יחזקאל, פרק ה׳, פסוק ג׳

A prophet is commanded to take a tiny number of hairs and bind them safely in the folds of his clothing. This quiet, physical act carries a deep message about survival during a time of national ruin, reflecting the fate of a small, remaining remnant of the people. Gathering just a few individual hairs and tying them securely into the edges of a garment serves as a powerful metaphor for preservation [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The primary approach among commentators is that this small group of survivors represents the people exiled to Babylon [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל]. They are compared to a few single hairs because their numbers were incredibly small compared to the vast multitudes scattered to other lands [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל]. Historically, this specific protected group numbered only ten thousand exiles [רד״ק].

The physical act of tying the hairs into the clothing symbolizes special care and divine protection. Just as a person carefully wraps and ties a valuable object in their garment to keep it secure, God protected the exiles in Babylon. They were preserved so that, when the time was right, they could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Second Temple [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל]. Within this historical framework, this act is part of a broader prophecy that looks beyond the destruction of the First Temple, hinting at the era of the Second Temple and the exiles that would eventually follow [אברבנאל].

While the primary view identifies these survivors as the Babylonian exiles, an alternative perspective suggests a different group. Rather than those who were taken away, these few protected individuals represent the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. According to this view, they are the destitute people left behind in the Land of Israel by the Babylonian military to work as farmers and vineyard keepers under the local rule of Gedaliah [מלבי״ם].