[Avodah] What is Redemption? - by Rabbi Oury Cherki

[Ben Waxman via Avodah]

What is Redemption? - by Rabbi Oury Cherki, Machon Meir, Rabbi of Beit 
Yehuda Congregation, Jerusalem

In the first chapter of his book “Netzach Yisrael” the Maharal of Prague 
defines the concept of redemption based on his view of the exile. By 
doing this he makes use of a common theme in his way of looking at 
things: The Unity of Opposites. An idea can often best be defined by 
understanding its opposite. Thus, black is used in defining white and 
evil is used when trying to define good.

Thus, the Marahal defines exile as having three elements: The exit from 
the natural habitat (Eretz Yisrael), dispersion among the other nations, 
and being ruled by another nation. This means that redemption, the 
opposite of exile, is characterized by three elements: return to the 
proper place, ingathering of the exiles, and national independence.

Note that the definitions of exile and redemption do not have any 
spiritual characteristics. Redemption is a political action. As opposed 
to Christian belief, which views redemption as a spiritual and mystical 
event where the soul is rescued from the impurity of its sins and from 
eternal hell, Judaism is not explicitly worried about the fate of the 
soul – after all, “Every person of Yisrael has a place in the world to 
come” [Mishna Sanhedrin 10:1]. Judaism rejects the concept of a deity 
which is hostile to mankind and seeks revenge. The main task which 
mankind is required to perform is “tikun,” mending the ways of this 
world. Since the main power that moves historical events in this world 
is political the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave Avraham a role which was 
in essence political – to create a nation within boundaries of a 
specific land - that is, to establish a country.

There are spiritual processes that take place based on the redemption, 
such as repentance, world peace, the return of prophecy, the rebuilding 
of the Temple, and more. But these are consequences of the redemption 
and not part of its essence. There is a powerful dispute between two 
great men, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, about whether redemption 
depends on prior repentance by Yisrael or not (Sanhedrin 97b-98a). No 
matter how this dispute is decided, the very fact that the question is 
discussed in this way shows that everybody agrees that redemption is not 
repentance itself but rather a process that takes place in parallel with it.

Among the holidays which the Torah has given us, there is a difference 
between Pesach, when we celebrate the liberation of 600,000 idol 
worshippers from Egypt, and Shavuot, which marks the giving of the 
Torah. It is true that the two holidays are linked together by the 
counting of the Omer, but in any case the Torah did not imply that the 
national holiday of Pesach depends on the existence of the Torah holiday 
of Shavuot. In fact, the opposite is true: The precondition for being 
given the Torah was the redemption from Egypt. Even if an enlightened 
Pharaoh had granted Yisrael religious freedom in Egypt, this would not 
be the Torah of Yisrael, since it would not include a basis of political 
independence. Only in this way is it possible to achieve the great 
vision that “All the families of the world will be blessed through you” 
[Bereishit 12:3].