Sefer Hoshea, Chapter 3: "And Hashem said to me: Go again, love a woman beloved of a companion and an adulteress, like Hashem's love for the Children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love flagons of wine."
We have already seen earlier an extensive dispute regarding the command in which Hashem instructed Hoshea to go and take for himself a wife of harlotry, Gomer bat Divlayim. There we saw differing views on how to understand the verse: Does this verse describe a vision that Hoshea saw in a dream - that he saw how he went and married that woman and the entire process there, with everything taking place in a dream, which was the Rambam's view? We also saw another explanation by Targum Yonatan, that there was no command at all to go and marry such a woman; rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Go and see what the Jewish people are doing, for they are like a woman who abandons her husband, etc., but there was no command whatsoever, even in a dream. And we saw those who explain that the matter is literal: namely, that the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Hoshea to go and take such a woman, have children with her literally, and then divorce her. All of this was done to show Hoshea that he had erred by speaking against the Jewish people. When Hashem said to him, "Your children have sinned," Hoshea replied, "Exchange them for another nation." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Is that what you say? Let us see how you handle this test. Thus, according to Chazal, everything there occurred in actual reality.
If so, the Alshich stands and asks: Is this command not considered baffling? Namely, this entire directive: "Go, love a woman beloved of a companion and an adulteress" - and in truth, the purpose is unclear to us. He notes that not only was the first an "eshet zenunim" (a wife of harlotry), but this one as well: regarding her too, it says "an adulteress," "beloved of a companion and an adulteress." Now, why is this question raised here? Because regarding the first, says the holy Alshich, Chazal state that it was a punishment for his saying, "Exchange them for another nation." But here, he says, we do not find that Hoshea spoke improperly so as to incur an additional punishment. What is this command now: "Go, love a woman beloved of a companion and an adulteress"? For what? Hoshea had spoken improperly and was already punished once! Not only that, says the Alshich, but we saw that Hoshea even rectified what he had done, as the Holy One, blessed be He, told him that in order to rectify what he had spoken against Klal Yisrael, he must pray for mercy on their behalf. We saw that Hoshea prayed for mercy upon the Jewish people - "And the number of the Children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea." That is to say, he had already managed to repair what he did. If so, he asks: Is his reward that he is commanded to take another harlot as a wife? Is this the reward Hashem grants him for rectifying his error and speaking favorably of the Jewish people?
Regarding the Rambam, he says that our early authorities already rejected the Rambam's view that everything was in a prophetic vision and not in actuality. Our predecessors rejected that opinion, and we see that the Gemara maintains the event took place in actual reality, unlike the Rambam's view, as explained in Chapter 1. Therefore, the Alshich suggests that one may say it was neither a mere vision nor an actual act of marriage. That is, he adopts a middle ground. He says it cannot be dismissed as a mere vision as the Rambam held, that everything was in prophecy. No. On the other hand, to say that he went and loved an adulterous woman beloved of a companion, etc. - he notes: notice that here it does not say to marry her! Here that is not stated. "Go, love a woman beloved of a companion and an adulteress" - and what was to happen with that woman? "And I said to her: Many days shall you abide for me; you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not belong to any man, and so will I also be toward you." What did he say to her? "Many days shall you abide for me, and you shall not belong to any man." But he did not say that he would live with her. That is what he means: he designated her for himself - she would not commit harlotry with others, nor marry another man, and he also said, "and so will I also be toward you," meaning I too will not marry other women. But it is not written that he was to live with her. By contrast, with the first woman, there was great disgrace in that the prophet had to take a harlot, marry her, and father children with her, which Chazal identified as a punishment. Here, however, he explains that there is no punishment for Hoshea, since in practice Hoshea was not required to do anything degrading. He was not told to marry her; rather, he was merely told: "You shall abide for me; you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not belong to any man, and so will I also be toward you" - I too will not marry another woman.
Targum Yonatan remains faithful to his approach there, interpreting the verse here similarly. Just as there he explained that this was fundamentally a message conveyed to the Jewish people, without any command to marry such a woman, so too here the Targum states: "And Hashem said to me: Go again, prophesy a prophecy concerning the House of Israel, that they are like a woman who is beloved by her husband yet strays from him." Go prophesy to the Jewish people and tell them that they are like a woman who is beloved by her husband yet commits adultery against him. The Jewish people are beloved to the Omnipresent, yet they stray, pursuing the Ba'alim. It turns out, then, that the entire statement here was neither a dream nor a command carried out in physical reality, but simply a prophecy in which Hoshea was to use an allegory when prophesying to the Jewish people.
The Malbim explains: After the first allegory, where we saw that he compared Israel to a married woman who strays from her husband, and commanded him to take a woman through marriage - namely, to take a harlot - here He commands him with a different instruction. He tells him: "Go, love a woman beloved of a companion and an adulteress." The Malbim points out: Notice that it says, "love a woman," not "marry a woman." That is, by way of affection, not by way of taking in marriage. The first one he took, married, and fathered children with her. Here, marriage was not mentioned to him, but rather: "Go, love a woman." Notice that her status here is also less severe. In the earlier passage, we were dealing with a married woman who betrays her husband, and whom he subsequently married. Here, this straying woman is unfaithful to her companion, not to a husband. She is an unmarried woman; she has no husband in marriage, but rather a "companion" (rea) - "love a woman beloved of a companion." This woman is not married; rather, she has a companion. But note: she is certainly debased, for despite having a companion, she commits adultery with others besides that companion, straying with others for hire. Thus she is certainly flawed, yet this is less severe than the earlier scenario involving a married woman straying from her husband. Although she is not called a "zonah" (harlot), the Malbim explains - because, as noted, she has no husband, and a "zonah" in this context refers to one who strays from her husband - there is nevertheless an undeniable betrayal of her companion. A "rea," the Malbim notes, whenever mentioned, signifies a relationship outside of marriage: the "rea" of a woman and the "ra'yah" of a man, says the Malbim, refer to a bond without kiddushin (formal betrothal). Unlike contemporary usage where "ra'yati" means "my wife," it is used here in the sense of a companion - she is my friend, as in "This is my beloved and this is my friend (vezeh re'i)," "Behold, you are beautiful, my companion (ra'yati)." "Ra'yati" stems from "rea," not from a married wife. Thus, "beloved of a companion" means that this woman has a companion or paramour, yet she betrays him by straying with others for hire.
What, then, is the nimshal (the lesson) here? The first mashal corresponded to when the Jewish people were under the direct hand of Hashem. They were in the Land of Israel, receiving their sustenance from Hashem; all bounty came from Hashem through individual divine providence. Yet, like a married woman, they strayed after the Ba'alim. Therefore, the mashal was of a married woman straying from her husband. Furthermore, she said: "I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink" - meaning she asserted that what she received was not from Hashem, not from her husband, but from her lovers, from idolatry: I pray to them, and they provide for me. Consequently, they went into exile. That was a very grave condition. Now, by contrast, the Jewish people can no longer be described as being in a state of marriage with the Holy One, blessed be He. They cannot be termed a woman straying from her husband, because she is no longer under her husband; we have been exiled. Since we are in exile, our current condition - after Hashem cast us out from before Him and severed the previous betrothal - is more accurately defined as "you are not My people." At that point, she is classified as an adulteress (menaafeis) rather than a harlot (zonah). For the Holy One, blessed be He, is in the role of a companion; she has no permanent husband, but she does have a companion. The Holy One, blessed be He, is our companion. As it is written, "You are the companion of my youth," the Malbim explains that although the Holy One, blessed be He, does not love her with the love of a husband, He certainly loves her with the love of a companion. Although His love is not public, nevertheless through hidden providence the Holy One, blessed be He, preserves the Jewish people even in their exile: "And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly and to break My covenant with them." Yet they, even in exile, stray from after Hashem. This is what the verse means: "Like Hashem's love for the Children of Israel, though they turn to other gods." "Like Hashem's love" is the nimshal of "beloved of a companion" - she is beloved of Hashem. We are beloved of Hashem. Hashem is not our husband, as it were, nor betrothed to us, but rather loves us like a companion loves his concubine. Therefore, He tells Hoshea, in order to construct an allegory for this: "Go, love a woman beloved of a companion."
The nimshal of "an adulteress" is that although she is beloved of a companion and that companion designated her for himself, she nevertheless does not reserve herself for him, but rather strays in her ways. That is, although the Jewish people are in exile, Hashem remains our companion; yet despite this, we turn to idolatry and false gods. Not only that, but the verse characterizes the Jewish people: "Though they turn to other gods and love flagons of wine." What does "love flagons of wine" mean? It means that when they turn to other gods, they are not on the previous level where the husband provided her sustenance, as we explained, and she pursued her lovers because she was convinced that sustenance came from them - that idolatry provided for her, as she assumed, saying, "they give me my bread and my drink." Now, in exile, their economic situation is impoverished, so she certainly has no steady sustenance - neither from her companion, nor from a husband, nor from anyone. She has no steady provisions, not even from her lovers! Rather, says the Malbim, she is like a lowly prostitute who strays for a mere cup of wine given to her by those who commit adultery with her. Previously, we spoke of full sustenance, which she merely misattributed to her lovers rather than to the Holy One, blessed be He. Now, she truly lacks sustenance. What remains? "They turn to other gods and love flagons of wine" - meaning she is bought cheaply, for a flagon of wine; they become her lovers through flagons of wine. The Malbim explains that "ashishei anavim" (flagons of wine) is a measure of wine, as in "Sustain me with flagons (ashishot)." Rashi quotes Menachem, who explains that it refers to goblets of wine. So too, the Jewish people in exile turn away from Hashem for a trifling matter, abandoning the Holy One, blessed be He, for meager gain. As it is written: "Because you did not serve Hashem your God with joy and with a glad heart for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies... in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of everything." That is, we turn away, yet what did we receive? We remain in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and absolute want. In the Land, they could at least imagine that idolatry provided for them, because they had abundance. But in exile, they receive nothing of substance. Nevertheless, she strays for a pittance: the nations buy her cheaply, and for the sake of currying favor with the gentiles, she is willing to engage in idolatry.
In fact, the Malbim notes that if you look closely, you will see this reflected in the very language of Scripture, for there is a distinction between a "zonah" and a "menaafeis" (an adulteress). The Malbim explains that the term "zonah" always denotes departing from the authority of her husband. This is why we consistently find the term "zenunim" (harlotry) used in reference to idolatry, because the Holy One, blessed be He, is, as it were, her husband, and the Jewish people "stray after them" (asher atem zonim achareihem), straying after idols. "Zonah" always implies leaving the domain of one's husband, and it refers primarily to a married woman. By contrast, the term "menaafeis" focuses on the act itself - the act of adultery. "Zonah" refers to her leaving the domain of her husband, whereas adultery is the concrete deed. Therefore, notice that here Scripture does not define her as a "zonah," because she is not married, as we explained. Hence, it defines her only by the act itself, and that act is "menaafeis."
"So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and a chomer of barley, and a letekh of barley." "So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver" - numerous midrashim are offered on the meaning of this verse. First, let us explain the plain meaning: he says that he acquired that woman for fifteen pieces of silver, a chomer of barley, and a letekh of barley. The midrashim here explain, as does Targum Yonatan: "And I redeemed them by My Word on the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan." "Fifteen" represents the fifteenth of Nisan, which is Pesach. The Holy One, blessed be He, says as it were: When did I acquire this woman, Klal Yisrael? On the fifteenth - I acquired them on the fifteenth of Nisan when I brought them out of Egypt. "And I gave the silver shekels as an atonement for their souls" - I gave them the atonement silver to atone for their souls. "And I said that they should offer before Me the Omer of elevation from the harvest of barley" - what is "a chomer of barley and a letekh of barley"? Namely, I commanded them to offer before Me the Omer, the waved Omer offering from barley. This comes to teach, as it were: I did not place burdensome demands upon them; I did not demand of them beyond their capacity, as in "My people, what have I done to you, and wherein have I wearied you?" I did not exhaust or burden them with impossible demands.
Let us see the Malbim's explanation: "So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver." The Malbim explains that the verse now depicts Hoshea as going and purchasing this woman we spoke of - the one beloved of a companion - buying her from her companion. And what does he pay? He gave fifteen pieces of silver for her. First of all, the Malbim notes: "Va'ekreh li" (So I bought her to me) - it does not say, "and I betrothed her to me." It does not say that he "took" her; "taking" (likuchin) denotes marriage. Here "taking" is not mentioned, nor does it say he married her. Rather, it says "va'ekreh li," which denotes a commercial transaction, an acquisition. The ketubah of a woman is fifty silver pieces, which is two hundred zuz, the bridal price of virgins. Here, by contrast, he bought her as one buys a maidservant. The set price of a maidservant is thirty silver pieces, and he bought her at the price standard for a bondwoman, as it is written: "If the ox gores a manservant or a maidservant, he shall give thirty shekels of silver." That is the value of a maidservant, not that of a free woman whose bridal price is fifty silver pieces. Similarly, regarding the valuation (erakhin) of a woman: as is known, when someone says, "The valuation of so-and-so is upon me," we determine the amount not by how much wealth the person possesses, but strictly by age: from one month old, from five years old, and so on. The halachah is that the valuation of a woman from age twenty to sixty is thirty shekels. If someone pledges the valuation of a woman aged thirty, forty, or fifty, the Torah's verses explicitly mandate thirty shekels. Thus, thirty shekels is the valuation of an adult woman, as well as the amount paid for a maidservant. Hoshea was essentially purchasing her like a maidservant or a concubine; he was not acquiring a married wife, nor a woman to marry. Now notice: if so, it should have said, "I bought her to me for thirty silver pieces." Yet the verse states, "So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver." "Va'ekreh" denotes commerce, as in "which I bought (kariti) for myself"; the Gemara states that in coastal cities, selling is called "kirah." Thus, he acquired her for fifteen pieces of silver. If thirty is the payment for a maidservant, why fifteen? The Malbim explains: when he takes this woman, he knows, "I do not have exclusivity over her." As we established, this woman is an adulteress. Therefore, he says, she is worth only half. She is not completely dedicated to me; she strays with others. She belongs to me and to someone else. If so, it is fitting to pay only half her value.
The same applies to her provisions: "and a chomer of barley, and a letekh of barley." The Malbim explains that he gave her a chomer of barley and a letekh of barley. A chomer is thirty se'ah; a letekh is fifteen se'ah. Since this woman is not his wife, he has no contractual obligation to support her as a husband does. When a man marries a woman, he is obligated to provide her sustenance. Here, he has no legal marital obligation to sustain her, for she is not his wife. Rather, she is treated like an impoverished woman whom he supports not out of legal duty, but purely out of grace and charity - just as one provides for a pauper. The Malbim cites the halachot of providing for the poor: "A poor person traveling from place to place must not be given less than a loaf worth a pundyon from wheat that sells at four se'ah per sela." That is what the Mishnah teaches. What amount does an itinerant pauper receive? A loaf worth a pundyon when four se'ah sell for a sela. Let us explain the calculation: a sela equals four dinars. Thus, one se'ah costs one dinar. A dinar is six ma'ot, and a ma'ah is two pundyonin. It follows that a single meal requires one-twelfth of a se'ah. In any event, a chomer is thirty se'ah, which suffices for 360 days of the year for the daytime meal. However, instead of bread made of wheat, he gave her barley bread, which is inferior, to signify that she eats the food of an animal - since barley is feed for donkeys, whereas wheat is food for humans. Now, that pertains to the daytime meal. Regarding the evening meal, the Malbim notes: observe that it says "a letekh of barley." As explained, a letekh is half - a chomer is thirty se'ah, while a letekh is fifteen se'ah. Why the difference? He explains that for her evening meal, he allotted only half the daytime portion, showing her: "I am not obligated to support you, giving you only half like a pauper." Why give half specifically in the evening? The Malbim explains: because in the evening she goes out to commit adultery with her paramours. Therefore, she is entitled to only half, and even that half consists only of barley, considered inferior. Incidentally, regarding the word "va'ekreh," the Malbim notes: What is the difference between "kanah" (acquired) and "karah" (bought)? An acquisition (kinyan) can take place without a seller, such as a man acquiring a wife through a document (shtar) or marital relations (bi'ah) - an acquisition without a seller. The verb "karah," by contrast, always implies a seller: "which I bought (kariti) for myself" means there was a seller from whom I bought. Here it says "va'ekreh" - he bought her from the hand of the companion, who sold her for money.
"And I said to her: Many days shall you abide for me; you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not belong to any man, and so will I also be toward you." He tells her: "Many days shall you abide for me." The Malbim notes: examine the word carefully - "abiding" (yeshivah) in reference to a woman means waiting and refraining from marriage. That is the meaning of "abide for me," for as explained, he did not marry her; rather, the intent is: refrain from marrying. This is similar to "Abide as a widow in your father's house," and "I shall not sit as a widow." We see that the expression "to sit/abide" means to delay marriage. Therefore, he tells her: "Many days shall you abide for me" - wait for me for many days. And during those days, "you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not belong to any man" - meaning you shall not go and marry anyone; you shall neither stray nor marry another man - "and so will I also be toward you." That means: I too will wait for you; I too will wait, for after many days I commit to taking you as a wife. What is the nimshal here? The Holy One, blessed be He, acquired the Jewish people, buying us, as it were, for fifteen pieces of silver. Why fifteen? The Malbim explains: It is written that during exile, the Divine Name is not complete - "For a hand is upon the throne of Yah (Y-H)." What is the numerical value of Yah? Fifteen! Thus, during exile, Hashem operates, as it were, only with half the Name. Furthermore, our sustenance is decreed only for a year at a time, for Chazal state that on each Rosh Hashanah the Holy One, blessed be He, decrees a person's sustenance anew. That corresponds to what we explained earlier, that the food is for 360 days, representing a year. This expresses the human condition of uncertainty, as it is written: "And you shall fear night and day" - which Chazal interpret as referring to one who buys grain for a single year. When one lacks long-term security, he is always anxious: What will I eat tomorrow? What will I have shortly? When the Holy One, blessed be He, sustains us only for a year at a time, we remain in perpetual uncertainty about our future sustenance. Moreover, He provides us with barley food, as it were, for in exile our nourishment is like barley; we do not sit by the fleshpots. Yet He commands us to wait for Him for many days. One might think: That woman might say, "Well, the one who purchased me is delaying, so I might as well do whatever I please." Hashem says: No, wait for Me for many days. The Holy One, blessed be He, promises: I will return to redeem them. Even though they are in exile and enduring hardship, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Wait, for the redemption will surely come, Hashem will redeem His people, and Hashem says, "and so will I also be toward you" - I too will wait for you. Therefore, during this period you are commanded not to stray or commit adultery with any man; you are commanded not to accept alien beliefs or adopt distorted, corrupt ideas from the nations among whom you live. For the Holy One, blessed be He, promises to redeem us: "And I will betroth you to Me forever." The Holy One, blessed be He, promises to return and take us as a wife.
"For the Children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod or teraphim." Now the verse explains the nimshal: The Jewish people will dwell for many days in exile - we have already been in exile for two thousand years. They will wait and hope that I redeem them. During these days there will be "no king" - we will have no king of the Davidic dynasty sitting upon the throne of Hashem, through whom we might behold Hashem's providence. "And without prince" - the Malbim explains that all the terms here signify that there is neither absolute Divine rule manifested, nor the rule of the Ba'alim and teraphim. Thus, there is no king from the House of David, which represents the kingdom of Hashem, nor is there a prince (sar) guided by the celestial sphere and constellations. Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Wait for Hashem. Do not say, "If I have no king, I will follow the planetary systems and celestial signs." That is why He said: "You shall not play the harlot, and you shall not belong to any man." "Without sacrifice, and without pillar" means: without sacrifice, for no sacrifices are offered at this time to draw down bounty from Hashem, since there is no Beit HaMikdash and no Temple service; on the other hand, there is also no pillar (matzeivah) - beware lest you say, "Since there is no sacrifice, I will sacrifice to idols." He says: No, abide for Me; there must be no pillar - do not erect pillars to the Ba'alim. "And without ephod" - we have no ephod, through which the Kohen would discern the future; nevertheless, Hashem also warns us: "and without teraphim" - do not consult teraphim to divine the future. In other words, our condition in exile is one of being in suspense: normally, either one is under Hashem's domain or under that of the nations. But in exile, the Holy One, blessed be He, warns us: Know that you are in the status of one beloved by a companion - referring to Knesset Yisrael. There is a companion who loves you and promises to marry you; and during all this time, though you are not yet fully united with your companion in marriage, you are warned not to stray with others, not to cast eyes toward idolatry. Therefore, He informs them of this in advance so they understand that this test is neither simple nor easy.
And this is what the verse states: "without ephod or teraphim." Chazal teach, in the words of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: Israel despised three things in the days of Rechavam: the kingdom of the House of David, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Beit HaMikdash. And this is what we recite in the Vidui (confession), and all three of these we seek, based on this statement of Rashbi. In the days of Rechavam, son of Shlomo, when Shlomo passed away and Rechavam succeeded him to reign, the kingdom was divided between Rechavam and Yeravam - Shomron and Yehudah. At that time, they rebelled against the kingdom of David, deserting Rechavam and turning to Yeravam; they rebelled against the Kingdom of Heaven and rebelled against the Beit HaMikdash. As Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya said - for they did not go to offer sacrifices, but made golden calves for themselves - Israel will see no sign of salvation and redemption until they return and seek all three. This is what the verse says: "Afterward shall the Children of Israel return." Let us read our verse: "Afterward shall the Children of Israel return, and seek Hashem their God, and David their king; and they shall thrill toward Hashem and toward His goodness in the end of days." When will the Jewish people return? When will they be redeemed? When they return and seek their God - that is the Kingdom of Heaven; and David their king - literally, meaning we who rejected the Davidic dynasty will seek the Davidic monarchy; "and they shall thrill toward Hashem and toward His goodness" - that is the Beit HaMikdash, as it is written: "this good mountain, and the Lebanon," yearning for the Beit HaMikdash to be restored to us. Regarding this, the Malbim explains: "For the Children of Israel shall abide many days" - without a king from the House of David; "without sacrifice" - that is the Beit HaMikdash; "without ephod" to tell the future through Ruach HaKodesh, for the ephod spoke through Ruach HaKodesh, deriving from the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus we lack the Kingdom of Heaven, not bearing the yoke of His sovereignty and not inquiring of Hashem. Correspondingly, they will have no prince, pillar, or teraphim, which are the idolatrous counterparts to these three, warning them: Even though you are not visibly under Hashem's hand, do not seek broken cisterns that can hold no water! "Afterward shall the Children of Israel return, and seek Hashem their God" - referring to the Kingdom of Heaven. We will seek the Kingdom of Heaven; the Radak explains that this will occur in the end of days, close to the time of salvation, when the Children of Israel repent. It is regarding this that the prophecy says: "Afterward shall the Children of Israel return." Then they will seek "David their king" - the kingdom of David; "and they shall thrill toward Hashem and toward His goodness." What is the meaning of "they shall fear/thrill toward Hashem and toward His goodness" (ufachadu el Hashem ve'el tuvo)? Especially since fear does not seem to connect to goodness: Does one fear goodness? One fears something bad! What does it mean to fear toward Hashem and His goodness, particularly when describing an exalted, positive state where the Jewish people have already returned to Hashem and sought their God? Why speak in terms of fear? The same question is asked regarding the High Holiday prayers. There we pray: "May every creature know that You have created it, and may every formed being understand that You have formed it, and may everything that has breath in its nostrils declare: Hashem, the God of Israel, is King, and His kingship rules over all. And therefore, instill Your fear, Hashem our God, upon all Your works, and Your dread upon all You have created." People ask: What does this mean? Why pray for fear? Why ask for dread? On the contrary, we are speaking of an era of close connection to Hashem, when all of Israel will fulfill Hashem's will! Why ask for fear, which usually connotes dread, terror, or paralysis? The Malbim explains: You must understand the nature of the fear mentioned here in "they shall fear toward Hashem and toward His goodness." The Malbim explains that they will tremble with anxious yearning that He restore His goodness and His Shechinah to Zion - namely, the Beit HaMikdash - that He may dwell among them once more. The Malbim explains that this is a fear bound up with hope: I am anxious and fearful lest my hope remain unfulfilled. That is the fear spoken of here, not terror of someone. Just as when someone promises, "I will pay you," and the person says, "I am terribly afraid he will not end up paying." Who is frightening him? It is fear born of eager hope: I so deeply hope it will happen that I tremble at the possibility it might not. That is the meaning of "fear" here, not an overwhelming dread. Thus, "and they shall fear toward Hashem and toward His goodness" means they will harbor an anxious yearning: May Hashem finally restore the Beit HaMikdash to us, rebuild the Chosen House, and return His Shechinah! And so it shall indeed be in the end.