[Ashkenazim:
Yechezkel 36:16-33
Yemenite
Jews/Sefardim: Yechezkel 36:16-36]
"And I will sanctify My great
name that was desecrated among the nations, that you desecrated among
them. Then the nations will know that I
am Hashem" (Yechezkel 36:23).
Our Haftarah is a special one, and
is related to the additional Torah reading called "Parah." This portion deals with the "Parah
Adumah" - the Red Heifer that is designated to rid us of all impurity
incurred by contact with the dead. Its
theme of purification explains why we read this portion in the weeks leading up
to Pesach: after all, the holiday itself, and its requirement to visit the
Temple, obligate us to purify ourselves. The purification described in this Haftarah,
however, does not pertain to the individual, but rather to the entire Nation,
at the conclusion of the Exile, when it truly needs it.
"And the word of Hashem came
to me, saying: Son of man, the House of Israel, as long as they lived on their
own Land, they defiled it by their way and by their misdeeds; like the
uncleanness of a woman in the period of her separation was their way before
Me" (ibid. 16-17). As is known, the
Nation of Israel was mired in the most severe sins: idol worship, illicit
sexual relations, and murder – sins that require a radical transformation, i.e.
exile. "I poured out My wrath upon
them for the blood that they had shed in the Land and because they had defiled
it with their idols. And I scattered
them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the lands. According to their way and their misdeeds did
I judge them" (ibid. v. 18-19).
Since we were unable to act as a Holy Nation, we were cast out among the
nations of the world. But a severe
problem, no less hideous than the one which caused the destruction, arose while
we were in exile.
"And they entered the nations
where they came, and they desecrated My Holy Name" (ibid. v. 20). What type of desecration of Hashem's Name are
we discussing? Didn't the Nation of
Israel reach the ultimate of desecrating Hashem's Name while performing those
horrible sins? This desecration was
something else, which the verse specifies: "It was said of them: These are
the Nation of Hashem, and they have come out of His Land" (ibid.).
Humanity well knows that the
Nation of Israel is the Chosen Nation and that the Land of Israel belongs to
them. But things have gone awry: instead
of being master of its Land, the Nation of Israel became a wandering and
outcast Nation. It is an unbearable
national failure. "But I had pity
on My Holy Name, which the House of Israel had desecrated among the nations to
which they had come" (ibid. v. 21).
The entire purpose of Creation is sanctifying Hashem, who brought down
his Divine Presence from the supreme worlds to the lower worlds in order to
reside in them and illuminate them through the Nation of Israel. And yet this eternal plan directed the Nation
of Israel to be temporarily located outside of its Land.
"So says Hashem G-d: Not for
your sake do I do this, House of Israel, but for My Holy Name, which you have
profaned among the nations to which they have come" (ibid. v. 22). Hashem acts in this way not for Israel's sake
but in order to sanctify His Great Name: "And I will sanctify My Great
Name, which was profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their
midst, and the nations will know that I am Hashem, so says Hashem G-d, when I
will be sanctified through you before their eyes" (ibid. v. 23). It was (and is) incumbent upon us to sanctify
Hashem's name, but we betrayed our mission. So Hashem took the mission upon
Himself. But did He repair this terrible
affront to His Holy Name? "For I
will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the lands, and I
will bring you to your Land" (ibid. v. 24). The ingathering of the exiles, the revival of
the Nation of Israel in its Land and returning to nationhood is the great
sanctification of Hashem’s name. In this
way, everything returns to its proper order, according to the Divine plan. But it is not a redemption that occurs
because the Nation of Israel merits it.
"And I will sprinkle pure
water upon you, and you will be purified from all your impurities; and from all
your abominations, I will purify you" (ibid. v. 25). A Jew who makes aliyah is not necessarily
pure, but he will become pure. This idea
is contrary to the view of some Rabbis that the purification of the Nation of
Israel must precede their return to Eretz Yisrael. The prophet Yechezkel teaches us, in the Name
of Hashem, the exact opposite. The Exile
is a desecration of Hashem's Name and not a place for purification. Purification can only occur in Eretz Yisrael.
"And I will give you a new
heart, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the heart
of stone from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh" (ibid. v.
26). Even some Jews who make aliyah will
have a heart of stone, but they will receive a heart of flesh when they root
themselves in the Land. The spiritual
revival of the Nation will follow the national revival, according to the Divine
blueprint. "And I will put My
spirit within you and bring it about that you will walk in My statutes and you
will keep My ordinances and do [them]" (ibid. v. 27). The performance of the Mitzvot comes at a much
later stage in the purification of the Nation of Israel. It is caused by the
purifying waters and the heart of flesh.
And in order to make it completely
clear that our Redemption is not dependent upon our merits and repentance,
Yechezkel emphasized: "And you shall remember your evil ways and your
deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own eyes on
account of your sins and on account of your abominations. Not for your sake do I do it, says Hashem
G-d, may it be known to you, be embarrassed and ashamed for your ways, House of
Israel" (ibid. v. 31-32).
Yechezkel transmitted to us a
precise plan for the Redemption and the revival of the Nation of Israel. According to this Divine blueprint, the
Nation of Israel will first return to its Land, and only then experience,
little by little, an ethical, spiritual, and religious purification. The Master of the Universe guides the
purification of the Nation of Israel, first removing us from the impurity of
Exile, and next renewing our body, heart and spirit. Only then are we ready to fulfill the Torah's
mitzvot.
Just as the first part of
Yechezkel's prophecy is coming true before our eyes, i.e. the return of the
Nation of Israel to its Land, so too is a new idealistic, ethical, and
spiritual spirit manifesting itself in our time. We must not despair that the process is a
slow one. It will be perfected in later stages of our Salvation, and it will
lead us to complete and supreme unity with Hashem and His Torah.
