"And the house was filled with smoke." Let us first see what Rashi says. "From the voice of the one who cried" refers to all the angels who were calling to one another, "and one called to the other and said." What was so special about this day that the doorposts shook? Rashi says it was the day of the earthquake. The day of the earthquake means a day of tremors, for it says regarding this day, "and you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah." So the prophet tells them in Sefer Zechariah, you will flee as in the earthquake that took place in the days of Uzziah. When did this happen? On this very day, and because of it, "the doorposts shook." What caused the doorposts to shake? "The doorposts" refers to the beam that stands at the threshold of the house, the threshold being at the entrance. On the day that Uzziah stood to offer incense in the Heichal, the heavens shook to burn him. It is written that King Uzziah, in his arrogance, wanted to enter the Heichal and offer incense. They said to him, Uzziah, leave this alone, it is not your role, the incense does not belong to you, it belongs to the Kohanim. You have the rank of kingship but not the rank of priesthood. And he refused to listen. The heavens shook to burn him, meaning to say that his sentence would be by fire, as it is written regarding someone who came near where he should not have, namely Korach. There it is written, "and it consumed the two hundred and fifty men" who went to offer incense, a fire from heaven descended and burned them. The heavens shook to burn him.
Therefore they were called Serafim, "the Serafim stood above Him, and one called to the other and said." They wanted to burn him for coming to offer incense. The earth trembled to swallow him. Why? It said his sentence should be to be swallowed like Korach, for Korach challenged the priesthood and was swallowed into the ground. Therefore "the doorposts shook," this is the earthquake, the earth trembling in order to swallow King Uzziah. A heavenly voice went out and said, it is written in the pasuk, "a memorial to the children of Israel, so that no stranger who is not of the seed of Aharon should draw near to offer incense before Hashem, and he shall not be like Korach and his assembly, as Hashem spoke by the hand of Moshe to him." And there shall no longer be any man who challenges the priesthood like Korach, punished by being swallowed, and like his assembly, punished by fire. Do you hear how the heavenly voice, as it were, expounds the pasuk? "And he shall not be like Korach and his assembly." There shall no longer be a situation where one who challenges the priesthood is like Korach, meaning that the earth will swallow him, or where one who challenges the priesthood is like his assembly, meaning his sentence would be by fire. It shall not be like this thing, we no longer judge the one who challenges the priesthood with this sentence.
So what then? The end of the pasuk: "as Hashem spoke by the hand of Moshe to him." As Hashem spoke by the hand of Moshe. When did Hashem speak and we saw an act involving the hand of Moshe? At the burning bush. It is written there, "put your hand into your bosom." As Hashem spoke by the hand of Moshe, when Hashem spoke a word, what kind of word was it, soft or harsh? Hashem spoke by the hand of Moshe. When did Hashem speak a harsh word through the hand of Moshe? At the burning bush. Put your hand into your bosom and take it out leprous as snow. So too here, he shall not be like Korach and his assembly, judged by fire or by being swallowed, but rather "as Hashem spoke by the hand of Moshe," as Hashem spoke a harsh word through the hand of Moshe with leprosy, and regarding this it is said of Uzziah, "and the leprosy broke out on his forehead." That is, his punishment was through leprosy.
Thus Chazal expound, and this is more on the level of derash. We will now explain according to the Malbim's interpretation. "And the doorposts shook." The Malbim says, Yeshayahu sees in his vision that from the noise of the voice coming from outside the house into the house, the doorposts, as it were, tremble, and the whole house began to fill with smoke. What is the hint here? What are they trying to show him in this vision? They are informing him in this vision, says the Malbim, that the house is a metaphor for the lowly world. The physical world is compared to the house, and to the Congregation of Israel, the people of Israel, who symbolize the house. For it is regarding this that it says "and His train filled the Heichal," meaning the lowly world, this world; Hashem's Providence descends to the reality of the physical world. And this world fills with smoke. From what does it fill with smoke? This is wrath, the anger that the Holy One, Blessed be He, has toward Israel, as it is written, "smoke went up in His nostrils." Smoke expresses anger, wrath. He is shown that at first the thresholds and gates of the Heichal shuddered. What is the expression "and the doorposts shook"? Anger descends from heaven, smoke, and who is kicked first, as it were, who is struck first? The doorposts. Who are the doorposts in the analogy? These are the prophets. The prophets are the guardians of the threshold. They are the ones meant to be the guardians, the alarm-sounders, the reprovers, they are the prophets. As it is written, "I have made you a watchman for the House of Israel." Upon their heads the sin hangs, for they are the ones who must reprove. So "the doorposts shook" from the noise, from the great smoke that arose, from the anger. Why? Because they understand there is a claim against them here. Why did you not reprove? Why do you not straighten the people onto the right path?
Now the Malbim says, pay attention: sometimes Hashem reveals Himself in a cloud, sometimes He reveals Himself in smoke. What is the difference between a cloud and smoke? Cloud and smoke are opposites in nature. The cloud is moist, the smoke is dry. The smoke is dry. This essentially expresses that whenever there is a cloud, it expresses abundance, it expresses blessing, moisture, for the cloud is what brings down the rain. By contrast, smoke is dry. Smoke expresses fierce anger, it expresses burning, it expresses wrath. Therefore here specifically there is smoke. And if you ask, but did we not see "and Mount Sinai was all in smoke," and there we received the Torah, on the contrary. The Malbim says the answer is right beside the question: He held the mountain over them like a barrel, and there was the full force of judgment for whoever would rebel against His commandments, if they would not accept the Torah, there would be their burial place. So it turns out you see that in smoke there is a concept of anger, of fierce wrath. So I see the smoke filling the house. What is the house? The lowly world. And whom does it strike first? The doorposts. These are the prophets, who were meant to be the guardians of the threshold, to reprove and sound the alarm at the gate, and they did not fulfill their role.
And he says, "Woe is me, for I am undone, for I am a man of impure lips, and I dwell among a people of impure lips, for my eyes have seen the King, Hashem of Hosts." After he sees this vision, that the doorposts shook and the house fills with smoke, he understands the analogy. And he says, "Woe is me, for I am undone (nidmeiti)." That is, woe is me that such an analogy (nimshal) was likened to me, in which they essentially show me that I am a man of impure lips. That is, the doorposts shook, meaning your lips are impure, you do not sanctify them with reproof against the people of Israel, you should have reproved them. "I am a man of impure lips," I am not carrying out my function. Furthermore, "and I dwell among a people of impure lips." This means I am among a people who do not listen to reproof, for if not, why do the prophets not reprove? The reason they do not reprove is that the people are not willing to listen to reproof. And because of this the house fills with smoke, Hashem is angry with me, Hashem is angry with my people. Woe is me that I have seen the King, Hashem of Hosts, my eyes have seen the King, Hashem of Hosts, in His anger against us, woe is me that I have seen this.
"And one of the Serafim flew to me, and in his hand was a coal (ritzpah); with tongs he had taken it from upon the altar." And then I see that one of the Serafim flew to me. One of the Serafim, says the Malbim, refers to an angel whose role is to bring prophecy to the prophets. "In his hand was a ritzpah." Ritzpah, Rashi explains, is a coal. "A cake of ritzpim" means a cake that they would bake upon coals. And ritzpim is like reshafim. Ritzef and reshef, the tzadi and shin here interchange. So "in his hand was a ritzpah" means from the language of reshafah, reshef, a flash of fire, coals. Rashi mentions here the derash of Chazal, that we find this expression both by Yeshayahu and by Eliyahu. Also by Eliyahu it is written that he ate from "a cake of ritzpim." What does this come to hint? That both of these spoke slander against the people of Israel. Both argued for guilt against the people of Israel. Therefore we see that they were punished. Where? By us you see that he said "I dwell among a people of impure lips." He spoke harsh words against the people of Israel, they are a people of impure lips. Fine, you say I am of impure lips, so you take it upon yourself, but to speak disgrace against My children? Eliyahu said, "for they have forsaken Your covenant." He told the Holy One, Blessed be He, that the people of Israel do not keep the covenant of circumcision. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said, take a ritzpah in your hand. Hashem tells the angel to take a ritzpah. Ritzpah is from the language of ratzotz peh, crush the mouth. Crush the mouth of the one who spoke slander against My children. This is the derash.
But we will continue according to the Malbim's interpretation, that essentially he saw a message here, and then he says, I see one of the Serafim coming to me, which is the angel, as we said, whose role is to give the prophecy from Hashem to the prophet. Chazal say this was Michael, the ministering angel of Israel. "And in his hand was a ritzpah." What is "and in his hand was a ritzpah"? The Malbim explains as its Targum renders it, "and in his mouth was speech." In his mouth there is speech. Now this speech is compared to a flash of fire. For as we explained, the angel receives the speech from Hashem and passes it to the prophet. And this is compared to a flash of fire. So now pay attention: even though the angel himself we call a Saraf, what language is Saraf? Burning, blazing fire. The angel is called a Saraf. Even so, the speech that he receives from Hashem is far more blazing than the Saraf himself. Therefore, when the angel needs to convey the speech, in the analogy, as it were, he holds the speech in his hand, he cannot, because the speech is much more, let us define it in a crude analogy, at a much higher temperature than the angel himself. So the angel cannot take Hashem's speech. Therefore what does he do? With tongs. He takes the speech from Hashem with tongs. What does "from Hashem" mean? From upon the altar. The altar is the place where the God of Hosts, the God of the Keruvim, dwells there upon the altar. And then, as it were, in the analogy, he tells you that tongs were needed for the angel to use, for otherwise the speech would, as it were, burn him. He took it by means of tongs and conveyed it to the prophet. Now why did he draw it specifically from upon the altar? He could have said he took it from between the Keruvim. That is also true, for the Shechinah is there as well. Why from upon the altar? He comes to hint to him that this speech, this flash of fire, this ritzpah, will also atone for his sins. So his sins, as we will see further, in general, because in a moment he receives a mission, so he must be pure and clean, and also for having spoken ill of the people of Israel, he needs atonement.
"And he touched it upon my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity is removed and your sin shall be atoned." So he describes that behold, this flash, this coal, as it were, that the angel took from upon the altar, the flash of prophecy, reached his mouth, and this is what is written that Hashem says to him, "see, I have placed My words in your mouth." What are "My words"? That same flash of fire. He, in that it touches your lips, that is, if you go on My mission in prophecy and reprove the people, then "your iniquity is removed and your sin shall be atoned." For we explained earlier according to the Malbim, what is the iniquity and the sin? For being a man of impure lips. In what way is he of impure lips? As he said of himself, not reproving the people. And the people are of impure lips, they do not accept reproof. So because you will now receive that flash of fire upon your mouth, that is, you will take upon yourself to say My words and convey them to the people and reprove them, even your sin shall be atoned. Even a sin of inadvertence will not remain in you. Not only your iniquity, for iniquity is intentional, but even an inadvertent sin will not remain in you. And according to the interpretation we explained earlier in Rashi, the iniquity and the sin are essentially what Chazal say, that he spoke slander against the people of Israel, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it were, thereby purifies and cleanses him from that slander he spoke about Israel.
"And I heard the voice of Hashem saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, Here I am, send me." Now he comes to explain the analogy. We explained that the coal, the ritzpah, the flash of fire reaches his mouth, this is the speech. Now all this speech was through the angel. And I hear, as it were, Hashem asking, whom shall I send? That is, in order to send someone for the sake of a mission, two elements are needed. For in every mission there is a sender and a messenger. First, the messenger must be suitable for the sender. The sender wants a messenger, but he must be suitable for me for the purpose I wish to send him for. And this is written, "whom shall I send," who is the fitting person. The second thing, after I have found the messenger, it must also suit the messenger. The messenger must be willing to carry out the mission. And this is what He says, "and who will go for us?" Who will be willing to go on the mission we are sending? To this he comes and says, "Here I am, send me." That is, on my part, if my consent is needed, here I am. Here is my consent. But the only thing is, I need Your consent, Master of the Universe, whether I am worthy in Your eyes. Therefore he comes and says, "send me," if You wish, if You are interested, if I am worthy in Your eyes.
The Radak says, "and I heard the voice of Hashem," from here they essentially prove that this was the beginning of his prophecy. That in fact Sefer Yeshayahu begins from chapter 6, as we discussed in the previous chapters. For behold, you see that from here his mission begins, "whom shall I send and who will go for us." That is to say, the prophecies that opened Sefer Yeshayahu were already after this pasuk, for those prophecies were already after Hashem, as it were, sent him. And it is written here, "who will go for us," the Radak says "for us" means for our sake. And why in the plural? As it were, Hashem is speaking with the Serafim. Who will go for us? Who will go on our behalf to reprove the people? Like "come, let us descend and confound their language there." As it were, Hashem consults with His court, with the Serafim.
Chazal expound "whom shall I send." I sent Michah and they struck him on the cheek. And this is what is written, "with a rod they strike upon the cheek the judge of Israel." I sent Amos and they called him "psilosa." They said, did the Holy One, Blessed be He, have no one on whom to rest His Shechinah other than this psilosa? What is psilosa? It means one with cut-off speech. Amos's speech was not fluent. Cut-off speech, his tongue was stammering. Rabbi Pinchas said, why was he called Amos? Because he was burdened (amus) in his speech. There is a person whose tongue is quick to speak, a person with rhetorical talent, he never gets stuck, he speaks fluently. But here Amos was burdened in his speech, as if something heavy sat upon his tongue, so that it was difficult for him to produce a word, and the people, as it were, found it hard to listen to him. As if to say, does Hashem have no one on whom to rest His Shechinah other than this one with the stammering tongue? And Yeshayahu said, "Here I am, send me." Therefore Yeshayahu came and said, Master of the Universe, You are seeking whom to send? Michah did not go, Amos did not go, whom shall I send? Yeshayahu says to Him, Here I am, send me. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him, Yeshayahu, My children are troublesome, they are refractory. What do you think, do I have an easy job for you? How did He put it: is it dominion I am giving you? It is servitude I am giving you. If you accept being disgraced, go. Does it suit you to be disgraced? Gladly. And he said to Him, on that condition. Yeshayahu said to Him, I am willing to be disgraced for the honor of Your children. And this is what is written, "I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; my face I did not hide from insult and spittle." They would disgrace him, humiliate him, and nevertheless he was willing to go with self-sacrifice in order to speak the word of Hashem to the people.
"And He said, Go and say to this people: Hear indeed, but do not understand; and see indeed, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and their eyes shut, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart understand, and they return and be healed." "Go and say to this people, hear indeed but do not understand, and see indeed but do not know." The Radak gives here two possibilities for understanding these verses. One possibility is that this is in the imperative. "Go and say to this people, hear indeed," Hashem commands that you should hear, and Hashem also commands that you should not understand. And Hashem commands that you should see, and He also commands that you should not know. And part of Hashem's command is that the heart of the people should be fat, their ears heavy, their eyes shut (hasha). Hasha, from what language is it? What is "shaia" in Aramaic? Smooth, right? We discussed this. Shaia is smooth. "And I am a smooth man," "ana gvar shaia." "Mashi" means smooth. So their ears, sorry, their eyes shut, means to seal his eyes so they should be smooth, so that it should not be possible, as if something is smeared over them, as if some fat is smeared over them, and it would be smooth, sealed. "Their eyes shut, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart understand, and they return and be healed." So why indeed does Hashem want their ears, eyes, and heart to be sealed? And the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it were, commands that it should be so. Why? The Radak says, according to the first interpretation, this is a decree. And the meaning of this decree is that when the sinner increases in sin and does not return in repentance during the time given to him, a stage arrives in which Hashem prevents him from the ways of repentance and no longer allows him to return. "Does not allow him" does not mean at all, but rather it means he does not have the Heavenly assistance to return. And if the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not help him, he cannot do it. But then, if he truly wants to return, he must make very, very great efforts. We saw this also with Pharaoh, "and Hashem strengthened the heart of Pharaoh." With Sichon it is written, "for Hashem your God hardened his spirit and stiffened his heart." With the sons of Eli it is written, "and they did not hearken to the voice of their father." Why did they not return in repentance when Eli reproved them? "For Hashem desired to kill them." "Hashem desired to kill them" means that because they had become so wicked, the Holy One, Blessed be He, no longer wants them to repent. For repentance is a privilege. What is repentance? A person deserves twenty years of imprisonment, he comes to the judge, I have sinned, I have transgressed, I have rebelled, he repents, go home. What, how? Is it possible to cancel twenty years of imprisonment with I have sinned, I have transgressed, I have rebelled? Such a thing would not be conceivable. Only with the Holy One, Blessed be He, is it possible. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says, on condition that you do not exploit My good heart for evil. But if you exploit the supreme kindness for evil, wanting to do whatever you please, and saying at the end of my days I will repent, saying I will sin and repent, they do not give him the opportunity to repent. One who has increased greatly in wickedness must ultimately pay the full price. Therefore the Holy One, Blessed be He, says, because your sin is so heavy, hear indeed but do not understand, I decree that everything they speak to you will not help you. You will not understand, you will not know, I decree it. Make the heart of this people fat, their ears heavy, their eyes shut. For I do not want, "lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and their heart understand and they return and be healed." I do not want "and they return and be healed." I do not want them to return in repentance now; I want that now, after all they have done, they should receive the punishment they deserve. This is one interpretation.
The Radak offers an additional interpretation, that in fact "make the heart of this people fat" means, as it were, He is describing their condition, He does not come to decree it upon them. Go and say to them, hear indeed, I tell you to hear, but what are you? "And do not understand." You do not understand what is spoken to you. And see indeed, I command, see, and what are you? "And do not know." I command that they should receive the words, but they are, "make the heart of this people fat." Their heart is fat, their ear heavy, their eyes shut. And He is concerned that this people will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand. And they do not want to return in repentance. Essentially, if so, according to the second interpretation this is not a decree but a description of the situation. I send to speak with them, but they are sealed off. I send to reprove them, but their eyes are sealed. He describes their condition, He does not decree upon them, God forbid, that they should not return in repentance. And to this interpretation the Targum also leads more, which says, "they hear but do not perceive." They hear but do not see. He does not pay attention to what he hears. "They see a vision but do not know." They see but do not understand, they do not know.
Good. After we have two interpretations of the overall verse, whether the overall verse is a decree upon them that they should not return, or a description of the situation that in practice they do not return, let us now descend to the details of what is written here. There are details here that "they heard indeed," against which "do not understand." There is "see indeed," against which "do not know." Afterward he speaks of the fattening of the heart, the making heavy of the ears, the eyes, the shutting of the eyes. And "lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and their heart understand." And all this length and all this great detail requires explanation. We will explain two interpretations. One interpretation according to the Gaon of Vilna, as it appears in the book Kol Eliyahu, and afterward, as is our way, we will see the interpretation of the Malbim.
The Gaon of Vilna says, many, and indeed complete ones, wondered about this pasuk regarding the doubled expressions. Why is it necessary to be so lengthy? "Make the heart of this people fat," that is enough. Hear indeed, see indeed, their ears heavy, their eyes... Why all the length of words? That is one point. A second point: with hearing he says "hear indeed but do not understand." With seeing he says "but do not know." What is the difference between understanding and knowing? So what is the connection between hearing and understanding, while to seeing he specifically connects knowing? That is one point. A second point: whoever pays attention notices that he reversed the order. At first he said "hear indeed, see indeed." Hearing, seeing. Afterward he continues, "their ears heavy and their eyes shut." He continues in the same order, the ears are hearing, then the eyes are seeing, the same order he stated before. But here suddenly he reverses the order. "Lest they see with their eyes," the eyes were last. Then "and hear with their ears," that was the middle. And now he returns to the first, "and their heart understand." At first you said "make the heart fat," and to this you relate last. Last you said "their eyes shut," and in the punishment, in the "lest," you say "lest they see with their eyes," you relate to it first. Suddenly you reversed the order. Why did you change the order at the end from how you stated it at the beginning?
The Gaon of Vilna says, know this: the Holy Torah is divided into three parts. There is the Written Torah, there is the Oral Torah, and there is the Torah of secrets, Kabbalah. These are the three parts of the Torah. The Torah that is the Written Torah was given for every person to see. Even a gentile; even for gentiles the Torah was translated. The Written Torah is given to every person, even to gentiles. It is seen with the eyes. By contrast, the Oral Torah was not given to be written. The Oral Torah was given to be transmitted from teacher to student, from father to son. Therefore it is also called the Oral Torah. That today it is written, this is "a time to act for Hashem, they have violated Your Torah," Rebbi was forced to write the Torah because Torah began to diminish and the hearts diminish. This is the Oral Torah. So the Oral Torah is attributed to the ears, it must be heard. And Kabbalah cannot be revealed to every person. The Torah of secrets cannot be revealed to every person. So where is the Torah of secrets found? It is more in the heart. These are matters in a person's heart, they are not transmitted to every person. Therefore, according to this you will understand, the sight of the eyes he attributes to the Written Torah. Everyone sees this. As I said, even a gentile can see it. This is the seeing. "Hear with their ears" is the Oral Torah, which one only hears with the ears. "And their heart understand," we said this is in the heart, this is Kabbalah.
Now, the Gaon of Vilna says, a person who has learned these three parts, and afterward the evil inclination comes and tries to entice him. To which part does the evil inclination turn? To the Written Torah? Or does he begin to entice him away from Kabbalah? He says, from Kabbalah. The meaning is that the Written Torah is very well established. The Oral Torah is already matters transmitted orally. Kabbalah is only matters of the heart. The evil inclination does not approach us straight at the foundations. He starts from the roof, slowly, slowly, slowly, a demolition contractor. Slowly he begins to demolish until he reaches the foundations. He does not tell you today do this, tomorrow tell you... until he tells you to go worship idols. He does not straight away approach idolatry, forbidden relations, bloodshed. He cannot take a God-fearing person and turn him into a murderer from one day to the next. But if he works on him systematically, he will reach that too. That is to say, the way of the evil inclination is always from the less established things, less founded, and from that slowly, slowly, slowly until he reaches the foundations. Therefore at first the evil inclination will say, listen, this is Kabbalah, who said it, it is not proven, where was the Zohar until now? How is it that we have no hint of it in the words of Chazal that are accepted by us, that is, in the words of the Midrashim, in the words of the Talmud? He begins first to challenge and cast doubt on the words of Kabbalah. And there are those who to this day cast doubt on the words of Kabbalah. There are among the Yemenites those called Dardaim. And Dordekim. These are people who do not accept Kabbalah, Rambamists. Incidentally, know that this is considered denial in every respect. Whoever denies even one thing of the Holy Torah has no share in the World to Come. Denying one thing. And this was transmitted to us by the supremely holy ones, by the Ramban, by the holy Arizal, by all the holy ones we have had until today. So who can... yes, but they say it is not Rabbi Shimon. Do you understand? So who can come and deny this? No matter. For our purposes, the evil inclination begins with the less founded things. What will he tell you, it is not written in the Torah, this is written. After that he moves from there to the Oral Torah. Listen, the Oral Torah was passed from father to son, you see it is not written matters, only after that, you know when something passes from mouth to ear, there are corruptions along the way, a broken telephone, who knows what they added in the middle, what the sages removed. After he dissolves these foundations too, then he approaches the Written Torah. Who said it, what are the proofs, maybe it can be understood differently from what is written in the Torah, until he touches the foundations themselves and denies the Written Torah.
Therefore, says the Gaon of Vilna, pay attention that here the prophet turns to them and tells them in the name of Hashem, see that the evil inclination did this to you, that at first "make the heart of this people fat." The evil inclination fattened the heart. What did we say the heart is? Kabbalah, the hidden Torah. Afterward "their ears heavy." From there he continues, he does not stop. He goes to the Oral Torah, which is the ears. And afterward "their eyes shut." And then also what is seen with the eyes, the Written Torah, on this too, as it were, he has comments and objections. Why? And he says the evil inclination is concerned. Why does the evil inclination do this? Because the evil inclination is concerned and fears "lest they see with their eyes." He is concerned lest they see with their eyes. What did we say this is? The Written Torah. Lest he learn the Written Torah, and afterward from this "hear with their ears," continue to the Oral Torah and rise even higher. And afterward from this continue to "their heart understand," which is the Torah of secrets. "And they return and be healed." Through this he will do an excellent repentance as befits. And note, here he arranges the levels, for here he arranges how the learner learns. Does the learner jump to Kabbalah? No. Rather, what is the way of the learner? Written Torah, Oral Torah, Kabbalah. Therefore the evil inclination is concerned. What is he concerned about? Lest they see with their eyes the Written Torah, hear with their ears, then learn the Talmud and Midrashim, and afterward their heart understand, learn the Kabbalah, and through this they return and be healed. This the evil inclination fears. It thus turns out that the matters here are arranged in a fair order. This is according to the Gaon of Vilna.
The Malbim says the reading of the pasuk is thus. When the Malbim says the reading of the pasuk is thus, its meaning is, I will give you a correct reading of the pasuk so that you understand it correctly. For however you read the matters, it may be that you are not reading them correctly, and as is known, they say in the yeshiva world that a correct reading is half of understanding. A person who takes the Gemara and does not read correctly, then the chances that he will understand are nil. But if at least it is read to him correctly, the commas, the periods are placed, it is said in the correct manner, then there is a chance he will understand. The reading of the pasuk is thus. "Go and say, hear indeed, but do not understand." The meaning is, do not say "understand." And say, tell them, see indeed, but be careful, and do not say "know." Lest they see with their eyes and return and be healed. Let us explain. There are Jews, there are situations of people with whom it is impossible to speak. Why is it impossible to speak with them? Because they have blocked themselves off. How? He tells you, look, if I go to sermons, if I go to lectures, if I hear ethical talks, it is dangerous, I might even do teshuvah. So I do not take risks, I do not come in the first place. I do not come from the start. This obligates, he does not want to obligate himself. Therefore in advance, tell him, listen, just listen. No, don't do anything, they won't tell you to put on tefillin or keep Shabbat, just listen to what these religious people have to say. No, no, leave it, these religious people are dangerous, you might listen to them, for they draw me toward religion. And he is concerned that if he only listens, he will be drawn, he is not willing even to listen. The Malbim says, this was the situation of that generation. And they are indeed right, for it is written, "hear, and your soul shall live." Just by hearing, it already revives the soul. The soul is already drawn. The Holy One, Blessed be He, tells him, I know the situation of the generation. And the situation of the generation is that if you give them ethical reproof and try to return them in repentance, they will distance themselves. Therefore, says the Holy One, Blessed be He, you must approach them with wisdom. And Hashem's counsel is correct, by the way, also for our generation. Hashem tells him, when you come to speak to them, tell them simply, hear indeed. Tell them simply, see indeed. And not, what is the continuation of the pasuk? Hear indeed and do not say "understand." What is "understand"? See indeed and do not say "know." Do not tell them "know." What is "know"? This is drawing conclusions. Hear indeed, "understand" means, so understand that you are not acting correctly. So know now that you are mistaken in your way. They will flee. They will flee, without drawing conclusions. Give a sermon without drawing conclusions. Let each one understand the conclusion himself. If you draw conclusions for him, at the next sermon he will no longer be there. He will no longer be willing to listen to you. Therefore Hashem tells him, if you say to this people hear indeed, just hear what I have to say. I do not give you ethical reproof, I do not reprove you, I do not bring you to the point of "understand." Just hear indeed. Just see indeed. I will not bring you to the point of "know," now draw conclusions, so, what will you already do tomorrow? Will you put on tefillin tomorrow? Will you keep Shabbat tomorrow? No. Leave the drawing of conclusions to him. For if you come and tell them with the conclusions, he says you will gain "lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and their heart understand." Perhaps by your saying it this way, perhaps ultimately he will see with his eyes, he will already see with his eyes on his own. And perhaps through this ultimately he will hear with his ears. And perhaps through this ultimately also his heart will understand. And then you will not have driven him away. He gave you the possibility to speak, he heard the matters, it does not act immediately, but perhaps, says Hashem, perhaps he will see with his eyes, perhaps he will hear with his ears, perhaps ultimately his heart will understand.
Why do I tell you not to say to them "understand" and "know"? Because He says, I know the heart of the people, for "make the heart of this people fat." Their heart is fat, there is no wisdom and understanding in them. And for this reason "their ears heavy," for this reason their ears also became heavy, they are not willing to hear. For this reason too "their eyes shut." Their eyes have already become sealed and smooth, they are not willing to see. And if they hear that in your words there is understanding, there is wisdom, there is intellect, there is knowledge, they will not be willing to hear. They will not be willing to come and listen. But only by your telling them just hear indeed, without conclusions, without "understand" and "know," perhaps through this they will see with their eyes and consequently their heart will understand. Now what is the order? Why does he first speak of seeing, then hearing, then understanding? The Malbim says, because he is speaking of the order of attaining knowledge of the Creator. The order of attaining knowledge of the Creator is first that a person sees with his eyes. "Lift up your eyes on high and see who created these." A person contemplates the heavens, contemplates the earth, contemplates the human body, this everyone can see. You do not need a microscope, you do not need to be a scientist, you do not need to be a great sage. Anyone who contemplates the beauty of creation and the order of creation must reach the conclusion that there is someone who created the world. "The heavens declare the glory of God." Just listen. Just contemplate, just look, you can already see that someone created the world, it did not create itself. Afterward, there is also what I received from my parents, that my father received from his parents, this is the tradition from generation to generation. So at first there is the seeing, afterward the hearing. And the third thing is through the proofs of intellect and reason, this is already in the category of knowledge. Therefore the third thing is "their eyes," sorry, it is "their heart understand." What I already understand, proofs and demonstrations that are more philosophical, more profound, in order to know the existence of the Creator. Therefore he says thus, perhaps you will reprove them in the simple way as we said, without approaching practical conclusions with them, perhaps through this they will see. And by virtue of this they will hear, and afterward they will understand.
So if so, let us ask, then why at first did he say the opposite? Why at first did he say "hear indeed but do not understand, and see indeed but do not know"? He says, at first he tells them hear indeed, I request that you hear, meaning accept what you received from previous generations. And if not this, then at least see. For at the very least one must begin the opposite way. According to the Malbim's order he should first say see, this is what everyone sees. After that hear, what you receive from your father. Why did he reverse the order? The Malbim says, at first he reversed the order because at first he approached them at a high level. And if not this, then at least see. At least what everyone is capable of seeing. If you are not capable of hearing, then at least see, perhaps through this the matters will change your deeds.
And he says, "How long, Hashem?" "And He said, Until cities are laid waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land is utterly desolate." What is the question "how long"? We saw three interpretations. We saw the Radak, we saw an additional interpretation in the Radak, and we saw the Malbim, and according to this we will now explain. How long? According to the first interpretation of the Radak, for He told him I prevent them from the ways of repentance. They will hear, they will see, but they will not understand. I prevent them from the ways of repentance. He asks the Master of the Universe, how long will You prevent them from the ways of repentance? Will You never accept them in repentance? For they have already been struck for their sin, how long? The Holy One, Blessed be He, tells him, until their kingdom shall be that cities are laid waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land is utterly desolate, then it will be possible to begin to hear them. And this fits according to the first interpretation. For in the first interpretation, what does it mean that Hashem is not willing for him to return in repentance? Does Hashem oppose his returning? No. Rather, Hashem opposes your getting off cheaply without paying a price. This Hashem is not willing to allow. After you have increased greatly in wickedness, you must already receive what you deserve. Therefore He says, after they receive what they deserve, the account will be closed, from then they will want to, they will be able to return in repentance, and then I will accept them. According to the second interpretation, that Hashem does not promise that they will not hear, but rather this is a description of the situation, they do not hear. They hear, they do not want to understand. According to the second interpretation that the Radak explained, he asks Him, how long will they behave in this manner? How long will they harden their hearts and not be willing to hear and understand? The Holy One, Blessed be He, tells him, I know, according to what is revealed to me, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, knows all the hidden things, I know that in practice they will not listen to you until cities are laid waste without inhabitant. Until the land is exiled, until it is a great desolation, until then they will not listen. According to the Malbim, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, told him not to speak with them practically. Speak with them theoretically, right? Do not tell them, so do, so establish, for we said they will not be willing to accept. So according to the Malbim the question is how long? How long will I speak with them in such a language that is not a language of reproof, that is not a language that says clearly how one must act and fulfill mitzvot practically and distance oneself from transgressions? How long am I supposed to speak with them in such a language of hear indeed without telling them understand? Shall I tell them see indeed without telling them know? How long am I supposed to speak in such a language? How long will they be straying from the path and I will have to speak with them in smooth language? The Holy One, Blessed be He, tells him, you will prophesy to them thus and they will not understand, how long? Until their cities are destroyed. Until there remains among them everything written here, that they will be like a terebinth and an oak. Only then will they hear. Only then will they understand. At first, when you speak with them in such a language, He tells him, know this, the matters will not penetrate them. When will the matters ultimately affect them? When they see the matters coming in practice. And this is what He tells him, until cities are laid waste without inhabitant. He arranges here the disasters that will occur according to their order. At first the cities will be destroyed, but houses will still remain. In the second stage, "and houses without man," the houses too will be destroyed. But there will still remain such shepherds, tents in the wildernesses. But after that, in the third stage, "and the land is utterly desolate." The moment the land is desolate, then even flocks cannot be grazed there. And consequently no one will remain in all the mountains of Judah.
"And Hashem shall remove man far away, and great shall be the abandonment in the midst of the land." "And Hashem shall remove man far away," this is the ten tribes whom the king of Assyria will exile. And do not think that he will exile them to a nearby place. Chalach, Chavor, the river of Gozan. He tells him, no, there is no longer a chance that they will return, Hashem will distance them, the river of Gozan, that is Media. "And great shall be the abandonment," also those who will remain here of the poorest of the people, of the poorest of the land, who will be vinedressers and farmers, ultimately they too will abandon the land on their own, for the land will be utterly desolate.
"And yet in it a tenth, and it shall return and be consumed; like a terebinth and like an oak, whose trunk remains when they are felled, the holy seed shall be its trunk." "And yet in it a tenth." What is "in it a tenth"? According to the Radak the meaning is that ten more kings will yet reign in the land from the time of this prophecy. "And yet in it a tenth," there is yet a tenfold of kings. This prophecy was in the year of the death of King Uzziah, and he saw Hashem sitting on the throne. Regarding this the Radak says, make the calculation: Yotam, Achaz, Chizkiyahu, Menasheh, Amon, Yoshiyahu, Yehoachaz, Yehoyachin, Yehoyakim, Tzidkiyahu. We have reached ten kings. Ten more kings, and "yet in it a tenth," and afterward "and it shall return and be consumed," meaning the land will burn from within itself, they will all be consumed and exiled and Yerushalayim will be destroyed. Another explanation, this is what the Targum Yonatan says, and along its way the Malbim also proceeds, "and yet in it a tenth," and there shall remain in it one of ten. And there shall remain in it a tenth. "And yet in it a tenth," there will yet remain in it one of ten. And what is the one of ten? The Malbim explains, one part of ten is the tribe of Yehudah. For the tribe of Yehudah, as it were, for whenever we count, we count the ten tribes and the tribe of Yehudah. Even though Yehudah includes two within it, but it is the central one, and especially since Binyamin greatly diminished in the incident of the concubine at Givah, so it is the central one, we count it as the main one. So it is like a tenth of the ten tribes who were exiled. "And yet in it a tenth," one of ten will remain, that is, in total only one tribe will remain here, which is one of ten of those who have already been exiled. And now he comes and tells him, "and it shall be for consuming, like a terebinth and like an oak." He compared them to trees, terebinth and oak, which have many leaves. And in autumn, that is, in winter, the leaves wither. What remains? What remains is "whose trunk remains when they are felled." What remains is only the trunk. The stalk, the root. How does the Targum put it? "And it shall be felled and standing." What remains is the stalk, as it were the roots remain. Like a terebinth and like an oak whose leaves are felled, all the leaves fall, but "their trunk remains," the root still remains. So too the wicked, these are the husks, these are the leaves, they will wither. What will remain? "Their trunk remains." "Their trunk remains" are the few righteous, they are the ones who will remain. And this is the answer to the question Yeshayahu asked, Master of the Universe, how long? He says, until the wicked are consumed and the righteous remain. And the analogy in this is like the terebinth and the oak, in which too at the time of felling only the trunk remains, which is the root and the stem. And why? "The holy seed shall be its trunk." This is the reason, since the trunk, those who remain, they will be the holy seed. This is the generation of Chizkiyahu, the generation of Chizkiyahu who returned to Hashem with all their heart, they are the ones who will ultimately remain. There is another explanation, the Radak brings, what is "whose trunk remains when they are felled (bashaleches)"? The Radak says shaleches is one of the names of the gates that were in the Beit HaMikdash. The Gate of Shaleches is mentioned in Divrei HaYamim. There terebinth and oak were planted, and he wished to make an analogy, so he says like a terebinth and like an oak that are in the Shaleches, that are in the Gate of Shaleches. Like them, so shall be the condition of the people of Israel who will remain isolated out of all that dense forest, that great people that was, only like a terebinth and an oak in the Gate of Shaleches, which are like two examples of two solitary trees; so, as it were, a relative portion of the people of Israel will remain.