Despite All, This Is the Beginning of Our Redemption

 by Rav Avraham Vasserman, yeshiva.co, translated by Hillel Fendel

Of late we have been hearing increasingly more voices, including those of important Torah scholars, saying that we should stop speaking in terms of contemporary Redemption. These "doubters" claim that we cannot base our "theory" that we are experiencing a form of Redemption on the Talmudic passage that states: "Rabbi Abba says: There is no clearer sign of Redemption than the blossoming of the fields and orchards in Israel, as is written (Yechezkel 36,8), 'You, o mountains of Israel, you will sprout branches and give forth fruits for My nation Israel – for they are coming [home] soon!'" 

First of all, this is just one Talmudic passage out of many… But can the firm confidence with which Rabbi Abba expressed himself enable any of us to cast doubt on his words? If they would bring evidence to the contrary, that would be one thing. But to cast doubt on the relevance of his position, together with veiled accusations of "false Messianism" – is that a serious position to take?

Everyone knows – and sometimes it is important to remind ourselves of that which is already known – that great Torah giants categorized our era as "the beginning of Redemption." These include many who saw only the early stages of the modern-day return to Zion, and not all that we have experienced since then! Among them are Rabbis Kalischer, Gutmacher, and Alkalai, as well as the Chafetz Chaim, Meshekh Chokhmah, the Aderet, Rav Kook, and many more. (They are listed in the works Shivat Tzion (edited by R. Avraham Slutzky) and Ayelet HaShachar by Rav Yaakov Filber.)

These Torah greats cited a host of important sources, including Biblical verses, Talmudic passages, Medrashim, and the words of Rishonim and Acharonim. (See "The Torah and Redemption" refuting the claim that Zionism is false Messianism, and also "The State as the Fulfillment of the Words of the Prophets," both by Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook in his work L'Ntivot Yisrael.) 

We must first define what is Exile and what is Redemption. The former is comprised of three central components: abandonment of the Land of Israel, dispersal throughout the world, and foreign rule over us.

The punishments in Deut. 28,64 state: "G-d will disperse you among all the nations from one end of the world to another." In contrast, the Torah describes the Redemption by stating: "G-d will return your exiles… and will gather you from the nations… and Hashem will bring you to the land that your forefathers inherited" (Deut. 30,3-5). Precisely the same ideas are expressed in Ezekiel 36,19-24. 

The Rambam (Maimonides), in his magnum opus Yad HaChazakah (Mishneh Torah), in the Laws of Kings, lists among the primary functions of the Messiah the ingathering of the Exiles and the restoration of Jewish political independence. 

The above-cited rebukes also state: "Sulfur and salt, the entire land is burnt, its entire land has been burnt! It cannot be sown, nor can it grow anything; no grass will sprout upon it" (29,22).  But the verses of Redemption state the exact opposite: "G-d will make you abundant for good in all the work of your hands, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil; He will again rejoice over you for good" (30,9). This is Redemption!

There are countless verses like these in the Bible's Books of the Prophets. Compare, for instance, the rebukes of Isaiah regarding "your desolate land and burnt cities" (1,7) with the Divine promises of Amos (9,13-14): "Behold days are coming that… I will return the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall rebuild desolate cities and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their produce." 

With all this, can anyone sincerely claim that the blossoming of what was long a desolate land is not the fulfillment of the words of the Prophets? Or that the Ingathering of the Exiles we see happening before our eyes is not Redemption? 

Labor Pangs in the Process

No one is blind to the fact that we have not yet reached the ultimate and desirable state. A long way still remains ahead of us, in terms of faith, fulfillment of Torah commandments, and of course, the building of the Holy Temple. Therefore, we do not say that we are in "Redemption;" we rather say, "the beginning of the sprouting of our Redemption," as the Chief Rabbinate (headed by Rabbis Herzog and Uziel) determined when the State of Israel was established.

Rav Kook explains his position on this topic in his work "Orot HaT'chiyah" (Lights of the National Revival). He writes there in Chapter 5 that our era is the beginning of Redemption, but that we will never suffice with that alone; our great aspirations as the Chosen Nation include the attainment of prophecy. He declares that we will not concede even one aspect of our strivings, and that this period of "beginning of Redemption" is far from enough: 

"It is impossible for us to cut off one branch from our great and expansive Tree of Life and attribute to it life in and of itself [as secular Zionism believed]. Everything within us will arise to oppose this idea with its full inner strength and essential feelings. [We have a] long path ahead, and we strives to totally revive ourselves and everything we have; not a pebble will be left to fall behind, not one line of the lines of our national countenance can be erased."

With this in mind, Rav Kook illuminates the increasingly advancing process of the nation's Return to Zion with a light of Redemption – even if at this stage we are still talking about only the beginning thereof: "The nation is developing with all its strengths… It does not yet recognize the depth of the elevated entity that is the entire basis of its revival… No, it does not have the Name of Heaven on its lips… but in truth, everything is holy and Divine. Only when… the nation rises to its [material] heights, then the true Divine light will begin to be revealed."

The intermediate stage in which we presently are found is the stage of the "pangs of Messiah." Some Talmudic Sages said, "Let this difficult period come, but I need not see it" – but only a courageous Sage like Rav Yosef could say, "On the contrary, I wish to merit living during that period, even if I have to [suffer tremendous indignities] for it."