Chapter 14 of Yirmiyahu opens a new section: a prophecy delivered against the backdrop of a severe drought that struck Yehudah. The prophet depicts the grim scenes of drought with vivid imagery, prays for the people, and receives a harsh response from the Holy One, blessed be He. Throughout this chapter, we will learn profound fundamentals in understanding the ways of Divine Providence, distinguishing between punishment stemming from the concealment of the Divine Face and punishment through active Providence, and the paths of rebuke and prayer.
אֲשֶׁר הָיָה דְבַר־ה' אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ עַל־דִּבְרֵי הַבַּצָּרוֹת׃ - That which was the word of Hashem to Yirmiyahu concerning the matters of the droughts.
"The word of Hashem to Yirmiyahu" - a Divine revelation, and it came "concerning the matters of the droughts." What are the batzarot? Rashi brings one explanation that it is an expression of famine, and Radak likewise writes that the singular form is batzarah. Some commentators explain that even the verse "in times of trouble (batzarah)" derives from this root (as Ibn Ezra cites in the name of Dunash, though he disagrees with him) - in the sense of drought, the scarcity and high cost of food which is famine; and this is the familiar meaning: "a year of drought."
What is the root of the word batzoret? Radak explains that it is related to "nothing will be withheld (yibatzer) from them of all that they have schemed to do" - yibatzer means withheld or prevented. When there are batzarot, it means there is withholding: the withholding of rain. As a result, the cost of living and the price of produce rise, since there is no produce and no merchandise, and consequently everything becomes expensive. Nivtzar means prevented. Radak adds that the word of Hashem came to him before the droughts, essentially informing him of what was to come.
Rashi cites another explanation in the name of Menachem: batzarot is related to mivtzar (fortress), as in "the fortress of the high stronghold of your walls"; later in the chapter, this will become clearer. The Malbim explains that here it appears Yirmiyahu prayed over the drought that had occurred, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to him - "That which was the word of Hashem to Yirmiyahu concerning the matters of the droughts."
אָבְלָה יְהוּדָה וּשְׁעָרֶיהָ אֻמְלְלוּ קָדְרוּ לָאָרֶץ וְצִוְחַת יְרוּשָׁלִַם עָלָתָה׃ - Yehudah mourns, and her gates languish; they sit in gloom upon the ground, and the outcry of Yerushalayim has ascended.
"Yehudah mourns" - in the sense of devastation, as in "the wine mourns, the oil languishes." Targum Yonatan explains that it is an expression of actual mourning: "The house of Yehudah has mourned." "And her gates languish" - as in "all her gates are desolate, none enter and none leave," or "the elders have ceased from the gate." Often the prophet speaks allegorically, describing physical structures as if they themselves were in mourning - the gate has become wretched - even though the intent is that no one enters through the gate and the elders have ceased gathering there. The action pertains to the people, but the description is figurative. Similarly, "they sit in gloom upon the ground" - the dwellers of the gates, the elders at the gate, sat upon the earth, reflecting the mourning in which they were immersed. "And the outcry of Yerushalayim has ascended" - its people shriek from hunger and hardship, and their outcry has ascended.
What is a tzvachah (screaming outcry)? There is a tza'akah (cry), there is a ze'akah (wail) - so what is a tzvachah? The Malbim offers a beautiful explanation: tzvachah is related to tzechih tzama ("parched with thirst"), where one's throat is parched from intense thirst. When a person screams until his throat is dry and hoarse - that is a tzvachah. The word encompasses both the letters tzadi and chet, which convey the concept of thirst.
The Malbim explains that the verse progresses gradually: "Yehudah mourns" - the country as a whole; "and her gates languish" - the fortified cities; "and the outcry of Yerushalayim has ascended" - the royal capital. These had already been ravaged by Nevuchadnetzar, and to this distress was now added the severe drought.
Metzudat Tzion writes that umlalu denotes being cut off, as in "Have mercy on me, Hashem, for I am cut off (umlal ani)" - I am severed. This expression also appears in Hallel, and many people are unaware of its meaning: "In the name of Hashem, for I will cut them down (amilam)," which is mentioned there several times. Amilam means I will cut them off - related to the word milah (circumcision), which is the cutting off of the foreskin. That is: in the name of Hashem, I will cut them off. Umlal is likewise an expression of being cut off - severed from the source of one's vitality.
וְאַדִּרֵיהֶם שָׁלְחוּ צְעִירֵיהֶם לַמָּיִם בָּאוּ עַל־גֵּבִים לֹא־מָצְאוּ מַיִם שָׁבוּ כְלֵיהֶם רֵיקָם בֹּשׁוּ וְהָכְלְמוּ וְחָפוּ רֹאשָׁם׃ - And their nobles sent their youths for water; they came to the cisterns and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and humiliated, and covered their heads.
The prophet describes the situation: the prominent people, the nobles, sent their youths to fetch water - to the wells - to bring them water. "They came to the cisterns (gevim)" - they reached the ditches, places where water gathers, because there was no longer any water left in the cisterns. What are gevim? As in "to scoop water from a ditch (migeva)," all sorts of pits and pools where rainwater might have remained, places where runoff gathers. Yet there was no rain and no water; consequently, they were disgraced, and they returned with their vessels empty - "their vessels returned empty": the youths returned, but their vessels were empty.
There is another explanation: "their vessels returned empty" - the vessels returned empty, but the people themselves, the youths who had gone to fetch water, did not return. If so, how did the vessels return? Radak explains: through someone who brought them back; others went and returned their empty vessels. And what happened to the youths? The Malbim explains: the youths did not return because they died of thirst. This is the harrowing picture: they sent the youths to fetch water, they reached the ditches and found no water, and perished of thirst, while only their empty vessels were brought back.
"They were ashamed and humiliated, and covered their heads" - there was immense disgrace here; they were ashamed over the tragedy and covered their heads. Covering the head is an expression of mourning, and the Malbim explains that here their children died; thus you can understand why they covered their heads - in mourning over their children.
What is the difference between bushah (shame) and kelimah (humiliation)? The Malbim explains this in several places: bushah is what a person feels within himself, whereas kelimah is in the presence of others - being disgraced in the eyes of one's peers. Here, since they exerted themselves and went to great lengths, only for their vessels to return empty, there was both internal shame and public humiliation before others.
בַּעֲבוּר הָאֲדָמָה חַתָּה כִּי לֹא־הָיָה גֶשֶׁם בָּאָרֶץ בֹּשׁוּ אִכָּרִים חָפוּ רֹאשָׁם׃ - Because the ground is cracked, for there was no rain in the land, the farmers were ashamed, they covered their heads.
Chatah is an expression of breaking. When soil dries out, it becomes completely cracked, and one can see pictures of this: the ground itself breaks apart. And what is the meaning of ba'avur ("because")? It introduces a reason. Radak explains that it can be understood as the reason for the conclusion of the previous verse: why did "their vessels return empty; they were ashamed and humiliated, and covered their heads"? Because the ground was broken from severe drought, as there was no rain in the land. Another possibility is that it provides the reason for the end of our verse: "the farmers were ashamed, they covered their heads" - why? Because the ground was cracked. That is, "because the ground is cracked" can point back to the end of the previous verse or explain the end of this verse.
The farmers are the tillers of the soil, the Malbim explains, and they covered their heads because the ground was broken. While everyone awaits water, ordinary people can buy grain from somewhere; farmers, by contrast, make their living growing grain, and so they face the degradation of famine. A person engaged in another profession can purchase grain from elsewhere, but the farmer has no way to buy because he has no money, since his entire livelihood depends on the field. The moment the field produces no grain, he has nothing to eat and cannot afford to buy. Later we will see that even buying from surrounding nations presented serious difficulties.
כִּי גַם־אַיֶּלֶת בַּשָּׂדֶה יָלְדָה וְעָזוֹב כִּי לֹא־הָיָה דֶּשֶׁא׃ - For even the hind in the field gave birth and abandoned [her young], because there was no grass.
The hind in the field, even though she has given birth and naturally loves her offspring, nevertheless "gave birth and abandoned" - she birthed her young and left it. Why? "Because there was no grass." Since there was no grass, it was impossible to provide sustenance for the newborn, and the hind could not bear to watch her offspring die; she therefore abandoned it and walked away, having nothing with which to nourish it. This is akin to the verse, "Her princes were like harts that found no pasture" (Eichah 1:6).
וּפְרָאִים עָמְדוּ עַל־שְׁפָיִם שָׁאֲפוּ רוּחַ כַּתַּנִּים כָּלוּ עֵינֵיהֶם כִּי־אֵין עֵשֶׂב׃ - And wild donkeys stood on the bare heights; they gasped for air like jackals; their eyes failed because there was no vegetation.
"Pera'im" are wild donkeys, and "shefayim" refers to an elevated place. And why would they stand in a high place? The Radak explains: in order to see from there whether there was vegetation anywhere. The animal climbs to high ground so it can scan the horizon to see if perhaps there is some green patch, and head there. "They gasped for air like jackals" - the Radak explains that heavy panting and gasping is characteristic of jackals. There is also a poetic double meaning here, akin to "gathering the wind in his fists" (Mishlei 30:4): they ascended to seek grass, and what did they end up with? Wind. They filled themselves with wind and nothing more. In short, they went up the mountain and caught the breeze, but as for food and sustenance, they had nothing.
"Their eyes failed because there was no vegetation" - their eyes gazed far into the distance, failing and growing weary from looking so intently. It is as if to say: our eyes wore out from straining to look, and no matter how hard we searched, we saw no greenery on the horizon. The Radak adds that this drought was a punishment for their iniquities, affecting both settled land and the wilderness, whereas the gentile nations had plenty, as we shall see further on. The Holy One, blessed be He, punished them so that they would have no source of sustenance, neither in populated areas nor in the wilderness, and this was a punishment unique to the people of that generation.
The Malbim notes a precise distinction: regarding the hind, the previous verse states, "because there was no deshe" (sprouting grass), whereas regarding the wild donkeys, it says, "because there was no esev" (herbage). What is the difference? Deshe refers to the carpet of green that clothes the earth, the collective greenery covering the ground; whereas esev refers to a distinct plant, a specific growth, an individual herb. Therefore, the hind seeks deshe for pasture - "Her princes were like harts that found no pasture" - and any green cover that blankets the earth suffices for it. The wild donkey, however, seeks a specific esev, a particular green herb from which to nourish itself, and they could find no esev at all.
אִם־עֲוֺנֵינוּ עָנוּ בָנוּ ה' עֲשֵׂה לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ כִּי־רַבּוּ מְשׁוּבֹתֵינוּ לְךָ חָטָאנוּ׃ - Though our iniquities testify against us, Hashem, act for the sake of Your Name; for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against You.
"Though our iniquities testify against us" - if our sins bear witness against us. The prophet foresees the coming catastrophe, and the Radak notes that he includes himself within the community of Israel. Seemingly, he should have said, "Though their iniquities testify against them" - did you, the prophet, sin? Rather, he includes himself with them even though he bore no guilt. Nor should this surprise us, for Moshe Rabbeinu spoke the very same way: "Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance" (Shemot 34:9) - did Moshe sin? He should have said, "Pardon their iniquity and their sin, and take them as Your inheritance." Rather, this is the path of humility, sharing in the distress of the community.
There is a profound moral lesson here, as mentioned by the Pele Yoetz and other works: one who wishes to offer rebuke to the public should not say, "You have a problem, you are sinning" - the chances of his words being accepted are exceedingly slim. Instead, he should speak in the first-person plural: "We have a problem, we tend to stumble in..." and so forth. He should always include himself among them, even if he himself never committed such a deed and never stumbled in it. When you say, "We have a problem," the public is inclined to accept the message. But when you come as an external critic - "I am whole and you are deficient" - it is difficult for people to accept, even if they know it to be true, and even if you are Moshe Rabbeinu or Yirmiyahu and truly blameless. So too here, when turning to the Holy One, blessed be He: "Though our iniquities" - he includes himself with them.
What is the meaning of "anu vanu" ("testify against us")? It is from the language of testimony (edut), as in, "You shall not bear false witness (lo ta'aneh) against your neighbor" (Shemot 20:13) - that is, testify. If our iniquities are what testify against us: the rain, after all, stopped only for you and not for the nations, which serves as clear testimony that there is a fault in you. "Nevertheless, act for the sake of Your Name" - Your great Name that is proclaimed upon us. Rashi explains: for the sake of the great renown You have earned as Ruler over all; we are Your people and the sheep of Your pasture, and it is not fitting that the credit for Your victory be given to idols. For when the nations prosper, they say: behold, their idols have succeeded; their god cannot overcome us; their God is weak - we have abundance while they have famine; they pray to their idol and rain falls, while we cry out and there is no rain. Thus, when the Jewish people suffer, it results in a Chillul Hashem (desecration of God's Name). Therefore we plead: Master of the Universe, act for the sake of Your Name, so that Your Name at least will not be desecrated among the nations.
The Malbim explains: "Though our iniquities testify against us" - even though on our own merits we deserve punishment, for our iniquities bear witness against us, and when there is testimony it cannot be denied, nevertheless we plead: "Act for Your Name's sake." Now he explains the severity of the sin in two respects: first, "for our backslidings are many" - the sheer quantity of sins, where meshuvah (backsliding) is related to straying, turning away from the path; and second, "against You have we sinned" - regarding the nature of the sin itself and against Whom we sinned. For if a person sins against his neighbor, it is one thing; against a king, it is exceedingly grave; but against the King of kings, its severity knows no bounds. If so, our sins reach up to the heavens, yet even so: Master of the World, Your Name is also great, so act that Your Name not be desecrated among the nations.
The Malbim notes with precision: Why does it say, "Though our iniquities (avonoteinu) testify against us," and then, "for our backslidings (meshuvoteinu) are many," rather than "for our iniquities are many"? From here we see that there is a distinction. An avon stems from a distortion of the intellect, whereas meshuvah (backsliding or wildness) stems from the unruly abandon of the soul and spirit through habitual exposure to foreign and corrupt views and traits. When we become accustomed to living like the nations, that is meshuvah, and that is why it says, "I will heal their backsliding" (Hoshea 14:5), because an ingrained habit of corrupt views and character traits requires healing.
As explained previously: chet expresses a failure that stems from passion or desire. A person driven by desire does not have a distorted intellect; he knows the truth, but follows the cravings of his heart. By contrast, avon is a perversion (ivut) - someone who has built an entire ideology around his sin, insists on claiming that what he is doing is the truth, and has so warped his mind that he devises rational arguments for the transgression he commits. An avon expresses heresy.
מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל מוֹשִׁיעוֹ בְּעֵת צָרָה לָמָּה תִהְיֶה כְּגֵר בָּאָרֶץ וּכְאֹרֵחַ נָטָה לָלוּן׃ - O Hope of Israel, its Savior in time of trouble, why should You be like a stranger in the land, and like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for the night?
Radak explains: Even though they strayed from Your ways, You are still the Hope of Israel - You are their hope, and in You they place their trust. "Its Savior in time of trouble" - this applies in the historical sense as well: whenever they experienced trouble, You were their savior; if so, have pity and mercy upon them now, too, in their time of trouble. "Why should You be like a stranger in the land" - according to the plain sense of the verse, these words are addressed to the Hope of Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the World, why are You like a stranger in the land, and like a traveler who turns aside to lodge for the night?
Radak remarks: Do not wonder at this. In many places, the Torah speaks of the Creator in human terms. Scripture frequently refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, by way of anthropomorphism, as a human metaphor - that Hashem sees, Hashem hears, Hashem descends, Hashem smells, the hand of Hashem, the feet of Hashem, "and the earth is My footstool," and the like. The Rambam discusses this at length in Moreh Nevuchim, explaining that all this is metaphorical so that we can grasp these concepts, for the Holy One, blessed be He, has no body and no physical form.
Radak adds a fascinating point: Nonetheless, wherever verses employ such language, Onkelos and Targum Yonatan take care to distance any such corporeal attributes from the Creator (Onkelos on the Torah, Targum Yonatan on the Prophets). Look at how Yonatan translates here: "Savrehon de-Yisrael parkei be-idan aka" - savrehon comes from hope, as in savarna, the hope of Israel, redeem them in their time of distress; "lama yecheil rugzach alana" - why should Your anger rest upon us; "va-anachna che-totavin be-ara u-che-orcha di-seta le-meivat" - and we are like strangers in the land and like a traveler who turns aside to lodge. Notice what he does: he redirects the verse toward us. Even though the opening of the verse addresses the Holy One, blessed be He, he interprets "why should you be" as referring back to the Congregation of Israel: why should Knesset Yisrael be like a stranger in the land and like a traveler who turns aside to lodge? Thus, says Radak, wherever Scripture employs anthropomorphic terms for the Holy One, blessed be He, the Targumim interpret it differently, so that human expressions are not applied to Divine Providence - "he wished to distance from Him, blessed be He, even the semblance of imagination," so that such things are not stated even by way of allegory.
The Malbim explains: "Hashem, the Hope of Israel" - Israel always hopes in You, and You always save in time of trouble, that is Your very Name; and just as You have always done, so save me now as well. And why does it say, "Why should You be like a stranger"? The Malbim explains that an obstacle to saving someone can be conceived in one of three ways: 1. Lack of will - I do not want to save you. 2. Lack of knowledge - I was unaware that you were in trouble. 3. Lack of ability - there is both will and knowledge, but I lack the power to save. These are three reasons for withholding salvation, and he addresses all three here.
Against the lack of will: "Why should You be like a stranger in the land." When something happens in the land, it does not concern a stranger. A person arrives in America, and people tell him, "You wouldn't believe what a fire broke out here in the county." At most, he worries about his ruined vacation, but as for the county that burned down - what does he care? "I am a stranger in the land, I am not a local; I will just catch the next flight home and let them resolve their own problems." For a stranger, local troubles do not affect him. And this is the plea: Master of the World, if it is that You do not wish to save us and our problems do not concern You - why should You be like a stranger in the land?
"And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night" - the Malbim explains that even though a traveler is a citizen of the land, he is not permanently here; he lives in another district. That is to say, it appears as though You, Master of the Universe, have no desire to supervise the land, or that You have, as it were, handed the governance of the world over to the celestial system of the stars, while the Holy One, blessed be He, is merely like a stranger or a traveler who turns aside for the night, checking from time to time to see how the machinery is running. As mentioned previously, this was Iyov's contention throughout his book - that Providence was handed over to a foolish power, namely the celestial spheres, and they act unjustly and unfairly; and there, this conception is confronted directly. (Those who wish may listen to the recordings on Iyov, where these matters are explained at great length.) Here too, it gives the impression as though You handed governance over to the stars, and You only glance at the gauges occasionally to see how the system is operating, and nothing more.
לָמָּה תִהְיֶה כְּאִישׁ נִדְהָם כְּגִבּוֹר לֹא־יוּכַל לְהוֹשִׁיעַ וְאַתָּה בְקִרְבֵּנוּ ה' וְשִׁמְךָ עָלֵינוּ נִקְרָא אַל־תַּנִּחֵנוּ׃ - Why should You be like a man stunned, like a mighty warrior who cannot save? Yet You, Hashem, are in our midst, and Your Name is called upon us; do not leave us.
Addressing the notion of a lack of knowledge, he says: "Why should You be like a man stunned." A person who is nidham (stunned) is one whose senses and feelings are numbed, feeling nothing - as though You do not know what is happening to us, and therefore do not save us. And addressing a lack of ability: "like a mighty warrior who cannot save" - like a warrior unable to deliver because someone stronger overcomes him.
To this he answers: "Yet You, Hashem, are in our midst" - this is the opposite of the traveler who turns aside to tarry, for You desire our good; "and Your Name is called upon us" - this is the opposite of the stranger, for You have not abandoned us to the celestial system, but rather we are guided directly by You under Your providence. If so, what remains? A deficiency of knowledge or a deficiency of ability. The Malbim explains that the prophet saw no need to refute these, for it is obvious that before the Holy One, blessed be He, there is neither lack of knowledge nor lack of ability. What needed addressing was only the apparent lack of will: Master of the Universe, how could there be a lack of will, when Your Name is called upon us and You are in our midst, meaning You desire our well-being? And if so, why do You leave us in this terrible state?
Notice that Targum Yonatan follows this same line: "Why should Your wrath fall upon us while we are cast about and abandoned, when You are a mighty One capable of redeeming?" In other words, "like a man stunned" refers to us, not to the Holy One, blessed be He: why should we be like an alarmed, stunned person without salvation, while You, Master of the Universe, are a mighty warrior who is able to save?
The Malbim adds that the word nidham is a hapax legomenon, a unique expression with no counterpart in Scripture, meaning someone who has lost his senses and whose faculties are paralyzed. It is related to damam (to be silent or still), nidam, and nirdam (fallen asleep) - all of which indicate the cessation of actions, senses, and feelings.
"Do not leave us" [al tannicheinu] - the Malbim explains that the root y-n-ch generally denotes placing an object in a certain spot so that it remains there. By contrast, the expressions azav (abandon) and natash (forsake) mean consciously walking away from something. Thus, "do not leave me" means do not leave me deposited in a place of danger, as in "do not leave me to my oppressors" [bal tannicheini le'oshekai]: You left me and placed me there, and I remain lying exposed, so that anyone who comes along can harm and afflict me. Therefore: "and Your Name is called upon us; do not leave us" - since Your Name is called upon us, do not leave us unattended, for the moment You leave us lying there, anyone can come along and do us harm.
Why did he choose this specific phrasing? The Malbim explains: since he is describing that Hashem is in our midst and is merely not saving us, one cannot say "do not abandon us" [al ta'azveinu] - after all, we just declared that Your Name is called upon us and the Holy One, blessed be He, is with us and within us. What can be said instead? That Hashem is with us and has not abandoned us, but He leaves us be - that is, He does not intervene, allowing others to come and harm us while we lie exposed in danger. Regarding this we plead: do not do so, but rather pick me up and take me out of there.
כֹּה־אָמַר ה' לָעָם הַזֶּה כֵּן אָהֲבוּ לָנוּעַ רַגְלֵיהֶם לֹא חָשָׂכוּ וַה' לֹא רָצָם עַתָּה יִזְכֹּר עֲוֺנָם וְיִפְקֹד חַטֹּאתָם׃ - Thus said Hashem to this people: So have they loved to wander; they have not withheld their feet. Therefore Hashem does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.
They still loved to wander - you still love to stray; you do not remain in one place clinging to Hashem, still the backsliding daughter. "They have not withheld their feet" - their feet still go on walking along wayward paths. The word chasachu is related to sparing or withholding: they do not hold back their feet from walking down a mistaken path.
The Malbim notes that one might think Hashem's will toward them could turn favorably. For sometimes a father has mercy on his son even when he strays from the path, and it could very well be that although we are the backsliding daughter, and although "they loved to wander" and "have not withheld their feet," Hashem nevertheless desires us. While by virtue of our deeds we are unworthy, perhaps we might arouse divine favor toward us. To this the Holy One, blessed be He, responds: "Therefore Hashem does not accept them." Here the reality is that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not desire them, and His will cannot change toward them for good as long as they persist in this state. Consequently, "now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins" - since Hashem does not find favor in them, there is cause to exact retribution from them for their iniquity and for their sins.
An avon (iniquity), as we noted, is a distortion of the intellect, while a chet (sin) is an inadvertent error. The Malbim makes a precise observation: what is the connection between avon and remembering (zechirah), and between chet and visitation (pekidah)? Remembering is the opposite of forgetting - when someone says, "I remember," it means he has not forgotten. In contrast, "visiting" (yifkod) also implies taking retaliatory or consequential action. One can remember something without doing anything about it, or one can remember and also respond and punish. Visitation implies action, as in "and I will visit their sin upon them" - He will collect payment from them for the sins they committed.
Therefore, the Malbim explains: an avon is a distortion of the intellect, a matter of thought, and is thus more closely tied to the concept of forgetting. For this reason, the verse states, "He will remember their iniquity" - referring to the distortion of intellect, which is an internal mental matter, and is therefore paired with the terminology of remembering, which is also an affair of thought. And all the more so does the Holy One, blessed be He, remember the chet, for an action is concrete; if Hashem remembers what occurred in thought, how much more so that which was carried out in action.
Conversely, regarding chet, which is an inadvertent misdeed, the verse states, "and visit their sins" - not merely remembering, but active punishment. And if the Holy One, blessed be He, punishes for an inadvertent sin, what can be said of an avon, which is intentional? It is an a fortiori argument (kal vachomer). Thus, according to the Malbim: "He will remember their iniquity" - and all the more so their inadvertent sins; "and visit their sins" - and all the more so their intentional iniquities. The visitation for the sin means that He punishes even for inadvertent errors, and all the more so for deliberate iniquity.
Radak explains: what kind of wandering is being discussed here? It refers to their journeying to Egypt and Assyria to seek aid and support. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: they did not trust in Me, and they did not hold back their feet from going, even though the prophet rebuked them: "And now, what have you to do with the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? And what have you to do with the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?" - defining Egypt as a broken reed of a staff. There is explicit rebuke that salvation will not spring from Egypt, yet they still do not restrain their feet from traveling there. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: you love to wander among the nations seeking their help? I will cause you to wander among the nations. A terrifying measure-for-measure consequence: you seek to go to the nations - I will exile you among the nations.
Radak asks: Yirmiyahu prayed to Hashem concerning the drought and the famine, so why is this the response - "They have loved to wander, they have not restrained their feet, therefore Hashem does not accept them"? There is not a single word here addressing the withholding of rain!
Radak answers: even when rain is withheld, there is still a chance of sustenance if people travel to foreign lands and import grain from there. Even nowadays, it was once said to a minister of finance that the upcoming year was projected to be a drought year for wheat. He asked, "Where?" They told him, "In the Land of Israel." He replied, "Ah, in Israel - you startled me! I thought you meant in the United States. Our wheat is almost entirely imported, so if we need to worry about drought, it is over there, not here." The same applied then: even if we face a local problem, we can go and bring food from the surrounding nations. However, the verse is describing a situation where enemies were besieging them daily, preventing anyone from leaving, which caused the famine to become far more severe. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, tells him: My answer addresses the fact that the enemies are dominating you and will exile you, and consequently the famine is not going to end, but will only grow harsher and more severe. Thus, there is an indirect response to the issue of famine: although the Holy One, blessed be He, does not mention rain directly, He closes off all potential escape routes of turning to other nations, announcing that the situation will not improve because of their wicked deeds - "now He will remember their iniquity and visit their sins."
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלָי אַל־תִּתְפַּלֵּל בְּעַד־הָעָם הַזֶּה לְטוֹבָה׃ - And Hashem said to me: Do not pray on behalf of this people for good.
Radak explains: we have seen that Yirmiyahu prayed against some of them for ill, since there were those who attempted to assassinate the prophet, and he had said: Master of the Universe, I wish to see You take vengeance upon them - "Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter." Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: do not pray for their good. It is enough that you do not pray for their good, and there is no need to pray against them for harm.
The Malbim explains that Yirmiyahu wanted to pray for the people a second time, and the Holy One, blessed be He, told him: do not pray on behalf of this people for good. What is the meaning behind this? Here the Malbim introduces an explanation that he mentions in several places: the punishments of the Holy One, blessed be He, fall into two categories. There is punishment that comes through hester panim (the concealment of the Divine face), during which man is left vulnerable to the whims of nature: if hardships occur, he suffers them; if wars break out, he is caught in them; if disasters strike, he is affected. Yet, on the other hand, it is quite possible that the times are peaceful and good, in which case no evil will befall him, since he is merely abandoned to nature, and by the laws of nature there is currently no adversity. Conversely, there is punishment that comes through direct Providence (hashgachah): in that case, regardless of what is happening around him, Hashem actively watches over him specifically to administer punishment.
There, the Malbim explains Ahab's argument regarding the death of Chiel of Beit Ha'eli and Elijah's reply according to this principle, and it is a truly wonderful explanation; anyone who wishes can listen to it in the recording on the Book of Kings.
At first glance, it might seem that punishment through Divine Providence is worse, for no matter whether it is good or bad all around, through Providence you will receive punishment, and precisely because Hashem is watching over you, you are punished. But the Malbim says the opposite is true: in this punishment there is good news, that the Holy One, blessed be He, is still with you and still watching over you. Whereas the first punishment, even though it stems from a lack of Divine Providence and leaves you subject to the ravages of nature, the terrible thing about it is that you are not with the Holy One, blessed be He - that the Holy One, blessed be He, has, as it were, abandoned you and is not with you.
And what happens then? Very often you can pray and it will not help. When the Holy One, blessed be He, is not watching over you and you are left to the ravages of nature - people ask: Where was the Holy One, blessed be He, during the Holocaust? And the answer is: He was not there. What does it mean that He was not there? He was not there, and He announced in advance that He would not be there: "And I will surely hide My face from them." The Holy One, blessed be He, says: There will come a time when Am Yisrael rebels, that they will cry out and scream and I will not be there - and I am telling you this now while I am still here, so that you prepare and change your ways. And if not, a stage will come when you cry out and no one answers, because Hashem has left you to the ravages of nature. And by natural law, we are weak, a lone sheep scattered among seventy wolves, and our situation is such that woe to us if the nations decide to gather against us. It turns out that the lack of Providence is the most severe punishment of all, even if it sometimes brings good periods with it - there are situations where there is no Providence and naturally things go well - yet the very fact that there is no Providence is the worst of all.
According to this, the Malbim explains: when the Holy One, blessed be He, punishes through hester panim (the hiding of His face), the punishment comes on its own; as if to say, I am not bringing it upon you, but rather I have simply abandoned you, and because I have abandoned you, the surrounding perils are plentiful. And when a person prays about this, what does he pray for? "Master of the Universe, bestow goodness upon us, do not hide Your face from us" - and this is the meaning of "Do not pray for this people for good." But at other times, the punishment is through Providence, and then it comes directly from Him, blessed be He, in exact measures according to His will, as He determined with full Providence. The example of punishments of Providence is all the punishments in the wilderness, where Hashem's Providence was intimately attached to us. And when the punishment is through Providence, what does one pray for? "Please, Hashem, do not harm us" - since the punishment comes directly from You. Thus we find: when the punishment comes because Hashem abandoned us to chance, we pray for good, that He bestow goodness upon us; but when the punishment comes through Providence, we ask, "Do not bring evil upon us."
כִּי יָצֻמוּ אֵינֶנִּי שֹׁמֵעַ אֶל־רִנָּתָם וְכִי יַעֲלוּ עֹלָה וּמִנְחָה אֵינֶנִּי רֹצָם כִּי בַּחֶרֶב וּבָרָעָב וּבַדֶּבֶר אָנֹכִי מְכַלֶּה אוֹתָם׃ - "Though they fast, I will not listen to their cry, and though they offer an olah and a minchah, I will not accept them; for by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, I will consume them."
The Malbim explains: neither fasting nor sacrifices will help, because the decree has essentially been sealed. Since the punishment comes through Providence, it requires immense teshuvah to alter the decree. Yirmiyahu was certain that the punishments stemmed from hester panim, which is why he prayed, "Your Name is called upon us, do not leave us" - do not abandon us to the hands of chance, since Your Name is called upon us. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: You are mistaken. You think this entire matter is one of hester panim, and when there is hester panim, one prays for good - "Please, Hashem, watch over us." But I say to you: No. Do not pray for this people for good. The punishment here does not stem from hester panim; on the contrary, this is a punishment of revealed presence to punish them and requite them as they deserve. The punishment comes from Hashem Himself, for this is Hashem's Providence directed toward retribution, Providence to punish them. Therefore, even fasting and sacrifices will not avail, but rather, "by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, I will consume them."
Chapter 14 opens with a harrowing description of the drought: the land mourns, the gates languish, Jerusalem cries out, the youngsters sent to the cisterns die of thirst and their vessels return empty, the farmers cover their heads in shame, the hind abandons her newborn fawn, and the wild donkeys gasp for air on the bare heights. Out of this distress, Yirmiyahu offers a piercing prayer - "Though our iniquities testify against us, Hashem, act for Your Name's sake" - including himself with the community in true humility, following the manner of Moshe Rabbeinu and the proper approach to rebuke. He argues against the three perceived impediments to salvation: lack of will, lack of knowledge, and lack of ability, answering them with "Yet You are in our midst, Hashem, and Your Name is called upon us." But the response of the Holy One, blessed be He, is severe: "Thus have they loved to wander" - because they loved wandering toward Egypt and Assyria, they will be exiled among the nations; "and Hashem does not accept them," and therefore "He will remember their iniquity and visit their sins." And finally: "Do not pray for this people for good," for the punishment here is not hester panim, but explicit Providence to punish them, and therefore even fasting and sacrifices will not avail without immense teshuvah that overturns the decree.