פירוש על ויקרא 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.