Halakhah su Ezechiele 36:78

Rabi Abba states that there is no greater indication that the Redemption has arrived than what is described by the Navi (Yechezkel 36:9), "Hear ye, O mountains of Israel, your branches should bear fruit for My nation, Israel."

And [maybe] one would ask, "What is the matter that God gave such a precious Torah to people? Does not God have everything, and there is no measure to His elevation and to His glory? And there is no addition to His glory from the knowing of men of the power of His deeds; as there can be no addition or subtraction to complete glory and majesty on account of something [else]. The answer to this is obvious: That the mind of people does not grasp the ways of his Creator to know what is the reason for His deeds; as higher are 'His ways than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts.' And even though the reason for the thing is not revealed to us, we should believe that the Father of wisdoms, the Master of all, does everything that He does for a purpose and for a positive matter. And nonetheless it is possible for us to find a little reason and to say that people's knowledge of the ways of God is necessitated by His loftiness, may He be blessed. As since it came up in His thought in front of Him to create the world, it is fitting that it be with complete perfection - since all of the acts of the Perfect One are perfect. And this is the truth, since Blessed be He was perfect in everything, as nothing is lacking from Him, such that a man could say, "Why did He not do this in His world?" As he knows His advantage over him in wisdom. As behold, He created separated intellects in His world - and they are the angels. And He also created intellects in permanent bodies - and they are the heavens and all of their hosts. And He created physical bodies without any intellect at all in the world - and they are the beasts and the birds and the other species that are similar to them. And he also created physical creatures with intellect - and that is the human species - to make known that that nothing is prevented from Him (He can do anything). As even though the physical and the intellect are complete opposites, He mixed them together in the greatness of His wisdom and made man with them. And if so, it was nonetheless necessary that this intellect mixed with the physical - and that is man - know his Creator and recognize Him, so as to fulfill the intention of his creation. And if it were not for the Torah that He gave him, the intellect would be completely drawn to the physical in all of its desires, and he would be 'compared in similarity to beasts.' And as such, the work would not be perfected, since the body of a man and the body of a beast would be one in the matter - even if they are not one in their form - and it would come out that there is a lack in the creation. And it comes out according to our words that the giving of the Torah to educate the hearts of men is necessitated for the perfection of the designs. And [perhaps] one might ask further, "Since it is the perfection of the designs, why was it given to one people from the peoples of the world, and not to all of them?" In this also would it be an obvious answer to respond that the intellect of the one designed will not grasp the intention of his Designer. But nonetheless with this too is it possible to find a little reason according to the way of the world: Is it not known that in all the things of the world, the chaff is greater than the core? And even in the core, there is a part of it that is more select in it than the whole. It is as if you would say most of the land in the world is not prime, but rather only its minority. But even in the prime, part of it is the prime of the prime. And so is the matter also with the fruits of the world and with types of beasts and fowl. And, if so, also with the human species shall the thing be like this, to make it similar to the lowly world. Since it shares some of itself with it - as it has a finite body like them - it is no wonder about the thing. And so one part of the human species was chosen - and that is Israel, and it is the 'smallest from all the nations.' And blessed is God who knows that they are the choicest of the human species and chose them to be called His people and gave them all the main parts of wisdom. However even with the rest of the human species, He gave them a way to distinguish themselves from beasts - and that is the seven commandments that all the people of the world were commanded as a whole, as we shall write about each one of them, with God's help. And also with the people of Israel itself - part of them are more choice, and that is the tribe of Levi, which was chosen for His permanent service. And so [too,] is the thing with planet Earth, that there is a part of it that is choicest from all of it and God knew that the choicest in it is the Land of Israel. And [so] His will was to settle the choicest of the Human species in it. Also in it, the best in it was Jerusalem. And so it was chosen to be the dwelling of the Torah and place of his Service. And from it is the entire planet of the earth blessed, as God commanded blessing to be there. And perhaps one would ask further - since I said that the essence of all, and the chosen portion, is the people of Israel - how is the thing that they always suffer exile and troubles? And the answer is that it is well-known and famous among the people of the world that the Master of all created two worlds - the world of bodies and the world of souls. And the world of bodies is considered like nothing and emptiness in contrast to the world of souls. As this one is like a passing shadow, whereas that one remains forever and ever. And the body serves as a vessel for the soul for a short time, and afterwards it decomposes and becomes vile. [Accordingly,] God bequeathed to His people the world of souls, which is the eternal world and the enjoyment of which has no measure. And perhaps one who asks would ask further, "And why did God not give to His people, that He chose, two portions of enjoyment - the world of bodies and the world of souls?" The answer is that it is well-known to every intelligent person that it is impossible for a physical being to be in the world without sinning. And among the fixed traits forever and ever of God, blessed be He, is the trait of justice; and it obligates every intelligent person to go in the way of the intellect and to be liable when he veers [from it]. And once the trait of justice has made him liable, it is impossible for him to be exempted without any [punishment]; since he left the court of the trait of justice [with a] guilty [verdict]. And hence it is from the kindnesses of God to us that He placed our share to have sin purged from us in this finite world, [so that] our souls be clean and survive to the world of souls; as one hour there is better than all of the life in this world. However we should believe that a time will come that we will merit the two portions, and that is the days of the messiah. And the reason is that in those days, we will not need the purging of the bodies at all, since the evil impulse will be nullified from us; as it is written (Ezekiel 36:26), "and I will remove the heart of stone, etc." And also if a little dross of sin remains at that time, it will fall on the goat (sacrificed scapegoat), as at the beginning. And this is what is written in the Torah (Leviticus 26:4), "If you will go in My ways," I will bequeath the good of this world to you - meaning to say, if you will be whole and not require purging of the body, you will also merit the good of this world. And that is what is written about our father, Avraham - peace be upon him - that God blessed him, even with the good of this world. As he did not need purging of the body at all at that time. And after this, there is no [cause] to wonder about the pain of Israel in the exiles more than all of the nations; as it is all for their good and for their glory. And you who asks - place your eyes and your heart to this as it is a big thing that all of the evildoers will not understand, but the intelligent will understand. As many of of the Jews are destitute from the many great troubles that follow [one another against] them in the exiles and they do not know nor understand the good of the world of souls - their 'feet almost strayed' from the many worries, and 'their hearts were not constant with them' from the many ruminations. May God, in His kindnesses, remove thoughts of wickedness and impart upon us proper intellect and correct opinions to fulfill His desire - amen, may He do so. And he may ask further, "Since you said that the essence of all is the world of the souls and the final reward of commandments is in it, why did the Torah not mention it and state, 'When you do My commandments, I will bequeath you the world to come.'" The answer is because the matter of the world to come is well-known and revealed to all intelligent people and clear as the sun. There is no people nor language that do not agree that there is permanence to souls after the termination of the bodies. And there is also no one that disagrees that it is according to the good of the soul, its wisdom and the propriety of its actions, that its enjoyment will be greater. As the source of the intellectual soul from which it is extracted is the Intellect, and anyone that comes closer to its nature - the place of its extraction - will have greater pleasure. These words do not require support with proofs and witnesses - they are their own witnesses and their proofs are basic knowledge. And so the Torah never elaborates about that which is well-known from human logic. And this is [the meaning] of their, may their memory be blessed, saying in every place, "It is logical" - meaning, there is no need for a verse about that which logic reveals. And hence the Torah promised us with the fulfillment of the commandments in this world to say that we not be preoccupied with sustenance and with wars [against] the enemies and that we be able to put efforts into the service of God and fathom His will. And there is no need to elaborate further and to say, "And when you accomplish His will, you will merit the pleasure of the world to come" - since the thing is self-evident that any creature that accomplishes the will of his Creator, may He be elevated, approaches Him and will enjoy from His radiance. And another reason [for this] is that if the Torah had promised about the reward of the world to come and not this one, the promise would not have been seen while [people are still] alive; and the heart of those of little faith may have disturbed [them] with words.

“The appointed time of salvation is concealed.”⁵⁶This appears to be a reference to Rashi’s comment on Gen. 49:1: Jacob “wished to reveal the messianic end, but the divine presence was re-moved from him.” See also Rashi’s source, Genesis Raba 98:2. “What is in the heart is not revealed to the mouth.”⁵⁷Kohelet Raba 12:10. Who can know God’s secrets and say precisely when the impurity of the land and the people will be lifted, when the spirit, hidden in its essence but revealed in its actions, will return once again in response to improvements in the outward situation that enable its reappearance in strength and purity upon the people and the land? When will the time of lovers come again, when the people and the land will reunite and mutual goodness and blessing will flow from their relationship—not like in the days of darkness? No one knows. So we raise our eyes to see the signs that are hidden in plain sight. In their vision of the messianic era, the sages said that “there is no messianic portent more obvious than this”:⁵⁸Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 98a. See also Rashi ad loc. “When the Land of Israel generously gives of her fruits, then redemption is drawing near; there is no more obvious sign of the messianic end than this.” Rav Kook urges paying attention to the renewed flourishing of agriculture in the Land of Israel as a portent of impending redemption. “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall yield your produce and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for their return is near. For I will care for you: I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will settle a large population on you, the whole house of Israel; the towns shall be resettled and the ruined sites rebuilt. I will multiply men and beasts upon you, and they shall increase and be fertile, and I will resettle you as you were formerly, and will make you more prosperous than you were at first. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”⁵⁹Ezek. 36:8–11. This is the prooftext cited in Sanhedrin 98a (see n. 59 above).

“I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all countries, and I will bring you back to your land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean: I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and all your fetishes. And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit into you: I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh; and I will put My spirit into you. Thus I will cause you to follow My laws and faithfully to observe My rules. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your father, and you shall be My people and I will be your God. And when I have delivered you from all your uncleanness, I will summon the grain and make it abundant, and I will not bring famine upon you. I will make the fruit of your trees and the crops of your fields abundant, so that you shall never again be humiliated before the nations because of the famine.”⁶⁷Ezek. 36:24–30.

“Thus said the Lord, God: when I have cleansed you of all your iniquities, I will people your settlements, and the ruined places shall be rebuilt; and the desolate land, after laying waste in the sight of every passerby, shall again be tilled. And men shall say, ‘That land, once desolate, has now become like the garden of Eden; and the cities, once ruined, desolate, and ravaged, are now populated and fortified.’ And the nations that are left around you shall know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ravaged places and replanted the desolate land. I the Lord have spoken and will act.”⁶⁸Ezek. 36:33–36.

It is from the roots of the commandment that God chose Israel to be a holy nation and wanted to give them merit. And therefore He guided them and commanded them about the ways of grace and compassion and warned them to crown themselves with every beautiful and precious trait to find grace in the eyes of all who see them, [such] that they will say, "These are the people of the Lord" (Ezekiel 36:20). And it is so much the way of pleasantnesses and beauty to show kindness and to grant good to one who leaves his people and all the family of the house of his father and mother and comes to take shelter under the wings of a different nation in his love for it, and in his choosing of truth and his hatred for falsehood. And in our meriting these good traits, the goodness of God will rest upon us and cling to us, and nothing will prevent us from it; as the good will extend to the good ones and the opposite to the bad ones.

3. On the third Sabbath, which is the fifteenth of Adar, we skip, and on the fourth Sabbath which is the twenty-second of Adar we take out two [Torah] scrolls — in one [the Reader] reads the weekly portion, and in the second he reads the Portion of the [Red] Heifer [Numbers 1–22], and the haftarah is "I shall sprinkle upon you pure waters..." [Ezekiel 36:13–36]. (And see above Section 137 Paragraph 5.)