I.
"The valley was filled with many very dry bones" (Yechezkel 37:1,2. haftorah of Shabbos Chol HaMoed Pesach). "Hashem said to me 'These bones [represent] all of Bais Yisrael. They say, 'Our bones are dried out, and our hope is lost (avda tikvaseinu)'" (37:11). "Tell them 'I will put my spirit into you, and you will come to life, and I will place you on your soil'" (37:14). The eternal message in these pesukim refers to the final resurrection of the dead, which will take place in Nissan (Mishna Berurah 490:14). The reality of "many very dry bones" in Auschwitz is seared in the collective memory of "all of Bais Yisrael". The miraculous rebirth of Am Yisrael on its soil just three years later proved that, contrary to our saying "our bones are dried out and our hope is lost", od lo avda tikvaseinu - our hope is not lost at all.
Sadly, our enemies continue to try to destroy us. Tragically, on Simchas Torah, they reached our soil and killed hundreds of innocent civilians, violating their bodies, before and after killing them, and burning many beyond recognition.
Haman planned, "lehashmid, laharog u'l'abed es kol haYehudim - to destroy, kill and eliminate all the Jews" (Esther 3:13). The Vilna Ga'on teaches that Amalek tries to defile us (see Rashi, Devarim 25:18), as in shmad - spiritual destruction, kill us, and even burn our bodies. The Nazis, who burned our bodies in crematoria, were the Amalek of the 20th century, and Hamas is the Amalek of the 21st century.
Haman, Hitler and Hamas all vow to kill us all (Esther 9:24, see Ramban Megillah 2a). The Rav zt"l (whose 31st yohrtzeit is on erev Shabbos) quoted that his father Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik zt"l taught that any nation that wants to kill all the Jews is, by definition, Amalek, irrespective of its genealogical roots. The Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 5:4-5) states that we can no longer identify the seven nations that we must eliminate because Sancheirev intermingled all the nations (as described in the mishna, Yadayim 4:4), but this does not apply to Amalek, because any nation that vows to destroy us is considered by halacha to be Amalek (Kol Dodi Dofek, footnote #23). For this reason, the Rav initially opposed German reparations (Nefesh Harav p. 87).
II.
Last week, (8 Nissan), I visited Machane Shura, the headquarters of the Chief Rabbinate of Tzahal, accompanied by 5 members of my immediate family. Rav Binyamin Zimmerman, a member of the Rabbinate of the Israeli Army who arranged the visit, introduced us to the head of the halacha department, Harav Avihud Shwartz. His presentation of the complex questions dealt with by the department was scintillating. He demonstrated a depth of knowledge and a finely tuned approach to the halachic system worthy of a posek well beyond his approximately forty years. His reverence for mori v'rabi Harav Aharon Lichtenstein zt"l, with whom he learned for nine years, was remarkable. The combination of broad Talmudic scholarship, halachic mastery and personal sensitivity which permeated Harav Schwartz's brilliant and lengthy shiur reflected his rebbi's unforgettable persona, and is a tribute to both rebbi and talmid.
If Harav Schwartz dazzled our minds, the next presenter, Rav Menachem Wechsler, penetrated our hearts. A twenty-seven-year veteran of the army chevra kadisha, his vast experience in the excruciating holy work of honoring the remains of fallen Israeli soldiers has done nothing to dim the emotional aspect of his virtuous personality and powerful presentation. Speaking in the spacious new (two-year-old) facility, he showed us the rooms used for tahara, cleaning the body. One was designated for female soldiers, another had a mikva.
On October 7, Simchas Torah, hundreds of bodies overwhelmed the facility. Most martyrs were civilians and thus Tzahal did not have the identifying data that they record for all soldiers. There was no record of who was missing, and no knowledge of who was taken hostage. Many bodies were burned beyond recognition.
Rav Wechsler's heart-rending description of the heroic non-stop work of identifying the bodies, often using DNA, was overwhelming and unforgettable. The professionalism, including a trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, which is the top DNA lab in the world, matched the idealism of the devoted male and female chevra kadisha, in establishing certain identity, legally and halachically, as quickly as possible. Rav Wechsler's final speech in the "cheder preida", the room where families of the victims bade them farewell, was emotionally overpowering. He called the room "Kodesh Kodashim", the Holy of Holies, and read a letter written by a bereaved father, filled with faith and pathos.
Rav Zimmerman then took us to a room filled with sifrei Torah from all parts of the world, donated to fulfill the needs of the soldiers throughout Eretz Yisrael and in Gaza. Even the ones unfit for use represent the eternity of our people, despite the constant efforts to destroy us. According to Rav Yaakov Emden (Sulam Beis El, p. 8), the unique historical phenomenon of a nation that has outlived all of the powerful empires that sought to destroy it and has survived with the Torah intact, is a greater miracle that those that Hashem performed for our ancestors in Mitzrayim.
III.
On motzaei Shabbos (6 Nissan), Hashem again performed a miracle for His people on His soil. Over three hundred missiles, rockets and drones were launched by Iran in an unprecedented attack on Israel. Not one Jew was harmed, a statistical impossibility notwithstanding the Iron Dome and other devices.
We are dutybound to thank and praise Hashem for the incredible miracle. More than one rabbi, citing the Netziv (Sheilta 26:1), opined that there was a Torah commandment to recite Hallel on the day of the miracle.
One of the many miracles that took place on the night of Pesach is described in the Haggadah, citing the opening passuk of the haftorah of the eighth day of Pesach (Yeshaya 10:32), "Today he (Sancheirev) will stand in Nov." His huge army encamped there overnight, ready to enter and destroy Yerushalayim the next day. Hashem had said that the king of Ashur will not enter the city (Melachim 2, 19:32), and indeed, on that Pesach night, Hashem killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers.
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 94a) criticizes Chizkiyahu for not reciting shira immediately upon the miracle of the soldiers' death. The Emek B'racha (Hallel al HaNes p. 124,125), citing Rav Chaim of Brisk, says that Tehillim (13:6) teaches us: "I trust in Your kindness, my heart will exult in Your salvation. I will sing to Hashem because He saved me". Even one who is one hundred percent sure that Hashem will save him must sing to Hashem only after the miracle has occurred.
The medrash (Shir Hashirim Raba 4:19) gives Chizkiyahu's excuse, citing the penultimate passuk of the same haftorah (Yeshayahu 12:5), "Hashem's miracles are known throughout the world." He therefore thought that there was no need for a new shira. This is incorrect, however, and prevented Chizkiyahu from becoming the mashiach. We dare not repeat this mistake; we must thank Hashem for the miracle we experienced.
The Medrash Raba (Shemos 18:5) recounts that on that fateful night of Pesach, while surrounded by enemy forces and impending doom, Chizkiyahu recited Hallel, while the people were frightened. The Yefe To'ar says that they were unaware of Yeshayahu's prophecy that Sancheirev would not reach the city. In the morning, they arose to recite the Shema and daven Shachris k'vasikin (Etz Yosef). The Eshed Hanechalim says that this demonstrates the greatness of the bitachon of Chizkiyahu. Their Hallel is described by Yeshayahu (30:29), "The song will be yours like the night of the holiday's consecration." The Ra'avad (Hilchos Chanukah 3:6) states that this is the source for our obligation to recite Hallel.
Presumably, Chizkiyahu's tremendous faith diminished his realization of the obligation to recite Hallel immediately. He expected all along to be saved. Similarly, Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael is "melumad b'nissim", accustomed to miracles. However, we must not allow ourselves, in Israel or in the diaspora, to fail to recognize the great miracle that occured. We must, on Pesach, thank and sing to Hashem for it.
The Malbim (Yeshayahu 30:29) writes that as the simcha of Yisrael increased when they recited Hallel and thanked Hashem when they offered the korban Pesach, the destruction of the encampment of Ashur increased correspondingly.
In Tehillim (118:14,15) the Malbim interprets the phrase, "kol rena v'yeshua" to mean when the rejoicing of Hallel began, the sound of salvation came; as they began to sing and to thank Hashem, so came the salvation. We hope and pray that our Hallel will save us from our foes.
We approach Pesach, still horrified by the pogrom of Simchas Torah, still praying for the safe return of the hostages, still heartbroken after all the suffering of the last seven months since the last chag. Yet, at the same time, we thank Hashem for saving us from the much worse fate that our enemies planned, and for the amazing faith of Am Yisrael.
The haftorahs of Shabbos Chol Hamoed and acharon shel Pesach teach us that the dry bones of Yechezkel's prophecy will come to life on our soil. The partial fulfillment of that prophecy via the remnants of Auschwitz establishing a State which belies the doomsday predictions of then and now that avda tikvaseinu and that sings od lo avda tikvaseinu, has occurred. We fervently pray and await the fulfillment of the prophecy of Yeshayahu (11:1-16), i.e. the arrival of Mashiach, a descendant of David and Yishai, which will usher in an era of peace. He will gather in our dispersed people, and the world will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem. May it happen speedily in our days.
More divrei Torah, audio and video shiurim from Rabbi Willig