Haftarah Helper for Shabbat Chol Hamoed Pesach

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Ezekiel 36:37-37:14

Exiled to Babylon with King Jechoniah of Judah in 597 BCE, Ezekiel prophesied destruction upon his own people and other nations for seven years. These prophecies comprise the majority of his book. Ezekiel’s prophecies after the destruction of the Temple blend rebuke, comfort and startling visions of redemption; they form the final third of his book. This Haftarah and the Haftarot of Parashat Vayigash, Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot, and Shabbat Parah are taken from Chapters 33-39. They address the exiled nation, their concerns about God leaving them, and their future redemption. Chapters 40-48 continue this theme with a grand vision of a new Temple.

The Haftarah opens as Ezekiel prophesies that Israel’s dwindling population will become as numerous as the flocks of animals brought to the Temple on holidays, such as Passover. Ezekiel then reports that God whisked him to a faraway valley. God shows him around this valley, and within it, he sees that it is filled with desiccated bones. God asks Ezekiel if these bones will live again, and Ezekiel responds that only God knows if that will occur.

Immediately after this, God commands Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones, that they will be revived and given flesh once more. As Ezekiel finishes doing so, the bones noisily join back together and regrow their muscle and skin. However, they do not yet live again. God again commands Ezekiel to prophesy to the four winds, which He commands to enter into the lifeless bodies to give them the breath of life. After they do so, God explains to Ezekiel that this massive army of resurrected individuals is the exiled people of Israel, who thought that God had cut them off from Him. In response, God exclaims that he will take Israel out of their exilic graves, revive them, and return them to the Land of Israel. In doing so, and in appreciation of all that had been done throughout this prophecy, Ezekiel, the revived army, and the people of Israel will appreciate that God fulfills His promises.

Much like the Exodus centuries earlier, this redemption will unite God and His people, redeem them from “death” in a foreign land, and return them to the Land of Israel. 

Haftarah Breakdown

Verses 36:37-38: God will transform Israel’s small population into a ‘flock of people’ as numerous as the flocks of animals sacrificed on holidays in the Temple in Jerusalem. This vast populace will fill the Land’s destroyed cities.

Verses 37:1-3: Ezekiel reports that God brought him to a valley full of very dry bones, and showed them to him. God asked Ezekiel whether these bones can live again.  Ezekiel replies that only God knows that.

Verses 37:4-8: God commands Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones: God will make them live and breathe again by giving them tendons, flesh, and skin. After completing this prophecy, Ezekiel sees and hears the bones noisily join together, as well as the formation of their bodies. They do not breathe, however.

Verses 37:9-11: God commands Ezekiel to prophesy to the wind, to come from all four directions to fill the slain (dead) bodies with breath so they will live. After the wind does so, a vast army of resuscitated people stands upon their feet. God tells Ezekiel that they are Israelites who thought they were dead, cut off, and without hope.

Verses 37:12-14: God commands Ezekiel to tell His people that He will open their exilic graves, transport them to the Land of Israel, and revive them there with His spirit. They will then know God fulfilled His promise to them.

Connections

The second stanza of Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, reverses the groan of the exiled Israel in 37:11.

The Talmud records a dispute about whether the Haftarah records a historical event or a prophetic vision.