The prophecy of the Valley of Dry Bones, as envisioned by the prophet Ezekiel, stands as one of the most potent revelations in his repertoire. Within this vision, Ezekiel is transported to a desolate valley strewn with the skeletal remains of Israelites. Tasked with breathing life into these bones, he also instills in them hope and guides them back to the land of Israel. As one who is often tasked with doing the impossible (though not exactly in Biblical proportions), I was always moved by this prophecy.
The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.… And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them… Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel.” Ezekiel 37
Can We Fulfill Ezekiel’s Vision?
It is difficult to answer the question of precisely what Ezekiel meant. Ezekiel’s prophecies are replete with strange and unique words with no parallels, such as hashmal, harel, and lo yeitachen. The original meaning was lost, but today they denote electricity, angel, and impossible, respectively, in Hebrew.
Jewish mysticism is firmly rooted in…
