“And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the L-RD’S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peoples shall go and say: ‘Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the L-RD, to the house of the G-d of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the L-RD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
“And Moses said unto the people: ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the L-RD, which He will work for you to-day.” – Exodus 14:13, JPS 1917 Tanach
Is the time drawing near for the sea to part? Is the Geulah (Redemption) at hand? The sages, in all of their sharp acuity, draw a parallel between the First Redemption, and the Final Redemption: akin to plagues that devastated Egypt, before the exodus of the Children of Israel, so will many plagues, even more than those inflicted upon ancient Egypt, precede the final redemption. This is gleaned from the following verse: “As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt, will I show unto him marvellous things” (Micah 7:15, JPS). Could the modern day plague of the coronavirus be a foreshadowing of the Messianic Age?
The current exile (galus) of the Jewish people began almost two thousand years ago, when the second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. We were dispersed amongst the nations, as we still are today to some degree. Even though the state of Israel was renewed in 1948, without the Third Temple, we are technically still in exile. This is one reason why we proclaim every year, at the end of our Passover seder, “Next Year in Yerushalayim.” In essence, this does not refer to having the opportunity to fly to Israel via El Al Airlines, in order to make aliyah to our Biblical homeland. Rather, this alludes to the Geulah (Redemption), when Moshiach will reign from Jerusalem.
At that time, “peace on earth,” in all of its splendor will prevail over the unruly forces, that have no interest in recognising G-d’s sovereignty. Needless to say, we are only witnessing the beginning of these forces to potentially impact society in an unprecedented way; the road has been paved ever since the Age of Enlightenment, when the Deity of Reason was worshipped, to the diminishment of a focus on G-d, and religious values. This set the background for the French Revolution.
Behind the facade of a higher cause, these forces hold sway over any godless movement, whose roots are deeper than its claims to higher ideals, human rights, or “power to the people.” It is interesting to note, that as a result of the Bubonic plague of the 14th Century in Europe, “some historians believe that society subsequently became more violent as the mass mortality rate cheapened life and thus increased warfare, crime, popular revolt, waves of flagellants, and persecution” (Wikipedia). As far as I know, excepting self-flagellation, this seems to ring true today, in the face of COVID-19. “If we do not learn from the past, history will repeat itself.”
Am I overconcerned with the state of affairs in the world, and, more specifically, in America today? Others are apparently even more concerned. “In a normal month [Nefesh B’Nefesh] receives several hundred to a few thousand calls,” yet, this past June the Jewish organisation that promotes aliyah from the U.S. to Israel received 25,000 calls (VosIzNeias). For myself, I would only take that step, if and when I would hear the call from H’Shem, as has been mentioned by several fellow Jews in the not so recent past, concerning intuition from Above. Yet, the call to teshuvah, in and of itself, is primary; and, may be viewed the in light Hillel’s adage, “It’s not where you are, but how you are.” And, “if not now, when.”
“And thou shalt bethink thyself among the nations, whither the L-RD thy G-d hath driven thee, and shalt return unto the L-RD thy G-d.”
The popular myth, floating around within the perimeter of the New Age Movement and elsewhere, based in part on the theology of Teilard de Chardin connotes the idea of a type of spiritual evolution. This gained ground in its primitive form with the pseudoscience of the 100th monkey theory.
In a nutshell, the hundredth monkey effect posits that their will be a shift in human consciousness that occurs, when a critical number of people reach a certain awareness of some spiritual truth. This realization is not passed to others in the usual way through word of mouth, books, or other forms of media, rather, from “mind to mind.” Unfortunately, this fantastic idea is a myth based on a misrepresented study of Macaque monkeys by Japanese scientists in 1952.
Teilard de Chardin’s theology centers on what is referred to as the Omega Point, wherein the biological evolution of the earth coincides with G-d’s plan for the Universe. Accordingly, the consciousness of man progresses with the evolution of the earth itself as part of one overall process. The end goal is when consciousness becomes divine, at a certain point in history – the Omega Point – when this occurs as a natural outgrowth of a type of quasi biological-spiritual evolution. This fits in well with New Age thinking, including Gaia (seeing the earth as a living being).
The truth of the matter is that Teilard de Chardin’s writings were initially viewed as heretical, by the Catholic church. Yet, now they have been accepted by many non traditional spiritual thinkers in belief and practice. Thus, this departure from Biblical truth continues to gain momentum amongst New Agers.
Therefore, it is especially important at this time, to clear off the smorgasboard of delights that taste delicious, yet have no substance, nor nutritional value. Nor, can they provide nourishment for the soul. Spiritual growth is dependent upon the individual effort of every person, in conjunction with G-d’s help, as He provides the true nourishment for the soul.
There is no indication given anywhere in the Bible, that everything will naturally progress to a higher level of reality for all inhabitants of the earth. Rather, we are all called to follow a distinct path of righteousness, as predicated by G-d’s commandments. There is no automatic plateau that humanity en masse will arrive at in the future. Rather, “The L-RD knoweth the days of them that are wholehearted; and their inheritance shall be forever” (Psalm 37:18, JPS 1917 Tanach).
The Tree of Life 