Chapter 49 in Yeshayahu continues the prophecies of consolation and redemption. In the section before us, the prophet describes the complete reversal of circumstances: from a despised and subjugated nation to a people before whom kings arise; the two paths of redemption - "in its time" (be'itah) and "I will hasten it" (achishenah); the journey of return from exile with tranquility and mercy; and the complaint of Zion that she has been forgotten, alongside the Holy One Blessed be He's response that there is no forgetting before Him. Let us follow the order of the verses according to the commentary of the Malbim.
כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה גֹּאֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל קְדוֹשׁוֹ לִבְזֹה־נֶפֶשׁ לִמְתָעֵב גּוֹי לְעֶבֶד מֹשְׁלִים מְלָכִים יִרְאוּ וָקָמוּ שָׂרִים וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְמַעַן יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר נֶאֱמָן קְדֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּבְחָרֶךָּ׃ - So said Hashem, Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to the despised of soul, to the abhorred of nations, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes and they shall prostrate themselves, for the sake of Hashem Who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, Who chose you.
"So said Hashem, Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One" - He Who is ready to redeem them in the merit of the holiness of their deeds, because of the good deeds they have performed, and is prepared to redeem them through great miracles. The Malbim explains that the verse should be read as though its syntax were: "Kings shall see and arise, princes and they shall prostrate themselves - to the despised of soul, to the abhorred of nations." That is to say: even though the Jewish people are currently despised and abhorred, nevertheless kings are destined to rise before them. Do not look at the present situation; kings will yet stand up and bow down to them.
The Malbim details three dimensions of humiliation. The first dimension is from the perspective of the soul: "to the despised of soul." The soul is referred to in sacred sefarim as "glory" (kavod), yet the nations treat us as a people whose very soul is low and despised.
The second dimension is from the perspective of the body: "to the abhorred of the body" (limta'ev goy). Here, "goy" is related to "geviyah," the physical body. They consider our bodies abhorrent and defiled, to the point of being careful not even to touch us. It is told that the Baal Shem Tov was once walking with his disciples when a priest passed by with his novices. As the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples were conversing, they overheard the priest tell his men: Let us move away from them, lest a drop of spittle fly toward us while they speak and defile us. The Baal Shem Tov said to his disciples: How great is the kindness the Holy One Blessed be He has done for us by distancing the gentile from us! For instead of my having to distance myself from him - he being the truly defiled and repulsive one - Hashem helped us by causing them to be repulsed by us and distance themselves from us. It is known regarding Rav Baruch Ber that if he shook hands with a gentile, he would go to immerse in the mikveh. Yet from their perspective, their attitude toward us is as though our physical bodies were repulsive.
The third dimension is from the perspective of status: "to a servant of rulers." We are not likened to a servant who has a single master, but to a slave who has many rulers and is forced to serve them all. Unfortunately, this is our reality: every nation has criticisms of us; some establish investigative commissions against us, others put any military officer who visits them on trial, and others file lawsuits against us in The Hague. When there is only one master, one can manage with him; but here there are dozens of bosses, all investigating us, scrutinizing us, and imposing sanctions upon us - backbreaking labor.
And corresponding to these three, the Holy One Blessed be He promises a total reversal. Corresponding to "despised of soul" and "abhorred of body," we will possess great stature and immense honor, to the point that "kings shall see and arise" - monarchs will rise out of respect for us. And corresponding to "a servant of rulers," where everyone ruled over us, "princes and they shall prostrate themselves" - their princes will prostrate themselves before us, meaning that we will then be the rulers over them.
Why will this take place? For two reasons. The first: "For the sake of Hashem Who is faithful" - because Hashem promised, and when Hashem makes a promise, He is faithful to fulfill His word. The second: "the Holy One of Israel, Who chose you" - by virtue of the sanctity of our deeds, that the Jewish people will sanctify themselves and perform the will of Hashem; and on that basis the Holy One Blessed be He chooses us, because we are now worthy.
These two reasons, says the Malbim, allude to the two paths of redemption: "in its time" (be'itah) and "I will hasten it" (achishenah). If Israel merits, the redemption will be "I will hasten it," and we will merit to receive it early - this corresponds to "the Holy One of Israel, Who chose you," meaning that we will sanctify our actions and Hashem will choose us. And if we do not repent and are not worthy, the Rambam already stated that the Holy One Blessed be He will raise up a king who will compel them to repent. In any case, even then it will be "for the sake of Hashem Who is faithful" - worthy or not worthy, He will fulfill the promise, because Hashem is faithful. But it is far better that it come about through your being truly upstanding, that the Holy One Blessed be He chooses you because you are worthy of it. If we merit, the redemption will be "I will hasten it"; and if not, Heaven forbid, they will receive it "in its time" (be'itah) - and undergoing harsh blows along the way is certainly not desirable. It is desirable that the redemption come swiftly, as achishenah.
כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה בְּעֵת רָצוֹן עֲנִיתִיךָ וּבְיוֹם יְשׁוּעָה עֲזַרְתִּיךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לִבְרִית עָם לְהָקִים אֶרֶץ לְהַנְחִיל נְחָלוֹת שֹׁמֵמוֹת׃ - Thus said Hashem: In a time of favor I have answered you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you; and I will preserve you and designate you as a covenant of the people, to establish the land, to assign the desolate inheritances.
The Malbim explains that this verse directly parallels what was stated in the previous verse: redemption can arrive in its set time - if we are not worthy - or we can merit "I will hasten it," where Hashem speeds up the redemption and brings us out of exile ahead of schedule. Therefore: "In a time of favor I have answered you" - if you improve your ways and it becomes a time of goodwill, I will answer you even before the appointed time. The Malbim notes with precision: "answering" is always a response to someone calling out, whereas "help" is granted even to someone who has not called. You cry out constantly, "Master of the Universe, take us out of exile!" - and if it is a time of favor and you are deserving and worthy, "I have answered you," I will take you out ahead of time.
"And on a day of salvation I have helped you" - at the very least, if you are not fitting and worthy, there is a designated day recorded as a day of salvation, and that is "in its time." Then, "I have helped you" - I will help you, just as assistance is extended to one who does not call out. This help is fixed to a specific moment, on the day of salvation, but the answering depends on a time of favor and can arrive well before the deadline. And even if you do not merit it early, there is nothing to fear: there is a day of salvation, and the redemption will surely arrive.
"And I will preserve you" - throughout the days of exile as well, the Holy One, blessed be He, guarantees special divine providence. I will safeguard you so that you do not perish among the nations, for otherwise the designated time for redemption might arrive with no one left to redeem. Were it not for the terrible and horrific Holocaust - difficult as it is to say - where would European Jewry be today? Would there even be such a thing as "European Jewry"? Assimilation was raging and devastating, consuming everything in its path. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, also promises protection: "And I will preserve you and designate you as a covenant of the people" - I will uphold the covenant I made with the Jewish people, that they will never be destroyed.
"To establish the land" - another promise, that the Holy One, blessed be He, will re-establish the Land of Israel, the Holy Land. "To assign the desolate inheritances" - I will return the Jewish people and grant them possession of those heritages that currently appear desolate. The Malbim explains that this does not refer to kibbutzim, nor is that what the verse is addressing, but rather "the Temple courtyards and the Sanctuary, which are Hashem's inheritance for His tribe." When will you know that the redemption has truly arrived? When the courtyards and the Temple - Hashem's inheritance - are re-established.
There were individuals, especially those leaning toward Reform, who refused to say, "And to Jerusalem, Your city, return in mercy," and refused to recite the prayer of Nachem, "Comfort... Jerusalem, the city that is desolate, ruined, disgraced, and sitting without her children." Their argument was: What are you talking about? Haven't you seen the Menachem Begin highway? Haven't you seen the light rail? How can you call it ruined and desolate? Come see Jerusalem at night, look at the lights, it is breathtaking, it opens the heart. Haven't you seen the Supreme Court building? You walk in there - what majesty and grandeur, a temple of justice! Once we had the Temple of Hashem, and today we have a temple of justice. Yet one must understand that this itself is part of the city's destruction and desolation.
One of the major tragedies enumerated in our tradition is that "Turnus Rufus plowed the Temple mount." Everyone asks: What difference did that make? The Temple was already destroyed, so what did it matter whether he plowed the ground or not? But in truth, that made it far worse. When the Temple lies in ruins and we walk past and see destruction, it pinches the heart, and we pray: "Master of the Universe, rebuild Jerusalem for us, look upon the city in its ruined and desolate state!" But when we walk past and see a developed, brightly lit, and magnificent city, we say: "Thank God, we have Jerusalem; it can always be upgraded, but thank God we have it." Thus, building Jerusalem on a foundation other than the Torah is an even greater destruction. And that is precisely what Turnus Rufus did: he plowed everything under and laid out gardens. "Look at the beauty, what wonderful gardens - where is the ruin? What are you talking about? Everything is so lovely." That creates a far deeper spiritual obstacle. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, promises "to establish the land, to assign the desolate inheritances," and according to the Malbim - who wrote this some two hundred years ago - the desolate inheritances are the Temple courtyards and the Sanctuary, which are Hashem's inheritance for His tribe. These the Holy One, blessed be He, promises to raise up, and only then will you know that the redemption has truly begun.
לֵאמֹר לַאֲסוּרִים צֵאוּ לַאֲשֶׁר בַּחֹשֶׁךְ הִגָּלוּ עַל־דְּרָכִים יִרְעוּ וּבְכׇל־שְׁפָיִים מַרְעִיתָם׃ - Saying to the prisoners, "Go forth," to those who are in darkness, "Show yourselves"; they shall feed along the roads, and their pasture shall be on all bare hills.
We saw earlier that the tribes of Yehudah and Binyamin were exiled under the rule of idolaters and were bound in iron chains, unable to leave except by the permission of Cyrus. Corresponding to this, the verse says, "Saying to the prisoners, 'Go forth'" - these are Yehudah and Binyamin, who are imprisoned in their places of dwelling. After all, we could not simply pack up and leave whenever we wished: in Yemen, in Iraq, in Morocco, special permission from the authorities was required, and usually they did not grant permission until they knew that all our property would be left behind; only then, out of their great "kindness," did they agree to let us go. These are called prisoners - for we were not free individuals who could decide to depart at will. Concerning them, Hashem promises to bring them forth from confinement.
"To those who are in darkness, reveal yourselves" - this refers to the other part of the Jewish people, and unfortunately the lion's share: the Ten Tribes. Notice the precise nuance: regarding Yehudah and Binyamin it says "prisoners," while regarding the Ten Tribes it says "in darkness." The Ten Tribes are not imprisoned; they are located beyond the Mountains of Darkness, and there is no foreign ruler preventing them from leaving. The problem is that they dwell in darkness, meaning in a place where they are not seen and are unknown to us - those exiled to Chalach, Chavor, and the Gozan River, whose location no man knows, making them like someone who has vanished into the dark. Therefore, they do not need the command "Go forth" - going forth applies to someone who is locked in - but rather "Reveal yourselves," that they should reveal themselves from that place of darkness, and through this they will already be able to arrive.
"They shall graze along the roads, and on all barren hills shall be their pasture" - when the Holy One, blessed be He, redeems them, He will lead them along an easy and comfortable path, pasturing them like a shepherd tending his flock. The Malbim explains: sometimes a shepherd must lead his flock far off into the desolation of the wilderness, either out of fear of bandits or because there is insufficient pasture in the area. But here, "they shall graze along the roads" - no bandit will harm them, no passerby will cause them damage, and no nation will wage war against them; thus they can be led along the main roads. There is no need to smuggle them through twisting, hidden paths. "And on all barren hills shall be their pasture" - every high hill will serve as their grazing ground; that is to say, they will return from exile openly and publicly, not slipping away in stealth or hiding, and their pasturage will be anywhere there are high hills with grain.
לֹא יִרְעָבוּ וְלֹא יִצְמָאוּ וְלֹא־יַכֵּם שָׁרָב וָשָׁמֶשׁ כִּי־מְרַחֲמָם יְנַהֲגֵם וְעַל־מַבּוּעֵי מַיִם יְנַהֲלֵם׃ - They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither scorching heat nor sun shall strike them; for He who has compassion on them shall lead them, and by springs of water He shall guide them.
One who travels a distant journey lacks bread and water and requires provisions for the way, and moreover, scorching heat and the blazing sun beat down upon him. Concerning this the prophet promises: "They shall neither hunger nor thirst" - they will embark on the road and there will be neither hunger nor thirst. Even the scorching heat and the sun, which are beyond human control and come from above - "neither scorching heat nor sun shall strike them." And why? "For He who has compassion on them shall lead them" - the Holy One, blessed be He, will lead them with mercy, through places or at times when the sun is not intense; "and by springs of water He shall guide them" - and therefore they will not thirst.
Let us look closely at the language: what is the difference between yenahagem ("shall lead them") and yenahelem ("shall guide them")? The Malbim explains: in Lashon HaKodesh, "to lead" (lehahnig) is a verb applied to sheep and cattle, and from there we derive the concept of leadership in general - that leading is akin to directing livestock, who are driven against their will without being consulted. "To guide" (lenahel), by contrast, is always done gently, pleasantly, and with the consent of the one being guided. A manager (menahel) does not oversee forced laborers, but rather people who agree to be guided by him. A leader (manhig), however, is the unquestioned authority, whether they wish it or not. This is why it says, "For He who has compassion on them shall lead them": even though there is a quality of leading like a flock of sheep, it will be done with mercy. Not only that, but "by springs of water He shall guide them" - like one who guides a person endowed with will and intellect, willingly and not by coercion.
וְשַׂמְתִּי כׇל־הָרַי לַדָּרֶךְ וּמְסִלֹּתַי יְרֻמוּן׃ - And I will make all My mountains into a road, and My highways shall be raised up.
They will not need to search for a path; rather, the mountains themselves will become a road. Normally, when there are mountains, one must bypass them, as it is impossible to walk straight through them. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: the mountains will become flattened, as it were, and turn into a road. "And My highways" - a highway (mesilah) is always a paved, paved-out road, and here everyone will know that these are My highways, which the Holy One, blessed be He, prepared specifically for His children. "Shall be raised up" - they will be elevated and not sunken, clearly visible so that one may walk upon them with ease.
הִנֵּה־אֵלֶּה מֵרָחוֹק יָבֹאוּ וְהִנֵּה־אֵלֶּה מִצָּפוֹן וּמִיָּם וְאֵלֶּה מֵאֶרֶץ סִינִים׃ - Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim.
Here a new theme begins, says the Malbim. The prophet comes to describe that the ingathering of the exiles will take place even before Zion is built. We should not think that the order will be that the Land of Israel is built up and established first, and only afterward will the exiles be gathered; rather, the opposite is true: the exiles will gather while Jerusalem is still a wasteland. As we see in the process in which we find ourselves - we are not yet in the full ingathering of the exiles, for the majority of the diaspora remains abroad and only a portion of the Jewish people is here - yet this can serve as an illustration to understand how, when our return began, nothing had been built yet.
"Behold, these shall come from afar" - these are the exiles of the east, the Ten Tribes who were exiled far to the east, beyond the Mountains of Darkness, and who must be brought from afar. "And behold, these from the north and from the west" - these are those exiled to the north and to the west. "And these from the land of Sinim" - these are the exiles of the south. The land of Sinim is not modern-day China, for China is in the east, whereas here it refers to a southern land, as the Targum translates: "from the southern land." The Sinites were descendants of Canaan, and this has no connection to modern-day Chinese. Rabbeinu Saadiah Gaon interpreted this as a place name whose exact identification is uncertain, but it is clear that this refers to a nation or land in the south, likely in the region toward Egypt and southward, and from there the entire exile will spread and come to return to the Land of Israel.
רׇנּוּ שָׁמַיִם וְגִילִי אָרֶץ וּפִצְחוּ הָרִים רִנָּה כִּי־נִחַם יְהֹוָה עַמּוֹ וַעֲנִיָּיו יְרַחֵם׃ - Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains, for Hashem has comforted His people and will have mercy on His afflicted.
The prophet describes allegorically how the entire world will rejoice when Israel departs from exile. The difficulty in the verse is the apparent redundancy: if it already says, "and be joyful, O earth," the mountains are surely included in the earth, and thus they would naturally rejoice - so why was it necessary to add, "and break forth into singing, O mountains"? Radak explains that the mountains are mentioned separately because they represent the primary foundation of the earth's creation, the part that rises above it and endures. Another reason: because of their prominence, as the primary metals are found in the mountains - at least in their times - and therefore the verse singled them out.
The Malbim explains: "Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth" is stated as a general rule, and then the verse descends to specific details - that even the individual mountains have already broken forth into song, to the point that the good tidings have reached the dwellers of the mountains as well. According to the Malbim, "mountains" here refers to the inhabitants of the mountains. And what is the cause of this joyful singing? "For Hashem has comforted His people and will have mercy on His afflicted" - for they will see that the Holy One, blessed be He, is comforting His people, redeeming them once more, and having mercy on His afflicted. Everyone sings, everyone rejoices, everyone is filled with jubilation and song - except for Zion.
וַתֹּאמֶר צִיּוֹן עֲזָבַנִי יְהֹוָה וַאדֹנָי שְׁכֵחָנִי׃ - But Zion said, "Hashem has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me."
Why does the verse mention Zion specifically, rather than speaking of the Land of Israel as a whole? Because Zion is the head of the kingdom of Israel, and as it were, the city laments that her children have been exiled from her and that all of Israel remains distant from her. And as explained: when the Jewish people return, Zion will not yet be rebuilt, and therefore Zion is not yet aware that the redemption has begun, and she continues to lament and say, "Hashem has forsaken me."
And not only that He has forsaken me because of sin, but it seems to me that "He has forgotten me" - that He does not remember me at all. For the Malbim explains: abandonment is always due to sin, yet the one who abandons still remembers the one he left behind - "I left him because he sinned," and the act of abandonment itself retains a memory. But forgetting stems from revulsion: "I have become disgusted with him, and because of that, I have forgotten him completely."
The Malbim further notes, as is his way, the order of the words. At first: "And Zion said, Hashem has forsaken me" - first the speaker, then the verb, and only at the end the subject. In the continuation, however, the order is reversed: "and my Lord has forgotten me" - placing the divine Name first and the action afterward. The rule in the Holy Tongue is generally to place the predicate before the subject; whenever one sees an inverted order, it demands interpretation, indicating a novel insight that Scripture comes to teach us. Therefore, with abandonment it used the normal order, but with forgetting it conveyed a novel point: it did not say "forgotten me has the Lord," but rather "and my Lord has forgotten me" - know that even He who never forgets, namely Hashem, has, as it were, forgotten me.
הֲתִשְׁכַּח אִשָּׁה עוּלָהּ מֵרַחֵם בֶּן־בִּטְנָהּ גַּם־אֵלֶּה תִשְׁכַּחְנָה וְאָנֹכִי לֹא אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ׃ - Can a woman forget her nursing child, from having compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
The beginning of the verse is still Zion's claim, prior to the Holy One, blessed be He's response. Zion asks: Can it be imagined that a woman would forget her 'olah' (child)? 'Olah' is related to 'oleil' (young child), and the Malbim explains that this refers to an older son who no longer depends on her. Could it be that she forgets her love for him? Perhaps that might be possible, for their connection is one of love, and though rare, it can happen. But '[from having compassion] on the son of her womb' - could it be that she forgets to have mercy on her infant, the baby she carries who nurses at her breast? Toward him she feels not only love but also compassion, for he depends entirely upon her; a few hours without his mother and the infant cries out in distress.
And this is Zion's plea: And You, Master of the Universe, even if You forgot Your love toward us - how could You forget to have compassion upon us, when we are forsaken and have no supporter other than You, like an infant who relies upon his mother? As it were, the husband who had wandered far away now reveals himself to the woman, to the grieving widow.
To this, the Holy One, blessed be He, responds: 'Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.' Know that even if it were imaginable for a woman to forget her love for her son, and even if it were conceivable that she would forget to have compassion on the infant nursing at her breast - that would occur before I would ever forget you. In other words: what you thought was impossible might indeed happen, but what you assumed had already occurred, that I had forgotten you - that will never happen. It is completely out of the question.
הֵן עַל־כַּפַּיִם חַקֹּתִיךְ חוֹמֹתַיִךְ נֶגְדִּי תָּמִיד׃ - Behold, I have engraved you upon the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.
And why is there no forgetfulness before Me? The Holy One, blessed be He, declares: I have engraved your name upon My palms. When a person has something inscribed on his hand, could he possibly forget it? The hand is the most constantly used member; everything is done with the hands, and when something is written upon it, he surely remembers it. So it is, as it were, by way of metaphor - for He has no physical hands: with every use of My hands, I immediately remember you.
The deeper meaning, explains the Malbim, is that all the actions and deeds performed by the Holy One, blessed be He, are means leading toward the ultimate purpose. One might have thought, as it were, that the Holy One, blessed be He, was occupied with some other matter and suddenly remembered: 'Right, I left a nation there in exile; good thing you reminded Me, I need to take them out.' Says the Holy One, blessed be He: You are mistaken. In everything I do, your name is written upon My hands - meaning that every action I perform leads toward the ultimate goal of your redemption and your deliverance from exile; the name of the Jewish people is stamped upon every single deed.
And as we have mentioned in the past: people ask why Mashiach did not come long ago. But had Mashiach arrived twenty years ago, consider how many hundreds of thousands have done teshuvah over the past twenty years - where would they have been in this whole story? What would have become of them at the time of redemption? Hashem have mercy! After all, it is written: 'As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt,' and there only one-fifth were redeemed - is that what we want, for only a small minority of the Jewish people to be redeemed? It turns out that all the processes we undergo are part of the refinement leading to the redemption, so that more people will merit boarding the wagon and being part of Klal Yisrael. So do you think that I, as it were, forgot and suddenly remembered to attend to you? The Holy One, blessed be He, says: You are mistaken. Everything is engraved upon My hands, so to speak, and all My actions are for the sake of the redemption of Israel.
And not only this: 'Your walls are continually before Me' - I have also engraved them before My face, as it were, as a sign and as frontlets (totafot). And this is what Chazal taught: What is written in the Tefillin of the Holy One, blessed be He? 'Who is like Your people, Israel?' 'Behold, I have engraved you upon the palms of My hands' corresponds to what rests upon the arm of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is the Tefillin Shel Yad; 'and your walls are continually before Me' corresponds to the Tefillin Shel Rosh. Can a person ever forget the Tefillin he is wearing? Says the Holy One, blessed be He: It is upon Me, it is before My face as a sign and as frontlets. And not only now, but 'continually' - from the moment you went into exile until now, so that you do not think that only now have I awakened to redeem you.
Yet there is still room to ask: Master of the Universe, if we are continually before You, why has there been hester panim (concealment of the Divine countenance) until now, and why did You not deliver us from all the harsh and horrific troubles, from the Inquisitions and the Holocausts? The answer to this comes in the following verse:
מִהֲרוּ בָּנָיִךְ מְהָרְסַיִךְ וּמַחֲרִיבַיִךְ מִמֵּךְ יֵצֵאוּ׃ - Your children have made haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall depart from you.
In this chapter, the Holy One, Blessed is He, promises a complete reversal: the nation that is "despised of soul," "abhorred by nations," and a "servant of rulers" will merit that kings shall rise before it and princes shall bow down. Redemption can arrive through two pathways - "I have answered you" in a time of favor, if we merit it, or "I have helped you" on the designated day of salvation, for the sake of Hashem Who is faithful. Throughout the exile, Hashem promises "and I will preserve you," a protection ensuring that the nation will not perish, and ultimately to establish the land and to inherit Hashem's desolate heritages - the courtyards and the Sanctuary. The return will take place in tranquility: prisoners will go free, those in hiding will emerge, the pathways will be made level, and there will be neither hunger nor thirst nor scorching heat, for He Who has mercy on them will lead them, and by springs of water He will guide them. And when Zion still laments, "Hashem has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me," the answer comes that even if a woman could forget her nursing child - "yet I will not forget you," for behold, I have engraved you upon the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.