Introduction: The Holy One Blessed Be He Responds to the Prophet's Cry
Chapter 64 concluded with Isaiah's heartfelt cry: "Will You restrain Yourself at these things, Hashem? Will You remain silent and afflict us beyond measure?" - will You continue to keep silent? According to the Malbim, the intent is: Master of the World, when will You answer us "beyond measure", an answer that completely satisfies our question? The Malbim explains that following these words, the prophet was overcome with emotion, as it were; he ceased his poetic discourse, the strings of the harp of prophecy fell silent, a great pause ensued, and he returned to silence. Our chapter, the next chapter, is the response to that cry.
נִדְרַשְׁתִּי לְלוֹא שָׁאָלוּ, נִמְצֵאתִי לְלֹא בִקְשֻׁנִי, אָמַרְתִּי הִנֵּנִי הִנֵּנִי אֶל גּוֹי לֹא קֹרָא בִשְׁמִי׃ - I made Myself accessible to those who did not ask, I was found by those who did not seek Me; I said, 'Here I am, here I am,' to a nation that was not called by My name.
Even before delving into the explanation, it is worth noting that this verse is very well known from rabbinic responsa (She'elot U'Teshuvot) literature. Typically, responsa works are structured around an individual posing a question to a scholar, who responds, and the exchanges are subsequently published. Sometimes, however, the question arises within the scholar himself, and he presents it in his work in the form of a question and answer. In such cases, responsa frequently open with the phrase "I made myself accessible to those who did not ask" - meaning: I addressed this issue even though no one asked me, and therefore I will write a teshuva on it. This is the origin of the idiom.
As for the prophecy itself: The Holy One Blessed Be He answers the prophet - you ask why I remain silent, why I do not answer you? In truth, I made Myself accessible to them through My prophets, but "they did not ask" - they did not come to inquire of the prophet through whom I made Myself accessible to them. They were not interested at all. Furthermore, "I was found by those who did not seek Me" - I am readily found by a nation that did not seek Me, and I stand and call to them, "Here I am, here I am," and even this is to no avail. Is this nation willing to seek, ask, and inquire after Me, when I Myself cry out to them: "Here I am, I am already here, you do not need to search for Me"? And finally, "to a nation that was not called by My name" - this nation does not even want to be called by My name; they do not wish to be called the people of the God of Israel. What are we? Just one of the nations of the world, and nothing more.
The Malbim carefully analyzes the distinction between the two halves of the verse. "I made Myself accessible" (nidrashti) refers to an inquiry: when someone asks concerning the word of Hashem, such as one who inquires through the Urim V'Tumim or through a prophet, the Holy One Blessed Be He makes Himself accessible to him - meaning He is ready to establish contact and respond. By contrast, "seeking" (bakashah) pertains to something that is lost, as in the verse, "I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant" - the seeker searches for what he has lost and finds it. Therefore, the Holy One Blessed Be He says, "I was found": you have lost something, namely the Master of the World Himself, yet I am readily found - except that they do not seek. Divine Providence has been lost to them, yet they do not search for it and do not wish to know where Hashem is. They have replacements, as we will see immediately.
I Spread Out My Hands All the Day
פֵּרַשְׂתִּי יָדַי כָּל הַיּוֹם אֶל עַם סוֹרֵר, הַהֹלְכִים הַדֶּרֶךְ לֹא טוֹב אַחַר מַחְשְׁבֹתֵיהֶם׃ - I have spread out My hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts.
Radak explains "I spread out My hands" - to receive them in teshuvah, yet the people do not come. "A way that is not good" means an evil way, but the verse employs a euphemism. The Malbim explains that it was I who went to them; I sought them and I reached out to them: like a person waiting for his friend to come to him, who sees he is not arriving, and begins stretching out his hands in every direction to search for where he might be. And not just once or twice, but "all the day." And did it help? It was "to a rebellious people," a defiant nation that constantly follows the way that is not good, pursuing their evil thoughts. They constantly deliberate and contemplate which path to choose, and in the end, their thoughts always lead them to the very same conclusion: the evil path.
Those Who Provoke Me to My Face - Sins in Secret
הָעָם הַמַּכְעִסִים אֹתִי עַל פָּנַי תָּמִיד, זֹבְחִים בַּגַּנּוֹת וּמְקַטְּרִים עַל הַלְּבֵנִים׃ - The people who provoke Me to My face continually, who sacrifice in gardens and burn incense upon bricks.
Now the verse describes what they actually did. I made Myself accessible to them, I turned to them and sent them My prophets, yet they did not seek Me. And what did they seek? To provoke. They would erect idols in their gardens and sacrifice there, burning incense upon heated bricks. Radak explains that "to My face" means even in My House, in Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash, where they committed their abominations directly before Me; and "in gardens" means under every leafy tree. And "burn incense upon bricks" - when they fired the bricks, they would burn incense upon them for idolatry. Radak does not explain the reason for this, but the straightforward sense is in order to dedicate the house from its inception to idolatry: from the very moment the bricks from which the house will be built are fired in the kiln, the firing itself was dedicated to idolatry, and the incense burned upon it was for idolatry. We will see another manifestation of this further on.
The Malbim adds a fundamental insight that runs throughout this entire passage: it is not enough that they sin, but they do so provocatively, specifically so that I will see and be angered. How so? They do not want to practice idolatry publicly, since outwardly they present themselves as pious, upright people. Therefore, they burned incense upon the bricks - in the courtyard, in an interior place, and not on the outdoor altars, so that people would not notice them. The result is: whom are they angering? It is as if they commit their sins only before Me and before no one else, purely to provoke My anger. This is the meaning of "before My face": this matter is strictly between You and us, for no one else is aware of it.
הַיֹּשְׁבִים בַּקְּבָרִים וּבַנְּצוּרִים יָלִינוּ, הָאֹכְלִים בְּשַׂר הַחֲזִיר וּמְרַק פִּגֻּלִים כְּלֵיהֶם׃ - Who sit among the graves and lodge in secluded places; who eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels.
Rashi explains "who sit among the graves" - they would sit in the grave because a spirit of impurity rests in the grave, and there the demons come, reveal themselves to them, and tell them the future. And netzirim (secluded places) refers to the corpses of the dead, so called because they are confined (matzor) inside the grave and cannot leave. Radak explains "who sit among the graves" as consulting the dead (necromancy) - not demons, as Rashi explained, but rather seeking that the dead reveal themselves to them. This is one of the forbidden practices, for it is prohibited to go sleep in a cemetery so that the dead will appear to him. Radak also cites Targum Yonatan, which aligns with what was explained earlier: "De-yattivin be-vattei di-venan mei-afar kivrayya" - who dwell in houses that they built from the soil of graves. Here again is the same concept: they wanted the house to be built from its very foundation with that spirit of impurity, and therefore they took earth from graves and used it as mortar to build the house.
"And lodge in secluded places" - they would spend the night in ruins. Now, it is well known that one is forbidden to enter a ruin because demons dwell there, yet they went there specifically, since that is where harmful spirits are visible. It is explained in the book Bemishnat HaGilgulim that demons (shedim) are named thus because they are always found in a ruined, devastated place (shod) - in ruins, deserts, and desolate places untrodden by human feet. Therefore, they went to dwell in ruins so that the forces of impurity would reveal themselves to them there. "Who eat swine's flesh" - violating the Torah's prohibition against eating pig. "And broth of abominable things" - piggulim includes other non-kosher animals, lest one think they were content with pig alone; rather, they ate whatever came to hand, anything that moved.
And what is marak (broth)? As in the verse, "and pour out the broth." As is sometimes quipped in jest: a husband comes home and asks his wife what there is for lunch. She says, "Marak" (soup). He responds: "Mah, rak?" (What, only that?). But in truth, the sources explain that marak is so called because it is the meruk (cleansing/rendering) of the meat - that which is rendered, extracted, and cleansed from the meat. Radak notes that the rendering of the meat was discernible upon their vessels, meaning the fat and broth extracted from the meat; anyone who looked at their pots could recognize that swine's flesh and abominable meats had been cooked in them. Thus, according to Radak, even if someone wanted to cover it up, he could not, for the evidence was sealed and visibly ingrained upon his vessels.
The Malbim continues the approach he began: outwardly they project a respectable image of pious people, and only in secret do they commit all their abominations. "Graves" are human burial sites, while "secluded places" (netzirim) refers to the filthy dumping grounds where animal carcasses are discarded, as in the verse, "cast out of your grave like an abhorred carcass" - like a beast thrown into a pit. They would go there to hide from people, for they did not want anyone to see them transgressing, and there they would eat swine's flesh where no one could see. "And broth of abominable things is in their vessels" - their vessels have absorbed the broth of forbidden foods; they eat forbidden foods in an impure place, concealed from human eyes. And who sees this? Only the Holy One, blessed be He. As it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I see that their vessels are saturated with the abominations of swine and other repulsive filth, for they do everything in hiding.
"Keep to Yourself, Do Not Come Near Me" - The Height of Hypocrisy
הָאֹמְרִים קְרַב אֵלֶיךָ אַל תִּגַּשׁ בִּי כִּי קְדַשְׁתִּיךָ, אֵלֶּה עָשָׁן בְּאַפִּי אֵשׁ יֹקֶדֶת כָּל הַיּוֹם׃ - Who say: "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you." These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.
Matters reached such an extreme: when a true tzaddik, who is nothing like them, comes close to them, they tell him: Stay where you are, do not come too close - "for I am holier than you (ki kedashticha)"; I am holier than you are, beware lest you touch me and defile me. The Malbim explains that despite all the impurities with which they defile themselves in secret, they present themselves as holy and pure before people, to the point that they say to the folk: Do not approach me, for kedashticha. However, the Malbim explains the word kedashticha differently: we find regarding the Altar, "whatever touches the altar shall become holy," meaning that if an invalid sacrifice is brought onto it - not all invalid sacrifices, but many of them - it remains fit for offering, for the Altar is so holy that it sanctifies whatever touches it. So too here: he considers himself so holy that whoever touches him becomes holy like him - you will become sanctified the moment you touch me, and you are impure, so how dare you come and touch the holy?
And regarding this appalling hypocrisy, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: "These are smoke in My nostrils" - like smoke entering a person's nose and choking his breath; "a fire that burns all the day" - all day long, anger burns, as it were, before Me because of their terrible deeds.
"Behold, It Is Written Before Me" - Writing That Is Not for Distant Memory
הִנֵּה כְתוּבָה לְפָנָי, לֹא אֶחֱשֶׁה כִּי אִם שִׁלַּמְתִּי וְשִׁלַּמְתִּי עַל חֵיקָם׃ - Behold, it is written before Me; I will not keep silent, but will repay, and repay into their bosom.
Rashi explains: their sin is written before Me, their judgment has already been decreed and sealed - just as exile indeed occurred later on. Radak explains that the writing signifies that the matter will not be quickly erased, but will be perpetually remembered. "Until I have repaid and repaid" - what is the repetition? A double repayment: I will repay them completely for the evil of their fathers joined together with their own evils, as explained in the following verse. And "I will repay into their bosom" - although I will ultimately mete out retribution to the children after them, nevertheless now I will repay the fathers themselves, directly into their own bosom.
The Malbim adds a beautiful explanation: sometimes a person writes something down to remember it for many generations, after long years, and sometimes he writes it down to act upon it immediately - placing a note before him: remember to take care of this and that matter. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: the writing before Me is not for a distant remembrance, but rather "I will not be silent until I have repaid" - through this writing, I will continually be aroused and will not keep silent until I repay them the punishment due to them. Nor will I repay only into the bosom of their children, but the retribution will be into their own bosom, to themselves directly.
עֲוֺנֹתֵיכֶם וַעֲוֺנֹת אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם יַחְדָּו אָמַר ה', אֲשֶׁר קִטְּרוּ עַל הֶהָרִים וְעַל הַגְּבָעוֹת חֵרְפוּנִי, וּמַדֹּתִי פְעֻלָּתָם רִאשֹׁנָה אֶל חֵיקָם׃ - "Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together, said Hashem, who burned incense upon the mountains and reviled Me upon the hills; therefore I will measure their first reward into their bosom."
Both your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers join together, and these iniquities prolong the exile. "Who burned incense upon the mountains and reviled Me upon the hills" - for they served idols and blasphemed Hashem, as I commanded not to worship idols, and whoever worships idols denies the fundamental principle of faith. Radak explains "therefore I will measure their first reward into their bosom" - at first, I will measure their deed, their evil deeds, and grant them punishment corresponding to them into their bosom: first to the fathers, and later to the children as well. Thus we find "I will repay and repay": the first "into their bosom" refers to the fathers, and "and I will repay" extends to their children as well, who will also be stricken for the iniquity of their fathers. The reason, as Chazal explain, applies when they cling to the deeds of their fathers, for then their sins combine with the sins of the fathers, and they are punished on account of their fathers as well.
The Malbim interprets this in the opposite direction: from Radak it implies that the address is to the fathers - you will pay and so will your children; whereas from the Malbim it implies that the sinners addressed here are the children - you will pay, and also for your fathers. And this is the difference between the generations: the sin of the fathers was out in the open, "they burned incense upon the mountains" - they stood upon the mountains and offered incense to idols; "and reviled Me upon the hills" - upon the hill beneath the mountain they stood to blaspheme and revile. Ahab placed an idol upon every single furrow. They did nothing in secret, neither in gardens, nor among tombs, nor in hidden places like you do, worshiping idols in secret. Therefore, you will bear the sin of your fathers as well.
However, regarding "therefore I will measure their first reward into their bosom" - initially, the Malbim explains, I will measure out specifically to the children, and not to the fathers as Radak interpreted: for what you yourselves have done out of hypocrisy, you will receive first, and afterward I will repay them for the iniquity of their fathers as well. The reason is that their sins are worse than the sins of their fathers. Although the sins of the fathers were severe, upon the mountains and under every luxuriant tree, nevertheless they were committed openly; but you act in secret, presenting yourselves outwardly as righteous, and the people are misled by you, assuming you are upright and decent, while your sins are carried out in concealment.
And so we find in the generation of Yoshiyahu. Yoshiyahu was confident that he could go out and wage war against the king of Egypt, believing his generation to be righteous. What he did not know was that when the men he sent to inspect the houses for idols arrived, the inhabitants let them in, and they searched every corner without finding a thing. What did they not realize? That the idol was engraved on the back of the door; when the door was opened, its image was hidden against the wall, so the inspector searched and saw nothing, and when the door was closed, the idol returned to view. It was for this sin that Yoshiyahu was ultimately killed, as it says, "The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Hashem, was captured in their pits" - in their corrupt sins. As explained in depth regarding Megillat Eichah on the verse "How is the gold become dim," which Yirmiyahu composed concerning Yoshiyahu on this matter. Thus, their sin was far more severe because it was done in secret: when sins are committed openly, people at least know that there is something to correct; but when sins are hidden, Yoshiyahu was certain that the people were righteous - having dispatched inspection patrols for idol worship, who all reported that everything was clean. What was truly happening? That he did not know.
As the New Wine Is Found in the Cluster
כֹּה אָמַר ה', כַּאֲשֶׁר יִמָּצֵא הַתִּירוֹשׁ בָּאֶשְׁכּוֹל וְאָמַר אַל תַּשְׁחִיתֵהוּ כִּי בְרָכָה בּוֹ, כֵּן אֶעֱשֶׂה לְמַעַן עֲבָדַי לְבִלְתִּי הַשְׁחִית הַכֹּל׃ - "Thus said Hashem: As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, 'Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it,' so will I do for the sake of My servants, that I may not destroy all."
Rashi cites the homily of Chazal, which is also the rendering of Targum Yonatan: "Just as Noach was found righteous in the generation of the Flood." The new wine is Noach, who was sweet; "in the cluster" - in the bereaved generation, from the word for bereavement. It was a generation of bereavement, and who was the sole sweet wine within it? Noach. It is also possible he was specifically compared to wine because Noach, upon exiting the Ark, planted a vineyard. Here, however, it is stated in praise: he was the sweet fruit in the bereaved generation. "And one says, 'Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it'" - do not destroy Noach, for a blessing is in him; there is good reason for a continuing generation to arise from him. "So will I do for the sake of My servants" - so will I do for the sake of each and every righteous person found among them, and in their merit I will not destroy all.
Radak explains that these words are addressed to the people of the exile: do not despair of redemption on account of My stating that I will exact punishment from you, and do not say that we have nothing left to look forward to. Even so, I will not abandon you, and in any event I will bring you out of exile. I compare you to a cluster: when a cluster of grapes ripens and is fit to produce new wine - that is, to press wine from its grapes - if someone comes to destroy it, his companion says to him, "Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it," since wine can be produced from it. And if you say, does it not contain seeds and skins and parts that are not good? Nevertheless, spare it for the sake of the wine, for the sake of the good that emerges from it. So it is with the Jewish people: they contain skins, they contain seeds, they contain sinners, and yet the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I am sparing this cluster, because from it can emerge new wine, wine that brings blessing to the world. And as stated in the prophecy of Yechezkel, "And I will purge out from among you the rebels and those who transgress against Me" - He will sift out and remove the wicked, and what remains will be the new wine, the finest vintage.
The Malbim sees here the culmination of the entire prophecy, a prophecy concerning the future that explains why the exile is prolonged for so long and why the Jewish people have not yet been redeemed. His answer: the exile is long because you do not yet possess merit. He announces that ultimately the transgressors of Israel will be punished and the righteous will be the ones who remain, as it is written, "And I will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested," and "Two parts in it shall be cut off and die" - harsh words - and those who remain will be specifically those who hold fast to the service of Hashem. According to the Malbim as well, this is a parable, though not about pressing wine per se: if an entire vine has become corrupted and produced wild grapes, but one uncorrupted cluster is found on it, the owner of the vine says, "Do not destroy it" - do not uproot the entire vine; rather, leave it alone, for it still bears grapes. Even though most of its fruit consists of wild grapes entirely unfit to eat, it nevertheless possesses one cluster of good grapes, and for its sake the vine will remain. So, as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, preserves the vine that is the Jewish people, for the sake of those righteous individuals who correspond to that cluster.
"And I Will Bring Forth Seed out of Jacob"
וְהוֹצֵאתִי מִיַּעֲקֹב זֶרַע וּמִיהוּדָה יוֹרֵשׁ הָרָי, וִירֵשׁוּהָ בְחִירַי וַעֲבָדַי יִשְׁכְּנוּ שָׁמָּה׃ - And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains; and My chosen shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there.
"And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob" - that blessing will emerge from him, a seed worthy of Jacob; and "Jacob" here refers to the Ten Tribes, from whom I will bring forth good seed. "And out of Judah" - the tribe of Judah always includes Benjamin, and they were the last to be exiled, and from them I will bring forth an inheritor. "My mountains" refers to the mountains of Judah, and they will inherit them. "And My chosen shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there" - the chosen ones, those who walked in the path of Hashem, are the ones who will establish a permanent dwelling there in the place where redemption will unfold: in the Mishkan, in the Beis HaMikdash, and in Jerusalem.
The Radak notes that the verse mentions both exiles - both Judah, meaning Judah and Benjamin, and Jacob, meaning the Ten Tribes - indicating that they should not despair of redemption. There is a dispute in the Gemara as to whether the Ten Tribes are destined to return or not, and here the verse comes to inform them that they are indeed destined to return: "And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob" - they too will return and inherit. And the mountains of Hashem, Mount Zion and the Temple Mount, will once again be rebuilt. Thus, the redemption will certainly take place, though first there will be clarification, refinement, and purging, and ultimately it will come to pass.
In summary:
Our chapter is the response of the Holy One, Blessed is He, to the prophet's outcry, "Will You restrain Yourself and afflict us beyond measure?": It is not that I am silent, but rather that you do not ask and do not seek. I made Myself accessible to those who did not ask, I was found by those who did not seek Me, I spread out My hands all day long and they did not come. Instead, they chose idolatry, and especially - according to the Malbim - idolatry conducted in secret, in gardens, among graves, and in hidden places, all while displaying a righteous facade to the outside world, reaching the height of hypocrisy: "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you." A sin committed in secret is graver than an open sin, for with open sin people know there is something to correct, whereas in secret no one knows - as in the episode of Yoshiyahu and the idol hidden behind the door. Therefore, "behold, it is written before Me," a record not for distant remembrance but for immediate retribution, and the iniquities of the children join with the iniquities of the fathers. And even so, the prophecy concludes with consolation: just as when new wine is found in a cluster one does not destroy the entire vine, so too in the merit of the righteous not everything will be destroyed. Rather, there will be clarification and refinement, seed will go forth from Jacob and Judah, and His chosen ones and servants will inherit the holy mountains.