"The Great Redemption" (25)
"The Great Redemption" by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
-- A Discourse on The End of the Exile and the Beginning of the Great Redemption
Translated by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
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25.
To this point I’d only spoken about the P’kidah; I’ll now expound upon the Z’chirah. I’ll outline it here now in order to present a complete account. Tipheret will descend in the course of the Z’chirah as well (as Yesod), and reveal itself to the Shechina. And everything will be manifest then rather than hidden. Thus it’s written, “Who is that coming from Edom?” (Isaiah 63:1).
I’ll now expand on that and base it on various verses.
The Divine Chariot will appear before the entire Jewish nation when the King is revealed to his Shechina, as it did at Mount Sinai, as is explained in the verse, “And it will be said on that day, 'Behold, this is our L-rd! We have waited for Him, and He will redeem us!'” (Isaiah 25:9). And the Jewish Nation will then start to arise and leave the exile with the Moshiach at the lead, and the King and Malchut in front. As it’s said, “Their king passed before them with G-d at their head” (Micha 2:13). They’ll leave together until they reach the Land of Tzvi and then Jerusalem, which had been chosen for just this.
The Shechina and the King will then abide in the eternal dwelling-place, which will prove to be the (impetus for all the) tranquility to be found there as well as the inheritance that will never cease. And who would dare approach and stand before the King and Malchut as they pass before their children?
For all the ministers and all their idolatrous nations will be crushed, cut down, and demolished before them while “Israel will prosper” (Numbers 24:18). The Jewish Nation’s tribulations will thus cease from the very beginning of the Z’chirah and onward.
In fact, we’ll find that all the imperfections that the exile had brought about will be emended several times over. And so there’ll be four emendations because there will have been four corresponding imperfections. Hence, the four terms of redemption that were used in connection with Egypt -- “I will take you out”, “I will save you“, “I will redeem you”, and “I will take you” (Exodus 6: 6-7) -- are all to be explained in terms of the four emendations that wills come about that I’d cited.
(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )
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AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".
-- A Discourse on The End of the Exile and the Beginning of the Great Redemption
Translated by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
_____________________________________________
25.
To this point I’d only spoken about the P’kidah; I’ll now expound upon the Z’chirah. I’ll outline it here now in order to present a complete account. Tipheret will descend in the course of the Z’chirah as well (as Yesod), and reveal itself to the Shechina. And everything will be manifest then rather than hidden. Thus it’s written, “Who is that coming from Edom?” (Isaiah 63:1).
I’ll now expand on that and base it on various verses.
The Divine Chariot will appear before the entire Jewish nation when the King is revealed to his Shechina, as it did at Mount Sinai, as is explained in the verse, “And it will be said on that day, 'Behold, this is our L-rd! We have waited for Him, and He will redeem us!'” (Isaiah 25:9). And the Jewish Nation will then start to arise and leave the exile with the Moshiach at the lead, and the King and Malchut in front. As it’s said, “Their king passed before them with G-d at their head” (Micha 2:13). They’ll leave together until they reach the Land of Tzvi and then Jerusalem, which had been chosen for just this.
The Shechina and the King will then abide in the eternal dwelling-place, which will prove to be the (impetus for all the) tranquility to be found there as well as the inheritance that will never cease. And who would dare approach and stand before the King and Malchut as they pass before their children?
For all the ministers and all their idolatrous nations will be crushed, cut down, and demolished before them while “Israel will prosper” (Numbers 24:18). The Jewish Nation’s tribulations will thus cease from the very beginning of the Z’chirah and onward.
In fact, we’ll find that all the imperfections that the exile had brought about will be emended several times over. And so there’ll be four emendations because there will have been four corresponding imperfections. Hence, the four terms of redemption that were used in connection with Egypt -- “I will take you out”, “I will save you“, “I will redeem you”, and “I will take you” (Exodus 6: 6-7) -- are all to be explained in terms of the four emendations that wills come about that I’d cited.
(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )
********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".
posted by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman at 10:43 AM
2 Comments:
"The Divine Chariot will appear before the entire Jewish nation when the King is revealed to his Shechina"
Isn't this tautological? Isn't the Shechinah man's perception of the Infinite? In which case, when that perception includes the metaphor of G-d on His Throne, by definition there is unity of King and Shechinah.
OTOH, why the Chariot? IIRC, the commentaries on Ezekiel speak of the chariot as the tangibility of G-d's presence preparing to leave with the destruction of the Temple. In contrast to the Throne in the Saphire-Floored Palace that is described in Exodus. I would think that the messianic era would be a return to the vision in Exodus, not the chariot of Ezekiel...
The Shechinah isn't at all dependant upon man as to be his perception of the Infinite -- it's an element of the Infinite unto itself. The Yichud will come about come what may. And the chariot isn't the "tangibility of G-d's presence" so much as a means of implementing it as it manifests itself.
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