26 Sivan 5777
How much of it is yours depends on you.
Quoting my good friend Aryeh Yosef...
People SAY "We want Mashiach". NO THEY DON'T. Because when Mashiach REALLY arrives, he is not going to pat people on the head and say, "It's ok to swindle, cheat and lie, there is one God in the Bet Knesset and another in the Boursa. Or the Diamond Exchange. Or the World Out There".
BLUNTLY. When he arrives, Mashiach is going to KICK ASS and BUST HEADS. Yes, the gentile nations coming against us will be/are being shattered and destroyed. But he is going to go after the bullies, the tyrants, the cowards, the thieves, the swindlers, the con men, AMONG US.
And he won't be interested in the "good stories" about the "bad homes" these people came from.
On Mashiach's Hit List FIRST and FOREMOST will be "religious" people, the one's who PROFANED and DESECRATED the Name of the God of Israel by saying THIS and doing THAT.
And he will go after the "nice people", the "good people", the "respectable people" who form a Greek Phalanx of Protection around the PERPETRATORS and treats the victims and those who defend them as the ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE.You'd better believe it because it's true! Somehow people have gotten the wrong idea about what is coming even though the prophets warned us. They ignore those warnings with the saying that "Bad prophecies don't have to come true." And yet, if you look back down the road of history, we see that every one of them has - until today. This is the track we are on and it's too near the end to change now.
Along with this dream of an easy, pain-free redemption has arisen this vision of Days of Mashiach where everyone is finally free of the constraints of the law. (Yes, there is a good reason why this sounds like Christian teaching.) People somehow think it is righteous to pray for unlimited and unrestrained mercy, but this is exactly what we see in the world today. And maybe it's necessary for this time period, but it can't go on forever like this.
A world with severly restricted justice becomes unstable and out of balance. It becomes a world without hope as it begins to appear as if it is hefker, ownerless, abandoned and out of control. It's not just children who need, even crave, boundaries and limits, in order to feel secure. It's a need shared by all human beings.
The Days of Mashiach will see a much higher level of justice applied than what we see currently. Remember the famous disputes between the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai?
In the first century BCE, Babylonian born Hillel (later known as Hillel the Elder) migrated to the Land of Israel to study and worked as a woodcutter, eventually becoming the most influential force in Jewish life. ...He was known for his kindness, gentleness, concern for humanity....
Hillel the Elder’s friendly adversary was Shammai, a native of the Land of Israel about whom little is known except that he was a builder, known for the strictness of his views. He was reputed to be dour, quick-tempered and impatient. Both lived during the reign of King Herod (37-4 BCE), an oppressive period in Jewish history because of the Roman occupation of the Land of Israel. Shammai was concerned that if Jews had too much contact with the Romans, the Jewish community would be weakened, and this attitude was reflected in his strict interpretation of Jewish law. Hillel did not share Shammai's fear and therefore was more liberal in his view of law.
Hillel was the more popular of the two scholars, and he was chosen by the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish court, to serve as its president. While Hillel and Shammai themselves did not differ on a great many basic issues of Jewish law, their disciples were often in conflict. The Talmud records over 300 differences of opinion between Beit Hillel (the House of Hillel) and Beit Shammai (the House of Shammai). The Rabbis of the Talmud generally sided with the rulings of the School of Hillel, although the Sages believed that both views were valid.
Sixteenth-century kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (the “Ari”) said that not only are both the words of the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel enduring on the conceptual level, but each has its time and place on the pragmatic level as well. In our present world, we follow the rulings of the House of Hillel, but in the era of Messiah, the majority opinion will shift in favor of the House of Shammai, and their rulings will then be implemented. The Ari believed that in our present reality, where divine commandments must be imposed upon an imperfect world, the rulings of the House of Hillel represent the ultimate in conformity to the divine will, while the rulings of the House of Shammai represent an ideal that is too lofty for our present state (which is why we perceive them as “stricter” and more confining), and can only be realized on the conceptual level. In the era of Messiah, the situation will be reversed: a perfected world will embrace the more exacting application of Torah law expressed by the House of Shammai, while the Hillelian school of interpretation will endure only conceptually. (Source)More here...
The idea that the Halacha will be in accordance with Beis Shamai in the time of Moshiach comes from the Arizal. It is quoted in his name by Mikdash Melech to Zohar Parshas Bereishis 17b and in Likkutey Torah (Rabbi Shnuer Zalman of Liadi) Parshas Korach 54c. The Arizal interprets the Mishna in Pirkey Avos (5:19) that an argument for the sake of heaven such as that of Hillel and Shamai will endure; although now the Halacha is like Beis Hillel, the argument will endure as later the Halacha will be like Beis Shamai. An alternate source is Tosfos Chadashim at the beginning of Avos who brings this in the name of the Gaon of Nikolsburg.
There are two general explanations brought:
1) Mikdash Melech: Hillel represents kindness and Shammai severity (hence the rulings of Beis Hillel are almost always more lenient). When Moshaich comes the advantage of the severity will be revealed and therefore the halacha will be in accordance with Beis Shamai. [Based on this reason some say that this is only in cases where Bais Shamai are stricter].
2) Tosfos Chadashim: Bais Shmai comes from such a high level this present world is incapable of withstanding and only when Moshiach comes will we be able to follow their opinion. [It seems based on this reason we will follow all Beis Shamai's rulings, not only the stricter ones.]
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains at length in his Kuntres "Torah Chadosha Me'Iti Teztzei" how the fact that the Halacha will change in accordance with Beis Shamai is consistant with the immutable nature of the Torah. (Source)So, if you are one of those who is looking forward to Days of Mashiach being a time when halachah no longer applies, think again!
Excellent post. First, we should all know that Hillel was a descendant of Malchut Beit Dovid and second, Shamai and his Torah partner, Avtalyon, were converts. It makes sense that interpretations will be stricter because we are now living in an era where complete abandonment of morality and normalcy is accepted as normal, so in order to undo this insanity, we need the stricter. As bad as the world was, there was enough sense of normalcy within the Jewish people in the times of Hillel & Shammai (even in that chaotic era) and chesed was the proper way to lead. Now, we need to go back to following the letters of the laws of Torah. Wake up Jews - Judgment day is getting closer and closer. nili
ReplyDeleteShammai (of shammai and hillel) was no convert. Shamaya (the partner of Avtalyon) is someone else.
DeleteExcellent post Devash! Where did that misunderstanding come from? That there will be no Halacha when Mashiach comes? I never heard that before. There will always be Halacha, as well as Yom tovim, but we will be on the same elevated level as the Moadim, and won't need the Basamim. The Halachos will become 'natural' to us. At least that's how I learned it.
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