Komentarz do Joela 1:21

to Joel son of Pethuel—The son of Samuel the prophet who persuaded God with his prayer (פִתָּה לְאֵל) . Some say that this prophecy was said in those seven years in which Elisha said: “For the Lord has decreed a famine etc.” and they took place during the days of Jehoram son of Ahab.

1. The first prophecy in Sefer Yoel begins with "Hashem initially spoke to Yoel..." and goes until "on that day I will pour out my prophecy..." (ie- the first theme in the prophecy in the book of Yoel is in perakim 1-2). And this prophecy is split into 4 sections. A) "the Word of Gd came to Yoel" B)"gird yourself and lament oh priests" C)"Let the sound of the shofar ring out in Zion and blow a loud blast" D)"blow a shofar in Zion and make a fast". And I see the following 6 questions through which I will explain the prophecy.

The first question- if, as it appears from the text and as the commentaries agree upon, this prophecy truly deals with the produce eaten by the locusts, we have to explain how the navi makes this a great mourning that is so intense. To the point that several times we see that all the food of the year is lost and there will be a destruction of the land. But in Shemot (10:14), the Torah tells us that the locust plague was unique in that there was never before like it and there will never be afterwards. And if so, we need to explain what Yoel says about this current plague that "like it there never was and afterwards there will not be in the years of all generations". A possible (rejected) explanation is that the quote in Shemot is referring to the plague of locusts being unique in the land of Egypt. This explanation is rejected due to the fact that the Torah says about the plague of hail (Shemot 9:24) that there was never like 'in the land of Egypt' specifically.

The second question-if this prophecy is a dirge about the lost produce whey does it say "they have laid my vines to waste and splintered my fig trees (1:7)" did the prophecy need to specify these fruits when it already says "the country is ravaged, the ground must mourn (1:10)" and it says "the produce of the field is lost" and therefore if so, what's the connection specifically to the grape and figs.

The third question- why the does the prophet specifically point out the mourning of the kohanim in several pesukin (1:9, 1:13, 2:17). For surely, despite the famine, they did not stop the mincha offering and libation, because we see elsewhere in navi and in Daniel that the mincha offering was never stopped until the day of the destruction and when Jerusalem was beseiged. And therefore if in the days of Yoel there was a 7 year famine and a 4 year famine in the days of Yehoram ben Achav with accompanying locusts like the commentaries tell us until the mincha offering ceased. It becomes difficult to reconcile these two famines with the pasuk in Daniel.

..The fourth question-if the famine and the locusts were so much more intense than the famine in the days of Yehoram ben Achav and in the days of Elisha and in the days of Menashe, we have to ask how this wasn't mentioned at all in Sefer Malchim. And even more so, why didn't Yirmiyahu record prophecy about it, when his prophecy seems to sometimes mention some less intense things. And even in Divrei Hayimim it doesn't discuss this famine.

The fifth question. If there was a famine and locusts continually for 4 years or 7 years like it says followed by years of plenty why does the prophet refer to it as the DAY of Gd when he says "because the day of Gd is nearing. A day of darkness and despiar. A day of clouds and smoke (2:2)" and it also says "for great is the day of Gd ". This makes it seem like it the locusts will be on one day alone and then leave and not return.

The sixth question- if all the troubles were only caused by the locusts that came up and ate all the produce, like it seems from the words of the pesukim, why does it say also the animals in the field long for it because "the springs of water are dried up" and "fire has consumed the pastures in the wilderness". And it says afterwards, "The children of Zion will rejoice and be glad with Hashem, their Gd, because he has given you the early rain in His Kindness and send you the seasonal rains (2:23)". This makes it seem like the famine was caused by a lack of rain and not from the locusts mentioned earlier. I will now explain the pesukim according to these 6 questions.

The overarching intention of this nevuah is, as the commentaries say, to tell about the famine in the days of Yoram ben Achav like it says in Melachim II (8:1) "and Elisha spoke to the woman who he lived at her house and said get up and go with your family and live in another land because Hashem is bringing a famine on the land for 7 years." And it seems that the first 4 years were the years of the locust, which were then followed by 3 years with no rain. And therefore the prophet mentions the locusts and the rain. This is the opinion of the Radak in perek 100 in Taanis. And according to my opinion, this prophecy does not come to dirge and explaine a famine and and is not about the locusts in Judah and Jerusalem. Because it is difficult to explain how this prophet would tell about such an intense famine that is only glossed over in Malachim and isn't even discussed the locusts or the rain. Therefore, I will explain these pesukim as loshon drash.

The truth of the matter, according to me, is that the prophet was coming to tell us about the 4 kingdoms (Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome) and because they all affected Israel and ruled in Jerusalem, therefore this dirge was made to tell about the bad that will occur during these exiles. That Nevuchad Netzer first destroyed it. And even though Persia did not destroy the temple, they commanded to stop rebuilding the second temple and after it was destroyed they were bad to the Israelites that were in their exile like it says in Perek 141 in Yoma (10:1). And it says about the Greeks that they did much bad to Israel and breached breaches in the Holy Temple. And the Romans, we have personal experience with. And if the later prophets discuss this topic, they each do it with their own styles. The prophet Yoel use the styl of the locusts to discuss the 4 exiles because the locusts come upon the land that Yoel gives his great dirge. And in his great dirge there isn't a famine for food and there isn't a thirst for water. That's why there are 4 species of locust mentioned . And there is not a contradiction in waht the prophet says with what the Torah tells us about the plague of locusts in the days of the Egyptians. Because that instance was talking about the literal locusts and here it is talking about the rule of the nations and the destruction of Israel that there was never like among any other nations. This is the meaning of the grape vine and figs that are withered. It's a remez to the Israelites who are referred to as a grape vine in Tehillim (80:9) "I plucked a vine from Egypt. And they are called "the first figs on the fig tree" in Hosea (9:10). And because of the destruction in the hands of the nations it says twice that the Kohanim are mourning for them and it says that the mincha offering and the libations have ceased from the house of Gd. Therefore the Kohanim mourn. Similar to Yirmiyahu's dirge (Eicha 1:4) "your priests are moaning." And these destructions that are terrible begin with the destruction of the first Temple and the writings of Jossipson and in Daniel's prophecies.

And therefore , the initial mention of the the destructions from the beginning of the book of Yoel until "blow the shofar in Zion" is about the destruction of the first temple and the exile of Judah and Jerusalem. About this it says the day of Hashem is coming. A day of darkness and despair. The pasuk of "blow a shofar in Zion..." is about the enemies who come upon Jerusalem and they are called "a great and mighty nation that there was never another like it in the world. Like the vision of horses they appear..." And the rest of hte pesukim are not about the locusts, it is a sacrilidge on me to believe this that the enemies of Gd will destroy His house and exile his people! Then it discusses the return to the second temple "And you now, says Gd, retrun to me" and the destruction of the second tmeple it says "blow the trumpet in Zion. Make a fast" and on the future redemption it says "Gd will be zealous for His land..." And these are the four sections (first temple destruction, return to the land, second temple destruction, future redemption). And therefore the prophecy when it says Israel it refers to Yehuda.

Pasuk 1- The Word of Gd came to Yoel- who was Yoel? Chazal said that he was the son of Shmuel the Navi and we have no way to know whether it is true. But I doubt this because Yoel was the son of "Putiel" and Putiel is not Shmuel. And the Navi in Shmuel disgraces the sons of Shmuel in their deeds and that they didn't follow in Shmuel Hanavi's ways and that they went after prophet and took usury and deviated judgements and how could Yoel be one of them! The Shochar Tov does say that the sons of Shmuel did teshuva in the end... But we actually have no informatoin about who Yoel hanavi was, what shevet he was from, and what generation he lived in. But we do know that his father was honrable man and therefore his name is mentioned in connection to Yosel. And also according to the words of Chazal any navi who's father's name is mention, he is navi son of a navi. And we also know that he wasn't a navi on Israel but on Judah and Jerusalem. And I already said in the introduction that he was at the time of Hosea and before Amos. pasuk 2- and because he wanted to prophecy about hte destruction that the enemies made in the House of Gd and the nations that came up on our land and ruled it like the locusts come and eat all the grass of the land and therefore it says "Listen to this elderly" because they saw more of the history as it says "ask your fathers and they will tell you, your elders and they will say" and ask if there was anything ever like this in their days or their fathers' days. pausk 3- and he commanded them to tell their children and future generations in the manner that this prophecy will not be forgotten from amongst their children and because it is good to see the future that will come when the 4 kingdoms rule over the land and the word "zos" and "aleha" are about this nevuah that they tell of.

Did this come about—I.e., what is mentioned below.

What the shearing locust left over—Gazam, arbeh, yelek, hasil are species of locusts and he prophesied concerning them that they would come in those days and destroy all the fruit of the trees and the herbs of the field.

the strong wine—Heb. עָסִיס, good wine.

For a nation has ascended upon my land—He named these locusts as a host of nations.

and its molars are like those of a young lion—These are the thick teeth with which he chews.

into a disappointment—Heb. לִקְצָפָה, into a disappointment.

he has peeled it and cast it off—He has peeled off the bark of the tree and cast it off until the branches of the vine have become white.

Lament Heb. אֱלִי. Lamentations (קִינָה) is translated into Aramic as אִ ילְיָא.

have been cut off Heb. הָכְרַת, like נִכְרַת. The “hey” vowelized with a short “kamatz” takes the place of a “nun.” Comp. (Job 5:23), “And the beast of the field made peace (הָשְׁלְמָה) with you.”

1. And after discussing the destruction of the land and the exile of the people, it speaks about the destruction of the temple. About this, the pasuk says, "mourn priests who serve Gd" because the enemy has destroyed the land and exiled the nation and destroyed the house of Gd. And the Radak asks a question how the prophet can call the locust a "nation" and he brings a proof from Misheli (30:25) that a nation can be for small creatures when the ants are called "a nation without strength". But the midrash on that Mishlei (30:10) actually compares the ants to the 4 nations. There are 4 animal species mentioned in Mishlei. The ants who are called "without strength" refers to Bavel. "The badger without might" is Persia and Media. "The locusts have no king" is Greece. "You catch the lizard in your hand" this refers to Rome. This is further evidence that the pasuk here is not referring to locusts simply.

2. And after mentioning the destruction of the land and the exile of the people and the destruction of the Temple, he begins to give a dirge on the land as it says in pasuk 10- "the country is ravished. The ground must mourn. For the new grain is ravaged. The new oil has dried up. The new wine has failed." This means that Eretz Yisrael is cursed in its grain, wine and oil and the other fruits that are mentioned from the time that the enemy came upon them. (pasuk 11)- and therefore "farmers are dismayed" because they work the land. and "vine dressers wail" and both these are wailing because of the loss of the land's harvest. (pasuk 12)- and if the vine dressers and those who serve in the vineyards and the trees are upset becasue the grapes have dried up and the figs are wasted and the rest of the good fruits including pomegranate, dates, apples and all the trees of the field are gone. And because the grape and figs are a parable for the nation, therefore the metaphorical understanding of this pasuk is that the joy has dried up from men. Meaning that the people have gone into exile and left with depressed spirits. And if the prophecy was only talking about the wine that the locuts ate it would have not said that the grapes are figs are dried. Because the locuts would have eaten them, not that they would be dried up.

Be ashamed Heb. הֹבִישוּ

plowmen Heb. אִכָּרִים. Those who guide the plowshare.

for wheat and for barley—This refers back to the plowmen, and concerning the vine dressers, he says...

The vines have dried up, and the fig trees have been cut off Heb. הוֹבִישָׁה, it was cut off, its produce terminated.

has dried up Heb. הֹבִיש, like יָבֵש

13- And regarding the priests at the time of the destruction of the Temple, the prophet says "gird yourselves and lament priests, ministers of the altar." because they are prevented from entering the house of their Gd and bringing the mincha offering and libations and this didn't occur except at the time of the destruction of the Temple and the end of the avodah. 14- And therefore he commands the nation and the priests to make a fast and call an assembly. That the whole nation should fast and assemble at the house of Gd with the elders and leaders of the people and all the inhabintants of the land to gather by the Temple and clall out to Hashem. Maybe you can say that this pasuk refers to the 9th of Av which was made for generations as a memory of the destruction of the Temple and has been a fast day with lamentations and tears regarding the Temple. And on this it says... 15-16- "Alas for the day of Gd because it is close" meaning that on that day when it was decreed by the sin of the spies in the desert to be a day of mourning. And that day is set aside for all our troubles and it is close. Oh Vey for that day which is coming close. And about it is says "It will come like a havoc from Hashem. And I heard from the commentaries that the "chuf" in the word "chishod" indicates time, like in the pasuk "When I leave (k'tzeitzi) the city" (Shemot 9:29) where the "chuf" also means time. Hashem's day of vengeance and where there will be a destruction and havoc and bad from Hashem. On that day it will all come, because that day is set aside for badness and troubles beginning from the first of the month of Av and especially on the 9th of Av as it say "the month will consume your lots" (Hosea 5:7) which is a pasuk that hints to Av being a month of destruction. And the prophet begins to lament on that day of trouble and rebuke from the hunger and lack of bread that Israel will experience as it says in Eicha (4:4) "little children beg for bread and there is none" and the mourning, tears and lamentations are because they used to be a in place where they were in their own land and eating delicacies with happiness and glad hearts and they are now destroyed and everything is opposite. And this is the meaning of the pasuk "before our eyes our food is cut off from the house of Gd joy and laughter are cut off". That even our storehouses of wheat didn't help us and they are destroyed. 17- and about this it and says "the seeds have shriveled" meaning the word "avshu" you can switch the letters "peh" and "bet" so it says "apshu" or shriveled" meaning tehy are falling apart underground and seperate from man. ANd therefore it says "under their clods" meaning under the rocks and dirt. And the Rav Iben Ezra experlains that meaning as the seeds of the wheat and barley that are growing in the clods under the rocks and dirt. The grain that has been planted will rot in the earth without being sown and gatherecd because of the enemy there is no harvest and that is meaning of "the granaries are desolte" and this also the meaning of the destroyed barns. Meaning that the granaries are destroyed because the seeds aren't in the barns so there is no possibly for a new harvest. That is the Rav Iben Ezra's opinon. The Abarbanel says that it seems to be more correct to say that the first "mem" in the word "barn" or "mimaguros" should have a patach and not a chirik and therefore is a mem hashimush connecting the two passages that says taht the granaries are bare and desolate because of the "megura" the fear of the enemy that because of the fear of enemy there will be no plowing and planting and therefore the grain in the granary will dry out. And the Rav Iben Ezra says the word "meguros" refers to another type of store house related to the locusts making the seeds shrivel. And because the pasuk up until now has discussed different types of agricultural work it explains that also the sheep will be lost because the enemy will come and there will be no shepherds to watch the sheep and cattle. 18- "how the cattle groan and the herds are bewildered" because htey are lost in the land wihtout their shepherds fearing the enemy

Proclaim a fast Heb. קַדְּשׁוּ, designate a fast

an assembly Heb. עֲצָרָה, a gathering.

Woe Heb. אֲהָהּ. An expression of sighing and wailing.

and like plunder Heb. וּכְשֹׁד. Like the plunder of brigands.

it will come—from the Omnipresent.

from before our eyes—I.e., we see it.

have gathered mold Heb. עָבְשׁוּ, have gathered rust and mold. in French moisir, to become moldy.

casks of wine Heb. פְרֻדּדוֹת. Jonathan renders: casks of wine.

under their bungs Heb. מֶגְרְפֹתֵיהֶם. Jonathan renders: מְגוּפָתֵיהוֹן, the cover of the cask.

the storehouses are laid desolate—I.e. the storehouses of wine and oil.

garners are demolished—Granaries of wheat.

herds of cattle are perplexed—They are confounded. They are closed in and astray in the forests and in the wilderness.

are laid waste Heb. נֶאְשָׁמוּ. have become spoiled through their guilt.

the dwellings of the wilderness Heb. נְאוֹת, an expression of a dwelling (נָוֶה).

(19)-And about all this bad, the Prophet says to "call out to Hashem" like a person who sees himself in a great trouble and doesn't know what to do and calls out to the Gd of his fathers. And about this trouble of the enemy it says "because a fire has consumed the pleasantness of the wilderness and a flame has eaten the trees of the field" and this also proves that the lamentation isn't only about the locusts but rather about the churban. Because of the use of the example of a fire, which other commentaries attribute to the drought that followed the locusts but that isn't a correct explanation. And because Nevuchad Nezer, who destroyed Jerusalem had first destroyed many other nations, like it says in Jeremiah, and therefore the pasuk says (20)-also the beasts fo the field... that they are also callling out to Hashem because of Nevuchad Nezer that destoryed their springs and it is a hint to their kingdoms which were conquered and therefore it says "the fire consumes the pastures of the wilder ness."

cry out Heb. תַּעֲרֹג, will cry out, as Dunash (Teshuvoth Dunash, p. 18) interpreted it: ערג is the cry of the hinds. נהם is the roar of the lions; געה is the lowing of the calves; צהל is the whinnying of the horses; צִפצוּף is the chirping of the birds, and נבח is the barking of the dogs. [Also the beasts of the field—I.e., the hind of the field.]