Sefer Yirmiyahu chapter 50. The word that Hashem spoke concerning Bavel, concerning the land of the Kasdim, through Yirmiyahu the prophet. This chapter also continues to deliver prophecy relating to the nations. Here there is a prophecy concerning Bavel, and as they say, Bavel gets a special portion. We have a special relationship with Bavel because Bavel oppressed us greatly: "daughter of Bavel who is to be plundered, happy is he who repays you" after seizing and dashing your infants against the rock; she destroyed our House. Therefore Bavel merits special treatment and an individual prophecy. The word that Hashem spoke concerning Bavel, concerning the land of the Kasdim. The land of the Kasdim is the place, Bavel is the nation, the Babylonian nation which is in the land of the Kasdim.
Declare among the nations, and proclaim, and raise a banner. Proclaim, do not conceal it. Say: Bavel is captured, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is broken, her idols are put to shame, her images are broken. Declare among the nations, this is to tell; more than that is "proclaim." Proclaim means announce publicly. More than that, "raise a banner": a banner is a large pole on which they would place the flag, and this expresses great publicity. The request is that you make known all the details. Do not conceal, meaning what I am telling you now should be delivered as a complete message, without omitting details. And what should you say? Say: Bavel is captured, Bel is put to shame. Bel was one of their gods. And not only that, but he tells you, also the rest of the idols: Merodach is broken. Merodach was also one of their idols. The Malbim asks: what is the difference between Bel and Merodach? Why did they need two? First of all this is not a difficulty, for they worshipped many idols, many gods. But here Bel was their god of honor. They would make for him "atzabim," that is, a special type of idolatry to worship him. Since he was the god of honor, therefore he says to them: Bavel is captured, Bel is put to shame. In place of honor, disgrace and shame. Merodach was their god of might. Therefore the king was called Evil-Merodach, because they wanted to name the kings and the important ones after the idols. Just as we saw that Nevuchadnetzar called Daniel "Belteshatzar" after his god. He was called Belteshatzar after his god, or he called him Belteshatzar after his god. So too Evil-Merodach after the god called Merodach. Merodach was the god of might. So if Bel was the god of honor, Merodach was the god of might. To Bel they would make "atzabim," and to the god of might they would make "gilulim," a different type of idolatry. Therefore he says, note: regarding Bel, who is the god of honor, it says "chat," it says "hovish," which means shame. Regarding Merodach, who as we said is the god of might, it says "chat." "Chat" means broken. That is the opposite of might. He did not stand in might but was broken. And this is always an expression that comes with regard to war. As we always say, "do not fear and do not be dismayed (al techat)." Do not be dismayed means stand in might against the enemies and do not be broken. So this is the opposite of courage. Here you will see that this god Merodach is broken, her idols are put to shame, her images are broken.
For against her has come up a nation from the north; it shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it, from man to beast they have fled, they have gone. A nation from the north has come up against her: the nation from the north is Madai and Paras. They dwell to the north. And this nation shall make her land a desolation. It shall turn their land, Bavel, into a wasteland. And none shall dwell in it, from man to beast they have fled, they have gone. Neither man nor beast will remain in it because of the great desolation he will make of it. And why this punishment? Says the Malbim: this is measure for measure. Since they came up against Israel from the north, as we say, "from the north evil shall break forth," and this speaks of Bavel, correspondingly Hashem will bring a nation from the north against her as well.
In those days and at that time, says Hashem, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Yehudah together; walking and weeping they shall go, and Hashem their God they shall seek. In those days and at that time, says Hashem, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Yehudah. What is "in those days"? When Bavel was destroyed, then Israel went out of exile. Because when Koresh king of Paras came, he permitted them to go up here to the land, and then Ezra and Nechemyah and the people who went up from the exile came here and built the land of Israel in the Second Temple period. So in those days and at that time, says Hashem, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Yehudah together, walking and weeping. "They and the children of Yehudah together" means those who were in the Babylonian exile with Yehudah and Binyamin. When the Ten Tribes were exiled there were some who remained in the land, scattered, as is written in the accounts of Chizkiyahu and Yoshiyahu. And about those children of Israel he says that they were exiled with Yehudah to Bavel, and they too went out with them when they left Bavel through Koresh king of Paras. So about this he says the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Yehudah together. Those who remained here and were exiled in the end, and also the children of Yehudah who were exiled from the start, all will return. Walking and weeping, they will return together walking and weeping. Walking and weeping, why? Says the Radak: this is weeping of joy. It is not weeping of sadness, for they are now returning to their land. Therefore walking and weeping from their joy at returning to their land. For there is weeping of joy, as in "with weeping they shall come," as in "and he kissed Rachel and raised his voice and wept," as in "and he wept upon his neck yet more." In all these places there are also other interpretations. "And he wept upon his neck yet more," there is an opinion that he wanted to bite him, and since his neck became marble, his teeth were dislodged, and now he needs implants and a mess and pain, so he wept over his teeth. Why did Yaakov weep? Over the neck, it hurt him that his neck became marble, so says the Midrash. So there are those who explain that the weeping there is out of pain. They also explain by way of wit, "and he kissed Rachel and raised his voice and wept." Why did he weep? Because he perceived all the people of the land who were looking around, and now they have some "lomdus" to come and say, look, even Yaakov Avinu kisses a daughter of Israel, well, they have some lesson from this matter. So it is written "and Yaakov kissed Rachel," immediately "and he raised his voice and wept." He said, well, what will they now learn from this? What conclusions will the loose ones of our people now come to draw from this matter? Well, this is an interpretation explained by way of wit. All are legitimate; in Chazal there is another explanation: what is "and he wept"? He saw that she was not destined to be buried with him. According to this, this is another explanation that explains it by way of sorrow. But in any case, the Radak says there is no necessity, rather there is weeping of joy. So just as here "together, walking and weeping they shall go" in joy, there too it is in joy.
The Malbim, however, explains that what is written "walking and weeping they shall go," says the Malbim, is like one who has lost his father who was leading him along the way; so they will seek to find Hashem to return to Him. That is, the Malbim too understands that the weeping mentioned here is weeping that expresses longing and desire and yearning to find the Master of the world, for the Master of the world in the reality of exile was as if lost to us, as if distanced from us. So about this: walking and weeping they shall go, and Hashem their God they shall seek. It will be weeping that contains a request to find Hashem. The Malbim explains, note, two expressions are written here: "in those days" and "at that time." What is "in those days" and what is "at that time"? Seemingly you said the same thing. So what is the redundancy? Says the Malbim: "at that time" speaks of a specific point in time. "At that time" is like if I tell you tomorrow at nine. That is a specific point in time. In contrast, when I speak of "the days," I speak of something ongoing that occurs over no small amount of time. I tell you what happened in those days; I did not mean at a point in time at nine in the morning. But when I tell you "at that time" I meant at nine in the morning. So "time" always denotes a specific point, whereas "days" expresses a long and ongoing period during which the thing occurred. So "in those days and at that time, says Hashem," precisely at that time it will begin and afterward it will continue over days.
Tziyon they shall ask the way, here their faces are set: come, let us join ourselves to Hashem in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten. Tziyon they shall ask the way, here their faces are set; come, let us join ourselves to Hashem in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten. Rashi says: "Tziyon they shall ask," says Rashi, the way to this place, Yerushalayim; there they will set their faces when Bavel is destroyed. And we said that they went out from there by the permission of Koresh king of Paras. Therefore they will seek to go to Yerushalayim. The Malbim explains: "Tziyon they shall ask the way." The Malbim reads "the way" as connected to "they shall ask." That is, they will ask what is the way that goes to Tziyon. The Malbim here does not follow the cantillation marks. And we have already said several times that the cantillation marks indicate a certain way, but there is no necessity to interpret the verse specifically according to the marks. Just as many times the Gemara brings up verses that "have no decision." What are verses that have no decision? These are verses where there is a word that I can attach backward and I can attach forward, and there is no decision as to which the word belongs to. Everyone asks: why is there no decision? Look at the marks, and the marks prove very clearly whether this word belongs to the next sentence or is the end of the previous sentence. The answer is that since the verse has no decision, the author of the marks accordingly took one side and explained according to one side. But does that mean it is the only interpretation there is? And we say there is no decision, so Chazal reveal to us that there is also another possibility. But for the sake of the marks I need to write the marks in a certain way, and therefore the marks were written in a certain way according to the opinion of the one who placed the marks. But that does not mean it is the only interpretation possible in this verse. So too here, the Malbim does not follow the marks, but rather "Tziyon they shall ask the way, here their faces are set." The Malbim explains: "Tziyon they shall ask the way," they will ask the way of one who goes to Tziyon. Why? Because until now "here their faces are set." All their faces, their yearning and desire in their exile, was always toward Tziyon. When they prayed, they prayed that Hashem would return His Divine Presence to Tziyon. So until here "their faces are set," their faces were always toward Tziyon. As we saw also with Daniel, "and windows were open for him in his upper chamber toward Yerushalayim." It is written of Daniel that he had windows in the upper chamber toward Yerushalayim. From here we learn a halachah that in a synagogue there should be windows toward Yerushalayim, from "windows were open for him," from the doors open for him. And then, "come, let us join ourselves to Hashem." Tziyon answers them and says to them: come, let us join ourselves to Hashem. The Holy One, blessed be He, has an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten with you, and so come, let us join ourselves to Hashem. On the contrary, Tziyon requests and waits for the people of Israel to return and arrive back and settle the Holy Land.
Lost sheep were My people; their shepherds led them astray, on the mountains they turned them away; from mountain to hill they went, they forgot their resting place. Here now this is the word of Hashem. Earlier we saw that those going up to the land ask and request of Tziyon, as if Tziyon is some entity and they ask her what is the way to return to you. Now the Holy One, blessed be He, comes and says: My people were like sheep that were lost in the wilderness. That is, they were abandoned. Lost sheep were My people. What was the cause? Their shepherds led them astray. Their shepherds led them astray, brought them up onto the mountains, and the mountains there turned them away. That is, in the beginning they worshipped idols in the land. Through this they went from mountain to mountain and from mountain to hill, and through this they forgot their former resting place. Until a situation was reached that even when they were exiled they continued to worship idols even in the places of their exile. This is what he says: their shepherds led them astray. The shepherds led them astray. Where? First, on the mountains they turned them away. First they brought them to the mountains, there they led them astray, on the mountains in the land. In the second stage, from mountain to hill they went, they forgot their resting place. They went from mountain to hill and were exiled, and they forgot their resting place. Their resting place is the fixed place where the sheep lie down. And in the analogue, they forgot their God, who is the God in whom they had trusted continually. The Radak explains what is written "on the mountains they turned them away": "shoveivum" is an expression, it is a matter of expulsion, of sending away. For "shoveivim yihyeh," according to Rabbeinu Yonah it means to the mountains they drove them and sent them away. So the shepherds drove them to the mountains, on the mountains they turned them away. He explains another explanation, the Radak says that "shoveivum" means as if they broke them and shattered them. "Shoveivim" means breaking and shattering. As it is written "and I will turn you back and lead you on," so it is written there regarding Gog. So we see that the meaning is he will break him. So there, on the mountains they turned them away. According to the Malbim, "on the mountains they turned them away" means they took them to the mountains to go astray. "Shovav" is an expression for one who deviates from the way and does not walk in the correct path, as today it is used as an expression for a child who is mischievous (shovav). So too there, "shovav" means deviating from the correct way. So they took them to the mountains and there led them astray from the correct way, which is the service of Hashem.
And what happened there? All who found them devoured them, and their adversaries said: We are not guilty, because they sinned against Hashem, the abode of righteousness, the hope of their fathers, Hashem. All who found them devoured them. This caused all who found them to devour them; they became abandoned, and all who found them devoured them. Says the Malbim: why did he use "devoured them"? Because eating is a matter of pleasure. Destruction, you do not enjoy it, unless you are a sadist. But normally when a person eats, it is destruction from which the person derives pleasure. Rav Yankel Galinsky relates that once he, you know that he went through very difficult periods. He was also interrogated more than once by the KGB, which was then called the NKVD. And whoever knows what it was to enter that prison, it was no easy experience. And blows and torments; he related there that there was a certain especially cruel interrogator who really excelled in his blows. And at a certain point he says, I asked him: tell me, what percentage do you strike me in order to know the answer, and what percentage do you strike me in order to draw satisfaction? He says, and that was the last time he raised a hand against me. That is, he understood this statement, how hard this statement is. That is, this was still someone who had some conscience, because someone else it would have angered more and he would have continued sevenfold. But he truly felt that these things are true things. The gentile, when he struck a Jew, did it with all the pleasure, with all the fun. And this is what he says here, all who found them devoured them. "Devoured them" is not merely to destroy them, but to eat, says the Malbim, this is for pleasure. And their adversaries, he says the adversaries, says the Malbim, they destroyed them out of hatred, not for pleasure. No, God forbid, he is not, he is for the sake of Heaven. He beats only for the sake of Heaven, not out of pleasure, but only and solely because we need to receive blows. Wait, but do you not fear that you will be punished by Hashem for the deed you are doing? He tells you: they said, we are not guilty. They said, do not worry, Hashem will not hold us accountable for this. Because they sinned against Hashem. For these people, the people of Israel who are now exiled, sinned against Hashem, they are worthy of destruction. And they sinned against Hashem. What does "they sinned against Hashem" mean? The abode of righteousness, the hope of their fathers, Hashem. They want to magnify the sin, so they say, do you know against whom they sinned? They sinned against Hashem, who is the abode of righteousness. This means the abode designated for the flock, there is the place of righteousness. The abode designated for the flock is the land of Israel, and there the place of righteousness is the Beit HaMikdash. And there he tells you, the hope of their fathers, Hashem. There Hashem dwells, which is the hope of their fathers. In simple words, they abandoned righteousness, which is between man and his fellow, and Hashem the God of their fathers, which is between man and the Omnipresent. So do not worry, you can do to them whatever comes into your spirit.
And in fact, whoever knows, this was the catalyst of Christianity as an active partner in all that happened during the Holocaust period. The Christians, as is known, may their name and memory be blotted out, were active partners in the sufferings of the people of Israel. Many times they would go and hand them over to the Gestapo and hand them over to the SS forces by informing. If not, then they would take and try to convert the children of those who were taken to the crematoria. And they were very actively involved in the matter. And their reason was precisely this: we are not guilty, because they sinned against Hashem. For they claim that Christianity is those whom Hashem chose after the people of Israel deviated from the way. In order to strengthen this conception, they always need to bring proofs that the people of Israel became repugnant in Hashem's eyes, and therefore it was decreed upon them forever that they should have suffering and torment. So if it does not happen, we need to help it, so that it truly happens. And then, look, you see that Hashem chose us? You see that Hashem erased the old and wrote a new? There is a New Testament, that is it, we were chosen. The more the people of Israel suffer, the more proof there is that Hashem rejected them and today He has a new people, today He has the Christians. Therefore the whole matter of the return of the people of Israel to their land, of the building of Yerushalayim, of the fulfillment of all the prophecies, was very difficult for the Christians. They had great difficulty with this matter. For years the Pope was not willing to come here to the land. He reached the Allenby crossing and that was it, and got stuck there. Afterward, even when he came to the land, to reach Yerushalayim he was in no way willing. What is this reason? What does Yerushalayim mean? What, so what is written in the prophecies is being fulfilled, that the people of Israel are destined to return? How will that work out? For you claim that Hashem rejected them and cast them away forever. How suddenly do they return and all the prophecies begin to be fulfilled? This is not, you are indeed Israel, "you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come," there is no more revealed end than this. How, how can it be that suddenly the reality changes? So perhaps everything you sold us was nonsense? So perhaps you are the religion of falsehood and the religion of compassion that was the religion of the most terrible cruelty, from the time of the Inquisition, and in earlier times in the Crusades, and throughout all the years. Well, so perhaps it is all false? You understand, suddenly it begins to become clear how Esav's things were searched out, his hidden things were sought out and revealed. Suddenly it becomes clear who Esav is, what his hidden things are, what the terrible hypocrisy of the peoples of Europe is. But let us know that this argument, we are not guilty because they sinned against Hashem, is the argument that fed many of the gentiles to go and afflict Israel.
Flee from the midst of Bavel, and go out of the land of the Kasdim, and be like he-goats before the flock. Hashem says to the flock of His people: wander, go out, flee from the midst of Bavel. The kingdom is toppling, for Bavel is about to be overturned. Afterward he tells them: go out from the whole land of the Kasdim. And although you have no shepherds, that these shepherds should lead you, he tells them: be like the he-goats that walk before the flock, for the flock follows the he-goats, the healthy, strong sheep, who are essentially the leaders who went before them. We are speaking here of Ezra, of Nechemyah, Zerubavel, those who went before the people. He tells them: go out and be like he-goats before the flock, you shall go at the head and the people will come after you. Flee from the midst of Bavel, go out. Says the Malbim: what is the difference between wandering and going out? Wandering is from place to place. In contrast, going out is complete departure. So at first just wander from your place of dwelling, and afterward go out in complete departure from the land.
For behold, I stir up and bring against Bavel an assembly of great nations from the land of the north, and they shall array themselves against her; from there she shall be captured; his arrows are like a skilled warrior, they do not return empty. The prophet says: I stir up and bring against Bavel an assembly of great nations. Now he will describe in detail how Bavel will fall. So first of all it is written, behold I stir up and bring, that is, this matter is under full providence from Hashem. One thing. Second thing, an assembly of great nations from the land of the north. Third thing, they shall array themselves against her and from there she shall be captured. The meaning is, they will conquer the wall on the northern side and from there the city will be captured. From there she shall be captured, his arrows are like a skilled warrior, they do not return empty. What is "his arrows are like a skilled warrior, they do not return empty"? The arrows will be, let us read the Malbim's language, as if they have intelligence and will come of themselves to the target, they will not return empty, like a warrior who has intelligence. This is astounding, because it is essentially a prophecy that only today can be understood. When you spoke in Yirmiyahu's time of arrows that are like a skilled warrior, we do not understand how an arrow can have might, an arrow is not a warrior, and we cannot understand how it is skilled, an arrow is not intelligent. But when today you speak of missiles, various Popeye missiles and all sorts of such things that are like a skilled warrior, this is an arrow that you fire and mark a target for it and it passes between buildings, it is like an airplane, right, left, whatever window you marked for it, it will enter into the window inside. His arrows are like a skilled warrior. And by the way, this is very fitting, because whoever remembers, these were missiles that were used in the war against Iraq. When the United States fought against Iraq in the Gulf War, these missiles were used. And here we are speaking of Bavel. Behold, I stir up and bring against Bavel an assembly of great nations. An assembly of great nations because there was a coalition, for whoever remembers, and nations arrived from several, armies arrived from several nations. And they will come from the land of the north and array themselves against her and from there she shall be captured; in the end she was captured. And his arrows are like a skilled warrior, they do not return empty, meaning those arrows that are like a skilled warrior. There is a version, instead of "maskil" (skilled), some read it with a right-side shin, that is with a "sh." And then it comes out "his arrows are like a warrior who bereaves" (mashkil). And then "mashkil" means that the arrows are like a warrior who, when the warrior cannot find whom to kill, kills the little ones. What will it give him? It will give him that the parents will be bereaved. So the arrows are like a bereaving warrior. "Like a warrior mashkil" means that he kills and causes bereavement, that is the bereaving warrior. But our version is "like a skilled warrior." With all this the commentators tend to explain more according to the explanation that says "maskil," which is from the expression of intelligence (sechel), as the Malbim explains. Yes, in fact these are two versions and it is difficult to decide which is the more accurate version.
And the land of the Kasdim shall become plunder; all who plunder her shall be satisfied, says Hashem. Another thing he informs us here, that after they defeat Bavel, then the Kasdim, these are the inhabitants of the country, they will no longer fight, but they will become plunder, that is, like the spoil remaining after the war. As long as, and this is really very fitting, because in his time Saddam Hussein was the crown of the main rebellion, and the moment they ousted him, then consequently Bavel already fell like ripe fruit and there was no longer a need to continue fighting. Although to this day there are wars and factions and battalions and ISIS and whatever you want, all of this is part of the punishment of Bavel, "happy is he who seizes and dashes your infants against the rock, daughter of Bavel who is to be plundered," after all she did to us. But in any case, you see, as he describes here, that the land of the Kasdim shall become plunder, all who plunder her shall be satisfied, says Hashem. That is, afterward there will already be plunder because they will no longer need to fight, since this country will fall into their hands. Another thing, he tells you, it will not be like a conqueror of a land who, after he conquered the land, then immediately the conquered country makes an effort to hide all its treasures, all the precious things it has, so that the plunderer will not come and take everything. He says here, this will not be, but rather the land of the Kasdim shall become plunder, meaning everything they have will come as plunder into the hand of the conquering enemy.
For you rejoiced, for you exulted, O plunderers of My heritage, for you frolicked like a threshing heifer and neighed like mighty ones. Says the Malbim: now he will inform us at what time this will be. It will be when you, plunderers of My heritage, those who plunder the heritage of Israel, you rejoice in the heart and exult in deed. There is here both "you rejoiced" and "you exulted." The Malbim explains that the difference between rejoicing and exultation is that rejoicing is when it is still in the heart of the person, and exultation is when the person, this joy so to speak bursts boundaries, comes out, and then he exults. When was this? When were they joyful and exultant and then Bavel fell? Do not forget, although we see here in the prophecy an expression of what happened in our generation, but prophecy in its origin was written for its time. It was written for its time and for the future to come. So here he speaks with Bavel about that period. Afterward it was also written, there is in it a message for a later generation. But the prophecy in its origin was written for that time; the fall of Bavel was at that time. What is he speaking of? He is speaking of the time when Belshatzar made a feast and brought out the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash and was drinking from them. Whoever wishes can hear this on our disc on Sefer Daniel, where we elaborate and detail all that happened there, and the hand that came out from heaven and wrote on the palace wall "Mene Mene Tekel u-Pharsin," and the solution that Belshatzar sought to find for this matter, and in the end "on that night Belshatzar was slain." That very night on which they crowned him and he made feasts and celebrations and brought out the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash, that very night Belshatzar was killed. It comes out, then, that he says: for you rejoiced, for you exulted, O plunderers of My heritage, when you plunderers of My heritage rejoice and exult, then at that time, at the time "you frolicked like a threshing heifer," the meaning is at the time you frolic; "tafushu" is an expression like "nofesh" (rest), or an expression of "you multiply," abundance of flesh. Yes, this is "tafushu," from the expression "nafish," which in Aramaic is an expression of multiplicity, "nfishei" is an expression of much. When you frolic like fatted calves, like a heifer that threshes grain, a trained heifer that loves to thresh, and then while threshing it eats from what it threshes. Some say it is from the expression "in pastures of grass (deshe)," this means like a heifer in the grass. Yes, there are books where it is written with an alef, there are books where it is written with a heh. So if it is written with an alef, it is from the expression "deshe" (grass), if it is written with a heh, it is from the expression threshing (dishah). So when you frolic like a threshing heifer, the meaning is while they were in their time, at the time of the feast, you grow fat from abundance of good, then at that very time your downfall will be.
Your mother is greatly ashamed, she who bore you is disgraced; behold, the last of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. Your mother is ashamed. What of the joy in which you rejoiced when you were plundering My heritage? The Radak explains: now your mother will be ashamed when others come and plunder you. You in joy afflicted the people of Israel. Now there will be shame for your mother when she sees how in joy they afflict you. Who is "your mother" written here? "Your mother," the Radak explains, means your assembly or your congregation. The meaning, as is much mentioned in the early ones, is "the congregation." "Congregation" does not mean what today is called a "church," but rather from the expression of gathering. The meaning is the assembly of the people, the gathering of the people, this is called a congregation. As he says, your congregation. So "your mother is ashamed" refers to the congregation as a whole, as in "contend with your mother, contend," where the meaning is not there about the mother, the biological mother, but rather they mean the congregation. This is also what he speaks of here. And behold, the last of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. "The last of the nations" is the kingdom of Bavel; its land will become a wilderness, they will be killed and their land will remain a dry land and a desert, which is like a wilderness. The Malbim explains "your mother is ashamed" refers to the land, that the land is as it were the one who bore you. As Chazal say, there is a land that bears mighty ones, there is a land that bears weak ones. The meaning is that according to the nature of the land, its climate and all that is in it, that is the nature of the people who are born there. So...
Your mother is ashamed, this is the land that bore you, because the end of those great nations of this land which she bore, that is, those nations who dwelt there in that land, their end is a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. So the land is as it were as if ashamed for having borne such people who in the end fell in battle.
Let us note there is a redundancy: your mother is ashamed, she who bore you is greatly disgraced. What is "disgraced" and what is "ashamed"? The Malbim explains that "disgrace" (chapar) is more than shame. "Chapar" means that from great shame one digs the face into hiding. Its meaning is that he searches for some pit to hide and bury his face there from the great disgrace. So in fact we are dealing here with stages. At first "your mother is ashamed," afterward "she who bore you is greatly disgraced."
What is the difference between "your mother" and "she who bore you"? This too is seemingly a redundancy. The Malbim explains that "your mother" also includes the nursemaid. Even she who raised them as a mother, she too is called a mother. As it is written "shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the earth," and Yaakov did not know that "your mother" refers to the nursemaid who raised him. Right? So in fact we understand that "mother" need not be a biological mother. In contrast, "she who bore you" must be a biological mother, she bore him. So he says "your mother is ashamed," this is only shame. In contrast, "disgraced," we said, is more than shame, it is great disgrace that wants to bury its face. So "she who bore you is disgraced," since she is the one who bore you her disgrace is greater; she not only raised you, she actually bore you. So we are speaking here of shame that grows ever greater, when they see that the last of the nations is a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
From the wrath of Hashem it shall not be inhabited, and it shall become wholly a desolation; everyone who passes by Bavel shall be appalled and hiss over all her wounds. From the wrath of Hashem it shall not be inhabited, its meaning is that from the wrath with which Hashem will rage against her, it shall not be inhabited, this place people will not dwell in it. What does this mean? That this place shall become wholly a desolation. "Desolation" means a desolate place.
The Malbim explains that the wilderness has three things that are bad, and this place will be worse than all three. One thing, the wilderness is desolate by nature, naturally. Here your place shall not be inhabited not by nature, but from the wrath of Hashem. Worse than the wilderness, where it is natural, here it is providential, from the wrath of Hashem it shall not be inhabited. Another thing, in the wilderness there are places that are inhabited, there are oases. Even within the wilderness there are places that are settled. In contrast here, it shall become wholly a desolation. Here the desolation will be over the entire place of which he speaks, as we will soon explain. Another thing, over the desolation in the wilderness a person is not astonished. It is natural that you arrive at the wilderness, you have arrived at a desolate place. In contrast here, everyone who passes by Bavel shall be appalled and hiss over all her wounds. Everyone who passes by Bavel will be astonished and hiss. We once explained that the hiss expresses the astonishment, that a person passes and is astonished at the terrible blow, so he hisses. So everyone who passes by Bavel shall be appalled and hiss over all her wounds.
In fact this matter is a bit difficult for the Radak, because the Radak says, after all we see that today Bavel is inhabited. Says the Radak: and the Bavel that was resettled that they speak of, Daryavesh and Koresh, and that exists to this day, is not the same Bavel that was of old. For that one was destroyed, and they built another city in that valley and named it Bavel as well. That is, the Radak explains that the Bavel of which we speak then, of Daryavesh and Koresh, is not the Bavel of today. Because that Bavel was destroyed and they built beside it a place called Bavel. In fact these things are very precise, because this prophecy is a prophecy that speaks of a desolation that will be forever. And we saw another such prophecy about which it is written "it shall never be inhabited, nor shall an Arab pitch his tent there." We saw explicit prophecies that Bavel will never be inhabited.
And whoever will see, in its time we brought here also pictures from an encyclopedia in which one can see ancient Bavel as a place that is heaps of ruins to this day. Only what, today they say they preserve it because from their perspective it is an archaeological site. Antiquities. Yes, and therefore they preserve the place. But in fact we know why the place was not rebuilt, because there is a prophecy that this place will be desolate forever. What did they do? They moved the city to another place and there built it. But the original place is to this day destroyed and desolate. Whoever knows, Saddam Hussein had a plan to rebuild the ruins of Bavel. For he held that he was the modern Nevuchadnetzar and he would restore and reestablish the Arab nation, some Saladin and all sorts of such fantasies that this megalomaniac had. And in the end the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him that your plans do not fit what is written in our texts, and therefore they removed him from the arena. And in practice the prophecy still stands that Bavel will never be inhabited. The original Bavel to this day is destroyed and has become wholly a desolation, everyone who passes by Bavel shall be appalled and hiss over all her wounds.
Whoever wishes to take these matters to our time, then also today everyone who passes by Bavel is appalled and hisses over all her wounds. For whoever looks from the conquest when Bavel was conquered from Saddam Hussein, from then until today Bavel is a terrible and dreadful place to live in. It is a place where every few days cars explode there, casualties, we are talking about quantities of 40-50 killed each time. There are endless battles there. They have still not succeeded in creating an orderly kingdom there, that is, some orderly regime. So that in fact the reality is that everyone who passes by Bavel is appalled and hisses over all her wounds. To see a place where indeed there was a mad man, but there was still a built-up land. And indeed he shed blood in eight years of insane war against Iran, a pity it ended, but in any case there was, yes, they had even before that long wars, but there was still a functioning country. In any case today everyone who passes by Bavel is appalled and hisses over all her wounds, for this place absorbed enormous quantities of explosives and this place still bleeds without knowing in which direction it is going.