יחזקאל, פרק כ׳, פסוק ל״ה

The journey from exile to final redemption is not a sudden leap. It requires a necessary middle step of isolation, deep searching, and a direct encounter with God. Commentators offer different ways to understand the wilderness where this encounter takes place. One view suggests it is the actual physical desert where the Israelites wandered for forty years after leaving Egypt [רש"י]. Another perspective views this wilderness symbolically, representing the experience of the people while still in exile. In this sense, the foreign lands themselves feel like a barren wasteland. The exiles wander from place to place, exposed to harm and robbery, isolated like lost sheep, and unable to establish roots, buy homes, or acquire land [מלבי"ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

A third approach understands the wilderness as a physical transit station on the way to redemption. As God gathers the people from their various places of exile and before He brings them into the land of Israel, He will lead them into a desolate, isolated region [רד"ק, מלבי"ם]. He chooses a remote location, far from passersby, to protect the dignity of the people. This ensures that the surrounding nations will not witness the downfall of the sinners among Israel or celebrate their punishment [רד"ק, מצודת דוד].

In this remote setting, a profound judgment takes place. It is a time of argument, strict rebuke, and the carrying out of justice [מצודת ציון, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. God will lay out the sins and wrongdoings the people committed during their time in exile, and He will remove the rebels from among them [רד"ק, מצודת דוד]. This intense confrontation will occur face to face, in total privacy between God and His people, without any middleman [רד"ק]. Through this direct experience, the Israelites will clearly recognize His guiding hand. It will mirror the open revelation, the intense dialogues, and the judgment experienced by the generation that originally left Egypt [מלבי"ם].