RABBI JAY KELMAN
The haftarah established by our ancients to be read on Chol HaMoed Pesach does not mention Pesach at all. So why do we read Yechezkel’s vision of dry bones on Shabbat Chol Hamoed Pesach? A logical question. With a logical answer. “Zman Cheiruteinu,” our “Festival of Freedom,” was never meant to be a simple “reminiscence” of the exodus from Egypt alone. It was not to be limited to our past redemption. “Zman Cheiruteinu” is better understood as the “Season of Freedom,” and as such, our dream for a future redemption is part of the theme and the observances of Pesach.
It is with this understanding that we turn to the haftarah for Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach. The well-known prophecy of the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, found in the 37th perek of Sefer Yechezkel, captured the imagination of the early immigrants to Israel, who saw the prophetic words as a message of renewal and rebirth, reflecting their view of the return of the Jewish nation to its homeland, where they labored to reawaken its lifeless agriculture and revive its ancient practices. They believed that, indeed, the dry bones would yet come back to life! And, seeing the once-arid land give forth her fruit and the once-barren country repopulated with her children, why should they not recognize Yechezkel’s vision as coming true?
HaRav Amnon Bazak points out that Hashem’s revitalization of the dry bones follows a specific progression. First, the bones will be brought together and connect to one another. Second, sinew and flesh will come up. Third, skin will be drawn over them. And, finally, “ruach,” breath and spirit, will be blown into them and bring them to life. There will be separate phases to bringing life to the bones. The first three phases will focus on the physical structure of the dry bones, and only after that will Hashem grant them life by providing them with “breath,” i.e., spirit.
Rav Bazak contends that those who grieved over the Churban and suffered in the galus had little hope of ever seeing the rebirth of a devastated community. Hashem expresses their feelings in our haftarah: “... hinei omrim...`avdah tikvateinu’” –“they [the exiled] proclaim, `Our hope is lost.’” Clearly, the purpose of the vision to Yechezkel was to encourage this lost community that there would yet be a rebirth, that there would be another redemption, and that the dry bones would come back to life.
And this is also part of the message of Pesach. It is not enough to celebrate the past redemption from Egypt; one must also celebrate – and affirm – their belief in the future redemption from the Diaspora. And it is essential for our generation to use Pesach as a time to recognize the current miraculous redemption that we experience today.
Od lo avda tikvateinu.
