Tzipisa Li'Yeshuah: Emunah, Anticipation, and the Coming of Mashiach

Topics

• Galus, Geulah, and the Twelfth Ikkar of Emunah
• What Was Yaakov Trying to Reveal?
• Was the Ketz Hidden Even from the Gedolim?
• The Gra's Warning, Sefer Yetzirah, and Serach Bas Asher
• The Shechinah's Departure and the Question of Fixed Dates
• Second Question: If We Know the Date, Can We Still Await Mashiach?
• The Baal HaTurim: No Chet, No Ketz
• The Chofetz Chaim: Are We Really Waiting?
• "Ufis'om Yavo" — Suddenly
• Readiness for Mashiach: The Chofetz Chaim and Kodshim
• The Shuls and Batei Midrash Will Go to Eretz Yisrael
• My Zeideh's Question: Who Insures Against Mashiach?
• The Twelfth Ikkar Is Written Differently
• The Brisker Rav: Not Every Day, but All Day
• Rav Nosson Wachtfogel's Prepared Clothing
• If Eliyahu Must Come First, How Can Mashiach Arrive This Moment?
• Is Waiting the Same as Hoping?
• "Tzipisa Li'Yeshuah?" — More Than Waiting
• The Rambam's Different Wording of the Yaakov Story
• Rav Shach: Revealing the Ketz Means Strengthening Avodas Hashem
• The Semak: Emunah in Geulah Is Included in "Anochi"
• A New Way to Hear the Rambam
• What Is the Name of Mashiach, and What Does It Teach Us?
• The Ohr HaChaim: "U'Shemo Chaim"
• The Beis Shmuel: "Shachna"
• Galus Conceals the Shechinah
• The Dubno Maggid: Why Hide the End?
• The Dubno Maggid's Mashal of the Writing Paper
• My Explanation: Uncertainty Sustains Tzipiyah
• What Yaakov Wanted to Say About the End of Days
• The Rambam: Do Not Make the Order of the Ketz the Center of Your Religion
• From Yediah to Tzipiyah
• Returning to the Baal HaTurim's Remez
• The Chofetz Chaim: Do We Demand the Geulah?
• My Message to the Kosel
• Lot and "B'Tzel Korasi"
• The Three Oaths: Can We Demand the Geulah?
• Could There Be a Difference Between Daily Tefillah and Excessive Demands?
• The Avnei Nezer and the Halachic Status of the Oaths
• Rav Chaim Vital and Maharal on the Three Oaths

Transcript

## Galus, Geulah, and the Twelfth Ikkar of Emunah

Rabosai, Sefer Shemos is about **galus and geulah**. We descend into exile, and we are redeemed. And this is not merely something that happened in Parashas Shemos, Va'eira, Bo, and Beshalach. It is a theme that continues through the history of Klal Yisrael: **galus and geulah, galus and geulah**.

We are living now in the last galus, waiting for the geulah. I want to show you from the Rishonim that our belief in the coming of Mashiach is connected with the pasuk **"אנכי ה' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים"** (Shemos 20:2). The Ribbono Shel Olam Who redeemed us from Mitzrayim is the same Ribbono Shel Olam Who will bring us the final geulah. [The precise Rishon who develops this connection is to be identified later in the shiur; this is the speaker's introductory statement.]

What do we possess while we are in galus? **Emunah**. We believe in the geulah even before we can see it.

To understand this properly I think we need a broad conversation. We need to understand the **twelfth ikkar** of the Yud-Gimmel Ikkarim:

**"אני מאמין באמונה שלמה בביאת המשיח, ואף על פי שיתמהמה, עם כל זה אחכה לו בכל יום שיבוא."**

I believe with complete faith in the coming of Mashiach; even though he may delay, nevertheless I await him every day.

**"בכל יום שיבוא"**—every day.

What exactly is required of us? What does it mean to believe, and what does it mean to await?

I want to discuss the **halachah** of this obligation, the **hashkafah**, and the **aggadah**. Each gives us another way of understanding the meaning of anticipating geulah.

Let us begin with last week's parashah, **Parashas Vayechi**.

The pasuk says in Bereishis 49:1:

**"ויקרא יעקב אל בניו ויאמר האספו ואגידה לכם את אשר יקרא אתכם באחרית הימים."**

Yaakov called his sons and said: Gather, and I will tell you what will happen to you at the end of days.

Rashi, following Chazal in **Pesachim 56a**, tells us:

**"ביקש לגלות את הקץ ונסתלקה שכינה ממנו."**

Yaakov wanted to reveal the ketz, the end, but the Shechinah departed from him.

I want to make two observations about the words of the pasuk. First, it says **"יקרא"**, written with an aleph. Ordinarily, when we speak of something that *happens*, we might expect the spelling with a hei: **"יקרה"**. With an aleph, *yikra* suggests *calling* or *reading*.

Why did the Torah use that form here?

We've discussed it before, and perhaps we will come back to it at the end.

But the second observation is even more important: the pasuk speaks of **"את אשר יקרא אתכם"**—*what will happen to you*—while Rashi speaks of revealing **the ketz**, the time of the end. Does this mean only **when**, or does Yaakov intend to disclose **what** will occur?

To resolve the difference, we'll need to understand the very nature of the geulah.

## What Was Yaakov Trying to Reveal?

The pasuk says, **"את אשר יקרא אתכם באחרית הימים"**—what will happen to you at the end of days.

Rashi says **"ביקש יעקב לגלות את הקץ"**. When we hear *ketz*, we usually think of the moment when the galus will end: **when** will Mashiach come?

But the words of the pasuk seem to say more than that. **"Asher yikra"** is *what* will happen, not merely the date on which it will happen.

We will need to understand this connection between the **when** and the **what**.

First, I want to raise four questions that have always bothered me about this Rashi and this Chazal.

**Why did Yaakov Avinu consider it necessary to reveal the ketz?** Why should anybody need to know the time Mashiach will come?

I can suggest a straightforward answer. Yaakov was a father who cared about his children. He understood they were about to face the terrible galus in Mitzrayim and that other galuyos would follow. If a person knows his suffering has an end, that gives him **chizuk**. When you know there is a date, a time when it will all be over, it is much easier to endure.

**"קץ שם לחושך"**—there is an end to the darkness (Iyov 28:3; the verse's application here is homiletic).

Without any sense of an ending, it can be very difficult. So perhaps Yaakov wanted to strengthen his children by telling them when the geulah would finally come.

But now there's a tremendous kashya.

The Gemara says:

**"תיפח עצמן של מחשבי קיצין"** (Sanhedrin 97b).

Chazal speak very sharply against those who calculate the appointed end. Why? Because people are told Mashiach will come at a particular time, and when that date passes and he has not come, they may fall into **yi'ush**. Their hopes are dashed. They begin to doubt whether the geulah will come at all.

If it is so harmful to reveal or calculate a date, why did Yaakov Avinu seek to reveal it?

You might answer: that is precisely why the **Shechinah departed**. Perhaps the Ribbono Shel Olam was teaching Yaakov that he should not make the ketz public.

Maybe that is the answer. But we have to examine it carefully.

There are powerful stories that illustrate the pain when people tie their hopes for Mashiach to the life of a particular great person.

My **zeideh**, zichrono livrachah, told me that after the petirah of the **Netziv of Volozhin**, people felt an enormous disappointment. They had hoped a man of such greatness would lead us to the geulah. When he passed away, they felt that hope had been shattered.

And my zeideh also told me there was a similar feeling after the **Chofetz Chaim** was niftar.

These stories are what my zeideh told me, and the historical details should be checked before treating them as independent documentary evidence.

When people believe a certain tzaddik will bring Mashiach and that tzaddik passes away, they may feel that their expectation was misplaced. That's the danger of making the entire expectation depend on one predicted event.

So when Chazal say **"תיפח עצמן של מחשבי קיצין"**, we have to understand the concern: if the date arrives and the geulah does not, people can lose their emunah.

But would that same objection apply to **Yaakov Avinu**? If Yaakov knew the ketz through nevuah, could his information turn out to be mistaken? And if it could not, why prevent him from revealing it?

That's my question.

## Was the Ketz Hidden Even from the Gedolim?

I mentioned my zeideh's recollection of the extraordinary sense of loss when the Netziv and later the Chofetz Chaim were niftar.

There was also a story about **Rav Moshe Landinsky**, my great-grandfather, who was associated with the Chofetz Chaim's yeshivah and spoke, according to the family account, of how the death of such a tzaddik could shake people's hopes for geulah.

It is a painful reality: when hopes are built around a certain time or person, and those hopes are dashed, some people can fall into despair.

Now let's examine the other side.

The **Dubno Maggid** speaks about the great purpose in the time of the final geulah being concealed. I want to come to his mashal later. The exact sefer and location have to be identified.

Yet I saw a Midrashic tradition quoted that **some great individuals knew the ketz**.

Yaakov Avinu was one of them. According to this interpretation, when **"נסתלקה ממנו שכינה"** occurred, it wasn't necessarily that Yaakov forgot the information. Rather, the departure of the Shechinah was a sign that he **must not reveal** what he knew.

I saw **Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman**, in *Ayeles HaShachar*, discuss this point. We will need the exact page and wording for a formal citation, but I want to preserve the difference between **forgetting** a secret and **being shown not to disclose it**.

**Daniel** is another figure associated with knowledge of the ketz, through the sealed visions and their interpretation.

And then there is **Yonasan ben Uziel**.

The Gemara in **Megillah 3a** relates that when Yonasan ben Uziel made his Targum to the Nevi'im, the land shook and a bas kol exclaimed:

**"מי הוא זה שגילה סתריי לבני אדם?"**

Who is this who has revealed My secrets to human beings?

The Gemara goes on to explain that when he wished to reveal a Targum to **Kesuvim**, a bas kol prevented him, because **"דאית ביה קץ משיחא"**—there is within it the ketz of Mashiach.

Now that's an important textual precision: the Gemara specifically connects the **unrevealed translation of Kesuvim** with the messianic end. It should not simply be stated as an explicit Gemara claim that the Targum to Nevi'im itself disclosed the date.

Still, the central point stands: Chazal describe a profound **concealment of the ketz**, and even the presentation of scriptural material that could reveal it was restrained.

I also saw an account involving the **Gra**, his writings on **Sifra D'Tzniusa**, and a disciple or later student named in the shiur, with some hesitation, as **Rav Zundel of Salant**.

In the account, someone believed he had decoded a hint about the time of the ketz from the Gra's writing. He consulted **Rav Avraham ben HaGra** about whether his reading was correct, and Rav Avraham said something to the effect that the interpretation may indeed be right.

That night, the man saw in a dream the **angry face** of someone he did not recognize. He later asked Rav Avraham to describe what the Gra looked like, and recognized the face from the dream. He took it as a warning **not to reveal** what he believed he had discovered.

I saw this story associated with *Ayeles HaShachar* and traditions from the disciples of the Gra, but the identities, chain of transmission and precise printed source need checking; I am preserving the story as told, not claiming independent authentication.

It's quite a story. You know, if an ordinary person today dreams of an angry face, I can tell him it's probably because he saw so many angry faces during the day! Everybody is angry at everybody.

But perhaps these great people lived among such ahavah and such Torah that an angry face in a dream really startled them.

Whatever the story's textual details, the message being conveyed is that **revealing the ketz may itself be against the ratzon Hashem**.

And that brings us back to Yaakov Avinu's wish to reveal it.

## The Gra's Warning, Sefer Yetzirah, and Serach Bas Asher

So the person who believed he had deciphered the ketz from the words of the Gra understood the angry face in his dream to be a warning: **don't reveal it**.

Rav Shteinman draws a point from this type of story. When a person gets close to revealing secrets that ought to remain concealed, something may happen that he interprets as a signal to stop.

He brings another account involving the **Gra** when he was still a child—approximately twelve years old. The Gra was learning **Sefer Yetzirah** and, according to the story, attempted to create a **golem**.

Not the "golems" you meet walking down the street today! I'm talking about the golem described in the older traditions.

Why did he stop? He described seeing a face or a distraction at that point and understood that he was not supposed to continue.

[The precise autobiographical or later source for the Gra's story, the age, and the dream interpretation needs verification; the shiur presents it as a received narrative.]

This helps explain what I meant about Yaakov Avinu. **"נסתלקה ממנו שכינה"** need not mean that he was suddenly unable to remember the ketz. Perhaps Yaakov recognized the withdrawal of the Shechinah as a **message not to reveal it**.

Great tzaddikim live with the Ribbono Shel Olam and are attentive to what happens around them. Something that looks accidental to one person may carry meaning to another.

Now let me tell you about another question someone asked me recently.

**Why was Serach bas Asher the one to tell Yaakov Avinu that Yosef was still alive?** There are stories that she received an extraordinary reward and entered Gan Eden alive.

The easy answer is that she knew how to play music. She could approach Yaakov gently, accompanying the news with a melody. A guitar is a wonderful way to tell a story. Ask **Carlebach**—he could tell you all about that!

But that answer seems weak. Is musical ability alone enough to explain why she was chosen and why she received such a reward?

I asked my talmidim to look into it. I'm very tired today, Rav Nisan; if you knew how tired I am! But with the Eibishter's help, and two coffees over here, we'll get through the shiur.

I asked **Rav Nisan**, who has tremendous bekius, to use that computer he carries in his head. I "Googled" the question through Nisan!

He showed me an explanation, connected with the **Ramban**, that Serach may not have been Asher's biological daughter but rather a stepdaughter from a prior marriage. [The relevant Ramban and the precise family relationship require checking; this must not be presented as a settled historical fact.] That would make the story even more remarkable: the person chosen to approach Yaakov was not even his biological granddaughter according to that account.

Then someone showed me **Sefer HaYashar**. That gave me an idea.

In the story, the Shevatim are approaching their father's home, worried that the sudden announcement, **"עוד יוסף חי"**, will overwhelm him. At that very moment Serach is present with a musical instrument. So she is asked to give the news in a gentle way.

Now perhaps that's the answer: **there are no coincidences in the lives of such people**. Her presence at that moment was itself the indication that she was the right person to tell Yaakov.

That is how I understood the story in Sefer HaYashar. I'm giving you my interpretation of its episode, not claiming that the sefer explicitly proves the conclusion.

You know, I think a lot. Why? Because I love the Ribbono Shel Olam. With every fiber of my heart, I love Him.

## The Shechinah's Departure and the Question of Fixed Dates

I believe that every movement and every thought exists under the hashgachah of the Ribbono Shel Olam. The older a person becomes, the more he can come to appreciate how much he depends on Hashem.

And Yaakov Avinu, together with the Shevatim, lived with that sensitivity. If **the Shechinah departed** just when he wanted to reveal the ketz, perhaps that was enough for him to understand that the Ribbono Shel Olam did not want it disclosed.

But **why not?**

Yaakov wanted to give his children **hope**. He knew they faced a long galus. What could be more comforting than knowing precisely when the darkness would end?

The obvious answer is the Gemara's warning:

**"תיפח עצמן של מחשבי קיצין"** (Sanhedrin 97b).

When people calculate the ketz and announce a date, the date can pass without Mashiach arriving. Then people fall into despair and say, "He didn't come; perhaps he never will."

But is **Yaakov Avinu** in the same position? Suppose Yaakov, with prophetic knowledge, says Mashiach will come on a certain day. Could it turn out that he would not come on that day?

I find that difficult to understand. I don't know.

There is a famous pasuk in Yeshayahu 60:22:

**"אני ה' בעתה אחישנה."**

I am Hashem; **in its time I will hasten it**.

The Gemara in **Sanhedrin 98a** explains:

**"זכו — אחישנה; לא זכו — בעתה."**

If they merit, the redemption can be hastened; if not, it arrives in its appointed time.

How can something be both **"בעתה"**, at a determined time, and **"אחישנה"**, hastened?

Well, the mefarshim explain that there may be opportunities for geulah that depend upon the spiritual state of Klal Yisrael. A time may be suitable for redemption, but we may fail to be zocheh to it.

So someone calculates a time when the geulah **could** arrive. But if we do not merit it, that time passes, and Mashiach does not come. People are disappointed; their emunah can be weakened.

This is how I'm understanding the danger of calculations, although the Gemara's basic contrast is between the accelerated redemption and its appointed time. The additional description of particular missed dates requires its own source.

But now return to Yaakov. **Would the same thing be true if Yaakov was about to reveal the ketz?** Did he know only a possible opportunity, or an irrevocable end?

I have thought about this for years, rabosai, and **I am not clear**. I'm afraid to speak with certainty about it.

I don't know. I don't know.

That is part of our shakla v'tarya.

On the one hand, the straightforward explanation of **why Yaakov wanted to reveal the ketz** is to be mechazek his children: there is an end to the galus.

On the other hand, perhaps Hashem stopped him because revealing the date might lead to despair if people's expectations were not fulfilled.

But I am not fully satisfied. The reason that applies to an ordinary person's calculations may not apply to Yaakov's knowledge.

So this is our **first question**.

One of the olam suggests that the date remained hidden so we would always have a yearning for Mashiach.

Excellent. Hold on to that thought. We are going to return to it near the end of the shiur. You are already giving me the answer that I believe we need to develop.

But first, I want you to understand the questions.

## Second Question: If We Know the Date, Can We Still Await Mashiach?

Just as on Pesach night we have the **four questions**, today we're going to have four questions. Maybe the answer is... no, I'm joking.

Here is question number two.

Suppose Yaakov Avinu had revealed exactly when Mashiach would come. **Would we still have the obligation of "אחכה לו"—to await him?**

In the twelfth ikkar we say:

**"ואף על פי שיתמהמה, עם כל זה אחכה לו בכל יום שיבוא."**

Even if he delays, I will await him every day.

But if I know for certain the date, am I really waiting in the same way? I have a calendar. I know when he is coming. What does the special emunah of **"achakeh lo"** add?

The Rambam is very strong about this.

In **Hilchos Melachim U'Milchamos 11:1**, the Rambam writes that a person who does not believe in Mashiach—or **does not await his coming**—denies not only other prophetic teachings but **the Torah and Moshe Rabbeinu**.

His words are:

**"וכל מי שאינו מאמין בו, או מי שאינו מחכה לביאתו, לא בשאר נביאים בלבד הוא כופר, אלא בתורה ובמשה רבינו."**

That's a tremendous statement.

You must not only **believe that Mashiach will come**. You must also **wait for him**.

So perhaps this is the very reason why the Shechinah departed when Yaakov wanted to reveal the ketz.

If the exact date were public, perhaps the obligation to await could no longer be fulfilled in the same form. Not knowing is what forces us to live with **"achakeh lo"**, awaiting Mashiach even when his arrival has been delayed.

That's what I always thought.

But then I saw a thought from **Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman**, in *Ayeles HaShachar*, that seems to move in the opposite direction!

He suggests that revealing the date could **strengthen waiting**. If you know when a person's wedding is taking place, don't you anticipate the wedding? You know its exact date, and that gives you something to look forward to.

So perhaps knowing the date would make our **tzipiyah** stronger!

Here I am with my explanation for why Yaakov should not reveal it, and I see a gadol b'Yisrael giving the same idea as a possible reason **to** reveal it.

I have tremendous respect for him. He's a giant. But I still want to think through the question.

A talmid says: Even if you know the wedding date, it may be a long time away. You still wait, even though it's delayed. Very good! That's a strong point.

Perhaps **"af al pi sheyismahmea"** can refer to waiting even when you know the final date is distant.

But I am asking whether the character of the **daily obligation to await** is fundamentally different when the date is known.

So this is our second question: **If Yaakov disclosed the ketz, would there still be "tzipisa li'yeshuah"? And if so, why was the date concealed?**

Some of the olam correct my Rambam quotation from memory. I know, I know. In my sleep you can wake me up and ask the Rambam, and I'll tell you **"בתורה ובמשה רבינו"**. I'm living with these words.

All right. It's time to give you a little **drush**. Otherwise you'll think this is a halachah shiur, you'll get bored, and you won't come back next week!

The **Baal HaTurim** brings a fascinating remez. Let's look at it.

## The Baal HaTurim: No Chet, No Ketz

Now, rabosai, let me give you a beautiful remez from the **Baal HaTurim** on the gathering of Yaakov's sons.

Yaakov Avinu looks at the names of the Shevatim and sees something remarkable. In their names he finds no letters **ח** and **ט**—the letters that spell **חטא**, chet, sin, when joined with aleph.

The Baal HaTurim's remez is that Yaakov saw that his children were free of *chet*, and he considered revealing the ketz.

But then he saw another absence: their names also lacked **ק** and **ץ**, the letters spelling **קץ**.

There is no chet, but there is also no ketz!

And the Shechinah departed.

What an unbelievable thought.

You know, the Chassidishe rebbes are always working with names and letters and gematrios. What does a Litvak like me do with all of this? ח, ט, ק, ץ—what does this word game mean?

But it's a beautiful remez, and I want to understand it.

Could it be that the very reason Yaakov wanted to reveal the ketz was because he saw **no chet**? And yet the lack of **ketz** in their names showed that this revelation wasn't appropriate at that moment?

How do we understand that? Why should the presence or absence of certain letters express the nature of the geulah?

I believe we can approach all these questions if we understand the essential mitzvah of **tzipiyah li'yeshuah**, the obligation to await salvation.

To do this properly I want to look at the Rambam, at the **Chofetz Chaim**, at the **Brisker Rav**, and at the words of other gedolei Yisrael.

We have discussed the twelfth of the Yud-Gimmel Ikkarim: **"אני מאמין באמונה שלמה בביאת המשיח ... אחכה לו בכל יום שיבוא."**

But what does it mean to **await Mashiach**?

I want you to open the **Rambam, Hilchos Melachim 11:1**. He says:

**"וכל מי שאינו מאמין בו, או מי שאינו מחכה לביאתו, לא בשאר נביאים בלבד הוא כופר, אלא בתורה ובמשה רבינו."**

One who does not believe in him, **or** one who does not await his coming, is denying not only other nevi'im but the Torah and Moshe Rabbeinu.

That's a tremendous statement.

The Rambam places **belief** and **waiting** side by side. It is not enough merely to acknowledge that Mashiach will come someday. One must also be **mechakeh** for his arrival.

What does this *mechakeh* mean?

Now listen to the Chofetz Chaim.

In his work **Tzipisa Li'Yeshuah**, in the second chapter, the Chofetz Chaim explains the meaning of a person who fails to await. He describes such a person as **"שמתייאש ממנו מאיזה סיבה שהיא"**—someone who has given up hope of Mashiach for some reason.

What's the English word for **mitya'esh**? He has given up hope.

So, in the basic understanding, to be *mechakeh* means **not to abandon the certainty that Mashiach will come**.

At the end of his essay he warns:

**"אבל חלילה לנו להתייאש על ידי איחור"**—Heaven forbid that we despair because the geulah has been delayed.

Even though the waiting is long, we do not give up.

But I want to show you that **tzipiyah** includes something more than that simple refusal to despair.

Not just "I know he'll come"—there is a way of living that shows we are actually waiting.

In another collection of the Chofetz Chaim's teachings, cited in the shiur as a **maamar on chizuk emunah**, and in editions of **Chofetz Chaim al HaTorah**, there is an extraordinary interpretation that makes the point very clear.

## The Chofetz Chaim: Are We Really Waiting?

The Chofetz Chaim begins with a kashya about **Sarah Imeinu**.

The Torah tells us that she laughed when she heard the promise that she would have a child in old age (Bereishis 18:12–15).

Could Sarah Imeinu really laugh at a promise from the Ribbono Shel Olam?

And furthermore, why does the Torah describe this incident at such length?

We read that she laughed, that Hashem raised the issue, that Avraham conveyed it to her, that she answered **"לא צחקתי"**—I did not laugh—and then:

**"לא כי צחקת"**—No, you did laugh.

Why record every detail of an incident that appears to be unflattering to Sarah?

The Chofetz Chaim says, as presented in the shiur, that this episode teaches us about **our emunah in the coming of Mashiach**.

Listen to this! A parashah describing Sarah and the birth of Yitzchak becomes a mirror for the way Klal Yisrael speaks about the final geulah.

He says that when Mashiach's coming seems impossible or distant, people may respond inwardly as Sarah did: **"What? Such a thing can happen now? You must be joking."**

But if someone challenges them—"Do you really believe in Mashiach?"—they answer immediately:

"Of course! What do you mean I don't believe? Every third word out of my mouth is Mashiach, Mashiach, Mashiach!"

And still, perhaps inwardly there is a kind of laughter, a sense that the geulah is not something that could actually happen in the next few moments.

Then the Ribbono Shel Olam will say, as it were:

**"לא, כי צחקת."**

No. You did laugh.

I shiver when I hear this vort. I shiver.

A gadol b'Yisrael can look into a seemingly unrelated parashah and find a lesson about the future of the Jewish people.

**Maaseh avos siman labanim.**

The exact source and printed wording of this particular Chofetz Chaim maamar need checking, but I want to tell you the substance of the lesson as I learned it.

### "Ufis'om Yavo" — Suddenly

The Chofetz Chaim turns to a pasuk about the coming of a figure whom the people seek:

**"ופתאם יבוא אל היכלו האדון אשר אתם מבקשים"** (Malachi 3:1).

**"Ufis'om yavo"**—he will come **suddenly**.

Suddenly! Suddenly!

There are songs with the words *pis'om yavo*. Who sings it? Mordechai ben David? Perhaps Avraham Fried? You don't know either? All right!

We're fortunate that singers put pesukim into music; sometimes a song helps everybody remember a pasuk.

But you also have to be careful. A singer might take a pasuk out of its context and make it into a happy song when the original words are actually a warning.

There is a song using the words:

**"וחפשתי את ירושלים בנרות"** (Tzefaniah 1:12).

A person hears *Yerushalayim* and *neiros* and begins dancing! But look at the continuation of the pasuk: Hashem is searching out and calling to account people who say that He does neither good nor evil.

That is a severe warning of judgment, not simply a cheerful reference to candles. [The speaker's stronger oral description of physical destruction reflects his rhetoric; the verse's exact context should govern publication.]

And now return to **"ufis'om yavo"**.

Do we believe in the **suddenly**?

Everybody says, "Yes, of course Mashiach is coming."

But the Chofetz Chaim asks: **Do you believe he could come suddenly, right now?**

If we truly lived that way, wouldn't there be a visible difference in our **Torah, teshuvah and preparation**?

If someone told you Mashiach could arrive **in five minutes**, how would you respond?

That is the distinction between speaking about Mashiach and actually **waiting**.

## Readiness for Mashiach: The Chofetz Chaim and Kodshim

Imagine that someone tells you Mashiach could come in five minutes.

What would you do? Wouldn't you cry, **"Ribbono Shel Olam, please! I want to be part of the geulah. Let me be ready!"**

You would begin thinking about your Torah, your teshuvah, the way you live.

My zeideh told me that the **Chofetz Chaim** learned **Kodshim**, the sugyos and halachos of the korbanos, with the expectation that the Beis HaMikdash could be rebuilt at any moment.

He worked on **Likutei Halachos**, dealing with the halachos of Kodshim, so that the avodah of the Mikdash would be understood when it was restored.

The historical account of the composition order of his sefarim needs checking. What I want you to appreciate is the **preparation**.

The Chofetz Chaim said, in effect, **"מהרה ייבנה המקדש"**—the Mikdash may be rebuilt soon. I must learn the halachos so I can be ready.

And this is the difference between merely saying, "Mashiach will come," and **living as though he could come**.

If I really expect him at any moment, my actions will show it.

People can say **"לא צחקתי"**, I didn't laugh. I really believe!

But the Chofetz Chaim's mussar is that our actions may testify otherwise. Perhaps deep inside we haven't fully allowed the possibility to become real.

He says that sometimes the words of emunah are **"מן השפה ולחוץ"**—from the lips outward—without penetrating the heart.

### The Shuls and Batei Midrash Will Go to Eretz Yisrael

Now someone asks a practical question.

When Mashiach comes, what's going to happen to our **batei knesiyos and batei midrashos**?

Chazal tell us that the shuls and batei midrash of the galus are destined to be established in **Eretz Yisrael** (Megillah 29a).

So how will they get there?

You know those extraordinary military transport airplanes? Some of those aircraft can carry enormous equipment, vehicles and other aircraft. Think of the operation at **Entebbe**, when transport planes carried equipment and soldiers over a tremendous distance.

I was wondering to myself: the Chofetz Chaim spoke about how inventions and new technologies can awaken emunah by making previously unimaginable things easier for us to picture.

So perhaps these giant planes help us imagine a building being moved! Maybe one day we'll see a whole beis midrash flying through the air.

I'm speaking playfully. That is **my own imaginative illustration**, not a literal explanation supplied by Megillah.

And when we speak of **"על כנפי נשרים"**, on eagles' wings (Shemos 19:4), there is the well-known story of Yemenite Jews arriving by airplane and seeing a fulfillment of the imagery of redemption. Some accounts describe people dancing when they saw the aircraft.

There is also a painful side to the history of the Yemenite Jews after immigration, and I make a very sharp criticism of the secular authorities of that period. Those historical claims require independent documentation; the personal and religious feeling expressed in the shiur should not be mistaken for a fully verified history of the events.

But all right, perhaps the **batei midrashos** will come to Eretz Yisrael.

What about our **private houses**?

Somebody spends one million dollars, two million dollars, five million dollars on a magnificent home. Is that house going with him? You can't assume that!

The bigger the house, the more impressed he is with it—and the more disturbed he may be by the thought of leaving it behind.

Let me tell you a joke.

A woman comes home after hearing a shiur about Mashiach. Usually she comes home delighted; this time she's deeply upset.

Her husband asks, "What did the Rav say that made you so distressed?"

She replies: "He said Mashiach could come any day, and we'd have to leave our house and our car! But we just bought a new house and a beautiful new car! What are we going to do?"

The husband thinks a moment and says, "Don't worry, Chanaleh. Hashem saved us from **Paroh** and from **Nevuchadnetzar**. He'll save us from **Mashiach** too!"

Do you hear the joke?

A person can speak about Mashiach all day, but secretly experience the geulah as something he needs to be **saved from**, because he has become so attached to his comforts.

That's exactly the Chofetz Chaim's point. **Are we really awaiting the geulah, or do we only say that we are?**

## My Zeideh's Question: Who Insures Against Mashiach?

Rabosai, let me bring you an observation my **zeideh** used to make. He said it demonstrates just how deep the Chofetz Chaim's point goes.

Years ago there was a fashion—perhaps forty or fifty years ago—of printing a line on a wedding invitation inspired by **Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev**, the **Kedushas Levi**.

The invitation would say, in effect: **The simchah will take place in Eretz Yisrael, if Mashiach comes; otherwise it will take place at such-and-such a hall in our city**.

That's a beautiful expression of belief!

But then my zeideh asked a sharp question.

The fellow who prints that invitation also owns a house. He buys insurance: fire, storm, flood, theft, anything that could possibly happen.

**Has he ever purchased insurance against the arrival of Mashiach?**

What will happen to all the things in which he's invested when the geulah arrives? Did he make plans for that possibility with the same seriousness as he plans for a storm?

It's a humorous example, not a claim that there is or should be a literal insurance policy for the geulah. But my zeideh's point is powerful.

On the invitation we're ready to say: "If Mashiach comes, we'll celebrate in Eretz Yisrael!"

But when we plan our lives, are we taking the geulah seriously?

This is what the Chofetz Chaim meant by **"לא צחקתי"** and the response **"לא, כי צחקת"**. We say that we believe, but perhaps there's a kind of laughter hidden deep within us, because we aren't really preparing.

So we've learned **two dimensions** of *lechakos* from the Chofetz Chaim.

First, in **Tzipisa Li'Yeshuah**, **do not despair**. Do not give up hope just because Mashiach has been delayed.

Second, in his teaching about **Sarah Imeinu**, believe in the **"פתאום"**, the suddenness of his possible arrival, so that your Torah, teshuvah and way of living reflect readiness.

I want to go **b'hadragah**, step by step.

Because now I want to show you a third, even stronger emphasis, from the **Brisker Rav**.

The source is quoted in the **Haggadah MiBeis Levi**, around page kuf-chaf in the edition mentioned in the shiur, in the name of **Rav Zev Chetchik**, a close talmid of the Brisker Rav. The exact edition and page need checking.

### The Twelfth Ikkar Is Written Differently

The Brisker Rav asked: look at the Yud-Gimmel Ikkarim.

Most are straightforward declarations: **"Ani ma'amin b'emunah shleimah"**—I believe.

But the twelfth ikkar is phrased differently:

**"ואף על פי שיתמהמה, עם כל זה אחכה לו בכל יום שיבוא."**

Why the phrase **"even though he delays"**?

You could insert a similar "even though" into every ikkar.

"I believe in Hashem, **even though I cannot see Him**."

"I believe in Torah, **even though I have questions**."

Why is the special qualification used in the ikkar of Mashiach?

The Brisker Rav said the phrase is not merely an answer to a difficulty, as though we are saying, "I have a question, but nevertheless I continue believing."

Rather, **the waiting itself is part of the emunah**.

**"Af al pi sheyismahmea"** describes the situation, and **"achakeh lo"** tells me my obligation within that situation.

The Rambam says **"להאמין בו"** and **"מחכה לביאתו"**—to believe in Mashiach and to await his arrival.

The waiting is not an optional extra added to the belief. **It is integral to the ikkar.**

Do you hear? This is a tremendous new dimension of the mitzvah.

## The Brisker Rav: Not Every Day, but All Day

Now the Brisker Rav asks us to understand what **"lechakos"** actually requires.

It's not merely a long-term belief: "Eventually, one day Mashiach will come."

It's not even enough to say, "I hope he'll come some day **today**."

He emphasizes the expression **"כל היום"**—the entire day.

The shiur connects **"לישועתך קויתי"** from **Bereishis 49:18** with the language **"כל היום"** found in other pesukim of constant hope, including **Tehillim 25:5**:

**"אותך קויתי כל היום."**

[These are two separate biblical expressions; "לישועתך קויתי כל היום" is presented here as the speaker's combined formulation, not quoted as one exact pasuk.]

You hear the difference?

Not merely **"kol yom"**, every day. **"Kol hayom"**, all day long.

The Brisker Rav's point, as quoted here, is that a Yid must live with the possibility of Mashiach's arrival **throughout the day**, even from moment to moment.

Now I struggled with this.

Does the Brisker Rav expect me to close my Gemara, sit beside the window, and say all day, "Mashiach, Mashiach, perhaps he's coming now"?

What about learning, davening, working and doing all the other things we're supposed to do?

Perhaps the answer is that it is a **constant inner expectation**, something that remains within a person's consciousness while he goes on living and fulfilling his obligations.

I want to come back to that later in the shiur.

But first hear the story of a man who lived with extraordinary tzipiyah.

### Rav Nosson Wachtfogel's Prepared Clothing

I was zocheh to be in yeshivah with the Mashgiach, **Rav Nosson Wachtfogel**, zichrono livrachah.

He was a **Mashiach Yid**. What do I mean by that? He awaited Mashiach as a real possibility every moment.

I heard that he even kept **special clothing** prepared in a case or small bag so that when Mashiach came he would be ready to go out and greet him appropriately.

It's a beautiful thing. His expectation was not only a thought or a slogan. It was reflected in what he prepared.

And there's an extraordinary story that used to go around the yeshivah.

I must tell you: **I don't know whether the story is true**.

I say over some stories because they're good stories, even when I'm unsure of their historical details. My uncle used to joke about a fellow who won a million dollars in the lottery: "I don't know if the story is true, but it's definitely a lot of money!"

So listen to this as an **unverified yeshivah story**, not an established historical report.

A mischievous bachur, perhaps around Purim, went to the Mashgiach's window and blew a **shofar**.

The Mashgiach heard the blast and jumped, thinking: **Mashiach!**

They said **Rav Shneur Kotler** threw the bachur out of yeshivah for frightening the Mashgiach. Again, this is how the story was told, and I don't know if it really happened.

But what impressed me was the idea behind it.

If you hear a car alarm, what's your first thought? Usually it's, "Who forgot to turn off that alarm? What's wrong with my neighbor?" Or perhaps you think something terrible is happening in the world.

But for someone who lives with **tzipiyah li'yeshuah**, even a sound can immediately bring to mind **Mashiach**.

That is how the Mashgiach is remembered: he was **mechakeh**, awaiting the geulah with extraordinary immediacy.

A person has to live with the reality of **"kol hayom"**, every hour of the day, even as he learns and carries out his normal avodah.

## If Eliyahu Must Come First, How Can Mashiach Arrive This Moment?

Now there is a kashya that the **Brisker Rav** was asked.

Chazal discuss the coming of **Eliyahu HaNavi** before the arrival of Mashiach. In **Eruvin 43b**, there is a discussion concerning the possibility of Eliyahu announcing the geulah in advance.

So how can a person believe that Mashiach could come **this very moment**?

If Eliyahu must first arrive and announce the redemption, doesn't that mean there is some prior event we are still waiting for?

That's a good kashya!

According to the oral teaching of the Brisker Rav quoted in the shiur, his answer was essentially:

**When Mashiach comes, he will answer that question.**

We have difficulties in sugyos and questions about how future events will unfold. But those unresolved questions should not cancel the obligation to await the geulah.

Chazal use the expression **"תשבי יתרץ קושיות ובעיות"**, often associated with Eliyahu HaTishbi resolving unresolved questions; there are discussions of that phrase's historical origin and precise status as a Gemara quotation. We need not treat it as a verbatim passage at this point.

The point is that the Brisker Rav would not let a question about chronology weaken the obligation to await.

But now I want to make a further distinction.

### Is Waiting the Same as Hoping?

The Rambam uses **"מחכה לביאתו"**—awaiting his coming.

But the language **"קויתי"** means **hope**.

Is **lechakos** the same thing as **lekavos**?

Maybe not.

When a person **waits**, he might be waiting for something he knows will occur. When a person **hopes**, there can be a stronger sense of yearning, of wanting it to happen at the earliest possible opportunity.

I saw the **Malbim**, on **Tehillim perek 130**, distinguish various words related to expectation, particularly **tikvah**, **tocheles**, and **kivuy**. The exact textual definitions of each term need to be checked against the commentary; I am explaining here the distinction that I drew from it.

Think about a wedding.

If I know the wedding is scheduled for next Tuesday, I **await** Tuesday. I'm looking forward to the event, and I know when to expect it.

But when a bachur is still looking for a shidduch and has no wedding date in sight, he **hopes** for the day he will be married.

There are different kinds of expectation.

So perhaps *lechakos* means that I **know with emunah that Mashiach will come** and therefore await the event.

But **"lishu'ascha kivisi"** adds something further: I **hope that the geulah will come right now, at any moment during the day**.

That's how I'm suggesting we understand the two expressions.

I believe that he's coming, and I await the coming. And **I hope he arrives as quickly as possible**.

This helps explain the emphasis on **"kol hayom"**.

The expectation is not merely passive. I should hope, from moment to moment, that the geulah is imminent.

That's my explanation, and I want the olam to understand that I'm developing the *mahalach*, not simply repeating a single fixed dictionary distinction.

And there is yet another expression used by Chazal concerning the geulah.

The Gemara in **Shabbos** speaks about the questions a person is asked when he comes before the Heavenly judgment.

One of them is **"צפית לישועה?"**

Did you look forward to salvation?

What exactly does **tzipiyah** add to belief, waiting, and hoping?

Let's continue.

## "Tzipisa Li'Yeshuah?" — More Than Waiting

The Gemara in **Shabbos 31a** says that when a person comes to judgment he is asked several fundamental questions, including:

**"צפית לישועה?"**

Did you anticipate the geulah?

Why this particular question? Out of all the taryag mitzvos, why is **tzipiyah li'yeshuah** among the questions so central to the life of a Yid?

What does **litzapos** mean?

So we've discussed **three expressions**.

First, **lechakos**: waiting. As the Chofetz Chaim explains, it means at the most basic level not becoming *mitya'esh*. I know Mashiach will come, and I do not abandon that certainty merely because he is delayed.

Second, **lekavos**: hoping, yearning that the geulah come **soon—at any moment**. That is part of the language **"לישועתך קויתי"**.

Third, **litzapos**: eagerly **looking out**, watching in expectation, like someone standing by the window and anxiously looking for the person he desperately wants to see.

You hear the difference?

A man can be told somebody will visit next month. He knows it and is waiting. As the time comes closer he hopes the visitor will arrive quickly. But **tzipiyah** is that eager anticipation: "Is he here yet? Is he coming?"

I know I'm repeating myself. But these are **yesodei hadas**. They are too important to learn only once.

**Lechakos, lekavos, litzapos.**

In some nuschaos of tefillah we find the words of *kivuy* together with language of being **metzapeh li'yeshuah**, expressing both hope and anticipation. The exact version and placement in Nusach Sefard and other siddurim need to be checked in the relevant editions.

This is not simply a dictionary exercise. I'm trying to show you that the mitzvah of emunah in Mashiach demands a living emotional and spiritual relationship to the promise of redemption.

And now, with this introduction, I want to go back to my questions about **Yaakov Avinu**.

### The Rambam's Different Wording of the Yaakov Story

Here's something extraordinary that I saw explained in the name of **Rav Shach**, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh.

The Gemara, in **Pesachim 56a**, says that Yaakov wanted **"לגלות את הקץ"**—to reveal the ketz.

But the **Rambam**, in **Hilchos Kriyas Shema 1:4**, recounts the gathering of Yaakov and his children in quite different terms. He speaks about Yaakov instructing and strengthening his sons in **yichud Hashem** and the way of Hashem, the path followed by Avraham and Yitzchak.

He does not describe the meeting there as an attempt to reveal the date of Mashiach.

The Rambam recounts that Yaakov feared perhaps there was a deficiency among his sons in their emunah. They answered:

**"שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד."**

Hear, our father Yisrael: Hashem our G-d is One.

Yaakov then said:

**"ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד."**

This helps explain why we say **Baruch Shem** together with Kriyas Shema.

But what happened to the Gemara's statement that Yaakov wanted to reveal the **ketz**?

Rav Shach asks: why did the Rambam express the same event as **strengthening the sons in avodas Hashem**?

The **Kesef Mishneh** is cited as discussing the apparent difference; the precise wording and location of that question need to be checked.

According to Rav Shach's beautiful explanation, perhaps there is no contradiction at all.

**"לגלות את הקץ"** and **"לזרזם לעבודת השם"** can be one and the same purpose.

That is an amazing point. Why would revealing the ketz itself be a means of strengthening **avodas Hashem**?

Now we'll have to explain it.

## Rav Shach: Revealing the Ketz Means Strengthening Avodas Hashem

The Gemara says Yaakov wanted **"לגלות את הקץ"**.

The Rambam says he wanted to instruct and strengthen his sons in **avodas Hashem**, in yichud Hashem and the derech of their forefathers.

Rav Shach says: **"היינו הך."** It is the same thing.

The whole purpose of revealing the ketz would have been **to strengthen them in avodas Hashem**.

Isn't that a beautiful way of reading the Rambam? It is so clear, so simple, and yet it makes you think.

At first you could say the explanation is straightforward. Yaakov knew his children would go through galus. If they lost hope, perhaps they would also lose the strength to continue with Torah and mitzvos. So he wanted to tell them the ketz to give them **chizuk**.

That might be true. But over the years I have begun to think that the connection is deeper.

Perhaps the very **understanding of the geulah** and the certainty that Hashem will redeem Klal Yisrael are themselves a fundamental part of **avodas Hashem**.

Let me show you where I saw that.

### The Semak: Emunah in Geulah Is Included in "Anochi"

There is a tremendous Rishon, the **Semak—Sefer Mitzvos Katan**.

He teaches that the belief in the future geulah is rooted in the words of the first of the Aseres HaDibros:

**"אנכי ה' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים"** (Shemos 20:2).

I am Hashem your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Now that's fascinating.

We usually learn **"Anochi Hashem"** as the foundation of emunah in the existence of the Ribbono Shel Olam.

Where do we see **Mashiach** in it?

The Semak explains that the same Hashem Who took us out of Mitzrayim is the One in Whom we must believe for **the future geulah** as well.

**"אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים"** isn't merely a history lesson. It establishes Who the Redeemer is.

Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, and He will redeem us in the future.

I want to be careful: the precise original language of the Semak and its place in the first mitzvah need direct comparison before presenting an exact quotation beyond the pasuk itself.

But the idea is extraordinary.

The first dibbur is the foundation of emunah in Hashem. And included within that is **emunah in Hashem as Goel Yisrael**, the Redeemer of Klal Yisrael.

That's why belief in Mashiach is not merely an isolated later doctrine.

It's connected to the very first recognition of the Ribbono Shel Olam: **"Anochi Hashem Elokecha."**

### A New Way to Hear the Rambam

The Rambam in **Hilchos Melachim 11:1** says that one who does not believe in Mashiach or does not await him denies **"בתורה ובמשה רבינו"**.

One way you could explain this is that the Torah shebe'al peh, transmitted through Moshe Rabbeinu, includes teachings concerning Mashiach. Denying them is denial of Torah.

But after seeing the Semak, I think there is an even deeper havanah.

**"Anochi Hashem Elokecha asher hotzeisicha me'eretz Mitzrayim"** itself expresses Hashem as the **Redeemer**.

To believe in the Ribbono Shel Olam Who redeemed us from Mitzrayim is also to believe in His promised future redemption.

It's one **emunah**.

We believe in the Ribbono Shel Olam, in His Torah, and in the fact that the very same Hashem Who was **Goel Yisrael** then will be **Goel Yisrael** again.

And that may be why Rav Shach says revealing the ketz means strengthening avodas Hashem. To understand geulah is to strengthen the most fundamental relationship with Hashem.

There are also sefarim which teach that the later galuyos are rooted in or connected with **Galus Mitzrayim**. The exact cited work and formulation remain uncertain in this recording.

But if the galuyos are bound together, the pasuk **"asher hotzeisicha me'eretz Mitzrayim"** acquires even broader meaning: Hashem is the Redeemer of the Jewish people **throughout their history**, including the final galus.

That's an extraordinary thought.

## What Is the Name of Mashiach, and What Does It Teach Us?

So the belief in the coming of Mashiach is part of our fundamental belief that the Ribbono Shel Olam is **Goel Yisrael**.

Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, and He will bring the final redemption. To deny the future geulah is therefore not merely to dispute a detail about events to come; it challenges the emunah in Hashem's promise of redemption.

Now I want to ask the olam something different.

**What is Mashiach's name?**

Do you know?

Somebody says **Menachem**. Another says **Ephraim**. Somebody says **ben David**.

"Ben David"—very good! That's also the name of a singer. When a person doesn't have an actual first name, you call him "the son of..."! I'm joking, of course. I don't mean any disrespect to the singer, and I'm sure he'll be moichel me.

The point is that we find **different names and titles** for Mashiach in the teachings of Chazal and the mefarshim.

One tradition connects his name with **Menachem**, consolation; and the association between the day of Tishah B'Av and the birth of the redeemer is found in Midrashic literature. Other names are also discussed.

But I want to bring two names I found in the sefarim and consider what they signify.

### The Ohr HaChaim: "U'Shemo Chaim"

In **Ohr HaChaim** on **Devarim 15:7**, the speaker recalls an interpretation concerning the birth of Mashiach in Eretz Yisrael after conception outside the Land.

He notes an ending that sounds like **"ושמו חיים"**—and his name is Chaim.

Some explain that the words could be a reference to **Rav Chaim ben Attar**, the author of Ohr HaChaim himself, rather than a prophetic disclosure of Mashiach's actual given name.

Others have learned the passage as hinting to the name of Mashiach.

I find it fascinating, but this is precisely the kind of claim where we need to consult the **printed Ohr HaChaim** before stating an absolute conclusion. I am preserving the different readings discussed by the olam.

### The Beis Shmuel: "Shachna"

The **Beis Shmuel**, an important commentary on **Shulchan Aruch Even HaEzer**, discusses names in the laws of gittin.

That is a very important subject, because a get needs the names to be written correctly. Some names have multiple forms; others appear similar but are not necessarily equivalent. A posek needs to understand their origins.

The Beis Shmuel is quoted in the shiur as associating Mashiach with the name **Shachna**.

Shachna! Not Rav Shachna—Shachna.

There have been distinguished people with that name, including **Rav Shachna Zohn**.

Why would it be a name of Mashiach?

Because of the words:

**"לשכנו תדרשו ובאת שמה"** (Devarim 12:5).

You shall seek His dwelling place and come there.

**L'shichno**—His dwelling, the place of the **hashra'as haShechinah**.

I want you to hear the *yesod* behind this. Even if a precise tradition about Mashiach's given name needs independent verification, the scriptural idea is clear.

The point of Mashiach is not only to rescue Klal Yisrael physically.

The purpose of the geulah is to restore the revealed **presence of the Ribbono Shel Olam** among us.

We are in galus, without the Beis HaMikdash, without that open hashra'as haShechinah.

When the geulah comes, Hashem's malchus will be manifest:

**"והיה ה' למלך על כל הארץ"** (Zechariah 14:9).

So even the names and expressions used for Mashiach can teach us what the geulah is fundamentally about: **the Ribbono Shel Olam**, not merely a change in our material circumstances.

And that brings us to another question. If Hashem's malchus will be revealed everywhere, why does the pasuk still speak of seeking **His particular dwelling place**?

We have to understand the relationship between the universal revelation of Hashem and the unique kedushah of the Beis HaMikdash.

## Galus Conceals the Shechinah

Rabosai, what is **galus** really?

It is not only that we are away from our land or under the power of foreign nations.

A central part of galus is that **the Shechinah is concealed**. We don't see the revealed presence of the Ribbono Shel Olam in the way we long to see it.

I once mentioned a beautiful **mussar poem**, associated in the shiur with **Novardok**.

It is a long poem, and I won't sing all the stanzas now. But its repeated pattern makes a powerful point.

"Sun, sun, where are you? Why can't I see you?"

Because I am standing in a thick forest, and the trees block my view.

"Fish, fish, where are you? Why can't I see you?"

Because the water of the sea is deep, and the fish are hidden beneath it.

And then the poem reaches its climax:

**"Shechinah, Shechinah, where are You?"**

The answer is: **Galus, galus!** The galus is so thick and so deep that we cannot see the revealed Shechinah.

What a beautiful expression. The Shechinah has not ceased to be; the **concealment** is part of what we experience as galus.

The exact Yiddish wording and attribution of the poem need verification, but I want you to hear its message.

So when we say **"לשכנו תדרשו"**, we seek the revelation of Hashem's dwelling. That's what Mashiach is about: **gilui Shechinah**, the open manifestation of Hashem's malchus.

This connects directly with the Semak's explanation of **"אנכי ה' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים"**.

We believe in Hashem Who redeemed us from Mitzrayim, and we await the complete revelation of that same Hashem in the future.

Now I think I understand why **Rav Shach** could explain that Yaakov's desire to reveal the ketz was in order **"לזרזם לעבודת השם"**.

If geulah is fundamentally about **revealing Hashem**, then speaking of geulah is about the foundation of emunah and avodas Hashem.

Yaakov Avinu wanted to strengthen his children in that emunah, and to teach them about the future revelation.

But now the second half of the question comes back with even greater force.

**Why would the Ribbono Shel Olam stop him?**

### The Dubno Maggid: Why Hide the End?

The **Dubno Maggid** asks this in **Mishlei Yaakov**, as cited in the shiur.

Why is the ketz kept secret?

He introduces an unusual Midrashic exchange concerning **Chavakuk**.

Chavakuk cries:

**"עד אנה ה' שועתי ולא תשמע"** (Chavakuk 1:2).

How long will I cry out and not be heard?

The account cited by the speaker has Hashem responding sharply to a person who questions his Creator, then instructing Chavakuk to take a **board or sheet** and write the letter **aleph** upon it.

"Then come back and ask Me about the end."

What does writing **aleph** on a board have to do with the coming of Mashiach?

At first it sounds like a very strange answer.

But the Dubno Maggid gives a brilliant mashal, and I want to explain it.

Think about **a simchah**. At the beginning a person is completely happy. As the last day approaches, knowing it will soon end can make him sad.

The last day of **sheva brachos** can be bittersweet. The end of **Shabbos** can carry sadness because the kedushah of Shabbos is departing.

Now reverse the situation.

A person is suffering and knows precisely when the difficulty will end. As he gets closer to the final date, his heart becomes lighter. Even before the suffering ends, he is already anticipating relief.

The Dubno Maggid suggests that concealment of the ketz preserves a particular avodah of **galus**, because if its final date were known, the last part would be experienced differently.

He connects this with the idea of *tikkun* accomplished through the trials of galus. The precise Midrash and wording of the mashal need examination before publication.

And what does all of this have to do with **the aleph on the board**?

Listen to the continuation.

## The Dubno Maggid's Mashal of the Writing Paper

The Dubno Maggid asks: what does it mean to tell Chavakuk to take a board and write the letter **aleph** on it?

I saw this explanation a few years ago, and the brilliance of it moved me.

Imagine a fellow is asked to write an essay.

If you give him **a tiny sheet of paper**, he writes down what he can fit. When you ask why his answer is incomplete, he says:

"Rebbe, what do you want from me? You only gave me this little piece of paper! I had more to say, but there wasn't any room!"

Now give him **a large pad of paper**, with all the space he needs.

"Write whatever you wish. Explain everything you have to explain. And when you finish, tell me."

Then you know that when he stops writing, it is not because he ran out of paper. He had **enough room to finish**.

That's the mashal of the Dubno Maggid as I understand it.

Galus has an avodah and a **tikkun**. There is something that Klal Yisrael needs to accomplish and become through its history.

If Hashem announced a rigid end that everyone understood and counted down to, people might see the remaining experience only as waiting for the clock to run out, rather than an ongoing responsibility to complete their avodah.

But if the end is not disclosed, the "paper" remains **open-ended**. We cannot claim, "I didn't have room to finish what I was supposed to write."

The galus continues until the necessary **tikkun** is completed according to the cheshbon of the Ribbono Shel Olam.

This is a *mashal*, not a mathematical explanation of how Hashem determines the final time. And I am preserving the Dubno Maggid's presentation as cited in the shiur; its exact source still needs checking.

What a beautiful explanation!

But now I want to return to our earlier **three levels** of anticipation and suggest another reason why the ketz remained concealed.

### My Explanation: Uncertainty Sustains Tzipiyah

I think there is another deep reason.

If Mashiach is fundamentally about **gilui Shechinah**, our belief in Hashem ought to make us constantly **yearn** for that revelation.

Not merely **lechakos**—knowing he will come.

Not merely **lekavos**—hoping that he will come soon.

But **litzapos**—looking forward eagerly, every moment: perhaps **now**. Perhaps he will come **this moment**.

If Yaakov Avinu had given a date, what would happen to that daily anticipation?

People would know the date. They might believe the event with perfect certainty, but the particular avodah of **not knowing when** and anticipating every moment would be diminished.

Perhaps that is why Hashem withdrew the Shechinah and gave Yaakov the sign **not to reveal** the ketz.

The concealment itself is part of our emunah.

I believe that the goal of tzipiyah is to awaken our longing to see:

**"והיה ה' למלך על כל הארץ"** (Zechariah 14:9).

The complete revelation of the Ribbono Shel Olam.

### What Yaakov Wanted to Say About the End of Days

And now return to the difference we noticed at the beginning.

Yaakov says:

**"את אשר יקרא אתכם באחרית הימים"** (Bereishis 49:1).

He wants to tell them **what will happen**—not simply **when**.

What could be more inspiring than describing the future world of **gilui Shechinah**, the full restoration of Hashem's malchus, and the end of galus?

There are Midrashic statements comparing the greatness of the future redemption with Yetzias Mitzrayim.

In the shiur I mentioned a claim that in the future **Pesach would no longer be observed**, with Chanukah and Purim remaining, and I associated that claim with the Rambam's Hilchos Megillah V'Chanukah.

**[Source-critical note: Rambam, Hilchos Megillah V'Chanukah 2:18, does not state that the Torah's festivals, including Pesach, will be abolished. He discusses Nevi'im and Kesuvim, the continuing status of Megillas Esther, and Purim. Midrashic discussions of future remembrance and the relative prominence of the Egyptian and final redemptions must be studied separately. The oral claim has been preserved here but is not a verified Rambam ruling.]**

What I am seeking to bring out is that the future geulah will reveal the Ribbono Shel Olam with a greatness beyond what we have already seen.

Some Midrashim speak of the miracles of the final redemption overshadowing the miracles of Mitzrayim, so that the future geulah becomes a central expression of His greatness.

That is the subject Yaakov wanted to teach his sons: **what the geulah means for emunah and avodas Hashem**.

So I understand his motive.

But Hashem showed him that the **exact ketz** should remain concealed, because **anticipation itself** is part of the avodah.

And that leads us directly to a striking passage in the Rambam.

## The Rambam: Do Not Make the Order of the Ketz the Center of Your Religion

Now look carefully at the **Rambam, Hilchos Melachim U'Milchamos 12:2**.

He discusses the events surrounding the coming of Mashiach: Eliyahu HaNavi, Gog uMagog, and the differing accounts in the words of the nevi'im and Chazal.

Then the Rambam tells us something extraordinary:

**"וכל אלו הדברים וכיוצא בהן לא ידע אדם איך יהיו עד שיהיו."**

A person will not know how all these matters will happen **until they happen**.

The descriptions are closed and sometimes difficult to reconcile, and the Chachamim themselves may disagree about the order of events because they do not have a received tradition specifying every detail.

Then the Rambam says:

**"ועל כל פנים אין סדור הויית דברים אלו ולא דקדוקיהן עיקר בדת."**

The precise order and details of these events are not fundamental to the religion.

And then he warns:

**"ולעולם לא יתעסק אדם בדברי ההגדות ולא יאריך במדרשות האמורים בענינים אלו וכיוצא בהן ולא ישימם עיקר שאין מביאין לא לידי יראה ולא לידי אהבה."**

One should not make lengthy investigation of these aggados and Midrashim the central concern, because that does not bring a person to **yirah** or **ahavah**.

He adds that a person should not calculate the ketz, and should instead **await and believe in the general principle**.

Now this is a stunning Rambam!

According to the explanation from **Rav Shach**, why did Yaakov Avinu want to reveal the ketz?

**"לזרזם לעבודת השם."** To strengthen avodas Hashem.

But now the Rambam tells us that preoccupation with calculating the end and examining every future detail does **not** bring to ahavah and yirah.

Perhaps the Rambam's formulation helps us understand why the Shechinah departed from Yaakov.

Yaakov wanted to strengthen his sons by telling them what would occur in the end of days. That intention was certainly for the sake of emunah.

But the Ribbono Shel Olam indicated that **the exact details and timing need not be part of their avodah**.

They needed the certainty of the future geulah and the **tzipiyah** for its coming, rather than a calendar and an exact description.

This is **my proposed connection between two Rambams and the Chazal**, not a claim that Rambam Hilchos Melachim himself explicitly explains the withdrawal of the Shechinah from Yaakov.

### From Yediah to Tzipiyah

Think about the lesson carefully.

When we say **"אנכי ה' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים"**, we testify to what Hashem has already done.

We know about Yetzias Mitzrayim. We tell the story. We learn its pesukim and its nissim. It creates **emunah** in Hashem as the Redeemer.

But Mashiach is in the future.

We believe he will come, but we don't know exactly **when or how** the process will unfold.

And therefore, along with faith in the promise, we are charged with a special **avodah of longing**.

**"צפית לישועה?"**

Did you actually await the salvation?

Did you desire to see the Ribbono Shel Olam openly recognized as King?

We say in the Yamim Noraim tefillos words that express our yearning for the world to recognize Hashem:

**"וידע כל פעול כי אתה פעלתו"**.

Every creation will know that You made it.

That is what we're longing for: a world in which the malchus of Hashem is manifest.

And that is the deeper reason why knowing the exact details is not the primary avodah.

### Returning to the Baal HaTurim's Remez

Now we can understand that unusual remez about the names of the Shevatim.

There are no letters of **חטא** in their names, and Yaakov sees purity of emunah among his children. He thinks: perhaps I should reveal the ketz and teach them about the great future revelation.

But there are also no letters of **קץ**.

Perhaps the remez means: yes, they possess emunah—but **they are not meant to possess the exact ketz**.

They should be **ma'amin**, **mechakeh**, **mekaveh** and **metzapeh**, without knowing its appointed moment.

And Yaakov worries whether the Shechinah left him because something was lacking in the emunah of his children.

They answer **"שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד"**—no, our belief in the Ribbono Shel Olam is complete.

Then why the withdrawal of the Shechinah?

Because their proper avodah is **emunah without the revealed ketz**.

That's the mahalach I want to suggest.

And now I want to bring one final detail from the Chofetz Chaim to complete the picture.

We have learned: don't give up hope; prepare for Mashiach; expect his arrival every moment; and look forward with such excitement that you can barely contain yourself.

But there is still another dimension of **tzipiyah li'yeshuah**.

## The Chofetz Chaim: Do We Demand the Geulah?

Now I want to bring one more extraordinary idea from the **Chofetz Chaim**.

It isn't enough to believe. It isn't enough even to hope or look forward to Mashiach.

There is a further dimension: **to be tove'a**—to **ask for** the geulah, and even, in the strong language of the mashal, to **demand** it.

In Yiddish we say *manen*: to press for what is due.

I saw an explanation attributed to the Chofetz Chaim, in a collection cited in the shiur as **Omer Tzaddik** (section eleven; exact title, edition and location require checking).

Think about the halachah of paying a worker's wages.

The Torah says:

**"ביומו תתן שכרו"** (Devarim 24:15).

You shall pay his wages on that day.

The halachah discusses the worker's demand for payment as one of the conditions governing the employer's prohibition against delaying wages. That is the context of the mashal.

And the Chofetz Chaim uses it, as the shiur presents his thought, to teach something about our **tefillah for geulah**.

If a person has worked and waits for his wages, he must come and **ask** for them.

So too a Yid must turn to the Ribbono Shel Olam and say:

**"Ribbono Shel Olam, the time has come. Please bring us Mashiach!"**

The phrase "You owe it to us" is the speaker's deliberately strong devotional language, drawn from the wage analogy. It is not a literal enforceable debt against the Creator or a ruling granting a person authority over Hashem.

### My Message to the Kosel

Two weeks ago, a Yid told me he was traveling to Eretz Yisrael.

I said, "I'm sending you on a **shlichus**. I want you to do me a favor.

"Go to the **Kosel**. Stand there and tell the Ribbono Shel Olam that **Aharon ben Moshe Yoel** is asking for Mashiach.

"Tell Him: **Ribbono Shel Olam, please, it is time! Bring us the geulah. We have suffered through galus. We believe in You, and we await Your salvation. Please bring us Mashiach.**"

I used very strong words—"You owe it to us!"—because I wanted the man to feel that tefillah for geulah should not be passive or indifferent.

He was a little taken aback. He had never heard someone speak in this way about asking the Ribbono Shel Olam for the geulah.

But I wanted him to understand the kind of **relationship of trust** that the Chofetz Chaim describes.

### Lot and "B'Tzel Korasi"

The Chofetz Chaim develops a point from **Lot**.

The malachim came to Lot's home, and Lot felt an obligation to protect them. In **Bereishis 19:8**, Lot says:

**"כי על כן באו בצל קרתי."**

For they came under the shelter of my roof.

Lot's response in the narrative is deeply disturbing: he offers his daughters to the mob in place of his guests. **That act is not presented here as a proper moral or halachic example to imitate.**

The point the Chofetz Chaim seeks to extract, as I heard it, is narrower: when someone comes under your protection, you recognize a serious responsibility toward that person.

And this helps explain another famous Gemara.

The Gemara in **Bava Metzia 85a** tells about **Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi**, Rebbe, and a calf being led to shechitah.

The calf broke away and hid beneath Rebbe's garments, crying. Rebbe said, **"לך, לכך נוצרת"**—go, for this you were created.

And because he did not show sufficient compassion in that moment, suffering came upon him.

The Chofetz Chaim asks: what was so wrong in saying that an animal is created for a permitted purpose, including shechitah?

Perhaps the key is that the calf came specifically **under Rebbe's clothing**, seeking shelter.

The lesson of **"בצל קרתי"** becomes relevant: something that seeks protection from you brings a special demand for rachamim.

And I want to take that thought and turn it toward our relationship with Hashem.

When a Yid puts his trust in the Ribbono Shel Olam, he is coming **under the shelter of Hashem's protection**.

With that trust we plead: **Ribbono Shel Olam, we are relying on You. Have rachamim. Redeem us.**

I told the Yid going to the Kosel: speak with Hashem from that place of faith. **Ask for Mashiach. Demand, in the language of heartfelt tefillah, that our exile should end.**

That is another dimension of **tzipiyah li'yeshuah**.

## The Three Oaths: Can We Demand the Geulah?

The Yid returned from Eretz Yisrael and told me something remarkable.

He went to the **Kosel** and said the tefillah I had asked him to say. He came back and told me:

**"It changed my whole life."**

He felt he had entered a different kind of relationship with the Ribbono Shel Olam—not merely reciting requests automatically, but speaking from the heart and actively pleading for the geulah.

That moved me tremendously.

But now we have a **serious kashya** on what I said.

The Gemara in **Kesubos 111a** discusses the **Shalosh Shevuos**, the Three Oaths.

There are oaths concerning the Jewish people and the nations during the period of galus.

The Gemara says that Klal Yisrael was adjured **not to ascend "bachomah"** and **not to rebel against the nations**, while the nations were adjured **not to oppress Klal Yisrael excessively**.

The Gemara also presents a further group of oaths, including **not revealing** and **not forcing or pushing** the ketz.

Now the **Satmar Rebbe**, zichrono livrachah, famously developed a detailed anti-Zionist interpretation of these sugyos. Other gedolei Yisrael have taken very different views of how the oaths apply, especially in the era of modern Jewish settlement and statehood.

It is a serious, contested subject, and we are not going to resolve the entire question of Eretz Yisrael and modern political Zionism in this shiur.

But I want to ask something **within our sugya**.

Rashi discusses the language **"שלא ידחקו את הקץ"**, including an interpretation concerning excessive supplications for the end.

If so, how can the Chofetz Chaim encourage us to come before the Ribbono Shel Olam and **press Him through tefillah** to bring Mashiach?

Doesn't that appear to be a form of pushing the ketz?

### Could There Be a Difference Between Daily Tefillah and Excessive Demands?

One answer might be to distinguish between **ordinary daily prayer** for geulah and **excessive insistence** that tries to force an outcome.

After all, we ask for the geulah every single day. Our Shemoneh Esrei contains brachos asking Hashem to redeem us and restore His presence.

We say words of **kivuy** and **tzipiyah** for salvation. Surely those prayers are part of avodas Hashem.

Perhaps the warning applies only to an extreme form of "badgering" Heaven.

But I am not sure that completely answers what I said earlier. The Chofetz Chaim's language seems to encourage an active, even forceful form of heartfelt pleading.

I don't know. It's a good **ha'arah**, and we have to learn it more carefully.

There are discussions among the Acharonim which distinguish mandatory daily tefillah from the excessive pressure addressed by Rashi; the **Chasam Sofer** has a relevant teshuvah. That comparison belongs in the source notes rather than being passed off as an argument that I explicitly quoted in this recording.

### The Avnei Nezer and the Halachic Status of the Oaths

Another approach involves how to understand the **status of the Gemara's oaths**.

The speaker attributes to **Avnei Nezer, Yoreh Deah 454**, the view that because the Three Oaths are not codified in Rambam or Shulchan Aruch, they are **aggadah** rather than practical halachah.

I describe this as an approach used in disputes between different camps, including debates involving the Satmar Rebbe.

**[Source-critical note: That attribution is not established as stated. A rabbinic analysis of Avnei Nezer YD 454 describes him as treating the oaths as potentially relevant to the parameters of the mitzvah of settling Eretz Yisrael, rather than simply rejecting their halachic significance. The original responsum and its full argument must be inspected before publication. Do not represent the speaker's summary as the Avnei Nezer's verified ruling.]**

Different authorities distinguish aggadic material, halachic obligations, and the contemporary applicability of the oaths in different ways. Their differences should be reported accurately rather than reduced to a simplistic claim that every authority except Satmar considered the oaths nonbinding.

My concern here is still the same: **how does a Jew fulfill the duty to ask for Mashiach with fervor, while respecting Chazal's warning about pushing the ketz?**

I will bring two more explanations quoted among the Acharonim, and then we will conclude.

## Rav Chaim Vital and Maharal on the Three Oaths

There are other approaches to the Three Oaths that people have used in discussing their duration and conditions.

First, **Rav Chaim Vital**, in the introduction to **Eitz Chaim**, cites a teaching attributed to the **Beraisa of Rabbi Yishmael** that interprets the time of the oath as **one thousand years**.

The idea is that the oath has a specified duration rather than continuing without any possible end.

That passage is present in Rav Chaim Vital's introduction, although its interpretation, and its precise implications for the entire sugya of the Three Oaths, must be studied carefully.

I make a comparison with **Cherem Rabbeinu Gershom**, whose duration has also been discussed in halachic literature. The comparison is only an analogy about limitations of duration; it does not by itself establish any practical ruling about the Three Oaths.

Second, there is the discussion in **Maharal, Netzach Yisrael, chapter 24**.

The Gemara says the nations were adjured **not to oppress the Jewish people excessively**.

Why was that part of the oaths?

The Maharal explains the structure of the oaths as maintaining a certain order during galus. The Jewish people are not to force the end of dispersion, while the nations must not intensify the suffering beyond what was decreed.

Now I want to suggest an implication of the fact that the nations too were bound by an oath.

**What happens when the nations fail to keep their obligation?**

In light of the terrible persecutions, and certainly the **Holocaust**, how can anyone say that the nations consistently refrained from oppressing Klal Yisrael beyond measure?

I understand the Maharal's explanation as giving us reason to question whether the corresponding obligations could still apply in the same way if the other side had violated its part.

**[Editorial attribution note: The application to the Holocaust and the assertion that the Jewish people's oaths are thereby void are Rabbi Walkin's own extrapolation in this shiur. The Maharal lived centuries before the Holocaust, and the cited passage of Netzach Yisrael 24 does not itself establish that specific modern halachic conclusion. This issue is contested among later authorities.]**

These are complex sugyos. I have not undertaken here to give a complete psak on them, and I do not want the olam to think I have resolved the many arguments in the literature.

Our subject was the **chiyuv of tzipiyah li'yeshuah**, the religious duty to believe, to wait, to hope, and to yearn.

And we have learned several layers.

**Lechakos**—to wait for Mashiach without giving up hope.

**Lekavos**—to hope for his coming, to desire that it happen soon.

**Litzapos**—to eagerly anticipate, to look forward with your whole heart.

And finally, to ask and daven to the Ribbono Shel Olam for the geulah, with the sincerity of someone who knows that Hashem is his only Redeemer.

Rabosai, let us be zocheh to the **bias haGoel**.

**Bimheirah, b'yameinu. Bimheirah. Pis'om. Any moment. Kol hayom. Any second of the day.**

May Mashiach come soon, with the complete revelation of the Ribbono Shel Olam's malchus.

**Bimheirah b'yameinu, amen.**