Monday, April 30, 2007

Tzaddikim could decree Moshiach -- why don't they?!

Sicha Parshas Pinchas 5744

The truth is that if the tzaddikim of the generation decided to bring the redemption, they would certainly do so, for “the tzaddik decrees and G-d fulfills.” But as long as G-d wants the Jews to be in exile, the tzaddikim listen to Him. This is self-sacrifice of the highest order: The redemption is something that is vitally necessary, and yet they don’t decree it because of G-d’s will. But the question still remains — until when?

At any rate, when Jews perform their service in the manner of redemption, they effect the actual, literal redemption from Above, since G-d pays “measure for measure.” Since the redemption comes from Above, through G-d Himself in all His glory, it will certainly be a true and complete redemption — just as G-d embodies the absolute truth and the absolute perfection. Also, since it is G-d who brings the redemption, there will be no time constraints, and Jews will be “redeemed immediately.

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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Bodies of Yemos Hamoshiach

Maamarim Admor Ha'emtzo'i

It is known that Techiyas Hameisim comes after the days of Moshiach. Even though in the days of Moshiach the bodies will be completely cleansed from their materiality because then the Eitz Ha'Da'as Tov v'Ra will be completely refined and "I will remove the spirit of tuma from the earth." Even animals and beasts..."and everyone will know Me" and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem mamash. Nonetheless, they will be in physical bodies that were born from a mother and father amidst physical desire, except they will not possess any evil at all. Their avodah in Torah and Mitzvos will be b'pnimiyus davka, as in the expression "hilchasa d'Meshicha" [the halachos for the days of Moshiach, Sanhedrin 51b, Zohar I:114].


Thus we say "there we will perform mitzvos before you as mitzvos ratzonecha (commandments which you have willed)"... as the sages say, there is no difference between this world and the days of Moshiach except for enslavement to the nations. Only that the avodah will be via the ruchniyus, and not like Adam Harishon in Gan Eden to work it (b'ruchniyus mamash) but rather within gashmiyius davka, as it says "And strangers shall stand and pasture your sheep, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers" (Yeshaya 61:5).


The lifespan will be lengthened ("a youth of one hundred will die") but they will die nonetheless because the body will not yet be sufficiently refined to be like Adam Harishon before the sin, when there was no death at all. But at Techiyas Hameisim all the neshomas who passed away will come up and up to their bodies with the supernal dew that will revive them, and flesh and sinew and bone will cover them and they will live via supernal life...these will be holy bodies, completely pure, not created from the desire of a physical union of father andmother, and thus there will be no death for them like Adam Harishon before the sin--that his body was holy, comparable to his neshoma (to the degree that his heel was as bright as the sun, his heel being in Asiyah but still totally separated from any mixture of good and evil) and soul and body were like form and substance and so too his sons born before the sin.

Vayikra B, L'ag B'Omer, p.685-6 (part 15)

[Important to note that the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe has stated that because golus has extended so long, r"l, our generation will be able to transition from our present physical being to eternal life without the need for death in the interim (ללא הפםק בינתים).]

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Sunday, April 22, 2007

You are all children of the Most High

Shelah haKadosh, Parshas Va'era

Moshe Rabbeinu so to speak became Elokim and through him YKVK is transmitted...and the verse states "אלקים אתם" ("you are Elokim") in the plural because Moshe Rabbeinu includes all 600,000 [root Jewish souls] because he is equal to all of Yisroel and בני עליון כולכם ("you are all children of the Most High") for you are the nation of Yisroel and you were suited to be "children of the most High", namely the heavenly host, and Moshe Rabbeinu would be over you like Elokim is over the heavenly host.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Moshiach standing in your room

Sicha, evening of 13 Nisan 5741

Every Jew believes in the coming of Moshiach, and is found in a state of "I await his coming every day".

A Jew needs to know that it is not enough to decide by himself that "I await him", meaning that he hopes and wants that he will wake up tomorrow morning and see that Moshiach is here; this is good ("I await him") -- but this doesn't become to an actual action, and "the action is the main thing".

A Jew needs to know that when he goes to sleep tonight, it should be in a way that when he wakes up in the morning and sees Moshiach (not only "standing behind our walls", but) standing next to him in his room -- he himself will be found in a state which is fitting to greet Moshiach!

This is not something that comes as a gift, it is something that needs to be done through effort and deed.

So then the evil inclination begins to disturb him and says: since for so many reasons you aren't the type who can get himself fit to greet Moshiach -- at least don't disturb your sleep! Don't think about disturbing things, give yourself a peaceful night, and afterwards you will get up with a clear head, and when Moshiach will say to you "Sholom aleichem" you will be able to answer him -- with a clear head -- "Aleichem sholom".

Why do you need to disturb yourself? With the coming of Moshiach there's a need to "dress" properly, meaning the levushim -- thought, speech and how much moreso action -- need to be suitable for a Jew that Moshiach will give him a "Sholom aleichem" -- and for sure this is beyond you!

We say to a Jew that "I don't demand according to My power, rather their power", and from this it is understood that it is in the power of every Jew to reach this proper state.

Furthermore we tell him, as a preface to greeting Moshiach there is the matter of "and you will be gathered one by one the children of Israel" (Yeshaya 27:12) -- as Rashi says to a small child who learns chumash, that the Holy One Himself comes and takes every Jew by the hand; but the Holy One wants that the Jew will walk with him afterwards (without need to pull and drag him).

We tell him explicitly that the Holy One helps him, and since the Holy One helps him, therefore "who can tell Him what to do"?

Specifically, that every Jew contains "a little piece of G-dliness" -- and all he needs to do is to clear away the dust that has gathered due to the "the heart of the fool at his left", and then his "little piece of G-dliness" will stir to life and go to work, until he will be one with the Holy One who is gathering together every jew "one by one".

When he brings himself to such a state he starts to prepare to greet Moshiach in the way that needs to be -- then it won't matter one bit to him what state he was in a moment before, since "in a single moment" he can bring about "cause Your countenance to shine, and we shall be saved" (Tehillim 80:20), which the commentators explain is in a manner of "everlasting salvation" (Yeshaya 45:17).

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Monday, April 16, 2007

Why does golus continue?

Lubavitcher Rebbe

[After explaining a concept in chassidus pertaining to a type of avodah (Divine service) which leads us to l'Asid lavo, the Rebbe asks:] Already in the time of the gemara the sages said that all the "keitzin" were finished, and how much more so now after the announcement [of the Previous Rebbe] "immediately to geulah", and the announcement that nothing remains except "polishing the buttons" to receive Moshiach Tzidkeinu, and the announcement that the remaining avodah since then has been completed. After all this, what room is there to demand the concepts of avodah [discussed above] in order to bring us to the time to come, etc.? After all, it seems that it is all finished, the avodah and preparation towards the final geulah, the coming of Moshiach.

It is the greatest mystery that not a single person has noticed to ask this question, and the proof of this is from the fact that he still hasn't come, because if this subject really mattered to someone then Moshiach would already have been here yesterday and how much more so today in the morning and how much more so today in the afternoon and how much more so today at the time of the raava d'raavin [Shabbos Mincha]. It's just that the answer to this is quite simple, that this is due to the darkness of golus; but this itself is a question: why does the darkness of golus continue?

...it is a certainty that we have already finished all the birurim - and consequently the entire world is ready for the geulah!! So the solitary reason why we are still stuck in golus is due to stubborness! Jews are stubborn, the stubborness of the opposite of kedusha, and for some bizarre reason they don't want to shout "Ad Mosai" ("how much longer").

Shabbos Parshas Tzav 5748 and Metzora 5746

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Basra is Botzra? Or something else entirely?

Ma'ayonei Hayeshuos, R' Don Abarbanel

Botzra refers to Rome, not the Botzra in [the desert of] Moav. Targum Yonason agrees that it's Rome.

Yeshua is Esav (ישוע הוא עשיו) who is Edom and Rome, and the xtian kings accepted it first so all xtians and believers in the religion of Yeshu haNotzri are without doubt bnei Edom bnei Esav.