Kommentar zu Wajikra 26:17

ונתתי פני AND I WILL SET פני [AGAINST YOU] — i. e. פנאי שלי, My leisure, — I will turn away from all My other affairs in order to do you evil (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 17:20).

ונתתי פני בכם, "And I will set My face against you, etc." The Torah speaks of G'd's angry "face." The reason that justice or judgment is called פנים, face, is that there is always a group of creatures whose whole intent is to bring about destruction. They are therefore described as "the face of G'd," i.e. the ones facing the presence of G'd. The words: "I will set My face against you" are addressed to these evil forces. The words: "and you will fall before your enemies" are about the Gentile nations all of which are branches of these forces of evil. The word פני may also mean that G'd will not hide His face from them even while He delivers the Israelites into the hands of their enemies, otherwise they would perish, G'd forbid. The Torah reveals the intent of G'd only at the very end of the passage in the words of verse 44. The reason the Torah writes the word בכם here is to emphasise that at this stage G'd's anger will become manifest against the people not against the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary will become the victim of G'd's anger only at a later stage than that discussed in our verse.

ונתתי פני בכם, “I will set My face against you.” A reference to G’d’s anger. We find the word פנים used in this sense in connection with Hannah in Samuel I 1,18, when the prophet describes Hannah as having been appeased by the blessing of the High Priest Eli.

This is a deathly plague (מותן). Some explain that this is an expression of waiting (המתנה), that people will wait and expect the disease to leave him any moment and [they wait for] he will his recovery., and wWhen he dies, people will be alarmed (נבהלים) that he suddenly died. Others explain that it is an expression of מתניים, a disease that begins from the hips (מתניים), and this [terrible] disease alarms him. The expression of מותן [instead of מתניים] is similar to the expression (Kiddushin 22b) “The ear (אוזן) that heard on Mount Sinai, etc.,” where it should have said “ears” (אזניים). Here too, it means מתניים.

ונתתי פני בכם, “I will set My face against you.” This is the opposite of ופניתי אליכם, “I will turn to you with goodwill.” This is the fifth of the seven plagues.

ורדו בכם שנאיכם — These words mean exactly what they imply: THEY THAT HATE YOU SHALL RULE OVER YOU. — The Agadic explanation of the Torat Cohanim (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 4 1-5) on this section is as follows:

[He sows it] the second year, and it grows. I.e., if it happens to grow the second time.

ונגפתם לפני אויביכם, “you will be smitten before your enemies.” This is the reverse of the blessing that “you will pursue and overwhelm those who hate you.” This is the sixth of the seven plagues.

אף אני אעשה זאת — I speak to you only with the expression אף. Similarly it states, (v. 41) “So, too, (אף) I will walk contrary unto them”.

For the days of siege. I.e., they gather produce to eat while they lay siege upon Jewish towns.

ונסתם ואין רודף אתכם, “you will flee even when no one pursues you.” This is the reverse of the blessing that five of you will put to flight a hundred of your enemies. (verse 8) This is the seventh of the seven plagues that will befall you.

והפקדתי עליכם I WILL ORDER UPON YOU denotes that the calamities will come upon you from one to another — while the first will still be on visit to you (will afflict you) I will bring another and add it to that.

Within [your cities]. You might ask: From where does Rashi [know to] explain like this? “You will be stricken before your enemies” implies that they will kill them with the sword? The answer is: Rashi proves this from “I will set My face against you,” which implies that the verse is speaking of death by the hand of Heaven, i.e., excision. [This is], when a person dies prematurely on his bed as it is written in parshas Kedoshim (above 20:5), “I shall set My face against that man and his family; I shall cut him off.” This indicates that wherever it is written “My face” it means excision. Yet after this it is written, “You will be stricken before your enemies,” which implies death atby the hand of man by the sword? Therefore, Rashi answers that it means as follows. When it says, “You will be stricken before your enemies,” it means that you will be killed within, by excision. And when it says “You will be stricken before your enemies,” it means that your enemies will surround you without, i.e., standing outside and rejoicing at their your death. Thus, you will be “stricken before your enemies.” Alternatively, [Rashi derives this] from ונגפתם, which is an expression of plague, a death by the hand of Hheaven.

בהלה is a plague that causes terror upon people. And what is that? It is an epidemic plague of pestilence.

From you. Rashi is answering the question: It is already written “you will be stricken...” Therefore, this must come to be expounded upon. [Later], Rashi has to say the double expression “from you and over you” in his commentary, because the exposition indicates that the enemies will be “from you,” while the verse indicates that they will rule “over you.” Therefore he says both in his explanation.

וזרעתם לריק זרעכם — One shall sow it (the soil) but it shall not grow grain. Well, then, what does it mean when it states that your enemies will come and eat?. How is this possible? But the explanation is: One shall sow it (the soil) the first year and it will not yield; the next year, however, it will yield, and then the enemies will come and will find grain for the time of siege, whilst those within the beleaguered city will die of famine because they will have gathered no grain the year before. Another explanation of וזרעתם לריק זרעכם is: Scripture is speaking in reference to your sons and daughters — you will rear them only after much toil but sin, the enemy, will come and destroy them, as it is said, (i. e. a similar thought is expressed in the text) (Lamentations 2:22) “those that I have swaddled and brought up mine enemy hath consumed”.

את השחפת THE CONSUMPTION — You may have a person that is sick and even confined to his bed, but his flesh is in a well-preserved state; therefore Scripture states, “I will visit you with שחפת” — that he will waste away. Or there are times that he may be wasting away but is calm and without fever, Scripture therefore states, “I will visit you with… קדחת” — that he will be in a fever. Or there are times that he may be in a fever but still cherishes the belief that he will recover (and therefore is easy in mind), Scripture therefore states, “I will visit you… with fever that shall make the eyes pine”. Or there may be the last stage when he cherishes no belief that he will recover, but others (his relatives) cherish the belief that he will recover, Scripture therefore states, “I will visit you with… fever… that shall cause sorrow of soul (utter despair).

Because of panic. Because afterwards is written “when no one is pursuing.” If so, why will they flee? Perforce, only because of panic.

Because of lack of strength. Rashi is answering the question: Its its [not] a blessing if no one pursues them? He answers that [the enemy] will not need to pursue them, as they will have no strength. They will think, “Why pursue them? They have no strength to wage war.”

ונתתי פני בכם — Even as it is stated in the case of the promise of good (v. 9), “I will turn (ופניתי) unto you” so is it stated also with regard to the threat of evil “I will set My face (פני) against you”. They (the Sages) illustrated this by a parable: it may be compared to the case of a king who said to his subjects, “I will turn away from all My other affairs and will devote myself to you alone — for evil”.

ונגפתם לפני איביכם — (This may signify: and ye shall be plagued in the presence of your enemies) — it means that death (pestilence — נגף) will kill you within the city whilst your enemies are besieging you outside (cf. the first Agadic comment on ‎וזרעתם לריק ).

‎ ורדו בכם שנאיכם — ‎(בכם is taken to signify: those who are amongst you) — this means that I will raise up haters of you only out of your own people and in your own midst. Internal enemies (שונאים) are a greater curse than external enemies (אויבים) for when the nations of the world rise against Israel they seek only what lies in the open, as it is said, (Judges 6:3, 4) “And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east,… and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the land”; but when I raise up against you those of your own people and in your own midst they search also after your hidden treasures. And thus it states, (Micah 3:1—3) “[Hear, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel…] who also eat the flesh of my people and flay their skin from off them etc.”

ונסתם AND YE SHALL RUN AWAY — from sheer panic,

ואין רדף אתכם WHEN NONE PURSUETH YOU, since there is no strength in them to do so.