"Therefore prophesy, and say to them: So says Hashem Elokim: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you out of your graves, My people, and bring you into the land of Israel." So He tells him: prophesy over them and tell them that they are destined to live, to live again. Tell them that the situation they see now is only temporary. In the future the situation will return to what it was. Then He tells them: first of all, this whole prophecy has two meanings. One meaning comes to say that there will be resurrection of the dead. People think that once they die there is no more standing up again, so this is the plain meaning of the prophecy: the dead are destined to be revived. There is an additional meaning that is more in the nature of a parable, and then the meaning is that the nation as a whole will rise and live again. This exiled nation, the scattered nation, the nation crushed and downtrodden in its exile, will return again and become a kingdom, and there will be officers, and this body will return to function as a whole and living body. This is the second meaning of the prophecy. Now Chazal say about the dead who are outside the land of Israel, there is a dispute whether the dead who are outside the land will rise there in the diaspora and come here on their feet, or whether there will be a rolling through tunnels, coming through tunnels beneath the ground, like the tunnels that Hamas digs beneath the Green Line, they will come like that through tunnels and arrive here and rise here in the land of Israel. What? This applies to those who died in the wilderness. All those who were in the wilderness, you are correct, it is written that Moshe Rabbeinu will be at their head. Very nice, this is a dispute among Chazal. What does this mean? This is one opinion, it is a dispute among Chazal. And there is an interesting point here in this chapter: the Radak infers from this verse, from the verses written here, that the rising and the revival will take place there and they will come here on their feet, like this opinion. And the Malbim infers from these very verses the opposite. This shows us that in fact both opinions brought in Chazal have a source in the verses. I will show this shortly. That is, there will be a rolling through tunnels. From these verses he infers like the second opinion. The Malbim infers that there will be a rolling through tunnels. That is, both these verses are true. In fact we have a principle in hand that there is really no dispute among Chazal, and particularly not in matters of aggadah. And even if you see a dispute, it means that there is this aspect and there is that aspect. That is, it is possible that there will be righteous people who will merit it through the rolling of tunnels, and it is possible that there will be others who will not. Or it will depend on the state of the people of Israel. If the level of the people of Israel is high, it will be through rolling of tunnels; if not, they will rise and go on their feet. Both aspects are true, so as not to see in this a contradiction, or in the fact that there are two opinions. And from the verses, indeed, both these opinions find expression. How? The Radak says: look, from the verses it is implied that they will rise outside the land. How do you see this? It is written here in the verse: "Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you out of your graves," and afterward it is written: "and bring you into the land of Israel." Opening, raising, and then bringing you into the land of Israel. According to the second approach He would not need to open and raise; it should have been: and I will bring you into the land of Israel and open your graves and raise you, taking them out of the ground here. Right? For here the Radak says: you see that the way will be like this. In contrast, the Malbim does not learn this way. The Malbim says: "and bring you into the land of Israel," and afterward "I will put My spirit in you, and you shall live." He infers from the verses that follow. "And you shall know that I am Hashem, when I have opened your graves, and raised you out of your graves, My people," and afterward "I will put My spirit in you, and you shall live." This is already after they are in the land of Israel. I will read the order of the verses again. Again: "Therefore prophesy, and say to them: So says Hashem Elokim: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you out of your graves, My people, and bring you into the land of Israel." From here it is inferred like the Radak, right? No, this is without tunnels. Opening, raising, and then bringing you into the land of Israel. The Radak says: from here we see that after they come out they will come. Right? Without a rolling of tunnels. The Malbim says: but there is a continuation. "And you shall know that I am Hashem, when I have opened your graves, and raised you out of your graves, My people," the next verse: "and I shall put My spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land." When will the spirit come into them? Only when they arrive here, right? Only when they arrive here. For two verses earlier it already says "and bring you into the land of Israel." And after two verses it says: I put the spirit in you. So how was that "and bring"? It must be through a rolling of tunnels, because they cannot walk without a spirit. So from here the Malbim says: I infer the opposite of what the Radak says. That indeed "and bring you into the land of Israel" will be through a rolling of tunnels, and afterward "I put the spirit in you" is already when you are here in the land.
Notice, there is an interesting point here. In the wording of the verse it is written: "Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you out of your graves, My people." Why is it not written at the beginning "Behold, I will open your graves, My people, and raise you out of your graves"? Why does "My people" appear only at the end? The Malbim says: from here you learn that there will be two groups. There will be one group that He opens your graves, and a second group that "I raise you out of your graves, My people." Chazal say that rising to eternal life will be only for the righteous. The wicked will not merit to rise at the resurrection of the dead. Therefore He says first "when I have opened your graves," and afterward "and when I have raised you out of your graves, My people," this is already for the righteous. This is "My people," they will merit to rise from the grave and to remain in existence. In contrast, those others, why will they rise? It is written thus: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence." That is, the opening of the grave will take place in any case. These will rise to everlasting life, and for the second group their rising is only so that they will have reproaches and everlasting abhorrence, that they will say that they saw all this and understood only then what they lost. And they will return to it. And the soul is never lost, so this pain will accompany them to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence. Yes, that they did not know, and they will then understand how foolish they were when they did not do the will of Hashem. And then it will already be too late.
Now, when we speak here, we explained that there is also a concept of a parable here. And the parable is about the nation as a whole. And regarding this the Malbim says: the nation as a whole is like dry bones, he says they feel as if in a grave. It is finished, our hope is lost. Only a dead person loses his hope, right? So he says: when a person is ill there is hope, perhaps he will recover. When he is dead, it is over. What remains is to say Kaddish. So He says: know that "when I have opened your graves, My people," that is, the servitude you have now, the siege and the distress, the suffering you endure from the enemies, the exile, this is servitude, this is a grave in which you are, I will open this grave and you will rise from those graves. As we explained here about the life of the nation as a whole, this parable comes to say that they will come out of that siege and distress and return to the land of Israel, and there in the land of Israel they will merit that kingship will return to them.
"And you shall know that I am Hashem, when I have opened your graves, and raised you out of your graves, My people." "And you shall know that I am Hashem," what is meant? The opening of the grave and bringing the dead out of it and the ascent to the land, all this is something unnatural. It is a miraculous thing, in the category of wonder of wonders. Although I assure you that after two or three days of the resurrection of the dead everyone would already be used to it, and then we would ask: tell me, did that one already rise or not? Yes, it would already be a natural thing for us, but at the initial stage no; it is possible it will not happen in a single moment, but let us picture that it will not be in one moment, then it would be so ordinary that you understand even the television would not come to film it. It would no longer be interesting, understand? It would just be, I do not know, there would be some network broadcasting each day who rose today, yes. Then CNN would already be there, no.
"And I shall put My spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; and you shall know that I, Hashem, have spoken it and done it, says Hashem." He tells them: then I will put My spirit in you. What is "My spirit"? According to the Radak, since you say that they are already walking, they have come to the land of Israel, then what is "I shall put My spirit"? Only when they arrive here will there be spirit in them? Did they walk dead? The Radak says: no, the "My spirit" mentioned here does not mean the soul, it is the spirit of intellect. It means understanding, knowledge, as it is written: "and the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Hashem, as the waters cover the sea." So this is "I shall put My spirit," thus the Radak explains, not meaning the spirit of breath, for that they already received the moment they rose from the grave. And this is what he says: "for I, Hashem, have spoken it and done it, says Hashem." The Malbim asks: what is "have spoken it and done it, says Hashem"? What did we see that You did? What is the meaning of "and you shall know that I, Hashem, have spoken it and done it, says Hashem"? Thus Hashem says to the prophet. He says: and you shall know that I, Hashem, have spoken it and done it, says Hashem. Everyone sees that He did it. Rather, no: I spoke that you are destined to be revived, and I already did it in the time of Yechezkel. So from the fact that I did it in the time of Yechezkel you can surely understand that the future too holds such a thing in store, for if Hashem, who did it then, says that it is destined to be, then "I have spoken it and also done it, says Hashem." And then you should already have known back then that I am Hashem, but then, when it actually happens, "and you shall know that I am Hashem," as I spoke and did in the past, behold it is being realized before your eyes.
"The word of Hashem came to me, saying." [silence] After Hashem described to the prophet how the bones would live, how the spirit would return, how the people would return to the rule of kingship, now Hashem will describe to him how the rule of kingship will be in that period. After the resurrection of the dead. An era the like of which has never been. "And you, son of man, take one stick and write upon it: For Yehudah and for the children of Israel his companions; and take one stick and write upon it: For Yosef, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel his companions." The Holy One, blessed be He, tells him: now I command you an additional command, which, as we said, is a continuation of the first prophecy. Take one stick, write upon it: For Yehudah and for the children of Israel his companions. That will be written on that stick. A piece of wood: for Yehudah and for the children of Israel his companions. Who are these children of Israel, the companions of Yehudah? Binyamin. Binyamin, these are the children of Israel, the sons of Israel, companions of Yehudah. And on the second you write: For Yosef, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel his companions. Who are the companions of the house of Ephraim, of Yosef? The rest of the ten tribes. Why does He call them Yosef? Could He not call them by the name of another tribe? Why specifically by Yosef's name? No. Well. Very good. When the kingdom split, who were the two heads? Rechavam, Rechavam son of Shlomo, from Yehudah, yes, and Yerovam who was from the tribe of Yosef. Yerovam ben Nevat was from the tribe of Yosef, right? He was from Menashe. So here we see, from Ephraim. Here we see that the kingdom split, with Yosef at the head of ten tribes and Yehudah at the head of two tribes. Now, on them He writes thus: for Yehudah and for the children of Israel his companions, this is on one stick; on the second He writes: for Yosef, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel his companions. This He writes on one stick, this He writes on a second stick. What does he do with them? He does not yet tell him.
"And bring them near, one to the other, into one stick, and they shall become one in your hand." He tells him: bring them near one to the other and they shall become one stick, turn them so that they become one stick, that is, when you hold them, then miraculously "they shall become one in your hand." They will cling together. Those that were separate will cling together. "And when the children of your people speak to you, saying: Will you not tell us what these mean to you?" When you do this before the eyes of the children of your people, I want them to ask you: what do these mean to you? That is, what is this miracle? For Hashem does not perform a miracle for nothing. And here He performed a miracle that you took two sticks and they became one stick in your hands, so surely there is some sign in this, there is here a sign and a wonder. Tell us what these mean to you? "Speak to them: So says Hashem Elokim: Behold, I take the stick of Yosef, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will put them with it, with the stick of Yehudah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand." Here He speaks of the kingdom of David that is destined to arise. Now, to explain this we need a short introduction. As is known, there is Mashiach ben Yosef and there is Mashiach ben David. In the blessing of "Builder of Yerushalayim" what do we request? "Dwell within Yerushalayim Your city as You have spoken, and set up within it soon the throne of David Your servant, and build it, an eternal building, speedily in our days," and then we say "Blessed are You, Hashem, Builder of Yerushalayim." The Ari HaKadosh says: when you say this you must have in mind that Mashiach ben Yosef should not die at the hand of Armilus the wicked. Thus says the Ari HaKadosh. Who was supposed to be Mashiach ben Yosef, in truth? It was the Ari HaKadosh himself. He was supposed to be Mashiach ben Yosef. And when he told this to his students he actually meant himself, that he should not die at a young age, and he died at a young age, and through this we would have merited the redemption. So he told them to have this in mind. Now in any case one must have this in mind, for it is written that Mashiach ben Yosef is destined to die if there are no merits for the people of Israel, he is destined to die. But what is the meaning of Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David? Why do we need two? One Ashkenazi and one Sephardi? Why do we need this? Someone told me that someone told him that Mashiach will surely be Sephardi. I asked him: how do you know? So he says to me: do you know an Ashkenazi named Mashiach? And ben David besides? Do you know an Ashkenazi ben David? I told him: it is surely Sephardi. Once everyone was Sephardi, because where did they come from? They came from Charan, they came from the area of Iraq. Yes. Someone once told me that the best is like the Persians request, they say "and may Mashiach draw near." He says it does not matter to them who Mashiach will be, whoever he is, may Mashiach draw near. Yes. May my Mashiach draw near, that is how they are, whoever it will be. So they do not tell you this is that Rebbe, this is that Admor, it is whoever is acceptable to us. Yes. Just let him come. So indeed, what is the need for two Mashiachs? What, one meat and one dairy? Why do we need two? Why is it not good to have one? That would be better, there would be no disputes, no quarrels, why do we need two Mashiachs? No, it is written two. Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. Both will come, certainly. So what is the meaning? Indeed Chazal say that the initial redemption will be carried out through Mashiach ben Yosef. And the role of Mashiach ben Yosef is the physical redemption. And Mashiach ben Yosef will fight the wars of Israel against the enemies. In contrast, Mashiach ben David is already the spiritual redemption. And afterward he is the one who will hold the scepter of rulers, since he is Mashiach ben David and he is from the dynasty of the house of Yehudah, and "the scepter shall not depart from Yehudah," and he is the one who will be king. That is, the beginning of the redemption is given to Mashiach ben Yosef and it is the physical, material redemption, war and the like. The continuation of the redemption is Mashiach ben David, which is the spiritual redemption. Yes. But we pray that Mashiach ben Yosef will not die. But the king who will afterward actually reign will be Mashiach ben David.
The Malbim says: this is what He means here to come and say to them. At the beginning we will need, first of all, that the tribes unite. Yehudah and Binyamin, there is no problem with them. And why? Because Yehudah and Binyamin, where are they today? They are found, some here in the land of Israel, and all the rest scattered in the world, known as Jews. In contrast, the ten tribes, the sons of Ephraim, we do not know where they are, beyond the mountains of darkness. We do not know where they are. Beyond the river Gozan and Chalach and Chavor and all the other places to which Sancheriv exiled them, and since then we do not know their location. It is not known that they are Jews; there are all kinds of scattered tribes among whom every so often some markers of Jewishness are found, but these are very, very tenuous things that are hard to rely upon. Yes. Also the Ethiopians, of whom it is also said that they are part of this. Now, the rest of the tribes are Yehudah and Binyamin. We have a tradition that the Sephardim are from Yehudah and the Ashkenazim, those in the lands of Ashkenaz, are from the tribe of Binyamin. Yes, so we have it by tradition. One cannot say this about the Yemenites, who were already revealed in the First Temple period. And among the Yemenites there is a tradition that they are from the tribe of Yehudah. They were not, after all, in the Second Temple period, they did not come to the Second Temple, and among them the tradition was that they are from the tribe of Yehudah. So it is received among the Yemenites. But it is received that the Ashkenazim are from the tribe of Binyamin, and there are even a few proofs for this, not conclusive proofs, but there are a few indications of this matter. Yes, certainly it does not matter. Only that the tribes, the reality of the tribes, is something destined to return. Now He tells him: take two sticks. Why? Because He comes to symbolize for him: know that at the end of days the tribes are destined to gather. So first of all the ten tribes, those that are lost and scattered, are destined to gather, and they will be under the banner of Yosef, who is from the tribe of Mashiach ben Yosef, he will gather the scattered ones. This is the parable of the second stick that He told him: to Yosef and to Ephraim, that they will be joined upon it, and upon them Yehudah will gather. That is, Yehudah and the tribes of Yehudah will join them. Now He comes and tells him: in the first stage the sons of Yosef and Ephraim will fight the wars. And therefore they are in the gathering in the first stage. And in the second stage it is written "and the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will put them with it, with the stick of Yehudah." For the stick of Yehudah will be in the second stage. It will actually be the spiritual redemption, the redemption of the soul, that will come after the war. After the physical redemption. So therefore "and I will put with it the stick of Yehudah." And then they will be in the category of one stick. What does it mean that they will be one stick? At the beginning Yehudah will be one with Ephraim. When Ephraim reigns he will be one with him. And this will be at the initial stage of the redemption. In the second stage of the redemption, when the kingship passes to Yehudah, then Ephraim will subordinate itself to Yehudah. And then in any case they will already be one. Both at the beginning and at the end they will already be one. Exactly. And then Ephraim will subordinate itself to Yehudah as it was at the beginning. True. "And the sticks whereon you write shall be in your hand before their eyes." That is, I ask that you not put them down from your hand, do not erase the writing, and I want them to remain in your hand before their eyes, and then they will see the miracle continually. This will be a proof for them.
"And speak to them: So says Hashem Elokim: Behold, I take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side, and bring them into their own land." This is now a more detailed description of that prophecy we read earlier, of the vision of the dry bones. And then He tells him: "And I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all, and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more." He tells him: now I bring them here to the land, and here there will be one kingdom, there will be one nation, one king over them all, as we explained, Mashiach ben Yosef at the beginning will reign over all, afterward Mashiach ben David will reign over all, and He tells him: there will be no such situation, they shall no longer be divided, they shall no longer be two nations, they shall no longer be divided into two kingdoms. Why? They will all serve Hashem with one accord. And therefore He says, notice: "and they shall be no more two," sorry, "neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more." Why again "any more"? Rather, just as it once was that there was a kingdom of Ephraim and a kingdom of Yehudah, He says: now at the beginning Yehudah will be with Ephraim and afterward Ephraim will be with Yehudah. Therefore "any more" is written twice, so that there will be no such situation of division at all, but there will always be a situation of unity. "Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them; so shall they be My people, and I will be their Elokim." At the beginning we saw that the ten tribes defiled themselves with their idols and detestable things, that is, with idolatry. About the tribe of Yehudah one can apply the continuation of the verse: "nor with any of their transgressions." That is, it became infected by the transgressions of the tribe of Ephraim, for it all began, as we saw, with Yerovam ben Nevat. And He says: they shall no longer defile themselves. He says afterward: in the second exile, the exile of Edom, which is the exile in which we are, the reality is that through our being among the nations there is assimilation and through this there is descent from the way of Hashem. So He says: therefore "I will save them out of all their dwelling places," wherever they are, all the places that cause them to deteriorate spiritually, "wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them; so shall they be My people, and I will be their Elokim."
And then "And My servant David shall be king over them, and one shepherd shall be to them all; and they shall walk in My ordinances, and observe My statutes, and do them." In the second stage there will be "My servant David as king over them." David is the one who will reign, after Mashiach ben Yosef. The Malbim says there is a difference between a king and a shepherd and a prince. A king is someone chosen for kingship. Therefore "David My servant shall be king over them." And there is a prince, sorry, there is a shepherd; a shepherd is from the aspect that he leads the people out of compassion and mercy, like a shepherd tending his flock. As the shepherd has compassion on the sheep. And a prince (nasi) is one who is anointed, as it is written "seeing that he is a prince of Elokim," "and he shall be exalted and lifted up and very high." "Nasi" is from the expression of being raised up, borne above the entire people. "And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Yaakov My servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they and their children and their children's children, for ever; and David My servant shall be their prince for ever." They shall dwell in the land, and it will already be a permanent possession for them, not a mere holding. And He says "which I have given to Yaakov My servant." Why does He specifically mention Yaakov? After all, this was promised also to Avraham and to Yitzchak, why specifically to Yaakov? Right, but there was something else with Yaakov that reminds us of the sticks. The sticks mentioned here, what was there with Yaakov? No, not sticks with Yaakov. Something that reminds us of what happened here with the sticks by Yechezkel. Two sticks, there was something reminiscent of this with Yaakov. "And he put them under his head." Stones. And what happened with this? They united. What happened with the sticks here is indeed what happened with Yaakov. And what happened with Yaakov actually hints to the future. That all twelve stones are destined to return and unite. Despite the division that will be among them, they are destined to return and unite. Therefore He tells him: "and they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Yaakov My servant." And then "they shall dwell therein, they and their children and their children's children, for ever." There will be no fear and no one to threaten them and no one who wants to throw them into the sea. "And David My servant shall be their prince for ever." As we explained, "nasi" is from the expression of being borne and raised above all. The Malbim says there are three promises here. One promise, that they will inherit the land forever. A second promise, that the kingdom of the house of David will return. A third promise, that the covenant between us and Hashem will never cease. It will endure forever and for all eternity.
"Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will establish them, and multiply them, and will set My Sanctuary in the midst of them for ever." "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them." A covenant forever. "And I will establish them, and multiply them, and will set My Sanctuary in the midst of them for ever." The Malbim says: a covenant of peace is both peace between us and Hashem, blessed be He, and peace among the people. Yes, among themselves. And also peace in one's body, peace in one's money, peace regarding one's possessions, and this will be an everlasting covenant, that there will be in them no lack, no evil affliction, no harm to them. The Malbim says: notice that here He mentions "and I will set My Sanctuary in the midst of them." The Malbim asks: what does "and I will set My Sanctuary in the midst of them" mean? The people of Israel will reach such a high level that the Shechinah will be within them, they will not need the holiness of the Ark and the Sanctuary in order to connect to Hashem. Rather, "I will set My Sanctuary in the midst of them," within each and every one. But nevertheless we will be obligated to have a Beit HaMikdash and a Mishkan; this is for the nations, so that they will see the closeness of Hashem to the people of Israel. So that they will see how much extra affection we have before the Omnipresent. And this is what is written afterward: "My dwelling place also shall be over them; and I will be their Elokim, and they shall be My people." He says: I will place My dwelling over them, that there will be a Mishkan and I will dwell within the Beit HaMikdash, but they do not need it for themselves. For as for themselves, they will have "I set My Sanctuary in the midst of them." They will merit such a state that they will be in the aspect of a chariot for the Shechinah, like the holy Patriarchs; the Shechinah will rest upon them. It will hover over them individually. But for the nations, so that the nations will know that the people of Israel merited the resting of the Shechinah, and the level of Israel, therefore "My Sanctuary in the midst of them," in this there will be the Mishkan, there will be an actual Beit HaMikdash. The Malbim says there is another difference: as for what is written "My dwelling place also shall be over them," the Malbim explains thus: "My dwelling over them" means that I will rest My Shechinah upon them. And "My Sanctuary in the midst of them" means that a Beit HaMikdash will be built for them. The Beit HaMikdash is for the sake of the nations, as we explained. "My dwelling over them" is that they themselves will be a chariot for the Shechinah. The Malbim says: this "dwelling over them" is only from the aspect of their power. It requires an awakening from below. There needs to be an awakening toward this from their own will, and then they will merit it upon them. But the Sanctuary in their midst will not be from the aspect of an awakening from below, but rather it will be an awakening from above. From the will of Hashem He will make for us the Beit HaMikdash. Now what is His purpose? "And the nations shall know that I am Hashem who sanctifies Israel, when My Sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for ever." You will not need the Sanctuary. You will all be of a high and immense level, but so that the nations will know that I am Hashem who sanctifies Israel, when they see the Shechinah in the Beit HaMikdash, which could be seen, then they will know that I am Hashem who sanctifies Israel, that it comes from Hashem, beyond the way of nature, by His will, blessed be He, not through an awakening from below but only through an awakening from above, from His will, blessed be He. And this is what is destined to be when the Holy One, blessed be He, rests His Shechinah upon us, may Hashem grant us that this be, with the help of Hashem, speedily in our days, Amen and Amen.