Introduction: The Chapter Following "Behold, Hashem Comes Forth from His Place"
The previous chapter concluded with the prophecy, "For behold, Hashem comes forth from His place to punish the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth upon him; and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." Chapter 27 continues that very theme: it speaks of that future time when the Holy One, blessed be He, will exact retribution from the nations. After exacting retribution from the nations, the prophet turns to describe the state of the Jewish people on that day - as a choicest vineyard that the Holy One, blessed be He, guards and waters - and finally to the ingathering of the exiles and the sounding of the great shofar.
Pasuk 1: The Harsh, Great, and Strong Sword
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִפְקֹד יְהֹוָה בְּחַרְבּוֹ הַקָּשָׁה וְהַגְּדוֹלָה וְהַחֲזָקָה עַל לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ בָּרִחַ וְעַל לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ עֲקַלָּתוֹן וְהָרַג אֶת־הַתַּנִּין אֲשֶׁר בַּיָּם׃ - On that day, Hashem will punish with His harsh, great, and strong sword Leviathan the straight serpent and Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Rashi explains: "Leviathan the straight serpent" refers to Egypt; "Leviathan the twisting serpent" refers to Assyria; and "He will slay the dragon that is in the sea" refers to the one dwelling in the heart of the seas, the Kittim, who are called the islands of the sea. Radak explains that this will be fulfilled during the war of Gog and Magog.
The Malbim, in his characteristic approach, analyzes the three descriptions of the sword, which correspond to three distinct forms of strength. "Harsh" (kashah) refers to the quality of the iron itself, a material so hard and dense that it can shatter any other material. "Great" (gedolah) refers to length; something could be long without being hard, which is why Scripture adds that the sword is both formidable in its hardness and long. "Strong" (chazakah) refers to force, thickness, and weight. For a material could be hard yet thin, or hard yet sparse; therefore, Scripture states that this hard material will also be both long, heavy, and thick, making its power vastly greater.
Corresponding to the three types of strength in the sword stand three creatures, each aligned against one of them. The harsh sword is wielded against "Leviathan the straight serpent" (nachash bariach), the giant sea creature that stretches like a crossbar (bariach) across the sea. A bariach means something that runs from one end to the other, like the middle bar of the Mishkan, which locked the planks together from end to end and miraculously bent around the corners. This Leviathan is named so because it lies across the sea like a fortified wall extending the entire distance, permitting no one to pass through.
The great sword is directed against "Leviathan the twisting serpent" (nachash akalaton), a long serpent-like fish in the sea that coils itself around the globe. Because it is so long, it requires the great - that is, exceptionally long - sword, and the long sword of the Creator of the universe will overcome it as well.
The strong sword, which is heavy and thick, is directed against "the dragon that is in the sea." Leviathan cannot be killed with an ordinary sword, and it is exceedingly difficult to slay it even with arrows; but an extremely heavy and powerful sword can defeat it. The Malbim notes that some identify tannin as the crocodile, and in any case, as he explains, the interpretation fits seamlessly according to all approaches.
The Parable's Meaning: Three Types of National Might
All this is an allegory, and its deeper meaning speaks to three types of national strength and might. There is a nation whose strength lies in the fortified nature of its land: an impenetrable terrain, towering mountains, and insurmountable fortresses. This is the "straight serpent" (nachash bariach), which bars access from end to end, leaving no point of entry - much like trying to breach the Great Wall of China. Its inhabitants might not be great warriors, and its territory might not be vast, yet breaking inside is extraordinarily difficult. Against such a nation comes the harsh sword, which will shatter even their most formidable fortifications.
Then there is a nation that has neither formidable walls nor fortified mountains, but it is immense: no matter how many you strike down, millions more rise against you. By virtue of its vast size and massive population, it is extraordinarily difficult to conquer. This is the "twisting serpent" (nachash akalaton), where akalaton denotes sheer length, winding and coiling like a rolled rope. Consider trying to conquer the Soviet Union or China; you do not even know where to begin or where to end. With a small territory, a modest effort yields victory; here, you would need an army of billions attacking from every direction just to conquer half the world.
Then there is a nation that is not particularly large, nor are its cities and fortresses mighty, but its inhabitants are fearless warriors, ready to fight to the last drop of their blood. This is "the monster that is in the sea": it is neither a straight bolt nor a twisting one, but it is a formidable, exceedingly powerful beast. The jaws of a crocodile are among the strongest in nature, with a clamping force of hundreds of kilograms, something truly terrifying; and even according to the commentator who explains it as the Leviathan, it refers to an awe-inspiring creature. In any case, the Holy One, Blessed be He, can overcome all types of nations: those sheltered behind doors, walls, and bars; those that are strong due to their vast size and massive population; and those strong by virtue of the fierce courage of their warriors. Over all of them, on that day, Hashem will visit with His severe, great, and strong sword.
Verse 2: A Vineyard of Foaming Wine - The Reversal of the Song of the Vineyard
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כֶּרֶם חֶמֶר עַנּוּ־לָהּ׃ - On that day, sing of it: "A vineyard of foaming wine!"
On that day, the people of Israel will be likened to a kerem chemer - a vineyard producing wine, whose wine people will drink to their fill, and then they will sing this song about it. This is the exact opposite of the "Song of My Beloved for His Vineyard" that we saw in chapter 5. There, the Holy One, Blessed be He, planted a vineyard, invested in it, and labored over it, "and He hoped it would yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes." Instead of choice wine, He received sour fruit. Here, the prophet declares that in the future it will be precisely the opposite: the vineyard will be an exquisite vineyard producing the finest wine.
What is chemer? The Malbim explains: strong wine, which due to its potency and alcohol content bubbles up as it is poured, as in "and the wine foams (chamar), fully mixed" - it is effervescent. The Radak explains that chemer means red, citing Arabic where red is called ahmar, and red soil is hamra. Thus, kerem chemer is a vineyard of choice wine, which is red wine. Halachah likewise regards red wine as superior to white wine for Kiddush and the Seder night, and as the verse says, "Do not look at wine when it is red" - showing that redness represents quality and prominence. And anu lah ("sing of it") denotes song, as in "and Miriam answered (va-ta'an) them": they will sing to it and say, "A vineyard of foaming red wine!"
Verse 3: I, Hashem, Guard It - Reversing the Punishment
אֲנִי יְהֹוָה נֹצְרָהּ לִרְגָעִים אַשְׁקֶנָּה פֶּן יִפְקֹד עָלֶיהָ לַיְלָה וָיוֹם אֶצֳּרֶנָּה׃ - I, Hashem, guard it; every moment I water it. Lest anything harm it, night and day I watch over it.
This is what the Holy One, Blessed be He, proclaims in the song of the vineyard: I, Hashem, keep and guard the vineyard from any harm coming from outside. The Malbim contrasts this with what was said in chapter 5: "I will remove its hedge and it shall be burned." The Holy One, Blessed be He, had said: I sheltered the vineyard, yet it produced wild grapes; therefore, let its hedge, fence, and protection be removed, and wild beasts will come and devour it. That was their punishment then. But here, when Israel returns to righteousness and piety, Hashem says: "I, Hashem, guard it."
"Every moment I water it" - I will water it at every single moment, not just once a month. This, too, reverses the punishment stated there: "And I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon it," where their punishment was that no rain would fall on that vineyard. When Israel is righteous, I will watch over them constantly, watering them properly so that the vineyard of Israel flourishes as it should.
"Lest anything harm it" (pen yifkod aleha): yifkod here signifies lack or absence, as in "not a man of us was missing" (ve-lo nifkad mimenu ish), and aleha (from aleh) refers to its leaves. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I will provide such meticulous protection that I will ensure not even a single leaf is missing. A vineyard watchman normally guards to ensure the grapes are not missing, and that the branches are not broken, since each branch can produce several clusters; but guarding the leaves as well? Hashem says: I will watch even lest a single leaf be missing. "Night and day I guard it" - around-the-clock protection.
In the allegory: "I guard it" - from external enemies. "Every moment I water it" - this refers to Hashem's constant Providence over us, and to the outpouring of prophecy. For prophecy is likened to the pouring of water: "I will pour out My spirit upon you," as if the Holy One, Blessed be He, pours forth an abundance of divine influence upon us. Similarly, "your sons and daughters shall prophesy... shall dream dreams," and "from your sons I raised prophets, and from your young men, Nazirites" - expressions teaching that in the future, the spirit of Hashem will rest upon the entirety of His people Israel. And not only will I guard the righteous, the great, and the holy, but even the simplest individuals in Israel, who correspond to the leaves - neither fruit nor branches, but mere leaves - even them I will guard like the pupil of My eye: "night and day I guard it."
"Lifkod" - A Verb with Opposite Meanings
The Malbim notes that the root pekidah belongs to the category of contronyms - verbs that bear a meaning and its exact opposite. For example, lehashrish means to take root, while lesharesh means to uproot. Similarly, keles can mean praise, but on the other hand, in the phrase "an object of mockery and derision" (la'ag va-keles), it denotes disgrace. There are many such examples. So too with yifkod: on the one hand it denotes absence, as in "not a single man among us is missing" (lo nifkad mimenu ish), while on the other hand it denotes counting, as in "to count the Children of Israel" (lifkod et Bnei Yisrael). Yet the underlying concept is one: pekidah is the counting of something precious, just as soldiers were numbered before going out to war; later, upon their return, scripture says, "and not a man of us was missing" - none was lacking. On the one hand it means to count and find that everyone is present, and on the other hand, when someone is missing, we say that he is absent (nifkad).
Verse 4: "Fury I have not"
חֵמָה אֵין לִי מִי־יִתְּנֵנִי שָׁמִיר שַׁיִת בַּמִּלְחָמָה אֶפְשְׂעָה בָהּ אֲצִיתֶנָּה יָּחַד׃ - Fury I have not; who would give Me briers and thorns in battle, that I might step through them and set them ablaze together?
According to the Malbim, the vineyard itself is speaking: I harbor no fury toward any nation or tongue; only against anyone who wishes to make me "briers and thorns in battle" - that is, to wage war against me and turn the vineyard into thorns that destroy it, as in the past when it "produced wild grapes." Concerning this it says, "I would step through them and set them ablaze together" - I will step forward in that fury and burn them together: both the one who comes to wage war against me and the briers and thorns. That is, the vineyard says: I do not seek vengeance, but from anyone who seeks to harm the Jewish people, I desire that retribution be exacted.
The Malbim distinguishes between tza'ad (stepping) and pasa (striding a distance). Tza'ad describes the act of walking itself, related to the word pe'amim - pulses, footsteps, as in "How beautiful are your footsteps in sandals" (referring to the strides of the pilgrimage), and "the footsteps of the Messiah" (pa'amei Mashiach), as if his approaching steps can already be heard. By contrast, the root p-s-a denotes a defined measure and distance. Thus, when describing someone on the verge of death, scripture says, "There is but a step between me and death" (kefesa beini uvein ha-mavet) - the distance of a single stride. And where is the anatomical origin of the step? In the mifsa'ah (the hip joint); therefore scripture says, "and cut off their garments at the hip" (ad ha-mifsa'ah) - up to the place where the legs divide and the stride originates. Thus, pasa denotes a measure of distance, and here "I would step through it and set them ablaze together" means that within the span of a single stride, I would burn them all together.
Radak's Explanation in the Name of His Father: "Fury I Have Not" - Toward Israel
Radak explains differently. "Fury I have not" - this is not one of My enduring attributes; My attribute is patience and longsuffering, not anger and fury. Now, one might ask: doesn't scripture say, "The Lord is an avenger and wrathful," "He avenges and retains wrath," "At the time their foot slips, for the day of their calamity is near," "And He repays those who hate Him to their face to destroy them," and "to destroy them forever"? The answer lies within the verses themselves: all of these statements were said regarding the nations of the world. But toward Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, declares: Fury I have not.
The explanation is as follows: when a nation is visited with fury, it brings total annihilation. Fury implies complete destruction, wiping out. But regarding the Jewish people, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I never deal retribution to them by way of fury, for had that been so, nothing would remain of Israel. Rather, even when He exacts punishment from them, He visits it upon them little by little, as scripture says: "You alone have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities" - and here again, efkod carries the sense of subtraction: slowly, iniquities are counted and deducted, a little punishment here, a bit of affliction there, another measure of exile, until all the sins are cleared. But this is never annihilation, and there is never a situation in which the Jewish people could, Heaven forbid, be destroyed. In contrast to the nations: where are the ancient empires today? Where is ancient Babylon, where is ancient Egypt? These were nations that assimilated and dissolved, or became utterly extinct. Yet concerning the Jewish people, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Fury I have not.
Radak continues: And had I possessed fury against them - "Who would give Me briers and thorns in battle?" After all, this vineyard yielded briers and thorns instead of grapes; the Jewish people produced thorns instead of fruit, so I have long had every reason to act. "I would step through it and set them ablaze together" - in a single stride, nothing would have been left of them. Radak concludes: "Thus did my master, my father, of blessed memory, explain to me, and it is the best of explanations." And indeed, whenever Radak cites an explanation in the name of his father, one can expect a true gem; his father's explanations are consistently magnificent.
Verse 5: "Or let him take hold of My stronghold"
אוֹ יַחֲזֵק בְּמָעוּזִּי יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם לִי שָׁלוֹם יַעֲשֶׂה־לִּי׃ - Or let him take hold of My stronghold, let him make peace with Me; yea, let him make peace with Me.
Following Radak's line of thought: the alternative is that the Jewish people take hold of My Torah. That is to say, I would have consumed them were it not that they grasp My Torah; and if they take hold of My Torah, it protects them and serves as a stronghold for them. As scripture says, "The Lord will give strength (oz) to His people," and "strength" refers to the Torah - just as the Sages related regarding Balaam, who was asked what the tumult in the world was at the time the Torah was given, and he answered them, "The Lord will give strength to His people," for the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Torah to His people Israel, "The Lord will bless His people with peace."
"Let him make peace with Me" - a time will come when he will make peace with Me. And why is it repeated, "he shall make peace with Me"? Radak explains: the repetition serves to reinforce the peace, so that there will no longer be war between us and the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, nor will there be a state of strict heavenly judgment toward us, nor a situation where "an iron wall was drawn between Israel and their Father in Heaven." This is the time of redemption, a time of peace between Israel and their Father in Heaven.
And the Malbim continues his line of interpretation here: the vineyard says that it has no fury against whoever sinned against it in the past, but only against whoever now seeks to turn it into briers and thorns in battle. But whoever takes hold of My stronghold and makes peace with Me - he shall make peace with Me, and I too will do him no harm. If he wishes to make peace with Me, I too will make peace with him. That is: whoever seeks to turn the vineyard into briers and thorns, in a single step I will wage war against him and consume him; and whoever, on the contrary, strengthens the vineyard and strengthens the Jewish people, as water reflects the face to the face - I too will make peace for his sake. And what does this song come to teach us according to the Malbim? That Israel will not do harm or destroy, but whoever dares to approach them with hostility - judgments will be executed upon him in wrath and fury. This is a time when there will no longer be wars, and they will not seek retribution for what occurred in the past; but whoever nevertheless chooses to come and wage war against them will pay a heavy price.
Verse 6: From the Roots to Blossoming
הַבָּאִים יַשְׁרֵשׁ יַעֲקֹב יָצִיץ וּפָרַח יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמָלְאוּ פְנֵי־תֵבֵל תְּנוּבָה׃ - In the days to come, Jacob will strike root, Israel will blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
Here the prophet explains who this vineyard of choice wine is, and where its branches and boughs originate. These vines come from the root of Jacob. The Jewish people, after exile, slaughter, and all the distress and affliction they endured, resemble a vineyard that was laid waste until nothing remained of it; and what was left? Only the roots. When a tree is destroyed from above, the roots below still endure. This is the meaning of "In the days to come, Jacob will strike root": from that ancient root which still exists, regardless of how much it was harassed, destroyed, and beaten. And from that root it will blossom and bud, until "they fill the face of the world with fruit," becoming a great vineyard of choice wine that produces the finest red grapes worthy of wine.
And why does the verse say "Jacob" in one clause and "Israel" in the other, once "strike root" and once "blossom and bud"? The Malbim explains: "strike root" denotes the root, while "blossom and bud" refers to what it subsequently produces in its growth. The name "Israel" expresses importance and prominence, connotations of dominion (serarah) and greatness, whereas "Jacob" is associated with the heel (akev), expressing the lowlier state. Therefore, initially, when they are still merely a root that has not yet come to fruition - "In the days to come, Jacob will strike root," they are not yet at their highest stature. But afterward, when they blossom and bud, rising in their level and sanctity to become like a vineyard producing fine wine - then "Israel will blossom and bud," called by their exalted name.
"And fill the face of the world with fruit" - their fruit and produce will fill the face of the world, meaning the entire world will hear about the Jewish people. Not, Heaven forbid, because of criminals or other troubles exported around the globe; rather, they will hear of them because nations will come and grasp the tzitzit of a Jew, saying: "Come, let us go up to Zion; you were privileged to be the people of God, the chosen nation." They will view them as a symbol, an exemplar, and a model of fear of Heaven, sanctity, and greatness, so that all will yearn to cleave to them.
Verse 7: Has He Struck Him as the Striking of His Smiter?
הַכְּמַכַּת מַכֵּהוּ הִכָּהוּ אִם־כְּהֶרֶג הֲרֻגָיו הֹרָג׃ - Did He strike him as He struck those who smote him, or was he slain like the slaughter of his slain?
Rashi explains that the Holy One, blessed be He, says to them: Have you seen that I struck the smiter of Jacob (spoken of previously) according to his own blow? That is, I struck the one who smote you with the very blow he dealt, measure for measure. The Egyptians drowned us in water - the Holy One, blessed be He, drowned them in the Red Sea.
At first glance, this raises a question: What is the meaning of the letter hei in "Hachimakat"? A prefixed hei usually introduces a question or wonder. Rashi explains that this is not an expression of wonder, but an affirmative interrogative: there are questions framed positively whose answer is an emphatic "yes." A proof for this comes from the verse in Shemuel: "Did I indeed reveal Myself to your father's house?" - said regarding Eli in the Book of Shemuel, which is not an expression of doubt at all, but a definitive statement.
In Summary:
The chapter opens with the day of reckoning for the nations: a harsh, great, and strong sword against three types of power - a nation strong in its fortifications (the nachash bari'ach, the straight serpent), a nation strong in its vast size and multitude of people (the nachash akallaton, the winding serpent), and a nation strong in the valor of its warriors (the monster in the sea). From there, the prophet turns to describe Israel as a "vineyard of delightful wine," the exact opposite of the Song of the Vineyard: instead of "remove its hedge" - "I, Hashem, guard it"; and instead of "withholding rain from falling upon it" - "every moment I water it," a protection so complete that it watches over even the leaves, the emptiest among the people. "Wrath I have none": toward Israel there is no annihilation, but rather a gradual reckoning of sins, little by little; and whoever grasps the stronghold of Torah and makes peace - peace will be made for him. Finally, from the parched root of Yaakov, Yisrael will bud and blossom, until its harvest fills the face of the earth, and all will seek to cleave to the people of Hashem.