[Avodah] Moshiach Ben Yosef

[Zev Sero via Avodah]

On 03/14/2016 07:24 PM, 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

That he may come at any second doesn't *have* to mean that he'll get
everything done in one second.  He may come one second from now and
then take 40 years to complete his job.  But he *may* also complete
it in one second.  We don't have to believe that *will* happen, just
as we don't have to believe that he *will* come one second from now,
but we do have to believe that it *may* happen.

The proof that the geulah may happen in a single day is from the gemara's
explanation for why RYBZ forbade chodosh all day, instead of just until
noon, lest the BHMK be built suddenly, late on the 15th or overnight
on the 16th, and there may not be time to bring the omer before noon.
As Rashi points out, this can only happen if the BHMK comes down from
heaven already built, in one moment, and the gemara says this is a
possibility we have to take seriously, to the extent that every year
we must refrain from chodosh for six more hours, just in case this
happens next year.   Now obviously if the Beis Din has advance notice
that this will happen then they will be prepared and will have the omer
brought by noon, so we see also that not only may the BHMK be built
overnight, but the entire geulah may happen overnight.

-- 
Zev Sero               All around myself I will wave the green willow
zev at sero.name          The myrtle and the palm and the citron for a week
                And if anyone should ask me the reason why I'm doing that
                I'll say "It's a Jewish thing; if you have a few minutes
                I'll explain it to you".