ישעיהו, פרק ס״ו, פסוק ח׳

The future redemption of the Israelites is envisioned as a sudden, miraculous event that completely defies the natural laws of history. While the birth and development of a nation is typically a slow and gradual process, the future ingathering of the exiles will happen with dizzying speed, leaving the entire world in a state of absolute shock. The primary approach among commentators is that this unprecedented event will be a revealed miracle. All the nations will watch in awe as the Israelites rapidly gather in Jerusalem [ביאור שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד, צאינה וראינה]. This profound astonishment focuses on two main aspects of the event.

The first point of wonder questions the very possibility of an entire land going into labor in a single day. There are several ways to understand this metaphor. It can be seen as asking whether a single woman could experience labor and immediately give birth to enough children to populate an entire country in just one day [רש״י]. Alternatively, it might ask if labor pains could simultaneously grip all the women across the land [מצודת דוד]. Another perspective views these labor pains as a metaphor for a great, final war, where distress and hardship will spread across the entire earth in a single day [מלבי״ם]. Conversely, the concept of the land going into labor might refer directly to the inhabitants themselves, questioning whether an entire country's population could be conceived and born at the exact same time [שד״ל, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The second point of amazement focuses on the actual birth of a complete nation in a single moment. This symbolizes the sudden and simultaneous ingathering of the exiles from the four corners of the earth [מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד]. On a deeper spiritual level, this sudden birth resolves a cosmic delay. The final redemption depends on all the souls of the Israelites descending into the world. If the people repent and trigger the redemption before its appointed time, a problem arises because not all souls will have been born yet. To solve this, God will perform a miracle where all the scattered spiritual sparks and unborn souls will gather and be born simultaneously from a single holy source. Just as Moses was spiritually equivalent to the entire nation in Egypt, this collective birth will allow the people to be redeemed immediately [אהבת יהונתן].

Ultimately, the miracle of Zion is twofold. She experiences the labor pains for all her children in a single day, and she gives birth to all of them at exactly the same time [מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד]. These are two distinct, simultaneous miracles, rather than just a quick birth following a brief labor [שד״ל]. Because of this miraculous birth, all the children of Zion will leave their places of exile and return home together as one united body, facing no harm or obstacles along their journey [מצודת דוד].