Yechezkel 36 | And You, Mountains of Israel, You Will Extend Your Branches

This chapter continues the prophecy about Edom from the previous chapter. In contrast to the mountains of Edom, which will be left desolate, God declares that the mountains of Israel will flourish and thrive. The Talmud interprets this prophecy as a clear sign of redemption: "Rabbi Abba said: You have no more explicit  end [of exile] than this, as it is stated: ‘And you, mountains of Israel, you will extend your branches; you will bear your fruit for My people Israel...’" (Sanhedrin 98a). This is a divine promise: when the land begins to blossom, we will know that redemption is near. Similarly, the Talmud in Megilla connects the blessing for the years prosperity to the blessing for the ingathering of exiles: "And why did they see fit to institute that one says the blessing of the ingathering of the exiles after the blessing of the years [=that is mainly about the agriculture]? As it is written: ‘And you, mountains of Israel, you will extend your branches; you will bear your fruit for My people Israel, for they are almost come’” (Megilla 17b).

Throughout history, there are recorded accounts of the land’s desolation. The Ramban interprets the verse from the curses in Vayikra: “I Myself will devastate the land desolate, so that your enemies who settle there will be appalled” (Vayikra 26:32), not only as a curse but also as a certain blessing: when our enemies occupy the land, it will remain barren. He provides historical testimony: "There is no land in the entire world that was once so good and expansive, always inhabited, yet is now as desolate as this one. Since we left it, no nation has been able to successfully settle it, despite their efforts.” (Ramban, on verse 16.). Six hundred years after the Ramban, a similar description appears in Mark Twain’s ‘The Innocents Abroad’. Twain, an American author, joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and recorded his impressions with his characteristic cynicism and sarcasm, depicting a barren, lifeless land. The entire book is worth reading, but here is a brief excerpt: "Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince… Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies… A land of ruins… It sits in sackcloth and ashes… Can the curse of the Deity beautify a land? Palestine is no more of this work-day world. It is sacred to poetry and tradition — it is dream-land.” (p. 162, chapter LVI)

The Land of Dreams is awakening for its children. Flourishing agriculture, a growing industry, bustling streets filled with life, and people living with passion — all serve as unmistakable signs of an opportunity for redemption. As we will see in our continued study of the prophets, opportunity alone is not enough, but it is the first stage. The second stage — that is up to us.

In the second half of the chapter, a major innovation appears in the reasons for the redemption of Israel — not repentance and correction — but redemption for the sake of God's name. In such redemption, God also promises to change the children of Israel spiritually, and to give us a "heart of flesh." We will examine these matters in detail when we come to the descriptions of the redemption during the days of the return to Zion.

Attached is an article by Rav Amnon Bazak that expands on the subject.
 

Our chapter also serves as the haftara for ‘Parashat Para’, which we read this Shabbat [Vayakhel 5785]. The chapter describes a process of purification that will take place before the return of the people of Israel to their land, with God Himself taking on the role of the priest who sprinkles the purifying waters. There is a unique aspect of the ‘red cow ‘(=Para Aduma) purification that aligns with Yechezkel’s vision: unlike immersion in a mikveh, which requires a person to enter the water on their own, the purification with the waters of the cow is entirely passive — the individual does not purify himself; someone else purifies him. In this way, God describes the process of restoration for a nation that has despaired of its ability to change and to mend its ways. He declares: It is on Me. I will purify you. I will replace your heart of stone. No matter how lost you believe you are, there is still hope.