Another question from one of my students:
Q. (On my Parshat Devarim Answer Page): About what you wrote in your email when you sent us the Answer Page: What I am inspired about from your words is that what we are missing is Moshiach. Once we get unified on that point, pray and fast for him, then all prophecy will be fulfilled and the world to come will be the world all will see and flourish in. Correct?
If so, then that is the easy object of our fast. The difficult part of the fast is watching the boldness of deceivers, with their violence grow and waiting on G-d to bring an end to it (and them) I think.
I answered her:
A. On your first point, I think it is possible to raise it up a level. True, we are missing Moshiach. But to “pray and fast for him”, I mean, we are also missing the revelation of the Kingdom of G-d Almight’y here in this world. Bait Hamikdash, hashra’at HaShechina, the Kiddush Hashem of a whole nation fulfilling its roll to serve G-d like He Commanded. Moshiach, I don’t want to belittle the concept, but is a flesh and blood man, who is also subservient to Torah and halacha. There will be through him a revelation of the Kingship of Hashem, but the Moshiach will be only one part of that revelation. Melech HaMoshiach will also be subservient to the Sanhedrin Hagedolah like all of us. I think that “pray and fast for Moshiach” is a bit misplaced, and I don’t think that that’s what you really mean.
What is brought in the Codes, is that the purpose of a fast is to internalize that it is because we misbehave and do sins that we bring upon ourselves G-d’s Middat Hadin, which when that clothes itself in this world manifests itself, expresses itself, in the nations of the world controlling and subjugating and doing evil to Klal Yisrael. It all starts with us. If we can make a serious change in ourselves, to bring around our will to be subservient to G-d’s Will, to really internalize what’s important in this world and what’s shtuyot and just not worth it, and we can bring around even those things that we find very very difficult in serving Hashem, and can make a r e a l change in ourselves, then G-d will bring Moshiach. This I think is the real difficult part of a fast.
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