Happy Festival of Matzot

14 Nissan 5786

Erev Pesach 

"There is no other nation on earth that has maintained something this detailed, this demanding, and this consistent for this long. Empires came and went, languages disappeared, cultures vanished, and Jews are still arguing over how to kasher a countertop and whether a product is acceptable for Pesach."

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Borrowed from AP@Average_NY_Guy on "X".

If you’ve never experienced Passover in an Orthodox Jewish home, it’s almost impossible to understand how far it actually goes. People throw around the phrase “spring cleaning” and think that’s what it is. It’s not. It’s a full teardown and rebuild of how you live inside your own house, all for just one week.

It doesn’t start a few days before the holiday. It starts weeks, sometimes even months earlier. Every cabinet gets emptied, every shelf is wiped down, and every corner is checked. We’re not just cleaning dirt, we’re on the hunt for chametz, any leavened grain product. Bread, cookies, crumbs, even something that fell behind a couch months ago. You move appliances, you vacuum inside drawers, you scrub surfaces you normally wouldn’t even think about, like high walls. Some people take apart their ovens, some pour boiling water over countertops, others line entire kitchens with foil or special coverings so nothing that touched chametz during the year comes into contact with Pesach food.

And that’s just the beginning...

You can see the whole thing here.  It's well worth the read.
Morning update.  Average NY Guy has hit another one out of the ball park here.  Enjoy!

~ CHAG SAMEACH ~

The Easy Path to "Redemption" - Give Up!

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(H/T Shirat Devorah)

Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak: 
"There Will Be Three Days of Darkness" 

Please go back and see the previous blog post titled Right on Schedule, especially the comments which serve as an introduction to this current post.  Then continue with the following  (originally published as part of The Eliyahu Challenge at the End of Days almost a year ago)....

Some of you may already be aware of a seventh-century midrash that mentions an End of Days repeat of the scenario which took place on Mount Carmel in ancient Israel - a contest between Eliyahu HaNavi and the prophets of Ba'al.

The Eschatological Sacrificial Contest

In this narrative, the Jewish people and the king of the Arabs engage in a debate over the rightful ownership of the Temple. The king proposes a test akin to Elijah's challenge: both sides will offer sacrifices, and the acceptance of these offerings by God will determine the true claimants to the Temple. The outcome is unexpected and unsettling:

"Israel will offer a sacrifice, but it will not be accepted because Satan will denounce them before the Holy One, blessed be He. The sons of Qedar will offer sacrifices, and they will be accepted, for it is said, 'All the flocks of Qedar shall be gathered to you… they shall be acceptable on my altar' (Isaiah 60:7)."

Following this, the Arabs urge the Jews to convert to their faith. The Jewish response is one of steadfast refusal:

"Come and believe in our faith," they say. But Israel replies, "Either we kill or are killed, but we will not commit apostasy."

This narrative serves as a profound allegory, reflecting themes of trial, faith, and identity at the culmination of history.

Context and Interpretation

The passage draws a deliberate parallel to the biblical account in 1 Kings 18, where Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a sacrificial contest to prove the sovereignty of God. In the eschatological retelling, the roles are inverted, and the Jewish offering is rejected. This inversion is often interpreted as a test of faith, emphasizing the importance of unwavering commitment to one's beliefs even in the face of divine silence or apparent rejection.

The reference to "the sons of Qedar" connects the narrative to Isaiah 60:7, which speaks of the flocks of Qedar being accepted on God's altar. This linkage underscores the complexity of divine favor and the mysterious workings of providence in eschatological times.

Additional Sources and Insights

While Pirqe Mashiach provides the most direct account of this narrative, similar themes are echoed in other Jewish texts. For instance, the Zohar, a foundational work of Jewish mysticism, discusses the role of the descendants of Ishmael in the End of Days, suggesting a period of dominance before the ultimate redemption.

Moreover, rabbinic literature often portrays the End of Days as a time of great trial and testing for the Jewish people, where faith and identity are challenged, and only those with profound emunah (faith) remain steadfast.   

Don't buy their lie that Redemption comes from surrendering for the sake of unity.  Cling to HaKadosh Baruch Hu and His Torah and you won't go wrong. 

BONUS:  They are already prepping the other side for it 
The Ultimate Solution.

Right on Schedule

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"The Great Shabbat"!

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Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Tzav - Shabbat HaGadol

As it did at the time of Yetziat Mitzrayim, the tenth day of Nissan this year falls out on Shabbat.

One of the reasons given by Chazal for why the Shabbat just prior to Pesach is called Shabbat Hagadol is that this is the day the Hebrews brought the Passover lambs into their homes and the Egyptians did not take retribution against them.

Shemot 8:22~

Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, "Go - bring offerings to your God in the land." Moshe said, "It is not proper to do so, for we will offer the deity of Egypt to Hashem, our God - behold, if we were to slaughter the deity of Egypt in their sight, will they not stone us?"

As we all know, Pharaoh did not let the people go and the lambs were taken into the Hebrews' dwellings for four days until the time came to slaughter them and roast them whole over an open fire for all the world to see and know that Hashem is God over all.

Can you imagine the sound of the bleating up and down all the streets? This was quite an in-your-face insult to Egypt, but they bore it without repercussion and Chazal considered it a miracle. Hence -Shabbat Hagadol.

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Remember this:  Faith only becomes real when it is put to the test.

For those with enough time to read, here is a very interesting and more detailed account by Daniel Pinner...

Shabbat ha-Gadol, “the Great Shabbat”, the Shabbat immediately before Pesach, commemorates our final Shabbat in Egypt, 3,3[38] years ago, just five days before the Exodus.

G-d had commanded the erstwhile slaves: “On the tenth of this month they will take to themselves – each man – a lamb for each father’s house…it will be for you to guard it until the fourteenth day of this month; then they will slaughter it – the entire assembly of the Congregation of Israel – at the onset of twilight.” (Exodus 12:3-6).

The Midrash expounds: “The Jews would tie [the lamb] to their bed-posts from the tenth of the month on; when the Egyptians would enter [the Jews’ houses], they would see the lambs thus, and their souls would explode in rage” (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, Parashat ha-Chodesh s.v. dabru; Yalkut Shimoni, Bo 191).

The lamb was the Egyptian god, and for the Egyptians’ former slaves to show such contempt for their god and their religion drove them insane with impotent fury.

Obviously, the corollary was that for the Jews to openly treat their former masters’ god with such contempt took tremendous courage and faith in G-d. Keeping this god tied to a bed-post for four days was a continuous challenge to Egypt; it demanded far more dedication than a single impetuous act of bravery in a moment of excitement.

The Midrash continues: “‘Moshe called to all the elders of Israel, saying to them: Draw forth the flock and take it to yourselves’ (Exodus12:21) – every single one must drag around a god of Egypt, and slaughter it in front of them”. They had to extend this brazenness into the public squares and streets of Egypt, by slaughtering and roasting the Egyptian god in front of the Egyptians.

G-d commanded them to “eat it roasted over fire…do not eat of it raw [partially roasted], or cooked in water – only fire-roasted, its head with its legs with its innards” (Exodus 12:8-9).

Why this specific way of preparing the meat? – “Because it was an abomination for the Egyptians, slaughter it. And so that no [Jew] would say, We won’t roast it thoroughly lest it infuriate the Egyptians, it says ‘do not eat of it raw [partially roasted]’. And so that no Jew would say, We will cook it and thus conceal it in a pot, it says ‘do not eat of it …cooked in water’. And so that no Jew would say, We will cut off its head and its legs so they won’t recognise it, it says ‘its head with its legs with its innards’” (Da’at Z’keinim mi-Ba’alei Tosafot, Exodus 12:9). The Pesach sacrifice was a massive act of defiance against the idolatrous Egyptian oppressors.

The Midrash (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana ibid. and Yalkut Shimoni ibid.) further continues: “Their taking of the lamb stood by them at the River Jordan, and their eating of it stood by them in the days of Haman: they had eaten the flesh on this night– the night when ‘the king’s sleep eluded him’ (Esther 6:1)”.

The day they took the lamb, the 10th of Nisan, was the day that they would cross the River Jordan into Israel forty years later (Joshua 4:19). And the day that they ate it was the day that Achashverosh’s sleep would elude him 957 years later, in the days of Mordechai and Esther: Haman had promulgated his decree of genocide on the 13th of Nisan (Esther 3:12), so the three days of fasting that Esther decreed (4:16) were the 13th, 14th, and 15th of Nisan.

Hence the day that Esther risked her life by donning royal apparel and going to King Achashverosh (Esther 5:1) was the first day of Pesach, so the previous night, when ‘the king’s sleep eluded him’, was the night of the 14th of Nisan (see Esther Rabbah 8:7; Yalkut Shimoni, Esther 1056; Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 50; Seder Olam Rabbah, Chapter 29; Targum, Esther 5:1 et. al.).

The Talmud (Shabbat 87b) and the Midrash (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishma’el, Beshallach, Masechet de-Vayasa 1) record that the day of the Exodus, 15th Nisan 2448 (1312 B.C.E.), was a Thursday. “So they slaughtered their Pesach sacrifices on the Wednesday, and it was on the previous Shabbat that they had taken their Pesach lambs, because that was the tenth of the month. And it is therefore called Shabbat ha-Gadol – the Great Shabbat, because a great miracle was wrought thereon” (Tosafot, Shabbat 87b s.v. ve-oto yom).

The Shulchan Aruch cites this as practical halachah: “The Shabbat which is before Pesach is called Shabbat ha-Gadol because of the miracle that happened thereon” (Orach Chayim 430:1). The Mishnah Berurah (ad. loc.) explains: “In the year that they left Egypt, the 10th of Nisan fell on a Shabbat. Every single Jew had taken the lamb for his Pesach sacrifice and tied it to his bed-post… The Egyptians saw this, and asked them ‘Why are you doing this?’ They responded, ‘In order to slaughter it for the purpose of Pesach, as Hashem has commanded us’.

Their teeth were set on edge because they slaughtered their god, yet they were unable even to say anything to them. And because the tenth of the month then was a Shabbat, the Shabbat before Pesach was ever after to be called Shabbat ha- Gadol”.

The Haftarah reading for Shabbat ha-Gadol is the very last prophetic vision ever – the concluding 21 verses of the prophecy of Malachi, the last prophet, who prophesied during the early Second Temple era. After castigating Israel for their lack of gratitude to G-d and their defiling of the Holy Temple with their sub-standard sacrifices, Malachi portrays the Messianic era.

The Haftarah begins by contrasting the future glorious time with our past misdeeds: “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Hashem, as in days of old and as in former years” (Malachi 3:4). In his final message – the message which seals prophecy for all time – until the coming of the Messiah - he exhorts Israel: “Remember the Torah of Moshe My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, decrees and statutes. Behold! I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of Hashem comes”.

An obvious question arises: why did our Sages select just this prophecy as the Haftarah for Shabbat ha-Gadol? If they wanted to link the redemption from Egypt with the final Messianic Redemption, then why not select one of the more impressive prophetic passages from Isaiah? Or why not one of Jeremiah’s magnificent descriptions of the final Redemption, which he depicts as being even more majestic than the redemption from Egypt (for example, 16:14 onwards, or 31:30 onwards)?

I suggest the following answer:

The Targum (Malachi 1:1) identifies Malachi as Ezra, which is also the opinion of two Talmudic sages, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korha and Rabbi Nahman (Megillah 15a; Yalkut Shimoni, Malachi 586). Later sages, however, disagree: the Radak and the Ibn Ezra (commentary to Malachi 1:1) are of the opinion that Malachi was a separate prophet. The Rambam (Introduction to the Mishneh Torah), Rashi (commentary to Sukkah 44a and Bava Batra 15a), and Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartinura (commentary to Pirkei Avot 1:1) all state that Malachi was part of Ezra’s Beit Din (the Men of the Great Assembly).

On the 15th of Nisan they were redeemed from Egypt; and on the 15th of Nisan they will in the future be redeemed from subjugation to exile” (Tanhuma, Bo 9). 

What is undisputed is that the prophet Malachi lived through the second redemption – the return of the exiles from the Babylonian/Persian exile and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Malachi was born during a period of exile, of destruction, when the majority of Jews were in foreign lands and the Land of Israel was under foreign occupation, with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem lying desolate.

Malachi witnessed King Cyrus’ proclamation, granting the Jews the right to return to Israel and rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra1:1-3, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23); he was part of the second redemption, the end of the Babylonian/Persian exile.

It was no coincidence that during the second redemption, the first festival that the Jews celebrated was Pesach (Ezra 6:15-22); neither was it coincidence that Ezra began his Aliyah journey on the 1st of Nisan (7:9), and led his followers from the River Ahava – the last leg of the journey to Israel – on the 12th of Nisan (8:31).

Malachi’s prophecy, then, is the synthesis between the first, second, and third redemptions, and is therefore the perfect reading for Shabbat ha-Gadol. Malachi had a unique perspective on Redemption, because he had experienced redemption in his own life.

“On the 15th of Nisan…[G-d] spoke to Abraham our father in the Covenant between the Parts; on the 15th of Nisan the ministering angels came to announce to him that his son Isaac would be born to him; on the 15th of Nisan Isaac was born; on the 15th of Nisan they were redeemed from Egypt; and on the 15th of Nisan they will in the future be redeemed from subjugation to exile” (Tanhuma, Bo 9).

As we begin to celebrate the first redemption, it is especially relevant that the prophecy of the prophet who, during the second redemption, foretold the final and eternal Redemption, resounds in every synagogue.

    ~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~

TRUST GOD'S PLAN

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Within the past 24 hours, the world went from preparing for a massive escalation against Iran, as promised by US Pres Trump, to an announcement by the Pres that back-channel talks were producing positive results and the war may be over by April 9th to two unexpected attacks on energy infrastructure in Iran, as originally promised.

It can make your head spin unless you take my advice to block out the noise and keep focused on the facts that we know for sure - Iran is going to lose this war with Edom and Edom itself is going to lose its power in the process.  In accordance with further prophecies, we also know that just as Ya'aqov Avinu was grasping the heel of his brother Eisav, when the latter-day nation of Eisav (Edom) begins to fall, there is no lapse of time until Israel will immediately begin to rise; when Mashiach will be revealed and redemption will have arrived.  Truly...

"My children, do not fear; everything I have done, I have done only for your sake. Why do you fear? The time of your redemption has arrived."

Our Sages told us thousands of years ago that the final redemption would mirror the last.  How appropriate it is for us that we are in the Pesach season - the season of Redemption - and thoughts of that earlier time are uppermost in our hearts and minds.

Yesterday, Trump announced a five-day deferral on his threat to destroy Iran's energy infrastructure.  The Marines who are expected to invade Kharg Island to take possession of the Strait of Hormuz are supposed to arrive in five days.  In five days, we will welcome Shabbat Hagadol on the same day (Shabbat - 10 Nissan) that it was originally - a day when our faith in the process of redemption was tested, but not yet to the limit.  The ultimate test would not come until 14 Nissan when the lambs we brought inside our homes on Shabbat Hagadol had to be slaughtered in front of the Egyptians who worshipped them as gods.

Following this pattern, we can look for HKB"H to impose upon us a test of faith in Him and in His promise of redemption:  "In Nissan you were redeemed and in Nissan you will be redeemed."

Trump's announced date for the end of the war - April 9th - is Isru Chag shel Pesach, the day after Egypt drowned in the sea.  

Iran who represents Yishmael began to fall during its holy month of Ramadan.  Furthermore, the Temple Mount was closed to Muslims throughout the entire month.

Eisav's "Holy Week" begins the day following Shabbat Hagadol on Palm Sunday and ends on the fourth day of Pesach (18 Nissan) on their Easter Sunday.  It looks like 'Jerusalem' is being closed to their idolatry, too.  What a sign for good news!!

According to the chronology of events in Egypt provided by the Mechilta...

On Sunday, the eighteenth of Nisan, the people of Israel began to prepare their belongings and animals for departure [from where they were then encamped (Eitam)].  Pharaoh's couriers [who had accompanied them to ensure their return] said to them:  "Your period of freedom has ended - it is time for you to return to Egypt, for you said that you would be going on a three-day journey."    Israel replied:  "It was not by Pharaoh's permission that we left Egypt.  It was God's exalted Hand that brought us out."  The couriers countered:  "Whether you like it or not, in the end you must obey the royal command."  Israel rose up against them and struck them - killing some and injuring others.  Those who remained went back to report to Pharaoh.

When the couriers left at midday of the eighteenth of Nisan, Moshe said to Israel:  "Go back toward Egypt so that Pharaoh shall not claim that you are fleeing.  Let him catch up with you near his land and if he has the power to stop you, let him come and stop you."  Moshe sounded the shofar and the people returned to Pi haChiros - a day-and-a-half's journey from Egypt.

Now, there is an even bigger test than both the one on Shabbat Hagadol and the one of 14 Nissan when we actually slaughtered the lambs we had taken in on the tenth.  Now, we had to move as if we were actually returning to Egypt, after everything!

When the blast of the shofar was heard, those with little faith began to tear out their hair and rend their clothes, for they thought that Moshe was returning them to Egypt.  They were calmed only when Moshe told them:  "God Himself has told me that you are free men.  Our apparent retreat is only to entice the Egyptians and mislead them."  (Source: Book of Our Heritage)

The final test would come on the seventh day of Pesach (21 Nissan) when we would see the Egyptian army arrayed against us in all its might and glory while the Sea of Reeds lay between us and escape. 

You know the rest of the story.  Will we see such deliverance this Shvi'i shel Pesach, in 5786? 

All of the signs point to it.  In only the most recent miracle of this war (as I write this), in Tel Aviv this morning, a residential building took a direct hit from a missile, but no one was killed - the building was empty!

If it appears at times that we are moving backwards, remember the first redemption from Egypt, and trust the plan - God's plan!!

While we're at it, find your tambourine and have it ready.  Be prepared to sing shirah!!

BLOCK OUT THE NOISE

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When you think about it, it is astounding how many voices are out there in the media shouting to be heard - newscasts, podcasts, op-eds, endless analyses by "experts" presenting their views on where we are and where we are headed.  It's all just so much noise!!

I think that's why HKB"H gave us the prophecies which have been handed down to us over the centuries and millenia.  This is what will keep us on track and anchored rather than blown around by the winds of confusion created by all this noise.

For now, all we need to know is that our ancient Jewish sources tell us that when Arabia consults with Edom and they face off with Paras, there is no need to fear.  Paras will fall to Edom and we should understand from HKB"H Himself that this is the sign of our imminent redemption.

For this moment in time, this is all we need to know.  

~ "In Nissan we were redeemed and in Nissan we
will be redeemed." ~      (Rosh Hashanah 11a)

BeEzrat Hashem - Kimcha d'Pischa Campaign

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Shavua tov!

[TO DONATE]

Going "Home" ... to Egypt!

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Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Vayikra

Not picking on any particular group - a lot of different groups took this route heading "home."  I empathize especially with children who need to rejoin their families in chu"l.  But, no one can miss the tragic irony of this - that this particular episode is happening right before Pesach.

Amid the closure of Israeli airspace due to the war, the Ichud Bnei HaYeshivos organization carried out a complex logistical operation to bring hundreds of French bnei yeshivos, stranded in Israel due to the war, back to their homes.

The Ichud, which recently expanded its work outside Israel, arranged the journey, which began in Jerusalem, continued via Sharm el-Sheikh, and is set to conclude in the French Alps, where a historic Shabbos will be held, led by HaGaon HaRav Dovid Cohen, the Rosh Yeshivah of Chevron.

The journey began late at night, as around 200 French yeshiva bochurim gathered in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem, where a fleet of buses awaited them. The convoy then traveled south to the Taba border crossing, where they crossed into Egypt under the supervision of representatives from the French Embassy.  (Source)

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Vayikra: From the desert to the ends of the earth

by Daniel Pinner

Having completed the building of the Mishkan at the end of the Book of Exodus, the Book of Leviticus continues very naturally with the functioning of the Mishkan: “When He called to Moshe, Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting…” (Leviticus 1:1).

The Midrash (Sifra, Vayikra 1) notes the sequence here: God first “called to Moshe”, and then “He spoke to him”. And then the Sifra goes on to note that this is the third of three occasions when God first called to Moshe and then spoke to him.

The first time was about two years earlier at the Burning Bush, when Moshe was still exiled from his nation, a humble shepherd tending the flocks of his father-in-law Yitro (Jethro). When God saw that Moshe had turned aside to behold the wonder, “God called to him from the midst of the bush, and He said, Moshe, Moshe” (Exodus 3:4).

The second time was at Mount Sinai, immediately before the Giving of the Torah: “Hashem called Moshe to the peak of the Mountain, and Moshe ascended; and Hashem said to Moshe: Go down, warn the nation lest they break through to Hashem to gaze” (Exodus 19:20-21).

The obvious question that arises from here is: what do these three events (the Burning Bush, the Giving of the Torah, and the beginning of the Mishkan’s functioning) have in common?

The simplest and most obvious answer is that all of these were events which were intimately connected with Israel’s redemption. The process of redemption from Egypt began when God revealed Himself to Moshe at the Burning Bush; the purpose of redemption was the Giving of the Torah (1); and the building of the Mishkan was the pinnacle of the redemption (2).

It is significant that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochay, one of the greatest of first-generation (mid-3rd century) Tannaim in the Land of Israel, cited these three occasions as examples of when God bestowed His glory on the Elders of Israel: “We have learned in a few places that God gave honour to the Elders. At the Burning Bush, as it is written ‘God said to Moshe…, Go and assemble the Elders of Israel’ (Exodus 3:15-16); at Sinai, as it is written ‘To Moshe He said, Go up to Hashem, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel’ (Exodus 24:1); and at the Tent of Meeting, as it is written ‘It happened on the eighth day [of the Inauguration of the Mishkan] that Moshe called Aaron and his sons and the Elders of Israel’ (Leviticus 9:1)” (Shemot Rabbah 5:12).

So on the three separate occasions which were the three milestones on the road from Egyptian slavery to redemption, God first called to Moshe and then spoke to him. And on those same three occasions He gave honour to the Elders of Israel.

The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 5:12) continues: “And in the future time to come, it will be the same, as it says ‘When Hashem, Lord of Legions, will reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there will be glory for His elders’ (Isaiah 24:23). Rabbi Avin said: In the future God will seat the Elders as on a threshing-floor, with Himself sitting as the head of them all as the President of the Court, and they will judge the idolaters, as it says ‘Hashem will enter into judgment with the elders of His nation and its princes’ (Isaiah 3:14). It does not say [that He will enter into judgment] 'against the elders of His nation’ but rather ‘with the elders of His nation’: He will sit with them and judge the idolaters”.

We pause here to explain the somewhat cryptic reference to the Elders sitting “as on a threshing-floor”. The Mishnah records that “the Sanhedrin would sit in the shape of a semicircular threshing-floor so that they could see one another” (Sanhedrin 4:3).

This refers specifically to the Great Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of Israel, which would sit in the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the Holy Temple. (Every town and city with more than 120 adult men would have its own Minor Sanhedrin of 23 judges, and every village with fewer than 120 adult men would have a court of three judges.)

Of the 71 Judges on the Great Sanhedrin, 69 would sit in three concentric semicircles of 23 each. Facing them were the Nasi (the President of the Court), and to his right the Av Beit Din (Father of the Court). The Nasi was the leader; the Av Beit Din was the second in charge (Rambam, Laws of the Sanhedrin 1:3).

So the Midrash looks back on three landmark events in the first redemption, the redemption from Egypt, when God called to Moshe and then spoke to him, which were the three times when He gave honour to the Elders of Israel.

Our parashah opens with the third of these occasions – when the Mishkan began to function.

And the Midrash then looks forward to the time of the final redemption – may it come speedily! – when God will again give honour to the Elders of Israel. And though then, at the time of the first redemption, the Elders’ honour was manifest only to Israel, in the time to come their honour will suffuse the entire world. After all, only thus will they be able to stand with God Himself, so to speak, to judge all the idolaters in the world.

And this is logical. After all, 3,325 years ago in the desert, God gave honour to the Elders of Israel in the Mishkan, which holy though it was, was but a precursor to the Holy Temple which would only be built 479 years later by King Solomon. The second Holy Temple, the one built by Ezra and Nehemiah, had a lower level of sanctity than that of King Solomon.

But the third Holy Temple, the one destined to stand for all time, the Holy Temple which the prophet Ezekiel depicts so graphically in chapters 40 to 44, will be far grander and more magnificent, and have a far higher level of sanctity, than those which came before.

So it is entirely fitting that in that third Holy Temple, God Himself will stand, so to speak, as the Leader of the Sanhedrin, to administer ultimate justice, not only to Israel, but to the entire world.

It is then that Israel will truly be a light unto the nations. In the words of the prophet Isaiah in one of his magnificent, majestic depictions of the messianic era, “I am Hashem, I have called you with righteousness and I will strengthen your hand; I have fashioned you, and I will make you for a covenant with the nation, as a light to nations” (Isaiah 42:6).

And again: “Then He said: It is not enough for you to be My servant, to establish the Tribes of Jacob and to bring back the besieged of Israel; I will also make you a light to nations, that My salvation shall be unto the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

Endnotes:

(1) We expounded on this idea in detail in a previous D’var Torah on Shavuot 

(2) Last week, in the context of Parashat Pekudey/Shabbat Shekalim, we cited the Ramban’s Introduction to the Book of Exodus: “The [Egyptian] exile was not ended until the day of their return to their place, and when they were restored to their forefathers’ level. When they left Egypt, even though they had left the house of slavery, they were still considered exiles, because they were ‘in a land not theirs’, wandering through the desert. And when they came to Mount Sinai and built the Mishkan, and God restored His Divine Presence to their midst, then they were restored to their Forefathers’ level…and then they were considered redeemed”. 

~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~