Moshiach and Geulah

From a private meeting between R' Shneur Chaim Gutnik and the Lubavitcher Rebbe (5 Menachem Av 55727/1967)

R' Gutnick: ...There is an inyan of b'ita and achishena, and it is stated in chazal (Sanhedrin 98a) that it is dependent on whether it will be a situation of zachu ("they merit") or lo zachu ("they don't merit") -- kulo zakai ("all meritorious") or kulo chayav ("all culpable"). Could it be that the Rambam says that it must be according to a certain order, yet in the words of chazal we see differently (that not necessarily does it need to be all meritorious")?

Lubavitcher Rebbe: Nu, how do you understand? Obviously the Rambam also knew these words of chazal that you know, and nonetheless this is his psak din [binding halachic decision] (that there needs to be [a king from the house of Dovid who will] "compel all of Israel, etc." -- kulo zakai).

Regarding what you are saying, that it appears [to you] that there could also be a situation of kulo chayav -- we see the Satmar, Harav Katznellenbogen and Menachem Schneerson will not allow this to happen. Additionally, regarding kulo chayav you have nothing to talk about and the only way is that it will be kulo zakai.

http://hageulah.blogspot.com/2006/11/ku ... rious.html

Herein lies one of the differences between the Future Redemption and the previous redemptions in our history. In the exodus from Egypt, the Jews who were not found worthy of being redeemed died in the plague of darkness. Similarly, in the return to Zion led by Ezra, the majority of the Jewish people remained in Babylon. In contrast, the Future Redemption will include all the members of our people: every single Jew will leave the exile.*

*In an expanded sense, the Redemption will also affect those Jews who have not yet been born, for their birth will be hastened, and it will also affect the souls of the previous generations who will arise in the Resurrection of the Dead.

(Sicha of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Night Following the Eleventh of Menachem Av, 5751)

The future geulah will include all tribes of Israel from all four corners of the earth, as the verse says "if you will be pushed away in the corner of the heavens from there I will gather you" and it won't be like the pekida of the 2nd Temple where the children didn't return to their land, and didn't include the tribes exiled by the king of Ashur and did not include the Jews in Mitzrayim and Tzarfas and Sepharad and the rest of the countries. And even those who came up form Bavel were only a small number, and not the cream of the crop. The future geulah will be for all the descendents of Yaakov, even those who have gone out from religion, like the prophet says "And a redeemer shall come to Zion, and to those who repent of transgression in Jacob" because "those who repent of transgression" are the evildoers among Israel who will repent and be troubled by their sins which also didn't occur in the 2nd Temple.

(Abarbanel, Mashmia Yeshuos 2:3)

Parshas Metzora

This week's Torah portion, Metzora (literally "Leper") deals with the Biblical plague of leprosy and the various processes a person had to go through in order to become spiritually pure. Aside from its literal meaning, "Metzora" is also one of the names the Talmudic Sages used to refer to Moshiach, commenting on the verse in Isaiah (53:4): "Surely he has borne our sicknesses, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, struck by G-d, and afflicted."

The name Metzora specifically relates to Moshiach as he exists in exile, prior to the Final Redemption. During this period, although he is already present in the world, he has not yet been revealed as King Moshiach. Moshiach's essential nature is the epitome of perfection, as he is described: "My servant is enlightened; he is exalted, lofty and highly elevated." Nonetheless, because he is still in exile and shares in the suffering of the Jewish people, he is termed "Metzora."

A Biblical commentator, the "Ohr HaChaim," explains that the purification process of the leper is symbolic of the process of Moshiach's revelation and the cleansing of the Jewish people from exile. The leper's "day of purification" corresponds to the day on which the Final Redemption will occur.

Furthermore, from the fact that Moshiach is called "Metzora," we learn the precise nature of his suffering before the Redemption. Chasidic philosophy notes that leprosy is an external affliction "of the skin of his flesh," rather than an illness that has already invaded the inner workings of the body. Accordingly, it symbolizes a condition in which a person's inner essence is whole, and the damage is limited only to his exterior.

Thus on a deeper level, "Metzora" signifies a person on the highest spiritual plane, whose powers of the soul have already been purified and refined. The Metzora's inner essence is pure; all that is left for him to do is to cleanse his "skin" - the very outermost layers of the body. Moreover, the Metzora's external affliction isn't really "his," but that of the Jewish people, as it states, "Surely he has borne our sicknesses."

This, in fact, is the condition in which we find ourselves now, at the very end of the exile and just prior to the Redemption. Outwardly, it appears as if the Jewish people is suffering from a variety of ailments, but our inner essence is actually pristine, having already been completely purified over the course of generations. The only thing left to be refined before Moshiach's revelation is our "outer layer." All other prerequisites for the Final Redemption are already in place.

May it happen immediately.


Adapted from Vol. 22 of Likutei Sichos, and the Rebbe's talk on Shabbos Parshas Tazria-Metzora 5751 (L'Chayim newsletter)

The Redemption will come even before the Jewish People do t’shuva, as is written (T’hillim 130:8), “And He will redeem Israel from all its transgressions,” and the commentaries (Metzudas Dovid) explain: “Even sin will not delay the Redemption, for He will redeem Israel from sins.”

It is written (Micha 7:18): “Who is a G-d like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not maintain His anger forever, for He desires loving-kindness.” The commentaries explain: “The remnant of His heritage – those who remain from the birth-pangs of Moshiach (the brand rescued from the fire of this generation), He does not stand upon the crime to watch over it as payment, rather He passes over the crime and goes further, as if He doesn’t see it” (Metzudas Dovid).

“‘Those who remain at the coming of the Redeemer…even though they are subject to the punishment of not going out from the Exile on account of their evil doings, ‘He will not turn forever towards their deeds, because He desires kindness…and His kindness will overcome their transgressions when the time of the Redemption will arrive’” (Radak).

Sicha of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shabbos Parshas VaYechi 5751

Not a Single Jew will Remain in Exile (i)

In the future Redemption, not a single Jew will remain in exile.
Thus it is written,[57] "The L-rd your G-d will return your
captivity," and Rashi comments: "With His hands He will actually
take every single individual from his place, in the spirit of
the verse,[58] 'And you shall be gathered up one by one, O
Children of Israel.' " And since the Redemption will be brought
about by repentance, it is self-evident that just as the
Redemption itself will involve "every single individual"... "one
by one," so too will repentance be undertaken by "every single
individual" ... "one by one."

In similar vein the Alter Rebbe writes[59] of every single Jew
that "it is certain that he will ultimately repent...,
because[60] 'no one banished from Him [by his sins] will remain
banished.' "

This is likewise explicit in another verse:[61] "And it shall
come to pass on that day, that a great Shofar shall be sounded,
and those who are lost in the land of Assyria and who are
banished in the land of Egypt shall come, and shall bow down
before G-d at the holy mountain in Jerusalem." Here we see that
even those who are so deeply immersed in their exile that they
have become "lost" and "banished", will become aroused in
repentance.

This is also apparent in the answer given on Pesach to the
Wicked Son in the Haggadah:[62] "If he were there he would not
have been redeemed." There, in Egypt, he would not have been
redeemed (but would have shared the fate of his colleagues
during the three days of darkness[63]). In the future
Redemption, however, he too will be redeemed.

Why the distinction?

The Exodus from Egypt took place before G-d told every
individual Jew at Sinai,[64] "I am the L-rd your G-d" (with
"your" in the singular). With that statement, the Four-Letter
Divine Name Havayah became the power and life-force of every
Jew. And by virtue of this power every single Jew, even a wicked
one, may be assured of being ultimately redeemed.


Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XI, p. 2

Not a Single Jew will Remain in Exile (ii)

In the future Redemption, as our Sages teach,[65] Moshe Rabbeinu
will enter the Land of Israel at the head of the entire
generation of the wilderness who left Egypt.

It is generally understood that unlike all the intervening
redemptions, which were partial, the ultimate Redemption will
exactly resemble the Exodus from Egypt: not one Jew will remain
in exile. The above teaching, however, points out a vital
distinction between them. In fact only the ultimate Redemption
can be described as truly complete, without a single Jew
remaining in exile. For the purpose of the Exodus from Egypt was
entry into the Land of Israel, and 600,000 of those who left
Egypt died in the wilderness and were not privileged to reach
the Land. Only at the time of the future Redemption will they be
brought there.


From a talk of the Rebbe on 12 Sivan, 5744 [1984]

Not a Single Jew will Remain in Exile (iii)

A redemption in which not all of the Jewish people are redeemed,
but even one solitary Jew remains in exile, cannot be called a
genuinely true redemption.

This may be understood by analogy with G-d's absolute
omnipresence, which is described by Rambam[66] with the phrase,
amitas hamatzu - "His true presence." This state may be said to
be truly and completely manifest in all created beings only when
it is evident that it permeates every detail of every entity, in
the spirit of the verse,[67] ain od milvado - "There is nothing
else apart from Him." If there should remain one single entity
in which this truth was not apparent, in which it was not
apparent that the very existence of this entity flows from "His
true presence," this would indicate an aberration from the truth
of G-d's all-pervasiveness - as if His presence were not
consistently true in all places and in all situations, as
witness the existence of a particular entity "outside" of it.

The same line of thinking applies to the Redemption.

In essence, the Redemption is the revelation of the elemental
bond between the Jewish people and G-d. Hence, a redemption in
which even one solitary Jew remains in exile, cannot be called a
true redemption. Indeed, the future Redemption is known as
hageulah ha'amitis ve'hashleimah - "the true and complete
Redemption," for with its advent every Jew will be redeemed.


Sefer HaSichos 5748 [1988], Vol. II, p. 514