This is the fifth Shabbat of consolation, and as Rosh Hashana looms ever larger on the horizon, our tour of Ramchal’s Maamar HaGeulah will soon conclude with the waning of the old year.
This week’s beautiful haftara is the only one that is read twice every year, and not on any holiday. Israel is likened to a barren woman, bereft of offspring. Hashem, her husband, is telling her to expand her house because she will need to make room for all the children who will soon be running through it. Of course, Hashem’s promises are always fulfilled, and as surely as she has suffered years of frustration and torment trying without success to create a legacy and a family, so she will soon have everything she has hoped for. Ramchal uses this verse (Yeshayahu 54:2) to introduce the conclusion of the second part of his essay, and also to establish the theme for the third and final part.
He explains first, following on the discussion of the remedy for the afflictions of exile that we reviewed last week, that as the Shechina is restored to her full power and the presence of Hashem is made manifest in the world, all the habitations of human civilization are impacted by the currents of redemption. In the time when the first and then the second Beit HaMikdash were standing, the sanctity that attached itself to the service of Hashem was restricted and limited to the boundaries of the Land of Israel. Also, at the same time, idolatry and base immorality were widespread in the world and it was necessary for the boundaries of the Land to be maintained in order to keep these spiritual scourges at bay. But as the light of redemption enters the world and the knowledge of Hashem floods human consciousness in a continual torrent originating in Yerushalayim, these dark spiritual forces will be banished and all lands will become suitable for the experience of holiness.
Unfortunately, as we’ve alluded to a few times in recent weeks, this change will also bring with it a time of great uncertainty and doubt. The old ways of communicating and experiencing the tiny fragments of the light of redemption that crept in through Torah study and Shabbat observance over thousands of years will become less resonant, and many people will feel increasingly cut off from their source of spirituality. But the truth is that this broader, larger, more holistic experience of holiness will come flooding into the universe. It won’t be enough to only sit and study texts, to cling to traditional ways to grab these tiny sparks of holiness. We will have to live and embody and carry out the dicta of the Torah and truly become as we were meant to be, a sanctified people and a nation of priests.
At the conclusion of the second part of Maamar HaGeulah, Ramchal discusses how David HaMelech davened that this time of incongruity and confusion would be as short as possible. In a similar vein, Rav Hillel of Shklov in Kol HaTor attributes to the Vilna Gaon the sentiment that every generation that lives in relative comfort prior to the time immediately preceding the final redemption should pray fervently to make that time of trial as short as possible.
So how is this resolved? And how does the light finally overcome all of the darkness and the shadow? In the beginning of the third part of his essay, Ramchal explains that the boundaries that had served to protect the holiness and keep corruption at bay have also had the effect of limiting the expansion of that holiness. But the power of redemption that is pouring into the world cannot be restrained by any worldly boundaries. As this light increases, the barriers fall and all the erstwhile realms of darkness are bathed in light. The Shechina ascends but she also expands, until all the world is her home – not just the Mishkan or the Beit HaMikdash. “Spread out the place of your tent and plant the cables for your tabernacle wide!” (Yeshayahu 54:2). The boundaries are set according to the natural order and qualities of everything.
But one consequence of the final redemption is that the nature of things themselves will be altered – their ability to receive and to reflect holiness will be enhanced. One should not imagine that this will result in chaos or pandemonium. As the influence of Divine Providence increases in the world, so will Shalom, the peace that surpasses understanding. Everything in Creation will continue to function according to plan, but now the plan will more closely match the original intention from Creation that had for so long been distorted by the evil inclination and the moral failures of humanity. With the pervasive knowledge of Hashem that will be ushered in with the final stage of redemption comes the ability to expand and integrate so much more information, while still allowing for it all to fit together in our vastly expanded consciousness.
