Thursday, September 2, 2010

Leshem on the time of Moshiach

This piece of Leshem is found in the Hakdamos v'she'arim on page 86B, paragraph beginning v'hinei. It gives a deeper understanding of the concept of b'itah achishena.

...This [that was previously spoken of] is the secret of the days of Moshiach at the end of the sixth millennium, which is the time of the ruling of the crown [of yesod, corresponding to Moshiach ben Yosef], which in our context became a king unto himself. Similarly, he will will shine and rule until the times of Moshiach [ben Dovid] because he is a separate king at his root, and the yesod was split into two parts, therefore the sixth millennium, which corresponds to yesod, will also split into two parts. The time that corresponds to the yesod itself will be characterized by continuing exile and destruction, but the time that corresponds to the crown [of yesod] will then see the advent of Moshiach. The measure of the crown in proportion to the yesod is known to all who taste the taste of the Eitz Chaim [which is one third], for the crown is the covenant with Israel that was given to Avraham Avinu...

...For the crown (עטרה) is the crown (כתר) of kingship (מלכות), [meaning that the last third of the sixth millenium is the cross-over time into the seventh millenium,] and therefore the revelation of His kingship will begin then, but the actual dominion of Kingship itself will not be revealed until the seventh millenium, the seventh day, the day that is all Shabbos. In all of the six days it says "it was evening and it was morning," whereas, on the seventh day it does not. This hints to that which it says about the seventh millennium in Zechariah 14, "And one day will come, known to Hashem, neither day nor night." This is when Kingship itself will reign, which is after the days of Moshiach, in the seventh millennium, about which our sages spoke when they said there will be one millennium of desolation. This is when all will be rectified in preparation for the life of the world to come, which is after the seventh millennium and onwards...


In the back of the book, the Leshem adds the following note:

The length of the crown of yesod [that is, the last third of the sixth millennium] is known to all who have tasted the taste of the Eitz Chaim, and is also a lengthy amount of time. That whole period of time [from 5666/1906 until 6000/2240] is included in the the end-time of בעתה, 'in its time.' This is the simple understanding of the verse (Yeshaya 60:22) "אני ה' בעתה אחישנה" - "I am Hashem, in its time I will hasten it." This means that the verse promises that Moshiach will not wait the entire length of 'in its time' in order to come, rather it will be hastened within this time period. Nevertheless, the 'hastening' will only be within this time period of 'in its time.' In this way, both 'in its time' and 'hastening' will be fulfilled at once. This is also the understanding of the verse (Chavakuk 2:3), "If he will tarry, wait for him, for he will surely come without delay." This means that he will not wait until the end of the period of 'in its time' heaven forbid, but rather, he will hasten to come, as well, as we explained. This, however, is only when the crown reaches its lowest point, as I wrote in chapter 42. This is what it means in the verse when it says (Zecharia 14:7), "And it will be at the time of evening [or sunset - לעת ערב], there will be light."


The bottom line here is that "In its time" refers to a period of time from 1906 until 2240. Within this time, Hashem promises He will hasten Moshiach's arrival, and we need not worry that it will come at the end of this period, but rather, closer to the beginning of this period. 1906 was the beginning of the fifth hour, within which we saw the two World Wars which culminated in the sixth hour, which began in 1948, with the establishment of the state of Israel. Let us pray for the speedy revelation of Moshiach ben Yosef, who will infuse this country and this forlorn people with a new spirit and sense of purpose, בב"א.

18 comments:

Moriah said...

Please, I hope this means it will happen sooner or later -- like right now. I may not survive till 2040..

גילוי said...

Ari, if I recall, the Leshem never says that the last third of Yesod is the last third of the millennium. Do I err?

Ari Goldwag said...

I think that the hint to a very close time is in the last line of the quote. לעת ערב can mean 'at the time of evening.' It can also mean 'when the sun sets.' As I've explained previously, the sun sets twice, once from its peak on the horizon, which becomes noticeable at 12:30 (which was Rosh Chodesh Av), and once at sunset. Since we know that 'hastening' requires that it not wait until actual sunset, we know we are speaking about the first 'sunset,' which just occurred.

Ari Goldwag said...

גילוי, it seemed to me that this was what he was saying. What I have here is a direct translation. Only the brackets are added. Am I reading something that is not there?

גילוי said...

Let's try to make the Leshem's words here work with the GR"A in Sifra diTzniuta (it should be noted that the Leshem considered himself to be following in the GR"A's path). You quoted here that he says that he will not wait until the end of the Hanhaga of Ateret HaYesod, and whatever it is before the end of this period is considered to be Achishena, and before that time, it is not relevant to expect the arrival of Moshiach ben Dovid (which is the GR"A's shita as well, see my post on B'ita Achishena from 2007 or 2008).

The GR"A says, however, that the duration of the Hanhaga of Ateret haYesod is equivalent to the duration of Yemot haMoshiach. Meaning, the GR"A holds that the entire time period in question will have the definition of Yemot HaMoshiach.

To make them fit together, we can assert the following:

The GR"A felt that the Achishena *quantity* would be 100%, i.e. Moshiach would be at the beginning of the period of Ateret haYesod, not later.

The Hanhaga of Yesod/Ateret haYesod is not a simple mapping of 1000 years against 100%.

Shana Tova, Ari

Anonymous said...

thankyou ari for your posts on mashiach ben yosef , as the gra says the more You speak of him I remember him better . Efraim is a delightful child everything was dear to his eyes.

Anonymous said...

PS ari I suggest you stick with the gra and ramchal on the subject of mashiach ben efraim . The gra said he came down from heaven just to be the light of mashiach ben yosef in the final dor . The ramchal was privvey to secrets on the keitz through angels as you know before he was 20 in italy. The gra said him and the ramchal were the only ones who understood the underlying sod of the ari , later he included chaim vital .

Anonymous said...

Do you hold by the lubavitcher rebbe or rav Yitzchak kaduris predictions on mashiach ?

Ari Goldwag said...

Anon 2, the Leshem is a student of the school of the Gra.

Anon 3, I can't tell you because I don't know anything they say.

Ari Goldwag said...

גילוי - The Leshem seems to clearly say that he doesn't come (I'm not sure who 'he' is - MBD or MBY) until שיפולי העטרה, which I translated as the 'lowest point' of the crown. He references this time as "לעת ערב" and it it does not seem to be the same time as the beginning of the period of עטרת היסוד. Are you familiar with the term שיפולי העטרה and what it might refer to? Perhaps it is indeed the beginning of עטרת היסוד? To me it seems clear that it is a different time.

Ari Goldwag said...

Also, when the Gr'a says that Yemos Hamashiach begins at that time, can't that mean that the process begins explicitly at that time? How do we know it must mean Moshiach's actual advent?

גילוי said...

Ari, imagine Yesod as a line upwards. The lowest point of Atara is it's beginning.

גילוי said...

And for your second question: We have available more than just the words of the GR"A. We have how his words fit in with the rest of the picture.

Anonymous said...

Ari are the gras words on mashiach different in his peirush on sefer ditzunuta then kol hator ? In kol hator he gives no dates just explains a scenerio with mby and his 156 tikkunim and the erev rav edom ishmael which is oviousely prophecy from the gra . For I dont know of any other source including ramchal or ari who pinpointed this scenerio lkie the gra !

Ari Goldwag said...

גילוי, thanks for your thoughts. Can you respond to this last comment?

גילוי said...

There is no contradiction. It is different sides to the same story. Sifra ditzniuta contains how the upper worlds develop as a function of time, with some material on the correlation to our history, namely the process of Geulah.

Kol haTor focuses on what our actions should be to "help things along".

Anonymous said...

Ari may I correct you you say this country in the singular , the gra says he will rule the whole world . on the passuk gives his bread to the poor , a good eye will be bless , and rebuke rightousely the humble of the earth in 156 tikkunim kol hator . As the ramchal says in many places there is rectification for the nations who didnt make a game of harming israel or God for that matter .

Anonymous said...

Evil speech keeps the yetzer alive witness movies tv college dorms clubs and western culture , maybe good speech keeps the memory of efraim for Hashem , as the Gaon says by speaking of him , the more I speak of him I remember him better I will surely have mercy says Hashem . This possuk is quoted by the gra and repeatedly by the ramchal .