Rabbi Shlomo Avineris head of Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim.
It seems that many people have forgotten the very first teaching of the Jerusalem Talmud:
“One time, Rabbi Chiya the Great and Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta were strolling through the Arbel Valley as morning approached, and they saw the breaking of dawn. Rabbi Chiya said to Rabbi Shimon, ‘Such is Israel’s Redemption. At first it is gradual, but the further it moves along, the faster it is.” (Jerusalem Talmud, at the beginning of Berachot).
I passed through that area countless times, during the seven years I lived on Kibbutz Lavi in the Lower Galilee, and now, as well, that my daughter lives there in Kfar Zeitim, near the Sea of Galilee. Were Rabbi Chiya to see Eretz Yisrael today, he would burst with pleasure and pride at how gloriously the Promised Land is being rebuilt and how plentifully it is bearing its fruits.
Indeed, this is one of the points that distinguish the intelligent from those lacking wisdom; the understanding that there are phenomena that do not occur all at once but involve a prolonged, painful, gradual process.
To what may this be compared? To sunrise. The sun doesn’t suddenly appear out of total darkness. Rather, first comes dawn, the brightening of the east, sunrise, and at noon the sun appears in all its might. It is the same with the start of Redemption. Light and darkness intermingle. There are ups and downs, crises and setbacks, difficulties and complications.
And why is that? Would it be too hard for G-d to bring Redemption all at once, instantaneously? Certainly not, but such is G-d’s Will, that we should be partners in Redemption, and such is the nature of people, that they are not angels but just people with weaknesses, mistakes and oversights.
Therefore, if we see problems along the way like wars with Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, and who-knows-what next - we mustn’t despair. We mustn’t think we have erred in our direction. All the questions only prove that our country does not constitute the complete Redemption but only its first flowerings. Or, more precisely, we are already at an advanced stage of our Redemption process.
One might say: “I can agree to the Redemption’s proceeding gradually, but not to its regressing and to our losing what we have already gained.” If so, however, my response is that G-d does not need your consent. Moreover, you’ve forgotten that the Jerusalem Talmud brings as a first example of gradual Redemption, the Purim miracle, which began with Mordechai’s exposing the plot against King Achashverosh. Yet one can ask: Wasn’t that success followed by a decree to exterminate all the Jews, men, women and children?
The commentary on Sefer Charedim provides an answer to this: The “gradualness” referred to relates to the increase in light, yet it is also possible that within this process there will be times of great darkness.
You’ve also forgotten that when Moshe came to redeem Israel, at first the situation deteriorated and Pharaoh hardened his decrees, as Ramban explains at the end of Shemot.
The rule is this: the Redemption is not a sudden burst of light like the moon at midday, but light and darkness in coexistence. We rejoice over that light on Israel Independence Day, and we weep over that darkness on Tisha B’Av, and struggle to rectify it.
Therefore, in the Pesach Haggadah, we seek a “day that is neither day nor night.” We certainly long for a situation of total day, but we know that there is an intermediate situation of neither day nor night, and even for that we cannot possibly offer enough thanks, in comparison to the previous situation that was total darkness.
The source is the Prophets, from Zechariah 14:7: “There shall be one day which shall be known as Hashem’s, not day, and not night, but it shall come to pass that at evening time there shall be light.” It shall not be entirely like the future Redemption, nor as difficult as the exile (Rashi, Radak).
Don’t worry. We are not stuck half-way through. “Shall I bring her there but not assist in the birth? Shall I begin to assist her but stop? – the word of G-d” (Isaiah 66:9). Rashi explains: “Shall I bring the woman to the birthing stone but not open her womb to remove her fetus? Shall I start something without being able to finish?”
HaRav Avraham Yitzchak Kook writes, “In the end of days, a silent movement has arisen [the Zionist Movement] full of strengths and desires, full of contradictions and contrasts, full of light and darkness, and seeking to reach the shore of Jewish Salvation. It represents a small light from the light of the Messiah (Orot, Yisrael U-Techiyato 20).
Rabbi Kook terms it a small light, yet compared to the darkness of the Exile, it is an enormous light indeed and in spite of all of the difficulties and struggles we face, the light is getting brighter.
When the Master of the Universe spoke about Redemption, He never promised that there would be no difficulties along the way.
The Ramban quotes our Sages on the verse, “My beloved is like a gazelle” (Shir Ha-Shirim 2:9): “Just as a gazelle comes in and out of view, so does the first redeemer appear to them, then disappears, then reappears” (Ramban, Shemot 5:22. Shir Ha-Shirim Rabbah 2:22). The gazelle leaping over the mountaintops, suddenly disappears and then appears once more, further along the way.
We must not despair over what is happening. We must be courageous and persevere. This is not the first time since the start of our National Rebirth that we face setbacks, and we have to consider that it will not be the last time either.
Rabbi Kook explains that Yearning for Salvation includes two things:
- Even when it seems to us as though the Redemption is at a standstill, or actually regressing, we have to continue to believe that the Master of the Universe is moving matters forward, only we do not see it.
- We have to seize upon all possible means to advance Redemption, what Rav Kook called “creative yearning” (Olat Re’eiyah 1:279).
When we face hardships and setbacks, we must not despair, but increase our strength and courage. Then, in the end, we will prove capable of the challenge.
[Translated by Rabbi Mordechai Tzion]