"But you, Israel My servant, Yaakov whom I have chosen, seed of Avraham who loves Me." But you, Israel My servant, He says, you in any case, you need not be terrified and afraid. For you are Israel My servant, I will not abandon you into the hands of the nations that come to wage war against you. If you hear such a thing, you would surely be frightened. Says the Holy One, blessed be He, no, no, you have nothing to fear.
Now pay attention, says the Malbim. A servant who is a faithful servant to the king always has reason to worry about lasting security. He always has reason to worry that seemingly the present situation is not guaranteed to remain forever. On this He comes and says: sometimes the king loves his servant because the servant is very very faithful in his work. The king needs him. This is a skilled servant, an expert servant, and he knows and he is clever and he... And sometimes the king loves the servant, why? Because you have found favor in my eyes. A voluntary love without any reason. He raises him up, he exalts him above all the ministers and... why? I love him. I have some sort of voluntary love without any reason. Now, on the one hand, says the Malbim, there is an advantage to the first, on the other hand there is an advantage to the second. First, the advantage of the first: he was chosen because the king needs him. So he says, first of all his stature is great. The king needs me. Do you understand what a level that is? The king, despite all his exaltedness, needs me. I know how to do special tasks, the king needs me. In contrast, the one who was chosen because the king simply desired him, he does not need you. He does not need you. He decided that he is interested in you, but he does not need you. But in contrast, if the king now finds someone who is skilled...
Greater than me. A greater expert than me, then he will discard me and take him. So I have the advantage that the king needs me, but here is also the Achilles heel, that it is very possible he will find someone better and then he no longer needs you, I have someone else. In contrast, the one toward whom he has voluntary love, I love him, yes I desire him, not because I found in him something special or because I need his services, but simply because I love him, he says he has an advantage: it is not possible that he will find someone else and say that one is better for me. What is better for you? In this you did not find any advantage, you simply love him. So consequently it is not possible that tomorrow he will replace him because he will find someone who serves him more faithfully.
In contrast, he has a downside, that the king does not need him, yes? So on the one hand the king desires you, but on the other hand the king does not need you. The king does not need you, today he desires you and there is a downside because it may be that tomorrow he will not desire you. Desire can change. Today I feel like it, tomorrow I do not feel like it. In contrast, when the king needs you, until he finds someone else he will not remove you. He needs you, what will he do? He has no choice, you are indispensable to him. So this has an advantage and that has an advantage.
He comes and says to Israel: know that they have both advantages. First He says, "But you, Israel My servant." "My servant" means from the aspect of a faithful servant, you serve Me. So from this aspect you have nothing to fear that a servant will be found... sorry, so from this aspect you have nothing to fear that I do not need you, rather you are indispensable to Me. But you still have reason to fear that a more faithful servant will be found. That you do indeed have reason to fear, but you are as it were indispensable to Me, yes?
So He comes and says: you have nothing to fear that I will replace you. Is it not so that you are "Yaakov whom I have chosen"? He says: I have chosen you. "I have chosen you" means I desired you, that is all. Not from the aspect of faithfulness, not from any aspect, I choose you, I desire you. I long for you. "Whom I have chosen." From when? From long ago, when you were not yet one of such stature, back from the period of your being Yaakov. For if you remember, we explained several times, Yaakov symbolizes Israel at the low level, at the level of the heel (akev). Israel symbolizes Israel at the high level, in a state of dominion. He says then, when you were still My servant Yaakov, then you were Yaakov, even then I chose you. I chose you not from the aspect of your service, for you were only Yaakov at the low level, but rather from the aspect that I desire you, I long for you. I desire you without the reason that you serve Me, but rather while you are merely in the category of Yaakov. And then even if I find a more faithful servant, I will not take him, because it is you I long for. It is you I desire.
But as we said, in any case it may be that suddenly this desire will change. This wish will change to desiring someone else. The one I loved at a certain stage I hate, the one I longed for at a certain stage I loathe. Says the Holy One, blessed be He, you have nothing to worry about. What follows? "Seed of Avraham who loves Me." If I merely desire you and feel like it and I am interested in you specifically, here there truly is a concern, you are right. But here He says: is it not so that this is not because of your stature but rather "Avraham who loves Me." Avraham loves Me, so I will not replace the seed of Avraham who loves Me. That is to say, it is not only because I long for you, but rather it begins from the merit of the fathers. Your father has many merits with Me, Avraham has many merits with Hashem, may He be blessed. He says, if so, then Hashem, may He be blessed, will never loathe him. So in summary, says Hashem, you have no reason to fear the nations that come to wage war against the messianic king. And if you worry that perhaps something will change and Hashem will not protect us, He says you have nothing to worry about. First, you are My servant, as we said from the aspect of the faithful servant. And if you worry that perhaps a more faithful servant will be found, no, is it not so that I chose you still under the title of Yaakov. Simply because I chose you because I desire you. And if you worry that perhaps this choice may change because perhaps at a certain stage He will loathe you, "seed of Avraham who loves Me." It is not possible that He will loathe you because My affection toward you began already from the fact that Avraham loved Me and then I am obligated to his seed after him. And if so, says Hashem, you have no reason at all to fear the nations that come to wage war.
Rashi explains, says Rashi, the aggadic midrash in Bereishit Rabbah expounds this whole matter regarding Malki-Tzedek and Avraham, as we explained that this is the approach of Rashi and the Radak. "The islands saw" that same war and feared. The islands saw the war of Malki-Tzedek and Avraham against the kings and feared. There, Shem feared Avraham, lest he say to him: you established these wicked ones in the world? Behold, look what wicked ones you created in the world. And Avraham feared Shem, why? Because he killed the sons of Eilam, who are descended from Shem. So each of them feared the other. This is "the islands saw and feared," they had fear one of the other. "Islands," just as the islands of the sea are distinct things in the world, marked out in the world, so too Avraham and Shem were distinct in the world. The meaning is that everyone recognized them. Who knows who Avraham is? Everyone knows. Who is Shem? Everyone knows.
"But you, Israel My servant," Avraham was not from the seed of the righteous, and nevertheless I made him what he was. So you, Israel My servant, who are from the seed of the righteous, from the seed of Avraham, "seed of Avraham who loves Me," who did not come to recognize Me through rebuke and the teaching of his fathers but out of love, that is the meaning of "who loves Me." There is a case in which a person repents because Hashem strikes him, because Hashem afflicts him. He says here that with Avraham it was not so, but rather out of his love toward Me he merited and recognized My divinity.
"You whom I have grasped from the ends of the earth, and from its nobles I have called you, and I said to you: you are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you." The Malbim explains, continuing along the same approach and saying: it is possible that the king chooses some person for his service, and then, what did we say? It is very possible that afterward he will choose someone else more talented, more successful, and abandon the first. He says to you: no, with you it is not so. For He says: is it not so that "I have grasped you from the ends of the earth," out of all the inhabitants of the earth I grasped only you. And lest you think that I chose you from among the lowly, He says "and from its nobles I have called you." From the nobles, from the honored ones, from there I called specifically you. It is specifically you I am interested in. And He says to you "you are My servant." And if so, you are more choice to Me than all the inhabitants of the world. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Israel: "I have chosen you and not rejected you." Therefore you can be at ease, for I have chosen you, I chose you with an eternal choice, and I have never rejected you. That is to say, the choice by which Hashem chooses Israel, desires Israel, guards and protects Israel, is a choice about which you need not worry that this covenant will be broken. This covenant is an absolute covenant, a guaranteed covenant, and all that you, Israel, need is to preserve this covenant through the good deeds that you do. But know, in any case, says Hashem, I will not abandon and I will not forsake My people Israel.
"Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God, I have strengthened you, I have also helped you, I have also upheld you with My righteous right hand." "Be not dismayed (al tishta)," according to its plain meaning the Radak explains, do not be afraid. Targum Yonatan renders it "la titvar," meaning do not be broken. Chazal explain, and so too Rashi explains here: "be not dismayed, for I am your God," do not be like wax. Wax melts, wax melts, something a bit of heat and it immediately melts. He says do not be frightened, do not melt, for I am your God. He brings in the name of his father another explanation: "al tishta" from the expression "depart from Me (she'u mimeni)," like "let go of Me." Do not slacken, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, helped you, upheld you, and therefore do not be frightened of the enemies.
The Malbim explains, a person's fear stems from several situations. A person may fear that the one who loves him constantly, guards him, protects him, perhaps has now loathed him. Perhaps I am no longer assured of that protection. On this He says "fear not, for I am with you." He says fear not, I am with you, I have chosen you and not rejected you. You have nothing to worry about, this is verse 9. I chose you and I will not loathe you. So the concern that perhaps Hashem has abandoned him, loathed him, there is no reason to fear. Another possibility: perhaps in the time of trouble my beloved will not be with me, he will not protect me. This is what He says in verse 10, "fear not, for I am with you." You have nothing to worry about, always and at every time and in every situation I am with you. Perhaps He will very much want to save me but does not have the ability, does not have the strength. On this He adds and says, this is the third possibility, "be not dismayed." "Tishta" according to the Malbim means from the expression "to turn one's mind (lishot)," as it were you turn your thought to consider another thought: will Hashem be able to save me, will He not be able to save me. He says be not dismayed, for I am Hashem, I am the One who has the ability, I am Hashem your God. "Your God" is not merely I am Hashem, God, the One who possesses the powers, but rather "your God" means the God who is yours in particular, who watches over you with individual providence. And if so, you have nothing to worry about, for "I have strengthened you." With certainty I have strengthened you toward Me, I have given you courage. Note, says the Malbim, not merely strength but courage, that you yourself will be able to stand against the enemy. And not only that, but also in the time of your standing "I have helped you." I am both a help to you and uphold you "with My righteous right hand." The Malbim explains, this is like the one who loves and wants to help his beloved, so he helps him with his left hand and upholds him with his right hand. This is what is written here: "I have helped you" means with My left, "I have upheld you with My righteous right hand" means with My right hand so that you do not fall.
And therefore "behold, all who are incensed against you shall be shamed and disgraced, they shall be as nothing and shall perish, the men of your quarrel." So do not fear the gentiles, you have no reason to fear them, for I already said that I grasped you and say to you "you are My servant," "I have chosen you," "not rejected you," "I am with you," "I have strengthened you," "helped you," "upheld you." And if so, all the enemies who wish to harm you "shall be shamed and disgraced, all who are incensed against you." The Malbim explains, there are four kinds of enemies. There is one who hates his fellow and speaks about him not to his face. This is in the category of "those who are incensed against you." "Those who are incensed (necheirim)," the Malbim explains, is from the expression of one who holds you as banned (cherem). The meaning is: he refrains from coming near you, refrains from coming near your four cubits, as if he made you a cherem. However, the Metzudat Tziyon explains that "necheirim" is from the expression of burning anger (charon af), his anger burns against you. But the Malbim explains rather that it is from the expression of cherem, like they ban you. Behold, those who are incensed against you "shall be shamed and disgraced." These are those who speak about you, what is called behind the back. They shall be disgraced, they shall be shamed. What is the redundancy? "Shall be shamed" is always to be ashamed of oneself. "Shall be disgraced" is more, that is when others disgrace him. They shall be ashamed of themselves and disgraced by others, that others heard their slander and the things they speak against them.
There is another enemy who is to your face, who comes and reviles you to your face. He says things against you to your face, causes you disgrace and shame. These are "the men of your quarrel." And this is what He says after that, He speaks of "the men of your quarrel." "They shall perish as nothing." "They shall be as nothing and shall perish, the men of your quarrel," these are those who come to quarrel with you openly, they shall perish as nothing.
Afterward He speaks of the third type, those who come to strike you. And this is verse 12. "You shall seek them and shall not find them, the men of your strife, they shall be as nothing and as naught, the men of your war." The Malbim explains, just as we saw the first two parts in the previous verse, here He speaks of the third part, the one who comes to strike you. Says the Malbim, there is a difference between "matzah" (strife) and "merivah" (quarrel). Both are expressions of dispute, expressions of contention. "Matzah" and "merivah." Says the Malbim, what is the difference? "Riv" means he comes to contend with you verbally. "Matzah" means he comes to strike you. He comes to make with you "matzah u'merivah," meaning he comes to strike you, he is not satisfied with the mere quarrel, he wants also "matzah." And he explains this, we see several such verses that speak, like "when men strive (yinatzu) and they injure a pregnant woman." You see "yinatzu," it speaks of striking. "And behold two Hebrew men were striving (nitzim)." Again you see that it speaks of striking. "Nitzim" means striking. So He says "the men of your quarrel," those who come to contend with you verbally to disgrace you, "the men of your quarrel shall perish." "You shall seek them and shall not find them, the men of your strife." These are "the men of your strife" who make "matzah" with you, who come to strike you, He says not only will you not need to defend yourself against them, they shall perish, you will not see them. "You shall seek them and shall not find them."
"They shall be as nothing and as naught, the men of your war." Who are "the men of your war"? This is harder. Here He speaks of those who come to kill you, who come to fight against you in outright war, warriors with the sword. "As nothing and as naught, the men of your war." At the time of war they shall be as nothing and as naught, like a thing that is finished and gone. So if so we have here, pay attention, all the levels. At the beginning He says "those who are incensed against you," those who ban you behind your back. Afterward He speaks of "the men of your quarrel," those who come to disgrace you already face to face. Afterward He speaks of "the men of your strife," those who come also to strike you. And in the fourth stage He speaks of "the men of your war," those who come to kill you, not merely to strike. Against all of them He says: you have nothing to worry about, the Holy One, blessed be He, will protect you from all of them.
"For I am Hashem your God, who grasps your right hand, who says to you: fear not, I am your help." Says Hashem, I am Hashem your God, who grasps your right hand, I give you strength to fight, for a person fights with the strong hand, with the right hand. Now says the Malbim, it is very possible that a person will not succeed in fighting for two reasons. It is possible from a reason of weakness and feebleness, he is weak. Hashem says to you, you have nothing to worry about, I am Hashem who grasps your right hand. It is possible that perhaps he is strong, but emotionally he is weak. This person is faint of heart. So perhaps he has many muscles, he has much might, but emotionally he does not have the boldness and the vigor. Says the Holy One, blessed be He, to him: fear not, I am your help. Says the Holy One, blessed be He, to him: fear not, this refers to the emotional weakness. Fear not, I will help you. And if so, all you need is the boldness and the vigor, and then you will see how you are saved from all the enemies against you.
"Fear not, worm of Yaakov, men of Israel, I am your help, says Hashem, and your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel." "Fear not, worm of Yaakov." Why does He call Israel a worm? Says Rashi, the people of Israel, the family of Yaakov, weak as a worm that has no might except in its mouth. The worm is even capable of toppling a tower. A wooden tower, a worm is capable of toppling it. Teamwork, each time each one eats a little, eats a little, eats a little, and you suddenly hear, and there are endless stories about this in the United States, that a person is told suddenly, evacuate the house within 24 hours, otherwise there is a danger that the house will collapse on you. It looks all good, beautiful, the wood, worms began to eat it. They do many treatments there, all sorts of maintenance treatments and various sprayings, but there are situations where there is already nothing to be done and it eats everything. There was a story in the time of Rav Akiva Eiger where there was a town that burned down. And in that time it was very common, like in the United States where sometimes there is a very great danger of fires. And the town went up in flames and the people began to rebuild their homes and took gentile contractors. And Rav Akiva Eiger announced and warned not to allow contractors to work on Shabbat. Even though there was room to come and say that this concerns a gentile contractor, and a gentile acts on his own initiative (adata denafshei ka'aveid), but since this is a matter that causes a stir (avsha milta), it has publicity, therefore this thing is forbidden. There were some three wealthy men there whom it did not suit to spend too much time in soup kitchens, they needed their villa quickly. So they told the gentile contractor to continue building their villa also on Shabbat, not to pay attention to what Rav Akiva Eiger said, to his warning. And they indeed continued and built their villa also on Shabbat. Within a short time their villa was built, they already moved in to live there, while for the rest of the people of the town the building was still in stages. Within a year these people were forced to evacuate their palaces, they built very expensive villas, all of wood, for the wood there is very cheap. They had to evacuate their villas, it turned out that worms were discovered, and only with them, only with the three of them. They had termites, special worms of that kind that eat the wood, it was not possible to live there, everything had to be demolished. That is to say, you see what it is to transgress a matter of what the Holy One of Israel says, the Gaon Rav Akiva Eiger. So let us return to our matter, this is the aspect of the worm of Yaakov. The worm is weak, what are you? With a small press you are finished. What is a worm? He says yes, but this worm can topple a great tower. This is Israel. What is its strength? In what? In its mouth. Israel's strength is in its mouth. We are weak, but we have strength in prayer. The power of prayer is the might of Israel. This is what the Radak says. The midrash says, Yelamdeinu, why were Israel likened to a worm? To tell you, just as this worm strikes the cedars only with its mouth and it is soft and strikes the hard, however soft it is it can topple a mighty cedar, so Israel, all their strength is in prayer and they strike the wicked of the world who are strong as cedars and are likened to them, as it says "a cedar in Lebanon." So consequently, "fear not, worm of Yaakov," since you have the most tremendous power that the worm has, and that is the power of prayer.
The Malbim explains that there is a difference between Yaakov and Israel. And this is an approach that the Malbim takes throughout his entire commentary. Yaakov always speaks of the low level of Israel, of the masses. And Israel speaks of the high level. And this too is implied from the language. Yaakov is an expression of "akvah," an expression of "akev," heel, low. Israel is an expression of dominion, height, elevation. So He says "fear not, worm of Yaakov." The masses of the house of Yaakov, says the Malbim, this is the body of the general nation. It is like a corpse that has rotted, what remains of the corpse? Worms. "Fear not, worm of Yaakov." Israel, as it were, what remains of them? What is left of them? The aspect of a worm. "Men of Israel," those who are Israel, of them too there remains only "the men of Israel." "Metei" means weak, like "metei me'at," few weak men, yes? After every city dies. And there the meaning is not "metim" (dead) with a tzeireh, but with a sheva under the mem. The meaning is people or weak ones. And He says "men of Israel," even those who are Israel, dominion, the elevated ones, they are indeed not in the category of a worm about which you would say they have rotted and almost nothing remains of them, but still they too have been weakened as a result of the exile. Says the Holy One, blessed be He: fear not. Do not see this situation and break. Says Hashem, is it not so that "I am your help." Why "I am your help" in the past tense? Because it is a promise. A promise of Hashem is as if it has already been done. It is like when you make a request, I answer what you began, what you asked. Says Hashem, I will answer them, why? Because I am Hashem the God of Israel. I brought them out of the exile, I will not let them die of thirst in the wilderness. And therefore this is what follows, "I will open rivers on the heights," meaning physical waters that He will pour upon them in the places where they are, in those wildernesses when they return from their exile.
The Malbim explains, "the poor and the needy," says the Malbim, Israel in exile have already despaired of the redemption. What is the reason they reached a state of despair? When they look at their weakness and their feebleness against the enemies, against the gentiles. What are the chances of being redeemed? He says to you "fear not, worm of Yaakov." This is verse 14. You are worried about your weakness? You are in the aspect of the worm of Yaakov, you say I am a worm, what strength do I have against the enemies? Says Hashem: fear not, men of Israel, I am your help, says Hashem, and your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. There is another possibility, that they are worried about their poverty, about their destitution. What is the difference between "the poor" and "the needy"? Says the Malbim, the needy one is poorer than the poor one. For a poor person is one who has nothing, and a needy person is one who craves everything. Therefore he is called "evyon" (needy). Until they are so destitute that even water, which is available everywhere, water can be bought cheaply, even water they do not have. If they are such poor ones who ask for water and there is none, and their tongue is already "nashtah" with thirst, "nashtah" it may be that the Malbim will explain it as from the expression of ruin and dryness, or this "nashtah" as the Malbim explains, like it is written "and the waters shall dry up (venishtu) from the sea," where the Malbim explains that the meaning is from the root "nashat," an expression of displacement, loss, like "their might is spent (nashtah)," like the sinew of the thigh (gid hanasheh), "nasheh" meaning that it was displaced and moved from its place as a result of the strike of the angel. So here too their tongue in thirst "nashtah," their tongue was displaced from their mouth from too much thirst. And He says "I Hashem will answer them, the God of Israel will not forsake them." "I Hashem," this is the Name from the aspect that He is God, creator of all the worlds. "I Hashem will answer them." And from the aspect that I am the God of Israel, which we already explained is the connection that He has with us, the individual providence, "I will not forsake them." Says the Holy One, blessed be He, I will not forsake them because I am connected with Israel. And I have a constant bond with them, and you will not need to pray at all, but rather even before you pray, says the Holy One, blessed be He, I will pour upon you. And then "I will open rivers on the heights and springs in the midst of valleys, I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the parched land springs of water."
"Behold, I have made you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, with double edges, you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and hills you shall make like chaff." What is a "morag"? "Morigin" and "the ox implements." A "morag" was a heavy wooden implement that had grooves and grooves in it, like there is for example in a grater (pumpiah), yes? It was made entirely, or like there is in a file (petzirah), made entirely of grooves and grooves, and this they would pass over the stalks of the ears of grain and it would turn the straw so that it would be cut fine, fine. It would also separate, when they threshed the grain with it, it would also separate the chaff from the wheat. It separates from it the wheat from the husk. Now this "morag," when you use it, it is like a file, use it a lot and it wears down. But if it is a new "morag," then he says that it is still very sharp. This is what He says, "I have made you a threshing sledge, sharp (charutz)." The meaning is grooved, that it has grooves in it, and it is new, and its edges are still, its teeth are still sharp. "With double edges (pifiyot)," "with double edges" is these grooves as we said, many mouths (piyot), therefore it is called "pifiyot." "With double edges." Says the Malbim, He compares here the idolaters, who are in the aspect of chaff and refuse, and you, Israel, as it were will thresh them by means of the sharp new one. We explained what "sharp new" is, what is the referent? Says the Malbim, the referent is that if I need something old, "old" means something used. What is used? The merit of the fathers. You need the merit of the fathers, we have already for thousands of years been making use of this merit of the fathers. He says no, "I have made you a threshing sledge, sharp, new." You will not need the merit of the fathers, you will have new merits as it were of your own, in your own merit, and not something old that you would be forced to rely upon, the merits of our fathers from 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, but rather it will be new through your own merits. And it is not merely a few merits but "with double edges," as we explained many mouths meaning many merits. "With double edges," from the power of many mitzvot. And you through this "shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and hills you shall make like chaff." Says the Malbim, note that the mountains, which are large, He compares them to the wheat that is crushed, "crushed" means they grind it until it becomes in the aspect of flour. Whereas the hills, which are smaller, He compares them to the chaff. And the chaff is essentially, as we said, the husks or the straw. And then He says, even the great mountains, which are essentially the important ministers, their kings, you need not fear them, you shall crush them, you shall make them like flour. And also the hills, which are the lower ones, the lower ministers, the weaker ones, them too you shall make like chaff. Like the chaff, as we explained that the chaff they would separate from the grain and it too they would make fine, fine. And if so, you shall make them like chaff and you have nothing to fear at all from the gentiles. So as we explained earlier, not only, says Hashem, that you can rely on Me, I will give you strength that you can rely also on yourself. You will be in the aspect of a sharp new threshing sledge that threshes them all.
And then through this, after you thresh them, "you shall winnow them, and a wind shall carry them off, and a storm shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in Hashem, in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory." "You shall winnow them, and a wind shall carry them off." After they threshed the grain, they would take and pass the sharp new threshing sledge with the double edges over the grain, which would create a situation where they separated the stalks and separated the husks of the wheat, and through this the wheat would be separated from them. But this is still not enough, for now one needs to begin to extract the kernels of the wheat from all this chaff. What would they do? They would winnow with a winnowing fan. A winnowing fan is like a wide shovel, not heavy, light, that one takes and lifts up the grain with it and throws it into the air. He winnows and the wind assists him. There is a wind, the wind carries the light one and the heavy one lands. The heavy one is essentially the wheat, they come down. The light one is the chaff, these are the husks, they fly, if the wind carried them the wind. And if so, through this a separation would be created between the wheat and the chaff. And this is what He says, "you shall winnow them," you shall winnow them, "and a wind," even a small wind carries them up, into the air. And do not worry that afterward they will fall back here, "and a storm," which is a stronger wind, "shall scatter them." It will scatter them completely, distance them entirely.
In contrast, "you shall rejoice in Hashem," you will have joy and gladness through the great power of the Holy One, blessed be He, who was your help. "And in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory." You will have glory before the multitudes, "glory" means honor in the eyes of all the peoples, in the merit of the Holy One of Israel. As we explained, "the Holy One of Israel" means not merely Hashem, may He be blessed, but rather Hashem, may He be blessed, in His relationship to us. Hashem, may He be blessed, in the relationship that He is our God. The Malbim explains, note an interesting thing, it is written here "you shall rejoice in Hashem" and "in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory." What is the difference? Says the Malbim, a person will have gladness, joy, even in a success that is not attributed to him, that someone did for him. That came to him from outside, even if it is not from my own power, I too have joy. A person who won the lottery, what did you do for it? There are many others who bought a lottery ticket like you and did not win. Nevertheless I have gladness. I have gladness, I am happy that I won. But to glory and to take pride, what is there to glory and take pride about? What did I do? If I exerted myself, worked, opened a factory, established it, succeeded, then too there is something to glory about, but then it is less human nature to glory because it came from his own power. This is what He says, to glory is not possible here since it comes from the power of the Creator. What then? To rejoice is possible, to be glad. To be glad is possible, I won. But on the other hand, to glory, "in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory." The glorying will be from the aspect of Hashem, may He be blessed, I glory in Hashem, through the power of Hashem we were victorious. I glory in His might. But to say to glory in something of my own, what do I have of my own? Hashem saved me. Through His power, may He be blessed, we succeeded. To be glad, yes, "you shall rejoice in Hashem," but to glory, I have nothing to glory about in my deeds, but rather only in the Holy One of Israel, in that the Holy One, blessed be He, His providence was with me and Hashem is the One who saved me.
"The poor and the needy seek water and there is none, their tongue is parched with thirst. I Hashem will answer them, the God of Israel will not forsake them." Who are the poor and the needy here? Why do they seek water? What happened to their tongue that dried up? There are here three main explanations of the verse and we will explain them. Rashi explains, this is a prophecy about the end of days and note, it does not speak here of physical thirst but rather of spiritual thirst. "Not a hunger for bread nor a thirst for water, but rather to hear the word of Hashem." They shall wander to seek the word of Hashem and shall not find it. And then says the Holy One, blessed be He, those poor and needy ones, those who will arrive at the end of the exile and they will seek to search for a little spirituality and there is none. We have no prophecy, He does not even speak to us in dreams. He says but Hashem, then when He redeems you, will prepare for you bread and water. What is bread and water? His Presence and spirit in the mouth of their prophets. This refers to those waters that the Holy One, blessed be He, will summon, which is the following verse, He says this explicitly: "I will open rivers on the heights and springs in the midst of valleys, I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the parched land springs of water." According to Rashi all this tremendous abundance speaks of spiritual abundance. "I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh," as the Holy One, blessed be He, says. "Your prophets shall dream dreams." The meaning is they shall see visions. This is the promise, a promise that you will merit that ultimately the Holy One, blessed be He, will rest His Presence upon Israel. And that expression "which was parched with thirst," Rashi explains "nashtah" is like "and the waters shall dry up (venishtu) from the sea." An expression of desolation and destruction, which is an expression of ruin, an expression of dryness, yes? So instead of "nishtetah," because it is a feminine form, so He says "nashtah," there is a dagesh in place of the doubling. The meaning is their tongue as it were dried up from too much thirst. Says Hashem: I will answer them. I will pour upon them an abundance of spirituality.
This is Rashi. The Radak too explains that it speaks here of the period of the redemption, but the Radak explains that here it speaks of physical thirst, not spiritual thirst. Says the Radak, that when Israel come out of the exile, they will go through wildernesses. Through places where there is no water. And then they will seek water in the wilderness, their tongue dry with thirst, they will cry out to Hashem. Says the Holy One, blessed be He, and I will answer them. "I will answer" always follows a cry, it follows a prayer, follows a request. I answer what you began, what you asked. Says Hashem I will answer them, why? Because I am Hashem the God of Israel. I brought them out of the exile, I will not let them die of thirst in the wilderness. And therefore this is what follows, "I will open rivers on the heights," meaning physical waters that He will pour upon them in the places where they are, in those wildernesses when they return from their exile.
The Malbim explains, "the poor and the needy," says the Malbim, Israel in exile have already despaired of the redemption. What is the reason they reached a state of despair? When they look at their weakness and their feebleness against the enemies, against the gentiles. What are the chances of being redeemed? He says to you "fear not, worm of Yaakov." This is verse 14. You are worried about your weakness? You are in the aspect of the worm of Yaakov, you say I am a worm, what strength do I have against the enemies? Says Hashem: fear not, men of Israel, I am your help, says Hashem, and your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. There is another possibility, that they are worried about their poverty, about their destitution. What is the difference between "the poor" and "the needy"? Says the Malbim, the needy one is poorer than the poor one. For a poor person is one who has nothing, and a needy person is one who craves everything. Therefore he is called "evyon" (needy). Until they are so destitute that even water, which is available everywhere, water can be bought cheaply, even water they do not have. If they are such poor ones who ask for water and there is none, and their tongue is already "nashtah" with thirst, "nashtah" it may be that the Malbim will explain it as from the expression of ruin and dryness, or this "nashtah" as the Malbim explains, like it is written "and the waters shall dry up (venishtu) from the sea," where the Malbim explains that the meaning is from the root "nashat," an expression of displacement, loss, like "their might is spent (nashtah)," like the sinew of the thigh (gid hanasheh), "nasheh" meaning that it was displaced and moved from its place as a result of the strike of the angel. So here too their tongue in thirst "nashtah," their tongue was displaced from their mouth from too much thirst. And He says "I Hashem will answer them, the God of Israel will not forsake them." "I Hashem," this is the Name from the aspect that He is God, creator of all the worlds. "I Hashem will answer them." And from the aspect that I am the God of Israel, which we already explained is the connection that He has with us, the individual providence, "I will not forsake them." Says the Holy One, blessed be He, I will not forsake them because I am connected with Israel. And I have a constant bond with them, and you will not need to pray at all, but rather even before you pray, says the Holy One, blessed be He, I will pour upon you. And then "I will open rivers on the heights and springs in the midst of valleys, I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the parched land springs of water."
So as I said, Rashi explains that the meaning is spiritual abundance that the Holy One, blessed be He, will pour, and "wilderness" is a place where there was no wisdom of Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, will turn it into a pool of water. The Radak explains that the meaning is those who will be in the wilderness literally, according to its plain sense, when they return from the exile, the Holy One, blessed be He, says I will open for them rivers, a place from which there will be water, and in the midst of the valleys too I will place for them water, and it will all be in a miraculous way, for these are not places of water, these are places of wilderness. And the Malbim explains that here the Holy One, blessed be He, essentially promises them and says to them: the high places, where there is no way for there to be rivers, for what is a river? A river is something that is drawn (nimshach). Like "and the nations shall stream (venaharu) toward it," what is "naharu"? They were drawn. A river is something that is drawn. From where does a river come? It is drawn from another place. The river does not spring from here, it is always drawn from another place. What is the place from which it springs, how is it called? A spring (ma'ayan). The spring is the source of flowing water, and the place to which it is drawn is called a river. The river is drawn, from the expression "naharu," as we explained. So where are the rivers found? In high places or in low places? Certainly in low places, for it can be drawn only in low places. So He says here, behold, I will open rivers on the heights, I will do things against nature. "Shefayim" is a high place. Says the Holy One, blessed be He, there, on the heights, in the high places, there I will open rivers. And in contrast, in the midst of the valleys springs are not found, usually the flowing of the water is usually in the mountains. In the valleys rivers are not found. And says the Holy One, blessed be He, with Me it will be the opposite, in the midst of the valleys I will see to it that there will be flowing springs, which is the opposite of the normal nature. "And I will make the wilderness a pool of water." The wilderness cannot have a pool in it, for what is a pool? A pool is a gathering of waters. Can it be that in the wilderness the waters would gather? Within a few days everything evaporates. Only in moist places do the waters gather. And He says there, I will make the wilderness a pool of water. "And the parched land," the dry land, "springs of water." There will be found springs and sources of water, which is also something that is the opposite of nature, that in the parched land, a land of dryness, there is an emergence and bursting forth of water. Says the Holy One, blessed be He, I will see to it and do things that are the opposite of the way of nature.
Part of this will be, "I will place in the wilderness cedar, acacia, myrtle and oil tree. I will set in the desert cypress, elm and box tree together." So according to the Radak, since here it speaks of the future redemption when Israel will pass through the wildernesses, He says not only that in the wilderness I will provide you with water, I will also place trees for you in the wilderness. "I will place in the wilderness cedar, acacia, myrtle and oil tree," trees will grow there. The Radak asks, and if you say what need do they have for these trees in their going up from the exile? What now, a person who passes through the wilderness a few days in order to reach the land, does he need trees? They are going up from the exile, what do they need? Says the Radak, first of all we can say that these trees will be created in the wilderness at their full height. When Adam was created, on the first day that he was created, did he have to wait for the sapling to grow? All the trees were all in their full form and stature. So he says these trees when we come, immediately they will be ready. And through this we will have shade, through this the scorching heat and sun will not strike us. That is one thing. A second possibility, says the Radak, the advantage of these trees will be that from now onward, in all these wildernesses through which we passed there will be trees growing, and everyone will say ah, this is wilderness, what are trees doing here? Ah no, no, Israel passed through here. Israel passed through here, therefore there are trees here. And then there will be in this a constant sanctification of Hashem's name, that people every time they pass there will see and thank Hashem for that wonder.
Now what is written here, cedar, acacia, myrtle, oil tree, the Radak brings names, I will read this briefly, I do not think most of us here are familiar with them. He says the oil tree is what is called "pin" in the vernacular. Oil trees, and the oil comes out of it like pitch. Yonatan rendered "a'in demishcha," this is a tree of oil. An olive tree cannot be the explanation, since in one verse it is written "olive leaves and leaves of the oil tree." So you see that olive is not the oil tree. Even though it would have been possible to say that oil trees are olive leaves, for the olive tree is oily. "Tidhar" is "morniyan." So the Targum explains. There is in the words of Chazal "sha'agah," some say in the vernacular it is "shaf." "Te'ashur" is "eshkur'ein." "Shurbina," some call it "shurbin." Some explain "eshkaru'a," some call it "boho," or "brosh." Well, however it may be, special trees that will be there in the wilderness. The Malbim explains that these trees are good for building houses with them. This is the cedar and acacia. Afterward the myrtle, its advantage is for fragrance. The oil tree is for food and for giving light. All these are not accustomed to being in the wilderness. Says the Holy One, blessed be He, I will place them there in the wilderness. And also in the desert, what is the difference between wilderness and desert? In the wilderness nothing grows, in the desert thorns and thistles grow. Says Hashem, there I will set cypress, elm and box tree. Good and precious trees. And they too will be together, lest you think that in the place where there is cypress there will not be elm, in the place where there is elm there will not be box tree. He says no, but rather together, cypress, elm and box tree, which shows the greatness of the wonder and the miracle.
"So that they may see and know and consider and understand together that the hand of Hashem has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it." What essentially is the purpose in all this? So that they may see and know and consider and understand together, everyone will contemplate and reach the conclusion that the hand of Hashem has done this. It is not by itself. How is it possible that in such places where there is no water suddenly one sees water and springs? How is it possible that in such places where there are no trees suddenly one sees such an entire forest, cedar, acacia, myrtle, cypress, elm, box tree, how is all this possible? Necessarily they will reach the conclusion that the hand of Hashem has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it. The Holy One, blessed be He, created this for our need, for the need of Israel.
The Malbim explains, this verse is one whose clauses are parallel. And we already saw this several times in the past, and we explained that "the clauses of the verse are parallel" means that if I take the verse and divide it into four sentences, then essentially we number them 1, 2, 3, 4, four consecutive sentences, then one sentence, its continuation is three, and sentence two, its continuation is four. This is called "the clauses of the verse are parallel," this means two against two. And if we now wish to read it in such a manner, then it is: "so that they may see and know that the hand of Hashem has done this," and "they may consider and understand together that the Holy One of Israel has created it." This is the meaning of "the clauses of the verse are parallel." The Malbim explains, there is a difference between "see" and "know." "See and know" is, sorry, between "see and know" and "consider and understand." At the beginning He says "so that they may see and know," and "consider and understand." What does He mean to say? "See and know" is sensory perception. I see, I know. This is a clear thing, complete perception. "Consider and understand" means one sets his heart to it, "understand" is inner contemplation. He will examine the matter and understand that same understanding, reach that same conclusion. There is also a difference between "the hand of Hashem has done this" and "the Holy One of Israel has created it." What is the difference between "the hand of Hashem" and "the Holy One of Israel"? "The hand of Hashem" we explained means the Holy One, blessed be He, from the aspect that He brings all of existence into being, Y-H-V-H. "The Holy One of Israel" is from the aspect of His individual providence over us, that He watches over and cares for Israel in a particular way. Now note, there is here another difference. "The hand of Hashem has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it." What is the difference between "has done" and "has created"? This we all know, creation is something from nothing. To create a thing means to bring something out of the void, there is nothing, to create the thing. In contrast, to make means to fix an existing thing. "She made her nails," like for example if the carpenter made a table, he did not make it something from nothing, he made something from something, this is called making. This is not called creating. According to this let us explain the verse.
He says they will see with tangible sight, already in the very sight they will know with clear knowledge, what? That the hand of Hashem has done this. They will know it is not by chance, the hand of Hashem has done this. Who did this thing? All that you see there in the wilderness, this is the hand of Hashem. But still they could say, listen, correct, the hand of Hashem has done this, but this is not creation, it is making, it is something from something. And then it is less stirring. It is less astonishing, because it is something from something, it is not something from nothing.
He says no, but afterward "they may consider and understand together," when they set their heart and understand as we explained that here it speaks of intellectual understanding, when they contemplate, when they examine more, consider and understand together, through this they will reach the conclusion that the Holy One of Israel, the One who performs wonders above nature, the Holy One of Israel has created it. He did here something that is in the aspect of miraculous creation, something from nothing. And this only one who contemplates will be able to reach the conclusion. For one who only sees and knows, then he will think that the hand of Hashem has done this. He will think that it is only the hand of Hashem that did here a making. It is from the power of Hashem who brings things into being in the world, the hand of Hashem, not the Holy One of Israel who brings things into being in the world, and this is a making of something from something. Like there are all sorts of things, all sorts of natural phenomena, so here too there was an interesting natural phenomenon, there were in the middle of the wilderness rivers, in the middle of the wilderness trees. He says no, when they consider and understand together, contemplate well, they will reach the conclusion that the Holy One of Israel, Hashem from the aspect that He is the Holy One of Israel, meaning He protects Israel, watches over them with individual providence, has created it, He did here a non-natural creation in the aspect of something from nothing.