The haftara for Shavuot is taken from the beginning of Sefer Yechezkel, where the prophet describes the ma'aseh merkava, the vision of God's "chariot" taking leave of the Beit Ha-mikdash. It is customary to conclude this reading with a verse from the third chapter of Sefer Yechezkel (verse 12), a verse that we recite each day as part of the U'va Le'tziyon prayer: "Va-tisa'eni ru'ach va-eshma acharai kol ra'ash gadol: Barukh Kevod Hashem mi-mekomo!" ("A wind [or 'spirit'] lifted me, and I heard behind me a great roaring sound: 'Blessed is the Glory of the Lord, from His place!'"
The Radak explains this "sound" heard by Yechezkel as proclaiming that God's honor is increased by His departure from the Temple. Given the disrespect shown to Him by the people, it is in the best interest of kevod Hashem, the glory of God, to take leave of the Mikdash and not reside among Benei Yisrael. This verse should thus be read as, "Blessed is the Glory of God now that He has departed – more so than in its place." God's taking leave of His people does not infringe upon His honor, but rather, quite to the contrary, serves to protect His honor which was continuously slighted by the people's ongoing corruption. (Metzudat David explains similarly.)
Rav Mendel Hirsch, in his commentary to the haftarot, suggests a different explanation of this verse, claiming that it conveys a much broader, theological message. So significant is this verse, Rav Hirsch asserts, that it represents what he calls "the deepest and boldest thought of theodicy ever expressed by the mouth of a mortal." Essentially, we are told here that the "glory of the Lord" is manifest in its clearest and most profound way specifically amidst the turmoil and instability that often characterizes human existence in this world. If only a person could be "lifted" and shown the overall progression of the earth and mankind, he would recognize that the glory of God is indeed expressed "in its place," through world events. Rav Hirsch writes:
To the human eye the heavenly world is usually taken as being the sphere of the everlasting almightiness of God's Law, as the realm where God's Will is a reality; the earth, especially human relations in it, as the realm of passions and wrongdoings. There, above, the Law of God, here below, Man's capriciousness, there peace, here eternal war, there harmony, here discord. For God's Kingdom of Peace, so the world believes, there is no place on earth until the time when the most distant goals will be reached. Against all this the word of the Prophet peaches to us here: If we would only raise ourselves above the earth, as he was raised by the Spirit of God, we would hear, not from the heights of heaven, but from behind us, out of the depths of the world, out of all the storms and turmoil of the earth, the cry: The revelation of the Glory of God is promoted everywhere on earth! What we look at so shortsightedly are only fractions, pieces, he who would look over the whole would see how all the fractions are struggling to attain the whole, all discord striving to harmony, all evil working to its own destruction, and all wars to bring about everlasting peace. Of course this way of looking at the world is the boldest, the most daring optimism. But it is rooted in the firmest rock-like confidence in God's Direction of the world, which is won only through the Torah. Maintained on the height of this way of looking at things, what otherwise appears merely a beautiful dream attains the certainty of surest reality.
As such, this verse is indeed a most appropriate conclusion to this prophecy which foretells the disastrous events of the Temple's destruction. Yechezkel proclaims that despite the countless misfortunes that have befallen and continue to befall mankind, on some level all events are directed toward the revelation of the divine glory. Even amidst the anxiety and anguish that we must all too often witness and endure, the prophet reassures us that "the revelation of the Glory of God is promoted everywhere on earth," even in places and at times where just the opposite process seems to be taking place.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il