The burden. Our Sages disagreed about the identity of this prophet. According to all opinions, he prophesied after the Temple had been built, and he was the last of the prophets, as will be explained at the end of the book.

I have loved you, because Hashem has an ancient love for Israel on account of His love for their forefathers. He therefore informed them that the essential love is His love for them in particular, without regard to that ancient love, which relates not to them but to their forefathers: I have loved you yourselves. And you say, “How have You loved us?” What proves that the love is directed toward us ourselves, and how, then, can it be known that it is not because of the ancient love for the forefathers? To this He replies: Was not Esau a brother to Jacob? Yet I loved Jacob. For if the love were only on account of the forefathers, Esau would also have a share in that love; why, then, does He love only Jacob? And lest they say that the love stems from both causes together—that He loves them for their own deeds, combined with the deeds of their forefathers and His love for them, in which case the love would still not relate to them alone but to them in conjunction with His love for their forefathers—to this He replies: “Was not…”

But Esau I hated. Although it is conceivable that He would not love Esau because Esau lacked the love earned by his own deeds—and that the love of the forefathers alone would not suffice for God to love him unless it were joined by love for Esau himself—nevertheless, He should at least not hate Esau, since Esau possesses some claim to love through God’s love for his forefathers. It must therefore be that God’s love for Israel is based solely upon Israel’s own essential character. This nullifies, in Esau’s case, the ancestral love in which he shares and transforms it into hostility and hatred, since he did not make his deeds worthy. He proves that He hated Esau from the fact that I made his mountains desolate:

For Edom may say, lest they argue that all this is no proof that it resulted from Hashem’s hatred of Esau, for it could be said that it was caused by the influence of the stars and his adverse fortune, or that it occurred by chance. This would prove only that He does not love Esau enough to exercise special Providence over him and avert the harm decreed by the stars, but it would not prove that He hates him and actively brings evil upon him. This is the meaning of For Edom may say, “We have become impoverished,”—this did not come from Hashem and His hatred, but we became impoverished through nature or fortune—“but we will return and rebuild the ruins,” when our fortune rises from its low state or when we regain strength through natural means. Thus says Hashem: He replies to them, “They may build, but I will tear down.” Although according to nature they ought to rebuild, I will tear down through Providence because of My hatred for them. And they shall be called—until they are called a people whose destruction has two causes: (1) because their land is the border of wickedness. In contrast to Hashem’s territory, which is the dwelling place of holiness and righteousness, where Hashem commanded the blessing, their territory is the dwelling place of wickedness and evil, the portion of Azazel, where ruin and desolation will always prevail; (2) because they are the people against whom Hashem is indignant forever, on account of their evil deeds.

And your eyes shall see the vengeance that Hashem will exact from Edom, as in, “And you shall witness the recompense of the wicked.” And you shall say, “May Hashem be magnified beyond the border of Israel.” Just as wickedness will be brought low and its territory will become a desolate ruin, so will Hashem be magnified in His glory above the border of Israel; for when one rises, the other falls, as in the verse, “I shall be filled from the one that is laid waste.”

A son. He means that a son honors his father and is careful to honor him because of the love with which he loves his father, while a servant honors his master out of fear, because his master rules over him and he fears his punishment; therefore, he will not do anything displeasing in his eyes. But if I am a Father—since you are like children before Me, serving out of love—where is My honor? And if I am a Master—since you do not possess the quality of love—then at least you ought to fear My punishment, since I am the Master of the entire world; where is the fear of Me? These two questions Hashem of Hosts addressed to you, the priests. He then explains the two questions. Regarding the first question, “If I am a Father, where is My honor?”—Hashem said to you, O priests who despise My name; and regarding the second question, “If I am a Master, where is the fear of Me?”—Hashem said it to you, the priests.

You offer defiled bread upon My altar. That is, from the standpoint of the honor and love due to Hashem, it is improper for you to despise His name, for this is the opposite of honor; and from the standpoint of fear, it is improper for you to offer defiled bread, for you ought to fear punishment. Concerning these two accusations, He says, “And you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ And you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’”—for you deny these charges. He therefore demonstrates to them both that they despised His name and that they offered defiled bread. In response to “How have we despised Your name?” He answers: By saying, “The table of Hashem is contemptible.” You say that the sacrifice brought upon the table of Hashem—that is, upon the altar, as Ezekiel says, “This is the table that is before Hashem”—is something contemptible, because contemptible things, fat and blood, are offered upon it. By this you despise His name and His honor. And in response to the question “How have we defiled You?” he answers:

When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is there nothing wrong with that? And even more, when you offer a lame or sick animal, whose blemish is more readily apparent than blindness, is there nothing wrong with that? By doing so, you offer defiled bread, since an animal with a blemish is unacceptable as a sacrifice. Present it, if you please, to your governor. If you were to present such a gift to the governor of Judah, who is merely flesh and blood, would he be pleased with you? Would he accept such a gift favorably? Or would he show you favor? Even if you were a person worthy of special consideration, he would no longer show you favor once his anger was kindled against you because of this insult.

And now, if a human being would not accept such an offering, how can you imagine that you can entreat God’s favor with such an offering and that He will be gracious to us? This is a rhetorical question, corresponding to “Would he be pleased with you?” And corresponding to “Would he show you favor?” he explains: Since this has come from your hands—you priests have caused Him to become angry with you by bringing blemished animals before Him—how could He show favor to any of you?

Who is there even among you who would shut the doors? He adds that, apart from the offering itself, you are also unworthy in your own right, and it would be fitting to shut the doors so that you could not enter My House. And if you do enter, it would be fitting that you not kindle a fire upon My altar in vain. Corresponding to “Who is there even among you who would shut the doors?” he explains: For I have no desire for you, and I do not want you to enter My House. Corresponding to “That you not kindle a fire upon My altar in vain,” he explains: And I will not accept an offering from your hand, even if it were not blemished. This also corresponds to the questions “Would he be pleased with you?” and “Would he show you favor?” Corresponding to “Would he show you favor?” and, as stated, “Would He show favor to any of you?” He says: “Who is there even among you?”—who thinks that I will show him favor because he is important in My eyes? Let him shut the doors and not enter My House, for I have no desire for you. And corresponding to “Would he be pleased with you?” He says: “Do not kindle a fire upon My altar,” for “I will not accept an offering from your hand.”

For from the rising of the sun to its setting, although all the nations worship idols, nevertheless My name is great among the nations. For they all know that there is a First Cause exalted above all, whom they call “the God of gods.” They merely say that it is beneath His dignity to exercise Providence over lowly beings and that He has entrusted the governance of the lower world to His ministers—just as a king entrusts governance to his officers and servants and desires that honor be accorded to them because they have access to the king and serve as intermediaries between him and the people, so that their honor is the king’s honor. Likewise, everything they burn as incense to the stars and constellations is based upon their belief that these are close to the First Cause and receive their influence from Him. This is the meaning of and in every place incense is burned to one who is brought near to My name: whoever is brought near to My name is offered incense. That is, they burn sacrificial incense to whoever is brought near and is close to the name of Hashem; whoever they believe is brought near to Hashem’s name is offered incense. Thus, they burn incense to the host of heaven, which they regard as brought near and close to Hashem’s name. And they offer them a pure offering, clean and unblemished, rather than blemished, impure, or dishonorable things. This is because My name is great among the nations, so much so that they honor everyone brought near to His name and close to Him.

But you profane it. You profane Hashem’s name by saying, “The table of Hashem is defiled.” Although you offer sacrifices to Him Himself, rather than to those brought near to His name, His table—the altar—is therefore itself brought near to His name, and you ought to honor it; yet you say that it is defiled. And its produce—its food—is contemptible. That is, Hashem’s table, namely the altar, has two aspects: (1) the things offered upon the altar to Hashem, such as the fat and blood of the sacrifices, concerning which you say that it is defiled; and (2) its fruit and produce—that is, the sacred meat eaten by the priests, such as the meat of the sin offering and the guilt offering, and that eaten by the owners, such as the meat of offerings of lesser sanctity, which they eat from the table of the Most High, as our Sages said, “The priests eat from the table of the Most High.” This is its produce—the produce and fruit of the table. Concerning this you say that its food is contemptible: you treat the eating of sacred meat with contempt, and it is despised in your eyes.

And you say. Abarbanel explains that they would inflate the sacrificial animal, blowing air between its skin and flesh so that it would appear fat. When one carried it upon his shoulder, he would say, “Behold, what a burden!”—meaning, “It took me great toil and effort to carry it because of its tremendous weight.” But in truth, you inflated it, and it was filled with air. Apart from bringing a lean, inflated animal as a sacrifice, you also brought a stolen animal, making it a commandment fulfilled through a transgression, and a lame or sick animal, both of which are disqualified as sacrifices. And you brought the offering with it—the accompanying meal offering, which signifies that the sacrifice has been favorably accepted by Hashem as a pleasing aroma. Would I accept it from your hand, when the sacrificial animal itself is disqualified?

And cursed is the deceiver—the cunning man who schemes to commit wickedness through his deceit—who has a male in his flock and therefore has no excuse that he possesses no other animal to sacrifice, yet vows and sacrifices a blemished animal to Hashem. He schemes wickedly in three respects: (1) He should have donated the male present in his flock by saying, “This animal is hereby an offering,” which is called a donation; instead, he makes a vow, saying, “I undertake to bring an offering,” and waits until the male is no longer in his flock. (2) He should have offered it as a burnt offering, which is consumed entirely upon the altar; instead, he sacrifices a peace offering, whose meat belongs to its owners. (3) At the very least, the sacrifice should be unblemished; instead, he brings a blemished animal. Therefore, this deceiver shall be cursed, for I am a great King, and the greater the King, the greater the punishment of one who profanes His honor; and My name is feared even among the nations. How, then, can any man among the children of Israel fail to fear Me?