Are we living in the time of redemption? |
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by David Frankel commemorating the yahrzeit of his father, Benyamin ben Avraham z”l Each Shabbat, Religious-Zionist synagogues all over
the world recite Avinu She’bashamayim, the Prayer for the Welfare of the State
of Israel: Our Father in Heaven Rock and Redeemer of Israel Bless the State of Israel The first flowerings of our redemption If we look as Yechezkel 36:8-12, in his prophecy of
comfort, we see that some of the revelations of the redemption are taking place
in our lifetime: But you, O mountains of Israel,
shall yield your produce and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for their
return is near. For I will care for you: I will turn
to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will
settle a large population on you, the whole House of Israel; the towns shall be
resettled, and the ruined sites rebuilt. I will multiply men and beasts upon
you, and they shall increase and be fertile, and I will resettle you as you
were formerly, and will make you more prosperous than you were at first. And
you shall know that I am the LORD. I will lead
men—My people Israel—to you, and they shall possess you. You shall be their
heritage, and you shall not again cause them to be bereaved. The concluding prophecy
of Amos which is also a prophecy of comfort (9:13-15) rings true today as well: Behold, days are coming
declares the Lord, when the plowman shall meet the reaper and the treader of
grapes him who sows seed; and the mountains shall drop juice, and all the hills
will melt. I will return the captivity of My people Israel and they will
rebuild desolate cities and settle them; They will plant vineyards and drink
their wine; They will cultivate gardens and eat their fruits.
I will plant them
upon their Land and they will never again be uprooted from the Land I have
given them said the LORD your God. According to Radak, the
produce will be so abundant and plentiful that before the harvest is finished,
it will again be time to till the soil. Before the grapes have been
sufficiently trodden to squeeze out their wine, it will be necessary to replant
their seeds for the next year’s growth. Rashi points out that
Amos’s prophecy parallels and even exceeds the promise in the Torah, Vayikra
26:5: “And your threshing shall overtake the vintage and the vintage shall
overtake the plowing.” Radak continues: So
much blessing will be bestowed upon you with so little effort on your part,
that it will seem like the mountains themselves drip with wine- as well as the
juices of the other fruits growing upon them. And the hills will be so
saturated with milk from the flocks of sheep grazing upon them that they will
appear to be melting into liquid. This is a fulfillment
of the blessing of “A land flowing with milk and honey.” The Modern State of
Israel is flourishing with produce. Jews from all over the world are returning.
We are resettling and rebuilding the Land and the population is growing. We
have many vineyards that produce countless types of wine and an abundance of
different types of fruits as well as milk which provides a variety of dairy
products. In the Talmud, Sanhedrin
98a, Rabbi Abba says: You have no more explicit manifestation of the end of
days than the phenomenon stated in Yechezkel 36:8. When produce will grow in
abundance in Eretz Yisrael, it is an indication that the Mashiach will be
coming soon. Chag Atzmaut Sameach
and Shabbat Shalom from Yerushalayim, |