Yechezkel chapter 15 contains a harsh prophecy in which Hashem compares Israel to a grapevine among other trees in the forest. Its branches are unsuitable for any task, even to fashion a peg upon which to hang something. This is true even when the grapevine is in perfect condition; it is especially true when it has already been singed by fire. This is a metaphor for the decline and gradual exile of Israel in the Bayis Rishon period.
Malbim on 15:4-5 explains the metaphor on a deeper level. Here is a key excerpt (translation of pesukim mostly from Judaica Press):
כי ישראל נמשלים לעץ הגפן, שהוא חלוש מצד חמרו והוא נכבד מצד צורתו שהוא מוכן לשאת פרי, שהוא משפט וצדקה, כמ”ש כרם היה לידידי וכו’ ויקו לעשות ענבים, כי כרם ה’ צבאות בית ישראל ויקו למשפט לצדקה (ישעיהו ה׳:ז׳), וכבר באר החוקר כי שלמי הצורה הם חלושי החומר, כי כח ישראל ותקפם היא מפאת הצורה האלהית אם הם שומרים תורה ומצות ודבקים באלהים חיים, לא מפאת חומרם שהם המעט מכל העמים אולם הם נתערבו בעצי היער, שהלכו לבקש עזר ממצרים ומאשור, שזה נמשל להרכבה כמ”ש ע”כ תטעי נטעי נעמנים וזמורת זר תזרענו (ישעיהו י״ז:י׳-י״א) ואמר ואנכי נטעתיך שורק כולה זרע אמת ואיך נהפכת לי סורי הגפן נכריה (ירמיהו ב׳:כ״א), ונדמו בזה כמו שמרכיבין זמורות הגפן בעצי היער שהפסיד צורתו ולא הרויח בחמרו כן לא השיגו עזר וחוזק מהעמים האלה רק סר מהם צורתם ונתנו לאש לאכלה שבא עליהם נבוכדנצר והגלה מהם בגלות יהויכין ויהויקים
For Israel is compared to the grapevine, which is weak from a physical standpoint and honorable from the standpoint of its form, in that it is ready to bear fruit, which is justice and righteousness, as it is written, “My friend had a vine…and he hoped to produce grapes, for the vineyard of Hashem the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and He hoped for justice and righteousness” (Yeshaya 5). And the researcher has already explained that those who are perfect in form and weak in matter, for the strength of Israel and its might are due to the divine form — if they keep the Torah and mitzvos and cling to the living God — not from their physicality, for they are the fewest of all the nations.
However, they mixed with the trees of the forest, for they went to seek aid from Egypt and Assyria, which is compared to grafting, as it is written, “For I planted you with pleasant saplings, and with the branch of a stranger you sow it” (Yeshaya 17:10), and it says, “Yet I planted you a noble vine stock, throughout of right seed; now how have you turned yourself into a degenerate wild vine to Me?” (Yirmiya 2:21).
And they were likened to this, just as the branches of a vine that are grafted to the trees of a forest, that has lost its shape and has not profited in strength, so they did not obtain help and strength from these nations, only their shape was taken from them and they were given to the fire to be consumed, for Nevuchadnezzar came upon them and exiled them in the exile of Yehoyachin and Yehoyakim.
Turning to foreign nations for military support is consistently portrayed throughout Tanach as abandoning Hashem, idolatry, and harlotry. The direct consequences include a removal of divine protection, falling in battle, exile, and even falling into the hands of the very “allies” they turned to for support.
The message is unequivocal: this is not an acceptable form of hishtadlus. Even if it appears to bring benefit in the short term, eventually it will prove catastrophic.
Nowadays this message is almost completely lost on the Jewish people — and I’m not talking about irreligious Jews and the closet kofrim in the “Orthodox” world, but even those who are truly God-fearing, Torah-observant Jews, not just putting on a show.
This is not entirely their fault. Our education system does not attach any importance to Tanach study (by which I mean truly learning it with traditional meforshim and absorbing the messages, not making an academic study of Tanach or hijacking it for secular Zionist propaganda). Our media — and I’m talking about the “frum” media — prints the same “news” from the same dishonorable sources, with the same secular slant, and never questions the narrative from the establishment they may pretend to oppose, but whose interests they serve no less than the sold-out mainstream media.
The Torah-observant masses are bombarded with secular, kefira-filled perspectives on current events from their own “frum” media, including the rabbis whose views are carefully selected to appear in their pages, while other views that are deeply grounded in Torah are completely ignored.
The same “frum” media that makes a show of opposing IDF conscription for yeshiva students is filled with Israeli Erev Rav propaganda, IDF cheerleading, and a full diet of America protects us (with a nod to Hashem, of course). Their message is clear — and it is clearly kefira, wrapped in a fig leaf of Torah, in defiance of the real thing.
In last night’s Torah class we studied chapter 13 of Yirmiya. Among the many lessons we learned was that relying on foreign nations for support is not an acceptable form of hishtadlus — it is false aid and brings destruction upon us, period, no ifs, ands or buts.
As we briefly mentioned, King Ahaz groveled to the Assyrians for support, calling himself their son and servant. The Assyrians did support him — and subsequently brought great destruction upon Israel.
No doubt many Jews celebrated the immediate salvation and praised Hashem for it. Surely some rabbis even encouraged them to say Hallel (without a bracha, of course).
But this was the wrong perspective. They should have mourned. They should have understood that this was a terrible betrayal of Hashem and foreseen the tragedy that was sure to follow without deep repentance.
Today, despite the benefit of hindsight and so many unequivocal lessons from the Torah, we remain no less misguided. Ben Gurion Yemach Shemo Airport is a de facto American Air Force base. We are treated to a steady diet of “war with Iran” propaganda. Reliance on both the un-Jewish Zionist army and foreign saviors is seen as a necessary non-evil and even Hashem’s divine protection through messengers we should cheer and welcome into our land — certainly not send packing along with their Erev Rav stooges.
No matter how many subtle and not-so-subtle signs we witness that Hashem is not pleased with this and that this will bring catastrophe, not salvation, the misguided masses continue to ignore their own prophetic teachings and history, and double down on the same misguided attitudes.
Grafting ourselves to the nations, turning to them for support, doesn’t strengthen us; it saps us of our divine form and brings destruction upon us, God forbid.
Let the goyim keep their aid. We’ll all be happier.
I encourage you to listen to the class, study the sources, and decide for yourself where the truth lies. Then step out of the cesspool of kefira and bring someone out with you.
The class is embedded above and on Rumble here.
Also see this article filled with sources from Tanach on the subject:
1 comment:
He shouldn't be paskening (deciding) such critical matters based on נ"ך and its מדרשים and מפרשים alone. He hasn't cited any halachic source.
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