The vision of the Prophet Ezekiel regarding the unity of Israel in Eretz Yisrael is found between the vision of the dry bones and the vision of the War of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 37-38).
In the former (37:1-14), Ezekiel prophesies about the rebirth of the Jewish People in Eretz Yisrael after thousands of years of exile: ?Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.... And I will put My spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.? (12,14)
In the prophecy of Gog and Magog, the opposition of the nations of the world to our national rebirth, and their subsequent failure to stop it, finds expression. It first says, ?On that day, Gog will attack the Holy Land.? (38:18) What results however is this: ?You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your bands, and the peoples that are with you.? (38:39)
Between the two, we encounter the vision of the unity of Israel, spelled out via the metaphoric stick of Joseph and stick of Judah, which are transformed into one: ?Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will put them unto him together with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.? (37:19) Malbim comments that Ezekiel is alluding to Mashiach ben Yosef (a first Messiah, associated with Joseph). Later on, Israel will be united a second time under the Kingdom of the Davidic dynasty.
Rabbi Kook, in relating to these two Messiahs, explains that within Mashiach ben Yosef is revealed the characteristic of Jewish nationalism in terms of Israel themselves. By contrast, within Mashiach ben David is revealed the longing to unite all of mankind into one family who will proclaim G-d?s name (Orot Yisrael 160).
The same is promised to Abraham: ?Go forth... to the Land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and you shall be for a blessing.... Through you shall be blessed all the families of the earth.? (Genesis 12:1-3)
Today, we can see with our own eyes how the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel, describing the rebirth of the Jewish People and the ingathering of the exiles in Eretz Yisrael, is being fulfilled. It is true that we are now in mid-process. We are still at the stage of being crystallized as a nation. The State is still being consolidated and we are in a struggle for our existence in the face of opposition from the nations of the world. These are days of Mashiach ben Yosef, as in the explanations of Malbim and Rabbi Kook.
Yet, our gaze must likewise be trained upon the future and the end of days, the age of Mashiach ben David. At that time, the issue of limited nationalism will pass, and we will turn as well to mankind in the aggregate, serving as a light unto the nations. Each day, in fact, we pray, ?Speedily cause the offspring of your servant David to flourish.? (Shemoneh Esreh prayer)
All this will occur when the People and State of Israel take up the role promised to them and appropriate for them. As the Prophet Isaiah said: ?In the end of days, the mountain of the L-rd?s house shall be established in the mountaintops, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.... For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the L-rd from Jerusalem.? (Isaiah 2:2-3)
In the former (37:1-14), Ezekiel prophesies about the rebirth of the Jewish People in Eretz Yisrael after thousands of years of exile: ?Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.... And I will put My spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.? (12,14)
In the prophecy of Gog and Magog, the opposition of the nations of the world to our national rebirth, and their subsequent failure to stop it, finds expression. It first says, ?On that day, Gog will attack the Holy Land.? (38:18) What results however is this: ?You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your bands, and the peoples that are with you.? (38:39)
Between the two, we encounter the vision of the unity of Israel, spelled out via the metaphoric stick of Joseph and stick of Judah, which are transformed into one: ?Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will put them unto him together with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.? (37:19) Malbim comments that Ezekiel is alluding to Mashiach ben Yosef (a first Messiah, associated with Joseph). Later on, Israel will be united a second time under the Kingdom of the Davidic dynasty.
Rabbi Kook, in relating to these two Messiahs, explains that within Mashiach ben Yosef is revealed the characteristic of Jewish nationalism in terms of Israel themselves. By contrast, within Mashiach ben David is revealed the longing to unite all of mankind into one family who will proclaim G-d?s name (Orot Yisrael 160).
The same is promised to Abraham: ?Go forth... to the Land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and you shall be for a blessing.... Through you shall be blessed all the families of the earth.? (Genesis 12:1-3)
Today, we can see with our own eyes how the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel, describing the rebirth of the Jewish People and the ingathering of the exiles in Eretz Yisrael, is being fulfilled. It is true that we are now in mid-process. We are still at the stage of being crystallized as a nation. The State is still being consolidated and we are in a struggle for our existence in the face of opposition from the nations of the world. These are days of Mashiach ben Yosef, as in the explanations of Malbim and Rabbi Kook.
Yet, our gaze must likewise be trained upon the future and the end of days, the age of Mashiach ben David. At that time, the issue of limited nationalism will pass, and we will turn as well to mankind in the aggregate, serving as a light unto the nations. Each day, in fact, we pray, ?Speedily cause the offspring of your servant David to flourish.? (Shemoneh Esreh prayer)
All this will occur when the People and State of Israel take up the role promised to them and appropriate for them. As the Prophet Isaiah said: ?In the end of days, the mountain of the L-rd?s house shall be established in the mountaintops, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.... For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the L-rd from Jerusalem.? (Isaiah 2:2-3)