[Ezekiel, 36:16–38]
“The word of the Lord came to me” [36:16]. “You, O mortal, etc.” [36:17]. God said: you person, see. Israel is sitting on their land and they have made the land unclean through their evil deeds. Like a woman who is menstruating, so too are their ways in My eyes. Why are they compared to a menstruating woman? The explanation is that the Holy One wanted that Israel should repent and hoped that they will come to God again; that they will be pious, like a man whose wife is menstruating and he hopes that she will soon immerse herself and will come to him. So too is the Holy One with Israel. He compares them to a menstruating woman and hopes that they will immerse themselves, that is to say, become pious.1Rashi, Ezekiel, 36:16.
“So I poured out My wrath” [36:18]. The Holy One said: I have poured out My wrath on them because they have spilled blood and made the land unclean with foreign gods.
“And I scattered them” [36:19]. I have scattered them among the nations because of their evil deeds.
“But when they came to those nations” [36:20]. They will come to the nations and My name will be profaned, when the nations will say, your God, heaven forbid, has no power to protect His people Israel. This is a great profanation of God’s name.
“But I have concern” [36:21]. I will have compassion on Israel because of My holy name, that it should not be profaned among the nations.
“Therefore, say to the house of Israel” [36:22]. The Holy One said: go and say to Israel. I do not want to redeem you for your sake, but for the sake of My holy name. I want to sanctify My name that was profaned among the nations. I alone am God and I want to take you to Me from the nations and all the lands. And thus said the Holy One: if you will think, what will it help us that we will again come into the holy land when the land cannot suffer the sins. We will again be driven out. The person has an Evil Inclination, and the person must commit sins, as the verse says, “for there is not one good man on earth who does what is best and does not sin” [Ecclesiastes, 7:20]. Therefore, the verse says here, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you” [36:25]. That is to say, the Holy One says, I will sprinkle clean water to cleanse you.
“I will give you a new heart” [36:26]. I will give you a new heart that you will follow and listen to what I, God, will command you and will remove the Evil Inclination from you. I will give you a soft heart.
“And my spirit” [36:27]. I will put My good spirit into you, so that you will fulfill My commandments, so that you will no longer sin. Therefore, do not fear that you will again be driven out of the land; you will dwell forever in the land. I will help you with your transgressions. I will cause that you will have much grain. I will give much rain so that you will have no hunger. I will give you good fruits so that you should no longer be disgraced because of hunger, among the nations.
“You will remember” [36:31]. You will remember your evil ways and the evil deeds that you did. You will remind yourselves and you will say that it is just that the Holy One dispersed us previously from our land, because we committed great sins. Therefore, the Holy One was just when the Holy One threw us out of the land.
“Not for your sake” [36:32]. The Holy One said: not for your sake did I do it. It will be to make known to all the nations, that I am God. Therefore, Israel be ashamed of your evil deeds.
“Thus says the Lord” [36:33]. Thus says the Lord. When I will cleanse you of your sins, then I will build your cities, those that were wiped out by the sword. Now the whole land will be built for all the people.
“They will say, the land” [36:35]. They will say, this land was desolate and has become very beautiful, like the Garden of Eden.
“The nations will know” [36:36]. All the foreigners that will remain among you will know and they will say, I am God, that I have built the cities that were desolate.
“Thus says the Lord” [36:37]. Thus says the Lord. I will respond to Israel, to make them as numerous as the sheep.
“Like sheep for sacrifices” [36:38]. Israel will be as numerous as the holy sheep that are brought to Jerusalem for the festivals. So will be the cities that were destroyed. They will be full of people and they will know that I am God.
We will write several midrashim about the haftorah: The Tanhuma writes: “like the uncleanness of a menstruating woman” [36:17]. Why did the Holy One compare them to a menstruating woman and not to the uncleanness of a corpse? The explanation is that a menstruating woman is sometimes unclean and sometimes she becomes clean, when she immerses herself. Similarly, when a woman is menstruating, the priest can be in her house, but when a corpse is in the house, then the priest must leave the house. Therefore, should the uncleanness of Israel be compared to a corpse, then the Holy One would not have been among them, just like the priest is not in the house with a corpse. However, now that the Holy One has compared them to a menstruating woman, the Holy One is among Israel in the exile and hopes that they will immerse themselves and become pious, like a husband who hopes that his wife will immerse herself.2Yalkut Shimoni, Ezekiel, Remez, 374.
“When they came to those nations” [36:20].3Though the translations translate this verse in the plural, the original Hebrew has it in the singular and that is the basis of the discussion. Rashi, Ezekiel, 36:20. One asks a question. It is written here, he came under the nations. It should properly say, and they came, and Israel came under the nations, that there were many Israelites. The answer is that it means that the Holy One is one individual. Therefore, it is written, “and he came,” as if one person came. When Israel was exiled among the nations, it is as if the Holy One was also exiled among the nations. When Israel is in exile and trouble, then the Holy One is also, as it were, as the verse says, “in all their troubles He was troubled” [Isaiah, 63:9].
The Talmud says in [tractate] Sukkah. The Evil Inclination has seven names. He is called bad and that is what the Holy One called him. Moses Our Teacher gave him the second name. He called him uncircumcised. David called him the third name, unclean. Solomon gave him the fourth name and called him enemy. He is a proper enemy and is the enemy of Israel and all people. Isaiah called him by his fifth name, stumbling block. He makes the person stumble. Ezekiel called him the sixth name in this haftorah, stone. This is because the Evil Inclination lies in the road, waiting and wanting to cause the person to fall into sin. Joel gave him the seventh name and called him, hidden one. The Evil Inclination is hidden and shows himself to the person in the hope that he will not protect himself.4B. Sukkah 52a; Yalkut Shimoni, Ezekiel, Remez, 375.
“People like sheep” [36:37]. The Tanhuma writes that he compares Israel to a sheep. How is a sheep or a goat and breaks a good tree in the garden and the master of the sheep does nothing to the sheep. Similarly, the Holy One does nothing to Israel when they commit sins. He compares them again in the verse to a person. That is to say, when Israel are pious and fulfill commandments, He pays them with a good reward that is appropriate for a person. That is to say, He compares them for good. That is, once to a sheep that has no sense. Therefore, He does not punish them when they commit sins. Just like later, they are like a person who has sense, expecting to pay them a good reward for their fulfilled commandments.5Tanhuma, (ed. Buber), Beshallah, 15.