Sefer Yirmiyahu chapter 12. "You are righteous, Hashem, when I plead with You, yet I will speak of judgments with You. Why does the way of the wicked prosper, why are all the treacherous betrayers at ease?" "You are righteous, Hashem, when I plead with You." Here Yirmiyahu touches on the question of the righteous who suffers and the wicked who prospers, and in truth he is teaching us how one asks questions. The question, even before it is asked, opens with a declaration. And the declaration is: You are righteous, Hashem. First of all, the clear thing, the absolute thing, the thing beyond any doubt: You are righteous, Hashem. With all this, I still want to understand. The fact that I accept the justice of the judgment upon myself does not yet mean that I have understood it. I am certain that what Hashem does is done in justice, but I still want to understand the logic that stands behind it. Where is the justice here? For this justice is surely a Divine justice, but where can it also be grasped in the mind of human beings? So, "You are righteous, Hashem, when I plead with You." The meaning is: it cannot be that I would contend with You, for You are righteous. I do not dispute this axiom, this starting premise. With all this, "yet I will speak of judgments with You." The meaning, as the Radak says, is like a person litigating with his fellow. That is to say, each side presents its arguments in order to clarify the ruling. So too here, I wish, Master of the Universe, to speak of judgments and to ask a question. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do we see that the wicked among Israel succeed?
Rashi explains that the question here is more focused, and that the question is about Nevuchadnetzar. Why did the wicked Nevuchadnetzar receive such greatness? He is wicked, so why did he receive such greatness to succeed in destroying Your House? Another possibility, says Rashi, is that the question is focused on how we ended the previous chapter. There we saw the men of Anatot who tried to take the life of the prophet, and about this is really the question, why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why does the way of these wicked men succeed? "Why are all the treacherous betrayers at ease." "At ease" is from the word tranquility, those people who betray Hashem have tranquility.
The Malbim explains that after the prophet hears Hashem say that He will bring evil upon them in the year of their reckoning, meaning in the year of the reckoning, which refers to the time of the destruction, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, then I will exact payment from them. Says the Malbim, now the prophet prays: Master of the Universe, shorten their span by a third because of their evil conduct. That is, exact payment from them earlier. No, do not wait until the destruction, but exact payment from them earlier and let them give their reckoning. Do not wait until the year of their reckoning, until the time of the destruction comes. For the Holy One, blessed be He, shows him their evil deeds, the harsh things they do, and if so, Master of the Universe, it is fitting that You bring forward the time of their reckoning, meaning the payment from them, for the destruction of the House is, among other reasons, on their account, so it is very possible that if these wicked ones would die earlier, then perhaps the House would not be destroyed.
The Malbim has here a truly wonderful explanation. "You are righteous, Hashem, when I plead with You." Says the Malbim, regarding the question of the righteous who suffers and the wicked who prospers, and this, by the way, is a subject we expanded upon greatly in Sefer Iyov, whoever wishes may look and listen there on the disc. There we go at great length into the entire matter. The Malbim there in his commentary goes at great length into this whole matter of the righteous who suffers and the wicked who prospers, which is a substantial part of the discussion that took place between Iyov and his companions. There one of the central arguments is that one must distinguish between the question of why the righteous person suffers and the question of why the wicked person prospers. That is to say, one must draw a distinction between them. One question is more legitimate, the second question less so. And I will explain. When you come and ask why the righteous person suffers, you are starting from the premise that he is righteous. "Righteous" is something that someone could, it is something one can testify about. It is something one can prove. You can say he appears righteous, you can say he behaves as a righteous person, but to determine that he is righteous, only the Holy One, blessed be He, knows what is in a person's heart. So when a person comes and asks: Master of the Universe, why does the righteous person suffer? I say, the question is not so difficult. You started from the premise that he is righteous, who says he really is righteous? And you know what? Even if you insist and say he is a famous righteous person, I still say to you, who says he is righteous at the level and the standard required according to the Divine measures, not according to your measures? You tell me this is the Baba Sali, correct, righteous, agreed. But do you know how great is the demand that the righteous person is charged with? Do you know for what Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, and Moshe were held accountable? That is to say, do you grasp the magnitude of the burden and the magnitude of the labor placed upon the shoulders of the righteous person, and then you come and ask, did he complete his path, and so why does he suffer? Can anyone ask such a question? Do you know whether he really completed his path and all that he needed to do according to the proper demand, according to the reckonings of the Creator of the world? So in effect, to ask why the righteous person suffers is a difficult question, difficult to turn into a real objection, because you would need to prove that he is righteous, and even if you prove that he is righteous, you would need to prove that he is truly righteous by the measures of the Master of the Universe, for the labor is very great and very hard. So then, what questions do you have?
Well, all this concerns the righteous person, why he suffers. But the wicked person, why does he prosper? This is truly a question worthy of being asked. For what will you say? No, know that he is not really wicked. Know in his heart, he is not really wicked. We see this person, this is a person who murders, this is a person who publicly desecrates Shabbat, this is a person who has all the transgressions in him. What, no, know that he is not really wicked? What, what is not really? Wickedness is something you cannot argue about its truth. His wickedness is evident to every eye. And do not tell me perhaps a captured infant and perhaps, no, he knows his Master and intends to rebel against Him. What will you say about that? A righteous person, there is no necessity to determine that he is righteous; a wicked person, there is a necessity to determine that he is wicked. And so then, consequently, regarding the wicked person, the question resounds in full force, why does the wicked person prosper?
Says the Malbim, according to this you will understand what is written here. Says the Malbim, "You are righteous, Hashem, when I plead with You." If I come and argue: Master of the Universe, why does my way, mine, Yirmiyahu's, why does my way not prosper? Regarding the question of the righteous who suffers, immediately the answer will come, who knows that you are truly righteous? And who knows whether you have done and completed your labor as is fitting for you? For as we said, the labor of Hashem has no limit, and the obligations that the righteous person is bound by are without bound. So then, who can determine with certainty that you are righteous? So then, "You are righteous, Hashem, when I plead with You" regarding myself, that I would come and ask, Master of the Universe, why do I suffer, this is not a question. But with all this, "I will speak of judgments with You, why does the way of the wicked prosper?" But about what do I truly have grounds to speak? Why does the wicked person prosper? And this is truly a question, as we said. For this there is no answer, for the wickedness of the wicked person is revealed. What will you say? In the discussion there in Iyov, there were the companions of Iyov, who came and argued to him, this was the approach of Eliphaz, who came and argued to him: know that it appears to you that the wicked person prospers. But truly you have no idea how much the wicked person suffers, and you have no idea how much he lacks inner tranquility, how much this person is in conflict within himself, how many psychologists he supports, and so on in this manner. That is to say, the Torah gives a person inner joy in his labor, in what he does. In contrast, the wicked person, even if outwardly he appears so festive and such, go check how many problems at home, how many problems with the children, how many debt problems, and a thousand and one things that only make it seem to you that this person prospers. He says, if that will be the argument, to this I will respond, "all the treacherous betrayers are at ease." Behold, I see that they also have tranquility. And says the Malbim, tranquility is always in the heart, in contrast to peace. Peace is external, tranquility is internal. I see that they also have inner tranquility. That is to say, it is evident about them that they are tranquil. And if it is evident about them that they are tranquil, then you cannot answer me, no, but in the heart know that they have no rest. Behold, you see about them that they are completely tranquil. So this answer, apparently, cannot resolve the tranquility of the wicked.
The Malbim dwells here on the precision of the language. "You are righteous, Hashem, when I plead with You, yet I will speak of judgments with You." Says the Malbim, what is the difference between a plea (riv) and a judgment (mishpat)? The Malbim explains, a riv is the arguments. That is to say, when we have a matter that is not clarified, that needs clarification, that needs someone to hear and establish its truth, about this there is a dispute between two people. Two people came who have the dispute. The dispute means they have the arguments that each side presents and that need clarification in order to establish the truth. In contrast, a mishpat is about a clarified matter. For example, you trespassed onto my property. This is not an argument, it is seen, it is revealed to all. Only you refuse to leave. So I summon you to judgment. That is to say, the facts are clear. The matter is clarified. There is no need, there is no clarification here, it is not that you claim the property belongs to you and I say it belongs to me. You decided to trespass. So in effect, here the expression mishpat is more fitting, for I am summoning you to judgment and the reality is completely clear. Says the Malbim, the question of the righteous who suffers, this is a riv. Because here we do not have any proof. When I ask, the righteous person, why does he suffer, then you say, well, who says he is righteous? That is to say, the subject itself is subject to riv, what is called subject to argument. A riv, we said, is when there is an argument. If I ask why the righteous person suffers, you will begin to argue, who says he is righteous? This is a subject that requires clarification. In contrast, if I ask why the wicked person prospers, this is not a subject that requires clarification. It is clear that the wicked person is wicked. There are no doubts. And so then, when I come and make such an argument, this is an argument that is a mishpat. Mishpat means, Master of the Universe, one must bring the judgment to light. That is to say, the facts are clear, he is wicked, and as a wicked person he certainly does not deserve to prosper here in this world. And therefore about this he says, "I will speak of judgments with You." This is not something that has a riv in it, meaning that has argument and claims from two sides, for the wickedness of the wicked person is absolute and clear. So why then does he prosper?
"All the treacherous betrayers are at ease." So he explains, this we already explained, that the difference between peace and tranquility is that peace is external peace, that he has no harassers from the outside. Tranquility, in contrast, is inner tranquility. But notice, he says, why does the way of the wicked prosper? By the way, what are the initials of "maduaderech reshaim tzalecha"? Meretz (energy). Alright. Well, in any case, why does the way of the wicked prosper, why are all the treacherous betrayers at ease? At one point he calls them wicked, at another point he calls them treacherous betrayers. What is the difference between them? So the Malbim explains, there is a difference between wicked and treacherous. "Wicked" also includes a person who is wicked in matters between man and the Omnipresent. And so then, it is fitting that this person be punished by Hashem. Therefore he asks, why does their way prosper and You, Hashem, do not exact payment from them? For these people are wicked between them and the Omnipresent, so he transgressed against You. If he transgressed against You, it is fitting that You exact payment from him. On the other hand, "all the treacherous betrayers are at ease." "Treacherous betrayers" means a person who betrays his fellow. This is usually the expression of betrayal. And a person who betrays his fellow, it is fitting that he should always be in fears. For one who betrays his fellow never knows where his fellow is waiting for him around the corner. A person who betrays his fellow lives all the time in fears, he lives all the time in worries. For the one who was stung by you is waiting for you around some corner. And the one to whom you did such, and the one to whom you did such, those whom you betrayed, they are waiting for you. So then, this person is not tranquil, he always goes about in fears. So I do not understand why the way of the wicked, which is a matter between man and the Omnipresent, prospers, for You, Master of the Universe, should have thwarted their evil way, that they should not have success. And on the other hand, they are also transgressors in matters between man and his fellow, and they are treacherous betrayers, so how are they at ease? How do they have tranquility, all the treacherous betrayers are at ease?
What will you say? That the end of the wicked is destruction. In the end the wicked person will pay the price, and know that he will not prolong his days in his success. To this comes the next verse. "You have planted them, they have also taken root, they go on and also bear fruit; You are near in their mouth, yet far from their innermost being." Master of the Universe, for You have planted them. What will you say? That this person will not have existence? He says, "You have planted them." "You have planted them" is planting for a long time. What will you say? That his sons after him will be cut off? Know, no, they will have continuity. This was the view of Bildad and Tzofar in the argument with Iyov. To this he says, "they go on and also bear fruit." You see that they go on in their success and their seed endures, they bear fruit. What will you say? That the Holy One, blessed be He, perhaps waits for them in case they repent? To this he continues and says, "You are near in their mouth, yet far from their innermost being." The meaning is: for if we are speaking of a wicked person who believes in punishments, who believes in the World to Come, who believes in the Holy One, blessed be He, he has a desire, and he goes after the desire of his heart, and he is unable to overcome his desires. About such a person you say, look, a stage will come when this person will return, he will come to his senses, he will awaken, for he believes in Hashem, and he knows that there is reward and punishment. He says, but here "far are You from their innermost being." They do not believe in You at all. So he has no hope of returning. For to where would he return? In whom, to whom would he return? For this is like if you today would bring afflictions upon, I don't know what, some bushman in the primeval forests. You bring afflictions upon him. So what will he do? Will he repent to Hashem, blessed be He? Is he aware, is there even such a person? Does he know that there is such a thing? He believes in, I don't know what, in the rain dance, I don't know in what. And he has all kinds of vain and idolatrous beliefs of various sorts. So there is, it is not at all applicable to say that he will return to Hashem, for he does not recognize Him. He does not know of this at all. This is what he says here. What will you say, that Hashem waits for them in case they return? For "You are near in their mouth, yet far from their innermost being." And if You are far from their innermost being, there is no chance in waiting for them to return. So the question resounds all the more, why does the way of the wicked prosper?
The Radak explains that the expression "You have planted them" is in fact a metaphor for their success, that their success goes on and grows. Just as a planting continually grows, so too their success does not stop, but You planted them and the planting goes on and develops. And the emphasis is on "You have planted them," not "they were planted." "They were planted," someone planted them. But "You have planted them," Master of the Universe, You brought the good upon them. You made them sprout and grow. About this is in fact my argument. Master of the Universe, all this good comes from You, You planted them. Why do they deserve this? "You are near in their mouth," says the Radak, if they call upon You in prayer, or they swear, "I swear to you by Hashem," know that You are near in their mouth, but far from their innermost being. That is to say, they do not truly believe in You. Rather, in order to deceive the eyes of the public, many people would outwardly make an impression of believing people, people upon whose mouths only the Name of Heaven is mentioned and comes up. In contrast, in their mouth, in their heart, they do not have complete faith. He says, Master of the Universe, You are near in their mouth yet far from their innermost being. And so then, these people certainly do not deserve to prosper, but rather only evil is fitting for them.
"But You, Hashem, know me, You see me, and You have tested my heart toward You. Draw them out like sheep for slaughter, and designate them for the day of killing." "But You, Hashem, know me." So Rashi explains that this again refers to the men of Anatot. That is, Master of the Universe, You know me and the difference between me and them, so exact payment from the men of Anatot who seek my life. "But You, Hashem, know me, You see me," meaning You see me as I am. The Radak explains, "and You have tested my heart toward You." The meaning is: You tested my heart, that it is not like theirs. That their heart, as we said, "far are You from their innermost being." You are not in their heart, not in their innermost being. But You, indeed, Hashem, know me, You see me and You have tested my heart, that You are with me in my heart. When I speak in the Name of Hashem, this is not, Heaven forbid, external speech like theirs, but I speak it truly from my heart. And therefore, Master of the Universe, when I have an argument with them, the result should be, "draw them out like sheep for slaughter." "Draw them out" is like "until we drew them out from the city." A term for detaching. The meaning is, Rashi explains, detach them from life to death. Or the Radak says, the tranquil wicked ones, draw them out from their place of resting, to their harm, like sheep for slaughter. The meaning is, now they are tranquil, they rest at ease, draw them out, detach them from their place of resting, and take them to the slaughter, as is fitting for them. "And designate them for the day of killing." "Designate them," always "designate" means to set a time for something. And this is not necessarily what we are accustomed to think, that it is from a term of holiness. For we see that even the terms kedeisha and kadeish, which are concepts opposite to holiness, are also from the root k-d-sh. The meaning of the matter is that kadeish is "prepared." "Behold, you are betrothed (mekudeshet) to me," the meaning is prepared for me. And when we say that he is a kadeish or a kedeisha, the meaning is they prepared themselves for this matter of licentiousness, for the matter of harlotry. So too here, "designate them for the day of killing," the meaning is prepare them for the day designated for them, which is the day of their killing. For the day on which there will be great killing, which is the day of the destruction. Prepare them for the sword, that they should have no place to escape from the killing. But now, Master of the Universe, when they prosper, then people stand wondering and ask, why does the way of the wicked prosper? The guidance of Hashem is not evident, the Divine justice is not evident. This arouses questions in faith. And therefore, Master of the Universe, if You exact payment from them speedily, through this all those questions will not, will not arise.
The Malbim explains, "But You, Hashem, know me." That is to say, Master of the Universe, You, Hashem, know me, "and You have tested my heart toward You." Says the Malbim, what is the difference between "know me" and "You have tested my heart toward You"? If Hashem knows the person, then apparently He knows everything about him. So what is the redundancy? And the Malbim explains that there is a difference by the Holy One, blessed be He, between two kinds of knowledge. There is the primordial knowledge, that the Holy One, blessed be He, knows the end from the beginning. The meaning is: from the time a person is created, or at the time the first man was created, or even before then, for by the Holy One, blessed be He, there is no meaning to time, the Holy One, blessed be He, knows all that the person is destined to do. Every single person who will be created in the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, knows all that the person is destined to do. And if you say that He does not know, then you have created a limited deity. And the Holy One, blessed be He, is not limited. And therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, has an initial knowledge, in advance, of all that a person will do. Another matter: with all this, the Holy One, blessed be He, tests each person at every moment to see what he has chosen. Hashem tests his heart. So that is, to see what he has chosen. But you say that the Holy One, blessed be He, already knows in advance what he will choose, long before he is born. So why is the daily testing needed, to test his heart, to see the nature of his heart? For the person, his deeds are already known in advance to Hashem, blessed be He. What do you understand from here? That a person has free choice. And since a person has free choice, then the Holy One, blessed be He, must each time check what he has chosen. If so, apparently this contradicts the matter of the prior knowledge. For if the Holy One, blessed be He, has prior knowledge of all that I am destined to do, then what room is there to speak of free choice? For Hashem knows that Reuven this coming Shabbat will desecrate Shabbat. And we said it cannot be otherwise, for then, as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, would not have known. And if it cannot be otherwise, then Reuven no longer has many choices left, he must desecrate Shabbat. This is a broad and lengthy subject that we discussed, whoever wishes may listen to it at the end of Sefer HaKuzari, we went at length and spread out the entire matter. And even before that we spoke about it in Sefer Iyov in chapter 12, there too the Malbim explains part of the matter according to the question of knowledge and choice, and there we expanded the subject, and we will not enter into this whole matter again. In any case, says the Malbim, it emerges then that we have two kinds of knowledge. There is the prior knowledge, that the Holy One, blessed be He, knows what the person will do, and about this he says, "You know me." "You, Hashem, know me," this means in advance. Already in advance You know all that I am destined to do. This is "You have known me" from long ago. And with all this, the person, as we said, is free in his choice, no one compels him. And therefore about this he says, "and You have tested my heart toward You." You now need to test my heart in order to see whether my heart is with You. For this I could decide otherwise. That is to say, I have the choice in my hand, and You, Hashem, test and see that my heart is with You. So one speaks of the primordial knowledge, and one speaks of the free choice. And as I said, I will not now enter into explaining why there is no contradiction here. Whoever wishes may listen in those places where we spoke about this. Says the Malbim, he now comes and describes: come and see, Master of the Universe, that behold, my deeds are complete with You, both from the side of the prior knowledge and from the side of the free choice. And so then, I ask, Master of the Universe, as we saw that the Malbim explained above, that Yirmiyahu asked, Master of the Universe, do not wait for them until the day of killing. Do not wait for them until the day of the destruction, as the Holy One, blessed be He, told him, that when their time comes I will exact payment from them, when I destroy the Temple and Yerushalayim goes out into exile. No, Master of the Universe, for we saw Yirmiyahu asked, Master of the Universe, now exact payment from them. Do it now. So Master of the Universe, do not wait until their measure is full, do it immediately. "Draw them out like sheep for slaughter." Detach them from the good they have today, and take them as sheep for slaughter.
Says the Malbim, there are here two kinds of punishments. There is here "like sheep for slaughter," and there is here afterward, "designate them for the day of killing." What in fact is the redundancy? And also what is the plain meaning of this? What is this "verification of killing"? If they are already sheep for slaughter, why is "designate them for the day of killing" needed? So he explains, there are here two kinds of punishments. One punishment is "like sheep for slaughter." When one wants to slaughter sheep, which sheep does one take? The fat ones, the healthy ones, the beautiful ones. So too, Master of the Universe, choose the best of them, the fattest of them, the greatest of them. And "the greatest" means the great evildoers, the greatest of them who fought against the prophet. And another matter he says, "designate" all of them "for the day of killing." That is to say, afterward, all of them You will designate for the day of killing. The meaning is, to all of them You will give the punishment fitting for them. But from whom will You exact payment first? First from the sheep for slaughter, the fat ones, the ones prepared for slaughter. And he explains that usually a king who conquers a country, at the beginning he conquers the king, the ministers, kills them with strange deaths, and only afterward conquers the rest of the country. For when the country sees that its king and its ministers were like sheep for slaughter, then consequently this causes among them a weakening of strength. They do not fight. They understand that their chances are nil. As long as the king lives, even in exile, even sending some messages, I don't know from what, from some pit, then you are in trouble to fight against him. But when it is a situation in which the king is already dead and the ministers have all been slaughtered, then it is much easier to conquer the kingdom. So too here he asks, at the beginning like sheep for slaughter, these are the important ones, these are the ministers. And afterward, the day of killing, these are the more common ones.
"Until when will the land mourn, and the grass of every field wither, because of the evil of those who dwell in it? Beasts and birds are swept away, for they said, He will not see our end." Rashi here explains that this verse is divided. Part of it is the prophet's argument, and part of it is Hashem's answer. "Until when will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither," up to here, says Rashi, are the words of the prophet. Until when, Master of the Universe, will this terrible situation continue? The Divine spirit answers him, "because of the evil of those who dwell in it, beasts and birds are swept away, for they said, He will not see our end." The Divine spirit says to him, "because of the evil of those who dwell in it." That is, these people, the inhabitants of the land, did evil and terrible deeds. And since it is so, they deserve the punishment they received, for they thought that He will not see our end. They said that the Holy One, blessed be He, is, as it were, incapable of judging them, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is incapable of exacting payment from them. And since it is so, understand that this punishment comes to them justly. The Radak explains that all this is the prophet's question. And the prophet comes and says, until when will the land mourn? Until when will it be, that those who are designated for the day of killing, this will be when the land mourns, which is the day of the destruction. That is to say, until when? Until when will we wait for Hashem to exact payment from them? Until the land will mourn. On the day when there will be mourning for the land, which is the day of the destruction, then Hashem will exact payment from them. And then "the grass of every field will wither." That is to say, there are here far-reaching expressions about the destruction. So he says, on this day when the land mourns, the grass of every field will wither, and also beasts and birds will be swept away. The meaning is like the term "they perished, they were consumed." Yes, "beasts and birds are swept away" means the beasts and the birds will not, will not exist any longer in the land. And why will the land mourn and be destroyed? For here, as we said, according to the Radak they are speaking about the future, about the destruction. Why will this be? "Because of the evil of those who dwell in it." Since the law says that they, that Hashem should exact payment from them. For they said, "He will not see our end." And even if the prophets of truth told them, God will bring your end to evil, even though you are tranquil now, so said the prophets to them, this current tranquility is misleading. Do not be mistaken, know that there is going to be a harsh evil. They say to him, God will not see our end, for He does not watch over us and our deeds, and does not know what our end is. Hashem does not know the future at all. He does not know what is going to be. So from where can He tell us what will be at our end? Do you understand? So then he says, that you should understand that the punishment they received comes to them justly. Such words of heresy against the Master of the Universe, it emerges then that they deserve for Hashem to exact payment from them as is fitting for them. And what is written, "beasts and birds are swept away," the Radak explains, that this is from a term of destruction, like "will You also sweep away the righteous with the wicked," yes.
Says the Radak, and behold, Yirmiyahu asked about the success of the wicked, and God did not answer him. That is to say, according to the Radak, there is here a question that remained without an answer. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Hashem did not give explanations. We will continue on and see additional facets here in the matter. The Malbim explains, until when will the land mourn? For, Master of the Universe, on account of their sins, they deserve for the land to mourn. That is to say, that there will be a destruction, and the destruction of "the land will mourn" is the destruction of the inanimate. "The grass of every field will wither," this is the destruction of vegetation. And also "beasts and birds are swept away," this is the destruction of the animals. And all this is "because of the evil of those who dwell in it." And do not say that perhaps following the destruction they will repent. He says, they say, "He will not see our end." They altogether deny the knowledge of the Holy One, blessed be He, of what happens here in this world. And all the more so the knowledge of the future, and that there is no reward and punishment. So then, why on earth would they repent? They do not see at all that all that they receive now is from Hashem.
"For you ran with footmen and they wearied you, so how can you compete with horses? And in a land of peace where you trust, how will you fare in the swelling of the Yarden?" This verse is sealed and closed. It is also not understood how it fits in here. "For you ran with footmen and they wearied you, so how can you compete with horses? And in a land of peace where you trust, how will you fare in the swelling of the Yarden?" We will come and explain, and several explanations will be stated here. The Targum Yonatan explains, we will read it and translate it. "This came to Yirmiyahu the prophet regarding his request." First of all, you already notice that according to the Targum Yonatan, here Hashem gives an answer to the prophet. The prophet asked why the way of the wicked prospers. Says the Targum Yonatan, in this verse the answer is found. "Prophet, you are like a man who runs with footmen and grows weary." You are like a person who runs on his feet and gets tired. A person who runs on his feet, at a certain stage, it is over, he has no breath. "And how do you imagine you will run against horses in the valley?" And how do you imagine or think to run against, alongside, horses in the valley? You ran a little, you got tired. Can you compete with horses? "And in a land of peace you trust and fall." For in a place on a straight path, you fall and fail. So can you go and run against the horses? "And how do you imagine you can do against the wild beasts that are in the height of the Yarden?" And how do you think that you can compete with the wild beasts that are in the heights of the Yarden? For that is a place that is higher, that is a place where one needs to run there, it is only what is called a course for the fit walkers. On the plain you did not succeed in running, you got tired. Can you run against the wild beasts, compete with them in places that are high places? "And if regarding the good that I bestow upon Nevuchadnetzar the king of Bavel, the footman, prophet, you look and wonder" - I did not understand the expression here "the footman." If regarding the good things that I bestow upon Nevuchadnetzar the king, "the footman," I don't know what this "footman" is, this is something I tried to search for, I did not find an explanation for it. "You look and wonder." That is, you see the success of Nevuchadnetzar and you stand wondering. "And then when I show you what I am destined to do for your righteous forefathers who are from of old, who ran like horses to do good deeds before Me, and I even said to them that I will bring upon their children blessings and consolations, behold it will be like waters that descend flooding to the Yarden." That is to say, if you wonder about what Nevuchadnetzar received here as reward, when I will show you what reward the forefathers are destined to receive, the righteous ones who are from the world, "who ran like horses," who ran before Me like horses to do good deeds before Me, and I also promised them that I am destined to bring upon their children blessings and consolations, behold this will be like the waters flooding to the Yarden. That is to say, what you see here for Nevuchadnetzar is a mere fraction compared to what the holy forefathers will receive. So when you come and ask why there is reward here for the wicked, why the wicked person prospers, he says to you, from this you will only understand how good it will be for the righteous. It is very possible that "the footman," it is a bit difficult to fit this into the plain meaning of the matter, but it is very possible that he comes to hint at the reward of Nevuchadnetzar that he received because of the steps of his feet. Therefore he calls the king of Bavel "the footman." It is very possible that this is the matter he comes to hint at here, and shortly we will explain this in more detail, for in the other commentators it appears in more detail. We will move to Rashi.
Rashi says, "for you ran with footmen and they wearied you." Rashi explains that this refers to his relatives, to the priests. For they are the men of Anatot coming to murder you. They come to kill you, and you with their footmen, as it were, you fought, as it were, and they wearied you. And you, as it were, got tired, were broken, were terrified from the war that you have with whom? With your relatives, with the men of Anatot, this broke you. So how can you compete with horses? To run with the horses. The meaning is: what, your relatives, with whom you have kinship, from whom you would have even expected help, and they come to kill you, so what will you do against the ministers of Yehudah? For the ministers of Yehudah are not only not your relatives, but moreover your enemies. So then, they will certainly receive their punishment as is fitting. According to this it emerges that here the Holy One, blessed be He, explains to him why they are punished. Why are they punished? For behold, you see, your relatives you could not stand against. What will you do against these wicked ones, who are the ministers of Yehudah? So the wrath against them truly is fitting, My wrath against them is fitting for them. And this is the reason that Nevuchadnetzar succeeds. This is the reason that you see the enemy who is able to overcome them. Why? In order to exact payment from the people of Yehudah, for if against Anatot you did not succeed, and they are your relatives, would you stand against Yehudah? For they are great wicked ones. And so then, it is fitting that Nevuchadnetzar come and exact payment from them. So they expound, if regarding the reward of three steps that Nevuchadnetzar ran for My honor, in the days of Merodach Bal'adan, you wonder that I increased his greatness so much, how much more will you wonder when you see the payment of reward that I will pay to the righteous who ran before Me like horses. This is what I said, that it could be that the Targum hinted here with "the footman." If regarding the reward of three steps, it is written that Nevuchadnetzar, when he wrote the letter, then he wrote there, he placed the king, Chizkiyahu the king, first, and only afterward wrote "and Hashem, blessed be He." And afterward he returned, walked three steps and brought back the letter in order to rewrite it, and placed the Holy One, blessed be He, first. And the Holy One, blessed be He, said, because of three steps that Nevuchadnetzar ran for My honor, in order to change the letter and place the Name of Hashem before, before he mentions the name of Chizkiyahu the king, so if you see that for three steps he receives such an enormous reward, how much will you wonder when you see the enormous reward fitting for the holy forefathers, who ran before Me like horses, not three steps, but all their days they exerted an infinite effort in the service of Hashem.
"And in a land of peace where you trust, there they wearied you." "And how will you fare in the swelling," the meaning is how will you fare in the swelling, the meaning is with the ministers of Yehudah. "The swelling of the Yarden," Rashi explains, that the swelling of the Yarden is a metaphor. Just as the Yarden overflows its banks, so too the ministers of Yehudah, they are proud and wicked. So then, how will you stand against them? The Radak explains, "for you ran with footmen and they wearied you." He says that this verse is the answer that the Holy One, blessed be He, answers him, Yirmiyahu the prophet: do not question My ways. When you come and ask why the way of the wicked prospers, all the treacherous betrayers are at ease, that is to say that you are questioning the guidance of Hashem, do not question My ways. And about this he brings him a metaphor. He says to him, I see that you ran with footmen like yourself and they wearied you. The meaning is: there are those who ran faster than you and you could not catch up with them. And how do you want to compete with horses, to run with them? The meaning is: you ran with people like yourself and did not succeed in catching up. So can you catch up with horses? A person who is like you, you did not succeed in catching up with, will you be able to catch up with a horse? What in fact is the analogy? He says to him, you tried to know the secret of people like yourself and did not attain it. Do you think to attain the secrets of the Master of the Universe? What does this mean, you tried to attain the secret of people like yourself? You tried to know their secret. For we saw that the men of Anatot wanted to attack him. And who revealed this to him? The Holy One, blessed be He. That is to say, he did not know it by himself. So the mind of human beings you do not know, do you want to know the mind of the Omnipresent? It emerges then, that in fact an answer was given here to Yirmiyahu, but not an answer that has an explanation in it, but rather an answer whose meaning is: do not question My ways. Do not question My ways, since the Holy One, blessed be He, everything He does, His judgment is in justice. And as Rav Saadyah Gaon said, "had I known Him, I would have been Him." If I already knew the Master of the Universe and all His workings and His conducts, then I would already be the Master of the Universe. But surely the Master of the Universe is high above the high, so then you have no grasp of the ways of Hashem. So if you do not know the things that are in the heart of your fellow, who is, so to speak, of your age and your stature, then do you want to know the perceptions of the Holy One, blessed be He? So the Radak explains. And therefore the conclusion is: be silent and do not question My ways.
He further brings him a metaphor, and explains to him the matter itself. He says to him, I see that you have weakened in My mission. I see that there is weariness in you. You need to strengthen yourself in My mission. The meaning is: for Yirmiyahu was the prophet most persecuted over the mission of Hashem. We will see this also further on, and on several more occasions, he underwent harsh afflictions when he went in the mission of Hashem. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, I see that you have weakened, you need to strengthen yourself in the mission that I send you on. I see that you ran with the footmen, you ran with people like yourself. Let us read the verse again, "you ran with footmen and they wearied you." This we are speaking of, the men of Anatot. They are the people of your family, they are on one level with you. And you saw that they wanted to kill you, you were terrified. He says to him, master, how will you compete with horses? I still want to send you to rebuke the people of Yerushalayim. And these here are what is called toy criminals, these men of Anatot, compared to Yerushalayim. He says to him, there they are sharks. So how will you compete with horses? If these wearied you, how will you be able to go and rebuke the wicked people, who are truly wicked there, they are great ministers, and also the king is there. How will you conduct yourself with them? If here a few people terrified you, how will you conduct yourself when you need to speak before ministers and important people? What, all the more so, how much more so will it be before them. You need to strengthen yourself, not to be afraid, to go in the mission of Hashem without fear. And he says to him further, "and in a land of peace where you trust." That is, you trust in the men of Anatot, that they, you trusted in them that they would be a land of peace for you. That is, that they are the ones who would help you, who would protect you. For these are the people of my place, this is my family, these are priests like me, these are my relatives. It is the way of the world, says the Radak, that a person's relatives assist him, protect him, save him. He says, and so then you see, that instead they plan to kill you. So how will you fare in the swelling of the Yarden? In a place where the waves of the Yarden swell, they are speaking here of the ministers of Yehudah and Yerushalayim, he compares them to the swelling of the Yarden. How will you stand there against them? Another explanation, that the swelling of the Yarden speaks of Nevuchadnetzar. That Nevuchadnetzar will position his armies across the Yarden. So you are afraid that they are few, how will you fare against someone resembling the swelling of the Yarden when Nevuchadnetzar comes? And therefore in simple words, the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to remove his fears and to say to him, you have no need to worry at all, not from the people of Yerushalayim and not from Nevuchadnetzar, for I see that if you were terrified by the men of Anatot, this is very worrying, how you will conduct yourself against the truly terrifying ones. And therefore Hashem comes to strengthen his heart and to tell him, you have no reason to worry about them at all. The Malbim explains that here the Holy One, blessed be He, answers him and says to him, what you think, that only the men of Anatot want to put you to death, and that only because of them the land is destroyed, and that if...
they are the marginal problem, the central problem against which you will need to contend, this is when you contend with the people of Yerushalayim, which is truly the real problem.
"For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they betrayed you, even they called out fully after you; do not trust them though they speak good things to you." The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Yirmiyahu, even your brothers and the house of your father, even they betrayed you. You trusted in them, we said a person trusts and relies on his relatives, and here it is his relatives who wanted to feed him the poison of death. "Even they betrayed you," even though they were supposed to be the ones caring for you, as the Malbim says, they are the priests, the sons of Aharon, they are located in Yerushalayim, even they betrayed you. And do not think that they did this in secret, "even they called out fully after you."
And here truly the commentators went out to seek an explanation, what is "even they called out fully after you"? What is "they called out fully after you"? The Radak explains, "fully" is from a term of gathering. "They called out fully after you," the meaning is they gathered after you in order to threaten you, that you should not prophesy to them, since the prophecies you prophesy to them are prophecies that are unpleasant to their ears, and therefore they called out fully after you. The meaning is: they call for a full number of people, for a gathering of people who gathered after you in order to harm you. And therefore Hashem says to him, do not trust them though they speak good things to you. Even if they speak good things to you, they speak in falsehood. That is to say, all their good words are external, in order that you draw near to them, and through this they will be able to feed you or give you to drink the poison of death, they will be able to harm you, so do not be impressed by their speaking good things to you.
The Radak brings an additional explanation in the name of Rav Hai Gaon, who explains an original interpretation. "Fully," he says, is in the manner of euphemism (sagi nahor). "Fully" means lacking. The meaning is: they refer to you and say, this man is lacking any good. This is the "fully" written here. Just as one says to a blind man "abundant light," as one says to a blind man "abundant light," so they want to say about you that you are lacking everything, so they cried out, "they called out fully after you," when the meaning is they said about you that you are lacking any good.
The Radak brings an additional explanation in the name of his father, who says that "fully" is from the term "his heart filled him." "Who is he whose heart filled him to do so." "His heart filled him" means: he has the courage, he is not afraid, he is not fearful of anything. This is the "fully." So what expression, what in fact is the meaning here? They say, you are threatened, we warn you, we try... So here too they say, this man, no threat can affect him, this is "his heart filled him." "They called out fully after you," this man, his heart filled him to go and continue to prophesy despite all that we say, despite all that we threaten him with, nothing helps against him.
The Malbim also explains that "fully" is from the term of gathering, the meaning is that they gather the people in order to strike you, in order to harm you.