"The Great Redemption"

The Visitation: Ch. 1 (Part 2)

We're taught that when G-d finally "decides to (begin to) redeem the Shechina and the Jewish Nation" in the course of The Visitation, "a certain capacity will emit from Him and begin to descend downward, level by level, throughout the various levels". This "capacity" will emerge from two extraordinarily high, august Luminaries that "stand at the very summit of the universe", we're told. They're so august, in fact, that we dare not expand upon them here. Let's just reiterate the fact, though, that a magnificent, incomprehensible capacity will begin to "descend downward, level by level" once The Visitation is set in motion.

We're told that the first thing to result is that the Sephira of Yesod will descend and appear "before the Shechina, its mate" and will grant the Shechina "a capacity she hadn’t been granted from the time the Jewish Nation was exiled to then" which will then "give Moshiach Ben Yoseph and Moshiach ben David the ability to ... form an army for the redemption that’s to come". Let's try to spell out this quizzical statement.

In short, it comes to explain how the disconnect between us and heaven we'd cited is going to start to be repaired.

If you recall, we'd pointed out that G-d interacts with the world by means of ten cosmic building-blocks known as the Sephirot or Luminaries (see Exile: Ch. 10). In descending order, they're termed: 1. Keter, 2. Chochma, 3. Binah, 4. Chessed, 5. Gevurah, 6. Tipheret, 7. Netzach, 8. Hod, 9. Yesod, and 10. Malchut.

The point is that there'll come a time, right at the outset of The Visitation, when the Luminaries will once again turn toward and illuminate each other. But only gradually; that is, "level by level", as Ramchal put it.

For G-d will see to it that Yesod (the 9th Luminary or Sephira) will turn toward and "nourish" Malchut (the 10th Sephira, which is synonymous with the Shechina), so to speak. There'll be a great, albeit silent, shifting of the gears on-high; a wondrous celestial about-face. And the Shechina will enjoy "a capacity she hadn’t been granted from the time the Jewish Nation was exiled to then", in that something of the flow from on high will begin to trickle down to her (and to us as well as a consequence) once again.

And that in itself will start off the process of the revelation of G-d's Presence *for the meanwhile*, which will also allow for the appearance of the two Moshichim (plural of Moshiach) who will bring about the redemption. We'll delve into the two Moshichim in the course of this work, to be sure; but suffice it to say for now that the ball would have begun to roll.

Text Copyright © 2006 by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org.