At the end of the previous chapter, the Jewish people turned to the Holy One, blessed be He, with the words: "Awake, awake, put on strength" - meaning: Arm of Hashem, awaken! Master of the Universe, why do You not perform miracles and wonders for us just as You did during the Exodus from Egypt, and just as You did upon our return from the Babylonian exile? After all, back then we also lacked merits, yet You redeemed us anyway. If so, let Your arm awaken to perform miracles for us now as well, even though we are unworthy. To this, the Holy One, blessed be He, responds at the opening of our chapter: the awakening depends on you.
עוּרִי עוּרִי לִבְשִׁי עֻזֵּךְ צִיּוֹן, לִבְשִׁי בִּגְדֵי תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם עִיר הַקֹּדֶשׁ, כִּי לֹא יוֹסִיף יָבֹא בָךְ עוֹד עָרֵל וְטָמֵא׃ - Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city, for no longer shall the uncircumcised and the impure enter you.
It is not I alone Who must awaken - rather, "Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion": you, Zion, you, the people of Israel, you are the ones who must awaken.
Notice that the verse mentions two names: Zion and Jerusalem. The Malbim has already explained in several places, and this is a consistent principle in his commentary: in the stronghold of Zion was the City of David; that is where the Beit HaMikdash stood, where the Kehunah, the Sanhedrin, and the monarchy were situated - this is the inner core. Jerusalem is the entire surrounding expanse, everything within the walls. Zion is the internal realm, while Jerusalem is the external.
Therefore, concerning Zion it says, "Put on your strength" - the inner strength, the soulful and spiritual fortitude of the Jewish people, the Beit HaMikdash, and the resting of the Shechinah. Concerning Jerusalem, however, it says, "Put on your garments of splendor" - for garments represent that which is outward. The Malbim explains that garments of splendor hint at physical success. Success is composed of two components: spiritual success and physical, material success. "Put on your strength, O Zion" refers to spiritual fortitude, while "Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem" refers to physical resilience - so that we may fight our enemies and stand up for our rights.
And so too is the conclusion of the verse: "For no longer shall the uncircumcised and the impure enter you" - the uncircumcised will no longer enter Jerusalem, for he comes to damage our physical strength; and the impure will no longer enter Zion, which is the sacred, exalted place, the Beit HaMikdash, where an impure person is forbidden to enter and defile the resting place of the Shechinah.
הִתְנַעֲרִי מֵעָפָר קוּמִי שְּׁבִי יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם, הִתְפַּתְּחִי מוֹסְרֵי צַוָּארֵךְ שְׁבִיָּה בַּת־צִיּוֹן׃ - Shake the dust off yourself, arise, sit enthroned, Jerusalem; loose the bands of your neck, captive daughter of Zion.
These expressions are familiar to all of us from "Lecha Dodi." Many do not realize it, but "Lecha Dodi" is a liturgical poem in which only a minority of the stanzas deal with Shabbat: the first two stanzas speak of Shabbat, while all the remaining stanzas speak of Jerusalem. Many of the expressions there are drawn directly from these verses praising Jerusalem - "Awake, awake, for your light has come," "Shake off the dust, arise."
Until now, the prophet spoke metaphorically to the physical entity - to the place itself, to the city. Now he turns to the people dwelling within it: to the people of Zion and the people of Jerusalem, to the captives.
And here lies a wonderful nuance. In Jerusalem there was the common folk and there were the distinguished figures. The distinguished ones - the ministers, nobles, and dignitaries - were bound in chains, literally tied with ropes around their necks, because they were prominent individuals and the captors could not afford to lose even one of them. By contrast, the masses, the common folk, were not shackled individually; rather, they were led along together, lehavdil just as livestock is driven, escorted by an armed guard. When they halted along the journey, the captives would lie on the ground, and in the morning they would be raised up from the dust to resume their march.
Therefore, to the captives of Jerusalem, who are the common folk, it is said, "Shake yourself from the dust; arise, captive Jerusalem" - for they are lying in the dust, and must be raised from it. But to the "daughter of Zion," the dignitaries, the members of the Sanhedrin, the ministers, and the nobles who were bound when taken captive, it is said, "Loosen the bands around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion" - you upon whose neck they placed a yoke and bonds so that you would not flee, loosen them and step forth to be redeemed.
כִּי־כֹה אָמַר ה': חִנָּם נִמְכַּרְתֶּם, וְלֹא בְכֶסֶף תִּגָּאֵלוּ׃ - For thus said Hashem: You were sold for naught, and not with money shall you be redeemed.
Rashi explains: "You were sold for naught" - for things of naught, which is the yetzer hara, which brings you no reward. We have already mentioned what the kabbalists teach, that the yetzer hara is called "chinam" (for naught). Why? Because this is how it approaches and proposes: everything is free, come take, enjoy, desires and pleasures, you do not have to pay a thing, just enjoy.
Based on this, it is cited in the Holy Zohar, and likewise brought by the Kaf HaChaim, that if someone offers a person: "I have an etrog on my tree; take it for free, as a gift, pay nothing" - he should under no circumstances take it for free, but rather insist on paying. For that which is free belongs to the sitra achra, and whatever comes for free becomes tainted by the sitra achra. If he wishes to sell it to you cheaply - all the better; pay fifty shekels instead of four hundred, but pay; do not take it for free.
And this is the meaning of "you were sold for naught": Who is "naught"? The yetzer hara. When a person works for the yetzer hara, first of all it offers him everything for free; and second, there is no reward for it at all. A person worked as a laborer for the yetzer hara for seventy years, ascends above, and it turns out there is no wages for one who served the yetzer hara. They tell him: "You received pleasures and lusts down below; that was your entire salary. Did you think those were just bonuses and more awaits you above?" Gehennom indeed awaits, but that is hardly a reward. Know this: the yetzer hara gives no reward, which is why it is called chinam. And since "you were sold for naught," consequently "not with money shall you be redeemed" - redemption will come specifically through teshuvah.
Radak explains differently: "You were sold for naught" - I did not sell you because I received money in exchange for you. For had I sold you for money, your redemption would have been accomplished by paying money. But since I received no money for you, and you were sold solely because of your sins, consequently "not with money shall you be redeemed" - but rather through the very path by which you were sold: by repenting of your sins.
The Malbim asks a different question: Why does the Holy One, Blessed be He, command them to leave on their own? After all, they are not masters of their own destiny; they were captured, as the text states, "captive Jerusalem," "captive daughter of Zion"; and one held captive by another cannot simply walk out on his own, for someone else holds power over him. And how could Hashem take them out of captivity without compensating their captors, seeing that the captor acquired them as spoils and demands what is his? To this the Holy One, Blessed be He, says: "You were sold for naught" - did those who captured you pay Me anything? They gave nothing for you. And because of that, they are entitled to no payment whatsoever for your release. In plain terms: do not worry about how redemption will come while you are in the hands of others - they received you for nothing, and for nothing they will release you.
כִּי כֹה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי ה': מִצְרַיִם יָרַד עַמִּי בָרִאשֹׁנָה לָגוּר שָׁם, וְאַשּׁוּר בְּאֶפֶס עֲשָׁקוֹ׃ - For thus said the Lord Hashem: To Egypt My people went down at first to dwell there, and Assyria oppressed them for nothing.
At first glance, it is not clear what connects the two parts of the verse: at first we went down to dwell in Egypt, and Assyria oppressed us for nothing. What connects Egypt and Assyria, two completely different eras? And if the verse comes to contrast them, on what point does it draw the distinction?
Rashi explains: Egypt still had some claim and justification. For "My people went down at first to Egypt to sojourn there" - the Egyptians could claim: "We have merits; we sustained and provided for you when you had nothing to eat. Yaakov your father and seventy souls came down to us, and who took care of them if not us?" But Assyria - "oppressed him for nothing," gratuitously and without any reason. What right do you have, Assyria, to come and oppress the people of Israel? And if I brought you out of Egypt, who had some semblance of a claim, all the more so will I redeem you from Assyria, who has no justification whatsoever.
The Malbim explains the difference differently: In Egypt, we went to them; Assyria, however, came to us. The wording is precise: "My people went down at first to sojourn there" - the Jewish people went down of their own free will; the Egyptians did not come and kidnap us. Therefore, in their holding onto us, the injustice was not quite as egregious. Someone entering your home voluntarily and you merely locking the door is not comparable to someone seeing a person at a hitchhiking post, dragging him into the car, and kidnapping him. In both cases, one might be charged with false imprisonment, but the two cannot be compared. Similarly, a country that does not allow its residents to leave - like Russia in its time, and even today there are communist countries that do not permit departure - is certainly inhumane and unjust, but it is not considered kidnapping. They came to settle there, the law changed, and no one is allowed to leave. That was Egypt.
Assyria, on the other hand - they came to us, besieged us, breached our borders, oppressed us, and exiled Israel from their land. And what did he gain from this? "Oppressed him for nothing" - he derived no benefit from this exile, because his kingdom was destroyed in its wake. One hundred and eighty-five thousand of his chief troops died in a single night by an angel of Hashem. And when Sancheriv fled, his two sons struck him down with the sword in the house of Nisroch his god. Did he gain anything from it? If you make the calculation: first, you are not like Egypt, who had some merit in that we came to them, whereas you came to us; and second, "oppressed him for nothing" - from all this oppression, all that remained of you was one big zero; you gained nothing and derived no benefit at all.
וְעַתָּה מַה־לִּי־פֹה נְאֻם ה' כִּי־לֻקַּח עַמִּי חִנָּם, מֹשְׁלָו יְהֵילִילוּ נְאֻם ה', וְתָמִיד כׇּל־הַיּוֹם שְׁמִי מִנֹּאָץ׃ - "And now, what have I here," says Hashem, "that My people is taken away for nothing? Their rulers howl," says Hashem, "and My Name is constantly blasphemed all the day."
Rashi explains: "What have I here" - why do I linger and delay here, meaning, why do I still leave them in exile? And the Malbim explains that this verse refers to the exile to which Titus exiled the Jewish people, and this exile is worse than Egypt and worse than Assyria.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: Did I enter their territory, as we entered the borders of Egypt? Rather, they brought Me here from My land with a strong hand; they exiled the people of Israel by force. "That My people is taken away for nothing; their rulers howl" - they boast and praise themselves: "Behold, we have captured even the kings of Israel, their princes and their rulers, taken them captive, and made them slaves." And they acquired this without paying any price at all.
After all, Assyria "oppressed him for nothing" - he did not take us as enslaved men and women, and he gained nothing from all his oppression. Here, however, as it were, they did gain: they captured us, and we are their slaves, serving them, and even our rulers are in their hands. It turns out that our situation today is worse than Egypt - where we went down to them, whereas here they came to us; and it is also worse than Assyria - where we were not taken as slaves, whereas here we were.
And not only that, but "and My Name is constantly blasphemed all the day" - all day long they desecrate My holy Name, for they say: "These are the people of Hashem, and from His land they departed." Behold, we took captive the people of the Master of the World, so who then is stronger, us or their God? Thus, the Name of Heaven is blasphemed because they took Hashem's people captive and made them slaves.
לָכֵן יֵדַע עַמִּי שְׁמִי, לָכֵן בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כִּי־אֲנִי־הוּא הַמְדַבֵּר הִנֵּנִי׃ - "Therefore My people shall know My Name; therefore, on that day, that it is I Who speak, behold, here I am."
Radak explains: My Name, which is not known in exile and is even blasphemed, will be revealed at the time of the Redemption, when "Hashem will be One and His Name One" and "For then I will turn to the nations a clear language," and they will know My Name. And although My people already know My Name, the promise is that everyone will know it.
Furthermore: "that it is I Who speak, here I am." When one hears a prophecy from the mouth of a prophet, one might think that it was the prophet himself who said it; after all, I did not hear the Holy One, blessed be He - the prophet heard. The listener hears a human being. But in the future to come, "I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh," and then it will be clearly evident that it is I Who speak. And even before that: the very fact that we see everything the prophet promised come to pass - who spoke? How could the prophet have known? How can flesh and blood know what will happen a minute from now, let alone prophesy about a hundred, two hundred, five hundred, and two thousand years into the future - and the words are fulfilled? Rather, it is certainly "I Who speak"; I am the One Who promised, and I do not change, and what I promised I will surely fulfill, and everyone will see that these words came from the Holy One, blessed be He.
The Malbim links this verse to what preceded it. Corresponding to "continually all day My Name is blasphemed," it says, "Therefore My people shall know My Name" - My Name will no longer be blasphemed, but known and blessed. And corresponding to "its rulers boast," that they boast of having captured the leaders of Israel, it says that My people will know that it is I Who speak to redeem them, and here I am to fulfill My word.
And "Hineni" (here I am) is a combination of two words: hineh ani. It always signifies readiness and availability: "And Avraham said to Him: Hineni" - behold, I am ready and prepared to carry out the word of Hashem. Here too: "It is I Who speak" - the promise to redeem has come forth from My mouth, and a promise from Hashem will certainly come to pass; "Hineni" - here I am, ready and prepared now to fulfill My word. Therefore, let them not grieve over the fact that "My people were taken for nothing, its rulers boast," for the Holy One, blessed be He, promises to redeem the Jewish people.
The chapter opens with the response of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel's plea: the awakening is incumbent upon you - "Awaken, awaken! Put on your strength, O Zion," an inner and spiritual strength in Zion, and garments of splendor representing material success in Jerusalem, and no longer shall the uncircumcised and unclean enter them. Then the prophet turns to the captives themselves: the lowliest of the people are raised from the dust, and the dignitaries are released from the bonds on their necks. "You were sold for nothing, and without money shall you be redeemed" - for we were sold into the dealings of the evil inclination in which there is no reward, and for our sins rather than for money; therefore, the redemption will come through repentance and without payment to the captors, since they took us for nothing. The comparison of the exiles teaches that Egypt had some slight pretext, in that we descended to them; Assyria came against us and gained nothing from his oppression; while the exile of Titus is worse than both - for they took us as slaves, boast over our leaders, and thereby blaspheme the Name of Hashem. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, promises: "Therefore My people shall know My Name" - My Name will be sanctified and not blasphemed, and everyone will recognize that it is I Who speak and promise, and "here I am," ready and prepared to fulfill My word and redeem My people.