Communication Sciences Department of the Torah Science Foundation

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The First Step of the Messianic Revolution

The greatest obstacle that currently faces us in realizing our desire for the Messiah, is the state of politics in Israel. The Messiah in bringing about the redemption will bring about the return of the Jews of the Diaspora to Israel. In order for this to happen, however, there must be a government that is capable of stating unequivocally that the Land of Israel belongs to the nation of Israel as is clear from the words of the Torah. Even most non-Jews believe in the Torah. The Rebbe always used to say that this is step number one for bringing the redemption, to be able to quote Rashi’s¹⁷ commentary on the first verse of the Torah. In order to achieve this there has to be proper spokesmanship, a clear statement that our policy is the policy of the Torah. However, this goal seems very distant at the present stage. We can have no hope that anyone of the figures who currently lead Israeli politics, on either side of the political scale, is on the verge of reaching that conclusion. This first stage seems impossible, an insurmountable obstacle.

When things appear impossible, there are a number of different approaches. Some people prefer to ignore the problems and they fall into an existential slumber. Others may go to synagogue and pray, which is certainly a recommended solution if there is nothing else that seems possible. However, our sages say that the main thing is action.

We mentioned before that “Mashiach NOW” in Hebrew has the same numerical value as “terror.” We will now add that another word with this same value is “maaseh,” meaning “action.” The idea that develops from this equivalence is that when something as paralyzing as world terror comes to our door, we must not surrender, which is the easiest option, neither must we suffice with prayer, rather we must take action.

In this case, surrendering means ceasing confronting the problem by direct action. This state of consciousness states that when something seems impossible, we must continue spreading light into the world, for light will eventually be victorious over darkness. Darkness cannot be dispelled by a stick or a fist, it must be attacked by light. We must continue doing good deeds, however, there is nothing we can do that will directly change the world. This barrier is too great.

There is nothing essentially wrong with this approach, however, this type of action does not reach the energy level of the Rebbe’s cry of “kair a velt heint!”

The next option is to attempt to pass under the obstacle from beneath. In relation to the problem of Israeli politics, this related solution can be represented by those who believe that the way to make a change for the better is to join the Likud party. The idea is to eventually take over the Likud party and thereby to gain a political platform for the idea that the Land of Israel is for the nation of Israel. This is a classic example of passing under an obstacle, attempting to accomplish as much as you can through the current channels available. Although this tactic comes with the best possible intentions, it is still considered passing under the obstacle because it does not offer any revolutionary change.

There is a famous story told of the Alter Rebbe and Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, whose point is that the way to overcome a problem is by just walking through it, by considering oneself already on the other side of the barrier.

However, we must point out a distinction between leaping over the obstacle and walking through it as if it did not exist. Leaping over the problem, as far as Israeli politics is concerned would be to start a new party, right now. Instead of joining an existing party we would begin a new one with the hope that by the time we get into the government we will already be a majority. We would then be able to take over Israeli politics without having to dirty our hands with the problems rife in each one of the present parties. This is a nice idea, a dream. Joseph was a dreamer, he lived in accordance with dreams. It sometimes took twenty-two years for the dream to realize itself, but that is the essence of Joseph. His whole life was committed to realizing his dreams and bringing about their materialization.

17. Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, France. 13^th century Torah commentary.

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