Home‎ > ‎Haggai‎ > ‎Rashi on Haggai‎ > ‎

Chapter 2

 
 
 
1. In the seventh [month], on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet, saying:   א.
2. Say now to Zerubbabel the son of Shaltiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the High Priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying:   ב.
3. Who among you is left, who saw this house in its former glory? And as you see it now, is it not as nothing in your eyes?   ג.
Who among you is left: who was of the exiles and is still alive?   :
who saw, etc.: Who saw the first one this [one] is of no esteem in his eyes.   :
is it not as nothing: I know that to one who saw the first one, this one is but nothing in his eyes.   :
is it… as nothing: It and nothing are equal, as in (Hos. 4:9) “And it shall be like people like priest” Here, too, כָמֹהוּ כְּאַיִן; it [the Second Temple] and nothing are equal.   :
4. And now, be strong, Zerubbabel, says the Lord; and be strong, Joshua the son of Jehozadak the High Priest; and be strong, all the people of the land, says the Lord. And (for I am with you, says the Lord of Hosts) do   ד.
5. the thing that I set up with you when you left Egypt. And My spirit stands in your midst; fear not.   ה.
the thing that I set up: You keep My Torah, and My spirit rests on your prophets; do not fear.   :
6. For so said the Lord of Hosts: [There will rise] another one, and I will shake up the heaven and the earth and the sea and the dry land [for] a little while.   ו.
another one… [for] a little while: When this kingdom of Persia, which rules over you, terminates, yet another one will rise up to rule over you, to oppress you; this is the kingdom of Greece, and the time of its rule will be a little while.   :
and I will shake up: with the miracles performed for the Hasmoneans.   :
the heaven, etc.: And they will understand that My Shechinah rests in this House, and they will bring gifts of silver and gold, as is written in the book of Joseph ben Gurion.   :
7. And I will shake up all the nations, and they shall come [with] the precious things of all the nations. And I will fill this House with glory, said the Lord of Hosts.   ז.
8. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of Hosts.   ח.
The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine: and it is in My power to bring it to whomever I desire.   :
9. The glory of this last House shall be greater than the first one, said the Lord of Hosts. And in this place I will grant peace, says the Lord of Hosts.   ט.
shall be greater: There was a controversy between Rav and Samuel. One said: In the building; and one said: In the years, that the years of the First Temple were four hundred and ten, and those of the Second Temple were four hundred and twenty.   :
10. On the twenty-fourth [day] of the ninth [month], in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying:   י.
11. So said the Lord of Hosts: Now ask the priests the Torah, saying:   יא.
12. "Should a man carry contaminated flesh in the skirt of his garment, if it touches in his skirt the bread and the pottage and the wine and the oil, or any food, will it [the food] become contaminated?" And the priests replied and said, "No."   יב.
contaminated flesh: flesh of contamination of a carcass as a creeping thing   :
if it touches in his skirt: It did not touch the creeping thing itself but the garment, which is the first degree of contamination.   :
and the pottage: a cooked food   :
will it become contaminated?: Heb. הֲיִקְדָּשׁ   :
“No.”: It [the food] will [not] become contaminated. Rav and Shmuel disagree over this matter. One [Rav] says that the priests erred, for he [Haggai] asked them concerning a fourth degree contamination in reference to hallowed things, and they replied that it [the food] is ritually pure. One [Shmuel] says that the priests did not err, that he [Haggai] asked them concerning a fifth degree contamination in reference to hallowed things.   :
13. And Haggai said, "If the contamination of a dead body touches all these, will it become contaminated?" And the priests replied and said, "It will become contaminated."   יג.
If the contamination of a dead body: The dead body itself.   :
It will become contaminated: For the dead body is the father of the father of contamination. The fifth degree of the contamination of the reptile or rodent is a fourth degree in the contamination of a dead body.   :
14. And Haggai replied and said, "So is this people, and so is this nation before Me, says the Lord; and so is all the work of their hands, and whatever they sacrifice there is contaminated.   יד.
So is this people: Just as you err in this, so do you err in many halachot.   :
and whatever they will sacrifice there: if they do not put their hearts to learning.   :
15. And now, consider from this day and before-before placing a stone upon a stone in the Temple of the Lord   טו.
and before: The years that passed.   :
before placing a stone upon a stone: Before you return to resume the building and to add to the foundation that you laid in the days of Cyrus - when it [the building] was stopped - now put your hearts to engage in the building and in studying the necessities of the priesthood.   :
16. so that they should not come to a heap of twenty measures, and there would be ten; [similarly,] when one would come to the winevat to draw off fifty press-measures, and there would be twenty.   טז.
so that they should not come to a heap of twenty measures: So that you should not have a curse sent into your works as [there has been] until now; for they would set up a heap from which twenty seahs should be measured, and would find only ten.   :
when one would come to the wine vat: That is the pit before the wine press, into which the wine flows.   :
to draw off fifty press-measures: To draw out from [the winevat] fifty measures with which they would measure wine from the winepresses, and the name [of those fifty measures] is purah.   :
to draw off: to draw, as in (Isa. 30:14) “To scoop water from a cistern” ; and so (ibid. 47:2) “Draw off the path.”   :
and there would be twenty: Not that more of a curse is sent into the wine than is sent into the grain, but a person [may] err in estimating the measure of the winevat because it is deep, while the heap [of grain] stands before him. In tractate Avoth d’Rabbi Nathan (4:4) we learned a reason why a small measure is not mentioned with regard to wine, while it is mentioned with regard to grain, e.g.. to draw off twenty-five press measures and it was ten. This teaches us that wine is an extra measure for the world, and when the wine suffers, it is a symptom of a curse for the world. Since the wine must be plentiful, [the prophet] counts a larger number concerning it.   :
17. I smote you with blast and with yellowing and with hail in all the work of your hands, and you are not [returning] to Me, says the Lord.   יז.
18. Pay attention now, from this day and before-from the twenty-fourth [day] of the ninth [month]- from the day that the Temple of the Lord was founded, pay attention.   יח.
that the Temple of the Lord was founded: That now for the second time they began to add to the first foundation that they had built in the days of Cyrus.   :
19. The seed is still in the granary, and the grapevines, the fig trees, the pomegranate trees, and the olive trees have not yet borne [fruit]-from this day I will bless."   יט.
The seed is still in the granary: You have not yet sown this year, and the trees have not yet ripened their fruits. From now on you shall sow at a time of blessing, for the building of the Temple will bring blessing into the work of your hands.   :
20. And the word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth of the month, saying:   כ.
21. Say to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, saying: I am shaking up the heaven and the earth.   כא.
22. And I will overthrow the throne of the kingdoms, and I will destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. And I will overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall come down, each one by the sword of his brother.   כב.
and I will destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations: The kingdom of Persia, which now rules over the entire world, will fall into the hands of another kingdom at the end of thirty-four years from the building of the Temple, as we learned in tractate Avodah Zarah (9a).   :
23. On that day, says the Lord of Hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, My servant; says the Lord, and I will make you as a signet; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of Hosts.   כג.
and I will make you as a signet: In contrast to what was decreed upon his father Jeconiah (Jer. 22: 24): “As I live, says the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, be a signet on My right hand, from there I will remove you.” [Jeremiah further] states there (ibid. 22: 30): “Inscribe this man childless.” We learn that his repentance availed [Jeconiah], and Zerubbabel was born to him, and he was made as a signet.
 
 
 
 
Comments