Chapter
4
A
Tripartite Disposition for the Footsteps of the Mashiach:
“Designated Deeds,
Times, and Emissaries”
Contents:
This
chapter presents the goal of the Redemption: the Redemption of Truth and
sanctification of God leading to the repair of the world in the Malchut of
the Almighty. -- The triple cord--the
“designated deeds, times, and emissaries”--come together in a tripartite
campaign. The designated
emissaries begin carrying out the designated deeds, thereby hastening the
designated times. This is alluded
to in the verses: “the buds were seen on the land, the songbird’s time has
arrived, the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land” [Song of Songs,
2:12]; “it is the time to favor her when the designated time comes” [Ps. 102:14], “when your servants have
cherished her stones, and favored her dirt” [Ps. 102:15]. We
must learn to comprehend how to combine these three basic principles. To the extent we hasten the Redemption,
by cherishing her stones and favoring her dust, the Redemption will hasten
toward us. This is revealed by the
words “when the designated time comes, ” as well as by the verse: “return to
me, and I will return to you” [Mal.
3:7]. Accordingly, holy
hints about the designated times of remembrance and revealed end are
disclosed to us in the last generation that extends to the final end, the
concealed end.
According to our
Prophets and the Gaon’s explanations, the goal of the Redemption is the
Redemption of Truth and sanctification of God; the purpose of our activity in
general is to wage war against Armilus by gathering in the exiles and settling
the Holy Land, for that is what will redeem the truth and sanctify God. This is what Isaiah means by the words
“He has redeemed Jerusalem” (52:9), which is called the City of Truth [Zach. 8:3]. The Redemption of Truth can occur only after destroying the klipah
shell/ layer of Esau that appears in the form of Armilus, the epitome of
the truth-hater. Esau hates Jacob,
the epitome of truth, as indicated in the statement “you will grant truth to
Jacob” [Micah 7:20].
The goal of the
redemption of truth is sanctification of God. This was implied by the Gaon in the order of a number of
verses he cited. First, “with
their eyes they will see the return of God to Zion” [Isa. 52:8], means that the exiles will be
gathered in. Then the prophet
calls out: “burst out, sing joyfully together, O ruins of Jerusalem” [Isa. 52:9], which apparently refers to the
rebuilding of Jerusalem and ridding it of the odor of impurity. The joy is because “the Lord has
comforted His People; He has redeemed Jerusalem” [Isa. 52:9]. These words relate to the redemption of truth, for Jerusalem
is called the City of Truth. This
statement is followed by: “God has uncovered His holy arm before the eyes of
all the nations” [Isa. 52:10],
which refers to sanctification of God.
The verse alludes to Israel’s victory in the War of Gog and Magog,
through Mashiach ben Yosef who, according to the Gaon, will appear
following the first redemption from the oppression of the kingdoms, with the
great force revealed in the words that God is truth and His seal is truth. Then “all ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God” [Isa.
52:10], which is a reference to the revelation of our righteous Mashiach,
Mashiach ben David. The
sanctification of God in the eyes of the nations will affect the sinners of
Israel, and they will repent of their evil ways. When they see that the other nations recognize the power God
has given his people, they will be embarrassed and return to God with
recognition, thereby sanctifying God. This is what is meant by the verse regarding the return of
the captivity of Zion: “then among the nations it will be said, ‘the Lord has
done great things for them.’” “The Lord has done great things for us” [Ps. 126:2-3]. In the future, after the other nations recognize the great
deeds that God has done for the People of Israel, then the entire nation of
Israel, even those of little faith, will say, “The Lord has done great things
for us.” The purpose of the Redemption of the Truth and sanctification of God
is to unify the two meshichim, Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach
ben David, the wood of Yosef and the wood of Judah, like the union of the
Holy One blessed be He and the Shechina. The purpose of the union of the two meshichim is to
repair the world in the Malchut of the Almighty.
Practically, these
are the principal paths for action during the beginning of the Redemption when
the awakening starts from below:
1. a) gathering in the exiles;b) rebuilding Jerusalem;c) eradicating
the impure spirit from the Land by planting the Holy Land and fulfilling
the commandments that depend on living in Israel, which is connected with the
revealed end; d) redeeming
Truth by setting up people of Truth; e) sanctifying God;f) ! revealing the mysteries of
the Torah;g) repairing the
world in the Malchut of the Almighty.
2. There is a great principle in work involved in the
footsteps of the Mashiach that all three main principles--“designated
deeds, times, and emissaries”--must converge in a threefold cord that does not
tear. This refers to the deeds,
times, and messengers alluded to in the verse, “the buds were seen on the land,
the songbird’s has arrived, the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our
land.”“The buds were seen” refers to the deeds; “the songbird’s time” refers to
the designated times; “the voice of the turtle-dove” refers to the
emissaries. Similarly, in the
verse, “it is the time to favor her, for the designated time comes when your
servants have cherished her stones, and favored her dust” [Ps. 102:14-15]. Similarly, is the verse, “there is a time for everything”
[Koh. 3:17], means that the time
has come according to Israel’s desire at the time of the awakening from
below. Likewise, the verse “I am
the Lord; in its time, I will hasten it” [Isa. 60:22] means that when the time comes, God will hasten the
process. When will this occur?
Immediately after the smallest one has become a thousand, as explained below in
Chapter 5. We must observe, and do
whatever we can to help “the one who favors man with knowledge, ” as said by
our Sages and according to the Gaon.
We must utilize holy hints and all our ability in “deed and gematria” to
compare and completely unify all three foundations in quantity and quality in
levels and values, and strive to understand how to combine the three basic
principles with the help of the Rock of Israel and its Redeemer.
3. The beginning of anything, whether great or small,
connected with the footsteps of the Mashiach must be by the designated
people, that is, the emissaries, messengers of the Above at the beginning of
the Redemption, which will occur with designated deeds, designated
activities. The two together will
hasten the designated times, that is, the times of the ends of the footstep
levels (which number 999 in the sefira Yesod) that are connected with
the beginning of the Redemption when the awakening comes from below. The emissaries will begin the deeds and
hasten the designated times. This
is attested to in the verse “you will have mercy on Zion for it is the time to
favor her, when the designated time comes” [Ps. 102:14]. When
will this be? “when your servants have cherished her stones and favored her
dust” [Ps. 102:15], then “the
other nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the Earth
Your glory, for the Lord God will have built Zion and be seen in his glory”
[Ps. 102:16-17]. Our sages in the Jerusalem Talmud and
in Tosefot Yom Tov revealed that the Redemption will begin, as in the days of
Coresh, just like the Second Temple, with the permission of the kings of the
nations. The Gaon comments that
the verse “he will fulfill all my desires” [Isa. 44:28] refers to the revealed end mentioned by our Sages. When will this occur? It will occur
when the voice of the turtle-dove is heard and the buds are seen on the land.
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What will hasten the
designated time? It is possible to hasten deeds, but how can one hasten a
designated time that is determined beforehand? In the 6th millennium - - -
referred to as “a time, a time and a half” [Dan. 12:7], which signifies every period of time according to its
designated activity (?), and ‘the half’ to ‘half’ and so on. For whenever a deed is done when the
awakening comes from below, the quality of Din on the left side will be
aided by the quality of Lovingkindness from the right side, as explained
below. Thus every designated time
will be cut in half, and this is what is meant by “when the time comes.” It means
we will not have to go as far as the designated time, rather will the time come
to us after “your servants have cherished her stones and favored her dust.” And
it will be completed from the middle line, with the quality of mercy by way of
the middle column as stated at the beginning of the verse: “you will have mercy
on Zion” [Ps. 102:15], etc. Similarly, the Midrash on the verse, “a
redeemer will come to Zion” [Isa.
59:20] denotes that the coming of the Redeemer depends on the rebuilding
of Zion.
“Everything has its season,
and there is a time for every desire” [Koh. 3:1]. According
to the Gaon, the season and time accord with the desire, and that is what is
meant by “every desire.” In the Talmud we note four sections regarding the mode
of Redemption: a) If the people repent, they will be saved; otherwise, they
will not be. b) If they do not
repent, God will place a king over them whose decrees are harsher than those of
Haman; so the Jews will repent and be saved. c) The redemption will come at first by the return of the
captivity of Zion, even if there is only “one from a city or two from a family”
[Jer. 3:14], according to Reb
Yehoshua. This is what is meant by
the Revealed End. d} The
Redemption will come in any case at its designated time, which is referred to
as “the concealed end.” However, beforehand one must consider that all of the
views expressed are those of the Living God. Therefore the Gaon told us that we must progress and select
the mode that is within our power, that is, the third mode. Should we accomplish this and fulfill
this mode, then there will be no need for our Sages’ warnings regarding harsh
decrees. Since the fulfillment
will stimulate general repentance, there will be no need to set up a king whose
decrees are harsher than Haman’s decrees.
The revealed end will thus hasten the culmination of the Redemption.
Regarding the view that
all ends have ended, this refers to the designated times during which
designated deeds by designated emissaries were not carried out, as explained
above. a Regarding the statement
that the bones of those who try to figure out the ends should swell, this
refers to those who compute the figures without considering the deeds that are
necessary when the awakening comes from below. They do not take into consideration the beginning that comes
with the first Mashiach, Mashiach ben Yosef, in order to prepare
the way for the great redemption by deeds. The term “bones” is used to indicate that such people sin
against the “bones of Yosef” which contain the mystery of Mashiach ben
Yosef as revealed in the verse: “Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him”
[Ex. 13:19]. Should we hasten the Redemption, by
cherishing her stones and favoring her dust, then the Redemption will come
closer, as revealed in the verse: “when the time comes, ” and as is written:
“return to me and I will return to you.
-- To this extent the holy hints about the designated times and the
revealed end will be disclosed to us in the final generation which will reach
the final end, “the wondrous end” [Dan.
12:6], until the end of the days when the blessing will be completed as
indicated by the verse: “his right hand on Efraim’s head” [Gen. 48:17]. Some of this matter is revealed through “explaining what is
hidden.” In the following chapter, with the help of God, we will discuss this
matter to the extent we are permitted to reveal the hints.
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