Chapter
6
Essential
Guidelines for Deeds at the Beginning of the Redemption
Contents:
The principles behind
deeds to be performed at the beginning of the Redemption, the circumstances and
manners of these deeds-all are similar to those prevalent during the period
leading to the construction of the Second Temple in accord with the mission of Mashiach
ben Yosef. The beginning of
the Redemption is the time of the Revealed End, when the following seven
pillars are hewn: 1) gathering in the exiles; 2) building Jerusalem; 3)
eradicating the impure spirit from Eretz Israel by planting the Holy Land and
fulfilling the commandments related to it; 4) setting up people of truth in
order to redeem the truth and sanctify the name of God; 5) promoting the spread
of Torah from Zion; 6) waging war against Amalek; 7) healing Zion. We, the emissaries of the Almighty, are
obligated to do our utmost to carry out these goals as revealed by “deed and gematria [numerology].”
We must act modestly,
along the lines of the Vilna Gaon’s major rule that anything that will be
achieved upon completion of the Redemption will start at the beginning of the
Redemption little by little, with Ze’er Anpin. In addition, we must study the teachings regarding the
footsteps of the Mashiach, as described in the 156 qualities and aspects
of Mashiach ben Yosef [see above Chapter 2], in order to know how the
holy work is carried out, so as not to retreat, God forbid, when faced with
obstacles and sanballatim [see Neh.
2:19; 3:33-34]. All this is
the mission of the Rabbi Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon, and at his directive. May his merit and blessing help us in
all our paths, and may God complete the task for us.
The Gaon always spoke
about an important rule, that all deeds of the beginning of the Redemption,
when the awakening comes from below — “all will be like the period of the
Second Temple, ” like the days of “Ezra and Nehemiah when permission was
granted by Coresh.”
All seven principles of
work to be accomplished during the footsteps of the Mashiach, and the
details of the deeds, are part of the beginning of the revealed end, as noted
by our Sages in the Talmud (Megillah 17b), concerning the juxtaposition of
blessings to the events that follow.
The promise of blessings, and the ideas of gathering in the exiles,
building Jerusalem and eradicating the spirit of impurity from Eretz Israel
follow one another in the Bible.
As is written: “you, mountains of Israel, will give forth your branch
and bear your fruit for My people, Israel, when they are about to come”
[Ez. 36:8]. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a} writes that
this verse refers to the Revealed End.
The Revealed End was the major energizing and strong aspiration of the
Vilna Gaon and his students. The
entire matter of the revealed end is the great assignment of Mashiach ben
Yosef.
Through the Gaon, may his
memory be blessed, Heaven informed us of this mission which pertains to the
period of the awakening from below.
Of course, our mission is that of the Gaon, the light of Mashiach ben
Yosef to the final generation.
In the verse: “you, mountains of Israel, will give forth your branch, ”
the Gaon saw a hint to his name, revealed by “deed and gematria.” The verses
which hint at the Gaon’s mission, and related ones, as well as the 156
appellations and aspects as explained above in Chapter 2, can teach us much
regarding our work. According to
the Gaon, we are to consider the verses and aspects as Urim v’Tumim that
inform us what we must do, with the help of God. Below are the paths of the beginning of the Redemption
practically, at the time of the awakening from below. The following are the circumstances and manners of
Redemption:
1. gathering in the
exiles-how will this occur? To what extent are we, emissaries of God at the
time of the beginning of the Redemption, obligated to engage in gathering in
the exiles? The minimum number of exiles that has the power to bring back the Shechina
to Israel is the number our Sages considered when the term “population of
Israel” was used, that is, 600, 000.
This number has the power to vanquish Samael at the gates of
Jerusalem. As our Sages stated
concerning God: “For I will not enter Jerusalem above until the population of
Israel enters Jerusalem below” [see Chapter 1, 15].
My grandfather (R’ Binyamin)
once asked the Gaon what to do if it becomes possible practically and naturally
to bring all of Israel to the Holy Land at one time. According to our Sages, if we do not merit it, the
Redemption will come little by little like the dawn. The question is, what should we do? The Gaon replied: “if it
is possible, then 600, 000 should be brought over at first, because that is the
number that can overpower Samael who rules in the gates of Jerusalem. Then, in any case, the entire
Redemption will occur. The Gaon
gave me a wonderful hint concerning the verse: [Isa. 2:5] “O House of Jacob, come, let us go in the light of the
Lord.” The initial letters of this verse [# ] amount to 60; the word is the
same as in gematria; the second letters of the words in this verse [156] equal in gematria. The final letters of this verse [618] equal “the heart of Jerusalem.”
Thus this verse hints that the words “come, let us go” refers to going to Zion
together with 600, 000 people, and all are connected to “the heart of Jerusalem.”
The Biblical verse does not even lose its literal meaning, that all must be in
the light of God, that is with the internal soul of the Holy Torah.
What is the number necessary to
begin gathering in the exiles? Even one from a city or two from a family
[Jer. 3:14]. From where should the ingathering
begin? From the North, as is written: “behold I will bring them from the land
of the north, etc. (Jer. 31:7), because the main ruling power of
Samael is on the northern side, and Samael is referred to as “the northern
one.” It says about him: “I will distance the northern one from you” [Joel
2:20]. And he is the one who drew
the main part of the exile of Israel to the north, as noted: “out of the North, evil will break
forth” [Jer. 1:14]. Therefore, the beginning of the
ingathering of the exiles must also be from the place ruled by Samael, from the
North. Thus it is written, “awake,
you from the North, ” and afterwards it states, “come, you from the South”
[Song, 4:16].
2. building Jerusalem. How will this be accomplished? To what
extent are we obligated to act to accomplish this during the awakening from
below? Our Rabbis said that in the future Jerusalem will expand as far as
Damascus. In the future Jerusalem
will extend as far as the Great Sea (the Mediterranean). The procedure will be gradual. Our Sages maintained that the
redemption of Israel will be like the first rays of the dawn: just as the dawn
comes gradually, so will Israel’s settlement come gradually, and likewise with
regard to building it, etc. The
building will be accomplished even in poverty, as is written: “that God has
established Zion and the poor of His people take shelter in it” (Isa. 14:32). The building will start from even one stone: “behold I am
laying a foundation stone in Zion, a tried stone, ” because God wishes to put
us through a severe trial, by building Zion from even a single stone, and this
“will be a precious cornerstone, a secure foundation” [Isa. 28:16], etc.
Our work consists of fulfilling
the commandment of expansion: “expand the site of your tent” [Isa. 54:2]. “The commandment of expansiveness” means ‘expand, do
not restrain yourselves’. The
verse teaches us that we must not stand still; we must not retreat, God forbid,
when confronting any obstacle. Yet
another verse, connected with the commandment of expansion, hints at the name
of the Gaon; as known, for in gematria the verse: ! [606] “expand, extend,
strengthen” together equal ! [the name of the Gaon together with his father’s
name]. In that same chapter it
states [Isa. 54:7] [ 606] “with abundant
mercy I will gather you.” The term “I will gather you” is the great mission of
the Gaon, as explained above in chapters 1 and 3. According to our Sages, the method used should be the equally measured gardens [Baba
Batra 75b] mentioned in connection with the building and settlement of
Jerusalem. Practically, there
should be complete equality on the line of equality for all, as explained in
the Tosafot concerning the building of Jerusalem. This approach is also included in the Gaon’s principle regarding
the verse “a perfect and just stone, ” another verse in which the Gaon saw a
hint to his own name. There it
states that there should not be two kinds of measurement in one’s home: “a
large one and a small one” [Deut.
25:14]. According to the
Gaon, the term ‘home’ refers to the land of Israel, because immediately after
this verse it states, “when the Lord your God grants you rest ? in the land
[Deut. 25:19], etc.” Jerusalem was
not divided among the tribes, and houses are not to be rented in Jerusalem. Also, ben David will not come until all
measurements are equal, and all prices are equal.
Another point made by the Gaon
is that when we build Jerusalem, we are obligated to fulfill all the means of
inheriting, including literally taking it by force if necessary, except in the
case of building the Temple. Force
must not be used to build the Temple, the Gaon says in his commentary on the
Song of Songs.
What should be built first? The
northwestern section of Jerusalem should be built first; from the peak of Amana
because Mashiach ben Yosef comes from the North, and the Shechina is
in the West.
3. eradicating the
impure spirit from Eretz Israel by planting the Holy Land. The three groups of exiles depend on
this, according to the Gaon, especially the commandments concerning leaving the
poor man the gleanings of the crop, the forgotten sheaf, and the corners of the
field.
How much should be planted and
to what extent? The land should be planted until it is no longer desolate,
until the holy land bears its fruit.
The goal is to drive out the spirit of impurity from the land, to purify
the holiness of " the Revealed God from its klipah, etc. The holiness of the Revealed God rests
upon the fruits of the Holy Land.
This is the secret of the reason for the commandments “when you come to
the land you shall plant...” [Lev.
19:23]. According to the
Midrash, you should not occupy yourself with anything except planting ? this is
the main part of the mission of the Vilna Gaon in connection with the verse “a
perfect and just stone” which hints at his name in the Torah. For following the verse is the command
to wipe out the name of Amalek.
Afterwards the Torah discusses obligations “when you come to the land”
[Deut. 26:1]. The verse in Deuteronomy “when you come
to the Land” is reminiscent of the comparative verse: “when you come to the
land, you shall plant” [Lev.
19:23]; therefore the commandments are connected. The Gaon revealed to us that this
wonderful idea is the main secret regarding the revealed end mentioned in the
Talmud. It was the energizing
aspiration of the Gaon. Our Sages
speak of the revealed end in connection with the verse: [Ez. 36:8] “you, mountains of Israel, will
give forth your branch and bear your fruit for My People, etc.” The Gaon
considered this verse to hint at his own holy mission.
The planting of the land is one
of the duties of Mashiach ben Yosef as in the following verses: “who
will ascend the mountain of the Lord” [Ps. 24:3], etc.; “you will have mercy on Zion” [Ps. 102:14], etc.; “you will have favored
her dirt” [Ps. 102:15], as
explained above in chapters 1 and 3.
Also above, the mission of the Gaon is mentioned as being in the line of
Mashiach ben Yosef. The
Gaon delegated all his missions to his students, directing them to carry out
the missions practically, with the help of God.
4. setting up people of truth in order
to redeem the truth and sanctify the name of God. While we are on the threshold of the Redemption, we must set
up a powerful and strong force of people of truth, for Jerusalem was destroyed
because truthful people had ceased to exist there. Accordingly, God forbid, there will be no permanence to our
work in gathering in the exiles and building Jerusalem unless we set up
truthful men, as is written, “if God does not build a house, its builders have
worked in vain” [Ps. 127:1]. This means that if a building was not
built with the spirit of God, then its builders worked in vain.
The people of truth should be
people of Israel [chosen by God, i.e., Israel, as in Isa. 45:4 “and Israel My chosen one”], men
of truth, because the goal of the Redemption is redemption of the truth, as
explained above regarding “redeemer of Jerusalem.” This means that there will
be a city of truth because of the truthful people. The fundamental base of truthful men is to ensure
fulfillment all the principles found in “the Interpreter’s seven repairs” as
explained in Chapter 5 above, to ensure the repairs according to the “covenant of
truth” [Neh. 10:1] that we
arranged with the help of God. The
presence of faithful [truthful] and righteous men is included among the
principal characteristics of the Revealed End mentioned in the Talmud (Megillah
17b; Sanhedrin 98a). Jerusalem is
the source for the specialness of people of Truth in all aspects; it is
therefore referred to as a “City of Truth” [Isa. 1:26].
The purpose of the redemption of
the truth is sanctification of God’s name. The purpose of sanctifying God’s name is repair of the world
in the sefira Malchut of the Almighty, so that each person should merit
achieving the holy spirit that every man of Israel is obligated to draw upon
and achieve in clear colors. This
is the main goal of all the activities of the beginning of the Redemption
during the footsteps of the Mashiach.All the deeds mentioned here, all
their principles and details, even minor ones, are only to prepare for the main
principles of the revealed end, that the end of the Redemption should come
nearer, that is the repair of the world in the Malchut of the Almighty. Then the complete and perfect repair
will be accomplished of the seven areas requiring repairs, as explained by the
Interpreter above in Chapter 5, and as explained by the Gaon in his
composition, " The Luster of
the Dawn.
5. promoting the
spread of Torah from Zion.
Studying the teachings of the Kabbalah and uncovering the secrets of the
Torah during the footsteps of the Mashiach are primary in bringing the
Redemption closer, as explained by the Gaon at length in a few places. This is one of the main goals of the Mashiach
ben Yosef who is in charge of gathering in the exiles, the assignment of
the Gaon. Such studies should take
place especially in Eretz Israel in general, and in Jerusalem in particular. This is what is meant by “the Torah will
come forth from Zion” [Isa. 2:3]:
the Torah will be uncovered; that is the soul, the essence of the Torah will be
revealed in Zion.
Similarly, it is incumbent upon
us to begin by establishing a general institute for studying the Torah in the
Holy City, may this occur in our lifetime, because the Biblical verse literally
states that “the Torah will come forth from Zion, and the word of God from
Jerusalem” [Isa. 2:3]. Our Rabbis, may they rest in peace,
said: In the future all the holy places of gathering (synagogues) and houses of
learning from abroad will be established in Eretz Israel. This accords with the Gaon’s important
principle, as explained above, that all future things that will be occur upon
completion of the Redemption, will begin little by little during the beginning
of the Redemption. It is what the
Gaon said about the verse: “on the mountains of Zion and in Jerusalem there
will be refuge” [Joel 3:5]. The
refuge will be for the ingathering of the exiles and for our holy Torah. As we say in the prayer: “for the
escape of their scribes.” Accordingly, the reference to the refuge in Zion and
Jerusalem also applies to the escape of their scribes. In addition, the verse: “I will return
your judges as at first, and your advisers as at the beginning” [Isa. 1:26], refers to Jerusalem, for at the
end it states: “afterwards, you will be called a city of justice, a city of
Truth” [Isa. 1:26]. This is a major aspect of the Revealed
End as it appears in the Talmud (Megillah 17b).
On the Gaon’s way to Eretz
Israel, with the intention of dwelling in Jerusalem, he told us many times that
that is one of the main holy principles.
He also told me something top secret about the verse: “saying to
Jerusalem, ‘you will be built’; and to the Temple, ‘you will be established’”
[Isa. 44:28], as well as on the
verse: [Jer. 31:16] “there is hope
for your end.” In gematria, if we count the filled out letters of the word [ = 611], it equals . This means that at the end, the Torah
will be fulfilled when the children return to their border.
6. waging war against Amalek.The
war against Amalek is from generation to generation. The war against Amalek is against three types of foes:
a). Amalek of the heart, that is,
the evil inclination and vices; b).
the spirit of Amalek, the general one, the Satan who destroys, the
adversary of Israel. This is
Samael and his hosts. His main
power is in the gates of Jerusalem, when its lands are desolate; c). the material Amalek, that comprises
Esau and Ismael and the mixed multitude.
As explained by the Gaon: we are commanded to inherit it [the land] by
force.
The strength and rulership of
Amalek’s spirit is in the gates of Jerusalem, as mentioned above, but only when
there destruction and desolation near the gates and in the unwalled areas of
Jerusalem. As long as the spirit
of impurity rules there, the feet of the cypress tree cannot stand there. This delays the connection between the
Jerusalem of below and the Jerusalem of above, that is the connection between
the Shechina and the Knesset Israel on which the entire Redemption
depends. The war against the
desolation is waged not only by setting up tents of Jacob and dwelling places
of Israel in their respective places.
It is waged not only by planting its land and fulfilling the
commandments dependent on it. The
war against the material Amalek always depends on the time and place, and
necessitates counterattacking [lit.: returning the battle to the gate] with
force, as in the days of Ezra and Nechemia, and like the conquest during the
days of Joshua. This is signified
by the fact that ! together [391] equal .
In the war against the sanballatim [Sanballat, satrap of Samaria, who opposed
Nehemiah and obstructed the rebuilding of Jerusalem] who disrupt building in
Jerusalem, and whose strength is that of the mixed multitude, may God save
us-in that war, the dweller in Zion will help us, and “they will neither hurt
nor destroy on all My holy mountain” [Isa. 11:9]. Also,
“no weapon formed against you, will succeed” [Isa. 54:17] as it says “with abundant mercy I will gather you”
[Isa. 54:7]. The last verse also contains the name
and mission of the Gaon, may his merit help all those who occupy themselves
faithfully in such holy work.
7. Healing Zion. This refers to two aspects. Zion is the source of healing as it
says “He will send you help from the Sanctuary and support you from Zion”
[Ps. 20:3]. The term always refers to healing and health as in “will support him
on his sickbed” [Ps. 41:4]. Therefore Zion always needs the
abundance of upper medicine. It is
written, “I will heal your wounds” [Jer.
30:17]. This is one of our
Sages’ explanations of the verse “this is Zion--no one seeks her” [Jer. 30:17]. From this we learn that Zion requires seekers. “I will heal your wounds” refers to all
kinds of wounds--whether spiritual or material. God will heal the ailments and repair what is broken,
whether spiritually or of physically.
The reference is not only to the people of God who dwell in Zion, but
also to Zion itself, that is the very land of Eretz Israel, which requires
spiritual and physical healing when it lies desolate and in ruins. The spiritual healing entails
eradicating the spirit of impurity from the land by settling Israel on its land
and fulfilling the commandments that depend on the people of Israel being in
the land. Physical health refers
to eradicating the sources of diseases there, may God save us, during the days
of its destruction and desolation.
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