Rebbetzin Chava Kuperman
The prophet Malachi. The exact translation of his name is My Messenger.
Whose name is this?
One opinion holds that he was Mordecai, who lived at the same time. After all, Mordecai is also considered a prophet. Another opinion holds that he was Ezra, who also lived at that time.
Malachi's prophecy says that the Almighty loves us and does not love Esau. Through the prophet, G-d says: if I love you as My children, you should treat Me as a father. When a father loves his son, the son should love and respect his father. If you regard Me as a Master rather than a Father, at least respect Me as a Master.
The prophet says that the Jews are not behaving respectfully enough in the Second Temple. They violate the rules of the Temple service and bring stolen and blemished offerings as sacrifices. The Almighty is angry with them: do you think I need you? The whole world brings Me sacrifices; I do not need your offerings: “For from the rising of the sun to its setting, My name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is burned and a sacrifice is offered in My name, a pure offering, for My name is great among the nations” (chapter 1, verse 11).
At the end of the prophecy (chapter 3, verses 23 and 24), Malachi says:
“I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and fearsome day of the L-rd. He shall turn the hearts of the fathers toward their sons, and the hearts of the sons toward their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with destruction.”
A little earlier, the prophet reveals the nature of this day, which he calls the day of the L-rd (chapter 3, verse 19): “For behold, that day is coming, burning like a furnace; all the arrogant and all who commit wrongdoing will become like straw, and that coming day will burn them up, said the L-rd of Hosts, leaving them neither root nor branch”. And a little earlier still (3; 1-2): “Behold, I am sending My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me… Who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and a launderer's lye…”. Nothing will remain of the wicked; they will burn up, while the righteous, by contrast, will trample the ashes into which the sinners will turn.
This fearsome day is the Day of Great Judgment, when the Almighty Himself will judge us sternly. He will send the prophet Elijah ahead of Him to prepare us and ease the trials we will have to endure.
Interestingly, the prophet Elijah's name is written here as Eliyah, without the letter vav at the end. This spelling occurs five times in the entire Tanakh. And five times we find Jacob's name written with the letter vav. (In all other instances, Jacob is written without this letter.) Jacob, as it were, took the vav from Elijah as a pledge that, when severe trials draw near, Elijah will come to help us mend our ways and support us.
to be continued