Following the first prophecy calling for repentance, a new prophecy arrives, bearing a precise date, inaugurating the sequence of Zechariah's enigmatic visions. Here begins a realm of symbols: horses of various colors, a mounted rider, myrtles, a deep valley, and angels. We will study the chapter according to its plain sense following the Malbim, integrating the insights of Radak, Rashi, and the teachings of Chazal.
בְּיוֹם עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה לְעַשְׁתֵּי עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ הוּא חֹדֶשׁ שְׁבָט בִּשְׁנַת שְׁתַּיִם לְדָרְיָוֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר ה' אֶל זְכַרְיָה בֶּן בֶּרֶכְיָהוּ בֶּן עִדּוֹא הַנָּבִיא לֵאמֹר׃ - On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shevat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Hashem came to Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo the prophet, saying:
Radak notes here the very mention of the month's name. The names of the months - Shevat, Adar, and the like - appear in Megillat Esther and the later biblical books. Radak observes: We do not know whether they derive from Aramaic, as we do not find them in the earlier sacred books. Indeed, these are among the first places where proper names for months appear, for in original Jewish tradition there are no names for the months at all.
In the Torah, you will never find "the month of Tishrei" or "the month of Kislev." The Torah states: "This month shall be for you the head of months; it shall be the first for you" - and from then on, the first month, the second month, the fourth month, the fifth month, by number alone. Only in the later books do we find Yerach Bul, Shevat, Adar, Tammuz - all of which are later names inherited from surrounding nations. Tammuz, for instance, is the name of an idol; people worshipped the Tammuz.
Similarly, we have no independent names for the days of the week. We do not have "Sunday" and "Monday," where each has its own proper name, but rather Yom Rishon (the first day), Yom Sheni (the second day), Yom Shelishi (the third day) - designating the day's place in the week rather than an independent name. The reason in both cases is the same: our count of the months is relative to the Exodus from Egypt, and the Torah wants us always to remember the day we left Egypt - this is the first month since the Exodus, this is the second, this is the third. Likewise with the days: the count is oriented toward Shabbat - "first to Shabbat," "second to Shabbat," meaning the first day of the week, the second day of the week (since "Shabbat" in rabbinic idiom also denotes a week, just as "shavua" can denote seven years), with the intended meaning: this is the first day leading up to Shabbat. In this way, we constantly remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it, for on it He rested from all His work. We have previously elaborated on this in our lessons on Sefer HaKuzari.
The Malbim explains: "On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month" - that is the 24th day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shevat. He cites a remarkable insight in the name of the Abarbanel: From the day the foundation of the Temple of Hashem was laid on the 24th of the ninth month until this prophecy on the 24th of the eleventh month, 59 days elapsed. Corresponding to this, the prophecy here concerns the completion of the Persian Empire, which lasted 59 years - a day for a year, a day for a year.
The Malbim further notes: Why is his entire lineage enumerated here - Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo? To teach you that the merit of his ancestors brought about his ability to prophesy such sublime and exalted visions.
רָאִיתִי הַלַּיְלָה וְהִנֵּה אִישׁ רֹכֵב עַל סוּס אָדֹם וְהוּא עֹמֵד בֵּין הַהֲדַסִּים אֲשֶׁר בַּמְּצֻלָה וְאַחֲרָיו סוּסִים אֲדֻמִּים שְׂרֻקִּים וּלְבָנִים׃ - I saw by night, and behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtles that were in the deep, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
Radak notes, as we previously mentioned in the introduction, that Zechariah's visions are deeply enigmatic, akin to the visions of Daniel, unlike the visions of the earlier prophets. The reason: the power of prophecy steadily diminished from the time of the Exile, and the lower a prophet's level, the more he perceives through riddles and symbols rather than clear vision. For this reason, the prophets did not fully explain their words, and the visions were not understood in their exact reality. "I saw by night" - in nocturnal visions, recounting: this is what I saw.
Our Sages expound this verse, as we learned in Ein Yaakov in Masechet Sanhedrin: "I saw in the night" - the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to turn the entire world into night, because they had spiritually deteriorated. "And behold, a man riding" - this is the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is stated, "The Lord is a man of war." "On a red horse" - He wanted to turn the entire world to blood, that is, to overturn His world. Once He looked upon Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah - "and he was standing among the myrtles that were in the depths": myrtles refers only to the righteous, as it is stated, "And he brought up Hadassah" - Hadassah, who was righteous; and the depths refers only to Babylon, as it is stated, "Who says to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up your rivers." Thus, "the myrtles that were in the depths" are the righteous in Babylon - Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah. The Holy One, blessed be He, saw them, and His compassion was immediately aroused; immediately, the black horses became sorrel and the red became white, as it is stated, "and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses." In other words: what previously appeared red and black, representing war and bloodshed, turned white - the mercy of Hashem, which is expressed in whiteness, the attribute of Chesed, which prevailed through the merit of the righteous in Babylon.
Rashi cites this midrashic exposition, but notes: "Our Rabbis explained what they explained in the Aggadah of Chelek, but the order of the passage and its language are not settled by it." That is to say, this is a Derash on the verse, and we still need to resolve the Peshat - the plain meaning of the text - and as is our practice, we will study the Peshat according to the Malbim.
In Perek HaRoeh, in Berachot (page 57), our Sages say: One who sees a red horse in a dream - if it is galloping, it bodes ill for him; if it is walking calmly, it bodes well for him. A white horse, however, whether galloping or calm, bodes well for him. That is, a galloping red horse heralds bad news, a red horse walking calmly signifies nothing negative, and a white horse is favorable in every circumstance.
And what is the rationale behind these symbols? The Malbim explains: A horse indicates war, as it is written, "A horse is prepared for the day of battle." On the other hand, a horse also signifies pride and haughtiness, for a horse always carries itself with pride. A donkey walks with its head bowed, whereas a horse lifts its head, neighs, and acts haughty. The Malbim already cited (apparently on the Book of Iyov) that the ancients composed poems about horses - songs of praise and acclaim for the beauty, nobility, and pride of this animal.
This also relates to what was mentioned previously: the Torah greats of Israel did not ride horses, but rather donkeys and female donkeys. If they needed a "Rolls-Royce" - "riders of white donkeys," that was the highest standard. Riding a horse is an expression of pride. Thus we find with Elisha Acher, who rode a horse while walking alongside Rabbi Meir; and likewise when they took Rabbi Yose out to be executed and his nephew rode alongside on a horse - "The horse that my master caused me to ride, while you go out to be killed." It is a display of pride and arrogance, ridden by the wicked, whereas the Sages of Israel ride donkeys. Even the Mashiach is described as "humble and riding upon a donkey," and it is not said that he will ride a horse.
And when the horse is red, the Malbim explains, it also indicates bloodshed, for red symbolizes blood. If the horse is red and also in pursuit, that is, galloping - it is galloping to shed blood, symbolizing slaughter carried out swiftly and in haste, as it is written, "like a horse rushing into battle." But if the red horse stands calmly, or if it is a white horse, it signifies only haughtiness and pride, not bloodshed.
The horses represent warriors and men of battle. The red horse depicts another warrior who goes out to wage war against the king of Persia in order to seize his kingdom - this is Alexander of Macedon (Alexander the Great), who defeated Darius in his wars. And this itself is what Daniel saw in the vision of the he-goat that gored the ram.
"I saw in the night" - each of the four kingdoms is compared to night, for foreign rule represents exile, and exiles are termed night. In contrast, redemption is expressed in sunrise and illumination: "And the light of Hashem shall shine upon you." Thus, "I saw in the night" - I saw exile, a time of darkness in the eyes of Israel, just as we saw in the exposition of our Sages that the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to turn the entire world into night.
Notice, however, that the horse and its rider are standing still. Only a galloping red horse signifies war; a standing horse expresses pride and haughtiness, perhaps, but not bloodshed - and that is a good sign. Furthermore: "and he was standing among the myrtles that were in the depths" - in accordance with the words of the Gemara, the Malbim explains that this refers to the righteous who are in the depths of this lowly world, or in Babylon, which is called "the deep." In other words, the horse does not charge forward to shed blood; rather, it stands among the righteous.
And what is the meaning of "among the righteous"? Our Sages relate that when Alexander of Macedon arrived in Jerusalem, Shimon HaTzaddik went out to greet him. Alexander dismounted from his horse, bowed down, and prostrated himself before him; he did not destroy Jerusalem and did them no harm. They asked him: "Everywhere else you go and conquer, so what happened here?" He told them: "The visage of this man appears to me whenever I go out at the head of my army into battle - his image is what aids me in my victories." He was deeply impressed, recognized that this was the image of a righteous man, and did them no harm. This is the red horse standing still rather than galloping to war: Alexander of Macedon stands before Shimon HaTzaddik and halts, proceeding no further to wage war against Jerusalem.
"And behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses" - following Alexander of Macedon. Red indicates war; white indicates peace (one wishing to announce surrender raises a white flag), and according to Kabbalah, it signifies the attribute of Chessed; and sorrel is an intermediate color, neither red nor white. What do they signify? Those who inherited the empire of Alexander of Macedon, the military commanders who succeeded him: among them were "red" rulers - warmongers and shedders of blood; among them were "white" rulers - lovers and seekers of peace; and some were in-between, "sorrel" - sometimes one way and sometimes the other, neither consistently pursuing war nor consistently pursuing peace.
וָאֹמַר מָה אֵלֶּה אֲדֹנִי וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי אֲנִי אַרְאֶךָּ מָה הֵמָּה אֵלֶּה׃ - And I said, "What are these, my lord?" And the angel who spoke with me said to me, "I will show you what these are."
The prophet asks the angel who channels the prophetic flow to him to explain what this vision comes to teach. And the angel answers him: "I will show you" - in the subsequent visions, I will show you and explain to you the meaning of the vision you have seen.
וַיַּעַן הָאִישׁ הָעֹמֵד בֵּין הַהֲדַסִּים וַיֹּאמַר אֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח ה' לְהִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּאָרֶץ׃ - And the man standing among the myrtles spoke up and said, "These are those whom Hashem has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth."
This does not mean that Alexander of Macedon himself is speaking, but rather, as the Malbim explains: the ministering angel of Greece was enclothed within Alexander of Macedon and spoke through him, as it were, and therefore appeared in the form of a man. And he answers, calling out aloud: "These are those whom Hashem has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth" - the Holy One, Blessed is He, granted dominion to these princes and dispatched them across the earth to conquer kingdoms.
וַיַּעֲנוּ אֶת מַלְאַךְ ה' הָעֹמֵד בֵּין הַהֲדַסִּים וַיֹּאמְרוּ הִתְהַלַּכְנוּ בָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה כָל הָאָרֶץ יֹשֶׁבֶת וְשֹׁקָטֶת׃ - And they answered the angel of Hashem standing among the myrtles and said, "We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth sits still and is at rest."
Among the tzaddikim of that generation stood the angel of Hashem - the angel appointed to watch over the Jewish people - standing guard over the myrtles, who represent the righteous, reflecting the verse, "Behold, the eye of Hashem is upon those who fear Him." And they, those officers mentioned earlier, report to him: "We have walked to and fro throughout the earth" - we have already established rule and dominion over the entire earth; "and behold, all the earth sits still and is at rest" - there are no more wars; everything has been subdued under our authority. There is also an intimation here that they would not harm Israel, for at first, Israel indeed resided in tranquility under the kingdom of Greece and did not suffer at their hands; only in the subsequent phase did tyrannical kings arise, such as Antiochus and his ilk, who inflicted severe hardships upon us.
וַיַּעַן מַלְאַךְ ה' וַיֹּאמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת עַד מָתַי אַתָּה לֹא תְרַחֵם אֶת יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאֵת עָרֵי יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר זָעַמְתָּה זֶה שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה׃ - Then the angel of Hashem spoke up and said, "O Hashem of Hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You have been indignant these seventy years?"
"And he spoke up" (Vaya'an) - an expression of raising one's voice, in the manner Chazal explained regarding the verse, "And you shall speak up and say: An Aramean sought to destroy my father," which denotes raising the voice. The angel raises his voice because he perceives that one night is departing and another night is arriving: another faction is destined to take power within Greece and cause us immense suffering - it is still part of Greece, yet a wicked king will arise from among them, namely Antiochus, who will severely afflict Israel. Seeing that the time of redemption has not yet arrived, the angel turns in supplication: Master of the Universe, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem? For if she was sentenced to wrath, You have already been "indignant these seventy years," and the time for redemption has arrived!
The Malbim notes a precision here: the word Atah ("You") seems superfluous - it would have sufficed to say, "How long will [You] not have mercy on Jerusalem?" However, wherever an explicit personal pronoun is added beyond the grammatical conjugation, it carries specific emphasis. The meaning is: You Yourself should show mercy, and not through an intermediary. Do not send emissaries, and we have no need for the mercy of Greece upon us.
וַיַּעַן ה' אֶת הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי דְּבָרִים טוֹבִים דְּבָרִים נִחֻמִים׃ - And Hashem answered the angel who spoke with me good words, comforting words.
The Holy One, blessed be He, responds to the angel with good words, informing him: Know that all the troubles you see here are for the benefit of Israel - until the angel was comforted. And indeed, we know that the length of the exile and the multitude of troubles are destined to turn into great consolations for the Jewish people, and the Redemption will be a universal redemption, bringing world righteousness and complete salvation; everything we suffer now is for the sake of the future Redemption.
Notice that the prophet does not disclose what Hashem said to the angel. What those good words were, what the consolations were, and what future promises were made - all of this remains concealed from us. He was not commanded to reveal this, but only to inform us that Hashem comforted the angel and told him that from all the troubles visible now, a great salvation is destined to emerge.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי קְרָא לֵאמֹר כֹּה אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת קִנֵּאתִי לִירוּשָׁלִַם וּלְצִיּוֹן קִנְאָה גְדוֹלָה׃ - So the angel who spoke with me said to me: Proclaim, saying: Thus said Hashem of Hosts: I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great zeal.
The angel instructs the prophet not to reveal everything he heard, but only to say this specific matter in the name of Hashem. "Proclaim, saying" - what was spoken until now you shall not proclaim, but this you must proclaim and publish in the name of Hashem. And what is it? "I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great zeal" - I have already displayed zeal for the honor of Jerusalem and for the honor of Zion, and this is what we see in that Hashem destroyed Babylon for the evils it inflicted upon Zion. It was a great zeal, and Babylon was almost entirely destroyed, and it was said of it that it would become a "perpetual ruin" - never to be rebuilt. We have already mentioned previously that those sites in Babylon where the royal palace once stood were never rebuilt, and ruins remain there to this day.
וְקֶצֶף גָּדוֹל אֲנִי קֹצֵף עַל הַגּוֹיִם הַשַּׁאֲנַנִּים אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי קָצַפְתִּי מְּעָט וְהֵמָּה עָזְרוּ לְרָעָה׃ - And I am exceedingly wrathful toward the nations that are at ease; for I was a little angry, and they helped for evil.
Now Hashem says: I am exceedingly wrathful toward the nations at ease, meaning Media and Persia. I do not harbor toward them the same zeal described in the previous verse, for that zeal was directed against Babylon which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash; these nations did not destroy the Temple, but I am wrathful toward them for halting its reconstruction. "For I was a little angry" - the anger I directed toward the Jewish people was slight, for the time of their remembrance to ascend to the Land had already arrived; "and they helped for evil" - they assisted the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, as recounted in Ezra and Nechemiah, accepting their slander and issuing a decree to halt the construction of the Beit HaMikdash, leaving the people of Israel in subjugation and plunder. Thus: I was only a little angry, and they went further and helped for evil by stopping the building of the Temple.
לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר ה' שַׁבְתִּי לִירוּשָׁלִַם בְּרַחֲמִים בֵּיתִי יִבָּנֶה בָּהּ נְאֻם ה' צְבָאוֹת וְקָו יִנָּטֶה עַל יְרוּשָׁלִָם׃ - Therefore, thus said Hashem: I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; My House shall be built in it, says Hashem of Hosts, and a measuring line shall be stretched over Jerusalem.
"I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy" - as it were, I was compelled to return to Jerusalem. Even though the appointed time of the ultimate Redemption has not yet arrived, I do so out of the attribute of mercy, because I see them in poverty and distress. "My House shall be built in it" - now the Temple will be rebuilt, so that they will have a place to pray, rectify their deeds, and bring about everlasting righteousness - which would have been the building of the Third Temple had they conducted themselves properly during the Second Temple era, as we discussed previously.
Now, the Malbim notes that at that time, permission was granted only to build the Temple, but not to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem; permission for that was not granted until the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, through the special authorization received by Nechemiah. It is regarding this that the prophet heralds: "and a measuring line shall be stretched over Jerusalem" - the measuring line that would delineate the perimeter for the wall, which would become the wall surrounding Jerusalem.
Notice the k'tiv (written form): it is written v'kavah (וקוה) but read v'kav (וקו) - the letter heh at the end is silent. The Malbim explains: kavah is related to tikvah (hope), as in "Hope (kaveh) to Hashem." From now on, you have hope: if your deeds are upright, you will be worthy of the building of the Third Temple.
עוֹד קְרָא לֵאמֹר כֹּה אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת עוֹד תְּפוּצֶנָה עָרַי מִטּוֹב וְנִחַם ה' עוֹד אֶת צִיּוֹן וּבָחַר עוֹד בִּירוּשָׁלִָם׃ - Proclaim yet again, saying: Thus says Hashem, Master of Legions: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and Hashem will yet comfort Zion, and He will yet choose Jerusalem.
"Proclaim yet again, saying" - proclaim to them and speak in the Name of Hashem. The Radak interprets "My cities shall again overflow with prosperity" in a positive sense: they will enjoy such an abundance of goodness and serenity that they will burst with prosperity, and the settlement will steadily grow, expand, and widen.
The Malbim interprets it in the opposite manner, seeing here a new announcement conveyed to the prophet: Know that this redemption is not the ultimate redemption. What you are about to experience now is merely one chapter in the sequence, not its conclusion. "My cities shall again be scattered from good" - they will once again go into exile; the Romans will come and scatter them anew among the nations, and the prosperity they currently possess will disperse and be drained out of the cities. Thus, this is the very opposite of Radak's explanation: according to Radak, goodness will multiply beyond measure, whereas according to the Malbim, they will be scattered from their cities into exile.
Yet alongside this comes the consolation: "And Hashem will yet comfort Zion, and He will yet choose Jerusalem" - know that after the war with the Greeks who abolished the service of the Beit HaMikdash, and after the final exile at the hands of the Romans who banished the people from Jerusalem, Hashem will yet comfort Zion. Jerusalem appears desolate right now, but Hashem says: I will yet choose it and build it, and they will return to it once again. In other words, everything you see right now is merely a stage, and the future holds far, far greater things in store.
In this prophecy, uttered on the 24th of Shevat in the second year of Darius - 59 days after the foundation of the Heichal was laid, corresponding to the 59 years of the Persian Empire - Zecharya sees a vision of the night: the empires of the exile. The red horse ridden by the man represents Alexander of Macedon, yet he stands still and is not pursued, standing among the myrtles - among the righteous, like the episode of Shimon HaTzaddik who went out to meet him and thereby saved Jerusalem. The red, sorrel, and white horses behind him represent his successors, some men of war, some lovers of peace, and some in between. The angel of Hashem who protects the righteous cries out, "Until when?", asking that the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself show mercy directly rather than through an emissary, and the Holy One responds with good and comforting words that were not revealed to us. What was made public, however: great zeal for Jerusalem and Zion, intense wrath toward Media and Persia who contributed to the harm by halting the building of the Temple, a return to Jerusalem with compassion, the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash, and the stretching of a measuring line over Jerusalem - where "kavah" evokes tikvah (hope). Finally, the momentous announcement: this is not the ultimate redemption, there will yet be exile and dispersion, but ultimately, "Hashem will yet comfort Zion, and He will yet choose Jerusalem."