HHMI Newsgroup Archives
From: Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok
Subject: Ruchani Eye On Israel - Parashat Vayehi - The
Secret Identity of Shiloh
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
B"H
Ruchani Eye On Israel
Parashat Vayehi
Identifying Shiloh - The Secret Soul of the Mashiah
By Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok
Copyright 2001 by Ariel Bar Tzadok. All rights reserved.
"The staff shall not depart from Yehuda, nor the scepter from between
his feet, until Shiloh comes, and the obedience of the people be
his." (Bereshit 49:10)
In this week's parasha, Ya'aqov Avinu blesses his sons before his
death. With regards to Yehuda, Ya'aqov makes reference to "Shiloh."
Yet, no explanation is given as to who Shiloh is.
According to Onkelos, Midrash Rabbah and Rashi, the name Shiloh is a
reference to the future Melekh HaMashiah.
Belief in Mashiah and awaiting his coming is one of the Thirteen
Principles of the Jewish Faith. It is a core belief of Torah. Yet,
study about the coming of Mashiah, how this is to occur and what this
is to mean for mankind is not widespread.
RaMBaM writes about the coming of Mashiah in his Hilkhot Melakhim.
Yet he emphasizes there that what he writes are his own opinions and
not necessarily the only way to understand the subject. On the other
hand, the mystical literature of the holy Mekubalim is rich with
material about the topic of Mashiah, who he is, why he is and what he
is to accomplish. This material however is rarely made available to
outsiders of the Mekubalim schools, all the more so available in a
language other than Hebrew. While this topic rightly deserves to be
covered in depth in a book of its own, let it suffice for now just to
skim the surface and learn who Mashiah really is and what we
can do to help speed his coming.
Concerning the name "Shiloh", the Ba'al HaTurim notes that its
Gematria (numerical value of the letters) is the same as that of the
name Moses. While the Ba'al HaTurim does not elaborate on this, the
master Mekubal Rabbi Haim Vital does, in his Sha'ar HaPesukim (Vayehi
20B). There has always been an interesting mystical relationship
between Moses and the Mashiah. One was our first redeemer and the
other will be our last. The question is whether this relationship
goes any further. Moshe Rabbeynu and Mashiah, what is their
relationship? Rabbi Haim tell us:
"It has already been referred to in the Zohar (1,25B), Ra'aya Mehemna
(Pinhas 246B), and the Tikunim (21,52B) that [the name] Shiloh is
numerically equal to [the name] Moshe, for it is he who is Mashiah
Ben David. Now, regarding Mashiah Ben David, it is written, "Behold,
my servant shall be enlightened, he shall be extolled and exalted,
and be elevated immensely" (Yishaya 52:13). [He shall be] "extolled"
more than Avraham, "exalted" more than Yitzhak, "elevated" more than
Ya'aqov and "immensely" more than Moshe. This is the explanation,
Mashiah Ben David will merit the Neshama of the Neshama,
that which not even Moshe merited to receive. We thus find that the
first shepherd, Moshe, he himself will be the final shepherd, even as
our Sages have referred to in the Midrash ..."
Shabat Shalom.
Yeshivat Benei N'vi'i
P.O. Box 59700
Chicago, IL. 60659.
Tizku L'mitzvot!!
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From: Moshiach.com
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Moshiach.com Newsletter - Vol. II No. 6
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T HE M O S H I A C H . C O M N E W S L E T T E R
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Vol. II No. 6 / Parshas Vayechi
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c on t e n t s
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The Temple Mount - The Debate
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c o m m e n t
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THE TEMPLE MOUNT
As these lines are being written, the fate of Bill Clinton's
proposal for a peace treaty in the Middle East is still unknown.
Ehud Barak has basically said "yes" and Yasir Arafat has
basically said "no", but that will probably change numerous times over
the next day, week and month.
An agonizing debate is raging within the Jewish community on
whether to yield our sovereignty over the Temple Mount--the site
of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem and the most sacred
place on earth to the Jewish people. (The "Western Wall" is holy
to us because--and only because--it marks the outside boundary of the
Temple Mount).
At the heart of the debate are two misconceptions. The first
misconception is that if we decide to give away extensive
portions of the very heart of the Jewish homeland, we will
achieve peace with our Arab neighbors. The second misconception
is that the choice is ours to make.
Several weeks ago, the Qatar-based Arabic news channel,
Al-Jazeera, hosted a debate on "The Future of the Intifada and
the Palestinian State." Three leading Palestinian figures
participated in the program, representing the full spectrum of
viewpoints of the Palestinian public today, from the moderate
"peace camp" to the most uncompromising extremists. PA Minister
of Information, Yasser Abd Rabbo represented the PA's official
position; Deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, Musa Abu Marzuq
represented the position of the militant Islamic movement; and Bilal
Al-Hassan, an analyst with the London-based daily, Al-Hayat,
represented the position of the Palestinian left.
The crux of the discussion was: assuming that all the
Palestinians' official demands are met, including the "Right of
Return" and the establishment of a Palestinian state on all of
the territory conquered by Israel in 1967 (including East
Jerusalem and the Temple Mount), what then? Will this state
coexist peacefully with the State of Israel?
What do you think the Islamic militant and the leftist journalist
said? And what do you think Yasir Arafat's official representative
said?
A summary of their debate, including many direct citations, can
be viewed on line at http://www.memri.org/sd/SP15500.html
WARNING: If you believe that territorial compromise will perhaps
lead to peace, and you do not want to be rudely awakened from
this admittedly pleasant dream, DO NOT FOLLOW THE ABOVE LINK.
The second misconception is that Israel's government can decide
to hand over the Temple Mount to the Palestinian people. The
Temple Mount belongs not to Mr. Barak, not to the Jews living in
Israel today, not, even, to the world Jewish community. It is the
possession--indeed, the most important of all physical possessions--of
the Jewish people, religious or secular, Israeli or Italian, of this
generation and of all past and future generations.
Even if Mr. Barak had a majority of the Knesset behind him (he
has, at last count, less than a fifth); even if he enjoyed the
support of a majority of Israeli Jews (the latest polls show a
very small, and daily shrinking, minority); even if every Jew
alive today agreed to give away their most sacred
birthright--they have not the right to do so. It is not theirs to
give.
The Temple Mount was restored to our possession 33 years ago not
by our choosing. We did not want to fight a war with six Arab
nations in June of 1967. We were forced to occupy Jerusalem and
other parts of the Holy Land in order to repel our enemies'
intention to destroy us completely. With open miracles, the likes of
which we have not experienced for thousands of years, G-d chose to put
the place He calls His home in our trust.
It is ours to revere and protect; it is not ours to give away.
By Yanki Tauber
All contents c 2001 by Moshiach Online Inc.
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