[Avodah] Moshiach Ben Yosef

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 12:24am +0100, R Arie Folger wrote:
: I must have expressed myself unclearly. I am asking, must we believe he can
: come any second, and concommitant with that, that redemption will therefore
: be quite instantaneously (kinds don't appear typically out of nowhere. It
: takes years to be accepted, to build an administration and to achieve the
: kinds of successes we expect mashiach to show)? Or must we hope all the
: time for him to finally appear.

: The latter possibility allows for a slower process of unfolding.

It also doesn't mean one needs to believe he will be coming today;
rather that we wait today for when he comes.

After all, "im tismahmeiha chaqei lo" dates back to Chavaquq (2:3) and
yet R Yoachanan ben Torta tells R' Aqiva that grass will grow between
his cheeks before Ben David comes. (Y-mi Taanis 4:5) No one criticizes
him for not expecting mashiach imminently.

He can come any second, but we don't have to believe it's likely. At
least the gemara doesn't criticize RYBT's opinion.

I therefore think of "achaqeh lo bekhol yom, sheyavo" as I wait
daily. Just like I counted the days until my wedding even though
that meant I knew it wasn't imminent. So every day we wait for
him, because he will come. Not that he will come today, or in
a day.

-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "'When Adar enters, we increase our joy'
micha at aishdas.org         'Joy is nothing but Torah.'
http://www.aishdas.org    'And whoever does more, he is praiseworthy.'"
Fax: (270) 514-1507                     - Rav Dovid Lifshitz zt"l