(Devarim, Ibid.) "a crooked and twisted generation": Moses hereby says to Israel: You are crooked and twisted. You are fit only for the flame! An analogy: One has a twisted staff in his hand. He gives it to a craftsman to repair. (If he can) he repairs it by hand. If not, he straightens it with a press; if not, he shapes it with an adze; if not — he consigns it to the flames! And thus does Scripture state (Ezekiel 21:36-37) "I will place you in the hands of brutish men, artisans of destruction. You will be consigned to the flames!"