The scene the prophet depicts as one that shows that Redemption is here is so familiar in today’s Jerusalem that we don’t even recognize it as anything to get excited about.
Let us learn to look at these world developments through the lens of Chazal, our Sages.
It’s as if we’re watching history echo in real time. And right now, that echo is getting harder and harder to ignore. Suddenly, the words of the Haggadah don’t feel abstract.
This time in the year, which includes the Seder, more than any other time, celebrates the ability of Jewish families to come together. And this current time in Jewish history is an opportunity to share familial unity and natiional purpose.
It is precisely at the threshold between message and moment, that this special Haftorah’s relevance to our own time becomes unmistakable.
Ask yourself sincerely - how much do you want to make aliyah?
To fully grasp the concept of the Return, one must consider it in all its dimensions and at all of its levels.
The burning bush is the eternal symbol of Jewish history. The bush is on fire, yet it is not consumed. And the State of Israel is the living proof.
Commentators interpret the meaning of the words used to foretell the Exodus and the Israelites' becoming G-d's chosen nation.
Jewish communities of Ashkenaz, Sepharad, and the Yemenites each read a different prophecy as the haftarah for Parshat Shemot, with each focusing on a distinct aspect of this redemptive process.
The many impure sources of Redemption are a defense against the Satan - the adversary, whose purpose is to prevent the Redemption from coming into the world.
Yaakov thought there was no need for a future exile after all he had gone through. The Medrash explains.
“And I Will Remove the Sin of That Land in One Day”
Is this the country we have been waiting for? Absolutely! It’s not yet total light, but it has a lot of light.
When the end approaches there will be many troubles growing in strength, a sign of Yisrael’s salvation.
Thoughts on this day, on hearing of an agreement.
Is this the Redemption?
It is impossible for us to measure the tremendous value of the willingness to sacrifice one’s life for the good of the Jewish People.
Ancient warnings for a modern crisis.
When a Jew in the Diaspora feels an inner alienation from his Gentile surroundings in a Gentile land, this inner awareness sets off a spiritual explosion which affects all of the Jewish People.
From the words of the Chachamim it is clear that the Redemption process will never come to an end, despite possible setbacks.
The fourth Book of the Torah begins on a certain high note, but turns out to be the saddest and most disappointing in the entire Torah. On the other hand, it has high points.
This prophetic message of the Return to Zion in the Haftorah was tailor-made for this Shabbat, falling between Yom ha-Atzma’ut and Yom Herut Yerushalayim.
The Redemption is gradual, it relates to the increase in light, yet it is also possible that within this process there will be times of great darkness.
The process of redemption will unfold in such a way that initially, Israel will return to their Jewish identity, ascend to the Land, and settle it.
There are two explanations that we can offer our children at the Seder for our celebration.
Why can’t we have a speedy redemption like the one from Mitzrayim?
The Sages of the Great Sanhedrin were the leading Rabbis of the time, yet the Torah defines a situation where even they can make an error of judgment.
Why is it appropriate that we begin reading this Book on the Shabbat of the month of redemption (whether Nissan or Adar)?
The establishment of the State of Israel restored the Jewish People’s sense of honor. The Sages of Israel, after the miracle of Purim, decreed that cities walled since the days of Joshua should celebrate Purim on the 15th of Adar “for the honor of the Land of Israel.”
The Talmud cites Reish Lakish (Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish): “It was known and revealed before He by Whose Word the world was created that Haman would one day weigh out the shekalim to annihilate Israel; therefore He placed their shekalim before [Haman’s] shekalim” (Megillah 13b).
Thus, the war against Haman was a missed opportunity for national Redemption—a lesson from history that resonates profoundly in our own times.
Three guarantors for the coming of Mashiach are alluded to in the three pieces of collateral that Yehudah gave to Tamar, the ancestress of the Mashiach.
First, how could the Mashiach be the product of a problematic union? Surely his ancestry has to be unblemished!
Understanding antisemitism reveals a profound truth: antisemitism is not inherently tied to Jews, Judaism, or the Jewish State. Opinion.
The two great scholars were both standing, eyes shut...
Mitzvot were a pre-condition of redemption. They were also its implication.
Our current reality of the ninth of Av as a day of mourning is an anomaly – even though it has persisted for most of our history.
Is teshuva a prerequisite for Redemption?
The conclusion of Bamidbar ends the chapter of the trials of the desert generation, and now they enter a land flowing with milk and honey. Chazak, Chazak, V’nitchazek.
For about 1,800 years, from the time of their defeat by the Romans to British rule, the Jews of the Land of Israel were pious and peaceful, accepting their fate as subjects of the occupying powers and praying for their Final Redemption from foreign occupation, persecution and exile.
The Jewish nation will outlive all of its arrogant, evil, demented enemies, who in the words of Daniel "will be reduced like chaff on a threshing floor”.
The prophetic message of the Return to Zion in the Haftorah we read could have been tailor-made for this Shabbat.
It is a fundamental component of Pesach that the redemption from Egypt – our first national redemption – is the paradigm for the final redemption,
May we celebrate the individual redemption of each of us, the individual redemption of the hostages and their families, and the collective redemption of the entire People of Israel
The future deliverance can be viewed as “a redemption of correction,” perfecting the initial one.
Because Mordechai gathered all the Jews, the Jewish people were saved. Unity is the key to redemption.
Setbacks, he reminds us, occur not only if we are caught unprepared by an enemy attack – setbacks can occur when the unity of the nation is weakened from fraternal turmoil.
In our new post-October 7th world, there are also new priorities.
Since 2007, the Harchivi Makom Aholech Organization has worked extensively to strengthen and expand Jewish settlement in Hebron
“A woman’s birthing pains are very painful,” Rabbi Druckman explains. “The same holds true for the birth pangs of Mashiach."
A yerida (descent) can be a springboard for an even greater Aliyah (ascent).
But it’s not over yet. Hamas captured precious souls and is now trying to capture our minds
Where is the Redemption in all this?
Included in Rabbi Rimon's message to Gush Etzion residents: Always keep an eye open so that no one is forgotten!
There are people with sensitive and high-powered souls who instinctively feel the emptiness of Judaism in gentile lands.
A unique way of looking at the protests that have made a misery of the lives of ordinary Israelis.
To merit seeing the Third Temple, we must build ourselves from inside out and breed sincerity in our hearts.
Today's fast mourns the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem by enemies who burnt the Temple and exiled the Jews.Time to come home.Op-ed.
We want the type of unity that respects others, areas that bind us. Israel belongs to all of us. A shul belongs to all of us.Op-ed.
