Succot and Eretz Yisrael

It once occurred to me that there are two positive mitzvot in all the Torah that can be done while sleeping: Succah and Yishuv HaAretz. This was a yearly vort that I would give people until I found it worded slightly differently in the name of the GR"A in the first chapter of Kol HaTor: There are two mitzvot that a person enters in to with their entire body: Succah and Eretz Yisrael. The mitzvah of Succah is that it should be made, and not from what is already made (Aseh v'lo min he'asuy), and thus it is for Tzion (that the building of Tzion/Eretz Yisrael requires doing from Am Yisrael). May we all be zocheh to perform these two mitzvot in their shleimut during the coming Chag!

Hebrew

What better way to catch everyone off guard than starting with something not on the list in the last post? Hebrew is one of my passions, so I thought I would discuss the dualities in Hebrew. The difference between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Hebrew (and by that I mean the way it was pronounced before the modern era, when the communities were still relatively insulated) is enough to confuse someone not used to the variety. The Hebrew language has the following characteristics:

• There are 22 letters, of which 6 (or 7 according to Sefer Yetzirah) have secondary sounds. Only two letters should have duplicate sounds (Sin and Samech), giving us a total of 27 or 28 unique sounds.
• There are 8 basic vowel sounds (not including kamatz and shva and chaser variations)

When an Ashkenazi Jew hears Sephardi Hebrew, he notices all the new sounds of the consonants. The chet and the ayin are usually the most striking. Depending on the community, the sounds of quf, tsadee, and tet, as well as beged-kefet letters without a dagesh, will also stick out.

When a Sephardi Jew hears Ashkenazi Hebrew, he notices the greater variety in vowel sounds than his own Hebrew.

But who is right and who is wrong? Our sources surely show that there are more consonental sounds than is present in Ashkenazi Hebrew (take beged-kefet letters as the obvious case, and the statement in the Gemara to lengthen the daled at the end of Shma Yisrael). The necessity for differences in the vowels is also self-evident. Kamatz is from the language of k'mitzat ha'peh, closing the mouth in an aw or oh sound. Patach is from p'tichat ha'peh, meaning to open the mouth wider, which is an accurate description of most Ashkenazic pronunciations of these vowels.

The answer is that neither is 100% right, but each has an essential aspect of Truth within it.

In closing, I will translate a Baraita from the Yerushalmi from Brachot 2:2:

תני אין מעבירין לפני התיבה לא חיפנין ולא בישנין ולא טיבעונין מפני שהן עושין היהין חיתין ועיינין אאין אם היה לשונו ערוך מותר

It is taught: (We) do not appoint as Shliach Tzibur not people from Haifa, nor people from Bishah (I'll admit I have no idea how that city name is pronounced), nor people from Givon, because they pronounce their Heh's like Chet's and their Ayin's like Alephs, but if their language is proper, it is allowed.

This is of course an issue that touches on halachah and one should look in to the subject seriously in the halachot of Kriat Shma and Shliach Tzibur in the Rambam, Shulchan Aruch, etc, but we should notice that the implication here is that those that formed this Baraita did not say that because it was their minhag, it was acceptable behavior. They said it was wrong and therefore we shouldn't let such a person be the shliach tzibur.

Postscript: Yes, I ignored Yemenite Hebrew in this analysis. From my own humble analysis it is indeed very close to proper Hebrew, but I do have some logic issues with it that are off topic.

The Fight for Balance

The Jewish world, as we know it, suffers from immense division. We find many different parts of Torah that are taught in opposing fashions. The move towards polarization has increased in the last few generations. Our goal in this generation is balance. That is the message in Kol HaTor, balancing the Left and the Right. The truth is found between the extremes that we find, and it is our task to reveal the Center. That is where the Truth stands. I would like to examine some Jewish dichotomies in the coming posts and hopefully find some clarity and show a point of Truth. Possible Subjects Include:

• Outlook on Geulah - Natural or Miraculous
• Approach to apparent contradictions between Science and Torah - Rational or Blind Faith

The Three Oaths

Sorry for the long delay since the last post. I have been back from my "break", but I have not wanted to post until I had what to say.

The source text for this topic is a Gemara at the end of Ketubot, on page 111a. Starting on the prior page (110b) there are a few statements brought down in the Rambam about Eretz Yisrael, but these are not 100% on topic today.

Based on the phrase "I have imposed an oath on you, daughters of Jerusalem" from Shir HaShirim, which occurs three times throughout the book, it is taught that there are three oaths which have been imposed on Am Yisrael and the Nations of the World upon our entry to Exile.

1. That Am Yisrael will not go up "in a wall" (usually meant to mean "as" a wall, i.e. in great numbers)
2. Not to revolt against the Nations of the World
3. That the Nations of the World are not to enslave us too greatly (the word, shi'bud, is the same word used for the slavery in Egypt, and what we seek freedom from by the hand of Moshiach ben Yosef)

Note there are two oaths put upon us, one upon the Nations of the World.

For those of you who are not familiar, the Three Oaths are the halachic block that some groups use to say that Jews shouldn't make Aliyah until Moshiach comes.

Rav Chaim Vital, in the introduction to Etz Chaim, writes that the oaths had a duration of one millenium, and he brings a few sources for this opinion, which we can take as the Ariza"l's opinion on the matter as well.

From what I have seen, the GR"A does not say that the oaths expired, but he does interpret them differently. It says not to go up as a wall. The Gemara does not say "where" we are going up to. In his commentary on Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 26, Daf 157, on the words ובמה וכו' בימינא), he says that the oath about going up as a wall is referring to the Beit HaMikdash. We are not permitted to use force to build the final Beit HaMikdash. The oath does not apply to creating a political entity who sovereignty over part or all of the Land of Israel.

This leads me to the Churvah synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. It was either in Mosad HaYesod or Chazon Tzion, which come in the same set of 3 books (If you have this set and would like an exact reference, please let me know, its been a while and I'll have to dig it up). It said that in building the Churvah synagogue, the Jews were on one hand building a community and religious center. On the other hand, they were calming the fears of the Ottomans and the Arabs that they had immediate aspirations to the Temple Mount.

When the time is right, Hashem will bring down the Final Beit HaMikdash, around which the physical building will be built by human hands (thus fulfilling the two opinions, one that it is built by us, the other is that it is built Above and descends to earth, see the Ramcha"l, Mishknei Elyon. I don't have a page, but search for the words הבית העליון יתפשט. For online text, go here and click on משכני עליון on the right side of the page). This will be with the agreement of the nations. Their agreement will not necessarily seem to come from such pure intentions, much as it was in 1947, nor will it last for long, as it did then.

Awakening from Below

אתערותא דלתתא

The above phrase (pronounced roughly "it'aruta di'l'tata) is a concept important to the Keitz Meguleh. The basic idea is that we put in our efforts below on Earth, and then Heavenly Assistance is added on. We show desire to have the Land of Israel, and Hashem helps us make it happen. We show the desire for the Beit HaMikdash, and we move towards it being built. I'd like to put that into a drash for this week's Parshah, Shoftim.

We learn from Chazal that we were commanded to do Three Mitzvot when we entered the Land of Israel:

1. Appoint a King
2. Destroy Amalek
3. Build the Beit HaMikdash

I used numbers instead of bullets because this is taken to be the proper order for this to occur.

So what's the problem? I don't have Seder Olam Raba out in front of me, but Am Yisrael was in Eretz Yisrael more than 300 years before asking for a king. We see in Sefer Shmuel explicitly that Am Yisrael requested a king, and then and only then did the three mitzvot take on full force. We got a king, and the Mitzvah of Amalek, and finally the command to build the Beit HaMikdash.

Posting to this blog will be sparse for the next 2 weeks.

Shabbat Shalom

The Purpose Of It All

The following is a summary/translation of parts of Chapter 5, part 2, of Kol HaTor.

In the Haftarah for Shoftim we have some pesukim dealing with the Geulah.

כי עין בעין יראו בשוב ה' ציון. פצחו רננו יחדו חרבות ירושלים, כי נחם ה' עמו גאל ירושלם. חשף ה' את זרוע קדשו לעיני כל הגוים, וראו כל אפסי ארץ את ישועת אלקינו

• כי עין בעין יראו בשוב ה' ציון
• For eye to eye they will see Hashem’s return of Tzion
• GR”A – i.e. Kibbutz Galuyot

• פצחו רננו יחדו חרבות ירושלים
• Be happy and joyful together, ruins of Yerushalayim
• GR”A – i.e. the building of Yerushalayim

• כי נחם ה' עמו גאל ירושלם
• For Hashem has comforted His nation, redeemed Yerushalayim
• GR”A – i.e. the Redemption of Truth (גאולת האמת), for Yerushalayim is called the City of Truth

• חשף ה' את זרוע קדשו לעיני כל הגוים
• Hashem has revealed His Holy Arm to the eyes of the nations
• GR”A – i.e. Kiddush Hashem

• וראו כל אפסי ארץ את ישועת אלקינו
• And all the inhabitants of earth will see the Salvation of our G-d.
• GR”A – this hints at the victory of Israel in the War of Gog and Magog which is after the First Redemption from the Servitude of the Nations.

We learn from here that a major preparation for our victory in the War of Gog and Magog is the Redemption of Truth for the same of (Sanctification of G-d’s Name (Kiddush Hashem). The GR”A also taught us that as Kibbutz Galuyot increases, the Other Side (S”A) increases in strength more than any time of the Galut. This can be understood, for with the end of the Footsteps of Moshiach (Ikveta DiMeshicha) comes the end of the forces of impurity. The forces of impurity know this, and therefore they come together with all their strength to prevent this from happening.

We are leaving the Galut of Edom. It says of Edom that “Esav hates Yaakov”. It also says in the Navi that “You will give truth to Yaakov”; Yaakov represents Truth and Esav hates Yaakov.

All forces of impurity (Tumah) get their energy from Kedushah, and as such we understand the struggle over Yerushalayim. It is not a coincidence that Yerushalayim is such a controversial subject, beyond logic. (Why is a child born in Hadassah Ein Kerem not allowed to have the country of Israel printed on an American passport? No one has claimed that the western side of Jerusalem belongs to the Arabs, afterall, right?)

The implications of what is written here should not be underestimated. The connection between the rise of negative forces and the advancement of Kibbutz Galuyot is very purposeful. This plays through to settling different parts of Eretz Yisrael as well. Please take these words to heart.

Mitzvot Dependent on the Land

As I have mentioned before, in order to remove the impure spirit from the Land of Israel, we must fulfill the Mitzvot that can only be done in the Land of Israel. For the average modern Jew living in Israel, this comes down to making sure that the produce being eaten is not Tevel, i.e. that all the different Terumot and Maaserot have been taken accordingly. We have another mitzvah fast approaching us, the mitzvah of Shmitah. It is brought down in the 10th chapter of the Yerushalmi Masechet Shvi'it that the mitzvot of Yovel and Shemitah are not d'Oraita at this time, but rather d'Rabbanan. The drash on the psukim brought in the Yerushalmi is that as long as Yovel is not d'Oraita, neither is Shmitah. Yovel is in full force only when all Jews are back in Israel. I will leave that last sentence without further detail, because it is a bit more complicated. The year that we keep Shmitah is an interesting topic, G-d willing I'll find the original sources and make a post out of that. In the past (and the way it will be in the future, G-d willing), the Sanhedrin would count the years of the Shmitah cycle and also the Yovel cycle. Now, however, we use a simple equation. 7 * n for n = 1 through 857 For those of you in Israel, now is the time, as we have about 6 weeks before the onset of Shmitah. Learn what you can, decide how you will keep the mitzvah. There are plenty of English and Hebrew sefarim out there to help us keep this important mitzvah. May it be Hashem's will that we shall soon have an established Sanhedrin to count the years of the Shmitah cycle and we will be able to keep Shmitah as Hashem has commanded us. Please note, since Tu B'av, it is already forbidden to plant any trees until after Rosh HaShanah 5769.

B'itah Achishenah

One of the more famous verses in Tanach regarding the Geulah is the last verse of chapter 60 in Yeshayahu: הקטן יהיה לאלף והצעיר לגוי עצום, אני ה' בעתה אחישנה The smallest one will be for a thousand and the young lad for a mighty nation, I am Hashem, in its time I will hasten it. The Gemara in Masechet Sanhedrin says: If they merit it, "I will hasten it"; if they don't merit it, "in its time". This division complements what I've written before. If we do sufficient Teshuvah we will be redeemed, and if not, it will still happen but only at its appointed time. It is pointed out in Kol HaTor, however, that is not the plain meaning of the verse. The second half of the verse has no conditions. In its time it will be hastened. This is a biblical promise that we will not have to wait until the very end, the year 6000. Kol HaTor further explains that the verse itself tells us what to do. When will the second half of the verse happen? After the first part of the verse happens. The smallest one will be a thousand? That means that we will reach the last level of one short of 1000, which is 999 in the level of Yesod. And the young lad will be a mighty nation? The young lad refers to Ephraim, a hint at Moshiach ben Yosef. When Moshiach ben Yosef will get us to the level that we are a mighty nation, this will have occurred. What is a mighty nation? In Egypt, we are described with this same word for mighty, and there we had 600,000 Jews. So once 600,000 Jews reach Israel, this will have been fulfilled.

Glossary of Terms

I will be editing this post as needed to add explain new phrases. Please post any requests for additions to the comments of this post. Organized by alphabetically by Hebrew spelling.

• Achishenah - Literally "I will hasten it", refers to a word in Yeshayahu 60:22 - The small one will be for a thousand, and the lad will be a mighty nation, I am Hashem, in its time I will hasten it.
• B'Itah - Literally "In its time", refers to a word in Yeshayahu 60:22 - The small one will be for a thousand, and the lad will be a mighty nation, I am Hashem, in its time I will hasten it.
• Birkat HaChamah - The Jewish Solar Calendar according to Shmuel has 365.25 years (Eiruvin 56a), and according to tradition, the Sun was created Tuesday night, at the first moment of the beginning of the Fourth Day (Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer). If you do the math, it returns to this point in the week once in 28 years (Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer and Brachot 59b). Every 28 years, the morning after this occurance, we recite a blessing "Blessed is the One that Did the act of Creation". Next date is 14th of Nissan 5769 (April 8th, 2009)
• Doresh L'Tzion - Part of a 3 book set called Torat HaGeulah. Contains Mosad HaYesod and Chazon Tzion, which are about the history of the Old Ashkenazi Yishuv, as well as this book, which is mainly drashot from the Old Yishuv. The drashot are by descendents of Rav Hillel, author of the material that became Kol HaTor.
• Geulah - The Redemption of the nation of Israel
• GR"A - The Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu, a.k.a. the Vilna Gaon
• Maamar HaGeulah - Written by the Ramchal, explains the spiritual side of of the process of Galus and Geulah.
• Keitz - A term meaning the End, usually in the context of leading in to a new beginning. In our context, this is referring to the appointed time of the Geulah
• Keitz Mechuseh - Refers to the absolute latest time for Geulah, which is hidden, and a constant. It is a deadline built in to creation. The "proof" that this fixed time exists comes from the book of Daniel.
• Keitz Meguleh - Keitz Meguleh translates to "Revealed End", referring to the process that unfolds before our eyes, and influenced by our actions. The supporting verse of this process is in the book of Yehezkel.
• Kol HaTor - A book published in the 20th century by a few different sources. Controversy surrounds this book, since it relates "nationalist" ideas to the Vilna Gaon. The 1994 edition brings sources throughout Kabbalistic works of the Vilna Gaon, shedding much more light on the books authenticity. It is attributed to Rav Hillel from Shklov, one of the students of the GR"A. The expression Kol HaTor (Voice of the Turtledove) comes from Shir HaShirim 2:12.
• Klipah - Literally a husk, or a shell. Simply put, the term Klipah refers to negative spiritual forces.
• Ramcha"l - Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato
• HaTekufah HaGedolah - A sefer written by Rav Menachem Kasher on Geulah by natural means. As he was completing this sefer, shortly after the Six Day War, the manuscript of Kol HaTor basically "fell" in to his lap, and he published it with minor edits (namely, he removed Sha'ar Be'er Sheva on the GR"A's relationship to science).

The Levels of Moshiach ben Yosef

In Kol HaTor, we are taught that there are essential three levels of Moshiach ben Yosef (See Kol HaTor chapter 1, siman kaf).

1. The Upper Moshiach ben Yosef - This is the M"T (The highest angel in the heavenly sphere), they are in the upper war against Armilus (in particular in the war of Gog and Magog)
2. The Lower Moshiach ben Yosef - This is one Jew in every generation that merits by his actions to work for the salvation of Israel, actions of salvation and raising the banner of Torah with personal sacrifice, until he reaches the level of 999 in Yesod (another conversation in itself)
3. All Beit Yisrael - Any Jew who in his actions takes up a part of the tasks of Moshiach ben Yosef (which are the tasks of the Keitz Meguleh listed before), big or small, according to the particular soul.

I would add that that for the second level, of the individual in every generation, there is a sub-level. This is the final Moshiach ben Yosef. This is the Moshiach that will be revealed in the year 66 mentioned in the Zohar. This is the Moshiach that will not die.

Little By Little - The Big Picture

A major principle of the Keitz Meguleh is the idea that all comes little by little. Everything that we will have at the end of the road has its beginning. In our generation of instant gratification, this is an essential perspective shift that we must take. Looking at our current status and then dreaming of the steps between here and the end of the Geulah is daunting. One might want to say:

1. All the Jews living in Israel? Look at how many Israeli's leave!
2. Sanhedrin? The majority aren't Shomer Shabbat!
3. Build the Beit HaMikdash? What would the Arabs do?!

But step back, see the big picture.

1. When the students of the GR"A arrived in Yerushalayim in 1812, there weren't even 10 Ashkenazi Jews. Everyone went to the Sefardi shul (forced unity due to lack of numbers). Today, there are more than 5 million Jews in Israel.
2. Just 100 years ago, the Torah center of the world was Europe. Now, Baruch Hashem, it is Yerushalayim.
3. Yerushalayim is massive city, with dozens of neighborhoods, hundreds of thousands of Jews. Up until late in the 19th century, whether or not there was water was a serious issue on a yearly basis.

The general principle is that Moshiach ben Yosef starts, Moshiach ben Dovid finishes.

Moshiach ben Yosef is the miraculous working force for the physical Geulah, whereas Moshiach ben Dovid is the miraculous force working for the spiritual Geulah.

Now, do not think that the conclusion being Moshiach ben Dovid detracts from the importance of the physical side of Geulah. The physical Geulah is the "seat of David" that we have in our daily prayers. The Ariza"l taught (in Sha'ar HaKavanot) that on the words "and the seat of David your servant quickly set up within it (Yerushalayim)" we should be thinking that Moshiach ben Yosef shouldn't die. Moshiach ben Yosef is the preparation for Moshiach ben Dovid.

As such, we should appreciate the realization of this in our world. We see the physical has made seemingly great advances, and we see that the spiritual seems to lag behind. The events of 1948 and 1967 were not missed opportunities. They were Appointed Times that advanced the physical Geulah. The things that tend to really let down a religious Jew looking at these events (the actual text of the Israeli Declaration of Independence, handing over Har HaBayit to the Waqf, etc) were a function of where we stood on the road to spiritual Geulah.

Taking this perspective, of little by little, and seeing the big picture, we can understand that we have made great advances, and that there is still what to be done in our day to ease our path to perfection.

Tu B'av

Here's my chidush for Tu B'av:

In Talmud Yerushalmi Masechet Taanit, chapter 4, halachah 7, we have an opinion as to why we celebrate Tu B'av. Translation is my own:

Rabbi Abun says that in it (Tu B'av), the digging was cancelled. And Rabbi Levi says (explaining the statement of Rabbi Abun): Every Tishah B'av Moshe would send out an announcement in the whole camp and say "Go out and dig! Go out and dig!" And they would go out and dig themselves graves and sleep in them, and in the morning they would stand up and find themselves missing 15,000 and change (the word is protrot), and in the last year they did thus and found themselves whole (i.e. no one died). They said "perhaps we made a mistake in our calculations, and thus on the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th. And because the moon was full they said that it appears that HaKadosh Baruch Hu has nullified that harsh decree from us, and they stood up and made a Yom Tov celebration.

The story is difficult. How could it be that Moshe tells them to go lie down and that no one passed away the last year? Korban HaEidah and Pnei Moshe explain that the Gemara is precise. Moshe didn't say to go out the last year, but "they", meaning the people, did so at their own volition, without an order from Moshe.

These people were in essence part of the collective group of people that did not have faith in Hashem when the Ten Spies came back from Eretz Yisrael. The next day some of them went to battle against the Emori and Amaleki, against the command of Hashem via Moshe. They were punished for lack of faith and not listening to Moshe.

Now here they are, essentially being freed of the punishment for this sin. Moshe didn't tell them to dig their graves. So what do they do? They dug their graves!

But even after that, they stay in the graves straight through the 15th of Av! Did they not know that every year the punishment was on the 9th of Av? The Gemara says that they got up on the 15th of Av, because only then the moon was full.

But the 9th of Av is the 9th of Av. The 9th of Av is the ninth day starting from Rosh Chodesh. There is no doubt as to the date. Even if for some reason they think they counted wrong, all they had to do was walk over to the Sanhedrin and ask them the date, and that was the end of their doubt. But they didn't. Only on the 15th did they feel confident enough to celebrate. On the 15th, they had non-Torah confirmation that they were safe.

Shaar HaGilgulim Hakdamah 20:

..also then, in the last generation, the entire Generation of the Desert, including the Erev Rav, will be reincarnated...

This is the test of our generation. Faith. The Generation of the Desert, according to their level, had open miracles to prove Hashem's Hand in this world, and yet they couldn't translate their faith in to action. So too we see in our generation. Countless miracles occurred since 1948. However we have seen a consistent pattern, especially since the early 1990's, of running away from the consequences of these miracles.

It is my prayer that we speedily move towards a complete rectification of this fault and we begin to view our faith as a practical matter that is to be reflected in our daily and national lives.

Believing in Moshiach's Arrival

Some people may have problems with what I'm writing, because it sets the actual arrival of Moshiach somewhat far away (i.e. not now), as is inherent to any process. The GR"A in his Peirush to Sifra Ditzniuta wrote almost explicitly that the Moshiach would come after 5666 (this was not a specific year he was trying to state, but rather an explanation on why the Moshiach would come in the last third of the 6th millenium). The GR"A lived from 5480 - 5558. So the GR"A didn't believe Moshiach could come any day? The resolution of this problem lies in the same perush, that we are dealing with if Am Yisrael does not merit the Geulah. The GR"A indeed did not believe that Geulah without merit could happen in his own lifetime. So what is the belief that the Rambam mentions, that "even if he tarries, I shall wait every day that he should come"? Moshiach will come "today", "if you will heed His voice", as it is taught in Sanhedrin 98a. This of course means that Moshiach's immediate arrival is dependent on our merit. What we see from this is the following: The understanding that the latest revelation of Moshiach itself is not on the threshold does not in any way interfere with our pure faith in Moshiach's arrival.

Practical Goals

In Chapter 6 of Kol HaTor, we learn the following:

Our Goals in the Keitz Meguleh are as follows:

• Ingathering of the Exiles - This has a minimum shi'ur of 600,000, which was reached in 1948. Further milestones to be reached are a majority of world Jewry and all of world Jewry.
• Building of Yerushalayim - This is building the literal city. The Beit HaMikdash is the crown of the process.
• Burning away the impure spirit from Eretz Yisrael - This is done by planting in the Holy Land, and fulfilling the associated Mitzvot (Shmitah, Orlah, Terumot and Ma'aserot, etc)
• Setting up Men of Faith (Men of Truth) for the sake of the Redemption of Truth and Sanctification of G-d's Name - For it says in Masechet Shabbat that Yerushalayim was only destroyed because there ceased to be Men of Faith in her.
• Torah MiTzion - That Yerushalayim should be the source of Torah (see Chapter 5B of Kol HaTor for the convergence of science and Torah in the End of Days)
• War Against Amelek
• To Heal Tzion - Spiritually (Done by Yishuv of Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael and performing the Mitzvot related to the land) as well as physically (getting rid of all the diseases that are in the land durings the period of desolation)

G-d willing I will discuss these items in depth in the future.

Misconceptions - Geulah in 5769

For a comprehensive discussion on Birkat HaChamah, click here.

This is slightly off the direct subject, but for the sake of Truth I feel compelled to write.

I've now seen in numerous places online that people think that the Geulah is going to come in 5769. Why?

Because Birkat HaChamah will fall on Erev Pesach, as it did the year the Jews left Egypt, and in the time of the events recorded in Megillat Esther. And this is only desinted to occur 3 times in all of history.

What is Birkat HaChamah?

In Masechet Brachot 59B, a Baraita is taught:

One that sees the Sun in its Tekufah, the Moon in its Strength, the Stars in their Paths, and the Constellations in their Order makes the blessing Praised is the One that did Creation.

When is this? Abaye says: Every 28 years, the cycle returns and Tekufat Nissan falls in Shabbtai (Saturn) at the beginning of the Fourth Day (Tuesday night by our count).

So there are a few ideas that need be explained

• Tekufat Nissan - This is the beginning of the Jewish Solar Year. Theoretically speaking it is the Spring Equinox.
• Shabbtai - Chaza"l bring down that each of the 7 celestial bodies (that are visible to the naked eye) in our solar system are assigned an hour of the night. It is taught that this cycle started the beginning of the Fourth Day of creation (Tuesday night). The order starting at the beginning of the Fourth Day is: Shabbtai (Saturn), Tzedek (Jupiter), Maadim (Mars), Chamah (Sun), Nogah (Mercury), Kokhav (Venus), Levanah (Moon).

The Jewish Solar Year brought down in the Gemara there is according to Shmuel (Eruvin 56a) which is 365 days and 6 hours (365.25 days). If you do the math, you will see that every year, Tekufat Nissan advances 30 hours in the week. For our purposes here, we only care about when in the week this event occurs. If you continue the math, you will see that it returns to the exact same hour after 28 years. It is on those years, on the following morning, that we make the Brachah.

Therefore to see all of the years where according to this system, Birkat HaChamah would be said, simply take 1 + 28n, where n >= 0.

The first thing that you can check is to see if Birkat HaChamah occurred in 2448, the year that our forefathers left Egypt. Birkat HaChamah occured before we left Egypt in the year 2437, and afterwards in 2465.

The incidence of Birkat HaChamah with Erev Pesach is rare, but not unheard of. It last occurred only a few cycles ago in 5685 (1925). Persistence with a good Hebrew Calendar program will show you that this has happened between 5-10 times in the last thousand years (sorry, it's been a while since I checked). We simply cannot say that the third time is the Geulah.

So in order for us to be intellectually honest with this, we must say one of the following:

• The Exodus did not occur in the year 2448 as our tradition dictates
• The calculations used to determine when to recite Birkat HaChamah have changed, in which there is an inherent inconsistency to attach significance to 5769.
• This prediction of the Geulah in 5769 is not correct.

Just as a side note, an interesting calculation that I've found:

If you line up the Solar Years according to Tekufat Shmuel and Tekufat Adda, and see which years are in common for Birkat HaChamah (for Tekufat Adda, which years fall during the entire first hour of the Fourth Day, as it never returns to the exact moment), you will find two years: year 1 and 4297 (637CE), which was the year that Jerusalem fell to Omar and the Muslims. For the sake of truth, we must note that this is because over the course of approximately 2150 years, the two "new years" drifted apart until it the difference became equal to exactly one week. So while 4297 is the one year that Birkat HaChamah would be true for both systems, it would not be the same week.

Note: This is not to say that 5769 will be an insignificant year. See here for more.

Understanding the Essence of the Keitz

From what I see written on Jewish websites, a lot of people seem to think that the Geulah is something fairly simple. It is when all the things written in the Rambam happen. This is simplistic and leads to people entering in to calculations and guessing games as to when it will occur. However, the awesome ideas behind what the essence of Geulah represents should dissuade people from these number excercises. The Ramban brings down in his explanation of Breishit that the events of the 6 Days of Creation parallel the events of the 6,000 years of human existence that followed. While the Ramban was definitely not the first to bring this idea, his explanation is in many of our libraries in Mikraot Gedolot. See Breishit 2:4 for the Ramban's commentary, where he describes the parallels for each millenium. It therefore is derived that the events of the 6th millenium parallel the day when Adam HaRishon was created. This is the background for the statement in Kol HaTor regarding the "hours of the day". The 6th millenium is divided amongst the hours/stages that Hashem created Adam HaRishon on the 6th day. In Kol HaTor, the 6th Day is divided in to 24 hours, with the creation occuring during daylight hours, from 5500-6000. In Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer, chapter 6, it is stated that 84 years is one hour for Hashem (The 84 years discussed here is a whole other conversation). Therefore we can say that the day is divided in to 12 hours (the night hours are swallowed up in the day). Know that there is no contradiction between the two. I will not delve in to this further, but understanding of the 6th day is key. When the GR"A proclaimed in his peirush on Sifra Ditzniuta that he knew the secret to the End, he stated that it was based on this knowledge. What results from this knowledge is the following:

1. Calculating the Gematria of one word will not give you the year of Geulah.
2. Adding 60 or 66 years to the starting year of your choice will not give you the year of Moshiach ben Yosef's revelation.
3. The conjunction of Birkat HaChamah and Erev Pesach does not mean that the Geulah will occur in 5769.

True understanding of our times, where we come from, and where we are heading, comes from understanding history, the calendar, and the parallel between the 6 days and the 6 millenia.

The Choice

As I discussed in the previous post, we are interested in what *we* can do in order to reach the ultimate Completeness of the Geulah. But at first there is a seeming contradiction. I quoted before that the Geulah can be caused by our return to Tzion as well as us doing Teshuvah wherever we are. So obviously there are two different ways that we can choose. Right? Well, it isn't that simple.

The GR"A states in Even Shleimah that every generation has its own Keitz according to the Midah that is in control during that generation. This basically means that every generation is judged differently and as such, the level of Teshuvah required is different in each generation.

So if we all rely on influencing others to do Teshuvah (by itself, in the "dalet amot" sense, personal halachah only) in Chutz La'Aretz while ignoring the Keitz Meguleh, there is a chance that we will not reach the bar set for this generation. As such we could possibly be not only not meriting the Complete Geulah, but also we have not put forth effort to improve our situation as the End approaches us.

On the other hand, the idea of working with the Keitz Meguleh is to qualitatively improve the road to Geulah.

We have faithful promises transmitted to us by the Prophets of what will be in the End of the Geulah, namely: Ingathering of the Exiles to the Land of Israel, Re-establishment of the Sanhedrin, the building of the Third and Eternal Beit HaMikdash, the revelation of Moshiach ben Dovid. The question is how we will get there.

One thing we must understand is that these promises of Geulah are from Hashem, and as such, they are written in to the very fabric of Creation. One way or another, the aforementioned events will occur.

We see both possibilities in the Prophets. It is written in Yeshayahu 54:7 "With great mercy I will gather you", yet it says in Yoel 3:4 that a Tzion and Yerushalayim will be a refuge (implying that we must escape Galut). The GR"A knew that we must come home out of desire, for if we don't, it will be as refuge (G-d forbid). This worried him greatly, and was one of the reasons that he spoke so passionately to his students to make Aliyah.

G-d willing, I will discuss in the near future just what the vision of the Keitz Meguleh entails.

Paths to Geulah

Translation of Kol HaTor end of chapter 4

"For everything there is a time, and an appointed time for every desire" - According to Rabbeinu (meaning the GR"A), the time and the appointed time come according to the desire, and that is the meaning of "for every desire". In Chaza"l we see 4 different versions of the way Geulah will come.

1. If Israel does Teshuvah, they are redeemed, and if not, they are not redeemed.
2. And if they don't do Teshuvah, Hashem puts upon them a king who's laws are harsher than Haman and then they do Teshuvah.
3. The Geulah will come with a "Beginning" (Atchalta) by way of a Return to Tzion and even in the beginning just one from a city and two from a family according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, and this is the secret of the Revealed End (Keitz Meguleh).
4. The Geulah will in any event be "in its time" (b'itah) and that is the "Concealed End" (Keitz Mechuseh)

However we should think in advance that all of these opinions are the words of the Living G-d, and therefore Rabbeinu said that we need to go ahead and choose the path which is in our hands, path 3 (the Keitz Meguleh). And by us fulfilling this path there will not be any need for the warnings of Chaza"l about difficult laws, etc, and this will cause General Teshuvah, so there will be no need for Hashem to put a king upon us whose laws are harsher than Haman, and the Revealed End (Keitz Meguleh) will bring forward the Final Redemption (Keitz HaGeulah).

(note - for more discussion on the sugya in the Gemara, see Doresh L'Tzion, page 282)

Intro

On this blog, G-d willing, I will be discussing matters pertaining to the process of Geulah which unfolds before our eyes. The guides will be the teachings of the Vilna Gaon (GR"A) and the Ramcha"l.