Part III. National Unity
The Great Trumpet
Before we conclude, I’ll tell you something else that might surprise you: This shleimus that you achieve in your home is what prepares you for Yemos Hamoshiach. People always ask that question – what can we do to bring Moshiach, to prepare for that time of ןֹוּיƒˆ¿ל ֹו ָ̇ינƒכ¿ׁ ̆ ירƒזֲחַּמַה, when the Shechinah will return once again to Eretz Yisroel? And if you listen carefully, you’ll hear the answer now.
In Shemoneh Esrei we say נו≈ ּ̇רו≈ח¿ל לֹו„ָּ‚ רָפֹוׁ ̆¿ּב עַ ̃¿ּ ̇. We’re asking Hakadosh Baruch Hu to blow on a ‘great trumpet’ for our freedom; a ‘great trumpet’ means that it’s for the world. We are asking that He should make a big announcement so that the nations of the world should hear that the Am Yisroel are now free, that we can go as we wish and nobody can restrain us. It will be a warning to the nations: “Nobody should interfere. My children are going home now.”
And then finally will be fulfilled עַּב¿רַ‡≈מ „ַחַיּנו≈ˆ¿ּבַ ̃¿וı∆רָ‡ָה ֹ̇פו¿נַּכ. That’s what we’re looking forward to: ‘Collect us together from the four corners of the earth.’ A great day in the history of the world! From all corners of the earth we’ll come streaming back to Eretz Yisroel.
The Yachad Requirement
Now when you say נו≈ˆ¿ּבַ ̃¿ו it means to ‘collect us’; we want Hashem to gather us. So it should say ı∆רָ‡ָה ֹ̇פו¿נַּכ עַּב¿רַ‡≈מּנו≈ˆ¿ּבַ ̃¿ו – ‘Gather us from the four corners of the world.’ What’s this word yachad, together? It’s superfluous. If He’s going to gather us, then it’s going to be “together”. How else could it be?
But it's not superfluous; not at all. Because when we talk about the great time of ֹו ָ̇ינƒכ¿ׁ ̆ ירƒזֲחַּמַה ןֹוּיƒˆ¿ל, of the Shechinah coming back with us to Eretz Yisroel, we have to know that yachad, that’s a requirement. It’s only when the Am Yisroel comes together with a real achdus that’s when Hakadosh Baruch Hu is ready to bring back His Shechinah to Tzion. Yachad is not superfluous at all – it’s an important condition.
Now, I understand that today this word, achdus, togetherness, is bandied around. But it’s all wrong; it’s not understood. Like some Reform rabbis and Conservative rabbis – and I’m afraid modern orthodox rabbis too – they like to tell their congregations when they come together, “It’s togetherness that counts.” That’s a word that they all like; achdus, togetherness. So they’re sitting together, the ladies and the men, and they’re munching; they’re eating together at a synagogue supper – there’s no mechitzah of course – and they’re enjoying themselves. “It’s togetherness that counts.”
From the Four Corners
No, no. All that is just talk. When we say yachad, we’re talking about shleimus hamiddos. And that has nothing to do with the achdus of synagogue dinners. Because when we’re gathered together it’s going to be ı∆רָ‡ָה ֹ̇פו¿נַּכ עַּב¿רַ‡≈מ, from the four corners of the world. Jews will come from far eastern countries. They’ll come from South Africa. They’ll come from Russia and Australia. Maybe from India they’ll also come.
There’s going to be the Lubavitcher and the Satmerer and the Bobover there; the Poilishe Jews and the Hungarian Jews and German Jews and Litvishe Jews. And then there's Sefardim too. And Sefardim are not all one; there are Sefardim from Syria and Sefardim from Egypt and Sefardim from Teiman and from Persia – all kinds of Sefardim. And they all have their own minhagim.
All kinds of yeshivah people too. There's Lakewood, and Chaim Berlin and Mirrer Yeshiva and Telz; all kinds. All kinds of people! Don’t think they're all the same – each one has his own ways. In this yeshivah they don’t say "ן≈מָ‡¿ו ן≈מָ‡ םָלֹעו¿ל 'ה ךּרוָּב” by Maariv and in that yeshivah they do.
Chasunah Arguments
Did you ever see the yeshivos come together at a chasunah? There’s an argument. They’re davening Maariv before the chuppah so someone goes up to daven, to be the shatz.
Should he say םָלֹעו¿ל 'ה ךּרוָּב or not?
“I’m a Chaim Berliner, I can’t say it.”
“But the rest of us are not, you have to say it!”
It’s an argument, what should you do?
Now, when Moshiach comes, it will be worked out. Exactly how, it’ll be up to the Sanhedrin that’s going to be there to make a decision but it will be worked out. What nussach will they daven, nussach Sefard or nussach Ashkenaz? I think there will be a showdown there. The Sanhedrin will say that we should all come back to the original nussach but what’s the original nussach, that’s the problem. The Anshei Knesses Hagedolah made only one nussach; they didn’t make ten different nuschaos.
But one way or another we’ll come back to the original nussach; everybody will find out that he’s making some mistakes and we’re going to come back to one nussach together. And then ‡ּהוַה םֹויַּב „ָח∆‡ ֹמו¿ׁ ּ̆ו „ָח∆‡ 'ה ה∆י¿הƒי – Everyone will call out to the One Hashem, with the same language, the same nussach of tefillah.
And so minhagim, halachos, it’ll be arranged. It will be worked out satisfactorily. But there’s something else, a bigger problem, something that the Sanhedrin won’t be able to do for you.
Same Old World
Now pay attention. There's a machlokes in the Gemara about what will happen in the time of Moshiach, what it’s going to look like. So one opinion is that it’s going to be a supernatural existence; not what we are accustomed to today but an entirely different kind of existence.
I won’t go into that, however, because the other opinion is what we follow: ‚≈הֹנו ֹו‚ָה¿נƒמ¿ּכ םָלֹעו – the world will be the same as today. It will be a natural existence just like it is right now. You will have to eat to remain alive. You’ll have to go to sleep in order to be healthy. You’ll marry and have children. You’ll have neighbors too. It will be a natural existence; the only difference will be that we will be pottur from shibud malchiyus. The nations will realize our superiority and we won’t be subject to the nations anymore; otherwise it will be like today. That’s what the Rambam follows and that’s the consensus opinion of the Chachmei HaTorah: ‚≈הֹנו ֹו‚ָה¿נƒמ¿ּכ םָלֹעו – the world will continue as is.
Same Old Problems
And that’s not really such good news because when you come together in Yerushalayim with Moshiach you’ll be taking along with you all of the things that make trouble for us today.
You know, people will still have cars. And people will have driveways. You want to park your car, your neighbor wants to park his car. It will be a question.
Am I blocking the driveway too much or are you just being too stingy?
There’ll be husbands and wives. Women are not going to have the same interests as men just because Moshiach came. Your wife will still talk too much and your husband will be mean sometimes. םָלֹעו‚≈הֹנו ֹו‚ָה¿נƒמ¿ּכ means that there will be friction sometimes.
There will also be tenants and landlords in the days of Moshiach. You’ll have neighbors still. Your neighbor’s little boy might break your window with his ball and you’ll have to deal with the father. He’ll say he’s not chayav and you’ll say yes. And you’ll have to get along with him. And there will be bosses and employees and neighbors – all kinds of problems like today.
The Yachad Solution
Now, how is it that we’ll be zocheh to the Shechinah then? How will we merit that the Presence of Hashem will return with us?
The answer is by means of yachad. The unity of our nation, the perfection of character that each individual will achieve in order to get along with everyone, is what will make the Shechinah rest by us in a way not before in our history.
I told you once already that the sefer Derech Hashem says that. He’s talking there about Mattan Torah and he quotes the possuk says רָהָה „∆‚∆נ ןַחƒּיַו – Yisroel encamped in front of the mountain. And the Chachomim note that vayichan is singular – vayichan not vayachanu; ‘he encamped’, not ‘they encamped’ – and they say that it means „ָח∆‡ ׁ ̆יƒ‡¿ּכ ןַחƒּיַו – they were all like one person. And because they were all united like one person, the Derech Hashem says, that’s why יַינƒס רַה לַﬠ 'ה „∆ר≈ּיַו; that’s why they merited that Hashem came down to give them the Torah.
Finally Getting Together
It's a remarkable statement. When the whole Klal Yisroel is together – not only physically but they actually get along with each other; they bend their will to each other’s idiosyncrasies and quirks of character – that’s what brings the Shechinah down.
And therefore that’s going to be a requirement for those great days. Our big job is going to be to become yachad. “I’m not interested only in נו≈ˆ¿ּבַ ̃¿וı∆רָ‡ָה ֹ̇פו¿נַּכ עַּב¿רַ‡≈מ, in gathering you from the four corners of the earth ” Hashem says. “I want it to be „ַחַיּנו≈ˆ¿ּבַ ̃¿ו. I want you to be gathered together and I’m not going to rest the Shechinah on you unless it’s yachad.”
When we’re able to get along with each other despite all of our differences, then we’ll have the Shechinah again. For the Shechinah to be with us with the intensity we want for that time in history we’re going to need to be yachad.
No Miracle Will Help
Now, don’t think it’s going to happen all of a sudden; it won’t happen just by fiat, a command of Hashem, that you’ll be yachad. In order to be ready for the geulah it’s necessary for us to practice up right now. We have to rehearse beforehand, because who knows? ‡ֹבוָּי∆ׁ ̆ םֹיו לָכ¿ּב ֹלו ה∆ּכַחֲ‡. Every day he might come; it could be tomorrow, so we have to practice up today.
And that’s why when we say to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, “„ַחַיּנו≈ˆ¿ּבַ ̃¿ו” every day in our tefillos, He says, “Well, are you ready? As much as you can do, you should do yourselves now. Rehearse for it now because when the time comes and I’ll bring you all together, what’s going to happen? It’ll be ֹו‚ָה¿נƒמ¿ּכ םָלֹעו and you’ll be surprised. I won’t give you good character by means of a miracle. And therefore, b’yachad is your job to prepare.”
It Starts At Home
It doesn’t mean just to say words ‘Achdus,’ ‘yachad.’ To say “I’m yachad with the Jews in Australia or in Tel-Aviv,” that’s easy to say from your home in Brooklyn. It’s good to say but it has nothing to do with the shleimus hamiddos that’s needed for getting along perfectly with the ones you come in contact with, the ones who get on your nerves.
You have to become accustomed to other people’s natures; that’s the real trick of yachad because Hakadosh Baruch Hu made it that way, that no two human beings have the same nature. And therefore, that’s an important function of our lives – to be aware of the function of yachad!
Brothers have to learn to get along. Daughters-in-laws with their mothers-in-law. Mechutanim with each other. Neighbors and landlords and tenants and bosses.
And so if you’re looking to prepare for the geulah you should understand that it’s the perfection of character in getting along with everyone which will make us ready for and worthy of those great days of hashraas ha’Shechinah.
Have A Wonderful Shabbos
