YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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Themes and ideas in the haftara
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This haftara series is dedicated in memoryof our beloved Chaya Leah bat Efrayim Yitzchak(Mrs. Claire Reinitz), zichronah livracha,by her family.
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PARASHAT BEHA'ALOTEKHA
Anticipating Trouble With Its Remedy
Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein
The haftara for Parashat Beha'alotekha (Zekharya 2:14-4:7) is one of two haftarot that are repeated during the year-long cycle of haftarot. We already encountered Zekharya's prophecy as the haftara read on Shabbat Chanuka.[1] Much of what we will say here is based, therefore, on what we wrote earlier in the year, though here we will integrate the haftara into the framework of this week's parasha.
IS THIS THE ENTIRE CONNECTION?
At first glance, the connection between the haftara and the parasha is the menora that appears prominently in the haftara, this being connected to the lighting of the lamps at the beginning of the parasha. It should be noted, however, that this is not such a simple choice, for the menora mentioned at the beginning of the parasha is only one of many topics discussed therein, each one important and meaningful in its own right. While it is true that the section dealing with the menora is located in a place of honor, it is still not the focus of the parasha, and to a great degree, Chazal viewed it as being connected to the previous parasha. The bottom line is that we can point to the connection between the two menoras and between the priests identified with each of them as the reason for reading this week's haftara. This means, however, that when we read the haftara, we are really relating to only a small part of the haftara and to an even smaller portion of the parasha. For this reason, we would like to point out a more systemic connection between Parashat Beha'alotekha and the prophecy of Zekharya. This connection takes into account not only the section of the lamps, but also the larger context in which it is found. As it has been our practice throughout this series, we will begin with an analysis of the haftara, and afterwards we will return to the parasha.
THE DANGERS OF EXILE
Zekharya prophesies during the period of the return to Zion, when part of the Jewish people returns from exile in Bavel to Eretz Israel, and it falls upon the prophet to deal with the challenges of the period. The destruction and the exile – besides the loss of the Temple and the tragic human cost at the time – presented the people with a very difficult challenge. On the spiritual and national level, an existential situation was created that was different, unfamiliar, and far more threatening than anything that had come before it, namely, the exile. Two spiritual dangers presented themselves to the people with respect to their reactions to the new situation:
The first was the feeling that they continued to be reprimanded in the wake of the destruction and the exile and that the quality of judgment was still stretched out over them in a way that did not allow for reconciliation. More difficult than this was the assumption that their sins had caused God to despise them and to cast them off, so that Israel was no longer connected to God. In a well-known midrash, Chazal make use of the metaphor of a slave who was sold by his master[2] in order to express this idea that with the destruction of the Temple, the relationship between the Jewish people and their Maker had been severed.
The common denominator here is the loss of all hope of repairing the situation and the spiritual and national paralysis that such feelings are liable to give rise to. This is the situation with which Zekharya struggles from the very beginning of the book, which opens with the simple description of the situation as "The Lord has been much displeased with your fathers" (Zekharya 1:2). His primary mission, then, is to raise the people's spirits so that they may engage in repentance and return to God, and not fall into the depths of despair.
This is accompanied by an additional problem, namely the state of the nations who continue to provoke Israel and God in the wake of the destruction, and the unbearable gap between the tranquility enjoyed by these nations and the distress suffered by Israel.[3]
"AND I SHALL DWELL IN YOUR MIDST"
At this point in Zekharya's prophecy, we reach the section constituting our haftara, which opens with words of consolation. The initial verses are directed toward the nations and constitute a continuation of what had been stated previously regarding the feeling of the nations that God had abandoned and forsaken Israel:
Sing and rejoice, O Daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be My people: and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And the Lord shall inherit Yehuda as his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord: for He has roused himself out of His holy habitation. (2:14-17)
The essential point here is that God has returned to dwell among Israel. This is presented not as a spiritual achievement in and of itself, but as a response to the ideas circulating among Israel and the nations regarding the meaning of the destruction. Therefore, emphasis is placed not only on the idea that "I will dwell in the midst of you" - familiar to us from the Mishkan in the wilderness and from the mitzva to construct the Mikdash based on the command of "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (Shemot 25:8) - but also on the significance of that idea for Israel's situation, namely, the conclusion that "you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you." The prophet promises not only "inheritance in the holy land," but a renewed and constant selection of Jerusalem.[4]
[Another interesting point that is made in these verses is the impact that Israel's return to Zion will have on the nations who will undergo an inner upheaval and join those who serve God and become part of His people. The expression, "And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day," is very reminiscent of the prophecy of Yeshayahu, who expands upon this idea: "Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and all that take hold of My covenant" (Yeshayahu 56:6).]
THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE HAFTARA
This is the first part of the haftara, which is directed toward the nations and their challenge to Israel in the aftermath of the destruction. The haftara's primary interest, however, is not in the nations, but in Israel and their redemption because of their special relationship with God, and in the processes that are meant to lead to that redemption. The haftara turns to this point in the next stage, after it finishes the prophecy regarding God's revelation to the nations of the world. As is plainly evident, the rest of Zekharya's prophecy is divided into two parts and directed at two individuals:
1) The prophecy to Yehoshua the High Priest.
2) The word of God to Zerubavel.
Thus, the haftara is divided into three sections, each section being separated from the next by means of a parasha setuma.
NO REDEMPTION WITHOUT REPENTANCE
The prophecy to Yehoshua comes to deal with the cardinal problem of the period. On the one hand, redemption is absolutely necessary, so that Israel not despair and see themselves as having been rejected by God in the aftermath of their exile. On the other hand, "Israel will be redeemed only through repentance." Zekharya himself emphasized this principle at the beginning of the book – "Turn to Me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts" (1:3) – but the Jewish people of that generation were not worthy. This is the essence of the Satan's argument against the redemption of Israel: "And He showed me Yehoshua the High Priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to thwart him" (3:1). The angel serves as the advocate who defends Israel (see 1:12-15), Yehoshua stands before him in order to actualize the promised consolations, and Satan argues that Israel cannot be redeemed without repentance.
At this point God is asked, as it were, to decide between Satan and the angel, and He accepts the argument that Yehoshua and the people he represents are unworthy of redemption. The verse itself describes Yehoshua as "clothed in filthy garments" (3:3), which is clearly a metaphor for sins[5] (as it is explicitly stated later, that removal of the filthy garments is equivalent to removal of the sins) and his inability to stand before the king as a worthy servant. God, however, agrees to redeem Israel because they are "a brand plucked out of the fire" (3:2). Expression is thereby given to the principle that appears in several places in the books of the Prophets that Israel may be redeemed because of its suffering and troubles, even if their actions do not justify redemption. Already at the burning bush, Moshe was told that redemption became necessary because of the severity and depth of the bondage:
And the Lord, said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their masters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of Egypt, and to bring them up out of that land. (Shemot 3:7-8)
So too Yirmiyahu prophesies about "the people who were left of the sword who found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest" (Yirmiyahu 31:1), whose redemption follows from the fact that they are "left of the sword."[6] The rest itself has religious and moral value, and if God waits before redeeming them, who knows whether or not a remnant of the people will survive. The brands are, therefore, plucked from the fire as they are, without first examining the cleanliness of their spiritual clothing.
SETTING A SPIRITUAL CHALLENGE
Unlike that prophecy of Yirmiyahu, however, Zekharya is not satisfied with redemption that comes to Israel owing to its wretchedness, and the angel once again forewarns Yehoshua and sets before him a spiritual challenge:
And the angel of the Lord forewarned Yehoshua, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts; If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My charge, and you will also judge My house, and will also guard My courts, then I will give you access among those who stand by. Hear now, O Yehoshua the High Priest, you, and your fellows who sit before you: for they are men of good omen: for, behold, I will bring my servant Tzemach. (3:6-8)
Here we have come to the heart of the matter. Israel of that generation leaves Babylonia for Eretz Israel and enjoys redemption. It is up to them, however, to choose which redemption will be materialized. Will it be a narrow process of redemption in which the resting of God's Shekhina in the Mikdash will be minimal and the political reality will be limited to peace with the surrounding nations and rescue of the brands plucked out of the fire? Or perhaps it will be a full redemption that will realize Chaggai's prophecy that "the glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former" (Chaggai 2:9), and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in its full glory. The potential for this exists, but the key for actualization rests in the hands of Israel. The degree to which the redemption will be narrow and minimal or grand and perfect – depends upon their actions. This is the essence of what the angel says to Yehoshua. That is to say, that it is not enough that Israel be redeemed as brands plucked out of the fire, for if so, it will be a narrow process that provides for their needs as survivors, but nothing more. The potential to be counted among the remarkable and to bring about the coming of the messianic king, "my servant Tzemach," does indeed exist, but this depends upon the degree of social justice and religious intensity that will be achieved by the members of that generation.
THE VARIOUS POSSIBLE TRACKS
The assumption that during the period of the return to Zion there stood before Israel various possibilities regarding the process of redemption, and that the script regarding the nature of the redemption of the second Temple depended upon Israel's actions, finds sharp expression in a famous Gemara in tractate Yoma (9b):
"If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver, and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar" (Shir Ha-shirim 8:9). Had you made yourselves like a wall, all of you going up in the days of Ezra, you would have been likened to silver which is not subject to decay. But now that you went up like doors, you are likened to cedar which is subject to decay."
This appears to be the metaphoric meaning of the stone mentioned in the prophecy:
"For behold the stone that I have laid before Yehoshua: upon one stone are seven facets: behold, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts" (3:9).
The stone symbolizes the potential of the building; on the physical level, the stone is connected to the building of the Temple as a structure built of stones, but on the more symbolic level it marks the entirety of spiritual building. Yehoshua is told that the stone of the building has the potential to give rise to various decorations and to express thereby various ideas, each facet representing a different direction and an additional potential, so that it is possible to base upon it seven different principles and processes. If they inscribe it properly, seven facets will blossom from it, but if they inscribe it only partly, it will have only two or three facets, and if they do not exploit its potential whatsoever, God forbid, then it will not give rise to even a single facet. It will give protection to the plucked brands by way of its very material nature, but the moral principles that are meant to come to expression through the artistic inscriptions will not come into the world at all.
MONARCHY AND PRIESTHOOD
At this point, the haftara moves on to discuss Zerubavel. The connection between Yehoshua and Zerubavel is clear, explicitly stated in the book of Chaggai (2:2). Yehoshua is the High Priest, whereas Zerubavel is the political leader ("the governor of Yehuda"). The message given to Zerubavel at the end of the haftara that the political leadership must subordinate itself to the spiritual leadership, and that the essence is not physical strength, but spirit, is a fundamental message of Judaism and the essence of the prophecy, so basic that there is no need to expand upon it.
The vision that Zekharya sees in this context is that of the menora with the seven lamps and two olive trees. The two olive trees serve as receptacles for oil that stand above the menora and drip oil into it. As the commentators explain in light of the verses in the continuation that are not included in the haftara, the two "benei yitzhar" (4:14), that is, the olive trees, refer to the monarchy and the priesthood, namely, Yehoshua and Zerubavel. Both the political leader and the High Priest are anointed with oil, and therefore the metaphor is aptly applied to them. The meaning of the vision is that they are meant to cooperate with each other in order to achieve a common goal. Just as the two olive trees stand on the two sides of the menora and together feed it with oil, so too the priesthood and the monarchy are supposed to work together in harmony and without tension. Not separate centers of power, but cooperation between two leaders. So too Chaggai in his prophecy (chap. 2) sees the two as working together and prophesies about them in the same prophecy.
COMMON GOAL
Now, if we examine the objective toward which the two leaders are working, both in the prophecy of Chaggai and in that of Zekharya, we will see that their joint objective is the construction of the Temple. This means that the political leader also plays an important role in the building of the Temple. Indeed, Chazal have already taught us that the appointment of a king is a mitzva that must precede the construction of the Temple, and they learned from David how the king must be involved in that project.[7] This is stated explicitly in the context of our period in the verses that immediately follow our haftar: "Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubavel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it" (4:8-9).
A TEMPLE WITHOUT INDEPENDENCE
Attention should also be paid to the fact that this appears to have been their exclusive goal. Indeed, the construction of the second Temple differed in essence from the construction of the first Temple, in that the essence of the redemption was focused on the Temple. During the first Temple period, an independent political entity was established. Israel entered the land, settled it, and established a national homeland. Only after more than four hundred years had passed was the Temple erected. In other words, Israel's entry into the land, which Chazal referred to as "the first entry," was detached from the construction of the Temple and constituted an independent achievement. During the second Temple period, in contrast, there was no political independence, but only partial autonomy under the aegis of foreign kings, there was no Davidic dynasty, and all that was left was the construction of the Temple. During this period, the majority of the Jewish people did not leave Babylonia for Eretz Israel, so that there was not even an ingathering of the exiles. The redemption of that time expressed itself exclusively through the construction of the Temple. The opening words of the book of Zekharya, which appear to serve as an innocent dating of the prophecy and nothing more, also allude to this: "In the eighth month, in the second year of Daryavesh, the word of the Lord came to Zekharya, the son of Berakhya, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying" (Zekharya 1:1). The verse means to imply that all of Zekharya's work was in the political framework of Persian rule over the land.
DESPISE NOT THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS
Thus, we have reached the end of the haftara, but we must still take a quick look at the verses that immediately follow it:
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubavel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? For those seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubavel; the eyes of the Lord, they rove to and fro through the whole earth. (4:8-10)
Earlier we pointed out that Zekharya sets before Yehoshua the challenge of realizing the full possible potential of the redemption of the second Temple, and encourages him to strive for the perfect redemption that will develop from the stones of the building. Israel, as we know, did not merit. The second Temple did not reach the level of the resting of the Shekhina that was reached by the first Temple, and the political achievement of the return to Zion was very limited. The reader could easily arrive at the conclusion that the entire business was a failure and that the achievements of rebuilding the Temple and the partial return of the people to Eretz Israel were meaningless. In other words, if it was merely the beginning of the redemption (atchalta di-ge'ula) and the potential was never exploited, it had no importance. In these verses, the prophet comes to protest against this idea and to establish that even a partial achievement is meaningful. One must not despise the day of little things, even if the desire and aspiration had been to achieve a day of great things. Even if there is only tin, and no gold or silver, there is still "the eyes of the Lord roving to and fro through the whole earth," that is, a sign of Divine providence over the people. The promise of "I will engrave its inscription" was not achieved in the tin, but it too reflects the eyes of God. In other words, if someone comes to build a ten-story building, but only succeeds in building two stories, he should, on the one hand, be disappointed, for his vision was not realized in its full glory, but on the other hand, he should take satisfaction in his partial accomplishment. This was Israel's situation during the second Temple period.
SEEDS OF EXILE
Let us now return to our parasha. It begins on a tranquil note with a continuation of the deployment and organization around the Mishkan. The lighting of the menora, the consecration of the Levites, the paschal offering, and the section dealing with the trumpets all give expression to a world that is in a state of repair where the people of Israel are close to their father in heaven and where the spiritual and holy rule the material. All seems to be proceeding in accordance with the Divine plan for Israel, and advancing toward the full realization of the redemption in Eretz Israel.
In the second half of the parasha, however, there is a steep fall from the world of sanctity to a world of lust, and a flight from holiness, the process of which begins in our parasha. It continues with the sin of the spies and the company of Korach and the desire to return to Egypt. There is a straight line leading from the situation in which pleasure is set as a priority and the demand for cucumbers and melons is seen as encompassing the total picture, to the decree which was issued against Israel in the wake of the sin of the spies. We see then that the seeds of exile and fall from God's people to the dead of the wilderness, from the chosen people to a rebuked nation that is refused redemption, are found already in the second half of Parashat Beha'alotekha. A chain of sin and ruin runs through these chapters; from complaint to lust, from lust to the spies, from the spies to the ma'apilim, from the ma'apilim to those who burnt strange incense and demanded the priesthood, denying the leadership of God and Moshe His servant. The people lack the strength that is needed to struggle with and realize their destiny and they sink into sin and are punished with exile.
[The break is so significant that Chazal see it as a fissure that divides the book of Bamidbar into units. The courses of the book are so different that Chazal counted the beginning of the book and its continuation as three separate books.[8] The first book, from the beginning of chapter 1 until "And it came to pass, when the ark set forward" (10:34) deals with the Israelite camp in the wilderness, in which the vision and reality go hand in hand; the second book dealing with the journey to Eretz Israel on the wings of the Shekhina is made up of the eighty-five letters of the two verses beginning with "And it came to pass, when the ark set forward" (10:35-36); and the third book (11:1-36:13), which opens with the story of the complainers and continues until the end of Bamidbar, describes the sins that lead to the non-fulfillment of the vision in that generation's lifetime.]
ANTICIPATING TROUBLE
What emerges from all this is that deeper contemplation of Parashat Beha'alotekha teaches us about the need to anticipate trouble, for the danger of exile lies not only in the exile in itself, but in the despair that is liable to accompany it. Israel was redeemed from Egypt and carried on the wings of eagles, and suddenly the decree of exile awaits them. The world of sin and exile that followed the revelation at Mount Sinai and the expectation to enter the land of Israel, imperils the people with a danger similar to that which will fall upon them following the destruction of the Temple. The Torah does not deal with this problem explicitly, but the midrashim allude to it, and it is certainly possible to read it between the lines. The reading of the haftara from Zekharya, with its message about rebuilding in the aftermath of severe fall, and the rehabilitation of the people through the spiritual leadership of a priest and a political leader, fill the needs bubbling beneath the surface of our parasha. Thus, in addition to the menora and the status of the High Priest as leader, there is also a connection between the rest of the haftara and the reality that first appears in Parashat Beha'alotekha and continues through the entire length of the book of Bamidbar.
(Translated by David Strauss)
[1] The second instance is the haftara shared by Noach and Ki Tetze.
[2] "As Israel said to Yechezkel, as it is stated: 'Certain of the elders of Israel came out to me, and sat before me' (Yechezkel 20:1). They said to him: 'Yechezkel, a slave who was sold by his master, does he not leave his possesion?' He said to them: 'Yes.' They said to him: 'Since God has sold us to the nations of the world, we have left his possession.' He said to them: 'Surely a slave who was sold by his master on condition that he return - does he leave his possession?'" (Sifrei, Bamidbar 14:41).
[3] These issues are discussed in the first two chapters of the book, which precede the haftara. The most striking verses in this context are: "And they said, We have walked to and fro in the earth, and, behold, all the earth sits still, and is at rest. Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Yehuda, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?" (1:11-12); "For thus says the Lord of hosts – (because of His honor He sent me to the nations which spoiled you: for he that touches you touches the apple of His eye) – For behold, I will shake My hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those who served them. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me" (2:12-13).
[4] The word "od" in the promise, "And He shall choose Jerusalem od," bears the meaning of "again," and also the idea of constant choosing that will continue forever.
[5] Chazal even assert that the filthy garments are a metaphor for Yehoshua's children who married non-Jewish women. See Sanhedrin 93a, and Radak on our verse.
[6] Beli neder, we will deal with this idea at greater length when we discuss the prophecy of Yirmiyahu which serves as the haftara for the second day of Rosh Ha-Shana.
[7] See Sanhedrin 20b.
[8] See Shabbat 116a, and Rashi (s.v. shiv'a sifrei Torah).
YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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Understanding the haftarot
By Harav Yaakov Medan
The Haftara for Parashat Beha’alotekha
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Dedicated in memory of
Rabbanit Yocheved bat Todros Menos Eliyahu z"l
whose yahrzeit is the 14th of Sivan,
by her granddaughter, Vivian Singer
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Shout out and be joyful, daughter Zion, for I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst – the Lord has spoken. Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they will be My people. I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts sent me to you. The Lord will take possession of Yehuda as His portion of holy ground, and He will choose Jerusalem once again. Hush, all flesh, before the Lord, for He has stirred from His holy abode.
Then He showed me Yehoshua the High Priest standing before an angel of the Lord with the Adversary on his right to oppose him. The Lord said to the Adversary: The Lord drives you away, Adversary. The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, drives you away. Yes, this is a firebrand saved from the fire. And Yehoshua, wearing filthy clothing, was standing before the angel, who spoke and said to those standing before him, "Take those filthy clothes off him." Then the angel said to him, "See, I have removed your guilt from you and dressed you in finery." I said, "Place a pure turban on his head," and they placed a pure turban on his head. They dressed him in clothing. The angel of the Lord remained standing. Then that angel of the Lord testified regarding Yehoshua: "So says the Lord of Hosts: If you walk in My ways, if you keep My watch, if you judge My House, and guard My courtyards, then I will give you walkers among these who are standing. Listen, Yehoshua the High Priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men of wonders: Behold, I am bringing My servant Tzemach. Upon the stone that I set before Yehoshua, one stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, and I will wipe away the guilt of this land in one day. On that day – the Lord of Hosts has spoken – you will call one to another: Come under the shade of the vine; come under the shade of the fig."
Then the angel with whom I had spoken returned and roused me like a man stirring from his sleep. He said to me, "What do you see?" I said, "I see a candelabrum of pure gold, its bowl at the top. It has seven lamps – seven – and seven indentations for the lamps, which are at the top. Next to it are two olive trees, one to the right of the bowl and one to its left." I spoke and said to the angel with whom I spoke, "What are these, my lord?" And the angel with whom I spoke replied and said, "You know what these are." I said, "No, my lord." Then he spoke and said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubavel: Not with valor and not with strength, but with My spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. Who are you, great mountain before Zerubavel? Surely it will become a level plain. He will remove the re-foundation stone with clamor: Favor, favor to her!" (Zekharya 2:14-4:7)[1]
I. The Connection Between the Haftara and the Parasha
The third section of our haftara (in the artificial division above, based on the division of the chapters) describes a gold candelabrum (menora), with seven lamps, that heralds the Temple that will be built – the Second Temple. Our parasha also opens with the menora and its lamps.
The same passages are read as the haftara for Shabbat Chanuka (when there two Shabbatot Chanuka, the haftara for the first Shabbat Chanuka) owing to the mitzva of lighting Chanuka lamps, which brings to mind the dedication of the Temple, the lighting of the lamps in it, and the miracle of the cruse of oil. In my remarks for Shabbat Chanuka,[2] I focused on the connection between the haftara and the miracle of Chanuka. Here, we will hardly deal with that at all.
Zekharya’s prophecy included eight successive visions. Our haftara includes the end of the third, the fourth vision, the fifth vision, and the beginning of its interpretation. The third vision deals with the building and development of Jerusalem, and its last four verses are the beginning of our haftara.
II. "Many Nations Will Join Themselves to the Lord"
Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they will be My people. I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts sent me to you. (2:14-15)
This universal vision at the beginning of Zekharya's prophecy requires explanation. Why is a prophet in the days of the return to Zion, when the returnees are struggling for their very survival, prophesying about the repair of the world in the end of days, when all the nations will stream to see the glory of the Lord in the place of His Shekhina?
Koresh's proclamation, which allowed the people of Israel to return and build the second Temple, failed to a large extent. After the altar was built, a royal ban on building the Temple was issued because of libels on the part of those who had settled the land after the Temple was destroyed and the people of Israel were exiled. Some of the nations who were there had been brought in by King Esar Chadon of Assyria to replace the inhabitants of Shomron when the kingdom of Shomron was destroyed. Some were Edomites who had flocked to the land, desolate of its people, after the Nabataeans and other Arab tribes invaded their own land. And some were just people from the surrounding area who saw the land abandoned by its people and immigrated to it.
Now, fifty-two years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Jews began to return to Israel following the proclamation of Koresh, but not in droves. About forty-four thousand Jews returned from Persia and Babylon, and they encountered strong opposition to their re-establishment in their own country.
In the second year of the reign of Daryavesh, eighteen years after the altar was erected and the foundations of the Temple were laid (but its construction was stopped), two prophets joined together to deliver the word of God. Chagai and Zekharya began to command and encourage the people and their leaders – Zerubavel son of She'altiel, a descendant of Yehoyakhin and the kings of Yehuda, and Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak, a descendant of the High Priests – to complete the building of the Temple, despite the fact that the permit to do so had been rescinded. But how could the returnees to Zion succeed in building the Temple without permission, when their neighbors were watching their every step, quick to inform the authorities about their every move?
The two prophets apparently had two different, but complementary, answers to this question. Chagai adopted an approach that another leader, David Ben-Gurion, would reference many years later: "It is not important what the nations say; what matters is what the Jews do." Chagai only examines Israel's relationship with their Father in Heaven, who is all-powerful and who alone can, according to His will, lead them to success. According to Chagai, the drought, poverty, and hunger the people experienced at the time signaled God's disapproval of their failure to build His house:
Is it the time for you yourselves to sit under roofs in your homes while this House lies desolate? Now says the Lord of Hosts: Take your ways to heart. You sow much but bring in little, eat but are not satisfied, drink but remain sober. You clothe yourselves but are not warmed, and anyone who earns wages receives them into a pouch full of holes… You expect much but receive little. You bring it home; I cause it to wither. Why? Because of My House which remains desolate while each of you keeps running back to his own house, says the Lord of Hosts. Therefore, the skies lock up the dew above you; the land locks up its produce. I will call forth a drought over the land and the mountains; over the grains, the young wine, and the fresh oil; over everything the land produces. I will declare a drought over man and animal, even over the labor of their hands. (Chagai 1:4-11)
After they begin building, the prophet encourages them by saying that God will help them succeed in their building, and the nations will be compelled to come pay homage in the House of the Lord:
For so says the Lord of Hosts: One more thing, but a small thing, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations, they will come with the riches of all the nations, and I will fill this House with glory, says the Lord of Hosts. For Mine is the silver and Mine the gold; the Lord of Hosts has spoken. The glory of this latter House will be greater than the glory of the first, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will bestow peace upon this place. The Lord of Hosts has spoken. (Chagai 2:6-9)
Chagai continues his prophecy two months later, on the eve of Chanuka(!):
Tell Zerubavel, governor of Yehuda: I am going to shake the heavens and earth, I will overturn the thrones of kingdoms, and I will destroy the mighty dominion of nations; I will overturn the chariot and its riders. The horses and their riders will fall, every man cut down by the sword of his brother. On that day – the Lord of Hosts has spoken – I will take you, Zerubavel son of She’altiel, My servant – the Lord has spoken – and wear you close like a signet ring, for it is you whom I have chosen. The Lord of Hosts has spoken. (Chagai 2:21-22)
Zekharya, prophet of our haftara, continues in the same vein as Chagai with respect to the Divine wrath that will be directed against the nations, but he adds a more conciliatory perspective in the prophecy that begins a few verses before our haftara and continues into it:
For so says the Lord of Hosts: In the wake of Glory He sent me to the nations that have plundered you, for he who harms you harms that which is reflected in His eyes. I will brandish My hand over them, and they will be plundered by their slaves. You will know that the Lord of Hosts sent me.
Shout out and be joyful, daughter Zion, for I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst – the Lord has spoken. Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they will be My people. I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts sent me to you. (Zekharya 2:12-15)
The doubled phrase "that the Lord of Hosts sent me" emphasizes the relationship between the two parts of the prophecy. In the first part, the nations will receive their punishment; in the second part, in our haftara, they themselves will come to the Temple, acknowledge the greatness of God who commanded His children to build His Temple, and join them in doing so. Zekharya continues in this vein in another prophecy concerning the building of the Temple:
So says the Lord of Hosts: Once again nations, dwellers of many cities, will come, and the dwellers of one city will go, saying one to another, one by one, "Let us go entreat the face of the Lord, beseech the Lord of Hosts. I too will go." Then many nations will come – great peoples – to beseech the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem, to entreat the face of the Lord. So says the Lord of Hosts: It will be in those days that ten men of many languages will cling, they will cling to the hem of a Jewish man and say, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." (Zekharya 8:20-23)
III. “Hush, All Flesh”
Hush, all flesh, before the Lord, for He has stirred from His holy abode. (2:17)
Zekharya uses a metaphor that may sound jarring to our ears when applied to the Shekhina, even though it is only a metaphor: Now, when the nations are oppressing Israel, God is asleep, as it were, and we must wait for Him to wake up. This is precisely how the prophet Eliyahu mocked the worshippers of Ba'al on Mount Carmel:
At noon, Eliyahu began to mock them: "Shout louder," he said, "for he is a god – he may be in conversation, or busy, or out traveling; he may be asleep – he might wake!" (I Melakhim 18:27)
Such expressions are also used elsewhere with regard to God, however; for instance, in Tehillim:
Stir – why do You sleep, Lord? Rouse Yourself! Do not forsake us forever. (Tehillim 44:24)
Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, like a warrior shaking off wine, and beat back His foes, subjecting them to lasting shame. (Ibid. 78:65-66)
The prophets and the psalmist must have known their limits with regard to the personifying metaphors they used with respect to God. We would not dare to use such metaphors.
The phrase, "Hush (הס), all flesh, before the Lord," also requires explanation. Zekharya may be responding to the harsh words of the prophet Chavakuk, who prophesied in the days of Menashe king of Yehuda about the rise of the Chaldeans, the destroyers of Jerusalem. When he saw this harsh vision, Chavakuk was saddened to the point of hurling harsh words at God:
How much longer must I implore You, O Lord, though You do not listen. I scream out to You "violence!" yet You bring no salvation. Why then do You show me this evil? You who see the oppression, why are ruin and corruption before me so that strife endures and contention rises? This then is why law will cease to exist and justice will never prevail, for the wicked besiege the righteous, and justice becomes twisted. (Chavakuk 1:2-4)
When God opened his eyes, the prophet concluded his prophecy, before beginning the "prayer of Chavakuk the prophet" in chapter 3, with the sentence:
But the Lord is in His heavenly dwelling. All the earth, be silent (הס) before Him. (Chavakuk 2:20)
Years passed; Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed; the people fell by the sword and were brought into captivity. Now, at the time of the return to Zion, just before the building of the Second Temple, Zekharya continues the prophecy "All the earth, be silent before Him," with the prophecy "Hush, all flesh, before the Lord," and with the statement that God has returned to His Temple and raised His people from the dust.
IV. The Fourth Vision – The Sin of Yehoshua the High Priest
Then He showed me Yehoshua the High Priest standing before an angel of the Lord with the Adversary on his right to oppose him… And Yehoshua, wearing filthy clothing, was standing before the angel. (3:1-3)
Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak was the grandson of Seraya – the last High Priest of the First Temple, who was executed by the Chaldeans (II Melakhim 25:18-21) – and was one of the two leaders who returned to the Land of Israel in the wake of Koresh's proclamation. In Zekharya's vision, Yehoshua is being judged, his clothing is filthy, and the Adversary is opposing him.
Yehoshua's sin is not explained in the text. The commentators tend, in light of the accounts from the time of Ezra and Nechemya (and in the wake of the Targum and Sanhedrin 93a), to blame him for the fact that his descendants married non-Jewish women. This sin is not stated explicitly here, and it is doubtful whether in the second year of Daryavesh, a long time before Ezra and Nechemya, Yehoshua's clothing was already dirtied by this sin.
There may be an allusion to his sin below, in the warning that the angel of God gives to Yehoshua:
Listen, Yehoshua the High Priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men of wonders: Behold, I am bringing My servant Tzemach… On that day – the Lord of Hosts has spoken – you will call one to another: Come under the shade of the vine; come under the shade of the fig. (3:8-10)
This warning mentions Tzemach, a servant of God, and his role in leading the people. There may be a hint here to a leadership dispute that arose between Yehoshua and his supporters, on one hand, and Zerubavel son of She'altiel and his supporters, on the other. Zerubavel was of royal descent, and Yehoshua descended from the High Priests. Who would be in charge? The prophet warns Yehoshua to preserve the honor and authority of "Tzemach," a name reserved for the son of David who will redeem the people:
Days are soon approaching, declares the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous scion (tzemach tzaddik) for David. He will reign as king and prosper and dispense justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Yehuda will be saved, and Israel will dwell in safety. (Yirmeyahu 23:5-6)
The allusion to Zerubavel is explicitly stated later in Zekharya:
Take silver and gold; make crowns and set one on the head of Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak the High Priest. Tell him, so says the Lord of Hosts: There is a man; Tzemach is his name. He will come to flower from where he is and build the Sanctuary of the Lord. Lo, he will build the Sanctuary of the Lord. He will wear majesty; he will sit and rule on his throne. The priest, also, will sit on his own throne, and between them there will be peaceful counsel. (Zekharya 6:11-13)
"Tzemach"–Zerubavel is tasked with building the Temple and governing. Zekharya prophesies that "there will be peaceful counsel" between him and Yehoshua, which implies that there was previously a quarrel between them. The future peaceful counsel between them is also hinted at in our prophecy, in the words: "You will call one to another: Come under the shade of the vine; come under the shade of the fig."
Indeed, there is an allusion to the dispute already at the beginning of the construction, when they first arrive in the Land of Israel:
Then Yeshua son of Yotzadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubavel son of She'altiel and his brothers, rose up and built an altar for the God of Israel. (Ezra 3:2)
This verse suggests that the builders who erected the altar of God were comprised of two groups. Later, Scripture emphasizes that the two groups united into one:
Then Yeshua, his sons and brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, and the sons of Yehuda, rose up as one to supervise the builders of the House of God. (Ezra 3:9)
It may be presumed that the foreigners who wished to join exploited this internal dispute to involve themselves in the construction:
The adversaries of Yehuda and Binyamin heard that the returned exiles were building a Sanctuary for the Lord, God of Israel. So they approached Zerubavel and the family heads and said to them: "Let us join you in building it, for we too worship your God and have been sacrificing to Him ever since the days of Esar Chadon, king of Assyria, who brought us here." But Zerubavel and Yeshua and the rest of the family heads of Israel replied: "You shall have no part with us building a House for our God; rather, it is our people who, alone, shall build a House for the Lord, God of Israel, as Koresh, king of Persia, has commanded us to do.” (Ezra 4:1-3)
Zerubavel and Yehoshua assure the foreigners that the two of them can work together, and do not need their mediation or help.
V. The Words of Defense
The Lord said to the Adversary: The Lord drives you away, Adversary. The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, drives you away. Yes, this is a firebrand saved from the fire. And Yehoshua, wearing filthy clothing, was standing before the angel, who spoke and said to those standing before him, "Take those filthy clothes off him." Then the angel said to him, "See, I have removed your guilt from you and dressed you in finery." I said, "Place a pure turban on his head," and they placed a pure turban on his head. They dressed him in clothing. The angel of the Lord remained standing. (3:2-5)
Two arguments are raised in Yehoshua's defense at his trial. The first argument is: "Yes, this is a firebrand saved from the fire." According to the plain meaning of the verses, Yehoshua is a remnant of a distinguished priestly family, many of whom probably died of famine, war, or execution at the time of the destruction of the Temple. Yehotzadak, Yehoshua's father, survived the destruction, was exiled to Babylon, and fathered Yehoshua. The attribute of mercy stands to his right to prevent the entire house of the High Priests from being wiped out.[3]
The second argument is that a warning must be given before punishment – and it is hoped that Yehoshua will indeed receive the warning and act accordingly, including towards "Tzemach"-Zerubavel:
Then that angel of the Lord testified regarding Yehoshua: So says the Lord of Hosts: If you walk in My ways, if you keep My watch, if you judge My House, and guard My courtyards, then I will give you walkers among these who are standing. (3:6-7)
We will deal below with the seven-eyed stone depicted next in this vision.
VI. The Fifth Vision – The Candelabrum
Then the angel with whom I had spoken returned and roused me like a man stirring from his sleep. He said to me, "What do you see?" I said, "I see a candelabrum of pure gold, its bowl at the top. It has seven lamps – seven – and seven indentations for the lamps, which are at the top. Next to it are two olive trees, one to the right of the bowl and one to its left." (4:1-3)
As noted above, I dealt extensively with the details of this vision in my remarks on the haftara for Shabbat Chanuka. Some relate the vision of the menora to the miracle of the cruse of oil that was performed for Yehuda the Maccabi and his brothers when the Temple was purified from the impurity of the Greeks and rededicated. With regard to Parashat Beha’alotekha, however, it suffices to consider, via Zekharya’s vision, the seven-lamped menora that was in the Mishkan and the Temple. The candelabrum seen by Zekharya includes an additional bowl at its top, not part of the Temple menora, which dripped oil into the lamps, and two olive trees above it that provided the oil. It seems that this change comes to express the miracle of the perpetual lamp, which burned until the days of Shimon the Righteous:
As long as Shimon the Righteous lived, the western lamp was constant. After he died, they went and found that it had become extinguished. From then onward, they found it sometimes extinguished and sometimes lit. (Tosefta Sota 13:7)
What does this prophetic vision express? To answer this question, let us return to the period and the historical background. As stated above, the two prophets, Chagai and Zekharya, encouraged the people to continue building the house of the Lord, despite the rescinding of the permission to build it and despite the watchful eyes and informing lips of the enemies of Yehuda.
Indeed, an official appointed by Daryavesh, king of Persia, over the Land of Israel and the surrounding areas, arrived with his assistant and demanded an explanation for the continued construction. The builders, led by Zerubavel and Yehoshua, showed them the permit granted by Koresh while ignoring the order to stop the construction. The official and his assistant sent an inquiry to the king of Persia to clarify the matter of the permit, and recorded the names of the chief builders in order to punish them should it turn out that they built without a permit.[4]
Doubts then begin to arise as to whether taking the risk of building without a valid permit was the right step – and more generally, whether the returnees to Zion are indeed in a process of redemption, which guarantees God's help, or whether the redemption process is void because such a small number of people returned to Zion, and they too are wearing "filthy clothing," using the wording of the prophecy above, and have entered into an unjustified adventure with the Persian authorities.
It is possible that this question arose on the eve of Tisha be-Av, with a practical question of whether they should fast on Tisha be-Av because the destruction continues, or whether they are in the midst of redemption and the fast of the fifth month should turn into a day of joy:
To ask the priests at the House of the Lord of Hosts and the prophets, too: Should I weep in the fifth month, deny myself as I have done these many years? (Zekharya 7:3)
If the above is correct, it is possible that the prophecy of the vision of the candelabrum comes to testify that despite the trouble with the Persian official, the Temple will be built and the menora will be lit. Zekharya answers the people's question with a comforting prophecy about the building of Jerusalem and the Temple, and indeed Daryavesh approved the continuation of the construction, encouraged it, and supported it financially.
Why exactly does the candelabrum express the continued construction and upcoming dedication of the Temple? This was also the case in the days of the Hasmoneans; the Temple was rededicated with the lighting of the menora. Why? The answer to this question is hidden in an ancient baraita:
"Outside the veil of testimony shall [Aharon] order it" (Bamidbar 27:21). Does He require its light? Surely, during the entire forty years that the Israelites travelled in the wilderness, they travelled only by His light! But it is a testimony to mankind that the Divine Presence rests in Israel. (Shabbat 22b)
According to the baraita, the menora serves as testimony to the resting of the Shekhina. In a proper state, the testimony to the resting of the Shekhina in the Temple is the Ark of the Testimony, and inside it, the Tablets of the Testimony, which were written by the finger of God. But the Second Temple contained no Ark and no tablets; the Holy of Holies was empty. Thus, the testimony to the resting of the Shekhina moved to the menora, whose light represents the light of the Torah, which was supposed to radiate to us from the Holy of Holies, from the Ark. The prophet Zekharya sees the candelabrum as a vision of the completion of the building of the Temple.
The connection between the sight of the lit candelabrum and the hope that the Temple will indeed be built is in fact so logical that the question arises in the opposite direction: Why didn't the prophet Zekharya understand this by himself? The angel of God also expresses surprise that Zekharya has to ask about the meaning of the vision:
I spoke and said to the angel with whom I spoke, "What are these, my lord?" And the angel with whom I spoke replied and said, "You know what these are." I said, "No, my lord." (4:4-5)
Indeed, Zekharya saw the prophetic vision, and considering the political uncertainty in the wake of the events mentioned above, its meaning seems easily understandable. Zekharya could have simply told the confused people that God would help them continue to build the Temple. This, however, would be an intellectual-political interpretation of the prophetic vision, and Zekharya sought a prophetic understanding, not a logical conclusion. He did not let go of the angel until he heard in a revelation:
Zerubavel’s hands founded this House, and his hands will complete it. You will know that the Lord of Hosts sent me to you. (4:9)
In this way is the true prophet distinguished from the false prophets, who draw logical political conclusions from their "prophecies" and bring them to the people as the word of God.
VII. The Candelabrum and the Stone
The last two visions include a stone and the candelabrum. Let us recall the vision of the stone:
Behold, I am bringing My servant Tzemach. Upon the stone that I set before Yehoshua, one stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, and I will wipe away the guilt of this land in one day. (3:8-9)
Adjacent visions of a stone and a candelabrum bring to mind the words of the Mishna:
There was a stone in front of the menora, with three steps on which the priest stood in order to prepare the lights. (Tamid 3:9)[5]
The stone in front of the candelabrum expresses the appearance of Tzemach, the servant of God – namely, Zerubavel, of the seed of Yehoyakhin, who was destined to be the first king during the period of the return to Zion. The stone signifies resilience and strength, which are supposed to characterize the kingdom of Israel. The stone has seven eyes (einayim), that is to say, openings of flowing springs (ma'ayanot), which provide an abundance of water. The stone is the first level to which the priest must ascend before he reaches the candelabrum itself.
The eyes are described later in the prophecy as eyes that see:
You will know that the Lord of Hosts sent me to you, for whosoever scorned the day of small things will rejoice seeing the measuring stone in Zerubavel's hand. These seven, they are the eyes of the Lord, roaming throughout the land. (4:10)
Is there a connection between an ayin as a wellspring and an ayin that looks and sees? The connection is usually understood through the tears of the eye, which may rise up like a spring. Here, we will take the connection in a different direction, which emerges from the verses in Devarim:
The land that you are crossing over to possess is a land of hills and valleys; it is watered by the sky's rains. It is a land the Lord your God watches over; the eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the year's opening to its end. (Devarim 11:11-12)
God's eyes, which watch over His land, make sure to send rain down to it and satiate it in accordance with the good deeds of Israel. This is how God's land becomes "a land of streams and springs (ayanot) and deep waters gushing out to the valleys and the hills" (Devarim 8:7).
Let us summarize: The stone in front of Yehoshua and in the hand of Zerubavel watches over God's people and bestows good on His land. These are the functions of the king. The menora shines with the light of God and the light of its testimony about the Shekhina that rests upon Israel. This light allows the seven eyes of the stone to look well, by the light of the seven lamps of the menora, upon the people of Israel.
VIII. The Priest and the King
The two authorities that lead the people, like Moshe and Aharon during the exodus from Egypt and in the wilderness, are the monarchy and the priesthood. These authorities should be separate, and God alone stands above the two of them. The king is mainly concerned with the "here and now," with the new emerging reality, with practical leadership. The priest is preoccupied with eternity, with the roots of the relationship between God and His people. In this place, we find the Temple. Moshe built the Mishkan, and Zerubavel must lead the construction of the Temple by correctly navigating between the rulers of Persia and the enemies of Yehuda. Aharon served in the Mishkan, and this is to be the role of Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak in the Temple.
The fourth vision warns Yehoshua, after he dresses in finery and wears a pure turban on his head, about the function of the servant of the Lord, Tzemach; about the stone that stands before the candelabrum; about the king; about Zerubavel.
The fifth vision is meant, based on its continuation, to warn Zerubavel about maintaining the priesthood – about the lamp that lights the path of the stone and its eyes:
Then he spoke and said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubavel: Not with valor and not with strength, but with My spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. Who are you, great mountain before Zerubavel? Surely it will become a level plain. He will remove the re-foundation stone with clamor: Favor, favor to her!" (4:6-7)
In my understanding, this verse (like many others in Scripture) should be read as follows: Not only with valor and not only with strength, but also with My spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. The way of the king is with valor and strength, and the priesthood and the Temple come to add the spirit, the spirit of God, to all that is done in the kingdom. The king must listen to the members of the priesthood and allow them to participate in the process of redemption. The hands of Zerubavel will build the Temple, as emerges from the verses above, but "the two sons of the anointed ones," the two who are anointed with oil, will work together and reduce the natural tension between the priesthood and the monarchy:
He said, "These are the two sons of the anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of all the land." (4:14)
(Translated by David Strauss)
[1] Unless indicated otherwise, all references are to the book of Zekharya.
[2] https://etzion.org.il/en/tanakh/neviim/sefer-zekharia/chanuka-and-He-will-choose-Jerusalem-once-more
[3] a. This type of argument was made by the wise woman of Tekoa, to David, concerning the family's desire to execute her son who had murdered his brother (it should be remembered that her story was only a parable): "And now, the whole family has risen against your servant, saying, 'Give over the one who struck his brother, so we can put him to death for ending his brother's life – we will destroy the heir as well.' They would extinguish my last remaining ember, leaving my husband without name or remnant on the face of the earth" (II Shmuel 14:7).
b. The Jerusalem Talmud asserts, somewhat similarly, that Yehoshua was a firebrand saved from the fire of the destruction of the first Temple: "Rabbi Yochanan said: Eighty thousand young priests fled into the fire places of the Temple, and they were all burned, and of all of them only Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak the High Priest survived, as it is stated: 'Yes, this is a firebrand saved from the fire" (Ta'anit 4:5).
Another midrash connects Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak to two adulterous false prophets in the Babylonian exile, whom Nevukhadnetzar burned, as he had attempted to burn Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya. They asked that Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak be cast into the fiery furnace with them, and in the end, they were burned, whereas he was saved because of his righteousness: "Achav son of Kulya and Tzidkiya son of Ma'asiya were false prophets, and they committed adultery with the wives of their friends… [Nevukhadnetzar] said: Is this possible? The God of this nation hates illicit intercourse! I will test them like I tested Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya. If they survive, all is good; and if not, they are false prophets… Since they saw their trouble, they joined Yehoshua son of Yehotzadak the High Priest to them… What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do to them? They were burned, and he was saved. 'Yes, this is a firebrand saved from the fire'" (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 24).
[4] See Ezra chapter 5.
[5] The image of the Temple menora became the symbol of the State of Israel. It was copied from the inscription on the Arch of Titus in Rome, which expresses the Roman victory over the armies of the Jews and over the Jewish spirit, which found expression in the Temple that was destroyed. In the relief, the victorious soldiers are seen carrying the menora (and other items) as the spoils of Titus' victory. The "return" of the image of the candelabrum to the institutions of the State of Israel comes to express the re-establishment of Israel after that destruction and our answer to the Romans that their victory over us was only temporary. The menora, according to that copy, has three steps at its base, thus contradicting our tradition that it stood on three legs. The prophecy in our haftara and the mishna in tractate Tamid allow us to understand that we are looking at an image of the menora with a three-stepped stone in front of it. The function of the stone is not only technical, but essential, as will be explained below.
YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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THE WEEKLY HAFTORA
By Rav Yehuda Shaviv
Haftora for Parashat Beha'alotekha
When it Traveled – When it Rested (Zekharia 2:14-4:7)
a. The difference between one menora and another
The Haftora that is read this Shabbat from Zekharia is well-known, for its serves also as the Haftora for Channuka. It is clearly the menora and its lights, described by the prophet in his vision, that connect it with Channuka, and they are also what connect it with our parasha. The connection with the parasha seems more concrete, since the prophecy speaks of a menora with seven lights, like the menora of the Beit Ha-Mikdash, in contrast with the lights of Channuka, which number between one (according to the basic law) and eight (if performed in the best possible manner), and have nothing to do with the number seven. The menora is dealt with at the beginning of the parasha, while the prophecy of the Haftora concludes with this vision. In between, many other issues are discussed, both in the parasha and in the Haftora, and it would be surprising indeed if we did not find some connections between them.
b. "When you light" vs. "with My spirit"
Before turning our attention to the other subjects, let us examine the two menorot. They seem quite different from one another. In the prophetic vision what stands out is the human passivity. The lights are already upon the menora; they do not need to be placed there, nor does oil need to be poured, for there is a bowl on top of the menora and two olive branches from which oil will be poured into it. And the content of the prophetic message contained within the vision is "Not by might, nor by power, but my My spirit, says Hashem..." (4:6).
In contrast, the parasha emphasizes action:
"When you light... and so Aharon did... he lit the lights... and this is how the menora was to be made... so he made the menora" (8:2-4).
The same type of difference also exists in the next subject discussed in the parasha – the purification of the leviim. Aharon, the Kohen Gadol, is active – he presents the leviim before Hashem. In the Haftora, Yehoshua – the Kohen Gadol – stands before the angel, and the prophet hears Hashem's voice calling to those before Him to remove Yehoshua's soiled clothes from upon him, to dress him in festive garments and to crown him with the pure mitre.
Again: an image of a Kohen Gadol in action as opposed to a Kohen Gadol who is passive. Facing those over whom he is authorized he is active, while before the heavenly hosts he is passive.
In truth, the entire parasha breathes action and movement, starting with the lighting of the lamps and the construction of the menora, via the presentation of the leviim, turning to human initiative from below, asking that Bnei Yisrael not be prevented from bringing the pesach sacrifice – an initiative answered with the notification of a second opportunity for this mitzva – pesach sheni. This would suggest that even in those matters that by nature are dictated from above there is still room for initiative from below. The climax of all the action is the JOURNEY of Bnei Yisrael: by Hashem's command they journey from one encampment to the next, with the final destination "the place of which Hashem spoke." Thus the whole parasha falls under the category of "journeying," while the Haftora characterizes "encampment." The most outstanding expression of this is pasuk 3:10, which reads, "On that day... each man will call to his neighbor, inviting him to sit under his vine and under his fig tree." Sitting under a vine and under a fig tree is the most striking symbol of quiet, peace and tranquility.
c. How to come to war
Just as the journeying and camping are discussed together in the parasha, showing that there is no contradiction between them, a similar and complementary image arises from the Haftora.
The parasha speaks of enemies and haters: "Rise up, Hashem; let Your enemies be scattered and let those who hate You flee from before You" (10:35). The Haftora offers a similar but softer image: "Be silent, all flesh, before Hashem, for He has arisen from His holy habitation" (2:17). Hashem's enemies, who are also the enemies of Israel (Rashi, quoting the Sifri: "Your enemies" – these are the enemies of Israel, for anyone who hates Israel hates the One who created the world..."). The parasha says of those who arise to wage war against Israel: "And if you go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresses you..." (10:9), while the Haftora speaks of an arch-enemy who would seem to belong in the heavens, while the objects of his hatred live on earth – the Satan. And just as enemies flee at the sight of the Ark on its journeys, so the Satan is silent before Hashem's rebuke. And since the identity of the enemies and the source of their hatred pales, the key to their downfall is not (only) strength and power, "but by My spirit." In the parasha, too, we find the mitzva of blowing a blast on the trumpet at a time of war in order to be remembered before Hashem and to be saved (without in any way minimizing the importance of the human defense effort, just as we have found human action throughout the parasha).
d. And many nations will join
The Haftora enlightens us with regard to another subject. We have already mentioned that the parasha speaks of enemies and haters, of war and trouble. This creates the impression that all nations oppose Israel, that they are all enemies and all haters, and it is only among the tens of thousands of the nation of Israel that the Shekhina can rest peacefully. The Haftora comes to paint a picture of the future, which is vastly different: "And many nations will join themselves to Hashem on that day, and will be My people" (2:16).
In truth, the root of this image is to be found in the parasha; not in the form of many nations, but rather as embodied by one individual and one family. So says Moshe to his father-in-law (or perhaps his brother-in-law – see the Ibn Ezra):
"And Moshe said to Chovav the son of Re'u'el the Midianite... we are traveling to the place concerning which Hashem said, I shall give it to you. Go with us and we shall be good to you" (10:29).
But the joining of many nations to become a nation of Hashem does not cancel the uniqueness of Israel. Attention should be paid to the fact that we are told twice in the Haftora, "And I shall dwell in your midst." Once prior to the fulfillment of the destiny: "And many nations will join...," and a second time immediately thereafter: "And they shall be a nation to Me, and I shall dwell in your midst." This seems to be aimed at allaying Israel's fears: even when many other nations join, the Shekhina will still rest among Israel. And the lights of the menora likewise testify to a special resting of the Shekhina among Israel, as we learn from the Gemara (Menachot 86b):
"It is testimony to all the world that the Shekhina dwells among Israel. What is the testimony? Rabba says: this refers to the western light...."
It may be that the difference between Israel and the nations of the world is like the difference between the kohanim and the leviim. This difference arises from the parasha: there is a difference in their function, a difference in their holiness, a difference in their status. Israel will be a kingdom of kohanim, and the nations will represent the families of leviim – "and many nations will join (ve-nilvu)."
e. Be Silent, all flesh, before Hashem
There is still more that is common between the parasha and the Haftora. The parasha describes a crisis of leadership. Moshe feels that he has no more strength to continue leading the nation alone: "I cannot myself bear this whole nation, for it is too heavy for me" (11:14). The Holy One answers him and joins seventy elders to him to lead the nation. The prophecy of the Haftora similarly does not speak of a single leader. We find mention of Yehoshua, the Kohen Gadol, he and his companions who sit before him (3:8), as well as another leader – Zerubavel (4:6).
A crisis of leadership that arises when a single person cannot manage alone, even if it comes about as a result of negative elements in the nation, carries a message. Even someone as great as Moshe (and the end of the parasha speaks of his greatness and uniqueness: "And the man Moshe was very humble, more than any other person on the face of the earth" – 12:3, and "In all My house he is trustworthy, I speak with him mouth to mouth" – 12:7-8) finds himself unable to lead the nation alone, for there is only One who is able to lead alone not only the nation of Israel but also the many nations who will join: "Be silent, all flesh, before Hashem...."
PARASHAT BEHAALOTCHA (HAFTARA) 5764. D'VAR TORAH
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The angel who spoke with me returned and woke me…He said to me: "What do you see?" I said: "…There is a Menorah made entirely of gold… with its seven lamps upon it… and two olive trees are next to it."(Zechariah 4:1-3) Guided Tour… The Prophet Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai. Both were active it the period between the return of 42,360 Jews to the Holy Land from Babylon under Cyrus of Persia's decree, and the building of the Second Temple. His prophesies in the second year of the reign of Darius I of Persia - around 520 BCE - would place him among the latter generation of Biblical prophets. G-d's visions to Zechariah took place at a time when that community, in the process of resettling its much-devastated homeland, was becoming demoralized. Various factions in Persia succeeded in persuading Cyrus to rein in his encouragement of the Return, culminating in his decision to forbid the Israelites to reconstruct the Temple (Ezra 4:5,24), which held good until he was succeeded by the more benevolent Darius I. Some eighteen years after their return, the Israelites had still made no move to rebuild the Temple. That date was seventy years after the Destruction of the First Temple - the final possible date for redemption (Daniel 9:2). At that time Darius had not given his royal assent, and there had been no sign from Heaven proclaiming the onset of the redemption. On the contrary, things seemed to be going from bad to worse. The Israelites were becoming more and more skeptical. As Haggai, Zechariah's contemporary, put it: "You have sown much, but you brought in little. You eat, but you are not satisfied. You drink, but you are not quenched. You clothe yourself, but no one is warmed. And the one who earns, earns in vain." (Haggai 1:6) Zechariah, together with Haggai, encouraged the Israelites to rebuild the Temple without permission from Persia. Encouraged by their leaders, Zerubabel, and Joshua the High Priest, the people did as the prophet commanded. The Persian overseers, as expected, immediately reported them to the emperor, but Darius, for reasons not currently known, suddenly changed his mind. Not only did he allow them to continue to build the Temple, but also actually assisted by ordering those overseers to assist the Israelites in their sacred task - including supplying them with raw materials and animals for Temple offerings. The Book of Zechariah has two distinct parts. The first eight chapters (which include this Haftara) prophesize, in the form of detailed visions, the restoration of Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the Temple, the purification of G-d's people, and the Messianic Age to come. The last six chapters contain a series of messages about the expected Messiah and the details of the final judgment. This Haftara is also read on Shabbat Chanukah. For its contents speak of the oncoming of an earlier Chanukah: Zechariah's prophetic vision of the inauguration of Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum) in the then future Second Temple. Joshua was the High Priest, Zerubabel was the leader of the nation, scion of the Davidic dynasty, and Zechariah was one of the prophets who conveyed this vision. The Haftara opens by looking ahead to the times when all the world will acknowledge Israel's primacy as G-d's chosen people under the leadership of the tribe of Judah, the tribe of David. Then the Prophet turns to Joshua, who was the victim of the same sin that plagued much of the nation in the wake of the Babylonian Exile. According to Jewish tradition, his sons had married gentile women, and he had failed to chastise them. In his vision, Zechariah sees the Satan condemning Joshua for his shortcomings, which was symbolized by the filthy garments he was wearing in Zechariah's own vision. But G-d defends Joshua on the grounds that he is a firebrand rescued from the flames: he was immersed in the conflagration of the Exile's physical and spiritual destruction, and could not be fully blamed for the past. So the angel gives him a new start - he clothes him in the priestly garments - but warns him that henceforth he must obey all the commandments. Afterwards, Zechariah's communication from G-d shows a vision - a Menorah - complete with a bowl containing oil, with tubes bringing oil to its seven lamps, and two olive trees to assure a constant supply of fuel. Its deeper meaning and symbolism (elaborated on below) have been a light to the Jewish nation ever since. D'var Torah The text brings the Angel's interpretation of the Menorah and the olive tree: 'This is the word of G-d to Zerubabel: "Not through armies and not through might, but through My Spirit," says G-d, the Master of Legions. "Who are you, O great mountain, to stand before Zerubabel? You shall become a plain!" (Zech. 6-7) Thus impassible mountains become hospitable plains if G-d so wills. The most stubbornly bolted doors have been known to open against remarkable odds to those with great courage of their convictions, persistence and faith. That was demonstrated following Zechariah's prophecy in the Jews' defiance of the Persian regime in building the Second Temple - which gave them the most crucial and unexpected ally of the Emperor Darius I himself. It also is a major theme of the events taking place nearly four hundred years later, in the events celebrated by Chanukah - where warriors, who selflessly put their faith in G-d, managed to wrest the Jews in the Holy Land free from the Hellenist Empire. Indeed, of all the miracles that took place during the Hasmonean revolt, the one that gets most attention is the case of where a sole one-day's supply of pure oil burnt for eight days. The symbolism of Zechariah's Menorah was repeated virtually to the last detail in the struggle for national freedom against extremely powerful odds. No other single item in the Temple gets the same attention in Zechariah's vision as the Menorah. Its symbolism was to bring hope, and eventual spiritual and economic prosperity. So long as the lamp is not extinguished, its light burns upwards even in the most chilling circumstances. The Book of Proverbs writes that 'the candle of G-d is the soul of the human being'. (Prov. 20:27) Every day, on waking from sleep, we thank G-d for restoring our souls to us. As long as we live, 'the candle of G-d' - in the essence of our personalities - burns within us. Haggai and Zechariah successfully encouraged a demoralized nation. They caused the candles within in the people to burn upwards, to the extent that they could place their faith in G-d, and spiritually and physically rebuild the parts of the Holy Land on which they settled. Some time ago, I read (and tried) the following piece of advice. 'On the stroke of every hour, say a nice word to someone. Shows them that what they do is valued.' When a person feels encouraged, wanted, and needed, his or her flame burns within. He or she gains in happiness, confidence, and self-respect - and can face situations and challenges with self-confidence and success, instead of failure and despair. That genuine and nice remark will be remembered - often long after the material gifts have fallen to floor or been covered with dust in the attic. Unlike other gifts, a nice word costs nothing - and takes nothing away from the person who gives it. Like the candle of the Menorah, it can give light to many other lamps without losing any luster of its own… |
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