Joel · Chapter 3

"And it shall come to pass afterward." In the future to come: “Upon every flesh.” This refers to one whose heart becomes soft like flesh, as it is written: “And I will give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

"And it shall come to pass afterward" – Rabbi Yeshua said: All of this prophecy is for the future. And Rabbi Moshe HaKohen said: If so, why did it say "afterward," rather than simply "And it shall come to pass in the end of days"? Perhaps this prophet was in the days of Jehoshaphat, therefore he mentions the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and the prophets and the sons of the prophets were numerous, because many went out to speak with Elisha, and Obadiah alone hid a hundred of them. “Upon all flesh” – in the Land of Israel, which is a place fit for prophecy.

"And it shall come to pass afterward." This is akin to the phrase "And it shall come to pass in the end of days." The reason it states "afterward" is because, having previously said, "You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel," it now implies, "You shall know Me now, but not with complete knowledge, for you will yet return and sin before Me. However, after this knowledge, there will come a time when you shall know Me with complete knowledge and shall no longer sin. This refers to the days of the Messiah, as it is stated: 'For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.'" "I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh." Explanation: This refers to Israel, as they stated elsewhere: "All flesh" does not mean all living creatures, but only human beings alone. And it says, "And all flesh shall bless [His holy name]" (Psalms 145:21), "[and] all flesh shall come [to worship before Me]" (Isaiah 66:23) — thus here it specifies that "all flesh" refers to Israel, who are worthy of having the Holy Spirit rest upon them. And "all" means both the great and the small, as it says, "For they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" (Jeremiah 31:34). And "My spirit" is the spirit of knowledge and understanding, as it says, "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him," and afterward it explains: "A spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord" (Isaiah 11:2). And because their intellect will be refined and the power of speech will strengthen in some of them until they will prophesy—for it does not say that all of them will prophesy, but rather "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy"—and regarding the pouring out of the spirit, it said "upon all flesh," but regarding prophecy, it did not say "all," but rather "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." And it says "Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions"—not all of them. This is according to the view written by the great sage, the Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, of blessed memory, that prophecy does not come to a person, even with study, unless a natural predisposition preceded him at the time of creation. And the sons and daughters will prophesy in their youth, like the prophet Samuel, and their prophecy will be through visions of dreams, as it says, "Dreams, visions." And so was the prophecy of most of the prophets, as it says, "If there be among you a prophet of the Lord, in a vision I will make myself known to him, in a dream I will speak to him" (Numbers 12:6). And there will be degrees among them, one higher than the other, as there were among the prophets of old, until perhaps there will be among them one like our teacher Moses, peace be upon him. And behold, it mentions three degrees corresponding to the years of a person: the days of youth, the days of prime, and the days of old age.

“And it shall come to pass afterward.” This means: after many days, in the time of the Messiah. "I will pour out My spirit." This means: the spirit of wisdom and the recognition of the Divinity. "I will pour out upon all flesh," for even the gentiles will then recognize and know that the Lord is God. “And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” This is not like the days of the exile, when prophecy was absent from Israel; rather, then your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, even though the fathers did not prophesy. "They shall dream dreams." This means a prophetic dream. "Visions they shall see." This, too, is a matter of the prophetic vision:

"I will pour out." This means: I will give in a large measure, like one who pours out something. "Every flesh." This means every person, as it is stated: "to every flesh" (ibid. 66). Visions. From the root of "vision" and "sight" [comes the meaning of] prophecy:

"And it shall come to pass afterward" is dependent on what was said, that a time will come when they will know the Lord with clear knowledge, that the Lord will be among them, dwelling with a continuous Divine Presence. This will be in the end of days. [The verse] prophesies what will be in those days. Now, Abarbanel proved from this that even the first prophecy is about the four kingdoms, and the four types of locusts are a parable and allegory for four different kingdoms that will devour them with every mouth. Therefore, he compared the locust to a great people and a mighty nation, and to horses and riders, and chariots, and armed armies fighting and conquering, all of which would be fitting according to the subject of the parable. However, the plain meaning of the entire prophecy indicates that it is not as his interpretation, unless we say that as soon as he prophesied about the locust that was truly present in those days, his spirit wandered twice as much, [also] prophesying about the four kingdoms, which resemble it in the number four. However, according to what was written, there is no difficulty in the connection of this prophecy to what is said, "And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel," which is a future prophecy. And regarding this, he said that in the end of days, when the knowledge of the Lord below will increase, the arousal from above will also be stirred, and He will pour out His Spirit upon them. "I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh": The Spirit of the Lord includes all spiritual faculties, as it is said, "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." Every spiritual effusion that will come upon man from the Lord, whether upon the bodily power in might, or upon the imaginative power in counsel and true estimation, or upon the intellectual power in wisdom and understanding, or the prophetic effusion in the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, which is above intellect, will be called by the name "Spirit of the Lord." And then He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh in great and mighty abundance, like one who pours water, which spreads everywhere and covers everything equally. However, despite all this, there will be a difference among them according to the preparation of the recipients. And it is [said], "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy," for there are three levels: a) complete prophecy; b) the vision, which is below prophecy, where one sees visions while awake through the effusion falling upon his imaginative power; c) the true dream, which is below the effusion [of vision], and is mixed with more straw and dross than the vision, as the prophet said, "He who has a dream, let him tell a dream... What is the straw to the grain?" (Jeremiah 23:28). And with this, he will say that the sons and daughters, the young ones, who were born in the generation of the Messiah, prepared for the Divine Spirit, will prophesy complete prophecies. And the elders, who were born in an earlier generation, distant from the generation of the Messiah, will only have true dreams effused upon them, which is below the vision, and all the more so below prophecy. And the young men, who were also born before the coming of the Messiah, and their birth was closer to his time than that of the elders, will see visions, which is an intermediate effusion between prophecy and dream.

And also concerning the male servants—who returned to the Torah of the Lord—and likewise the female maidservants.

And also concerning the servants. Just as it is stated, “And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers,” and likewise them—because they will stand in the Land of Israel and serve Israel—they shall possess a spirit of understanding and discernment. And the matter of “the pouring out of the spirit” means that there shall be in them an abundance of spirit, as in the manner of pouring out. And so it is said, “And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.”

“I will pour out My Spirit.” The Spirit of wisdom to know the Lord.

And also upon the servants and upon the maidservants who will be in those days, I will pour out My Spirit—even though they will not attain to true dreams, and all the more so to that which is above this—upon them will rest the spirit of counsel and might, and the fear of the Lord, and the like of the spiritual excellences.

"And pillars of smoke." Upright [columns], sending smoke up on high.

"And I will give": The custom of the speakers of the Holy Tongue is that when they mention two things, they begin by recounting the words of the second thing first, and only afterward do they return to the first thing at the end. For example: "To you the day, even to you the night"; "And I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau"; and so it is here: "And I will give blood in the land, and in the heavens fire and columns of smoke."

“And I will set signs.” At that time I will give signs concerning the future, and the signs will be in the heavens and on the earth. “Blood” on the earth, due to the great slaughter that will occur. “Fire and columns of smoke” in the heavens, which are the lightning bolts that burn upon falling, and the burning will produce smoke. And they will be a sign of the plague of the nations that will come with Gog and Magog against Jerusalem. “and columns of smoke.” Columns of smoke. And since the palm tree is tall, straight, and uniform, they likened the tall and straight phenomenon to it; therefore, it says “columns of smoke” regarding the pillars of smoke. Similarly, in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, concerning the smoke they said: “Its column ascends.” And they said: The House of Avtinas were engaged in the preparation of the incense, and they did not wish to teach [the recipe], so they sent and brought artisans from Alexandria. These artisans knew how to compound [the incense] like them, but they did not know how to make the smoke rise like them, for theirs rose in a column like a stick, whereas theirs split here and there. And these lightning bolts that descend contrary to their natural order, or the sun being turned to darkness and the moon to blood—the commentators explained them according to their literal meaning, that at that time these portents will occur. And so is the opinion of the wise Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra of blessed memory, who said that the darkening of the luminaries is a portent indicating great wars, and the darkening of the luminaries will be at that time before the coming of the Day of the Lord, which is the day of the plague of Gog and Magog and the nations with him, and these signs will be portents concerning this matter. And the explanation of “and the moon to blood” is the darkening of the moon; when the darkening is complete, the moon will be black, and when the darkening is not complete, it will be red like blood—this is what is meant by “and the moon to blood.” And Maimonides explained that this and similar expressions are metaphorical, referring to the troubles that will befall the nations, and the portents he mentioned in the heavens and on the earth—blood, fire, and columns of smoke, and likewise the sun being turned to darkness and the moon to blood—all of this is a metaphor for the troubles and wars, as it is stated concerning the locust: “Before it the earth quakes, the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.” And similarly, he will say concerning the defeat of Gog and Magog: “The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.” And according to Maimonides’ explanation of blessed memory, what it said “before the coming of the Day of the Lord,” it should have said “when the Day of the Lord comes.” And it is possible that he said that this trouble will be for Israel, and for them the light will become darkness before the coming of the day of the defeat of Gog and Magog, when he will ascend with many nations against Jerusalem, until they fight over it, and half of the city will go into exile, and this is the darkness, as he said in the prophecy of Zechariah: “There shall be no light, it shall be cold and frost.” And the day of the defeat of Gog and Magog is the great and awesome Day of the Lord, as it said concerning the locust: “For great is the Day of the Lord, and very awesome.”

"Blood." This means that in the Land there will be much bloodshed, and this refers to Gog and Magog. And fire: Fire shall descend upon him from heaven, as it is stated, “And I will judge with him in plague and blood… I will rain upon him fire and brimstone” (Ezekiel 38:22). "And pillars of smoke." The smoke of the burning shall rise upward, straight, like a palm tree.

And I will give. Like "and I will give." Signs. The word is derived from the phrase “a sign and a wonder.” "And pillars [of smoke]." The word is derived from the term for a date-palm tree.

"And I will set signs." After having explained that at that time the knowledge of God will be revealed in the land through prophecy and the Holy Spirit, he states that they will also come to know God through the renewal of the signs and wonders that depart from the natural order. And the wonders will encompass both the heavens and the earth, and this will occur through two matters: a) through the calamity of the wicked, which will consist of blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The wonder on earth will be through blood, namely the sword that will be wielded in the host of Gog and Magog, as stated in the Book of Ezekiel; and the wonder in the heavens will be through fire, for He will rain down upon them fire, sulfur, and hailstones, until the smoke rises due to the intensity of the burning, until...

It will be turned into darkness. To shame those who worship the sun:

"The sun" – it will speak of the darkening that will befall the sun when it is joined with the moon, and the moon will be darkened and become red. This will occur when it [the moon] is far from the head of the Teli [the celestial dragon, i.e., the lunar node] and its tail is within six degrees. And these are always signs of wars, and it will be a sign that many peoples will die.

The sun. We have explained it:

"it will be turned into darkness." This means that due to the magnitude of the distress that will befall them, the light of day will be darkened for them. “And blood.” It will turn into the appearance of blood, for then it will not shine as is its custom. This is a matter of rhetoric, for when a person is in distress, the world is darkened before him. “Before the coming of the day of the Lord.” All of this will occur before the Redemption and in close proximity to it. "The great and awesome one." For then He will display the greatness of His dominion and His awesome deeds.

"The sun will be turned into darkness, for the sun bestows light, and then it will be turned into darkness because of the burning and smoke that will issue from its scorching heat, as it is stated: 'Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, etc.' And the moon, which rules over the fluids, will be turned into blood instead of water, meaning that the order of the celestial array will be altered to indicate slaughter, burning, and destruction, and all of this will occur before the coming of the great Day of the Lord, which is the great Day of Judgment."

"And it shall be that all who call upon" etc.: As it has already been stated. And where was it stated? "And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is called upon you" (Deuteronomy 28:10): And in the leftovers. In the remainder that he will leave over: "Which the Lord calls." The term "calls" denotes being summoned, as for a feast or for the king’s service; it is language of invitation.

"And among the survivors" – the sense is doubled [repeated]. And the meaning of "which the Lord calls" is: He decrees.

“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall live.” For then, in the war of Gog and Magog, there will be a great distress for Israel for a short time, as it is stated regarding that time: “Hide yourself for a little while, until the wrath passes.” And then many of Israel will fall, but the holy ones and those who truly fear God will be saved. As it is stated in the prophecy of Isaiah: “And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.” And it is also stated: “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall live.” This means that they will call upon Him in truth. As it is stated: “The Lord is near to all those who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” These are the remnants whom the Lord calls, for they call upon Him in truth, and He calls them “My servants” and “those who love Me.” "For on Mount Zion. For there the nations shall go up:" And regarding “the remnant.” “And the deliverance shall be in the remnant.” Alternatively, the explanation is that “calling” refers to the call of greatness and honor, as with [the terms] “officers,” “the invited,” “the elect of the congregation,” and “I will call for My servant, for Eliakim” [Isaiah 22:20]. And Jonathan rendered it: “calling” means “ready.”

"All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." This means that those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved from the distress that comes upon the gentiles. "For on Mount Zion." This means that the deliverance will be on Mount Zion alone, as the Lord promised. And even there, it will not be for everyone, but only for those who remain, the purified among them, each of whom calls upon the Lord, cries out to Him, and places his trust in Him.

Pilitah. The matter of salvation, as it is written: "and a refuge for me" (2 Samuel 22). And regarding "the survivors": The meaning of "remnant" is akin to "a people, survivors of the sword" (Jeremiah 31).

"And it shall come to pass"—and the second sign will be through the salvation of the righteous, such that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered, and evil shall not have dominion over him. And this will occur in two ways: For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be a remnant, for there all of them will be saved, as it is stated, "And it shall come to pass, he who is left in Zion..." etc., "all that is written for life in Jerusalem." And also in the other places, where not all of them will be saved, there will be a remnant among those whom the Lord calls, namely, the righteous—everyone who calls upon the Lord and prays to Him.