Ezekiel · Chapter 15

And it came to pass,

What will be the fate of the vine tree compared to every other tree? What is its ultimate end compared to all other trees? “The vine branch that was among the trees of the forest.” I am not speaking to you about the vine of the vineyards that produces fruit, but rather about the shoots of the vine that grew in the forests.

"Son of man, what will the tree be? The vine is [distinct] from every tree. What is its inferiority compared to every other tree, and in which tree is the vine? I am asking you not about a vine tree that has borne fruit, for that one is esteemed; rather, I am asking you about the shoot that is among the trees of the forest, which is like them in that they do not bear fruit. About it I am asking you, for even like the trees of the forest it is not. For the trees of the forest, although they do not bear fruit, are fit to be used for work, to make vessels from them, and to build houses from them. But this vine tree is not so."

"What will be, etc." – Meaning: What is the deficiency of the vine tree compared to all other trees? “The vine” etc. This means: I am not speaking of the fruit-bearing vine of the vineyards, but rather of the shoot that grows in the forest, which is a wild grapevine that does not produce fruit.

"The shoot": So too, a shoot from a vine is called a "shoot," as it is stated, "And they cut from there a shoot" (Numbers 13:23).

What will happen to the vine tree? The custom of planters is to graft and to layer fruit-tree shoots into another fruit tree, so that by means of this grafting, it will draw nourishment from the tree into which it was layered, and it will produce fruit that is unusual, a hybrid between the two. For example, if one layers vine shoots into a fig tree, it will draw the sweetness of the fig into the vine shoots. Or as it is stated (in the Mishnah, Kilayim Chapter 1): “One does not insert a vine shoot into a watermelon so that it will shoot its waters into it.” Likewise, they graft a weak, non-fruit-bearing tree into a strong, non-fruit-bearing tree, so that thereby the tree becomes thicker, according to the tree into which it was grafted. However, if one were to graft a vine tree into a non-fruit-bearing tree, he would gain nothing, for thereby the fruit would be spoiled, because the produce of the vine would be nullified in the non-fruit-bearing tree. Nor would he gain in its wood, for the wood of the vine is soft and weak, and it is impossible for it to become hardened and thickened by means of the non-fruit-bearing tree into which it was grafted. And this is what the verse states: “What will happen to the vine tree more than any tree?” Meaning: What will come of it if it is grafted into another tree? And he explains: “The vine shoot of the vine which was and was grafted into the trees of the forest, what will come of it?” For if one grafts a weak, non-fruit-bearing tree into the thick trees of the forest, it will come of it that it becomes a thick and strong tree. But what will come of the vine tree, whose substance is very weak?

“Is it to be taken from him, etc.” – He is not fit for this. "Every vessel." Any vessel.

“היקח” – If they take from it a peg. It need not be said that they may not take from it wood for work, but even a peg to hang upon it any utensil, they may not take from it. "Every vessel." Any vessel, even a small one. Just as it is stated, "You shall do no manner of work," meaning no work at all, so too, "Any fat and any blood you shall not eat," meaning any fat and any blood.

"יוקח" – and is it taken from it, wood, to be used for work? And is it taken from it, wood, to make a peg to hang upon it any vessel? This is said in a questioning manner. And this is because this tree is weak and tender, and it is not fit for anything.

Yated. It is like a nail: "To hang." The word is in the form of "talyah" (a hanging). "Every vessel." No vessel, and likewise, "all fat and all blood you shall not eat" (Leviticus 4).

“Will he take from it?”—and how will he thereby profit, that it will thicken and harden until he can take from it wood for crafting, or at least take from it a peg to hang upon it any vessel whatsoever? He means to say, any vessel at all. But he will not profit from this in any way; rather, he will only suffer loss, for whereas until now it was standing to produce grapes, from now on it will no longer bear fruit.

“Behold, it was given to the fire to consume.” Arbirir in the vernacular: “Behold, I asked you concerning the unblemished [sacrifice], and it is fit for nothing. Now, I further add to the question: Behold, if they placed a branch of it in the fire, and the fire consumed it from both ends, encircling it until its interior was charred.” Nechar. It remains from the fire, in the foreign language [it is] "roir," and "nechar" is the language of "my bones were burned" (Job 30:30). And some of the foreign languages [use] "ashart," and similarly, "and His anger burned against me" (ibid. 19). Menachem connects it with "my bones were burned." Will it be successful for further work?

"Behold, to fire He gave it to consume it." There is no need for it other than to kindle the fire with it. “The fire has consumed both of its ends.” I will state it more briefly and say: “Behold, the fire has consumed both of its ends.” This means that if one takes it from the fire after the fire has truly consumed both of its ends, its interior is charred. For if the fire consumed it from one end to the other end, [the interior] is distant from the fire and is not charred. But if the fire truly consumed both of its ends, its interior is charred, even though the fire did not consume it [directly], it is charred because of the fire that consumed its surroundings. And it requires nothing more than that a person return it to the fire, for when it was whole and intact, it was not fit for work, all the more so when the fire has consumed its surroundings. “And its interior was scorched.” Its root is *charar*, from the doubled binyanim, and it is in the *nifal* conjugation in the *shkal* pattern. Thus, “This is a light matter in the eyes of the Lord,” and “her cry was heard,” and “she was humbled.” The *chet* in *nachar* is *kamats* because of the *zakef*, or perhaps it is *nifal* in the present tense; therefore, it has a *kamats*, like “with the pure you show yourself pure” and “will be created.” But in *nachar* meaning “to blow,” which is *nifal* in the past tense, the *chet* is *patach*. Likewise, “and He was angry” from the *nifal* binyan in the *shkal* pattern is not *yomed* (i.e., not pointed with a *cholem*), but rather, so that the *chet* and the *yod* will not be dagesh-ed in *tsere*, and the *chet* is *kamats* because of the *zakef*. And *nachar* refers to the sensation perceived from fire, not that it was actually burned. The meaning of the metaphor is that he compared Israel to a vine tree, which is a thin and weak tree compared to all other trees. And regarding Israel it is said, “For you are the fewest of all peoples.” And when it produces good fruit, wine comes from it, which gladdens God and men. Now, this tree has no utility except in its fruit. And Israel is the vine tree, as Isaiah compared them, saying, “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. and planted it with the choicest vine, and he hoped it would yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.” And he expected it to produce grapes, but it produced wild grapes. And behold, it is a branch of the forest, and it has no use except for fire. And since Israel committed evil deeds, there is no remedy for them except to discipline them with judgment through famine, sword, and pestilence, which is the fire. And behold, both its ends were consumed by fire, as it says, “Aram from the east and Philistia from the west, and they shall devour Israel with open mouth.” It says, “and it shall set it on fire, and he shall not know; and it shall burn in it, and he shall not take it to heart.” And it says, “and its interior was scorched.” This refers to Jerusalem, which is in the center of the Land of Israel. And despite all the evil they saw coming upon the ten tribes and upon all the cities of Judah, except for Jerusalem, and even though the inhabitants of Jerusalem were scorched by the fire, and the four punishments came upon them, they did not take a lesson. What hope is there in them, if they are spared from the fire so that it does not consume them completely? Behold, they will not succeed in their work, meaning they will not return in repentance and not improve their deeds. Behold, there is no remedy for them except to return them to the fire to consume them and to devote them to destruction, and also Jerusalem will become a desolation. This is what it says, “They came out of the fire, and the fire will consume them.” And I said that Jerusalem was spared from the fire that I sent to them morning and evening to return in repentance, and the city would not be burned by fire. But they did not listen. If so, the fire will consume them.

“Behold, to the fire.” This means: And now I will add to say: Behold, if that tree was given over to the fire for burning, and the fire burned it at both ends and dried out its interior, how could it possibly be fit for use?

For eating. Regarding the burning, it is stated in the form of a question: Nechar. The meaning is dryness, as in the verse “nechar mefuch” (Jeremiah 6:29). Will it succeed? This means: is it fit, and it is expressed in the form of a question:

(4-5) “Behold, it is given to the fire.” Since it is of no use either to bear fruit or to perform any work by itself, it is fit only for fire. Moreover, this is not so that it may be kindled to provide warmth, to cook, or to bake with its heat, but only to be consumed by the fire, for even its heat is weak and of no benefit. He adds, saying, “Yet, after it has been given to the fire, and the fire has eaten its two ends and its middle is charred, will this one surely succeed for a work?” This is certainly impossible. For behold, when it was whole, it would not serve for a work; how then could it serve for a work after the fire has consumed it? Therefore, thus says the Lord. Now He explains the allegory: Israel is compared to a vine tree, which is weak in terms of its matter but noble in terms of its form, for it is prepared to bear fruit, which is justice and righteousness, as it is written, “My beloved had a vineyard... and He looked for it to bear grapes, for the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and He looked for justice, for righteousness” (Isaiah 5:7). And the philosopher has already explained that those whose form is complete are weak in matter. For the strength and power of Israel come from the divine form, if they keep the Torah and commandments and cleave to the living God, not from their matter, for they are the fewest of all peoples. However, they mingled with the trees of the forest, meaning they went to seek help from Egypt and Assyria. This is allegorically compared to grafting, as it is written, “Therefore you shall plant pleasant plants and graft a strange vine” (Isaiah 17:10-11). And it is said, “I planted you as a choice vine, entirely of true seed; how then have you turned to me into a wild, foreign vine?” (Jeremiah 2:21). They resembled this, as one grafts vine shoots onto forest trees, thereby ruining its form without gaining any benefit in its matter. So too, they did not attain help and strength from these nations; rather, their form departed from them, and they were given to the fire to be consumed. Nebuchadnezzar came upon them and exiled them in the exile of Jehoiachin and Jehoiakim. However, those who remained in the days of Zedekiah are compared to a shoot whose two ends the fire has eaten and whose middle is charred. This is what the verse means: “And I will set My face against them,” indicating that He is still prepared to punish them through His providence. For those who emerged from the fire—meaning those remaining in the days of Zedekiah—have already emerged from the fire. They are no longer fit for work, but only to be returned a second time to the fire until the fire consumes them all. And thereby I will gain two things: 1. “And you shall know that I am the Lord,” when I set My face against them. Through that punitive providence, you will recognize the Lord who watches over and punishes.

“Even though.” This is the language of a kal va-chomer (a fortiori argument), meaning “all the more so.” And so it is in all instances in the Bible, for example: “Behold, we are here in Judah, afraid; how much more so if we go to Keilah” (1 Samuel 23:3).

"Behold, when He was whole": When all of Israel were in their land, they did not wish to return in repentance, even though I would warn them constantly through My prophets, and I would allow their enemies to rule over them, to plunder their spoils and to ravage their wealth, so that they might be disciplined; yet they did not repent. How much more so is this the case now, when they have become accustomed to their evil deeds, to the point that the fire has consumed all around them, and all of the Land of Israel has been desolate, save for Jerusalem. They have hardened their hearts until what is forbidden has become permitted to them, and they have become accustomed to the evil deeds of the nations. They have clung to evil after evil, saying, "The nations succeed in their deeds, and I too will do likewise," just as Ahaz said when the King of Aram fought against him: "The gods of the kings of Aram are helping them; let me sacrifice to them, and they will help me." Therefore, there is no hope for them, for they have been scorched by the fire and have not felt it; if so, the fire will consume them.

"When it is whole." But when it is still whole, before the fire has consumed it, it is not fit to be made into a utensil, and all the more so now that the fire has burned it and dried it out: how then can it still be made into a utensil?

"Tamim" – whole. Even so. The matter is a kol shekein (all the more so) and a kal va-chomer (a fortiori argument). “You have eaten it.” “You have burned it.” And it was charred. It dried up:

“Thus I have given”: Jerusalem, whose two ends were consumed by fire, experienced two exiles. When Jehoiakim was exiled, those exiled with him were from the royal seed and from the high officials, as it is stated in Daniel. Afterward, his son Jehoiachin was exiled, along with the carpenter and the smith. And its interior was burned: Zedekiah, who remained in it, already had his decree pronounced against him, “Fill your hands with hot coals of fire and throw them upon the city” (above 10:2).

Therefore, thus says the Lord: “In the trees of the forest.” This is a general principle, similar to [the prohibition] “You shall not destroy a tree.” Which I have given it to the fire to consume. He said, "I gave it," meaning that God formed the vine tree with this characteristic.

"Therefore": This means, since I have stated that all the more so is it that such a tree is not fit for any work, therefore, thus says the Lord: Just as this vine tree, which is consumed by fire, so will I make the inhabitants of Jerusalem such that they shall not prosper in any matter anymore, for they are indeed like this tree, for fire has consumed both its ends. For already those who were beyond the Jordan and the Kingdom of Ephraim in the Land of Israel have been exiled, and they too have been burned by the fire, for many of them were exiled with Jehoiakim and Jeconiah. And if when they were still in their strength, before any of them had been exiled, I strengthened the enemy against them and they were exiled, how much more so now that only a few remain from the many.

From the fire they went forth. On account of the utterances of the Torah, which issue forth from within the fire, they passed through; and the nations, which are strong like fire, will destroy them.

"And I will place": From the fire they came out, and the fire will consume them. This is explained above, and Yonatan [the Aramaic translator] rendered it: “Against the words of the Torah, which were given from the midst of fire, they transgressed; and the nations, who are strong as fire, shall destroy them.”

“Out of the fire they came forth.” This means that although when the king of Assyria besieged them, after he had captured Samaria, they were then saved from the hand of the destroyer of all the idolaters, like something consumed by fire; yet now, with the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, who also destroys the idolaters like fire, He will consume and ruin her as well. "When I set." When I place My anger upon them, then they will know that I am the Lord, faithful to repay recompense.

"Face." The matter of anger is like "And I will turn My face" (above 14):

"Because they have dealt treacherously with the Lord, and have lied against Him:"

2. "And I will make the land desolate" – this is what they deserve according to their evil deeds, for they have committed treachery against Me, and thus they are liable to be punished according to the law.