יחזקאל, פרק כ״ב, פסוק כ״ד

A prophecy of harsh rebuke is directed squarely at Jerusalem, portraying a city so deeply entrenched in its sins that it refused to cleanse itself. As a result, it faces a severe punishment that offers neither comfort nor purification [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The land is described as remaining dirty and impure [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The primary approach among commentators is to view this on a spiritual level: the city failed to repent and never washed away the stain of its wrongdoings [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

This spiritual state directly leads to a punishment characterized by a complete lack of rain on the day of God's wrath. There are several ways to understand this absence of water. On a literal level, when God's anger flared against the people, He stopped the heavens from giving rain. This fulfilled the Torah's explicit warning that worshiping idols leads directly to drought [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

On a symbolic level, the lack of rain highlights a tragic contrast. During the generation of the Flood, heavy rains washed away the earth's filth and ultimately purified it. Jerusalem's destruction, however, was carried out through fire rather than water. Because no rain fell to wash away the spiritual dirt, the city remained trapped in its impurity even after enduring its punishment [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Taking a different approach, rain serves as a metaphor for merits. The city lacked the good deeds and charity that could have acted like rain to soften the decree, transforming God's strict justice into mercy to protect the people on the day of wrath [רש״י, חומת אנך].

Finally, this concept serves as the foundation for a debate among the early Sages regarding the ancient Flood. They question whether the floodwaters ever actually fell on the Land of Israel, a conclusion that hinges on whether this prophecy is read as a statement of absolute fact or as a rhetorical question [חומת אנך].