"In Every Generation..."

27 Nissan 5784

Day 12 of the Omer

"In every generation Mashiach ben Yosef recognizes
his brothers, and they do not recognize him."  

How much more so in the Final Generation, so splintered as a people, so assimilated by the nations, so ignorant in Yiddishkeit?  Even among those few who are actively seeking Mashiach, how many understand who they are looking for?  

According to our master, the Gra, everything involved in the ingathering, building of Jerusalem and expansion of settlement in Eretz Yisrael for the return of the Divine Presence, all the elementary activities [building and planting], and all the finest details, are included in the mission of the Mashiach De'Atchalta, the first Messiah, Mashiach ben Yosef, the miraculous power assisting every non-miraculous act performed as catalyst below.  For Mashiach ben Yosef is from earth and Mashiach ben David is from Heaven.

..."Joseph recognized his brothers but they did not recognize him. (Gen 42:8)  This is one of Joseph's attributes.  Not just in his generation, but in every generation, Mashiach ben Yosef recognizes his brothers and they do not recognize him.  It is an act of Satan which conceals Mashiach ben Yosef's attributes, such that the Jews unfortunately do not recognize his footsteps, and in fact scoff at them...  If not for this, our troubles would already be over. If Israel "recognized Joseph," Mashiach ben Yosef's footsteps comprising the ingathering of the exiles, etc., we would already be redeemed.  (Kol HaTor):

We saw this same scenario played out in the life of Rabbi Meir David Kahane, ztz"l, Hy"d, who was clearly the Mashiach ben Yosef of the previous generation.  He ticked all the boxes.  However, most of his brothers failed to recognize his potential and many brutally condemned him.  His last words were a plea to his brothers to prepare a plan for emergency aliyah for Diaspora Jews in danger.  Even his staunchest supporters seemed barely interested and then he was gone.  "Pray that Mashiach ben Yosef does not die."  That generation's Mashiach ben Yosef did die and his successor was buried alive.

Because we lacked merit, knowledge and the imagination to look beyond our preconceptions, from that moment, we were locked into "Redemption-In-Its-Time."  

November    1985    Jonathan Pollard arrested.
December    1987    First Intifada.
November    1988    Rabbi Kahane banned from Israeli elections.
November    1990    Rabbi Kahane assassinated.
January      1991   Israeli sovereignty was breached by the US at the start of the Gulf War when Israel was prevented from defending itself against Saddam Hussein's Scud missile attacks.
October      1991   The Madrid Conference laid the groundwork for the Middle East Peace Process.
September    1993    Oslo was signed on the White House Lawn.
April              1994     Suicide bombings began in Israel.
September    2000    Second Intifada.
April              2003     Road Map to Peace.
August          2005     Expulsion from Gush Katif and northern Shomron.
June             2006     Second Lebanon War.
December    2008     Operation Cast Lead (Gaza).
July              2014     Operation Protective Edge (Gaza).
May              2021     Operation Guardian of the Walls (Gaza).
October        2023     Operation Swords of Iron (Gaza).

Terror, fear, death, maiming, injury, pain, suffering, mourning, depression, blood and guts flowing in the streets.  The gradual loss of all sovereignty until we were a puppet regime completely taken over and ruled (openly) by the United States to the great detriment of our own people and to the best advantage of our mortal enemies.  This is a picture of Redemption-In-Its-Time.

And Rabbi Kahane foresaw it, as he wrote in Or Hara'ayon...

...if Israel were to repent fully and completely, they would bring the Messiah, complete redemption, immediately, overnight....  In other words, if Israel merits redemption through mitzvot and good deeds worthy of redemption, it will come with "haste"...  Otherwise, it will come only "in its time," in the latest time it can possibly come, near the end of the six thousand [years]....  This redemption will be accompanied, G-d forbid, by the terrible suffering of chevlei Mashiach, Messianic birthpangs. ...Because this redemption does not come by virtue of Israel's deeds, but only for the sake of sanctifying G-d's name, defamed among the nations by the exile....  

...we must wonder why precisely we did merit it, [i.e., redemption in our days] albeit redemption "in its time," when even this we did not deserve."

...There is another reason why precisely in our day G-d has inaugurated redemption "in its time."

...In accordance with what I have written, there is no doubt that we have presently begun redemption 'in its time,' with all the travail associated with it. 

...If we undergo redemption "in its time," there will be great and bitter weeping as the nations rise up to destroy Israel. Also our enemies from within, the impoverished regime and its supporters, Jews who deny and loathe G-d's Torah, will declare war on G-d's Torah and try to remove it from the world.  It will be a time of heresy and blasphemy; and if the end comes - and redemption "in haste" through Israel's merit is no longer possible - Mashiach ben Yosef will fight all of Israel's enemies, Jew and non-Jew alike.  

~ ~ ~

...the Patriarchs will in the future rise up in the month of Nissan and will say to the Messiah, "Ephraim, righteous Messiah! Although we are your ancestors, you are greater than we, because you suffered for our children's sins and underwent hardships not experienced by the early or later ones. You were the object of ridicule among the nations for Israel's sake, and you sat in sightless gloom.   Your skin shriveled on the bone and your body was as dry as wood.  Your eyes lost their luster through starvation, and your strength dried up like a potsherd.   All this occurred due to our children's sins.  Do you wish our children to benefit from the bounty G-d has showered on Israel?   Perhaps due to the immensity of your suffering on their behalf, and the time you spent imprisoned, you are displeased with them?"

The Messiah shall reply, "Fathers of the world, all that I did, I did only for yours and your children's sakes, for yours and your children's glory, that they might benefit from this bounty which G-d showered upon Israel." The Patriarchs then say, "Ephraim, righteous Messiah! You should be pleased, for you have pleased both us and G-d."  (Pesikta Rabbati 37)