Sefer Yeshayahu, chapter 60. "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Hashem has risen upon you." Here, the Radak says, the prophet turns to Yerushalayim and says to her, "Arise, shine." "Shine" is in the imperative, meaning: radiate your light, for your light has come, and the glory of Hashem has risen upon you. "Your light has come" means the time of your salvation has arrived. A person in distress is like one dwelling in darkness, and when salvation arrives it is as though light shines upon him. "And the glory of Hashem has risen upon you."
What we need to understand, and which troubles the Radak, is that "your light has come" seemingly resembles "the sun has come." "The sun has come" means the sun has set. If so, "for your light has come" would mean your light has set. How can that be understood? This contradicts what we just explained, "Arise, shine," radiate, for your light has arrived, the glory of Hashem has risen upon you. So how can it say "for your light has come"? It should have said "Arise, shine, for your light has risen," not "has come." "Come" is a term of setting, as we said, as in "the sun has come."
So the Radak explains that "Arise, shine, for your light has come" means: the light of this world has set, and in its place you have the light of the World to Come. And this is a far greater and mightier light. Therefore it is indeed fitting to say "for your light has come." "For your light has come" because the physical light has set, since a spiritual light far greater and far more exalted awaits and is designated for you. As it is written, "No longer will the sun be your light by day." What do you see from this? That the sun is considered a weak, dim light, and about it he says it will no longer be a light by day, but rather what will be is only the exalted light, the light of Hashem. As we see that there is a promise and a prophecy that "the light of the sun will be like the light of the moon, and the light of the moon will be sevenfold, like the light of the seven days." It emerges here that the present light is a weak light. So "your light has come," this light has set, and in its place you will receive a great, mighty, and abundant light.
The Malbim explains, as we explained earlier, that distress is essentially characterized by gloom and darkness. Now he tells her: radiate out of this darkness, not only for yourself but for the whole world. "Arise, shine," radiate for the whole world. "For your light has come," for you have the light of physical and spiritual salvation, and the "light" here expresses both of these things. Beyond your own light, which is the natural light of "your light has come," there is also the spiritual light, "and the glory of Hashem has risen upon you." Therefore this is not a repetition of the same idea in different words. Rather, the Malbim says, there are two things here: our own inner light, and the light that Hashem will bestow upon us. This is "the glory of Hashem has risen upon you," which is a light distinct from our private light, and this is the light of the supernal glory from the appearance of the divine light upon His prophets and His remnant. That is, there is our own inner light and there is the light of prophecy, that upon the remnant whom Hashem calls, the Holy One, blessed be He, causes His light to shine.
This touches on the question the Radak asked: how can it be written "for your light has come," when "come" is a term of setting, and you actually want to say that our light has risen? The Radak explained that the meaning is that the ordinary light has set and now a new light begins. But the Malbim says that this question does not even get off the ground. The Malbim says that whoever asks such a question has not examined the matter well, and few are as fluent in Lashon HaKodesh as the Malbim. The Malbim says: it is true that "the sun has come" expresses setting when you speak about the body of the sun. Therefore for the sun it is correct to say that "come" means setting. Why? Because where does the sun come out from in the morning? In the east. And where does it arrive? In the west. That is, once the sun has "come," what does that mean? It has arrived at its destination. The expression "the sun has come" fits it. Where has it come? To the place it is meant to reach at its destination, the west. So the meaning is that it has set.
The Malbim says: here we are not speaking about the sun, here we are speaking about light. What is the definition of light? Light is when its rays reach the illuminated object, and then I say it has come to its place. This means that anything we see, from where do we have the power of sight? From the fact that the rays of light strike that object, and by that the object is perceived by our eyes. So if the object is illuminated, I can say the light has come. What does "the light has come" mean? The light went out from its source and struck the object it was meant to illuminate. Of an illuminated object I say the light has come upon it. If so, this does not express setting at all, it is exactly the opposite. When you speak of light, on the contrary, when the light shines upon a particular object it has come to the place it needs to reach. When you speak of the sun, it expresses setting, because when does the sun reach the place it is meant to reach? When it sets. It went out in the morning from the east and it will reach its destination in the west, so I say it has come. Light, when it shines upon a particular object, I say it has come, because it has reached the place it is meant to reach. So there is no question at all. With the sun, "coming" expresses setting; with light, "coming" expresses illumination. And thus the verse fits: "Arise, arise, shine, for your light has come," for the light has truly reached the place it is meant to reach.
And "your light," as we said, the Malbim says, is the inner light. And "the glory of Hashem has risen upon you," the Malbim says, is an aspect of the light of prophecy. And why is it called the light of prophecy? Because this light that we receive is like an aspect of the moon relative to the sun. We say the sun shines upon the moon. Does the moon have its own light? No. Rather, all it does is reflect back the light of the sun. It emerges, then, that what is written here, "the light of Hashem has risen upon you," is like the shining of light upon the moon relative to the sun. About this he will later tell us that kings will walk to the brightness of your dawning. For the expression "brightness" (nogah) always refers to what? To an illumination where you do not see the body of the light, but only see some halo around it. That is always the expression "nogah." So he says, see how fitting it is. "For the glory of Hashem has risen upon you," we are like the moon upon which the glory of Hashem shines. We have nothing of our own. As it is written, "the face of Moshe was like the face of the sun and the face of Yehoshua like the face of the moon." For Moshe, and Yehoshua, in his level of prophecy is like the level of all the prophets, who are in the category of receivers, as opposed to Moshe Rabbeinu who had a far higher and mightier level, and so he is like the face of the sun. Either way, the verse fits, that the nations will walk to the brightness of your dawning. For "nogah" fits the moon, since with the moon, as we said, one sees a halo, one sees brightness, because it has no light of its own. But we would never say "the brightness of the sun." The sun has no brightness (nogah), it has light. The sun possesses its own light, as opposed to the moon, for which the expression "nogah" is fitting. So "the brightness of your dawning" means that the nations too will walk to the light of prophecy.
"For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick gloom the peoples; but upon you Hashem will shine, and His glory will be seen upon you." What will the era be? "For behold, darkness will cover the earth." Darkness, gloom, the Radak says, is a metaphor for troubles. And "upon you Hashem will shine, and His glory will be seen upon you," the Radak says it is as though it were written "upon you Hashem will shine and in His glory will be seen upon you." In the glory of Hashem He will be seen and revealed upon you.
The Malbim explains: darkness is the absence of light. And "thick gloom the peoples," gloom (arafel) is vapors and mists that fill the air even when the sun shines. We know this, that there can be a situation where there is sun and there is fog. Usually the fog dissipates in the sun, so it does not last long, but there is no contradiction. The meaning is that gloom is vapors, a cloud that has descended low, that is the category of gloom. In contrast, darkness means no light at all. With gloom there can be light, but the gloom prevents it from illuminating properly. But darkness means no light at all, it is the absence of light.
The Malbim says: here he is speaking regarding two kinds of nations. There are nations in the category of "darkness will cover the earth," who are in total darkness, pagan idol worshipers. Such people are called those who sit in darkness; the light of Hashem has not shone upon them at all. In contrast, there are nations who are not entirely in darkness, but there is gloom upon their faith and religion, such as the children of Yishmael. The children of Yishmael are not truly darkness, for they already believe in Hashem. And they are also better than the Christians, as we discussed in Sefer HaKuzari, for they too believe in a single God and not in the impure trinity. That is, they do not have the problem of idolatry. It emerges, then, that they have already advanced greatly. But have they arrived? Not yet. First of all, the very fact that they believe in that impure one who is their prophet, believing that he supposedly had some prophecy from Hashem, is already a corruption. Beyond that, they also have great corruptions in their very belief regarding free will. Among the Muslims, as we have discussed before, they do not believe in the free will of man. A Muslim will tell you, "It is all from Allah, it is all from Allah." What about you? No, nothing, it is all from Allah, everything is from God. And this is already a complete corruption, as we have explained several times, for Judaism believes most clearly, "and you shall know this day and take it to your heart," and Judaism believes with complete faith that "you shall choose life." In man's hand is the choice, whether to do good or evil. Either way, you understand that they are not like, say, Buddha, in total darkness, pagan idol worshipers. They are not like India, sacrificing or offering incense to a cow. They are already far better, they believe in Hashem. But they are still in gloom. And regarding them he says, "behold, darkness will cover the earth," these are the heretical nations. And "thick gloom the peoples," here he speaks of the peoples who have only gloom. The meaning is there is light, there is a sun, but there is gloom over it.
"But upon you," as against what we said, "darkness will cover the earth," where there is no sun at all, "upon you Hashem will shine." Among us there is a genuine shining of the Holy One, blessed be He. As against what we said, "thick gloom the peoples," that there are nations such as the Yishmaelim who still have gloom, who are not in complete clarity, there is a sun shining but the gloom prevents the sun from reaching, it says "His glory will be seen upon you." The glory of Hashem will reach us and be seen upon us without any mists that prevent Hashem's illumination. Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal Himself upon us openly, in complete prophecy, eye to eye they will see the glory of Hashem that was revealed to the prophets, so His glory will truly be seen upon you and not through a gloom that would be like a screen separating between the light of Hashem and us.
And then, "nations will walk to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawning." "Nations will walk to your light," the Radak says, is among the prophecies that describe what will happen at the end of days. As it is written, "and many peoples will go and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of Hashem and to the house of the God of Yaakov, that He may teach us of His ways and we will walk in His paths." There is another verse the Radak does not bring, a verse in Zechariah: "and many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek Hashem of Hosts in Yerushalayim and to entreat the favor of Hashem. Thus said Hashem of Hosts: in those days ten men from all the languages of the nations will take hold, they will take hold of the corner of the garment of a Jewish man, saying, we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." So "nations will walk to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawning."
The Malbim says: what is "to your light"? The nations who are from the masses of the idolaters will walk to your light, which is the light of Torah. The kings, who are already considered of a higher rank, will walk to the brightness of your dawning. "Your dawning," as we said, "upon you Hashem will shine," which is the light of Hashem, "and His glory will be seen upon you." That is, in order to walk with us, the light of Torah alone will not suffice for them; rather they will aspire to more, also to the light of prophecy, wishing to see actually how there is the brightness of your dawning, and then the kings too will walk to the brightness of your dawning when they see the people of Israel at their level of prophecy.
"Lift up your eyes around and see, they have all gathered and come to you; your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be carried at the side." "Lift up your eyes around and see, they have all gathered and come to you." "They all," the Radak says, refers to your sons and daughters. Only this seemingly seems puzzling, for you say "they have all gathered and come to you, your sons from afar." So why did you begin speaking in the hidden form when you then move to speaking in the explicit form? You say "they all" and then return and explain "your sons." The Radak says, we have already seen several such examples, like "and she opened it and saw him, the child." After that it is written explicitly what she saw. If you already say "the child," why "and she saw him"? You see that this is often the way of the verses, to speak in the hidden form and afterward to speak in the explicit form.
"They have all gathered and come to you, your sons will come from afar and your daughters will be carried at the side." "Carried" (te'amanah) means: just as a nursemaid carries the infant, so your sons and your daughters will be carried at the side. And "your daughters will be carried at the side" means at the side of royalty and nobility. The meaning: the Targum says "at the side te'amanah" as "al gissin." Gissin, who knows what that is? These are the flanks (the loins). "Gissaya" appears in the Targum several times. "The fat that is on the flanks." And "carried at the side," when the mother takes the baby, she carries it at the side. How does she take it? On the flanks, right, on the hip, at the side, at the place of the flank. So that is "carried at the side." The meaning is they will take them just as a nursemaid carries the infant. So this is "carried at the side," they will take them on their sides, by whom? By royalty and nobility, as it is written, "and princesses your wet nurses."
The Malbim says: "Lift up your eyes around," this refers to the four directions of the world. "And see, they have all gathered." "Gathered," we are already used to their gathering against us, and whenever they gather against us it is for war. He says: no, no, no, "they have all gathered and come to you." "Come to you" means they came to learn Torah, they came to learn the word of Hashem. And your sons they will bring with them from afar. "They all," it emerges then that according to the Radak, "they have all gathered and come to you" and afterward he details who "they all" are, "your sons." According to the Malbim, no. "They all" is all the nations. "They have all gathered" because they came to learn Torah. And "your sons will come from afar," this is the ingathering of the exiles. So there are two things here. Both the nations will come in order to learn the Torah of Hashem, and the people of Israel will return from their exile.
"Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will throb and swell, for the abundance of the sea will be turned over to you, the wealth of nations will come to you." "Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will throb and swell." "Throb and swell your heart" seemingly seems to be a contradiction. If you say "throb" then it is not "swell," a swelling of the heart is something that expresses joy, while throbbing expresses fear. How can you say "your heart will throb and swell"? So Rashi explains that our heart will be astonished and swell. "Throb," as it were, like a person standing dumbfounded. "Your heart will throb and swell." "For the abundance of the sea will be turned over to you." Rashi explains this means the multitude will turn and come to us from the sea. What is "sea"? The west. "Toward the sea," right? So it will be turned over to us, they will come to us across the sea. And "the wealth of nations will come to you" means the possessions of the wealth of the nations will come to us. That is the meaning of "the wealth of nations," for again, "the wealth of nations" could be understood as battle, as war. He says, no, no, the meaning is that all the possessions and wealth of the nations, the people of Israel will receive them all.
I read it as "then you will see and be radiant." It is important to know that the Minchat Shai brings that there are two versions of this. Some read "then you will see (tir'i) and be radiant," and this is the accepted version, and its meaning is from the term of seeing. But in contrast, he brings that some read the tav with a dagesh, "then you will fear (tir'i) and be radiant." And if I read it that way, it is from the term of fear. This is in fact how Rabbi Ibn Ezra reads it, and he brings others who read it this way. But in any case, the Minchat Shai says the correct version is "tir'i," as in our accepted version, without a yud, which is not from the term of fear but from the term of seeing. So you will merit to see and be radiant. Right? "Radiant" (nihart) means from the term of light. A person's face lights up, he sees something, he rejoices, ah, how beautiful, he begins to smile, his face radiates light. So you will see your sons returning from afar and be radiant, you will have a smile on your face. "And your heart will throb and swell."
What is "your heart will throb and swell"? The Radak says, like a person to whom good comes all at once, suddenly the heart contracts and afterward opens. This is like when we want to say his heart skipped a beat. What happens at that moment when the matter... sometimes, Hashem have mercy, there are people who receive some joyous news, and one sees the heart contract, and that is it, it does not reach the stage of opening. Because from the sheer alarm and momentary excitement one can suffer a heart attack, Hashem have mercy. So he says here, with us at first "throb," from the momentary excitement, and then "your heart will swell," joy at the abundance of goodness that we will merit to see with our own eyes.
"For the abundance of the sea will be turned over to you." According to Rashi we saw that the meaning is a multitude coming from the sea, from the west. But in contrast, the Radak explains that "the abundance of the sea" is a kind of metaphor. Until now you were desolate and forsaken, and now it will be the opposite: many peoples will come to us like the abundance of the sea, like the roar of the sea. For "hamon" (abundance/multitude), we have already explained, is from the term "hemyah" (roar/tumult). Why is a multitude called... why does one begin to say many people are a "hamon"? Because when there is a multitude there is noise. There is a roar. If there is a multitude of women, then it is even louder noise, right? But in any case, where there is a multitude, there is a roar. "Hemyah" means noise. So they will come like the abundance of the sea, meaning many peoples will come, the people of Israel will come from many peoples, they will be gathered here like the abundance of the sea, like flooding waves of the sea.
The Malbim explains: "then you will see and be radiant." The Malbim says he compares them to one who sees something that never entered his heart, something he does not believe, what is called pinching himself, is what I am seeing real? Is this reality that I am seeing? Perhaps it is only imagination? Until he looks well, gazes and contemplates, "see," look with contemplation, "and be radiant." What is "and be radiant"? "Radiant," the Malbim says, is from the term of clear vision, as in "they looked to Him and were radiant (venaharu)," where the meaning is seeing. "Tunnels" (minharot), what are tunnels? Tunnels are caves in which they would make a hole above so that through this hole light (neharah) would enter. "Neharah" means light. That is, the term "neharah" is a term of light, a term of seeing. And this is what is written, "then you will see and be radiant." The meaning is that at first something happened, as we explained, that never entered my heart, and afterward I begin to grasp that the matters are true, and then I look and see and "am radiant," meaning I see the matters with good and precise vision. According to the Radak we explained that "radiant" is from the term of joy, a term of radiance on the face. But in contrast, according to the Malbim it is clear vision, that the matters will now be revealed to us in a tangible manner so that we see them precisely.
"And your heart will throb and swell." After we see the matter clearly and "are radiant," there will be a stage where at first the heart throbs, and afterward "your heart swells." Why? The Malbim says, because at first, as I said earlier, we are accustomed that when peoples gather to us it is for war, for nothing else. Therefore at first, when we see that the abundance of the sea will be turned over to you, how all who go down to the sea and its multitude have suddenly turned their faces to come to us, we will worry, we will be alarmed, what do they want? What have they come to do here? Is it war, have they come to destroy us? That is at first. But afterward, "and be radiant and your heart will swell." Afterward we will see that this is the wealth of nations, this is the riches of the nations that came to you, in order to enrich the people of Israel. And then "and be radiant and your heart will swell." After I "am radiant," there will be precise vision, "and your heart will swell." Ah, the heart will swell, we will rejoice with great joy. And the Malbim says there will be four things that at first will cause us to doubt and afterward to rejoice. And this is the first: at first "the abundance of the sea will be turned over to you," we will be alarmed, but afterward we will see that this is the wealth of nations that comes to us, the wealth of the nations that Hashem brings to enrich us.
"A multitude of camels will cover you, the young camels of Midian and Eifah; they all will come from Sheva, they will bear gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Hashem." "A multitude of camels will cover you," the Radak says, "multitude" (shif'at) is abundance. "Shefa" expresses abundance, as in "the abundance (shif'at) of the seas will cover you" and so on, "they will suck the abundance (shefa) of the seas." "The young camels of Midian and Eifah." "Young camels" (bichrei) are the small camels, as in "a swift young camel (bichrah) entangling her ways." "The young camels of Midian and Eifah." "And will proclaim the praises of Hashem." The camels and the merchants and the gold and the frankincense, all this that he says, "they will bear gold and frankincense," all this they will bring with them as merchandise, and they will also bring it as an offering to the King Mashiach. For the King Mashiach will arise and they will all come to entreat his favor.
And why will they "proclaim"? For why is this called proclaiming (mevaser)? Tidings (besorah) are always something new, something that was not there before, one brings you tidings. So he says, we, the people of Israel, we know, we recognize the reality of Hashem. But in contrast, among the nations, to suddenly recognize the reality of Hashem, ah, that is new tidings. That is new tidings. Therefore for them it is "they will proclaim the praises of Hashem." We already recognize, we already know, but for them it is tidings that they supposedly did not know before.
The Malbim explains that, as we said at first, "you will see and your heart will throb" and afterward "and swell," the Malbim explains that all the following verses come to describe further aspects of why at first our heart will throb and afterward our heart will swell. What will cause this? So we saw one explanation, "the abundance of the sea," we will be alarmed, and afterward we will see, no, this is only the wealth of the nations that has come here. Another thing the Malbim says: "you will see and your heart will throb," why? Because "a multitude of camels will cover you." You will see many camels coming, and again, perhaps they came for war. "You will see the young camels (bichrei) of Midian and Eifah." "Bichrei," the Malbim says, means horses. Not camels as the Radak says, but as in "the ruler of the land sent," or "to the runners and the couriers (karim)," where the meaning there is on horses. "You will see the horses of Midian and Eifah." Midian is a nation and Eifah is also from the nations, from Midian, from the sons of Midian: Eifah and Eifer, as appears in Bereishit chapter 25. You will see people coming with running horses of Midian and Eifah. But do not fear, "they all will come from Sheva." From where do they come? From Sheva. Sheva is a distant place. All these will come from Sheva, which is a distant place. What do they want? Again, what is happening to us? "And throb." The heart throbs, worries, what are the tidings? What is about to happen? But afterward "and be radiant," when we will see with precise vision, "and your heart will swell." Why? Because it will become clear to you that these camels bear loads of gold and frankincense, "they will bear gold and frankincense." And "the horses of Midian," what do they come to proclaim? As we said, that the running horses come to proclaim tidings, "they will proclaim the praises of Hashem." They come to proclaim the praises of Hashem, that is, as we explained, that for them it is news, and they come to proclaim these matters to the whole world, and among them they come also to the people of Israel.
Verse 7. "All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you, the rams of Nevayot will serve you; they will go up with acceptance upon My altar, and I will glorify My house of glory." "All the flocks of Kedar." First of all, the Radak says, "all" is not literal, but rather they mean most, as in "and all the earth came to Egypt," where the meaning there is most of the earth. "All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you, the rams of Nevayot will serve you." The rams of Nevayot and the flocks of Kedar, the Radak says, Kedar and Nevayot are two nations whose way it was to raise flocks. For they were tent dwellers, traveling from place to place for the sake of grazing their flocks, as it says, "woe to me that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar," where the meaning is the Bedouin, those who dwell in the deserts who move from place to place in order to graze their flocks. "All the flocks of Kedar," these Kedar and Nevayot will gather to you, to the Land of Israel, the flocks and the rams of Nevayot. "The rams of Nevayot will serve you," the meaning is like with the rams of Nevayot they will serve you. They will serve you and bring you an offering of the rams of Nevayot.
"Will serve you" (yeshartunech), the Radak says that the accent is under the tav. It is not read "yeshartunech," right, the meaning is it is read with the accent on the penultimate syllable and not the final. So the meteg is under the shin, so it is "yeshartunech." The meaning is one must lift the tav, for the tav actually has the accent beneath it. For if the accent were beneath the nun, we would read "yeshartunech." Here we read "yeshartunech." The meaning is one lifts the tav a little.
So the Radak says that through this they will serve us, meaning they will bring us an offering. And these "will go up with acceptance upon My altar," right? As though it were written "they will go up upon My altar for acceptance." They will bring an offering from them and it will be for acceptance upon My altar. From this they will offer a sacrifice to Hashem. However, the Radak says, there is a dispute about this. For Rabbi Eliezer says one does not offer from the animals of the nations, neither we nor they. Why? Because we are concerned about bestiality; the concern is lest the nations have committed bestiality with their animals, and then the animal is forbidden for offering to Hashem. There are those who say no, only for the nations is it permitted and for us it is forbidden. And from this verse they raise a difficulty against Rabbi Eliezer. You, Rabbi Eliezer, say that one does not offer, neither nations nor Israel, yet it is written here explicitly that they will gather for us flocks and rams of Nevayot and this will go up with acceptance upon My altar. How do you resolve this? Now according to the opinions that disagree, he says they, the non-Jews, will offer. But according to your opinion, Rabbi Eliezer, that neither non-Jews nor nations, it is forbidden to offer the animals of the nations, how will you resolve this verse? Rabbi Eliezer says: they are all self-drawn converts in the future to come. All the nations will be in the category of self-drawn converts, as it is written, "for then I will turn to the peoples a clear language, that they may all call upon the name of Hashem and serve Him with one accord." So they will all be in the aspect of converts who will become part of the people of Israel.
"They will go up with acceptance upon My altar, and I will glorify My house of glory." The meaning is that the nations will bring an offering and sacrifices, and I, as it were, will place in their hearts to glorify Him. For there is essentially a difficulty here. "And I will glorify My house of glory"? It should have said "and My house of glory they will glorify." Describe what they will do, what they will offer. Therefore the Radak explains, "I will glorify" means I will place in their hearts to glorify. So this indeed refers back to the Holy One, blessed be He, that they will glorify but Hashem placed it in their hearts.
The Malbim says: a third thing that will cause us "you will see and your heart will throb" is "all the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you," and also "the rams of Nevayot." Who gathered them here? What is the purpose of all this? At first "you will see." At first we see this, we look and wonder, "throb." But afterward "and be radiant and your heart will swell." For it will become clear that they "will go up with acceptance upon My altar." This is all that they came for sacrifices to Hashem, and they will go up with acceptance before Hashem, that Hashem will fulfill their requests. And the Malbim says it is quite possible that "they will go up with acceptance upon My altar" is a kind of personification of the altar, that the altar, as it were, has a will, and these sacrifices will be to the will of the altar. That is the meaning of "they will go up with acceptance upon My altar," that as it were the altar will be pleased with these sacrifices. And why did the rams of Nevayot come? Because "I will glorify My house of glory." Through choice sacrifices, which are the rams of Nevayot, "rams" (eilei) always being the choicest, as in "the rams (ilei) of the land" and so on, through them there will be glory to the house of Hashem.
"Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows?" "Who are these that fly like a cloud?" The Malbim explains: a fourth thing, what will cause us "you will see and your heart will throb"? For you will ask, "who are these that fly like a cloud?" The nations that will bring the people of Israel here will resemble a cloud (av). What is a cloud? It is a cloud that brings with it rains of blessing. And you will ask, "who are these?" And the answer is "that fly like a cloud." These are clouds that came to bring rains of blessing; so too they will bring an offering of silver and gold and return to their homes. And Israel, for the nations will bring an offering here as we explained, and also the people of Israel will return to their land. And this is the second part, "and like doves to their windows." The people of Israel resemble doves that fly to their windows, to their nests, in order to return and remain there.
The Radak explains that speed and lightness, when they want to say of something that it runs swiftly, they compare it to a bird. For the lightest movement is flight. Running is a heavy movement, sailing is a heavy movement; the lightest and fastest movement is flight. So "who are these that fly like a cloud and like doves to their windows?" For doves fly at greater speed when they return to the nest, when they fly to their windows, than when they fly out. Why? Because when they return they return to their young that they left in the nest. So since this is so, their flight is swift. So he wants to say, at what speed will this be? "And like doves to their windows." They hurry to return to the fledglings in order to feed them. "Their windows" means the openings of the dovecote. An "aruba" is always a long, dark opening, so this is the opening of the dovecote through which they enter into the dovecote, like doves returning to their windows.
"For the islands will hope for Me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and gold with them, for the name of Hashem your God and for the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you." "For the islands will hope for Me, and the ships of Tarshish first." What is "first" (barishonah)? Rashi explains: as at first. As it was in the days of Shlomo, "the king had a fleet of Tarshish ships at sea; once in three years the Tarshish fleet would come," that is, ships coming from the sea of Tarshish. So therefore it says "first," meaning as it was at first, in the golden age, the renaissance era of the Jewish people, which was in the time of Shlomo. So "as at first," this era will return. And all these come for the name of Hashem your God. They heard the name of Hashem, heard His name and His might, and "for He has glorified you" means they will give you glory according to what they heard, so Rashi explains.
The Radak explains: "for the islands will hope for Me." The meaning is that the dwellers of the islands hope for Hashem. Why? Because they will understand that Hashem is the One who does good and the One who brings adversity, and therefore they will bring your sons, even if they are far away, they will return them to their land. For they know that the good and everything comes only from Hashem. Since this is so, one must find favor in the eyes of the Holy One, blessed be He. How does one do this? By returning the people of Israel back to their land. "And the ships of Tarshish first," as Rashi explained, means as at first in the time of Shlomo. "Their silver and gold with them." What is "their silver and gold"? The Radak explains that the meaning is the silver and gold of the people of Israel. They constantly speak about the right of return and about returning Palestinian property, and then it always comes back against this, the demand returns to restore the Jewish property that was robbed and plundered in the countries of their dwelling. The nations agreed, whether in Iran, whether in Iraq, whether in all the places, that if the people of Israel are to be released and return to their land, whether in Egypt, they agreed on condition that they take nothing with them. All the property the state nationalized. So essentially we have nothing to worry about, the Radak says, "their silver and gold with them." The silver and gold of Israel, it will all be with them. With all their money they will come, they will leave nothing in the lands of exile. That is one possibility. A second possibility is that besides our silver and gold being with us, "their silver and gold" refers back to the nations. "Their silver and gold with them." As we have already seen in history that the nations brought of their silver and gold for the redemption of the people of Israel. When was that? When Ezra and Nechemyah received permission to build the Beit HaMikdash, then the king issued an order that all who could come and help them should come and help them. And many people contributed to the building of the Beit HaMikdash, even from the nations. And this is "their silver and gold," as it is written regarding the exiles who came up from Bavel, "the men of his place will support him with silver and gold and property and cattle, for the name of Hashem your God." And then they will see how the Holy One, blessed be He, is high and exalted, and they will all of their own accord contribute for the sake of building the Beit HaMikdash, for the sake of restoring the honor of the people of Israel.
"The Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you." Here there is a difficulty for the Radak, for at first he speaks in the feminine: "to bring your sons (banayich) from afar," not "banecha" but "banayich." "For the name of Hashem your God (Elohayich)." But "and for the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you (pei'arech)," speaks of the masculine. How can this be? The Radak says: do not be surprised. Regarding Knesset Yisrael, sometimes there is an expression toward her in the masculine, sometimes in the feminine. The masculine is against the nation. The feminine is against their gathering, this is Knesset Yisrael. "For He has glorified you," He gave you this glory and honor, that the nations will serve you.
The Malbim explains, continuing from the previous verse where we stand and wonder, "who are these that fly like a cloud, and doves to their windows?" So "and your heart will throb," we are in fear, "you will see," you look and ask questions and wonder, who are these and what is this? Afterward "and be radiant and your heart will swell." Why? Because the answer will become clear to you. Against the question "who are these that fly like a cloud," the Holy One, blessed be He, says "for the islands will hope for Me." Even the distant islands will come hoping for Me. So they are "that fly like a cloud." "And the ships of Tarshish," they are the first who hope for Me, as we saw indeed that "the abundance of the sea will be turned over to you," the multitude that dwells beyond the sea, who are on the islands, will be turned over to you, will return to us. Against the question that they ask, who are these that fly and come like doves to their windows, the answer is: "to bring your sons from afar." They bring your sons from afar, and they will remain there and bring with them their silver and gold. Like a person who comes on a long journey to uproot his home, he sells the furnishings and takes the money with him. He does not take a refrigerator and a wardrobe. He sells them there and brings the money with him. So too what will be here, he tells you who are these that come like doves to their windows, this is the children of Israel returning to their windows, who come bringing their silver and gold with them. And what does this hint at? That essentially they come here completely. For if I merely jumped over for a visit to the homeland, I do not sell the wardrobe or the refrigerator or the car, I leave everything there, because I am destined to return. But if I closed up my businesses there and now come here, then I sell everything, and come with cash. He says this is what will be. You will see that they all come with their silver and gold with them. With the silver and gold with them, for they no longer intend to remain there. And what they will bring from afar will be for the name of the Holy One of Israel. Earlier perhaps, the Malbim says, regarding what is written here "for the name of Hashem," note there is a doubling here. For he says "their silver and gold with them for the name of Hashem your God and for the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you." Why the doubling, "for the name of Hashem your God and for the Holy One of Israel"? The Malbim says: there is the name of Hashem, which is the proper name, and there is the name of Hashem the Holy One of Israel, which is the descriptive name. The name of Hashem, why? Because He is the Holy One of Israel by virtue of our deeds. And since this is so, they will bring you from afar, the people of Israel, and this is what is written at the end of the verse, "like doves to their windows," like the doves that return to their windows, so the people of Israel will return back to their land, and therefore the nations will yet assist in the return of the people of Israel back, and the children will return to their borders.