00:00 Sefer Yeshayahu, chapter 52. "Awake, awake, clothe yourself in your strength, Tzion, put on your garments of splendor, Yerushalayim, city of holiness, for never again shall there come into you the uncircumcised and the impure." We recall that in the previous chapter Am Yisrael said to the Holy One, blessed be He, awake, awake, put on strength, referring to the arm of Hashem. Master of the Universe, why do You not perform miracles and wonders for us as You did at the Exodus from Egypt, as You did when we returned from the exile of the First Temple? Behold, the Holy One, blessed be He, did this for us even though we had no merits. So awake, awake, put on strength, the arm of Hashem, to perform miracles for us even now, though we are not worthy. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: awake, awake, clothe yourself in your strength, Tzion, the matter depends on you. You, Tzion, you Am Yisrael, you must arouse yourselves. Clothe yourself in your strength, Tzion.
Let us note, there is Tzion here and there is Yerushalayim here. What is the difference between Tzion and Yerushalayim? The Malbim already explained in several places, and this is a line he consistently follows. In the stronghold of Tzion was the City of David, where the Beit HaMikdash was, where the priesthood, the Sanhedrin, and the monarchy were. That is the more inner part. Yerushalayim refers to the entire area outside, everything within the walls. This part is called Yerushalayim, but the inner part, which is the City of David, the Beit HaMikdash, the place of the Kohanim, the Sanhedrin, that is called the stronghold of Tzion. Therefore he says, awake, awake, clothe yourself in your strength, Tzion. Here he speaks of the inner strength, clothe yourself in your strength, Tzion, referring to the more inner part of Yerushalayim. And Yerushalayim itself is the whole city, which, as it were, represents the aspect of the outer garments, and this is splendor. That is why it says there, your garments of splendor, Yerushalayim. Garments serve to characterize what is on the outside. This is your garments of splendor, Yerushalayim, for Yerushalayim itself represents the aspect of externality as opposed to Tzion, which is the more inner, more elevated part, the Beit HaMikdash, the City of David. Therefore he says, you shall put on your garments of splendor.
What is the meaning of this? The Malbim says that by garments of splendor he intends to hint at physical success. The meaning is that success is composed of two things. There is physical, bodily success, and there is spiritual success. When he says, clothe yourself in your strength, Tzion, he speaks of the inner, spiritual part, the Beit HaMikdash. That is the strength, the spiritual strength, the inner strength of Am Yisrael. In contrast, there is also physical, material strength, that we can fight against our enemies, that we can stand up for our rights. That is, put on your garments of splendor, Yerushalayim. For what? That never again shall there come into you the uncircumcised and the impure. That the uncircumcised shall no longer come into Yerushalayim, and the impure into Tzion. For Tzion, as we said, is a holy and elevated place. Tzion, as we explained, expresses the inner part, the Beit HaMikdash, where the impure must not reach. So the uncircumcised shall not come into Yerushalayim, meaning to harm our physical strength, which is Yerushalayim, and the impure shall not come into Tzion, to defile, God forbid, our holy place, which is the city of Tzion, the Beit HaMikdash, the place where the Shechinah rests.
"Shake yourself from the dust, arise, sit, Yerushalayim, loose the bands of your neck, captive daughter of Tzion." These expressions are familiar to all of us from Lecha Dodi. Many do not notice that Lecha Dodi is a hymn of which only a small part speaks of Shabbat, and most of it speaks of Yerushalayim. The first two stanzas speak of Shabbat, but all the rest of Lecha Dodi actually speaks of Yerushalayim. And many of the expressions we see there are drawn from these sources that speak of the praise of Yerushalayim. Awake, awake, for your light has come, shake yourself from the dust, arise, sit, Yerushalayim.
Now he begins to speak to the city of Tzion and the city of Yerushalayim. That is, at first he spoke to the body, the place itself. Now he speaks to the people who dwell there. He speaks to the people of Tzion and to the people of Yerushalayim. As it were, at first they speak to the city itself, by way of metaphor, as if he says the city itself should awaken. And now he speaks to the people dwelling there, to the people dwelling within Tzion, within Yerushalayim. Those who were taken captive from among the important ones of the city. As is well known, in Yerushalayim there were the poor of the people and there were the more important people. Those who were the officers, the nobles, the important, the honored, they would bind them, tie them with fetters. What today is called handcuffs, or cuffs. They would tie them up completely, they were bound, because these were important people, none of whom could be allowed to slip away. In contrast, the masses, the poor of the people, they did not bind one by one with cuffs, that is not how they did it. Rather, they took them like one takes, lehavdil, cattle. Someone would guard them with a weapon and thus escort them all together. Therefore he says, shake yourself from the dust, arise, sit, Yerushalayim, loose the bands of your neck, captive daughter of Tzion. Those who were captives from Yerushalayim, shake yourself from the dust, arise. For they, as we said, were dragged along unbound. When they wanted to move them, to tell them to stop here, they would lie on the ground. When they wanted to raise them to continue on the way, they would lift them from the ground. To them he says, shake yourself from the dust, arise, sit, Yerushalayim. "Sit" refers to the captives of Yerushalayim. Why? Because the captives of Yerushalayim, who are the poor of the people, are in the dust, and one must raise them from the dust. In contrast, the daughter of Tzion, which as we explained refers to the important, the elevated, the men of the Sanhedrin, the officers, the nobles, when they were taken captive they would bind them. Therefore to them he says, loose the bands of your neck, captive daughter of Tzion. You, the captive from Tzion, which is the more inner part as we explained, the part of the City of David, you must loose the bands of your neck, for upon your neck they placed a yoke, upon your neck they placed bonds to tie you so that you would not flee, therefore loose the bands of your neck in order to return and be redeemed.
"For thus says Hashem, you were sold for nothing, and not with money shall you be redeemed." What does "sold for nothing" mean? Rashi says: for matters of nothing, referring to the evil inclination, which brings you no reward. We once mentioned what the kabbalists say, that the evil inclination is called "nothing." Why? It comes and says to you: everything is free, come, take, enjoy, desires, pleasures, all for free. No need to pay. Come, just enjoy. The evil inclination is called "nothing." Therefore it is brought in the holy Zohar that if a person is offered, come, I have an etrog on my tree, free, take it for free, no need to pay, how much shall I pay you? Nothing, a gift. The kabbalists say, under no circumstances take it, and so the Kaf HaChaim also brings. Insist on paying. Why? "Free" belongs to the sitra achra. What comes for free goes to the sitra achra. If they tell you it is free, tell him no, for free I do not take. You want to give it to me cheaply, I am willing to pay you 50 shekels instead of 400, but insist on paying. Under no circumstances be willing to take for free. For the sitra achra clings to "free." Everything that comes for free, the sitra achra clings to it. There are people, if a person spends money, the sitra achra comes for free. So thus says Hashem, you were sold for nothing. Who is "nothing"? It is the evil inclination. The evil inclination brings no reward. When you work for the evil inclination, first of all it offers you everything for free. Second, it also demands, there is no reward for it either. All that I did, I will not receive reward for it afterward. So that is what is called working for nothing. You were a laborer for the evil inclination here for 70 years, you arrive above, it turns out there is no salary for one who serves the evil inclination. They tell you, what do you want? You received pleasures here, desires, that is it. That is the salary. What? I thought those were just bonuses, I thought above there awaits... No, no, no, he says, awaiting you, yes, Gehinnom, but that is unrelated, that is not... that is the bonus. But know that if you expect reward, the evil inclination gives no reward. That is why it is called "nothing." And so, since you were sold for nothing, not with money shall you be redeemed. So then what will the redemption be? It too will not be with money, but rather how? Specifically through teshuvah.
There is another explanation. The Radak says, thus says Hashem, you were sold for nothing. What does "for nothing" mean? You were not sold for money. No, I did not sell you because I received money for you. For if I had sold you because I received money for you, then what would be your way to be redeemed? To give money. But since that is not the way, I did not receive money for you, then likewise not with money shall you be redeemed. Rather, you were sold because of your sins, so then the way to redemption is through teshuvah, that you return from your sins.
The Malbim says, what is the reason that the Holy One, blessed be He, commands that they go out on their own? Seemingly we are not in our own hands, for they took us captive, as you say, sit, Yerushalayim, captive daughter of Tzion. And if someone captures someone else, the other person cannot go out on his own. He is in the hands of someone else, there is another who rules over him. So how does the Holy One, blessed be He, so to speak, desire that we go out of captivity without anyone compensating the captors? The one who took us captive wants something from us, he gained something from us by taking us captive. And suddenly the Holy One, blessed be He, will simply take us out? The Holy One, blessed be He, says, since you were sold for nothing, then not with money shall you be redeemed. If those who captured you had paid me something, then you would be right. They paid me something, now one would need to pay them for taking them back, for taking their prey from their hands. But indeed they paid me nothing for taking you. And since that is so, then likewise no payment is due them. In simple words, do not be troubled about how the redemption will be, that we are in the hands of others. Hashem says, they received you for free, they will release you for free. Do not be troubled about this point.
"For thus says Hashem, my people went down to Egypt at first to sojourn there, and Ashur oppressed them for nothing." My people went down to Egypt at first to sojourn there. Let us note, there is Egypt here as opposed to Ashur, and it is not entirely clear what the connection is between them. At first we went down to sojourn in Egypt, and Ashur oppressed us for nothing. What is the connection between the beginning of the verse and the end of the verse? How does he connect Egypt to Ashur, two entirely different periods? And if you say that he comes to create some distinction between them, what is the distinction? At what point does he distinguish between them?
There are several explanations of this. Rashi explains, my people went down to Egypt at first to sojourn there. The Egyptians still had some slight debt that we, as it were, owed them. Why? Because my people went down to Egypt at first to sojourn there. The Egyptians, as it were, claim, we have merits. We sustained you, we provided for you during a time when you had nothing to eat. Yaakov your father, seventy souls went down here to Egypt, who cared for them if not us? So my people went down at first to Egypt to sojourn there, they had some argument, some ground to stand on, some merits. But Ashur oppressed for nothing and for free. Ashur, what right do you have to come and oppress Am Yisrael? What is due to you? Egypt still has a claim. Egypt can still say, well, we gave to them, we granted them. But you, Ashur, what claim do you have? So if I took you out from Egypt, even though Egypt had some claim, some ground to stand on, nevertheless I took you out from there, then Ashur, who has no claim and no ground to stand on, all the more so shall I redeem you from Ashur. For Ashur oppressed for nothing, meaning for nothing, for free, without any reason.
The Malbim says the distinction is different. The Malbim says, the difference between Egypt and Ashur is that in Egypt we came there. In contrast, Ashur came here. That is, Egypt, they did not come and seize us. We of our own will went down to Egypt. "My people went down", note, this is precise in the wording. My people went down at first to sojourn there. Am Yisrael, they are the ones who first went down to sojourn in Egypt, it was not Egypt who went to seize us. Therefore the fact that they held us, the wrong is not so great. Why? It is not comparable if someone comes to you, enters your house, and you merely close the door, to seeing someone at a hitchhiking spot, going and pulling him into the car and kidnapping him. In both cases they might charge you with the sin of kidnapping, or with the sin of imprisoning a person against his will. But it is not comparable if someone came here and I merely do not let him leave, to a state that seizes people. Russia, as it were, during the period when it did not let people leave, and even today there are communist states that do not allow people to leave them, that is not considered, according to the law, that is not considered kidnapping. Certainly it is not humane, certainly these things are improper, but it is not considered kidnapping. They came to settle here, now the law is different, no one leaves from here. That was Egypt. In contrast, Ashur is not so. Ashur, they are the ones who came to us, they came to lay siege upon us, they came into our borders, and they came to oppress us. That is what he says, Ashur exiled Yisrael from its land. He gained no benefit from their exile. Why? Because through Ashur, what actually happened? The condition of Am Yisrael was deteriorating, the state of Am Yisrael was low, and in the end nothing came of it for him. For the kingdom of Ashur was destroyed as a result of coming to take us captive. For what happened to the 185,000 army commanders of Ashur? They all died in one night by the angel of Hashem, who in one night struck them all down, so did he gain anything from it? So he oppressed them, and in the end it was for nothing. For free. Why? For what did you gain from it? You also lost your kingdom. His two sons, when he fled from here, the two sons of Sancheriv struck him down with the sword, in the temple of Nisroch his god. So did he gain anything from it? So he oppressed for nothing. If you make the calculation, you will see that what you went to oppress Am Yisrael for, first of all you are not like Egypt, for Egypt still had some merit, as we said, from the fact that we came to them. Here you came to us, and not only that, but he oppressed for nothing, what you came to oppress us for, you received one big zero, that is, in simple words, from you nothing remained. You gained nothing from it, but in the end there was no benefit to you from this oppression.
"And now what have I here, says Hashem, for my people has been taken for nothing, their rulers wail, says Hashem, and continually all day my name is blasphemed." And now what have I here, says Hashem. Rashi says, why do I linger and delay here? The meaning is, why do I still leave them in exile? The Malbim explains that this refers back to the exile in which Titus exiled Am Yisrael. And then the Holy One, blessed be He, says of the exile of Titus, that it is an exile worse than Egypt and an exile worse than Ashur. What have I here, says Hashem? The Holy One, blessed be He, says, did I come into their border as I came into the border of Egypt? Did I come to them? Did they not bring me here from my land with a strong hand, take out Am Yisrael from there and bring me to them? They exiled Am Yisrael by force. For my people has been taken for nothing, their rulers wail. Those who rule over them boast and glory: behold, we took the kings of Yisrael, the rulers of Yisrael, the officers of Yisrael, we took them to ourselves, we captured them, we took them as slaves. And they boast, my people has been taken for nothing, their rulers, even their rulers, in this they boast, even the rulers of Am Yisrael we took. They wail, says Hashem. Behold, they glory that they took them without a price. He says, this is for nothing they oppressed. He did not take them as slaves and maidservants, when he oppressed for nothing. Indeed we saw that Ashur did not take us as slaves and maidservants, and we saw that from oppressing for nothing nothing came of it. And here, as it were, in quotation marks, it is not for nothing. Here we did gain something. Behold, we took them and now they are indeed our slaves, behold now they do serve us, behold their rulers are in our hands. So that is to say, our condition today is worse than the condition in the time of Egypt, and even worse than the condition in the time of Ashur. For in the time of Ashur we were not taken as slaves, and now we were taken as slaves. And Egypt, as we said, we went down to them, and here it was not we who went down to Titus, he came to us. So that is to say, our situation is worse both than the situation in Egypt and than the situation in the time of Ashur, for Ashur at least oppressed for nothing, did not take us as slaves. But here my people has been taken for nothing, they took its rulers and boast of it. And not only that, but continually all day my name is blasphemed. All day they desecrate My holy name, for they say, these are the people of Hashem, these went out from His land. Do you know whom we captured? The people of the Master of the Universe. Well then, who is stronger, we or the Master of the Universe? They blaspheme the name of Hashem, in that they succeeded in capturing the people of Hashem. So all day My name is blasphemed, in that they take them as slaves.
"Therefore my people shall know my name, therefore on that day, that I am He who speaks, here I am." Therefore my people shall know my name. The Radak explains, My name that is not known in exile is blasphemed, in the time of the redemption "Hashem shall be One and His name One," and all the peoples will call in a clear tongue. Then they shall know My name. On that day my people shall know my name, and also the other peoples. And in truth my people already knows my name, says the Radak, but the promise is that all shall know my name. And another matter, that they shall know that I am He who speaks. What is the meaning? When we hear a prophecy from the mouth of the prophet, there is room to think that the prophet said it. Did I hear the Holy One, blessed be He? No. The prophet heard the Holy One, blessed be He. So the listener, what does he hear? A prophet. True, it may be that the prophet says this, perhaps it is not really Hashem. But then they shall know on that day that I am He who speaks. Why? I shall pour out my spirit upon mankind, and then it will be recognizable that I am He who speaks. Now it is not recognizable. You hear a person. You believe that he received prophecy from Hashem, but it is not recognizable. But then they shall know that I am He who speaks, here I am. And even before I pour out my spirit upon mankind, the very fact that they see that what the prophet promised has come to pass, well then, who spoke? The prophet, from where does he know? What does he understand? How can flesh and blood know what will be in another minute? How does he prophesy prophecies for another 100, 200, 300, 500, 1000, 2000 years and it comes true? So they shall know that I am He who speaks, here I am. Behold, did you see that it was fulfilled? What do you see now? What do you see? I am He who speaks, here I am, this is what Hashem said. For if a person spoke, from where would a person know? From where can a person know what will happen? Then they will know that behold, I am the One who spoke, I am the One who promised and I also did not change, I did not alter, and what I promised I am destined to fulfill, and behold all will know, will see that the Holy One, blessed be He, is the One from whom the words came forth.
The Malbim says, since we mentioned in the previous verse "continually all day my name is blasphemed," regarding this he says, therefore my people shall know my name. That is, my name will not be blasphemed, but rather my people will know my name, it will be blessed. And since "their rulers wail," since they boast that they capture the great ones of Am Yisrael, my people shall know that I am He who speaks to redeem them, and here I am, to fulfill my words. "Hineni" always means "here I am." What is "hineni"? It is a combination of two words, hineh ani, behold I. That is hineni. "Hineni" always means always ready and prepared. That is the meaning of hineni. "And Avraham said, and he said, hineni." Here I am, ready and prepared to do the word of Hashem. So here too, I am He who speaks, that is, the promise to redeem them, I am He who speaks, if there is a promise from Hashem it will certainly be fulfilled. And here I am, meaning here I am now, ready and prepared to fulfill my words. So then, that they should not be in sorrow over the fact that my people has been taken for nothing, their rulers wail, the Holy One, blessed be He, promises to redeem Am Yisrael.