Introduction
Chapter 55 of Yeshayahu is one of the central chapters on the theme of teshuvah. Following the great call of "Ho, everyone who thirsts, come for water," the prophet turns to summoning Israel to return to Hashem while He is near, and from there he enters into the profound question: How does teshuvah actually work? How is change possible in the Holy One, blessed be He? And how does regret repair what has been destroyed? The lesson before us addresses this part of the chapter, from verse 6 through its conclusion, according to the Malbim, along with the teachings of Rashi, the Radak, the Metzudot, and the words of Chazal and the holy Ari.
"Seek Hashem While He May Be Found" - The Individual and the Community
דִּרְשׁוּ יְהֹוָה בְּהִמָּצְאוֹ קְרָאֻהוּ בִּהְיוֹתוֹ קָרוֹב׃ - Seek Hashem while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.
The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (18a) expounds this verse. Rav Shmuel bar Inya said in the name of Rav: From where do we know that the decree of a community is torn up even after it has been signed? That is, even after the verdict has already been sealed, it can still be torn up. As it says, "For who is like Hashem our God whenever we call to Him?" The Gemara challenges this: "Whenever we call to Him"? But is it not written, "Seek Hashem while He may be found," which implies that Hashem is not found at all times, but specifically "while He may be found," "while He is near"? The Gemara resolves this: There it refers to an individual, here to a community. The decree of a community is always torn up; whenever the community repents, the Holy One, blessed be He, accepts them. But for an individual, there is an auspicious time when He "may be found."
The Gemara asks: When is that special time for an individual? Rabbah bar Avuha said: These are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. And from where is this derived? From the verse, "And it came to pass after about ten days, that Hashem struck Naval." The Gemara asks: What was the purpose of these ten days? Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, wait ten days for him and not destroy him immediately? After all, he was Naval, and ignominy was with him: he reviled David and spoke of him contemptuously, saying, "Today there are many servants who break away from their masters," and David set out to punish him, until Abigail his wife stopped him and David accepted her words.
Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: It was corresponding to the ten sips that Naval gave to David's young men. Even though he reviled and blasphemed, reward for giving someone a drink was due to him. David's men had come to persuade him to give David from his sheep and cattle for having protected his flocks, and seeing them arrive from the road, he poured them a drink. In return for those ten sips, he was granted ten days. And Rav Nachman said in the name of Rabbah bar Avuha: These were the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Consider how far this reaches: the merit of ten sips suspended judgment for ten days during which he could have repented, yet he failed to utilize them, and then "Hashem struck Naval."
One Who Passes Away at the Conclusion of Yom Kippur
The Gemara states: If someone passes away on the eve of Yom Kippur, it is an ill omen for him, for he did not merit reaching atonement. If someone passes away at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, it is a favorable omen for him, for immediately after being granted atonement, before he had time to accumulate even a first sin, the Holy One, blessed be He, took him, and he ascended clean to heaven. As for one who passes away during Yom Kippur itself, it depends on whether Yom Kippur atones at its onset or at its departure. The straightforward understanding is that it atones at its departure, and this too is certainly favorable, as he attained some degree of atonement. Yom Kippur is likened to a mikveh: just as a mikveh purifies the defiled, so too the Holy One, blessed be He, purifies Israel. And just as a mikveh does not purify while a person is still inside it but rather as he emerges, so Yom Kippur atones after the Ne'ilah prayer, at its departure.
Accordingly, the question arises: Through what did Naval the Carmelite merit dying the death of the righteous, passing away at the conclusion of Yom Kippur? In truth, this difficulty exists only according to Rebbi, who holds that the essence of the day atones whether one repented or did not repent. But according to the Chachamim, whose view is accepted as halachah, atonement is contingent upon teshuvah, and there is no difficulty here at all: Naval did not repent - it is stated explicitly that the Holy One, blessed be He, waited ten days for him and he did not repent - and if so, it makes no practical difference for him whether it was the eve of Yom Kippur or its conclusion. Yet according to Rebbi, the question is indeed a pertinent one.
The Teachings of the Holy Ari: The Reincarnations of Lavan, Bil'am, and Naval
The holy Ari shares a profound insight, recorded in the teachings on gilgulim (reincarnation). Who was Naval the Carmelite? He was the reincarnation of Lavan the Aramean. Lavan was reincarnated as Bil'am, and Bil'am as Naval the Carmelite. Throughout all these incarnations, he corrupted the very same thing: his speech. Lavan the Aramean was the deceiver; Bil'am sought to curse Israel with his mouth; and Naval, whose name contains the letters of Lavan as well as the letters lamed-beit from Bil'am, reviled and blasphemed the anointed of Hashem with his mouth - "he is a villain, and villainy is with him."
However, Bilaam prayed: "Let my soul die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his." He merited the fulfillment of "Let my soul die the death of the upright" in his reincarnation as Nabal, who died at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, which is considered the death of the upright. And "let my end be like his" he merited when he was reincarnated again as Barzillai the Gileadite - whose name likewise contains the letters beit-lamed [BL, as in Bilaam] - where he was already a kosher person of Israel and died as an observant Jew. Although it is related of Barzillai that he was steeped in physical desire, it is nowhere written that he was wicked; on the contrary, he was among those who aided King David.
From here we learn that no prayer goes unanswered. This was not a passing whim of Bilaam or a mere wish, but a genuine prayer and plea that was ultimately fulfilled - if not in that lifetime, then in a subsequent incarnation. The holy Ari writes on the verse, "that none be banished from Him" (II Samuel 14:14), that even the most utterly wicked will eventually achieve rectification. Granted, this rectification is arduous, and the refining and purification involve immense suffering (one of his incarnations was even within a stone, as one who examines the sacred texts will find), but ultimately everyone will come to rectification; the only question is how much they will have to endure.
And if you ask, was Bilaam not a Gentile? The answer is that Bilaam lived before the Giving of the Torah, and prior to the Giving of the Torah, there was not yet a clear division among souls. Only after the Torah was given did it become "For Hashem's portion is His people, Jacob is the lot of His inheritance" (Devarim 32:9). From that point on, the souls of the nations stem from the domain of the Sitra Achra (the other side), and their rectification is not entrusted to us, nor do they pertain to us at all. Originally, however, there was no division between Jew and Gentile. Therefore, even Bilaam will ultimately reach rectification, even though he was the most wicked of men, of whom Chazal said: "Whatever derogatory interpretation you can expound about him, expound" - whatever flaw or disgrace you wish to ascribe to him, ascribe it, for it is all true, and there is no violation of lashon hara (evil speech) or slander in doing so.
"Let the Wicked Forsake His Way" - Repentance in Hand, Mouth, and Heart
יַעֲזֹב רָשָׁע דַּרְכּוֹ וְאִישׁ אָוֶן מַחְשְׁבֹתָיו וְיָשֹׁב אֶל־יְהֹוָה וִירַחֲמֵהוּ וְאֶל־אֱלֹהֵינוּ כִּי־יַרְבֶּה לִסְלוֹחַ׃ - Let the wicked forsake his way, and the iniquitous man his thoughts; and let him return to Hashem, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
Even if we did not seek Hashem when He was to be found, and even if we drifted very far away, concerning this the prophet declares: Let the wicked forsake his way and the iniquitous man his thoughts, let him return to Hashem and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
The Radak explains: "Let the wicked forsake his way" in action and speech - that is, evil deeds and evil words. "And the iniquitous man his thoughts" refers to sinful thoughts. Why are both required? Because repentance is of no avail in what is visible on the surface if it does not also take place in secret. What is the value of altering one's actions if, deep within, a person remains attached to all his bad character traits and improper thoughts? A person's good and bad deeds depend on the hand, the mouth, and the heart: the hand encompasses robbery, striking, and any physical wrongdoing; the mouth encompasses slander, falsehood, and flattery; and the heart encompasses evil thoughts, "a heart that devises wicked thoughts." Repentance must encompass all three. And "for He will abundantly pardon" means that even if a person has abounded in wrongdoing, the Holy One, Blessed is He, abounds in forgiveness.
The Malbim explains that this verse is a direct continuation of the preceding one: "Seek Hashem while He may be found" means while He is still with you, so that He does not depart; and if He has already departed, "call upon Him while He is near" - do not sink deeper into sin, but call to Him immediately upon stumbling, while He is still close by. And even if you have already distanced yourself completely, know that the matter can still be repaired: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the iniquitous man his thoughts."
The Wicked and the Man of Iniquity: Sins of Desire and Sins of Heresy
The difficulty in this verse is immediately apparent: the entire verse is doubled. "Let the wicked forsake his way" parallels "and the iniquitous man his thoughts"; "and let him return to Hashem, and He will have mercy on him" parallels "and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Seemingly, returning to Hashem and returning to our God are one and the same.
The Malbim explains: The Holy One, Blessed is He, says to them, even if the wicked person has sinned repeatedly, there is still a remedy: let the wicked forsake his way. And this applies not only to one who sins out of physical desire, whose transgression is relatively light, but even to the man of iniquity - the denier who harbors thoughts of heresy, whose sin is far more severe - even he has a remedy, by abandoning his false, heretical notions and beginning to believe in Hashem.
A rasha (wicked person) denotes one who sins out of bodily desire. Indeed, the terms rasha and ra are often used to signify sexual immorality, as in "the inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil [ra] all day" (Bereishit 6:5), and as stated concerning Er and Onan, "he was evil [ra] in the sight of Hashem" (Bereishit 38:7). Because he has grown accustomed to committing transgressions, the verse says of him, "let the wicked forsake his way" - the habitual, corrupt path he has walked. In contrast, an ish aven (man of iniquity), as in the phrase "a heart that devises wicked thoughts [aven]," is one who leans toward heresy and denial. Indeed, what did Chazal call the gospels? Aven gilyon - a scroll of falsehood, heresy, and denial. With him, the problem does not begin with physical acts but with his thoughts; therefore, the verse says of him "his thoughts" - let him abandon his heretical ideas and begin to believe in Hashem.
Two Types of Teshuvah: Out of Love and Out of Fear
The Malbim further explains that there are two types of teshuvah. There is a person who repents out of love, having recognized the greatness and power of the Creator, blessed be He, wishing to draw close to Him, cleave to Him, and desiring only His nearness. And there is a person who repents out of fear: he heard that Gehinnom is scorching hot with high temperatures, and does teshuvah so as not to be burned in its fire. Would that we achieve even this level, but it is certainly a lower level.
Therefore, "and let him return to Hashem" - using the Name of Havayah - refers to one who repents because he recognizes that the Holy One, blessed be He, is great, mighty, and awesome, and loves Him; regarding him it is said, "and He will have mercy on him [virchamehu]." In Aramaic translation, rachim denotes love, as in the phrase bidchilu urchimu, in awe and love. That is to say: if you repent out of love, you will merit that the Holy One, blessed be He, responds to you with love, and this is the higher level.
In contrast, "and to our God [Elokeinu]": El signifies the Master of power, and this person fears the might of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the punishment. What is more, it says "our God" rather than simply "God [Elokim]," meaning that He is our God, that there is individual divine providence (hashgachah pratit), and that every single deed is brought to judgment. Regarding such teshuvah, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not say "and He will have mercy on him," for this is not the level of love, but rather "for He abundantly pardons": even for one who repents out of fear, the Holy One, blessed be He, abundantly forgives and pardons, overlooking his sins.
The Precision of the Phrase "Man of Iniquity"
The Malbim makes another precise observation: It does not say, "Let the wicked man leave his way," but rather, "Let the wicked leave his way," whereas with iniquity it says, "the man of iniquity." The emphasis on "man" teaches that this has become an inherent acquisition, part of his very essence - like an "impoverished man" (ish ani), which does not refer to someone whose money merely ran out a few minutes ago, but someone whose poverty defines his state, or like a "leprous man" (ish tsarua), a "man of valor" (ish chayil), or a "man of sorrows" (ish makh'ovot). This is not someone who merely happened to stray toward sin because his lust overcame him, but a chronic "man of iniquity," whose very nature is to harbor wicked thoughts. Yet even of him the verse says: let him forsake his thoughts and return to Hashem. And although his repentance may be inferior and not of a high, fitting standard, nevertheless "to our God, for He abundantly pardons" - the Holy One, blessed be He, will abundantly pardon and forgive all his transgressions.
"For My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts"
כִּי לֹא מַחְשְׁבוֹתַי מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵיכֶם וְלֹא דַרְכֵיכֶם דְּרָכָי נְאֻם יְהֹוָה׃ - "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," declares Hashem.
Rashi explains: Mine and yours are not alike; therefore I tell you, forsake your ways and take hold of My ways. The way in which you walk is not My way, and the thoughts you think are not My thoughts. Change your thoughts and your ways, and walk in My ways.
A Midrash Aggadah offers a marvelous explanation: My laws are not like mortal laws. Among you, one who confesses in judgment is condemned, whereas with Me, "he who confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy." When a person appears in a secular court and the judge asks him if he confesses, and he pleads guilty, they might reduce a year or two from his sentence, but he will still receive fifteen years. There is no concept of "he who confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy" in a courtroom, nor even in a Beit Din according to Torah law. But the Holy One, blessed be He, says: My ways are not your ways; with Me, he who confesses and forsakes shall obtain mercy. Whoever confesses, acknowledges that he erred, and does teshuvah, I forgive him.
The Radak explains: When someone has been wronged by his fellow, he seeks vengeance: "He did this to me; I will show him!" And even if the offender comes and asks for forgiveness, and the victim outwardly says, "I forgive you," in all likelihood he will still harbor resentment in his heart and hold a grudge; it is extremely difficult for him to forgive completely.
The Malbim adds a nuance in the Holy Tongue: an overt matter is called a "way" (derekh), and a concealed matter is called a "thought" (machashavah). The Holy One, blessed be He, says: With Me, neither exists. "Nor are your ways My ways" - I do not take revenge against someone who did a bad deed and changed his ways; "For My thoughts are not your thoughts" - even in thought, I do not bear a grudge against him, as it were. Rather, when a person repents, he is completely forgiven. As the Rambam writes, previously he was called hated, an outcast, an abomination, and his prayer was hurled back in his face, yet now he is beloved, desirable, close, and a friend. How much praise this person receives once he has done teshuvah! Unlike man, the Holy One, blessed be He, retains no concealed grievance; rather, He forgives and erases everything. However, according to this explanation, the order of the verse is somewhat difficult: it should have said first, "Nor are your ways My ways" - that I do not take practical revenge - and then added, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts" - that I do not even harbor resentment in thought - as it is the standard manner of verses to escalate from the lighter to the more profound.
Two Claims Against Teshuvah
The Malbim explains that in this verse, the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to refute two arguments that the people of Israel had against the efficacy of teshuvah, and we will return to them further on.
The first claim: How is it possible for the Holy One, blessed be He, to change toward us from anger to love, from wrath to closeness? After all, with the Holy One, blessed be He, there is no change; He is not physical and cannot be affected by physical limitations. In mortal flesh and blood, yesterday I thought one way and today another, yesterday I wanted this and today that, but within the Divine order no change occurs. If so, how could the Holy One, blessed be He, have been angry with me yesterday and wished to punish me, yet today He loves me? How can teshuvah help?
The second claim: Imagine that a king assigned a person a task, telling him, "Here are four floors, and I command you to add a fifth floor." The worker not only failed to build the fifth, but he even destroyed the first four. At the end of the allotted time, the king arrives and sees that his work was not done. He asks him, "What do you have to say for yourself?" And the worker replies, "Chatati, aviti, pashati - I have sinned, I have done iniquity, I have transgressed." Does saying "I have sinned, I have done iniquity, I have transgressed" suddenly make five floors stand? The work was not done. So too regarding the Holy One, blessed be He: if He commanded a task, and the person not only failed to perform it but ruined and destroyed, how will saying "I have sinned, I have done iniquity, I have transgressed" help?
The Two Answers in the Verse
Against the first claim, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: You do not grasp My thoughts at all - "For My thoughts are not your thoughts." How can you come and raise objections about Hashem's thoughts when you do not grasp them at all? In order to determine what Divine law is, you must know Hashem. And if you do not understand Hashem's ways of providence, how can you raise questions about them?
And against the second claim: "Neither are your ways My ways." The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I established a way wherein through remorse everything is rebuilt. With Me, when a person repents with remorse, he thereby builds five floors. It is not like that among you.
And now see how wonderful it is, says the Malbim, that this is embedded in the precise phrasing of the verse. For seemingly, the verse does not follow a parallel structure: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts" opens with the Master of the Universe, whereas "neither are your ways My ways" opens with us. It should have said, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are My ways your ways." Why was the order reversed?
Rather, based on what has been explained, it is wonderfully understood. The first difficulty - how changes can occur in Hashem - stems from our conception of Divinity: I understand that God does not change, and if so, how can He change toward me from hatred to love? The entire difficulty arises because that is how I perceive Divinity, and in my view, that is how Godliness ought to operate. To this, the Holy One, blessed be He, replies: "My thoughts are not your thoughts" - you understand nothing of Divine providence, and My thoughts are not like your thoughts.
By contrast, the second question - how remorse could possibly build five floors - stems from the conduct of mortal flesh and blood: in our realm, if the king commanded someone to build and he destroyed, remorse does not rebuild; if so, how can remorse rebuild with the Holy One, blessed be He? The entire question arises from what is customary among you. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, answers: "Neither are your ways My ways" - what is customary among you is not what is customary with Me. That is why it does not say, "nor are My ways your ways," since the whole problem begins with your ways, and therefore it is your ways that differ from Mine.
"For as the Heavens are Higher than the Earth"
כִּי־גָבְהוּ שָׁמַיִם מֵאָרֶץ כֵּן גָּבְהוּ דְרָכַי מִדַּרְכֵיכֶם וּמַחְשְׁבֹתַי מִמַּחְשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם׃ - For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Rashi explains that there is a distinction of excellence and praise in My ways over your ways, and in My thoughts over your thoughts, like the difference between the height of the heavens and the earth. And how is this expressed? In that your entire inclination is to rebel against Me, whereas My entire inclination is to bring you back in repentance. This is a contrast of heaven and earth: you search for how to act against Hashem, while I search for how to bestow good upon you.
Radak cites the words of King David: "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him." When the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives Yisrael following their return to Him, this is Hashem's lovingkindness. Even though you are in exile and have sinned exceedingly, the Holy One, blessed be He, makes you good promises. And just as the heavens are high above the earth, so too, to the extent that you have multiplied wickedness, so will I multiply doing good to you when you repent.
Metzudat David explains how this is expressed: in human conduct, a person against whom an offense was committed does not forgive. Yet the Holy One, blessed be He, not only forgives but erases it entirely. And similarly, "My thoughts [are not] your thoughts": you think that repentance has no effect at all, but I tell you that repentance is effective in nullifying everything. The perspectives are polarized: you think one thing, and I tell you the complete and true opposite.
No Comparison or Measure Whatsoever
The Malbim explains, based on the words of Rabbi Yosef Albo in Sefer HaIkkarim, that the difference between our thoughts and the thoughts of Hashem, blessed be He, is not a quantitative difference of more or less; rather, there is simply no comparison or relation between them at all.
If a person were to say, purely by way of analogy, that the human brain has an eight-gigabyte processor while the Holy One, blessed be He, has eight billion gigabytes, and therefore He thinks faster and can process many more possibilities, he has diminished the Master of the World. For he has established a ratio between eight and eight billion, and no matter how much you increase the number, a proportion still exists. But between us and Hashem, there is no proportion whatsoever.
Here is an example of two things between which there is no comparison: an ant has an intellect, and a human being has more intellect. But can one really compare them? These are two distinct essences, and this is not a difference of more or less. Among human beings, one can say that this person is educated and that one is even more educated, or that this one's IQ is 100 and that one's is 160. Yet the distance between human intellect and the intellect of an ant is very close compared to the distance between human intellect and the Divine intellect, which is an entirely different category and essence that cannot be compared at all. It is like saying that a supercomputer at the CIA is more advanced than the beads on a rod used to teach arithmetic in kindergarten. There is no comparison - one would not even compare it to a pocket calculator, let alone a supercomputer occupying an entire floor of servers performing billions of calculations in a millisecond. And know that even this analogy is far closer than the relation between our thoughts and the thoughts of the Holy One, blessed be He.
And how is this idea reflected in the phrasing, "as the heavens are higher than the earth"? Seemingly, the language is difficult: the heavens are high, but the earth is not high at all; it is the lowest place. One can say, "the mountain is higher than the hill," for the hill is high and the mountain is higher than it, but one does not say, "the mountain is higher than the valley." In order to measure, you must present an example of something high, and then measure which is higher. But how can you compare something high to something low?
On this, the Malbim explains: just as there is no proportion between existence and non-existence. One cannot ask which is taller - this cup before you, or a cup that has not yet been created; or which is stronger, that which exists or that which does not exist. There is no relationship or comparison between something that exists and something that does not. Between two existing cups, one can measure which is taller and which is stronger, but between existence and non-existence, no comparison applies. Similarly, there is no comparison between two concepts that are inherently incomparable: is the cup rounder or more opaque? Stronger or browner? That is an absurd question, because one does not compare two things that share no common metric. The same applies to "the heavens are higher than the earth": the heavens are high, whereas the earth has no height at all. Therefore, one cannot say of the Holy One, blessed be He, that His thoughts are merely greater than ours by degree; rather, just as there is no proportion between heaven and earth, so too between His thoughts and ours there is no comparison whatsoever.
The Parable of the Rain and the Snow
כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר יֵרֵד הַגֶּשֶׁם וְהַשֶּׁלֶג מִן־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְשָׁמָּה לֹא יָשׁוּב כִּי אִם־הִרְוָה אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְהוֹלִידָהּ וְהִצְמִיחָהּ וְנָתַן זֶרַע לַזֹּרֵעַ וְלֶחֶם לָאֹכֵל׃ - For just as the rain and the snow descend from heaven and do not return there without having watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater.
Radak presents two explanations here. The first explanation: just as the rain and the snow descend from heaven and do not return there without accomplishing their effect, but rather water the earth and cause it to yield, so too the action of the Holy One, blessed be He, is an action that brings benefit and does not return empty.
The second explanation is cited in the name of the Radak's father, whose explanations are sweeter than honey. The difficulty lies in how to read the words "and does not return there, but waters the earth." One can interpret it as: it does not return there at all, but rather waters the earth, period. Or one can interpret it as: it does not return there except after it has watered the earth. Radak notes that both interpretations are correct. According to his own explanation, the rain does not return, but simply waters the earth, and that is all. According to his father's explanation, this refers to the water cycle: rain falls and soaks the earth, the sun comes and dries it, moisture rises, clouds form from the vapor, and the cycle repeats. Thus, it says that it will not return there until "it has watered the earth, and made it bring forth and sprout, and given seed to the sower and bread to the eater," and only then does it return there through the drying sun and the rising vapor. Both interpretations fit the verse well.
Two Premises: The Holy One Does Not Need Us, and Divine Abundance Constantly Flows
The Malbim explains that here the prophet uses the parable of rain and snow to answer the two challenges discussed earlier. To understand this, two premises are necessary.
The first premise is that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Torah and mitzvos not for His own sake. This is a common misconception among those distant from the commandments, who think that when they keep Shabbos or put on tefillin, they are doing the Master of the Universe a favor. Even the concept of "nachas ru'ach" (divine pleasure) does not mean the fulfillment of a lack or need. Any fulfillment of a desire implies that something was lacking beforehand: I wanted ice cream, I ate it, and now I no longer crave it; I was hungry, I ate, and now I am satisfied. But the Holy One needs nothing, lacks nothing, and requires no completion. Every desire stems from a deficiency, and regarding the Holy One, one cannot say He "wants" something in this sense, for if He wanted, He would be lacking, and He lacks nothing at all. What, then, is the meaning of "I spoke and My will was done, it is a nachas ru'ach before Me"? That is a distinct topic discussed when studying the Kuzari. But one thing is clear: "If you are righteous, what do you give Him, or what does He receive from your hand?" and "Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of he-goats?" You are not fulfilling any deficiency of His through your sacrifices.
If so, what is rectified? The deficiency within man himself. A person who commits a sin damages himself and forfeits his portion in the World to Come; a person who performs a mitzvah acquires a share in the World to Come and attains personal holiness. Simply put: he either benefits himself or destroys and damages himself. Accordingly, when one asks how it is possible that someone who ruined the king's project could simply express regret and five stories would suddenly stand built, the answer is that regarding a flesh-and-blood king, this objection is valid: the king needs five stories, they are missing, and your regret builds nothing for him. But with the Holy One, the deficiency is not in Him, but in you. Therefore, when you repent and feel remorse, the change occurs in the exact same place where the blemish occurred. I destroyed through my inaction, and now, through my remorse, I build, for the damage was within me and the rectification is within me. One cannot compare the work of the Holy One to the work of an earthly king.
The second premise: Divine abundance flows ceaselessly. The only question is whether you have prepared vessels. If you prepared vessels, you receive the abundance; if you did not, you do not receive it. After all, rain falls. Will I have water to drink? That depends: if you dug a cistern, you will have water; if you did not prepare cisterns, you will have none. If you were to ask, "Why did Hashem not give me any?" - He did indeed grant and send it down, but you did not prepare a vessel. Has any change occurred in the Holy One because one person has water and another does not? No change whatsoever. One dug a cistern and the other did not. With the Holy One, the abundance flows constantly: "Open your mouth wide and I will fill it" - to the extent you open it, so will I fill it. Everything depends on your desire and your preparation.
With this, the first challenge is also resolved: how can there be a change in Hashem's thought? There is no change at all. The Holy One constantly wills and constantly bestows. When a person committed a sin and provoked anger, he failed to prepare vessels to receive the abundance, so it appeared as though divine wrath rested upon him. But when he repents, the change occurs within him; he prepares vessels, and the cisterns begin to fill. The abundance flows constantly, the will is constant, and the bestowal is constant; the only question is whether you turn your back or turn your face toward Him.
How Both Answers Are Embedded in the Verse
The Malbim explains: see how both answers are embedded in the wording of the verse. Rain can fall even in the summer, whereas snow only falls in the winter. Both descend from heaven, and both "do not return there." Nothing is given from the earth back to the heavens. In Heaven, nothing is received from us; Heaven only gives and bestows. As the Gemara notes regarding the miracle: "The latter miracle was greater than the first," when they took back the golden leg from the mountain, for Heaven does not take back what it gives.
"Rather it waters the earth, and makes it bring forth" refers to the snow, whose function is to saturate the earth and prepare it to bring forth. "And sprout" refers to the rain, for while snow falls, it saturates but does not cause growth, and beneath a blanket of snow nothing grows. Rain, however, causes growth. The snowiest regions are the greenest in summer because the snow creates the capacity for growth: it saturates the soil to capacity, and when it begins to melt and a little sun emerges, the land is suddenly filled with greenery. In Europe, of which the Malbim speaks, summer rain is very common, and the rain stimulates growth and brings forth the grass. Thus, the snow "gives seed to the sower" and the rain gives "bread to the eater," and both "do not return there."
From here emerges the first answer: divine abundance flows only downward, and Hashem receives nothing from the lower realms. Do not come and ask, "I ruined the king's work, I failed to build what he wanted; how can regret change anything?" For you destroyed nothing and ruined nothing belonging to the Master of the Universe, just as when you observed the mitzvos you gave Him nothing. Whom did you damage? Yourself. And when you repented, you rectified yourself. The damage was in you, and the rectification is in you. Do not mistakenly think that you give anything to the Master of the Universe, just as the rain and snow descend and give Him nothing, and nothing ascends back to Him.
From here also emerges the second answer: the rain and snow fall continuously, without change. Why then does a field of wheat grow for one person, while a field of thorns grows for another? Whoever sowed wheat will have wheat; whoever left his field to thorns and thistles will have thorns and thistles. Everything depends on the vessels prepared by the recipient. This is the meaning of the verse: it "gives seed" - but conditionally - "to the sower"; and "bread" - conditionally - "to the eater," to the one who prepared himself for it. One who did not prepare himself will not receive. Thus, there is no change in the Holy One between anger and beneficence, for He always bestows goodness, and the entire difference lies in the recipients. The deficiency stems solely from the recipient.
"It Shall Not Return to Me Empty" - The Parable of the Emissary
כֵּן יִהְיֶה דְבָרִי אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא מִפִּי לֹא־יָשׁוּב אֵלַי רֵיקָם כִּי אִם־עָשָׂה אֶת־אֲשֶׁר חָפַצְתִּי וְהִצְלִיחַ אֲשֶׁר שְׁלַחְתִּיו׃ - So shall My word be that goes out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I desire, and succeed in the mission for which I sent it.
Radak explains: What I promised about bringing you out of exile - "from My mouth" means through the prophets, for we did not hear it directly from the mouth of Hashem, but rather the prophet is the mouth of Hashem. "It shall not return to Me empty," but will truly come to pass and succeed. And what is the meaning of "and succeed"? Lest you think that the Holy One, blessed be He, made many promises but not everything will be fulfilled. "Are we asking of someone who lacks?" Are we making requests of one who has nothing to give? We are asking of the Master of the Universe, and with Him it is always "and succeed in the mission for which I sent it" - not a single detail will be cancelled; rather, everything will succeed.
The Malbim offers a wonderful explanation. There is a fundamental difference between someone who sends an emissary to do something for his own benefit, and someone who sends an emissary to do something for the benefit of the recipient. For example: I asked a carpenter to build me a closet, and I said to you, "Take a thousand shekels and give it to the carpenter so that he will build it." When the emissary completes his mission, does he return empty-handed? No, he returns with the closet. I paid money and received what I desired. Here, precisely because he did not return empty-handed, it is a sign that he fulfilled the mission.
However, suppose I said to you: "If my son engages in Torah study, take a thousand shekels and give it to him." If the emissary returns without the thousand shekels, did he fulfill my will? Certainly, yes, for this proves that my son studied Torah and the money was given to him. Here, on the contrary, returning empty-handed is his distinction, and it proves that the mission was accomplished.
And this is what is stated here: "So shall My word be that goes out of My mouth." The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I decree goodness and decree abundance upon all My creatures, and this goodness "shall not return to Me empty, but rather it shall accomplish that which I desire." That is to say, when does it return empty? When it has accomplished that which I desired. For My goodness is always intended for someone else, as the Holy One, blessed be He, has no need for benefit for Himself. In an errand sent entirely for the benefit of another, returning empty-handed is the very mark of success: I delivered the money and came back. But if it did not accomplish My desire - meaning the recipient did not prepare himself, like the son who did not learn - then the goodness returns, and the emissary does not come back empty-handed, but returns carrying the money. And that is an unfavorable outcome.
"For You Shall Go Out with Joy"
כִּי־בְשִׂמְחָה תֵצֵאוּ וּבְשָׁלוֹם תּוּבָלוּן הֶהָרִים וְהַגְּבָעוֹת יִפְצְחוּ לִפְנֵיכֶם רִנָּה וְכׇל־עֲצֵי הַשָּׂדֶה יִמְחֲאוּ־כָף׃ - For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
With joy you will go out of exile, and in peace you will be brought to the Land. "The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing" is a metaphor. Rashi explains: when do they sing? When they yield fruit, when they cause produce to flourish; then they break out in song and clap hands. Radak explains that the mountains and hills are a metaphor for the great rulers, while the trees of the field represent those beneath them.
The Malbim explains that this verse serves as the culmination of what we saw at the beginning of the chapter: "Behold, you shall call a nation you know not," meaning that nations you never knew will come to serve us. And all of this is contingent upon "Seek Hashem while He may be found" from the middle of the chapter: if you truly return in teshuvah and seek Hashem while He is accessible, you will be like those who prepare themselves for the rain by sowing wheat. When the rain falls, the wheat will sprout, and all the forces of nature will fulfill your desires. The mountains and hills will burst into song and the trees of the field will clap their hands, meaning that all of nature will bend itself to fulfill the will of Israel: the nations will come to serve us, nature will yield its fruit, and the earth its harvest. All of this because you prepared yourselves and sowed wheat. But if you did not sow wheat, nothing will come up there except thorns and thistles.
"Instead of the Thorn Shall Come Up the Cypress"
תַּחַת הַנַּעֲצוּץ יַעֲלֶה בְרוֹשׁ וְתַחַת הַסִּרְפַּד יַעֲלֶה הֲדַס וְהָיָה לַיהֹוָה לְשֵׁם לְאוֹת עוֹלָם לֹא יִכָּרֵת׃ - Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to Hashem for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
In place of evil, you will receive good. And through this, "and it shall be to Hashem for a name" - Hashem's Name will be revealed upon us, creating a kiddush Hashem. "For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" - that this will not be something temporary, but an everlasting sign without any interruption. That is to say: what was previously a thornbush and a brier, because we did not cultivate the ground properly and did not sow good things, now, when we return in teshuvah, mend our ways, and prepare vessels to receive the continuous flow of blessing (which is the rain symbolizing the ceaseless Divine will and influence), then the mountains will burst into song and yield proper growth, and in place of the evil we experienced, we will have good. And not a temporary good, but the good of Hashem, which is infinite - "for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
In summary:
The chapter opens with a call to seek Hashem when He is to be found, teaching that even the wicked person who sinned out of passion, and even the man of iniquity who fell into heretical thoughts, can repent: one who repents out of love merits "and He will have mercy on him," while one who repents out of awe merits that "He will abundantly pardon." Against the two major philosophical challenges to teshuvah - that there is no change in Hashem, and that regret cannot rebuild what was destroyed - the prophet answers: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts," meaning you cannot fathom Hashem's thoughts at all, and "neither are your ways My ways," for one cannot infer the Creator's conduct from the conduct of flesh and blood. The parable of the rain and snow clarifies both answers: the abundance descends constantly and does not return, and the Holy One, blessed be He, receives nothing from us; therefore, both the ruin and the repair lie within us, and everything depends on the preparation of the vessels. If a person prepares vessels, he will receive the abundance, and then "you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace," and instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. May Hashem so help us, speedily in our days, Amen and Amen.