to survive - where the sukkah shields from the sun; and from the torrent and rain, which are not constant hardships but occur from time to time.
And the Malbim asks: what is the difference between "a refuge" (machseh) and "a shelter" (mistor)? His answer is that a refuge is a minor protection, while a shelter is an extensive protection. The prophet says: not only will there be a refuge, but even a full shelter, complete protection, "from storm" - which is a great torrential flood coming with immense force; and not only from a torrent, but even "from rain" - ordinary falling rain. In other words, the protection the Holy One, blessed be He, will provide for the righteous in the future will shelter them both from the scorching heat and from the storm and rain.
With this, the prophet hints that the Providence of the Holy One, blessed be He, accomplishes opposites: it protects both from the heat and from the downpour, which are two opposites - one being dry and the other wet. In its allegorical sense, this means that the righteous will be safeguarded with complete protection under the Providence of Hashem, blessed be He.
In Summary:
Chapter 4 opens at the height of humiliation - seven women taking hold of one man, measure for measure for the pride of the daughters of Zion - and ascends from there to consolation. "The sprout of Hashem" refers to the righteous whom Hashem will sprout anew from a severed trunk, possessing innate virtues: beauty in the physical aspect and honor in the spiritual form; and "the fruit of the land" refers to the virtues they will acquire through their own toil: majesty in the physical aspect and splendor in the spiritual form. He who is left in Zion (who was deliberately spared) and he who remains in Jerusalem (who survived on his own) - holy shall be said of them, yet only for those inscribed for life, and only after Hashem washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purges the blood of Jerusalem with a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. Then Hashem will create a canopy over all glory: the very same cloud and fire that will serve as a shelter for the righteous will be smoke and flame for the wicked. And the sukkah of His Providence will protect them from both opposites alike, from the heat and from the tempest and rain.