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 In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
 Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag ************************************************************************* 

For  Parshat  PARAH  -- Haftarah   

"L'MAAN SHMO" (Yechezkel 36:16-37)

	What will initiate the redemption process that will bring the people of Israel back to their Land?  
	Some claim that "teshuva" [repentance] must precede "kibutz galiyot" [the ingathering of the Exile] while others claim that God may bring about "kibutz galiyot" even if Bnei Yisrael do not first repent.  
In the following shiur, as we study the Haftara of Parshat Parah, we will see how this 'argument' (which has become quite popular over the last hundred years ago), may have begun some 2500 years ago, as can be deduced from the prophecies of Yirmiyahu and Yechezkel.

INTRODUCTION
	Yirmiyahu, the prophet who foresaw (and witnessed) the destruction of the First Temple, also envisioned Bnei Yisrael's redemption from their Exile.  However, according to Yirmiyahu, that process must begin with "teshuva".  To verify this point, let's quote from a famous prophecy of Yirmiyahu, where he details what is expected from Am Yisrael after the seventy years of Babylonian sovereignty are over:
"For thus says Hashem: After the seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will remember you, and perform My good word toward you, to bring you back to this place...
And you shall call upon Me, and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. For you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart ...
And I will turn your captivity, and gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord; and I will bring you back unto the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive."
  (See Yirmiyahu 29:9-14)

	Clearly, Yirmiyahu expects Am Yisrael to perform teshuva first, in order that be worthy of God's redemption.
	In contrast, Yechezkel foresees a redemption process that could begin even without "teshuva":  After a lengthy set of prophecies expressing God's anger with the behavior and attitude of Israel's neighbors (see chapters 25 thru 35), Yechezkel (in chapter 36) explains how God may redeem His Nation, even if they are not worthy, for the sake of His Name:
"Say to the House of Israel:... NOT FOR YOUR SAKE will I act, but for the sake of My holy NAME, which you have profaned among the nations. 
And the nations shall know that I am the Lord when... I will take you from among the nations and gather you in from all the countries and bring you back to your own LAND..." 
(See Yechezkel 36:22-24) 

	Note the clear reason that Yechezkel provides for why the redemption process can begin even without "teshuva" - for the sake of God's Name.  In the psukim beforehand, Yechezkel already explained why, as the nations to where Bnei Yisrael were exiled to will say: 
"These are the people of God, yet they had to leave his Land! Therefore I am concerned for My holy Name which Bnei Yisrael have caused to be profaned among the nations to which they have come." (36:20-21) 

	God must redeem his people l'maan shmo" [for the sake of His Name] so His Name will no longer be profaned among the nations.  Therefore, this redemption can take place even if the nation is not worthy (see 36:16-19).
	Clearly, Yechezkel would prefer for the redemption process to begin in the manner described by Yirmiyahu. However, Yechezkel claims that even without "teshuva", God will nonetheless redeem His people. 

	Earlier in the book of Yechezkel, we found a similar theme, in regard to Bnei Yisrael's lack of readiness for their very first redemption, i.e. prior to their Exodus from Egypt.  In chapter 20, Yechezkel explained how God had originally demanded that Bnei Yisrael perform "teshuva" BEFORE the plagues began: 
"On the day that I chose Israel... when I made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt [comp. w/Shmot 6:3] ... when I said "Ani Hashem" [compare w/Shmot 6:6]... 
that same day I swore to take them out of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey"[compare w/Shmot 6:8, 3:8] 
 	"And I said to them [at that time]: Each man must rid himself of his detestable ways, and not DEFILE himself with the fetishes of Egypt - [for] ANI HASHEM Elokeichem. But, they REBELLED against Me, "v'lo avu l'SHMOAH ay'li", no one rid himself from his detestable ways, no one gave up the fetishes of Egypt, and I resolved to pour out My fury upon them..." 
(See Yechezkel 20:5-9) 

	Even though Bnei Yisrael did not answer this call for repentance, Yechezkel explains how God nonetheless redeemed them - only for the SAKE of His name: 
"va'as l'maan SHMI" - But I acted for the sake of My Name in order that it not be profaned in the sight of the nations "  (see Yechezkel 20:9-10) 

	Similarly, Yechezkel views Bnei Yisrael's redemption from the Babylonian Exile in a manner similar - that it may begin even if the nation is not worthy.  However, this is Yechezkel's key point - that similar to their redemption from Egypt, even though this process did not BEGIN with Bnei Yisrael's "teshuva", repentance was the critical element for the continuation of that process.  Therefore, upon that return to the Land, Yechezkel foresees: 
"And I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall become clean: I will cleanse you from all your TUMAH... And I will give you a new heart and NEW SPIRIT... in order that you will once again FOLLOW My laws and observe My rules. 
Then you shall dwell in the Land which I gave to your fathers, you shall be My 	people and I will be Your God..."  (see 36:25-28, / compare with Shmot 6:7 and Vayikra 26:11-12) 

	Yechezkel compares this process of "teshuva" to the 'sprinkling of water' - that cleanses a person from his impurity.  Clearly, this analogy is based on the laws of Parah Adumah, where the kohen sprinkles the "mei chatat" water to cleanse the individual who became "tamey" (see Bamidbar 19:17-19).  [Most likely, this is why this chapter was chosen as the Haftara for Parshat Parah.]  

	In other words, Yechezkel points to an interesting parallel between the original redemption from Egypt, and the future redemption from Exile.  In both cases, God had hoped that the process would begin with "teshuva", but for 'the sake of God's Name' it began 'prematurely'.  Nonetheless, the navi calls upon Am Yisrael to recognize God's Hand in that process, and reciprocate by performing proper "teshuva" as that process unfolds. 
As we prepare to thank God each year for our original redemption from Egypt, Parshat Parah should remind us of our need to properly prepare ourselves for our future redemption.  Furthermore, as we remind ourselves of our need to cleanse ourselves from TUMAT MEYT in order to bring the KORBAN PESACH, we should also remind ourselves that should we find ourselves already within a redemption process which began WITHOUT "teshuva" - that it is incumbent upon us to mend our evil ways and repent properly DURING that process in order that it can continue in a more ideal manner. 
By doing so, we will become worthy of the final words of this week's Haftara: 
"When I have cleansed you from all your sins, I will populate your SETTLEMENTS and the ruined places shall be rebuilt. The desolate land, after lying in waste...shall again be tilled. And it will be said: This land which was once desolate has become like the Garden of Eden, and the cities once ruined... are now populated and fortified. And the nations left around you shall know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ravaged places and replanted the desolate land..." (see 36:33- 36) 
										 
shabbat shalom,
menachem