Sefer Yeshayahu, chapter 43. "And now, thus says Hashem, your Creator, Yaakov, and your Fashioner, Yisrael: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine." The Malbim explains that in any case, after the harsh pesukim we saw earlier, "And He poured out upon him the fury of His anger and the strength of battle, and it set him aflame all around," very severe and sharp words, now the navi comes and says: do not despair. "Thus says Hashem, your Creator, Yaakov, and your Fashioner, Yisrael."
There is a difference between Creator (bore) and Fashioner (yotzer). The Malbim says: bore means to create something from nothing, to bring into existence the very essence of the thing, the very substance itself; this is called beriah. Yotzer, by contrast, is like a potter: when there is already clay and from it one shapes a vessel, this is called yetzirah, drawing out its form.
There is also a difference between Yaakov and Yisrael, as we explained. Yaakov is when they are on a lower level, and Yisrael is when they are led in a supernatural manner of importance. At the outset He says: the people of Yisrael, when the Holy One only created them, meaning the first stage of the substance, they were on the level of Yaakov. But the people of Yisrael, in their own right, from their own essential form, are on the level of Yisrael, for they rule over nature, and the Holy One, as it were, leads them in a supernatural way.
Now let us take note: "Thus says your Creator, Yaakov." The Malbim says the phrases of the verse parallel each other. "Thus says your Creator, Yaakov" - what did your Creator, Yaakov, say? "Fear not, for I have redeemed you." Since from the very beginning of your existence, when I chose you to be a people, when I redeemed you from Mitzrayim, that was on the level of beriah, as we explained, that was the beginning. The Holy One says: this obligates that I will also redeem you a second time. The fact that I redeemed you the first time guarantees that I will redeem you again, for why did I take you out of Mitzrayim? For what purpose did I redeem you, if not so that you would be a people unto Me? So already from the very fashioning, in which the Holy One only created you, on the level of something from nothing, took you out of Mitzrayim: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you." Hashem says: just as I redeemed you then, and I did not redeem you in order that you should be a slave of Nevuchadnetzar, so too I will redeem you in the future; this obligates that I will redeem you.
And afterward, "your Fashioner, Yisrael": after I fashioned you and brought you to be a nation exalted above all the nations, an elevated nation, Yisrael from the language of dominion, Hashem says: "I have called you by name, you are Mine." Since I have called you by name, this shows that you are Mine; you are not placed under nature, you are placed under My governance, under the governance of the Holy One, "the eyes of Hashem your God are always upon it." And if so, "you are Mine" obligates that I must conduct Myself with you in a supernatural manner, not under the rule of the ministers of nature.
And this is what He says: from the aspect that the Holy One is "your Creator, Yaakov," this guarantees that you will not be under the rule of the lower ministers, which is the exile of Bavel and the exile of Paras, for the Holy One created you from the outset so that you would be free. And from the aspect that He is "your Fashioner, Yisrael," this also says that you will not be under the rule of the ministers of heaven, that is, like all the nations, for every nation has a minister in heaven, but the people of Yisrael, the Holy One Himself leads them, and you will be under the rule of the higher ministers, for "you are Mine"; you are not placed like the other nations. So here there is both our advantage from the aspect of substance and our advantage from the aspect of form, from our special level on the level of Yisrael.
And for this reason: "When you pass through water, I am with you, and through rivers, they will not overflow you; when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you." And since it is so, "when you pass through water, I am with you." The Malbim explains there are two kinds of salvation: there is natural salvation and supernatural salvation. Natural salvation is if the Holy One accompanies us and guards in advance so that the harmful thing does not come near us. This is called natural salvation, and about this He says: "When you pass through water, I am with you" - you will pass through water in peace, and when "you walk through fire, you will not be scorched" - I will guard you in such a way that you will be safe from harmful things; I will keep the harmful things far from you. By contrast, there is supernatural salvation. What is supernatural salvation? Not that I will guard you so that the water does not harm you, so that the fire does not approach you, but rather I can take you into the water itself and I can take you into the fire itself, and even so you will be preserved, they will not harm you. This is the addition: "and through rivers, they will not overflow you" - even though you will be within the river itself, the water will not touch you, the water will not harm you at all, the current of the water will have no effect on you whatsoever. And this is the continuation: "and the flame will not burn you" - you are already within the flame, "in you" it will not burn; this is already supernatural salvation.
Note, then, that the verse is divided into two: "when you pass through water, I am with you" and "when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched" are parallel phrases of the verse. At first He speaks of natural salvation: you will pass through water, I am with you, I will guard so that the water does not reach you; you will walk through fire, you will not be scorched, I will guard so that the fire does not reach you. And by contrast, supernatural salvation: "and through rivers," within the rivers themselves, "they will not overflow you" - this is supernatural salvation, you are already within the river and it does not overflow, "and the flame will not burn you" - you are within the flame and nonetheless it does not burn you; this is the supernatural salvation. The Malbim says that according to what we explained in the previous verse, this fits very well, for "thus says Hashem, your Creator, Yaakov," and we explained that Yaakov is on the lower level, and we explained that Yaakov means the Holy One guards us from the harms of nature, meaning that the kings of Bavel and the kings of Paras will not harm us, for this speaks of the lower level, and this guarantees that Hashem will redeem us. What does it mean that He will redeem us? He will guard us with natural protection. What is natural protection? That we not come near fire, that we not come near water; this is what Hashem is obligated to do from this aspect. But from the aspect that Hashem is "your Fashioner, Yisrael," which is the spiritual level, the level of form, the people of Yisrael, the people of elevation, "I have called you by name, you are Mine," and therefore you are not under the rule of the stars nor under the rule of the ministers, but rather under Hashem's special protection, this guarantees that even if you enter the water, the water will not harm you, and even if you enter the fire, the fire that burns everything, it will not burn you. Why? Because this harm speaks of something supernatural. How can one be saved from something supernatural? When "you are Mine." When "you are Mine," says the Holy One, on the level of form, that you are within the category of Yisrael, even supernatural things will not be able to harm you and will not injure you and will have no dominion over you at all.
The Radak explains these verses as speaking about the matter of Koresh, king of Paras, who sent Yisrael out of the exile of Bavel. Thus he brings one interpretation: "Thus says Hashem, your Creator, Yaakov, and your Fashioner, Yisrael: Fear not, for I have redeemed you." From what did I redeem you? From the first exile, which the Holy One redeemed us from, when they went and built the Second Beit HaMikdash upon coming out from the kingdom of Koresh, king of Paras; this is "I have redeemed you." This is one interpretation.
He explains an additional interpretation in the name of his father, that here he speaks in general about the First Beit HaMikdash, and here he speaks about Sancheriv. And this speaks about what we discussed earlier, that when Sancheriv came and besieged Yerushalayim, and this is on the level of "it set him aflame all around," Sancheriv came and besieged in the days of Chizkiyahu, and the fire was all around, He says: do not worry, Sancheriv will not overcome you, Sancheriv will not conquer Yerushalayim; although he exiled the ten tribes, he will not harm you. According to this it comes out that this actually speaks about the period of the First Beit HaMikdash.
The Radak brings an additional interpretation, that this speaks about the future redemption. And then all that is written here, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you," always refers to what will be in the future, the future redemption, that the Holy One, just as He redeemed us, "as in the days when you came out from the land of Mitzrayim, I will show it wonders." So do not despair if you see that there are troubles and there are disasters; the Holy One will ultimately redeem the people of Yisrael.
The Malbim says we should note that whenever Scripture comes to describe something, it always goes from the lighter to the more severe. Therefore the Malbim says: note, it is written here "when you pass through water, I am with you, and through rivers, they will not overflow you." The Malbim says water is smaller than rivers; a river is larger than water. Water can even be a small amount; I would say there is a little water on the table, I would not say there is a river on the table, right? That is, a river always comes to express something larger than water. So He says: not only "in water, I am with you," but even in rivers, which are much larger than water, even there "they will not overflow you." The same with a flame: fire can be a small amount, there is a little fire here, a person lit a match, there is fire there; by contrast, a flame always comes to express some large blaze. So He says: not only "through fire, you will not be scorched," but even a flame, which is already "in you," "will not burn" - it is already in you, it is already touching you, "it will not burn you" - in any case it will not be able to harm and injure you.
In connection with this verse there is an interesting story brought in the Sefer HaKol Bo. The Sefer HaKol Bo, in siman 18, and it is also brought in the Sefer HaManhig and in the Abudraham in the name of the Even HaYarchi, and I also bring it in the sefer BeMishnat HaChalomot. He brings in the Sefer HaKol Bo, you know they say it is a sefer authored by a woman, it is not known who the author is, who composed the sefer. In any case he brings there: we say "VeHu Rachum" on Monday and Thursday. What is the source of "VeHu Rachum"? How did this "VeHu Rachum" come to us, which all the communities of Yisrael say? It is brought that its source was composed following a dream, and therefore I brought it in the sefer. A story that happened went like this: it is told that when the people of Yisrael went out from Yerushalayim into exile, Jews arrived by ship at a city ruled by a bishop. That bishop, that great ruler, asked them: from which people are you? They said to him: we are Jews. He said to them: if you are Jews, I want to test you as your forefathers Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya were tested. I want to check whether you are truly made of the same material. Come, we will cast into the fire, and we will see whether one is burned or not burned. They said to him: give us thirty days and we will give you an answer. The Jews sat in fasting and prayed to Hashem. Toward the end of the time, an old Jew who was God-fearing stood up and said to them: they showed me a verse in a dream. In this verse, I do not remember what they showed me; what I remember is that in it "ki" is written twice and "lo" three times. And I do not know the meaning of the dream, and I do not know which verse it is, twice "ki" and three times "lo." There was an old man who was a great sage, and he said to that Jew: they showed you the verse we just read. "When you pass through water, I am with you, and through rivers, they will not overflow you; when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you" - here there is "ki" twice and "lo" three times. "Ki when you pass through water, I am with you," "ki when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched," and here there are three times "lo": "and through rivers they will not (lo) overflow you," "through fire you will not (lo) be scorched," "and the flame will not (lo) burn you" - three times "lo." He said to him: if so, this verse indicates that you were chosen from heaven to enter the fiery furnace without fear; you have a promise, behold you are assured that "when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you." The bishop prepared a great fire, that old man entered the fire, and it is brought that the fire divided into three parts, and suddenly they see how three tzaddikim receive the face of that old man within the fire. The tzaddikim began to praise and glorify their first Fashioner. The first opened with "VeHu Rachum" until "for You are a good and forgiving God." The second opened with "Ana Melech Rachum VeChanun Zechor" until "for You are a gracious and merciful King and God." And the third opened with "Ein Kamocha Rachum VeChanun" until its end. And following this incident they instituted to say this praise in the morning prayer on Monday and Thursday in order to arouse the mercy of heaven. Presumably the three were Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya, these who presumably came to receive his face. It comes out, then, that the institution of "VeHu Rachum" was instituted by great and righteous people. So the next time someone calls out that there is a Kaddish without Tachanun, do not jump for joy at this, for you will understand that here there is a great and holy institution by the holy ones of the Most High, who instituted saying it through a special miracle performed from heaven: a man walked into the fire, and there within the fire this matter was revealed, what an elevation and supernal holiness there is in saying "VeHu Rachum."
"For I am Hashem your God, the Holy One of Yisrael, your Savior; I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom, Kush and Seva in your place." Rashi explains this regarding the past: "I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom" - Mitzrayim were the ransom for us; their firstborn died and our firstborn were saved. So this is "I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom"; you were liable then to annihilation, as it is written "to pour out My fury upon them in the land of Mitzrayim," and the Holy One took the Egyptians in our place.
The Malbim, by contrast, continues with the same line he opened with earlier. We explained that the Holy One speaks of natural salvation and miraculous salvation. Corresponding to natural salvation He says "I am Hashem your God" - "your God" is from the language of hashgachah, your God, particular Divine providence guarding you so that no evil befalls you. And there is miraculous salvation, in a way of wonder above nature; this is the continuation: "the Holy One of Yisrael" - "the Holy One of Yisrael" shows that by virtue of the holiness of the deeds you are worthy of a miracle; "holy" indicates an elevated, more exalted governance, a miraculous governance, "I am Hashem your Savior" in a way of a miracle.
How is the matter done? "I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom, Kush and Seva in your place." Kush and Seva are names of nations. "I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom" - for earlier we saw in chapter 20, verse 4, it is written "So shall the king of Ashur lead away the captives of Mitzrayim and the exiles of Kush, naked and barefoot." When Sancheriv came here to lay siege around Yerushalayim, and Chizkiyahu was reigning here, and he sent here his men to threaten the people of Yisrael and to demand that Chizkiyahu surrender, in the end Sancheriv was forced to flee, for they told him that they were coming and besieging his land, and he went to save his land, but he said: do not worry, I will yet return. And indeed he fulfilled his promise, he returned. Only that he returned after he exiled all of Kush, he went back to his land, fought against Kush who had besieged him, exiled them all, and Mitzrayim he also struck, but only took captives from them. And then he returned here to finish the story with Chizkiyahu, and indeed here his story ended, but yes, for 180 thousand, 185 thousand troop commanders in one night, as we already learned. So here you see there was captivity from Mitzrayim and exile of Kush. These two things were supposed to happen to us; the people of Yisrael were supposed to go, some into captivity and all into exile, and behold, see that in the end the Holy One put others in our place, sent Sancheriv so that he would exile all of Kush and take captives from Mitzrayim.
Now the Malbim says: note, it is written here "your ransom, Mitzrayim," whereas "Kush and Seva in your place." What is the difference between "your ransom" and "in your place"? The Malbim says a ransom (kofer) is in money, as it is written "you shall not take a ransom for the life of a murderer" - do not pay a payment in order to save a person about to be executed by the court. A ransom does not help one who is liable to death; for whom does it help? Only if he is liable to some other punishment, not death, then a ransom helps. So He says: note that the captivity of Mitzrayim was effective to serve as a ransom for us, "I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom," even though it is not of the same kind, for a ransom is not of the same kind, as we explained, money in place of captivity, money in place of punishment, this is always a ransom; a ransom is not of the same kind and not of the same type. So the captivity of Mitzrayim was effective to serve as a ransom for us, "I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom" in place of the captivity of Yisrael. This indicates the reality in which the people of Yisrael were not liable to exile but only liable to captivity; in this case a ransom did help, for a ransom is not of the same kind, as we explained, money in place of captivity, money in place of punishment, this is always a ransom; a ransom is not of the same kind and not of the same type. So the captivity of Mitzrayim was effective to serve as a ransom for us, "I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom," even though it is not of the same kind. But "in place of" (tachat) is always of the same kind, like "a life in place of a life," this is of the same kind, "an eye in place of an eye" - Chazal expounded what they expounded, but in the language of "tachat" it is always a thing in place of a thing, or like the ram that Avraham Avinu took in place of his son, a sacrifice in place of a sacrifice. That is, "tachat" is always of the same kind. This was in the exile of Kush, for the exile of Kush is in complete accordance with what we were liable for. Mitzrayim was captivity; we were not liable to captivity, and therefore there it is called a ransom, for it is not exactly the same thing. But Kush was punished with exile, and this is what we were truly liable for; we were liable to exile, and when the Holy One took the exile of Kush in place of exiling us, this is called "tachat," and therefore it is written "Kush and Seva in your place" - they are truly in your place, since you yourself were liable to exile, so they are of the same kind and of the same type; therefore it is called "tachat."
The Radak explains that if here the Radak had two paths, two lines, here in the explanation of this prophecy: if this is a future prophecy, the Radak says one can say that what he speaks of here, "your Savior, I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom, Kush and Seva in your place," speaks here about the future. That it will come as is brought in Sefer Daniel, that the king of the north will come with chariot and horsemen and many ships and will stretch out his hand against the lands, and the land of Mitzrayim, too, will not escape him. And if so, this speaks here about how Mitzrayim will be seized by the king of the north in place of the people of Yisrael. Whoever wishes can listen on the disc about Sefer Daniel, where we detail who the king of the north is and against whom he fights and what all those prophecies speak of.
"Because you are precious in My eyes, you are honored, and I have loved you; therefore I give a man in your place and peoples in place of your soul." "Because you are precious in My eyes, you are honored, and I have loved you." Note, there are here three expressions of closeness: you are precious in My eyes, you are honored in My eyes, and I love you. The Malbim says: what is the difference between these three expressions? "Precious" (yakar), the Malbim says, is something from the aspect that it is rare in existence. "The word of Hashem was precious" - what is the continuation? "there was no frequent vision" - this is rareness of existence; "precious" means a thing that is not common. If we look at gold, gold has some honor in its own right, for what is gold? It is a metal. Imagine that tomorrow gold would be like stones and aluminum would be rare in existence; every gram of aluminum would sell for thousands, and gold they would say to you, how much do you want, what do you want, bring a truck and load it up, right? That is, what makes gold so precious is that it is rare in existence, that gold is not common; so every gram of gold becomes precious. I read recently that in Africa the rhinoceroses are about to become completely extinct. Why? Because there are people who hunt them, for what? Only for the horn, for the horn is sold in Russia and other places at 140 dollars per gram, a gram from the horn. I do not know what they do with it, do not ask me, remedies against what, I do not know what it is, but every gram of this horn is 140 dollars. Do you understand what this is worth? What is the horn? Just a piece of bone, but since it is rare, it is called precious; "precious" means rare in existence. There is a thing that is honored (nichbad); "honored" is from the aspect of its essential quality, it is honored in its own right, so it may be that it can be common, but it is honored from the aspect of its special quality. And a third thing is the beloved thing (nehav); the beloved may be that it is not precious, it may be that the thing is not honored, but I love it, it found favor in my eyes, I love it from the aspect of this quality of it.
Now the navi comes and says in Hashem's name: see, you people of Yisrael, do you know why "I am your Savior," why "I have given Mitzrayim as your ransom, Kush and Seva in your place"? "Because you are precious in My eyes" from the aspect of the root of your soul, this is from a high place, this is a rare thing, this is a very unique thing, the people of Yisrael, or from the aspect of the quarry of your fathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, there are not many like these, there are not many like these, this is very rare, this is precious, "you are precious in My eyes." Now from your own aspect, the people of Yisrael engage in Torah, engage in mitzvot; this gives them an essential quality, so this is "you are honored" - "honored," we already said, is an essential quality: you yourself engage in Torah, you yourself fulfill mitzvot. And a third thing: even if you have no quality and nothing, "and I have loved you" - "and I have loved you" - "and I loved Yaakov, and I hated Esav," says the Holy One, I love the people of Yisrael, My will is placed in them. And this corresponds to what He mentioned earlier, whoever remembers, "But you, Yisrael, My servant, whom I have chosen, the seed of Avraham who loved Me," which is exactly these same three things.
And therefore "and I give a man in your place" - and therefore you will understand why "I give a man in your place": even for one of Yisrael, I give a man, a gentile, to be in his place, "in his place," as we said, one for one; if a Jew was to be exiled, then the gentile will be exiled. But "and peoples in place of your soul" - if it is about one man, then "I give a man in your place," but when it is about "your soul," about your neshamah, which is what we said, a precious thing hewn from beneath the Throne of Glory, corresponding to this I will give peoples, many nations, I will hand over in your place, since here it speaks about "your soul," and your soul is the most precious.
"Fear not, for I am with you; from the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you." "Fear not, for I am with you" - I will gather the scattered ones, says the Holy One. The Malbim already asks: why is "fear not" written twice? For if you remember, the prophecy began "And now, thus says Hashem, your Creator, Yaakov, and your Fashioner, Yisrael: Fear not, for I have redeemed you." So what room is there to say again in verse 5, "fear not, for I am with you"? The Malbim says because in truth they had reason to fear two things. One thing: while they are still in exile, there is room to fear lest we be lost among the nations, lest we be annihilated among them; about this He said to us: fear not, when you pass through water I will give Mitzrayim as your ransom, do not worry, the twisted ones will be a ransom for your soul, you will not be annihilated among the nations even though you will be in water and even though you will be in fire, you will not be scorched, you will be among the nations, the people of Yisrael will not be erased, a promise that the people of Yisrael will remain in existence forever. A second thing: we have another reason to see, good, we will not be annihilated, but what about redemption, when will we come here, when will we return back to our land? This is the second "fear not": you will think, how is it possible, the Holy One, how will He now gather all the dispersed of Yisrael, the Jewish dispersion across the entire globe, how is this possible? He tells you: about this too, do not worry. This is our verse: "Fear not, for I am with you; from the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you." I, the Holy One, I exiled you, and I will also collect and gather you, as it is written "and He who scattered Yisrael will gather him" - He who scattered is also the one who will collect.
"From the east I will bring your seed." It is written in a verse "and He will gather the dispersed of Yisrael, and the scattered of Yehudah He will collect." Why does he say regarding Yisrael "the dispersed of Yisrael," and regarding Yehudah he says "the scattered of Yehudah He will collect"? Here "gathering," here "collecting": "He will gather the dispersed of Yisrael, and the scattered of Yehudah He will collect." The Malbim explains something he already explained in the past. Yisrael, they were exiled to the lands of the east, to them the ten tribes; we are not speaking now about the lands of the east where they are today, what is called Iraq, Yemen, Morocco, but rather speaking of the lands of the east, meaning the Far East; there the ten tribes were exiled. The ten tribes, the Malbim says, they are collected; what is needed is only to gather them, one does not need to collect them, they are there collected, sitting in one place, and one needs to gather them, to bring them here. About this it is written "from the east I will bring your seed" - I will bring him, he is already there, he does not need collecting, one only needs to gather him here. By contrast, the people of Yisrael, which is Yehudah and Binyamin, to whom in fact we are all attributed, the ten tribes were lost to us, they are collected somewhere in the east, we simply do not know where; by contrast, Yehudah and Binyamin, where are they? Scattered throughout the whole world, Jews are found in Australia and in China and in America and in Africa and where not, where not. So those who are Yehudah and Binyamin, what do they need? They need collecting, they need to be collected and gathered. And this is what is written "from the west" - those who were exiled to the west, not to the Far East, "from the west I will gather you" - those who are in the west, they need to be collected.
Only what we need to understand: seemingly, when you speak to me about the east, you say "I am with you; from the east I will bring your seed" - we understood why it is written "I will bring," for they do not need collecting, they are already ready only to be brought. And why "from the west I will gather you"? Because indeed those who were exiled to the west, these are the two tribes, Yehudah and Binyamin, they need to be collected. But why "from the west I will gather you," and by contrast about "from the east" it is written "I will bring your seed"? He does not speak about them themselves here; here he speaks about the seed, and there he speaks about them themselves. The Malbim says the difference is that the ten tribes were exiled in the days of Chizkiyahu, so those cannot be brought themselves; who can be brought? Only their seed. But the tribe of Yehudah, their exile was later, so they were exiled just now; if they were exiled just now, one can still bring them themselves, so therefore "from the west I will gather you" - you yourself. But the ten tribes were already exiled long ago; those who were exiled long ago, them one can no longer bring, they have already died, so whom can one bring? Only their seed. So this is wonderfully understood, that when speaking about the ten tribes, there one speaks about gathering and not about collecting, and there one speaks about their seed; and by contrast, when speaking about those who were exiled to the west, there one speaks about collecting, and there one speaks about those themselves who were exiled.
"I will say to the north: Give, and to the south: Do not hold back; bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth." "I will say to the north: Give" - even the Jews who are in the north, who, as we explained, those in the north are closed in there among the mountains, the mountains surround them, they cannot come out from among them, the Holy One says "I will say to the north: Give." "And to the south" - these are those in the south, there they are not closed in, but what is the concern? That the nations will not let them come out. So toward them, "and to the south: Do not hold back" - meaning, I say to the nations, do not delay the people of Yisrael from coming out; "bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth" - bring My sons and My daughters from the ends of the earth, for the time of redemption has arrived.
"Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I created for My honor, I fashioned him, I even made him." "Everyone who is called by My name, and for My honor" - He says: not only will I command the four winds of heaven to bring out those who are in exile, but know: everyone who is called by My name, all of creation, the upper and the lower, all those who are attributed to My name, whom I created, and all that I created for My honor, meaning all the creation that I created so that the honor of heaven would be revealed through it, all this reality, all of it I fashioned and made only in order to bring out a blind people that has eyes and deaf ones that have ears; all of creation I created for this purpose.
This verse is a very fundamental verse. This is the verse that in fact speaks about the four worlds that exist, and the mekubalim expound at length upon it, and it is also mentioned in the Zohar: "Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I created for My honor, I fashioned him, I even made him." There are four worlds, called by the name Abiya, which is their acronym from top to bottom: Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah. And "by My name, and for My honor" speaks of Atzilut, for in the world of Atzilut there is nothing but His honor, may His name be blessed, "evil will not dwell in Your dwelling" and none is with Him, this is only Hashem may He be blessed; this is "for My honor," the name Havayah, "by My name, and for My honor" is only Hashem may He be blessed, there is none besides Him. By contrast, the worlds that emanate from there, this is already the Beriah: "I created him," the world of Beriah; "I fashioned him," the world of Yetzirah, the world of the Throne; "I even made him," this is the spiritual world of Asiyah, and from it emanates the lower world of Asiyah.
The Malbim explains what is the difference between "created" (bara), "fashioned" (yatzar), and "made" (asah). The Malbim says "created" is to bring out the substance and the essence of the thing from nothing. "In the beginning God created" - the Ramban says, what is "created"? Primary formless matter; call it in the language of scientists in our times, call it an atom. The Holy One created the first substance, and afterward from it the Holy One, each and every day, fashions something from something, but the first time is "in the beginning"; there Hashem created the substance of the raw material, "in the beginning He created," and afterward from what was created of that primary formless matter, from it all the compounds, for in everything that is in creation, in everything that is in the world, there is an atom, only in different combinations. And if so, then creation is something from nothing, fashioning is to take and join the things together to form a thing, I took substance, I joined, I fashioned a form, and afterward "I even made him" - "I made him" is to complete the form, the finishing of the thing, the actualization of the form. The creation from nothing, the Malbim says, all of it is for My honor, and after that I fixed and made and completed everything with the purpose of verse 8, "to bring out a blind people that has eyes and deaf ones that have ears." All this was created in order to bring out a blind people that has eyes. The purpose of creation is for the honor of Hashem may He be blessed; His honor will be revealed through, as we said, the ingathering of the exiles. So there is a necessity that all reality assist this matter, for this is the purpose of creation. The purpose of creation is that His name may He be blessed be revealed, and where will this be revealed? In the ingathering of the exiles. So everything created, all was created for this purpose: "I created him, I fashioned him, I even made him" for this purpose, that My people would come out, a blind people. "A blind people" means a people that seemingly sees the reality but they are as though sealing their eyes, "a blind people that has eyes and deaf ones that have ears," as we saw earlier that He said "who is blind but My servant," as it is written "and deaf as the messenger I send," and He calls them blind and deaf because they are rebuked and they seal their ears, so this is deaf, "and ears they have" is blind and he has eyes. Hashem says: the purpose, all of creation was prepared for this reality in which the redemption will be, when His name may He be blessed will be publicized and revealed in all the worlds together.
"All the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled; who among them can tell this, and let them proclaim to us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified, and let them hear and say: it is truth." After he prophesies this prophecy which deals with the ingathering of exiles, that the people of Yisrael will return to their land, now he speaks to the twisted ones who were in his time. The Malbim says that in his time the twisted ones would tell all kinds of wondrous tales, tales of a thousand and one nights, about their deities. Whoever read about Greek mythology and all kinds of mythologies of ancient peoples that describe to you how Zeus fought with Homer and how he took his wife from him and how his son rose against him and murdered him, and how they have tales of a thousand and one nights about the wars of the gods, endless stories. The Malbim says stories, I will read you his language: "and their stories were full of many vanities, without number, as is known in the stories of Greek mythology, which is the remnant of the stories of these strange vanities." To them he turns and says: let the nations gather now, these peoples, "all the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled; who among them can tell this" - is there anyone among you who can tell me what will be in the future? Do you have anyone who can tell some prophecy? I am here stating a prophecy, and the prophecy is about the ingathering of the exiles of the people of Yisrael, who will return to their land. Do you have anyone who stated such a prophecy? You need all the stories about the idols and deities; did any of them ever say anything about something that would happen in the future? "Who among them can tell this, and let them proclaim to us the former things" - what do they tell you? What was in the past, that is what they tell you, "let them proclaim to us the former things." You know, once there was such a war and that god subdued this god and this one did such, and so on; well, why does he not tell something about what will be in the future? What does he tell me? What was in the past. They only "proclaim to us the former things."
He says: and not only this. The former things that they proclaim, "let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified." When you tell something, you want to tell me some story, some wonder that was in the past, you want me to believe you, right? You need testimony; bring a witness who saw the thing, bring a witness who is honorable in his eyes who can come and testify that what you say is true. So He says "let them proclaim to us the former things," but even what they proclaim to us about the former things, they have no testimony for it, they cannot prove what they say, "let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified," or "and let them hear and say: it is truth," or that at least it be a story acceptable to reason, that the listener says: it is very likely, what you say is reasonable. He says: but their stories are so imaginary that even the listener says it is false, the listener says it cannot be, there is no such thing, nonsense and vanities. And this is what he says to them: either "let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified" - bring witnesses, even if the thing is the most wondrous, but bring witnesses, then I will accept it; and he says, or in any case whoever hears the words, the words will seem logical to him, they will bring, and then "let them hear and say: it is truth." But your stories, first, are about the former things, you say nothing at all about the future, you have no prophecies at all by which I can test you; and second, even what you tell me about the past, these are tales of a thousand and one nights that have no connection at all to reality and to truth.
I want to say that their vain stories are the products of the days of darkness, meaning the days of old, spiderwebs that the priests of the idol wove to tell of ancient days that no man saw and no witness testifies that he saw the thing, and the stories themselves contradict the truth. Why? Because the definition of truth, the Malbim says, is that what is told agrees with reason and reality. Truth is that which truly is acceptable to reason, that fits the reality, but here every listener laughs at them. So how do you want us to believe all their stories, even when they concern the past? The Malbim explains that it is written here "all the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled." What is the difference between "gathered" (kibbutz) and "assembled" (asifah)? We already explained this in the previous verses, that "gathered" is something scattered; when something is scattered, one needs to gather it. "Assembled," by contrast, is to bring a thing from the outside inward, to collect it inside. "You collected them home" - what is "you collected"? You gathered? What is there to gather? They are gathered, there is one man or two here, you collect them home, its meaning is bringing inside. So to assemble is to bring from outside inward, and to gather means to gather the scattered ones. There is also a difference between "nations" (goyim) and "peoples" (leumim). "Peoples" are the orderly nations, nations that have one religion, they have law and order among them; those do not need to be gathered, for indeed they are gathered under the same religion, under the same law, the same justice, they are already gathered, what do they need? Only assembling. So therefore all the peoples will assemble, for they are already gathered, these are orderly countries, they only need to be assembled. But by contrast, the "nations," the nations, we already explained, speak of dispersed peoples, such that are not gathered at all and are not considered an orderly nation with orderly law; these nations also do not sit in an orderly place, and therefore "all the nations are gathered together" - them one needs to gather, for they do not sit in a place, this is not an orderly country.
Note there is a verse here, there is an expression here that the Gemara in Masechet Avodah Zarah relates to: "All the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled; who among them can tell this, and let them proclaim to us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified, and let them hear and say: it is truth." The Gemara says: Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa expounded, Avodah Zarah page 2a, and some say Rabbi Simlai: In the future to come the Holy One will bring a Sefer Torah and place it in His bosom and say: whoever engaged in it, let him come and take his reward. "And it laughs at the last day" - a stage will arrive in which one receives reward. Immediately the idol-worshipers gather and come in confusion, as it says "all the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled," as we just read. The Holy One says to them: do not enter before Me in confusion, but rather let each and every nation enter with its scholars, as it says "and the peoples are assembled" - what is "leumim"? A "leom" is nothing but a kingdom, as it says "and one people (leom) shall be stronger than the other people." So not in disorder, each kingdom shall come by itself. Why? Because there is a separate accounting with each kingdom. The Gemara says: immediately the kingdom of Rome entered before Him first. Why? Because it is important. And how do we know it is important? For it is written "and it shall devour the whole earth and trample it and crush it," and so on - this is Rome, may the wicked kingdom be liable, whose reputation went out throughout the whole world. The Gemara says: a king and a community, the king enters first for judgment, therefore they enter first. Skipping some passage, the Gemara says: the Holy One asks them: for what do you deserve reward? They say before Him: Master of the universe, we established many marketplaces, we made many bathhouses, we multiplied much silver and gold, and all we did only for the sake of Yisrael, so that they would engage in Torah. The Holy One says to them: fools of the world, all that you did, you did for your own needs; you established marketplaces to place prostitutes in them, bathhouses to indulge yourselves in them, silver and gold you gathered - it is Mine, as it says "Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold, says Hashem of hosts." Is there among you one who can tell this? This is the question, "who among you can tell this"; what is "this"? "This" is nothing but Torah, as it says "and this is the Torah that Moshe placed." Is there anyone who tells this, is there any nation that engaged in Torah? This is what the Holy One says to them: is there among you one who can tell this? There is not. Immediately they went out in dejection. The kingdom of Rome went out, the kingdom of Paras entered. Why? Because it is important after it, and so on. Hashem says to them: with what did you engage? They say to Him: Master of the universe, we bridged many bridges, we conquered great cities, we waged wars, and all this we did only for the sake of Yisrael - only to destroy the people of Yisrael, for whom are all these wars? They did not say that, they told stories: great cities we conquered, wars we made, all we did for the sake of Yisrael so that they would engage in Torah. Why did we go to fight with Saddam Hussein, say the Iranians, a war of some eighteen years, only for the sake of the people of Yisrael, so that they would engage in Torah; we occupied Saddam Hussein so that the people of Yisrael here could engage in Torah. The Holy One says to them: all that you did, you did for your own needs; bridges to take toll from them, great cities to impose forced labor in them, wars I made, as it says "Hashem is a man of war." Is there among you one who can tell this? And so on. "This" is nothing but Torah. Immediately they went out before Him in dejection.
What is the continuation of the verse? The navi says "who among them can tell this," as we explained, who will say that he engaged in Torah, "and let them proclaim to us the former things; let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified." "Let them proclaim to us the former things; let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified" - they will come and say: Master of the universe, "let them proclaim to us the former things," come now, give us now the mitzvot, we now want to fulfill, "let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified," meaning, behold we will give testimony and prove that we truly want to fulfill the Torah. The Holy One says to them: what will it help now, it is already too late. But in any case, behold the Holy One comes with a grievance with His creatures, and the Holy One gives them the mitzvah of sukkah and heats the sun upon them, and they go out and kick. And the Gemara asks: but Yisrael too, when one is in distress, is exempt from the sukkah, so he can go out. The Gemara says: yes, but Yisrael does not kick, whereas they kick.
And they kick at the sukkah, and then the Holy One will laugh. And the Holy One does not laugh except on that day, yes, "He who sits in heaven will laugh, Hashem will mock them." So this verse speaks about the future. Since we have already mentioned this derashah, then indeed there is here a great question that the Rav of Brisk asks: it speaks about the future, and the future is spoken of in a situation in which the Holy One, Hashem is true and His Torah is true, Hashem God is true. How will nations come to judgment and claim such vanities? "All we did we did only for Yisrael, we established marketplaces for Yisrael." What are these stories? Who believes such a story? They themselves do not believe in their own falsehood. So why do they come to tell this to the Master of the universe? What is the understanding of this? And not only that, also afterward, what does the Holy One say to them? He says to them: "fools of the world, all that you did, you did only for yourselves." This is fools? This is liars! What is "fools of the world"?
Rather, in truth, in the future to come, what we read earlier will become clarified: "Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I created for My honor, I fashioned him, I even made him." In the future to come it will become clarified that all of creation, in its entirety, was created for the sake of Yisrael. In the future to come it will be explained that in fact the marketplaces they established and the bridges they established and all the inventions they made, all this is really for the sake of the Torah. Like that Trans-Siberian railway they built back then, and no one understood why it was needed, and the Mir Yeshiva was saved thanks to that railway, Rabbenu Yeruchem and Rav Yechezkel Levenstein and the entire yeshiva. And no one understood why such a Trans-Siberian railway was needed, on which thousands and thousands labored, and they died there, and no one understood why this was needed. And it was all created for the sake of Yisrael. So do the nations claim falsehood or truth? Truth! For the nations will reach the conclusion, they will see that indeed now everything is clear, all of creation, all of it is for the sake of Yisrael. So they say to the Master of the universe: well, so what is now becoming clear? That we built marketplaces for the sake of Yisrael, and we established bridges for the sake of Yisrael. Well, now it is clear. What, does reward not come for this?
He says to them: fools. Why fools? You are not liars, you are correct. Indeed, in practice now it becomes clear that even for you it was for the sake of Yisrael. But what did you intend? You intended for needs, in order to collect taxes from them and bridges and property taxes and so on and so on. All you intended was for your own needs. Now tell me, such a person who performed an act and toiled and exerted himself greatly, and with only a slight intention could have received for it an enormous reward, and without intention he might perhaps even be punished for it, how is this person worthy to be called? A fool! You are a fool, for only if you had intended you would already have everything. You already exerted yourself anyway. So one cannot call them liars, for the truth is as they said, but it is foolishness not to intend. Therefore He said to them "fools"; your problem was in the intention, that you intended for your own sake. And therefore at the end of the process, not only will you not receive reward for this, you will even be worthy of punishment for it, for in many of the acts you did, you further distanced the people of Yisrael from the Torah and from the mitzvot.