I have not listened to this yet, may not have time to do so today, but the subjects he is talking about include ''why Messiah isn't coming'' .... I'm guessing he means to say ''why Moshiach hasn't come yet''. Please leave a comment if you have already listened to it and let us know.
Friday, July 29, 2016
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In his lecture Rabbi Mizrachi Yish Emeth quoted the Vilna Gaon, who reached the conclusion that, despite all the Torah learning, the good things and wonderful mitzvot that Jews were doing back then, they did it for selfish reasons, meaning for gains in this world or the next one, but nobody did it because the shechinah is suffering in exile. Therefore the salvation didn't come in his time. Beezrat Hashem this year Mashiach will come no matter what.
Thank you Ginno and Amen to that.
In regards of the kavana that must accompany each mitzvot I really recommend you all to dwelve on the subject by watching this video of R. Friedman.
I've been thinking about this A LOT for the past following weeks, it is hard to get my mind around this but I think he is right. This is truly an obsessing topic.
"Does H need our mitzvot?" (Not want or desire, but really NEED)
https://youtu.be/cv1msa1J-I8
You should what he all episodes of "uncomfortable" serie but this video goes straight to the core problem. Enjoy!
Ginno Ricci,
You're basically saying that the Vilna Aharon and the Baal HaTanya agreed on that topic: H's needs.
The Baal haTanya states that very clearly at the end of chapter 10. But where does the Vilna Gaon reaches that conclusion?
Have a look at all the points I compiled from R. Friedman's lectures on this specific topic:
1. In the morning for Hassidim, and before doing any mitzvos for sefaradim, we say "lechem ychud kudesha vrichu u'shchrintei", meaning, not that we do the mitzvos not for our profit only, but that we do them mainly to gather them, in fact: to reunit H's kedusha and his shechina. We are the only ones down here with that mission.
2. If the mitzvos are infinitely precious to Him, so how cannot He need them?? If mitzvos are not essential to Him then why doing Mitzvos has a tremendous effect on the world?
How can you serve Him if He is already perfect? Oh you could say that He "just really wants" but does He not need, so he "wants" infinitely ok, wouldn't call that a "need" ?
3. He gives a mashal where a boy has been making tea for his dad each day at 9:00AM for 20 years. One day, the boy acted as if he was leaving the room as usual, but instead went behind the room's door to have a pick at his father's behavior just to discover that in fact he has not been drinking the tea at all, instead he throws it directly into the sink every day. What would you call that kind of father? Wouldn't you call that a torture. In other words, if he does not really need the mitzvos, then basically He's just keeping you busy so that you stay away from Him, like "go do this and don't bother me".
4. This issue is also related to marriage, in the same way that people got it all backwards. H did not create the world out of love, but he created the world in order that we could become simply His, so love is not the main thing, it is just a means to that unity between Him and us. And that's how shidduch works, contrary to what happens in the secular world where people marry out of love/passion and divorce when the reason for that love ceases to exist. Love is not the purpose of creation, unity is.
Because for better or for worse, if we do love him or not, if he is angered at us or not, we are His like a child belongs to a father whether he is beautiful or not, intelligent or not, unconditionally. So he bestowed 'Hesed on the first day so we can become his, as a means, not as a purpose, as he created gevura on the 2d day, tiferet on the 3d and so on, all that channels that are means to become one with us.
5. There are needs that come out of weakness like "a compliment when one's lonely",or eating and so on, but real needs, human needs, are not weaknesses they are virtues, they are ennobling, like for example the need for a purpose to life because otherwise we couldn't stand it. Why do we have that need in particular? Because we were created in hHis image, and if we can't stand not having a purpose so does He.
The bottom line on this is that H was perfect before He created a world, He created it for a Purpose, so now that He created it He needs a "Dira Betartonim", this is how we make sense of this world, this is the purpose of the creation of this world, so that H's stops hiding, and for that to happen we have to learn Torah and do Mitvos B'simcha so we can fulfill our mission, satisfy that need so that His presence can finally be revealed down here.
It's comforting to know that someone knows all the answers
Believe that Moshiach was and is destined to come 'in its time'. The world has never really fixed its sins and the Jews have been dispersed amongst the nations where it would have been almost impossible or improbable to be completely good in order for Moshiach to come. We now have reached the lowest level (which is a sign for the time before Moshiach) but great efforts are being made to influence many of our people to do teshuvah, B'H, and time is ripe for his coming, where every 'real' Jew will be worthy of Olam Habah because every 'real' Jew, from Matan Torasainu on, has a portion in the world to come, all according to our holy Sages for Moshiach to come!
Interesting, David. That's something I don't understand fully. If Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the ultimate perfect being and none of your actions, good or bad, can make the smallest change in Him, and He doesn't need us in reality, not Jews, not gentiles, not animals, not angels... then what reason do you have to perform Torah and mitzvot other than earning your reward in Gan Eden and the Olam Haba, and escape from the tortures of Gehenom, Kafa Kela, etc, or earthly punishments in this life? I've always thought the answer to the mishnah of Antigonus of Socho was that you are supposed to do the mitzvot because Hashem said so, not because of the reward. That should be enough. He is the Creator, Master, Boss, King and Judge. You don't mess with Him, because sooner or later you will pay the price.
To David. Thanks for your synopsis of Rabbi Friedman's shuir. I watched it awhile ago and it has given me a greater understanding why we do mitzvos. It always bothered me when Rabbis would make comments such as ' H doesn't need our mitzvos. I would always ask myself then why do we do them if H doesn't care? I strongly suggest every yid should watch and listen to R, Freedman.
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