Sefer Yechezkel, chapter 35. "And the word of Hashem came to me, saying. Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it." Since the return of the people of Israel and the destruction of Edom (as they will be destroyed) are close to one another in time, therefore when he prophesies about Israel's return he also prophesies about Edom's destruction, because these events happened in close proximity.
Edom, says the Malbim, we have an old score to settle with them going all the way back to the destruction of the First Temple, when Nebuchadnezzar came against us and we saw that Edom rejoiced in our downfall. We had an old score with them going back to the days of Esav, but here they rejoiced that we were now falling, that Yaakov was paying the price for taking the birthright, for stealing the birthright from Esav. Afterward, in the days of Herod, they destroyed here, that is, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed their land, but note that this was not an everlasting destruction, meaning forever, it was a temporary destruction. And this is what he mentions now.
"And say to it, so says Hashem Elokim, behold I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out My hand against you and make you a desolation and a waste." Hashem says, behold I am against you, Mount Seir, meaning I will wage war against you, and I will stretch out My hand against you to strike you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. "A desolation and a waste" refers to the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, which, as we said, was the first destruction, but this destruction was still not final. "Your cities I will lay in ruins and you shall be a desolation, and you shall know that I am Hashem." "Your cities I will lay in ruins" means I will make your cities into ruins, and "you shall be a desolation" refers to the people, the men of Seir, that wherever they may be they shall be a desolation. Since there is a difficulty here: if He said "your cities I will lay in ruins," then it will automatically be a desolation, so why say again "and you"? He should have said "and it shall be a desolation." Therefore the Malbim explains that "and you shall be a desolation" means even if you are not in your cities, even if you are in other places, so to speak the desolation will pursue you wherever you may be. The Metzudat David, on the other hand, explains that "and you shall be a desolation" refers to the entire land as a whole, and therefore he says "and you," stating it separately, because there are the cities, which are the inhabited places, and there is the land as a whole.
The Malbim explains that here we are speaking of a further stage. If earlier we spoke of "I will make you a desolation and a waste," which was the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, now when he speaks of "your cities I will lay in ruins" we are speaking of a later period, namely by the Hasmonean dynasty, which was much later. "And you shall know that I am Hashem": the Malbim says that, as is known, many of the children of Edom came to convert, and about this he says "and you shall know that I am Hashem," that many of them came through circumcision and immersion and accepted the sovereignty of the Creator. Therefore about this he says "and you shall know," that you shall know that I am Hashem, you will come to convert and recognize My divinity.
"Because you had an everlasting hatred and delivered up the children of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of the iniquity of the end." Afterward the Malbim says that when the Romans entered Yerushalayim, the children of Edom came, as it were, to our aid, and the Malbim says they still kept in their hearts the hatred they had from before, and then "you delivered up the children of Israel to the power of the sword." "Vatager" is like "lehagir," meaning like something that pours out, as in "and I will pour down (vehigarti) its stones into the valley," you brought down the children of Israel by the sword. This is like what is written, "you also should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives." When was this? When the people of Israel fled at the time of the destruction, the Edomites stood at the crossroads, meaning at the border, and struck them. He says that this was the "iniquity of the end," there was an end to their iniquity, this was the end of the punishments, since their iniquity was already complete and their calamity was also sealed, yes, "at the time of their calamity," meaning a time of breaking, of downfall, as in "one who rejoices at his calamity (eido)," meaning at his breaking, at his downfall. So then, such a person, when you see that this is the time of the iniquity of the end, that his calamity has been sealed, and you see that he is in a difficult state, you should have mercy on him. But you did not act this way; at the time of their calamity, at the time of the iniquity of the end, you delivered up the children of Israel to the sword, you went and pursued them with the sword. And why did you do this? Everything you did, says the Malbim, was out of hatred, not for any benefit. You did it not because they harmed you or did something bad to you, but out of an ancient hatred as we mentioned.
Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, says about this that Edom will receive their punishment. "Therefore as I live, says Hashem Elokim, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you did not hate blood, therefore blood shall pursue you." Therefore Hashem says to him, as I live, says Hashem, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, a decree is sealed here with an oath: I will prepare you for blood, that just as you spilled blood, so too you will be full of the blood of the slain. "And blood shall pursue you", what does this mean? One can pursue someone in order to take him captive, in order to take spoil from him, but he says this will not be the reality here, rather they will pursue you only to spill blood, that is the meaning of "and blood shall pursue you." Just as your hatred was not a hatred for benefit but an ancient hatred as we mentioned, so too you will receive measure for measure, and this is what he says, "since you did not hate blood." Your hatred toward the people of Israel was a blood-hatred; there is an expression we use, "he hates him in the blood." It was a blood-hatred. What is a blood-hatred? You hate someone because of his blood, because he is of the blood of the Jews. This is called a blood-hatred, meaning you hate him not because he did something to you, not because you were harmed by him, not because of some score you have with him, you hate him with a blood-hatred. He says, "since you did not hate blood", your hatred was a blood-hatred, not on account of any benefit or profit, not out of fear of harm, and therefore Hashem says "blood shall pursue you," so they will pursue you with a pursuit of blood, with the aim of spilling blood and not for any other purpose, not to take captives and not to plunder spoil but a pursuit of blood.
Rashi here brings an interesting explanation. Rashi says "you hated blood" speaks about Esav, for we are speaking here about Edom, and Edom's root is from Esav. He says here it speaks about Esav. What is "you hated blood"? Esav did not want to perform the service in the Temple, and why did he not want to? Rashi says: you hated to dirty yourself with the blood of the sacrifices of My service. This is "you hated blood", what, to work in the Temple and get dirty with blood? Hashem says, this is unpleasant for you, you did not want it, therefore Hashem says to him, the filth of the blood of the slain shall pursue you. Blood does not suit you, you are disgusted by blood, Hashem says, the blood of the slain shall pursue you. Rashi brings another explanation: some say you fear murderers like any other person, therefore murderers shall pursue you. And some say "you hated blood" in the direction of the Malbim, meaning your brother who is your flesh and blood, so "you hated blood" means someone who is of your own blood, yes, as the Malbim says that it is a blood-hatred, but in any case you hated someone who is a close relative, and therefore your pursuit will be a pursuit of blood.
"And I will make Mount Seir a ruin and a desolation, and I will cut off from it him who passes and returns." "And I will make Mount Seir a ruin (shemamah)": "shemamah" is like "simlah," "shifchah," "shemamah," as the Radak explains. When will this be? It will be at the end of days. And the desolation will be such that there will be no one passing and returning, no one will pass through their place. The Malbim asks, why the repetition, "a ruin and a desolation"? The Malbim explains that the doubling of the term indicates that after it becomes a ruin He will make it a desolation, meaning desolation upon desolation. Whenever there is a doubling it indicates emphasis of the matter, it indicates an increase of the thing, so I will make it a ruin and a desolation, this will be an additional desolation on top of the desolation that will be at first.
"And I will fill his mountains with his slain; in your hills and your valleys and all your streams those slain by the sword shall fall." Lest you think that what will happen to you is that you will be exiled from your land, Hashem says no, they will not go into exile, rather "I will fill his mountains with his slain." The bodies of the children of Edom will fill his mountains, and lest you think that this will be only in the place where they fought, which refers to the mountains, He says to him also "your hills," even on the hills the slain by the sword will fall there, meaning that after the conquest they will in effect kill everyone. What are "his mountains, your hills, your valleys, your streams"? The Malbim already explained above that the mountains are larger than the hills, the hills are located around the mountains, the mountains in the center and the hills, which are lower, are located around them. The streams (afikim) are the places where the waters flow rushing in a torrent, and these are located between the high mountains, for from the mountains they in fact pour down and descend and flow in the streams. "Your valleys" (gei'oteicha) corresponds to the hills, for the valley is located between the hills. So the streams are located between the mountains and the valleys are located between the hills.
"Everlasting desolations I will make you, and your cities shall not return, and you shall know that I am Hashem." Rashi says: not as I said to Egypt, "and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt," and "I will restore the fortunes of the children of Ammon," meaning they are destined to have a restoration; here He says to him no, for you it will not be so, your cities shall not return, they will be everlasting desolations, meaning as we said, forever. And this is what is written, "and Esav I hated and I made his mountains a desolation." Why? Because you see that even about Egypt it is written that Hashem will restore their fortunes, and about the children of Ammon too Hashem will restore their fortunes, but regarding Esav, "Esav I hated and I made his mountains a desolation." Since Esav's hatred was an everlasting hatred, from Esav came Amalek as we know, and it was not a hatred dependent on something but, as we said, a blood-hatred, therefore Hashem says "and Esav I hated," and therefore his mountains I make a desolation, they are destined to be everlasting desolations.
The Malbim explains that here we have in fact the third desolation, for we already saw above "a ruin and a desolation," and the third desolation mentioned here, its added element is eternity. "Everlasting desolations I will make you," as we explained, that it will be forever, such that the cities will not return. The Radak says, take note, the Radak always tries to create a connection between the keri and the ketiv. The Radak says it is written here "tishavnah" (shall be inhabited) and we read "tashovnah" (shall return). The Radak explains that both are true: your cities shall not be inhabited, meaning there will be no settlement there, and not only that, but they also shall not return to their former state, meaning to what was before. Yes, so it turns out that both the keri and the ketiv have meaning. And then "and you shall know that I am Hashem," through this you will know that I am Hashem who punishes, as it is written "they will build and I will tear down," and this will in fact prove that this punishment is by Divine providence.
"Because you said, the two nations and the two lands shall be mine and we will possess them, though Hashem was there." This verse is quite obscure, and let us see how the Malbim explains it. The Malbim says: afterward, in the days of the exile, you wanted to subjugate the people of Israel, Edom wanted to subjugate the people of Israel forever, and that the Land of Israel would belong to you. You said, "the two nations," who are the two nations? The two nations refers to Yehudah and the Ten Tribes, who were in fact two kingdoms. You said their two lands shall be mine and we will possess them, you wanted to inherit their land, both Shomron and Yehudah, their two lands shall be mine and I will inherit them, they will be my inheritance. "Though Hashem was there", you say that you will inherit even the One who was there. Listen here, the Malbim in a most wonderful way explains all the verses here in fact as referring to Christianity, but the Malbim, as we mentioned in the past, lived among Christians, and therefore he had to use cautious language and express himself very delicately, and so here he speaks in allusions, but anyone who knows a bit of history understands where and to what his words hint. He says you said that you will inherit even the One who was there, meaning you said that Edom takes Israel's place. As is known, the Christians claimed that the Holy One, blessed be He, cast the people of Israel out of their land because the people of Israel rebelled against Him, and therefore He took the children of Edom in their place, therefore He took the Christians in their place. You said that Israel profaned the Name and that you are the nation whom Hashem chose. What does "Israel profaned the Name" mean? You said that Israel is guilty because they killed His anointed one, that same man whose initials stand for "may his name and memory be blotted out." So you said they profaned the Name, therefore "though Hashem was there." He says to you, whom did you want to inherit? "The two lands shall be mine and we will possess them," and "Hashem who was there" you also wanted to inherit, and to say that the Holy One, blessed be He, abandoned the people of Israel and took you.
Rashi brings a midrash, a midrash aggadah. Rabbi Tanchuma expounds it in reference to Esav going to Yishmael to marry into his family, Seir and his father-in-law, Esav went to marry into Yishmael's family. What was the purpose? Out of love for Yishmael? He says no, do not be confused, he went in order to incite Yishmael and inflame him against Yitzchak. Yitzchak, what does that mean? Your father Avraham died and left an inheritance, and you were disinherited, Yitzchak took over everything. "For through Yitzchak your seed shall be called," we spoke about this once, that Yishmael's hatred is a bottomless hatred, since Esav at least received a portion, whereas Yishmael received nothing, he was sent away and received nothing, he was expelled with his mother and received nothing. Even though afterward it is written that he returned, still it is not written that he received an inheritance, "through Yitzchak your seed shall be called," and Yishmael was completely disinherited, therefore Yishmael's hatred is an everlasting hatred. In any case, he said, I will exploit this hatred, I will incite Yishmael so that he goes and kills his brother Yitzchak over the matter of Avraham's inheritance, and since it is Esav and Esav... Yishmael killed my brother, killed Yitzchak, what, killed my uncle, yes, killed my father, killed Yitzchak, what will I do now? I will go kill Yishmael, I am the avenger of blood. Do you understand? First he arranges for Yishmael to kill Yitzchak, and afterward he also arranges to kill Yishmael, and then what do I get? I will take over, two birds with one stone, I have both Yishmael's inheritance and Yitzchak's inheritance. This was Edom, these were his plans. He says to him "though Hashem was there," Rashi explains this means that the Holy One, blessed be He, surely knows, Hashem is there, He knows your plans, He knows your thoughts, "and Hashem was there." This is what he says here, "because you said, the two nations and the two lands shall be mine," both Yishmael's portion and Yitzchak's portion, both shall be mine, "and Hashem was there," Hashem knows your plans.
"Therefore as I live, says Hashem Elokim, I will act according to your anger and according to your envy which you displayed out of your hatred against them, and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you." Therefore as I live, says Hashem Elokim, Hashem says, therefore I swear, and I will act according to your anger, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, I will act according to your anger and your envy. Since you did many evils to the people of Israel during the exile, and whoever knows the exile of Edom knows it was not like the exiles among the Arab nations; the exile of Edom was an exile in which the people of Israel suffered throughout all the years. Murders, persecutions, the massacres of 1648-1649, pogroms, what didn't there... the people of Israel suffered blood libels, what didn't there. So we all know how much suffering there was there throughout the generations. He says you acted out of anger and envy, "af" meaning anger, and envy because they could not bear to see that the people of Israel, who according to their theory and thesis the Holy One, blessed be He, had abandoned and who were supposed to be lowly and servile, and suddenly they see that the people of Israel exist, therefore they had a terrible hatred toward the Jewish people. Therefore I said, we already mentioned once one of their archbishops five hundred years ago who said that the proof that Hashem abandoned the people of Israel is that they will never return to their land. Well, afterward in '48 they returned to their land, so the Pope did not come to visit here, because it contradicts their thesis that Hashem abandoned us and we would not return to our land. Afterward, well, they tried to find an explanation, so they said, no, it means they will not return to Yerushalayim. But in '67 we returned to Yerushalayim too, so then, then, then, then he does not come, so he does not come, so he does not see. There is the ostrich method, they also have such methods, it is very effective, that you did not, you did not, so you did not see, you did not hear, you do not know, you are not supposed to deal with the facts, what you did not see and did not hear does not concern you. In short, look, I told you once how hard it is to make a prophecy. Judaism, the prophets, are full of prophecies throughout history and they all came true, everything that was supposed to come true came true one by one. And here some archbishop tried to make a prophecy that did not hold up for five hundred years. Yes, and the prophecy was very logical; the prophets make prophecies that are not logical, they say that those who are today an empire will fall. That is not logical. To take one you see as an empire and say that it will fall, to say today that the United States will fall and Washington will be a desolation, could anyone say such a thing? This was said about Bavel, the prophets said it about Bavel and it stands to this day, ancient Bavel is today a desolation, no one shepherds there, no Arab pitches his tent there, we learned these prophecies. That is, to come and make prophecies that contradict nature is an immense power, and this the prophets said and it stands. And by contrast he said something that was true, the Jews are scattered, what chance do they have of returning? Within a few decades they will surely be extinct. And behold, all the plans were overturned, this is what happens, the people of Israel return to their land, they are what the gentiles call having to eat their hat. He does not know how to swallow the facts, how to understand, so what do you do? So Christianity takes every action, the nations of Edom take every action to uproot the very foundation of Israel. They set up funds against us, they put us on trial in The Hague, they pursue us and want to tie the hands of the army so it cannot carry out any actions against the enemies, they take every action to uproot the foundation of Israel, to erase the people of Israel. And all, as in Europe, all through pleasant ways, all through law, all through supposedly legitimate courts, what do you mean, there is apartheid here, there are terrible things here, even some youth whom the IDF apparently killed some years ago, so this matter must be investigated. True that three hundred people, three hundred thousand, four hundred thousand, who's really counting, in our backyard unpleasant things are happening there, but that's not, not so terrible because after all it's Assad and it's his own people too, you understand, that's not, what happened? But here a Jew went and killed an Arab, so all of Europe is in an uproar, you understand, they are going to evacuate some, I don't know what, some Bedouin village, so we already have all sorts of preachers and moralizers from Europe to tell us how dare we evacuate a village that by law was built unlawfully and not, you understand, terrible and today. He says to you, they will not change, these are the children of Edom. The children of Edom will always try to fight against the people of Israel; if they can they will put us in the crematoria, if they cannot, because it is no longer politically correct, then they will do it in more subtle ways and supposedly pseudo-legal ways, all in the same manner as the Malbim says here, you did many evils to Israel in the days of the exile through anger and envy. As if you were zealous for the zeal of God, again the Malbim hints here to Christianity; they claimed that the Jew must be persecuted and that it is an obligation to persecute him, therefore the priests were always at the head of those inciting the pogroms, because they said this is a punishment to the Jews from Hashem, since the Jews killed His anointed one. So here they had religious legitimacy to do it, and on the contrary, the more the Jews were persecuted, the more it strengthened the thesis that Hashem abandoned them and took us. And therefore those who incited and encouraged the Jewish persecution were always the priests. So you supposedly came to be zealous for the zeal of God, he says you did this "out of your hatred," "and I will make Myself known among them when I judge," and then "I will make Myself known among them," so it will become known and known to all that the people of Israel are My people and I am their God, and the true faith will become known. Again, you notice the Malbim does not mention Christians, does not mention anything, he says as if you were zealous for the zeal of God and then the true faith will become known, but in fact, as we said, this is what he is speaking about.
"And you shall know that I am Hashem; I have heard all your revilings which you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, they are desolate, they are given to us to devour." Hashem says, and you shall know that I am Hashem, I have heard all your revilings. Corresponding to what he said, that the two lands supposedly belong to me, and we explained according to the Malbim that this refers to the portion of Yehudah and Binyamin and the portion of Israel of the Ten Tribes, corresponding to what you said then, and you shall know that I am Hashem, I have heard your revilings, Hashem says I have heard what you scorn, reviling Me. And you said about the mountains of Israel, saying, they are desolate, you said they are desolate; why are they desolate? Because of Israel's sin, and therefore they are desolate, and this is what Christianity said, that Hashem abandoned us and cast us out of the land and therefore the land became desolate. "They are given to us to devour," that is, the inheritance of this land was not given to us only to dwell there but also to eat its fruits, in simple words, everything we receive, everything there is here in the land, was all given to us because we are in fact, so to speak, the replacement of the original people of Israel.
"And you magnified yourselves against Me with your mouth and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard." Corresponding to what they said, we saw, "and Hashem was there," as if they come to say Hashem was there, now He is with us, meaning Hashem abandoned them, so you want to inherit even Hashem. "And you magnified yourselves against Me with your mouth", notice, here too the Malbim hints, the matter of the nonsensical stories, incidentally in all the printed editions it appears as "hamavhilim" (the terrifying) and this is a clear scribal error, it should say "hamahavilim" (the nonsensical). The matter of the nonsensical stories about the divinity, he does not say more than this, elaborates no further, and I will explain shortly what he means. "And you multiplied your words against Me," the details they told about the divinity that contain disgrace and defect and nonsense, and he does not elaborate, and this, incidentally, proves that what he said earlier is not "terrifying" but "nonsensical," that they contain disgrace and nonsense. What is he speaking about? About the foolish claims of Christianity, that the holy spirit in one of its fits of boredom decided to go and impregnate the impure woman, and from this that man was born, and he is not the son of a human being at all, he is the son of the holy spirit. The Malbim calls this the stories of disgrace and defect and nonsense. He does not elaborate, but as I told you, he hints, and this is in fact what he is speaking about. "And you magnified yourselves against Me with your mouth," this is called "to magnify," to say against Hashem very severe things. Hashem says, I have heard, I have heard this too, that this is in fact a matter, so to speak, that touches upon My honor, says the Malbim, he does not elaborate, and again, it touches upon My honor that the holy spirit joins with a woman, there is no lowliness lower than this, so this matter that you spoke touches upon My honor, Hashem says, these things I have heard them. "And you multiplied against Me," the Radak says, what is "vehe'etartem"? "Vehe'etartem" its meaning is abundance, as you well know, it is well known that "atar," yes, "vehe'etarah" or "deceitful (na'atarot) are the kisses of an enemy," "atar" is the cloud of incense, yes, its meaning is abundance, you know it means a great deal, and so too the Targum says, Targum Yonatan says "ve'asgiton alai pitgameichon," yes, "na'atarot are the kisses" meaning they are many, and "vehe'etartem" means and you multiplied against Me your words, you multiplied words against Hashem.
"So says Hashem Elokim, when all the earth rejoices, I will make you a desolation." So He says, corresponding to what you rejoiced over the downfall of Israel, Hashem says, measure for measure I will make you a desolation, the desolation will be yours. When the land rejoices through the people of Israel returning to their land and there being great joy, corresponding to this you will have desolation, so you will see their joy and only afterward will your downfall come. "As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will do to you; you shall be a desolation, Mount Seir and all Edom, all of it, and they shall know that I am Hashem." Corresponding to what you rejoiced over the destruction of the land, earlier he spoke of what you rejoiced over the downfall of Israel, now he speaks of what you rejoiced over the destruction of the land, as you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, he says to you, because it was desolate, so I will do to you, so all will rejoice over the destruction of your land. And here too there is measure for measure, both what you rejoiced over their downfall and what you rejoiced over their destruction, so they will rejoice over your downfall and over your destruction.