Vayeitzei: The Roar of Redemption
We usually think of a lion’s roar as something frightening — a sound that makes you recoil, not gather. So why does the Navi describe Hashem’s call to redemption as the roar of a lion? Wouldn’t that push us away?
The Radak reframes the entire image. A lion’s roar does not only scatter; in the animal world, but it also draws the creatures toward him, because he is king. כְּאַרְיֵה יִשְׁאַג, He will roar like a lion - just as the lion’s roar asserts authority and gathers the animals, so Hashem’s roar is the sound that gathers His people. It is the voice that reminds us of who leads us, who watches us, who calls us home. The Radak explains that this roar comes through a moment of revelation — through a prophet, a sign, or a wonder that breaks through the noise of exile and says: Return.
The Malbim deepens this image. He distinguishes between two kinds of Divine roar. In exile, Hashem does not roar with His full, overwhelming Divine voice — kol Elokim — because we could not withstand it. Instead, He “roars like a lion”: He clothes Himself in the events of history, guiding us through natural means, bending the hearts of kings, softening decrees, and preserving us through hidden providence. It sounds like the roar of empires, but beneath it is the quiet Voice of Hashem.
But, says the Malbim, a time will come when that hidden roar gives way to the true roar — the unmistakable voice of Hashem performing wonders “כִּימֵי קֶדֶם.” In that moment, וְחָרְדוּ בָנִים מִיָּם, even the children of the West, scattered far from the land, will tremble not in fear but in recognition. They will hurry toward the call they have been waiting to hear.
Together, the Radak and Malbim reshape our understanding. Hashem’s roar is often hidden, softened, disguised in the noise of history. But the day will come when that quiet, protective roar becomes the full, unmistakable Divine voice. At that moment, even those scattered far away will tremble — not in fear, but in recognition — and will hurry toward Him.
The roar is not a sound that drives us off. It is a sound that calls us home.