<<UPON THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE LAND>>: Rabbi Moshe Eisemann (ArtScroll: "Yechezkiel") shows that the Commentators proved this has a double meaning: On one level it referred to the Land of Israel apparently at the time of the Babylonian Exile. On another level it refers to the whole world, possibly in the near future.

<<RECOMPENSE UPON THEE ALL THINE ABOMINATIONS>>: The Commentary "Daat Mikra" (Yechiel Tzvi Moshkovitz) quotes Luzatto that this can be interpreted as saying that the evil deeds a person does become the very means through which he receives punishment.

<<FOR THE SELLER SHALL NOT RETURN TO THAT WHICH IS SOLD>>: IN those times a person would sell his ancestral holding and be able to redeem it later and at the very last in the Jubilee Year (every fifty years) he would receive it back. Now this was not to be. They were about to be exiled and the Jubilee would no longer be practiced.

Money will no longer help them. They will not be able to ransom themselves or purchase alleviation for their suffering.

They disgraced the Temple by inserting pagan instruments within it. Therefore the Divine Presence that they could once connect to through the Temple will be distanced from them.

The Temple will be polluted by foreigners. This means that even if they then ewant to repent and return to the Almighty it will be much more difficult to do so. It will be as if God will turn away from them. They turned away from God and diluted the purity of His worship and therefore when they need Him it will be as if He distanced Himself from them.

Eisemann points out the Divine Presence is always on the site of the Temple. No where does Scripture say that this is not so. It merely says that due to our sins our means of access are limited. On the one hand God turns His face away from us. On the other hand He is still there.

<<MAKE A CHAIN>>: They will be taken into exile in chains. It is as if through bloody crimes and violence they create the very chains that will be put on them to take them into captivity.

<<THE WORST OF THE HEATHEN>>: Some non-Israelites are quite civilized and decent but when God punishes us He will bring the worst of them upon us. The above verse could also be translated thusly:<<I will bring the worst of the Gentiles and they shall inherit their houses and I will cause to cease the pride of the bravemen and they shall inherit their holy places>> i.e. the worst of the gentiles shall come and take the houses of the Israelites whose bravemen will be broken. The holy places of the Israelites will be bequeathed to the worst of the Gentiles. This is the case today to a degree. The Palestinians are pretty much the worst of the gentiles and they have effective control of the Temple Mount and other places holy to Israel.Despite the impression you may receive in the media things in the State of Israel are now far better than they were a short while ago. Under the leadership of Barak (before the time of Sharon) and those who went before
him we had the feeling of impending disaster, of complete disgrace, and national impotency. God has helped u and shown us that it is possible to make things better. On the other hand the situation is still bad and it could get worse. We must do the best we can and take note of who our friends are and learn what the Almighty expects of us. Whatever our faults and shortcomings the Brit-Am doctrine and understanding on the whole has stood the test of reality more than any alternative. We may not have complete answers but we do have a path to go in.

There may come a time when we will not be able to learn and teach and the answers not be available. We should endeavor to do as much as we can, while we can.