[Avodah] What does "Redemption/Geulah" mean?

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 02:38:48PM +0000, kennethgmiller at juno.com wrote:
: I received an answer in this morning's email, in an article from Rabbi
: Ephraim Schwartz of the Young Israel of Karmiel. You can read his entire
: article at
: http://holylandinsights.blogspot.com/2012/04/third-cup-passover-2012.html

Quoting RES's blog entry:
:     Which brings us to our Seder today. Yes, we have Eretz Yisrael,
:     we have our freedom. We have the ability to learn and grow close to
:     Hashem and bring his Name to the world. But yet, something is missing
:     in what seems to be this almost perfect world. What is missing is
:     us. Why are we not waking up each morning with a special closeness
:     to Hashem? Why are we not running around dedicating ourselves to
:     building a country that would only serve to make His name great;
:     To create a home for him that he would gladly and speedily return
:     to? The answer is because we are still lacking Geula / redemption. 2000
:     years of exile has made us cold and stagnant. We have been freed,
:     we are no longer being persecuted and that seems to be enough for
:     most of us... most of the time. We have V'Hotzaisi, V'Hitzalti,
:     V'lokachti V'Havaisi. But we are still lacking the V'Goalti. We are
:     missing that inner sense of redemption that makes sense of the past
:     and that allows us to rectify it and appreciate and move to our new
:     roles. We still need to be redeemed.

I once developed a fusion of the Qetzos and R' Hutner's Pachad Yitzchaq
to define "ge'ulah" <http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2008/04/geulah.shtml>
and <http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2008/05/geulah-king.shtml> (which is
based on the prior.

The Bereishis Rabba (8:5) where 4 mal'akhim (who appear to be Platonic
Forms) debate the creation of man, has Shalom and Emes objecting, and HQBH
finally creates humanity after throwing Emes to the ground. Citing the
pasuq "Emes mei'eretz tatzmiach", the medrash indicates that humanity's
job is a process to make Emes manifest. And this, the haqdamah to
the Qetzos says, is why the Torah is described as "vechayei olam nata
besocheinu", Torah is the neti'ah from which Emes is tatzmiach.

The PY, OTOH, is about the difference between the qabbalas ol Malkhus of
Shema and that of RH. Shema is about HQBH being the King in hypothetical
purity, acceptance of an abstract fact about His Glory. RH is the
realization of his Kingship in a "ein melekh belo am" sense.

"Veyaha H' leMelekh... bayom hahu yihyeh Hashem Echad ushemo echad."
Melukhah is unity of peception of HQBH -- the split of "Hashem E-lokim",
the need to use two names in Ber' pereq 2, caused by Adam's cheit,
would be healed. This is an era when "kesheim shemivorkhim al hatov kakh
mevarkhim al hara" -- and even with the same lashon. Where we see "gam zu
letovah" even about the worst, "Barukh haTov vehaMeitiv". "Dayan haEmes"
in his hands becomes "He Who judges truths" -- which are we ready to
accept, and which need hiding.

Now my fusion: Ge'ulah is that "emes emi'eretz tatzmiach", and thus when
"H' echad ushemo echad".

Galus is a metaphysical state of hesteir panim, galus haShechinah, and
thus galus Yavan can be entirely while Jews live in EY. It's a hiding
of truth as a seedling in the ground.

And that's why the ge'ulah after galus Mitzrayim isn't until Maamud
Har Sinai.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 9th day, which is
micha at aishdas.org        1 week and 2 days in/toward the omer.
http://www.aishdas.org   Gevurah sheb'Gevurah: When is strict justice
Fax: (270) 514-1507                            most appropriate?