Before us is the continuation of Isaiah Chapter 6 - the prophet's dedication vision. In the previous part, we saw the magnificent sight: Hashem sitting on a high and exalted throne, the seraphim standing above Him and calling out, "Holy, holy, holy." Here, we continue from the verse where the Temple shakes, and from there to the description of atonement, the mission, and the harsh prophecy entrusted to Yeshayahu. We will explain these matters along two tracks: first through the Midrashic interpretation brought by Rashi from the words of Chazal, and then according to the approach of the Malbim, as well as examining the insights of the Radak and the Vilna Gaon.
וַיָּנֻעוּ אַמּוֹת הַסִּפִּים מִקּוֹל הַקּוֹרֵא וְהַבַּיִת יִמָּלֵא עָשָׁן׃ - And the doorposts shook at the sound of the calling, and the House was filled with smoke.
"At the sound of the calling" - from the voice of the angels who called to one another, "Holy, holy, holy." The "ammot hasippim" (doorposts) are the posts at the threshold of the House, before the entrance. What was this day on which the doorposts shook? Rashi explains: this was the day of the earthquake. It is regarding this day that Zechariah says, "And you shall flee as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah" - you will flee just as they fled during the earthquake in the days of Uzziah.
And what caused the earthquake? On that very day, King Uzziah went to burn incense in the Sanctuary. In his arrogance, he wanted to enter and offer incense, and they told him: Uzziah, leave it alone, this is not your role. The incense belongs to the Kohanim; you have the status of monarchy, but not the status of priesthood. Yet he was unwilling to listen. Chazal tell us: heaven raged to burn him, meaning his judgment was to be burned, like those two hundred and fifty men of Korach who burned incense and fire went out and consumed them. Hence the expression "Seraphim stood above Him" - they wanted to burn (lishrof) him for coming to offer incense. And the earth raged to swallow him - that his sentence should be to be swallowed like Korach, who challenged the priesthood and was swallowed by the earth. This is the meaning of "and the doorposts shook": the earth shook in order to swallow Uzziah.
A heavenly voice (bat kol) went forth and expounded the verse: "A reminder to the Children of Israel, so that no stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron should draw near to offer incense before Hashem, and not be like Korach and his assembly, as Hashem spoke by the hand of Moses to him." Meaning: one who challenges the priesthood will no longer be "like Korach" - through swallowing, nor "like his assembly" - through burning. He is no longer judged by these punishments. What then? "As Hashem spoke by the hand of Moses" - when did Hashem speak harshly through the hand of Moses? At the burning bush: "Put your hand into your bosom," and he brought it out stricken with tzara'at, white as snow. So too here, which is why concerning Uzziah it says, "and tzara'at broke out on his forehead" - his punishment was tzara'at. This is the way of derash.
Now we will explain according to the Malbim. In his vision, Isaiah sees that from the roaring sound coming from outside the House into the House, the doorposts tremble, and the entire House is filled with smoke. What is the deeper meaning? "The House" is an allegory for the lower world, the physical world, and the Congregation of Israel (Kenesset Yisrael). Regarding this it was said earlier, "and His hem filled the Sanctuary" - Hashem's providence descends into the reality of the physical world. And this world is filled with smoke, and the smoke represents the wrath and indignation that the Holy One, blessed be He, has toward Israel, as in the phrase, "smoke rose in His nostrils."
And he is shown that first, the thresholds and gates of the Sanctuary shudder. Who are the "doorposts" allegorically? These are the prophets, who are the gatekeepers - they are the ones who warn and rebuke, as it is written, "I have made you a watchman for the House of Israel." The iniquity hangs upon their heads, as they are the ones tasked with rebuking. Therefore, they are the first to shake from the earthquake and the great smoke, from the wrath, because they understand that there is a claim against them: Why did you not rebuke? Why do you not guide the people along the proper path?
The Malbim adds a wonderful insight: Hashem sometimes reveals Himself in a cloud, and sometimes in smoke, yet cloud and smoke are opposite in nature. A cloud is moist, and therefore it signifies abundance and blessing - it is what brings down rain. Smoke is dry, and it signifies fury, burning, and anger. This is why specifically smoke appears here. And if you should ask: Was it not said, "Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke," and there we received the Torah! The answer is ready at hand: there He overturned the mountain above them like a vat, with the severity of strict justice applied to anyone who disobeys His commandments - if they did not accept the Torah, there would be their burial place. Thus you see that in smoke there is an element of anger and wrath.
וָאֹמַר אוֹי לִי כִי נִדְמֵיתִי כִּי אִישׁ טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם אָנֹכִי וּבְתוֹךְ עַם טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם אָנֹכִי יוֹשֵׁב כִּי אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ ה' צְבָאוֹת רָאוּ עֵינָי׃ - And I said: Woe is me, for I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.
After witnessing the vision - the doorposts shaking and the House filling with smoke - Yeshayahu understood its meaning. "Woe is me, for I am undone (nidmeiti)": woe is me that such a parable was envisioned (nidmeh) for me, showing me that "I am a man of unclean lips." The doorposts shook - meaning your lips are unclean; you do not sanctify them with rebuke toward the people of Israel. You should have rebuked them, yet you are not carrying out your duty. Furthermore: "And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" - I live among a people who do not heed rebuke. For otherwise, why do the prophets not rebuke them? Because the people are unwilling to listen. And because of this, the House fills with smoke: Hashem is angry with me and angry with my people. Woe is me that I have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts, in His wrath toward us.
וַיָּעָף אֵלַי אֶחָד מִן הַשְּׂרָפִים וּבְיָדוֹ רִצְפָּה בְּמֶלְקַחַיִם לָקַח מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ׃ - Then flew one of the seraphim to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal, which he had taken with tongs from off the altar.
"Ritzpah" - Rashi explains: a glowing coal. An "ugat retzafim" is a cake baked over coals, and "retzafim" is related to "reshaphim" (sparks of fire, as the letters tzadi and shin are interchangeable). Rashi cites the homiletic teaching of Chazal: this term is found both with Yeshayahu and with Eliyahu, who ate from a hearth-cake (ugat retzafim). What does this allude to? Both spoke slander against the people of Israel, both brought accusations against Israel, and therefore both were punished. With Yeshayahu - "And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips": it is one thing to say of yourself that you are of unclean lips, but to speak disparagingly of My children? And Eliyahu said, "For they have forsaken Your covenant," implying that the people of Israel were no longer observing circumcision. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the angel: Take a ritzpah in your hand - an allusion to "retzotz peh" (crush the mouth) - crush the mouth of the one who slandered My children. That is the derash.
According to the Malbim: "One of the seraphim" refers to the angel tasked with delivering prophecy to the prophets, and Chazal state that this was Michael, the guardian prince of Israel. "And in his hand was a glowing coal (ritzpah)" - as the Targum renders: "and in his mouth was a spoken word." This divine word is compared to a spark of fire, which the angel receives from Hashem and delivers to the prophet. The Malbim notes precisely: although the angel itself is called a "seraph" - burning, fiery fire - the word it receives from Hashem is far hotter than the angel itself. In simple terms: the divine speech is at a higher "temperature" than the angel, so the angel cannot hold it directly. What does it do? "With tongs he took it" - he grasps the speech with tongs, for otherwise the divine word would consume him.
And from where did he take it? "From off the altar" - from the place where the God of Hosts, the God of the cherubim, rests His presence. And why specifically from off the altar and not from between the cherubim, where the Shechinah also dwells? To hint to him that this speech, this fiery spark, will also atone for his iniquities. For he is about to receive a mission, and he must be pure and spotless; he also requires atonement for having spoken critically of the people of Israel.
וַיַּגַּע עַל פִּי וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה נָגַע זֶה עַל שְׂפָתֶיךָ וְסָר עֲוֹנֶךָ וְחַטָּאתְךָ תְּכֻפָּר׃ - And he touched it to my mouth, and said: Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin atoned for.
That spark of fire taken by the angel from upon the altar - the spark of prophecy - touched Yeshayahu's mouth, fulfilling what is said: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth." "This has touched your lips" means: if you embark on My mission of prophecy and rebuke the people, then "your iniquity is taken away, and your sin atoned for." And what was the iniquity? As explained according to the Malbim: for being a "man of unclean lips," holding back from rebuking the people, which left the people of unclean lips and unreceptive to rebuke. Now, by receiving the fiery spark upon your mouth, by accepting the mission to speak Hashem's words and rebuke the people - "your iniquity is taken away." Furthermore, "and your sin atoned for": not even an unintentional sin will remain on you, for "avon" refers to willful transgression, while "chet" refers to an inadvertent one. According to the derash cited in Rashi, the iniquity and sin refer to the slander he spoke against Israel, and the Holy One, blessed be He, purifies him from that lashon hara.
וָאֶשְׁמַע אֶת קוֹל אֲדֹנָי אֹמֵר אֶת מִי אֶשְׁלַח וּמִי יֵלֶךְ לָנוּ וָאֹמַר הִנְנִי שְׁלָחֵנִי׃ - And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: Here I am; send me.
Here Scripture explains the meaning behind the spark of fire that touched his mouth. That entire divine communication came through the angel, and now the prophet hears Hashem asking. The Malbim explains: in every mission there is a sender and an emissary, requiring two distinct elements. First, the emissary must be suited to the sender - this is "Whom shall I send," meaning who is the right person for the purpose I wish to achieve? Second, once the emissary is found, the mission must also suit the emissary, who must be willing to undertake it - this is "and who will go for us?" To both of these Yeshayahu responds: "Here I am" - on my part, if my willingness is needed, it is readily given; "send me" - yet Your consent is required, Master of the Universe, if I am worthy in Your eyes.
Radak notes: From the words "And I heard the voice of the Lord," it is evident that this marks the beginning of his prophecy, and that Sefer Yeshayahu essentially begins from Chapter 6, as we discussed in earlier chapters. For this is where his mission begins - "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" - meaning that the prophecies opening the book were delivered after this verse, once he had already been sent. And what is meant by "for us"? On our behalf. And why in the plural? As if Hashem is speaking with the seraphim and consulting with His Heavenly court: Who will go on our behalf to rebuke the people, similar to "Come, let us descend and confuse their language there."
And Chazal expound on "Whom shall I send": I sent Michah - and they struck him on the cheek, which is the meaning of "they smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek." I sent Amos - and they called him "psilosa," meaning one with a speech impediment, saying: Did the Holy One, Blessed is He, have no one else upon whom to rest His Shechinah except this stutterer? Rabbi Pinchas said: Why was his name called Amos? Because his tongue was weighed down (amos). There are people who speak rapidly, endowed with rhetorical fluency, who never stumble and speak smoothly; but Amos was heavy of speech, as though something heavy weighed upon his tongue, and by the time he managed to utter a word, it was painful for the people to listen to him. Therefore, Yeshayahu came and said: Master of the Universe, You are searching for someone to send - Michah could not continue, Amos could not continue - "Here am I, send me."
The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him: Yeshayahu, My children are troublesome; they are obstinate. This is no easy assignment. Is it authority I am giving you? It is servitude I am giving you. If you accept upon yourself to be humiliated - go. And he replied: On this very condition. Master of the Universe, I am willing to be humiliated for the sake of the honor of Your children. This is what is meant by the verse, "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting" - they would degrade and humiliate him, yet he was still willing to go with total self-sacrifice to deliver the word of Hashem to the people.
וַיֹּאמֶר לֵךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ לָעָם הַזֶּה שִׁמְעוּ שָׁמוֹעַ וְאַל תָּבִינוּ וּרְאוּ רָאוֹ וְאַל תֵּדָעוּ׃ - And He said: Go, and tell this people: Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
הַשְׁמֵן לֵב הָעָם הַזֶּה וְאָזְנָיו הַכְבֵּד וְעֵינָיו הָשַׁע פֶּן יִרְאֶה בְעֵינָיו וּבְאָזְנָיו יִשְׁמָע וּלְבָבוֹ יָבִין וָשָׁב וְרָפָא לוֹ׃ - Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and be healed.
"And shut their eyes [ve'einav hasha]" - what is the root of this word? In Aramaic, shei'a means smooth, as in "and I am a smooth man," which the Targum renders as "ana gevar shei'a." Hasha means to seal their eyes so that they are coated and smooth, as though something has been plastered over them, as if fat has been smeared over them so that they cannot see.
Radak suggests two possibilities. The first: these words are an imperative, and this is a divine decree. Hashem commands that they hear and not understand, that they see and not perceive, that their heart grow fat, their ears heavy, and their eyes plastered shut. And why? The meaning of the decree is that when a sinner multiplies transgressions and does not repent in the time allotted to him, a point is reached where Hashem closes off the paths of repentance from him. This does not mean it is utterly impossible for him to repent, but rather that he loses his siyata diShmaya (Heavenly assistance) to do so; and if the Holy One, Blessed is He, does not help him, he cannot overcome his inclinations on his own, and if he truly wishes to return, it will require monumental efforts. We find this similarly regarding "And Hashem hardened the heart of Pharaoh," and with Sichon, "for Hashem your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate," and likewise with the sons of Eli, "and they would not hearken to the voice of their father, because Hashem was pleased to slay them" - having acted so wickedly, the Holy One, Blessed is He, no longer willed that they repent.
For repentance is a privilege. If a person sentenced to twenty years in prison comes before the judge and says, "I have sinned, I have acted perversely, I have transgressed," does he walk free? Such a thing is inconceivable in human courts; it exists only with the Holy One, Blessed is He. However, the Holy One, Blessed is He, says: This is on condition that you do not abuse My benevolence. But if you exploit this divine kindness, doing whatever you please while thinking, "At the end of my life I will repent," or "I will sin and then repent" - one is not granted the opportunity to repent. One who has multiplied wickedness ultimately pays the full price. Thus: because your sin has grown so heavy, I decree that whatever is spoken to you will be of no avail, and I do not desire that they "return and be healed" - I do not want them to repent now, but rather to receive their deserved punishment.
And the second possibility in the Radak: this is not a decree, but a description of their reality. "Hear ye indeed" - I command that you listen, yet what do you do? "And understand not," you fail to comprehend what is being said to you. "And see ye indeed" - yet what do you do? "And perceive not." I command that they accept the words, yet "the heart of this people has grown fat" - their heart is unresponsive, their ears are heavy, their eyes are sealed shut, and they have no desire to repent. I send prophets to speak to them, and they remain impervious; I send rebuke to them, and their eyes remain closed. The Targum also leans toward this interpretation: "Shamein mishma velo mistaklin" - they hear with their ears yet pay no attention to what they hear; "Chazan mecheza velo yadin" - they look, but do not understand.
Having established two general approaches to the passage, we can now examine its details closely. In this regard, we will examine two explanations: that of the Vilna Gaon in the book Kol Eliyahu, and then that of the Malbim. The Gaon notes: Many commentators have wondered about the repetitive phrasings in this verse. First, why all this elaboration? It would have been enough to say, "Make the heart of this people fat." Second, regarding hearing it says "do not understand," while regarding seeing it says "do not perceive" - what is the connection between hearing and understanding, and between seeing and perception? Third, the order reverses: at first it says "hear attentively" and then "see persistently," and later "make its ears heavy and smear its eyes shut" - following the same order; yet at the end it says, "lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and their heart understand" - seeing, which came last, now comes first, and the heart, which was first, now comes last. Why does the text change the order?
The Gaon explains: The Torah is divided into three parts - the Written Torah, the Oral Torah, and the esoteric Torah. The Written Torah was given for all people to see; it was even translated for the nations, and it is visible to the eyes. The Oral Torah was not given to be written down, but to be transmitted from master to disciple and from father to son; therefore it is called "Oral," and the fact that it was eventually committed to writing was only due to the principle, "It is a time to act for Hashem; they have voided Your Torah" - Rebbe was forced to commit it to writing when Torah knowledge began to diminish and hearts dwindled. Thus, it is associated with the ears, as it must be heard. The esoteric Torah is not transmitted to everyone, and it resides in the heart - matters kept within a person's inner heart. According to this: "Lest they see with their eyes" refers to the Written Torah, "and hear with their ears" refers to the Oral Torah, and "their heart understand" refers to the wisdom of Kabbalah.
Now, when a person has learned all three parts and the Yetzer Hara comes to seduce him, with which part does it begin? With Kabbalah. For the Written Torah is firmly established and fixed; the Oral Torah is somewhat less visible to the eye; and Kabbalah consists of matters of the heart. The Yetzer Hara does not strike directly at the foundations; like a demolition contractor, it begins from the roof, working downward slowly until reaching the foundation. It does not tell a person right away, "Go worship idols"; it cannot take a God-fearing person and turn him into a murderer overnight, but through systematic work it will eventually get there too. Therefore, at first it whispers: Kabbalah? Who says? It is not proven; where was the Zohar all these years? Why is there no hint of it in the accepted words of Chazal, in the Midrashim and the Talmud? Indeed, there are those even today who doubt Kabbalah - such as the group known as the "Dardaim," who reject Kabbalah. Know that this is considered heresy: anyone who denies even a single detail of the holy Torah has no share in the World to Come, and when something has been handed down to us by the holiest of figures - by the Ramban, by the holy Arizal, and by all the saintly sages we have had - who could possibly come along and deny it? From there, the Yetzer Hara moves on to the Oral Torah: after all, it was passed down from father to son and was not written down, and when something passes by word of mouth errors creep in, like a game of telephone; who knows what was added and what was omitted? Only after eroding these pillars does it approach the Written Torah: Who says? What are the proofs? Perhaps it can be understood differently - until it undermines the very foundations and denies the Written Torah itself.
Therefore, says the Gaon, this is what the prophet told them in Hashem's Name: Look at what the Yetzer Hara has done to you. First, "Make the heart of this people fat" - it fattened the heart, which is the hidden Torah; then, "make its ears heavy" - it moved on to the Oral Torah; and finally, "smear its eyes shut" - even regarding what is seen with one's own eyes, the Written Torah, it raises objections and doubts. And why does it do this? Because it fears - "lest they see with their eyes," lest one study the Written Torah, and through that, "and hear with their ears," proceed to the Oral Torah, and from there, "and their heart understand," ascend to the esoteric Torah, "and repent and be healed" - and do proper, complete teshuvah. Here the stages correspond to the proper order of a person's study: Written Torah, Oral Torah, and only then Kabbalah - for a student does not leap straight into Kabbalah. Therefore, in the destructive process, the order proceeds from top to bottom, whereas in the constructive process, the order proceeds from bottom to top. Thus, everything falls into a precise, harmonious order.
The Malbim explains: "The sense of the verse is as follows." When the Malbim uses this phrase, his intent is to provide the proper reading of the verse so that we can grasp it correctly; as the saying goes in the yeshivah world, a proper reading is half the understanding. If a person opens a Gemara and reads the text incorrectly, his chances of understanding are virtually nil; but if the text is read to him properly, punctuated with commas and periods, there is a good chance he will understand. And this is the sense of the verse: "Go and say, 'Hear attentively,' but do not say, 'Understand'; and say, 'See persistently,' but do not say, 'Perceive' - lest he see with his eyes... and repent and be healed."
Let us explain this. There are situations where people simply cannot be spoken to, because they have put up a wall in advance. A person might say: Look, if I attend lectures and shiurim, if I listen to mussar talks - it is dangerous, I might end up becoming religious! So I take no chances; I will not show up in the first place. You tell him: Just listen; no one will force you to put on tefillin or keep Shabbat, just hear what they have to say. But he replies: No, those religious people are dangerous, religion draws a person in (*das damshecha*). He fears that mere listening will draw him in, and so he is unwilling even to hear. The Malbim explains that this was precisely the state of that generation. And in truth, their fear is well founded, for Scripture says, "Hear, and your soul shall live" - the very act of listening brings life to the soul, and the soul is naturally drawn in.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Yeshayahu: I know the condition of this generation, and if you deliver direct mussar and try to force them to repent, they will push away. Therefore, you must approach them with wisdom, and this advice applies equally to our own generation. When you speak to them, simply say "Hear attentively," "See persistently," and do not tell them "Understand" and "Perceive." What is meant by "understand" and "perceive"? Drawing conclusions: Well, now you must understand that what you are doing is wrong; now you must know that you are on the wrong path. From that, they will run away. Deliver a talk without drawing the conclusions for them; let each person reach the conclusion on his own. If you impose the conclusions on him, he will not show up to the next shiur, and he will no longer be willing to listen to you. Therefore: just hear attentively, just listen to what I have to say, I am not giving you mussar and I am not rebuking you; just see persistently, and I am not pressing you to "know" - well, what are you doing tomorrow? Will you put on tefillin tomorrow? Will you keep Shabbat tomorrow? Leave the conclusions to him.
And what will you gain by this? "Lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and their heart understand" - perhaps in the end he will see with his own eyes of his own accord, and perhaps through that he will hear with his ears, and perhaps ultimately his heart will understand as well. Thus, you will not have driven him away: he gave you the opportunity to speak, he listened to the words, and while it may not work immediately, perhaps in the end he will see, hear, and understand. And why must you not tell them "Understand" and "Perceive"? Because "make the heart of this people fat" - I know their heart; their heart is fattened, lacking wisdom and discernment, and because of this, "make its ears heavy," they are unwilling to hear, and because of this, "smear its eyes shut," their eyes are sealed and smoothed over, unwilling to see. If they sense that your words contain demands for understanding, wisdom, and active commitment, they will not even be willing to come and listen.
And why is the order here seeing, hearing, and understanding? Because the Malbim is speaking of the stages of attaining awareness of the Creator. It begins with the sight of the eyes: "Lift up your eyes on high and see who created these." A person contemplates the heavens, the earth, the human body - and this is something anyone can see, without a microscope, without being a scientist or a great scholar. Anyone who contemplates the beauty and order of creation must conclude that Someone created the world: "The heavens declare the glory of God." Next comes hearing - the tradition received from parents, who received it from their parents, the unbroken chain of generations. And the third stage comes through intellectual proofs and reasoned discernment, deeper and philosophical demonstrations of the reality of the Creator, which is "and his heart understand." Therefore: perhaps if you present the teaching neutrally, without pressing practical conclusions, through this he will see, and from that he will hear, and then he will understand.
If so, why did the verse reverse the order at first, saying "Hear attentively" and only then "See persistently"? The Malbim explains: Initially, the prophet addressed them at a high level - "hear," meaning accept the sacred tradition handed down from previous generations; and if not that, then at least "see" - at least observe what any person can see with his own eyes. If you are not capable of hearing, at least see; perhaps through this your deeds will change.
וָאֹמַר עַד מָתַי אֲדֹנָי וַיֹּאמֶר עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם שָׁאוּ עָרִים מֵאֵין יוֹשֵׁב וּבָתִּים מֵאֵין אָדָם וְהָאֲדָמָה תִּשָּׁאֶה שְׁמָמָה׃ - And I said: "Until when, my Lord?" And He said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land is utterly desolate."
What is the question "Until when?" According to the three interpretations we have seen, there are three ways to understand it. According to the first interpretation in Radak, that Hashem withholds the pathways of repentance from them, the prophet asks: Until when will You withhold the pathways of repentance from them? Will You never accept them in repentance? Have they not already been stricken for their sins? And the Holy One, blessed be He, answers him: Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land is utterly desolate - and only then will it be possible to accept them. This fits that interpretation, for Hashem does not oppose repentance itself, but rather opposes letting them off easily without paying a price. After you have sinned so abundantly, you must receive what is due to you; and after they receive their punishment and the account is settled - if they wish, they will be able to repent and I will accept them.
According to the second interpretation, that this is not a decree but a description of their condition, the question is: Until when will they behave this way? Until when will they harden their hearts and refuse to hear and understand? And the Holy One, blessed be He, answers him: I, before Whom all hidden things are revealed, know that in practice they will not listen to you until cities lie waste without inhabitant, until the land is exiled and becomes a great desolation. And according to the Malbim, the question is: Until when must I speak to them in language that is not the language of rebuke, which does not state clearly how to observe the mitzvos in practice and stay away from transgressions? Until when must I say to them "Hear continuously" without "understand," and "see continuously" without "know"? Until when will they remain rebellious while I speak to them in smooth words? And He answers him: Prophesy to them this way and they will not understand, until their cities are destroyed and they remain like a terebinth and an oak - only then will they hear, and only then will they understand. When will these words affect them? When they see them fulfilled in reality.
Notice how he arranges the disasters in progressive order: first, "cities lie waste without inhabitant" - the cities will be destroyed, but houses will still remain; in the second stage, "and houses without man" - the houses will also be destroyed, yet shepherds will still remain in tents in the wilderness; and in the third stage, "and the land is utterly desolate" - and when the land becomes desolate, it will not even be possible to graze sheep there, and consequently not a soul will remain in all the mountains of Yehudah.
וְרִחַק ה' אֶת הָאָדָם וְרַבָּה הָעֲזוּבָה בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ׃ - And Hashem will remove mankind far away, and the forsaken places will be many in the midst of the land.
"And Hashem will remove mankind far away" - this refers to the Ten Tribes whom the king of Assyria will exile. And do not think he will exile them to a nearby place, but rather to "Chalach, and Chavor, and the river of Gozan," which is in the mountains of Media. There is no longer any prospect of their return, for Hashem will remove them far away. "And the forsaken places will be many in the midst of the land" - even those of the poorest of the people and the poorest of the land who remain here, the vinedressers and the plowmen, will ultimately leave the land of their own accord, since the land will lie entirely desolate.
וְעוֹד בָּהּ עֲשִׂרִיָּה וְשָׁבָה וְהָיְתָה לְבָעֵר כָּאֵלָה וְכָאַלּוֹן אֲשֶׁר בְּשַׁלֶּכֶת מַצֶּבֶת בָּם זֶרַע קֹדֶשׁ מַצַּבְתָּהּ׃ - And yet a tenth shall remain in it, and it will return and be consumed, like a terebinth and like an oak, which shed their leaves yet retain their trunk; a holy seed is its trunk.
What is the meaning of "And yet a tenth [asiriyah] shall remain in it"? According to Radak: ten kings will yet reign in the land from the time of this prophecy, which was in the year King Uzziyahu died. Calculate them: Yosam, Achaz, Chizkiyahu, Menasheh, Amon, Yoshiyahu, Yeho'achaz, Yehoyakim, Yehoyachin, Tzidkiyahu - that makes ten. And afterward, "and it will return and be consumed," for the land will be consumed from within; all will perish and be exiled, and Yerushalayim will be destroyed.
Another explanation is that of Targum Yonasan, followed also by the Malbim: "And one in ten will remain in it." Who is this one in ten? The Malbim explains: this refers to the tribe of Yehudah. For we always count the Ten Tribes in contrast to the tribe of Yehudah; and although Yehudah encompasses two tribes, it is the primary one, especially since Binyamin was greatly diminished in the incident of the Concubine of Giv'ah, and so Yehudah is counted as the primary entity. It turns out, then, that it is roughly a tenth relative to the ten tribes that were exiled, and in total only one tribe will remain here - one out of ten compared to those already exiled.
"And it will return and be consumed, like a terebinth and like an oak" - he compares them to terebinth and oak trees, which have abundant leaves, and in autumn and winter the leaves wither. And what remains? "Which shed their leaves yet retain their trunk [matzeves]" - only the trunk remains, the stock and the root, as the Targum renders it. All the leaves fall off, but the root still remains. So too the wicked, who are like husks and leaves, will wither and perish; and what will remain? "Their trunk" - those few righteous individuals, they are the ones who will remain. And this is the answer to Yeshayahu's question, "Until when?": until the wicked perish and the righteous remain, like the terebinth and oak that during leaf-fall retain only their trunk and root. And why will they remain? "A holy seed is its trunk" - because that trunk which remains will be a holy seed; this refers to the generation of Chizkiyahu, who returned to Hashem with all their heart, and they are the ones who will ultimately endure.
Radak brings yet another explanation of "which are in shalleches": Shalleches is the name of one of the gates of the Beis HaMikdash, mentioned in Divrei HaYamim as "Sha'ar Shalleches." There, a terebinth and an oak were planted, and therefore the verse says "like a terebinth and like an oak that are at Shalleches" - like those two solitary trees standing at Sha'ar Shalleches. Such will be the condition of Israel: out of that entire dense forest, out of the great nation that once was, only a small fraction, isolated individuals, will remain.
In this chapter, we see how a prophet is formed. The shaking of the Temple thresholds and the smoke filling the House teach Yeshayahu of Hashem's wrath, and above all, of the claim against the prophets - the gatekeepers - who failed to rebuke, and against a people unwilling to accept rebuke. From this comes, "Woe is to me, for I am ruined," and from this comes the ember of prophecy taken with tongs from upon the Altar - which is both the word of Hashem placed in his mouth and his atonement, for the very acceptance of the mission is the rectification of the mouth. Yeshayahu steps forward, "Here I am, send me," and takes upon himself to endure humiliation for the honor of the children of the Omnipresent. Yet the mission itself imparts profound wisdom: according to the Radak, it is a decree or a portrayal of their obstinate insensitivity, while according to the Malbim, it is an eternal pedagogical guide - to speak to the generation with the words, "Hear continuously" and "See continuously," without forcing conclusions upon them, so that they do not flee, and in this way, perhaps they will see, hear, and understand on their own. And at the end of all things, even when the cities lie waste, the houses are empty, and the land is desolate, the root remains: "a holy seed is its trunk" - the small remnant of righteous people from whom the nation will sprout anew.