The haftara reading for the first day of Sukkot comes from Sefer Zekharya (chapter 14), and foresees a battle that a coalition of nations will wage against the Jews in Jerusalem. The prophet describes the miraculous defeat that God will visit upon these nations, and the time when all nations of the world will recognize God and come each year to Jerusalem for the observance of Sukkot.
Toward the beginning of this prophecy, the prophet predicts that during this confrontation, the Mount of Olives, which lies just east of Jerusalem, will be split into two mountains separated by a huge crater. At that point, the prophet describes, “you shall flee to the valley of My mountains…and you shall flee like you fled from the earthquake during the days of Uziya, king of Yehuda; and the Lord my God shall come, all the sacred ones with you” (14:5).
How are we to understand this parallel between the people’s “flight” upon the splitting of the Mount of Olives, and their frantic fleeing during the earthquake in King Uziyahu’s time?
Rav Mendel Hirsch, in his commentary to the haftarot, suggests that the prophet seeks to draw a contrasting parallel between the circumstances surrounding these two events. As Chazal explain, the earthquake that occurred during Uziyahu’s time is the event described in the sixth chapter of Sefer Yeshayahu, when Yeshayahu beheld a vision of God rising from the Beit Ha-mikdash which caused the site to tremble. Chazal further relate that this earthquake came in direct response to the king’s violation of the Temple by offering an unwarranted incense offering (Divrei Hayamim II 26:19). Uziyahu’s display of hubris and disregard for the Almighty’s honor caused the divine presence to depart from the Beit Ha-mikdash. The ensuing earthquake brought terror to the people in the vicinity, who frantically fled from the site.
The splitting of the Mount of Olives served the precise opposite function, and yielded the precise opposite result. Rav Mendel Hirsch explains this prophecy along the lines of Yeshayahu’s vision (49:11) of God flattening the hills and raising the valleys to ease Benei Yisrael’s journey back to Zion. The final stage of this process, Zekharya foresees, is the splitting of the Mount of Olives. The entrance to the Mikdash was at the eastern side of the Temple Mount, near the Mount of Olives. As Benei Yisrael’s enemies are defeated, and they are once again able to frequent the sacred site of the Temple, the mountain that stands east of the TempleMount and “obstructs” the entrance to the Temple will split, allowing the pilgrims to pass easily through the resultant valley on their way to the Mikdash.
The earthquake in Uziyahu’s time signified the departure of the divine presence, and caused the people to flee the site of the Temple. In the time foretold by Zekharya, the quake will signify God’s return to Zion – “and the Lord my God shall come” – and will help facilitate the people’s speedy return to the Mikdash. The people will flee as they fled in Uziyahu’s time – only in the precise opposite direction, and for the precise opposite purpose. In Uziyahu’s time, they followed God in departing from the Mikdash, while in the future they will rush after Him as He returns to the sacred site and beckons all Am Yisrael to follow the Shekhina back to the Temple.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il