"Yet even now, says Hashem, return unto Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation." "Yet even now, says Hashem" - right now, even though the army of locusts has already arrived, they have already begun to feel the plague, and the great day has already come, the prophet tells them: Do not think that there is no remedy, that it is already too late. He tells them: "Yet even now" - even now, says Hashem, return unto Me with all your heart. Even now you can return to Me with all your heart, and I will remove the locusts from you, as we will see later. He says, "Return unto Me" (shuvu adai). The Malbim explains that there is a difference between "return unto Me" (shuvu adai) and "return to Me" (shuvu eilai). As the Malbim explains, and as we already saw in Sefer Hoshea: "Return, O Israel, unto Hashem your God" (shuvah Yisrael ad Hashem Elohecha). What is the difference between ad (unto) and el (to)? The Malbim explains that when someone has distanced himself, we say "return unto (adai) Me" - adai means all the way back to Me, from a distant place. When I say el, that is after you have already returned; now draw close. That is returning to (el). Thus, there are two stages. First, I return ad, unto the one from whom I drifted away or who distanced Himself from me; after I have already drawn close, now I return el, to Him. The Malbim explains that here too: "Return unto Me with all your heart." Hashem tells them: Even though I am currently distant from you, return unto Me nonetheless. Only let the teshuva be with all your heart. Let it not be a double-hearted teshuva, not an outward teshuva born merely of fear, and not a teshuva that merely mimics genuine desire, but rather return with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and lamentation. Let there be confession and the abandonment of sin, and then we know that the teshuva is truly genuine. And as the Radak also says, let the teshuva not be double-hearted - displaying the ways of teshuva outwardly while inwardly not repenting. Rather, the main thing is that the teshuva be internal, and in addition let it also be outward, in fasting, weeping, and lamentation, in order to subdue the hearts. For when a person sees his fellow fasting, weeping, and lamenting, his own heart is subdued, even if he had not yet been aroused to teshuva on his own.
"Rend your heart and not your garments, and return to Hashem your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness, and relents of the evil." He tells them: "Rend your heart and not your garments." Rend the heart and not your clothing. What does this mean? First, the Malbim explains: We already saw that he previously said, "Return unto Me with all your heart." The Malbim explains: No, here there is a second rending of the heart, which signifies complete remorse over the past. "And do not rend your garments" - meaning, tearing clothing is essentially mourning over the calamity that has befallen you. What are you tearing your clothes over? Over the trouble. When a misfortune strikes, a person tears his garments. No, let the rending be over the iniquities! Tear your hearts over the damage you caused, not tearing your clothes because of the calamity that has overtaken you. The reason is that the sins you committed are far worse than the calamity that found you. The terrible ruin of sin is far more severe than the damage of the calamity. Afterwards he tells them, "and return to Hashem." Notice: Earlier it said "return unto Me" (adai), and now it says "and return to" (el). Why? Because at the beginning we were still distant, but in the second teshuva, after we have drawn a bit closer, you are already near to Hashem; here you return to (el). You will do complete teshuva, which is teshuva out of love. Then, because Hashem is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, and relents of the evil, the Holy One, blessed be He, even now - after the calamity has already arrived, after the locusts are already here - will relent and remove the locusts.
The Ibn Ezra explains that tearing garments was their custom. When a calamity befell them, they would tear their garments, as is written of Yaakov: "And Yaakov rent his garments." So it appears with David as well. And rending the heart is along the lines of "circumcise the foreskin of your heart," as it is written: "and rend the enclosure of their heart." Why? Because, as it were, the heart has a layer of fat that seals it, preventing things from penetrating within. While this is a poetic metaphor, the entire concept of the heart is metaphorical. The heart is just a pump, after all. What are we talking about when we say "the heart"? "I did it with all my heart" - what does that mean? That piece of muscle? The expression "heart" is figurative, used to describe something done from the inner essence. What does it mean to rend the heart? The Ibn Ezra explains that there is a blockage over the heart, so words do not penetrate. Rend the heart, and the words will penetrate inside. This also explains what is written, "Every prudent (arum) man acts with knowledge" - meaning that when the heart is covered, there is no understanding; but when the heart is uncovered, there is understanding. In this sense, it corresponds to being stripped (arum) of garments.
It is quoted in the name of the Rebbe of Gur on the verse, "And you shall place these words of Mine upon your heart." The question is asked: Why "upon"? It should say "inside"! Why place Hashem's words so they merely lie on top of the heart rather than penetrating inside? He answered: Sometimes a person's heart is sealed. The heart is unreceptive; nothing penetrates. So what does a person tell himself? "Look, what is the point of going to the shiur? What is the point of praying? What is the point of learning?" So he withdraws. "When will I go? With Hashem's help, when I become a bit stronger, I will come." That is a mistake, an error, the counsel of the yetzer hara. A person must know to come to the shiur, to learn, and to pray, even if he is not in an elevated state of mind, or even if he is in a state of mochin de-katnut (constricted consciousness). In any case, he must do so. Why? Because when you place the words upon the heart, there is a chance that one day the heart will open and they will penetrate inside. But if you placed nothing upon the heart, then even if the heart opens one day, everything is empty. The moment you place "these words of Mine upon your heart," when the heart opens, they will penetrate. Therefore, a person must never disconnect from spirituality. We once devoted an entire talk to this. One must never disconnect from spirituality, even in times of darkness and gloom, even during periods of crisis and decline. One still has to attend a Torah shiur, still has to learn, still has to act. You might ask, "Isn't that just superficial? What is it worth?" First of all, the heart is drawn after one's actions. Second, one mitzvah leads to another. Third, you have not disconnected. When your heart opens, you are in the beit midrash, you are connected to the shiur, you are still learning, you are praying. But when you see someone whose heart opens after he has already disconnected, he feels embarrassed: "What will they say? Where was I? I haven't been to the shiur in two months. In the synagogue, it feels awkward." So he remains outside and does not return. Therefore, a person must always know to keep observing the Torah and mitzvot, even when he does not feel feelings of spiritual elevation.
Rashi explains: What is meant by "Rend your heart and not your garments"? The meaning is: Rend your heart, for I care nothing for the rending of your garments. There is no point in tearing your clothes; I pay no attention to that. Rashi offers another explanation: "Rend your heart and not your garments" - if you rend your heart, it will spare you from having to rend your garments. When do people rend their garments? Heaven forbid, when a tragedy occurs. So he said: If you rend your heart beforehand, you will not have to rend your garments. But if you do not rend your heart in time, you will subsequently have to rend your garments, Heaven forbid, over the disasters that will come.
"Who knows whether he will return and repent, and leave behind a blessing, a meal-offering and a libation to Hashem your God." "Who knows whether he will return and repent" - about whom is this said? Rashi says: Whoever knows that he has sin in him should return and repent. Any person who knows that he has a transgression should return and show remorse over his transgression. By contrast, the Radak - in line with the Ibn Ezra - explains that this refers to Hashem. The prophet says: Who knows, perhaps Hashem will return and relent of the evil. The Radak also brings another explanation: that it indeed refers to man, but what is written here as "who knows" is not as Rashi explained (whoever knows he has sin), but rather: whoever knows the ways of teshuva will return, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, will relent. Notice: he essentially divides this into two. According to Rashi, it means whoever knows he has sin will return and repent for his transgressions. According to the Radak, however, whoever knows the ways of teshuva will return, and then Hashem will relent of the evil He spoke of bringing upon them. Or there is another explanation, as the Targum says: "who knows" means whoever knows he has sin - which is like Rashi - and will then return, and Hashem will have mercy on him.
"And leave behind a blessing." Here too, it is phrased anonymously. "Who knows whether he will return" - we do not know to whom it refers; "and leave behind a blessing" - we do not know who will leave behind a blessing. Whom are we talking about when the verse says "and leave behind a blessing"? The Radak explains that "and leave behind a blessing" means that Hashem will leave behind a blessing after the locusts. If you repent, the Holy One, blessed be He, will leave behind a blessing after the locusts. How? Hashem will banish the locusts and leave a blessing in the vegetation. That is, He will not allow a situation where the locusts destroy everything; what remains will be a blessing, and you will make from it a meal-offering and a libation to Hashem, corresponding to what we saw earlier, that "meal-offering and libation have been cut off from the House of Hashem." But if you repent, through "who knows whether he will return," Hashem will leave behind a blessing after the locusts. The Malbim follows a similar approach, but he explains that "who knows whether he will return" means that even if the general public is unwilling to do teshuva, at least the individuals who know - meaning who know and understand that teshuva is needed - will return and show remorse for their sins. You might say: But does the teshuva of an individual help nullify the decree on the collective? He tells you: That is true, but at least the locusts will leave behind a blessing. Notice: according to the Malbim, "and leave behind a blessing" does not mean Hashem will leave a blessing after the locusts, but rather that the locusts, after their visitation, will leave behind a blessing here. As we said according to the Radak, enough will remain for a meal-offering and libation. This reflects the principle that the calamity increases in proportion to the number of sinners. Even if only some return in teshuva, a blessing will remain. When all sin, the locusts wipe out everything. But if some repent, a portion remains. Therefore he says: Even if only individuals repent, at least a blessing will remain after the locusts depart, and not everything will be destroyed.
Notice that the Malbim, in his commentary here, essentially resolves a difficulty. The difficulty is: Earlier you said, "Rend your heart and not your garments, and return to Hashem your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness, and relents of the evil." If you repent, Hashem will relent of the evil. How, then, can you say here, "Who knows whether he will return and repent, and leave behind a blessing"? How can you tell me here "who knows whether he will return" and only leave a blessing? Just a moment ago you told me that if we repent, Hashem will relent completely of the evil and nothing will happen! How do you now come and say that it is uncertain, and He will merely leave behind a blessing? Previously I understood from you that the Holy One, blessed be He, will have mercy and there will be no calamity at all. It is even more difficult if we say that "who knows whether he will return" refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, meaning: who knows, perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, will relent? Just a moment ago you told me "He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness" - if you only repent, mercy is certain! And now, according to this explanation, you say "who knows, perhaps Hashem will return and relent"? The Malbim comes and resolves this. He explains: The previous verse, as we explained, speaks to the community as a whole. When addressing the community as a whole - "Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return" - it speaks to everyone in the plural. Then, "He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness, and relents of the evil" is guaranteed. When everyone returns, there is complete relenting. By contrast, the verse here speaks of individuals: "Who knows whether he will return" speaks in the singular. Even when an individual repents, do not say, "What good will individuals do when the majority are sinning?" He says: Yes, but it will still "leave behind a blessing." It will still produce a situation where not everything is destroyed. For just as the calamity corresponds to the number of sinners, when the sinners decrease, the calamity decreases, and a blessing will remain. In this way, the Malbim resolves the difficulty between the verses.
"Blow a shofar in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly." The Malbim explains that here a third subject begins. Until now, he spoke about the time of the locusts' arrival and advised them to repent so that the locusts would not come. Here he is already speaking about the time when the locusts have already ravaged the land. He tells them: Even now there is a remedy. The remedy is that they be removed from the land now. How will you achieve this? To this he says, "Blow a shofar in Zion" - blow the shofar to gather the people together. Notice that he does not say "sound an alarm" (hari'u), because the teruah is meant to arouse dread, and here we are already dealing with a reality where the calamity has arrived; there is no need to arouse dread. The people are already terrified by the calamity. "Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly." "Sanctify a fast" - initially he commanded that the kohanim sanctify the fast and call an assembly. Now he addresses the people, saying to the entire nation: You, sanctify a fast now that the calamity has arrived.
"Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the infants and those who nurse at the breast; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride from her bridal canopy." He continues and tells them: The fast and assembly that I advise you to declare now, after the locusts are already present, will be deeply meaningful. How? First, he tells them that for the fast to be meaningful, they must gather the people. Initially he told them, "Assemble the elders, all the inhabitants of the land," that they should gather the elders so the elders could speak words of reproof and inspiration (divrei kibushin), thereby arousing the inhabitants of the land to teshuva. Now, since the calamity is already present in reality, the people will gather on their own. There is no need now to begin gathering the elders so they can arouse the public; no, the people gather on their own due to the calamity. And the people themselves will assemble the elders. Previously, the elders were the ones who spoke inspiring reproof to the people because all was quiet, so the people needed to be awakened. But now the people have already awakened on their own and run to the elders, asking them to pray on their behalf. He also commands them to gather infants, nursing babies, and the bridegroom from his chamber in order to intensify the fasting and supplication. The Radak explains that by having the young children and nursing infants fast as well, everyone will be in a single gathering. What happens in such a situation? The infants cry. And the moment the infants cry from hunger, the hearts of the adults break. Through this, their hearts are humbled by all their weeping, and the Holy One, blessed be He, in His abundant mercy, will have compassion, for He will pity and spare the little ones. "Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride from her bridal canopy" - the Radak says that even the groom, who is supposed to rejoice with his wife, will go forth from his chamber. The bride from her chuppah - the place where the bride resides - will also emerge from there. He offers another explanation: "a bride from her chuppah" is related to chipui (covering). What does this mean? The bride was adorned with ornaments and jewelry. Anyone who has seen a bride at a Yemenite henna ceremony sees the vast quantities of jewelry covering her clothing. That is the meaning of "from her chuppah" - from the ornaments and jewelry that envelop her at the time of the wedding. She will emerge from her adornment, removing this jewelry. Then everyone will be in that same gathering, and the bridegroom and bride will weep alongside them instead of rejoicing. All of these things, says the Radak, break a person's heart. Through this, the Holy One, blessed be He, will see their brokenness and have mercy.
The Malbim notes that the verse says, "Gather (asfu) the people, assemble (kabtzu) the elders, gather (asfu) the infants." What is the difference between asfu (gather) and kabtzu (assemble)? The Malbim explains that kibbutz (assembling) applies to things that are scattered and need to be gathered together. By contrast, aseifah (gathering) always means bringing inside from the outside; it does not necessarily imply that they were scattered. "He gathered (asaf) into the house" - the sheep were outside, and he brought them into the house. If I say kibbetz, however, it implies that the sheep were scattered in various places, so one had to round them up. That is the difference between lekabetz and le'esof. For example, "He gathered (asaf) his feet into the bed." He did not need to kabetz his feet; they were not scattered in different places. They were right there, so he only needed to bring them close. Thus, le'esof always refers to something that does not require gathering from dispersion, but merely needs to be brought inside. Let us explain: "Gather (asfu) the people" - the Malbim explains that it does not say kabtzu am, because the people, as we mentioned, had already gathered on their own due to the calamity. All that was needed was to bring them inside into the Beit HaMikdash, but they were already assembled amongst themselves. Therefore, it says only asfu am. "Assemble (kabtzu) the elders" - by contrast, if you want the sages, elders, and righteous to pray, they must be gathered together: "one from a city and two from a family." One must go and assemble them, and only then will they gather into the House of Hashem. It likewise says "gather (asfu) the infants," because the infants are not scattered either; they are with their parents. Since the parents are already assembled and not scattered, all that is needed is to bring them inside. Thus, asfu is used for the people and for the infants, whereas the elders, who are dispersed in various places, must be assembled (kabtzu).
"Between the Porch and the Altar let the kohanim, the ministers of Hashem, weep, and let them say: Spare Your people, Hashem, and do not make Your heritage a reproach, that nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples: Where is their God?" "Between the Porch and the Altar let the kohanim weep." The Malbim explains: Since we saw earlier that the kohanim were the ones who gathered the people, whereas in the verses we just read the people gathered on their own, the role of the kohanim was not mentioned there. Earlier they gathered the people, but here, what do the kohanim do? To this the prophet says: The kohanim stand between the Porch and the Altar, which is considered a sanctified place, and there they weep and pray. In their prayer they say: "Spare Your people, Hashem." First, they plead: Master of the Universe, have compassion on them because they are Your people. You are their King. Anyone under my responsibility, I feel a responsibility to care for him. Master of the Universe, we are under Your charge, we are Your people - this is "Spare Your people, Hashem." Second: "and do not make Your heritage a reproach." The land is Your heritage (nachalah). The term nachalah indicates the sanctity inherent in the Land; Hashem's Shechinah rests upon this place by virtue of its holiness. Do not deliver it to disgrace! Now, regarding their status as Your people, they plead: Do not let nations rule over them. Since we are Your people, do not let the nations rule over them, for You are our Sovereign. When You allow nations to rule over them, You have, as it were, transferred us from Your dominion to the dominion of the nations. Therefore we plead: Master of the Universe, spare Your people, and do not let the nations rule over them in Your stead, for they are Your people. Incidentally, Rashi explains "to rule over them" (limshol bam) as related to being a byword and a proverb (mashal ve-shinah). As we explained according to the Malbim, following the Radak, limshol means dominion. According to Rashi, however, "do not make Your heritage a reproach that nations should make them a proverb" means making parables about them - creating caricatures of them, like Der Stürmer; that is the meaning of a proverb and a byword. Let us continue with the Malbim. And from the perspective of our plea, "Master of the Universe, have mercy, for the land is Your heritage, and the sanctity of Hashem rests in this holy Land" - regarding this they plead: Do not make it a reproach. "Why should they say among the peoples: Where is their God?" That is a reproach: since this place is Your heritage and Your Shechinah resides there, yet they do not see Hashem's heritage, they do not see the Holy One, blessed be He, what will they say? Where is Hashem? Where is the Holy One, blessed be He? "Why should they say among the peoples: Where is their God?" Where is their God Who was supposed to be here in the Holy Land, in Your heritage, and protect it? And see, not only did He not protect it, but misfortunes and disasters have befallen them!
"Then Hashem was zealous for His land, and had pity on His people." "Then Hashem was zealous for His land" - Hashem heard their prayer. Corresponding to their plea, "do not make Your heritage a reproach," meaning that Hashem should be zealous for the honor of the Land, the heritage upon which the eyes of Hashem your God are always fixed, "Hashem was zealous for His land" refers to the honor of His land, which is His heritage. Corresponding to their request, "Spare Your people, Hashem," the verse says, "and had pity on His people." The Holy One, blessed be He, will also have mercy on the people. Chazal state in Midrash Ruth: One verse says, "For Hashem will not forsake His people for His great Name's sake." Why does Hashem not abandon us? Because of His great Name, so that His Name will not be desecrated. Yet another verse says, "For Hashem will not forsake His people." Why does Hashem not abandon us? Simply because we are His people, without mentioning His great Name. Chazal explain: When Israel does the will of the Omnipresent, Hashem acts for the sake of His people and His heritage, because we are worthy and deserving. But when they do not do the will of the Omnipresent, Hashem acts for the sake of His great Name, so that His blessed Name will not be desecrated. What do the kohanim pray for here? The Malbim notes that they pray that Hashem act for the sake of His great Name. They are essentially saying: Master of the Universe, even if You say we are unworthy, why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" That is a Chillul Hashem! The nations will say, "Where is their God?" So even though we may not be worthy, why should Your Name be desecrated? Therefore they come and plead: Master of the Universe, spare us for Your great Name's sake. That is why they said, "Spare Your people, Hashem."
And what is written next? "And had pity on His people" (vayamol al ammo). Listen to a wonderful explanation. The Malbim asks: What is the difference between lachus (to spare / pity) and lachmol (to have compassion)? This is a distinction the Malbim explains in several places. The Malbim explains that lechus means sparing something because I have a need for it; I do not destroy it because I derive benefit from it. I spare it: "and let your eye not spare (al tachos) your vessels." By contrast, lachmol means showing compassion and having mercy on something because of its own intrinsic worth, not because I need it. For example, your wife took an item or a piece of furniture from the house and threw it away. I can react with chus, or I can react with chamal. If I react with chus, I say, "Why did you throw it away? I use that, I need it!" That is called lachus - I have a need for the item. Alternatively, I can react with chamal. To have chamalah means: "I don't use it, but to simply throw it away is a shame. The item itself has value; it is good in its own right. Give it to someone else, but the object itself is of quality." That is the difference between lachus and lachmol. The Malbim explains that this distinction is expressed here in the verses as well. One who spares (chas) something does so, as we said, because he needs it. And this is what they say: Master of the Universe, we ask, "Spare (chusa) Your people, Hashem." Master of the Universe, spare Your people because, as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, has a need in the matter. What is Hashem's "need"? If we are punished, Your Name will be desecrated. Therefore, "Spare Your people, Hashem." To spare means I spare something I need. Why does Hashem have a "need" here? We are speaking on the lower level of comprehension, for on the high spiritual planes Hashem needs nothing. I am speaking from our human perspective, as we elaborated in Nefesh HaChaim on the difference between Memaleh Kol Almin and Sovev Kol Almin. From our perspective, there is, as it were, a deficiency for Hashem in a Chillul Hashem. So: Master of the Universe, spare Your people, because it is not fitting for You; Your Name will be desecrated, as it were. But after the Jewish people do teshuva, the Holy One, blessed be He, acts for the sake of His people and His heritage - that is, for our sake, because we are now upright, worthy, and righteous. Then, "Hashem was zealous for His land" - the Holy One, blessed be He, is zealous for His land, meaning for the sake of His land, because we are deserving. And therefore it is written, "and had pity (vayamol) on His people." Having compassion on something, as we said, is due to the intrinsic perfection of the thing itself, not because I need it. It is a pity to destroy the Jewish people, because the Jewish people are holy and pure; they possess intrinsic greatness. That is vayamol. Earlier it was only because, as it were, it was not worthwhile for Hashem since His Name would be desecrated. That is what they prayed for: at least spare Your people even if we are not worthy. But now, after they do teshuva, Hashem is zealous for His land and has compassion on His heritage. That is, Hashem will have compassion on them because they are now righteous, and they are therefore worthy of Hashem's compassion.
From this point, the Malbim proceeds to explain seven differences that essentially constitute the distinction between Hashem having mercy on us for His great Name's sake, and His having mercy on us because we are worthy - because we changed our ways and are intrinsically worthy of mercy. The Malbim enumerates seven differences that find expression in the subsequent verses. First, the Malbim begins: Had Hashem acted solely for His great Name's sake, the Holy One, blessed be He, would have responded to the kohanim who prayed that He act for the honor of His Name. Yet after the salvation arrived and they were redeemed, "Hashem responded and said to His people: Behold, I am sending you the grain, the wine, and the oil, and you shall be satisfied with it; and I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations." The response will be directly to the people themselves. That is to say, had the Holy One, blessed be He, been answering the kohanim - what had the kohanim asked for? "Master of the Universe, for Your Name's sake." If the kohanim's request was for the sake of Hashem's Name, Hashem should have answered the kohanim. But notice to whom Hashem responds! The kohanim were the ones praying: "let the kohanim, the ministers of Hashem, weep, and let them say: Spare." It should have said here: "Hashem responded and said to the kohanim." But you see that Hashem did not respond to the kohanim; to whom did He respond? To the people! That means it is because you are worthy, because of your teshuva, because of your merits, and therefore Hashem now answers them.