How It’s Meant To Be

I spoke to some friends of mine today about Moshiach. We were going through different opinions as to exactly what kind of person Moshiach will be, what he will look like, the order of events, and how they will take place. 

I stressed the fact that these are all opinions. Everyone is allowed, even encouraged to have their own opinion, and they are welcome to cite Biblical proofs or Rabbinic sources to back them up; but at the end of the day, they are all just opinions. 

Some people might find this opinion of mine to be borderline heretical, so I’ll of course do what all good Jews do with their opinions, and bring a biblical proof. 

Hashem told Avraham:

״ידע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך בארץ לא להם ועבדום וענו אתם ארבע מאות שנה״

“Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. (Genesis 15,13)

The Jews in Egypt certainly knew about this promise and I’m sure they were well aware when Moshe arrived that 400 years had not yet passed. So how is it that Moshe was able to take them out of Egypt? 

Obviously, in hindsight there are multiple explanations given in order to explain how the 400 years that Hashem spoke of were reached. But the point is that even something which seemingly doesn’t fit with the word of God at first glance, can still come to pass. In such a scenario the word of God doesn’t disappear, rather reality shows us that it is clearly meant to be interpreted differently. 

It is our job to do what’s right. It is on us to keep the will of God. It isn’t our job to determine exactly how God will do His job. We shouldn’t tell God how He must run His world or how exactly to fulfill His promises; nor should we tell Moshiach how he must save us. 

As we say every Shabbath in the Blessings after the Haftorah:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, צוּר כָּל־הָעוֹלָמִים, צַדִּיק בְּכָל־הַדּוֹרוֹת, הָאֵל הַנֶּאֱמָן הָאֹמֵר וְעֹשֶׂה, הַמְדַבֵּר וּמְקַיֵּם, שֶׁכָּל־דְּבָרָיו אֱמֶת וָצֶדֶק. נֶאֱמָן, אַתָּה הוּא יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, וְנֶאֱמָנִים דְּבָרֶיךָ, וְדָבָר אֶחָד מִדְּבָרֶיךָ אָחוֹר לֹא יָשׁוּב רֵיקָם, כִּי אֵל מֶלֶךְ נֶאֱמָן וְרַחֲמָן אָתָּה. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה, הָאֵל הַנֶּאֱמָן בְּכָל־דְּבָרָיו

“Blessed are You, Eternal our God, King of the Universe, Rock of All Worlds, Righteous through all generations, The Faithful Lord, Who says and does, Who speaks and fulfills, that all His words are truth and righteousness. You are faithful, our God, and Your words are faithful. And not one of your words will return empty. For You are a Lord and King who is faithful and compassionate. Blessed are You, Eternal, the faithful Lord in all generations.”

There is no doubt that all the words of Hashem are true. There is no question that all promises and prophecies will come to pass. But let’s leave the exact details of the job up to The One who’s gonna get the job done.