"And your elder sister is Shomron, she and her daughters who dwell at your left, and your younger sister who dwells at your right is Sedom and her daughters." Now he spells out what we said earlier, that you are like your sisters. He says: your elder sister is Shomron, who sits to the left of Yehuda. As it is written of Yehuda that he shall stand on his border to the south, and the inheritance of Yosef was to the north of Yehuda. And this is what he says, and your sister to your right is Sedom. The plain (of the Jordan) was in the south of the Land of Israel, so it is considered to the right. So these are the sisters about whom I told you earlier, says the Malbim, that you act as they acted, you resemble your sister, and therefore you replicate the evil deeds she did. The Radak explains, your elder sister, why is she called "elder"? He is speaking of physical size, since we are speaking of ten tribes. Your elder sister refers to Shomron. As is known, the kingdom split in the time of Shlomo's son Rechavam, into Rechavam and Yeravam. Yeravam ruled over ten tribes, and Rechavam over two tribes. So it follows that if we want to describe (Shomron) relative to Yehuda, with whom he is now speaking, he speaks to them of their elder sister. Their elder sister is Shomron, which numbered ten tribes. So behold, see that your elder sister Shomron, she and her daughters who dwell at your left, you act as they do. "Yet you did not walk in their ways, nor did according to their abominations, but as though that were a very little thing, you were more corrupt than they in all your ways." "Yet you did not walk in their ways," Rashi explains, meaning: would that you had walked in their ways. Like "and not while I am yet alive," that Yonatan says, meaning: would that I were still alive. So too here, would that you had walked in their ways. You did deeds more abominable than theirs. "But as though that were a very little thing, you were more corrupt than they in all your ways." What does "a very little thing" mean? It has the sense of "in but a little while." "A very little thing" is a phrase that bears several explanations. Let us see a few of them. Rashi brings two, the Radak brings an explanation, and let us begin. Rashi says: "a very little thing," if your abominations had been before Me, that is, if you had not been more abominable than they, then your abominations would have been small and slight, that is, little before Me. But what can be done, that you were more corrupt than they. That is, I would have considered your abominations as slight and small, "kat" meaning small, had you not been more abominable than they. Some explain, "yet you did not walk in their ways," as if he says: their abominations were as a very little thing in your eyes. That is, you did not walk in their ways, meaning: certainly you did not walk in their ways, because you did things far more severe than they. And what they did was the "small change" for you. Their deeds were the minor sins in your eyes, while the severe sins were far more severe. So this is what he says, their abominations were as a very little thing in your eyes, and you did not regard them, they are few, rather "you were more corrupt than they in all your ways." You did corruption worse than theirs in all your ways. The Radak explains that "as a very little thing you were more corrupt than they" means: you stood in your righteousness for a very short time after the exile of Shomron. For Shomron was exiled first, and afterward Yehuda was exiled. The reality was that Shomron did much wickedness, and Yehuda acted wickedly after her, and since that is so, the exile of Yehuda was also later. So the Radak explains that in fact when we examine the sequence, we see that the exile of Shomron was in the sixth year of Chizkiyahu. There remained 23 years of Chizkiyahu's reign, and then Menashe his son reigned after him, and it is written of him that he acted more wickedly than all who were before him. And this is what he says here: those 23 years are the "very little" time you stood after the wickedness and exile of Shomron. Shomron was exiled and then, for but a very little while, a short time longer, you stood in your righteousness, and then Menashe arose and corrupted more than all who were before him.
Surely such a person will light Shabbat candles. But apart from that, in all the rest, may God have mercy. Now it is impossible to draw him close, he always remains somewhere very, very low. In contrast, the one who denies (God), tomorrow he will repent and he will be a ballistic missile shooting upward. The other will forever remain low. So if that is so, he says it comes out that what you did, joining God's Name with something else, as it were bringing an idol into the Sanctuary as one who helps and assists God in His governance, this is even worse than what your sister Shomron did. And therefore at the start he said "yet you did not walk in their ways." That is, ostensibly it would seem you have an advantage over them, for you have the Beit HaMikdash, you have faith in God, but afterward he says "as though that were a very little thing, you were more corrupt than they in all your ways." But behold, with you we see that in all your ways, including the ways of the soul, what you did was more corrupt and pushed you further from the possibility of repentance.
Note, in contrast, that this differs from Rashi's explanation, for in Rashi's explanation we explained "yet you did not walk in their ways" as "would that you had walked in their ways." By this he actually resolves the contradiction in the verse, for the verse contradicts itself from beginning to end. It says "you did not walk in their ways," and afterward it says "you were more corrupt than they in all your ways," you did more than they. So indeed the Radak says you did not walk in their ways, and Rashi too says would that you had walked in their ways, for you did far worse. But according to the Malbim's explanation, "you did not walk in their ways" means: it seemed as if you were better, since you also believed in God and had a Beit HaMikdash, but in fact this is worse. Thus the Malbim explains the contradiction within the verse.
"As I live, says the Lord God, Sedom your sister has not done, she and her daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters." As I live, says the Lord God, Sedom your sister has not done, she and her daughters, as you did. What does this mean? The Malbim says: Sedom were not deserving of punishment for idolatry. Why? Because Sedom did not receive the religion of God. Sedom did not receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. They did not possess the fundamentals of faith. As it is written, "which the Lord apportioned to all the peoples" (He allotted them, "hechlikan"). To Israel God did not allot; He gave them Torah. The nations are under the arrangements of the heavens, and it is written that they should sin thereby. The nations are placed under the arrangements of the heavens, so they are not deserving of punishment for idolatry and for commandments between man and God. And since that is so, the main wrath was not directed against them for that. And note, too, the people of Nineveh: when the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to overturn Nineveh, it was not because of idolatry. That was not the charge against them, for as we said, they had not received the Torah. Rather, the main charge was in matters between man and his fellow, which even basic decency demands and requires, which human governance demands and requires, and the gentile is required to conduct himself with human conduct. Even without the Holy One, blessed be He, the very knowledge that you must be a decent human being and act decently toward your fellow, for even a gentile is commanded regarding laws. One of the seven Noahide commandments is to establish judges for them, meaning to set up judges who will judge them according to their laws, but in any case that there be an orderly and organized society. That was the charge against Sedom. So then, see that you acted more wickedly than Sedom. As I live, says the Lord God, Sedom your sister has not done, she and her daughters, as you did, you and your daughters. For they were not charged with the matter of idolatry. They did not exchange their god, and you exchanged your glory for what does not avail.
"Behold, this was the sin of Sedom your sister: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of ease was in her and in her daughters, and she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." Behold, this was the sin of Sedom your sister. The Radak says: she had pride, fullness of bread and abundance of ease. That is, she had both tranquility and success. The Radak explains that she had fullness of bread and abundance of ease, meaning she dwelt in tranquility without threats around her, and this is connected to the matter of peace. What difference does it make to us that she had quiet? Why is it important to emphasize this? You come now to judge whether she acted wickedly or we acted more wickedly, why is it important to emphasize their situation? The Malbim explains: the sin for which they deserved punishment, as we explained earlier, is the sin between man and his fellow. "She did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." That was Sedom's sin. And this sin is very severe; it is not a "chet" (an inadvertent sin), for a chet is done in error. An "avon," as we have explained many times, the Malbim says, is a distortion of the intellect. An avon a person does deliberately and by counsel of the mind, not through foolishness following desire, but in his mind he decides that things should be conducted this way. And this was Sedom's matter, for Sedom made laws, made statutes. Therefore it is called an avon. And what might you say? Perhaps their economic situation was strained and forced them to prevent all sorts of people from coming and robbing them of the little they had, so they had nothing to give the needy. He says: "pride, fullness of bread." See that they were sated with bread in great abundance, no, not in scarcity. And what might you say? But it is quite possible that sometimes there is bread yet they fear battles, wars around them, and so they hold back, as it were, for a day of trouble. They put it in storehouses, who knows, tomorrow there will be some siege, we will need to sustain ourselves for a few years on what is in the storehouses. So perhaps you would say that for this reason they held back reserves of grain and therefore did not give to the poor around them. He says: see that she had abundance of ease. She had peace. And with all that, she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. That is to say, she had no reason not to strengthen the hand of the poor and needy, were it not for the sin, the intellectual distortion that says: why should I give of my own to others? They had wicked customs and corrupt laws among them, says the Malbim. For this was their law, not to do good to the poor and to those lacking bread.
The Malbim says: what is the difference between "shalev" (tranquil) and "shalom" (peace)? The Malbim says that "shalev" is internal, in contrast "shalom" is external. And we use this expression even today. He has peace with the enemies around him, and he is also a very tranquil (shalev) person. What does that mean? A person whose inner self is tranquil. A person who in himself has tranquility of soul. In contrast, when I speak of "shalom," I mean he has peace with those surrounding him from outside. He says: see that they had tranquility through quiet, that they had nothing disturbing them around. So why did they not give and did not sustain others? Only because of the wickedness of their heart.
"And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me, and I removed them when I saw." "And they were haughty," why did they commit abomination? Because of the haughtiness of heart they had. They felt that they were up there, they are lofty, why should they look at those lower than them? And through this he says "and I removed them when I saw." When I saw their deeds, I came and looked, "I will descend and see whether they have done according to its outcry that has come to Me," for the Holy One, blessed be He, sent His angels. As we know, those same angels who came to Avraham afterward went to Sedom. And then I saw that they committed abomination before Me. What is "abomination"? Abomination pertains to matters of forbidden relations. What abomination was there? It is brought that they wanted to bring the guests of Lot, God forbid, to intimacy. Therefore he calls this abomination, since there was here, God forbid, a matter of forbidden relations. God says: and they committed abomination before Me, and I removed them when I saw. I removed them when I saw, "saw" meaning when I saw their evil, I removed them, as it is written "I will descend now and see."
"And Shomron did not commit half of your sins, but you multiplied your abominations more than they, and you made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations that you have done." And Shomron, even though they, unlike Sedom, we saw Sedom had no charge of idolatry because they had not received the religion of God, but at least Shomron were present at Mount Sinai, they received the Torah from God, and they were at least deserving of punishment for the idolatry they did. He says: know that with all that, their deeds did not reach the deeds of Yehuda. And this is for three reasons, as the Malbim details. The Malbim says: first, "did not commit half of your sins." They sinned only in idolatry and in commandments between man and God. There was no theft, oppression, murder, sins between man and his fellow. That was not in Shomron. And when you count the sins of Jerusalem, there he counts many sins that are matters between man and his fellow and between man and God. And see that most of the sins, says the Malbim, that he counts there, "for the shedding of blood," "father and mother they treated with contempt in you," and so on, were not in Shomron. All these, says the Malbim, were not sins in Shomron. These were sins specifically in Yehuda. That is, we find, then, that in Yehuda there were sins of which "Shomron did not commit half your sins," sins in which Shomron did not even reach half. In matters of bloodshed it is written of Menashe that he filled Jerusalem with blood from end to end. This is a sin not mentioned regarding Shomron. So although in Shomron it is brought that indeed Achav was a murderer or a killer, and we saw the matter of the vineyard of Navot, but by and large the monarchy there was stronger, and there were not such severe sins between man and his fellow, mainly only between man and God. A further point, "but you multiplied your abominations more than they." The sins of Achaz and Menashe were greater, says the Malbim, both in quantity and in quality, than the sins of the kings of Yehuda. Here in the Malbim it is written "the sins of Achaz and Menashe were greater in quantity and quality than the sins of the kings of Yehuda." It seems to me this is an error, it should say "than the sins of the kings of Shomron." For here throughout he compares the sins of the kings of Yehuda to the sins of the kings of Shomron. And Achaz and Menashe were kings in Yehuda. Their sins were greater in quantity and quality than the sins of the kings of Shomron. "And you made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations." What does this mean? The evil deeds you did are so grievous that your sisters are considered righteous next to you. These are your sisters we spoke of earlier, Shomron and Sedom, "and you made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations." For you had the Beit HaMikdash, you had the Shechina, you had the Sanhedrin, you had miracles that were constant, which neither Sedom nor Shomron had. They did not have many prophets who rebuked them, in holy places where they were taught to fear God. All this was not there. And therefore it comes out that the sins for which you are charged are far greater than their sins. And Rashi explains, "you made your sisters appear righteous," Rashi says: since you acted more wickedly than they, you made them appear as righteous women. What does this mean? Now they have an opening to argue. They say: there are those who angered You, Master of the Universe, more than us. We are still all right. So this is "you made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations that you have done." You even gave them an opening for a claim of righteousness, to think that the deeds she did are still all right compared to the deeds of Yehuda.
"You also, bear your disgrace, which you have adjudged to your sister; through your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more righteous than you; be ashamed also, and bear your disgrace, in that you have made your sisters appear righteous." "You also, bear your disgrace." The Radak says: before you sinned you related to Shomron as wicked. You spoke of her with pride, as if we are all right and they, Shomron, are the wicked ones. As it is brought that Aviya king of Yehuda said to Yeravam king of Israel: "and with you are golden calves, but as for us, the Lord is our God and we have not forsaken Him, for we keep the charge of the Lord our God, and you have forsaken Him." Do you hear? Thus he spoke at first. We still walk with God, you pride yourselves that you walk with God while Shomron acts wickedly. Rashi says: before you acted more wickedly than they, you would say of them, they deserve punishment, they do very, very severe deeds. And afterward the Radak also says: we saw that most of the kings of Yehuda were better than the kings of Shomron, until Achaz. We see that Chizkiyahu repaired and improved what his father Achaz ruined. But from Menashe onward it is brought that they were evil and idol worshipers, except for Yoshiyahu. And if so, you ruined like Shomron. So it is fitting that you should be disgraced in your sins, that not only were you like her but, as we said, you were even more abominable than they. You even did abominations more grievous than Shomron. And now they are more righteous than you. And if so, now you deserve punishment for what you then boasted and said, they deserve punishment, look, they are wicked and you do like their deeds and even more severe than they. So now you deserve punishment for this.
The Malbim explains the matters and details them further. And the Malbim says that Jerusalem now receives rebuke from the prophet, and here he rebukes her on three matters. To explain the three matters the Malbim constructs a parable, and this parable, we shall soon see how it enters here within the verse and describes the reality of Jerusalem at that time. A parable to some judge of the land, before whom were brought two men of the lowest of the people. And the judge found their sin, that these two had cheated in commerce. They had false scales, weight and weight. They brought them before the judge for this sin, and the judge sentenced them, to punish them and to expel them in disgrace from the city. And behold, afterward it became known that the judge himself stole, robbed, and oppressed. In short, that for which he judged them, it turns out he did things even more severe. Well, who will judge the judge? Once it was possible even to judge the judge, it is not like today where there is a Supreme Court that can determine the law and the abominations and everything and there is no one to judge them. Once there was one to judge the judge. They judged the judge, they brought him before the king. When the case came before the king, first he said, we must fulfill upon this judge what he said about those two of the lowest of the people. The punishment he decreed for them, that punishment we will now do to him. And their sin was even lighter than his sin. His sin of theft, robbery, and oppression is not just cheating in weights. It is theft and robbery and oppression, far more severe. Therefore he commanded to punish him, to expel him from the city in disgrace. Afterward the king wanted to pardon the judge in the next stage, and he decided to give him another chance to judge these two men anew. Now when their case comes before him, what do you say, can he condemn them? After it became clear that he does not have a small basket of creeping things, he has a semi-trailer behind him. So can he now condemn them? When they came before him and he again hears the case and the judgment and the witnesses and everything, he says: yes, I think that under the present circumstances it is fitting to acquit these two men and declare them innocent in judgment. But understand that this matter was a terrible disgrace for him. For everyone knows how he judged them earlier. Everyone knows what his sin is and how he came now to judge them a second time. And if so it is a terrible disgrace that now he is commanded and in fact compelled to change the sentence he had decreed, and why? Because he himself is a criminal worse than they. Afterward the king commands to return the two men who were acquitted in judgment, he commands to return them back to the city. And note, in the course of returning them to the city, he commands to return the judge as well. This is the third stage. Well, since I am returning you and pardoned you regarding the first judgment, so now he commands to return the judge as well. And here the Malbim says this is already a third disgrace. Since alongside those two criminals, yes, he returns you, who are the father of fathers of criminals. That is to say, understand that the judge returns only alongside their return. And this is a further disgrace, that they preceded him in returning to the city and only afterward will he return. And it comes out that in fact they are better than him. The Malbim says: in these three matters he now reveals to us the disgrace and shame that Yehuda had. At first Yehuda judged Shomron and Sedom, said they are sinners, they are wicked, they deserve punishment. This is exactly like the judge who judged those two and determined that they deserve punishment. Afterward what turns out? That he sinned more, the judge. It turned out that Yehuda sinned more than Shomron and Sedom, as we saw above. On this he says "you also, bear your disgrace, which you have adjudged to your sister." The judgment that you adjudged, "pilalt" is from "pelilim," and pelilim means judgment. The judgment that you adjudged to your sister, that with which you judged her, now you will be judged with it. As we saw that the king punished the judge with the very punishment with which he judged them, punishment and expulsion from the city, so the judge himself was punished with this. So you too will bear your disgrace which you adjudged to your sister. What you judged your sister, now they will judge you as well. And why? Because "through your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more righteous than you." Through the sins in which you acted abominably, it now turns out that they are more righteous than you. And this is a further shame, for it now turns out that the judge himself committed greater sins. So you, Yehuda, as we saw above, committed greater iniquities and sins. A further point, afterward when God will restore their fortunes, then it is brought that God transfers the case of Shomron and Sedom so that she must vindicate them. And this is what he says, "be ashamed also, and bear your disgrace, in that you have made your sisters appear righteous." They are brought once more to judgment before Yehuda, what do you say about them? Now she must vindicate them. And this is as we said, this is the next stage with the judge, that they tell him: now judge them a second time. And when he judges them a second time he vindicates them, and this is a further disgrace, for everyone knows why you vindicate them, because you did things even worse than they. And this itself, as we said, is a further disgrace. And the third disgrace is that when I want to restore your fortunes, I will first restore theirs. "And I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sedom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Shomron and her daughters, and the fortune of your captivity in their midst." The further disgrace, that when I restore their captivity, that is the fortunes of Sedom and the fortunes of Shomron, he says, you I will restore only along with them. You will be in their midst. "In their midst" means along with them, together with them. Through them I will restore your fortunes, you will be secondary to them and dragged along after them. And this is the further disgrace they will have on this matter. What is "and I will restore the fortunes of Sedom"? Here it requires some understanding, for what, will they return, who will return? The gentiles, the wicked of Sedom, are they the ones who will return? For Shomron, one can understand, you speak of Shomron our brothers, Israel, the ten tribes, God will restore their fortunes. But when you speak of the people of Sedom, where wicked gentiles dwelt, what is "I will restore their fortunes"? So Rashi immediately explains, "the fortunes of Sedom," I will heal the land of sulfur and salt and settle inhabitants in it. He does not mean those wicked ones who were in Lot's generation, no. Rather the meaning is: I will restore the fortunes of Sedom, Sedom, whose entire land is today burned with sulfur and salt, a place unfit for settlement, the Holy One, blessed be He, says I will restore its fortunes, I will heal it of the sulfur and salt and settle Israel in it. "So that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, in that you are a comfort to them." Through this you will bear your disgrace, you will have disgrace over your evil deeds. A further point, "and be ashamed of all that you have done, in that you are a comfort to them." When you have to comfort them and vindicate them in judgment, you will have disgrace. Since you will want to comfort yourself over your deeds, to say it is not so terrible, how? Through your now judging them, as we said, the king gives them to you to judge a second time. And then you will judge them uprightly, as it were, that they were as if upright and honorable, you will find no sin in them. And all this is caused by your evil deeds. And through this you will have to comfort them and say, that is, to console yourself over the previous judgment and say that their deeds are correct. "And your sisters, Sedom and her daughters, shall return to their former state, and Shomron and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state." And your sisters, Sedom, shall return to their former state, this is the third shame, that Sedom and Shomron will return together with you and they will be the primary ones. And you and your daughters shall return to your former state, the third. The last to return to her former state, meaning you will come only after them, you will be as secondary to them and will not be like them, and this is the third disgrace they will have.
"Was not Sedom your sister a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram and all those around her, the daughters of the Philistines who despise you round about?" The Malbim and the Radak differ on how to understand "was not Sedom your sister a byword in your mouth." We will explain first as the Radak explains, and afterward we will see the Malbim's explanation. According to the Radak's explanation, he says to them as rebuke. The Radak says: you did not remember in your mouth the report you heard of the overturning of Sedom. For Sedom, they were haughty, and as a result the Holy One, blessed be He, overturned them. And in the day of your pride you did not remember in your mouth the report of Sedom. How, at the time you were haughty, did you not say to yourself: behold, come see how the end of pride is a downfall. That is, one in pride, his end is to be broken. So why was Sedom your sister not a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride? Why was she not a byword in your mouth, that you would proclaim and remember what happened with Sedom, that she was broken because of her pride, and behold, you now adopt for yourself that very way, and your pride today is your way. Why do you not remember what happened with Sedom and are not likewise concerned for yourself? The Malbim explains, here he goes more along Rashi's line. He says "bear your disgrace which you have adjudged to your sister," as we saw above, that same judgment you decreed for your sister for Shomron, they deserve it, they did evil deeds, they must be requited, that same disgrace and that same judgment you decreed for them, now you will have to undergo the same thing. The Malbim says: when did they ask that Sedom be disgraced? Where did we see such a thing that they asked that Sedom have a downfall? On this it is written "in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered, was not Sedom your sister a byword in your mouth?" The Radak too goes in Rashi's direction, that this is in the form of a rhetorical question. And was not Sedom your sister a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride? At the time your situation was good, when you were proud, when you were in an exalted state, was not Sedom a byword in your mouth? Did you not speak disparagingly of her? You said: behold, they are wicked, behold, they do such deeds, they deserve to be requited. So you spoke against them. Therefore he says to them "bear your disgrace which you have adjudged to your sister." So it is fitting for you now to bear the disgrace of what you hoped and expected they would have, now it will be yours. You always disparaged Sedom, says the Malbim, in every curse and imprecation. You would say: may He who exacted punishment from the people of Sedom exact punishment from so-and-so. That is, the example of a person or group most extreme, held up as a byword and a curse, was Sedom. Sedom was always heard in your mouth. As he says here, "before your wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram and all those around her, the daughters of the Philistines." Afterward, when your wickedness was uncovered, correspondingly the daughters of Aram and the daughters of the Philistines will reproach you. And why? Because you did the very deeds of Sedom. So just as you reproached Sedom and always said "may He who exacted punishment from the people of Sedom exact punishment from so-and-so," so now they will do to you. As at the time you reproached, so the daughters of Aram and all around her, the daughters of the Philistines, they too will reproach you. As it is written, "and they shall see the plagues of that land and its diseases, like the overthrow of Sedom and Amora, Adma and Tzevoyim." For the Torah describes that the downfall and destruction that will come here in the land upon Israel will be like the overthrow of Sedom and Amora. Because corresponding to what you always reproached against the people of Sedom, you did like their deeds. So it follows that the punishment of Sedom will also be your punishment. Although it will not be exactly an overthrow in the same sense as Sedom, but in sum you were exiled from the land. So this is what he says, Sedom was a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, just as you are a byword in the mouth of the daughters of Aram and the Philistines. The daughters of Aram and the Philistines now reproach you, just as you in your time reproached Sedom. And if so, this thing is fitting for you in justice. And this is what he says, "and all those around her, the daughters of the Philistines who despise you round about." "Who despise you" means those who disgrace you round about, thus you will have disgrace just as you disgraced Sedom.
"Your lewdness and your abominations, you have borne them, says the Lord." And with this the Malbim says, through this your sin will be atoned, your lewdness and your abominations, since I have already borne them, you have received the punishment for them in full, in that they reproach you and you are exiled, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I have borne them, you have already, as it were, paid the debt. "For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who despised the oath, breaking the covenant." God says: I dealt with you as you have done, I gave you evil according to your deeds, "you who despised the oath, breaking the covenant." That same oath you accepted upon yourself at Chorev, in passing into the covenant of the Lord your God, you despised that oath, you broke the covenant, you made an agreement with Me that you would fulfill My commandments, and you despised and broke that oath and covenant. Here there is a dispute between Rashi and the Malbim. Rashi says, "who despised the oath" that you accepted upon yourself at Chorev in passing into the covenant of the Lord your God, but I will not break My covenant so as to forget it, for I am not like you. I will not act like you, I will not break the covenant I have with you, even though you broke the covenant on your part. The Malbim, in contrast, says that now he comes and reminds them that the first covenant He made with them when He brought them out of Egypt was conditional. And the condition was that they keep the statutes, keep the commandments. And you transgressed the condition. And so God too will annul this covenant on His part. The Malbim says, unlike Rashi, that just as you broke the covenant on your part, the breaking of the contract is not one-sided. The moment the contract was broken on your part, then the other party too is not bound by the contract. And this is what the Malbim explains: what was written in the contract? The Land of Israel, the Beit HaMikdash, kingship. God says all this is if you uphold the conditions. But if you broke the covenant, then from the Land of Israel you will be exiled, the Beit HaMikdash will be destroyed, the kingship will be annulled, all of it depends on this covenant. And the moment you annulled the covenant on your part, the Holy One, blessed be He, says the covenant on My part is also annulled.
"And I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant." Note, what Rashi said seems to be proven immediately from the verse here. Rashi said: but I will not break My covenant so as to forget it. And this is what is written here, "and I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth." God says I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth. That is, ostensibly this verse proves like Rashi. But we shall soon see how the Malbim will explain it, and then we shall see that the Malbim too explains the verse according to his approach, that according to the Malbim's approach, on the contrary, God will annul the covenant. How does this fit here with the verse? Soon the Malbim will explain. The Radak says: you broke the covenant, but I will still remember it, I will not break it. The Radak goes in Rashi's direction. And this is the covenant I had with you in the days of your youth, this is the standing at Mount Sinai, and what Israel experienced in Egypt and afterward in the wilderness, all this is called "the days of your youth," "the kindness of your youth, your following after Me in the wilderness." This covenant of the standing at Mount Sinai and your following after Me in the wilderness, God says, this I will remember, this I will not break for you. "And I will establish for you an everlasting covenant." And just as you accepted this covenant forever, as it is written there that we accepted upon ourselves, for us and our children, forever, God says: so too I will make this an everlasting covenant that will have no cessation. And this is after you receive your punishments and remember the things you ruined and are disgraced by them, then the Holy One, blessed be He, says this covenant will be an eternal covenant. The Malbim explains that with all that, I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth when I brought you out of Egypt, and also the covenant I made with the forefathers. The Malbim says: the act of God cannot be entirely annulled. For all that God does shall be forever. And every measure of goodness that has issued from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, even conditionally, He does not retract. And therefore he says "and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant." Ah, but you said earlier that God would annul the covenant? He says He will establish for them a new covenant, which will not depend on a condition. And this covenant will endure forever. That is, says the Malbim, as I explained earlier, the covenant I made with you, that covenant will be annulled, since you annulled it on your part, I annul it on My part. So what is "and I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth"? I remember that covenant. It will be annulled, there was a covenant, it will be annulled, I remember it. What is the practical difference? That I will now make a new covenant with you. I will write a new contract with you, one that will not be annulled. So in fact there is here no contradiction to what the Malbim said, that the covenant will be annulled. God merely remembers this covenant that in the end was annulled, and now He will make a better covenant. Like a contract that will no longer be annulled. What will be special about this contract that will truly remain in force forever? The Malbim says, it is like what is written in Yirmiyahu chapter 31: "and I will make with the house of Israel a new covenant, not like the covenant I made with their fathers, which they broke, but this is the covenant" and so on, "and I will put My Torah within them," all will know Me from the least to the greatest. That is, the previous covenant was a covenant that, through the exiles, through the troubles, all these caused that in the end we strayed from the way, and the covenant was conditional. You strayed from the way, the covenant will be upheld (or not). But in contrast, here he describes a covenant that will be engraved on the tablet of their heart. For this covenant speaks of a state in which the evil inclination will no longer rule in their heart. So there is no concern that they will stray from the way, no concern that they will annul the contract. And then this cleaving will be a constant cleaving, with no concern of sin and no concern of annulment. And this is what he says, "and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant." This will be a new covenant, and this covenant will be eternal. Since already in this covenant, it is like a person who wrote a contract and in the first contract there were flaws, so afterward he writes a new contract that is smooth, has no problems, this contract will go through without any problem. So too here, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, since now you no longer have the evil inclination, and on the contrary My Torah will be engraved on the tablet of their heart, and this is what is written "and this is the covenant, I will put My Torah within them, all will know Me from the least to the greatest," then there is no concern that you will break the covenant, so it follows that the covenant on My part too will be an eternal covenant.
"And you shall remember your ways and be ashamed, when you take your sisters, those greater than you together with those lesser than you, and I will give them to you for daughters, but not from your covenant." This verse here is very puzzling, it is difficult to try to understand what he is speaking about. But the Malbim, as is his way, explains this verse according to what we saw above. The Malbim says: with all that, I will do one thing through which you will remember the previous evil deeds you did and be disgraced by them. How, what, what will that thing be? The Malbim says, let us return to the parable we saw above. We saw above, the Malbim brought us a parable about some judge, that this judge judged people for some fraud they committed, and afterward it turned out that he did much more severely than they, and then we saw how the king punishes the judge and judges him for what he did and removes him, and afterward in the end he brings them once more before him for judgment, and then the judge is forced to judge their case for pardon, for it was already revealed that he sinned in far more severe matters, and this is a further disgrace for him. And afterward in the end the king returns those whom he judged, even before he returns the judge. He returns them even before him, and this is a further disgrace for the judge. The Malbim says, let us continue this parable. After the king restored the judge to his place, having, as it were, paid his debt to society, after the king restored him to his place, the king wanted his sin always to be before his eyes. And why is it important that the sin be before his eyes? "And my sin is before me always." For when a person sinned and forgot, then there is no problem, he will repeat it again. And an error always recurs. So he will repeat it again. But when a person's sin is before him always, then he remembers, the last time I touched here I got such a burn, I will not touch again. That is, the memory of the sin prevents me from repeating it again. So here the king wants his sin to be before him always, that the judge always remember what he ruined. And therefore, note, the king commands that the two men who were restored with him to the city, whom the judge originally judged, will join him permanently, he will have to raise them, keep them like his sons. Through this he will permanently remember his sin, like them. And then he will remember the ruin he caused and how they restored him to his place and all the improper deeds he did, and through this reminder of sin he will be prevented from returning and ruining a second time. The Malbim says: so he says here too in the interpretation. God says to them: I will make for you a sign. What will be the sign that will remind you of your sins? "When you take your sisters, those greater than you together with those lesser than you, they shall be for you daughters, but not from your covenant." They shall be for you daughters, as we explained, that you will, as it were, raise them, and through this you will have a reminder of sin for what you ruined.
On this he says "so that you may remember and be ashamed, and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, when I pardon you for all that you have done, says the Lord God." So that you may remember and be ashamed, so that you may remember your way when I do good to you. And be ashamed, through this you will be ashamed to lift your face to Me. When I pardon you for all that you have done, I will forgive you for all that you have done, and then you will know that what you receive is not from what you deserve, but from the kindness of God toward you. The Radak says: when I establish My covenant with you, something you did not do, you will have shame in this. For behold, see, I broke the contract on my part, and the Holy One, blessed be He, did uphold the contract on His part. And this is according to the Radak and Rashi who do not speak of a new covenant, but rather the Holy One, blessed be He, says I will stand by the previous covenant. So this is a great disgrace, since I broke the contract in an infinite number of things, so it follows that the other party should break the contract on his part, what, I do not supply my part and the other party will uphold the contract in full? The Holy One, blessed be He, says, this will be a great shame for you. This will be a disgrace for you, you will remember and be ashamed, and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace. What is that "opening of the mouth"? The Radak explains, that until that time you had some opening, you had a claim that during the exile, what you suffered from the gentiles, all the sufferings, you would say: even if we sinned, we have already received our punishment. And we have already reached a state where, from all the punishments, through the length of the exile, there will no longer be redemption. You had an opening to come and claim that we are finished, our fate was decreed, there is nothing, we are finished, there will no longer be redemption. God says, when I establish My covenant for you, when I pardon you for all that you have done, you will no longer have an opening against Me, you will no longer have complaints against Me to say: that's it, God already promised and He does not fulfill, He said He would redeem and He does not redeem. Targum Yonatan says, "and you will no longer have (cause) to boast in the words of your mouth." He explains that you will no longer have (cause) to boast in your words. According to the Targum it is different. That, as it were, Israel felt they were of high standing and rank, and suddenly it becomes clear to them that everything will be only through God's kindness toward us, they will have disgrace and will not have honor. And behold, see all the evils you did, and nevertheless He dealt good with you. So it follows they will no longer boast, will not speak in pride and haughtiness.
The Malbim explains: so that you may remember and be ashamed, when I pardon you, you will be ashamed through the pardon. For you will see that you were pardoned, how? Through Sedom and through Shomron, as we explained earlier. They are the daughters that she took to herself, and behold, they are a reminder of sin always before her eyes. And on the contrary, they even preceded her in pardon. As we saw above, the Malbim explained that they will be redeemed even earlier. So their sins are in fact light compared to your sins. And then you will be ashamed of your previous deeds. I spoke of them in a manner of pride and said they deserve it, they acted wickedly, they did terrible deeds, and I afterward went and did deeds far more severe than they. This will be for us a reminder of sin, and therefore here, when God restores your sisters greater than you and gives them in your place, you will always see them and remember your evil deeds, and always the disgrace, the reminder of sin, the regret, this is the main component of repentance. And therefore here this is in fact what is required, that you have disgrace and shame.
Once, once a Jew came to Rav Steinman and told him some things he had done, God preserve us, and he wants a rectification for them. Well, the Rav heard what he had done, gave him some particular rectification. Such and such days not to eat meat, such and such this, such and such to learn. He gave him some rectification. Afterward he asked him: wait, Rabbi, if I do this, will it be atoned for me? Will it be erased, will the sin be erased? So Rav Steinman said to him: tell me, did you ever lose 1,000 dollars? He said to him: it is possible. He said: 500 dollars? 100 dollars? 50 dollars? Did you ever lose? He says: yes. He says: and did you feel distress? He says: yes. He says: if you feel distress over the sin you did like over the loss of the 50 dollars, he says, it is already atoned for you. See what a, how much, what a disgrace. Yes, over 50 dollars we hurt more than over some, oy, I accidentally turned on the light on Shabbat. Yes? Well, unintentionally. What "unintentionally"? Sir, if there were now a Beit HaMikdash, you would on Sunday go buy an animal for 3,000, 4,000 shekels, look for porters for another 600, 700 shekels to bring it up to Jerusalem, burning there a day, two days in offering the sacrifice, the Kohen would see that your heart is closed, he would tell the Levites to break out in song so that you would be broken. A person would hear the song of the Levites, would be broken, begin to weep, begin to regret, begin to confess. This, all this only because once by mistake you turned on the light on Shabbat. Once by mistake. So a person is anxious or a person hurts over the loss of a sum of money many times more than over the loss of the life of the World to Come, over evil deeds he did. So this is really the main point here. The main point here is your disgrace, "so that you may remember and be ashamed." When a person has shame, has distress, has disgrace from the sin, this is the essence of atonement. And therefore "when I pardon you for all that you have done, says the Lord God." Blessed be God forever, Amen and Amen.