The redemption of the people of Israel will take place through a human being, the Moshiach. When Maimonides (Hilchot Melachim 11) outlines the process of redemption, he begins with the words: "The King Moshiach is destined to arise."
Why must this process occur through a human being? Why can't the redemption be a type of global change in which humanity elevates itself to the holiness, faith, justice, and righteousness of the Messianic era?
In fact, the same question could be asked about the redemption from Egypt. It was a Divine redemption, coming directly from G-d Himself – "He revealed Himself to them, the King of Kings, G-d Himself, in His glory, and redeemed them" – yet the acts of redemption were carried out through Moshe. He was the one who brought the message of redemption, he warned Pharaoh, he brought the plagues, he led the people out of Egypt, and he mediated between G-d and the Jewish people at Mount Sinai.
A Channel For Divinity
The same question can be asked about the concept of a Rebbe. Why is a Rebbe needed? After all, G-d is with us at all times and in all places, He hears our prayers, guides our steps, and grants us strength and blessings.
Why then is it such a central concept in the Torah, and especially in Chassidus, that one must connect to a tzaddik, a Rebbe?
However, this is what G-d wants: that the revelation of His powers and influences will pass through a human being who becomes a channel for the Divine flow.
Intermediary
Thus, the Divine power merges with the reality and limits of the world and becomes part of it, not coming as something 'from above' that imposes and shatters the existing reality of the world.
This principle is clearly seen in Moshe. Moshe says to the Jewish people: "I stand between G-d and you" (Devarim 5:5). In the language of Chassidus, he is called the 'intermediary', because he serves as the point of connection between the Jewish people and G-d, and it is he who connects and bonds the people with G-d.
Absolute Humility
As explained in Chassidic teachings (Sefer HaMaamarim, 5659, p. 190): "The revelation needed to come through Moshe, for on their own the Jews would not have been able to receive the light, but only through Moses as an intermediary.
But Moshes' role as an intermediary was not like other intermediaries... for through Moshe, the essence of the light itself (atzmut h’or mamash) was drawn down."
Moshes' uniqueness lay in his absolute self-nullification, as it is said of him (Numbers 12:3): "And the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth." Precisely because he was completely nullified before G-d and His will, G-d could dwell in him and be revealed through him.
Thus, in every generation, there is an 'extension of Moshe' (in the language of the Zohar), meaning the soul of Moshe clothes itself in the leaders of the Jewish people.
Clinging to Tzadikim
The tzadikim that G-d places in each generation continue this role of Moshe, through whom the Divine flow is channeled into the world. By connecting to these tzadikim, a person connects with G-d Himself (see Sefer HaMaamarim Melukat 1, p. 25).
This is also the explanation of the Talmud regarding the Torah's command "and cling to Him" (Deuteronomy 10:20): Is it possible to cling to the Shechina? Rather, a person must cling to Torah scholars, and through them, he will be connected to the Shechina. For through the connection with the soul of the tzaddik, every Jew connects with the highest root of all souls, with the Shechina.
The Role of the Moshiach
This is also the role of the Moshiach. He is the 'general soul' (neshama haklalit) of all of the Jewish people (in Kabbalistic terms: 'yechida haklalit'). Through his complete self-nullification before G-d (which is why he is called "poor and riding on a donkey"), he is worthy of having "the spirit of G-d rest upon him," and through him, the true and complete redemption will come.
Translated from the writings of Rabbi Menachem Brod.
