Taking the Long, Hard Road to Redemption (In Its Time)

20 Nisan 5780

Day 5 of the Omer
Erev Shvi'i shel Pesach

We find a remarkable Midrash in Pesikta Rabbati (34):

“Their seed shall be known among the nations; their offspring among the peoples: (Isaiah 61:9): Who did Isaiah say this about? About the mourners of Zion [those who look forward to returning to Eretz Yisrael and salvation]. G-d in the future will give them their victory over their enemies, as it says, “Their seed shall be known among the nations.” Read not “their seed: [zar’am] but their might [zero’am]. Who protects them with strength? G-d protects them with His strength, as it says, “O L-rd, be gracious to us. We have waited for You. Be You their strength every morning, our salvation also in time of trouble: (Ibid., 33:2). “Every morning”: Referring to those who rise early each morning to seek mercy.  "Our salvation also in time of trouble": These are mourners who longed for salvation morning, noon and evening, despite great sorrow for Israel through their being mocked and ridiculed. Once they see the decrees of a later year, through which the Messiah is revealed, and these come one after another without pause, they immediately understand and say, “In all our lifetime there never was anything like this. Perhaps the Messiah is arriving.” 

These are the decrees through which they understand: in Nissan on the eve of the seventh year, a western wind blows and snow falls and smites the seed. After that, troubles begin in every single month and are doubled. Then they understand and say, “Surely this is the Messianic king.” Even so, they are not at rest until they suffer punishments in the seventh year which blacken their countenances like the bottom of a pot. How are they punished? With hunger, for the heart of Israel is not broken except through hunger. 

After that, the righteous of the generation rise up and remove their tefillin and place them on the earth. They beseech G-d , “Master of the Universe! We have not done well all the years. We have strayed like sheep.” G-d says to them, “You are forgiven,” and He kisses them and sets a crown on their heads. Whoever has Torah merit is protected by it, and whoever lacks such merit regrets his lack. This teaches that whoever believes from the first year has his merit doubled and quadrupled.

“All who see them shall acknowledge them” (Isaiah 61:9): These are the mourners of Zion. God brought upon His world angels of destruction who continuously destroy all the days of the redemption, and the mourners of Zion pass them to and fro unharmed, like a person in his friend’s house. Whoever sees them says, “In vain did we laugh. In vain did we mock their words.”

R. Bar Chanina said [that they say], “The merit of these gathers them together, and we were skeptical!” Of that moment Isaiah said, “The nations shall see your righteousness” (Ibid., 62:2): These are the nations of the world who see the righteousness of the mourners of Zion.”

How great, then, are those who looked forward to redemption all the time, who from the start believed in the coming of the Messiah and looked forward to his kingdom, and who performed acts of faith and trust in G-d in order to bring redemption near.

[Source: Or HaRa'ayon: The Jewish Idea, Vol. II, pp. 947-948 by Rav Meir Kahane, ztz"l, Hy"d]