Chapter 4 of Yirmiyahu opens with a resounding call to repentance. After the harsh rebukes of the preceding chapters, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the Jewish people: there is still an opportunity to rectify, there is still a possibility to return. However, the repentance must be genuine - clean, absolute, and without vacillation. From that point onward, the prophet turns to describe the disaster looming from the north, the enemy that will arrive suddenly, and the great ruin.
"You Shall Return to Me" - The Promise That Repentance Will Reach Its Destination
אִם־תָּשׁוּב יִשְׂרָאֵל נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי תָּשׁוּב וְאִם־תָּסִיר שִׁקּוּצֶיךָ מִפָּנַי וְלֹא תָנוּד׃ - "If you will return, O Israel, says the Lord, you shall return to Me; and if you will remove your abominations from before Me, then you shall not wander."
Rashi explains: If you repent - "you shall return to Me," meaning you will return to your honor, to the original greatness you once possessed. "And if you will remove your abominations from before Me, then you shall not wander" - you will not have to wander and go into exile.
The Radak explains: If you confess the matters discussed earlier and return to Me, I will accept your repentance and you will not be exiled. And what is meant by "you shall return to Me"? The second occurrence of "you shall return" denotes rest, as in the phrase, "in rest and stillness shall you be saved." That is to say: currently you are tossed about and the sword of exile hangs over your head, but if you repent - you will come to Me in rest and peace of mind, and through this you will remove your abominations and will not need to wander into exile.
Why does it say, "remove your abominations from before Me"? The Malbim explains that this refers to the Holy Land, a land upon which the eyes of the Lord your God are always set, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. The accountability for sin in Eretz Yisrael is far more severe than in other lands. The Ramban writes similarly that Sodom was destroyed even though greater sins may have been committed in other cities across the world, because defiling the King's palace is not comparable to defiling the King's backyard. The Land of Israel is the King's palace, and therefore defiling it provokes great wrath. Furthermore, as recorded in Yechezkel, an idol was brought into the Sanctuary, and the Holy One, blessed be He, took Yechezkel on a tour, showing him all the dreadful abominations - the carved images engraved upon the wall and every form of idolatry brought into the Sanctuary and the innermost chambers. This is what is meant by "remove your abominations from before Me" - from the very place where the presence of the Lord your God rests, and through this, "you shall not wander."
The Malbim explains that this verse is the response of Ruach HaKodesh to the claims mentioned earlier. The people of Israel argued: We want to return, but "the tumult of the mountains," the echo of the hills misleads us; voices call out to us and we do not know where they come from - where Hashem is and where idolatry lies, where to go and where to return. To this, Hashem answers them: If only you return - then automatically "you shall return to Me." If you merely resolve in your heart that you wish to repent, I will direct you straight; I will ensure that your return leads directly to Me. In other words, when a person begins to repent, he receives Heavenly assistance; he receives illumination as to the correct path.
Based on this, a remarkable phenomenon can be understood: people who draw near and repent often find their way to the most strictly observant circles. Naturally, one would expect someone coming from total secularism to become "religious-lite" - a little television, a little internet, a smartphone, along with attending prayer services, a kind of folkloric Judaism. Why, then, do we see penitents drawn to Meah Shearim, to Breslov, to the Charedi world? Presumably, they would choose lighter, less demanding ways of serving Hashem. Yet according to the Malbim, this is profoundly illuminating: the Holy One, blessed be He, says that if you merely cultivate within yourself the desire to return - I promise you, "you shall return to Me." I will make your path straight so that you return all the way to Me; you will not stop halfway, nor will you get trapped in the broken cisterns of those who try to blend the service of Hashem with vanity, ending up with neither - having neither this world nor the World to Come. If you are truly sincere in your desire to return, I will ensure that you arrive at the precise destination.
"And You Shall Not Wander" - Repentance Without Vacillation
There is one single condition: "if you will remove your abominations from before Me" - to detach oneself completely from all abominations. Regarding "and you shall not wander," the Malbim offers an additional interpretation alongside the Radak's explanation. We often see a person who repents and vacillates: here one day and there the next, rising one moment and falling the next. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: No. You must make a firm, genuine resolution - "and you shall not wander." Repent, but not like someone wavering back and forth, constantly slipping back into his old ways and then repenting again.
A person might remove his television, only to store it in the attic. Why? "Just in case" - who knows, perhaps a situation will arise where he needs it. That is not called detaching. A person who says, "I have quit smoking," yet keeps a pack of cigarettes in the freezer for emergencies - that is not called detaching. Truly detaching is like what happened when Rav Shach was told that cigarettes were harmful: on the spot, he pulled out the pack, tore it up, and threw it in the trash, never touching a cigarette again from that moment on. This is what the Holy One, blessed be He, is saying: Do you know how one avoids wavering in repentance? "Remove your abominations from before Me" - discard the abominations entirely. But if you keep them on standby, as an option that is not completely shut off - that is not called returning; that is not true repentance.
"And You Shall Swear, 'As the Lord Lives'" - Strengthening Repentance with an Oath
וְנִשְׁבַּעְתָּ חַי־יְהֹוָה בֶּאֱמֶת בְּמִשְׁפָּט וּבִצְדָקָה וְהִתְבָּרְכוּ בוֹ גּוֹיִם וּבוֹ יִתְהַלָּלוּ׃ - And you will swear, "As Hashem lives," in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; and nations will bless themselves by Him, and in Him they will glory.
According to the Malbim's approach, the verse is understood very well. We saw above that they claimed, "And shame has devoured the toil of our fathers" - meaning we are in a state of weakness, of despair, we have no chance left, idolatry brought us to "let us lie down in our shame," we are helpless. The prophet comes and advises: strengthen your repentance with an oath.
And here lies a wonderful piece of advice. For it was said: open for Me an opening like the eye of a needle, and I will open for you an opening like the entrance of a hall through which wagons and carriages can enter. In order for teshuvah to be received properly, there must be an opening from man's side, but that opening is characterized as "the eye of a needle" - and a needle has two qualities: it is extremely thin, yet also extremely strong. It can be a very tiny hole, provided it is stable like a needle and not flimsy like straw. This is what the prophet says: do not waver, do not sway back and forth, repent sincerely, remove your abominations from before Me, and distance yourself entirely from all shameful practices. And if you feel that you still have fears - "I have sworn and I will fulfill, to keep Your righteous judgments." Swear by Hashem that from now on you are bound to truth, justice, and righteousness - three things upon which the world stands. And through this oath, you will truly cling to Hashem and will not waver; you will not experience a state of swaying, rising and falling.
What is "truth"? The Malbim explains: faith in intellectual concepts, in theological matters - the knowledge of Hashem, the oneness of Hashem, belief in reward and punishment. That a person should arrive at the truth in all these matters. By contrast, "justice and righteousness" represent the realm of practical deed. "Tzedakah" here does not mean giving charity, but rather righteousness - conducting ourselves with justice between us and Hashem, between man and God. And "mishpat" (justice), according to the Malbim's approach, always pertains to matters between man and his fellow: being honest with other people, not committing interpersonal sins, and if there is a dispute, submitting the matters to judgment and clarifying who is rightfully entitled to what.
It turns out that Hashem is telling them: strengthen yourselves in truth, in unquestioning faith in Hashem, and likewise in deeds between man and his fellow and between man and God. And if you fulfill these three things - which correspond to Torah, avodah (service of God), and gemilut chasadim (acts of loving-kindness) - you will no longer say, "Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us." You will not be ashamed of yourself, nor will you suffer disgrace from others, for we said that idolatry is shame, it is "Baal," and whoever sees you worshipping idols is ashamed of you for believing in such nonsense. But when you serve Hashem - "and nations will bless themselves by Him, and in Him they will glory."
"And nations will bless themselves by Him" - through this you will receive immense abundance; not only will you have no shame, but you will also have blessing. And the difference between blessing and glory: a blessing is still concealed, without public renown, whereas glory is a public matter, as in the expression "let him that glories glory in this." Thus you will personally enjoy abundance and blessing, and moreover, the disgrace from others will be overturned - on the contrary, you will be celebrated in their eyes; everyone will see that you walk in the way of Hashem and what abundance and blessing rest upon you. And that is what occurred in the era of Shlomo: when the people of Israel walked in the way of Hashem, there was enormous economic abundance here, Shlomo's wisdom became renowned throughout the world, people came to learn how to govern a kingdom, the Queen of Sheba and others arrived to bring him tribute, and he ruled supreme. So says the Holy One, Blessed be He: if you return to Me, you will both be blessed and be glorified in the eyes of the nations, and everyone will see that your path is the path of truth.
Rashi explains "and you will swear, 'As Hashem lives,' in truth" differently: they used to swear falsely, as it says in the next chapter, "And though they say, 'As Hashem lives,' surely they swear falsely." For this the prophet rebukes them: when you swear, swear in truth, not the way you currently swear falsely. And "nations will bless themselves by Him" - just as was said of Avraham, "and be a blessing," that everyone will say: may you be like Avraham, like Yitzchak, like Ephraim and Menasheh, "by you shall Israel bless." So here too, they will say: may you be wise like Israel, may you be righteous like Israel. "And in Him they will glory" - everyone will speak your praises, glorify you, and elevate you. And Rashi further explains: whoever merits clinging to Israel, that itself will be a cause for praise, renown, and honor for him - he will say, "I am connected to the people of Israel," and through this he will find glory.
The Radak adds an explanation: it is possible that "and you will swear" is akin to "and by His Name you shall swear," which Chazal stated is a mitzvah. But of whom was it said "and by His Name you shall swear"? Of the person described in the preceding verse: "Hashem your God you shall fear, Him you shall serve, and to Him you shall cling" - if you possess all these virtues and you cling to Hashem, then when you swear by Hashem, it is for renown and splendor. But if you are not like that, you are simply taking the Name of Hashem in vain, for Hashem is not awesome in your eyes and you have no fear of Him. A parable for this: a person says, "I swear to you by my parents" - you understand that his parents are dear to him, which is why he swears by them. Not that this is proper, for a person is forbidden to swear at all, and certainly not by his parents, which is a form of disrespect. Similarly, "I swear by my children," as is common in the marketplace - you understand that this is something precious to him. But if he says to you, "I swear by my mother-in-law"... you already understand, woe is to him! So too here: when you are not worthy and you say, "I swear by Hashem" - that is a disgrace, for you do not fear Him, and from what state of impurity are you mentioning His Name? But a true servant of Hashem - with him, it is like someone swearing by the One he truly loves, and of him it is said, "and by His Name you shall swear." Therefore the prophets would always swear by the Name of Hashem, "as Hashem lives," as we saw with Eliyahu, and through this they demonstrated the importance of Hashem's Name. But not every person is truly worthy of swearing by the Name of Hashem.
It emerges according to the Radak: when you return - "if you return, O Israel, says Hashem, return to Me" - through this "you will not wander," you will not be exiled, and then you will attain the level of "and you will swear, 'As Hashem lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness," because then your oath will be in truth, for you will be righteous and elevated, and one who is on that level is worthy and should swear by His Blessed Name. And then "nations will bless themselves by Him, and in Him they will glory" - even the nations will bless themselves and glory in Him, and not in idols. And the Radak also cites a more novel explanation: "and nations will bless themselves in him" - in the people of Israel, for the nations will say, fortunate are you that there is such a people, that there is such a wonderful nation.
"Plow for yourselves a furrow" - plowing before sowing
כִּי־כֹה אָמַר יְהֹוָה לְאִישׁ יְהוּדָה וְלִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם נִירוּ לָכֶם נִיר וְאַל־תִּזְרְעוּ אֶל־קֹצִים׃ - For thus said Hashem to the men of Yehudah and to Yerushalayim: Plow for yourselves a furrow, and do not sow among thorns.
Rashi explains: "Plow for yourselves a furrow" - learn from the tillers of the soil, who plow it during the summer days. "Nir" denotes plowing, the furrow of the plow. And why do they plow in the summer, given that they are not sowing now? In order to kill the roots of the weeds, so that thorns do not sprout at the time of sowing in the winter. If you do not plow a furrow in the summer, you will end up sowing among thorns, and the thorns will destroy everything. To ensure that you do not sow among thorns during the rainy season, plow for yourselves a furrow during the sunny days.
And what does this parable come to teach? That you must mend your ways even before the calamity strikes. For otherwise, when trouble arrives and you pray - you will have sown among thorns. When a person stands in prayer burdened with all his evil deeds, how can his prayer be accepted? But if you have broken up your fallow ground, meaning you have removed your abominations and eradicated the thorns, then when you sow - the sowing being prayer - the prayer emerges from an upright person and is worthy of acceptance. In contrast, when one prays amidst all his sins and wicked deeds, what power does such prayer have to ascend on high? Such prayer is spurned.
The Rambam writes similarly regarding a ba'al teshuvah: Yesterday this person was hated, abominable, and detestable, praying only to have his prayer cast back in his face - that was when he was wicked; today, he is beloved, cherished, and delightful below and above, he prays and his prayer is accepted. We see that when a righteous person prays, his prayer is received. Therefore, the Sages said: "Whoever has someone sick in his house should go to a chacham (Torah scholar)." Rav Mutzafi once remarked: Today everyone goes searching for a "baba." Yet nowhere is it written "let him go to a baba," nor is it written "let him go to a tzaddik" - for how does one know who is truly a tzaddik? How many "tzaddikim" thought they were righteous, until suddenly a basket of swarming creatures or a basket of bribes was uncovered! Therefore it was said: let him go to a chacham. If he is great in Torah - go to him, for that at least is certain: he has studied Torah, he has been immersed in Torah his entire life. Otherwise, how can you know what he truly is?
This is like the story of the person who boasted of the tremendous deeds his rabbi performed in secret, what a "hidden tzaddik" he was. Another rabbi remarked to him: "If he is so hidden, how do you know about all these deeds? Apparently he is the kind of hidden tzaddik who makes sure everyone knows he is hidden." It is not enough for him to be a tzaddik - there are many tzaddikim - he wants people to know that he is both a tzaddik and hidden. Therefore: it does not say "let him go to a tzaddik," it says "let him go to a chacham."
This is the meaning of "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns": a person who is truly elevated - his prayer is accepted; but if you sow among thorns, praying on top of your transgressions, the benefit of the prayer is minimal. For this reason, the order of the Shemoneh Esreh is structured accordingly: first, "You endow man with wisdom (da'at)" - grant us wisdom; then, "Bring us back, our Father, to Your Torah." And why must repentance (teshuvah) come at the very beginning? Because if you seek to pray without teshuvah, what will be accepted? You are deemed a wicked person, and your prayer cannot pierce the ceiling. If you want your prayer to be accepted, first ask for teshuvah, seek pardon and forgiveness, and only then proceed to pray and request whatever you wish. And in order to repent, one requires da'at, for someone devoid of understanding cannot repent. Therefore, first: Master of the Universe, grant us da'at; and once there is da'at - "Bring us back, our Father, to Your Torah," "Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned"; and from that point onward - redemption, healing, sustenance, ingathering of the exiles, all of the personal requests. When there is da'at, one repents; when one repents, there is forgiveness; and from that point on, the Holy One, blessed be He, accepts the prayer and bestows abundant goodness.
The Root of Confusion: Uneradicated Thorns
The Malbim explains that the prophet comes to counter the claims seen earlier, both of which stem from two bad traits. The first claim: they wander about and waver between two opinions, because they hear a voice calling out from among the mountains and do not know its source. As a result, they are drawn at times to the service of Hashem and at times to idolatry, unsure which path to choose, since idolatry was misleading and led people to believe it possessed genuine power.
The prophet says to them: Do you know where this comes from? It is because you did not uproot from the heart the thorns and thistles, the bad character traits that were there from the outset. Instead of uprooting them, you bring good things, prayer and praise, and place them onto a field of thorns. Is it any wonder that they fail to take root? Is it any wonder that you hear multiple voices and cannot decide between them? If you distance yourself from evil, you will see how clear the path of truth is, how obvious it is which voice to follow, and you will no longer waver between two opinions. Therefore, the very first step is: "Break up your fallow ground" - one who plows deeply removes the thorns, so that they will not choke the crop.
"God made man upright" - yet, "they sought out many schemes" (Kohelet 7:29), or in the prophet's terms here, many deities, leaving him unable to decide. This happens because man warped his uprightness. And how is that uprightness warped? Rav Dessler explains: this is timtum halev (the dulling and blockage of the heart), which is caused by the transgressions a person commits. One sin after another, until you see a person whose thinking is entirely twisted - instead of caring for the Jewish people, you suddenly see him caring for the Arabs. Is such a thing conceivable? Where did he become so distorted? "And you shall become defiled by them (venitmetem bam)" - the Sages expound: timtum halev, a blockage of the heart. A person consumes creeping things and abominations, and you expect him to have an upright heart and sound logic? There is no such thing. His heart is blocked and dulled, spiritually obstructed, and he cannot perceive the right path.
Therefore, the way to choose the right path, and this is what one tells every ba'al teshuvah, is: first of all, stop committing transgressions. The mitzvot are many, complex, and multifaceted; there are halachot, opinions, and approaches - put those aside for the moment. First of all, stop sinning. "Break up your fallow ground" - plow, clear out the thorns. And once the thorns are gone, you suddenly see how the upright path is clear and paved before you, free of doubts and hesitations. But when you sow among thorns, clinging to all your corrupted ways, and think that if you make a pilgrimage to the Rebbe's gravesite you will return a new man - how are you going there? Loaded with all your sins, with no intention of abandoning any of them. That is why you see people traveling there year after year and then carrying on just as before - arriving with the same thorns, putting on a kippah, and what remains of it? Nothing at all. That is what happens when you sow among thorns. Uproot the thorns, stop the sins, and then you will see what divine influence you receive. But wanting to persist in sin while expecting that mitzvot or spiritual inspiration will bring you to devekut with Hashem - these are illusions; such a thing will never happen.
"Circumcise Yourselves to Hashem" - Removing the Foreskin of the Heart
הִמֹּלוּ לַיהֹוָה וְהָסִרוּ עׇרְלוֹת לְבַבְכֶם אִישׁ יְהוּדָה וְיֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם פֶּן־תֵּצֵא כָאֵשׁ חֲמָתִי וּבָעֲרָה וְאֵין מְכַבֶּה מִפְּנֵי רֹעַ מַעַלְלֵיכֶם׃ - "Circumcise yourselves to Hashem, and remove the foreskin of your heart, you men of Yehudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim, lest My wrath go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds."
"Circumcise yourselves to Hashem" - this refers to the circumcision of the heart, removing the heart's foreskin. This parallels what was said earlier, "Break up your fallow ground": just as one plows before sowing, so too circumcise the foreskin and eliminate the corruption, and then you will truly be able to undertake good resolutions and elevate yourselves. This refers to the blockage of the heart. The prophet addresses "you men of Yehudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim," for they were the ones remaining in the land - just as stated above, "For so said Hashem to the men of Yehudah and to Yerushalayim" - since the Northern Kingdom of Shomron had already been exiled by this point, and he had no one left to address other than the men of Yehudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
"Lest My wrath break forth like fire" - the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Your deeds have already stirred up and kindled a great fire, and all that remains is for it to burst forth. And woe unto you if you do not repent, for this prepared fire, emanating from the depths of your misdeeds and the evil, terrible actions you have committed, will now burst forth against you.
The Malbim continues the line of thought he began: against the first claim, that they hear multiple voices and do not know how to decide, the prophet comes and says - uproot the thorns and you will know how to decide; you will immediately see the truth. And against the second claim, that they have no strength, that they are despondent, broken, and say "let us lie down in our shame," he says to them: Do you know where this comes from? From foolishness, from the cloud and the thick fog that envelop the light of the soul, until one despairs of looking toward the light, because all one sees before one's eyes is fog and cloud, with impaired vision. This is the foreskin of the heart, the blockage of the heart. And if you remove the foreskin that wraps and covers the heart - the heart will awaken to the word of Hashem, and you will feel enthusiasm to do His blessed will.
We have already recounted the story of the Rebbe who was traveling in a wagon in freezing cold weather. The gentile wagon driver stopped at an inn, drank a shot of vodka, and warmed up, while the Rebbe and his chassid were freezing from the cold. The chassid said to the Rebbe: Look, this gentile drinks a shot of vodka and becomes warm, while we are freezing here! The Rebbe replied: This gentile is like an oven - you throw a log into it and it catches fire. But we, our heart is like a pot - you can throw logs into a pot until tomorrow and it will not catch fire; a pot requires fire from the outside to heat it up. And when a person's heart is warm - how wonderful it is, for this is the source of purity: you serve Hashem with enthusiasm, with desire, and with eagerness. But if the heart is frozen, even idolatry can enter it. So what must be done? Remove the foreskin of the heart, thaw the heart, and melt the chill. Then you will have no despair, no darkness, no cloud and fog; rather, you will feel the Master of the World, you will feel Godliness.
The Sudden Enemy and the Flight to Fortified Cities
הַגִּידוּ בִיהוּדָה וּבִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם הַשְׁמִיעוּ וְאִמְרוּ תִּקְעוּ שׁוֹפָר בָּאָרֶץ קִרְאוּ מַלְאוּ וְאִמְרוּ הֵאָסְפוּ וְנָבוֹאָה אֶל־עָרֵי הַמִּבְצָר׃ - Declare in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say: Blow the shofar in the land; call out, assemble, and say: Gather together, and let us go into the fortified cities.
The Malbim explains: Here the prophet describes to them how the enemy will come upon Zion so suddenly that you will not even have time to prepare for battle. Note: "Declare in Judah" - and once it is declared in Judah, immediately "and publish in Jerusalem," the report will quickly spread all the way to the royal capital. Normally, the order is reversed: initial reports of an enemy or trouble reach the capital first, the king is the first to be updated - a runner returning from the battlefield rushes to the royal capital and informs the king, while the surrounding population still knows nothing. Here, because of the suddenness for which you will be unprepared, it will first be "Declare in Judah," and only in the second stage "and publish in Jerusalem."
And what will the proclamation be? "Blow the shofar in the land" - this was their method of mobilization, like an emergency draft notice, sounded by the shofar to hasten everyone to the battlefield. But even as they call to one another, announcing the impending war and the enemy who is already here - "call out, assemble, and say: Gather together, and let us go into the fortified cities." Even as the call goes out, they will say: Let us go into the fortified cities. That is to say, the enemy is far too strong to fight, and the only way to be saved is to hide and fortify themselves. The catastrophe will be so severe, first in its speed and second in the tremendous force with which the enemy arrives, that right from the outset they will not even go out to fight; instead, as they begin deploying for battle, a second cry will go up, saying: Gentlemen, flee to the fortified cities, there is no chance of fighting this enemy.
The Radak asks: What is the point of "gather together, and let us go into the fortified cities," given that ultimately all will be conquered, both those in the fortresses and those in Jerusalem? One explanation aligns with the Malbim: this is what they will think and say, but in reality it will not help, for when Nebuchadnezzar arrived it proved futile - yet in their thinking, the fortified cities might still save them. Another explanation is: "Gather together" - come into the fortified cities so that you may have a temporary respite for the moment; by the time the enemy strikes you, you will have gained a few more days of life, and during that brief time, at least, you might be spared for the interim.
שְׂאוּ־נֵס צִיּוֹנָה הָעִיזוּ אַל־תַּעֲמֹדוּ כִּי רָעָה אָנֹכִי מֵבִיא מִצָּפוֹן וְשֶׁבֶר גָּדוֹל׃ - Raise up a standard toward Zion; flee for safety, do not delay, for I bring evil from the north, and great destruction.
The Malbim explains that here the prophet tells them: Do not flee to the ordinary fortified cities, for they are too weak against the mighty enemy about to come upon you. Therefore, "Raise up a standard toward Zion" - raise the flagpole, and where to? Toward Zion. The only place capable of shielding you is Zion, considered a fortress and an exalted place, the stronghold of Zion, a protected site where you might find temporary defense from the enemy. "For I bring evil from the north, and great destruction" - from the north disaster will break forth, and from the north the Holy One, blessed be He, brought the king of Babylon to lay waste to the Land of Israel. And "flee for safety, do not delay" - the word ha'izu means taking refuge and sheltering in a stronghold, a place of strength (oz) and a high tower providing protection and refuge.
In summary: Chapter 4 opens with the great call to repentance: "If you return, O Israel... return to Me." It is enough for a person to awaken within himself a sincere desire to return, and the Holy One, blessed be He, promises to straighten his path until he reaches the exact destination. The condition is an absolute break from abominations, "and do not waver" - with no vacillation and without leaving any door open. And the prophet's counsel for strengthening: "And you shall swear, 'As Hashem lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness" - pure faith coupled with deeds between man and God and between man and his fellow, and then blessing and renown will follow in the eyes of the nations. "Break up your fallow ground" and "circumcise yourselves to Hashem" are the two fundamentals: to plow and uproot the thorns - to cease transgressions so that the sowing and prayer may take root; and to remove the foreskin of the heart and its chill, so that it may awaken to the word of Hashem. And whoever does not heed this is destined to hear the blast of the shofar of war, the flight to the fortified cities, and the evil and great destruction arriving from the north.