“Cause dread and terror to fall on them (the chiefs of Edom, the strong men of Mo’av and the inhabitants of Cana’an), with the greatness of Your arm cause them to be silent.” (15:16)
Rashi cites Targum Unklus, who explains that the double expression refers to the miracles that took place when they crossed first the River Arnon and then the Jordan River.
The following Pasuk then flows beautifully, as it talks about bringing Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael and building the Beis Ha’Mikdash (one of the rare places where the Torah actually refers to the Beis Ha’Mikdash by name).
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According to Chazal in Sotah (36a) however, the double expression refers to the two entries into Eretz Yisrael, the first with Yehoshua, the second, with Ezra. Perhaps, as the Maharsha explain there, Chazal declined to accept Unklus’ explanation, because Yisrael did not actually cross the River Arnon. In any event, the Gemara in Sotah, commenting on the Pasuk “Cause dread and terror to fall on them”, describes how when Yisrael crossed the Yarden, there wasn’t a soul who could stand up to them, and that whoever chose to fight them was doomed.
Then, in connection with the double expression, they add that Yisrael were destined to experience the same sort of miracles when they entered the Land the second time with Ezra, following the Exodus from Bavel.
But this is not what happened. Upon their return from Bavel, they suffered endless hardships, with enemies from within as well as enemies from without. And it even reached a point where they were forced to build the walls with one hand, whilst, constantly afraid of attack, holding their swords in the other.
This deviation from the original prophecy, say Chazal, was due to their sins. Although there are various ways of explaining what Chazal mean by this, the Oznayim la’Torah observes that, whereas Yisrael left Egypt on the merit of the righteous women of that generation, they left Bavel with non-Jewish wives. This explanation will also help to explain why G-d’s Name appears in the first phrase (“until Your people have passed, oh G-d”), but not in the second (“until this nation that You acquired has passed”), as the Meshech Chochmah explains. Because, due to their sins, (particularly the sin of immoral conduct, which tends to drive it away), the Shechinah was not with them. Nor would the Shechinah, which was with them in the first Beis-Ha’Mikdash, be with them throughout the duration of the second Beis-Ha’Mikdash, as Chazal taught in Yuma.
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What remains difficult however, is why the Torah does not add a hint regarding the most significant homecoming of them all – namely, the third Beis Ha’Mikdash, the one which we impatiently await today?
Perhaps, according to the current interpretation of the Pasuk, it does. Perhaps the Pasuk that follows (15:17) “Bring them and establish them in the mountain of Your inheritance … “ hints at the third homecoming. Rashi in Yechezkel points out that in reality, Yechezkel’s detailed description of the Beis-Ha’Mikdash was intended to pertain to the second Beis-Ha’Mikdash, which was meant to have been built permanently. Indeed, at the time when the prophecy was said, the second Beis-Ha’Mikdash had not yet been built, and this is its obvious interpretation. Only, on account of their sins, it was not to be. Consequently, the second Beis-Ha’Mikdash was built along the lines of the first, and Yechezkel’s prophecy was postponed and would pertain to the third and final one.
In that case, perhaps we can solve our problem in the same way. The two homecomings were meant to pertain to our entry into Eretz Yisrael from Egypt and Bavel respectively. However, due to our sins, that did not work out. Consequently, the second homecoming (which is compared to the first), will take place at a later stage – upon our return from Galus Edom, as the Navi Michah writes (7:15) “Like the days of your Exodus from Egypt, I will show you wonders”. May we witness the fulfillment of this prophecy soon!
