The Geulah Process

I'm listening to some extremely interesting audios - Everything is a Message from G-d - by Yishai Beckow, and if you have the time, I highly recommend visiting his blog and tuning in.

I recently had an email discussion with Yishai, on the topic of Moshiach and the various dates that are often predicted on different websites.  I think the current '''date'' for everything changing is Hoshanah Rabah, according to some bloggers.   We've heard so many different dates, and they all turn out to be non-events - at least insofar as the appearance of Moshiach is concerned - and subsequently we may find ourselves becoming fed up with the process and losing all hope, when we believe the hype surrounding a particular day in the near future, and nothing happens !

So I asked Yishai if I could blog his response to my question regarding all these dates and waiting for the sudden appearance of Moshiach.  This is what he wrote [reprinted with permission]:

Re: Ge'ulah - it is a process, not a single event. There are many steps and stages we need to go through. It won't happen instantly, and is still happening. Don't expect to see one night a certain world and the next morning a different one. We need to go through everything. Soon enough, I think you will see that this process actually started a long time ago. Probably with the burning of Yosef's kever, which was either 2000 or 2001. 

But it is so complex and so many things need to happen, we don't see the forest for the trees. The final stage will quite literally be overnight. And our davening etc right now IS working. It just takes a lot of work and momentum to overcome the inertia of Galus, and puts a strain on those of us who tend to over-work, and who are very focused on this issue. But by the time we will have been through so many different things, we will know what is happening. Right now, it is only the opening rounds, so to speak. 

So it IS happening. Just not on the time frame you or I might wish. That said, it's a big world, with lots of people. H' has to work out the best way for every person put together, which makes it not something any one person's calendar dictates. Don't give up, and don't stop davening. If you are interested in a discussion of the process, R' Tatz' Messianic Era discs are excellent. 

There is a comment from the Baal Shem Tov on the times preceding Ge'ulah: he says it will be as thought H' ties a big rope around the world and is shaking it vigorously. Those of us whose emunah is not strong enough will fall off. We need to hold onto the rope for dear life. That is how I already feel, and I suspect you do too. Don't let go. No matter how crazy life is or gets, the reality is that things are not out of control. We are all here now for a reason, and none of us are expendable. Nor are we expected to enjoy the painful parts. If we can hold on, we can also hold others on, and do much good. 

I think in the end, H' will show us that by helping others we are helping ourselves, and that the reason for the bleak outlook is to enhance the merit of having remained loyal. And remember "if I didn't fall down, I couldn't get up." It happens to all of us -.....We get back at it slowly. Mitzvah gereret mitzvah - one mitzvah leads to another. Start somewhere, and you'll see it comes back together.