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Just a day before the start of Passover last week, two of Israel’s most prominent rabbis got together to discuss the delayed coming of the Messiah.
Rabbi Moishe Sternbuch is head of the Rabbinical Court and a leader of one of Israel’s largest and most influential ultra-Orthodox communities.
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky is considered a leading authority in ultra-Orthodox Jewish society.
The Orthodox news portal Kikar Hashabbat recorded their conversation:
Sternbuch: This is a difficult generation. Not a day goes by without someone cursing his friend. You deal with one situation, and immediately someone starts something else.
During the campaign on behalf of the Bnei Israel from India I worked with your father, and then we spoke of an abundance of Jews (to bring to Israel). But today they want to bring to the Land those who hold to the Christian faith, the so-called “Jewish Christians.”
Kanievsky: Foreshadowing of the Messiah.
Sternbuch: Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin interpreted what is said at the end of the Mishnah in Sotah (‘We will have no one upon whom to rely other than our Father in Heaven’ - Sotah 9:15) as a curse in and of itself, that in the generation of the foreshadowing of Messiah those who fear God will become tired and give up the fight against sinners. …We need to bring Messiah.
Kanievsky: The seventh (period of blessing) is not yet finished. ‘At the conclusion of the seventh the son of David will come.’ (Babylonian Talmud - Megilah 17:22)
Sternbuch: ‘The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.’ (Jeremiah 8:20)
Kanievsky: According to the signs recorded in the Gemara (rabbinic commentary on the Mishnah), the Messiah should already have come.
Sternbuch (reading from the Gemara): ‘The generation during which the Son of David comes will accuse the scholars.’ Rambam wrote that before the coming of Messiah, Christians and Ishmaelites would come to the Land of Israel.
Kanievsky: When Messiah comes everyone will repent, and those who were ‘barren trees’ will bear fruit and become scholars.
Sternbuch: It would seem that we are now in the ‘Generation of Messiah,’ and God willing will meet again at the coming of Messiah, may He come quickly. Then we will see the fulfillment of the verse, ‘When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.’ (Psalm126:1) It will seem like the world in which we lived until the coming of Messiah was but a dream.
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Each of the twelve tribes of Israel received a special portion of the Land to correspond to their unique spiritual attributes. According to Jewish tradition, Zebulun, the successful sea merchant, had a ‘partnership agreement’ with his brother Isaachar, who were the Torah scholars of the family. The arrangement was that Zebulun worked in order to support Isaachar’s noble profession of full time Torah study and they ‘split’ the spiritual revenue and heavenly reward that the joint venture earned. Learn more in our new, complete set of the Israel Bible, with original Hebrew text and a classic English translation alongside our original commentary to better illustrate God'€™s focus on the Land of Israel.
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky is one of the most prominent rabbis of this generation. In a distinctly uncharacteristic manner, he has recently begun making declarations of the Messiah’s imminent arrival.
This elegant 9-branched menorah is shaped like the Magen David, or Shield of David. It is the perfect combination of the Jewish six-pointed-star symbol and the holiday of Chanuka, a victory of light over darkness.
Greetings from New Hampshire, United States of America! I love receiving communication from Israel365! My husband and I are hoping to visit Israel in the near future. I am praying for you my brothers and sisters. May God bless and comfort all of you, His children. Kathleen David Cote
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“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:32)
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky is one of the most prominent rabbis of this generation. He is a leader of the Haredi branch of Judaism and the author of numerous authoritative books on Jewish law. In a distinctly uncharacteristic manner, he has recently begun making declarations of the Messiah’s imminent arrival.
In a YouTube video posted on November 2nd of a recent lecture by Rabbi Shlomo Boyer, a respected teacher in Bnei Brak, Rabbi Boyer described how Rabbi Shteinman, the leader of Lithuanian Judaism, was about to travel to America for pressing reasons. He went to Rabbi Kanievsky to receive a blessing for a safe journey and success.
Rabbi Kanievsky replied that he should not travel, saying, “It very well could be the Messiah will come this week. He can come at any moment. He is here with us already. Don’t travel.”
Rabbi Kanievsky has dedicated his life to Torah study and is generally not given to messianic or bombastic proclamations, but in the last year, this has changed dramatically. Last year, Rabbi Kanievsky announced the Messiah would come when the Shmittah year ended, which occurred on the Jewish New Year on September 13th. In August, the rabbi advised a young man, “Gather your family and come to Israel. Otherwise, there won’t be enough room for you on the airplanes.” In April, close associates quoted him as instructing listeners to, “Yell it from the loudspeakers.The Messiah is at the door.”
When asked what needs to be done to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, the Rabbi replied that Jews must strengthen their belief and trust in God.
After the massacre of Jews in the synagogue in Har Nof last November, Rabbi Kanievsky was asked to give some words of comfort to the people. He replied that the deaths were an atonement before the arrival of the Messiah, which would be arriving shortly.
“For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce. But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest, a Sabbath to the Lord.” (Leviticus 25:3)
Israeli soldiers seen walking among the flower beds at Nir Yitzhak, Southern Israel, on the spot which was a staging area for Israeli tanks and soldiers during last summer’s “Operation Protective Edge”. (Photo: Edi Israel/FLASH90)
In a recent Breaking Israel Newsarticle, we presented some statements made by Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a highly respected rabbi in the Orthodox world, in which he instructed Jews to come to Israel soon “or there won’t be enough room on the airplanes.”
Many readers were interested in his statements and wondered about the source for the Rabbi’s insistence upon connecting the coming of the Messiah with the year after the Shemitah, the Sabbatical year. The issue takes on particular urgency since the current year is a Sabbatical year, ending September 13.
Sources close to Rabbi Kanievsky explain that he is not making a prophetic statement predicting a certain time period. The Rabbi is simply relating to well-known classical sources on the subject that discuss the Messiah and place it in a specific time-frame.
According to the sources, the year after the Shemitah has a special significance relating to the Messiah. There is a possibility, perhaps even a probability, the Messiah will come the year after the Shemitah, though if he does not, it in no way negates or contradicts the Rabbi’s statements. This requires a bit of explanation.
This year, 5775 in the Jewish calendar, is a Shemitah year. The Shemitah comes every seven years, making it a form of Sabbath that occurs on a yearly, rather than a weekly, cycle. The Sabbath is generally characterized by a cessation that signifies accepting God’s greater authority in the world. Practically during the weekly Sabbath, this means a cessation of labor, showing that despite spending six days working for the material, we stop on the seventh day to show that God is the true master. The same is true for the Shemitah year. We work the land for six years, and on the seventh, we leave the land fallow and the fields are left open for anyone to come and take of the fruit. There are several other cases of cycles of seven that are related to this, for example the seven year cycle of a Hebrew slave before he is set free, as described in Exodus 21:2. Another aspect of the Shemitah year also has implications for loans, for the same reason.
Shemitah was commanded to Israel at Mount Sinai. After 40 years in the desert, the Jews entered the Land of Israel, but the land must be owned in order for it to be forfeited as the verse specifies. So 14 years later, after they had completed conquering the land, they began counting the seven year cycle. The first Shemitah year was the 21st year after the Jewish nation had entered the land.
The Shemitah is part of a larger framework of seven Shemitah cycles, in which we count 49 years, and then the 50th year is the Jubilee year, as described in Leviticus, chapter 25. The Jubilee year is observed only when all of the Nation of Israel is in the Land of Israel. Therefore, when the Jews returned from Babylonian Exile, since many chose to remain in the Diaspora, the Jubilee was not observed. For the same reason, it is not observed today in modern Israel.
It is interesting to note that despite the initiation of the Shemitah year being determined by the actions of the Jews, it worked out that the first Shemitah year was a multiple of seven since the creation of the world, according to the Jewish calendar. The year after the destruction of the Second Temple, 3829, was also known to be a Shemitah year, 547 seven year cycles since the creation of the world. The current Hebrew year is 5775; precisely 825 Shemitah cycles.
The Babylonian Talmud in the Tractate of Sanhedrin, 97a, brings the verse from Amos 9:11:
“On that day, will I raise up the fallen booth (Sukkah) of David.”
This verse comes in the context of a prophecy about God bringing the nation of Israel back from exile among the nations. Amidst descriptions of the days preceding the Messiah, the Talmud says:
“As it is written, in that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen. Our Rabbis taught: in the seven year cycle at the end of which the son of David will come-in the first year, this verse will be fulfilled.”
The Talmud is saying explicitly that the Messiah will come in the first year after the Shemitah. It should be noted that the Talmud describes the days before the Messiah in depth, and they are especially difficult times.
Rabbi Kanievsky was, of course, familiar with this source and was aware we are now in a sabbatical year. His instructions to come to Israel took into account that there was a much greater chance that the Messiah will be coming next year. It is interesting to note that Rabbi Kanievsky was very diligent about observing the Shemitah and ruled by more stringent rulings concerning this Biblical commandment.
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky (C) has issued a call for Jews to move to Israel. (Photo: Dudi Friedman/ Wiki Commons)
In addition to the sources brought in the previous article, a recording was made in the aftershock of the horrifying terror attack in November in a synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem. Rabbi Kanievsky was asked how to comfort the people so they would be less afraid. He said, “atonement” (kappara) many times. When pressed for an explanation, he said, “It is an atonement before the Messiah can come.”
Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Seigelbaum, founder and director of Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin, makes a remarkable observation that emphasizes the role of the Shemitah in the process of national redemption:
“It is not surprising that every year following the Shemitah year has been significant in our possession of the Land of Israel…Most of the change in the borders of the state of Israel took place the year following Shemitah year. For example, it was Shemitah year in 1966, and the following year, during the Six Day War, we recaptured Yerushalayim and Gush Etzion. The next Shemitah year was in 1973. This year was followed by the devastating Yom Kippur war. Following the Shemitah year in 1980, we relinquished Sinai to Egypt. After two cycles of Shemitah, in 1995 the Oslo agreement brought bouts of terrorism in its wake.”
It is clear that Rabbi Kanievsky was relating to Babylonian Talmud, which says specifically that the Messiah will come in the year following the Shemitah. Whether it will come after the Shemitah year we are presently about to complete has yet to be seen. What is undeniable is that there is a clear significance to the time period immediately following a Shemitah year in terms of national redemption.
Rabbi Kanievsky called upon people to do Tshuva, repentance, that leads to a return to faith and good actions in order to actualize the unique potential for redemption that is within us right now. If our actions are correct and coincide with God’s will, then the Messiah will come.
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/45001/shmitah-messiah-this-year-arrival-jewish-world/#tuGJuzS1OmQxA58p.99
As the Babylonian army surrounds Jerusalem, Jeremiah receives a truly confusing instruction from God. He is told to purchase a piece of the Land, though the Jewish people are on the verge of exile! This signified God's promise that He will never forget His people, and they will yet return to their Land. This summer marks ten long and painful years since the Israeli towns of Gush Katif and others were handed over to the Palestinians in Israel's tremendous quest for peace. Over 8,000 Jewish residents were evacuated from their beloved homes, made even more tragic as most had nowhere to go. A former Gush Katif resident, Tina Nagar, turned her beautiful photography into a set of greeting cards. The photos commemorate her lost garden, and represent her hope to return to her home.
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a leading authority in mainstream Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, has been giving clear messages recently that the coming of the Messiah is imminent. He is urging Jews to make Aliyah as soon as possible.
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I find your daily messages interesting and morally uplifting. Were I to believe in the efficacy of prayer I would certainly direct mine to the people of Israel. Kind Regards, Ronald Westwood, Australia
Love all the informative articles and beautiful photos! Truly a blessing! Sandy from Tennessee, USA
Leading Israeli Rabbis: Time for Messiah to Come
