ישעיהו, פרק כ״ז, פסוק ז׳

Throughout history, the suffering of the Israelites has often raised questions about divine justice and the nature of their punishment. Yet, a closer look reveals a profound difference between the temporary, corrective hardships faced by the nation and the absolute destruction that falls upon their enemies. God's discipline of His people is meant to repair and rebuild, ensuring that they will eventually heal and flourish once again.

The primary approach among commentators highlights this contrast by asking whether God struck the Israelites with the same devastating cruelty that He used against their attackers [מצודת דוד, רד״ק]. Historically, these attackers represent various empires that oppressed the nation, such as Egypt and the Assyrian forces of Sennacherib [רד״ק], Babylon [שד״ל], or the Assyrian army responsible for the exile of Samaria [אבן עזרא]. The relationship between the Israelites and these hostile nations is likened to a vineyard surrounded by thorns. While God completely destroyed the thorns representing the enemies, He only allowed minor damage to the vineyard itself, making the intensity of the two strikes entirely incomparable [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The underlying question remains whether the Israelites faced the same total slaughter as their adversaries [מצודת דוד, רד״ק]. These slain adversaries are identified as the wicked enemies of God [שד״ל], the Canaanite nations defeated when the Israelites entered the land [אבן עזרא], or simply the foreign powers that actively sought to kill the Israelites [מלבי״ם, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

However, a different perspective suggests that the focus is not a comparison between the Israelites and other nations, but rather an illustration of perfect divine justice. According to this view, God punishes the hostile nations exactly measure for measure, striking the enemy in the precise manner that the enemy struck the Israelites. For example, just as Pharaoh drowned the Israelite children in water, God drowned the Egyptian army in the sea [רש״י, צאינה וראינה].

Taking another unique angle, the focus shifts inward to the history of the Israelites during their time in Egypt, drawing a line between the righteous and the wicked within the nation itself. During that period, the crushing weight of slavery and the fatal blow during the plague of darkness only afflicted the wicked among the Israelites, while the righteous were spared from the bondage entirely. From this viewpoint, a rhetorical question is posed regarding whether the righteous suffered and fell like the wicked who perished. The answer is a clear denial, as the righteous were shielded from the brutal oppression that claimed the wicked [אהבת יהונתן].