Anonymous A started this discussion 10 years ago#54,773
Do we really want Moshiach to come right now? Does anyone have the slightest idea of the ramifications involved?
Several leading rabbis and Kabbalists, such as Rabbi Dov Kook of Tiberias and the "Chalban" ("Milkman"), Rabbi Chaim HaCohen Farchia, have said recently that the Geula, the full redemption of our people, has already started. Since I knew that I'd be asked about this during one of my upcoming radio appearances, I turned to my esteemed and beloved teacher, Rav Shalom Arush shlit'a, to get a crystal clear emuna-oriented outlook on the subject.
Rav Shalom made my sidecurls stand up. He told me the following spine-chilling story:
A group of secret tzaddikim – whose names I am not at liberty to mention – came to visit my holy teacher, Rabbi Yehuda Zev Leibowitz osb"m, not long before he died. They composed a letter to Hashem demanding Moshiach, right now. They all signed the letter, but they lacked one critical signature, that of Rabbi Yehuda Zev. They knew that if he would sign it, then Hashem would have to bring Moshiach right away. They appealed to him, but they didn't expect his response…
Rabbi Yehuda Zev bolted upright in his wheelchair. He pointed a reprimanding finger at one of the secret tzaddikim. Like an upset lion, he asked, "Were you in the Holocaust?" The tzaddik shook his head in the negative. Rabbi Yehuda Zev turned individually to the second, to the third and to the fourth tzaddik and asked them the same question. None of them had lived through the Holocaust. "Well I did," roared Rabbi Yehuda Zev, "and I saw with my own eyes the indescribable suffering that our people experienced on their own flesh. I never want to see that again! Are you willing to take responsibility for the grueling tribulations that our people will undergo as a purification process, if Moshiach comes and they're not ready?" None of the tzaddikim were willing to accept such a responsibility. They aborted their idea then and there...
Does that mean we should stop hoping for Moshiach? By all means, no! But, we must prepare for him and understand that the current Gaza War is aimed at helping us to do just that.