"Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power" (Exodus 15:6). The rabbis tracked the right hand of God through every book of scripture and found the same pattern everywhere: when the right hand appears, it shields Israel. It does not hold weapons. It holds people.
Aggadat Bereshit uses a parable: a king's son had a personal guardian from birth — someone who conducted business on his behalf, who interceded with the king, who smoothed every path. Eventually the king appointed the guardian to official position, but the prince said: "Let me conduct my own business." The father replied, "I cannot take away your guardian — but I will also be at your side." The guardian and the king together. This is Israel's double protection.
The psalm's image — "Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies your footstool" (Psalm 110:1) — is read not as a military promise but as a posture. To sit at God's right hand is to be positioned where no enemy can reach you without first going through God. David understood this. Abraham understood it before him. The right hand doesn't strike — it holds. And what it holds, it does not drop. The rabbis quoted this promise back to God in every generation of exile: You said Your right hand would not lose its grip. We are waiting for You to remember what Your right hand is holding.
Chapter 23: Prophets [1] "And you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked" (Malachi 3:18), "and you shall see and your heart shall rejoice" (Isaiah 66:14). What does the heart have to see and rejoice in? They see the good that is prepared for the righteous and are joyful, as it says "and you shall see" (Isaiah 66:14), which is what is written, "No eye has seen" (Isaiah 64:3), but at that time "you shall see and your heart shall rejoice." Alternatively, "and you shall see" refers to the judgment of the wicked in Gehinnom, and they rejoice that they are not with them, as it says "and they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses" (Isaiah 66:24), and at that time "you shall see and your heart shall rejoice." Alternatively, they see the Messiah who will sprout from the roots of Rome, and they rejoice, as Daniel says "and I saw in the visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like unto a son of man" (Daniel 7:13), and at that time "you shall see and your heart shall rejoice." [2] Another interpretation: "And you shall return and distinguish between the righteous and the wicked" (Malachi 3:18), and "And you shall see and your heart shall rejoice" (Isaiah 66:14). What do we have to see and be happy about in this world, when we do not have a prophet or the Holy Spirit, as it is said: "We have not seen our signs; there is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long" (Psalm 74:9). Furthermore, even the divine presence is hidden from us because of our sins, as it is said: "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God" (Isaiah 59:2). However, in the future, it will be revealed to us, as it is said: "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together" (Isaiah 40:5), and we will see it, as it is said: "For they shall see eye to eye" (Isaiah 52:8). Therefore, it is said: "And you shall see." [3] Another interpretation: "And you shall see and your heart shall rejoice" (Isaiah 66:14). It should have said, "your heart," not "your hearts." Rabbi Acha said: "This is because one heart is left intact, and the Holy One, blessed be He, uproots the evil inclination from the heart, as it is said: ' I will remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh' (Ezekiel 11:19), and leaves them with the good inclination [edit. I will give them one heart and put a new spirit in them (ibid.)], as it is said: 'And I will give them a heart of flesh' (Ezekiel 11:19), and this is the joy of the good inclination, which has no antidote [i.e. the evil inclination cannot oppose it] (according to the explanation of his disputant). Therefore, it is said: "and you shall see it and rejoice in your heart." (Berachot 61b:2) [4] Another explanation: "And you shall see" - once they see the Divine Presence, they rejoice and are happy, and their bodies become great and fruitful, as it says, "And your bones shall flourish like grass" (Isaiah 66:14). Another explanation: "Your bones shall flourish like grass." (Isaiah 66:14) This is as it says, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary" (Isaiah 40:28). There is no fatigue before the Holy One, blessed be He, except in the act of speech, for it was by speech that God created this world, and it is through speech that He will renew it in the World to Come. As it is written, "And God said, 'Let the earth sprout forth'...and the earth brought forth vegetation" (Genesis 1:11-12). Immediately the earth brought forth fruit. So too, in the future, God will say a word, and immediately everything will be done. Therefore it says, "Your bones shall flourish like grass, and the hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, and He will be angry with His enemies" (Isaiah 66:14). "It is like a parable of harlots who said to wheat, 'We are more beautiful than you because rain falls for us and for you, and the sun shines on both of us.' The wheat replied, 'Not because of what you say, and not because of what we say, but because the one who sows comes and separates us, storing us in the granary, and you for the birds to eat.'(Mishnat Eretz Yisrael on Mishnah Kilayim 1:1:2) So too, the idolaters and Israel are mixed together in the world, as it is said, 'And they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another' (Daniel 2:43), and it says, 'And they shall learn their works' (Psalms 106:35)." And similarly, they say to the Israelites: "We are better off than you because the sun shines on us and on you." The Israelites replied, "Not what you say and not what we say, but the day will come when you will know that the righteous will be brought into Gan Eden and the wicked into Gehinnom, as it is said: 'And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to eternal life, and some to shame, to eternal contempt' (Daniel 12:2)." Therefore it is said, "And the hand of the Lord will be known, etc." (Isaiah 66:14). At that moment you will repent and see for yourselves. [5] Another explanation: "And you shall return and see. Everything is as it is for everyone [the same fate for the righteous and the wicked etc.] (Ecclesiastes 9:2), but in the future world, a distinction will be made between them, like a king who enters a city and with him enter dukes and princes, and they all enter with him, and the chief jailer (or warden) enters after him. Although they all enter through one gate, as soon as they enter, the king separates between them. The king goes to his palace, the dukes go to their palaces, the generals go to their homes, and the chief jailer goes to his prison, so too in this world, they all enter through one gate, the righteous and the wicked alike, the same fate for the righteous and the wicked (Ecclesiastes 9:2)." But in the future, the righteous will enter the Garden of Eden, as it is said "This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it." (Psalms 118:20) and similarly, David says "I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalms 116:9) This refers to the Garden of Eden. It is as if the Lord is walking with you, as it is said "And I will walk among you." (Leviticus 26:12) However, the wicked will be punished in Gehenna, as it is said "Utter darkness waits for his treasured ones; A fire fanned by no man will consume him;" (Job 20:26) And you shall come to see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, [between him who has served God and him who has not served Him.] (Malachi 3:18)
