וְּאֶתְּ כֶם אֱז רֶ ה בַגּוֹּיִם וַהֲרִ יקֹּתִ י אַחֲרֵּ יכֶם ח רֶ ב וְּה יְּת ה אַרְּ צְּכֶ ויְּהִי םֶכיֵּר עְּו ה מ מְּ ש םחרְּ בּ ה. ֶר א ה הֶצְּרִ ת ז אץ אֶת ש ַבְּּתֹּתֶיה כֹּּל יְּמֵּי הה מַ ש...
I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you; and your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste: Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths, as long as it lies desolate...
The Ohr Hachaim explains this possuk with the words of the Gemara (Kesuvos 111a). The Gemara says, Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Chanina, said, why are these three oaths (Shir Hashirim 2:7, 3:5, 8:4) needed? What do they teach us? One is that the Jews should not ascend to Eretz Yisrael as a wall, but little by little. Another one was, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu adjured the Jews that they should not rebel against the rule of the nations of the world. And the last one is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded the nations of the world that they should not subjugate the Jews excessively.
When we went into exile, Hashem warned of three things; 1) we should not try to recapture the land of Israel by force of arms; 2) we should not start a rebellion against our host countries while in exile. 3) Hashem also made the nations swear that they would not oppress the Jews excessively.
This possuk alludes to two of these things. The word אזרה alludes to the oath not to try and recapture the land of Israel by force. We are to be spread among the nations of the world, and we should not attempt to redeem ourselves. The word בגוים refers to the oath not to start a rebellion against the host countries. We must live among them and under them.
The words והריקותי אחריכם חרב - I will draw out the sword after you, is an allusion to the punishment the Gemara threatens us if we do not abide by these oaths and attempt to leave the exile on our own. The Gemara there continues, בִצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְאַּׁיְלוֹת הַּׁשָדֶה - I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and by the hinds of the field. Rabbi Elazar said: Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to the Jewish people: If you fulfill the oath, it is good, and if not, I will abandon your flesh and all will devour you like the gazelles and like the hinds of the field.
The possuk continues וַּׁהֲרִ יקֹתִי אַּׁחֲרֵיכֶם חָרֶב – and I shall draw out the sword after you. If we do not accept this punishment from Hashem, He will repay us with this terrible punishment of Hashem’s sword.
The Torah then continues with the explanation of why Hashem threatens us with such a punishment.
The land needs to be desolate, וְהָיְתָה אַּׁרְ צְכֶם שְמָמָה, and that is only if Klal Yisroel leave and make sure Eretz Yisroel is desolate.
This is because Hashem wishes to repair the aveira that we did. אָ ז תִרְ צֶה הָאָרֶץ אֶת שַּׁבְתֹתֶיהָ – only then will the land enjoy its Shemitta, only then will it rest for the time that it was supposed to do so. This is the reason we are so strictly forbidden to rebel against the decree of exile that was placed upon us. We must help the land repair itself from the damage that we caused by not keeping Shemitta when we were supposed to...
