"Who are these who fly like a cloud, like doves to their nests?" (Isaiah 60:8)The prophet describes the amazing phenomenon of kibbutz galuyot, the return of the Jewish people to their homeland. This future vision appeared to him like clouds or doves flying overhead. Why does the prophet liken the return of the Jewish people to Eretz Yisrael to doves flying to their nests?
The Missing Chicken
A farmer once noticed that his prize hen - one of his most consistent egg-layers - was missing. When he walked past his neighbor's property, he suddenly saw the hen - tied to his neighbor's gate. "Hey, that's my chicken!" he shouted.
His neighbor responded coolly, "Maybe yes, maybe no. How do you know that this chicken is yours?"
The farmer said, "Here's proof that it's mine. Untie its legs, and you'll see that it will go straight off to my chicken-coop - to its real home!"
"Like Doves to their Nests"
Even though we are far away from G-d, spread out throughout the world, this is only because we are chained in the Exile, unable to return to the Land of Israel. And here is our proof: as soon as G-d will release us from the fetters of our dispersion, we will joyfully fly to our homeland, to the place where we originally lived, as soon as we can.
This then is the meaning of the verse. The prophet was amazed at his vision of the future redemption, as Jewish souls freed from their shackles instinctively returned home to the Land of Israel. "Who are these who fly like a cloud, like doves to their nests?"
Adapted from Mishlei Ya'akov, p. 453
