It's Our Choice

4 Adar II 5771

It's ironic to me that some people were frightened by what they thought Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi was predicting, especially when what he describes is a best case scenario.

The way I understand it, Rabbi Ben Artzi is telling us the "why" behind what we are seeing happen in the world and telling us "how" it will go from here IF we do our part to bring the redemption with mercy.

However, if we don't, and given past history, that's a distinct possibility, then it will very likely come according to din, in line with the visions of the autistics. This is compatible with the prophecies of Tanach that two-thirds of the world population may perish and of the remaining third, only ten percent might remain.

The messages from the autistics focus on what it is we need to do teshuva for, which is critical if we are to do teshuva effectively and forestall the great tragedies that are hovering over us.

Logically, we can expect to see things tighten up, not get looser and this presents our generation with a very big problem. Because everything in our lives is about getting looser and you see that evident everywhere and in everything, from morals to norms of dress to personal accountability, etc. You know what I'm driving at. You've seen it yourself.

Too many of us have assimilated the idea of the Xian god who forgives everything and makes no demands upon us. This view is contrary to what we learn from our Holy Torah.

We were only days out of Egyptian bondage when Hashem was prepared to wipe us out of existence. The Levites were commanded not to spare their own brothers when executing those who had instigated the golden calf affair. The sons of Aharon were struck dead for bringing an unacceptable offering. In David HaMelech's time, when they were moving the ark to Jerusalem, it appeared that it might topple from the wagon, so Uzzah put up his hand to steady it and was struck dead as soon as his hand touched it. Hashem told Moshe Rabeinu, man can not see my face and live.

We need to get a better perspective on Who HKB"H is and what He demands of us! He told us, "Be holy, because I AM HOLY." We currently live in a world that is greatly distanced from Hashem, but in a world where HKB"H will come close to us once again and will reveal Himself in His glory, the new world which is being born, how can we hope to survive and stand in His presence unless we get very, very serious about cleaning ourselves up and strengthening our spiritual side?

We are told that originally, Hashem wanted to create the world with din---strict justice---but, He saw that it could not survive, so He created it with mercy. It is for this reason also, that although Beit Shammai was more correct, we go by Beit Hillel in our present reality. However, we are told that in Days of Mashiach, we will go by Beit Shammai.

This tells me that we are going to be moving toward the side of din as we get closer to Days of Mashiach. I would even venture to guess that what we are seeing across the world is indicative of a spiritual movement towards the side of din or strict justice. And what this means for those of us who want very much to survive and merit to live in the glorious Days of Mashiach is that we have to get more serious about what is required of us and make vast improvements, especially in our loyalty to Hashem; in our level of faith; and in our midot and our attempts to attain a higher level of purity and holiness.

To quote from the latest message from the autistic children:

Q. People are saying that you need to talk about positive things, judge favorably and so on. What should we tell them?

A. You should tell them the truth. Until we experience the Redemption we must go through most difficult times. And what will happen if we are not ready? It's like a soldier that has been drafted into the army. You tell him, "Come, dear, everything is wonderful. There are flowers blooming, a blue sky, everything is calm, rest... soon there will be a war, soon... instead of giving him a gun and saying: "Start training! Hurry up! Lie down on your stomach, start crawling, that's the only way you'll save your life!"

To those who don't care if they live or die, and have no interest in entering into the joy and wonder of the geula shleima...I have nothing else to say.