A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you." The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?" The boy takes the quarters and leaves. "What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"
Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy leaving the ice cream store. "Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?" The boy licked his ice cream cone and replied, "Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!"
Yechezkel, or Ezekiel, was one of the greatest prophets in the history of Judaism. According to the book of Yechezkel in the Hebrew Bible, his prophecies span some 22 years from 592 BCE till 570 BCE. These were fateful years in Jewish history, as it was in the year 597 when the Babylonian Emperor, Nebuchadnezzar, exiled thousands of Jews from Jerusalem to Babylon, including the prophet Yechezkel, King Yechanya, Mordechai, and other great leaders and sages. Eleven years later, in 586 BCE, the king destroyed the First Holy Temple, decimated Jerusalem, and exiled the survivors to Babylonia. At the time of the destruction, Jews had two great prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Jeremiah was in Jerusalem. He witnessed firsthand the collapse of the Jewish Empire and the destruction of the Temple and wrote the book Eicha, Lamentations. Ezekiel and his wife lived on the bank of the Chebar River, in present-day Iraq, together with other exiled Jews. The last recorded prophecy of Ezekiel chronologically—presented to him on the first of Nissan in 570 BCE, 16 years after the destruction of the Temple—constitutes the end of the Haftarah of this week’s portion Vaeera.
It is in Yechezkel chapter 29 and it tells a deeply enigmatic story.
During that period, Babylon and Egypt were the two Superpowers, and the Land of Israel, situated between Babylon in the North and Egypt in the South, was the strategic bridge between these two mighty Empires. In the sixth century BCE, the Babylonian Empire rose to great power. In his ambition to conquer the world, Nebuchadnezzar marched to the West. He subjugated Judea and destroyed the First Temple. But his ambitions were not for Judea alone. He also went to war with the wealthy and corrupt Empire of Tyre in today’s Lebanon. The mighty Tyrians held off Nebuchadnezzar's siege for thirteen years, resupplying the walled island city from its two harbors.
In the end, Tyre fell to Babylonia.
In the 29th chapter of the book of Ezekiel, the haftarah of the week, G-d speaks to the prophet Ezekiel, about this event. He says to Ezekiel that as a reward for Nebuchadnezzar taking down Tyre, Babylonia will be successful in conquering Egypt, the second Super Power of the day, and amassing all its fortune. The arrogance and selfishness of Egypt have reached a peak, and its time has come. In addition, Egypt has deceived Israel. Pharaoh promised the Jewish king Tzedkeya that he would assist him against Babylonia and the Jews trusted him and fought Nebuchadnezzar which turned out disastrous.
Here is how Ezekiel tells the story:
“The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man! Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, made his army perform great work against Tyre; every head became bald and every shoulder sore, yet he and his army had no reward out of Tyre. Babylonia did not get any of its wealth.
“Therefore, thus says G-d: ‘Behold, I will give Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, the land of Egypt, and he shall carry away its multitude, pillage its spoils, and plunder its booty, and that shall be the reward for his army.’ And then the prophecy concludes with G-d telling Ezekiel: On that day will I cause the House of Israel to blossom, and I will give you an open mouth among them, and they shall know that I am G-d.
Ezekiel lived in exile in Babylonia. Most Jews believed in him; he had been prophesizing for 22 years. But there were still some individuals, who mocked him. Thus G-d promises him, “I will give you an open mouth among them.” Till now they wanted your mouth shut.
But now, at last, when they see that your prediction that Babylonia will defeat Egypt will materialize, you will be given an “open mouth,” all Jews will embrace you as a genuine Divine prophet, trusting your words and following your direction Indeed, the Babylonian king proceeded to conquer and defeat Egypt. Egypt lay desolate for forty years and even after it was rebuilt and the refugees returned, it was never again, to this very day, restored to a dominating world empire. But there is something deeply enigmatic here.
What causes the great events of history? Why do Empires rise and fall? What causes the rumblings that generate conflict and victory and the change of empires and monarchs? This is what historians get paid to do. They usually try to explain world events based on socioeconomic factors, political forces, human intrigue, military ambitions, etc. Judaism teaches that there is a hidden Divine “hand” behind the journeys of world history. Even if the battles may unfold as a result of this or that earthy factor, the ultimate cause of causes if the Divine GPS navigating history, even if not discernible or comprehensible to the human mind. Egypt has been a dominant superpower from the days of the first Pharaohs till the times of Nebuchadnezzar, but its time has come. The glory of the arrogant and narcissistic Egypt would cease, as Babylon would destroy it. Babylonia too would soon perish. But after the Haftarah, the final verse of chapter 29 in Ezekiel. On that day will I cause the House of Israel to blossom out, and I will give you an open mouth among them, and they shall know that I am G-d. As a grand finale to this entire story, the Tanach states one more Divine objective in the conflict between Babylon and Egypt: So that Jews would start believing in Ezekiel!
G-d says to Ezekiel, I want you to know that as you are watching gigantic world events unfolding do not think this is happening only for the “big guys” playing “big league,” getting ready for “playoffs.” No! G-d is interested in a few Jews who are skeptical about the authenticity of Ezekiel that they should
finally, start trusting G-d’s prophet to His people!
The Tanach is imparting a crucial lesson—it is the theory of “spiritual relativity.” From the Divine perspective, what we may see as “small” is not small. We can never judge and say, “This is a significant event.” We are not always aware of how central something may be. The Baal Shem Tov once said: “A soul comes down for 70-80 years just to do a favor to another Jew—a material favor, or a spiritual favor.” Does this make sense? A life of 80 years is long, tedious, painful, exhausting, and packed with action. The person living this life may have spent 20 years educating himself, building a career with sweat and tears constructing a life, a family, and a reputation. What’s the ultimate purpose of it all? Comes the Baal Shem Tov and says: To do one favor to another person! Really? 80 years my soul needed to toil in this world with all of the anxiety and agony that comes with life, to do one favor for one person? Where did the Baal Shem Tov get this from?
The Baal Shem Tov deduced this principle from the final verse of Ezekiel chapter 29, the final verse of this Haftarah. G-d states clearly that cataclysmic earth-shattering world events, a massive showdown between the two great superpowers of the time, contain one major purpose: that a few Jews should realize that Yechezkel was an authentic prophet of G-d. In 1840 the First Opium War between China and Britain was a conflict about foreign trade in China. Finally, in 1842, the treaty of Nanjing was signed, which turned Shanghai into an international city, opening trade for people of all countries.
If you were reading a newspaper in 1842, you would not see in this story anything essential shattering, or significant to you as a Jew. Just another bloody and tragic conflict in the East. But 100 years later, we all discovered it was part of a tapestry of events that saved generations of Jews. There was only ONE CITY in the world where Jews, fleeing Hitler, could enter and stay without a Visa. IT WAS SHNGHAI! They were refused entry into any country, including the US, Britain, and Palestine. As a result, some 60,000 Jews were saved from the gas chambers by fleeing to Japan and from there to China where they remained during the Holocaust. There are millions of Jews alive today because, in 1840, a war between Britain and China opened the gates of Shanghai to refugees. So, can I ever know what newspaper story is significant?
On the night of April 14, 1912, the watchman assigned to the crow’s nest post atop the Titanic had a problem. The binoculars he needed to keep an eye out for large obstacles (icebergs, say), were inside a locked locker—and the key was missing. Right before the ship left port, the cruise company decided to replace the ship’s second officer David Blair with Charles Lightroller.
In his haste to make the switch, Blair forgot to hand over the keys to the locker.
So, do I ever know what a significant story is? Forgetting to give you the key to the binoculars seems quite trivial to me. But, as it turns out, it changed the lives of thousands of people forever and is seared into the imagination of millions. We often make the mistake of seeing major significance only in “big events” that unfold in the lives of “big people.” Judaism teaches otherwise. The center of spiritual gravity can sometimes be found in an isolated, apparently small gesture or act.
Maimonides wrote: A person must see himself and the world as equally balanced on two ends of the scale; by doing one good deed, he tips the scale and brings for himself and the entire world redemption and salvation.
Sometimes I may tell myself: Why should I expend so much energy that one Jew should wrap tefillin, observe Shabbat, give charity, learn Torah, give his or her children a Jewish education, put a mezuzah on his door, or kindle the Shabbat candles? There is a big world out there; there are much more important events. Should I invest time in doing a favor for one individual? How significant is it to put a smile on the face of an elderly lonely woman? To give hope to a struggling teenager? To help a friend struggling in his business? To inspire a couple to enhance their marriage? To embrace a tormented soul?
Comes the Tanach and teaches us a fabulous and remarkable lesson.
Two Super Powers are having it out with each other; the Russia and the USA of old: Putin and Trump; or in their earlier reincarnation, Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar. Comes G-d and says: I want you to know that as significant and as vital these world changes are, there is another component here that is as vital and crucial:
Sometimes the world turns over so that one Jew can learn Torah or do a Mitzvah! Of course, this does not explain to us the mysteries of history.
Why did so many people have to die on the battlefields of human history?
Whatever the purpose may be, so much of world events are beyond our finite minds. It is easier for a frog to grasp quantum mechanics than for me to grasp
G-d! But the point is that in the grand scheme of things, the purpose of major upheavals in the world may be related to one Jew serving G-d! As the Rebbe said in January 1967, with much fiery passion, few in the audience could have realized the extraordinary significance of his message.
It is quite an unknown story. On Shabbat Vaeira, January 6, 1967, exactly five months before the onset of the Six-Day War.
In May and June 1967, seven Arab countries vowed to destroy Israel. The Jewish world, in Israel and abroad, was gripped in dread and fear. Some feared a second Auschwitz. The Rebbe, in the weeks before the War, predicted that the Jewish people would emerge victorious, that there was no need to worry, and that Israel was about to experience stupendous miracles. It was a shocking prediction. The Rebbe even instructed all who asked not to leave the Holy Land. With the stunning victory in merely Six Days, all of the Rebbe’s words and predictions were materialized. Some people recalled that five months earlier, the Rebbe explained that sometimes grand battles are fought so that the few doubtful Jews should have the merit to discover G-d’s true prophets. The Rebbe’s predictions materialized. Even a few cynical Jews would discover the sanctity of the Rebbe’s words.
May we see the complete victory and unity of the Jewish people to bring Mashiach now, Am Israel Chai.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky
Mavis Wanczyk wrote...