k’-shu-a-LEEM ba-kha-ra-VOT n’-vee-E-kha yis-ra-AYL ha-YU
ד כְּשֻׁעָלִים בָּחֳרָבוֹת נְבִיאֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיוּ׃
13:4 Your Neviim, O Yisrael, have been like jackals among ruins
A golden Jackal in Revivim, Israel
Yechezkel compares the false prophets who led Israel astray to jackals lurking among the ruins. While the image of animals prowling among ruins symbolizes destruction, the Talmud (Makkot 24b) also sees these animals as harbingers of redemption. It relates that the great Rabbi Akiva was walking with some other Sages near the remnants of the destroyed Temple. When he saw a jackal emerge from the site of the Holy of Holies, he laughed with joy, while the others who were with him wept. The Sages were shocked by his laughter, but Rabbi Akiva explained that just as Hashem faithfully fulfilled His prophecies of destruction, so too He will be faithful to fulfill the prophecies of redemption, restoration and renewal.
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