Sefer Yirmiyahu, chapter 30. "The word that came to Yirmiyahu from Hashem, saying. So said Hashem, the God of Israel, saying: Write for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you in a book." The Holy One tells Yirmiyahu to write down all the words that He spoke to him. It is true that it says "I spoke," but the Radak explains that the intent is what I am speaking now. For He is not speaking about what came earlier; He is speaking about prophecies that He is about to convey to him now.
These words, as we will soon see, are words that are destined to come about in the end of days. They are good prophecies, and He told him these words close to the calamity mentioned earlier. And why? The Radak says: because after He told them harsh words of calamity, He wished to tell them a passage that contains consolation, so that there would be consolation for that generation. Just as the calamity would come to pass soon, so too they would know that the consolation would also come to pass in the end of days, for the one who prophesied about this also prophesied about that.
The Malbim explains: take note of the expression "for yourself." It does not say "for the people," but rather "for yourself." Says the Malbim: with these prophecies Hashem did not send him on a private mission to prophesy to the people. Rather, the Holy One informed this to Yirmiyahu by way of notification, and Hashem commanded him to write it in a book so that it would serve as a remembrance for a later generation. These are words of consolation, and as we said in the Radak, just as the evil prophecies will come to pass, you will know and it will be clear to you that the good prophecies will come to pass, for we have already seen that Yirmiyahu's harsh words came true. He tells you: know that good words were also spoken and they too are destined to come to pass.
Therefore the Malbim says: take note, it is written that Hashem told him to write this in a book. He does not tell him to inform the people; there is no prophecy here to inform the people. Rather there is a statement here: I want this to stand in a book for many days, and afterward, when the people read it, they will know that the consolations are destined to come.
"For behold, days are coming, says Hashem, when I will restore the captivity of My people Israel and Yehudah, said Hashem, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it." "Behold, days are coming," says Rashi: so that you should not say, why should he write this, since they will all perish anyway, since there is no one to read the book, no one to remember it anymore? All the prophecies we saw above speak of destruction and ruin, so what is the point of writing words for someone who will not read? Concerning this Hashem tells him: know that days are coming when I will restore the captivity of My people Israel. "Days are coming," says the Radak, refers to the future, to the days of Mashiach, "and I will restore the captivity of My people Israel and Yehudah." And from the Babylonian exile only Yehudah and Binyamin returned, so if that is the case we are not speaking here of the redemption of the Babylonian exile at the end of seventy years. No, we are speaking here of the future, of the days of Mashiach, for it is written "and I will restore the captivity of My people Israel," implying that all will return.
"And behold, days are coming," says the Malbim: therefore write down the words so that the later generation will know and read them. There are two expressions here, "and I will restore the captivity of Israel" and "I will bring them back to the land." What is "and I will restore the captivity," and what is "I will bring them back"? "And I will restore" refers to their stature, and "I will bring them back" to their land. I will restore them to the stature they had of old, and I will also physically bring them back to the land that they had of old.
"And these are the words that Hashem spoke concerning Israel and concerning Yehudah." "Concerning Israel and concerning Yehudah," we already explained that these were not a message to them, but rather to be written for the future. Says the Metzudot: "concerning Israel and concerning Yehudah," these are the words that the Holy One spoke about them, meaning about the future that would come upon them. "For so said Hashem: a sound of trembling we have heard, fear and no peace." "So said Hashem: a sound of trembling we have heard." What is He speaking about? According to Rashi, he says that some explain that this refers to the report of Babylon, that those who were in Babylon heard that trouble was destined to come upon Babylon, and therefore they were alarmed that they too would not be harmed by it. But Rashi immediately brings, along the line that the Radak explained, that this speaks about the future, and a Midrash Aggadah applies it to the war of Gog and Magog.
"For so said Hashem: a sound of trembling we have heard." Who will say this? Who will say "a sound of trembling we have heard"? The Radak explains that the nations will say this in the days of Mashiach. Hashem says: the nations are destined to say, when I come and redeem My people Israel, "a sound of trembling we have heard." The nations will have trembling from this matter, for they will understand that the day of judgment is arriving. The Malbim, on the other hand, explains that "a sound of trembling we have heard" is at the time of Babylon's downfall, when Israel trembled. So then Israel will say "a sound of trembling we have heard." They are trembling lest the downfall of Babylon strike them as well. And afterward they also feared the fear of the enemy, for at that time there was no peace in the land.
Concerning this Hashem says: "Ask now and see, does a male give birth? Why then have I seen every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned to pallor?" "Ask now and see, does a male give birth," the meaning is: clarify whether the male gives birth. That is to say, the woman is the one who gives birth, and when a woman gives birth she gives birth with birth pangs. "Pangs" means with difficulty. So He says: why then have I seen every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor? Is he a female, that he has pangs, birth pangs? "Ask now and see, does a male give birth": does the male give birth? So why are his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, as if from birth pangs? Why does He compare it specifically to birth pangs? Says the Radak: since birth pangs are the harshest of all pangs, they are pangs, meaning a difficulty that is harder than all other sufferings, therefore He compares the pangs of the men, from the greatness of the distress, to birth pangs. "And all faces turned to pallor," for from the abundance of pangs, meaning from the abundance of pain, the blood flees from their faces and they become as green, their faces turn pale.
The Malbim explains: since we saw earlier that there is here some prophecy that describes Israel as fearing the trouble that would come upon Babylon, lest they too be harmed by it, He tells them: why are you afraid? The parable and the metaphor here, says the Malbim, are not without reason compared to a pregnant woman who has birth pangs. According to the Radak this is only because birth pangs are the harshest pangs. But according to the Malbim the explanation is different. The Malbim says that when one wishes to conquer a city, one searches where to breach the wall, and by breaching the wall one penetrates inside. So too the mother is, as it were, like the city, and the child goes out from the city, from the mother, by breaching her source. So then it turns out that in this it resembles birth. Who is the cause of the pregnancy? It is the male. Through the male her birth pangs come. And the male, who is really the cause of the current state, will not be pained and will not suffer, he will have no shuddering, no pangs, and no pains at the time of birth.
You know the story about the man who was in the waiting room, his wife went in to give birth, and he was under great stress. Each time the nurse comes out, he asks, well, what was born? Well, what was born? He had a terrible fear, what, what, what is happening? Stress and... well, after a long while the nurse comes out and tells him, Mr. Cohen, thank God a daughter was born to you, mazal tov. Oh, oh, thank God, thank God, ah, thank God. Why the great joy, Mr. Cohen? So he tells her: thank God, that at least I know that when she grows up she will not have to go through what I went through today. At least I know the stress and the... that she will not have to go through this. So the man, the male, thank God, does not go through birth pangs, right? The woman is the one who goes through birth pangs. And if so, concerning this the prophet asks, "Ask now and see, does a male give birth?" For the male, through whom the pregnancy comes, in any case does not give birth. So if that is the case, why have I seen every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor? Why do I see that they are now in pain?
The parable here comes to compare Israel to being, as it were, the pangs of Babylon. Just as the male is the cause of the pang for the female, so too Israel are the pangs of Babylon, they bring the trouble upon Babylon. "O daughter of Babylon who is to be plundered, happy is the one who repays you, happy is the one who seizes and dashes your little ones against the rock." So then, must you cry out? Why must you cry out? Just as with the woman in labor, the male who brings the pangs is not the one who cries out, so too here, through you came the birth pangs of Babylon, so that you will go out from it and you will have the redemption while Babylon suffers. So why then must you suffer? Why must you fear this? So why is every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor?
"Alas, for that day is great, there is none like it, and it is a time of trouble for Yaakov, but from it he shall be saved." "Alas, for that day is great, there is none like it," here again "none." "Alas, for that day is great, there is none like it, and it is a time of trouble for Yaakov, but from it he shall be saved." "That day is great," so again, if we explain it as referring to the downfall of Babylon, then Rashi says this is the day of the slaying of Belshazzar. "That day is great, there is none like it." And if we speak of the future, then this is the day of Gog's downfall, when he comes to fight, the war of Gog and Magog. "And it is a time of trouble for Yaakov," the Radak explains that the meaning refers to the war of Gog, that at that time there will be trouble for Yaakov. As it is written in Yeshayahu, "hide for a brief moment until the wrath passes," so too it is written in the prophecy of Daniel, "and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was" and so on. That is to say, we understand that the war itself will be a war that is not simple. And in fact we already spoke about this and gave a lesson on it, that regarding the war of Gog there are two prophecies. One prophecy implies difficulty for Israel, and one prophecy implies that Israel will not suffer at all. And in truth these are two paths, since everything depends on our merit. If we have merit and Israel are worthy, the war of Gog and Magog will pass over us as the kings fight one another and we will not suffer. But on the other hand, if we are not worthy, then woe and alas, it is written "half the city shall go out into exile" and so on. Thus it is written that there is a prophecy that describes harsh things that will pass over Israel too. So concerning this He says, if we speak of Gog and Magog, "for that day is great, there is none like it, and it is a time of trouble for Yaakov," He tells you: this will not be simple even for Israel, it is a time of trouble for Yaakov, but from it he shall be saved. By the way, the Gemara expounds this verse, "it is a time of trouble for Yaakov, but from it he shall be saved," it expounds it upon the days of Esther. That there was trouble for Yaakov and from it he was saved, and they bring that "from it" (mimenah) has the letters of "from Haman" (meiHaman). From Haman he shall be saved.
In any case, so in any case we understand that we are speaking here of a period in which Israel too will have suffering. And the Malbim explains: therefore every man has his hands on his loins and cries out "alas," as the verse opens "alas, for that day is great, there is none like it." And also afterward, the time that will come will be of the nature of trouble for Yaakov. And the prophet tells them: even though you fear and it is a time of trouble for Yaakov, know a prophecy from Hashem that from it he shall be saved. From this trouble they are destined to be saved, so that in fact the nations will be smitten and Israel, even though the cup will pass over it, even though it too will suffer, in any case there will be salvation, but not for the nations.
"And it shall be on that day, says Hashem of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck and I will tear off your bonds, and strangers shall no longer make him serve." "And it shall be on that day, says Hashem of hosts," I will break the yoke of Gog and Magog, or the yoke of every nation that placed a yoke upon Israel in exile. And as the Targum says, "I will break the yoke of the nations from your necks," the meaning is the yoke of the nations from off your necks. But take note that the verse here shifts its form of speech. At first it says "from off your neck," speaking in the second person, and "I will tear off your bonds." It does not say "I will tear off their bonds." It should have said, as you said "I will break his yoke from off your neck," "and I will tear off his bonds." Why do you say "and your bonds"? This He attributes to us, while the yoke you said belongs to the king. What is the difference? The Radak says: do not be surprised. The Radak mentions this matter in several places, that it is the way of Scripture to speak sometimes in the second person and sometimes not in the second person. We see these things in other verses, so there is no difficulty in the verse.
The Malbim explains: "I will break his yoke from off your neck." Ever since the yoke of the Babylonian exile was broken, the yoke, what is the yoke? It is the burden of the tax that they imposed upon them, it is the labor that they demanded of them. But sometimes it can be that the yoke is broken, yet they are bound by the bonds of servitude. You are still under it, but they removed from you the taxes, they removed from you the hard labor, like Israel in the last year before their departure from Egypt. They were still under Pharaoh's yoke, but the yoke, meaning the burden of the tax, the labor, from this they were already freed. But they were still bound under it. Concerning this He tells you, not only will I break his yoke from off your neck, but I will tear off your bonds completely. So that you will already be able to go out and will not be subject at all to his rule. He says: look at an example of this, under the bonds of Cyrus they were without a yoke. And afterward he also gave them permission to go up and build the Beit Hamikdash, this was the second stage where also their bonds would be torn off.
The Malbim dwells on the change: He said "I will break his yoke from off your neck," "your neck" is addressed in the second person, and afterward He says "and strangers shall no longer make him serve." Similar to the Radak's observation, only on a different point. It should have said "and strangers shall no longer make you serve," since you said "from off your neck." The Malbim explains that since He is speaking here about the yoke, He says "and strangers shall no longer make the neck and the yoke that is upon it serve," this is the meaning. They will not have to continue serving under the yoke that strangers imposed upon them. The yoke that is placed upon their neck will no longer be placed upon them.
"And they shall serve Hashem their God and David their king whom I will raise up for them." "And they shall serve Hashem their God and David their king." What is "David their king"? Says the Radak: David the king, whom Hashem will raise from his dust at the resurrection of the dead. Another possibility is that He is speaking here of the Mashiach, who is his descendant, and the Mashiach's name will be called David after David his forefather, after the head of the dynasty. The Malbim explains that if they serve Hashem their God, then they will also serve David their king, they will have a king from the house of David. Its meaning is: the bringing depends on it. Do you wish to merit King Mashiach? Then they shall serve Hashem their God. If they serve Hashem their God, they will also serve David their king. But if not, then they will have to serve the nations.
And everywhere, says the Malbim, I have already explained in several places that if Israel had served Hashem in the Second Temple, then they would have merited the future redemption. And the Malbim, we have already learned this on several occasions, that the Malbim says that the Second Temple, we see that it was ultimately destroyed, and there were those who feared this in advance, and therefore there are those who say that because of this the Jews of Yemen did not go up, since they knew it was destined to be destroyed. What, then, was the purpose in building the Second Temple? The Malbim says that the Second Temple was a kind of trial period. For the Malbim asks: if there was truly supposed to be redemption, why did He not build for us the Third Temple and be done? So from the start you see that we are dealing with a Temple that is still supposed to be destroyed. So what, they built for us something temporary? For we know that there will be a Third Temple. So then they built for us something temporary? The answer is: it is a trial period. In the Second Temple the Holy One returned them to their land, saying, let us see, we will give you another chance. If at the end of the period we had served Hashem and not corrupted ourselves as with the baseless hatred and all that occurred here before the destruction, at the destruction of the Second Temple, we would have merited that the Third Temple would descend built in fire and there would be the complete redemption. But since we did not pass this trial period successfully, we merited, in quotation marks, to experience an additional exile, only after which we will merit the building of the Third Temple. It turns out, then, says the Malbim, that Israel would have merited David their king. What does the Malbim wish to resolve with this? Since the Malbim's entire explanation in this chapter goes along the line that the prophecy here speaks about Babylon. And I already mentioned earlier that the Radak and Rashi bring here two possibilities, either that it refers to Babylon or to Gog and Magog. If you say it refers to Gog and Magog, wonderful, "and they shall serve Hashem their God and David their king whom I will raise up for them." But if you speak of Babylon, what "David their king whom I will raise up for them" is there? What is He speaking about here? So the Malbim says immediately that the meaning is that they will have a king from the house of David. And what is a king from the house of David? For this was not the reality. We had perhaps a nasi, princes who were in Israel like Rabbi and the like, but we did not have a king from the house of David. Says the Malbim: if they had merited and passed the trial period successfully now, when they are redeemed from Babylon, then they would have merited that I would also raise up for them a king from the house of David. But since they did not serve Hashem their God properly, then the trial period of the Second Temple ended in utter failure and in an additional exile.
"And you, do not fear, My servant Yaakov, says Hashem, and do not be dismayed, Israel, for behold, I will save you from afar and your offspring from the land of their captivity, and Yaakov shall return and be quiet and at ease, with none to make him afraid." The Radak explains: do not fear, for behold I will save you from afar, the meaning is from the distant land in which you are in exile, from there I will save you. "And your offspring," the meaning is these little children, so that a person should not say, perhaps the adults will manage to flee the exile, but the little ones will remain in the land of captivity. He says: no, "and your offspring from the land of their captivity." And not only that, but know that the departure will be at ease, for "you shall not go out in haste, nor go in flight," but rather "and Yaakov shall return and be quiet and at ease." It will be quiet and at ease and calm without any to make him afraid.
The Malbim explains that here He actually comes to conclude what He said, "a sound of trembling we have heard." We saw that the people were trembling, they feared: will what is about to happen here in Babylon strike us? He tells you: know, it is a time of trouble for Yaakov but from it he shall be saved, as we saw above. And therefore "do not fear, My servant Yaakov, says Hashem." You need not fear when there come upheavals in Babylon when Belshazzar is slain, over all that is destined to be, you need not fear. "And do not be dismayed, Israel." What is the repetition? You said "do not fear, My servant Yaakov," why does He need to say after "do not fear," "do not be dismayed"? And why at first did you say "My servant Yaakov" and afterward you say "Israel"? What in fact is the difference? Says the Malbim: when we speak of fear, fear is a physical matter. Fear is that someone is now threatening me with a stick, I am afraid. It is something physical. In contrast, says the Malbim, dismay (chitat) is a matter of the soul. When I have fear in my soul, not fear of something physical, this is called "chatat." A person who is broken emotionally, "do not fear and do not be dismayed." The meaning is that you should not be broken emotionally. In contrast, fear is of someone whom I now fear will strike me. So He says: take note, people, for "he who increases knowledge increases pain." The more a person is possessed of knowledge, the more he understands the situation well and the matter affects him emotionally. In contrast, the Gemara says the fool does not feel. A foolish person does not feel. What, what happened? What, nothing, no... everything passes by him, the shells whistle beside him, he does not notice what is happening around him. That is a fool. By the way, so you should know, people who suffer from various disabilities, it turns out that they do not suffer from all the modern illnesses. They do not suffer from heart problems, they do not suffer from ulcers, they do not suffer from blood clots in the brain, they do not suffer from all the problems that all the modern stress causes, they do not suffer. The fool feels nothing. So he has no heart problems, and he does not take anything to heart, understand? So he has no heart problems, and he has no blood clot in the brain, and in short all the ulcers and all the... he does not have, he does not have such problems, thank God. Right? None of us would want to trade places with him, but in any case we should understand that the reality is that lesser people do not feel the true problems, what are called the problems more connected to the soul. But the more educated and more profound people, when something happens they understand the inner nature of things and then it creates something more internal. In contrast, the simple person, if someone threatens with a stick, that he understands. Even a dog understands that, by the way, to distinguish between them, right? When someone raises a stick, raises a stone, that it understands. So He says this is what is written here. "Do not fear," we explained that fear is a physical matter. Regarding fear He speaks of "My servant Yaakov." "Israel" is a level of authority, it is a high level. In contrast, "Yaakov" is a low level, it is of the nature of "eikev" (heel). Therefore He says "do not fear," fear, says the Malbim, is the opposite of courage. Do not be afraid because of the concerns from outside, the threats from outside, says Hashem. "And do not be dismayed," which we said is the brokenness of the soul, this is "Israel." Israel, who are the ones with authority, Israel, who are the important ones, who are at the high level, they will not fear dismay. "Chatat" is breaking or falling or descent, like "nichat" (he descended), descent. "Do not be dismayed," from this situation, meaning that you should not have an emotional descent from the terrible situation that will pass over you. By the way, even today, when one wants to say about a person that emotionally he is in a low state of feeling, they say he is "in a down." Right? That is "do not be dismayed." "Do not be dismayed," says the Malbim, is the lowering of the spirit and the soul. That the soul is now in lowliness, it is in depression. Concerning this He says: you, the important ones who feel it more, do not be dismayed, Israel. For behold I will save you from afar and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Behold I will save you from afar, when Babylon is destroyed, then there was a situation where Hashem remembered them through Cyrus. And afterward I will save your offspring from the land of their captivity. When Babylon was destroyed, then Cyrus and Darius took the kingship, so here there was already a situation where Hashem had already given us salvation, a first stage. Afterward He saved your offspring from the land of their captivity, which is the generation after him, this is already Darius, for in Darius's time they already returned from the exile. It turns out then that He is speaking here of "your offspring." And then the Malbim here bypasses the need to arrive at the explanation as the Radak explained, which is somewhat forced. The Radak explained: do not think that only you will go out from the exile while your children remain, they too will be released. Why would I have thought so? But according to how the Malbim explains it, it is very wonderful. Behold I will save you from afar, the initial salvation is Cyrus. In fact, that we went out from the yoke of the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and his dynasty and Belshazzar, that is already salvation. He says: but know, you will not yet have redemption here. At this stage you will not yet have redemption. And your offspring from the land of their captivity, but your children, they will already be in the time of the kingdom of Darius, and Darius, by royal edict, will give the people permission to go up. So this is already your children, they will merit to go out from the land of their captivity. And then Yaakov shall return to his land, and "be quiet" is from the inner feeling, from the inner fear, and "at ease" is from the outer fear, as we said, for "none to make him afraid," since in reality there will be no reason for a person to tremble, there will be nothing causing trembling, a main point.
On what basis does the Malbim explain that "at ease" (sha'anan) refers to noise from outside and "quiet" (shaket) is from the inner rest? The Malbim explains, as we saw in Yeshayahu, that "sha'anan" is the opposite of "sha'on" (tumult). "Sha'on" indicates the sound of commotion, the sound of tumult. "Sha'anan" indicates that he sits alone without tumult. That is to say, there is no commotion from outside. This teaches you that "sha'anan" is when nations come from outside to disturb him. In contrast, "shaket" is a person who has quiet, and you say this even today, we express it with the phrase "peace of mind" (sheket nafshi). "Shaket" is an expression that often relates to a person's soul, the inner rest, right? And therefore He employs here these two points corresponding to the one who fears and the one who trembles that we saw above, corresponding to "do not fear, My servant Yaakov, says Hashem" and "do not be dismayed, Israel," He says: you will be both quiet within and at ease from without.