Hold On – Help Is Higher

Not every rescue comes from where we expect, because Hashem runs the story.

Over the past few weeks, we have been witnessing a shaking and unsettling sight:
Iranian citizens are taking to the streets, protesting against the regime, rising up against a repressive government, and demanding freedom. From the United States, statements of support are being heard: We are with you. We will help you. Hold on.
But in the meantime—the help is delayed. And the protesters remain alone, facing an incredibly difficult reality.

It is hard not to feel how deeply familiar this picture is to us from the Torah.

The Haftorah of Parshas Va’eira takes us back to the days right at the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash—to a time when the Jewish people were caught between world powers, clung to false hopes, and again and again misread reality—politically and spiritually alike.

To understand the Prophet Ezekiel’s words in the Haftorah, we have to go a bit backwards, to the great struggle of that time: the war between Egypt and Babylon.

After the fall of Assyria, two major empires rose up and fought for regional control: Egypt in the south, and Babylon in the east. Eretz Yisrael—and within it, the small Kingdom of the Kingdom of Judah—sat directly in the middle. Egypt was trying to regain its former glory. Babylon was emerging as a new power. Their conflict was decided at the Battle of Carchemish, where Egypt suffered a complete defeat. From that moment on, anyone who opened their eyes could see clearly: Babylon was now the ruling power, and Egypt had lost the ability to truly influence events.

But in Jerusalem, they refused to accept it.

This is where the Prophet Jeremiah enters the story. The Prophet Jeremiah saw history through G-dly eyes. Again and again he warned: Do not look to Egypt. Do not build your future on promises from a power whose time has passed. Babylon is the tool chosen by the Holy One, blessed be He. “Nevuchadnetzar My servant,” he calls him—not because he is righteous, but because through him, G-d’s will is being carried out.

Jeremiah’s message was sharp and clear: accept the yoke of Babylon. Do not rebel. Do not fool yourselves into thinking Egypt will come to save you. Whoever chooses this path will save their life—and preserve the future.

But when the Kingdom of Judah felt Babylon tightening its grip, the nation panicked and started saying: “Egypt will save us.” Egypt was the familiar power, and the leaders built their whole plan around that assumption.

Again and again, the Prophet Jeremiah warned not to rely on Egypt and not to rebel. the Kingdom of Judah ignored him, rebelled anyway, and Babylon responded immediately—Nebuchadnezzar surrounded Jerusalem and began the siege. The city weakened and famine hit.

Then for a brief moment it looked like the Kingdom of Judah was right: Pharaoh’s army came out, and Babylon temporarily pulled back. People celebrated and thought Egypt was rescuing them. But Jeremiah said not to be fooled—Babylon would return, and Egypt would not save them.

That’s exactly what happened. Egypt did not follow through. Babylon returned, the siege tightened, Jerusalem fell, Tzidkiyahu was captured and blinded, and the Beis HaMikdash was burned. In the end, Egypt wasn’t a rescue—just what the Prophet Ezekiel calls “a reed staff for the House of Israel”: something that looks supportive, but collapses when you lean on it.

The Illusion of Egypt — the Message of Ezekiel

And this is where the Prophet Ezekiel enters.

To understand the Prophet Ezekiel’s prophecies about Egypt, we must remember who he is speaking to. He is not addressing Egypt itself, but first and foremost the Jewish people living in exile in Babylon—who were still holding on to the hope that Egypt would intervene and change the course of events. Jerusalem was still standing, and the heart refused to accept that the story had already been decided.

The prophecy opens:
“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great serpent who lies within his rivers” (Ezekiel 29:3).
Egypt presents itself like an ancient sea-creature, an unstoppable force of nature—one that rules its waters and needs no one. And the Prophet Ezekiel immediately reveals the root of the sin: “For he said: The river is mine, and I made myself.” This is idolatry—and this is why Egypt is destined to fall.”

Then comes a verse aimed directly at the Jewish people: “And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am G-d, because they were a reed staff for the House of Israel” (ibid., 6).
Egypt is not merely weak—it is a false support. The attempt to lean on Egypt was doomed to collapse.

In this way, the Prophet Ezekiel completes what the Prophet Jeremiah began. Jeremiah warned before the destruction: do not trust Egypt; accept Babylon’s rule, because it is chosen for this moment. Ezekiel explains in exile: why Egypt could not help, and why it was never meant to.

The mistake of Israel was not only a political rebellion—it was a refusal to accept a new Divine leadership. Again and again they preferred familiar promises over the words of the prophets.

The Rebbe says that the conclusion of the Haftorah is the key to understanding the entire story—not only what happened, but why it had to happen this way.

The Haftorah ends with the verse: “On that day I will cause a horn to sprout forth for the House of Israel, and to you I will give an opening of the mouth among them, and they shall know that I am G-d” ( Ezekiel 29:21). This verse, the Rebbe says, reveals that Egypt’s downfall was meant to validate the prophet’s mission.

Ezekiel speaks in the name of G-d. He says harsh things—unpopular things—things that go against political intuition and the hopes of the nation. Many were already convinced. Many already understood that he was a true prophet. But there still remained a small group of skeptics—and for the sake of that small group, says the Rebbe, it was worth it that all of this should unfold.

In the Rebbe’s words: “This emphasizes that the goal and purpose of all these events, done by G-d, is for the sake of Israel. At the time the Prophet Ezekiel prophesied about Egypt—and certainly when he prophesied about Nevuchadnetzar— Ezekiel had already been a known prophet for several years, and most of the Jewish people believed in him as a prophet. And nevertheless, here in this prophecy he adds that the Jewish people will see that his prophecy is fulfilled and will believe his words.”  (Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 36, p. 36)

Egypt falls not only because it is an arrogant empire—but so that it becomes clear retroactively that the Prophet Ezekiel did not speak from his own mind. That prophecies are not guesses. That reality itself aligns with the word of G-d spoken through the prophet.

With this, it becomes clear that the war between Egypt and Babylon, the collapse of empires, and the tragedy of that era—all served one purpose: to establish absolute trust in the word of G-d, even if it affected only “the last remaining skeptics.”

Everything happening in these recent weeks is meant to strengthen the Jewish people’s trust in G-d. When they see that “kingdoms provoke one another,” it is all in order to remind a Jew that “this palace has an Owner”—and there is nothing to fear, because there is a guiding Hand from Above.

And very soon, we will merit the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu, truly soon.