The Signs That Prove The Messiah Has Arrived - Rabbi Zev Leff: Living Inspired

[music] >> The world is turning against cloudy Israel, which is very similar to what they nobody says about Gog and Magog or all the nations will will team up to try to destroy cloudy Israel. That's going on all over the world now. What will prove that he's Messiah? You don't need him a prophet to prove him. You don't need miracles to prove him. You need three things. >> Rabbi Left, thank you so much for joining us. We have a commandment to await Messiah. So, I wanted to know if the Rav could expand what awaiting Messiah actually looks like today. >> First of all, uh what it actually means is a person has to believe that it's possible for Messiah to come at any second. He has to live his life as if Messiah is not coming the next second. Uh but he has to believe that it's possible that Messiah can come at any time. And even though the Gamara says that the ideal times are during Nissan and Eliyahu Navi has to come 3 days before all those things the Brisker Rav says uh don't necess- don't necessarily uh exclude that Messiah can come if if Eliyahu didn't come 3 days before and it's not Hodesh Nissan. There's two times that are um uh times that are uh very auspicious for Messiah to come. One is called Be'ita, where there's a set time from creation that God gave to this world and Messiah will come at that time by hook or by crook. Uh the Ribono shel Olam make us ready uh by ways that are supernatural or whatever. And that's called the cakes, the ikta. And then there is the achishena, if we deserve it, Mashiach can come at any second earlier, whatever, and not depend on any of those conditions that are mentioned in the Gemara. And therefore a person has to believe that Mashiach can come at any second, and what's the difference believing that? Why is that so important? Mashiach is the time where the ideal circumstances will exist for us to learn Torah and keep mitzvahs. And all of the mitzvahs will apply and Jews will be in Eretz Yisrael, the place where they're supposed to live in Eretz Yisrael, and they'll know which shabbat they're from. Everything will go back to the ideal situation that it was, and many of the things will be like they were in Gan Eden. And if a person believes and wants Mashiach to come, so then he'll lead his life now according to what he's waiting for when the ideal circumstances will be. But he'll learn Torah now, and he'll do mitzvahs now, because he's looking forward to when the ideal situation will be, and the purpose for that is to be able to do mitzvahs and and learn Torah in the most ideal way. So at least do now what you can. That will show that you really looking forward to having those ideal circumstances for the sake of Torah and mitzvahs. But if now you don't live your life in a way that shows that those things are important to you, so you're obviously not looking and and anxiously awaiting Mashiach, cuz that circumstance and that kind of life is not really what interests you. So one of the basic uh, differences of a person who's really waiting for Messiah and not waiting for Messiah. So, how do you live your life now? Are you taking advantage of the circumstances as they exist to their fullest and therefore you're really looking forward to having the greatest circumstances to be able to serve the Rebono shel Olam or uh, that doesn't interest you. So, how could you be waiting for Messiah really um, if you don't take advantage of the circumstances now to their greatest uh, uh, potential. So, I think that is uh, that is one of the ideas of uh, "Hakel Oved Kol Yom Sheyavo" of waiting for Messiah. The Rambam says that there's really no reward in this world. Reward is only in the next world, not in this world. She said, "Then why is it Torah promised all these things in this world if you keep the mitzvahs and if you learn Torah?" So, he says those aren't reward. But if you show that mitzvahs and Torah are something that you interest you, that you want, then God will give you the ideal circumstances to be able to keep one mitzvah and learn more Torah. The ideal circumstances are when Messiah will come. And the Rambam gives a condition. The Torah gives a condition. You have to keep the mitzvahs besimcha u'vetuv levav and with a tremendous amount of amal and yegia, tremendous amount of effort. I think the reason is that if God gives us the ideal circumstances, meaning that uh, everybody will have all the luxuries of this world. There won't be any competition. There won't be any any uh, jealousy. There won't be any wars. There'll be total peace and harmony in the world and um, uh, if what's it called um, uh, that could lead to a person to be involved in materialism. So, you have to show that your simcha comes from Torah and from mitzvahs, and you're not looking for pleasure in other areas to make you happy. You can have those things, and they'll they'll they'll be a great aid in doing mitzvahs and learning Torah if your physical material situation is is good. But if that's what interests you, that's what gives you simcha, and that's what you're willing to put effort into, materialism, then having that kind of uh atmosphere and environment is going to be negative, cuz you're going to go be running after all the physical material pleasures of this world. So, in order for that to be a positive thing, a person has to show that his simcha in this world is Torah and mitzvahs. I mean, that's what he's willing to put effort into. And if he'll have the ideal situation and have all the material comforts and benefits, he's not going to run after them. He's going to use them to be able to increase his Torah and his mitzvahs, then that environment will be a positive thing. And therefore, from the Mashiach's time to be a positive thing for people, people are going to have to do mitzvahs with tremendous simcha and tremendous effort now so they'll show that when Mashiach comes and Hakadosh Baruch Hu showers all those material benefits on us in the most intense way, we won't use it to go away from Torah. Just the opposite, we'll use it as tools to be able to enable us to keep mitzvahs and to learn Torah in the most ideal way. >> The Rambam says that Mashiach has to do certain things. He has to do kibbutz galuyot, and maybe the Rav could explain to us if in fact it's a process, how this looks. Are we witnessing it? >> According to the Rambam, the process starts when somebody comes and claims to be Messiah. That's the beginning. Before that, there's no process. I heard from Reb Moshe Feinstein that this concept of Reishit Tzmichat Geulateinu doesn't exist. There's no The beginning of Geulah is if somebody comes and claims that they are Messiah. So, how do you know? So, the Gedolei Hador will have to interrogate him and find out the following. Is he the kind of person that could possibly be Messiah? The first thing is, does he descend from Malchut Beit David, from Hamelech? If he doesn't, he can't be Messiah. Um secondly, is he the type of person who is excels, he's a tzaddik and a chassid in keeping mitzvot. He's a tremendous talmid chacham. And not only for himself, but he's also worked on bringing Jews back to Torah, right? And he was successful in bringing most Jews back to Torah. That's also a condition the Rambam says. If he fits all of those criteria, then we have to assume he's Messiah, meaning that he's a king, and you have to treat him like a king, and you have to follow what he says. But we're not sure he's Messiah for sure until the following, says the Rambam. What will prove that he's Messiah? You don't need even a prophet to prove him. You don't need miracles to prove him. You need three things. He brings all Jews back to Eretz Yisrael. He conquers our enemies around. And he builds a Beit Hamikdash. If he does those three things, you know for sure he's Messiah. He's done what Messiah is supposed to do. If If doesn't do those three things, then he's for sure not Messiah. So, what is he? Says the Rambam, he's like any kosher king who died, didn't fulfill what he's supposed to do with the we be Messiah. He's just a plain ordinary king, and that's that's his status. Right? The Rambam does not offer the possibility that he'll come back from the dead and be Messiah. The Rambam says if he dies, that's it. He's for sure not Messiah. If he accomplishes those things, then he doesn't have to prove himself in any other way, and he's for sure Messiah. So, we're still waiting for somebody to claim to be Messiah, not that other people claim that he was Messiah, but he, the person himself, claims he's Messiah. He fits all of the the credentials that Messiah has to have, and then we'll assume he's Messiah. It may take a while until he accomplishes what Messiah is supposed to accomplish. If he in fact accomplishes those things, then he's for sure Messiah, and he ushered in the period of Messiah in this world. If he doesn't accomplish those things and he dies, so he's not Messiah. And why did the Ribono shel Olam make him think he was Messiah? To test us, and to see if we give up hope after we had such great hopes that maybe this person would be Messiah and it didn't work out, would we give up hope or would we still have belief and still wait for Messiah to come. So, whatever it's a test. But so far that hasn't happened yet. Nobody has come except for the false Messiahs who didn't have those credentials and never accomplished what they were supposed to accomplish, but in our time nobody has come yet to claim that they're Messiah who having the all the credentials and then beginning the process of this from chezkas Messiah, from being assumed that he's Messiah cuz he has all of the qualifications, and then actually being Messiah when he accomplishes what Messiah is supposed to to accomplish. That's how the Rambam how the Rambam learns. >> Well, it makes sense that according to the Rambam that it's quite possible that Messiah could be alive today and and he would need to be alive if he were to be involved with the Kibbutz Galuyot and being Machziel Oilam B'Tshuva. >> Yeah, the Chasam Sofer says that in every generation there is someone who is ready to be Messiah if Klal Yisrael are ready for it. And person himself doesn't even know. He says the biggest proof to that is Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe Rabbeinu was 80 years old before he was told that he's going to be the Goel Yisrael. He had no idea that that was going to be. And the Ribono shel Olam and informed him of that when he was 80 years old. The Ribono shel Olam then uh gave him the ability to be able to be the Goel Yisrael. Built him up. He in fact other say he gave him an a new neshama even or an extra neshama to be able to be the Goel Yisrael. But Moshe Rabbeinu for 80 years had no idea that that was his going to be his mission. So the Chasam Sofer says so too. In every generation there's somebody who if Klal Yisrael de- are deemed worthy that person could be Messiah, the Ribono shel Olam will let him know some way and uh the Ribono shel Olam will prep him and uh give him the ability to be able to accomplish what he's supposed to accomplish, just like he did to Moshe Rabbeinu. >> It definitely feels like the the world is moving towards Tshuva. There are more people coming to Eretz Yisrael and learn and more people being Mekarev than ever before. Uh the the Navi says that the whole world will witness uh the rebirth of Israel and today I was thinking for the first time in the history of the world that's quite possible with communication just like we're communicating and the world is going to be communicating this message will go out to hopefully the whole world and this is literally being the key of the new world. >> Yeah, we're seeing for sure events that are leading towards something very special in this world both in a very positive way and from a lot of the negative things that are happening happening how the world is turning against Israel which is very similar to what the Navi says about Gog and Magog where all the nations will will team up to try to destroy Israel that's going on all over the world now. So we the world should direct all of the things that are happening both the positive things he should intensify and the negative things he should see to it that they reach their their end in a destruction and the people should do and do with a great and with great effort. And that way will be to be a in here with your name. >> Thank you very much Rabbi I look forward to our next our next session together. Thank you. >> Okay, thank you so be well. Thank you. >> [music]