Rav Shach, z’l was one of, if not the leader of the generation twenty years ago. In his sefer Michtavim U’Maamrim/Letters and Essays, there is an essay entitled The Jewish people will only be redeemed in the merit of Teshuva (vol 1, essay 19). It was said right after the Yom Kippur war.
At the time, he said that there were people announcing that they had found clear hints that this was the last step before Mashiach comes.
He says that, of course, we believe Mashiach could come today, tomorrow, or right now, but we cannot rely on any signs.
He was discussing a case of the Zohar, and he said that even regarding the Zohar, Halacha is not always like the Zohar, and furthermore, who says we understand what the Zohar says?
What we have to do, he said, is look at Halacha.
In his discussion of Mashiach, the Rambam doesn’t mention any simanim/signs. There are no signs. He doesn’t say, “When Russia invades Ukraine, put on your Shabbat clothing…”
He says that we were all commanded on Teshuva…”The Jewish people will be redeemed in the merit of Teshuva.”
Rav Shach says that the Chafetz Chaim spoke a lot about the Geula/Redemption, and he knew the Zohar, and he doesn’t bring these things down either. He adds that when you don’t hear what you are supposed to hear, you get the opposite impact.
Which means that instead of taking difficult times as a cause to arouse ourselves in Teshuva, which is a Halacha (in Hilchot Taanit in Rambam, which we quoted yesterday) we abandon what we are supposed to do and hang on to all kinds of indicators and hints.
He says that we do this to make it easier for ourselves.
Saying, “Mashiach is coming- let me get in my last trip to Florida,” is not what God wants.
We can’t think that things are happenstance, and we have to realize that other sources, even holy ones, can’t be used as a source. He says,
“Even if the angel Gabriel came down from Heaven and said we aren’t going to follow the Rambam on Teshuva, we don’t listen to angels. We go with Halacha and not with signs and hints.”
And all of these simanim backfire, as Rav Shach says.
People look for all kinds of signs and symptoms, from Corona to this and that. How many times can we go through this (what I will call) nonsense?
When we were locked in our homes for the Seder people said, “It’s like Yetziat Mitzrayim, so Mashiach is coming this year….”
Rav Shach says, “Maybe he was supposed to come, but he didn’t because instead of doing Teshuva, everybody got caught up in the in the signs that he would be coming. He will come when we do Teshuva. And until we do Teshuva, he is not coming.”
So thinking that he’s coming now, because of some sign, backfires.
This may sound like a heavy statement, but I lived through this in Eretz Yisrael, and I heard this from Rav Shach at the time.
Throughout the Gulf War and other wars, people get stuck on the wrong thing. They get stuck on signs and hints, but those are all peripherals; they are not the main points. This is not what we should be focusing on. People want to know, “the end illuminated.“
They want the end of times to be illuminated. Well, the end of time is illuminated. It is very clear. Do Teshuva, and Mashiach will come.
All the searching for signs and symbols in the Gemara and in the Midrash, all after the fact, are totally meaningless. They are meaningless and counterproductive.
The Rambam in Hilchot Melachim perek יב says, “ Don’t get overly involved in the Midrashim and sources that talk about when Mashiach is coming. And don’t focus on how and when… because it doesn’t cause love of Hashem or fear of Hashem. And don’t try to figure out when Mashiach is coming.” He literally says, regarding the people that try to figure out when Mashiach is coming, “Their spirit should leave them.”
That’s a heavy line.
“Wait and believe,” he says,
Because looking for the end is counter productive.
This might be news to some people, and it might be shocking to some, but our job is to say the truth, the way we see it. People may have heard differently, but I have to say what I heard, and what I believe.
Have a wonderful day.