Emuna: Irreversible - The Certainty of Redemption Part 8

 by Rav Sh. Yosef Veitzen yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Response to the seventh challenge: The Redemption Instinct

We continue with our series "The Certainty of Redemption," which notes three different approaches towards the national-historic process the Jewish Nation is currently experiencing. One holds that the Ingathering of Jews in the Holy Land is not a significant Redemption development, as the State of Israel is not run by a Torah government. Another view holds the opposite: The State of Israel is definitely the fulfillment of many Biblical prophecies, and we are on a one-way journey of undetermined length towards Redemption. The third approach is that the current situation is a bona-fide opportunity for Geulah (Redemption) - depending on our national and personal behavior.

Is the Jewish Nation undergoing the final Redemption? Some say no, some say maybe, and others say most certainly. Many challenges have been presented to the second approach, and Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Veitzen, the Rabbi of the Binyamin community of Psagot, responds to six of them here, here, here, here, here, and here. In this final article of the series, this final challenge is presented – and answered: 

Challenge #7:

"How can we be so sure of G-d's plans, given that the gift of Prophecy was taken from us during the Second Temple period? We do not have the tools by which to say that these or those specific events comprise a process from which there can be no turning back."

The answer to this challenge is given in seven parts:

A. No Prophecy, Yes Wisdom

Our tradition is that a Sage takes precedence over a Prophet. Rabbinic teachings help us determine some matters with a greater degree of certainty than if a Prophet would arise and tell us. The Sages continue the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu, whose gift of prophecy was the greatest of all. Therefore, we can still be guided even though we have no Prophecy. (At the same time, we have a number of clear prophecies regarding Redemption that must be studied and heard.) 

B. R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua: The Great Dispute

A famous dispute between Mishnaic Sages is recorded in the Talmud, Tr. Sanhedrin: R. Eliezer says that if Israel repents, they will be redeemed, but if not, they will not be redeemed. R. Yehoshua responds with incredulity: "If they do not do teshuvah, they will not be redeemed?! How can this be?!" Rather, "if Israel does not repent, G-d will bring about an evil king whose decrees are as grave as those of Haman, leading Israel to repent."

R. Yehoshua and R. Eliezer continue to buttress their respective points until finally, R. Eliezer no longer responded – an indication that he conceded that teshuvah is not a precondition (see Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook's Len'tivot Yisrael, p. 190-192).

However, even according to the Amoraic-era Sage named Rav, who takes R. Eliezer's position, it appears that once there is an awakening of sorts on the part of Israel, G-d above will continue the process, which will then become irreversible. The Zohar, too, explains that even according to R. Eliezer, it is not required that the national repentance encompass all of Israel; rather, even if a minority of Jews do so, or even if one community returns to the straight and true Torah path – G-d will redeem the entire nation. This is because G-d is always waiting and anticipating for His children to return to Him, so that He can shower an abundance of good upon them.

C. Hastened in its Time?

We read in the Book of Isaiah: "I am G-d, in its time I will hasten it [the Redemption]" (60,22). The inherent contradiction is obvious: How can it be both "hastened" and "in its time"? The Sages explained the meaning: If Israel is meritorious, "I will hasten it;" but if they are not, it will come "in its [pre-set] time."

This means that if we simply show that we are in an "in its time" Redemption – wherein G-d has made the decision to Redeem us despite our spiritual state – this will be proof that the Redemption is Divine, absolute, and irreversible. But how can we show that we are in an "in its time" Redemption?

On this topic so much has been written in the Torah, Prophets, and Rabbinic commentaries, that we cannot even begin to scratch the surface. We have therefore chosen simply to bring a sampling of the sources that tell us that we are in an "in its time" Redemption.

D. The Rabbis Teach

Among the many great rabbis and scholars who have determined that we are undergoing an "in its time" process, some of whom we have cited in previous articles, we find R. Yehoshua of Kutna, Rav Kook, students of R. Akiva Eger and the Vilna Gaon, and many others. We do not claim that this is the only Rabbinic opinion; everyone may choose his rabbinic teacher and philosophy. But we can note that the majority of Torah giants of these generations who have learned all Torah disciplines, including Kabbalah and Jewish Law, have determined that the time for Geulah has come.

Let us note specifically the leading Kabbalist Gaon Rav Shlomo Elyashiv, author of Leshem Shvo v'Achlamah (a teacher of Rav Kook, and grandfather of the famed Rav Elyashiv who passed away in 2012). He was asked whether the Redemption would come in a generation that was entirely meritorious, or in one that was entirely liable [in accordance with the two choices offered by one of the Talmudic Sages], and he said: "Most definitely the second way." 

E. Not Another Exile

We mentioned in a previous article the Rabbinic teaching in the Medrash that there will never be another exile after the third Redemption. There are many other Medrashic teachings to this effect as well. In the words of the Prophets, too, we find a description of the return from the Roman exile, depicted as the final exile.

We are now in the midst of the Redemption process, with the Ingathering of the Exiles ever increasing, and many of our brethren from east and west returning home to the Land. For a while now Israel's political strengths and international standing have surpassed those during the times of the Second Temple. And just as the return to the Land at that time was termed Israel's "second return," so too and even more so should the ingathering to Zion today be called our "third return" – the final one.

According to many estimations, within a decade at most, most of the Jews in the world will be in Eretz Yisrael. This will have ramifications not only economically and otherwise, but also Halakhically, when many of the Torah's commandments will once again become fully applicable.

We are certain that everything G-d does for His people is not for naught. Whoever thinks that all the amazing phenomena we see happening before our very eyes are just "works of the Satan," must have a pretty impressive Satan… To us, at least, Satan does not appear to have such powers; the most he seems to be able to do is to dig out a river to try to impede the Patriarch Abraham from carrying out G-d's command to bind his son Isaac [as the late Rosh Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav and Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira once said, based on a Medrash].

F. Other Talmudic indications that this is certainly a time of Redemption: 

1. Tr. Sanhedrin p. 98: And R. Abba said: You have no clearer sign of the End than [the blossoming of the Land of Israel], as is written (Yechezkel 36), "And you, o mountains of Israel, you will give your branches, and your fruits you will bear, for My nation Israel, for they are soon coming."

Rav Tzvi Yehuda explained that this teaching is preceded by the word "and" for good reason: It follows the dispute about whether or not Redemption is conditional upon Israel's repentance – and is a direct response to it, showing that the Redemption is in fact a function of a certain period of time, and not on whether Israel does teshuvah or not. 

R. Abba's teaching about the blossoming of the Land as a sign of Redemption tells us also – as Nachmanides explains at length in his commentary to Vayikra 26,32 – that before the Land brings forth its fruit, it will actually long be desolate. After many centuries of this, came the end of the 19th century, and even more so the beginning of the 20th century, when increasing numbers of Jews began to return to the Land – and suddenly, the Land changed its nature and began sprouting forth fruits in abundance. This was to be the clearest sign, according to the Talmud, that the Divine Presence had returned to Zion, and that all of Israel was now called upon to return as well and enjoy His Redemptive abundance. 

Another "clear" sign of the End and the Redemption is recounted by R. Eliezer in the Talmud. He said that the Geulah will be preceded by intolerable suffering for the Jews in the Diaspora, and that even Torah scholars will not be spared. 

Both these clear signs came true! In addition to the flowering of the Land, the Holocaust made it excruciatingly clear that the Exile was ending and that Jews no longer had a place amongst the Gentiles in the Diaspora. Once the Divine decision was made, the "destroyer" did not differentiate between those who had special merits of Torah life and study, and "regular" Jews who may not have even been observant at all. All of them were mercilessly slaughtered, and the impurity of the lands of the Gentiles became a giant cemetery for the holy martyrs of our nation.

2. As alluded to above, the Gemara states in the name of R. Yochanan: "The son of David [the Messiah] will arrive only either in a generation that is entirely meritorious, or in one that is totally liable." The Admor of Pilov [grandson of the Kotzker Rebbe] wrote in 1890 that it must be the latter, "as we see that it is specifically those who are far from Torah who are bringing about the Geulah."

This Geulah approach is also depicted in the Torah, in D'varim chapter 32. Nachmanides writes that this chapter is testimony that Israel will sin in the future, and that G-d will punish us – but will still redeem us. It tells us that He will not totally erase the nation; He will later console us and exact a strong punishment from our enemies, and will atone for our sins on behalf of His name. Nachmanides says that this chapter depicts the future Redemption – clearly in the form of "in its time" and not based on our merits. The fact that the Torah chose to depict it in this form shows that this is how it will actually be.

3. We have already cited the Gemara that tells us that if we deserve it, we will merit an early Redemption, but if not, it will come only "in its time." Similarly, if we merit it, the Messiah will come "with the clouds of the heavens" (Daniel 6,22), but if not, then he will come "poor, riding on a donkey" (Zecharia 9,9). The former is to be a miraculous Redemption, and the second will be a natural process. Certainly the Redemption that we are experiencing, despite the great wonders that we have seen and experienced, is a natural process, corresponding to an "in its time" Geulah.

4. The Mishna in Tr. Sotah 9 states: In the times of the footsteps of the Messiah, impudence will increase, high costs will pile up… The monarchy shall turn to heresy, and none will give reproof… The wisdom of scribes will putrefy, those who fear sin will be scorned, and the truth will be absent. The youth will shame their elders, elders will stand before minors. A son will disgrace a father; a daughter will rise up against her mother… The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog… And upon what is there for us to rely? Only upon our Father in heaven.

This is clearly a period of spiritual deterioration that can happen only in a Redemptive process of "in its time." Certainly the period in which we live can match this description very well.

5. An exceptional statement appears in Sanhedrin 98b: Both Raba and Ulla said, "Let him [the Messiah] arrive, but I [would rather] not see him [because of the great hardships of that period]." 

Rav Yosef said, "Let him arrive, and may I merit to sit [even] in the shadow of his donkey's excrement." 

The Gemara depicts the generation of Redemption as one engaged mainly in materialism. This is what Rav Yosef meant when he expressed his eagerness to be part of the Geulah – even if it means being totally involved in material matters, and even down to the level of the waste of a donkey – chamor in Hebrew, from the same root as chomer, material. 

This is most certainly a depiction of an "in its time" Geulah, when Israel is not sufficiently meritorious for a miraculous, hastened Geulah.

G. Faith: Instinct and Understanding:

In addition to all the above, there is yet another way to assess the period in which we live. It has to do with the special abilities of faith imbued within the Jewish Nation, and especially within its leaders. Just like a Torah scholar is trusted to recognize and identify his own property without having to produce signs of proof, so too he has the same tviut ayin, the ability to distinguish instinctively between truth and falsehood, between life and death. "Words of truth" are sensed instinctively, and together with them we can sense which of the approaches that are popular in this generation are true and of life, and which simply do not recognize the vitality of this generation. The truth is becoming clearer!

It is not only this generation that has seen disputes as to how to accurately understand and guide it. In the times of the Maccabees, for instance, Mattathias was forced to take sharp action to which many objected. Mordechai, uncle of Queen Esther, ostensibly endangered the Jewish nation by not bowing down to Haman – but it was ultimately revealed that it was he and his deeds that brought about Israel's salvation. For it is written that he "knew all that was going on" (Esther 4,1); he had an inner and instinctive understanding, even without prophecy. Later, R. Akiva saw in Bar Kokhba the power of Redemption. Though the sources and signs are important, they are not the only guideposts signaling to us the nature of our times.

This is the case for our generation as well. There are many people today - great Torah scholars and average Joes alike - who "smell the aroma of Redemption." The Prophet Yeshayahu tells us (11,3) that the Messiah will have a sense of smell based on "fear and awe of Heaven," and that he will judge with righteousness, though not according to what he sees or hears. Rather, he – and people in our generation as well – will use their well-developed inner sense, something that is very desirable to G-d, to rectify the disgrace of the "little faith" found, most unfortunately, in some of their compatriots.

IN CONCLUSION:

Our times are totally unique. The process of true and complete Redemption has set off on its journey, one that will surely reach its destination. It is incumbent upon us to recognize this – by studying, and also instinctively – and to do our part to move it along, whilst recognizing that G-d's word and desire will come to fruition.