"הציבי לך ציונים שימי לך תמרורים שיתי ליבך למסילה דרך הלכת שובי בתולת ישראל שובי אל עריך אלה" - "Set up markers for yourself, place yourself signposts, direct your heart to the highway, the way you went; return, O maiden of Israel, return to these your cities." The Malbim says: "Set up markers for yourself." When one prepares a road so that it is fit for public travel, one sets up markers. What are these markers? This is what today is called signage. It tells you: a right turn leads here, a left turn leads there, the next intersection brings you to a certain place. This is called markers, signs. When the road is even better prepared, they would also plant "signposts." What are signposts? These are small date palm trees that they would plant on both sides of the road, and they were the characteristic sign of a public road. When people would see date palms on both sides, they knew: this is a highway. So this is what is written, "place yourself signposts." When the road is even more prepared, they would also pave a highway. They lift out the stones from what is there and level the road. Therefore He says here to Israel, who seek the way to the Land of Israel: Hashem tells them, you will find the way by means of the markers, and even more so by means of the signposts, as we said, the date palm trees. The signs and the date palms. And even more so, if you direct your heart to the highway, so that you see they paved the road here, all of this shows you the correct way. Hashem tells them, if so, return, O maiden of Israel, from the exile, return to these cities, for behold, these cities stand before you and they await your return. So return from the exile, since the way is as though already paved to arrive back in the Land of Israel.
There is an interesting hint in the words of the Malbim. The Malbim says: About this He said to Israel, who seek the way to the Land of Israel, that they will find it by means of the markers (tziyunim). Indeed, He says "by means of the markers": yes, "set up markers for yourself," but by means of tziyunim. Yes, it is written in Tehillim 69:37: "כי אלוהים יושיע ציון ויבנה ערי יהודה וישבו שם וירשוה" - "For God will save Zion and build the cities of Yehudah, and they shall dwell there and possess it."
Salvation. If they will dwell here in the land and afterward possess it, for the settlement of the Land of Israel began here, and afterward the wars began and they inherited it. Now, through whom will the inheritance come? Through the righteous or through people who are not righteous? It is written: "and the seed of His servants shall inherit it." "His servants" is the lower level. Afterward will come those who fear, and "those who love His name shall dwell in it." Afterward will come those who fear, and they will dwell in it. But He already tells you that you will see that at first it will be inherited on a lower level. Whether as sons or as servants, there will not be here the level of sons when they come here to inherit the land; rather, "the seed of His servants shall inherit it." Those who inherit the land at first will be only on the level of "His servants," the lower level. But afterward He tells you: know that those who settled here in the land drew close to Hashem, and in the end "those who love His name shall dwell in it." So perhaps there is a hint here: you will find it by means of the markers, as I said, "set up markers for yourself."
"How long will you hide, O wayward daughter, for Hashem has created something new in the earth: a female shall surround a man." How long will you hide, O wayward daughter? Hashem says, as it were, to the Land of Israel: How long do you hide yourself from the children of the exile? For Hashem has created something new in the earth: a female shall surround a man. The Malbim says: the figure of speech here comes to describe, as it were, the land as a female and the people who dwell in it as the male. We saw an expression of this: "As a young man weds a maiden, so shall your sons wed you." That is to say, we see that the land is like a maiden, and those who come to dwell in it are like a young man. And this too is what is written here: the land as a female and the people as the male who weds her, from the language of ownership (be'ilut). So just as it is the way of the world that the man goes around and courts the female, this is at least how it was once accepted, so too the people would strive to conquer the land if they wished to dwell in it, through conquest and war. Just as the man courts the lost object, courts the woman, so the people court the land; they are the ones who make the effort to conquer the land. But the Malbim says: in the time of the Second Temple, when they returned to their land, when they came back here, there was already no conquest, no war. That is, Koresh: through the authorization of Koresh and Daryavesh, following this we inherited the land. And this in fact gives expression to a reality in which, as it were, the land seeks us. The land prepares itself toward the man who will come to it, and not in the usual way where the man courts the female. Here it is reversed: the female, the land, is the one who courts her children. About this He says: for in the earth Hashem has created something new, that even though ordinarily a female shall surround a man, meaning the female is the one courted and sought by the man, here it is a new creation. Here the reality is reversed. She will seek, the female here will surround a man, she will seek him. Not as always where the female is surrounded by the man, meaning he is the one who seeks her; rather here, "a female shall surround a man," the female is the one who seeks the man. What does this mean? It means that the land is the one who seeks her children, and it is not her children who go and fight over it in order to conquer it and seek it.
Therefore Hashem says: How long will you hide, O wayward daughter, that is, Land of Israel, how long will you, as it were, remain hidden and not go to seek your children. "Thus says Hashem, Master of Legions, God of Israel: They shall yet say this thing in the land of Yehudah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: May Hashem bless you, dwelling of righteousness, holy mountain." The Radak says: this passage too is a future passage, meaning it speaks of the future, as are the passages that follow it until the passage of "The word that came to Yirmiyahu." Thus says Hashem, Master of Legions, God of Israel: they shall yet say this thing in the land of Yehudah and in its cities. He mentions the land of Yehudah specifically because within its portion is the Temple, and this is what he mentions at the end of the verse: "dwelling of righteousness, holy mountain." And then they shall say: May Hashem bless you, dwelling of righteousness, holy mountain. The meaning is that the Temple shall from now on be blessed by Hashem; there will be no more destruction, there will be no more reality of exile, but rather may Hashem bless you, dwelling of righteousness, holy mountain.
The Malbim says: they shall yet say when I bring back their captivity, meaning when the cities return to their former glory. May Hashem bless you, dwelling of righteousness. Why will Hashem bless us? "Dwelling of righteousness" is the reason. Because righteousness has, as it were, planted its dwelling here. This is the meaning of "dwelling of righteousness." Righteousness has found its home here; this is the dwelling of righteousness. And Mount Zion shall be called the holy mountain, meaning that holiness, as it were, has built its home here. So since these places will be places of holiness and righteousness, then automatically there will no longer be exile here nor destruction. "And Yehudah shall dwell in it, and all its cities together, farmers and those who travel with the flock." "And they shall dwell in it," meaning in this righteousness and this dwelling, Yehudah and all its cities shall dwell. And then He says, as it were, as a figure of speech, that the cities and the people all dwell in the dwelling of righteousness, meaning full of righteousness, full of holiness, the dwelling of holiness. Both the farmers who work the land, and those who always travel far, who are these? He is speaking of the shepherds, of the flocks: "and those who travel with the flock." The men of the shepherds and the flocks are the characteristic of people who were robbers. The farmers are the characteristic of the ignorant. Usually the farmers were called "ignoramuses of the land" (amei ha'aretz); their entire concern was in earthly matters, they occupied themselves only with working the land. So He tells you: even the farmers, who are considered lowly in terms of their education and their spirituality, and even the shepherds, who are considered lowly because of the sins in their hands, that they are robbers, will no longer travel from place to place, and they will dwell permanently in the dwelling of righteousness, meaning they will conduct themselves in a way of righteousness and honesty.
"For I have satisfied the weary soul, and every languishing soul I have filled." The soul of Israel, which was weary and thirsty in exile, Hashem says: now I will satisfy it from the wellsprings of salvation, as the Radak explains. The Malbim explains: one who was weary from much labor, yes, this is the same idea. "And every languishing soul": a languishing soul means a person who lacks all his needs; I have filled his needs, this is "I have filled." They will not need to plunder and rob. The Radak explains that "languishing" (da'avah) is from a language like "worry" (de'agah). A soul that worries and languishes from the troubles, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I have filled it with joy, and this will remove from it the languishing, the suffering, and the pain.
"Upon this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was sweet to me." "Upon this I awoke and looked," Rashi says, thus said Yirmiyahu: all the while I was asleep and slumbering over the prophecy of calamity, for Yirmiyahu was the prophet of wrath, the prophet of calamities, he says in this prophecy that at long last I receive here a positive message, a message that describes the redemption. "I awoke" from my slumber, meaning, as it were, this is something that aroused me, to hear such wonderful things. The Radak explains that prophecy usually comes to the prophet in a dream. And about this he says: the prophet said, over this good tidings of the days of consolation that are destined to come, I awoke and saw, and my sleep pleased me. Over this prophecy, where suddenly I see good things, I awoke, I rejoiced, I returned to sleep and my sleep was sweet to me. That is, always his sleep was not sweet to him. It was a sleep of terrors, of bad dreams, of bad prophecies, but this time my sleep was sweet to me. The Malbim explains that Yirmiyahu could not see his prophecy while awake. And why? Because in order to see prophecy while awake, a person must be in a state of prophecy. A state of prophecy is a state of joy. When they wanted the spirit to rest upon the prophet, "as the musician played," they would bring the musician, and then "the spirit of Hashem came upon him." It follows, then, that Yirmiyahu, who always saw only matters of terror, could not reach joy. Therefore the prophecy and the spirit came upon him only in a dream. But in contrast, here we are dealing with a prophecy of joy, here we are dealing with a positive prophecy, as we saw, speaking about the redemption. About this he says: "I awoke and looked." This I already saw while awake. This I was able to see while I was awake, because I was truly in a state of joy. This I saw at the time of waking, and afterward I returned to sleep and my sleep was sweet to me, and I did not have years of terror as I always used to see in the negative prophecies.
"Behold, days are coming, says Hashem, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Yehudah with the seed of man and the seed of beast." What is "the seed of man and the seed of beast"? It speaks of "I will sow the house of Israel," so Rashi explains that the good and the wise are the sons of man, and those whose deeds resembled a beast. So "the seed of man and the seed of beast," I will sow all of them so that they will all be Mine. The meaning is both the upright people and those who are not upright. Yonatan translated: I will establish them like sons of man and I will make them prosper like a beast. What prosperity does a beast have? Rashi says that its transgressions are not counted against it. This is the prosperity of the beast. So we will have such prosperity that our transgressions will not be remembered and not counted against us. The Radak explains: what is "the seed of man and the seed of beast"? Just as from one perutah come many perutot, so too here I will sow them. From one seed, you place one, sow, and there grows for you from it an orange tree full of oranges, and all from one seed. So too I will sow them. "The seed of man and the seed of beast," the Radak says, means: I will place My blessing in them and multiply them, and there will be no miscarriage among them. He offers another explanation, that the "vav" of "and the seed of beast" is like a comparison, this against that. Like "cold water upon a weary soul, and good news from a distant land." This against that. So he says, so too here: the seed of man like the seed of beast, that man will multiply like the beasts. As it is written in another verse: "I will multiply them like a flock of men." So if so, this speaks of multiplication. The Malbim explains that here he describes their reality: that in exile they are like the seed. And the seed, as is known, when you want to sow something, in the first stage the seed rots. The seed becomes putrid, spoils, and only afterward from the seed grows a great and wonderful tree. So it follows, then, that the exile is the aspect of the rotting of the seed. For before there is revival, there is always an aspect of absence. There is always an aspect of death. So this too is what happens here. You, the house of Israel in exile, are in the aspect of seed, in the aspect of absence. So even though I sowed them and scattered them among all the lands, until they were already nullified from being a people, He says: know that this is not for the sake of scattering, but rather for the sake of gathering. It is for the sake of growth. Just as a person takes a seed, places it in the ground, and seemingly ruins it, but this is for the sake of growing a great and wonderful tree. And this is what He says: whether with the seed of man or with the seed of beast. The meaning is: in order to grow from the entirety of Israel, both from the important ones among them and from the lowly ones among them, to grow the redemption.
And this is what He says in the next verse: "And it shall be that as I watched over them to uproot and to pull down, to overthrow and to destroy and to bring evil, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, says Hashem." "As I watched over them" means: just as I strove to uproot and to pull down, I will strive to build and to plant. "Uprooting," the Malbim explains regarding this, means to uproot the plantings from their place. And the uprooting is for the sake of the planting. And the pulling down is for the sake of the building. That is to say, even though until now it was to uproot and to pull down, but when you want to build a villa and there is some ruin there, then first you must pull it down and afterward build. This is what He says: it was necessary to pull down in order afterward to build. And it was necessary to uproot: when you want to make a beautiful orchard and there are all kinds of spoiled trees there, you must first uproot, meaning first you must dig them out, and only after you dig them out, then plant. Through this it is possible to plant a beautiful and fitting planting. So this too is the expression of the seed which is in the ground and rots, and afterward grows into a great tree, a tree that grows to glory.
"In those days they shall no longer say: The fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge. For each shall die for his own sin; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge." The Radak explains: "the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge" is a parable for the sinner. For in ancient times they would say: our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bore their transgressions. Behold, you see, Menasheh is no longer here, and yet the exile came as a result of the sin of Menasheh, as the prophet mentions several times. So "the fathers ate sour grapes," you see, the fathers spoiled, the fathers sinned, and the children suffer. The Radak says: it is true that from the attribute of the Creator, may He be blessed, He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth generations. And if so, how is it possible that "in those days they shall no longer say: the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge"? For this is the law and this is the process in the Torah. The Radak explains: it is true, but in order for this to be fulfilled, two conditions must be met. The first condition: that the children hold the deeds of their fathers in their hands. The second condition, pay attention, this is a condition that not many know: that it be speaking of a great sin of idolatry. And how do we know this? The Rambam in the Guide for the Perplexed says: since it is written there "for Hashem your God is a jealous God." And the Rambam says: "a jealous God" is said only regarding idolatry. That Hashem is, as it were, jealous over the fact that they worship idolatry. So it follows, then, that in order for "the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge" to be fulfilled, the children must hold the deeds of their fathers in their hands, and it must also be with a great sin like the sin of idolatry. The Radak says: and here the Holy One, blessed be He, promises that in the future our hearts will be whole with Hashem, the earth will be full of knowledge of Hashem, and through this the sinners will diminish. And not only will they diminish, but also great sins will not exist, like the sins of idolatry. Therefore He says: even for them the Holy One, blessed be He, will, as it were, prolong the punishment, "the sinner a hundred years old shall be cursed." So even though he sinned, but you see that even a hundred years is little, so that, as it were, at such an age he will be cursed. So all the more so that the son will not be punished for the sins of his father; even if his father sinned, the son will not eat, the son's teeth will not be set on edge from the sour grapes that his father ate.
The Malbim explains this further, in a very wonderful way. He directs us to look at Yechezkel chapter 18, verse 2, and there he adds: the Sages say, four things Moshe said, and four prophets came and nullified them. Moshe Rabbeinu said four things, and the prophets came and nullified his words. One of them is what is written here. Moshe said, "He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children"; Yechezkel came and nullified it: "the soul that sins, it shall die." The Malbim says: what is the plain meaning of this? The Malbim says: since this verse, as we just explained according to what the Radak said and as is explained in the Rambam, was said regarding idolatry. And since we are speaking here about idolatry, we are already speaking in a generation, for Yechezkel lived in the time of the Great Assembly. And in the time of the Great Assembly, they had already nullified the evil inclination for idolatry. So if so, Yechezkel came and nullified "the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge." For "the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge," we said, applies only to idolatry. In the time of Yechezkel they nullified the inclination for idolatry, so automatically "the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge" was nullified, but rather each shall die for his own sin. Therefore this too is what is written here in our passage: in those days they shall no longer say, the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge. There will no longer be an expression of this matter, for it applies only to idolatry, and in those days the evil inclination for idolatry will be nullified as it was in the Second Temple period, and automatically it will not be applicable that the fathers eat sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge, but rather each shall die for his own sin; the children will not be punished for the sin of the fathers.
"Behold, days are coming, says Hashem, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Yehudah." Behold, days are coming, says Hashem, there will be a new covenant with the house of Yehudah and the house of Israel. The Radak says: what is the meaning here of "a new covenant"? This is a covenant whose renewal, as it were, will be renewed by Hashem. As it were, the covenant that Hashem made with us at Mount Sinai was breached, and the covenant will be renewed. The Radak says: and one who says that the prophet prophesied about a new Torah that will be in the future, not like the Torah that was given at Sinai, the Radak says, is in error. For the Sages say: what is the covenant that I made with their fathers? They breached My covenant, but this covenant they will not breach. Why? Behold, come see the continuation: I will place My Torah in their hearts, I will write it upon their hearts, so that it will not be forgotten by them. You see, then, that we are not speaking here about a new Torah, but rather about something that until today we have not fulfilled, and from today we will fulfill. And pay attention, the Radak says, in Malachi, who is the seal of the prophets, what does he write at the conclusion of his words? "Remember the Torah of Moshe My servant, which I commanded him at Chorev for all Israel, statutes and laws." And all of this is in fact a future prophecy. What is "the Torah of Moshe My servant"? We will have a new Torah, for Yirmiyahu told us the good news. Rather, certainly this is not the meaning. We are not speaking here about a new Torah, but rather this Torah will not be exchanged and there will not be another Torah. And as he concludes: "Behold, I am sending to you Eliyahu the prophet," you see, the Radak says, that there will never be a new Torah, but rather the one that was given at Mount Sinai, as it is written "which I commanded him at Chorev," this is what will remain forever. What then? This covenant, which unfortunately became weakened. And what is the covenant? A covenant is an agreement, a covenant is a contract, a covenant is a joining and connection between us and Hashem. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: in this there will be a new covenant. The meaning is that this covenant will not be breached; the agreement between us will no longer be breached as it was until now. In what does this come to expression? The Malbim says: that in the past there was a possibility to sin, but in the future there will be no possibility at all to sin. And automatically it follows that here we are speaking about a new connection between us and Hashem, a connection that will not be severed. For if there is a possibility to sin, there is a possibility to be severed. But if there is no possibility to sin, then it is a permanent connection.
"Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, that covenant of Mine which they breached, though I was a master over them, says Hashem." Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers. The Malbim says: this covenant will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers. Why? Because the covenant that I made with their fathers was a covenant that they breached. Why did they breach it? Because at that time they were not yet prepared and worthy of perfection and rectification. Why? Because pay attention to what is written here: "on the day I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt." Whose hand do you take hold of in order to bring him out? Only that of one who is disabled or a child. A person who is healthy does not need you to take hold of his hand. That is to say, in reality then they were not worthy. I took them out quickly, in haste, before they would become spoiled, for if they had delayed a little longer, then the fiftieth gate of impurity, and it would no longer have been possible to redeem them. And He tells you: that covenant, which they breached, My covenant. After the nature of the people redeemed from Egypt was connected to evil, and the Egyptians did us evil, they learned idolatry from them, so behold, come see, this covenant they breached. They breached My covenant. We see, already 40 days after the Exodus from Egypt, they made themselves a molten calf. They nullified the condition. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: "though I was a master over them." "I was a master over them" means, as it were, I was master over them and against their will. Not in a way of desire. The Radak brings in the name of his father that every instance of "mastery" (be'ilah) that is joined with the word "in" (bet), yes, as here "I was a master over them (bam)," the Radak says, his father explains that the meaning is that this is a language of disgrace. And "I was a master" (ba'alti) is like "I loathed" (ba'alti/bachalti). And then, if so, the meaning of the matter is: and I, as it were, loathed them, says Hashem. Like "I loathed them," like a language of loathing, of something that a person is disgusted by.
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Hashem: I will place My Torah within them and write it upon their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be My people." Hashem says: this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Hashem. What will the covenant be? Hashem says: I have placed My Torah within them. First, they will fulfill the Torah from the arousal of the intellect until it becomes like a natural thing to them. It is found within them. The meaning of this is: today, when a person fulfills the Torah, then he has an internal resistance, and nevertheless he does it because it is the will of Hashem. We already said once what the Gra says, that if a person has a dilemma and does not know what to do, between which two sides, which one of the two sides to choose, the Gra says: see which side you desire, and choose the other side. Thus says the Gra. That is to say, we see that today our reality is that we have complete identification with evil. So how do we fulfill the Torah today? As it says there in the confession of Rav Nissim Gaon: "and as You imprinted upon us to forgive," it is natural to sin. That is to say, the nature of man is drawn to evil, mixed within him is good and evil. But He says here: they will fulfill the Torah from the aspect of the intellect, and it will be like a natural thing found within them. This is "I have placed My Torah within them." It is as though it will be blended into them, part of them. To such an extent that "I will write it upon their hearts." There will be no need to write the Torah on the scroll with ink; it will be written upon their hearts. The heart in fact describes the choice and the power of governance in the soul. The heart is in fact the ruler. It is considered the ruler over all the limbs. And then the Torah will be written upon the heart. That is to say, upon that which rules over the entire body, the Torah will be written. As if there is no other side, no other choice. That is, the laws of the Torah will be engraved in them and they will be nature to them. Incidentally, this fits very well with what is written regarding Avraham. It is written, we spoke about this in the past, that visiting the sick, and hospitality to guests, is greater than receiving the Divine Presence. Where do we see this? That Avraham Avinu says to Hashem, "please do not pass by from over Your servant," I have guests to bring in. We see that Avraham leaves Hashem and goes to bring in guests. And we asked: well, we learn from Avraham, but from where did Avraham know? From where did Avraham have the boldness to leave the Holy One, blessed be He, and go bring in guests? From whom did he learn this? So we said that in fact this is not difficult at all, since for Avraham the reality was the opposite of what the Gra describes regarding us. Avraham Avinu, when he would feel his limbs drawn to a certain thing, he knew that this was the will of Hashem. Therefore when Avraham sees that he is drawn to bring in the guests, he knows the will of Hashem is hospitality to guests. Therefore he says "please do not pass by from over Your servant," I am running to bring in guests. From where did Avraham know? It is written that regarding Avraham, his two kidneys were like flowing wellsprings. And notice how wonderful this is, this fits very well with what is written here: "I will place My Torah within them and write it upon their hearts." Avraham, as the Malbim says here, did not have a scroll written in ink. They will not need a scroll written in ink; everything will be engraved in their hearts. This was the reality of Avraham, that for Avraham everything was engraved in his heart and in his kidneys, and then automatically, when his body was drawn to something, he knew that this thing was the will of Hashem.
Another matter: "and I will be their God," and afterward "and they shall be My people." The Malbim says: always in our conduct today, everything begins with an arousal from below and then there is an arousal from above. First you begin, and then you see the help of Heaven. In contrast, here it will begin in reverse: "and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Here, from the kindness of Hashem, there will be an arousal toward us, that the Holy One, blessed be He, will first be our God, and afterward we will be His people. And the reason is simple: since there will be no reality of choosing evil, then automatically there is no impediment for Hashem to be our God, and we afterward to be His people.
A third matter: it is not possible that we would be in a state of error regarding the ways of Hashem due to the fact that we would not have those who teach us or instruct us in the correct way. This is the next verse: "And they shall no longer teach, each man his fellow and each man his brother, saying: Know Hashem. For they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says Hashem, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more." They shall not teach, each man his fellow, saying: know Hashem; they will not need someone to teach them knowledge, but rather all of them will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. A fourth matter: they also will not fear that I might remember their iniquities. For until today we had sins, and if so, perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, will not forget for us that with which we angered Him? About this the Holy One, blessed be He, says: for I will forgive their iniquity. What is "their iniquity"? According to what the Malbim explained, it is impossible to explain "their iniquity" that they will commit. For we said there is no choice, there is no evil inclination. Rather, their iniquity which they committed in the past. I will forgive the iniquity that they committed intentionally, and their sin, for "sin" (chatat) expresses the unintentional, I will remember no more. The meaning of this is, as it were, that for the unintentional they will not, as it were, require forgiveness, I will not remember it at all. And an iniquity that is intentional, this does require forgiveness, and about this Hashem says: I will forgive them. Pay attention, the Radak says: it is not written here that they will all be equal in wisdom. This is impossible. All the more so that the small ones would be as wise as the great ones. So if so, what is written, "they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them"? The Radak says the meaning is to know Hashem, meaning to fear Him and to walk in His ways. This is the intent of the matter. But do not think that the wisdom after the coming of the Redeemer will be equal among all. Rather, in the knowledge of Hashem and walking in His ways, in this all will be equal. So both the great sage and the fool, all will walk in the way of Hashem.
"Thus says Hashem, who gives the sun for light by day, the laws of the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar, Hashem, Master of Legions, is His name." Thus says Hashem, who gives the sun for light by day. The things mentioned here are things that exist and are eternal. They existed from long ago and will not change. Hashem gives the sun for light by day; the sun shines constantly for light by day. The laws of the moon and stars for light by night. The moon and the stars are a law; the Radak says, since the laws of their movement are a wondrous wisdom, that man cannot fully grasp them. And they are for light by night. Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. The Holy One, blessed be He, calms the waters of the sea, or brings it to a state of roaring of the waves. Or there is an additional explanation, that the meaning is that Hashem split the sea for Israel; even though its waves roared, the Holy One, blessed be He, calmed them. Hashem, Master of Legions, is His name. "If these laws depart from before Me, says Hashem, then also the seed of Israel shall cease from being a nation before Me all the days." If these laws depart from before Me, says Hashem. Just as these laws, the sun for light by day, the laws of the moon and stars for light by night, the sea and its waves, just as these laws are perpetual, engraved in nature, so the Holy One, blessed be He, says: just as they will not depart, so too Israel will cease from being a nation before Me all the days. Just as they will never depart, so too Israel will not cease from being a nation before Me, meaning from being My people forever. The Malbim explains that here he explains in detail two things. First, that there will be no possibility at all to do evil. Just as the laws of nature do not change, that He gives the sun for light by day, the laws of the moon and stars for light by night, these are laws of nature and they will never change, so too their deeds will not change, they will be like nature to them and they will not be able to do evil. There will be no reality of evil, there will be no free choice. Just as Hashem gives the sun for light by day, the laws of the moon, just as they are laws of nature. Hashem says: if these laws depart from before Me, says Hashem, according to the Malbim the meaning is that Israel will not cease from being a nation before Me, they will be My people before Me all the days. But in contrast, according to the Malbim the meaning is that their choice will not change. That is to say, forever their choice will be in the good. This is the intent of the matter. He speaks here about the future, that in the future there will be no state of choosing evil, but rather they will always choose from being a nation before Me all the days. They will always choose to be a nation serving Hashem, standing before Him to serve Him all the days.
"Thus says Hashem: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then also I will reject all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says Hashem." Thus says Hashem: if the heavens above can be measured. The Radak says, we explained that the intent of the matter is that Israel will not cease from being a nation before Me, they will be My people before Me all the days. But in contrast, according to the Malbim the meaning is that their choice will not change. That is to say, forever their choice will be in the good. This is the intent of the matter. He speaks here about the future, that in the future there will be no state of choosing evil, but rather they will always choose from being a nation before Me all the days. They will always choose to be a nation serving Hashem, standing before Him to serve Him all the days. Thus says Hashem: if the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then also I will reject all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says Hashem. Thus says Hashem: if the heavens above can be measured. The Radak says: regarding the heavens, the language of measurement applies. Since the heavens are stretched over us, and then, or the expressions we saw, "who stretches out the heavens" over us, yes, and then it is applicable, as it were, to measure them. Hashem says: if the heavens can be measured, try to measure the heavens. Incidentally, until today, with all the most advanced instruments of science, no one has succeeded in measuring the heavens. And like "and the foundations of the earth can be explored." The foundations of the earth, the Malbim says, it is applicable to measure them. This they do speak with us about: the size of the earth, the core of the earth, to measure, yes, is applicable. But to explore? Today all our knowledge about the core of the earth, about what is inside, is estimates. It is hypotheses. The scientists suddenly found that there is water, they do not know from where. They do not know from where there is water in the core of the earth. This is the innovation of recent years that they found, and this is one of the things that lead, as Rav Zamir Cohen speaks, to the conclusion that the entire earth was here flooded with water at some point in time, which is in fact confirmation of the matter of the Flood. Yes, in any case, you understand that the measurements I know, but to explore inside, who has explored? One must go down inside in order to succeed in exploring what really happens there. So if the heavens above can be measured, no one has succeeded in measuring the heavens. The foundations of the earth below can be explored, they succeeded in measuring, but to explore, no one succeeded. Hashem says: when these things are done, then also I will reject all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says Hashem. As it were, He comes to tell them how complete the pardon and forgiveness will be. Just as it is never applicable to measure the heavens and explore the earth, so the Holy One, blessed be He, says: do not think that there is a reality that I will not forgive them. Rather, there is here forever a promise that I will not reject them and I will forgive them for all that they have done. The Malbim here explains the depth of the words in a very wonderful way. The Malbim says: pay attention, the expression here of the Holy One, blessed be He, is an expression of the infinite love of the Holy One, blessed be He, toward us. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: the love with which I love Israel has no limit in terms of quantity. That you would say how much love, what quantity. Just as the measurement of the heavens does not lead to an endpoint, you do not reach a certain endpoint, meaning a certain result, so the Holy One, blessed be He, says: My love toward you is without limit, meaning without measure. Now, can you try to understand from what this love stems? For this you need to explore. You need to explore and contemplate from what the love of Hashem toward us stems. About this he says: it also has no exploration. Not only does it have no endpoint, which is quantity, measurement, it also has no exploration. "If the foundations of the earth below can be explored." If you try to do and understand through exploration why the Holy One, blessed be He, loves us, he says: you will not succeed in reaching any conclusion. So a thing that has no endpoint in quantity, it is impossible to nullify it through iniquities. For iniquities have an endpoint. Iniquities have a quantity. And My love toward you is unlimited. So you cannot nullify something unlimited through something limited. Love that is unlimited will always be more than the iniquities, for however great the iniquities will be, what is there against this? Love. How many iniquities? They always have an endpoint. Whereas love is always unlimited. It has no endpoint. And a thing that has no exploration and reason, the Malbim says, like a segulah thing, this is a thing that can never be nullified. And why? Because when a thing has a reason, then I say: nullify the reason, the thing is nullified. If a thing has a reason, it has a cause. So when I find the cause of the thing, if its cause is nullified, it will be nullified. But if the thing has no reason, why is it this way? When you ask why it is this way, then when there is no reason for the thing, then there is no cause that can nullify it.
"Behold, days are coming, says Hashem, when the city shall be rebuilt for Hashem, from the Tower of Chananel to the Corner Gate." The city shall be rebuilt for Hashem; the city will not be only in the portion of Binyamin, this part of Jerusalem, but rather "for Hashem." The meaning is that it will be entirely for the entire people of Israel, that it is holy to Hashem. "And the measuring line shall yet go out straight over the hill of Garev, and it shall turn toward Goah." The measuring line shall go out straight, meaning the cord with which they measure, until the hill of Garev. Until a place called the hill of Garev, and it turns toward Tzidon, "and it shall turn," meaning it will go around. In simple words, what this means is that the place will expand. That the place will grow. "And the entire valley of the corpses and the ashes, and all the fields until the Kidron brook, until the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, shall be holy to Hashem; it shall not be uprooted nor overthrown ever again." And the entire valley of the corpses and the ashes. What are "the corpses"? Rashi says the meaning is the valley where the corpses of Sancheriv's camp fell. And "the ashes" is the place of the pouring out of the ashes, which was outside of Jerusalem. All of this will enter within the walls. Jerusalem will grow and everything will be within the walls. In contrast, the Radak brings another explanation, and the Radak says that "the ashes" refers back to "the corpses." And the meaning of this is: the camp of Assyria, who were plump and fresh, this camp is destined to be, the place where they died, the place is destined to be part of Jerusalem. This is the meaning of "the entire valley of the corpses and the ashes." And all the fields until the Kidron brook. What are "the fields"? According to its plain meaning, the intent is the fields. The fields that are adjacent to the city, all of them will be within the city, within the wall. Another explanation is what Targum Yonatan says: "channels." Like channels for drawing water, which is the water conduit from which they irrigate the fields, it too will be within the wall. Until the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, holy to Hashem. What is "the corner of the Horse Gate"? The Radak brings Targum Yonatan who translated: the gate of the king's racecourse. The meaning is: a "bet ris" is a measure. A measure of 70 reeds. The reed is six cubits and a handbreadth. This is something approximately close to 200 meters, that this place would be a place, was a place of the running of the horses. The king would go out in it with the horsemen, and there was there like a straight place where the horses would gallop. And this is the meaning of "until the corner of the Horse Gate," the place where the horses would run. All these places, He tells you, holy to Hashem, will not be uprooted nor overthrown ever again. They will be holy to Hashem, that they will not be uprooted nor overthrown. The meaning of this is that they will remain in existence forever, and will not be uprooted nor overthrown like the First Temple and the Second Temple that were destroyed, but rather here the building of the city and the building of the Temple will not be overthrown nor uprooted ever again.