We heard of the pride of Moav, exceedingly proud: his loftiness, his pride, his arrogance and his haughtiness of heart. In contrast to what he had told them earlier, that they should leave the cities and flee to the wilderness so that they would be saved from the enemy, he now says: but we heard of the pride of Moav. There are people to whom you do not need to offer advice, they know everything. He understands everything, he is a great sage, he is proud and arrogant and haughty and lofty of heart. He knows everything. I once told you that I saw someone made a photomontage, a caricature, and in this caricature he placed Mr. Barak, may his merit protect us, Ehud Barak, and he placed him on one side, and you see him whispering with another figure. And the second figure was Barak again. And it was written there: Barak and his advisor. Do you understand? That is it, there are those who are their own advisor. Moav is proud, exceedingly proud. The prophet says, I have no one to talk to. I try to convince them to leave, I tell them flee, I tell them you have no chance. But look, we heard of the pride of Moav, that on account of his pride and arrogance he did not flee to the wilderness. Why? We are strong, we are mighty, we can overcome them. The Malbim asks, what are all these expressions here? Pride, proud, loftiness, his pride, his arrogance, his haughtiness of heart. The Malbim says, ga'on (pride) and ga'avah (arrogance) are not synonymous expressions. Because ga'avah is something imagined, it is imagination. A person becomes arrogant in his heart, he imagines that he has some virtue. In contrast, the Malbim says, ga'on is real. Ga'on means he truly stands above others. He has a virtue above others. Loftiness and ga'on, the Malbim says, one produces the other. Because he is higher than his brethren, he is distinguished with ga'on. He is distinguished by his greatness, by his virtue, which is truly a real virtue above his brethren. The haughtiness of heart, the Malbim says, this is the product of ga'avah. The moment a person becomes arrogant, and we said that arrogance is imagination, then he has haughtiness of heart. Through this he is certain that he knows and that he is the capable one and the understanding one and the enlightened one, and he and he and he. His heart is lofty because of the arrogance that resides within his heart.
I know, says Hashem, his wrath, and it is not so, his lies, so they did not do. I know, says Hashem, his wrath. This means that the hatred that Moav had toward Israel, as we saw that this is the reason Hashem took vengeance upon them. Hashem says, I know, says Hashem, his wrath, his hatred toward us. It is not so, his lies, so they did not do. "So they did not do" means, they did not repay the seed of Avraham with the fitting reward due them. For Avraham Avinu went to war for Lot, to save Lot your father. So it would have been fitting for you to have gratitude. But they did not do so. See that they did not act with gratitude toward the seed of Avraham, but rather still pursued Bnei Yisrael and still oppressed them. The Malbim explains, I know, says Hashem, means this punishment comes from Me. First, because I knew his wrath and anger toward Israel. And therefore, so they did not do, meaning they did not flee. This means, since they have hatred toward us, and since they receive the prophecy from us, from the prophet Yirmiyahu, then consequently they do not listen to what we say. So I offer them a good suggestion that they should flee, but his hatred and wrath and anger toward Israel do not allow him to listen to the good advice that I give him. Another matter, I know his lies (badav). What is badav? There are three explanations here. One explanation, the Malbim explains, is his thoughts. An interpretation close to this is that of the Radak. The Radak says his falsehoods. From here, by the way, comes the source of the expression "tales fabricated" (sipurei badim). It is not related to the fabrics (badim) of clothing. Badim means something fabricated from a person's thoughts. That is the meaning of sipurei badim. So something fabricated, something false. So I know his lies and his thoughts. And he thinks evil in his heart and his thought is: I will succeed in defeating the enemy, I can overcome him. And therefore they do not flee. For if you are certain you will win, then why flee? Rashi gives an additional interpretation. Rashi says that badav means his mighty men. Thus Rashi explains. It is not so, his lies, so they did not do. This means, they did not repay the seed of Avraham with fitting reward, but rather, as we explained earlier, they still oppressed us.
Therefore over Moav I will wail, and for all Moav I will cry out, over the men of Kir Cheres one shall moan. Therefore over Moav I will wail. Since they do not flee as I advise them, then over Moav I will wail, for it is clear that Moav will fall. So what is there to do about them in this situation? Only to wail, since the end is clear and absolute. And for all Moav I will cry out. Lest you think that perhaps only the mighty men or the men of war, he tells you no, all will be killed. And for all Moav I will cry out. Over the men of Kir Cheres one shall moan. What is "over the men of Kir Cheres one shall moan"? The Malbim brings that we see there is a parallel prophecy to this in Yeshayahu. And there it is found in Yeshayahu chapter 15, in several verses. He brings from Yeshayahu chapter 7, where it is written "for the foundations of Kir Chareset you shall moan, only stricken." That is, we see "Kir Cheres one shall moan" and "Kir Chareset you shall moan." That is, we see here parallel expressions. What is the meaning of these things? The Malbim says, they had there in Kir Cheres/Chareset a hospital. There were the people wounded in the war, they would bring them to the place called Kir Chareset. And this is what is written, that he tells them, for the foundations and fortresses of Kir Chareset you shall moan, only stricken. This means, the stricken ones, who are the stricken? The broken, those who fell in battle, where shall you moan (tehgu)? Tehgu is from the language of "remove," like "remove (hago) from the path." That is, you shall remove them from the battlefield, to where? To the hospital which was in Kir Chareset, which was the place to which they would bring all the casualties of battle. So he says, look, over the men of Kir Cheres one shall moan. To the men of Kir Cheres, there they will bring all the people who are wounded and stricken in the battle in which Moav will fall. In simple words, he says, look, the end of Moav is near and its damage is great, and with all this Moav does not listen and does not flee but insists on remaining in its place. The Malbim points to a change, that in Yeshayahu it is written "therefore Moav shall wail for Moav." That is, who will weep over Moav? Moav itself. Moav shall wail for Moav. And why? Because according to what we now explained it is wonderfully understood, since he is himself to blame for not fleeing. For they advised you to flee and you did not flee. So he wails over himself. So since Hashem incited him not to flee, he wails over him for having caused this matter. Therefore over Moav I will wail and for all Moav I will cry out. So according to the Malbim, Yirmiyahu says, I will wail over him. And why? Since it came from Hashem that he did not flee. So in Yeshayahu we see that Moav will wail over themselves, and here with us the prophet himself wails over them, for behold Hashem placed advice in their hearts not to flee so that they would receive the punishment due to them.
So there were either singers according to a certain rhythm, or there was a drum that would drum according to a certain rhythm and through this they would keep the rhythm. So when they would tread the winepresses, they too had a rhythm, and they would shout heidad, heidad. So he says there, they will not shout heidad, they will not shout heidad heidad, since this heidad is not a heidad. What does it mean, not a heidad? The heidad of breaking is different from the heidad of joy. So he says, the heidad there will not be a heidad of joy, but rather it will be a heidad of breaking and wailing, since we saw that the enemy will come and strike them, and we saw that there will be many wounded and many slain there. So then, gladness and joy are gathered away, they will have there no gladness and joy, and also the grain and also the winepresses they will not be able to operate properly, and on the contrary, instead of heidad they will have a heidad of grief and sighing.
From the cry of Cheshbon unto Elaleh, unto Yahatz they gave their voice, from Tzoar unto Choronayim, a heifer three years old, for also the waters of Nimrim will become desolations. From the cry of Cheshbon, this means, they raised a cry of outcry unto Elaleh and unto Yahatz, these are names of Moav, names of cities. And so too they gave their voice from Tzoar unto Choronayim. Who are these who gave their voice? He tells you, a heifer three years old (eglat shlishiyah). What is eglat shlishiyah? There are several explanations of this. Let us explain the Malbim's explanation. The Malbim says this is the circle of the mighty men. What is the connection to shlishiyah? "And officers (shalishim) over all of them." Shalishim means the mighty men of battle. So the officers of Moav, eglat shlishiyah, the circle of mighty men who were there on the battlefield, gave their voice. That is, even the mighty men will cry out a cry of breaking and downfall. From the cry of Cheshbon, since Cheshbon began to cry out, because the enemy first reached the city of Cheshbon, so from there the cry began and spread, from the cry of Cheshbon it reached unto Elaleh, unto Yahatz and from Tzoar unto Choronayim. And who? Eglat shlishiyah, those who are the officers over all of them. For also the waters of Nimrim will become desolations. What are the waters of Nimrim? The waters of Nimrim, the Malbim explains, there was a large harbor there that served for commerce, and it too will become desolations. "Desolations" (mshamot) means from the language of desolation (shmamah), that is, it too will be abolished, it too will be destroyed by the power of the enemy.
There are further explanations here of eglat shlishiyah. The Radak explains that shlishiyah means great. Or he explains it is a three-year-old, which is considered the good heifer. Or Rashi explains eglat shlishiyah is a mighty kingdom, yes, according to the Targum, meaning from the language of mighty men. And this fits with the Malbim's explanation, who explains "and officers over all of them," meaning mighty men.
And I will abolish for Moav, says Hashem, the one who offers up on a high place and one who burns incense to his gods. I will abolish for Moav the one who offers up on a high place, a person who offers up an animal, a sacrifice on the high place. And I will abolish for them also the one who burns incense to his gods, whoever burns incense to idolatry.
Therefore my heart moans for Moav like flutes, and my heart moans for the men of Kir Cheres like flutes, therefore the abundance they made has perished. Therefore my heart for Moav, there Moav, as we said, will be struck in the war, so my heart goes out to them. And my heart to the men of Kir Cheres, there is the place where the sick and wounded lay, and over them too my heart, over them too my heart moans. Like flutes. Like flutes, in their times they would bring flutes to funerals. That is, just as there were female wailers whom they would hire, so there were people who would play the flute and bring them to a funeral, and they would play all kinds of lyrical melodies, such melodies that would cause them to begin to weep, melodies that would arouse the people to grieve over the death of the deceased. So this is "moans like flutes." Like flutes, which they would bring to the mourning, so too my heart for Moav over the death of the men of Moav and over their wounding, this is the men of Kir Cheres, as the Malbim explains, that this is a place called Chareset, which was the place of their hospital, to which they would evacuate all the wounded.
Therefore the abundance they made has perished. What is "the abundance they made has perished"? The Malbim explains, the abundance they made has perished. The profit they had, all the wealth of the kingdom that existed, what is called the surplus, they had in short a very large surplus in their account, has perished. All the great wealth they amassed, all of it is lost from them. Rashi does not, what does he explain? Yitrat asah, meaning on account of the pride that Moav displayed, they perished. Yitrat, this is the extra of the liver, the extra of glory, yes? Yitrat is from the language of yeter (excess), excessive pride was in them, and this is what brought about their downfall. For had there been in them a little modesty and humility, they would have listened to all the advice of the prophet who advised them to flee, and they would have fled and saved their lives. But they did not listen, and since this was so, they perished.
Perhaps in connection with this verse I will mention things we mentioned in one of the ideas for the weekly Torah portion, we spoke about this on Sukkot. Israel on Sukkot offer 70 bulls for the nations. So it is written, that we have 70 sacrifices and this corresponds to the 70 nations. The bulls, it is written that Israel say, Master of the world, look, we offer for them 70 bulls and they hate us. Unjustly. We offer bulls for you, for the welfare of the nations, so why do the nations hate us? Ostensibly this is not understood, because whoever pays attention, the 70 bulls go and diminish. And what is the matter of going and diminishing? For on the first day we have 13, and on the seventh day we have seven. Rashi says this is a sign of destruction. The diminishing is a sign of destruction. So we offer bulls indeed corresponding to the nations, but we signal what? Destruction. So what do Israel want? Why do the nations hate us? Someone who marks upon them a sign of destruction, what do you want, that they should love him? So you say I offer 70 bulls, you offered 70 bulls, but you signaled with this a sign of destruction, so do you want them to love you? What is the plain understanding of this?
Truly, we must know, the Holy One blessed be He does not desire the destruction of any nation. And if Hashem desired it, Hashem would say so. And there is only one nation about which it is said that there is a commandment to destroy it, and as long as this is not done, Hashem is not complete. And even this, they earned justly and rightly. It was not done from the outset, for Hashem did not create anything from the start in order to destroy it. Hashem created them so that they would exist, but they corrupted their deeds, and as a result Hashem says there is war for Hashem against Amalek from generation to generation. This began with Amalek deciding that it has war against Hashem, and then consequently Hashem has war against Amalek. But Hashem is not interested in the destruction of any nation. And the proof is, that even before there was any reality of a nation of Israel at all, when there was only the reality of Noach and the generation of the flood, the Holy One blessed be He sent Noach so that Noach would speak with the people of the generation of the flood and rebuke them, so that Hashem would not bring destruction. Hashem is not interested in the death of the dead, even when it is a gentile. Avraham Avinu, the man of kindness, goes and pleads merit and righteousness on behalf of complete wicked ones who are the people of Sedom. And the Holy One blessed be He does not tell him I desire their destruction. No. The Holy One blessed be He says perhaps, perhaps you will say some merit through which the people of Sedom will remain. Hashem does not desire the destruction of any nation.
And thus we also see with us. These are explicit verses, my heart cries out for Moav. Rashi says, the prophets of Israel are not like the prophets of the nations of the world. Bilaam sought to uproot Israel for no reason. That is, we did nothing to him. But there is a pastime of the nations to fight against Israel, to hate Israel, to want to destroy Israel. But in contrast, Rashi says, the prophets of Israel lament over the calamity coming upon the nations. The prophets of Israel are the opposite, they even lament. My heart moans for Moav like flutes, as we just read, and my heart moans for the men of Kir Cheres like flutes. That is, more expressions to Kel, therefore over Moav I will wail, and for all Moav I will cry out, over the men of Kir Cheres one shall moan, with the weeping of Yazer I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah, and so on. We see, then, that the Divine will is that the gentiles exist. The Holy One blessed be He does not desire the destruction of the gentiles. And this is the reason we offer sacrifices for the welfare of the nations, for truly the Holy One blessed be He does not desire their destruction.
Ah, if so you will ask, then why do we go and diminish? At first 70 and afterward going down each day? Why do we go and diminish? The answer is, not in order to destroy them, but in order to remove them from our hearts. This is really the goal. That is, as long as the gentile is in his place and Israel are in their place, as long as there are no influences from the conduct of the gentile upon Israel, then the gentile has a role. So just as I do not hate cats and dogs, I also do not hate the gentiles. Hashem created a cat, He wants it in the world. The Ari z"l says, a person has no permission to kill any living creature in the world. No permission, unless the creature is harmful or there is a reason. But a person walks in the street, sees a cockroach innocently crawling along, and perhaps someone might be startled, goes and steps on it. Why? The Ari z"l says, Hashem gave it life, why do you kill it? If it is something that harms you, something frightening in the house, unpleasant, fine. But if it is not such a thing, a person is forbidden to kill any living creature. If Hashem created it, then it has a role in creation, Hashem wants it. Also not to pluck leaves or simply destroy a tree, even if it is a barren tree. Even if it is a barren tree, Hashem created it. If you have no, if you have a need, please. But if you have no need, just to destroy, to cut a branch, why cause damage to the creation that the Holy One blessed be He created when it is not for a purpose and need? So if this applies to living creatures, all the more so to gentiles, who indeed have an animal soul, but the Torah says that they have a soul, that they have survival of the soul, this is different from an animal. An animal cannot become a Jew, a gentile in contrast, if he converts can become an Israelite. So in practice we see that Hashem has a desire that there be gentiles in the world, but He has no desire that they have influence upon us. And if there is influence of the gentile upon us, the Torah already announces, and they shall be as thorns in your eyes and as pricks in your sides, all those whom you leave here when you come to conquer the land. And by the way, even the gentiles who were here at the time of the conquest of the land, about them too the Torah said do not let any soul live, after Yehoshua sent three proclamations, meaning he sent them letters, whoever wants to make peace shall make peace, but shall vacate the land. And whoever did not agree, then against him there was war. But Hashem has no desire in the destruction of the gentiles, and also in the future to come. It is not written that in the future to come the gentiles will be destroyed, it is not written. It is written that we will have dominion over the nations, but it is not written that they will be destroyed. And it is written, and strangers shall stand and tend your flocks. This, yes, they will complete their role in the world, and the role of the gentile is to be a servant to holiness. That is, Israel are the children of the Supreme God, and the role of the gentile will be to serve Israel, and then through this he will complete his role in the world.
And as is known, we once spoke about this at length, that this is really the role that Yitzchak designated for Esav, and therefore he wanted specifically to give him the blessings, for he saw in him one capable of hunting game, of bringing, and if so he would sustain Yaakov, and Yaakov would be able to sit in tranquility, being of the category of one who dwells in tents. And therefore the reason, this is the reason he blesses him only with physical blessings, the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, grain and wine, only physical blessings. Why? Because this is Esav. He was certain he was blessing Esav, and he gives him the tools for how truly to support Yaakov, how to support Yaakov. But since Yitzchak, as we spoke then, was in the upper worlds, he was already living, he was already blind, and Hashem's name was already called upon him, that is, he was already at a level as if he had passed and departed from the world, that is, he already sees things as in the future to come, so he saw the future to come. But his wife Rivkah was still living here, and knew that if Yaakov would need to rely on Esav's table, he would perish of hunger, if Esav did not kill him first. So in practice one cannot rely on Esav, and therefore she took care that Yaakov would receive the blessings. But in any case, what do we see? That Esav has a role, and today he does not fulfill it, and in the future to come he will fulfill it.
And this is by the way also the reason that it is written that when the Holy One blessed be He says whoever labored with Kel let him come and take his reward, and who are the first to arrive? The nations of the world. And what do they say? We built bridges, we built bathhouses, and so on in this manner, and everything we did only for Israel. Why do they say this? Because in the future to come, says the Rav of Brisk, it will be revealed that truly everything the nations did here was for Israel. Everything they did. If they invented the telephone, it was so that there would be the voice of the tongue, and it would be possible to hear conversations on the telephone and everything they did was for Israel. They do not know this now, but in the future to come it will be revealed. And then they will come and say, ah, look, we completed our role. Our role was to assist Israel in learning Torah, look, the Samsung company arrives, we deserve a reward. We invented Nokia, what, we invented, we invented Pelephone, well, so we deserve a reward. But the Holy One blessed be He will laugh, why? Because truly they did not intend this. But in any case, what do we understand? We understand that then they will understand their role in the world. And when they understand their role in the world, they will think, well, so we deserve a reward.
So in practice then let us summarize, we have no desire to destroy the gentiles. Our desire is that the gentiles fulfill their role in the world. And to fulfill their role in the world means not to be the head of heresy, but to be subject before the servants of Hashem, before the righteous, before Israel, for you are children to Hashem your God, and to do everything necessary in order to bring Israel to the completion of its role in the world. This is the purpose in that we go and diminish the sacrifice. We go and diminish in order to abolish a diminishing of what? Of the influence of the gentile upon us. Not of the gentile. Let the gentile remain, it does not harm me that there are a billion Chinese at the other end of the world. And if they will be servants of Hashem, then on the contrary, we will rejoice all the more. But what we need to understand is that essentially we are not interested in their destruction, but our entire desire is so that we can serve Hashem out of contentment and tranquility. And the moment the gentile constantly invents new things to distance us from His service, may He be blessed, invents all kinds of iPhones and all kinds of inventions and all kinds of ways to distance us from His service, about this we have a complaint. So we want the influence of the gentile upon us to diminish, and not God forbid that the nations be destroyed, in this we have no interest.
We must emphasize that with all this, there is here an explanation of the Radak and of the Targum Yonatan, who explain what is written that my heart moans for Moav like flutes, my heart moans for the men of Kir Cheres like flutes, that this is not the word of the prophet, but rather the prophet here describes what is in the heart of Moav. The Targum says, therefore in the heart of the Moabites they moan like a harp. Therefore in their heart the Moabites moan like a harp. So it is not the heart of the prophet, but rather it is the heart of the Moabites. And their heart over the men of the city of their strength is grieved like the music of pipes. That is, their heart is grieved like the music of pipes. But again, whose? The heart of the Moabites. But we explained according to the plain meaning, that the description here is a description that speaks about the prophet himself, my heart moans for Moav, says the prophet himself.
For every head is baldness, and every beard is shaven, upon all hands are gashes, and upon the loins is sackcloth. For every head is baldness. Their way was, when they would mourn, they would tear out the hair of their heads. So he says every head is baldness, for people tear out the hair of their heads out of great grief and mourning. This means that all will be mourners, this means that death will strike every house. And every beard is shaven. The beard is the glory of the face, says the Radak. And when a person shaves the beard, he essentially removes the glory of his face. And as we saw with those of shaven beards and torn garments, this was an expression of a state in which they wanted to show mourning. He says, he did not say every beard is shaved, for shaved can often be that it is shaven for beauty. He says every beard is gruah. Gruah means from the language of "diminished from him," but this is a language of disgrace. And every hand is gashed and upon the loins is sackcloth. What is every hand gashed? Gedudot is like "do not gash yourselves." What they would do as a sign of mourning, they would cut themselves, cut their hands, cut their faces, do not gash yourselves. So he says every hand is gashed as a sign of mourning, and upon the loins is sackcloth, when they were in grief and mourning, they would place sackcloth upon their loins. So this says and upon the loins is sackcloth, that is, to such an extent will the mourning grow in Moav.
Upon all the roofs of Moav and in its streets it is all lamentation, for I have broken Moav like a vessel in which there is no desire, says Hashem. Upon all the roofs of Moav, that is, the lamentation will be in the open. When they want to express what befalls them, if it is joy, they would go up on the roofs and sound shouts of joy. And if it is mourning, they would go up on the roofs and cry out shouts of mourning. They did not have, they were not subscribed to a message network through which a message is transmitted to a thousand subscribers informing them that so-and-so died, or whatever, I do not know, publishing something in the media. So when someone wanted to announce something, he goes up on the roof and cries out. Upon all the roofs of Moav and in its streets it is all lamentation. For I have broken Moav like a vessel in which there is no desire. It is all lamentation, everywhere there will be lamentation, for Moav will be broken like a vessel for which there is no need, says Hashem.
How it is shattered, they wail, how Moav has turned its back in shame, and Moav has become an object of derision and terror to all around it. How it is shattered, they wail. That is, beyond the breaking, they will laugh at the form of the breaking, at the manner in which it was broken. Broken, the Malbim defines, without any hand and not in battle. That is, if there is a situation where a mighty man fights and dies in battle, then this was called dying a hero's death. But if he fled from the battlefield and someone put a bullet in his back, this is the death of cowards. This is a disgrace, you fled from battle and they killed you during the flight. In contrast, if a person fought and in the midst of battle, amid the clashing of swords, they struck him, then good, he fought a hero's death, he fought, as they say, to his last drop of blood. Among the nations this matter was very very important, in what manner a person died. We see this with Avimelech, that when a woman from atop the wall threw a piece of a chariot, meaning a part of a millstone, and struck and crushed his skull, then there it is brought that he asked that they kill him, he asked one of his young men to strike him. And why? So that they would not say a woman killed him. We see that it was very important to them also in what manner a person died. For if a person died in battle, then it is some form of death of valor. But if not, then afterward in all the headlines of the newspapers they will write about him that he died in disgrace. So here he says, part of the disgrace of Moav is how it is shattered. How they were broken. They wail, over this they would speak and wail over their breaking that was so disgraceful. How it turned its back. That is, when you turn your back, it means you fled from the battlefield, it means you did not fight. And then it turned its back, and this is a great shame. Moav has turned its back in shame. And Moav has become an object of derision and terror to all around it. First, they will laugh at them, that they were like women and weak, and terror, through this they will recognize that everything was by the providence of Hashem. The breaking of Moav was by the providence of Hashem, for Moav which was a strong nation, how suddenly does it fall in such a disgraceful form?
For thus said Hashem, behold like an eagle he swoops and spreads his wings against Moav. For thus said Hashem, behold like an eagle he swoops, the enemy, he will fly like an eagle and come and destroy them. The enemy is Nevuchadnetzar. And the enemy swoops like an eagle, the Malbim says, this also speaks about the nature of his warfare. The enemy usually when he comes to fight against a country, the hard part is to pass the fortifications of the borders. After you pass the fortifications of the borders, then Nasser thought he was already in Tel Aviv after two hours, yes? For from there it is already very easy to continue on. But the main artillery and fortifications are made at the border. Here he says, look at what a wondrous thing. Behold like an eagle he swoops and spreads his wings against Moav. Here he is like an eagle that swoops and spreads its wings in the middle of the country. Usually there is a delay at the borders, there it takes a long time until they succeed in fighting against the fortifications. He says, and here he is like an eagle that from the outset already spread its wings directly over Moav, that is, over the center of the country. And behold you will see that this happened, that the cities are captured and the fortresses are seized, and the heart of the mighty men of Moav on that day will be like the heart of a woman in distress.
Earlier we saw that it is written like an eagle he swoops and spreads his wings against Moav. So we see there is here an expression of swooping (li'do'ot). And on the other hand, on the other hand there is an expression of flying (la'uf). What is the difference between swooping and flying? The Malbim says, flying is in the ordinary manner, and swooping means with speed. That is the difference. Today we explain that the difference between swooping and flying, that when the dove makes no movements with its wings it swoops, and when it flaps its wings it flies. But the Malbim says that the distinction is different. The distinction is that swooping shows speed, and flying shows flight at ease. The cities are captured and the fortresses are seized. The cities is a place that was fortified, and the fortresses, fortresses too is a fortified place, a stronghold, it too is seized. And the heart of the mighty men of Moav on that day will be like the heart of a woman in distress. The heart of the mighty men of Moav will be like the heart of a woman in distress. That on one hand, on account of being a woman, this is already a reason in itself to be weak of strength, and especially in distress, since she is in trouble. So both a woman and in distress, this is breaking upon breaking. The Radak explains that in distress, a woman in distress, they speak about the woman in distress, what is she, what is the time in which the woman is in the state of greatest distress? When is she most in distress? At the time when she is in labor and gives birth. The Radak says, about this he speaks here. What we said, that the mighty men of Moav will be like the heart of a woman in distress, like a woman who is tearing to give birth, and then she is in the time of her labor pains, which is the time of greatest pain. Note, there is here an expression that is somewhat in need of understanding. Nilkedah haKeriyot (the cities is captured). Ostensibly it should have said nilkedu haKeriyot (the cities are captured). Why does he say nilkedah haKeriyot? So the Malbim says that he used the singular for the plural, since the cities include many cities. So since this is so he says, all the cities of Keriyot are captured, therefore he says nilkedah haKeriyot, every single city of the Keriyot is captured, each one is captured. So although Keriyot is many cities, but I speak about each and every city, so each and every city of the Keriyot is captured. Rashi guarded against this difficulty, and therefore Rashi explains that Keriyot is the name of the city. So consequently it is wonderfully understood, the city of Keriyot is captured. So therefore he wrote the feminine form, for a city is feminine.
And Moav is destroyed from being a people, for against Hashem he magnified himself. And Moav is destroyed from being a people, the Malbim says, a people that fell in war still has some memory in the coming generations. There was such a people, so at least in history they remember, there was, there was a people, what happened to it? It was destroyed. And today it is known in history about all kinds of peoples that were and are no more. And many of the peoples that appear, almost all the peoples that appear in the Torah, no longer exist as a nation as they are mentioned in the Torah. They were destroyed from being a people, their name is no longer mentioned nor known as the name of a people. He says, this is when there was a people. But here, since they fell like women, since they fell like women, the reality will be that they will not be considered a people at all. That is, even in history they will not remember that there was such a people, Moav. As long as you fought, I say there was a people here, it fought. But the moment they were destroyed so easily, then Moav is destroyed from being a people, no one will even remember that there was such a people called Moav. Terror and pit and trap are upon you, O inhabitant of Moav, says Hashem. Terror and pit and trap. What are these three things? Rashi explains two harsh things, terror and pit, one dependent on the other, these two are interconnected, that the terror causes him to flee, and the pit is the place where he is destined to fall. That is, they prepare a trap for him, they frighten him so that he will flee, and he falls into the trap. And the Malbim explains how this was actually done. The Malbim says, in order to hunt animals, what would they do? They would dig a large pit. What is a pit (pachat)? It is a hole. A large hole they would dig in the ground, so that the animal when it reaches there, it will fall. Over the pit they would place a snare (pach yakush). What does this mean? That if the animal wants to get out, there will be something there that will trap it and it will not be able to flee, will not be able to get out. Pach yakush means a snare in which it will be ensnared, a trap that will be a snare for it. In order for it to fall there, they would send dogs. The dogs would frighten them, and by frightening it, to drive it away and cause it to flee to that place, it falls into the pit, tries to get out and is caught in the snare. And this is what is called terror and pit and trap are upon you, O inhabitant of Moav, says Hashem. So too will it be upon you, the Holy One blessed be He, so to speak, prepared for you the trap in such a form that there is no possibility of getting out. He who flees from the terror will fall into the pit, and he who comes up out of the pit will be caught in the trap, for I will bring upon her, upon Moav, the year of their reckoning, says Hashem. Whoever flees from the terror, as we said, like the dogs that would chase the animal, will fall into the pit, into the hole they prepared in order to trap them. And when it tries to come up, there they had a trap that catches it, and he who comes up out of the pit will be caught in the trap. So the trap is the one that will trap him and not let him, not allow him to get out. For I will bring upon her, upon Moav, the year of their reckoning, says Hashem. For I will bring upon her, upon Moav, what is "upon her, upon Moav"? You said for I will bring upon Moav, what is "I will bring upon her" or "for I will bring upon her," this is I will bring upon Moav, what is the duplication? So the Malbim says, like what is written "upon her, upon Yerushalayim," this means when they want to say that the thing will be specifically for this, then they say "upon her" and also mention the name. Upon her, upon Moav, this will be, so to speak, a special portion that the Holy One blessed be He prepared uniquely for Moav. The year of their reckoning, says Hashem, this is the year in which the Holy One blessed be He will bring upon them the evil fitting to come upon them, the year of their reckoning.
In the shadow of Cheshbon the fugitives stand exhausted, for a fire went out from Cheshbon and a flame from within Sichon, and it consumed the corner of Moav and the crown of the sons of tumult. In the shadow of Cheshbon the fugitives stand exhausted. When the fugitives, those who fled from the battle, as we saw that he describes here a defeat, when the fugitives come in the shadow of Cheshbon, they want to take refuge in the wall and fortress of Cheshbon, for Cheshbon was a fortified city. There the enemy came with force, until the fugitives stood from strength, meaning by the strength of the enemies they stopped fleeing. And this is what he says, in the shadow of Cheshbon they stood from strength, comma, fugitives. From the strength of the enemy who came with all his might, when the fugitives reached Cheshbon they stood, for the enemy there had already overtaken them. For a fire went out from Cheshbon, this is a figure of speech familiar to us, a fire went out from Cheshbon, a flame from the city of Sichon, this is what he says here, for a fire went out from Cheshbon and a flame from within Sichon. This is the ancient parable, that from Cheshbon a burning fire went out, which is really the enemy who there caught the fugitives as we said, and from within Sichon a flame went out, the flame burns far off. From there came the enemy, and it consumed the corner of Moav. The corner (pe'at) means the edges, like the corner of the head. That is, the fire took hold of the corner of the head, consumed also the crown. And who is the crown? And the crown of the sons of tumult. The crown of the sons of tumult, there too the fire reached after it consumed the corner of Moav, the fire went and blazed and spread until it consumed the crown of the sons of tumult, meaning the inhabitants of the large cities. And why were the large cities called tumult (sha'on)? Because there is much tumult and the sound of commotion there. So the fire that came from within Sichon consumed the corner of Moav at the edges, and afterward burned up to the crown of the large cities, the sons of tumult. Woe to you, Moav, the people of Kemosh is lost, for your sons are taken in captivity and your daughters in captivity. Woe to you, Moav, for behold now the people who worship Kemosh is lost. Kemosh was the god of Moav. So woe to you, Moav, the people that worships Kemosh. For your sons are taken in captivity and your daughters in captivity. Your sons went as refugees, and now they too go into captivity before the oppressor. And I will restore the fortunes of Moav in the end of days, says Hashem, thus far is the judgment of Moav. And I will restore the fortunes of Moav, the Radak says, since it is written here "in the end of days, says Hashem," we understand that they speak of a future prophecy, they speak here of the coming of Mashiach. And so too it appears further on, the fortunes of the sons of Amon. Afterward I will restore the fortunes of the sons of Amon, this too will be in the future. And so too it appears in the prophecy of Tzefanyah. Tzefanyah chapter 2 verse 8, I have heard the reproach of Moav and the revilings of the sons of Amon, with which they reproached My people and magnified themselves against their border, therefore as I live, says Hashem of hosts, the God of Israel, that Moav shall become like Sedom and the sons of Amon like Amorah, a possession of nettles and a pit of salt and a desolation forever, the remnant of My people shall plunder them and the remainder of My nation shall inherit them. This shall be theirs in place of their pride, for they reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Hashem of hosts. Hashem says, this is a punishment for them, thus says Tzefanyah, for this that they reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Hashem of hosts. Hashem will be awesome over them, for He will weaken all the gods of the earth, and every man shall bow to Him from his place, all the islands of the nations. You see from here, for against Hashem he magnified himself, this will be his punishment. And when will this be? And every man shall bow to Him from his place, all the islands of the nations. When will this be? In the days of Mashiach. For in the days of Mashiach it is written that they will come here, they will be gathered, gathered here from all the nations, and all will declare and say, come and let us go up to the house of Hashem, and let us bow, and let us bow to Him, and they will grasp the hem of a Jewish man, thousands will grasp the hem of a Jewish man and say to him, take us with you to the house of Hashem so that we may go and bow before Hashem our God. So behold you see from here, the Radak proves, that this prophecy, and I will restore the fortunes of Moav in the end of days, speaks about the end of days of the end of time, and does not speak here of some years from now. The Radak asks, but were not the nations intermingled? Ostensibly, then how can we fulfill "and I will restore the fortunes of Moav"? Who today is an authentic Moabite? We have no possibility of knowing today. Who, those who dwell in Jordan? This is the region of the land of Moav, but can I know that every Jordanian is a Moabite? And even though they intermingled among the nations, the Radak says, it may very well be that they were scattered in a scattering that is close to there. That is, even if we scattered, but we are, so to speak, close to home. So they are scattered among the nations that are near. So and I will restore the fortunes of Moav, they will draw near, they will return back to their land. And even that they intermingled with the nations, it may very well be, he says, that although they intermingled, there still remains a memory of them. Meaning, there are still those who are authentic Moabites, although we do not know them, but they, about them Scripture promises that they are destined to return. And in the end of days, then the Radak says, each and every nation will return and will return to its land, and all of them will be under the rule of Israel. This does not mean the government of Israel, yes, in the sense of today, but rather it means under the government of Melech HaMashiach. As it says, Edom and Moav shall be the sending of their hand, and the sons of Amon their obedience. Edom and Moav, they will be the sending of their hand. When we want to send someone, the Moabite will immediately be standing here at your service. He will say to you, what do you want? DHL? We are at the service of Israel. What do you want? Delivery service? To the whole world. Whatever you want. The sending of their hand, and the sons of Amon their obedience. You will need someone to do something for you, the sons of Amon, they will listen to you and immediately do everything you command. But for this, my masters, first of all we need to do what Hashem wants. And then afterward will be this next stage. But a person does not want to do what Hashem wants, and then expects that the gentiles will do what he wants, who said he will even be there at all? We speak about the future period of the coming of Mashiach, and at the coming of Mashiach those who will arise, this is only those who truly did the will of Hashem. May Hashem merit us to be among them. Let us note that he says "thus far is the judgment of Moav." The Radak explains, since he elaborated in the account of the evil, he said "thus far." Since after they elaborated at length, he says, this is it, up to here, here we have finished. The Malbim explains, that since in the prophecy of the sons of Amon further on we will see that they will destroy Ai and Cheshbon, which are cities of Moav, and it tells you there, this is the judgment of the sons of Amon. In contrast here, we speak about the judgment of Moav for its own sake, not for others. So their judgment when they are connected with the sons of Amon, then this will continue further on. But the judgment of the sons of Moav alone, then this is up to here. Therefore he emphasizes, thus far is the judgment of Moav.