Sefer Yechezkel, chapter 23. "And the word of Hashem came to me, saying: Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother." Let me read a few pesukim to enter the subject. "And they played the harlot in Egypt, they played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed, and there their virgin bosoms were handled. And their names were Oholah the elder, and Oholivah her sister; and they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names: Shomron is Oholah, and Yerushalayim is Oholivah."
The chapter here will deal with the two parts of the nation of Israel, namely Shomron and Yehudah. As is well known, the nation of Israel split; the kingdom divided after the death of Shlomo into the kingdom of Rechavam and the kingdom of Yeravam. Yeravam ruled over the ten tribes, while Rechavam ruled over Yehudah and Binyamin. And we know that the kingdom of Yeravam was a wicked kingdom throughout the generations, throughout the entire era, until the exile. In contrast, the kingdom of Yehudah knew ups and downs; there were righteous kings among them, and there were also wicked kings. And here the Holy One, blessed be He, so to speak, describes these two kingdoms as two women, with Hashem yitbarach.
We need to know that the nation of Israel, when we received the Torah, we see there an expression that the nation of Israel is in the aspect of the wife, and the Holy One, blessed be He, who gives the Torah, is the beloved. This is the expression that recurs many times, both in Shir HaShirim and in many other places, that so to speak the Holy One, blessed be He, took us as a wife, the Holy One, blessed be He, took us to Himself as a people. Therefore we see many expressions when He speaks of the separation between us and Hashem, such as "the bill of divorce of your mother whom I sent away." We see an aspect of distancing; this is the aspect of a get. Likewise we see that when the nation of Israel goes after the Baalim, this is expressed by the concept of harlotry, like a woman who commits adultery under her husband, going to other husbands, going to other people. We see that this is the expression that conveys the bond and connection between us and Hashem. And this is also the matter of the standing at Har Sinai, "He held the mountain over them like a barrel"; the mountain like a barrel is the aspect of a chuppah, He gathered them under the chuppah.
We already once explained that this was also the reason the Holy One, blessed be He, coerced them to accept the Torah. If you accept the Torah, good, and if not, there will be your burial place. Seemingly they had already said "we will do and we will hear," so why was it necessary to coerce them? A famous question upon which many answers have been given. One of the answers, I believe it is the Maharal's, is that after coercion he may never send her away all his days. And through the fact that there was here an aspect of coercion, this guarantees that the nation of Israel will never be severed from the Holy One, blessed be He. This is a marriage that will never separate. Therefore when the nation of Israel came and claimed "Hashem drove us away," Hashem said to them, which bill of divorce of your mother did I send away? I never drove you out. So indeed I distanced you, but there is no divorce here. For it is impossible to become distant from the Holy One, blessed be He; the nation of Israel is Hashem's people forever.
Here our chapter will express the reality of Shomron versus Yehudah as two women, one woman being more rebellious and the second woman less so, but in any case both of them played the harlot away from their husband. Two women, so to speak, of one husband. And here He wishes to tell you, so to speak, that both Shomron and Yehudah both corrupted themselves and abandoned the Torah of Hashem. Only that one is worse and one is less bad, and shortly we will see this expressed both in their names and in the descriptions of the deeds that they did.
We have also spoken more than once that the matter of harlotry appears frequently in Scripture in connection with idolatry. When one wishes to describe idolatry it is expressed with the expression of harlotry. "And they played the harlot after the Baalim," and more, "after whom you go astray." We see the expression of harlotry regarding idolatry. So one explanation, as we just explained, is very logical, since if the connection between us and the Holy One, blessed be He, is a marriage bond, then when the wife corrupts her ways to go to another husband, this means that she committed adultery. So too, departure from Hashem's hand is called harlotry. But we have brought more than once the words of the Vilna Gaon, who says that we have a tradition that beside every house of idolatry there was a house of harlotry. And the reason was that through their holding gatherings of harlotry there, the priests would draw the believers to come and attach themselves to them. And this too was one of the things that attracted those who were here, since the Torah is very, very restrictive in matters of holiness, the God of these people hates immorality, whereas here, in contrast, with the Baalim, on the contrary, how wonderful, this is their worship, this is how one must serve them. And then through this the priests would draw the masses to come and worship idols. So their way was through harlotry. Therefore the parable of harlotry very much fits the matter of idolatry.
Good, after the introduction let us now look at the pesukim. "And the word of Hashem came to me, saying: Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother." As we said, He compares the kingdom of Ephraim, which is the ten tribes, and Yehudah to two women. And then, "And they played the harlot in Egypt, in their youth they played the harlot. There their breasts were pressed, and there their virgin bosoms were handled." Already back in Egypt they began to play the harlot away from Hashem, as we saw that the prophet already mentioned this earlier. But then they still had three justifications for their deeds. First: what do you want? What is such a son to do and not sin? You placed them at the entrance of a house of harlots, this is what they will do. They were in Egypt, and Egypt is a place of immorality, Egypt is called the nakedness of the land, "like the abominations of the land of Egypt you shall not do," the greatest abominations were in Egypt. So, Egypt is full of abominations, obviously we too deteriorated.
The second matter: "in their youth they played the harlot." The harlotry was through the boiling of desire and the shortness of intellect that is in the days of youth. These are essentially the two characteristics of a youth: the boiling of desire and the shortness of intellect. Yes, how did a great man put it? He said, if now in my old age I had the strength I had in my youth, or if in my youth I had the intellect I have now in my old age, he said, I would look completely different. Do you understand? That is, the problem of the young fellow is that he has much strength but no intellect. So what does he seek? Foolishness. When a man matures, thank God he acquires intellect, but listen, there is no more strength; go now and start to toil and exert yourself. If it had been somewhat combined, he says, I could have reached very high. So there in Egypt they were in their youth. "In their youth" is an expression for the reality of the nation still in its infancy. The nation is not yet established in its faith, not yet established in its cleaving to Hashem, they had not yet received the Torah. So first, "they played the harlot" because it was Egypt, which is a place of immorality. Second, it was "in their youth," when we had not yet received the Torah, had not yet acquired faith.
The third justification: "there their breasts were pressed." These matters, these expressions that He mentions here, are expressions intended to arouse the desire of intimacy. And the Egyptians would mislead them through their deeds and their customs into idolatry. In simple words, they would entice them to it. Just as the matter of enticement regarding a daughter, so too they enticed Bnei Yisrael to come and serve idols. "There their breasts were pressed, and there their virgin bosoms were handled." What is "their virgin bosoms were handled"? According to the Radak, and so most of the commentators, it is a doubling of the matter in different words. For according to their approach, "their breasts" and "their bosoms" are essentially the same word. Only that, as is known, the Malbim never has the concept of a doubling of the matter in different words. Therefore the Malbim has a line that he explains in several other places, that "their breasts" is not "their bosoms." And he explains that "their breasts" is as it plainly means, and "their bosoms" he explains as referring to the place of virginity. Therefore he says "there their virgin bosoms were handled." The bosoms are connected to virginity, not connected at all to the upper part. And this is also what he explains regarding what is written in the pasuk in Mishlei, "let her bosoms satisfy you at all times," etc.; there he explains this principle.
According to the words of the Radak, what did He essentially wish to tell us here? The Radak explains that the breasts are a parable for the mitzvot, which they inherited from the forefathers, from Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him. And these days were the days of virginity. The days of virginity means that they were still at the beginning of the path, the nation of Israel had not yet received the Torah. And this is what they wished to nullify from us in Egypt. So regarding this it says "there their breasts were pressed, there their virgin bosoms were handled." "Handled" is from the language of pressing, yes? Like "and you shall trample the wicked," pressing and crushing, as the Malbim says. And this is also the source of the word "dough," for one kneads the dough. And this is also the source of the word "kneading-trough" (arisah) in Scripture. Why, from where was the resh added? "The first of your dough." The Malbim says, do not be surprised; we see this in other places where there is an added resh and it does not change the meaning of the word. Like "shevet," which is a staff, and also "sharvit," which has an extra resh added. Like "saif," which means a branch, and also "sarif," which is likewise an expression for a branch. And so it is in several other places. So too here, in our case what is written "handling," "to press" or "arisah," the intention is the same intention, referring to dough.
"And their names were Oholah the elder, and Oholivah her sister; and they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters, and as for their names: Shomron is Oholah, and Yerushalayim is Oholivah." "And their names," He tells you, already back then, even when I speak with you from the beginning of the path, already from Egypt, already back then they were divided in their names. Because there were tribes that were more devoted to the Torah of the forefathers, like the tribe of Levi who did not serve idols in Egypt, did not annul circumcision, and also Yehudah was holy to His sanctity; we see that they were more attached to Hashem. They were called Oholivah. Why Oholivah? "Oholi," My tent, "bah," in her. Hashem dwells within them. They were Hashem's. "My tent is in her." These were, as I said, Yerushalayim, Oholivah. These were Yehudah, these were the tribe of Levi and Binyamin as well. The rest of the tribes, Shomron, Oholah. They were called Oholah. What is Oholah? "A tent for herself." Not "My tent is in her." She has a tent by herself. This is Oholah. These were the rest of the tribes.
Who was the elder? Oholah the elder. The "tent for herself" of the rest of the tribes is the elder sister, they were the majority. And with all this, He says, "and they became Mine." With all this, both of them, both, "and they became Mine." That is, He did not take to Himself as a wife only Oholivah, but both of them, "and they became Mine." Hashem betrothed both of them at the giving of the Torah. "And they bore sons and daughters," they were fruitful and multiplied in the land of Israel, and then they divide into two kingdoms. And although in Egypt we see that they were already divided in their names, afterward both of them were called by one name. See that afterward He says, "and they became Mine and they bore sons and daughters." He says that afterward they became Mine as one. And they bore sons and daughters as one. There was no difference between them. Because we are speaking here in the first stage, in which in the first stage they were still united, the kingdom had not yet split. The kingdom of Shaul, the kingdom of David, the kingdom of Shlomo. "And they became Mine," they were one aspect. Until, afterward, in the days of Yeravam, then they split, they began to serve, Oholah began to serve the Baal, and then they were called by their names. Therefore He tells you, "and as for their names, Shomron is Oholah," this was in the next stage. They split, so that Shomron was called Oholah, whereas Yerushalayim was called Oholivah. Shomron distanced itself completely from Hashem, they made themselves calves and did not go up for the festivals, and distanced themselves completely. And Yerushalayim was the kingdom of Yehudah, there the Mikdash of Hashem still remained. "My tent is in her," the tent of Hashem and His dwelling were still in Yerushalayim.
"And Oholah played the harlot when she was Mine, and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians, who were near." From the time Oholah played the harlot with idolatry, she went and mingled with the nations of the lands, until finally "and she lusted," "and she lusted after her lovers." She went and lusted. Lusting, the Malbim explains, is among the things preceding harlotry, that which arouses harlotry with desire. This is called acts of lust. And the Radak already brings that "and she lusted" refers to desire, like "those who lusted rejected you" and the like. And he brings in the name of his father, my master, my father of blessed memory, that everything found in this language is in the matter of the desire of harlotry. And he writes that therefore the poets erred who placed this word in the matter of desire for God, blessed be He. There are some of the poets who used this word to express connection and bond to Hashem yitbarach. The Radak says in the name of his father that this is a corruption. Since this expression is always an expression for something negative, for the matter of harlotry, and is not connected to matters of holiness. And in this too is the source of the expression "songs of lust" and all sorts of things of this kind whose matter is the desire of harlotry. "And she lusted after her lovers," meaning that she engaged with them in matters of desire and harlotry. And who are these, her lovers? The Malbim says, these are the sons of Assyria. The sons of Assyria were near. He calls her lovers, "the Assyrians who were near." Why were they called near? Near because they came to the land, therefore they were called near. According to the Radak, what is written "near" means that although they were far, she made them near. Or an additional explanation, what is the meaning of "near"? He says we see that Achaz sent to the king of Assyria, "I am your servant and your son." He became for him a relative, he became like his father. I am your son. So this is what he means, "near." You went and made Assyria as though he were your relative. And then he said to him, "come up to me and save me," and then he took the form of the altar from Damascus, said the gods of the kings of Aram help them, I will sacrifice to them and then they will help me too. And he says these were the ones who turned to the Assyrians who were near. And the Malbim says, this was in the time of Menachem, Menachem ben Gadi, who gave Pul king of Assyria a thousand talents of silver to strengthen the kingdom in his hand, so that he would help him continue to hold the kingdom against the enemies.
Rashi says, why does He compare them to an adulterous woman? Because if you had served the Holy One, blessed be He, you would not have needed the kings of Assyria. Why do you need those adulterers to receive from them my bread and my drink? Because you abandoned the husband, who is the Holy One, blessed be He, the true husband, who is Hashem. If you had turned to Him, you would have received all your needs properly. But you rejected Him, therefore you went and sought for yourselves other relatives.
What drew them to Assyria? "Clothed in blue, governors and prefects, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding horses." What drew them? Why did she lust after the sons of Assyria? If from the beauty of the garment, since they were all clothed in blue, a very special garment. If from their rank, that they were governors and prefects, they were important people. If from their beauty, all of them desirable young men. "Desirable" is from the language that whoever sees him covets him in his heart. And if from their might, horsemen riding horses. "And she bestowed her harlotries upon them, the choicest of the sons of Assyria, all of them, and with all upon whom she lusted, with all their idols she defiled herself." "And she bestowed her harlotries upon them," Rashi says, a heart of adulteries and a spirit of harlotries she placed upon them, she desired them. "And with all upon whom she lusted, with all their idols she defiled herself." With all the idolatry that they had, she learned from their ways and was defiled by them. It is written that there were 365 kinds of idolatry, and each day they would worship a different idol. And it is written that they brought them the idols from all the nations that were around them. Everything they saw, every idol they saw outside, they went and adopted it. No matter what, iPhone, Galaxy, everything, they took everything. Everything, whatever idol they saw at a gentile's, they adopted it immediately. "And she bestowed," the Malbim explains, afterward, when it speaks here "and she bestowed her harlotries upon them," this speaks of the days of Hoshea ben Elah, when he went and became a servant to it and did according to their abominations.
"And her harlotries from Egypt she did not abandon, for they had lain with her in her youth, and they handled her virgin bosom, and poured out their harlotry upon her." "And her harlotries from Egypt she did not abandon." That is, we saw that all the harlotry began already from Egypt. Thus we saw at the beginning, and then they still had a justification, since Egypt, as we saw, was the nakedness of the land and there are the other matters we mentioned. He says, do you think they abandoned them? They did not abandon them. "Her harlotries from Egypt she did not abandon," for they also relied now on the kings of Egypt. As we saw with Hoshea ben Elah who sent messengers to So king of Egypt so that he would come and help him. And the prophet rebukes them and says to them, you lean on Egypt which is a support of a crushed reed, which pierces the hand of everyone who leans on it. But this did not prevent them, they went to lean on Egypt, that is, to play the harlot with Egypt. "For they had lain with her in her youth," already from back then, "and poured out their harlotry upon her," the desire of harlotries was hers even from her practice toward Egypt. The Radak explains that although she learned idolatry from Assyria, she also did not abandon what she had learned in the past from Egypt. All the idols and the sorceries, everything they had from before, in this too she continued. For they were the first who taught them all kinds of idolatry and the kinds of sorceries of various sorts. According to the Radak, therefore it turns out that what is written here "her harlotries from Egypt she did not abandon" refers to the past. Although now she brought idolatry from Assyria, this does not mean that because of this she abandoned the idolatry that she had in the past from Egypt. From this and from that do not withdraw your hand. What was before remained with them, and they also took for themselves additional idolatry from Assyria. What is "and poured out their harlotry upon her"? They taught them many teachings. And this "poured out" is like something poured out, yes? Meaning to say in a large quantity, in abundance, so this is "and poured out their harlotry upon her."
The Malbim says, we saw here several conjugations and expressions of harlotry. The Malbim says, there is a difference between "zenut" and "taznut" and "zenunim" and "zimah." The Malbim says, "zenut" is ordinary harlotry. "Zenunim," since there is here a doubling of the letter nun, this comes to show the matter of the persistence of harlotry. And we always spoke once that in Lashon HaKodesh when a certain letter appears twice, this indicates the strengthening of the matter. "Petz" is a break, "potzetz" is to break into parts. "Par" is likewise an expression for breaking, "porer" is to crumble it into finer parts. And so on, we see this endlessly in Lashon HaKodesh, that when a certain letter is doubled, it indicates the doubling of the matter. So here too "zenunim" shows the persistence of harlotry. And this too is in public, like "take for yourself a wife of harlotries and children of harlotries." "Taznut" shows that he not only corrupts himself, but pours out his harlotry upon others, like causing others to commit harlotry with him. Therefore this is called "taznut" toward others, activating the others. "Zimah," we know that "zimah" always relates to thought. Like "zamam," something he schemes in his head and in his thought, this is always the expression of "zimah." So here too "zimah" shows the immersion of thought in harlotry. Not merely harlotry, but he also sinks into it in his thought. The Malbim says, and with this you will understand the variations of language in this passage.
"Therefore I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria upon whom she lusted." Hashem says, since this is so, I will give you into their hand. What did this thing cause? That afterward we see that the king of Assyria regarded them as those who rebelled against him, and following this Sancheriv came and exiled them. Since she lusted after Assyria and thought that from it salvation would sprout for her, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, I will deliver you into their hand. They themselves will strike you. When? When they thought that we had gone to receive, when they saw that we had gone to receive protection from Egypt, ah, so you no longer accept Me, you want to shelter yourselves under Egypt. Assyria came here and exiled them. And incidentally we see from this that whoever rebels always rebels. That is, to rely on a rebel, one cannot rely. Many times people far from mitzvot do not understand this at all. They, may Hashem have mercy, form a connection with a woman, that this woman is a married woman, fine, but she has problems, she has this, and following this she divorces and marries him. And what happens afterward? She does the same thing to him too. For whoever rebels always rebels. So why, why do you think, having taken someone who is not faithful, why do you think that to you she will be faithful? Foolishness and vanity. So too here, they were not faithful to Hashem their God, they played the harlot after Assyria. So what do you think, that with Assyria it will indeed be good? From Assyria they will play the harlot to Egypt. They abandoned Assyria and went to receive protection from Egypt. And then Hashem says, I will deliver you into his hand. Now Assyria will strike you. He will punish you for having gone and abandoned him in order to go to Egypt. Sancheriv came and exiled them.
"They uncovered her nakedness, they took her sons and her daughters, and her they slew with the sword. And she became a byword among women, and judgments they executed upon her." "They uncovered her nakedness," the king of Assyria came and conquered the land here, exiled her sons and daughters, exiled them to Chalach, Chavor, the Hara, the river of Gozan. "And her they slew with the sword," they killed most of them by the sword, they completely abolished the kingdom, the kingdom of Shomron. "And she became a byword among women." The meaning is like "and the women will be chastened." When they saw what befell the one who had corrupted herself, through this there will be a great lesson for women that they too will not corrupt themselves. Therefore it is written that they would bring the women when they would chasten the errant woman, and this is the matter, so that they would take a lesson. So here too "and she became a byword among women," the gentiles saw this matter and took a lesson from Shomron. Behold, see what happens when one strays from the path of Hashem. "And judgments they executed upon her," judgments like acts of judgment, judgments of vengeance they executed upon her, upon Shomron.
"And her sister Oholivah saw, and she corrupted her lust more than she, and her harlotries more than the harlotries of her sister." Up to here it dealt with Oholah. And Oholah, as we explained, speaks of Shomron. And Oholah is the aspect of "a tent for herself," she has a tent separate from the tent of Hashem. Now He passes to speak about Yerushalayim. "And her sister Oholivah saw." Did you think she took a lesson from this? "And she corrupted her lust more than she." Even though Oholivah, Yerushalayim, saw the end of Oholah, well, perhaps you would draw conclusions from this? He tells you, come and see, she did not take a lesson. As it is written in Yirmiyahu, "and her treacherous sister Yehudah did not fear, and she too went and played the harlot," "and she corrupted her lust more than she." This was in the time of Achaz, who gave a bribe to the king of Assyria. Achaz is already among the kings of Yehudah. And in the days of Menasheh we see afterward the officers of the army coming to the king of Assyria. "And she corrupted her lust," her lust meaning her desire. "Toward the sons of Assyria she lusted, governors and prefects near, clothed in perfection, horsemen riding horses, all of them desirable young men." And she too, even though they saw what was done to her sister, this did not prevent them, once again "toward the sons of Assyria she lusted." You saw that Assyria, whom your sister Oholah lusted after, you saw that in the end they struck them and exiled them. From them are you going to expect salvation? This did not prevent them. "Toward the sons of Assyria she lusted." And what drew them toward the sons of Assyria? Governors and prefects near, clothed in perfection, as we saw earlier. That there were among them important people, governors and prefects, near, clothed in perfection; there were among them, first of all they were near to her, and they were clothed in perfection, they were dressed in garments perfect in all sorts of beauty. There were among them mighty ones, horsemen riding horses, there were among them handsome ones, all of them desirable young men. So to speak she thought that from there salvation would sprout for her.
"And I saw that she was defiled, one way was for both of them." I saw that the cause of all this was because she was defiled. What is the meaning of "and I saw"? "And I saw," the Malbim explains, this thing was in concealment. They did not do it in public like the ten tribes. As it is written regarding Yehudah, "and it was from the levity of her harlotry," so it appears in Yirmiyahu chapter 3, "from her harlotry she polluted the land." The Malbim explains there, "from her harlotry" means that from the reason of all her harlotry she thought to conceal her harlotry, and she was afraid before everyone lest bad reports come out about her, and from this reason "she polluted the land." She would behave with flattery, showing herself as a proper woman, while in truth she was defiled. This is "and I saw that she was defiled." That is, Yehudah was different from Shomron. Shomron had idolatry in public and openly, and in Yehudah it was in secret. As we saw that even in the time of the righteous kings, they would place the idolatry inside the doors. When Chizkiyahu's men came to inspect their houses for idolatry, they would enter, the door would open inward and be concealed by the wall, they would not see the idolatry. Afterward when they left, they closed the door, and once again the idolatry stood and was set up, for it was engraved on the door from the inside. It turns out, therefore, that they were idol worshippers in concealment. So too we saw regarding Yoshiyahu, "the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Hashem, was caught in their corruptions." And why? Because he was certain "no sword shall pass through your land." We are surely righteous. But what did he not know? That his generation was not truly worthy. He did not know, you are indeed righteous, but come see your people. Your people do their deeds in concealment. What did we learn? That Yehudah continually played the harlot in secret, corrupted in secret. In contrast Shomron, they did their deeds in licentiousness, meaning they set up calves and from the outset said we have abandoned Hashem, we serve idols. With Yehudah it was not in this way. So "and I saw that she was defiled," therefore there is here "and I saw," there is here a gaze, a spiritual seeing, that the Holy One, blessed be He, alone knows this matter. And I see that one way was for both of them. And in the end she treads the same path on which her sister Oholah trod.
"And she added to her harlotries, and she saw men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion." "And she added to her harlotries." Afterward the kingdom of Assyria was abolished, and Nevuchadnetzar, in the first year of his reign, conquered Nineveh, he became head of the kingdom of Assyria, as we spoke about at length in Trei Asar. There he set the throne of Assyria in Bavel. And she still did not know the Chaldeans, she only saw their form on the wall. The meaning is, she only saw a sign of the Chaldeans. How, what was the sign she saw of the Chaldeans? She did not yet know them, but as it were she already began to learn about their character, about their style. How? By what? First, from the engraving. It was portrayed on the wall. "Portrayed" means engraved. Second, from the craftsmanship. The images of the Chaldeans were made in a very special manner that was customary among the Chaldeans. Third, portrayed in vermilion. Vermilion is a color that only the Chaldeans used. A kind of color that was unique to them. And from this she recognized them, she recognized those Chaldeans. "Girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, the likeness of the sons of Bavel, Chaldeans, the land of their birth." The sons of Bavel would gird themselves tightly. Thus it was their way to gird tightly. Where do we see this? The Gemara in Shabbat, page 10, says, these Chaldean scholars, since they loosen their belt we do not trouble them. Those in Bavel, so the Jews too would behave like them, that since he loosened his belt in order to sit for the meal, we do not trouble him to stop. So here you see that they were girded with belts on their loins. "With flowing turbans on their heads." Flowing turbans means they had long hats. "Flowing" is from the language of lengthening. Like "the excess shall hang over the back of the Mishkan." I told you once what some commentators explain, "the wisdom of scribes will grow stale." What is "the wisdom of scribes will grow stale"? That is read as referring to the footsteps of Mashiach, toward the coming of Mashiach, when the scholar receives a microphone to speak, he will forget when to finish. This is "the wisdom of scribes will grow stale," he lengthens and lengthens the trouble. Yes, I was once at some sheva berachot, they gave some rosh yeshivah there to speak, apparently he thought he was in the yeshivah, he delivered a mussar talk for an hour. Yes, sheva berachot, say something, five minutes, ten minutes, say a vort, say a sharp point, something nice, joyful, the groom and the bride. The wisdom of scribes will grow stale. Grow stale, lengthens the trouble. In any case, this is "flowing." "Flowing" is lengthening. So he says, their hats were flowing, long hats. And they had, incidentally what is "flowing turbans"? What is the meaning of "turbans"? "Turbans" means they were colored. How did they color them? They dipped them in dye. This is "with flowing turbans on their heads." These hats were on their heads. And they had an appearance, the appearance of officers, meaning the appearance of mighty ones. The officers are the mighty and honored men, like "and officers over all of it." So all of them having the appearance of officers. The likeness of the sons of Bavel, Chaldeans. The likeness of the sons of Bavel, for the Chaldeans, this is the land of their birth. The foreigners who were in Bavel would not go in these garments. Only the sons of Bavel who were born in the land of the Chaldeans, they were the ones who went in these garments.
"And she lusted after them at the sight of her eyes, and she sent messengers to them, to Chaldea." Merely because she saw the sight of their form, as we explained that they did not yet know them, but this was already enough for her to lust after them at the sight of her eyes. And from what she saw of the likeness of their form, it was enough for her that she received a desire to see them. "And she sent messengers," what they wanted was to make a covenant with the Chaldeans. "And the sons of Bavel came to her, to the bed of love, and they defiled her with their harlotry, and she was defiled by them, and her soul was disjointed from them." "And the sons of Bavel came to her, to the bed of love," they made a covenant with them. Rashi says, I say that this was said about Chizkiyahu. It is written about Chizkiyahu that he rejoiced when Merodach-Baladan ben Baladan sent to him a delegation, after he saw that the sun returned backward and he asked who this is and by whose power this is, they told him this is King Chizkiyahu, he was so impressed, he sent a delegation to come and meet King Chizkiyahu. There it is brought that he fed them at his table, there it is also brought that his wife was there, that his wife served them and their likeness entered into her thought, and afterward when he was intimate with her she conceived, she conceived in their likeness. In any case, there it is brought explicitly in the pesukim that he showed them all his treasure house. He showed them his treasures. And as it said, "men portrayed on the wall," since they came from a distant land and were not Chaldeans who were regular around them, and once he saw them they became endeared to him. It is written that the Holy One, blessed be He, was strict with him. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, behold, days are coming and all that is in your house will be carried off. It is brought there, the Malbim explains, we learned this, that essentially He says to him, this is not a punishment, but rather, as it were, you harmed yourself. The meaning is, you brought the men, you showed them all his treasure house. When you showed them his treasure house, what do they see? Such treasures, his treasure house is his treasures. They saw such treasures, they got an appetite. And then they came in order to conquer you. But there was here strictness with him, since he as it were attributed the merit of the matter, attributed it to himself, as the Malbim explains there. And there it is written, "and Chizkiyahu did not repay according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was haughty, and there was great wrath upon him," so it appears in Divrei HaYamim. And then through this, "and her soul was disjointed from them." What happened in the end? Yehoyakim rebelled against them, Tzidkiyahu rebelled against them. What is "and it was disjointed"? "And it was disjointed" is like "and Yaakov's hip socket was disjointed." The Malbim explains, I will shortly explain what "and it was disjointed" is, but perhaps let us first see the explanation of the Malbim. The Malbim says, what is written? "And the sons of Bavel came to her, to the bed of love." At first they came only to the bed of love. The bed of love means, they came as those making a covenant of love, a connection between them. We can make agreements between us and we can benefit one another. But afterward, "and they defiled her with their harlotry." They conquered them, they became for them tribute-bearers. And afterward "and she was defiled by them," they learned the abominations of the Chaldeans to do idolatry like them. And afterward, the next stage, against them too they rebelled. Yehoyakim and Tzidkiyahu began to rebel against them. What is "and it was disjointed"? Rashi explains that "and it was disjointed" is impaling, this is a language of connection and driving a piece of wood into the ground. Seemingly here it is exactly the opposite. "And her soul was disjointed," like "his soul was disjointed." What is "his soul was disjointed"? I am already broken from them. This is the expression "his soul was disjointed," that is, he wants to remove it. He says, do not be surprised, for so too in extracting it from the ground the language of disjointing applies to it. "And it was disjointed" is an expression both for driving a thing in and for removing it. How, how can two opposite things be? Do not be surprised. Like when you say "and she took root, her roots." "And she took root" means it took hold, it rooted. And "in all my produce shall it take root," this is a language of uprooting, to uproot, to remove it from the root; this is called to root out, to uproot from the root. So you see two expressions that are essentially a thing and its opposite. This roots in the ground, and "to root out" uproots it from the root. The same thing with "in her fruitful branches," this is a language of branches, and "cutting off the branch," this cuts off the branches of the tree. What did you see? That there is an expression that is a thing and its opposite. So too here, when we say "and her soul was disjointed," it is like driving a thing in and connecting, and also from the language "and it was disjointed" which means an expression of removal and separation, like "Yaakov's hip was disjointed," meaning it came out of its place.
"And she uncovered her harlotries, and she uncovered her nakedness. And My soul was disjointed from her, as My soul was disjointed from her sister." "And she uncovered her harlotries," that is, it became known to all that she played the harlot after other gods. And then it was no longer in concealment, but "and she uncovered." "And she uncovered" means, it was already done openly, it was already done in public. She was already worshipping idols in public. What we saw earlier, that this was the difference between Shomron and Yehudah, that with Shomron from the outset everything was in public, the two calves that they worshipped in public. Here, in contrast, with Yehudah, at first it was in concealment. In the second stage, "and she uncovered her harlotries," that is, they were already worshipping idols in public. And then "and she uncovered her nakedness," the meaning is she transgressed other sins, not necessarily idolatry, in public without shame. As it is written, "and you spread your legs to every passerby," this is "and she uncovered her nakedness." And then Hashem says, "and My soul was disjointed from her." I decreed upon her exile as I decreed upon the ten tribes, as My soul was disjointed from her sister. Just as My soul was disjointed from her sister, from Oholah, now too My soul was disjointed from Oholivah. And this was when Tzidkiyahu scorned the oath that the king of Bavel made him swear; through this the king of Bavel came here and destroyed and exiled the people.
"And she multiplied her harlotries, to remember the days of her youth when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt." She multiplied her harlotries so much that the Holy One, blessed be He, already remembered for her the days of her youth, the evils she did in the days of her youth. The meaning is, the matters began to recall also the earlier sins that she had. And the Malbim explains that here she simply returned to the earlier state, that she began to ask for help from Egypt in the time of Tzidkiyahu. So therefore she truly returned to the state of the days of her youth. For in the days of her youth we saw that she would learn the idolatry of Egypt, and now she returns and corrupts again and once more continues in the way of Egypt, like the practice of the land of Egypt. This was in the time of Tzidkiyahu, when following the connection with Egypt they began to do according to their deeds.
For those who remember, once when I was a child, the State of Israel had a connection with France. Does anyone remember? Yes, back then the French Mirages, and there was a connection with France. What this thing ultimately caused was that the culture of France arrived here. See, they brought films from France, French style, all the culture of France arrived here. It tells you, observe, and incidentally today it is no better, because today we are attached to America, so American culture washes over here. It does not matter, still the culture of the gentiles is still the one that is present and accompanies us as long as we are connected to the gentiles. This is what happened in the time of Tzidkiyahu. In the time of Tzidkiyahu, since they had a connection to Egypt, then the Malbim says they began to do also according to the practice of the land of Egypt. This is what he says here, "and she multiplied her harlotries, to remember the days of her youth when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt." What she did then, now she repeats and learned again the culture of Egypt as she learned in the days of her youth.
"And she lusted after their concubines, whose flesh is the flesh of donkeys, and whose emission is the emission of horses." "And she lusted after their concubines." What is "and she lusted after their concubines"? The expression here, the expression here is a very puzzling expression. You are, after all, speaking here about the adulterous woman. So the adulterous woman, one should have spoken about her committing harlotry, as you said earlier with Egypt and with the rest of the nations, that is still understandable. But when you speak of "and she lusted after their concubines," you are speaking about a female. This is not so understandable. So indeed the Radak brings one explanation, which he explains in the name of the commentators, "their concubines" means their servants. "Concubine" here is not in the sense of a female concubine, but the servants. The meaning is, that she connected also with the servants of the nations, not necessarily with the officers and the important ones, but also with the servants. "Whose flesh is the flesh of donkeys" refers back to those same servants, that those servants, their flesh is the flesh of donkeys. For as is known the Radak says that "flesh of donkeys," in general the expression "flesh" appears many times in Scripture as an expression for the organ of intimacy. As it is written "his flesh runs with his discharge," or "his flesh is stopped from his discharge," yes? So therefore "whose flesh is the flesh of donkeys" means that their organ of intimacy is like that of donkeys. "And whose emission is the emission of horses," the meaning is that the seed that comes out of them is like that of horses. And why indeed does he compare them to donkeys and horses? So the donkeys, as we explained, and the horses is an expression for the fact that horses are steeped in immorality more than the rest of the beasts. Therefore he calls them like horses, and the donkeys, their organ as it were is a large organ, so therefore he calls them like donkeys. So he wishes to tell you, the most repulsive people in their harlotry, to them she went and clung. Another explanation he wishes to say, that what is written here "and she lusted after their concubines," in this explanation and this direction the Malbim also goes, is like "and the men came upon the women." "Upon" in the sense of "with." So "and she lusted after their concubines" means she connected with their concubines. And this thing too shows her degradation, to the point that she did not go to be for them as a wife, for if she goes to be for them as a wife, if she has the status of a wife. But no, she went and lusted after their concubines, like with their concubines, she went to connect with their concubines to be for them like a concubine. Which is a disgrace and a shame much greater, much greater. Therefore he also says, note that the Targum translates, "and she desired to be a maidservant," or some say a servant, to them. The meaning is to be for them like a servant, like a maidservant to them. That is, it was not enough that you did not receive status, but even to go and serve them as a maidservant. And this thing showed the extent of her corruption and the extent of the fall she fell into by connecting with Egypt. The Malbim explains that she was for them like a concubine, and what is written there, "whose flesh is the flesh of donkeys," this is essentially the reason. He says, do you know why she connected to them as a concubine? Because their flesh is the flesh of donkeys, meaning they are steeped in harlotry, as we said that the horse is steeped in harlotry, so they need many concubines. And this thing comes to express that they were subservient to Egypt together with the rest of the nations. As we will see later, that Egypt had several other nations who were subservient to it, and they were, we will see this in pasuk 30, the supporters of Egypt, Kush and Put and Lud, all these were called their concubines. So she went and connected with their concubines, to be for them like an additional concubine, to be enslaved to them.
"My soul was disjointed from them," as we saw earlier. Now they will go to restore our love. The meaning is, they will want to create a situation in which we will return to connect together with them in love. The meaning is that we will make peace with them. As we saw that at first Nevuchadnetzar went in order to compel Tzidkiyahu to make peace with him. He did not go immediately in order to topple him. And if he had truly made peace with him, he would not have destroyed the city and the Mikdash. But following his rebelling against him, he then came and destroyed Yerushalayim. What do you learn from here? That at first they truly came in order to arouse love so that we would once again be subservient to them. And when we refused to be subservient to them, then they came and struck us and destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. This is what is written, "behold, I will stir up your lovers against you," that at first they will come by way of love. "From whom your soul was disjointed," because your soul was disjointed from them, "and I will bring them against you from all around," they will come against you from all around in order to return you to their company.