Who is Messiah Ben Yoseph according to Kol Hator.
Who is Messiah Ben Yoseph according to Kol Hator.
Chapter 1
Contents:
Our mission,
the mission of the great Gaon, light of Mashiach ben Yosef, with regard to the final
generation, is as follows: “According to Rabbi Eliyahu,
all the steps,
all the rules and details
concerning the period from the beginning of the Redemption until its conclusion,
which include the ingathering of exiles
and settlement of the Holy Land--all these are the assignment of the first mashiach,
Mashiach ben Yosef. They derive from the left side, that is, from the quality of Din, which prevails when
the awakening starts from below,
naturally, as occurred at the time of the Second Temple, during the reign of Cyrus. Later on, the redemption will be completed
with the quality
of Chesed (i.e., Lovingkindness)on the right side, with Mashiach
ben David.”
The Gaon’s basic
approach is contained in the words od
Yosef Chai, which means, Yosef is still alive.-- “As we stand on the threshold of the Redemption, we must learn well all the 156 characteristics, aspects,
appellations, and special attributes of Mashiach ben Yosef. We
must also study well the secrets
regarding the beginning of the Redemption that are hinted at in the holy compositions of the Vilna Gaon--so that we
shall know the way and what will
happen as illuminated by the Gaon who lights up our path until, with God’s help, the day is established.”
1.
As we stand on the threshold of the beginning of Redemption (when “the songbird’s time has arrived,
” which is the year 542 of the 6th Millennium),
at the Vilna Gaon’s behest and with his holy blessing, and with the help of God, we are obligated to
learn and understand all the paths of
the footsteps of the Mashiach and the
manner of future deeds, in accord with the mission and instructions of the Vilna Gaon. The Gaon merited being the light of Mashiach ben Yosef, in order to promote
the ingathering of the exiles and to
reveal the hints in the Torah regarding the
footsteps of the Mashiach ben Yosef. He
was therefore sent down from Heaven
[this is based on the words, [Isa. 60:22]
“the smallest will become a
thousand, ” etc., and this hints at the number 999 which is in the sefira
Yesod, and the root of the or elyon at
the high level of the angel Metatron,
who is the Angel of Interior. All the
hints about the beginning of the
Redemption and the secrets concerning the footsteps of the Mashiach,
until and including the very end were revealed to the Gaon. He wrote about the final end at length in his commentary on the
Sifra Dezniuta, adjuring others in the
name of the God of Israel not to reveal it. After many of his students had promised him faithfully to go to Zion and begin working
there on gathering in the exiles
when the awakening starts from below, with the
help of God, then the Gaon revealed
to them all the steps of the beginning of the Redemption. According
to a major principle of the Gaon that appears
in Sifra Dezniuta,
everything that was, is, and will be in all the upper and lower worlds,
as well as all the general and personal things
that will happen
in every generation--all these are hinted at in the Torah (see below, Chapter
3, for hints in holy works).
2.
According to the Gaon, all the work involved in gathering in the exiles, building Jerusalem and broadening the
settlement of the land of Israel so that the Shechina will
return to it, all the principles of the work and all the major and minor details are connected to the mission
and role of the first mashiach, Mashiach ben Yosef. Mashiach ben Yosef is the miraculous power who will assist every act
done when the awakening starts from below, in a natural manner,
because he comes from the earth. Mashiach ben David, however,
will come from Heaven as revealed by the different
aspects of Rachel and Leah, and as known regarding the footsteps of the
Mashiach and the revealed end. Mashiach
ben Yosef himself is a composite of two aspects:
on the one hand, he is Yosef the son of Rachel of the land; on the other
hand, he is Yosef son of Jacob from Heaven.
It is therefore incumbent upon us to learn and to understand all the 156 characteristics
[qualities], appellations, and all aspects
and special attributes of Mashiach ben
Yosef (as explained below in
Chapter 2). These will be a light for our feet and direct us what to do and how, in connection with what
lies ahead, with the help of the Redeemer of Israel, may it be speedily in our day.
3.
According to the Vilna Gaon, if Israel does not have the merit, then the beginning of the Redemption will occur
with an awakening from below, as
occurred during the time of Cyrus, during the Second Temple, as an act from the left side, that is, from the
quality of Din. That is what is meant by “his left hand is under my head, ” which refers to Mashiach ben
Yosef. This will occur with the
permission of the kings of the nations. Later on, the complete Redemption will
come from the right side, that is, with the quality
of Lovingkindness, and by the line of Mercy according to what is written, [Isa. 43:5] “and with abundant
mercy I will gather
you.” According to the Gaon, the ingathering of exiles at the beginning
of the Redemption will proceed by means of deliverance
and
ransom, as is
written, “then the ransomed of the Lord will return, and come to Zion with glad song” [Isa. 35:10]. All this will be
accomplished by Mashiach ben Yosef: The deliverance will be from enslavement of the body and enslavement of the soul.
The word has two meanings:
it refers to the fact that they will return to Zion
as is written: “they will come to Zion.”
It also refers to the fact that they will repent [ comes from the same root as repentance] as revealed by
the words, “they will achieve joy and gladness.”
A most important principle
of the Gaon is that everything that will occur
upon completion of the Redemption will begin at the beginning of the Redemption and gradually proceed,
by the 999 footsteps of the Mashiach, which are compared
to the footsteps of the flock.
4.
The Gaon began revealing secrets of the Torah when he was 20 years old in 5500 [1740], during the first hour
of the morning on Friday in the 6th millennium. Then, the spirit of God, the spirit of the mashiach, began
to move in his holy spirit, to uncover mysteries in the Torah
little by little
in accord with the mission
of the first mashiach. These were revelations of the deep mysteries and profound secrets
associated with the footsteps
of the Mashiach, and no secret was
hidden from him [the Gaon]. As is known, the Gaon then began traveling
to the Holy Land at the beginning of
the second hour, that is in 5542 [1782]. That
was the period when Rabbi Eliyahu
became very agitated. Like a storm,
he turned his attention to the ingathering of exiles.
Generally speaking, the beginning of the Redemption, otherwise known as the footsteps
of the Mashiach, began the first
hour of Friday morning in the 6th millennium, that is the year 5500 [1740], and from hour to hour the
footsteps have continued to progress from many aspects. As is known, every hour consists
of 41 years and 8 months, counting
from the time that the bonds on the Mashiach’s steps were loosened, as it
says, [Ps. 116:16] “you loosened
my bonds” and as revealed
in the sentence: [Ps. 81:6-7] “He appointed it as a testimony in
Yosef... I have removed his shoulder from the burden; let his
hands stay away from the kettle.” Beginning with the second
hour (i.e., from 5042 [1782]),
the entire House of
Israel entered the picture, both as a whole, and with regard to each individual member of the nation, as an order from above, of the Mashiach of the beginning of the
Redemption, namely, Mashiach ben Yosef.
5.
Through his holy spirit, Rabbi Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon, knew exactly where the name and destiny of each member
of Israel were hinted at in the
Torah, each man according to the flag of his forefathers, according to the root of his soul, and the merit of
his forefathers. The Gaon knew this on the basis of hints which he
understood based on the use of gematria
[numerology, a system in which every letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet has a numerical value] and
notrikun [acrostics--a system in which sets of letters,
such as the initial or final letters
of the lines, taken in order, form a word or phrase]. He even found many hints (52 hints) regarding himself and his own great and holy mission in connection with the ingathering of exiles (see below, Chapter
3).
6.
According to the Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, below are the seven major principles connected with the approach
called the footsteps
of the Mashiach, which is
based on the sentence, “on each stone were seven eyes [apertures]” [Zach. 3:9]:
a. “Yosef
is still alive.”
The basic approach
of the Gaon is encapsulated in the principle “Yosef is still alive, ” meaning that the Mashiach ben Yosef is still alive and will live, because, as it is
written, every aspect of the
beginning of the Redemption is dependent on him. Thus the decree regarding his murder by Armilus the
Wicked will be canceled. It will be canceled by extending the period of the
exile, by afflictions that the Mashiach ben Yosef will suffer and
diseases he will bear, and also by deeds
that he will accomplish with great devotion, such as gathering in exiles, which is his mission. What will also help are messianic pangs and afflictions connected with Eretz Israel, and our regular,
daily prayers for the life and success of Mashiach ben Yosef. Those who occupy themselves with gathering
in the exiles, lighten the afflictions of Mashiach ben Yosef during the period
called “the footsteps of the Mashiach.” The decree regarding the
death of Mashiach ben Yosef will be nullified by subdivision into small
parts, as in the parable recounted in
the Midrash. There is a parable of a
king who became angry with his son
and swore to throw a big stone at him. Afterwards,
he regretted what he had said,
and had compassion on him. In order to fulfill
his vow nevertheless, he broke
up the big stone into many small ones and threw all these small stones at his son one by
one. Thus the son was not killed,
yet he suffered from the small stones.
These are the pangs of the Mashiach: the suffering will come gradually, together with the 999 footsteps of the Mashiach, in such a way that the decree is divided into 999 small parts.
In contrast, help will come as hinted in the sentence,
[Jer. 30:7] “a time of trouble it is for Jacob,
” from which he will be saved.
The general
mission of Mashiach ben Yosef is
three-fold: revelation of the mysteries
in the Torah, ingathering of the exiles,
and removal of the unclean spirit from the land. The ingathering of exiles encompasses three tasks: building
Jerusalem, gathering in the exiles,
and fulfilling the commandments
dependent on the Land. All these are
hinted at in the following sentences:
[Ps. 24:3] “who will ascend the
mountain of the Lord, ” referring to
the ingathering of exiles [initial letters — îáé-- are initials of Mashiach ben Yosef]. [Ps. 24:3] “who will stand up in the place of his sanctuary” referring to the
building [initial letters -- are initials of Mashiach ben Yosef]. Wherever
the word “to stand up” is mentioned,
it refers to the line of Mashiach ben
Yosef, as in the phrase [Gen. 37:7] “my sheaf rose” [Ps. 24:5] “he will receive a blessing from the Lord” refers to something that
carries with it a blessing, such as planting [the initial letters
are the initials
of Mashiach ben Yosef, though in reverse
order — îáé. And in the sentences [Jer 31:20] “return to your cities, ” “build Jerusalem, ” [Ps. 102:14]
“it is the time to favor her.” ‘To favor’
refers to planting as it states, “he will favor its dirt.” Each one of them accords with the gematria of “testimony in Yosef” that refers to Mashiach
ben Yosef.Also, these three tasks were given to Cyrus as it states:
“I am the Lord Who confirms the word of His servant,
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers; Who says
of Jerusalem: ‘It will be settled’... Who says to the depths,
‘Dry up, and I will dry out your rivers’.
Who says of Cyrus, ‘my shepherd’; he will fulfill
all my desire, ” etc. [Isa. 44:24-28]. According to the explanation of the Gaon, the word in Gematria
equals [131] because
the purpose of building Eretz Israel is to drive
out from the gates of Jerusalem. And therefore this is the mission of Cyrus as part of the mission
of Mashiach ben Yosef from the left side,
which means the quality of Din.
The might of Mashiach ben Yosef lies in the miraculous assistance he can offer in connection with the ingathering of exiles that will come about
when the awakening comes from below.
7.
[b]. Act and be successful. One of the special characteristics of Mashiach ben Yosef is
his successfulness when he acts, as it says with
regard to Yosef (son of Jacob), [Gen.
39:3] “whatever he did, the Lord made prosper
in his hand.” The following
great idea of the Gaon became known:
there are only two commandments which a person’s
entire body has to enter in order to fulfill
them--the commandment of the tabernacle,
and that of
Eretz Israel. This is hinted at in
the sentence, “And his tabernacle was in Shalem, and his dwelling-place in Zion, ” and the Gaon adds that the commandment regarding
tabernacles requires you to ‘do, ’ that is, to fulfill a positive commandment, not to take from what is done.
Likewise with regard to Zion. As it states in the Midrash
on the sentence: “a redeemer will come to Zion.” As long is Zion is not yet built, the redeemer will not come. As Our Sages of blessed memory said (Megillah
17b), “after Jerusalem is built, the son of David [Mashiach] will come.”
According to the Midrash, the son of David will not come until Jerusalem
is built.
8.
[c] [Isa. 60:22] “in its time,
I will hasten it.” Our Sages interpreted this
principle to mean that, if they [the People of Israel]
merit it, I will hasten it [the Redemption]; if not, I will bring it
in its own time (Sanhedrin 98a). Regarding
this, the Gaon commented that after all, the verse should be interpreted literally. According to the plain interpretation,
even if the Redemption comes at its proper time, I will hasten it. When? --”when
the smallest will become a thousand
and the youngest a mighty nation.”
The words smallest and
youngest refer to Efraim, who is Mashiach
ben Yosef. It is known that the highest level of Mashiach ben Yosef, who will come when the awakening comes from below,
is 1000 less one, or 999 in the
sefira of Yesod. When the smallest
one will become 1000, that is, when
his deeds reach the level just below 1000, then - I am the Lord; even in its time, I will hasten it. This is also the meaning of “and the things that are to come upon them, will
make haste” (Deut. 32). In the words of the Gaon (in which
there is also some hint regarding his name), “there is a time for every desire” means
that determination of the time depends on the objective
below, as it says with regard to Cyrus, “and he will fulfill all my desire.”
Cyrus was given his mission
in connection with Mashiach
bet Yosef from
the left side, that is, from the side of Din that is operative
when the awakening comes from below. Many
times I have witnessed the Gaon pacing around his room, speaking
agitatedly saying, “Lord of the Universe, don’t you have a
middle road between ‘its time’ and ’I
will hasten it.’” We insist on the plain interpretation of your promise:
“I am the Lord; in its time, I will hasten it.”
9.
[d]. ! by possession and
conquest in the revealed end. The
fourth principle is that at the
beginning of the Redemption in our time, i.e., the final redemption in the last generation--all activities must be
in accord with one of two lines or
paths: one is the line of Ezra and Nehemia; the other is the line of Joshua. Regarding
the sentence, [Deut.
11:31] “you
shall possess
it and you shall settle
in it, ” Rabbi Eliyahu,
the Vilna Gaon says
(in Aderet Eliyahu, on Deut. 11), “Because of your merit in taking possession of it, you will dwell in it, and how will you take possession of it, by establishing your claim.” How does
one establish a claim? This is done by building and planting as is the
law in general with regard to possession
of land. This is in line with what
was done by Ezra and Nehemia. However, when necessary, force may also be
used (in this case, there is a kametz
under the Het--meaning by force; if there is a
hataf-patach under the het, it means by establishing a claim, by possession),
and this is in line with what was done by Joshua. The Gaon showed us a wonderful
hint regarding this idea, i.e., that according
to gematria ! Ezra’ and Nehemia’ together equal Joshua’ [391] Joshua was a descendant of Efraim ben Joseph, the one who fought Amalek.
in gematria, when counting
the value of all the letters pronounced when
saying the word [that is, ], equals [490] Sitra Achra. The mission
of Joshua son of Nun, a descendant of Efraim, was to fight Amalek. Joshua
was the Mashiach ben Yosef, who was supposed
to counterattack [lit.: bring
the war back to the gates of Jerusalem] at the
entrance to the city. Here
would be the center of the war against Esau,
as it says [Ps. 76:4] “there
he broke the flames of the bow.” This mission of Mashiach ben Yosef was hinted at in the sentence
above, [Ps. 76:3] “his tabernacle [was/ will be] in
Shalem and his dwelling-place in Zion.”
By using gematria, the Gaon discovered a hint regarding
his own mission and a hint at his name in the words “his tabernacle in Shalem and his
dwelling-place in Zion.” Those words equal the value of 3 generations of the Gaon, ! “Eliyahu son of
Shlomo Zalman son of Yisachar Dov” (as explained below in Chapter
3).
These things
ensure us that in our war against Amalek, from every aspect our tabernacle will be complete with the help of God. And the
Gaon meant by his interpretation of the words ! “ you shall inherit it
by establishing your claim, ” that this refers to the time of the revealed end mentioned by our Sages (Sanhedrin 98a; Megillah 17b) on the sentence, [Ez. 36:8] “you, mountains of Israel, will give forth your branch,
and bear your fruit for My People, Israel, etc.”
This was the keen desire of the Vilna Gaon.
A major principle of the Gaon was that all activities regarding the beginning
of the Redemption have to be similar to the activities during
the time of Ezra and Nehemia
and in the time of Cyrus. The Gaon wrote specifically that ingathering of the exiles
can be merited by fulfilling the mitzvot dependent
on being in Eretz Israel. The second
meaning of ! is “take possession by force” in the words of the Gaon (that is, the het with a
kametz as noted above) is, as it says (Keddushin 26a) in accord with the sentence: [Jer. 40:10] “settle
in your cities that you have taken.”
The purpose of
gathering in the exiles is to wage God’s war against Amalek, which was the main mission of Joshua, in line with Mashiach ben
Yosef. The war against Amalek
includes every aspect, against all the enemies
of Israel, including
Armilus, the prince of the mixed multitude. It is also intended to remove the spirit of impurity from the Land, and to bring " Knesset Israel
and Shechina from below, from the earth.
The opening of
the war against Gog and Magog will start with the first redemption before the coming of the righteous mashiach -- Mashiach ben David, may
it be speedily in our day. The main
activity concerns building Jerusalem
and gathering in the exiles and fulfilling the commandments connected
with the Land according to secrets concerning the revealed end.
All of the
above are the mission of the Gaon, the light of Mashiach ben Yosef, according
to his exalted directives, both explicit and hinted at by way of Tsofnat Paneach, or by calculations, or by way of secrets in Kol HaTor
regarding the actual beginning of the revealed end. This was the keen desire of the Vilna Gaon and his
students. The Rabbi’s mission is hidden in the sentence ! [Isa. 33:20] “visualize Zion, the city of our designated times, ” which was said
regarding the mission of Mashiach ben Joseph. Likewise, based on known hints, the Holy Ari viewed his own mission as that of Mashiach
ben Yosef.
10. [e]. escapees [refugees] in Zion. The fifth principle
is that [Joel 3:5] “for in
Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, ... and among
the remnant, those whom the Lord will call.” Since according to Midrash Tanchuma, Zion is in the line of Mashiach Ben Yosef, whatever
befell Yosef, befell Zion. The
Gaon said that this is hinted at also in the
word “among the remnant” which in gematria equals “Mashiach ben Joseph” [566], by means of whom, according to the Gaon, the ingathering of the exiles will be accomplished. As the number of ingathered increases, so the Sitra Achra will
increase its strength. Then
another
prosecutor will be added, against those who do not strengthen the ingathering of exiles after the
beginning of the Redemption has started with the ingathering, for then in “Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be those who escape, ... and among the remnant ... .” A word to the wise is sufficient. This worried the Gaon a great deal.
What is the
connection between abundance from above on the one hand, and the refugees in Zion and Jerusalem on the other hand?
The ingathering of exiles clears the
way for abundance from above to reach Israel. The abundance in all the upper special
characteristics that will come by way
of Zion and Jerusalem will be evident in life, salvation, blessings, peace, lovingkindness, mercy, goodness, etc. Such an abundance is mentioned specifically in the following
passages. Abundance of life, for example, is noted in: “there the Lord commanded the blessing of life forever” [Ps. 133:3], and in, “to look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” [Ps. 27:133].
Abundance of salvation is noted in:
“for from Zion comes salvation for Israel” [Ps. 4:7]. Abundance of blessings is mentioned in: “may God bless you from Zion” [Ps. 128:5], etc., and in: “because
there the Lord commanded the blessing”
[Ps. 133:3], etc. Abundance of peace, as in: “peace of Jerusalem” [Ps. 122:6] and Jerusalem means the city of peace. Abundance
of lovingkindness, as in: “like the dew of the Hermon that descends on the mountains of Zion” [Ps. 133:3].
The “dew of the Hermon” refers to the attribute of lovingkindness. Abundance of mercy, for God builds Jerusalem with mercy, as
is written: “Who, in his mercy, builds
Jerusalem” [see Blessing after meal]. Abundance
of goodness, as is written:
“and see the goodness of Jerusalem” [Ps. 128:5], and “this good mountain and the Lebanon” [Ps. 128:6].
All of the above are the assignment
of Mashiach ben Yosef, because Zion
is in line with Yosef according to the Midrash
mentioned above. As long as Zion is desolate, a spirit of impurity prevails and places obstacles preventing the passage of abundance from above. Only building Jerusalem can strengthen the connection as it states:“built-up Jerusalem is like a city united together” [Ps. 122:3].
11. [f]. Torah from Zion. “for
from Zion will the Torah come forth” [Isa. 2:3]. This refers to the revelation of the secrets
of the Torah, whose principal
source is Zion and Jerusalem. The Gaon wrote much about
the fact that the
redemption depends on learning Kabbalism, for thus the teachings of our righteous Mashiach will be revealed gradually, which means the teachings
the Tora of Eretz Israel (which is the the Jerusalem Talmud).
This is
revealed in the words “and the gold of the land is good” [Gen. 2:12].
12. [g]. Tsofnat Paneach. At the beginning of the redemption when
“it is the time to favor her” [Ps. 102:14], which
will occur through
Mashiach of the beginning
of the Redemption, then hints in the Torah and in the works of our Sages of blessed memory will begin to be revealed. Thereby, people will begin to understand
the ways of the beginning of the
Redemption and the footsteps of the Mashiach
hinted at in the words,
“designated deeds, times and emissaries, ” as is written: “the buds were seen on the land, the songbird’s
time has arrived, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land” [Song 2:12]. Also, according to the command, “make straight
in the desert a highway for our God”
[Isa. 40:3]. As explained below in chapters 3 and 4, the Gaon came
down from Heaven
in order to reveal the hints of the Torah regarding
the footsteps of the Mashiach, hinted at in Tsofnat
Paneach, and accordingly to instruct us how to act during
the period known as the footsteps
of the Mashiach (see above section 9
[d], and below Chapter 3).
13. There are seven ways for the
beginning of the Redemption to occur in practice,
with the help of God. [a] pangs and
pleasure. We must know beforehand that the beginning of the
Redemption will come by way of suffering and pleasure, as hinted at in the sentence “pangs for Yosef.”
It will come with the quality
of Din
when the awakening starts from below.The
footsteps of the Mashiach come with pangs, and sometimes even indirectly. On the other hand, in contrast, the quality of Lovingkindness is present, as it says, “he [Israel]
stretched out his right hand,
and placed it on Efraim’s
head.”
We must know beforehand, that during the period of the footsteps of the Messiah, whenever there is trouble, help
will come, and the help will come out of the trouble, as it states:
“it is a time of trouble for Jacob; but out
of it he will be saved.” The Gaon, in his commentary on Habakkuk regarding the verse “I will rest on the
day of distress, ” states that this sentence refers to Mashiach ben Yosef, and that we should know beforehand that Eretz Israel
is obtained by suffering. But in that manner it is definitely obtained. The footsteps of the Mashiach comes with disturbances
and obstacles brought on by the Angel of Esau as well as by Armilus, the Angel of the mixed multitude. Finally, however, the Angel of Esau will fall into the hands of the Angel of Yosef--as
we find in
the Midrash Tanchuma (on the parsha “Ki Tezeh”)--with the help of the
Mashiach ben David, as
happened when Judah saved Yosef, and as meant
by the words: “out of the strong came forth sweetness, ” and by “He will accept the work of our hands.”
Therefore, God forbid that we retreat when difficulties arise or when an obstacle
appears to prevent
us from continuing to work.
On the contrary, we must trust that out of that obstacle, help will come to Jacob, and from the straits we will reach
the breadth [abundance] of Divine help.
14. [b]. to walk [act] modestly.Every act of the beginning of Redemption must be in accord with the verse “walk
modestly with your God, ” as revealed
in the words, “place it in the ears of Joshua, ” who was in line the line of Mashiach ben Yosef.The word ! “in the ears of” should be taken literally, but it also hints at
something concealed. In gematria, ! equals 70. Likewise,
the word equals
70. In addition, the Gaon mentions another hint. He quotes the verse: “the secret
counsel of the Lord is with those that fear him.” If we add up the letters of as pronounced, that is, , then the
total value of the letters is 366 which equals the value of Mashiach ben Yosef by means of whom the ingathering of the exiles
will be accomplished.
The Gaon also
commented on the words, “it is the glory of God to conceal a thing.”
In gematria, the words “to conceal a thing” equal “you have brought the tribes” [871].
With this in mind, the Gaon directed
us to call the prophecies concerning the ingathering of exiles the ! “Vision of Zion, ” rather
than “Return of the Exiles” [lit.: return of Zion]. The vision of Zion refers to the sentence, “visualize Zion, the city of our designated times,
” which means that the designated time of the redemption depends
on Zion. Thus the sentence
refers to the Mashiach ben Yosef. This concurs with what is found in the writings of the Holy Ari of blessed
memory. It also agrees with the sentence, “to visualize the pleasantness
of the Lord and seek deep understanding
in his Temple, ” as we know. See
below, chapter 2, regarding the 156 aspects
of Mashiach ben Yosef.
15. [c]. little by little. We
must know beforehand that the beginning of the
Redemption will come gradually, a little at a time. According to our Sages of blessed
memory (Yerushalmi: Brachot, ch. 1), the redemption of Israel will come about little by
little, like the first rays of light before dawn, [Micah 7:8] “though I sit in darkness,
the Lord is a light to me, ”
and [Prov. 4:18] “a light that increases more and
more until the day is established.”
Therefore, one should start any deed connected with the beginning of the Redemption, even to a small extent, as is
written: [Jer. 3:14] “one from a city, and two from a family.”
The Gaon states
that there is an important rule that anything that will occur when the Redemption is complete, will begin gradually at
its beginning. This is also true of
rebuilding Jerusalem. One should begin, even
with one stone. According to what is written, [Isa. 28:16] “behold I lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone, ” for this stone will test the will
to rebuild Jerusalem and to enlarge the site of its tent, and God will help us do this.
We also asked
the Gaon about what is revealed by the words, [Gen. 33:14] “I will direct it at my slow pace, ” that is, why must the beginning of the Redemption occur slowly? If it comes when it is a time of favor on the part of God in connection with gathering in the exiles
of Israel, is the hand of God short [is it too difficult for God] to accomplish this task on a large
scale all at once? The Gaon then explained to us that the period
of the beginning of the Redemption will come into being if the Jews do not have
the merit, which means when it does not come because of our righteousness. In that case, if the Redemption comes suddenly, then on the one hand it will be impossible to
bear the suffering that will come with
the quality of Din, as explained
above. On the other hand, it will be impossible
to accept the great light that will come all at once from the side of Lovingkindness. We must understand all this beforehand in connection with the practical work involved in gathering in the exiles.
I asked the Gaon what to do if in reality it would be possible physically to bring all of
Israel to Eretz Israel all at once. For
so many questions and difficulties would arise in arranging the settlement. After
deep reflection upon this question.
the Gaon replied:
“If it becomes possible to bring to the
Eretz Israel 600, 000 at one time, that should be done immediately, because there is great and complete
[all-encompassing] power in the number 600, 000, and that could defeat Samael in the gates of Jerusalem. Then the complete Redemption would come
miraculously, aided by clouds of
Heaven, as it states: “then the ransomed of the Lord will return, and come to Zion with glad song, and with
everlasting joy upon their heads.”
According to our Sages of blessed memory, as well as the Gaon, this verse refers to the period of Mashiach ben Yosef (Shabbat 88a).
The verse includes
the letters of the number 600, 000.
We know
beforehand that in contrast to all the good things that will come gradually during the time of the Mashiach, according
to the important rule the Gaon explained
above, there will be obstacles caused by the Sitra Achra, obstacles
detailed by our Sages that will occur during the time of the Mashiach [the footsteps of the Mashiach],
God forbid. But, with the help of
God, we can overcome them, as our Prophets and
our Sages have promised us, and at the direction of the Gaon as well as with his holy blessing, at the beginning
of the Redemption by the ingathering of exiles when the awakening
of the Mashiach ben Yosef starts from below. Gradually then, the special good
attributes of the Mashiach ben Yosef will also appear. As is written: “open up the gates of salvation, ”“I was brought
low, and he saved me, ”“out of it he will be saved,
”“the Lord has saved his anointed” etc. All
this was said about the Mashiach ben Yosef, a good channel that
is [999] revealed in the words: “whoever sees the letter in a dream, ” etc. And so the blessing of E-l
Shad-ai is that all of these should be matters of holiness. All these
are the assignment of Mashiach ben
Yosef and of the light of Mashiach ben Yosef in the final generation,
that is, of the light of the Gaon whose light increases
until the day is established.
16. [d]. a poor man on a donkey. If the beginning
of the Redemption occurs without
merit, it will come about like a poor man riding a donkey, that is, in poverty, both with regard to the ingathering of exiles and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. As it states:
“they will come with weeping,
and with supplications will I
lead them” etc. “and Efraim is My
firstborn.” The Gaon hinted that in gematria
the word “supplications” equals Mashiach ben Yosef [566]. So it is written, “I was brought low, and
he saved me, ” which refers to
Mashiach son of Efraim. This is what David prayed
for, that Mashiach ben Yosef would
not die, as explained by the Gaon in his boor “Yahel Or”; and with regard
to building Jerusalem as it states,
“the Lord will lift Zion, and the poor of his People
will find refuge
in it” etc. All this will be like the image of a poor man riding a
donkey. It will occur when the
awakening of the beginning of the Redemption
comes naturally until
we merit the clouds from Heaven.
17. [e]. people of truth. One
of the main means for the survival of all our
work, is the establishment of a group of people of truth. According to our Sages of blessed memory (Shabbat 119b), Jerusalem
was destroyed only because truthful men were no longer
there, and so could not establish
men of truth, with integrity, in our Holy City. Without that, there
is no value
to all our labor and our deeds,
God forbid. This, according to all the bases and rules that we have set up with the help of God.
18. [f]. equal measures. The settlement of our Holy Land in general, and the construction of Jerusalem in particular must be according
to the principle of equal [balanced/ accurate]
measures for everyone.
According to our Sages of blessed memory,
Mashiach ben David will
not come until all the measures/
prices are equal.
Yet another interpretation by them is that Mashiach
ben David will not come until all the rates are accurately balanced (Sanhedrin 98a). See the commentary of our Sages
on equally measured gardens (Baba Batra 75b; and the Tosafot there). This, too, is included in the assignment of the Gaon as expressed in the verse: [Deut. 25:14] “your house should not have two different weights for measurement, a large one and a small
one, ” which is immediately followed
by: [Deut. 25:15] “a perfect and just
weight you should have.” In the last
verse, the Gaon found his name and his assignment in the Torah as is known. The
Gaon explained to us that the term “in your house”
refers to Eretz Israel, as it states: “in order that your days be long upon the Land, etc.” Afterwards it
states, “that the Lord your God gives you.” Likewise with respect to a built-up
Jerusalem: It states,
[Ps. 122:7] “peace be within
your walls, ” translated by Onkelos as “peace
regarding your possessions.” For there is no durable
peace unless there
is peace regarding possessions and equal measures, as stated above. In order to carry out the intention of the
text: “every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be made low, ” in accord with what is written “in righteousness will you be established, ” meaning in a way that
is just and equal for everyone, as it states, “I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet
[weight].” With regard to settling Jerusalem, our Sages of blessed memory have already
said that Jerusalem was not part of the division of
Eretz Israel into districts for each
tribe. Also, no house in Jerusalem
should be leased out. In chapter
6 of this work, this matter is explained in greater detail.
If this is fulfilled, then the verse ! “for as the seed of peace, the vine will give forth
her fruit” etc. will be
fulfilled (Zach. 8). According
to our Sages of blessed memory, the
statement that Eretz Israel will give forth its fruit, was said with regard to the revealed
end (Sanhedrin 98a), and this is the main foundation for the establishment of truthful men, discussed above.
Proof of this lies in the fact that in gematria the words: equals [457]. A hint to the wise is sufficient.
19. [g]. in righteousness [also: with charity-charity is considered a
deed of righteousness] will you be
established. Our Sages of blessed
memory said (Sanhedrin 98a) that Jerusalem will only be redeemed through charity, as it says [in juxtaposition]:
[Isa. 1:27] “Zion will be redeemed with justice; and those who return to her, with charity.” The word pidyon
[redemption or ransom] is in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef. This
is what the Gaon hinted at in the
words “it will be redeemed with justice” which
in gematria is equal to (the first Mashiach)
[920]. It states: “in righteousness will you be established.” The word righteousness should be taken
literally. Righteousness means
equality for everyone, as in “and I
will make ... righteousness the
plummet [weight].” The plain meaning
of righteousness should be understood here, i.e., a generous contribution. It was decreed and it is also an expression of pardon that the resettlement of Israel will be
accomplished through contributions, because God wanted to give all of Israel--the near and the far--credit for taking
part in the building of the property of God, according to what is written: “and gather from all of Israel
silver to strengthen the House of your
God (II Chronicles 24:5) and for the building of Jerusalem.” Many other commandments of the Torah are included
and concealed here, as explained below in chapter
7.
20. Yosef is still alive. -- The independence of Mashiach
ben Yosef is
related to three
categories: a) the Mashiach
ben Yosef from
above is Metatron, the Minister of Interior; as is known,
Yosef is Metatron. Both of them are from the light from above,
and both are in the sefira Yesod, and active in the war against Armilus
(especially in the war of Gog and Magog). He is helped by Seraiah ben Dan. b) In every generation one Mashiach ben Yosef from below
appears. He is a righteous person, a foundation of the world, who because of his deeds and the
root of his soul, merits acting for
the salvation of Israel, carrying out helpful deeds and glorifying the Torah through his dedication. Thus he reaches to the high level of Mashiach
ben Yosef, which is 999 in the sefira
Yesod.c) Mashiach ben Yosef who is present in every house of
Israel in general, according to what is revealed by the words
“remnant of Yosef”
which was said about all of Israel in general and regarding
every man of Israel in particular. Mashiach ben Yosef resides within the
999 sparks of many a soul in Israel, in those who merit carrying
out deeds that promote the ingathering of exiles, etc. Whoever merits,
on the basis of his deeds as well as the merits of his forefathers, carrying
out deeds that are characteristic of Mashiach ben Yosef, is considered a spark from the
root of the soul of Mashiach ben Yosef -- each according to the level of his deeds.
21. Yosef is still alive.
All three Hebrew
words are from the sefira Yesod.The first word od’ is in the sefira
of Hod, on the left side line.
‘Yosef’ is from the sefira Yesod of the middle line. ‘Chai’ is from Nezach of Yesod on the right side line.
22. Yosef is still alive. The light of Mashiach ben Yosef has three levels: a) Mashiach ben Yosef from
the land, in line with Yosef, son of Rachel,
from the aspect
of recipient. b) Mashiach
ben Yosef from
Heaven in line with Yosef son of Jacob, from the aspect of one who gives and influences. c) Mashiach ben Yosef from both Heaven and Earth, revealed
in the words “even all in the Heavens and Earth.” is in the sefira Yesod.
In gematria “all in the Heavens and Earth” equals Mashiach ben Efraim”
[741]. Likewise the value of “horn of
salvation, ” is 741 in gematria, and, according to the Gaon, this refers
to Mashiach ben Efraim. Every act of ransom and saving by Mashiach
ben Yosef is
aided by Mashiach ben David in line with the incident in which Judah saved Joseph.
According to what is written: “What profit is it if we sell our brother and cover up his blood?” etc. By saving Yosef, Judah merited being the one from whom the kingdom
of David descended.
23. Yosef is still alive. Our forefathers and many of the Prophets
of God, kings of Israel, and many of
the Tannaim and Amoraim, many of the great men of Israel
and the men of deeds in every generation were in the line
of Mashiach ben Yosef. The first one was our forefather Abraham, as revealed in the words, “whereby will I
know that I will inherit it?” As known,
wherever the term inheritance’ is used in connection with Eretz Israel,
it is in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef.This is hinted at in the word “I will inherit” which in gematria
equals Mashiach ben Yosef [566]. Our forefather Abraham
started the beginning of the first
Redemption, that is the redemption of the holiness
from below, which is the land of the Land of
Israel [Eretz Israel]. Our forefather
Isaac was in the line of the Mashiach ben Yosef from the time he was
bound as a sacrifice. His name even hints at " end of life. Our forefather Jacob was in the line of Mashiach
ben Yosef from the time he fought the Angel of Esau, after which it says, “Jacob came to Shalem.”
Shalem, to Succoth.
Judah was in the same line, from the time he saved
Yosef; Yosef, from the time of his first
dream; Moshe Rebbeinu, from the time he took along the bones of Yosef. Joshua son of Nun was the first who fought in the battle of the
Lord against
Amalek. Both Saul and David fought in the war of the Lord. And it is known that every war of the Lord is considered to be in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef, etc., etc. During
recent generations, the Holy Ari and
his special student, the holy and pure R. Chaim
Vital, and the Holy Rabbi, author of Or Hachaim
were also in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef as is known. And in the last generation, it was the Gaon, our Rabbi, Rabbi Eliyahu, light of Mashiach ben Yosef whose light goes
before us, and whose light increases
until the day will be established. A few of his students, who fulfilled
his commandment regarding the vision of Zion to accept
and be inspired with his spirit and his great light, are also in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef.
Yosef is still
alive. A righteous person lives by
his faith. Together with all our activities connected with the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef, we are commanded
and it is incumbent upon us to pray a great deal for the life and success
of Mashiach ben Yosef. Our entire existence
is revealed by the words “remnant of Yosef, ” through
whom the ingathering of exiles will be accomplished. This refers to the Mashiach ben Yosef from
below who is present in every generation. We must pray that he not be killed by the wicked
Armilus, that he should not die before
he carries out completely
his holy mission, that he should be able to stand up against Armilus who seeks to cause him to fail in
all his ways; that he should maintain his faith in his great and holy mission until
his last day. This is what
is meant by, “a righteous person lives by his faith, ” referring to Mashiach
ben Yosef from above--that his light should not go out, the light that connects the middle column of
the [the Shechina] with our Father
in Heaven which is the center bolt that connects Yesod and Malchut as well as Yesod to Tiferet in the middle line, the line of Compassion. King David, of blessed memory, prayed many prayers on behalf of Mashiach
ben Yosef, that he should
not die, but Israel’s poverty
should help annul the decree against Mashiach
ben Yosef, as revealed by the words, “I was brought
low, and He saved me” which is one of the prayers
that King David, of blessed
memory, prayed on behalf of Mashiach ben Yosef, as explained by the
Gaon. We are especially obligated
to pray as follows (the English translation follows the Hebrew
paragraph):
The prayer “Yosef
is still alive”
(which begins: “Have
mercy, our Father
in Heaven, on the remnant
of Yosef, ” etc.), the prayer of Amidah
“On the throne of David your servant, ” in the blessing “Build Jerusalem, ” the prayer,
“The descendant of David, we
hoped for your help all day, who causes the horn of help to sprout.”“A prayer of the afflicted, when
he faints” (Ps. 102:1), and there also, “Have mercy on Zion, for
it is the time to favor her, etc.,
for your servants have cherished her stones etc., so nations will fear the name of the lord, ” etc. “I love [Him] for
the Lord hears” (Ps. 116:1). There,
too, “I was brought low, and He saved
me.”“From the straits” (Ps. 118), and
also there, “I will not die, for I
will live” etc. “The earth is the
Lord’s, and the fullness thereof” (Ps
24), and also there, “Who will ascend the mountain
of the Lord” [Ps. 24:3] etc. “Wait at my right hand” (Ps. 110),
“The Lord will answer you in the day of trouble” (Ps. 20:1). “For the waters have penetrated unto the soul” (Ps. 69:2),
and also there,
“Save me, O God, for the waters have penetrated unto the soul.”
Also there, “”For God will give salvation to Zion and build the cities of Judah; they
shall dwell there and shall take possession of it once more.”“The wilderness and the parched land shall be glad, ” etc. (Isa.
35: 1). Also there, “Then the ransomed
of the Lord will return,
and come to Zion with glad song” (Isa 35:10) etc. “I was jealous
for Zion with great jealousy”
(Zach. 8:2); and also there,
“For as the seed of peace, ” (Zach. 8:12) etc. “Even mount Zion, the
uttermost parts of the north” (Ps. 48:3). “Lord,
in Thy strength” (Ps. 21:2), and also there, “He asked life of you; you gave it
to him. You gave him length of days” (Ps. 21:5). Also
according to the Holy Ari regarding the Mashiach
ben Yosef in
the prayer: “The throne of David”
and according to the Gaon in ! Tikunei Zohar Chadash. “When God returns, etc., we will be like
dreamers” (Ps. 126:1). “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger”
(Ps. 6:2). “Stir up jubilation to
God of our strength” (Ps. 81:2) “He
placed it as testimony in Yosef” (Ps. 87:6), “In distress you called out, and I rescued
you” (Ps. 81:8). “His tabernacle in Shalem” (Ps. 76:3), also there: “He broke the flames of the bow” (Ps. 87:4), etc.
“In you, O Lord, have I put my
trust” (Ps. 31:2). “Because of all my oppressors,
I have become a disgrace” (Ps: 31: 12). “I will exalt You, O Lord, for You have drawn me up from the depths” (Ps. 30:2). “Those
redeemed by the Lord will say it” (Ps. 107:2). “That He might send them His word and heal them” (Ps. 107:20). “The Lord is my light and my salvation”
(Ps. 27:1). “Though a camp should encamp
round about me (Ps. 27:3)
etc., to look upon the goodness of the Lord” (Ps. 27:13),
etc.
In our deeds and with our prayers
we help Mashiach ben Yosef, and by acting
with all our strength when the awakening comes from below, we will achieve the unity of Mashiach
ben Yosef and Mashiach
ben David who
are “the tree of Yosef and the tree of Judah.” At first
they will be in your hands individually, and
afterwards “they will be united in My hand.” The unity of both are the foundation for the unity
of the Holy One blessed
be He and the Shechina, and thus the completion of the Redemption.
We must learn and understand all the aspects,
qualities and various
attributes of Mashiach ben Yosef according
to the approach of the Gaon of blessed
memory who discusses this a great deal in his holy writings about what is revealed, and what concealed, so that we should know the entire road we must travel and all the ways of the
deeds that are before us, because his light and spirit go before us and with us with the help of God.
All the deeds
concerned with ingathering exiles in the Land of Israel in general,
and in Jerusalem in particular, every general and private act, everywhere
of everyone together or separately--all these depend on the existence and success of Mashiach
ben Yosef. The existence and success of Mashiach
ben Yosef depend on the awakening
from below, on the fulfillment of the things and acts that are given and concealed in the 156
qualities, appellations and aspects
of Mashiach ben Yosef as explained
above and below, so that we
participate with all our might in the suffering and special attributes until the highest level of “999
in the sefira Yesod, ” which means the 999 steps of the awakening from below.
It says about that, “the smallest will become a thousand.” that means until the level of 1000, “and the youngest [will
become] a mighty
nation.” The smallest
and youngest refer to Efraim, who is Mashiach ben Yosef. Then “I am the Lord; [even] in its time, I will hasten it.” All in all, there
is a great obligation to pray devoutly
for the life and success
of Mashiach ben Yosef.
Chapter 2
Visualize Zion, the city of our designated time
Your eyes will see Jerusalem a tranquil habitation. To visualize the pleasantness of the Lord and seek deep understanding in His Temple,
Teachings of “Efraim
My firstborn, ” height of his activity.
Cont e n t s :
It is a
commandment and manifold obligation for every man of Israel, for all those engaged in gathering in the exiles,
certainly for anyone who bears any responsibility whatsoever in
administering public affairs in the Holy Land,
even more so anyone engaged in settlement of the Holy Land--all of them must learn to know and understand well, profoundly, and completely, all 156 aspects
and characteristics of the Mashiach of the beginning
of the Redemption, Mashiach ben
Yosef, through whom the ingathering of the
exiles will occur as part of the beginning of the Redemption when the awakening
comes from below.
Below are the 156 aspects and characteristics of Mashiach
ben Yosef, which include
all the appellations and the good qualities involved in the beginning of the Redemption. The number 156 is significant because in gematira the value of
“Yosef” is 156, and so is the value of “Zion.” Both Yosef and Zion are in sefirat
Yesod. According to the Midrash (Tanchuma, end of parsha “Vayegash”), whatever happened to Yosef, happened
to Zion.
1.
[Jer. 31:9] “Efraim is my
firstborn”; [Jer: 31:5] “Mount Efraim, ” [Jer.
31:17] “Efraim wanders”; (Jer. 31:20)
“Efraim is my favorite son” -- all these are basic aspects
of Mashiach ben Yosef that appear
in the same chapter. Efraim is called God’s firstborn, because he is the first Mashiach through whom the ingathering of
the exiles will occur, which means
the exodus from exile. Mount Efraim
is so called because it leads Israel
up to Zion, as we learn from the verse:
“call out from Mount Efraim,
’Rise and let us ascend
to Zion.’” The aspect ‘Efraim
wanders, ’ signifies that Mashiach ben Yosef has no rest, he wanders from north to south,
and from south to north, as written: “wake
up North, and come to the South.” The
initial letters of the 4 Hebrew words, ,
are equal in gematria to the value of
Mashiach ben Yosef (566). “Efraim is my favorite son” is the aspect ‘Lovingkindness, ’ because Efraim
himself is from
the left side,
that means, from the side of Din, and always accepts
influence from the right side, that is, from the quality of Lovingkindness. This is the import of: “and he placed his
right hand on the head of Efraim.”
We are commanded to speak of him constantly: “for whenever I speak
of him, I remember him better” (Jer: 31:20) etc. Efraim is the one who wages war against Armilus.
In gematria, and are equal [331].
All the above-mentioned aspects are in the line of Yosef ben Rachel,
from the land;
thus this chapter
speaks about Rachel--Rachel who
weeps for her
children. “Refrain your voice from
weeping ... they will return from the land of the enemy” refers
to the exodus from exile; “your
children will return to their border” refers to the immigration (ascent)
to Zion.
2.
(Hab. 3:16) “that I might rest in the day of trouble”
-- In his commentary on Habakkuk, the Gaon explains that this
verse refers to Mashiach ben Yosef. Likewise “the Lord
will reply to you on your day of trouble, ” and,
in the same chapter, “the Lord will save his anointed one.” As is known, wherever the term “salvation” appears, it connotes
that characteristic of Mashiach
ben Yosef.
3.
“truth springs up from the land, and righteousness looks down from heaven” (Ps. 85:12) -- The verse refers to
Mashiach ben Yosef from the land, and to righteousness that is based on the quality of Din (Judgment). This is indicated
by the verse that follows
it: “yea, the Lord will give that which is good, and our
land will yield its produce” (Ps. 85:13).
4.
“the stone which the builders
rejected has become the chief cornerstone”
(Ps. 118:22) -- As noted in the Zohar (on Bamidbar), the verse refers
to an aspect of Yosef.
In gematria, the initials of this verse [
] equal [161]. In his blessings to his children, Jacob
said about Yosef: “from there he became the shepherd,
the stone of Israel” [Gen. 49:24].
5.
“[You shall have] a perfect and just weight” (Deut. 25:15) -- According to the Gaon, these words indicated that his first mission was
being the light of Mashiach ben Yosef. Following the command to use a perfect and just weight, we read about wiping out
Amalek, and immediately afterwards, we find: “when you come to the Land” [Deut.
26:1], which is similar
to the verse “when you come to the Land and plant” [Lev. 19:23], etc. All these
are thus related and of equal importance. From this the Gaon learned about his great
mission regarding the revealed end. The Gaon wrote that “a perfect weight” is
a characteristic of Din from the left side. Only when on his way to the Land of
Israel, did the Gaon realize
that he had reached the level of “faithful shepherd”
[appellation of Moshe Rabbeinu] in the verse: [Isa. 54:7] “with abundant
mercy I will gather you.” [Those words,
in gematria, equal the Gaon’s name: ! .] Therefore, the Gaon felt that he did not have the permission of Heaven to enter Eretz Israel. He then directed his
students to act like the aspect of Joshua: that is, to begin fulfilling the obligation of ingathering exiles.
6.
(Ps. 97:11) “light
is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright
of heart” -- This refers to another aspect of Mashiach ben Yosef. As is known, in general a righteous person is
in the line of Yosef. For more details,
see below (#109) concerning “when justice reverts
to righteousness, and all the upright of heart follow
it” [Ps. 94:15].
7.
(Lam. 2: 4) “the tabernacle of the daughter
of Zion” -- This is the middle
line, the line of compassion. Similarly,
the “stone of Israel” is on the right, and the “House
of Jacob” on the left.
8.
(Ps. 22:1) “the first rays of
light before the dawn” -- In this Psalm we find:
“my God, why have you forsaken me, ” which was the prayer of Queen Esther who was from the line of Mashiach ben Yosef. See below (#141). Our Sages said (Yerushalmi: Brachot,
ch. 1) that the redemption of Israel will come about like the first rays of light before the dawn. They were
referring to the beginning of the Redemption, the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef. In connection with this, as an additional explanation of , they also noted and referred to the mystery of
Jacob’s blessing of Naftali: [Gen.
49:21] “a hind let loose.” This is in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef, from the aspect
of “the firstborn
of his ox” [see 11] which is explained
by the Gaon in his commentary on Habakkuk (Ch. 2).
9.
(Ps. 69:36) “God will save Zion
and build the cities of Judah” -- This is similar
to the verse “I was brought low, and he saved me, ” which, according
to the Gaon, was said about Mashiach ben Yosef, and thus is also in the line of Yosef.
10. (Ps. 4:2) “in my distress, you relieved me -- Likewise,
“in distress ... the Lord answered me and brought me relief”
similar to the verse “He placed it as
testimony in Yosef.” Whenever the verb “to call” to God from distress is used, and followed by God answering, this is in the line
of Mashiach ben Yosef.
11.
(Deut. 33:17) “the firstborn of
his ox is glory to him” -- an ox is the aspect of Yosef from the north side, from where Yosef comes when the awakening starts from below.In
Tikunei Zohar it states:
“Mashiach from below
will awaken” (p. 30). See the Gaon’s explanation there. Similarly, in Midrash
Tanchuma (on Genesis), it states that in the verse “those who send forth
an ox to roam freely”
[lit., the leg of an ox], the ox refers
to Mashiach ben Yosef.
See below (Section
85) for the aspect: “His land is blessed by the Lord.”
12.
(Gen. 28:3) “that God Almighty
bless him" [Isaac’s blessing to Jacob when Jacob left for Padan-Aram] -- When spelled
out as pronounced, "# " " becomes , its value equals 1000 minus 1, that is,
999, which is in Yesod, according to the Gaon in his explanation of the Hebrew alphabet (See Extracts of the Gaon). Also see The
gates of heaven on the verse: “that
God Almighty bless etc. The number
999 is the highest level of Mashiach ben Yosef
when the awakening
comes from below, as written:
“the smallest will become a thousand, ” etc.
13. (Ps. 126:6) “he will surely come with rejoicing, bearing his sheaves”
-- According to the Gaon’s
commentary on Habakkuk (Ch. 2), this
verse refers to the two meshichim
because the same verb is used twice,
with a slight modification (lit.: come, he will come). The first one refers to the first mashiach:
Mashiach ben Yosef; the second one, ,
to the last mashiach: Mashiach ben David.
14.
(Ps. 5:4 ) “in the morning, I
will direct my prayer to you, ” and wait expectantly -- The word “morning” is in the line of Mashiach
ben Yosef. In
gematria, equals [643] “as testimony
in Yosef.”
15.
(Gen. 39:5) “the blessing of God ... in the house and in the field” -- This verse was said regarding Yosef. This
blessing is included in the secret of
the six names of God which, together, in gematria equal 156 (26x6). “Yosef”
equals 156, and so does “Zion.”
16.
(Isa. 30:15) “in quietness and
in security will be your might” -- In the same
chapter, we find, “in returning and rest you will be saved.” The meaning of “in quietness” is like the verse “place it ! ‘in the ears of’ Yehoshua.” The word ! in gematria equals
(70). “In returning and rest you will be saved” means ‘heh’ will return
to ‘vau, ’ As it says in the Zohar
about the word ‘Teshuva.’ Then ‘vau’ will return to ‘heh’ as explained
in the Zohar which is the revelation of the Redemption, and in this
manner you will be saved [see 21]. Also, there is a hint of this in the word which in gematria equals
Eretz Israel [832].
17.
(Ov. 1:18 ) “the house
of Jacob shall
be a fire, and the house of Yosef a flame”
-- The House of Esau will be stubble as our Sages said (in Tanchuma on ), because the Angel of Esau
will fall into the hand of the Angel of Yosef.
18.
(Num. 25: ) [ (Num. 25:12)] “ my covenant of peace” -- Both
words are in Yesod and are used in connection with Pinchas, who is from the root of
the soul of Yosef. Mashiach ben Yosef is also from the root
of the soul of Pinchas.
19.
(Ps. 81:8) “in distress you called out, and I rescued you” -- This
relates to the verses “as testimony in Yosef” and “in distress
I called out to the Lord
and He answered me with expansiveness [i.e., by bringing me relief]”
(Ps. 118:5).
20. (Joel 3:5) “among the remnant whom the Lord calls” -- The term ‘remnant’
refers to Mashiach
ben Yosef. In gematria
both and equal 566. In the verse quoted it states: “And it
will be that whoever calls on the name
of the Lord will escape, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be refuge,
and among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”
21. (Isa. 30:15) “in returning
and rest you will be saved” -- That is, when the letter
‘heh’ returns to the letter ‘vau, ’ as explained in the holy Zohar, then the letter ‘vau’ comes down to ‘heh.’
The holy Zohar explains that the Redemption is at ‘vau’ that is after the ‘heh, ’ which refers to Knesset Israel, draws near ‘vau’ during the
awakening from below--this is the mission
of Mashiach ben Yosef in the line of
Yosef son of Rachel. (See above, 16, regarding the aspect, “in quietness and in confidence”).
22. (Ps. 22:1) “the lustre of the dawn and the fleetness
of the dawn” -- Both are in the line of the first Mashiach.
23. (Jer. 31:8) “with entreaties I will lead them” -- The word , which appears in the verse “weeping they will come and
with entreaties I will lead them”
etc., has the same numerical value in gematria as (566). The verse concludes
with “Efraim is my firstborn, ” referring to Mashiach ben Yosef. “With entreaties, ” in order to atone for
the sin noted in “when he entreated us, we did not listen.”
In the holy Zohar we find that the word in gematria
equals [34]. (See below, 27, regarding the aspect, “I was brought
low, and He saved me”).
24. Gavriel -- The angel Michael
mitigates the quality of Din in
Gavriel, because the root of Mashiach ben Yosef is in the line of Gavriel,
meaning the quality of Din, as
it says, “And the man Gavriel” (Daniel 9:21).
Through Gavriel, Yosef fell into distress; and through him, Yosef became great. This is the explanation of my colleague, R’ Saadiah.
25.
(Ps. 103:4) “who redeems your
life from the pit” -- This is preceded by the verse:
“who heals all your diseases.” Redemption is in Yesod hinted at in the numerical value of the letters
of as pronounced: .The value is 1194 as is the value of “His tabernacle [was] in Shalem,
and his dwelling place in
Zion, ” which makes the verses comparable, and thus part of the mission of the Gaon.
26.
(Song 4:12) “like a locked garden ... a
sealed fountain” -- These are in the
line of Tsofnat Paneach. The Gaon
hinted that in gematria equals [156]. This is explained
below in 98 from the aspect of “mystery.”
27.
(Ps. 116:6) “I was brought low,
and He saved me” -- King David, of blessed
memory, said this prayer to save Mashiach
ben Yosef so that the latter would not die, as explained by the Gaon is his work . Mashiach ben Yosef is in the line of Joshua bin Nun.
28. (Es. 9:30) “words of peace and truth” -- That means the unification of
Yesod and Malchut, which is the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef.
29.
(Ps. 20:7) “the Lord has saved
his anointed one” -- The entire Psalm that begins
with “the Lord will answer
you in your day of distress, ” is a prayer
to save Mashiach ben Yosef so that
the latter should not die. This is explained by the Gaon in his commentary on Habakkuk regarding
the verse: “that
I might rest on the day of distress”; and also in connection with !# [Ps. 20:3] “‘your
help from the sanctuary”’ which hints at “Mashiach ben Efraim’” because
it equals it in gematria [741].
30.
(Ps. 126:5) “those
who sow in tears
will reap in joy” -- The footsteps
of the Mashiach will be like this. Every
good thing will come out of pain and
distress. As written, “he who walks
along weeping, bearing the measure of seeds, will certainly return with rejoicing, bearing his sheaves” (Ps. 126:6).
This is in the line of “my sheaf rose and remained
standing.” The verb ‘to come’ appears twice: , referring to the two Meshichim, as explained
by the Gaon in his commentary on Habakkuk.
31.
(Ez. 36:8) “you, mountains of
Israel, will send forth your branch” -- In the
same chapter we find: “...and the cities will be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt” (Ez. 36:10).
Preceding this is the verse: “behold [I have
spoken] in my jealousy.” All these are signs of the revealed end, according to our Sages (Sanhedrin 98a, Megillah 17b), as is also the verse: “for as the earth sends forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes
its seeds to sprout forth,
so will the Lord God cause righteousness and
praise to
sprout forth before the eyes of all the nations” (Isa. 61:11). This was the main aspiration of the Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu.
It is called the ‘revealed’ end after the ‘revealed’
world, from the aspect of Yosef ben Rachel,
and after God who is ‘revealed’ by
the purification of the holiness of
the Holy Land and its fruit from the spirit of the [the Sitra Achra], which is accomplished when fulfilling the commandments pertaining to the Holy Land.
32.
(Ps. 48:3) “Mount Zion on the
sides of the north” -- For it is “fairest of
sites, joy of the whole earth, ” a description similar to what was said about Yosef. According to the Midrash (Tanchuma),
everything that happened to Yosef happened
to Zion. For Mashiach
ben Yosef is
in the North according to the Midrash. Also, in gematria equals [156].
In the same Psalm is the
verse: walk around Zion and encircle her, count her towers, etc. (v. 13), which refers to the five circles of
holiness around Jerusalem.
33.
(Gen. 48:16) “the angel who
redeems me” -- “The angel who redeems” is
the Angel of Yosef. This means that
as soon as Yosef was born, Jacob was
able to overpower Esau. As known, the
redeemer is in Yesod.
34.
(Ps. 111:3) “Hod and
Hadar are His work,
and His righteousness endures forever” -- Hod has the quality of Din. has
the same meaning as in the verse:
like the firstborn of his ox is his glory. Both
Hod and Hadar are in the line
of Mashiach ben Yosef according to
the Gaon, as revealed in the mystery
of the Hebrew alphabet (Likutei Hagr”a, p.40).
35.
(Isa. 60:22) “the smallest will
become a thousand and the youngest a mighty
nation” -- The ‘smallest’ refers to Efraim as is written: “his smaller brother will be more numerous than
he, and his seed will be filled with
nations.” The ‘youngest’ also refers to Efraim. The meaning is that if he reaches the level of 1000 minus one, that is 999 in the sefira Yesod,
which is the final level of the awakening from below, then I am the Lord, [even] in its time, I will
hasten it. The term ‘thousand’ means until 1000 exclusive
of the number 1000, for the thousandth level will be completed
with the clouds of heaven,
completely miraculously.
36.
(Isa. 54:2) “expand
the site of your tent,
” etc. -- The commandment to expand the
borders is the mission of Mashiach ben
Yosef as God had told the prophet Jonah,
who was on the level
of Mashiach ben Yosef, to
restore the
border of Israel (II Kings 14:25). Likewise
the verse: “in distress...in
expansiveness, ” means that it was his mission to expand the boundaries in the war against Amalek, who was the
destroyer, according to the Midrash. “The enemy, the destructions are gone forever” which is related to the verse: “God wages war against
Amalek.” The verb “expands”
is used in opposition to the verb “destroys” [the order of the letters and are in reverse order in the two words].
37.
(Ps. 125:1) “Mount Zion never falters, but abides forever” -- Likewise, a righteous person never falters
(Prov.12:6). As brought in the
Midrash: whatever occurred
to Yosef, occurred
to Zion.
38. (Song 2:12) “the buds were
seen in the land, the songbird’s time has arrived,
and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land” -- This refers to designated missions, designated times and designated people.
The buds are the designated missions, that is, the footsteps of the Mashiach.
The songbird’s time has arrived: these are the designated times, that is, the ends and the times of remembrance. The voice of the songbird
is heard: that is, the designated people,
the special messengers. All of these are included
in the mission of the first Mashiach.The
voice of the turtle-dove is the sound that precedes the turtle-dove. The turtle-dove is Moshe Rabbeinu
who comes with Mashiach
ben David, the final redeemer.
39.
(Gen. 42:8) Yosef recognized
his brothers, but they did not recognize him
-- This is one of the traits of Yosef not only in his own generation, but in every generation, i.e., that Mashiach ben Yosef recognizes his brothers,
but they do not recognize him. This is the work of Satan,
who hides the characteristics of Mashiach
ben Yosef so
that the footsteps
of the Mashiach are not recognized and are even belittled because of our many sins. (See below 103). Otherwise,
our troubles would already have ended.
Were Israel to recognize Yosef, that is, the footsteps
of ben Yosef the Mashiach which
is the ingathering of the exiles etc., then we
would already have been redeemed with a complete
redemption.
40.
(Gen. 49:24) “but his bow was
emplaced firmly” -- This is a basic important
principle for us: we must stand firm and very stiff-necked with regard
to our holy work of gathering in the exiles that will be accomplished by the first Mashiach.
41.
(Gen. 42:6) “now Yosef [was]
the ruler over the land” -- That is, he had
overpowered all the forces of impurity, and this is one of the great
tasks of the first Mashiach -- to eradicate
the spirit of impurity from the land by settling the Holy Land, for the spirit
of impurity rules in the Holy Land where
it is desolate, and this is revealed in the words, [gematria: 832] “and the land will not become desolate.”
Though this was said about Egypt, the
reference was to [gematria: 832] Eretz Israel, in accord with the spirit of Yosef, and as affirmed
in gematria.
42.
(Ps. 76:3) “His tabernacle
[was] in Shalem, and his dwelling place in Zion” -- We have already
explained that all the characteristics of Zion are in the line of Yosef as explained in the
Midrash (Tanchuma, end of the parsha “Vayegash”). The Gaon saw in this verse [gematria
1200] a holy hint regarding
his name including three generations of his family, i.e., ! [gematria 1200]. He adds: Just as the commandment regarding a succah is a command to do something, not to take from what is already
made, so is the commandment regarding Zion.
43.
The upper light (in the Zohar,
and in the Ari’s Book on Gilgulim) -- is the root of Yosef, the root of Metatron the minister of Interior whose value in gematria
is 999. This is the meaning of (Deut. 60:22) “the smallest will become a thousand, ” which was said
regarding Efraim as explained above (#35).
44.
(Deut. 32:7) “remember
the days of old, understand the years of generation
after generation” -- This refers to the first Mashiach who fights Amalek
in an eternal war. The Lord wages war against
Amalek in generation after generation. That is the mission of Joshua who was Mashiach ben Yosef.
45.
(Zach. 8:12) “the seed is of
peace” -- Shalom [peace] is in the sefira Yesod, and therefore the seed of peace
is ben Yosef, and the force of “‘shalom’”
is the one that subdues “Esau.’” In
gematria they are equal (376). We learn this from the verse: “...the
seed is of peace, the vine will give forth its fruit, and the land...its produce.” The gematria relates
this to the revealed end.
46. (Ps. 21:5) “life he requested of You; You gave him length of days” -- This was said about Mashiach ben Yosef, as explained at length in the works of the holy Ari, in the section on intentions. This is one of the
prayers included in the Psalms,
that King David
of blessed memory
prayed for the life of Mashiach
ben Yosef.
47.
([mentioned in] Ex. 17:13) “the sword of Joshua” -- This is the sword of the first Mashiach who fights Amalek as revealed in the great force of the name of God that is concealed in the
words “the war of the Lord” and in
the combination of two names of God, "" (value of 91), that is also the value of the word [91] go out,
used in connection with fighting Amalek.
48.
(Isa. 33:20) “visualize Zion, the city of our designated times” -- This is in the line of Rachel,
as hinted at in the initial letters
of the verse: , which in gematria
[value: 238] equals
[238]. It refers
to Mashiach ben Yosef. The holy Ari
considered this verse a hint that his own name was that of Mashiach
ben Yosef (as brought in the section on gilgulim
and in the section on kavanot in Pri Etz Chaim on the prayer beginning “and the throne of David,
your servant” in the Amidah.
49.
(Ps. 16:6) “lots...in pleasant
places” -- This refers to the lot of the first
Mashiach.This is also hinted
at in the verse: [ ] (Ez. 47: 13) two
lots for Yosef.
50. “the wisdom of scribes” (See
! Tikunei
Zohar, Tikun 70, the Gaon’s commentary there) -- One of the matters listed by our Sages as connected with the footsteps
of the Mashiach is that the wisdom of the scribes
will stink (Sotah, 49). The Gaon explains in Tikunei Zohar (p. 139)
that this refers to the wisdom in gematria hints, in the mystery of the chariot, and in numerology (commentary
of the Gaon in Tikunei Zohar, p. 5), that are revealed by Mashiach
ben Yosef. These are the mission of Rabbi Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon,
the light of Mashiach ben Yosef, who, as is known suffered
greatly from derision regarding this.
51.
Good is in the sefira Yesod -- See the explanation of the Gaon regarding “tet” in the sefira Yesod: “whoever sees good in a dream, ” etc. This is a trait of Yosef, about whom it says: “A
good eye will be blessed.” It is 999 in the sefira Yesod
( Likutei Hagr’a, p.41).
52. “what is hidden is good” or “the North is good” -- according to the verse
(Ps. 31:20) “how abundant is
your goodness that you have hidden away” or “...that you have placed in the North.” This is the same aspect
as mentioned above. The Gaon
explains in the Song of Songs that
the verse refers to the northern side, where all the good things are, as
explained in the Midrash where it states that Mashiach ben Yosef is in the North.
53.
(Prov. 22:9) “one who has a
good [bountiful] eye will be blessed” -- (in
Likutei Hagr’a). That means 999 in the sefira Yesod, which refers to Yosef, as explained above, because he gave of his bread to the poor.
54. “Yosef, son of Rachel and
son of Jacob” -- Mashiach ben Yosef from two aspects: as son of Rachel from the
land, and as son of Jacob from heaven. Sometimess both aspects are combined:
Yosef, son of Jacob and Rachel.
-- “even all in the Heavens and Earth.” In gematria has the same value as Yesod [80],
55. (Ex. 17:16) “the hand is on the throne
of God” [God swears]: “the Lord wages war against
Amalek from generation to generation” -- This is the mission
of Joshua who is Mashiach ben Yosef.
56.
“the unification of Yesod and Malchut” -- This is one of the principal missions
of Mashiach ben Yosef:to unify heaven and earth, to unify the two
meshichim, which means the tree of
Yosef with the tree of Judah during
the awakening from below with the joining of Jerusalem above with Jerusalem below by a rebuilt
Jerusalem. Then it will be like a
city that is united together
(Ps. 122:3).
57.
(Ps. 118:18) “God has chastened
me considerably, but has not given me
over to death.” The entire Psalm, that begins with “in distress, I called out to the Lord, ” was said about Mashiach ben Yosef, as explained below (#88), from the aspect
of the expansiveness on the part of God.
In this sense it is connected to the verse: “I was brought low, and He saved me, ” according to the
commentary of the Gaon, as explained
below. This is one of the prayers that King David, of blessed memory,
prayed so that Mashiach
ben Yosef would
not die.
58.
(Gen. 42:6) “Yosef [was/is] the
ruler over the land” -- This refers to the fact that Yosef overpowers all the outer
layers of impurity
of Ismael and Esau.
59.
(Ps. 72:17) “may his
name be perpetuated” -- “may his
name be perpetuated forever, for as long as the sun endures.” In that
same Psalm we find: “may the righteous
flourish in his days, abundant
peace beyond the days of the moon” [Ps. 72:7]. According to our Sages
(Sanhedrin 98b)., the word is one of the names of mashiach, that is, it refers to Mashiach ben Yosef.
60.
(Jer. 31:16) “there is hope
regarding your end... and your
children will return to their
border” -- The entire Psalm, particularly from the verse beginning “behold I am bringing you from the North” was said
about Mashiach ben Yosef and the ingathering of the exiles. Four traits of Efraim are mentioned in the Psalm (as explained above in 1 on
“Efraim is My firstborn”), and all
of them are from the aspect of Yosef ben Rachel,
which means when the awakening comes from below until the final level of 999 in the sefira Yesod, which is divided into two:
499 1/2 on the left, the quality of Din; and 499 1/2 on the right, the
quality of Lovingkindness. This is the meaning of “the smallest will
become a thousand...” as explained above. Then the number 1000 will be completed
on both sides when there will be [] 500 in vau, and [] 500 in heh. This is what is meant by .
61. (Ps. 110:6) He will judge the nations filled with corpses -- The
entire Psalm, beginning with “Sit on
my right” was said about Mashiach ben Yosef, whose name is hinted at in the
initial letters of the words going from
left to right, just like the quality of Din
starts at the left side. It is also written in this Psalm,
from a river along the way he will drink.
This refers to the quality
of Lovingkindness, which is hinted at in the initial letters from right to left, just as the quality of
Lovingkindness starts at the right side.
62.
Joshua bin Nun -- together with Mashiach
ben Efraim who wages war against
Amalek. Akiba ben Yosef is in the
line of Joshua, and this is affirmed
in gematria [391]. Likewise, it
states [Ps. 132:6] “we heard about it in Efrata, ” which refers to
Joshua from the tribe of Efraim (Zevachim
54b).
63.
(Isa. 14:32) “for God founded Zion, and in it the poor of his people take shelter” -- Yosef and Zion are in the sefira Yesod. Their rebuilding comes
through poverty according to the trait of Mashiach
ben Yosef, like the verse “I was brought
low, and He saved me, ” and as it says, “in weeping
they will come, and with entreaties I will lead them, ” as explained above (#23)--from the aspect of entreaties I will lead them.
64.
(Isa. 40:3) “make a straight
path in the desert” -- The initial letters of
these words from left to right hint at Mashiach ben Yosef. As is known,
all the activities concerned with preparing the way and paving the road for the Redemption are part of the
mission of Mashiach ben Yosef. “in the
desert” hints at the revealed end; they are equal in gematria [279]. With this, the Gaon hinted to me
concerning my mission from heaven, with the help of God.
65.
(Isa. 42:13) “like a man of war
he will stir up zealousness” -- All war waged against
enemies of God occur as part of the mission
of Mashiach ben Yosef. The first one given this mission was
Joshua bin Nun. The term means
zealousness on behalf of God and Zion, and indeed, in gematria the value
of is 156, as is the value of .
66. (Ps. 102:14) “for it is the time to favor her” -- The Psalm also
states: “You will have mercy on
Zion.” All matters of mercy and comfort for Zion are part of the mission
of Mashiach ben Yosef, and this is hinted at in the gematria of the words
which equal [643].
67.
(Isa. 9:6) “David’s throne” --
This refers to Mashiach ben Yosef.In
the same verse we find: “to establish
it and sustain it through justice and righteousness.” Preceding this verse, the Psalm states:
“for a child has been born to us” etc. According to the holy Ari (on the blessing
)[see 127], there is a great and holy obligation when we say the prayer
that we always concentrate on praying that Mashiach ben Yosef will not be killed by the wicked Armilus. As it says: “I will raise [] the fallen tabernacle of David” (Amos 9:11). Wherever
the verb is used, it refers to Mashiach ben Yosef. See above (#133) about the aspect of “My sheaf rose.” This idea is also hinted at in the
world (with a )which is equal to 566
[as is ]. The purpose of his work in
gathering in the exiles is to establish
David’s throne in our war against the wicked Armilus as revealed in the verse “the Lord wages war against
Amalek.”
68.
(Isa. 61:10) “like a bridegroom
who adorns himself with splendor” -- Adornment
is part of the mission of Mashiach
ben Yosef from
the aspect of Yosef ben Jacob in the sefira Tiferet.
69. (I Chron. 29:11) “even all in the Heavens and Earth”
-- That is, in the sefira Yesod in the line of Yosef. The words in gematria equal [80]. Likewise, in gematria the words equal . [741] Mashiach
ben Efraim..
70. (Isa. 44:28) “he will fulfill all my
desires” -- This was said about Jerusalem by Ezra and Nehemiah as part of
the mission by Cyrus as noted in this Psalm: “who says of Cyrus, ‘he is My shepherd,
’ he will
fulfill all my desires,
and who says of Jerusalem ‘it will be built, ’ and of the
Temple ‘it will be established.’” All this will be according to the quality of Din from the left side, as the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef.
71.
(Malachi 3:24) “the heart of fathers to the children” -- “Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet, ” etc. and he will return the heart of fathers to the children.” One of his missions is to revive the soul of Mashiach ben Yosef.This is hinted at in the words which is equal
to the value of [643],
and as is known, Messiah ben Yosef
is from the root of the soul of Elijah.
72.
(Isa. 28:6) “counterattack” [lit.: return the war to the gate] -- The word is composed of the initial
letters of Mashiach ben Yosef, whose
mission it is to wage war against
Amalek in the gates of Jerusalem at the entrance
to the city.
73.
(Ps. 24:3) “who may ascend the Lord’s
mountain” -- The initial letters
of the first three words are the initial
letters of Mashiach ben Yosef [though not in the same order], whose duty it was to gather in the
exiles. Likewise the initial letters
of [in that same verse] “who may rise within
His holy place” are the initial letters of Mashiach ben Yosef .The term refers to building from the aspect ofô My sheaf rose.ö
The words [24:5]
“he will receive a blessing from the Lord, ” also begins with the
initial letters of Mashiach ben Yosef. The word ‘blessing’ refers to planting, which can be affected by a blessing.
The initial letters
of the noun form of the second words in the three
quotations just mentioned, that is, ' ' , form
the word , and thus refer to the direction of the footsteps of the Mashiach
.
74.
(Ps. 31:12) “because of all my
enemies, I became a disgrace” -- The entire
Psalm is one of the prayers that King David, of blessed memory, prayed
on behalf of Mashiach ben Yosef, as it says: “you have known of the
troubles of my soul” [Ps. 31:8]. Similarly, we find written in connection with Yosef: “because
we have seen the distress
of his soul, I was forgotten like a corpse from the
heart. "how abundant is your goodness that you placed in the North []
for those who fear you.” The word
indicates that this refers to Mashiach
ben Yosef, because he is from the
north [ ]. See above (#52) on the aspect “the North is good.” It says about the footsteps of the Mashiach, “for they have taunted the footsteps
of Your Mashiach” (Ps. 89:52).
75.
admonish to repent. -- not only Israel, but also the other nations, in
the line of the prophet Jonah, who
was the Mashiach ben Yosef in his generation, as explained in midrashim and
in the holy Zohar. As is written:
(Isa. 2:4) he will admonish many peoples; also, [ ] (Prov. 24:25) “for the admonishers it will be pleasant, and a good blessing will come upon them”; and also, (Isa. 11:4) “and admonish righteously the humble of the earth.”
76.
(II Sam. 22:34) “who made my legs like the hinds’” -- ‘My legs like those
of hinds, ’ refers to both meshichim who
lament in Netzach and
Hod and stand in the
gates of rebuilt Jerusalem. It is the
mission of Mashiach ben Yosef to make these legs, the legs
of the footstool of God in an equal and righteous manner
499 for the left section
and 499 for the right section--together 999 in Yesod.
77. ( Gen. 49:24) “by the hand
of the Mighty Power of Jacob; from there he
became the shepherd, the stone of Israel” -- This is the blessing of Yosef with regard
to the existence of Mashiach ben Yosef. The
meaning is like the verse “ one stone has 7 eyes [apertures]” (The Holy Zohar on
Numbers, p. 243).
78.
(Ex. 17:16) “God wages war against Amalek from generation to generation” -- All
this is the task of Joshua, who was Mashiach
ben Yosef, and this task has continued in every generation and has become
more and more difficult in the footsteps of Mashiach ben Yosef,
and this is the war against Armilus
(as explained above in 67 from the aspect of David’s throne).
79.
a fountain of salvation. -- This is in line with joy according to our Sages
(Succah 48), and refers to Mashiach ben Yosef. So in gematria equals Mashiach
ben Yosef [566]. The Gaon told us that if he had been created solely
in order to comprehend what our Sages
meant (Ibid.) with regard to joy and happiness -- he would
be satisfied.
80.
(Gen. 49:10) “nor a lawgiver
from among his descendants” -- In the line of Yesod this is said about
Mashiach ben Yosef. This
is the explanation of the
Gaon in Tikunei Hazohar (p. 36).
There it is written: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver
from among his descendants”
refers to the fact that both meshichim will
exist in every generation.
81.
(Isa. 52:7) “he announces
salvation” -- In that chapter, we find the words
“the footsteps of the herald, ” which refer to both meshichim. But the verse, “he announces salvation, ” is written
in the singular form because
it refers to Mashiach
ben Yosef. This
is so, because whenever salvation during the footsteps of Mashiach appears, it refers to the mission of Joshua bin Nun and the mission
of Mashiach ben Yosef. This is explained by the Gaon in his
commentary on the verse “I will bear the cup of salvation.”
82. (Num. 17:20) “his staff will
blossom” -- Note the hints in this verse: the
man I choose . The initial
letters of the last three words [ ' ' ] are the initials of [ ' '] Mashiach ben Yosef, though in a
different order. In addition,
in gematria equals
[358].
83.
(Isa. 32:20) “those that send forth the ox to roam freely” -- The Midrash (Tanchuma on
Genesis) explains that in , the ox refers to Mashiach ben Yosef. [See 11.] Preceding these
words, in the same sentence, we find: “happy are those who sow every wet place.” Also,
in the same chapter it says:
“and my people will dwell in a peaceful habitation and in secure dwellings
and in tranquil resting places”
[Isa. 32:18].
84.
“brings a redeemer” -- This is the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef. Redemption
is in the sefira Yesod, which is
hinted at in the gematria of the word (see the GaonÆs commentary on Tikunei Zohar).
85.
(Deut. 33:13) “his land is
blessed by the Lord” -- This was said in the
blessing of Yosef. It is on
the right side, in opposition to “the firstborn of his ox is his glory” which is on the left side, the quality of Din.
This is explained above as a matter of balanced measures. In gematria equals
[985].
86.
(Lam. 1:16) “a comforter to
restore my soul” -- This is one of the appellations
of mashiach according to our Sages (Sanhedrin 98b), by comparison with the verse: “and the soul
of the child was restored to his insides,
” which was said about Mashiach
ben Yosef and
according to what is explained in the Tosafot (Baba Metzia
114a).
87.
(Midrash Rabba) “Mashiach
in the North” -- This refers to Mashiach ben Yosef who is in the North on the left
side which is the quality of Din. Similarly, the verse: “how abundant is
your goodness that you have placed in the North for those who fear you, as explained above (#52)
from the aspect “the North is good.” See the Gaon’s commentary on the Song of Songs,
where he explains
that indicates the northern side.
88.
“expansiveness” -- (Ps. 118:5)
“in distress I called out to the Lord, he answered me with expansiveness” [i.e., he brought
me relief] -- Likewise,
(Ps. 31:9) “You set my feet in a wide
space.” Also there, (Ps 31:20) “how
great is your abundance that you have placed in the north for those who fear you [see 19]. Similarly, (Ps. 81:8) “in distress you called
out, and I rescued you, I answered you, ” etc.
Also there, (Ps. 81:6) “as
testimony in Yosef.” (Ps. 126) [118:5] from “distress” to “expansiveness.” Likewise, (Isa. 54:2) “expand the site of your tent, ” which is the task of Mashiach ben Yosef to restore the border of Israel which is the mission of the prophet
Jonah who was Mashiach
ben Yosef as explained above (#36), from the
aspect of “expand the site of your tent.”
Merchavia is one of the appellations of Eretz Israel, and this is revealed in the letters of the line of Mashiach ben Yosef as revealed by the word: the expanses of the river,
because now God has expanded
us, and we have multiplied in the land (Likutei Hagra revealed in the letters
and the explanation there), and it reveals the secret concealed in (I Kings 17:21) “please return this child’s
soul.” This is also the intent of the verse (Jer. 31:16)
“your children will return to their border,
” that is, after returning
from the enemy’s land, they will return to their own border.
89. “equal measures”
-- Mashiach ben David will not come until all measurements are equal [/accurate]. Mashiach ben David will
not come until all the prices are equal (Sanhedrin 98a). This is related to the equally measured
gardens mentioned by our Sages.
90.
(Jer. 32:12) Neriah -- This is
one of the names of Mashiach ben Yosef. In gematria equals [265]. See below
(#96) from the aspect of the revealed book. Likewise, the verse (Ps. 132:17) “I have prepared
a lamp for My anointed.”
91.
(Ps. 126:6) “bearing the measure of seeds” -- This is a characteristic of Mashiach
ben Yosef--going from distress to salvation--as explained by the Gaon in his commentary on Habakkuk
regarding the verse: “that I might
rest on the day of distress” [Hab. 3:16]
[see 2]. Likewise, other verses:
“it is a time of distress for Jacob, from which he will be saved”; “in distress” till “expansiveness”; “its weepers will become joyful”; “the bearer
of sheaves will come in joy.” These
are from the aspect “my
sheaf rose.” The entire Psalm speak of the return
to Zion, i.e., the ingathering of exiles, and that is the mission
of Mashiach ben Yosef.
92.
pursued -- “God always seeks the pursued” as is written (Koh. 3:15) “what has been, already
exists; and what is to be, has already been; and God always seeks the pursued.” The pursued is the Mashiach
ben Yosef who appears in every generation. I have already explained that there are hints in the words “God always seeks the
pursued.” The hints are revealed through
gematria, for the words equal [832] which is epitomized by Zion, which is in the line
of Yosef according to the Midrash (Tanchuma on the parsha “Ki Tezeh”):
whatever occurred to Yosef, occurred
to Zion.
93.
(Ps. 31:13) “like the dead, I have been forgotten from the heart”
-- In the same Psalm we
find: “how abundant is the goodness that you have placed in the North for those who fear you, ” etc. Also in the same Psalm, we find: “you set my feet in a wide space.”
He was forgotten like a dead man from the heart, means: he was
forgotten from the heart-- from the
heart of Jacob, because there is a decree regarding the dead that he is forgotten from the heart of a person, though
not from his soul. Therefore, it is written about Jacob, “and he refused to be comforted.”
94. “a youth” -- (Gen. 37:2) “and he was a youth” -- Four
individuals were given the appellation ’ youth’: Yosef, Joshua, Metatron,
and David.
95.
“a man’s soul is the lamp of the Lord”
(Prov. 20:27) -- The words
“lamp of the Lord” include
the union of the three names of God: ' '. Altogether, in gematria, they equal [250]. Their uniqueness comes from the mystery of the sefira Yesod.
96.
the unsealed deed in Anatot” (Jer. 32)
-- The two deeds mentioned in this
chapter refer to the two meshichim. The open deed refers to Mashiach ben Yosef who
is from the aspect of the revealed
world . This is the mystery of the revealed
end mentioned by our Sages.
The sealed deed is from the aspect
of Mashiach ben Dav id from
the aspect of the h idden world . The unsealed deed is related
to the four aspects o f Efraim
as noted above (#1) in the discussion o f the aspect “ Efraim is My firstborn
, ” and this is the in tention of the revealed
end.
97.
(Gen. 28:12) “a ladder was set
on the Land and its top reached to Heaven”
-- This is a quality of Yosef as known: whatever occurred to Jacob, occurred to Yosef, that all his deeds are in the awakening from
below and he is
helped by Heaven. See above (#69),
for the aspect “even everything in
the Heavens and Earth” [1 Chron. 29:11]. For Mashiach ben Yosef has two aspects: the
aspect of Yosef ben Rachel, and the aspect of Yosef ben Jacob.
98.
“the secret of the Lord is for those who fear him” (Ps. 25:14)
-- Whenever the word is
mentioned, it refers to the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef as hinted at in the verse: “place
it into the ears of Joshua.” In gematria, ! in the ears of, equals [70] and when the value
of the letters of as pronounced are added up [i.e., ' '], they equal [566].
99. (Song 4:16) “North, wake up;
South, come” -- In gematria, the initial letters of the words:
equal [566] Mashiach ben Yosef who
first awakens in the North. As it states in the Midrash: The mashiach is in the North. Therefore the beginning of the ingathering of the exiles is from the land of the north, as is written:
“behold, I will bring them from the land of the North” (Jer. 31:7). In the same chapter
we find: “Efraim is My firstborn, ”
and “call out on Mount Efraim, ’Rise and let us go up to Zion’” (Jer. 31: 5) etc., as explained above (#1), in
the discussion of the aspect “Efraim is My firstborn.”
100. (Jer. 30:7) “it is a time of distress for Jacob, from which he will be saved” -- All of this refers to Mashiach ben Yosef, as explained by the Gaon on Habakkuk on the verse: “that I
might rest on the day of distress.” Wherever the term salvation
occurs, it refers to the mission of Joshua bin Nun, who is in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef with
his great strength. This is revealed in the number 999 in the sefira Yesod in opposition
to “it is a time of distress for Jacob.” This is affirmed in gematria [this verse equals 999]: “from
which he will be saved” means that from it, with the strength
of this number, he will be saved.
101. (Ez. 37:19) the wood of Yosef -- This refers to Mashiach ben Yosef for the
entire Redemption depends on the unification of the two pieces of wood: the wood of Yosef and the wood of
Judah (as it states in this chapter). They are the two meshichim: Mashiach ben Yosef and
Mashiach ben David, who at
first, i.e., when the Redemption starts naturally
from below, will be separate individuals in “your hand” [Ez. 37:17].
Afterwards, they will become one in “My hand” [Ez. 37:19], the hand of God--that is, miraculously, with the help of the clouds
from Heaven.
102.
(Ez. 37:16) the wood of Efraim û This is the wood of Yosef. In the same verse we find Yosef is the wood of
Efraim. Regarding this, the Gaon added a hint that in gematria equals
, the ingathering of exiles.
103.
(Ps. 89:52) the footsteps of your Mashiach --
In the verse “who taunted
the footsteps of your Mashiach.” Wherever footsteps of mashiach are mentioned, they refer to the mission of the first Mashiach, Mashiach ben Yosef.As is known, the enemies of God and the enemies
of Israel cause
trouble to the entire process of the beginning of the Redemption that occurs in the footsteps of the Mashiach. In the Psalm, it states regarding
this matter: “who taunted the footsteps of your Mashiach” [Ps. 89:52]. Our Sages have already enumerated
all the tribulations that come
during the footsteps of the Mashiach.
We have no one to lean on except our Father in Heaven and His will that we occupy ourselves
with the awakening
from below, and stand firmly against all disturbances and taunts.
We must act in the spirit of Eitan HaEzrachi, who is our forefather Abraham,
and according to a parable
of the Gaon (as explained in Chapter 1), the first Mashiach ben Yosef. The Gaon added the hint in the verse:
“How will I know that I will inherit it .” The word ‘’ in gematria
equals [566].
104.
“the footsteps of the Mashiach”
-- They are called footsteps for two reasons;
one, because they come step by step; two, because all the special attributes of the Redemption come
like the heels of a person , indirectly,
in a roundabout way, so that impure layers do not fasten themselves securely.
105.
(Isa. 26:1) “the city is a
stronghold for us; He will grant salvation to its high walls and outer wall.”
-- There is a strong
tower against the enemy, like the words in the verse: ”out of the mouths of babes and those who nurse, you established strength.” The term salvation
and ! strength are in the sefira Yesod. ’City’ is
in the line of Malchut. Together they unite Yesod and Malchut, which means the city will
become united together, which will
take place in rebuilt Jerusalem. So
Efraim is referred to as the “stronghold of my head.”
106.
(II Chron. 31:21) “he acted and
he succeeded” -- This is one of the characteristics
and special attributes of Yosef, that his success comes only by doing, as it says about Yosef: “everything that he did,
the Lord made succeed in his hand”
(Gen. 39:3.. The Gaon added that there is a
hint to this in the fact that the verse:
, equals 613 in gematria.
107.
(Gen. 2:9) “the tree of
knowledge of good and evil” -- Both are in the
sefira Yesod. As is known, the decision between them
depends on a hairbreadth.
108.
[Gen.: 45:26]) “Joseph is still alive” -- All are in the sefira Yesod, and within these words are concealed the essence of the existence
and life of Mashiach ben Yosef as well as the existence
of Mashiach ben David. For as long as Yosef is still alive, King David of Israel is
still alive and exists. Therefore, we pray daily for the life of Mashiach
ben Yosef in
the prayer that contains the
words: “the throne of David, your servant, ” in the blessing “who builds Jerusalem.” This is explained above (#67) from the aspect of David’s throne (see above,
chapter 1, section 21). The Gaon, who was the light of Mashiach ben Yosef used to pray daily
the prayer “Yosef is still alive” for
all 999 footsteps of the Mashiach during the beginning of the Redemption depend on
him. When saying this prayer the Gaon would mention also the
merit of the his own great- grandfather, Rabbi Eliyahu Chasid,
who was Mashiach ben Yosef in
his generation. This is the meaning of the verse about Efraim:
“I will yet remember him” that is, the characteristic of “Yosef is still alive.”
109.
(Ps. 94:15) “justice will
revert to righteousness, and all the upright of heart will follow it” -- Both are in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef, as is written: “righteousness and justice are
the foundation of his throne.” Establishing the throne, David’s
throne, is the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef, as explained above (#67) from the aspect
of “the throne of David,
your servant.” The Gaon added a hint to this. The words in gematria equal Eretz Israel [832]. The term “righteousness” is also used in connection with Cyrus, who was in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef: “I awakened
him with righteousness” [Isa. 45:13].
110. (Ex. 13:19) the bones of Yosef -- This contains the secret of the independence of Mashiach ben Yosef. From
here we learn that all the qualities
and special attributes come not only from the channel of abundance in the sefira Yesod, but also from his own nature. His nature is connected with the final complete Redemption of Mashiach
ben David that will come together with Moshe
Rabbeinu, the final redeemer. This is what is meant by: “and Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him.”
111. (Ps. 122:3) “a city that is united together” -- That is, the complete connection between Jerusalem above and
Jerusalem below. When will this occur?
When Jerusalem will be rebuilt,
as stated in the same verse.
This connection
will be brought about by the two meshichim who are like the feet of God--Netzach
and Hod-- as written in this
Psalm: “our feet stood within your gates, O Jerusalem.” And the building
of Jerusalem below is the mission of Mashiach
ben Yosef, and
this entails establishing David’s throne, as it says in the prayer about the rebuilding of Jerusalem. See above (#67)
on the aspect “David’s throne.”
112.
(Koh. 10:20) “for a bird of the
skies will carry the sound, and some winged
creature will relate the matter” -- This was said about Metatron, the Minister of Interior, as brought in Tikunei Zohar.He is the Angel of Mashiach
ben Yosef.The word hints at , and in gematria the two words are equal [156].
113.
(Jer. 5:1) “one who executes
justice, who seeks faithfulness” -- That verse
states: “wander about the streets of Jerusalem ..., if you see a man, ” like Gabriel, who seeks faithfulness, as revealed in the words:
“a faithful city” [Isa. 1:21] which precedes:
“Zion will be redeemed
through justice” (Isa. 1:27). Similarly,
“a righteous person lives by his faith” (Hab. 2:4). With
regard to the verse: “one who executes justice, who seeks faithfulness, ” our Sages explained that it refers to men
of faith [they also explained that it refers
to men of truth] in Jerusalem.
114.
(Zach. 9:9) “a lowly person,
riding on a donkey” -- (Midrash Tanchuma on
Bereshit) Mashiach ben Yosef
is a lowly
person, see above
(#27), on the aspect of “I was brought low, and he
saved me.” His lowliness protects him from death..
115. (Deut. 11:12) “the eyes of the Lord your God are
always on it, from the beginning of the year till the end of the year” -- The word “eyes”
in plural form refers to the two meshichim. The beginning of the year refers to Mashiach ben Yosef who
is the quality of Din; the
end of the year refers
to the month of mercy -- to Mashiach
ben David, who is the quality of Mercy. “The eye of the Lord is on those who fear
him, who await his lovingkindness"
[Ps. 33:18]. This is from the aspect of Mashiach
ben Yosef. This is what is meant by (Job 8:8) inquire now of the first generation. The word equals
[566].
116. Ezra and Nehemia-- ! Ezra Nehemia
are from the aspect of . In gematria, they are the same [391], as noted by the
Gaon in his hints: Joshua is Mashiach ben Yosef. Likewise, Ezra and Nehemia had the mission
of Mashiach ben Yosef. We have already explained
that the entire
beginning of
the final Redemption, all its details, even minor details, of all the work during the footsteps of the Mashiach--all are included in the mission of Ezra and Nehemia, as occurred
during the time of Cyrus, during the Second Temple
period.
117.
(Ps. 81:6) “He placed it as
testimony in Yosef when He went forth over the
land of Egypt -- This means that the rulership of Yosef overcomes every impure spirit,
and the task of Mashiach ben Yosef is
to drive away the
impure spirit from the Land by gathering in the exiles, rebuilding Jerusalem, and planting the desolate areas. Thus the Gaon hinted
at the following principles: Return to your cities -- in gematria
these words equal a testimony in Yosef [643]; likewise, [643] build Jerusalem; likewise [643] for the time has come to favor it [/to plant it]. The word
means planting, as is written , which means planting a desolate place. See above (#73) on the aspect “who will
ascend the mountain of God” (in
connection with this too, see the Gaon’s hint regarding his own mission:
in gematria equals
[479].
118.
(Isa. 35:10) “the redeemed [ransomed] of the Lord will return,
and come to Zion with glad song” -- Whenever
redeem is mentioned, it refers to the
mission of Mashiach ben Yosef through
whom the exiles will be gathered in,
as explained by the Gaon at length in his paper on the secret of the letters (Likutei
Hagra). From this we learn that
the main ingathering of exiles is not less that 600, 000, according
to the interpretation of our Sages regarding this verse (Masechet Shabbat
88a) in connection with the two crowns and the Golden Calf and the atonement for the sin. With regard to the verse: “they will obtain joy and happiness, ” our Sages said (Succah 48b). The Gaon commented about this verse,
that had he been born solely to understand the meaning of the Talmud on this matter, he would have
considered it worthwhile. In essence,
the verse speaks about the two meshichim.
119.
(Ps. 116:16) “You have released
my bonds” -- This was said in connection
with “I was brought low and He saved me, ” that was mentioned in the previous chapter as referring to Mashiach ben Yosef, according to the Gaon. Likewise in connection with “You have released my sack and girded me with joy.” See
above (#27), on the aspect of: “I was brought
low, and He saved me.”
120.
(Jer. 1:15) “the entrance of Jerusalem’s gates”
-- This is the entrance
of the city where our Sages maintained would be the main battle
of the two
meshichim against the Angel of Esau. This is a revelation explaining the verse: from Emeq Achor to [999] (Hos. 2:17), which is 999 in the sefira Yesod, as well as in gematria.
This is the explanation of the Gaon regarding
the mystery of the Hebrew alphabet in connection with the line of Yosef in the revelation of “a good
eye [bountiful man] will be blessed.” It is divided
into two: 499 on the left side, and 499 on the right side as revealed
by the fact that there will be two armies, and in gematria this is 999 footsteps of the Mashiach as is known. This is the beginning of the completion of the 500 in vau on the right and 500 in on the left. This is what is meant that
“there is hope regarding your end, ” that is said regarding Mashiach ben Yosef, as
explained above (#60) on the aspect “there is hope regarding your
end” [Jer. 31:16]. This is the beginning of the victory
and the fulfillment of the commandments dependent on living in Eretz Israel. This is the Gaon’s explanation of the verse mentioned above: Emeq Achor to
Petach Tikva (as explained below in
Chapter 5). (Deep revelations about
this matter, etc., were explained to me by the Gaon privately, etc.).
The entrance of
the city, which is located halfway between the area of the walls and the area of the gates on the west on a place referred
to as ôthe top of the hill, ö as written: ôupon your walls, O
Jerusalem, I have posted guardsö
[Isa. 62:6]. The plural form [guards] is used to refer to two meshichim.
121.
(Prov. 11:8) “a righteous
person is rescued from trouble” -- Likewise,
“Mount Zion will not collapse, it will always be inhabited” (Ps. 125:1).
Wherever the term righteous person is mentioned in general, that is, when it does not refer
to a specific person, then it is in the line of Yosef the righteous person. See above (#32) on the aspect “Mount
Zion.” Likewise, “a righteous person
will flourish like a palm tree” (Ps. 92:13).
Whenever a righteous person is mentioned, it is in the line of Yosef the righteous person. Similarly, ’it will blossom, ’ in the sense of “his staff will blossom, ” refers to Mashiach ben Yosef. This is affirmed in gematria
where equals mashiach [358]. See above (#82) on the aspect “his staff will blossom.”
122. (Gen. 41:45) Tsofnat Paneach “one
who explains what is hidden”
-- This was said about Yosef, and it is one of the missions of Mashiach ben Yosef that in every generation he explains the hints in the
Torah, especially as the footsteps
of the Mashiach
come nearer, as is known.
123.
(Ps. 89) [97:2] “his throne is established on righteousness and justice” -
- Similarly,
“establish the throne of David within it quickly.” A sign that this is so, is that in gematria equals
[832] Eretz Israel. See above (#67) for more details on the aspect “David’s
throne.” This is revealed in the mystery
of as explained by the Gaon in his commentary on Tikunei Zohar.
124.
(Isa. 1:27) “Zion will be redeemed through
justice and those who return
to her through righteousness” -- Zion is the light of Yosef as is known: whatever occurred to Yosef, occurred to
Zion. Wherever the term redeem
[or ransom] is used, it is in the line of the first Mashiach. As the Gaon hinted: in gematria, equals [920]. This is explained above (#118) on the aspect “the redeemed
of the Lord will return.”
125.
“a righteous sprout” -- in the verse (Jer. 23:5) “I will raise a righteous sprout from David.” A righteous sprout
refers to the first mashiach, Mashiach ben Yosef. Like David’s throne,
as explained above, it prepares the way for Mashiach ben David. We
are greatly obligated to pray on his behalf that he not be killed in the war by Armilus.
Therefore we focus on this daily in the Amidah
prayer that includes:
“the sprout of David”
and “raise his horn in your salvation.” All this is revealed in the mystery of the words: “the horns of an ox.” At the conclusion of
the blessing it states: “who causes to sprout ’the horn of salvation’” which
in gematria equals Mashiach
ben Efraim (741).
We also have to focus on this
number. See below (#135) on the
aspect “a scepter has risen in Israel” [Num. 24:17].
126. (Hab. 2:4) “a righteous person lives by his faith”
-- See above (#113) for the
aspect “one who executes justice, who seeks faithfulness.” From this we learn of the promise that Mashiach ben Yosef will live also because of the merit of men of faith
[also, men of truty] and a faithful city [also, a city of truth].
Additional proof of the promise,
is that in the verse that precedes “a righteous person
lives by his faith, ” it states “there is another vision
for the designated time, ” etc.
127.
(Prov. 10:25) a righteous person
is a foundation of the world -- Both are in
the sefira Yesod, for one of the
principle missions of Mashiach ben Yosef is founding
and building a world, which refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem, as
explained above (#67) on the aspect “David’s throne” in the blessing of “build Jerusalem.”
128.
(Prov. 13:17) “a faithful emissary
brings healing” -- The verse
states: “a messenger of the wicked falls into evil,
but an emissary of the faithful brings healing.” The wicked messenger
refers to the angel of Esau who, because of his wickedness, will fall into the hands of the angel of Yosef, as is written in Midrash Tanchuma (on ), who, as an emissary of
the faithful, brings healing. This can be compared with “through his wounds, we were healed”
[Isa. 53:5).
129.
Zion (Jer. 31 [Jer. 30:17])
“Zion, I will heal you of your wounds” -- The
healing of Zion is in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef, as
in the sentence, “An
emissary of the faithful brings healing” which is quoted above. Likewise,
“who heals all your ailments” [Ps. 103:3], “who redeems your life
from the pit” [Ps. 103:4]. Similarly, we find the verse: [Ps. 107:20] [ in gematria: 897] “he would send his word
and heal them, ” that is said of Mashiach ben Yosef, and
in gematria equals [897].
130.
“righteousness” -- the aspect of Yosef son of Rachel
in Malchut. So it is written
about Cyrus: “I awakened him with righteousness and will smooth
out all of his paths;
he will build my city and set free my exiles, said the Lord of Hosts” (Isa. 45:13). As
is known, Cyrus was under the command
of Mashiach ben Yosef. The meaning is similar in the verse: “till
justice reverts to righteousness.” See above (#109)
for more details
on that aspect.
131.
“horns of an ox” -- as is written, (Deut. 33:17) “his horns are like those of an ox, with them he gores nations.” The main idea refers to Mashiach
ben Yosef, as the Gaon explains at length in his remarks on this
verse (in his work Aderet Eliyahu), for Mashiach ben Yosef is in the line of Joshua,
who took part in the war “the Lord wages against Amalek
from generation to generation.” The horns of an ox is refer
to the war of Gog and
Magog, which is divided into many parts, like the parable in the Midrash.
In the parable, a king became angry at his son, and swore to throw a huge stone at him. Later on, he regretted what he had said, etc.It’s an important principle that all pain and anguish that Israel suffers because of the nations of the world,
generally and well as personally, even more so in connection with the ingathering of the exiles--all these decrease the
amount and intensity of suffering during the war of Gog and Magog (see the beginning of the section
on Efraim is My fistborn
as is known). Happy are you, dear sons of Zion who stand
in the breach against savage
descendants of Hagar,
as promised to us that Mashiach
ben Yosef will
gore nations, and the Lord will provide
the salvation.
Now the best
and surest path and medicine to lighten, even remove all the tribulations of Gog and Magog and all the tribulations of Eretz Israel,
is to correct one’s conduct by setting up people of Truth in the Holy City. This
will lead to the redemption of Truth and sanctification of the Holy Name, which are the main purpose of
all our deeds during the beginning of
the Redemption. We have already
explained above that, according to
the Gaon, while the footsteps of the Mashiach
progress through the ingathering of the exiles,
the Sitra Achra becomes stronger and stronger
in his main purpose, which is to deny and uproot truth and righteousness, as our Sages have said:
“during the footsteps of the Mashiach, truth will be missing”
[Sota 49b], etc. In order to counter
this, we must act and fight
with all our strength with the help of God, to
overcome the Sitra Achra
with good deeds and with all the corrections, as noted and explained below.
132.
“the revealed end” -- (Sanhedrin 98;
Megilla 17) on the verse (Ez. 36:8) “you, mountains
of Israel, will give forth your branch,
and bear your fruit for My people, Israel, when they are
about to come.” Rashi, in his commentary
on this verse, writes that the revealed end will make the end of the Redemption come closer, and
this is the task of the first Mashiach, for anything that prepares for
the Redemption is part of the task of
Mashiach ben Yosef and is called the
’revealed’ end, after the ’revealed’
God, and after the ’revealed’ document of Anatot from the aspect of the ’revealed’ world in the line of Rachel.
133.
(Gen. 37:7) “my sheaf rose and
also remained standing” -- Anywhere the
term arise is used, it is in the line of Yosef. See above (#73) on the aspect : “who will ascend ... and who will rise, ” etc.
134.
(Zach. 1:14) “I have become exceedingly jealous on behalf of Jerusalem and Zion”
-- All this is in the line of Yosef, as brought in the Midrash (Tanchuma,
end of ), in comparison with “his brothers were jealous of him.”
135.
“the horn of salvation” -- This refers to Mashiach ben Efraim,
and equals it in gematria
(741). See above
(#125) on the aspect “a righteous sprout, ” and further on (#138) on the
aspect “a scepter has risen in Israel.”
136. (Isa. 60:1) “rise and shine! for your light has arrived, and the glory
of the Lord has been shining upon you” -- Wherever the term is used, it is
in line with Yosef, according
to what is written: “my sheaf rose and remained standing.” Likewise in gematria equals
[156].
137.
(Gen. 49:26) “let them be upon
the crown of the head of the one who was separate
from his brothers” -- This referred
to Yosef --.
138. (Num. 25 [Num. 24:17]) “ a
scepter has risen in Israel” -- This refers to
Mashiach ben Yosef who
rises by himself
naturally during the awakening from below (as explained by the Gaon, writer of Or Hachaim with regard to this verse). The words equals
in gematria [457].
139. (Jer. 31:5) “rise and let us ascend to Zion” -- This refers to Efraim
who is Mashiach ben Yosef through whom the ingathering of exiles will be accomplished. See above (#1), on the aspect “Efraim is My firstborn.” As known, wherever the term is used, it is
in line with Yosef, like the reference: “my sheaf rose.”
140. (Isa. 66:6) “a sound of tumult comes from the city” -- The verse continues: “a sound from the Sanctuary,
the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.” The next verse
reads: “before she feels labor
pains, she gives birth”
[Isa. 66:7]. Similarly, we find “the sound [or voice] of the herald, ” which refers
to Eliyahu who is the foundation of the root of Mashiach ben Yosef.
141.
(Song 2:12) The sound [voice] of the turtle-dove --This is the voice of Joshua in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef. Moshe Rabbeinu was in this line until the Torah was given, which is
revealed in the words “and Moshe took the bones of Yosef
with him (according to the Gaon’s hints equals [747] Moshe son of Amram in
gematria. This belongs to the footsteps
of the Mashiach, as it states there: “the buds were seen on the land”). After the Torah was given, Moshe
Rabbeinu of blessed memory rose to the level of Tiferet,
and learned the mysteries of the TO”R. Later on, he passed on his previous level as
revealed in “the voice of the turtle-dove,
” to Joshua. In the word the Gaon saw
a hint in that his name ! equals it
in gematria [606]. Besides, (without
the vav as in the turn of Esther)
equals [741] in gematria.
I also merited noting a holy hint in the words according
to the Gaon, which is that in gematria the phrase [Zach.
8:2] “I have become jealous
on behalf of Zion” equals
[747].
142.
as in and he laid his right hand on the head of Efraim [see Gen. 48:14 ( and Gen. 48:17 }] -- The head of Efraim is the spiritual
side of Mashiach ben Yosef who is aided by the abundance of Lovingkindness from the
right side. This is what is meant by “his right hand
on the head of Efraim.” Among the
hints of the Gaon, is that in gematria equals [832]. Also, among the hints of the Gaon (according to my father,
my teacher, R’ Benyamin), equals
! [1062 ] [Isa. 33:20] “visualize Zion, the city of our designated time”.
143. (Song of Songs 4:8) [double entendre:] “the peak of Amana” (a mountain in the north of Israel);
or, “the beginnings of your covenant
of faith [/Truth]” -- This is
in the line of Hod and Malchut from the north- west aspect, because Mashiach ben Yosef is in the north, and the Shechina in the west. See above (#126) on the aspect “a
righteous person lives by his faith.”
144. the head of Yosef -- as in
(Gen. 49:26) “they will be on the
head of Yosef.” The term ’head’ or
’first’ is used in reference to Yosef because
he himself was, and from him will come, the first Mashiach.
145. (Gen. 1:2) “the spirit of
God hovered upon the surface of the waters” --
The spirit of the mashiach, as is written
about Yosef: “a man in whom is the
spirit of God”; and like the verse: “there is a spirit in man, and it is the soul from the Almighty that gives them understanding” (Job 32:8).
146. (Isa. 57 [Isa. : 52:7]) “the
feet of the herald” -- The feet of the herald
refer to the two meshichim, in
Netzach and in Hod, as is said about them:
“our feet were standing within your gates, O Jerusalem” (Ps. 122:2).
A herald is in the sefira Yesod in
the category of the first Mashiach.
147.
“joy and gladness” -- as in the verse, (Isa.
35:10) “then the ransomed of the Lord will return,
” etc., “they will attain joy and gladness.” -- Joy and gladness
refer to the two meshichim. Joy refers to Mashiach
ben Yosef, for it is said of him: “the ransomed of the Lord will return.”
According to the Gaon (in his book, Likutei Hagra), the letters reveal this,
and this is what is meant in the
Talmud (Succah 48b) with regard to
joy and gladness. And the Gaon merited understanding the
intention of the Talmud in this
matter completely, and the Gaon said about this matter that if he had been born solely
to understand this matter, it would have been
worth his while. As is know, the Gaon
himself was the light of Mashiach ben Yosef, and he was meant to
arouse people about first gathering
in the exiles as revealed in the words his left hand under my head, which was on the level of Hod. This is revealed by the words !
“Efraim is the
stronghold of my head” [Ps. 60:9]. Later on, when the Gaon traveled to the Holy Land, he rose to the level
of Netzach of Tiferet (a few of my colleagues have written
about this mystery. Since two are better than one, I will mention
two of them: R’ Saadya
and R’ Menachem Mendel, son of Baruch,
Ner Israel).
148. (Ex. 17:14) “place it in the ears of Joshua, that I will surely erase
the memory of Amalek, ” etc.-- In
gematria, the word ! “in the ears of” equals
[70] “secret” for the way to fight Amalek is at first secretly, as already explained above, because work in
gathering in the exiles is the waging of war against
Amalek in order to subdue
Samael in the gates of Jerusalem. Joshua is part of the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef. The Gaon
also hinted at what is found in the verse: It is the honor of God [Prov. 25:2]
to conceal a matter, and those two words equal [871], see above (#98) on the aspect the secret of
the Lord is for those who fear him.
149. (Jer. 32:44) “they will buy fields with money” -- This is a decree as punishment to atone for “selling a righteous person
for money” (Amos
2:6), which refers
to Yosef. The matter of buying fields is juxtaposed to the chapter
(Jer. 31) where
it speaks of the four qualities of Efraim who is Mashiach ben Yosef as
explained above (#1),
on the aspect Efraim is My firstborn.
150.
Seraiah son of Dan -- He helps Mashiach
ben Yosef to overthrow the wicked Armilus,
as brought in the Zohar.
151.
(Gen. 42:23) “Yosef understood” -- in the verse: “and they did not know that Yosef understood them.”
Without the vau in the first word, the two words in gematria equal Mashiach
ben Yosef [566]. This means that the brothers did not know that the mission of Yosef was that he was Mashiach ben Yosef. The Gaon has already explained the first thought
of Yosef’s brothers. They knew
that when the soul of our forefather Abraham went down into the world, a “layer”
from the right side attached itself to him. Therefore Ismael came out of him: in order
to separate that layer from him. When the soul of our forefather Isaac went down into the world, a layer from the
left side attached itself to him. Therefore Esau came out of him in order to separate
that layer from him. The brothers thought that the center
layer had attached itself to Jacob, who
is the middle line. But when they saw that Yosef was acting in line with the traits of arrogance, they felt certain that Yosef was the layer that
had separated
itself from Jacob. They did not know
his holiness and great mission
to prepare the way for the Redemption.
152.
(Amos 5:15) “the remnant of Yosef” -- According to the Midrash,
and as brought by Rashi on this verse: all of Israel is called Yosef
because he supported his brothers in Egypt. As the Gaon explained, the remnant of Yosef means the remnant
of Israel’s existence
relative to Yosef’s
mission as Mashiach ben Yosef. Accordingly, it is written: “for God sent me ahead of you to be a provider.”
This mission has continued generation after generation.
153.
(Ps. 127 [126:1])
“the captivity of Zion” -- In the same sentence
we find: “we were like dreamers.” All of the aspects found in this Psalm beginning: “when God returns the captivity
of Zion, ” etc., were said about the
mission of Mashiach ben Yosef, as
explained in the Midrash (Tanchuma, end of the parsha “Vayegash”). Regarding this matter, the Midrash states: Whatever
happened to Yosef happened to Zion, because the ingathering of exiles in the
footsteps of the Mashiach is accomplished through Mashiach ben Yosef. The
Gaon added his own hints: (Psalm
46:6) “toward morning”
was said regarding the end of the Redemption (see Metsudat David there). Also, the words equal [868] in gematria. In addition, the word equals Mashiach
ben Yosef [566] from the aspect “the dawn” that is mentioned in the Talmud [Bavli,
Masechet Yoma, 29a].
154.
(Jer. 31:20) “return to your
cities” -- The entire Psalm was said about Mashiach ben Efraim. See above (#1), on the aspect “Efraim is
My firstborn” through whom the exiles will be gathered. The Gaon added
a hint: The three words
( without the vau) equals “as testimony in Yosef” in gematria (see above 117) on the aspect
“as testimony in Yosef.” In that same verse (Jer. 31:20) it states: “set up road markers for yourself
... set your heart toward
the road, ” etc.
155. apple -- as in (Song 2:3) “like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the sons.” This is in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef.
156. “repair of the world in the Malchut of the Almighty” -- Wherever repair
is mentioned, it is part of
the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef. This is the ultimate purpose of all the work connected with the beginning
of the footsteps of the Mashiach, whose main goals are as follows:
to gather in
the exiles,
rebuild Jerusalem, remove
the impure spirit
from Eretz Israel,
redeem Truth, sanctify the name of God, and repair the world in the Malchut of
the Almighty, as is written:
“with their own eyes they will see when God returns to Zion” (Isa.
52:8). This refers to the ingathering of the
exiles. “Burst out, sing glad songs together, O ruins of Jerusalem” (Isa. 52:9). This refers to rebuilding Jerusalem and
reviving the land that has been desolate.
“God has comforted
his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem” (Isa. 52:9), refers to God’s redemption of
Truth, for Jerusalem is called “the
city of Truth” (Zach. 8:3). “God has
exposed His holy arm before all the nations” (Isa. 52:10), refers to sanctifying the name of God. “All ends of the earth will see the salvation
of our God” (Isa. 52:10), refers to
repairing the world in the Malchut of the Almighty. All of these
are the mission
of the mashiach of
the beginning, the first Mashiach,
Mashiach ben Yosef, who comes at the time of the awakening from below, and
will find completion when Mashiach
ben David comes, speedily in our day, Amen.
The above constitute the 156 aspects
and appellations of the Mashiach of
the beginning, Mashiach ben Yosef. I repeat that there is an obligation and commandment to pray daily
for his life and success as explained above in Chapter
1. There is an additional important commandment
to speak of him continuously, since doing so arouses the mercy of Heaven on his behalf and on behalf of the entire
House of Israel. As is written about Efraim, who is Mashiach ben Yosef: “for whenever
I speak of him, I remember him better; therefore my inner self yearns
for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord” (Jer. 31:19).
Chapter 2
Section
2
The Two Meshichim
of the Generations
Contents
“We must do our utmost to promote
the complete union of the two meshichim, Mashiach ben Yosef and
Mashiach ben David, ’the
wood of Yosef and the wood of Judah.’ This is the great foundation for the
unification of
the Holy One Blessed Be He and the Shechina
to bring about the return of the Shechina [to Zion]. -- We must participate in God’s assistance to the heroes,
i.e., to the two meshichim alluded to in the verse: “and saviors will ascend Mount Zion.’ The saviors wage war against the coupling of Seir and his
father-in-law [Ismael] on Mount Zion. We can assist by gathering
in the exiles, by rebuilding Jerusalem, and by establishing and maintaining people
of truth -- Just as in the case of the general
Redemption, the first mashiach is Mashiach
ben Yosef and the one who completes the task is Mashiach ben David, so in the case of every activity--general or personal--related to the footsteps
of the beginning of the Redemption naturally, the first supporter is Mashiach ben Yosef; the supporter who completes the task is Mashiach ben David. This is on the level of the two meshichim of the generations, which is
considered the aspect of ’Judah saves Yosef.’”
1.
In the case of the general Redemption, the first mashiach is Mashiach ben Yosef, and the one who completes
the mission is Mashiach ben David. Likewise in the case of each and every activity, general or private, carried out in connection with
the footsteps of the beginning of the Redemption, when the awakening
comes from below naturally, little
by little--all the activities demonstrate the Gaon’s important principle: the first heavenly assistance comes through Mashiach ben Yosef, and the task completed by Mashiach ben David. The
two meshichim of the generations are the miraculous powers that
maintain the existence of Israel, and
strengthen it during the exiles; they are also the miraculous supporters during
the footsteps of the Mashiach. Mashiach ben Yosef is
the miraculous power behind the physical and material existence and strengthening, whereas Mashiach ben David is the miraculous
power behind the spiritual existence
of Israel generally and particularly. Both meshichim
of the generations play a role in many of the aspects, as explained
in the Gaon’s compositions.
The two meshichim cooperate and help one
another: Mashiach ben Yosef, as revealed in the words “Yosef
still lives”; and Mashiach ben David, as revealed in the words
“David, King of Israel is alive and exists.”
They are alive and exist in every generation, carry out their missions,
and affect one another with their powers and special
attributes. Thus they need one another. Without the abundance of their strength, their might, and their
endowments, Israel could not exist for even one moment, God forbid. However,
they--their powers, images, and
endowments--are
hidden as long as our many sins cause Israel and the Shechina to remain in exile. We must know that these two great
powers can operate
and their strength
can affect, even totally affect
events, only when no one disturbs or separates them.
At times, the
tasks of the two meshichim are
apportioned differently, both with
regard to levels and with regard to influences, depending on whether the aspect of Leah or Rachel, that
is, of Daat or Malchut is involved. Mashiach ben David is the one who causes the upper abundance
to flow. Mashiach ben Yosef, on the other hand, is the one who receives and carries out what is
included in the aspect of Judah saving Yosef.
If the aspect of Yosef
and Judah together
is involved, i.e.,
Yesod and Malchut, then Mashiach ben
Yosef causes the abundance to flow,
and Mashiach ben David is the
recipient. All this is true at the beginning of the Redemption, when the wood
of Yosef and the wood of Judah are
“pieces of wood in your hand, ” when they are still divided into two, on the level of the awakening
from below. At the time of the complete redemption, however, when the two
pieces of wood have become “one in My hand” (the hand of God), then the meshichim will
be like two inseparable
friends; they will have become one, they will have become the King Mashiach who
is on the level of the trustworthy friend of the final redeemer, Moshe Rabbeinu, may he rest in peace. This is on the level of the great thousand, when God
will become king over all the land,
etc. (this is affirmed in gematria: [and] together,
equal 1000). Since we are standing
on the threshold of the beginning of the Redemption, we must learn and know all the
aspects and tasks of the two meshichim, the meshichim from below, regarding the paths of the beginning, with the help of God.
2.
The purpose of our work in ingathering the exiles is to set up people of Truth
who will promote
the unification of both meshichim in
the gates of Jerusalem so that the Shechina will return.
The purpose of the Redemption is that there be a true redemption and sanctification of God. According to the Gaon, may he rest in
peace, we must participate in God’s
assistance to His heroes, who are the two meshichim. We must
learn well all the practical aspects and tasks in order to carry out whatever
is required.
In
all generations, the major tasks of the two
meshichim together, Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David, are self-defense and
to wage war against the three heads
of the outer shells or layers: Esau,
Ismael and the mixed
multitude. The special
task of Mashiach ben Yosef is to counter Esau, the outer shell
on the left. The special task of Mashiach ben David against Ismael is to counter Ismael,
the outer shelf on
the right. The two meshichim together are duty-bound to
operate against Esau and Ismael, who
are likened to an ox and a donkey of impurity.
Armilus, the
angel of the mixed multitude, is the one who attempts to couple Esau and Ismael, and this could destroy Israel and the
entire world, Heaven forbid. The main desire of the mixed multitude is
to couple Esau and Ismael and to
separate the two meshichim. Our main
task to counter, even battle such deeds; we must destroy the might of the mixed multitude, the layer of the wicked
Armilus, and drive
them out of Israel. The mixed multitude is our greatest
enemy, for it separates the two meshichim. The outer shell of the mixed multitude operates only by delusions
and indirectly. Therefore the war against the mixed multitude is the most difficult and bitter, and we
must wage war against it and overpower
it with all our might. Anyone who does not participate in the war against the mixed multitude, is
actually becoming a partner of the “layer”
of the mixed multitude. Whoever he
is, he would have been better off had
he not been born. The primary power
of the mixed multitude is at the gates of Jerusalem, particularly at the entrance
to the city, which is on the western middle
line.
3.
The two meshichim are the
guards and defenders of the existence of Israel
throughout all the generations, even during the exile. Their main place is
at the gates of Jerusalem, the opening of the walls. This is revealed by the words: “our feet were standing
in the gates of Jerusalem.”“Our feet” refers to the two meshichim in the line of of Netzach
and Hod. But when is it possible to stand with a sense of security? When Jerusalem is rebuilt like a
city that has been joined together. Concerning this, it is written: “On your
walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed
guards for all day and all night.”“All night” includes during the darkness of the exile. But as long as Jerusalem is desolate, the guards have only enough
strength to guard,
not to wage war against
the Sitra Achra. For they guards cannot stand on the Holy
Land in its destruction because of
the fastness of the outer layers of impurity.
When, then do “our feet stand”? When Jerusalem is rebuilt. Then the
city is joined together: Jerusalem of below is joined with Jerusalem of above. Their central spot is at the entrance
to the city on the middle line,
to the west of the walls.
Regarding the
two meshichim it says: “and saviors
will ascend Mount Zion.” The word
“ascend” means that the two meshichim will
prevail: that is, the wood of Yosef
and the wood of Judah will prevail on the levels of Heaven and Earth. Their levels are determined by their actions,
and their actions are determined by their missions. An activity at the time of the awakening from below, naturally, from the left line
which is the quality of Din, is part of the task of Mashiach ben Yosef from the land, and the level is the aspect
of Yosef ben Rachel (Yesod of Malchut). An activity designed to draw down help and mercy, goodness and
the blessing of God Almighty
that come from abundance from above, belongs
to the aspect of Yosef son of Jacob (Yesod of
Tiferet).
When the
activity occurs at the time of the awakening from below, but from the right line, then the quality of
Lovingkindness is involved, and this is the task of Mashiach ben David.The level
in this case is the aspect of Judah son of Jacob
(Malchut of Tiferet).
When the activity is designed to generate a great amount
of Chesed and Rahamim,
then it is from the aspect of Judah ben Leah (Malchut of Tevunah).
When the
activity comes at the time of the awakening from below, but from the middle
line, at the level of 999 in Yesod, then it is the mission
of Mashiach ben Yosef, as revealed in the words: “even all that is in
the Heavens and Earth.”
4.
As explained by the Gaon, the two meshichim
play a role in many aspects
depending on their tasks, as discussed below, and depending on the repairs entailed (?). The missions of the meshichim from below and
from above depend on their deeds, and the deeds depend on the root of their
souls. The two meshichim
from below are the first involved in leaving the exile. They are the two Hebrew midwives in Egypt,
as mentioned by the Gaon in his Tikunei Zohar Chadash regarding the verse: “and they [the midwives] let the
children live” because they occupied
themselves with saving Israel. Likewise
in every generation there are meshichim
from below who are the forefathers of the meshichim
of the generations; their helpers belong to their categories. The two meshichim appear in many different aspects according to their missions and deeds, each one by his flag with the letters of his forefathers. They are “a scepter and a lawgiver.” It was promised that “the scepter will not leave
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet.”
This means that
they appear in all generations. They
are “the wood of Yosef and the wood
of Judah.” Whenever they appear, at first the wood will be in pieces “in your hand.” Finally, they will become one
in the hand of God. They are the holy ox and holy donkey who
wage war against the impure ox and
impure donkey, i.e., Ismael and Esau. They hold fast to two hosts that are 499 from
the right section and 499 from the left section, which
equal 1000 minus
one, like the gematria of [999] “’the foot of an ox and donkey’, ” as
revealed in the verse: “happy are you
who sow on all water.” They are the “’feet
of God’” that are in Netzach and Hod. They stand firmly in
the gates of Jerusalem. This is what is meant by “our feet in your gates,
O Jerusalem, ” as already mentioned.
5.
There are many appellations to cover different
aspects of the two meshichim. These are: “a star has come out of Jacob,
and a scepter has risen from Israel”
[Num. 24:17] -- “Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephuneh”
[Num. 14:6] -- “they will obtain joy and gladness” [Isa. 35:10]
-- “the sons of
Jacob and Yosef, Selah” [Ps. 77:16]
-- the light of the moon and the light of the sun [Isa. 30:26].
-- There are
references and hints regarding two meshichim
in the Bible [i.e., a duality or plural form appears]: “your children will be students
of the Lord, and your
children’s peace will be abundant” [Isa. 54:13];
the two cherubim; the two apples (“spread
apples about me” [Song 2:5],
as is known); “rivulets of water” [Song
5:12]; the two hosts, of the right and of the left;
“they will certainly come with joyful
song” [the verb ’to come’
appears twice, though in a different grammatical form] (the words quoted go together with: “the one who bears the measure
of seeds” [Ps. 126:6]); the learning of Torah and performance of deeds of lovingkindness
-- “saviors on Mount Zion” [Ov. 1:21];
guards of the walls of Jerusalem -- the quality
of Din and the quality of Lovingkindness;
“the horns of an ox” [Deut. 33:17];
“the holy ones in the earth, and the
mighty; all my delight is in them” [Ps. 16:3];
“the humble [the plural form is used]
of the earth” [Ps. 76:10]; “the
humble [the plural form is used] shall inherit the earth” [Ps. 37: 11]; “’the sealed
deed and the open deed’” that were hidden in pottery in Anatot [Jer. 32]; “the feet of the herald” [Isa. 52:7]; the homes of the righteous about which it is written: “those who trust in
the Mount of the Lord, in Mount Zion”; “the sound of your observers; they raise their voices [in unison]
... because every eye [the word ’eye’ appears
twice] will see when the Lord returns
to Zion, ” etc. [Isa.
52:8];
“a strong city;
it will be our
salvation” [Isa.
26:1]; “and you strong foundations of the earth” [Micha 6:2]; the two aspects of “we will do and we will obey” [Ex.
24:7] and the return of their crowns
shortly, as our Sages said on the verse: and “the redeemed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with glad song, ” etc. “they
will obtain joy and gladness”; north and south as is written: “awake,
you from the North; and come, you from the South” [Song 4:16] as is known
--
“You will raise up generations-old foundations” [Isa. 58:12] (this verse is included among the hints of my father, author of -- the words: “’generations-old foundation’” equals [546] “‘the students of Elijah’” in gematria) -- The words “the covenant
of the forefathers” is in the line of Mashiach
ben Yosef.The words ! “the merit of the forefathers” is in the line of Mashiach ben David. This [the Shechina] will also be restored at the
time of the ingathering of the exiles, with the help of God. -- Regarding
the words: “affection” and “love”: “affection is in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef, as is written
in the Midrash: “abundant affection
is known to Zion”; and it is
known that Zion is in the line of Yosef. “Love” is in the line of Mashiach ben David, as it says: “I have loved you with an everlasting love” [Jer. 31:2].
-
- - God will establish
our handiwork over us to unify the two meshichim, as explained above,
according to the verses “every
eye will see when God returns to Zion, ” etc.. The ‘handiwork’ refers to bodies set up to handle the process of the
Redemption, which includes: the ingathering
of exiles; the rebuilding of Jerusalem; the routing of the impure spirit from the land and the
fulfillment of the commandments related
to the land; the redemption of Truth by setting up people of truth; and the revelation of mysteries of the Torah
- - -.
- ---Likewise the wisdom from below.
- - - - For with the revelation of
the Mashiach, and the 999 footsteps involved, the upper wisdom and the lower
wisdom will be revealed, as written in the Holy Zohar: “In the 600th year of the Sixth Millennium, the gates
of the upper wisdom and of the lower wisdom will be opened, the world will be repaired... in order to raise the Knesset Israel
from the dirt,
” etc. All these are the
mission of Rabbi Eliyahu, the Gaon of Israel,
whose light will last till the day is established with the aid of the Rock of Israel
and its Redeemer. Therefore, the Gaon
tried to understand with his holy spirit also the seven wisdoms from below which are known to
be like
mixtures and samples at the bottom of the mountain, in order to explain
the wisdom of the Torah and to hasten the Redemption -- whose great purpose is sanctification of God as is written:
“and all the peoples of the earth will see the salvation
of our God, ” also in order to repair
the world in the Malchut of
the Almighty, etc.
As mentioned
above, the goal of our work is to promote
the fulfillment of the commandment of ingathering the exiles and settling the holy land as the way of the beginning
of the Redemption, as explained
in the following chapters, -- in order to hasten the Redemption in deed with the awakening from below, and to rout the
spirit of impurity from the land. Then
there will be a unification of the Holy one blessed be He and the Shechina
through the unification of the two meshichim in a union and strong, everlasting, bond, which is the
mission of the two advocates of the
Jews, Hanoch and Eliyahu -- Metatron and Sandal ) and together equal in gematria--a fact that is revealed in
the great mystery of “Kol HaTor”). This is the path to our God so that the Shechina will return to Zion, and the Redeemer
will come, speedily
in our day, Amen.
Chapter 3
Holy Hints on the Beginning
of the Redemption
Contents
“There is no
holy hint concerning the footsteps of the Mashiach
that is not alluded to in the
Torah; or that is not alluded to in the Mishna. ‘Likewise, there is nothing about
the footsteps of the Mashiach
that is not alluded to in the Gaon’s Megillat Storim’. While
we were standing in darkness on the threshold
of the Redemption, at the first sounds of ‘the
voice of the turtle- dove, ’ with neither priest nor prophet nor Urim v’Tumim (priest’s breastplate) to teach us the essentials of the road,
let alone its details, even minor ones--
then God sent us the light of Mashiach
ben Yosef, that is, Rabbi Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon. The Gaon came down from Heaven
to uncover for us the hints in the Torah regarding the footsteps of the Mashiach, and the paths revealed in deed and gematria, ’ as he explained in his writings.
The Gaon also explains what wonderful hints
led him to change his mind about
his own settlement in Eretz Israel
while on the way there,
and urge his students to fulfill the
command,
according to wonderful hints. The Vilna
Gaon states that the coming
of the Redemption depends on learning Kabbalah.”
1.
special help from Heaven is given when gathering in the exiles at the beginning of the Redemption. The task with all its major and minor details--# its designated deeds, designated times and designated emissaries’--are hinted at in the the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings,
as well as in the writings of our Sages, both openly and concealed, according to the holy and wonderful
revelations of the Vilna Gaon. The Gaon was sent from Heaven to uncover the
hints in the Torah, as the footsteps of the Mashiach
approached in the process of the revealed
end. No secret was hidden
from him. The Gaon knew where the
holy Torah hints at the name of every man of Israel, as well at his destined
role in the salvation of
Israel, in deed and in numerology, based on ‘the
name causes, ’ as revealed in
gematria and acrostics. The Gaon,
whose name equals 52 in gematria,
saw 52 holy hints which revealed his own destiny.
While we were standing
in darkness on the threshold
of the Redemption, at the
first sounds of ‘the voice of the
turtle-dove, ’ with neither priest nor
prophet nor Urim v”Tumim to show us the essentials of the road, let alone its details,
even minor ones--then God sent us the light
of Mashiach ben Yosef,
that is, Rabbi Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon, to reveal hints in the Torah regarding the footsteps of the Mashiach,
etc. From all 156 aspects
of Mashiach ben Yosef, noted above in Chapter
2, Section 1, and from the verses containing the destiny of the
Gaon during the footsteps of the Mashiach, as well as at their
approach--from all these we can learn much about
our function at the beginning of the Redemption. They are for us, “the
last generation, ” like the Urim and Tumim and like the Shulchan Aruch, with
regard to the End of Days with the help of God. This is what is meant
by the verse: [Ps. 43:14] [generally
interpreted: “in order that you
relate to the last generation” fn.]. The
word comes from the root of “counting.”
Thus the verse means “in order that you count for the last generation, ” referring to gematria.
In many of his
compositions, the Gaon discusses at length that all the internal aspects of the holy Torah, the upper lights, the
intentions of the written and oral
Torah, all the worlds, and the upper and lower creations are concealed in hints in the Torah and in the writings of our
Sages. There is nothing that is not alluded to in the Torah; there is nothing
that is not alluded to in the Bible; there is
nothing that is not alluded to in the Mishna. Likewise,
there is nothing about the footsteps of the Mashiach
that is not alluded
to in the Gaon’s Megillat Storim. All the hints are found in
numbers as revealed by the verse: in “Who brings out their hosts by number; He calls each of them by name”
[Isa. 40:26]. This means that every
single creation has its own basic number, and the destiny of each one, according to his particular name and
basic number, is hinted at in the Torah, and revealed
in deed and in numerology, i.e., in calculating the letters of the Torah according to gematria and notrikun. Note the verse:
! [Ps. 46:9] “go and visualize the acts of the Lord Who has allotted devastation to the land.” Do not read with
a ‘patach under the shin’ [meaning
“Who has allotted devastation”] , but with a ‘tsere’ under the ‘shin’ [meaning “Who has allotted
names”][See Talmud Bavli, Brachot, 7b]. Condiments to wisdom, the names are vessels that receive the upper attributes from the world of emanation through the letters
that constitute the name. The letters may have significance in their simple form, or in their filled-out form, or in the
filled-out form of the filled-out letters ad infinitum. The general and particular roles of every creature and every person are hinted at in his name as well
as in the Torah according to gematria. The Gaon, in his commentary on Safra D’Tzniuta, writes as follows: “the rule is that whatever was,
is now and will be till the end--all are included
in the Torah from the word “in the beginning” to “before the eyes
of all Israel.” Not only the general principles, but even the details regarding every species, and details
concerning each individual person are
found in the Torah, as well as whatever happens to him from the day of his birth to the end of his days, and
all his gilgulim including all major and minor details,
and all the details regarding
every species of domesticated and wild animal, as well as every living creature in the world and all grass and everything that grows
and inanimate objects, all the details are recorded regarding
their species and genders and what belongs to every species to the end, and
what will happen to them and their
root. Likewise, whatever is written
about our forefathers and about Moshe
and Israel--all occur in every generation because their sparks appear in every generation, as is known.
In addition, all their deeds from Adam until the end of the Torah occur in every
generation, as is known to those
who understand. This is also true of
every individual as the Gaon began
to explain through hints in the Midrash
HaNe’elam. All of this is included in the Torah in parshat “Breshit” until parshat “Noah” as is written
here with the help of God, ” etc.
2.
The Gaon was sent from Heaven to reveal the hints in the Torah at the approach
of the footsteps of the Mashiach, that is, the “designated deeds,
designated times, and designated emissaries” till the final end. According
to the Gaon, these are hinted at in gematria.
We see that almost all the new
interpretations and revelations of the Gaon in his writings on Kabbalah,
that amount to thousands, are based on wonderful hints that he uncovered through his holy
spirit. Heaven granted him all this so that he would reveal what will
occur during the period of the footsteps of the Mashiach, if it comes at its designated time,
for all of this applies
when Israel does not merit the period
occurring ahead of time.
3.
Every person in Israel must do his utmost to reach the level of the supreme numbers concealed within his name
which can be computed in gematria. These
are hinted at in the Torah in connection with the specific
mission of the individual, each person by his flag, with the signs of
his forefathers. It says regarding
this: “may the might of my Lord be magnified” [Num. 14:17], etc. As the
Gaon explained (see the Tikunei Zohar Chadash [Tikun 74a]), this verse refers
to the “deed and gematria” mentioned in Lamentations (Ch. 9:10). Each person must achieve what is concealed in the gematria of his name. Otherwise, he may have to undergo
a new gilgul to repair
what he did not complete
in this gilgul,
for whoever does not know the gematria
concealed in his name, will go down
to the Sheol. The Gaon says,
in his commentary on Tikunei Zohar Chadash, that a person should achieve
whatever is indicated by his gematria,
with the might of his hand. As it
says: “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” [Koh. 9:10] for there is neither
deed nor gematria [calculation] in the Sheol “grave, ” which means that in the grave you will be unable to achieve the
“deed and gematria.” Knowing this,
everyone will realize how he must fulfill his unique mission in this world. As
the footsteps of the Mashiach approach,
more and more gematria hints appear that contain secrets
of general and private designated deeds. Indeed, “every valley will be raised, ” etc. And the
gematria are condiments to wisdom as noted in the holy Zohar (Tikun 70), where the Gaon explained that according
to our Sages, this refers to the wisdom of scribes, etc..
Numerology and
deeds connected with gematria are “condiments”
to wisdom. In the word , which refers to the vessels, the letters [in gematria, 280] appear twice, thus alluding to the
twice 280 Dinim [the opposite of Chesed]. The characteristic of gematria is that
every attribute of the upper lights
is clothed in a particular number. The number
is found in the letters
combined to form the words that describe
that particular attribute, and its purpose
in the world of making,
the lower world;
and the attribute
is included in
verses of the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. Every mission as well as the name of the
emissary in every generation are clothed
and held together by the gematria of the verses concerning the mission;
likewise regarding the name of the emissary,
in accord with the root of his soul and the merit of the
fathers that is designated for each individual. This is what is meant by the verse “Who brings out their hosts
by number” [Isa. 40:26], i.e.,
each legion has its special number. [Isa. 40:26] “He calls each of them by name [by all that is included
in the name of the creature].” Happy
is the man who achieves, and reaches [that goal] by the might of his hand and his good deeds. The purpose of “deed and numerology,
” as explained by the Gaon, is so that a person will not fall into Sheol,
i.e., another gilgul, God forbid. Happy is he who achieves by the might of his deeds the level of his
mission that is hidden in the gematria
of his name. All this will be
revealed to him in the World of Truth, but it is preferable for one to achieve this knowledge in his lifetime,
so that he will be stronger in his special mission in this world,
because one who is commanded and
fulfills the commandment stands high. A word to the wise is sufficient.
The ways to achieve
such knowledge, is first of all, by the deeds themselves,
etc., and/or like the lot of the Gaon, when revealed in . deed and gematria, or in the “silver goblet”
[Gen. 44:2]. This is what is meant by
the verse: [Isa. 56:5] “I will give them a hand and a name in my house and within my walls.” This refers to deed
and gematria, as explained above. “A hand” refers to the “might of Your
[God’s] hand”; “a name” refers to the
gematria of the name of anyone who occupies himself with building Jerusalem. Thus
all the main intentions with regard to building Jerusalem are concealed in gematria according to our Sages. See their
comments (Baba Batra 75b) on
the verse ! “Jerusalem will be
settled without walls” [Zach. 2:8],
and on the matter of , etc. All these are hinted at in gematria, as the Rashbam
explains there [in the future,
God will add gardens
to Jerusalem, numbering a thousand times the numerical value of 169] [Baba Batra 75b]. My heart tells me clearly that had I been
born only to understand what the
Gemara means here, it was worthwhile for us, as I will explain, God willing, in Chapter 7.
Whoever sees hints in verses of the Bible
and of our Sages, regarding his own name and
mission, is obligated to fortify himself with them with all his strength and desire, for this is the
reason he was created, and this is why his soul came to this world, the world of making.
The Vilna Gaon
was sent from Heaven to reveal hints of the Torah regarding the footsteps of the Mashiach
on the level that his forebears did not receive
permission. Even the Holy Ari did not have such permission, because he lived hundreds of years before
the beginning of “the time to grant
it grace” [Ps. 102:14] and “the
songbird’s time” [Song of Songs 2:12].
4.
The Gaon has written much about the paths of the beginning of the Redemption during the footsteps of the Mashiach, and has given us many directives
to begin the awakening from below. He
did this In his holy compositions on
“the hidden teachings, ” also with profound hints, but only in the manner of [Gen. 41:45] “disclosing the hidden, ” i.e., revealing
what is concealed. To many of his students--in whom he saw clear signs
of worthiness, and who had a keen desire to immigrate to Israel--he revealed
the main hints regarding “designated deeds, times, and emissaries”
on the paths of the beginning. The
Gaon did this especially to anyone
he considered as having reached the high level of 999 in Yesod, which is the
highest level in the line of Mashiach ben
Yosef (and who was hewn from the
same rock [of the same root] as the Gaon). To him, the Gaon revealed the secret of the
999 footsteps of the Mashiach, and the secret of “Kol HaTor” until the final end, as well as what each individual must do to fulfill what is
hinted at, for that is why he was created.
The footsteps of the Mashiach, all the paths
of the awakening from below,
and all their major and minor details are hinted at in the Torah, the Prophets,
and the Writings,
as well as in the works of our Sages
in what is revealed and in what is concealed. According to the Gaon, all the
designated deeds, times and emissaries of the footsteps
of the Mashiach are hinted at in the Torah, etc.
There is nothing that is not hinted at in the Torah, according
to our Sages (Chulin 139b), even Moshe Rabbeinu, may
he rest in peace. This means that even Moshe Rabbeinu, whose
name appears in the Torah specifically many times, nevertheless had to have his
name hinted at in a concealed manner,
just like every person of Israel appears in a concealed manner, and according to the gematria
of his name. The name Moshe is hidden in the
verse: [Gen. 6:3] “since he is
human.” According to Rashi there, the word
equals [345] in gematria. The Gaon
added a wonderful hint: in gematria, equals
[859] because Moshe Rabbeinu is weighted against
600 thousand.
5.
the paths of the firmament were revealed to the Gaon. No secret was hidden from him. He
saw everything from the upper lights in clear
technicolor. He saw the creation
of the world, and the chariot in the paths of the firmament in all their details as revealed in [ equals
391] “the voice
of salvation” in which are hidden the names [ equals 391], [391], and !
[ ! equal 391]. The Gaon knew the teachings of Mashiach Tzidkenu which are the teachings
concerning Eretz Israel,
hinted to him from our forefather Jacob and from the verse,
! [Gen. 2:12]
“the gold of that land is good” because all of Eretz Israel was
enfolded in it, and it contained the teachings
of the Redemption from below and from above.
The three fundamental levels
of , i.e., , , and , were transmitted to the Gaon from the upper lights
through the holy spirits of the Holy Ari, may he rest in peace,
and his student, Rabbi Haim Vital. These were revealed
to the Gaon in the year 5, 500 during
the first hour of the moring on the sixth day [Friday]
in the 6th Millennium, when
the spirit of God, the spirit of Mashiach,
began to beat within his holy spirit
(the Gaon was then 20 years old).
6.
During the period of the footsteps of the Mashiach, the Sitra Achra becomes stronger in all areas, especially against the internal nature of the Torah
and against the revelation of the secrets
of gematria computations that concern the footsteps of the Mashiach. This is what
the Gaon explained was meant by our
Sages in their statement that the wisdom of
scribes will turn putrid. This
is what is meant by “they taunted the footsteps
of Your Mashiach” [Ps. 89:52].
Nevertheless, when the final end comes, the final days, the prophecy “every
valley will be raised” will be
fulfilled, and this refers to gematria, etc., as it says in the holy Zohar. As explained by the Gaon there (Tikunei Zohar, p. 139), the wisdom of scribes
will turn putrid, and he (Mashiach ben
Yosef ) will be debased because of our transgressions (Isa. 53:5).
7.
With regard to every man of Israel who was destined by Heaven to save Israel and gather in the exiles, Rabbi
Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon, knew well where his name was hinted at in the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings, each man according to his flag and the signs of his
forefathers. All the Gaon’s knowledge which came to him through
his holy spirit, are based on holy
hints in the Bible and in the works of our Sages, in both what is revealed and what is concealed. Regarding himself, the Gaon said that his name is hinted at in the words: “‘a perfect and just stone [weight]” (this is at the end of parshat “Ki Tetzeh”). The words are a shortened form of
(the name of the Gaon’s father was ! ).
The following verse speaks of destroying Amalek, and is immediately followed
by the verse:
“when you come
to the land, ” which refers to the ingathering of the exiles. This verse
is comparable to “when you come to the land, you will plant, ” which means you must fulfill the commandments that depend on living
in Eretz Israel. For the ingathering
of the exiles depends on the blessings following
the fulfillment of both verses according to our Sages in
the Talmud (Megillah 17b; and Sanhedrin 98a) regarding the revealed end, and this was the Gaon’s great
aspiration. Even in the haftarah [portion
from the Prophets
or Writings which is read weekly following
the reading of the parshah]of parshat “Ki Tetzeh, ” the Gaon found his own name and his designation in the verse: “with abundant mercy I will gather
you” which equals ! [606]. He also
found that the verse “His tabernacle is in Shalem, and his dwelling
in Zion” equals his own name plus his
father’s and grandfather’s names ! [1200] {the word as written out in full in the text, and so counted
accordingly). This means
that Jacob is not whole except in Eretz Israel. As the verse states: [ Gen. 33:18] Jacob
came to Shalem [double entendre: name of place, and meaning of wholeness]. Shalem is another
name for Succota.
The Vilna Gaon deemed
his great mission
to be connected with 999 in the light
of Mashiach ben Yosef, as revealed by
999 in Yesod, that is 999 which is the highest number connected with Mashiach ben Yosef. For the Gaon considered that number hinted at
in his name (that is, in his personal
name as well as those of his forebears to four generations including his great-grandfather, R’ Elya
the Hasid [' ' '] which altogether equal
999 in gematria). Other hints
regarding his mission appear in the verses: [606,
like ! ] ‘a time to gather,
’ and according to our Sages [606]
‘we raise to a holy level, ’ as well as in the verse: [479, like ] [Ps. 102:15] ‘they have favored her dirt.’ Many other
hints were found by the Gaon in the
Bible regarding his holy mission at the time of the beginning of the Redemption. The number of holy hints add up to [52]. Evey hint was great
and holy in his eyes like the Urim
v’Tumim.As our Sages said “the name
causes, ” meaning that one’s mission from Heaven is revealed by his name.
8. As is known, the Gaon saw
his great mission in the verse: “the voice of
the turtle-dove.” It appears in the verse:
“the songbird’s time has arrived;
the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land.”
The ‘voice’ of the turtle-
dove refers to Joshua. The ‘turtle-dove’ is Moshe Rabbeinu
(as mentioned above in Chapter
2, 14, the aspect of ‘the voice of the turtle-
dove’.At first the Gaon considered himself from the aspect of Joshua, as is hinted at in the Torah on the verse “a perfect weight” (end of parshat
“Ki Tetzeh”), referring
to . Following this verse is the section on destroying
Amalek, which is the mission of Joshua, that is, from the left side. Thus this is the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef (see commentary of the Gaon on Tikunei Hazohar, p.27 on the verse, [Song
2:6] “his left hand under
my head.” The Gaon also writes that the perfect
weight is from the left side (that is, from the quality of Din). Immediately after the verses on Amalek,
the Torah speaks
of coming to the land of Israel.
Since the Gaon then
considered himself to be from the side of Joshua, that is from the aspect
of Mashiach ben Yosef, he traveled to the Holy Land. However,
on the way, he rose to the
level of the sefira Tiferet, the
level of Moshe Rabbeinu, may he rest in peace.
Then the Gaon saw his name hinted at in a
verse that refers to Moshe Rabbeinu, may be rest in peace: [Isa. 54:7] [606] “‘with abundant mercy I will gather you” and realized that
the gematria of the verse
equals that of his name [ ! equals 606] (see section
7 of this chapter). Likewise
: in gematria equals 606. Therefore, the Gaon
thought that he did not have permission to enter Eretz Israel; he could only transmit to his students, as Moshe did to Joshua,
that they, from the aspect of Joshua, should begin gathering
in the exiles. This is “the Lord’s war against Amalek from generation
to generation” [Ex. 17:16]. The Gaon gave one of his students the
wonderful hint that the verse: hints
at his name to three generations, and likewise the words offer a hint.
The Gaon was
born in 5480 in the 6th Millennium. He
considered this hinted at in the verse: “and Miriam took [gematria: 5480--the
is considered 5000] ‘the drum’
in her hand” [Ex. 16:20] against the
“Sitra
Achra.” The mission
of the Gaon is hinted
at in the Torah in the words
“a perfect weight” in parshat “Ki Tetseh”, which means the 6th
hundred of the 6th Millennium. The Gaon became
the light of the Mashiach when
he was 20 years old in the
year 5500, the first hour of the dawn in the 6th Millennium. Then the
last generation began. Afterwards, he
merited a revelation from our forefather Jacob, and profound
secrets were revealed
to him regarding all the footsteps of the Mashiach from the beginning of the Redemption up till and including the wondrous end at the end of days.
The Gaon saw in his holy spirit that he had risen to the level
999 in Yesod and that its abundance, the
abundance of good is divided into two hosts
equally. There are 499 1/2 on
the right, and 499 1/2 on the left. Together they add up to 1000 minus one, which is the channel
of good, the highest force for war against the Sitra Achra. The Gaon wrote about this and the
great hints regarding his name, when he discussed the Hebrew alphabet (Likutei Hagr”a), as noted above
in Section 7.
9.
Nothing exists that is not hinted at in the Torah and in the Mishna.
Every spiritual or material
creation as well as his mission, whether holy or impure is found there. This
is what is meant by our Sages (Chulin 139b) that Moshe Rabbeinu, the holiest of the
created beings, was hinted at in the
Torah; in contrast, Haman, the most impure being is also hinted at. Similarly, all the major and minor details of every creation,
and concerning every person according to the signs of his forefathers as well as according to his accepted
name, appear among the numerous
hints in the Bible and in the works of our Sages.
It is an important
principle regarding hints in notrikun and in gematria that the one hinted
at must appear
in a word or particular verse in the Bible or in
our Sages’ writings exactly as his name is written. Any hint that depends on a verse with a composite of words whose form is not exactly
like what appears in the Bible or in our Sages’ words, is valueless as a holy hint. This principle applies
to the basis of hints by the recorder and maintainer, in the Bible
or in our Sages’ words: each item must appear
in its exact language and
exactly how it is written. However,
whatever concerns the one hinted at,
i.e., whether matter or person, can also appear
according to the name accepted by the community--whether a matter of holiness or an everyday matter
is involved, for the voice of the multitude is like the voice of the Almighty.
10. Every man of Israel has a root above with his name according to the root of his soul and the merit of his forefathers. As is known, the name given a child at his birth is not given by
chance; rather, the name is placed in the
mouth of his father by Heaven according to the root of his soul. No one
has less than seven numbers, all of them hinted at in the Bible or in the Talmud, sometimes in both as revealed
in the deed and in gematria. This is
explained by the Gaon in Tikunei Zohar
Chadash. The seven numbers,
revealed in the verse “each stone has seven eyes [apertures], ” come
to a man on his flag in signs of his father’s house (for example: Yosef ben Jacob,
Yosef ben Rachel,
Yosef ben Yaacov
and Rachel, Yosef ben Jacob ben Isaac,
Yosef ben Jacob ben Isaac,
ben Abraham, Yosef’
... in combination with the
name of his family, or Yosef’ ... in
combination with the name of his work, or as called by the people).
All these belong
to the one hinted at, that is recorded with the numerical
value on the part of
the one who
hints and records everyone found in the Bible and in the Talmud, as mentioned
above.
The source of the sources for the basic
numbers is the first 10 creations, the ten sefirot, each of which was founded on a basic independent number.
Therefore, each is called a sephira as revealed in the word . They are the first mentioned by the verse [Isa. 40:26]
“Who brings out their hosts by
number, ” as is known. This is true
of every matter concerned with
combining letters with which the Heaven and Earth were created.
The Gaon was known to be precise regarding everyone’s name, as mentioned in the Talmud in connection with Reb Meir (Yoma 83b) regarding
an innkeeper named , whose
name is reminiscent of the verse:
, etc. [Deut. 32:20]
“for they are a deceitful generation, ” etc.
It seems that Reb Meir felt that a layer of Amalek had been attached
to the particular man, since in gematria Amalek equals [240], because
Amalek works through deceit, as is known.
This is what I [the writer of Kol HaTor] witnessed: Once, the Gaon realized that
a strange depression had taken hold of one of his students.
He asked him what his family name was, and was told that it was Mallin.
Then the Gaon requested that he immediately change his name since in gematria it equaled [131] Samael. At times a great righteous person who carries out many deeds has within his
name one of the numbers similar to
the number of the impure forces from the aspect
of “God made one in contrast to the other.” Our Sages explained that this was done so that the force of
holiness would overpower the contrasting force of impurity,
just like the number of counters
the number of Samael and his partner, Lilith [ and [611], or like counters [376].
There are other
such examples, as is known.
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With regard to
the verse , ‘a perfect and just
weight, ’ in which the Gaon saw his name and mission as explained above
(this chapter, 7) -- I respectfully
asked the Gaon about the second name of his father in connection with the words (because
the name of the Vilna Gaon’s father
was ! ), and this was his reply: “In what remains after the initial
letters of the two names in , you will find it.” I immediately
understood that he meant that the
initial letters of , that is ,
contain the hint of the names ; what was left after the two letters
were removed, i.e., the letters
and
equal !# [127]. He answered me in this way to strengthen
my spirit regarding the holy mission.
(Isa. 54:7) “with abundant
mercy I will gather you.” In this verse the Gaon saw a hint to his name as explained
above. Likewise in the verse that begins [Isa. 54:2] “expand the site of your tent.” In
this verse the Gaon saw the great mission
in terms of the three basic directions mentioned: ! ' '
expand, extend, strengthen that in gematria equal [606]. The Gaon figured that all these are in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef. And the
Gaon’s wonderful dream on the way to the Holy Land is known in the verse; “our feet stood” [Ps. 122:2] “in your gates,
O Jerusalem.”
11. The following are the ways
to achieve and find the name and mission of each
one of Israel in the Bible, revealed in “the
might of your hand to engage in doing
and accounting”: a) by noting the type of deeds, of lovingkindness and help extended to the community
and to other individuals by
someone, as well as what that person does to strengthen the holy Torah. b) by
the special inclination of a person to study a
particular matter in the Torah, a particular book, or the concealed teachings, etc. c) by the individual’s specfic moral suffering or specific success
in personal spiritual
and material matters.
With regard
to the someone’s unique mission
from Heaven in connection with the ingathering of the exiles in
any work that is related to the commandment of settling the Holy Land, every person
can find his name and mission in sentences which
include and conceal
the 156 aspects and appellations of the Mashiach of the beginning, Mashiach
ben Yosef. These are enumerated above in Chapter 2 with the help of Heaven. Only if there
is a difficult question related
to the community in matters
of settling the Holy Land, can one, through
kabbalists, also make use of the great secret
destiny, according to the Gaon, the destiny (
), “open for me the gates of righteousness, ” that is based on treasures concealed
in gematria and notrikun, as
revealed in in gematria. A secret name should
not be used except at a critical time, in order to save the community
and settle the Holy Land, or , even
more so, to prevent dishonoring God. The act
should be done only to repair Tsofnat
Paneach, by at least three righteous
people, as revealed in the verse: [Isa. 30:18] “happy are all who wait for Him.”
12. The revelation of the hints in the Torah progresses along with the progression of the footsteps
of the Mashiach in our Holy Land, until all
the hints in
the Torah will be revealed during the last generation. This is taught by
our righteous Mashiach, because the Torah will come forth from Zion [Isa. 2:3], meaning that hidden things and secrets will be revealed, may this occur speedily in our
lifetime. According to the Gaon, It
is an important principle that a literal interpretation is not correct if it does not accord with the secret
interpretation. Studying the Kabbalah should be done with modesty and humility,
as attested to in the verse: [Ps. 29:2] “bow to the Lord in the beauty of
holiness.” The initial letters (from left to right--i.e., in reverse order, [thus somewhat
concealed]) are
.But the teachings of “the law” are open, as attested
to in: [Ps. 98:4] “call
out to the Lord, all the earth, ” whose initial letters
(from right to left [thus more easily
grasped]) are .
During the
period of the footsteps of the Mashiach,
the revelations will begin little by little,
like the beginning
of the redemption which is compared
to the dawn according to our Sages, with the characteristic of gathering in the exiles and eradicating
the impure spirit from the land by settling
the land and setting up people of Truth. For
the goal of the Redemption in general
is the redemption of Truth and sanctification of God as explained in previous chapters. Redemption of the truth has a
double entendre -- literally, and the redemption of the wisdom of truth. This enhances the commandment and holy obligation to engage in studying
the Kabbalah, which contains the revelation of the secrets
of the Torah that is the holy mission of the Mashiach of the beginning of the
Redemption, Mashiach ben Yosef through whom the ingathering of exiles will occur. That hastens the Redemption until its completion by Mashiach
ben David and Moshe Rabbeinu, may they rest in peace; may this occur speedily
in our lifetime.
As far back as
his childhood, the Gaon began to study the concealed teachings after he knew well the Talmud
and their commentaries, etc., as is known By that time he was already delving
deeply and wonderfully into revelations of
the hints in the Torah, as mentioned above. When
he was only about 14 years old, he also learned
alot about the concealed teachings from great men in our community
of Shklav, relatives of his father,
his great grandfather R’ Shlomo Zalman, son of R’ Zvi, as well as from R’ Eli Zeitlis. He especially engaged much in the study of combining
letters related to the wisdom of creation. As we heard directly from his
holinesss, he did so in order to achieve and know how to create raw power with the help of God --- to use it to subdue Samael in the gates of
Jerusalem. That is why he began as far back as his childhood an awesome attempt
to create a Golem [automaton of clay], as is known.
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I will tell you a little,
as much as we are permitted to tell, about a sublime
vision, a wonderful sight,
that the Gaon envisioned shortly
after returning from his trip to the Holy Land in the
year 5542. The Gaon was then very deeply
concerned and in a spiritual quandary that is difficult to describe. On the one hand, he saw with his holy
spirit the great mission that Heaven
had placed on him to awaken and begin actively gathering in exiles.
On the other hand, he saw the awful dangers entailed, both in travelling to the Holy Land, and in the conditions of settling -- when Eretz
Israel was a desolate wilderness where contagious diseases prevailed, and where robbers and savages abounded. There were also the problems of obtaining necessities, such as economic
necessities, and of earning a living. Naturally, this was a great
responsibility. He was so deeply perplexed that we had never seen him like
that. He prayed alot while fasting and crying, hoping to receive
clear advice from Heaven. He also carried out many acts with secret emendations, etc. Indeed, he received a reply
in a
great and holy vision with revelations of upper spirits,
a revelation of our forefather Jacob regarding
“the final days, ” etc. (note of the
copyist: at this point, we must mention that the Gaon, Rabbi Chaim from Volozhin, a student of the Vilna
Gaon, writes in his introduction to the
Vilna Gaon’s commentary on Safra
D’Tzniuta, that the Vilna Gaon received
a revelation of our forefather Jacob and Elijah the Prophet). In that holy vision, he was told many verses
containing beneficial promises
concerning settling Eretz Israel, and containing hints of his own name. Among the latter were: [Isa. 44:2] “fear not, My servant Jacob, and Yeshurun, whom I have chosen.” It was
hinted to him that the words equal his name including 3 generations: ! [1200]. This was the first time
the Gaon saw his own mission in the great mission of Mashiach of the beginning of the Redemption, for in gematria equals [566]*.
Likewise the verse: [Ps. 76:3] “His tabernacle in Shalem, and his
dwelling in Zion” equals [1200] (this is discussed at length in chapters 2 and 3.) At the end of that chapter in Isaiah (44), in which
the Gaon saw his mission in the line
of Mashiach ben Yosef in the verse , the mission of Coresh is also discussed: [Isa. 44:28] “Who says of
Coresh, ‘he is My shepherd, ’” etc. The
Gaon wrote that the beginning of the Redemption comes as part of his mission. This sublime vision encouraged and strengthened the Gaon’s heart. From then on, he was no longer disturbed by the doubts
concerning the natural difficulties and dangers that he had worried about
beforehand.
With this
revelation, it was agreed to transmit to the Gaon the sublime mission
of returning the five vauvim that our forefather Jacob had removed
from the name of the prophet Eliyahu
[the name was spelled five
times] as a guarantee that he would come to announce the Redemption of his
children, as brought in the Midrash. At
first, the five vauvim were small, because
every filling in is from the quality of Din, like the beginning of the Redemption which is the quality of
Din.
The Gaon was thereby given the
power to prepare the way for the beginning by gathering in the exiles to complete the first part, as it
is written [Mal. 3:23] “behold I am sending you Elijah the prophet, ” etc. This mission of the Gaon was hinted to him at the time also in the
verse [Deut. 25:15] “a perfect and just stone [weight], ” which contains
the Gaon’s name , as is known from the secret of , which equals [52] when no letter is missing. After the
Gaon returned from his trip to the Holy Land, since he did not have permission from Heaven, as is known,
he transmitted his authority to one of his students, who was hewn from the same rock [who was of the same root] as himself, and whose name was
equal to five times ‘vau’ [% i.e., 13x5] on the level of Ze’er Anpin for the time being.
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It has been
said that the Gaon travelled from place to place to make himself an exile. However, his travelling has not been interpreted properly. The Gaon’s aim was primarily to check on what his People were doing and how they were behaving
morally. As the Gaon wrote,
man was created to subjugate evil qualities, and to repair himself and
others in accord with the holy Torah. Indeed, wherever the Gaon went, he did not reveal
himself to anyone,
but hid his identity so that he would appear
as a simple member of the Jewish People. However, before leaving
a place, he revealed
something about himself to the Rabbi of the community and to special people in the place. He admonished them to correct whatever moral deeds or Torah commandments, or
other good deeds needed improvement
in that particular community. Along
with this, he would rouse the people very much in connection with preparing for the ingathering of the exiles with many
explanations that “it is the time to favor her, for the designated time has come” [Ps. 102:14],
etc.
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The Gaon
revealed to all of his students who promised him faithfully to travel
to the Holy Land and to focus on settling
the Holy Land,
the secrets regarding the paths of the beginning of
the Redemption as revealed in “designated
deeds, times, and emissaries” as is written “the buds were seen on the land” [Song 2:12] with holy
hints concealed in the words of our
prophets and our Sages. But the great
secret concerning the final end, the
end from the right that the Gaon speaks about at great length in his Safra d’Tzniuta, and made his students swear in the name of the Lord,
God of Israel, that they would not reveal it, -- this secret he revealed
in Ze’er Anpin to some of his
students who promised faithfully to travel to
the Holy Land and occupy themselves in gathering in the exiles. The secret
of the End of Days, the beginning of the wonderous end, he revealed to one who was hewn from the same
rock as himself. Other hints regarding this matter--as much as we
are permitted to talk about, and which are revealed
in the manner of Tsofnat Paneach--will be discussed, with the
help of God in Chapter 5, as it says, “everything has its season, and there is a time for everything” [Koh. 3:1], with the help of Heaven.
Chapter 4
A Tripartite Disposition for the Footsteps of the Mashiach:
“Designated Deeds, Times,
and Emissaries”
Contents:
This chapter
presents the goal of the Redemption: the Redemption of Truth and sanctification of God leading
to the repair of the world in the Malchut
of the Almighty. -- The triple
cord--the “designated deeds, times,
and emissaries”--come together in a tripartite campaign. The designated emissaries begin carrying out the designated deeds, thereby
hastening the designated times. This
is alluded to in the verses: “the
buds were seen on the land, the songbird’s time has arrived, the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land”
[Song of Songs, 2:12]; “it is the
time to favor her when the designated time comes” [Ps. 102:14], “when
your servants have cherished her stones, and favored her dirt” [Ps. 102:15]. We must learn
to comprehend how
to combine
these three basic principles. To the
extent we hasten the Redemption, by
cherishing her stones and favoring her dust, the Redemption will hasten toward us. This is revealed by the words
“when the designated time comes, ” as well as by the verse:
“return to me, and I will return to you” [Mal. 3:7]. Accordingly,
holy hints about the designated times of remembrance and revealed end are disclosed
to us in the last generation that extends to the final
end, the concealed end.
According to our Prophets
and the Gaon’s explanations, the goal of the Redemption is the Redemption of Truth
and sanctification of God; the purpose
of our activity in general is to wage war against Armilus by gathering in the exiles and settling the
Holy Land, for that is what will redeem
the truth and sanctify God. This is
what Isaiah means by the words “He
has redeemed Jerusalem” (52:9), which is called the City of Truth [Zach. 8:3]. The Redemption of Truth can occur only after destroying the klipah shell/
layer of Esau that appears in the form of Armilus,
the epitome of the truth-hater. Esau
hates Jacob, the epitome of truth,
as indicated in the statement “you will grant truth to Jacob” [Micah 7:20].
The goal of the
redemption of truth is sanctification of God.
This was implied by the Gaon
in the order of a number of verses he cited.
First, “with their eyes they
will see the return of God to Zion” [Isa. 52:8], means that the exiles will be gathered in. Then the prophet calls out: “burst out, sing joyfully together, O
ruins of Jerusalem” [Isa. 52:9], which apparently refers to the rebuilding
of Jerusalem and ridding it of the
odor of impurity. The joy is because
“the Lord has comforted His People;
He has redeemed Jerusalem” [Isa. 52:9]. These words relate to the redemption of truth, for Jerusalem is
called the City of Truth. This statement is followed by: “God has
uncovered His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations”
[Isa. 52:10], which refers to sanctification of God. The verse alludes to Israel’s victory in
the War of Gog and Magog, through Mashiach ben Yosef who, according to the
Gaon, will appear following
the first redemption from the oppression of the kingdoms, with the great force
revealed in the words that God is truth and His seal is truth. Then “all ends of the earth will see the salvation of our
God” [Isa. 52:10], which is a reference to the revelation of our righteous Mashiach, Mashiach
ben David. The sanctification of God in the eyes of the nations will affect the sinners of Israel, and
they will repent of their evil ways. When they see that the other nations
recognize the power God has given
his people,
they will be embarrassed and return to God with recognition, thereby sanctifying God. This is what is meant by the verse
regarding the return of the captivity
of Zion: “then among the nations it will be said, ‘the Lord has done great things for
them.’” “The Lord has done great things
for us” [Ps. 126:2-3]. In the future, after the other nations recognize the great deeds that God has
done for the People of Israel, then
the entire nation of Israel, even those of little faith, will say, “The Lord has done great things for us.” The
purpose of the Redemption of the
Truth and sanctification of God is to unify the two meshichim, Mashiach
ben Yosef and
Mashiach ben David, the wood of Yosef and the wood of Judah, like the union of the Holy
One blessed be He and the Shechina. The purpose of the union of the two meshichim is to repair the world
in the Malchut of
the Almighty.
Practically, these are the principal paths for action
during the beginning of the Redemption when the awakening starts from below:
1.
a) gathering in the exiles;b) rebuilding
Jerusalem;c) eradicating the impure
spirit from the Land by planting the Holy Land and fulfilling the commandments that depend on living in
Israel, which is connected with the
revealed end; d) redeeming Truth by
setting up people of Truth; e) sanctifying
God;f) ! revealing the mysteries of the Torah;g) repairing the world
in the Malchut of
the Almighty.
2.
There is a great principle
in work involved in the footsteps of the Mashiach
that all three main principles--“designated deeds, times, and emissaries”--must converge in a threefold
cord that does not tear. This refers to the deeds, times, and messengers
alluded to in the verse, “the buds
were seen on the land, the songbird’s has arrived, the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land.”“The
buds were seen” refers to the deeds; “the songbird’s time” refers to the designated times; “the voice of the turtle-dove” refers to the
emissaries. Similarly, in the verse, “it is the time to favor her, for the designated time comes when your servants
have cherished her stones,
and favored her dust” [Ps. 102:14-15]. Similarly, is the verse, “there is a time for everything” [Koh. 3:17], means that the time has come according to Israel’s desire at
the time of the awakening from below. Likewise,
the verse “I am the Lord; in its time, I will hasten it” [Isa. 60:22] means that when the time comes,
God will hasten the process. When
will this occur? Immediately after the smallest one has become a thousand, as explained below in Chapter 5. We must observe, and do whatever
we can to help “the one who favors man with knowledge,
” as
said by our
Sages and according to the Gaon. We must utilize holy hints and all our ability in “deed and
gematria” to compare and completely unify
all three foundations in quantity and quality in levels and values, and strive to understand how to combine
the three basic principles with the help of the Rock of Israel and its Redeemer.
3.
The beginning of anything, whether great or small, connected with the footsteps of the Mashiach must be by the designated people, that is, the emissaries, messengers of the Above at the beginning of the Redemption, which will occur with designated deeds,
designated activities. The two together
will hasten the designated times,
that is, the times of the ends of the footstep levels (which number 999 in
the sefira Yesod) that are connected with the beginning of the
Redemption when the awakening comes
from below. The emissaries will begin
the deeds and hasten the designated times. This is attested to in the verse “you will have mercy on Zion for it is the time to favor her, when the designated time comes” [Ps. 102:14]. When will this be? “when your servants
have cherished her stones and favored
her dust” [Ps. 102:15], then “the
other nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the Earth
Your glory, for the Lord God will have built Zion and be
seen in his glory” [Ps. 102:16-17]. Our sages in the Jerusalem Talmud and in Tosefot Yom Tov revealed
that the Redemption will begin, as in the days of Coresh, just like the Second Temple, with the permission of the kings
of the nations. The Gaon comments
that the verse
“he will fulfill
all my desires” [Isa. 44:28]
refers to the revealed end mentioned by our Sages.
When will this occur? It will occur
when the voice of the turtle-dove is heard and the buds are seen on the land.
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What will hasten the designated time?
It is possible to hasten
deeds, but how can
one hasten a designated time that is determined beforehand? In the 6th millennium - - - referred to as “a time,
a time and a half” [Dan. 12:7], which signifies every period of time according to its designated activity (?), and ‘the half’ to ‘half’ and so on. For whenever a deed is done when the
awakening comes from below, the
quality of Din on the left side will
be aided by the quality of
Lovingkindness from the right side, as explained below. Thus every designated
time will be cut in half, and this is what is meant by “when the time comes.” It means we will not
have to go as far as the designated time, rather
will the time come to us after
“your servants have cherished her stones and favored her dust.” And it will be
completed from the middle line,
with the quality
of mercy by way of the middle column as stated at the beginning of the verse: “you will have mercy on Zion” [Ps. 102:15], etc. Similarly, the Midrash on the verse, “a redeemer will come to
Zion” [Isa. 59:20] denotes
that the coming of the Redeemer
depends on the rebuilding of Zion.
“Everything has
its season, and there is a time for every desire” [Koh. 3:1]. According to the Gaon, the season
and time accord with the desire, and that is what is meant by “every desire.” In
the Talmud we note four sections regarding
the mode of Redemption: a) If the people repent, they will be saved; otherwise, they will not be. b) If they do not repent, God will place a king over them whose decrees
are harsher than those of Haman; so the Jews will repent
and be saved. c) The redemption will come at first by the return
of the captivity of Zion,
even if there is only “one from a city or two from a family” [Jer. 3:14], according to Reb Yehoshua. This is what is
meant by the Revealed End. d} The Redemption will come in any case at
its designated time, which is
referred to as “the concealed end.” However, beforehand one must consider that all of the views
expressed are those of the Living God. Therefore
the Gaon told us that we must progress and select the mode that is within our power, that is, the third mode. Should we accomplish this and fulfill
this mode, then there will be no need for our Sages’ warnings regarding
harsh decrees. Since the fulfillment will stimulate general repentance,
there will be no need to set up a
king whose decrees are harsher than Haman’s decrees. The revealed end will thus hasten the culmination of the Redemption.
Regarding the
view that all ends have ended, this refers to the designated times during which designated deeds by
designated emissaries were not carried out, as explained
above. a Regarding the statement that the bones
of those who try to figure
out the ends should swell, this refers to those who compute the figures
without considering the deeds that are necessary
when the awakening comes from
below. They do not take into
consideration the beginning that
comes with the first Mashiach, Mashiach ben Yosef, in order to prepare the way for the great
redemption by deeds. The term “bones”
is used to indicate that such people
sin against the “bones of Yosef” which contain the mystery of Mashiach
ben Yosef as revealed in the verse:
“Moshe took the bones of
Yosef with him” [Ex. 13:19]. Should we hasten the Redemption, by cherishing her stones and favoring her dust, then the Redemption will come closer, as revealed
in the verse: “when the time comes, ” and as is written:
“return to me and I will return to you. -- To this
extent the holy hints about the designated times
and the revealed
end will be disclosed
to us in the final generation which will reach the final end, “the wondrous end” [Dan. 12:6], until the end of the days when the blessing will be completed as indicated by the verse:
“his right hand on Efraim’s head” [Gen. 48:17].
Some of this matter is revealed through “explaining what is hidden.” In the following chapter, with
the help of God, we will discuss this matter to the extent we are permitted to reveal the hints.
Chapter 5
The Interpreter’s Seven Repairs To Qualify for the Redemption
Contents:
All the principles of the beginning of the Redemption and its footsteps, its ways and actions that are interlaced with the three bases: “designated deeds, times, and emissaries,
” as well as everything connected with “deed and gematria [numerology]” -- all are interconnected
and held together by the Interpreter’s seven repairs. This is revealed in the secret of 999 in the sefira Yesod, the level of Mashiach
ben Yosef and in the secret of the two hosts in the sefira Nezach and
in the sefira Hod where the two meshichim, Mashiach ben Yosef
and Mashiach ben David, nest. We are obligated in practice to reach the final level of the awakening
from below, which is 999 in the sefira Yesod, i.e., one thousand minus
one, which refers to the 999 footsteps
of the Mashiach. Every good deed
performed naturally can prompt up to 1000 times that amount of miraculous help. That is what is meant by the verse, “the smallest will
become a thousand.” The level of good is the mission
of our Rabbi, the Vilna Gaon. The statement, “everything has its season,
and there is a time for everything” conceals hints concerning the
paths of the beginning of the
Redemption, as revealed by the Interpreter. The
ends of the designated times for the footsteps of the Mashiach
are revealed in the verses: “the songbird’s time has
arrived, ” and it is the time to favor her.”
All this will occur during the seven periods of remembrance between the first hour of light of the
sixth millennium in the period of the final days of the last generation, until [Dan. 12:6] the final end, the concealed end.
A.
The entire beginning
of the Redemption, its footsteps, ways and actions, and the details inherent in all
“the designated deeds, times, and
emissaries” as noted above (Chapter 4), both what belong to “deed” as well as what belong to
“accounting” regarding secrets and intentions,
whether with regard to revealed matters or to concealed matters--all are connected
and held fast by the Interpreter’s repairs
as revealed in 999 in the sefira Yesod from the aspect of Mashiach ben Yosef, and by the two hosts in the sefirot of Netzach and Hod where the two meshichim, Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David nest. This is revealed in the verse: “the
smallest will become a thousand” [Isa. 60:22], etc. which refers to the level of good, as clarified by the verse “a good [bountiful] eye will be
blessed” [Prov. 22:9], and which is
in line with Mashiach ben Yosef and
inherent in the mission of the Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna.
B.
The footsteps of the beginning of the Redemption within the three foundations, “designated deeds, times, and emissaries, ” must proceed
and be accomplished till the final level of the awakening from below,
which is the level of 999 in the sefira
Yesod, the level of 1000 minus 1. They must not recede, God forbid, due to
some difficulty or stumbling block. This is all the more so on the last levels
where the Sitra Achra becomes more powerful, for in order to counter the Sitra Achra’s
power, in accord with a clear and promised accounting, the miraculous holy force, the upper
abundance, salvation and success become more powerful (see below). It is an important rule that whenever a religious commandment is
carried out, and whenever a prayer is uttered, a man should think about
unifying himself with, and binding himself to the intentions of two
hosts, the Lord of Hosts and the God of hosts,
i.e., Din and Lovingkindness, and he should focus on the median line between the numbers 499
1/2 on the left, and 499 1/2 on the right.
As noted above,
all the work involved in gathering in the exiles is in preparation of setting up and “maintaining people of truth, ” in order to reach
the level of redemption of the truth and sanctifying God and repairing the world in the Malchut
of the Almighty
that is the goal of the complete Redemption. For without the existence of people of
truth, there is no hope, God forbid,
for all the work involved
in the beginning of the
Redemption. As written, “Jerusalem
was destroyed because people of Truth
were missing from it” [Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 119b]. The level of truthful men comes only following the Interpreter’s seven
repairs not only
in thought and unification of secret intentions, but also in the integration of the repair of related
deeds.
My revered
father, author of The Burden of Benyamin, who understood the secret of the “silver
goblet, ” defined
the repairs according
to their plain interpretation as well. In addition, he explains at length that
the main place for the repairs is in Jerusalem
and its gates,
the site of the main battleground for God’s war against
Amalek. Each repair must reach the final level of the awakening from below, that is 1000 minus 1, or
999 in the sefira Yesod as is known. That is the highest number of Mashiach ben Yosef as
meant by the verse: “the smallest will become a thousand, ” etc. These are the definitions:
Repair
1: “equality.” There must be equality of measurement in the two hosts:
“their feet, a straight foot” [Ez. 1:7],
499 1/2 on the right, and 499 1/2 on the left, etc. This is also true regarding deeds
between man and his fellow man in order to set up
people of Truth on the median line.
According
to the plain meaning, equality means that each person must equate
himself to the other members of his community.
He must not regard himself as
superior or greater than others, neither materially nor spiritually. This
is what is meant by the verse in the Talmud “Mashiach ben David
will not come until all measurements are equal”; (Sanhedrin 98a) -- “until all the prices are equal.”
Repair 2: “elevation.” A person must elevate himself
spiritually and by performing good deeds, with the assistance of the might and secret
of “Metatron, Minister
of Interior” to the level of the upper lights,
the level the sounds of the shofar reach. [999 in gematria] is the angel of Mashiach ben Yosef. His name equals
999 in the sefira Yesod, .
According to the
plain meaning, elevation means that each one must elevate himself and rise up from the level of animals and low materialism. He must elevate himself and rise spiritually with regard to his virtues, emotions, and education,
because a person who remains stagnant,
that is, who does not strive to rise spiritually and raise himself with superior achievements is
likened to an animal and, like wide beasts,
is liable to commit any evil deed,
God forbid.
Repair 3: “inclusiveness.” All-including, as revealed
by the appellation God the Almighty, when one spells
and adds up the names of the
letters
comprising that appellation [ equals 999 in gematria], and as revealed by the idea of inclusiveness, as
well as by the verse “Out of Zion, the all-encompassing beauty”
[Ps. 50:2].
The plain meaning is inclusiveness û being included
within the community. The individual has only what the community has: “all of Israel is responsible for one another.”
Each person is part of the community. Nothing in Israel is separate and personal
in all aspects, whether it involves improving
the community or helping others.
Likewise, regarding reproving one another, for as it says, “Jerusalem was destroyed only because people did not
admonish one another” [Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 119b].
Repair 4: “purification” as revealed by coupling in the upper purity, at the
level of tal orot, which is the root
and place of purification in the mystery of the three levels [keter, chochma,
bina]: the aleph,
the reish and the shin, revealed in [Hos. 2:21] “I will betroth you to me, ” etc., and in the word , which means that the
‘vau’ will descend to the ‘heh’ to connect
the passageway for the souls.
The plain meaning is purification (or sanctification) û purification from the
tendency toward natural lusts that destroy the body and soul; purification from impure thoughts
and the like. One should
strive for a pure spirit
that leads to the holy spirit.
Repair 5: “establishing new ideas or interpretations, ” revealed by the verse: ! “this month is for you” [Ex. 12:2] [the word can be read as ‘month’ or as ‘new’]. The new ideas concern what is revealed
and what is concealed in the Torah. They are revealed
in 999 in the sefira Yesod, and in the mystery of: “the letter
æ tet’ is a good sign, ” that is found in three
worlds. The word appears at the
beginning of the Torah in connection with light. It is related
to the statement that there
will be “a new
light” over Zion, and to the verse “for from Zion the Torah will go forth” [Isa. 2:3] û that is, the
teachings of our righteous Mashiach will be revealed little by little during the
period of the footsteps of the Mashiach.
The plain
meaning is that the new ideas concern the period after the levels mentioned. Then everyone must offer new explanations for what is written in the Torah and perform
additional good deeds, for every
member of Israel has a special task in this world: to reveal new
interpretations
of the Torah and to add and create good activities on behalf of the community as revealed by his “deeds and gematria.” Repair
6. “overcoming.” Overcoming all the forces
of Amalek with the force of “the angel of hosts”“at the head
of the people” [Deut. 20:9], and to disregard the muddy valley.
“When Moshe lifted
his hand” then Israel
was victorious, and Aaron and Hur, who were in the line of the two meshichim, supported Moshe.
The plain
meaning of overcoming is that one must overcome the general impure spirit. Whoever
has already merited rising to all the previous
levels, has the strength to overcome the impure forces, not only in a defensive war, but also in a
wave for “the defense of Israel.” He can destroy the impure spirit,
the evil spirit of Amalek,
and eradicate it from the
midst of Israel. The evil inclination
and all the vices must be completely overcome.
Repair 7. “unity.”
This refers to the unification of the Holy One blessed
be He and the Shechina as
revealed by the three letters
of the Hebrew alphabet 999 in the sefira Yesod, because when the two pieces of wood, the wood of Yosef and the wood of Judah, are combined into “one in My hand, ” that is, in the hand of
God, then truth is redeemed up to
the level of “like a bridegroom’s rejoicing over his bride” [Isa. 62:5], i.e., the Redemption is completed. The plain meaning is that unity refers to unification with the Holy
One Blessed be He. After rising all the previous six levels, it is possible
to attain the level of the unification of the Holy One Blessed be He
with the Shechina, and the return of the Shechina to Zion and the completion of the Redemption, may it happen speedily, Amen.
C.
On the extent of miraculous help from Heaven at the time of the footsteps
of the Mashiach. The help of Heaven in general, and miracles
in particular, are a matter of measure for measure. Heaven measures a man
as he measures his fellow man. That
means that Heaven aids a person
similarly to how that person practically and
naturally fulfills a commandment. It is done level for level on the basis
of 499 1/2 from the left, and 499 1/2 on the right, as explained by the Gaon in many places (especially in his
compositions Yahel Or, and “The Luster of the Dawn”).
One may ask, “How is it possible
to act at the beginning, even more so to take a risk in doing something with the expectation of a 50% natural, 50% miraculous outcome,
since to begin
with, we do not depend
on a miracle?” But the accounting is such that
the miraculous aspect constitutes a higher percentage of the outcome
than the other aspects. Now
when it comes to deeds concerning the footsteps of the Mashiach, especially deeds performed by the community, the Gaon maintains that
Heaven’s miraculous help is far greater
than the measure for measure account. At
times, the help of heaven is 1000 times greater.
The account is
considered as follows: the highest level of awakening from below, both in what is possible and in what each
individual member of the community
has to reach and achieve
in practice regarding
repairs and for salvation, is the level of 999 in Yesod (Likutei Hagra), that is, until the level of
“1000 lakes” as is known. The phrase “1000
lakes” hints at the gematria and the might of the two [499x2] hosts,
as the Gaon explains in many places, which nest in the sefirot Netzach and Hod. Netzach and Hod represent the two legs of the
cypress tree level where the two meshichim are
found. The level of the last
1000 is completed by the small aleph in the !
Ze’er Anpin, as revealed by
the verse: “the smallest [will become] a thousand” [Isa. 60:22]. This completes
the number 500 on each side, and they are in
the two sefirot Netzach
and Hod.He (Netzach) is concealed in the letter‘
vau’;she (Hod)is concealed in the letter ‘heh’ of the Holy Name. Accordingly, every level on the left line which
is Dinim, is immediately joined by the same level on the right side, which is miraculous Lovingkindness. Now when the deed is performed in public, then the personal merit of each person according
to the root of his soul from the
middle line, the line of Mercy, is added to the merit of the entire group. This
is especially true when the exiles are being gathered in, about which it states:
“with abundant mercy
I will gather you in.”
After all this,
the last level of the awakening from below is reached, that is, the level of 999 steps, which is the perfection of 999
in the sefira Yesod of three worlds, and its completion by the small
aleph. Immediately afterwards, the upper abundance
of the great Aleph of the Arich Anpin is added, in which case each
Aleph is a thousand times greater than the entire
lower aleph, the small aleph
of the Ze’er Anpin, where Mashiach
ben Yosef nests (two friends who do not separate). All this is accomplished with the upper abundance and
miraculously. As known,
the blessing of God comes from the abundance of the Great
God, as expressed in the verse: “May God increase
you a thousandfold and bless you” [Deut. 1:11], etc. This also
explains the figures in the verse:
“one will chase a thousand” [Deut. 32:30].
D.
Similarly, it must be known and remembered that the forces of impurity,
the klipot layers of the Sitra Achra
also have levels
of 499 1/2 on the right and
499 1/2 on the left as noted in the Zohar (see , p. 27). They are called
“the muddy valley.” When they reach the final levels, God forbid, they can attain all the power of Esau and Ismael
(the ox and donkey of impurity)
together, and destroy
the entire world. However, God made one to counter
the other: to counter the forces of impurity
are the great forces of the same levels of holiness of the two meshichim--the
holy ox and donkey. They have the same number 499 1/2 on one side and 499 1/2 on the other side, as explained
above. The holy ones counterattack, etc. They stand against the impure forces like an iron wall and fortified city. These are the “horns of the ox” at the opening of the city,
on the middle line in the gates of Jerusalem on the west, where
the fortress of Joseph’s angel will be in the war against the angel of Esau. There,
“will gore nations together, to the ends of the earth” [Deut. 33:17].
E.
“There is hope for your future” (Jer. 31:16). At first glance, the verse seems
difficult, for hope generally applies
at the beginning of something, not at its end. How is Rachel comforted by a statement that at the end there will be only hope? What kind of ultimate
salvation is hope alone? The answer is that in this case the letters
mean that the Redemption
will be completed on the level of the great 1000 from the sefira
Daat, by 500 [in gematria] in ‘vau’ and 500 in ‘ heh’. At first this occurs at the awakening from below as
explained above (note of the copyist:
as explained in the commentary of the Gaon in the book Yahel Or on parshat “Mishpatim, ” and also in the book Likutei Hagra , p. 27, and the commentary Beer Yitzchak
there, and in many other places in the Gaon’s
commentaries), when the two armies
are taken hold of: 499 1/2 on the right and 499 1/2 on the left or, altogether 999, which is 1000 minus 1. At that point the level of the thousand is completed by the abundance
from above of the great thousand from the sefira Daat, and 500 is completed
on each side as well as above and below. This
is what it means by “in your future,
” that is, as explained above, your completion will be . When will this happen?
After your children
return to their border, as is written
there [Jer. 31:17].
F.
With all our might in deed and gematria we must draw the upper abundance of Redemption power from the
quality of Lovingkindness of the great thousand
until the end of the awakening-from-below level,
as noted above. And the ‘vau’ will descend toward the ‘heh’ as stated
in the holy Zohar, until their measurements equal
499 1/2 on the right and 499 1/2 on
the left on the level of and with the power of two periods [of time] in the sense of the verse: “her period has
been completed” [Isa. 40:2] in Jerusalem. At this point the two levels are reached equally: the quality of Din and the quality of Lovingkindness in the sefirot Netzach and
Hod, at the base of the cypress over
God’s footstool. Then Jerusalem is at a stage of equality precisely as revealed
in the words “make my legs like those of rams and their legs a
straight leg with equal numbers on the right, on the left, above and below. This
refers to the ‘vau’ and ‘heh’ of the holy name which contain the two meshichim,
who unite in one all-inclusive number: 1000
minus 1. Immediately, the upper
abundance of the great Aleph descends
through the agency of Moshe Rabbeinu, may he rest in peace, who is the final redeemer who completes the number 1000,
as revealed in the words: [Song 8:12] “the thousand
is yours, who completes
it.” Similarly, in gematria the words Mashiach ben Yosef Mashiach ben David equal 1000 [566 + 434]. This is the secret of the ingathering of exiles coming first from the North. Similarly with regard to every mitzvah and especially so every
instance of salvation for Israel in
general, all the forces and special upper attributes are drawn from above to below in this manner, by
lifting and raising the lower, natural force to the final level of 499 1/2 on the left till that same level is reach on the right line with the help of
God by means of the middle line, which is the line of mercy, through
the sefira Yesod.
G.
The Gaon explained the verse: “the smallest will become a thousand and the youngest a mighty nation; I am the
Lord; in its time, I will hasten it”
[Isa. 60:22]. Our sages understood the words “in its time I will hasten it” to refer to two ways. If they the people [of Israel] are worthy, I will hasten in; if they are not
worthy, it will occur at its predetermined
time. In neither case does the
Biblical verse lose its literal
meaning, that when the time comes, I will hasten it. When will this occur?
When the youngest
becomes a thousand,
that is, when we ourselves reach the level of the small thousand,
at the awakening from below, and the youngest becomes a mighty
nation. The smallest and youngest is Efraim, who is Mashiach ben Yosef whose mission is the ingathering of exiles. A mighty nation refers to the number 600,
000; then, even though
its time has come, I will hasten it [the process].
This is the middle road that our Sages discuss
in their interpretations.
In the repairs of Tsofnat Paneach are
18 special attributes of the upper
abundance of God’s blessings. All are concealed in the mystery
of 999 in the sefira Yesod,
which is the highest number of Mashiach
ben Yosef when the awakening
comes from below. That is the meaning of “the smallest
will become a thousand, ” etc., as explained below. Each of these 18 special attributes is bound by this number,
each one in its own place in line, as noted below.
In everything we
do to gather in the exiles and settle the Holy Land, and in all our prayers
for the life and success
of Mashiach who comes
at the beginning of the Redemption, Mashiach
ben Yosef, we must always focus on this exalted number,
999 in the sefira Yesod, in order to achieve, with the might of our hand, what is revealed
in “deeds and gematria” according
to the Gaon. We must strive to rise to the level
of this number, which is the
highest level of the awakening from below. And
may the God who has chosen Zion help us with the full and complete
help of God to reach the great thousand, when the complete
Redemption will come,
may it do so speedily
in our days, Amen.
H.
In general, the 18 special traits or circumstances associated with Mashiach
ben Yosef that require repair according to the Interpreter (Tsofnat Paneach) are as follows:
1) The unity of the two meshichim in
“two hosts 499 1/2 on the left and 499 1/2 on the right that together equal 999. 2) The abundance of good on the level of good, 999 in the sefira
Yesod, which, according
to the Gaon, refers to Yosef, as revealed
by the verse “a good eye will be blessed”
(Prov. 23:7). 3) The source of blessing, the blessing of [Deut.
16:10] “almighty God” when the
names of the letters of the two words are spelled out and added up.
( In this case, the sum is 999) 4) Mitigating judgments by [999] “Metatron Minister of Interior” the
one who brings the sound of the
Shofar to Heaven. 5) The abundance of
lights which is the ! [999] sperm of the sefira Yesod. 6). The might of the upper host by the [999] “angel of hosts.” 7) The unity of the
Holy One blessed be He with the Shechina
by 3 combinations of letters [ : 999]. û
8) 43Purification of the three worlds
by the letter ‘tet’ [999] as written
“my inner self yearns for him” [Jer. 31:19]. 9) Engaging in the
war against Esau and Ismael, referred to as [999] “the foot of an ox and a donkey.”
10) Purification of the Holy Land by fulfilling the commandments related
to the land, for ! [Lev. 26:34]
[999] “then the land will be appeased.” 11) Removing the desolation,
referring to the muddy valley and making it [Hos. 2:17] [999] “an opening of hope.” 12) Lights from darkness, and sweetness
from power, as
inferred in the verse: [999] [Ps. 30:6]. 13) The source of salvation, God, will act [999] [Ps. 20:7] “with the omnipotent acts of salvation of His right hand, ” in the
sense meant by Jacob when he placed his right hand on Efraim’s
head. 14) The blessing of “expansiveness”
as noted in ”Now God has expanded us and we will multiply in the land” [Gen. 26:22] as promised [999] [Gen.
22:17] “like the sand on the
seashore.” 15) Abundance of might as revealed in ! [999] [Jud. 5:23] the
one who came à“to the aid of the Lord against
mighty men.” 16) The humble spirit of the two meshichim as revealed in [999] [Ps. 37:11] “the humble will inherit
the earth.” 17) Pleasantness with trials, as revealed in ! [999] [Ps. 126:6] “who bears
the measure of seeds.” 18) The blessing
of dew and satiety, as revealed
by [999] [Mal. 3:10] “the windows of
the Heavens” as is written “I will
open for you the windows of the Heavens and pour out on you blessings
without limit.”
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As an emissary of the Holy One of Heaven, with a mission
placed upon me, Hillel son of Benjamin
- - -
I am obligated
to arouse and to educate people regarding this, as explained above and as revealed by the supreme number 999 in the sefira Yesod, in which my name is hinted at in the letters which include the name of my forefathers, that was
revealed to me by the holy spirit of
the Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, may his merit protect us, in the words, deeds
and gematria [his name, equals --the Revealed End-- in gematria: 279].
I.
As explained above, there is a great and exalted value in mentioning the 18 special characteristics associated
with Mashiach ben Yosef, when performing deeds at the time of the awakening from below, such as
when gathering in the exiles and settling the Holy land. Also, one should focus on the great number
of Mashiach ben Yosef which is 999 in Yesod. This is the 999 (1000 minus 1) that is hinted at [section deleted
-author] in the 18 special
attributes mentioned above as revealed by the words, “the smallest will
become a thousand.” We should do the
above in order to draw and interconnect the upper abundance from all 18 special attributes
for every deed, with the
help
of God. The prayer “Yosef still lives” is especially helpful,
as explained above in Chapter
1 where there is a discussion of the special
prayer for the life and peace of Mashiach
ben Yosef who will accomplish the
ingathering of exiles and the settlement of the Holy Land according to the Gaon. Below is a shortened form of this prayer.
The Prayer “Yosef Still Lives”
Our Father in
Heaven, have mercy on the remainder of Yosef your people, Merciful Father,
Redeemer of Israel and Jerusalem, who causes the horn of
salvation to sprout, please help and please bring success to the faithful emissary, the Mashiach
of the beginning
of the Redemption, Mashiach ben
Yosef, who bears our sicknesses and suffers
our pains in his war against the enemy of Israel, the wicked Armilus.
As it says, “and the House of Jacob will be a fire, and the House of Yosef a flame, and the House of
Esau will become straw” [Ov. 1:18],
“and saviors will ascend Mount Zion to judge Mount Esau, and the kingdom will be the Lord’s” [Ov. 1:21] and the Lord will become King over the whole Earth. Yosef is still alive, Yosef is still alive, Yosef is still alive. The son of David is alive and exists. Our Father,
the Merciful Father, who chooses Jerusalem and dwells in Zion, in your great goodness, may your anger be abated from your people, your city and your property. May we all merit seeing speedily the revelation of the holy vision sent from your holy dwelling
place as hints to Rabbi Eliyahu son of Shlomo the
light of Mashiach ben Yosef on
the level of Good, revealed
in the holy verses: “Do not be afraid my servant
Jacob, or Yeshurun whom I have chosen” [Isa.
44:27]; “His tent [is] in Shalem
and his dwelling place in Zion” [Ps. 76:3]; “visualize Zion, the city of our designated time, your eyes will see
Jerusalem a tranquil habitation”
[Isa. 33:20]. On the level of the upper lights. Rock of our heights,
shield of our salvation, protect
the wood of Josef in the hand
of Efraim, raise
the horn of your Mashiach ben Yosef, as it says:
“his horns are the horns of an ox with which he gores nations” [Deut. 33:17]..
Increase his strength to stand firmly, as in “he emplaced his arrow firmly” [Gen. 49:24] in his difficult war against the enemies of your people, our oppressors, as you promised
with regard to the fall of Gog and Magog (Ez. 39): “You will fall on
the mountains of Israel, you and all
your flanks, and the peoples accompanying you ... Then the inhabitants
of the cities of Israel will go out and kindle fires and fuel them with their weaponry-shields ... On that day I will grant Gog a burial site place there in Israel ... and there they will bury Gog and
all
his multitude, and call it the Valley of Hamon Gog [Gog’s Multitude] ... I
will make my glory evident among the nations, and the nations will see My justice
executed by me, and My hand that I have placed against
them. Then the House of Israel will know that I am the Lord your God
... Therefore, ... now I will return the captivity of Jacob and show mercy to the entire House of Israel, and be zealous for My Holy Name.”
Lift us up and help us, Rock of our strength,
to reach--by our deeds in connection
with our holy heritage--the level of the great and holy number (Metatron Minister of Interior) of the angel of Mashiach
at the beginning, which is “999 in
the sefira Yesod” held together by
two hosts, one on the right side and the other on the left.
- - - - - -May
all the nations of the earth see the salvation of our Lord speedily.
Our Father, Merciful Father, may this time be a time of mercy and goodwill before You, etc. on the basis of the merit of those who occupy themselves with the repairs
noted by the Interpreter
[Tsofnat Paneach], and concentrate on
eradicating the spirit of impurity
and sanctifying your great and holy name. May you show mercy and goodwill also because of the merit of those who occupy themselves with settling our Holy Land and building
Jerusalem, and the merit of those of your children who live on your heritage, suffering the tribulations of
Eretz Israel, and accepting the tribulations with love to sanctify your name and hasten the Redemption
of your people and your property, may it come quickly.
Based on this
merit, may ben Yosef, the Mashiach of
the beginning, live, not fall, as prayed
by the faithful friend, Moshe Rabbeinu, may he rest in peace, by King David, may he rest
in peace, as well as by the great Sages,
who like angels,
prayed on behalf of the life and success
of the Mashiach of the beginning, Mashiach ben
Yosef, Amen. As the righteous people of the world have
decreed, when righteous people issue
a decree, then the Holy One blessed be He fulfills it. Yosef is still alive.
Alive still is Yosef. The son of David is alive and exists. A righteous persons lives by his faith. Then the tree of Yosef and the tree of Judah will become one in the hand
of the Lord, and whatever he does, the Lord makes prosper.
Efraim is my
favorite son, a delightful child, so whenever I speak of him I remember
him more and more? Therefore, my inner self yearns for him, I will surely
take pity on him, says the Lord” [Jer. 31:19].
“May the
pleasantness of the Lord be upon us, and our deeds be established for us” [Ps. 90:12]
in connection with all the 18 special and emanated
attributes associated with the Mashiach of the beginning with the full complement of what is related to each attribute
on the level of 999 in the sefira Yesod, as revealed in the verses:
“the smallest will become a thousand and the youngest
a mighty nation”;
“I am the Lord; in its time, I will hasten it”; “in distress I called
out to the Lord, and he answered me with expansiveness” [Ps. 118:5].
Following this
prayer, one must recite the chapters listed above in Chapter 1.
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I am still
praying for the success of my special mission, that Heaven placed upon me with holy hints from the root of the upper lights on the level of good, as part of the holy mission of the Gaon
on the level of Metatron and Yosef found in the mystery
of 999 in Yesod, that equals 1000 minus 1, which is the highest rung of the ladder of the Mashiach of the beginning, Mashiach ben Yosef, during the final stage of the footsteps of the Mashiach. This was hinted to me by the holy spirit of the Gaon on the basis of the gematria
of the letters of my name and those of my forefathers: ” [999]
“Hillel, son of Benyamin, son of Shlomo Rivalis.”
[fn. Reb Shlomo
Rivalis is the Gaon Reb Shlomo Rivalis (Rivlin), the Gaon’s cousin.
He was the president of the main committee of “the Four Countries” in Shklov. The hint mentioned was taken seriously by Reb Hillel, who composed “Kol HaTor.” This hint, his other hints and those of his colleagues, students of the Gaon, regarding their
mission to promote the ingathering of the exiles (explained in the book “Vision of Zion”), were actually a fundamental secret
behind their enthusiastic yearnings and efforts
on behalf of settlement in the Holy Land.]
This is what I
requested, and directed my children and their descendants to do, in addition to always saying a prayer
following the prayer “Yosef is still alive” on behalf of the promotion
and success of the great,
holy and exalted
mission of the Mashiach of the beginning, as an inherent
part of the “revealed end” and “concealed end” until the end of the Redemption and the End of Days, may it come speedily.
The Purpose
of the Redemption: the Redemption of Truth and Sanctification of God
We must
strengthen ourselves to promote the Redemption, that is, the redemption of the truth and sanctification
of God according to the Gaon’s commentary
on the following verses: “for every eye will see when God returns to Zion” [Isa. 82:8]. This
refers to the ingathering of exiles. “Break out in joy, sing together, O ruins of
Jerusalem” [Isa. 52:9] refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and removing the
impure spirit from the land. “For the Lord has comforted his People, He has
redeemed Jerusalem” [Isa. 52:9] refers
to the redemption of the truth, since Jerusalem is referred to as the City of Truth in “God has uncovered His
holy arm before the eyes of all the nations”
[Isa. 52:10], etc. This refers to sanctifying God, as the words of the prophecy
indicate, and as written in the continuation of the verse:
“the ends of the earth will see the salvation of
God.” These verses hint at Israel’s victory
in the War of Gog and Magog by Mashiach
ben Yosef, according to the Gaon
(comment of the copyists: in the book Likutei
Agadot, p.15, 53”), the war of
Gog and Magog will take place after the first redemption from oppression by the monarchies. According to the above explanation, it seems clear
that preparation for the great victory is by redemption of the Truth and sanctification of God.
This helps us
understand well the words of the Goan in his chapter on “The Mystery
of the [Hebrew] Letters, ” that during
the period of the ingathering of the exiles,
the Sitra Achra will
become stronger (comments
of the copyist: in Likutei
Hagr”a “the secret of the Letters, p. 40,
the commentary “Be’er Yitzchak” brings the Gaon’s comment
that the verse: “the redeemed of the Lord
will return” refers to Mashiach ben Yosef
who is the first redeemer, through whose agency the ingathering of exiles will be accomplished. Then, during the footsteps of the Mashiach, the Sitra Achra will
be most powerful). The main desire of the Sitra
Achra is to uproot the truth, and this is what is meant by the verse: “Esau hates Jacob, ” because Jacob is in the
line of truth, as is written
“give Truth to Jacob.” The Sitra Achra knows that the goal is
redemption of the truth and sanctification of God. which occur along with the ingathering of the exiles and
rebuilding Jerusalem as explained above. The
Sitra Achra also knows that as the
footsteps of the Mashiach progress, so the end of the power of impurity nears. He therefore
girds himself with all his strength and power to wage his battle to uproot the truth and every good deed
that leads to sanctification of God. We
can thus understand what our Sages meant
by their comments
on the footsteps of the Mashiach
(Sota, 49b)
where the Talmud states:
“during the footsteps of the Mashiach, truth will be missing
and brazenness will be blatant,
a son will disgrace his father, and the young will shame the elders. Why will all this occur, especially during
the footsteps of the Mashiach more
or than in another period?
For the redemption of the truth and sanctification of God are the goals of the redemption
along with the ingathering of the exiles and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Therefore, during the footsteps of the Mashiach the Sitra Achra exerts himself more powerfully in his
war to root out the truth. The word missing -- “the truth will be missing”
means that it will have been uprooted according to the order
of the Hebrew alphabet [this means that the order is : first is the first letter, then the last letter, then the second
letter, then the next to the last letter, etc.] According to
that order, the of the word can be exchanged for . Thus during the final footsteps of the Mashiach, the amount of ingratitude and requiting evil for good will become
greater than ever since the creation of the world.
The term “during
the footsteps of the Mashiach, ”
which is used by our Sages, should be interpreted literally: during the time of the footsteps of the Mashiach
and at its high point, i.e., at the height of the activities at the beginning of the Redemption — primarily
the ingathering of the exiles, rebuilding Jerusalem, redemption of Truth and sanctification of God’s name,
as noted above--during this time the Sitra
Achra will become more powerful in
attempting to disturb and precipitate failure by uprooting the truth and preventing sanctification of God. This is what is meant by “who taunted
the footsteps of Your Mashiach [Ps.
89:52]”
How strong is the
force of the Sitra Achra that he
managed to hide from the eyes of our
holy forefathers the danger of the klipot
layers: from the eyes of our
forefather Abraham, the klipa of
Ismael; from the eyes of our forefather Isaac, the klipa of Esau; and from the eyes of our forefather Jacob, the klipa of
the terafim. During the footsteps of the Mashiach, the Sitra Achra becomes even stronger, in order to strike Biblical scholars with blindness.
All this is
obligatory upon us to know and understand beforehand, when we carry out our holy work of gathering in
the exiles and rebuilding Jerusalem. We must know beforehand that to the extent that this holy work will increase-
-so the Sitra Achra’s power to disturb and bring
about failure will increase with his primary
weapon which is eradicating the truth as explained above by our Sages and the Gaon. If we know all this ahead of time--
the Sitra Achra’s desire
and the force
of his warfare, then we will know how to deal with it
practically. We will know how to fight him, measure for measure. That is, the Sitra Achra wishes to uproot Truth and
to bring about desecration of God name,
and we will fight him by redemption of the truth and sanctification of God-s name. This is also what is meant by the verse: “God wages war against Amalek from generation to
generation” [Ex. 17:16]. The forces of God’s seal is that truth will give us the strength
as we proceed step by step in our
war. We must remember that this power
comes miraculously from Heaven according
to our Sages (Sanhedrin
64a); in the incident when a note fell
from Heaven, they state that “truth was written on it, which is the seal of God.” But in every commandment the
awakening from below is required. About
this it says “the truth will sprout from the land” [Ps. 85:12]. When we act on behalf
of redemption of Truth from below, then God will aid us with His imprint,
and since the main center of the Sitra
Achra is in the gates of Jerusalem,
as it says “come to its gates; cast lots on Jerusalem” (Ovadia 1:11), and as it states: “sin crouches at
the entrance” against the “entrance to
the city” of Jerusalem, because all the desire of the impure force is to attach itself to the center
of Holiness. It says about this: “God will denounce
you O Satan...He who chooses
Jerusalem” [Zach. 3:2]. Therefore here at the gates of the holy city of Jerusalem, may it be built and established, is the site and
center for the supreme force to counterattack the angel of Esau who fights to uproot the truth.
Chapter 6
Essential Guidelines for Deeds at the Beginning
of the Redemption
Contents:
The principles behind deeds to be performed
at the beginning of the Redemption, the circumstances and manners of these deeds-all are similar to those prevalent during the period leading
to the construction of the Second Temple in accord with the mission
of Mashiach ben Yosef. The beginning of the
Redemption is the time of the Revealed End, when the following seven pillars
are hewn: 1) gathering in the exiles;
2) building Jerusalem; 3) eradicating the impure spirit
from Eretz Israel by planting
the Holy Land and fulfilling the commandments related to
it; 4) setting up people of truth in order
to redeem the truth and sanctify the name of God; 5) promoting the spread of Torah from Zion; 6) waging war against Amalek; 7) healing Zion.
We, the
emissaries of the Almighty, are obligated to do our utmost to carry out these goals as revealed
by “deed and gematria [numerology].”
We must act
modestly, along the lines of the Vilna Gaon’s major rule that anything that will be achieved upon
completion of the Redemption will start at
the beginning of the Redemption little by little, with Ze’er Anpin. In addition, we must study the teachings
regarding the footsteps
of the Mashiach, as described
in the 156 qualities and aspects of Mashiach
ben Yosef [see above Chapter 2],
in order to know how the holy work is carried
out, so as not to retreat, God forbid, when faced with obstacles and sanballatim
[see Neh. 2:19; 3:33-34]. All this is the mission of the Rabbi Eliyahu,
the Vilna Gaon, and at his directive. May his merit
and blessing help
us in all our paths,
and may God complete the task for us.
The Gaon always spoke
about an important
rule, that all deeds of the beginning of the Redemption, when the awakening comes from below — “all will
be like the period of the Second Temple, ” like the days of “Ezra and Nehemiah
when permission was granted by Coresh.”
All seven
principles of work to be accomplished during the footsteps of the Mashiach,
and the details of the deeds, are part of the beginning of the revealed
end, as noted by our Sages in the Talmud (Megillah 17b), concerning
the juxtaposition of blessings to the events that follow. The promise
of blessings, and the ideas of gathering in the exiles, building Jerusalem and eradicating the spirit of
impurity from Eretz Israel follow one another
in the Bible. As is written: “you,
mountains of Israel, will give forth your branch
and bear your fruit for My people,
Israel, when they are about to come” [Ez. 36:8]. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a} writes that this verse refers to the
Revealed End. The Revealed End was
the major energizing and strong aspiration
of the Vilna Gaon and his students. The
entire matter of the revealed end is the great assignment of Mashiach
ben Yosef.
Through the Gaon,
may his memory be blessed, Heaven informed us of this mission which pertains to the period of the awakening from
below. Of course, our mission is that of the Gaon, the light of Mashiach ben Yosef to the final generation. In the verse: “you, mountains of Israel,
will give forth your branch, ” the
Gaon saw a hint to his name, revealed by “deed and gematria.” The verses
which hint at the Gaon’s
mission, and related
ones, as well as the 156 appellations and aspects as explained above in Chapter
2, can teach us much regarding our work. According to the Gaon, we are to consider the verses
and aspects as Urim v’Tumim that
inform us what we
must do, with
the help of God. Below are the paths
of the beginning of the Redemption
practically, at the time of the awakening from below. The following are the circumstances and manners of Redemption:
1.
gathering in the exiles-how will this occur?
To what extent are we, emissaries of God at the time of the beginning of the Redemption, obligated to engage in gathering in the exiles? The minimum
number of exiles that has the power
to bring back the Shechina to Israel
is the number our Sages considered
when the term “population of Israel” was used, that is, 600, 000. This number has the power to vanquish
Samael at the gates of Jerusalem. As our Sages stated concerning God: “For I
will not enter Jerusalem above until the population of Israel enters
Jerusalem below” [see Chapter 1, 15].
My grandfather
(R’ Binyamin) once asked the Gaon what to do if it becomes possible practically and naturally to bring all of
Israel to the Holy Land at one time. According to our Sages, if we do not merit
it, the Redemption will come little
by little like the dawn. The question
is, what should we do? The Gaon
replied: “if it is possible, then 600, 000 should be brought over at first, because that is the number that can
overpower Samael who rules in the gates of Jerusalem. Then, in any case, the entire Redemption will occur. The Gaon gave me a wonderful hint
concerning the verse: [Isa. 2:5] “O House
of Jacob, come, let us go in the light of the Lord.”
The initial letters of this verse [# ] amount to 60; the word is the same as in gematria; the second letters of
the words in this verse [156] equal in gematria. The final letters of
this verse [618] equal “the heart of Jerusalem.” Thus this verse hints that the words “come, let us go” refers to going to Zion together with 600, 000
people, and all are connected to “the heart of Jerusalem.” The Biblical verse does not even lose its literal
meaning, that all must be in the light of God, that is with the internal
soul of the Holy Torah.
What is the number
necessary to begin gathering in the exiles?
Even one from a city or two from a family [Jer. 3:14]. From
where should the ingathering begin? From the North, as is written:
“behold I will bring them from the land of the north,
etc. (Jer. 31:7),
because the main ruling power
of Samael is on the northern side, and Samael is referred to as “the northern one.” It says about him: “I will
distance the northern one from you” [Joel 2:20]. And he is the one who drew the main part of the exile of Israel
to the north, as noted: “out of the North,
evil will break forth” [Jer. 1:14]. Therefore, the beginning of the ingathering of the exiles
must also
be from the
place ruled by Samael, from the North. Thus
it is written, “awake, you from the
North, ” and afterwards it states, “come, you from the South” [Song, 4:16].
2.
building Jerusalem. How will
this be accomplished? To what extent are we obligated
to act to accomplish this during the awakening from below? Our Rabbis said that in the future Jerusalem will expand as far as Damascus. In the future Jerusalem will extend as far
as the Great Sea (the Mediterranean). The procedure will be gradual.
Our Sages maintained that the redemption of Israel
will be like the first rays of the dawn: just as the dawn comes
gradually, so will Israel’s settlement come gradually, and likewise with regard to building it, etc. The building will be accomplished even in poverty, as is
written: “that God has established Zion
and the poor of His people take shelter in it” (Isa. 14:32). The building will start from even one stone:
“behold I am laying a foundation stone
in Zion, a tried stone, ” because God wishes to put us through a severe
trial, by building
Zion from even a single stone, and this “will be a precious cornerstone, a secure foundation” [Isa. 28:16], etc.
Our work
consists of fulfilling the commandment of expansion: “expand the site of your tent” [Isa. 54:2]. “The commandment of expansiveness” means ‘expand, do not restrain yourselves’. The verse teaches
us that we must
not stand still; we must not retreat, God forbid, when confronting any obstacle. Yet another verse, connected with the commandment of expansion, hints at the name of the Gaon;
as known, for in gematria the verse: ! [606] “expand,
extend, strengthen” together
equal ! [the name of the
Gaon together with his father’s name]. In
that same chapter it states [Isa.
54:7] [ 606] “with abundant mercy I will gather you.” The term “I will gather you” is the great mission of the
Gaon, as explained above in chapters
1 and 3. According to our Sages, the
method used should be the equally
measured gardens [Baba Batra 75b] mentioned in connection with the building and settlement of
Jerusalem. Practically, there should be complete equality on the line of
equality for all, as explained in the Tosafot
concerning the building of Jerusalem. This
approach is also included in the
Gaon’s principle regarding the verse “a perfect and just stone, ” another verse in which the Gaon saw a hint to his own
name. There it states that there
should not be two kinds of measurement in one’s
home: “a large one and a small one” [Deut. 25:14]. According to the Gaon, the term ‘home’ refers to the land of Israel,
because immediately after this verse it states, “when the Lord your God grants you rest à in the land [Deut. 25:19],
etc.” Jerusalem was not divided among
the tribes,
and houses are not to be rented
in Jerusalem. Also, ben David will not come until all measurements are equal, and all prices
are equal.
Another point made by the Gaon is that when we build Jerusalem, we are obligated to fulfill all the means of inheriting, including literally taking it by force if necessary, except in the case of building the Temple. Force
must not be used to build the Temple, the Gaon says in his commentary on the Song of Songs.
What should be built first? The northwestern section of Jerusalem
should be built first; from
the peak of Amana because Mashiach ben
Yosef comes from the North, and the Shechina is in the West.
3.
eradicating the impure spirit from Eretz Israel by planting the Holy
Land. The three groups of exiles depend on this, according to the Gaon, especially
the commandments concerning leaving the poor man the gleanings of the crop, the forgotten sheaf,
and the corners of the field.
How much should
be planted and to what extent? The land should be planted until it is no longer desolate, until the holy land
bears its fruit. The goal is to drive
out the spirit of impurity from the land, to purify the holiness of " the Revealed God from its klipah, etc. The holiness of the Revealed God rests upon the fruits
of the Holy Land. This is the secret of the reason
for the commandments “when you come to the land you shall plant...” [Lev. 19:23]. According to
the Midrash, you should not occupy yourself
with anything except planting û this is the main part of the mission
of the Vilna Gaon in connection with the verse “a perfect
and just stone” which hints at his name in the
Torah. For following the verse is the command to wipe out the name of
Amalek. Afterwards the Torah discusses obligations “when you come to
the land” [Deut. 26:1]. The verse in Deuteronomy “when you come to the Land” is reminiscent of the comparative verse: “when you come to the
land, you shall plant” [Lev. 19:23];
therefore the commandments are connected. The
Gaon revealed to us that this
wonderful idea is the main secret regarding the revealed end mentioned in the Talmud. It
was the energizing aspiration of the Gaon. Our Sages speak of the revealed end in connection with the verse:
[Ez. 36:8] “you,
mountains of Israel,
will give forth
your branch and bear your fruit for My People, etc.” The Gaon
considered this verse to hint at his own holy mission.
The planting of
the land is one of the duties of Mashiach
ben Yosef as in the following
verses: “who will ascend the mountain of the Lord” [Ps. 24:3], etc.; “you will have mercy on Zion” [Ps. 102:14], etc.; “you will have favored
her dirt” [Ps. 102:15], as explained
above in chapters 1 and 3. Also
above, the mission of the Gaon is mentioned as being in the line of Mashiach ben Yosef. The Gaon delegated
all his missions to his students,
directing them to carry out the missions practically, with the help of God.
4.
setting up people of truth in order to redeem the truth and sanctify the name of God. While we are on the threshold
of the Redemption, we must set
up a powerful and strong force of people of truth, for Jerusalem was destroyed because truthful people had ceased to exist there. Accordingly, God forbid, there will be no
permanence to our work in gathering
in the exiles and building Jerusalem unless we set up truthful men, as is written, “if God does not build
a house, its builders have worked in
vain” [Ps. 127:1]. This means that if a building was not
built with the spirit of God, then its builders
worked in vain.
The people
of truth should be people
of Israel [chosen
by God, i.e.,
Israel, as in Isa. 45:4 “and Israel My chosen one”], men of
truth, because the goal of the
Redemption is redemption of the truth, as explained above regarding “redeemer of Jerusalem.” This means that there will be a city of truth
because of the truthful people. The
fundamental base of truthful men is
to ensure fulfillment all the principles found in “the Interpreter’s seven repairs” as explained in Chapter 5
above, to ensure the repairs according
to the “covenant of truth” [Neh. 10:1] that we arranged
with the help of God. The presence of faithful [truthful] and righteous men is included
among the principal
characteristics of the Revealed End mentioned in the Talmud
(Megillah 17b; Sanhedrin 98a). Jerusalem is the source
for the specialness of people
of Truth in all aspects;
it is therefore referred to as a “City of Truth” [Isa.
1:26].
The purpose of
the redemption of the truth is sanctification of God’s name. The purpose of sanctifying God’s name is repair of the world in the sefira Malchut of the Almighty,
so that each person should merit achieving the holy spirit that every man of Israel is obligated to draw upon and achieve in clear colors. This is the main goal of all the
activities of the beginning
of the Redemption during the footsteps of the Mashiach.All the deeds mentioned here, all their
principles and details, even minor ones, are only to prepare for the main principles of the revealed
end, that
the end of the
Redemption should come nearer, that is the repair of the world in the Malchut of
the Almighty. Then the complete and
perfect repair will be accomplished
of the seven areas requiring repairs, as explained
by the Interpreter above in Chapter 5, and as explained by the Gaon in his composition, " The Luster
of the Dawn.
5.
promoting the spread of Torah from Zion.
Studying the teachings of the Kabbalah and uncovering the secrets of the Torah
during the footsteps
of the Mashiach are primary in bringing the Redemption closer, as explained by the Gaon at length
in a few places. This is one of the main goals of the Mashiach ben Yosef who is in charge of
gathering in the exiles, the assignment
of the Gaon. Such studies should take
place especially in Eretz Israel in
general, and in Jerusalem in particular. This
is what is meant by “the Torah will
come forth from Zion” [Isa. 2:3]: the
Torah will be uncovered; that is the
soul, the essence of the Torah will be revealed in Zion.
Similarly, it
is incumbent upon us to begin by establishing a general institute for studying the Torah in the Holy City, may this
occur in our lifetime, because the
Biblical verse literally states that “the Torah will come forth from Zion, and the word of God from Jerusalem” [Isa. 2:3]. Our Rabbis,
may they rest in peace,
said: In the future all the holy places of gathering (synagogues) and houses of
learning from abroad will be established
in Eretz Israel. This accords with
the Gaon’s important principle, as explained above, that all future things that will be occur upon completion of the Redemption, will begin little by little during the beginning
of the Redemption. It is what the
Gaon said about the verse: “on the
mountains of Zion and in Jerusalem there will be refuge” [Joel 3:5]. The
refuge will be for the ingathering of the exiles and for our holy Torah. As we say
in the prayer: “for the escape of their scribes.”
Accordingly, the reference to the refuge in Zion and Jerusalem also applies
to the escape of their scribes. In addition, the verse: “I will return
your judges as at first,
and your advisers
as at the beginning” [Isa. 1:26], refers
to Jerusalem, for at the end it states: “afterwards, you will be called a city of justice, a city of Truth” [Isa. 1:26]. This
is a major aspect of the Revealed End as it appears in the Talmud
(Megillah 17b).
On the Gaon’s
way to Eretz Israel, with the intention of dwelling in Jerusalem, he told us many times that that is one of the main
holy principles. He also told me something
top secret about the verse: “saying to Jerusalem, ‘you will be built’; and to the Temple, ‘you will be
established’”
[Isa. 44:28], as well as on the
verse: [Jer. 31:16] “there is hope for your end.” In gematria, if we
count the filled out letters of the word [ = 611], it equals . This means that at the end, the Torah will
be fulfilled when the children
return to their border.
6.
waging war against
Amalek. The war against
Amalek is from generation to generation. The war against Amalek is against three
types of foes: a). Amalek of the heart,
that is, the evil inclination and vices; b). the spirit of Amalek,
the general one, the Satan
who destroys, the adversary of Israel. This is Samael and his hosts. His main power is in the gates of Jerusalem, when its lands are desolate;
c). the material Amalek, that comprises Esau and Ismael and the mixed
multitude. As explained
by the Gaon: we are commanded to inherit it [the land] by force.
The strength
and rulership of Amalek’s spirit
is in the gates of Jerusalem, as mentioned above, but only when there destruction and desolation near the gates and in the unwalled
areas of Jerusalem. As long as the spirit
of impurity rules there, the feet of the cypress
tree cannot stand there. This delays
the connection between the Jerusalem of below and the Jerusalem of above, that is the connection between
the Shechina and the Knesset Israel on which the entire Redemption
depends. The war against the desolation is waged not only by setting up
tents of Jacob and dwelling places of Israel in their respective places.
It is waged not only by planting
its land and fulfilling the commandments dependent on it. The war
against the material Amalek always depends on the time and place, and necessitates counterattacking [lit.:
returning the battle to the gate] with force, as in the days of Ezra and Nechemia, and like the conquest during
the days of Joshua. This is signified
by the fact that ! together [391] equal
. In the war against the sanballatim
[Sanballat, satrap of Samaria, who opposed
Nehemiah and obstructed the rebuilding of Jerusalem] who disrupt building in Jerusalem, and whose strength is that of the
mixed multitude, may God save us-in
that war, the dweller in Zion will help us, and
“they will neither hurt nor destroy on all My holy mountain” [Isa. 11:9]. Also,
“no weapon formed
against you, will succeed” [Isa. 54:17] as it
says “with abundant mercy I will gather you” [Isa. 54:7]. The last verse also contains the name and mission of the
Gaon, may his merit help all those who occupy themselves faithfully in such holy work.
7.
Healing Zion. This refers to two aspects.
Zion is the source of healing as it
says “He will send you help from the Sanctuary and support you from Zion” [Ps. 20:3].
The term always
refers to healing
and health as in “will
support him on
his sickbed” [Ps. 41:4]. Therefore Zion always needs the abundance of upper medicine. It is written,
“I will heal your wounds”
[Jer. 30:17]. This is one of
our Sages’ explanations of the verse “this is Zion-- no one seeks her” [Jer. 30:17]. From this we learn that Zion requires seekers.
“I will heal your wounds”
refers to all kinds of wounds--whether spiritual or material. God will heal the ailments
and repair what is broken,
whether spiritually or of physically.
The reference is not only to the people
of God who dwell in Zion, but also to Zion itself, that is the very land of Eretz Israel, which requires spiritual
and physical healing
when it lies desolate and in ruins. The
spiritual healing entails eradicating the spirit
of impurity from the land by settling Israel on its land and fulfilling the commandments that depend on the people of Israel being in the land. Physical
health refers to eradicating the sources of diseases there, may God save us, during the days of its destruction and desolation.
Chapter 7
You will be Established with Righteousness
Jerusalem is redeemed with charity, as is written
“Zion will be redeemed with justice;
and those who return to her, with righteousness [Isa. 1:27] [in Hebrew, the
term for money given to the poor is ‘ righteousness’ — that is, the deed is considered a righteous one; in English,
the term used is ‘charity’]. It also says: “You will be established with righteousness
[i.e., charity] and your children’s
peace will be abundant” [Isa. 54:13]. You will be established with charity is considered both a decree
and a sign of grace. God wished to bring
merit to all of Israel, the close ones and those far away, with the commandment to build Jerusalem. Therefore he decreed that Jerusalem would be built with charity. Every man of Israel must participate in
the building and expansion of the heritage
of God: “expand
the site of your tent” [Isa. 54:2] etc., all the more so during a time
and with commandments connected with
Jerusalem and building it. Help in
building Jerusalem is obligatory
to compensate for what all Israel in general and in particular obtain from Jerusalem. Our brethren of Israel who still reside in the exile receive from their brethren who dwell in Jerusalem
and are building it, thousands even
tens of thousands more than what they contribute to Jersualem, even when the contribution is generous. For all the abundance of salvation, blessing, redemption, lovingkindness and
mercy, success, health, etc., etc. of Israel wherever
they are, comes only from Jerusalem and building it.
Everyone, with whatever background Christians, Muslims, Hindus etc. if they like the do Teshuva out of the feeling that they feel so much home with the Jews, to be with the Jews we invite to join us?
Bet Yisrael has 'no problem' if people study learns from the NT. As long they put away 'Avoda Zara' complete. Believe the most important person of the NT is a Tsaddik.
What Is a Tzaddik?
Being human all the way
By Tzvi Freeman
Or believe he is the Tzaddik HaDor of the generation of the time of the NT.
When we, Jews and Ephraim, do real Teshuva the Chesed, it is pure Love, the base of our being shall bring unity. Read YeshaYahu 11.....?
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Shulchan Aruch Harav
The Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch - Code of Jewish Law
Tehillim Ohel Yosef Yitzchak
A must read and guiding line: To go through every step, of the 42 steps in our diaspora until we reach Eretz Yisrael, the unification of Yehuda and Ephraim, when the Jews start to build The Temple and Restoring her Temple Service. It is for all Beit Yisrael International members the way to go.
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A must read and guiding line: To go through every step, of the 42 steps in our diaspora until we reach Eretz Yisrael, the unification of Yehuda and Ephraim, when the Jews start to build The Temple and Restoring her Temple Service. It is for all Beit Yisrael International members the way to go.
42 Journeys of the Soul
The Messianic age will elevate the entire universe, including all the spiritual realms.
Don't make dogma's out of it. But elevate your souls by learning the Mitzvot surrounded by the Jewish Halakhot.
And the teachings of Chassidut by the Chassidim.
That we may hold on the 'right understanding' in our 'travel' through the 'dessert' our 'diaspora':
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And the teachings of Chassidut by the Chassidim.
What Is Kabbalah?
The Soul of Judaism
By Tzvi Freeman
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What Is Chassidut?
Teachings from the core essence
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What Is Chabad?
Do-It-Yourself Judaism
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What Is a Tzaddik?
Being human all the way
The Tzaddik HaDor
As the Zohar teaches us – everyone is against or afraid of the idea of there having to be a tzaddik. HaTzaddik, "THE" Tzaddik, HaDor - namely the Tzaddik of "THIS" generation. The Holy Zohar teaches (Zohar I, 28a): "Woe to the world for they do not provide help for the Shechina (Divine Presence) during the exile, or for Moshe (i.e. the Tzaddik), who is always with Her and never moves from Her… Moshe did not die. He is called Adam. Of Adam it is written (Bereishit 2:20), 'And Adam had no helpmate'. This applies to the last exile: Adam – the Tzaddik – has no helpmate. Everyone is against the Tzaddik".
May we all sincerely and wholeheartedly turn to Hashem in prayer and seek out, support and reveal the Shechina hidden within the exile along with Her helpmate 'HaTZaDDiK HaDoR' Amen.
Kol-HaTor The Voice of the Turtle Dove
Kol HaTor - קול התור or "The Voice of the Turtledove" (a reference to Song of Songs 2:12) was written by Rabbi Hillel Rivlin of Shklov, a disciple of the Vilna Gaon . The text deals with the Geulah (Era of Redemption) and describes its signs vis-a-vis an evaluation of a proposed 999 footsteps of the Moshiach’s arrival. The Vilna Gaon believed the number 999 to be intrinsically connected to the idea of Moshiach ben Yosef, he also felt that this number is alluded to in the gematria of his own name. It was first published in Hebrew by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kasher in 1968 to whom the book was passed down over the generations.
Kol HaTor - קול התור or "The Voice of the Turtledove" (a reference to Song of Songs 2:12) was written by Rabbi Hillel Rivlin of Shklov, a disciple of the Vilna Gaon . The text deals with the Geulah (Era of Redemption) and describes its signs vis-a-vis an evaluation of a proposed 999 footsteps of the Moshiach’s arrival. The Vilna Gaon believed the number 999 to be intrinsically connected to the idea of Moshiach ben Yosef, he also felt that this number is alluded to in the gematria of his own name. It was first published in Hebrew by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kasher in 1968 to whom the book was passed down over the generations.And…… to all Jews and Ephraimites:
Pirkei Avot 6:10
Dr. Joshua Kulp
חֲמִשָּׁה קִנְיָנִים קָנָה לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְעוֹלָמוֹ, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, תּוֹרָה קִנְיָן אֶחָד, שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ קִנְיָן אֶחָד, אַבְרָהָם קִנְיָן אֶחָד, יִשְׂרָאֵל קִנְיָן אֶחָד, בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קִנְיָן אֶחָד. תּוֹרָה מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (משלי ח), ה' קָנָנִי רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ קֶדֶם מִפְעָלָיו מֵאָז. שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ קִנְיָן אֶחָד מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (ישעיה סו), כֹּה אָמַר ה' הַשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאִי וְהָאָרֶץ הֲדֹם רַגְלָי אֵי זֶה בַיִת אֲשֶׁר תִּבְנוּ לִי וְאֵי זֶה מָקוֹם מְנוּחָתִי, וְאוֹמֵר (תהלים קד) מָה רַבּוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ ה' כֻּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ קִנְיָנֶךָ. אַבְרָהָם קִנְיָן אֶחָד מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (בראשית יד), וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ וַיֹּאמַר בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ. יִשְׂרָאֵל קִנְיָן אֶחָד מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (שמות טו), עַד יַעֲבֹר עַמְּךָ ה' עַד יַעֲבֹר עַם זוּ קָנִיתָ, וְאוֹמֵר (תהלים טז) לִקְדוֹשִׁים אֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ הֵמָּה וְאַדִּירֵי כָּל חֶפְצִי בָם. בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קִנְיָן אֶחָד מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (שמות טו), מָכוֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ פָּעַלְתָּ ה' מִקְּדָשׁ ה' כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ. וְאוֹמֵר (תהלים עח) וַיְבִיאֵם אֶל גְּבוּל קָדְשׁוֹ הַר זֶה קָנְתָה יְמִינוֹ:
Five possessions did the Holy Blessed One, set aside as his own in this world, and these are they: The Torah, one possession; Heaven and earth, another possession; Abraham, another possession; Israel, another possession; The Temple, another possession. 1a) The Torah is one possession. From where do we know this? Since it is written, “The Lord possessed (usually translated as ‘created’) me at the beginning of his course, at the first of His works of old” (Proverbs 8:22). 2a) Heaven and earth, another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is said: “Thus said the Lord: The heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool; Where could you build a house for Me, What place could serve as My abode? (Isaiah 66:1) And it says: “How many are the things You have made, O Lord; You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions” (Psalms 104:24). 3a) Abraham is another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is written: “He blessed him, saying, “Blessed by Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth” (Genesis 15:19). 4a) Israel is another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is written: “Till Your people cross over, O Lord, Till Your people whom You have possessed” (Exodus 15:16). And it says: “As to the holy and mighty ones that are in the land, my whole desire (possession) is in them” (Psalms 16:3). 5a) The Temple is another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is said: “The sanctuary, O lord, which your hands have established” (Exodus 15:17”, And it says: “And He brought them to His holy realm, to the mountain, which His right hand had possessed” (Psalms 78:54).
I like to call out to all my Jewish friends:
Zechariah 8:23
23So said the Lord of Hosts: In those days, when ten men of all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."
כגכֹּֽה־אָמַר֘ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָאוֹת֒ בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔מָּה אֲשֶׁ֚ר יַֽחֲזִ֙יקוּ֙ עֲשָׂרָ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֔ים מִכֹּ֖ל לְשֹׁנ֣וֹת הַגּוֹיִ֑ם וְֽהֶחֱזִ֡יקוּ בִּכְנַף֩ אִ֨ישׁ יְהוּדִ֜י לֵאמֹ֗ר נֵֽלְכָה֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם כִּ֥י שָׁמַ֖עְנוּ אֱלֹהִ֥ים עִמָּכֶֽם:
ten men: from the seventy nations. This equals seven hundred for each corner. For the four corners of the tallith there will be two thousand and eight hundred.
עשרה אנשים: משבעים לשון הרי שבע מאות לכל כנף וכנף הרי לד' כנפי הטלית אלפים ושמונ' מאו':
That may come in fulfillment in our days:
Our souls are bearing the ‘sparks’ (divine aspects) of Messiah.It is forbidden to pray to bow down to any other (god), and/or messiah, and/or before any image or to lift up a human being as a god…… or to put any other (god), and/or messiah, and/or any image before or instead or between HaShem and us. ('It suf')“The redemption will come about only through the study of the Torah. And the essential redemption depends upon the study of the Kabbalah” According to: R. ELIYAHU, THE VILNA GAON (Evven Shelemah (a ‘complete, without defect stone’) 11:3)When Yehuda and Ephraim come to unity (again) Messiah Ben Joseph 'died' and Messiah Ben David shall be revealed and anointed by the Israeli people as the Messiah-King of Israel. As YeshaYahu is teaching:Isa 11:9 – 16 They do no evil nor destroy in all My set-apart mountain, for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Adonai as the waters cover the sea.Rashi: knowledge of the Lord: [lit.] to know the Lord.10 And on that day, there shall be a Root of Yishai, standing as a banner to the people. Unto Him the nations shall seek, and His rest shall be esteem.Rashi: as a banner for peoples: that peoples should raise a banner to gather to him.11 And it shall be in that day that Adonai sets His hand again a second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Ashshur and from Mitsrayim, from Pathros and from Kush, from Ěylam and from Shin‛ar, from Ḥamath and from the islands of the sea.Rashi: a second time: Just as he acquired them from Egypt, when their redemption was absolute, without subjugation, but the redemption preceding the building of the Second Temple is not counted, since they were subjugated to Cyrus.and from the islands of the sea: the islands of the Kittim, the Romans, the descendants of Esau.And he shall raise a banner: Perka, perche in O.F. [i.e., the verse is literally referring to the pole upon which the banner is attached.] And it shall be for a sign to gather to him and to bring the exiles of Israel to Him as a present.12 And He shall raise a banner for the nations, and gather the outcasts of Yisra’ěl, and assemble the dispersed of Yehuḏa from the four corners of the earth.13 And the envy of Ephrayim shall turn aside, and the adversaries of Yehuḏa be cut off. Ephrayim shall not envy Yehuḏa, and Yehuḏa not trouble Ephrayim.Rashi: Ephraim shall not envy Judah: The Messiah, the son of David, and the Messiah, the son of Joseph, shall not envy each other.14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; together they plunder the people of the east, their hand stretching forth on Eḏom and Mo’aḇ, and the children of Ammon shall be subject to them.Rashi: And they shall fly of one accord against the Philistines in the west: Heb. בְכָתֵף. Israel will fly and run of one accord against the Philistines who are in the west of Eretz Israel and conquer their land. [כָּתֵף, lit. a shoulder, is used in this case to denote unity. The word שֶׁכֶם, also lit. a shoulder, is used in a similar sense.] Comp. (Hoshea 6:9) “They murder on the way in unison (שֶׁכְמָה) ”; (Zeph. 3:9) “One accord (שְׁכֶם אֶחָד).” And so did Jonathan rendered it: And they shall join in one accord to smite the Philistines who are in the west.and the children of Ammon shall obey them: As the Targum states: Will hearken to them. They will accept their commandments over them.15 And Adonai shall put under the ban the tongue of the Sea of Mitsrayim, and He shall wave His hand over the River with the might of His Spirit, and shall strike it in the seven streams, and shall cause men to tread it in sandals.Rashi: And… shall dry up: [lit. shall cut off] to dry it, so that the exiles of Israel will pass through it from Egypt.over the river: The Euphrates River, for the exiles from Assyria to cross.with the strength of His wind: Heb. בַּעְיָם. This is hapax legomenon in Scripture, and according to the context it can be interpreted as “with the strength of His wind.”into seven streams: into seven segments, for the aforementioned seven exiles: from Assyria and from Egypt, etc. Those from the islands of the sea are not from that side.and He shall lead: the exiles within it.with shoes: on dry land.16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of His people, those left from Ashshur, as it was for Yisra’ěl in the day when he came up from the land of Mitsrayim.Rashi: And there shall be a highway: in the midst of the water for the remnant of His people.
Please Judah if a righteous gentile tries ‘to grasp your ‘tsi-sit’ and say: "Let me go with you, for I have heard that God is with you." Open your heart for him/her and share all our Torah. The Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu as it is written and spared and is teaches in the Tanach and all scripture of Rabbinical Judaism………
Read my story:
Dr. Joshua Kulp
חֲמִשָּׁה קִנְיָנִים קָנָה לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְעוֹלָמוֹ, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, תּוֹרָה קִנְיָן אֶחָד, שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ קִנְיָן אֶחָד, אַבְרָהָם קִנְיָן אֶחָד, יִשְׂרָאֵל קִנְיָן אֶחָד, בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קִנְיָן אֶחָד. תּוֹרָה מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (משלי ח), ה' קָנָנִי רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ קֶדֶם מִפְעָלָיו מֵאָז. שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ קִנְיָן אֶחָד מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (ישעיה סו), כֹּה אָמַר ה' הַשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאִי וְהָאָרֶץ הֲדֹם רַגְלָי אֵי זֶה בַיִת אֲשֶׁר תִּבְנוּ לִי וְאֵי זֶה מָקוֹם מְנוּחָתִי, וְאוֹמֵר (תהלים קד) מָה רַבּוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ ה' כֻּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ קִנְיָנֶךָ. אַבְרָהָם קִנְיָן אֶחָד מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (בראשית יד), וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ וַיֹּאמַר בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ. יִשְׂרָאֵל קִנְיָן אֶחָד מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (שמות טו), עַד יַעֲבֹר עַמְּךָ ה' עַד יַעֲבֹר עַם זוּ קָנִיתָ, וְאוֹמֵר (תהלים טז) לִקְדוֹשִׁים אֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ הֵמָּה וְאַדִּירֵי כָּל חֶפְצִי בָם. בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קִנְיָן אֶחָד מִנַּיִן, דִּכְתִיב (שמות טו), מָכוֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ פָּעַלְתָּ ה' מִקְּדָשׁ ה' כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ. וְאוֹמֵר (תהלים עח) וַיְבִיאֵם אֶל גְּבוּל קָדְשׁוֹ הַר זֶה קָנְתָה יְמִינוֹ:
Five possessions did the Holy Blessed One, set aside as his own in this world, and these are they: The Torah, one possession; Heaven and earth, another possession; Abraham, another possession; Israel, another possession; The Temple, another possession. 1a) The Torah is one possession. From where do we know this? Since it is written, “The Lord possessed (usually translated as ‘created’) me at the beginning of his course, at the first of His works of old” (Proverbs 8:22). 2a) Heaven and earth, another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is said: “Thus said the Lord: The heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool; Where could you build a house for Me, What place could serve as My abode? (Isaiah 66:1) And it says: “How many are the things You have made, O Lord; You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions” (Psalms 104:24). 3a) Abraham is another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is written: “He blessed him, saying, “Blessed by Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth” (Genesis 15:19). 4a) Israel is another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is written: “Till Your people cross over, O Lord, Till Your people whom You have possessed” (Exodus 15:16). And it says: “As to the holy and mighty ones that are in the land, my whole desire (possession) is in them” (Psalms 16:3). 5a) The Temple is another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is said: “The sanctuary, O lord, which your hands have established” (Exodus 15:17”, And it says: “And He brought them to His holy realm, to the mountain, which His right hand had possessed” (Psalms 78:54).
I like to call out to all my Jewish friends:
Zechariah 8:23
23So said the Lord of Hosts: In those days, when ten men of all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." | | כגכֹּֽה־אָמַר֘ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָאוֹת֒ בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔מָּה אֲשֶׁ֚ר יַֽחֲזִ֙יקוּ֙ עֲשָׂרָ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֔ים מִכֹּ֖ל לְשֹׁנ֣וֹת הַגּוֹיִ֑ם וְֽהֶחֱזִ֡יקוּ בִּכְנַף֩ אִ֨ישׁ יְהוּדִ֜י לֵאמֹ֗ר נֵֽלְכָה֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם כִּ֥י שָׁמַ֖עְנוּ אֱלֹהִ֥ים עִמָּכֶֽם: |
ten men: from the seventy nations. This equals seven hundred for each corner. For the four corners of the tallith there will be two thousand and eight hundred. | | עשרה אנשים: משבעים לשון הרי שבע מאות לכל כנף וכנף הרי לד' כנפי הטלית אלפים ושמונ' מאו': |
That may come in fulfillment in our days:
Please Judah if a righteous gentile tries ‘to grasp your ‘tsi-sit’ and say: "Let me go with you, for I have heard that God is with you." Open your heart for him/her and share all our Torah. The Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu as it is written and spared and is teaches in the Tanach and all scripture of Rabbinical Judaism………
Read my story:
Ariel your Representee, Representee of Ephraim and adviser (not a rabbi but friendly adviser) of Bet Yisrael international on the Har HaBayit.
click: Welcome To Beit Yisrael
click: Welcome To Beit Yisrael
Beit Yisrael International (Ephraim, The Lost sheep from the House of Israel), Meditate and Realization of Chassidut Torah Teachings – The Strong foundation is based on Chabad teachings ( i.e The purpose of creation is to Bringing Heavens Down to Earth and to make Most High a dwelling place here on earth) and its pillars is based on the true concept of the Breslov Teachings ( in the context of Seventh Pillar of Tzaddik ) by following the Jewish Halacha Principles of Shulchan Aruch Halacha.
Beit Yisrael International (Ephraim, The Lost sheep from the House of Israel), Meditate and Realization of Chassidut Torah Teachings – The Strong foundation is based on Chabad teachings ( i.e The purpose of creation is to Bringing Heavens Down to Earth and to make Most High a dwelling place here on earth) and its pillars is based on the true concept of the Breslov Teachings ( in the context of Seventh Pillar of Tzaddik ) by following the Jewish Halacha Principles of Shulchan Aruch Halacha.
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