Introduction On the Shabbat after Purim or, if Purim falls on Thursday or Friday, on the second Shabbat after Purim, we read the third of the four "Special Parshiyot" as "Maftir": Shekalim, Zachor, Parah, and HaChodesh. The section of the Torah that is read for Parah, is found in Parshat Chukat in BaMidbar (19:1-22), concerning the use of the red heifer (young cow), to derive the "mei chatat," the "waters of purification." On the
Shabbat of Parshat Parah, the accompanying Haftarah is taken from the Book
of Yechezkel (36:16-38), according to the tradition of the Ashkenazic
Community and concluding with verse 36, according to the tradition of the Sephardic
Community. Summary of the Haftarah The theme of
the Haftarah is the Final Redemption of the Jewish People.
The reason given for the Redemption, it is stated explicitly, is not
primarily because the Jewish People will have earned it by their "Teshuvah,"
their Repentance. Rather, it is
because the very fact that the People of G-d have been in Exile for so long
is a "Chilul HaShem," a Desecration or Profanation of G-d's Name. "And when they came unto the nations, wherever
they went, they profaned My Holy Name, in that men said of them, 'These are
the People of the L-rd, and are gone forth out of His Land' " (Yechezkel
36:20).
And RASHI
explains, quoting the Midrash Eichah Rabati, "HaShem
went with them into Exile and He listened, as it were, to what the captors
were saying, 'Behold these are the People of G-d, and He lacks the power to
save them.' " Conversely,
the Redemption is a "Kiddush HaShem," a Sanctification of G-d's
Name. "And I will sanctify My great Name, which has been profaned, that
you (Israel) has profaned…; and the nations shall know that I am the
L-rd… For I will take you
from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and I will
bring you back to your Land" (Yechezkel 36:23-24). And now we
have a clear link to Parshat Parah, when HaShem says "And I will sprinkle pure
water upon you, and you shall be clean; from all your uncleannesses, and
from all your idols, will I cleanse you" (Yechezkel 36:25). The First Heart Transplant The Prophet Yechezkel now utters one of the most powerful and beautiful verses in the Bible, "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stone heart from your body, and I will give you a heart of flesh" (Yechezkel 36:26). I heard from Rabbi Yaacov Haber, quoting Rav Tzaddok HaCohen, that the Jewish People needed the "heart of stone" while they were in Exile, to protect them from going mad from all the tears and all the blood, but at the time of the Redemption, they would no longer need that protection, and their "heart of flesh" could be restored. Redemption Without "Teshuvah?" According to
the RADAK (Rav David Kimchi), it is impossible for this Redemption to occur
without the kindling spark of "Teshuvah" from the People of
Israel. He says "they will
not leave the Exile without repentance."
And he has strong support in the Torah, where in Parshat Nitzavim,
Moshe says, "And you will return unto HaShem, your G-d, and listen to His Voice,…,
you and your children, with all your
heart and all your soul" (Devarim 30:2). And only
"Then HaShem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have
mercy upon you, and He will gather you in from all the nations to which
HaShem, your G-d, has scattered you" (Devarim 30:3). So that when
the Haftarah implied that the Jewish People did not do "Teshuvah,"
it meant only that they
initially "opened their hearts only the size of the eye of a needle,
and HaShem helped them open them to the size of a wagon," in
accordance with the principle that "One who seeks purification, will be
assisted in that direction." A Speculation In the last section of the Haftarah are a number of suggestive verses: "The L-rd G-d says, 'I owe one more thing to the House of Israel, to do it for them, I will increase them with men like a flock. As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed seasons, so shall the once-destroyed cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am the L-rd." (Yechezkel 36:37-38). Is Yechezkel referring here to "Techiyat HaMetim," the Resurrection of the Dead, that will occur at the End of Days? Supporting this idea is the fact that immediately following the Haftarah in the Book of Yechezkel is the account of the Vision of the Valley of Dried Bones. At that
time, Yechezkel is transported to a valley "…filled
with bones. And He caused me to
pass around them and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and
lo, they were very dry. And He
said to me, 'Son of Man, can these bones live?'
And I answered, 'O L-rd G-d, Thou knowest.'
Then He said to me, 'Prophecy over these bones, and say unto them, 'O
you dry bones, hear the word of the L-rd, 'Thus says the L-rd G-d unto these
bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall
live…' " (Yechezkel 37:1-5). Rabbi Pinchas Frankel Rabbi Frankel is an Educational C oordinator at the OU |
