Sefer Yirmiyahu, chapter 17. The sin of Yehudah is written with an iron pen, with a shamir point, engraved upon the tablet of their heart and upon the horns of your altars. The sin of Yehudah is written with an iron pen, with a shamir point, engraved upon the tablet of their heart. Rashi says this is a metaphor meant to convey how deeply the sin is embedded and etched within them, and how it cannot be erased. Rashi brings an aggadic midrash: "with an iron pen, with a shamir point." "With an iron pen" comes to hint at Yirmiyahu, who is called a pillar of iron, as we saw earlier. And "with a shamir point" comes to hint at Yechezkel, of whom it was said, "like a shamir harder than flint, harder than flint I have made your forehead." That is to say, as it were, the sin of Yehudah is engraved, and if you wish to know where it is engraved, look at it through these two prophets, who were the great rebukers of Israel. Through them one can see how deeply the sin of Yehudah is engraved. "Engraved upon the tablet of their heart," Rashi says, means that they do not forget their idolatry; their idolatry is always before their eyes.
The Malbim explains the meaning of the duplication: the sin of Yehudah is written with an iron pen, with a shamir point, engraved upon the tablet of their heart and upon the horns of your altars. The Malbim says that an iron pen writes on the surface. They would write with an iron pen, and the pen would leave an impression on the object being written on, but only on its upper part. In contrast, a shamir point was extremely strong; it would carve inward. So he means to say: know that their sin is both visible and internal. On the one hand, "with an iron pen," which, as we said, writes on the surface, and on the other hand, "with a shamir point," which carves inward and descends and makes an engraving within the innermost part of the heart. The intent is that their sin is both open and hidden. And on this he explains: corresponding to "the shamir point" he says "engraved upon the tablet of their heart," for the shamir point carves inward, and so the sin is engraved upon the tablet of their heart. And corresponding to what he said, "with an iron pen," which refers to the external, he says: behold, this can be seen, "upon the horns of your altars," for the horns of your altars are visible to all, and thus through this one can see the sin of Yehudah. The idea in these words is that sometimes a person does something that is external to him, and something external to him he can easily detach from. But when a person does something that comes from the innermost part of his heart, it is far harder to detach from it, since it stems from more internal motives and from an inner connection to that matter. Therefore he says here: your sin is not an external sin, but rather your sin is an internal sin; it is "with a shamir point, engraved upon the tablet of their heart."
As they remember, their children remember their altars and their asherim upon the leafy tree, upon the high hills. Just as they remember their children with all their heart, so too do they remember their altars and their asherim, an asherah meaning a worshipped tree. As Rashi explains, "as they remember their children, their altars": just as they would remember their children, so was their remembrance of their altars, like a man who longs for his son. That is to say, it is not something external but rather something internal to which they were bound with every fiber of their being; like a man who longs for his son, so were they bound to the idolatry.
And now he explains: their altars upon a leafy tree and their asherim upon the high hills. Their way was to build their altars near trees, beside trees. As we see it is written, "You shall not plant for yourself an asherah, any tree, beside the altar of Hashem your God." For this is the way of the nations, that the nations would build an altar beside trees. The asherim they would plant upon a high hill. And these asherim are those very trees. And what actually is the idea behind this? It is known that the dwelling place of spirits and demons and other external forces is often in a tree. Many times they dwell in trees. Therefore, since they wanted to draw down those forces so that those forces would influence the sacrifices, what they would do was do this beside a tree or under a tree and so forth, in this manner. And through this, as it were, they would draw from those coarse forces, and through the tree and the altar they would draw the spiritual powers of those forces of impurity. For as we said, they truly had ways of knowing how to make contact with the external forces. Lavan, after all, with the terafim, was able to know where Yaakov had fled; it was not for nothing that Rachel took the terafim. This means that the terafim were a power upon which a force of impurity would descend; it was a skull upon which they would draw down a force of impurity, and through this the force of impurity would speak. They were able to make contact with forces of impurity. We saw that the calf would say, "I am Hashem your God, and you shall have no other." So the calf would say; by what power? By the power of impurity that acted within it. So in fact they knew by what means to draw down those forces to rest upon the trees, and therefore they would make the altar beside the tree. Asherah has an additional meaning as well: there were those who worshipped the tree itself, and then that too is called an asherah, that very worshipped tree.
O My mountain in the field, your wealth, all your treasures I will give as spoil, your high places for the sin throughout all your borders. Let me say in advance, and you have surely already noticed from the beginning of the chapter, that the expressions in this chapter are very complex. Therefore there are several interpretations of each expression. "O My mountain in the field, your wealth, all your treasures," the expressions here are not clear; this is not the language we have seen until now, and therefore we will need to work harder to understand what is written here. The Radak explains that they would worship on the mountains. And since this is so, he calls Israel "My mountain in the field." You are My mountain. Now, "in the field, your wealth, all your treasures." He says the intent is: all your treasures that are in the field, your wealth, your strength, all these I will give as spoil. So it turns out that "O My mountain in the field" is like a call: you, Israel, you are My mountain in the field, you are My mountain. A mountain denotes importance; a mountain expresses something lofty and exalted. So you are My mountain, Israel; "your wealth, all your treasures I will give as spoil," your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil. "Your high places for the sin throughout all your borders." Here too, what is "your high places for the sin throughout all your borders"? The Radak says it is inverted. Why all this? Because of the sin of your high places throughout all your borders. Why is this? Because of the sin you committed at the high places, idolatry, throughout all your borders. So one reads it in reverse, and the Radak brings several more examples where we read the verse in reverse, placing the later part first. So "your high places for the sin" is as if it were written "for the sin of your high places throughout all your borders." Why will all your treasures become spoil? Because of the sin of your high places that are throughout all your borders.
The Malbim explains that "O My mountain in the field" does not refer to Israel but rather to the Beit HaMikdash. The Beit HaMikdash is Har Tzion. The Beit HaMikdash is called a mountain. And "O My mountain in the field" means: My mountain that stands in a field, this is the field of Tzion. And why is it called a field? Because everything around it had already been destroyed. "Tzion shall be plowed as a field." Everything around is plowed. Therefore it is called a field. So he says "O My mountain in the field," the Beit HaMikdash that stands in a field, in a place already conquered and destroyed and plowed, He says to them: your wealth, all your treasures I will give as spoil. And also your high places I will give as spoil. Why? "For the sin throughout all your borders." Because of the sin of the high places that is throughout all your borders, meaning that is found in every border of your land.
And you shall let go, of yourself, from your inheritance which I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have kindled a fire in My anger; forever it shall burn. Here too the expressions are very complex. "And you shall let go, of yourself, from your inheritance." What is the intent? Let us begin with Rashi. Rashi says "and you shall let go" means: against your will the land will be let go from you. And why will it be let go? As it is written in the Torah, "because it did not rest." When the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded the shemitah, He warned that if you do not let the land rest during the shemitah year, if you do not cause it to rest, then the land will exile you and it itself will take its days of rest for itself. The exile of Israel was seventy years; this was the exile between the First and Second Temples. And this was exactly the number of shemitot that Israel did not observe. Year for year. Every shemitah that we did not observe, the land was in effect let go from us. And then perforce it observes shemitah, for it is not worked. For when we let the land rest, then we do not work it, and when we are exiled from the land, we also do not work it. That is to say, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave us the option that we ourselves choose to observe shemitah of our own will, and if not, then the land will do it on its own. And then the land will make up for its Sabbaths all the days of its desolation, and so forth. This is what He says here too: "and you shall let go," that is, against your will the land will be let go from you, because you did not fulfill the mitzvah of "and the land shall rest." "Of yourself, from your inheritance," Rashi explains, means: I will take vengeance on you because of your inheritance. The intent is that you did not keep the obligations I commanded you regarding your inheritance. So there will be vengeance upon you because of your inheritance. Rashi brings another explanation: "of yourself, from your inheritance," meaning: and against you I will take vengeance, that I will exile you from your inheritance. This is "of yourself, from your inheritance." The vengeance upon you will be that you will be exiled from your inheritance. So it turns out that according to Rashi, the entire complaint here concerns the matter of shemitah.
In contrast, the Malbim explains "and you shall let go, of yourself," to mean that the letting go will be twofold. There will be a letting go from the land and there will be a letting go of yourself. This is "and you shall let go, of yourself, from your inheritance." The letting go will be within you and the letting go will be from your inheritance. In fact there is here a twofold letting go, and now we will explain. As for what is written, "and you shall let go from your inheritance," he explains: after all, you will serve your enemies, for they went to Egypt after Gedaliah ben Achikam was killed. So it turns out that they let go of the land, they abandoned the inheritance. The Malbim says that "letting go" means abandoning something, removing something from one's possession. "You shall let go of your hands," as we see "it slipped from his hand." So we see that the land was let go from him. This is what He says: "and you shall let go from your inheritance." The intent is that we were let go from the land; we went to Egypt, and through this we let go of the land, we abandoned our inheritance. Had we remained in Eretz Yisrael, the land would not have been destroyed. For it is written that what Nevuchadnetzar said, he wanted to leave here vinedressers and farmers, the land would not have been let go. The land would not have been let go; why did this happen? Because we thought that our salvation would be in Egypt. And the prophet rebuked us and told us not to go down to Egypt, for we would have no salvation there, and in the end we did not listen to the prophet then either, and then too we were smitten. So it turns out that he says to them: first, you will be let go from the land, you will lose the land. Another thing he says, "of yourself," that within yourself too there will be a letting go. What does it mean that within yourself too there will be a letting go? When I am master of myself, there is no letting go here. Just as when I am master over the ground, the ground is not let go from me, so when I am master over myself, I too am not let go from myself; I am master of myself. In contrast, when someone comes and takes me as a slave, the ownership over myself is let go from me. And then it turns out that the letting go is within me myself. That is to say, within me myself, the ownership over myself was let go. So I have ownership over the ground, and it was let go from me the moment we were exiled to Egypt, and I have ownership over myself, which still existed, but in the end it too was let go from me. This is the meaning of "and you shall let go": the letting go will be twofold, both from your inheritance and within you. You yourself too will lose your autonomy over yourself. And then through this you will go from freedom to slavery, for there they served their enemies in the land of Egypt, since Nevuchadnetzar in the end conquered the land of Egypt as well. And on this he says, "and I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know," this is "and you shall let go, of yourself," meaning your freedom too will be let go from you; this too will be let go from you. "In a land you do not know," in Egypt. "For you have kindled a fire in My anger; forever it shall burn," as we saw earlier in chapter 16, verse 14, where He also mentioned this expression: you angered the Master of the world, and this anger will burn forever.
So says Hashem: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart turns away from Hashem. "Cursed is the man who trusts in man," what does this have to do with here? Well, according to Rashi this is a continuation of the previous verse. For in the previous verse we said that they did not want to let go of the ground, and Rashi explained that all that was said in the previous verse relates to the letting go of the land which they were not willing to observe, and therefore the land was let go from them. On this he says: this person who is not willing to observe shemitah lacks trust. Because one who trusts in Hashem is willing to abandon his land and his vineyard and leave them fallow, and to know that his livelihood is from Hashem. But one who does not do so trusts in man. He says: my lord, if I do not plow and do not sow, I will have nothing to eat. On this the prophet now says: so says Hashem, cursed is the man who trusts in man. Rashi says: regarding his plowing and his harvesting, saying, "I will sow in the seventh year and eat, for if not, from where will I have anything to eat?" You trust in man. "And makes flesh his arm." Rashi explains "his arm" not from the term for arm but rather as "his helper." This means, as you would say "keves, keseb," "kohel, lohek" and so forth in this manner, so too here: "his arm" means his helper, as the Targum translates "his security," his security meaning that in which he trusts, the one he relies on, the one who will help him. "And whose heart turns away from Hashem." Since the Holy One, blessed be He, promised, "and I will command My blessing upon you," and you do not rely on the Holy One, blessed be He, you say, "if I do not work I will have nothing to eat." Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his helper, thinking that flesh will be his help, and whose heart turns away from Hashem.
The Malbim explains, as a continuation of his interpretation of the previous verse, that there was here a complaint over the fact that they relied on Egypt and did not rely on the promise of the prophet and on the promise of Hashem that He would be their help. They trusted in Egypt, and as we have seen several times in the past, the prophet rebukes them that they are leaning on a broken reed of a staff when they rely on Egypt. As it is written, "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on chariots and do not turn to Hashem." So corresponding to the fact that they do not trust in Hashem but rather rely more on Egypt, on this he says, "cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm." What, what is the duplication? The Malbim says there is a person who trusts in man and yet also trusts in Hashem. What does this mean? You say to him, trust in Hashem, and he says to you, yes, but listen, one must make much effort, for how will Hashem send me the salvation? Will He bring it down from heaven? No, so you must make much effort. That is to say, he trusts in Hashem that He will save him through so-and-so. Yes, we have already spoken several times in the past that a person, in his great folly, not only makes effort but also tells the Master of the world, gives Him advice on where it would be best to send the salvation. Master of the world, I have already arranged a route, You need not exert Yourself. Master of the world, I already spoke with that official and spoke with this one and sealed the deal here, You, Master of the world, just make sure his heart changes for the good, and the business is settled; I am not asking for much. Yes, you even take care of the Holy One, blessed be He; you even ease His work. On this the Malbim says: there is a person who trusts in man and also trusts in Hashem. He trusts that Hashem will save him in a particular way, along a particular route. So even though he trusts in man, nevertheless, the Malbim says here, the main arm and power of the trust is in Hashem. He plans the salvation through a particular place, but he says, Master of the world, You turn his heart, that is to say he trusts in Hashem. In contrast, the Malbim says, a person whose entire trust is in man, to the point that even the arm, the Malbim always says, this is how he explains it in several places, that this is the power that moves the hand. And the expression "arm" always comes to express the first power that sets other means into motion. It is the primary power that generates the ongoing movement. So it turns out that here, when we speak of "arm," this person is confident, "makes flesh his arm," that is to say even from the outset, the so-called primary moving power, this is my arm. And if I do not do it, no one will. And if I did not act, nothing here will move. He is confident that not only is he the one who acts and is himself a result, but he is also the mover of all the processes from the outset. It is not that there is a Creator of the world and the arm is only part of the process; rather, he "makes flesh his arm," he is confident that everything is from the power of man, only the power of flesh. "And whose heart turns away from Hashem," when he turns away completely from Hashem, of this it is said "cursed." So it turns out that there are in fact two types of people here, and about the first he did not say "cursed." One who trusts in man but still does not make flesh his arm, but rather knows that the arm, as we said, the moving power, is from Hashem, he is not yet cursed. He has not reached the completeness of trust, but he is still not cursed. But one who trusts in man and not only that, but also thinks that man is likewise the primary power and that the Creator of the world is not part of the story, this is called "makes flesh his arm." Such a person, his heart turns away from Hashem, and since this is so, the title "cursed" befits him.
But in fact it is very difficult to be at the high level that the Malbim mentions here. For what the Malbim says is the lower level that is not cursed, that a person trusts in Hashem but expects the salvation to come through man. We said once that this is the reality of most people. Because a person says to you, "I do, I act, and with the help of Hashem." What is the intent? The Holy One, blessed be He, will only help. I do, I already did this here and spoke with that one and acted, and with the help of Hashem it will succeed. That is to say, he expects Hashem only to help, but he does not think for a moment that from beginning to end, from the very first to the very last, everything is from Him, may He be blessed. This he does not think. "But it was my idea, your idea too, for He is the One who gives you strength to make wealth," the Targum says "counsel to acquire property." Your idea too is counsel that came to you from Hashem. That is to say, from beginning to end, everything is from Him, may He be blessed. What does a person tend to think? I did it and Hashem helped. Hashem helped. When a person succeeds, we said, you say to him, how did you succeed? Baruch Hashem, listen, you did something wonderful. What does he say to you? Yes, baruch Hashem, there was siyata dishmaya. Hashem helped. I did it, credit is due to me, but Hashem helped. If he fell, he had a colossal failure, they say to him, tell us what happened to you? How, how is this? Know that everything, everything is from Above, everything is from Above, it is all from Him, may He be blessed. Do you understand? His failures he casts entirely upon the Holy One, blessed be He. Perhaps you also did something? Perhaps you also had some moves? Listen, a person must believe, a person must know that everything is from heaven and everything that the Holy One does is for the good, and... Do you understand? He already wants to accumulate dividends from his failure; surely it too will be for the good. The fact that many were harmed and many fell and many because of him, it will be for the good, do not worry, everything Hashem does is for the good. But what I do, there are no questions about me. If there is a fall, then it is only from Him, may He be blessed. How much a person is willing to distort reality, so long as he can make his peace with the notion that he only does good things and he never fails.
Let us continue. And he shall be like a lone tree in the wilderness, and he shall not see when good comes, and he shall dwell in parched places in the desert, a salt land that is uninhabited. About this person, whose heart turns away from Hashem, the prophet says he is like a barren tree in the wilderness. A tree that does not obtain abundance from the bounty of heaven above, the Malbim says. "And he shall not see when good comes." That is, there in the wilderness, in the desert, he does not expect rain. And also from his surroundings, perhaps here he will have helpers and supporters, he says, "he shall dwell in parched places." He dwells among thorns, among parched places that are dry in the desert. "Chararim" is something dry, like "and it was charred," like "My anger burned," meaning from the term for dryness; "the rivers dried up" means the rivers were destroyed, meaning they dried up, "charov" from the term that the rivers dried up. So too here, "he shall dwell in parched places" means in a place of dry thorns in the desert. And also, what will you say, perhaps below there is some underground spring of water? He says to you, "a salt land, and it is uninhabited." The land below, the soil is salty, a salty place such that it cannot be settled at all. So this person will be in such a reality that there will be no siyata dishmaya in him at all; he will have no siyata dishmaya at all. But rather, like a lone tree in the wilderness, "aro'er," either this refers to being barren, or some explain that it is a type of tree that does not bear, a barren tree, yes? In any case this person will have no salvation, since this person "makes flesh his arm."
Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and Hashem is his security. "Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem," that not only, the Malbim says, does he trust in Hashem, but also "Hashem is his security." This means, the Malbim says, a person who trusts in Hashem that the Holy One, blessed be He, will save him through all kinds of natural means, as we explained earlier, he plans the route for the Master of the world, he performs all kinds of actions and expects the salvation to come through those natural means; this person, even though he trusts in Hashem, his security, meaning that very thing through which he will attain the thing he trusts in, is not in Hashem. He hopes the salvation will come through a certain route, through a certain person, that livelihood will come through the field, through the store, through all kinds of natural helps through which he plans the salvation. So he indeed trusts in Hashem, but Hashem is not his security. Rather, his security is in the field, his security is in that natural thing on which he relies. So he indeed says the salvation is from Hashem, but through where? His security is in what? Through that physical thing. Such a person, as we said earlier, is not cursed, because in the end he still arrives at the Master of the world. But he is also not blessed. Who is blessed? The Malbim says the blessed one is the complete opposite. The complete opposite of the cursed. The cursed, we said, trusts from beginning to end in himself. The blessed is one who trusts from beginning to end in the Master of the world. Therefore this is the opposite of the cursed mentioned earlier. "Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem," this means he trusts in Hashem that the salvation is from the Holy One, blessed be He, "and Hashem is his security," meaning: even natural means I do not rely on. Rather I know Hashem is my security. Even natural means I do not seek, but everything is only through the Holy One, blessed be He; Hashem is also his security, meaning that very thing through which he will attain the thing he trusts in. So in fact this person relies on Hashem completely, and therefore of him it is said "blessed is the man." He is worthy of being blessed, and he is a "gever," a man, "gever" meaning in the sense of one who overcomes his inclination and trusts in Hashem. Trust is not a simple thing, and a person often needs, that is to say always, when he speaks of trust, to overcome his inclination. Why? Because a person naturally sees the tangible. And to trust in Hashem is to trust in the hidden. Something I do not see, something I do not sense. And I sense that I worked, at the end of the week there is a salary. I did not work, there is no salary. To come and trust in Hashem and to know that the salary is only through an emissary of Hashem, may He be blessed, this is a constant difficulty, a constant difficulty. We told once that someone suggested to the Rav of Brisk that perhaps they should establish some fund, and this fund would contain a substantial sum of money, and from it the Rav could sustain the kollel. So once they would collect a large sum of money, and afterward only from the interest and dividends of this it would be possible to sustain the kollel that the Rav maintained, where there were dozens of avreichim, and every month he had to pay. This was very difficult. The Rav of Brisk said to them: if I had money to establish a fund, I would already now be using it for Torah. I would already now be dispensing it for Torah. But to collect money that will accumulate so that from the interest of it we deduct for a place of Torah, he says, this is something I am not interested in. And moreover he said, I am not willing to sell my trust even for a million dollars. He said, even someone who now brings me a million dollars, I will not sell my trait of trust. They asked him, what is the intent? He said to them: look, I never know at the beginning of the month, and sometimes not even at the end of the month, from where I will pay the avreichim. He says, there comes a situation where sometimes on Rosh Chodesh I have to pay, and I still do not know in the morning; I do not have a penny to pay the avreichim. He says, but I am always confident one hundred percent in the Master of the world, and He has never disappointed me. He has never disappointed me. Suddenly someone arrives at noon, gives me an envelope, and I have enough to pay all the avreichim. He was never late in the payment to the avreichim of the kollel. He said to them: I have every month anew a test of trust, anew every month. I say, even if you bring me now a million dollars, I will not sell this test every month, this connection, this trust in the Master of the world. If you bring me a million dollars, what have I done with it? Fine, Master of the world, I am managing on my own for the time being, You can meanwhile attend to the other tasks You have, Master of the world; I will manage on my own, I will manage on my own. So I have severed myself from the Master of the world. It is written that the manna came every day so that every day they would look to the Master of the world. In contrast, the rebellious son, one gave him his food once a year, as the midrash says, brought by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: once a year, take this, leave me, do not turn to me. So in fact trust creates for me a constant connection with the Master of the world, to lean on Him. This is what he says: blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and Hashem is his security. This is blessed, since it is a great and immense virtue to let go of the physical thing on which I rely and to lean only on the Master of the world.
And he shall be like a tree planted by waters, and by a stream it sends its roots, and it shall not see when heat comes, and its leaf shall be green, and in a year of drought it shall not worry, and it shall not cease from bearing fruit. "And he shall be like a tree planted by waters," he is compared to a tree planted by waters, which sends its roots by a stream. "Yuval," the Malbim explains, usually comes as an expression for waters. "Streams, channels of water," "like willows by streams of water," or "by channels of water," the intent being that channels of water are called "yivlei" because they are ready to make plants grow and be fruitful, to give their yield. So "yivlei" is from the term for yield. So this is what is written here too: "and he shall be like a tree planted by waters, and by a stream it sends its roots," the intent being that it sends roots in a place where they give yield and fruit. "And it shall not see when heat comes," it does not fear the heat, that perhaps the heat will cause the branches of the tree and the leaves to wither. "And its leaf shall be green, and in a year of drought it shall not worry." The Malbim says this comes to hint that both misfortunes that are one-time and misfortunes that are ongoing, from both of them he does not fear. From both types of trouble he does not fear. One-time troubles like drought, that is a year with no rain. He will not worry, "it shall not cease from bearing fruit," the intent being that even then he bears fruit. He lacks no wealth and possessions, he lacks nothing in terms of his good life and his children and his wife, and the fruit here usually speaks of children. This means he will not worry that a difficult period has now come, since he relies and is confident in the Master of the world, and so a difficult period too does not cause him anxieties. The Malbim explains "it shall not worry": you are speaking here about a tree. You say the tree does not worry, yes? Much do we see in the prophet the use of personification. The intent is an inanimate or growing thing, and it is expressed in terms of a person. The Malbim says, but he did not simply choose this expression "it shall not worry," because it is brought that a person is forbidden to have marital relations during years of famine. During years of famine it is forbidden to have marital relations, as it were, so a person worries about bearing fruit. But he will not worry about bearing fruit even in a year of drought. As it were, even in a year of drought he does not fear, because during years of famine a person worries about having marital relations, thinking, "Shall I bring a child into a panic? Perhaps children who will die of hunger?" But he, in his great goodness, will not worry even in a year of famine, and it shall not cease from bearing fruit; he will continue to bring children into the world, since he knows he has nothing to worry about; he is confident in Hashem, and so their livelihood and their salvation are assured.