Ezekiel 37 begins with the very familiar vision of the dry bones.
"What are these bones?"
"They are the whole House of Israel…."
"Can these bones live?"

The next vision is of two sticks. Hashem tells Ezekiel to take one and write on it "Yehudah", for the House of Yehudah and all his companions. He says to take the other stick and write on it "Ephraim", for the House of Yosef and all his companions. We know that this foretells a time when the ten lost tribes will be re-united with Yehudah, for the revived bones to stand as the whole House of Israel.

When Hashem tells Ezekiel to hold the sticks in his hand for them to become one, the Hebrew term for one is plural: "echadim". Later, when Hashem says HE will take the sticks and they’ll become one in His hand, the term is "echad", singular. This isn’t simply grammatical, because in both instances the subject, "hem" (they), is plural. So it indicates that there is a deeply telling change. When the Houses first come together in the Land, it isn’t a real union, there are problems with genuine agreement. But these are corrected when Hashem takes the sticks up and purifies them, making them truly one House. There’s more to this, too.

Another thing we can see in Hashem’s telling Ezekiel to take up the sticks is that WE are to be involved in bringing the fulfillment of this vision. As miraculous as it is, people are the instruments that Hashem uses to bring it into this world. Even now, there are many who are hearing the "whistle" of Hashem, waking their souls to something new, stirring something long forgotten. The draw to the Torah, the longing for the Land of Israel, is a phenomenon new in history. Who are these long lost people of the Tribes of Israel? Did they just disappear from the earth, or only from our sight and knowledge?

The Hebrew term used by Ezekiel for stick is "etz", which means "tree". The two sticks also represent the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. The tree of knowledge insists that a person has the right to think about the issues and choose for himself, to serve Gd out of his will. The tree of life, however, is the Torah, which draws a person to unquestioning obedience. These two opposite things have played out in the peoples of Israel. Once the sticks are joined, these two opposing views will also meld. For only through Torah can one come to divine wisdom and understanding.

Another important aspect is the esoteric understanding of Yosef and Yehudah. Yosef, as the sefirah Yesod, is the receptacle of the flow of all the "shefa" (abundant blessing) from above. Yehudah, as the sefirah Malchuth, has nothing on his own. Yosef has to empower him to rule. In Egypt Yosef pushed and pushed Yehudah to stand up and BE the king – that was his job. I think of Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David with this. The prophets indicate that the Tribes have to come together in the Land BEFORE Mashiach arrives. Mashiach ben Yosef prepares the world for the physical culmination of the Redemption, for the rule of Mashiach ben David of the tribe of Yehudah. That’s why the two have to come together.

It is only after the vision of the dry bones, and after the vision of the two sticks, that Hashem says "David, ‘My servant’, shall be king over them…" (vs. 24). The coming together of Ephraim and Yehudah is essential to the coming of the Kingdom of Mashiach. This re-unification of the Tribes brings about a rectification, not only in Israel, but to all peoples. David is promised a covenant of peace that comes with the sanctification of Gd’s Name, and this causes true peace to reign in the world.

We pray for the gathering of the lost sheep of the House of Israel and for the coming of the shepherd, who is called "My own servant David" by Hashem, to lead us all.