Geula Update from Rav Fish - Vayikra 5773

From Rav Fish's latest:

• We find in the gemara (Sanhedrin 97a):

  Ribbi Yitzhak said: Mashiah Ben David will not come until the entire kingdom turns to apostasy.  Rava said: What is the verse supporting this? (Vayikra 13:13) "It is all turned white: he is clean."

• We see that the kingdom which will turn to apostasy before the Geula is hinted to in the Torah with the word "לבן", which is Rashei Teivot לפיד בנט נתניהו (Lapid, Bennet, Netanyahu).
• It's also brought down in the Keli Yakar (Vayikra 13:7 and continued here)

  Mashiah Ben David will not come until the entire kingdom turns to apostasy, as it says: "It is all turned white: he is clean." A hint to this is "הפך לבן" - when the word is turned around (הפוכה), it becomes "נבל".  This means that when they all will contemn the Rock of his salvation (וַיְנַבֵּל צוּר יְשֻׁעָתוֹ), then Hashem will be "forced" to purify the land from its idolatry.  And the proof is from this plague [of Tzara'at] that comes as a punishment - when it turns all white, the sinner will definitely set his heart on repenting.  Similarly, with Israel, when they will see the entire kingdom turning to apostasy and they will see that there is none remaining, shut up or left at large, they will definitely set their hearts on repenting with complete repentance toward Hashem, and then, "he is pure".  And the idea of "quick raw flesh in the rising" is that above, the flesh looks healthy, while underneath, the bright spot stays.  Perhaps, as punishment, this Tzara'at comes to groups of flatterers who are pretenders, who show themselves as Kosher on the outside, while their inside is full of trickery and oppression - this is why this type [of Tzara'at] comes to them, measure for measure.

• And we also see in the prophecy of Malachi regarding the Future Redemption (Malachi 3:1):

  Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple ... And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they try God, and are delivered.' Then they that feared the LORD spoke one with another; and the LORD hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name. ... Then shall ye again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall set them ablaze, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise ...

  and the Malbim says:

  "And now we call the proud happy" - because they do not exert themselves to serve Hashem, and nevertheless, "yea, they that work wickedness are built up". However, those who are truly G-d-fearing who do not serve in order to receive a reward, they are the ones who "spoke one with another" and they proved from this that this world is not a world of reward and punishment, but rather a world of tests. And through this itself - that the righteous are afflicted in this world - was their service at a high level, and they are then written in this book for a rememberance.

  We see that before the Geula, there will be a filtering between those who do not exert themselves to serve Hashem, who connect with evildoers against the righteous who truly serve Hashem, who serve Hashem with exertion and with Mesirut Nefesh. And in this manner, the filtering of the Redemption will begin: "Then shall ye again discern between the righteous and the wicked ... all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble".
• Mashiah from Poverty:
  • We also brought down from the Zohar that the Geula will come from the harsh pressure of poverty, and we will bring down its words (Tikkunim 53b):

    "וַיְּמַן ה' דָּג גָּדוֹל לִבְלֹעַ אֶת יוֹנָה", דָּא עֲנִיּוּתָא, דְּאִיהוּ עֶצֶב, וְנוּקְבָא דִּילֵיהּ עִצָּבוֹן, דְּכוּרָא דָּג נוּקְבָא דָּגָה, דָּא הוּא "וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל יוֹנָה אֶל ה' אֱלֹקָי"ו מִמְּעֵי הַדָּגָה", מִכַּפְנָא דַּעֲנִיּוּתָא דְּמָטֵי לְמֶעוֹי דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּהַהוּא זִמְנָא "וַיֹּאמֶר ה' לַדָּג וַיָּקֵא אֶת יוֹנָה", בְּדוֹחְקָא דְּדַאֲגָה דִּילְהוֹן דְּדוֹאֲגִין מִן עֲנִיּוּתָא, מִדּוֹחְקָא יִפְקוּן מִן גָּלוּתָא, הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב "וְאֶת עַם עָנִי תּוֹשִׁיעַ".

  • And we also find in the Midrash (Yalkut Zecharia 569):
    

    Ribbi Pinhas in the name of Ribbi Reuven [said:] David "picked up" HKB"H 5 times, corresponding to the 5 times it says קומה ה' in Tehilim ... HKB"H said to him, "David, my son, even if you pick Me up 1000 times, I will not arise.  When will I arise?  When I see the poor being robbed and the impoverished groaning, as it says "'For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise', saith the LORD".

  • Also, it is brought down from the Kotzker Rebbe: "When the Jewish people will be very bothered from worries of Parnasa, then Mashiah will come."
  • Also, it is brought down in the commentary of the Gr"a on the Zohar (Aharei 67b): "Poverty of Talmidei Hachamim hastens the Geula just like they say אגרא דכלה דוחקא [which can mean that the main reward for coming to hear the Torah at the Shabbat before the holiday was for enduring the crush of people, but also could mean that the main reward for Torah study is the poverty associated with it.  The Gr"a seems to mean the latter interpretation.]
  • Also, it is brought down in the commentary of the Gr"a on the Zohar (Tikkunei Zohar Hadash 74d) that the Geula will come after there will be great poverty to Talmidei Hachamim for 9 months.  Here are his words:

    Through the great magnitude of the exile, the Geula will be hastened, as they say "אגרא דכלה דוחקא". And therefore, they said, "[Mashiah ben David will not come] until the evil kingdom will spread over Israel for 9 months, and during that time Mashiah will be conceived in the kingdom of holiness for 9 months, and then will be birthpangs of Mashiah until he will be born. And those who delve into Torah learning will be in distress and trouble for 9 months until the months have finished.

• Rashi (on Shabbat 31a) explains that the question asked the person צפית לישועה is "Did you expect the words of the prophets whose prophecy is the salvation that we are hoping and expecting its fulfilment?"
• It's said in the name of the Shomrei Emunim Rebbe ZT"L (Kol Emunim 191) that the month ניסן (Nissan) begins with a bent Nun and ends with a straight Nun.  This hints to 2 redemptions: the redemption from Egypt, where the 50th gate [of Tum'ah] was bent and no one could enter it [from below], and the Future Redemption, where the 50th gate will be straight, and peole will even be redeemed from it.