The Malbim explains that in order to place your trust in someone, two conditions must be met. Anything you rely upon requires two conditions. Let us take the simplest example: I trust someone to protect me. There are people threatening me, and this fellow will protect me. What is needed for me to be able to rely on him? Two things. First, he must be powerful. What good is his protection if those who wish to harm you are stronger than he is? How can he protect you? So the first thing needed in order to rely on him is that he be powerful. Second, I need him to have permanence. What does permanence mean? If he is here today, but in a week, a month, or a year from now he will no longer be here, how can I rely on him? At the very moment I need him, there will be no one to guard me, no one to protect me. So I need, first, someone strong, and second, someone who has the power of permanence.
By contrast, he says, look and see, for all flesh is grass. And the grass withers, for flesh passes away quickly, its days are not long, its days are few, there is no permanence in it. And what might you say, perhaps at least it has strength of its own? He tells you no, for even while it lives, all its kindness is like the flower of the field. The flower fades, there is no strength in it, no lasting existence. So how could we trust that it will redeem? He says, indeed the people are grass, the grass withers, the flower fades, but in the name of our God both conditions exist, so you can indeed rely on Him. For, first, the word of our God shall stand forever; "stand" is a term of permanence, denoting strength and firmness. Second, "forever," it is eternal. So someone who, first, has strength, and second, has permanence and eternity, on him you can indeed rely. And what do you think of the people? You are right, the people have neither the strength, they are like a flower, nor the continuity, they are like grass that has withered, their continuity is cut off. Therefore, he says, certainly one cannot rely on them, but on Hashem you certainly can rely, for Hashem is both "shall stand," from the language of endurance and power and permanence, and second, it is also "forever," eternal. So on Him you can certainly rely.
Therefore, get you up upon a high mountain, O herald of Tzion, lift up your voice with strength, O herald of Yerushalayim. Lift it up, fear not, say to the cities of Yehudah, behold your God. Therefore, get you up upon a high mountain, O herald of Tzion. Who is this herald? It is Tzion itself. Who is this herald? It is Yerushalayim itself. Herald of Tzion, herald of Yerushalayim. And you, Tzion who heralds, get you up upon a high mountain; you, Yerushalayim who heralds, lift up your voice with strength. Do not worry that perhaps it will not come to pass, that perhaps in the end the redemption will not arrive. And he says, not only that, but also say to the cities of Yehudah, behold your God. As it were, when I say behold, behold, behold, it is here, it has arrived, it is right here, pointing with a finger, behold your God. As if the redemption is already truly near, and do not despair of the redemption.
What is the difference between Tzion and Yerushalayim? And why did he say concerning Tzion "get you up upon a high mountain," while concerning the herald of Yerushalayim he says "lift up your voice with strength"? What is the difference? The Malbim explains that Tzion is the place where the king and the Sanhedrin sat, it is the site of the Mikdash. That is called Tzion. Yerushalayim, by contrast, is the rest, the place where the multitude dwelled. The Malbim says that Tzion heralds that the Holy One, blessed be He, will restore the Shechinah, the kingship, the priesthood. Concerning this he says "get you up upon a high mountain." By contrast, Yerushalayim heralds the ingathering of the exiles, the multitude of the people, as we said. Therefore he says "lift up your voice with strength," so that those who are scattered will hear that the time has come to return. So regarding Tzion, as we said, this concerns the restoration of the Shechinah, the kingship, and the priesthood, which points to greatness. Where? At Har HaBayit, "get you up upon a high mountain," Hashem will restore His Shechinah there, Hashem will restore the priesthood and the kingship. By contrast, Yerushalayim heralds to the rest of the people that the Holy One, blessed be He, has already returned, and if so there is room for the people to gather, so one must raise the voice so that all the rest of the people who are in exile will hear and return.
Behold, Hashem God shall come with strength, and His arm rules for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. And he continues and says to the herald, herald of Tzion, herald of Yerushalayim, you have nothing to fear lest the redemption not come, lest Hashem not fulfill His word. He says, for to think that Hashem will not fulfill His word, this would have to stem from one of two reasons. One reason, because, God forbid, He cannot. I wanted to, I promised, but it is not within my ability. A second possibility, it is within my ability, but I simply do not want to. I simply do not want to, I am not interested. Concerning this he tells you that with the Holy One, blessed be He, such a thing is impossible.
The lack of ability. Let us begin with the first possibility, cannot. "Cannot" is something I can say in one of two ways. First, when the one who was supposed to do the thing has no power, he tells you I cannot, I do not have this power. The strength has left me, I am fatigued, I cannot. He says this cannot be said of the Holy One, blessed be He, for behold, Hashem shall come with strength. Hashem is the possessor of power, so is there any reality in which I could say Hashem has no power? Furthermore, it may very well be that he cannot fulfill the matter because sometimes, for example, a king makes a certain promise, but what can he do, his soldiers, his army, his regiments do not agree with him. I spoke with the chief of staff, I spoke with the regiment commanders, they do not agree with what I say. He says this you will not find with the Holy One, blessed be He. He says "His arm rules for Him." His rule does not depend on the opinion of others. He has no cabinet, He has no government ministers, He has no one to whom He is subordinate, rather everything depends on Him alone. With His outstretched arm, and His arm rules for Him. So then, it is impossible that with the Holy One, blessed be He, there be a lack of power. That is impossible.
Rather, what could be the case? There is power, without any doubt, but perhaps Hashem does not want to. Perhaps Hashem will decide that now He does not want to, perhaps some change will occur in His will, may He be blessed. So he tells you, look, if a person promises to help someone, and his promise stems from having been promised a reward. Come help, and you will receive. Then it may very well be that when the other one says, well, listen, I am sorry, I have nothing to pay with. Oh, you have nothing to pay? I promised I would help, but what can I do, I came in exchange for payment. You have nothing to pay, so I will not help. That is to say, it may be that I do not want to for some reason, because I was promised a benefit and did not receive that benefit. They told me come help and we will pay you, now you tell me you have no way to pay, so I am not coming. He says with the Holy One, blessed be He, such a thing is impossible. Who would promise Him a reward, that we should say Hashem said, well, since they did not give me a reward, I am not coming? "Behold, His reward is with Him." The reward, all reward, is with the Holy One, blessed be He. So is it possible to say that perhaps Hashem does not want to because He was promised a reward and it was not given?
Furthermore, what might you say? Perhaps Hashem does not want to because, although Hashem received no reward, when the matter found favor before Him He promised to help, to assist. But perhaps now this matter no longer finds favor in His eyes, and if so that is a reason that now Hashem does not want to. In the past I wanted to, it found favor in my eyes, now I do not want to, it is not good before me, it does not find favor in my eyes, therefore Hashem, as it were, now decides that He will not redeem us. He says, know this, all this applies only to human beings who make you a promise: once it found favor in my eyes, now it does not find favor in my eyes. But with the Holy One, blessed be He, "His recompense before Him." When Hashem promised something, it is as though He already acted and did it. For with us there is the promise and there is the carrying out. These are two things. But with the Holy One, blessed be He, they are one and the same. His soul desired and He did. The Holy One, blessed be He, the moment He promised something, it is as though He already did it. So it is impossible for the Holy One, blessed be He, to change from His prior promise. First, not from the standpoint that with the Holy One, blessed be He, there is now a lack of power, and second, not from the standpoint that He now has a lack of will. For both of these things are impossible with Hashem, may He be blessed. For behold, the Holy One, blessed be He, shall come with strength and His arm rules for Him, a lack of power is impossible. Behold, His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him, a lack of will too is impossible. Therefore, get you up upon a high mountain, O herald of Tzion and herald of Yerushalayim, lift up your voice and say to the people of Yehudah, behold your God. The Holy One, blessed be He, promised, so certainly, behold, He is here, one can already point to Him that without any doubt He will arrive and come and redeem the people.
Like a shepherd He will feed His flock. With His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom. He will gently lead those that nurse. Like a shepherd He will feed His flock. He tells them, like the shepherd still watching over his flock. There are two situations of a shepherd. There is a shepherd who watches the flocks of others, and there is a shepherd who watches his own sheep, his own flock. When the shepherd watches his own flock, he pities it greatly, he cares for it with personal concern. And then "with His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom." The lambs, those newly born who are tender, who find it hard to walk, with one arm He gathers them and carries them in His bosom. "He will gently lead those that nurse." The nursing ones, who are their mothers, the nursing mothers, He leads them to their sides, as it were, with the other hand. Out of the abundance of His compassion, He takes them with Him. So too the Holy One, blessed be He, will have compassion on the people of Israel, to bring them out, to lead them Himself. Since they are His possession, they are His inheritance, Hashem does not need reward from anyone else, rather the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring the people of Israel out of exile by His own power. Why are the mothers called "olot"? The Radak explains, because the offspring are called "olim," young. The children are called "olim." So "olot" are the mothers of the infants, of the young ones, of the young lambs, and so the mothers are called "olot."
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand. And meted out the heavens with a span. And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure. And weighed the mountains in scales. And the hills in a balance. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand. Rashi explains according to the plain meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, had the power to do all this, certainly He also has the power to bring the people of Israel out of exile. What is "in the hollow of his hand"? Rashi explains it means in His going. Yes, one explanation. Like "in the path of the vineyards." Yes. Another explanation, that "sha'al" is the name of a vessel, as it is written "for handfuls of barley." Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand. And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure. "Comprehended in a measure" means He measured in thirds, Rashi explains. When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the earth, a third desert, a third settlement, a third seas and rivers. So "comprehended in a measure," He measured and divided the earth into thirds. Another explanation, "shalish" means from the thumb to the elbow, the third finger. So He measured, as it were, He measured in this manner. Yes, this is the meaning of "comprehended in a measure." He measured with the distance from the finger to the elbow. A type of measurement. Another explanation, it is the name of a vessel. And most commentators follow this line, that "shalish" is the name of a vessel. As it is written "and You gave them tears to drink in great measure." What does "and You gave them tears to drink in great measure" mean? It is as though written here "and You gave them tears to drink in a shalish." "Shalish" is the name of a vessel; the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, gives to drink in this vessel called "shalish," gives them tears to drink in it. So here too the Holy One, blessed be He, measures by means of this vessel called "shalish," which is a vessel of measure. And weighed the mountains in scales. Rashi says, all according to the type of terrain. A heavy mountain He placed on hard ground. A light mountain on light ground. For if you place a heavy mountain on soft ground, the mountain will gradually sink. The Holy One, blessed be He, applied Himself, measured the matters, weighed the mountains in scales, to see each mountain, where its place is and where the region is in which it can stand in the best way. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, the Radak explains, we have seen two interpretations. One explanation, that it means with His steps, like "in the path of the vineyards." And a second explanation, as we explained, that it is from the language of a vessel, like "handfuls of barley." According to the Radak it means His fist. Who measured the waters with His fist. As it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, measured the waters with His fist. This shows greatness and immense power. He says, do not mistakenly think this is literal, for Hashem has no body and no form of a body, it is by way of a parable. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand. He says, as it were, when the Holy One, blessed be He, set the waters of the world, established them in the earth, He, as it were, measured them. Just as you place them in a vessel and see the measure, there are markings on the vessel to see the measure, and when the Holy One, blessed be He, placed the waters here in the seas, in the rivers, as it were He measured exactly how much there should be, in what quantity. And likewise the heavens with a span. Since the heavens are flat, they are measured by a measure of length, by the measure of a span. A span or a rod, a rod meaning a type of meter. And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, meaning all this is from the language of measuring, like "and they measured with an omer" and "they measured them." This is the interpretation that most commentators give. "Comprehended in a measure" means He measured the dust of the earth with the vessel called "shalish."
The Malbim explains, now he elaborates on what he opened with in verse 10. He says, behold, God shall come with strength. As we said, this is a response to the nations who would wish to say there is no possibility of bringing the people of Israel out of exile. Or to the skeptics among the people of Israel, who are not confident that it will be possible to bring all of Israel out of exile. How is it possible that the Holy One, blessed be He, will redeem us? So at the beginning he said, behold, God shall come with strength. For the Holy One, blessed be He, is the possessor of power without limit, there is no power like the power of the Creator, may He be blessed. God shall come with strength. How can you wish to say He has no power to fulfill His promise? For the entire world with all that is in it, everything comes from Him, may He be blessed. For the Holy One, blessed be He, measured the element of water with His measure. And the heavens, the Malbim says, take note, he spoke here of the four elements. Heavens, that is the element of fire. "Meted out with a span." The element of earth, which is the land, "comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure." And take note, the Malbim explains here, what is "comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure"? Without much knowledge in astronomy, every person understands that our globe, which rotates in a fixed cycle, is something not natural. Take some object, try to spin it so it rotates around itself. Why on earth would it keep rotating in the same direction? For naturally there is a law called the law of inertia, that is, or the centrifugal force, which means that something moving with a certain force, even in a circle, causes it at a certain point to want to leave its circle. Just as you now take a slingshot, place a stone in it and spin a rope, and spin with the stone at the end. When you let go it will not keep spinning, it will fly out. How does our globe keep rotating in its place, yes, making a rotation around the solar system, and we see that it does not fly out? The answer to this is that the globe has a magnetic force. All the globes that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in the world, let us set aside the other galaxies, our galaxy, they are built with magnetic force. The globe itself has an immense magnetic force. When I throw something and it falls to the ground, this is called the force of gravity, it comes from the fact that the earth is like a magnet. The moment you place, throw something, it immediately falls, like a magnet to which it sticks. This is where the thing stems from. Where this force exists to a lesser degree, for example on the moon, then its magnetism is one sixth that of the earth. That is to say, the force for the earth or for all the galaxies to remain rotating in their system comes from the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, measured the magnetism most precisely. For understand, if two globes approach one another, they affect one another in terms of magnetism. They draw close to one another. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He calibrated precisely what the measure of magnetism of each of the globes is, so that they would rotate in the orbit that He set for them, without leaving that orbit. If one of them were to draw close to another globe, it could cause either an immense crater in the other globe, or its disintegration, or anything that could cause a situation in which the globe leaves its framework, its fixed operation. Who is it that comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure? Who is it that calibrated and measured the measure of magnetism of the earth, of the dust, so that it would rotate in exactly this way and the globe not change its orbit? And the need for this is achieved by the Holy One, blessed be He, weighing the mountains in scales, and also weighing the small hills in a balance. Scales are for large measurement, a balance for small measurement. To equalize the weight and the relationship between them, so that the globe itself would not have places that are heavier or lighter. And this itself could cause a change in its rotation. Take a vehicle and load it incorrectly, the vehicle will drag toward the direction where you placed the weight. The same here too, if the earth had excess weight on one of its sides, it would no longer rotate evenly. So there was a need to weigh the mountains in such a way that they would be distributed over the surface of the earth in order to maintain a balance that would allow it to rotate properly. All this, who did it if not Hashem, may He be blessed? So do you doubt His power to bring the people of Israel out of exile?
Who has directed the spirit of Hashem. And who was His counselor that made it known to Him. The Malbim says, here he moves to the fourth element. For we spoke about water, we spoke about earth, and we spoke about fire, which is essentially the heavens. Now he moves to the fourth element, which is the element of wind. After the Holy One, blessed be He, established the fourth element as well, who has directed the spirit of Hashem, the wind that the Holy One, blessed be He, blows here on earth. If the Holy One, blessed be He, was able to establish all this, all the more so is His power greater than what He made. For something created by me is always less than I. It is not more than I. If an intelligent person created something intelligent, then that intelligent thing cannot be more intelligent than what he created, for what would he place in it? More than what is in himself? So when you place power from yourself into something else, it is usually less than you, it cannot be more than you. And if so, here too he says, for who has directed the spirit of Hashem? If you contemplate, the Holy One, blessed be He, created the four elements, certainly He has more power than these four elements that the Holy One, blessed be He, created. What might you say? Perhaps, God forbid, Hashem lacks wisdom and counsel to fulfill the promise He made? Concerning this he continues and says, and who was His counselor that made it known to Him. From whom does the Holy One, blessed be He, need to take counsel? Who is His counselor that would make it known to the Holy One, blessed be He, what to do? From whom does Hashem need to receive counsel?
The Radak explains, who has directed the spirit of Hashem, Rashi says, who has directed the ruach hakodesh, which is the spirit of Hashem in the mouth of the prophets, if not Hashem, may He be blessed? "And who was His counselor that made it known to Him," the Holy One, blessed be He, makes His counsel known to the man, who is essentially the prophet. Hashem reveals to the man, to the prophet, what His plans are. "And who was His counselor that made it known to Him," whoever is the counselor of the Holy One, blessed be He, meaning one to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to make known, like Avraham, "Shall I conceal from Avraham," Hashem makes His spirit known to him, makes His plans known to him. Rashi offers another explanation according to its plain sense, that it refers back to the beginning of the verse. Who has directed the spirit of Hashem? And who is His counselor that would make known counsel to the Holy One, blessed be He? Who made the spirit of Hashem? Why, Hashem Himself. And who is it that would make known to the Holy One, blessed be He, who would give the Holy One, blessed be He, counsel? The Radak explains, Hashem did all this, His soul desired and He did. There is no man or angel or spiritual force that advises the Holy One, blessed be He, that makes known to Him, that tells Him do thus, do not do thus. He stretches out the heavens alone. The Holy One, blessed be He, Himself did all the deeds. And as it were he says, who has directed the spirit of Hashem and who is His counselor that made it known to Him? To whom, and from whom, does the Holy One, blessed be He, need to receive counsel in order to know how to do things? And if the Holy One, blessed be He, as we said, is the possessor of power without limit, there is no limit to His power, no boundary to His power, you will consequently understand that in such a state, when the Holy One, blessed be He, promises to do something, He will also fulfill it. And if He promises to bring Israel out of their exile, He can certainly bring them out.
With whom did He take counsel that He should give Him understanding. And teach Him in the path of justice. And teach Him knowledge. And make known to Him the way of understanding. The Malbim explains that man's attainment depends on others. He means, when we wish to attain something, I need to receive it from someone else. The Malbim explains that there are two modes in this. There is one mode from the Holy One, blessed be He, who graces man with knowledge. There is an attainment called common sense. There is an expression called "common sense." What it means is, if you were to ask who says it is so, if you demand proof of it, I cannot give you proof, but common sense dictates it so. Like, for example, I cannot state two opposites in the same word, in the same sentence, and everyone will agree with this. I cannot now say night and day. Decide, either night or day. Now, everyone understands that it is impossible to say such a thing that contradicts itself inherently. This person is wise and foolish. I cannot say such a thing, since it is a matter with an internal contradiction within the things themselves. There are things that are sound logic, that are common sense, things that cannot be proven, but common sense understands that one cannot say two things that contradict one another. For example, you cannot prove this through any theoretical research, but it is the foundation of all research. The foundation of all research is common sense, logic, how things work. The Holy One, blessed be He, gave man a certain basic understanding that every person agrees with and accepts. If we wish to speak, for example, on matters of ethics, then I think there is no ethical society that rules that it is legitimate to steal. There are societies where it is legitimate, but such a society does not rule that ethically it is legitimate to steal. That is to say, why not steal? Why not steal? Why not? There are things here in the world, the animal world is built this way, that one comes and another comes and snatches from it. And not only steals, also eats the... eats the other creature itself. Also eats the other living being itself. So then, why not live that way? Common sense dictates that a proper society is a society in which people do not steal. And so on in this manner, one can give many examples. This is called the concept of common sense. It is impossible to come and prove common sense with signs and wonders through research, but it is a reality that man has common sense, he has the clear logic that is the most basic thing with which every person created with common sense is created. And I think that almost all human beings were created with common sense. The Malbim says, concerning this the verse says, with whom did He take counsel that He should give Him understanding. And afterward, and teach Him in the path of justice, and teach Him knowledge and make known to Him the way of understanding. The Malbim explains, now let us divide the verse according to what the Malbim explained. The Malbim says, with whom did He take counsel and teach Him knowledge. With whom did the Holy One, blessed be He, take counsel and teach Him knowledge? Knowledge is the most basic understanding, the common sense of man. With whom did He take counsel and teach Him knowledge? Let me give you perhaps an example of the most basic sense of man. As they tell of a king's son who was an ignoramus, a great boor. And the king decided to send him to all sorts of teachers who would teach him. So the king sent him, they taught him over a very, very long period, and then they began to explain to him, there are round things, there are square ones, there are triangular ones, there are long ones, they began to explain to him from the alphabet. Well, after he finished all his studies and passed the exams at one hundred percent, the king's minister came, placed a ring on his hand, closed his... and says to the king's son, guess what I have here. He tries to think, tries to think, tries to think. As we said, he was a complete boor. But he studied much, yet a boor remains a boor. He has no common sense. So he thinks, he says to him, I do not... give me a hint. He tells him it is something round. He tries to recall what round thing he had learned most recently. Ah, the teacher taught him that a wagon, in order to travel, must have a wheel. Without a wheel it cannot travel. There is friction, it must have a wheel. The wheel of a wagon! Everyone began to laugh at the foolishness and the stupidity. Common sense, the wheel of a wagon is a bit hard to fit inside the palm of a person's hand, right? That is to say, you can study much, but if there is no common sense, you can do the greatest follies and say the most illogical things. One needs common sense. That is the first thing. Concerning this he says, with whom did He take counsel and teach Him knowledge. Knowledge is the most basic thing, the natural sense placed within man even without learning anything. He has common sense, he thinks correctly. This is what we today often define about a person, he has life wisdom or he has... he did not study at university, but he has common sense, he has logic, you can consult with him about anything. Furthermore, the Malbim says, there is in nature that man has the power to make a comparison, a logical inference. That is to say, to draw conclusions by comparing one matter to another. You ask me about a certain matter, about this thing I tell you I have not studied. But if I make a calculation, then there is that matter, and that matter apparently resembles this one so, then all the more so I can tell you that if there it is so, then here it certainly is so. This is called logical inference. To compare one matter to another. If I say A resembles B and B resembles C, then C resembles A. Did I tell you such a thing? I did not tell you that C resembles A. I told you that A resembles B and B resembles C. And perforce, if A resembles B and B resembles C, then C resembles A. This is called logical inference. The logic that teaches us how to compare one thing to another. The Malbim says, this thing is expressed in the verse in what he says, with whom did He take counsel and make known to Him the way of understanding. Understanding is always to understand one thing from another. To understand one thing from another is "make known to Him the way of understanding." Who made known to the Holy One, blessed be He, the way of understanding? Meaning the way of comparing one matter to another, logical inference. Furthermore, the Malbim says, man's knowledge at a certain stage will not suffice with logical inference, will not suffice with simple natural intellect, what we called common sense, plain logic. At a certain stage this runs out, for you need to learn new things. You need to know things that are of the nature of science, things that you need someone else to teach you. Without their teaching you, you will not know. And especially in fields on which you cannot conduct research all day in order to attain them, after people have already worked on this for hundreds and thousands of years. There are laws of nature that are already fixed and known in advance, you need someone to teach you. If you were to start now from the beginning to study the law of gravity and conduct experiments, you would spend your whole life on this. How would you move forward? The researcher relies on what others have researched until today, and upon this he adds a layer. This he learns at university, this he learns at school. These are called the foundations. The foundations that have already been proven, proven from a research standpoint that water boils at one hundred degrees. You do not need to go waste two months taking water and checking with a thermometer how much... at what point it reaches boiling, at what point it reaches freezing. These things have already been researched. So this I need to receive from someone else. This is wisdom that I need to receive from another person, that another person will teach me those things. And especially if these are matters in the study of Torah, then there are things that I can only receive from another person. However much I toil on my own, I will not be able to attain them, unless they are things that that person attained. Like, for example, the Arizal from Eliyahu the Prophet. So I must receive this from someone else. Incidentally, this is also why it is called Kabbalah, for these are not things you can arrive at through conjecture of the mind. You must have someone explain them to you, you must have someone teach you. And this is the part where he says, and teach Him, and teach Him, with whom did He take counsel that He should give Him understanding and teach Him in the path of justice. "In the path of justice," someone must teach me according to law, teach me and explain the things to me so that I will know them. So although I have common sense to understand one thing from another, this is not enough. There is a part that I need someone to teach me. By contrast, with the Holy One, blessed be He, he says, with whom did He take counsel that He should give Him understanding? Who, as it were, gave the Holy One, blessed be He, understanding of anything? Or would merely teach Him in the path of justice? Not only does He not need learning from another, but even the natural intellect He did not receive from anyone else, rather the Holy One, blessed be He, has this natural intellect of Himself. Concerning this he says, and teach Him knowledge and make known to Him the way of understanding. And this is it, he explained what he said earlier, and His arm rules for Him. His arm rules for Him, He does not need anyone else to explain to Him, anyone else to clarify for Him, anyone else to advise Him. And His arm rules for Him. The Holy One, blessed be He, does the things by His own power. If you recall, we explained "and His arm rules for Him," that sometimes someone wants to do something, but the advisors object. The advisors say there is another way, perhaps it is not worthwhile so. The Holy One, blessed be He, there is no chance that He would change His opinion because of some advisor. For the Holy One, blessed be He, with whom did He take counsel that He should give Him understanding and teach Him in the path of justice and teach Him knowledge and make known to Him the way of understanding. Every one of the principles of wisdom that man needs from others, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not need from anyone. He has them of Himself. Consequently, there is no chance that the Holy One, blessed be He, would change His opinion because of some reason external to Him. And if the Holy One, blessed be He, promised that He will act, then He will act. Both from the standpoint that His power is unlimited, as we saw in the previous verses, and from the standpoint that He does not need the counsel of others, so that it is impossible for His counsel to change.
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket. And are counted as the small dust of the balance. Behold, He takes up the isles as a fine dust. After the Holy One, blessed be He, created the four elements, as we said, with His unlimited ability. In terms of power, as we explained, there is no power that comes close to anything of the power of the Creator of the world. So he says, what do you think? How will the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem us? How will He bring us out from among the nations? Will they even agree to release the people of Israel? Do you think that the nations are some power compared to Hashem, may He be blessed? He tells you, behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket. "A drop of a bucket" means a drop dripping from the bucket, compared to the reality of the entire world. How can they prevent the Holy One, blessed be He, from bringing His thought into effect? And the nations, before the Holy One, blessed be He, are like the dust of a balance. What is the dust of a balance? On the balance there is sometimes some thing, something worn away, which is fine, dust. Dust found on the balance. So too the Holy One, blessed be He, the nations are considered thus beside Hashem, may He be blessed. So how do you think they could prevent Hashem, may He be blessed, from bringing His thought into effect? The Malbim explains, there are here two comparisons, and one must understand why the comparison is doubled. "A drop of a bucket" and "the dust of a balance." What did he intend to express with this double comparison? The Malbim says, "a drop of a bucket" means a drop from the water in the bucket. If we take note, the drop is of the same kind as the water in the bucket. It is merely exceedingly diminished. By contrast, the dust of the balance is the grayness found on the balance; it is indeed found on the balance, but it is of another kind, it is not of the balance's kind. The drop is of the same kind as what is in the bucket, that is "a drop of a bucket." But the dust is not of the same kind as the balance, it is not of the metal's kind. The prophet comes and compares this to the Master of the world. He says, if you now make a calculation of all the living beings found here on the earth, the gentile is essentially a part of them, he is part of the living beings that are here on earth. He is not a separate kind, he is part of all the life that is here on earth. But he is a drop of the... a drop, as a drop of a bucket. He is like a drop of those many waters. Compared to all that is here on earth, inanimate, vegetative, animal, speaking, it is all the same kind. But how much? He is a drop of a bucket. Just as the drop is considered nothing in relation to the bucket, so too this nation, the nations, are nullified in relation to all that is on the globe. But nonetheless they are part of it, it is like the drop being part of the water of the bucket. But if you consider all that is found on the earth compared to the globe itself, and all the more so compared to the galaxies found in all the world, it is like the dust of a balance, it is like nothing compared to all the worlds together. Take everything that is here. How many galaxies are there? There is no end. And if so, when you consider all this compared to all that is in all the worlds together, and let us set aside the spiritual worlds, let us speak only of the physical ones, only of the galaxies and all that is here within physical reality at distances of millions of light years from us. If you consider all that is here compared to all that, he says it is like a kind of nothing, like naught. And not just some kind of nothing and naught, it is not even of the same kind. It is like dust compared to the balance, it is naught against it. So then the nations are as a drop of a bucket compared to what is here, they are like a drop compared to the drop, to the power and quantity within the bucket, which is the many waters. And if you wish to speak compared to all the galaxies, it is not even of the same kind, not even of the same species, it is like dust compared to the balance, which is considered the most negligible thing, one has no value compared to the other. So how do you suppose the nations could prevent the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, from bringing Israel out from among them? They are nothing. Behold, He takes up the isles as a fine dust. He tells you, if the great nations are considered like a drop of a bucket, then the isles, which are small, are as a fine dust, like flying dust, nothing, considered as naught. He takes them up, blows them away like fine dust, like dust. And if so, who could prevent Hashem, may He be blessed, from redeeming the people of Israel?
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn. Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. The Malbim says, what might you say? Perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, will not redeem us because we do not offer Him sacrifices? Perhaps because of this Hashem will not redeem us? He tells you, what, do you think the Holy One, blessed be He, needs your sacrifices? For "Lebanon is not sufficient to burn." All the trees of Lebanon would not suffice to kindle fire on the altar. "Nor its beasts," all the beasts in Lebanon, "sufficient for a burnt offering." They would not suffice to offer them as a burnt offering. So what, do you think the Holy One, blessed be He, needs your sacrifices? The Holy One, blessed be He, does not need your sacrifices. The sacrifices are for you, not for Him. So then, do not think that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not redeem us because we do not offer Him sacrifices.
All the trees of Lebanon are not sufficient, as it were, to change Hashem's mind. And even if you wished to bring all the beasts of Lebanon to offer before Him as burnt offerings, its beasts are not sufficient for a burnt offering. All the beasts in the forest of Lebanon are not enough to offer to Hashem as burnt offerings so that Hashem would be appeased toward the nations and change His will, change His decision to redeem the people of Israel. And this is as it is written, "I will take no bullock out of your house, for every beast of the forest is Mine," "Will Hashem be pleased with thousands of rams." The Holy One, blessed be He, cannot be enticed with burnt offerings and sacrifices to change His will. And this too corresponds to what he said earlier, behold, His reward is with Him. Hashem, His reward is with Him, so what reward would you promise Him? What would you give Him so that He would change His will regarding us in order to desire the nations?
And if you were to tell me that Hashem will be appeased toward the nations and desire them because they will find favor in His eyes, concerning this he says, all the nations are as nothing before Him, they are counted to Him as less than nothing and vanity. "All the nations are as nothing before Him," Rashi says, they are as nothing in His eyes and are not important before Him. The Radak says, less than nothing, in the manner of "they are altogether from vanity," all are as naught with Hashem, may He be blessed. The Malbim says, all the nations are as nothing before Him. The Malbim says, take note, it is written here "as nothing before Him" and "they are counted to Him as less than nothing and vanity." So is it nothing, or naught and vanity? The Malbim says, one must know there is an absolute value and there is a relative value. Even today this concept is familiar to us. Absolute value means the essence of the thing, whether it is worth something or not, whether it has value or has no value. And there is relative value, it may be that this thing is worth a great deal, it is very precious, but when I come to measure it in relation to something else, then I am told, in relation to something else it is nothing, it is naught, it is truly not anything. As I would say, for example, if I say, for example, a million kilometers, is that much or little? Then I am told thus, in itself a million kilometers is much. That is the absolute value. But if you wish to examine it in relative value, then I tell you a million kilometers compared to thousands of light years is nothing, it is naught, it does not even begin. This is what he says, this is called relative value, when I come to measure it in relation to another thing. A meter, is that much or little? It depends, you are measuring in relative value, the question is in relation to what. In relation to a millimeter it is much, in relation to a kilometer it is little.