Standing Tall

Batya at Shiloh Musings posts about a picture of Italian guards towering over Israeli President Katzav. Yes, we are in Galut - Galut Edom to be precise.

However, in the future, scenes like the above will be reversed. You see, the Ben Ish Hai writes that the Jewish people will be 200 Amot tall(!!!) in future times. He gets this from the verse ואולך אתכם קוממיות which he says refers to 2 komot (heights). We know that Adam Harishon was 100 Amot tall - so the double-מ of קוממיות tells us that we will be twice that height.

The Ben Ish Hai continues that this is also hinted at from Tehillim 126, where it talks about בְּשׁוּב ה' אֶת-שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן, when we return to Zion, we were like dreamers, "we were" - meaning in the past, we were like dreamers. A dream is 1/60th of prophecy, as the Gemarrah says. The Gemarrah also says that an average person is 3 Amot tall, not counting the head, which is 2 Tefahim tall. A tefah is 1/6 of an Amah. This makes modern-age Jews 3-1/3 Amot tall. If future-age Jew will be 200 Amot tall, modern-age Jew is 1/60th the size of the Jew in the future.

Then, אָז יִמָּלֵא שְׂחוֹק פִּינוּ וּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ רִנָּה - we will be the ones jouyous and happy.
Then, אָז יֹאמְרוּ בַגּוֹיִם הִגְדִּיל יְהוָה לַעֲשׂוֹת עִם-אֵלֶּה - the nations will say that Hashem magnified these Jews.
Then, הִגְדִּיל יְהוָה לַעֲשׂוֹת עִמָּנוּ - we will say, yes, Hashem did indeed magnify us.

So, even if the picture shows our present stature, our future stature will show us standing tall. May it come soon Bimhera Veyamenu.