On Thursday we learned פרקים יא-יב, which are the ideal vision of what Hashem wanted to see from his nation. It is the complete opposite of how the people acted from what we learned in the previous instances. They were terrible, and this is describing the perfect time. The פרק starts by telling us that there is going to be a leader who will come and judge fairly. He will be a righteous leader and follow in the ways of Hashem. He will not judge by what he sees on the outside, like his predecessors. The second part tells us that there will not be any predator or prey, and the strong will live among the weak. This tells us that there will be peace in the land. The next section tells us that Hashem will bring back the kingdom of Yisrael, and Yehudah and them will work together cooperatively as the chosen nation. The last thing that we are told is the people will praise, thank, and appreciate Hashem. This is totally the opposite of what was going on.
The best way to interpret these פרקים is that is the time when Mashiach will come. It seems like it, everything is peaceful, the two kingdoms We believe that this leader that will come is Mashiach. Every time I have heard about the time when Mashiach will come is just like this is described, the world will be at peace, and we will be brought out of exile back in the Eretz Yisrael. The name mentioned in the פרק is ישי. Who is ישי? He was David's father and the the Pasuk describes that the leader is from the house of David, a root of ישי. We could think that חזקיהו could be Mashiach because he is described as so in the Navi. Other religions, such a Christianity interpret this man as Jesus because of his name. We really don't know who it is or even if it actually Mashiach.
What is described in these פרקים is world peace. The Kabbalist say that when Mashiach comes the nature of the world will completely change. There will be not more "predators or prey." Why would they think that the world would change after the Mashiach will come? Doesn't the nature of the world have to change before he comes? We also learned Ramban's perspective. He is saying all of this is a metaphor for world peace. There won't be anymore war because everyone will have knowledge of Hashem. They will know and realize that Hashem is in control.
I agree with Sophie. If I could give a possible answer to the question of why they would think the world would change after משיח would come it would be that it is true that the world would have to change BEFORE he comes, but it would also change drastically after. No one knows for sure what is going to happen when משיח does come, but our world, no matter what we change beforehand, will never be the same. It is said that the dead may come back to life and our world will be entirely rid of sins and evil. It will also be rid of war and fighting, like it says in the Perek. If we wish for this world to come, we still must change our ways today even if our world will change after the coming of משיח as well.
ReplyDeleteSophie, I agree with you in the sense that our actions must change in order for Mashiach to come. However, I think the answer to your question lies in our discussion we had in class earlier this week regarding the severity of our sins. Maybe Hashem realized that the people were so far off the path at that time, such drastic changes in their actions seemed nearly impossible to accomplish. Perhaps this is our case today. Since we do not have a Navi with us today, we are unable to truly realize the impact of our sins. They may even be worse than those in ancient times. We just don't know.
ReplyDeleteSince world peace is so coveted, maybe this "ideal world" will help the dispersed realize and possess the knowledge of Hashem and the rest of the prophecy of the remnant and the praise for Hashem will be fulfilled. It may be the most effective way to convey Hashem's knowledge in today's society.