Chasidut for Joel 2:20
וְֽאֶת־הַצְּפוֹנִ֞י אַרְחִ֣יק מֵעֲלֵיכֶ֗ם וְהִדַּחְתִּיו֮ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ צִיָּ֣ה וּשְׁמָמָה֒ אֶת־פָּנָ֗יו אֶל־הַיָּם֙ הַקַּדְמֹנִ֔י וְסֹפ֖וֹ אֶל־הַיָּ֣ם הָאַֽחֲר֑וֹן וְעָלָ֣ה בָאְשׁ֗וֹ וְתַ֙עַל֙ צַחֲנָת֔וֹ כִּ֥י הִגְדִּ֖יל לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃
But I will remove far off from you the northern one, And will drive him into a land barren and desolate, With his face toward the eastern sea, And his hinder part toward the western sea; that his foulness may come up, and his ill savour may come up, because he hath done great things.’
Flames of Faith
When the Jewish nation left Egypt the various forces of evil, represented by the Egyptians and their deities, were smitten. There was one idol that did not fall initially whose name was Baal Tzefon. The root of tzafun is tzadi, peh, nun, which means, “hidden.” The evil urge is also called tzefon in the verse, Ve-es ha-tzefoni archik mei-aleichem, “I will distance the tzefoni [the hidden evil urge] from you” (Yoel 2:20). The symbolism of Baal Tzefon’s survival was that the revealed forms of evil had been defeated, yet the hidden, subconscious evil had not been destroyed.
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