[Ezekiel, 38:18–39:16]
“On that day, when Gog sets foot on the soil of Israel” [38:18]. It will be on that day that Gog and Magog will come to the land of Israel. My wrath will rise up, so says God. With fire I will settle accounts and on that day there will be a great trembling in the whole land of Israel. The fish in the water will tremble before Me, and the birds in the sky, and the animals of the land. When he will be split the Mount of Olives, the mountains will be displaced and they will collapse. The mighty gates and all the walls will collapse. The sword of one friend will be against his friend. That is to say, the Holy One will bring confusion on them so that one will kill his friend among the nations.
“I will punish him with pestilence and with blood” [38:22]. I will judge and will punish him with pestilence so that they will die, with blood and with great rain, like during the Flood. The hail will be large and it will fall from heaven like stones.
Our sages say that in the time of Moses our Teacher, when he punished Pharaoh with hail, there were large stones in the hail. Moses prayed that the hail should cease because Pharaoh had asked him that he should pray. Moses immediately prayed and the hail remained hanging in the air over the people and did not fall to the ground. In the days of Pharaoh, when Moses shouted at the hail, the Holy One hid the same hail until Gog and Magog will come. This same hail will fall on Gog and Magog and their people. The Holy One will allow fire and sulfur to rain on them and on many nations.1Exodus Rabbah, 12.7.
“Thus will I manifest My greatness” [38:23]. The Holy One said: I will be very great, honest and holy in the eyes of the nations and they will know that I am God.
“And you, O mortal, prophesy against Gog” [39:1]. You prophet, say to Gog and Magog that I am God to you, Lord of the nations and I will punish you and break you.
“I will turn you around and drive you one” [39:2]. I will destroy you and I will kill many of your people. There will only remain a sixth part. I will also judge you with six judgments with pestilence, with blood, with great rain and hail that was left over from Moses our Teacher, and with fire and sulfur. These are six and this is the meaning of the verse “I will drive you on.”2It is a pun on the Hebrew term that has six (shesh) as part of the word. I will punish you with six judgments and I will bring you from the ends of the earth, from the north, and I will bring you to the city of Jerusalem and I will destroy your bow from your left hand and your arrows from your right hand.
“On the mountains, etc.” [39:4]. Gog and Magog, you will fall on the mountains of Israel with all of your people. The birds and animals of the field will eat your flesh. God has said this and so will it be.
“And I will send a fire” [39:6]. I will send a fire to Gog and Magog eternally, that they should know that I am God.
“I will make My holy name known” [39:7]. I will make my Holy name known to the nations. I will not profane My name further. When Israel are humiliated in exile, the nations say that their God does not have the power to redeem them and to protect them from our hands. Therefore, the Holy One said: the day has come that I have spoken of.3Rashi, Ezekiel, 39:7
“Then the inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out, etc.” [39:9]. The Israelites will go out of their cities where they dwell and will take the bows, arrows, spears, shields and clubs, and will take their armor and will heat their ovens and will cook with them for seven years. There were many people among the nations who had many spears, arrows and bows. They will not need to chop wood in the forest. They will take their money and goods, thus said God.
“On that day I will assign to Gog, etc.” [39:11]. It will be on that day that I will give in the city that those of Gog and Magog who were killed at that time will be buried where the path goes from all the people. Why were they worthy to be buried? The explanation is that Noah was drunk from wine and he lay uncovered in his tent. His son, Shem, came and covered him with a sheet. His son, Japhet, also helped to take the sheet to cover their father, Noah. They walked backwards and did not want to see the shame of their father. Therefore, his son, Shem, was worthy that his descendants would have zizit on their garments, since Shem immediately was prepared to cover his father, much more than Japhet. Therefore, God gave a good reward to his descendants that they have zizit on their garments. Since Japhet, his son, also helped to cover his father, therefore he had the merit that his descendants were buried in the incident of Gog and Magog. Gog was a descendant of Japhet. The Israelites, who had the zizit, were descended from Shem. The Holy One repaid each one, measure for measure. That is, they both remembered their father and therefore the Holy One also covered the descendants of Shem, who were worthy to have garments to cover themselves with, with zizit. The children of Japhet were covered by the earth.4Genesis Rabbah, 36.6.
Therefore, our sages also said, whoever is wearing zizit will be protected from illicit sexual relations. A story occurred with a rabbi who wanted to sleep with a prostitute who took four hundred gulden as the price to sleep with her. The rabbi came to sleep with her. The rabbi’s zizit came up and slapped him in the face. The rabbi immediately left the prostitute and did not want to sleep with her.5B. Menahot, 44a.
This was also the intention of Tamar. She said to her father-in-law, Judah, who wanted to sleep with her. She said to him: give me your talit with the zizit as a pledge, if you want to sleep with me. That is, she thought to herself. Perhaps when Judah will sleep with me in his zizit, the zizit will not allow him to sleep with her, as happened in the story we have written about above. Tamar thought: I will hide Judah’s zizit so that he will not see them.6I have not found the source of this story. However, Ramban in his commentary on Genesis 38:18 identifies the “cord [petil]” with the zizit.
If one would ask, how is it that the commandment of zizit protects from illicit sexual relations more than other commandments? The explanation is that the commandment of zizit came because Shem did not want to see his father’s shame. Therefore, the zizit were given that the person should not look at any shame, to come to illicit sexual relations. That is, measure for measure. The zizit protect the person from illicit sexual relations because Shem did not want to see his father’s shame.7Genesis Rabbah, 36.6.
Concerning this, the Talmud says in [tractate] Shabbat, chapter two. A person’s children will die as a result of not properly observing the commandment of zizit, as the verse says, “moreover, on your garments is found the lifeblood of the innocent” [Jeremiah, 2:34]. That is to say, because of the zizit that one makes on the four corners, that one does not properly observe, it happens that your children will die. That is to say, zizit were given so that one should not pursue illicit sexual relations. When a person is not properly warned by the zizit, he ends up in illicit sexual relations. Therefore, the Holy One punishes him that his children will die. That is to say, measure for measure. He wants to pursue illicit sexual relations to have many children. That is why the Holy One takes away his legitimate children.8B. Shabbat, 32b.
We find concerning the Sotah that when she was found innocent, that she had not engaged in illicit sexual relations, the water that she had been given by the priest to drink will be for a blessing. If she did not have any children, then the Holy One will give her many children, from the time that she drank from the priest in the Temple. If she previously had a daughter, the Holy One will now also bless her that she will only have sons.9B. Sotah, 26a. From here we learn that whoever is warned about illicit sexual relations, the Holy One gives him children. However, whoever pursues illicit sexual relations, the Holy One takes away his children. Therefore, also the one who is warned, is without zizit, he can come to illicit sexual relations. Therefore, the Talmud also says that whoever does not properly observe the commandment of zizit, it can happen that his children might die.10B. Sotah, 26a.
“It shall block the path of travelers” [39:11]. There will be so many people who were killed that there will be a great stench in the land. They will have to block their nostrils and the way will be blocked because people will not want to go there. Therefore, people will assemble to bury them.11Radak, Ezekiel, 39:11.
“The house of Israel will bury them in order to cleanse, etc.” [39:12]. Israel will bury them in the hope that it will cleanse the land. They worked for seven months to bury them. Israel had a very good name. All the nations saw that even though the nation of Gog and Magog were the enemies of Israel, yet they did a great act of kindness and buried them with honor.12Radak, Ezekiel, 39:12.
“And they shall appoint men permanently to traverse the land” [39:14]. Israel will choose people that they should always search where one of them was killed in the field, in order to bury them.13Radak, Ezekiel, 39:14.
“As those who traverse the country and they see a human bone, etc.” [39:15]. The people who will find a bone of one of those of Gog and Magog who were killed will place a sign there that there is a bone there. They should not go there so that the person who passes there does not become ritually impure.14Rashi, Ezekiel, 39:15.
“There shall also be a city named Multitude. And thus the land shall be cleansed” [39:16]. It was so good that they gave a name to the field where Gog and Magog and their nation were killed. It was called “Multitude.” That is to say, the multitude of Gog. The sound of a multitude of people; that is how the city was called. Also, the sound of a multitude of Gog and Magog’s people. That is to say, they would always remember the sign that the Holy One killed many people of Gog and Magog and the land had been completely cleansed.15Rashi, Ezekiel, 39:16.