"The Great Redemption" (54)
"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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54.
The yetzer harah grew stronger yet in the generation of the flood; and thus it’s written “each desire he’d had in mind was invariably only evil” (Genesis 6:5). In fact, the husk (began then to) spread out in all directions throughout the world (then) and left no room whatsoever for holiness. And so the husk had to be granted its portion at the end of ten generation, and it took it in each person and in the world itself, when the world nearly returned to its “formless and empty” (Genesis 1:2) state.
Now, once it took such a large portion it no longer had as much control over everything as it had originally, but it was still very powerful. And that’s why Noah’s generation wasn’t successful (at subjugating it), though it didn’t need to be destroyed in the end. Still and all, though, the dispersion came about then, which allowed impurity a locus and definition. (At that same time, though,) holiness assumed its own locus as well as a specific branch, which was the source of our forefather Abraham. Nonetheless, impurity continued to spread throughout the world in a terrible jumble.
When Esau and Ishmael appeared, though, (a sense of) order came about which was an emendation for the world. For they separated themselves from each other in a more orderly fashion rather than in a jumble, like wild beasts set free from a forest.
From that point on (things) spread out in such a way that the profane and the holy each stood in direct opposition to each other. The side of holiness, though, hadn’t yet gotten strong, while the profane side came to be very much in control. Thus it’s written, “Let’s travel and go, and I’ll go across from you” (Genesis 33:12) since they subsequently spread out in opposite directions.
But the side of holiness wasn’t cleansed well enough of its earlier attachment to the profane. It was only fully purified in the iron furnace of Egypt, where it was indeed purified.
(c) 2006 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 from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
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
_____________________________________________
54.
The yetzer harah grew stronger yet in the generation of the flood; and thus it’s written “each desire he’d had in mind was invariably only evil” (Genesis 6:5). In fact, the husk (began then to) spread out in all directions throughout the world (then) and left no room whatsoever for holiness. And so the husk had to be granted its portion at the end of ten generation, and it took it in each person and in the world itself, when the world nearly returned to its “formless and empty” (Genesis 1:2) state.
Now, once it took such a large portion it no longer had as much control over everything as it had originally, but it was still very powerful. And that’s why Noah’s generation wasn’t successful (at subjugating it), though it didn’t need to be destroyed in the end. Still and all, though, the dispersion came about then, which allowed impurity a locus and definition. (At that same time, though,) holiness assumed its own locus as well as a specific branch, which was the source of our forefather Abraham. Nonetheless, impurity continued to spread throughout the world in a terrible jumble.
When Esau and Ishmael appeared, though, (a sense of) order came about which was an emendation for the world. For they separated themselves from each other in a more orderly fashion rather than in a jumble, like wild beasts set free from a forest.
From that point on (things) spread out in such a way that the profane and the holy each stood in direct opposition to each other. The side of holiness, though, hadn’t yet gotten strong, while the profane side came to be very much in control. Thus it’s written, “Let’s travel and go, and I’ll go across from you” (Genesis 33:12) since they subsequently spread out in opposite directions.
But the side of holiness wasn’t cleansed well enough of its earlier attachment to the profane. It was only fully purified in the iron furnace of Egypt, where it was indeed purified.
(c) 2006 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 from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"
posted by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman at 5:49 AM
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