Horses and Chariots of Fire

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1. The Storm (Part 10)

   Eliyahu's Ascent

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Elisha first expresses a repeated cry: "My father, my father." This expresses the personal, intimate relationship that Elisha felt towards Eliyahu, like a son towards his father. In the second part of his cry of sorrow, Elisha calls Eliyahu "the chariot of Israel and its horsemen." This is meant to express Eliyahu's value for the whole Jewish nation.  Eliyahu, who has chastised his generation and at times brought suffering upon them, is the one who protected the people of his nation and by whose virtue they have enjoyed victory and success delivering them from their enemies to a greater extent than the chariot and horsemen did.

2. In a Whirlwind

   Rabbi Alex Israel

   Eliyahu's dramatic ascent to the heavens highlights Elisha as opposed to the other Bnei Ha'Nevi'im. Elisha is also Eliyahu's succesor, but also operates in a completely different manner. Elisha, is always surrounded by other people and is deeply sensitive to the needs of others. Eliyahu is a lone spiritual figure. 

3. A Floating Axe Head and a Blind Army

   Rabbi Alex Israel

   Why do the Bnei Ha'Nevi'im seak a new place to live? Could it be that the departure of Geihazi with the problems associated with him open the doors to new students to join Elisha? 

   Wars are characterized by aggression and domination. The king of Aram sought to use his superior firepower to bludgeon Elisha into submission. In contrast, Elisha's way is not the path of confrontation, but rather the provision of food and drink, hospitality, kindness, and humanity. Ultimately, this makes a deeper impression than war.

4. Zechariah 5-6

   Matan Al Haperek

   Rabbi David Sabato

   Zechariah’s prophetic visions continue in these perakim. The two visions in perek 5 are similar in style and content, and they describe items which are in the air and going from place to place. In the first vision (1-4), Zechariah sees a “flying scroll”, which God sends out across the land. The second vision (5-11) is more complicated and enigmatic. It is comprised of three stages. It describes an ephah (a type of measure) with a woman inside it symbolizing evil, which is carried through the air to the Land of Shinar, another name for Babylonia. The two visions symbolize the eradication of evil in the new state, and the distancing of evil from Jerusalem and Israel. The visions of Yechezkel which described the destruction of the Temple and the exile are the background to these visions. Here, too, we can use allusions and parallel texts in Tanakh to understand the symbolic meaning of these enigmatic visions.

   The first part of perek 6 (1-8) describes the last vision which Zechariah saw- the vision of the chariots. This vision parallels the first vision which he saw, the vision of the horses which symbolize God’s messengers on Earth. The second part (9-15) also includes a symbolic act, but here Zechariah himself is commanded to do it- to make crowns which symbolize the joint rule of Yehoshua, the high priest, and Zerubavel, the political leader- the tzemach, the scion of the House of David.