Ilana Stein, fresh back from appreciating God's world in Kruger, shares thoughts of Rav Amital z"l, on the beautiful verses of this chapter, the vision that despite the diminished status of Jerusalem's in Zekharia's day, nevertheless כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת עֹד יֵשְׁבוּ זְקֵנִים וּזְקֵנוֹת בִּרְחֹבוֹת יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וְאִישׁ מִשְׁעַנְתּוֹ בְּיָדוֹ מֵרֹב יָמִים׃
Thus said the LORD of Hosts: There shall yet be old men and women in the squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age. And the squares of the city shall be crowded with boys and girls playing in the squares.For anyone with even a minimal connection to Jewish history it's hard not to feel a tug on the heart when reading these verses - where for the vast majority of the last two thousand years these verses describe a longed for future, today they describe a reality. Text here:
https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.8

Leeds is not frequently considered alongside Jerusalem. What does England's 3rd city of the North (after Manchester and Liverpool, only just ahead of Newcastle), have to say to that fairest of cities upon which the Divine presence dwells?And yet, this modest town whose football team survives only on memories of victories past, has produced not one but two outstanding 929 voices, sharp in their insights, wry in their humour, deep in their compassion. I speak of course of Rafi Addlestone and Harris Lorie who, like Yechezkel displaced from Israel to the exile on the river, sing beautiful Torah from that city on the Thames. They are our hosts today to guide us through the perplexing visions of Zechariah 6 and the religious ambiguities of Ch.7.
https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.7

Leeds is not frequently considered alongside Jerusalem. What does England's 3rd city of the North (after Manchester and Liverpool, only just ahead of Newcastle), have to say to that fairest of cities upon which the Divine presence dwells? And yet, this modest town whose football team survives only on memories of victories past, has produced not one but two outstanding 929 voices, sharp in their insights, wry in their humour, deep in their compassion. I speak of course of Rafi Addlestone and Harris Lorie who, like Yechezkel displaced from Israel to the exile on the river, sing beautiful Torah from that city on the Thames. They are our hosts today to guide us through the perplexing visions of Zechariah 6 and the religious ambiguities of Ch.7.
https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.6

Calev Ben Dor focuses on a wonderful Talmudic legend of banishing the evil inclination, based off of our chapter. Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.5

Two characteristically excellent recordings from Calev Ben Dor - the first focusing on the verse _לא כי, לא החייל כי אם ברוחי - not through my strength, not through my might, but through my spirit_ and the reception of its apparently pacifistic message in modern Jewish history. Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.4

The unforgettable image of Yehoshua The High Priest, surrounded by both the satan and the angel of God, as filthy garments are replaced with clean robes. Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.3

Ilana Stein heroically returns with her Torah on the first two chapters. Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.2

Ilana Stein heroically returns with her Torah on the first two chapters. Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.1

Ilana Stein introduces the period and teaches both chapters of Hagai in her excellent audios. Text here: https://www.sefaria.org/Haggai.2

We've spent the last year in the generation of the destruction of the Temple: Yirmiyahu, Yechezkel, most of Trei Asar - warnings of what is to come. But now as Ilana Stein says in her audio, the future has happened. It's a new generation, and the final three prophets of Trei Asar - Hagai, Zechariah, Malachi, the last of the prophets - respond to the many challenges of that period. Ilana Stein introduces the period and teaches both chapters of Hagai in her excellent audios. https://www.sefaria.org/Haggai.1