Those Who Await the Messiah While in Exile


Based on the above-quoted passages, we see how praiseworthy are those who truly try to come to the Land of Israel – may it be as quickly as possible – on behalf of the honor of the Divine Presence and in order to extricate it from the Exile, and also in order to repair and prepare the world for the Messiah’s arrival, as we quoted above: “To find him a suitable place.”


Therefore, those who dilly-dally and refrain from coming to the Land, and explain that they are waiting for the Messiah, are making a basic error.  For one who believes in the Messiah and truly awaits him must do so in the Land of Israel. This is just like one who waits for a king must get there a few hours early in order to get a good spot, and to show honor to the king by waiting for him; he should not wait in his own house, causing the king to arrive first and have to wait for people to show up.


And furthermore: It is well-known that the Messiah is to come and gather all the nidchei Yisrael, the cast-off and dispersed remnants of Israel. Should we then wait for him? Of course not!  This clearly refers only to those who are behind the Iron Curtain, or on the other side of the Sambatyon River, or behind mountains of darkness – but those who dwell comfortably in modern and free countries?  Has anyone cast them off or dispersed them? Can they be considered hidden or pushed away? 


Even the  Prophet Isaiah referred 53 only to those who were "cast off" in his words, “to take you from the dungeons of prison, those who sit in the darkness.” Would we say that the Prophet wasn’t precise with his words, Heaven forbid? He certainly meant that the Messiah would come to rescue those who are lost and

hidden, those forced to dwell behind the Iron Curtain and the like. This is what is meant in the Torah, 54 ת והנסתרות לה' אלוקינו, the hidden is unto G-d:  It will be G-d's responsibility  to bring back those Jews who live in concealed places - but

but regarding those who reside in “open” places, they must themselves hear the Heavenly voice calling them to לך לך, get yourselves out of Exile and come to the Land of Israel. They must do so just as the Beit Yosef, Rabbi Yosef Karo, heard 

such a voice from his Maggid and, as a result, made Aliyah to the Land. Would those who now oppose Aliyah say that the Beit Yosef and his comrades, and all the thousands who later went up to the Land, sinned in not waiting for the Messiah outside the Land?! 


It is therefore obvious that the Messiah will gather up those who cannot come to the Land on their own, those who are truly “dispersed remnants.” But those who live comfortably abroad and can travel freely to the Land are obligated to make Aliyah to Zion right away.


And so wrote Maimonides: 55

Those who fool themselves and say that they will remain where they are until the Messiah comes and then they will go to Jerusalem… they sin and cause others to sin.  It was about this type of person that the Prophet said, "They have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people superficially, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace." 56


A verse in Psalms reads: 57 "The L-rd shall record, when He registers His people, that this man was born there."  Rashi explains: "In the future, when G-d inscribes the idol-worshipers in infamy, He will extricate from amongst them those Jews who have been absorbed into them against their own will, as is written, 58 "The hidden are unto G-d."  We see here clearly once again that the Messiah will rescue those who were hidden; but those who are revealed, i.e., those who know their obligation, are required to ascend to the Land on their own and greet the Master, G-d of Israel, in Zion – and the sooner, the better. 59


In Messianic times, the eyes of the blind on both extremes of the nation will be opened, as the Prophet Isaiah said, "To open the eyes of the blind" (42,7).  This includes those who feel that the Jews have taken rule over themselves - as if they did so themselves, without Hashem having pulled the strings – as well as those who feel "we have accomplished all this with our own strength and valor." 60 Neither of these two groups – those who barely see the miracles, and those who see them but don't acknowledge G-d's role - wish to acknowledge and admit that it was "G-d's hand that wrought all this". 61 But when the Messiah comes, both groups will see that it was all G-d's work, and not that of mortal man.


This is in keeping with Rashi's commentary to the above-cited verse: "To open the eyes of the blind" – "They do not see My great works, and do not pay heart to return unto Me."  Rashi's words are directed at both of the above-mentioned groups. The first group is that of those who are "in fearful awe (hareidim) of G-d's word," but who still live outside the Land.  They did not direct their hearts to truly see all the amazing miracles and great wonders that G-d performed for us. They did not take heart to see how He saved us from the evil ones, those barbaric savages who attempted to prevent us from walking safely in our streets, who imagined they could cut off and destroy us, who wished to swallow us alive. But G-d is the source of all blessing, and "He who dwells in the heavens will laugh and scorn them". 62 In His great mercy, love and compassion for His nation, land, and inheritance, He sabotaged their thoughts, upset their plans, and punished them in kind. They planned to expel us from the Land, and that precisely was what befell them: The Land spewed them out by the thousands and myriads, 63 they "ran as if from the sword though no one was chasing them", 64 leaving us "houses full of all good things, vineyards and orchards that you did not plant", 65 property that they never would have given us of their own volition for all the silver and gold in the world.  Yet still, after all these great signs and wonders, those "hareidim" [lit., those who tremble in awe] continue to dwell abroad and do not return to the Land. The words of Rashi can be applied to them: "They do not see My great works, and do not pay heart to return unto Me."


Along the same lines, it has been said in the name of the saintly Rabbeinu Ephraim, that the numerical value (gematriya) of the words "Eretz Yisrael" is equal to tuv-tuv-lamed-bet (832), spelling the Hebrew words tet lev, meaning to "give heart" - which is what everyone must do to return to the Land of Israel.


Rashi's words are also directed at the second aforementioned group: Those who dwell in the Land of Israel and saw the miracles first-hand - yet did not pay heed, nor did they direct their hearts, to return spiritually unto G-d.  They saw and experienced first-hand G-d's greatness and power in saving us. How well we know, those of us who were here when the State of Israel was declared, how weak were our forces, and how numerous and powerful were all the nations surrounding us when they declared war against us.  Their armies were larger, and their arsenals were stronger, while ours were minuscule in comparison; no one imagined that we could defeat them in the natural course of events. There is no way to explain our victory other than the fact that Hashem, in His great mercies, stood by our side and saved us.  It is also to those who refuse to see this that Rashi's words are directed: "They do not see My great works, and do not pay heart to return unto Me" to do Teshuvah (repentance), to simply return to G-d with all our hearts and to follow the Torah and its commandments. They do not observe the basic Torah imperative to "remember that it is Hashem your G-d Who grants you the power to succeed". 66


It is true that our enemies continue to plot and scheme against us, but those who have genuine and total faith in G-d must know with perfect confidence that this is all part of the Divine plan, in order that our enemies ultimately suffer a total collapse from which they will never be able to arise - just as G-d "hardened [Sichon's] spirit and made his heart firm so that He could give him over to our hands", 67 and just as "It was G-d's work, to strengthen their hearts for war with Israel... so that they would be destroyed". 68 It is also so that we may turn back to Hashem with all our heart.


And when we do so, and when we completely recognize that our victories over our enemies are not the direct result of our own prowess, then we will merit to see even greater miracles and wonders. We will see the fulfillment of the verse "No weapon formed against you shall succeed", 69 as the saintly Hida (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai) wrote on the verse "The wrath of man shall praise You, You will gird Yourself with the remainder of wrath". 70 He explained that this refers to the Sages' teaching that one who acknowledges a Divine miracle that was performed for him will be rewarded by being saved from yet other tribulations. Similarly, the work Shaar HeHatzer 71 explains the verse: 72 "On that day, you shall say, I will praise You [though] You were angry with me," and then, in return, "Your anger is turned away and You will comfort me."



  1. 53.42,7

  2. 54.Dvarim 29,28

  3. 55.the Rambam, in his Letters, The Sanctifiction of G-d's Name, 5

  4. 56.Jeremiah 6,14

  5. 57.87,6

  6. 58.Dvarim 29,28

  7. 59.See below the quote from the Metzudot commentary on the verse in Zechariah (10,8), "I will whistle to them and gather them."

  8. 60.See Deut. 8,17

  9. 61.Psalms 118,23

  10. 62.Psalms 2,4

  11. 63.in 1948 and again in 1967

  12. 64.Vayikra 26,37

  13. 65.Dvarim 6,11

  14. 66.Dvarim 6,11

  15. 67.Dvarim 2,30

  16. 68.Joshua 11,20

  17. 69.Isaiah 54,17

  18. 70.Psalms 76,11

  19. 71.passage 608

  20. 72.Isaiah 12,1






FOOTNOTES

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