She has fallen. When a person suffers a fall that is not dangerous, he rises from the fall by himself; and when he suffers a dangerous fall to the point that he cannot rise by himself, his relatives and acquaintances will hasten to raise him up. But the virgin of Israel has fallen with a dangerous fall, to the point that she shall rise no more, for she cannot rise by herself. Accordingly, it would be proper for her relatives and children to hasten to raise her from her fall. Nevertheless, she is forsaken upon her land, with none to raise her up; no one can be found to raise her, even though she is still upon her own land, she has no one to raise her. The metaphor is that in earlier times, even when they fell, they afterward strengthened themselves, rose by their own power, and girded themselves with strength. And even when they lacked the power to rise by themselves, Hashem saw their affliction and raised them up, as occurred in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, when Hashem saw the affliction of Israel and had compassion upon them. But now she has no strength of her own, and Hashem has also forsaken her, and she has no one to raise her up.

For thus says Hashem. He first explains what he said, that she shall no longer rise by herself, for only a few remained from many: the city that goes forth with a thousand shall have a hundred left, for nine parts out of ten of them were killed or died, and it is no longer possible for her to regain strength through natural means.

For thus says Hashem. Now he explains why there is no one to raise her up. Do not think that this is because the will of Hashem has changed, so that whereas He had always raised them up, Hashem has now become like an enemy. This is not so, for the will of Hashem was that they should live, and He said to the house of Israel, "Seek Me and live." Corresponding to what was said that nine parts out of ten of them had died, He says that if they seek Hashem, they will live.

And do not seek Beth-el. Corresponding to what was said above (4:4), that they would proclaim, "Come to Beth-el and transgress; at Gilgal increase transgression," and that because of this Hashem was angered with them and struck them with famine, pestilence, and the sword until only one out of ten remained, he says, "Do not seek Beth-el," where they sought guidance from the calf, "and do not come to Gilgal," where they committed other abominations and increased transgression, as it is written in Hosea 9, "All their wickedness is in Gilgal," "and do not pass through Beersheba," for the road to Beth-el passed through there, as it is written, "As the way of Beersheba lives." He adds that they should not even travel on the road leading to the calves of Beth-aven, "for Gilgal shall surely go into exile," and from there you will not obtain life or salvation, but rather:

Seek Hashem and live, lest He break forth like fire against the house of Joseph. Corresponding to what was said above, "And you were like a firebrand rescued from the burning, yet you did not return to Me," which was the final blow with which He struck them, and yet they still did not repent, he says that through this the house of Joseph will break forth like fire to consume even the remaining firebrand, for it shall consume, and there shall be none to extinguish it, until nothing remains of them. He also alluded to the rebellion that arose among them in the days of Hoshea son of Elah, whose cause was the calf at Beth-el, which Hoshea wished to abolish, so that two factions arose among them, as I explained in various places in Hosea, and through this rebellion they devoured one another. As it is written (Isaiah 9:18), "And the people shall be as fuel for the fire; no man shall spare his brother; Manasseh against Ephraim, and Ephraim against Manasseh." Therefore, he says that the house of Joseph will break forth like fire, for a burning tree consumes the one nearest to it; likewise, they will consume one another. Accordingly, Hashem warned them to seek Him and live, but they did not listen to His voice, and therefore He did not raise them up from their fall, for they themselves were the cause of their downfall.

Who turn. He gives another reason why they fell with no one to raise them up: because they turn justice into wormwood. Israel can endure only through justice and righteousness, for justice encompasses the commandments between man and his fellow, while righteousness encompasses the commandments between man and God. These are the grapes that Hashem expected from the vineyard that He planted on a fertile hill, as it is written (Isaiah, chapter 5). Justice moves upon the earth to preserve civilized life, so that people may live lives that are sweet and pleasant, protecting society from oppression and robbery and enabling them to live in peace and tranquility; but they turn justice into wormwood. And righteousness takes wing toward heaven, through which the soul attains happiness, since it is a daughter of God, spiritual and Divine; but they cast righteousness down to the earth, for they regard it as an earthly, material thing of no importance whatsoever, since they do not believe in the immortality or holiness of the soul.

He who makes. Therefore, just as they turn sweetness into bitterness and heavenly happiness into something earthly, overturning the orders that Hashem established for their success in this world and their happiness in the world to come, so too will Hashem overturn the order of creation to confound and destroy them. He explains that Hashem arranged the order of creation in the best and most beneficial manner, for He makes the Pleiades and Orion. The Pleiades are the constellations that bring cold and water, and opposite them He made Orion, which brings heat and dryness, as our Sages said: Were it not for the heat of Orion, the world could not endure the cold of the Pleiades. They also said that the Holy One, blessed be He, took two stars from the Pleiades and thereby brought the Flood upon the world. Orion thus preserves the order of creation so that the waters will not prevail and inundate the earth. Likewise, He turns the shadow of death into morning, for He created the light through which the shadow of death is transformed into morning. But now He will turn these orders toward evil: corresponding to His turning the shadow of death into morning, now He darkens the day into night, so that the day will become night; and corresponding to His making Orion to prevent the destructive force of the Pleiades from prevailing and bringing a flood upon the world, now He Himself calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth, for Hashem of Hosts is His name, He who rules over all the hosts and orders them according to His will. And just as they overturned the order of His governance, so will He overturn the order of the governance of the world to destroy them from the face of the earth.

Who strengthens. Likewise, because they turned justice into wormwood, the order among human beings was also overturned, so that the destroyer prevailed even over the strong and the mighty. It also means that destruction itself prevailed over them, for through their violence they were punished. And destruction shall come upon the fortress; even though the strong man dwells in a fortified city, the fortress will not save him, for destruction will come and conquer the fortress.

They hate. He gives another reason for their fall with no one to raise them up: because they hated those who rebuked them and sought to set them straight and return them to the proper path, whether one who rebuked them concerning justice in matters between man and his fellow, who rebukes in the gate, where judgment took place (for it was customary for judges to sit at the gate), or one who speaks with integrity, who sought to set them straight concerning righteousness in the commandments between man and God; they abhor him. Therefore, there is no hope that they will repent of their evil deeds through teachers and those who rebuke them.

Therefore. Thus says Hashem: Had they listened to rebuke, He would have waited for them still, in the hope that perhaps they might repent. But since there is no hope that they will repent, Hashem decreed and said: "Because you trample upon the poor," and through your trampling and plundering of the poor, "you take from him a tribute of grain." From this violence, through which you take the poor man's produce, "you have built houses of hewn stone"; therefore, "you shall not dwell in them." Likewise, from the violence through which you trample upon the poor, "you have planted desirable vineyards"; therefore, "you shall not drink their wine," for you will go into exile. This is fitting for you, measure for measure.

For I know that your transgressions are many. A transgression is committed out of rebellion, whereas a sin is committed because of desire and pleasure, not from an intention to rebel. Now a transgression is always more severe than a sin, since the person intends to rebel; but sins are always more numerous than transgressions, for most sinners sin because of desire and the evil inclination, while only rarely will someone commit a sin without deriving pleasure from it, solely with the intention of provoking and rebelling. But among you, the transgressions are also many in quantity, and likewise, your sins are mighty in severity. He explains what he meant by "your transgressions are many": they persecute the righteous, for when they pervert the judgment of a righteous man, it is not because of desire or pleasure, but because they are enemies of anyone who is righteous. Because of their rebelliousness, they love the violent and wicked person and hate the upright person who has been wronged and is righteous in his case, and they find him guilty even without accepting any bribe at all. Thus, this is a continual transgression. And corresponding to what he said, "your sins are mighty," he explains: they take ransom, for when they sin for their own benefit by accepting a bribe, they do not take bribes merely to pervert civil judgments; rather, they take ransom, for ransom refers to perverting capital cases (as it is written, "You shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer"). Although this is a sin committed for the sake of monetary gain, it is mighty in severity, for through it the land is polluted with blood. And thereby they turn aside the poor in the gate, for the destitute man has nothing, and his judgment in the gate does not concern monetary matters but rather capital matters, assaults, and injuries; yet they take ransom and pervert the judgment of the destitute man who has been beaten or murdered.

Therefore. And because you have become deeply rooted in sins and transgressions, the prudent shall be silent at that time. The wise among the people, who know your wickedness and whose way had been to rebuke you, will now remain silent and put their hands over their mouths, because it is an evil time, and they hate the one who rebukes them and kill him. Therefore, there is no one to rebuke or set the people straight, and there is no hope at all that they will repent of their iniquities, as it is written, "They hate one who rebukes in the gate." Therefore, she has fallen upon her land with no one to raise her up, for they can rise only by repenting of their iniquities.

Seek good. He returns to his previous words, where he said, "Thus says Hashem: Seek Me and live, and do not seek Beth-el." That is, if you wish to live, this will not be achieved by seeking Beth-el, but rather by seeking Hashem. Therefore, in order that you may live, seek good and not evil. You will not live by seeking evil, by seeking the calves of Beth-el, but rather by seeking good; for by seeking good, you thereby seek Hashem, as it is written, "Seek Me and live." That is, you should seek good, and thereby Hashem God of Hosts will be with you, as you have said. For you yourselves say that you strive to have Hashem with you to save you from your enemies and your troubles, but you choose means toward this end that actually distance Hashem from you, for through the calves and violence Hashem will hide His face from you. If you wish Hashem to be with you, as you have said, then seek good, which is itself the seeking of Hashem, and this will avail you so that Hashem will be with you and you will live.

Hate evil. He adds that not only should you refrain from seeking evil and seek good instead, but it is fitting that you should hate evil, since it is on account of evil that you are being punished, and it is fitting that you should love good, unlike what was said that they persecute the righteous, hating the good and thereby perverting the judgment of the righteous. You should do the opposite: love good, and thereby establish justice in the gate; perhaps through this Hashem will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph, granting them a remnant and hope. It may also be explained that what he said, "Seek good," refers to matters between man and God, while his additional words, "Hate evil and love good," refer to matters between man and his fellow, as it is written, "and establish justice in the gate." By seeking good in matters of faith and good deeds toward God, Hashem will be with you; and by establishing justice in the gate, Hashem will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph, for the principal cause of the exile was transgressions between man and his fellow, as it is written, "Because you trample upon the poor," etc.

(16–17) Therefore, thus says Hashem. Since you do not return to Hashem, there shall be lamentation in all the streets, for I will pass through your midst. This serves as an introduction to what is said afterward, "Woe to those who desire the day of Hashem." It had been received among them from the prophets that there is a day appointed for Hashem, when Hashem will reveal Himself in His glory to punish the nations that harmed Israel, called "the great and awesome day of Hashem," and that at that time Israel will be saved with an everlasting salvation. Joel had already prophesied (chapter 3), "The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem." Israel desired and awaited the coming of that day, when Hashem would pass through their midst, for then He would bring all the nations down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat and judge them for the evil they had done to Israel. The prophet told them that they were mistaken in this matter, for the day of Hashem that will come for Israel's benefit will be when Israel is perfect, righteous, and worthy of salvation; but the day of Hashem that will come now, when Hashem passes through their midst, will be for them a day of darkness and gloom, for He will pass through their midst to destroy and exile them (in the manner of, "And Hashem will pass through to strike Egypt"). This is the meaning of what he says: now, when I pass through your midst, there shall be lamentation in all the streets. The rehov is the broad place before the houses where the people gather, while the hutzot are the narrow places behind the houses, where only the inhabitants of the alley and courtyard are found, namely the women and children. He thus depicts everyone gathering in the broad street to lament, while the women and children standing in the narrow streets shall answer the lamentation with "Alas! Alas!" And they shall call the farmer to mourning, for it was customary first to lament and afterward to observe mourning, as it is written, "And there they lamented with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he observed mourning for his father seven days." During the days of mourning, people cease from work, and therefore the farmers who worked the land did not participate in the people's mourning, so that they would not be kept from their work in the fields. But to this mourning they will call even the farmer, for in any case the land will lie desolate and there will be no work for them in the field. And they shall call those skilled in lamentation to wailing; for the sake of the lamentation they will call those who know how to raise a bitter cry with expressions of "Alas!" and "Woe!" to intensify the bitterness of the lamentation. And in all the vineyards there shall be lamentation, whereas until now they had celebrated in the vineyards, rejoicing and dancing in circles. All this will occur when I pass through your midst.

Woe. That is, since when I pass through your midst there will be for you woe and lamentation, many evils and troubles, I therefore call out to those who desire the day of Hashem, which is the day when Hashem will reveal Himself in His glory to punish the wicked: Why do you want the day of Hashem? Although the day of Hashem will be a day of salvation for Israel at the end of days, this will be when Israel is righteous, but not for you who are wicked. Although the day of Hashem that comes at the end of days will be darkness followed by light, for from the darkness of troubles will come light for the righteous and salvation for Israel, that will be at the time of restoration; but for you, it is only darkness and not light, for on that day there will be trouble and darkness for you.

As when. Indeed, the day may now be compared by way of metaphor to a situation when a man flees from a lion and encounters a bear. Likewise, those who escape the first exile imposed by the king of Assyria will be overtaken by the second exile. And even one who escapes from the exile, from the bear, and comes into the house and leans his hand against the wall, thinking that in his house he will find refuge from the bear, will be bitten by a snake. That is, one who escapes the second exile will be overtaken by the third exile, as it is written, "As in the former time He made light of, etc., but in the latter time He made it grievous, etc." (Isaiah 8:23).

Is it not? If so, why do you desire the day of Hashem? Is not the day of Hashem darkness and not light? For there is in it no hope of salvation. And he adds, "and gloom," for gloom is worse than darkness: in darkness, at least the glow of the moon and stars can still be found, but in gloom there is not even a glow.

I hate, I despise your festivals. Corresponding to their reliance upon the sacrifices they brought to Hashem, particularly the sacrifices they brought during the festivals, He says that Hashem hates them. Now hatred applies to something that was hated from the outset, while despising applies to something that was initially chosen and afterward became despised. Thus, he says that there are festivals that He utterly hates, and even the festivals that are dedicated to Hashem, which were beloved at first, He now despises because they are sinners. And I will not smell the fragrance of your solemn assemblies; even on the days when you assemble before Me, this will not be a pleasing fragrance.

For even if you offer Me burnt offerings. Although on the festivals they were obligated to bring burnt offerings of appearance and festival peace offerings, and together with the burnt offering they would bring a meal offering, He says that the burnt offerings you offer Me, together with their meal offerings, I will not accept. And although the burnt offering comes to obtain atonement for the violation of a positive commandment or a negative commandment remedied by a positive commandment, it will not obtain acceptance for you; how much more so the peace offerings, for I will not even look upon the peace offerings of your fattened animals. Likewise, it says (Jeremiah 6:20), "Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me."

Remove. And also concerning the songs that you sing during the festival when bringing the sacrifice, I say, "Remove from Me the multitude of your songs," for they are not songs of Hashem, but merely noise and clamor; likewise, "the melody of your harps," which is music played with instruments, "I will not hear."

And let justice roll down like water. As it is written, "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Hashem than sacrifice." Justice concerns matters between man and his fellow, while righteousness concerns matters between man and God. Justice is implanted in the human intellect, for since man is social by nature, he requires justice, through which human society is sustained. Therefore, he compares it to flowing springs of water, whose source wells up by itself and flows outward to others; likewise, justice should flow forth and spring from the source of the human intellect and man's own nature. Righteousness, however, is not found in human nature itself, but rather man receives its commandments from Hashem. It is therefore like a stream whose waters are not found within itself but gather into it from waters flowing down from the mountains and from external springs; likewise, righteousness comes from outside man, from Hashem. And just as the waters of a stream do not well up like a spring to fill something outside themselves, but gather only within the stream itself, so too the primary purpose of acts of righteousness is the perfection of the soul itself. Therefore, he says, "and righteousness like a mighty stream." That is, the principal purpose of the pilgrimage festivals and the sacrifices was to learn there the statutes and judgments of Hashem, as it is written, "so that you may learn to fear Hashem your God." Thus, righteousness and justice are the desired purpose, not the sacrifices.

Did you bring Me sacrifices and meal offerings in the wilderness for forty years? He brings proof from the time when they were in the wilderness, when they did not have many animals for sacrifices or wine for libations, and the principal part of their service was that they practiced justice and righteousness, as it is written, "He performed the righteousness of Hashem and His judgments with Israel."

And you shall carry. He returns to what was said above, "Is not the day of Hashem darkness and not light?" For then you will go into exile, and the sacrifices and festivals will not avail you, because you will go into exile together with the idols that you made. "And you shall carry Sikkuth your king," for in the worship of Molech they made structures resembling booths, as it is written, "And the men of Babylon made Sukkoth-benoth." Likewise, they made kavvanim for him from dough, as it is written (Jeremiah 7:18), "The women knead dough to make kavvanim for the queen of heaven," for they made from the dough an image of the idol that they worshiped. Therefore, it says, "Kiyyun, your images," and through this they directed their worship toward the star to which they attributed divinity. Therefore, it says, "the star of your god." And corresponding to the fact that when they left Egypt they dwelt in booths, and likewise carried their dough before it had leavened, he figuratively says that when they leave Jerusalem they will carry the booths of Molech and the dough of the image of Kiyyun.

And I will exile you beyond Damascus. I have already explained above (3:12) that at first he exiled some of them to Damascus, and this was not so difficult in their eyes, for Damascus was close to their border, especially since in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash it had been within the territory of Israel (as stated in II Kings 15:28). He prophesied to them that afterward he would exile them from Damascus a second time, farther away, to Halah.