Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
The menorah is one of the most ubiquitous symbols of Judaism. Little wonder, then, that nearly every synagogue in the world contains some representation of this sacred object. On measure, it seems that the menorah of the Beit HaMikdash, perhaps more than any other, has captured the heart and soul of our people.
 
The beginning of our parasha discusses the kohan’s daily mitzvah to light the menorah:
Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to Aharon and say to him: “When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the Menorah.” Aaron did so; he lit the lamps toward the face of the Menorah, as Hashem had commanded Moshe. (Sefer Bamidbar 8:1-3, this, and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
The next pasuk presents a brief description of the physical aspects of the menorah: “This was the form of the Menorah: hammered work of gold, from its base to its flower it was hammered work; according to the form that Hashem had shown Moshe, so did he construct the Menorah.” (8:4) The final words of this pasuk, “so did he construct the Menorah,” are difficult to interpret, since we do not know to whom “he” refers.
 
The Ramban (1194-1270), was one of the many Torah commentators who wrestled with the meaning of our phrase. Based in part on the principle of proximity of language (s’michut), the Ramban, in his Commentary on the Torah on our verse, determined that Moshe constructed the menorah, since his name was mentioned immediately prior to our indeterminate phrase. Most students of Tanach however, know that while Moshe was our teacher, the humblest person who ever lived, and the greatest prophet of all time, he is never referred to as an artisan with the requisite skills to create something as intricate as the menorah. Therefore, the Ramban, based on the Midrash Sifrei on Sefer Bamidbar, suggests that Moshe learned how to construct the menorah based upon extensive study and yeoman efforts:

He applied himself assiduously in its study [that is the menorah] and he made it according to the mitzvah he had been commanded. So did they state in the Sifrei: “To make known to us the praise that Moshe deserved, for just like the Holy One Blessed be He had spoken to him, so did he do.” (Sefer Bamidbar 8:4, translation and brackets my own)
 
In notable contrast, Rashi (1040-1105) explains the phrase, “so did he construct the Menorah,” as referring to Bezalel, the chief artisan of the mishkan: “that is, the one who made it [namely, Bezalel].” Rashi's suggestion is straightforward. Moreover, in some ways it is the most logical explanation, since the menorah’s construction is viewed within the context of the overall building of the mishkan. As such, since the Torah explicitly tells us that Bezalel was the chief architect of the mishkan (Sefer Shemot 31:1-5), he would have been the most likely person to have planned, designed, and construct the menorah. His renowned God-given talents made him the perfect candidate for this holy and challenging task.
 
Fascinatingly, both Rashi and the Ramban offer a third candidate as the creator of the menorah. In Sefer Shemot 25:31 we read: “And you shall make a Menorah of pure gold. The Menorah shall be made of hammered work; its base and its stem, its goblets, its knobs, and its flowers shall [all] be [one piece] with it.” The Hebrew word employed for “shall be made” is “taiasah,” instead of the expected “ta’aseh.” The first expression is passive and reflexive, whereas the second one is active. Rashi formulates the significance of this grammatical change in this way:
​
The Menorah shall be made: By itself. Since Moshe found difficulty with it [that is, understanding how to create the Menorah], the Holy One, blessed is He, said to him, “Cast the talent [equivalent to sixty-four pounds of gold] into the fire, and it will be made by itself.” Therefore, it is not written: ta’aseh but taiasah. (Based upon Midrash Tanchuma, Beha’alotecha III, underlining my own)
 
The Ramban closely follows Rashi’s explanation. Consequently, he explains the above-stated passage as referring directly to Hashem: “[The menorah] was created via the Holy One blessed be He, by itself.” Therefore, according to the midrash, Rashi and the Ramban, the designer of the menorah was none other than the Creator Himself!
 
Neither Rashi nor the Ramban develop the previously mentioned notion any further. I would like, however, to build on their analysis, and note that it is very significant that Hashem, rather than man, was the artisan of the menorah; for after all, one of its major functions was to bring light to the mishkan and allow the kohanim to operate with a newfound vision of hope and purpose. In addition, just as the Torah’s purpose is to bring spiritual light and meaning to the world, so, too, did the menorah bring physical light to the Jewish people and, by extension, all mankind. As Shlomo Hamelech taught us so long ago: “Ki ner mitzvah v’Torah ohr--For a commandment is a candle, and the Torah is light.” (Sefer Mishle 6:23). The midrash’s explanation of Hashem as the creator of the menorah, therefore, leads us to view it, in the post-Eigel HaZahav world, as the ultimate symbol of reconciliation between the Hashem and our people. Our relationship is, once again, shalame (complete), for at long last, the golden menorah signifies our complete kapporah for the horrific excesses of the Golden Calf.
 
With Hashem’s help, may the Beit HaMikdash be rebuilt soon and, in our days, and may we be zocheh to bask in the divine light of the menorah for evermore. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
Many may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: https://www.box.com/s/7bf01f9abcabf02e25c3
 
*** I have posted 164+ of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Birkat Kohanim is one of the most powerful tefilot we encounter during the Yom Tovim. Young children mischievously hide under their father’s tallit while listening to the stirring melody and words of the kohanim. Adults, perhaps, imagine they hear echoes of the bracha being recited in the Beit HaMikdash. One thing is clear, something wonderful is happening. In some way, hearing these holy words uttered in true devotion and pure intention, transport us to a higher spiritual plane and bring us closer to Hashem.
 
What is the role of the kohanim in this remarkable process? Are they active parties, that is, do they bless us, or are they spiritual conduits through which the blessing flows from the Almighty to His nation? Rashi (1040-1105) suggests that the kohanim bless us. As such, in his gloss on Sefer Bamidbar 6:27, he explains the words “v’ani avarachem” (and I will bless them) by stating: “l’yisrael v’askim im hakohanim” (“I will bless them—the Jewish people—and I will agree with the kohanim”). The Siftei Chachamim (Rabbi Shabbetai Bass, 1641-1718) elucidates Rashi’s gloss in this manner: “One should not explain that Hashem will bless them on His own, [for] if that were to be true, what value would Birkat Kohanim have since Hashem, Himself, would [subsequently] bless them?” In short, Rav Bass suggests that Rashi maintains that the kohanim directly bestow their bracha upon us.
 
The Rambam (1135-1204), however, takes the opposite approach regarding the role of the kohanim in Birkat Kohanim:

Do not wonder: “What good will come from the blessing of this simple person?” for the reception of the blessings is not dependent on the priests, but on the Holy One, blessed be He, as [Numbers 6:27] states: “And they shall set My name upon the children of Israel, and I shall bless them.” The priests perform the mitzvah with which they were commanded, and God, in His mercy, will bless Israel as He desires. (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Tefilah and Birkat Kohanim, 15:7, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)
 
In sum, the Rambam maintains:

1. Birkat Kohanim is exclusively the province of Hashem and does not emanate from the kohanim: “for the reception of the blessings is not dependent on the priests, but on the Holy One, blessed be He.”
2. The kohanim, at Hashem’s command, are mere viaducts through which Hashem’s bracha flows. It is Hashem who: “in His mercy, will bless Israel as He desires.”

 
Approximately 700 years later, Rabbeinu Shimshon Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) interprets the role of the kohanim in Birkat Kohanim in these words:
​
According to this, our priests in pronouncing the blessing, are a completely passive instrument. Only in reply to the summons of the congregation and only in the blessing dictated to them by the representative of the congregation do they pronounce it. So that in truth it is the congregation which has the blessing prescribed by God pronounced over itself through their mouths. (Isaac Levy translation, second edition, London, 1964, page 100, underlining my own)
 
Herein, Rav Hirsch channels the Rambam’s analysis, and asserts that the kohanim should be viewed as mere conduits through which the congregation receives its blessing. As such, the role of the kohanim is reduced to an almost mechanical function whereby they give voice to the hopes and desires of the congregation in the commanded and prescribed formulaic fashion.
 
Regardless as to which approach we follow, may we be zocheh to witness the complete fulfillment of birkat kohanim in our lives, our family’s lives, and the lives of all of Klal Yisrael. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
Many may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: https://www.box.com/s/7bf01f9abcabf02e25c3
 
*** I have posted 164+ of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Shavuot represents one of the most important transformations in human history, namely, the conversion of our ancestors to Judaism. This is one of the basic reasons we read Megilat Rut on Shavuot, since Ruth’s story of individual conversion mirrors our own as a people. My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), formulated this idea in these words:

The Parsha of Mattan Torah, receipt of the Torah at Mount Sinai, was the story of Gayrus, conversion of the Jewish people. The children of the patriarchs converted en masse at Maamad Har Sinai. Hence the connection to Ruth. The story of Mattan Torah and Ruth together comprise the topic of conversion. The Vilna Gaon says this is why we read Megilas Ruth on Shavuos, another story of conversion. …The principle of conversion is a fundamental connection between the events at Mount Sinai and the story of Ruth. As Boaz tells Ruth, she should be blessed for leaving everything behind to join a people that she did not know and for coming under the wings of the Shechina of the God of Israel, in other words she converted. The same idea is found at Maamad Har Sinai where the Torah tells the story of the conversion of Bnay Yisrael in conjunction with the Revelation of God on Mount Sinai. (Direct transcription of Rav Soloveitchik’s public lecture on 5/24/68. This is from tape #5285. Source: Formerly on www.parsha.net/Bamidbar/Shavuos2-60.doc, italics my own.)
 
Given the gerut of the Jewish people, and all that entailed, we would assume the Torah would address the unique psychological needs of future gerim. This expectation is indeed met:

And you shall not oppress a stranger [that is, a convert], for you know the feelings of the stranger, since you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Sefer Shemot 23:9)
 
When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not taunt him. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be as a native from among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God. (Sefer Vayikra 19:33-34)
 
He executes the judgment of the orphan and widow, and He loves the stranger, to give him bread and clothing. You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Sefer Devarim 10:18-19, these and all Torah translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
In sum, the Torah commands us to show great sensitivity to the ger. This should be natural for us, since their psychosocial experience is one we share, having been “strangers in the land of Egypt.” On the practical juridical level, this translates into two mitzvot: the proscription of oppressing and taunting proselytes regarding their origins, and the positive mitzvah of loving and welcoming them to our community. As such: “The stranger who sojourns with you shall be as a native from among you…”
 
The Rambam (1135-1204) codified the mitzvah to love the ger in his Mishneh Torah:

Loving a convert who has come to nestle under the wings of the Schechinah [fulfills] two positive commandments: one for he is [also] included among the “neighbors” [whom we are commanded to love] and one because he is a convert and the Torah (Devarim 10:19) states: “and you shall love the converts.” [Thus, God] has commanded us concerning the love of a convert just as He has commanded us concerning loving Himself as [Devarim 11:1] states: “and you shall love God, your Lord.” The Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, loves converts as [Devarim 10:18] states: “and He loves converts.” (Hilchot Deot 6:4, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)

The Rambam notes that two positive commandments are fulfilled when one loves the ger: the general obligation to love one’s fellow Jew: “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself” “v’ahavta l’reiecha kamocha,” (Sefer Vayikra 19:18), and the specific mitzvah of loving the ger: “and you should love the convert” “v’ahavtem et ha-ger.” (Sefer Devarim 10:19) Why, however, did Hashem deem it necessary to add the additional commandment of loving the ger if this responsibility is already included in v’ahavta l’reiecha kamocha?

Fortunately, the Rambam addresses this question in Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandment 207:

…and even though the ger is included within the general commandment of “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” in the instance of a convert who is truly a righteous proselyte (ger tzedek), since he has entered into our Torah [and its multiplicity of obligations], God gives him love and specified an extra commandment on his behalf. (Translation and brackets my own)

It appears that the ger tzedek warrants a unique mitzvah based on a quid pro quo: “… since he has entered into our Torah, God gives him love and specified an extra commandment on his behalf.” A careful reading from the passage from Hilchot Deot underscores this line of reasoning: “Loving a convert who has come to nestle under the wings of the Schechinah,” when it would have been sufficient to use the phrase “loving a convert.” True, the Rambam utilizes different terminologies in the two works under discussion. Yet, I believe his intent in both instances was the same: The ger tzedek is deserving of an extra mitzvah that mandates the love of his fellow Jews toward him, precisely because of his all-encompassing commitment to Hashem, His Torah, and the Jewish people.

Ultimately, all the Jewish people are equal before Hashem and deserving of His beneficence and mercy. This is the case whether we are native born or have chosen to become Jewish and embrace the Master of the Universe and His Torah. Given this fundamental idea, it is little wonder that the members of the Anshei Knesset HaGadolah formulated this bracha found in the Shemoneh Esrai:
​
On the righteous, on the devout, on the elders of Your people the Family of Israel, on the remnant of their scholars, on the righteous converts and on ourselves, may Your compassion be aroused, Hashem, our God, and give goodly reward to all who sincerely believe in Your Name. Put our lot with them forever, and we will not feel ashamed, for we trust in You. Blessed are You, Hashem, Mainstay and Assurance of the righteous. (Translation, Artscroll Siddur, underlining my own)
 
May we be zocheh to receive Hashem’s compassion and be worthy of His goodly reward. Moreover, with Hashem’s help and mercy, may this be our final Shavuot in galut, and may the next one be celebrated in Yerushalayim in the soon-to-be rebuilt Beit HaMikdash. V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!
​
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
Many may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: https://www.box.com/s/7bf01f9abcabf02e25c3
 
*** I have posted 164+ of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Our parasha’s haftorah is most often Hosea 2:1-2:22.The concluding pasukim of this passage are well known, since men recite them after putting on their tefillin: “And I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me with righteousness and with justice and with loving-kindness and with mercy. And I will betroth you to Me with faith, and you shall know Hashem.” (Hoshea 2:21, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) Rashi (1040-1105) explains that “with righteousness and with justice” refers to the actualization of our midot tovot, whereas “loving-kindness and with mercy,” represents Hashem’s response to their practice. He supports this analysis with the following textual supports:

Concerning our father Avraham, it is written (Gen 18:19): “For I love him since he commands…to perform righteousness and justice.” And, corresponding to them, He bestowed upon his children loving-kindness and mercy, as it is said (Deut. 13:18): “And He shall grant you mercy;” (7:12) “And Hashem your God shall keep for you the covenant and the loving-kindness.” When they ceased to perform righteousness and justice, as it is said (Amos 5:7): “Those who turn justice into wormwood, and righteousness they leave on the ground,” also the Holy One, blessed be He, took away from them the loving-kindness and the mercy, as it is said (Jer. 16:5): “for I have gathered in My peace from this people, says Hashem, the loving-kindness and the mercies.” And when they will return to perform righteousness and justice, they shall be redeemed immediately, as it is said (Isa. 1: 27): “Zion shall be redeemed through justice, and her penitent through righteousness.” And the Holy One, blessed be He, will add mercy and loving-kindness to them and make a crown of all four of them and place it on their head.
 
In sum, Rashi underscores the following crucial points:

1. Hoshea 2: 21 contains four essential terms in the covental agreement between Hashem and our people: tzedek, mishpat, chesed, and rachamim.
2. Tzedek and mishpat are our responsibilities. They are the fundamental ways we must interact with one another.
3. Chesed and rachamim are from Hashem and reflect His response to our actions that emobdy tzedek and mishpat.
4. A middah k’neged middah relationship obtains between our acts of tzedek and mishpat, and Hashem’s bestowal of chesed and rachamim. As Rashi explicitly maintains: if we fail to live up to our responsibilities to acheinu kol beit Yisrael, and act without tzedek and mishpat, then Hashem will act toward us without chesed and rachamim. In contrast, when we live up to our mandate to be truly righteous, then Hashem will reward us in kind. As Rashi states:

​And when they will return to perform righteousness and justice, they shall be redeemed immediately, as it is said (Isa. 1: 27): “Zion shall be redeemed through justice, and her penitent through righteousness.” And the Holy One, blessed be He, will add mercy and loving-kindness to them and make a crown of all four of them and place it on their head.
 
Hoshea the navi gives us a formula to achieve a dynamic relationship with Hashem that pulsates with boundless spiritual energy. He teaches us that if we seek to experience the unlimited joy of Hashem’s chesed and rachamim, we must treat our fellow Jews with tzedek and mishpat. Consequently, every action we undertake should be viewed through the lens of a seemingly simple question: “Does this act bring greater tzedek and mishpat to the world, or chas v’shalom, does it bring the opposite in its wake?”
 
May we be zocheh to ever pursue tzedek and mishpat, and may we, in turn, receive Hashem’s chesed and rachamim. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
Many may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: https://www.box.com/s/7bf01f9abcabf02e25c3
 
*** I have posted 164+ of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Parashat Bechukotai contains a variety of rewards with which we will be blessed, “if you will follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them.” One of these is the removal of wild beasts from the Land. (26:3, 6, Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach). The Sifra presents two very different interpretations of this bracha:
 
Rabbi Yehudah said: “[Hashem] will remove them [the wild and dangerous beasts] from the world. Rabbi Shimon said: “[Hashem] will control them [the wild beasts] so they will no longer cause injury.” Rabbi Shimon [also] said: “When is there the greatest praise to the Omnipresent One, when there are no injurious creatures or when there are dangerous creatures that longer cause injury? One must say that [Hashem’s praise is most clearly manifest] when there are injurious creatures that no longer cause any damages. (Parashat Bechukotai 1:2:1, translation and brackets my own)
 
In sum, Rabbi Yehudah maintains that Hashem will remove the wild and dangerous animals from the world so that they will no longer pose any threat to humankind. In contrast, Rabbi Shimon asserts that the Almighty will keep the world’s ecological structure intact. He will, however, alter the nature of the heretofore-dangerous animals so that they will live in peace with the rest of the world. The Sifra clearly supports Rabbi Shimon’s opinion, as it continues with one of Yeshayahu’s best-known verses:

And a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid; and a calf and a lion cub and a fatling [shall lie] together, and a small child shall lead them. And a cow and a bear shall graze together, their children shall lie; and a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw. And an infant shall play over the hole of an old snake and over the eyeball of an adder, a weaned child shall stretch forth his hand. (Sefer Yeshayahu, 11:6-8)
 
While the Sifra, and other Midrashim (such as Pesikta Zutarta, Parashat Bechukotai 26:6), support Rabbi Shimon’s view that Hashem will literally alter the nature of dangerous carnivorous animals, the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) did not follow this approach. Instead, he views these verses in Yeshayahu, and parallel passages in Nevi’im, as metaphors for the Messianic Age:

Do not presume that in the Messianic Age any facet of the world’s nature will change or there will be innovations in the work of creation. Rather, the world will continue according to its pattern. Although Yeshayahu 11:6 states: “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the young goat,” these words are a metaphor and a parable. … Similarly, other Messianic prophecies of this nature are metaphors. In the Messianic era, everyone will realize which matters were implied by these metaphors and which allusions they contained. (Mishneh Torah, Sefer Shoftim, Hilchot Melachim 12:1, this, and all Mishneh Torah translations, Rabi Eliyahu Touger, underlining my own)
 
The Ra’avad (Rabbi Avraham ben David, c. 1125-1198) pointedly took the Rambam to task for stating that such passages from Nevi’im were metaphors and parables. After all, he contends, does not the Torah explicitly state: “I will remove wild beasts from the Land?” If so, how is possible to imagine that the Prophets’ words were mere allegories?

Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch shlita, the contemporary Israeli posek, and former Chief Rabbi Ra’avad of the Edah HaChareidit in Jerusalem, suggests that the crux of the dispute between the Rambam and the Ra’avad is found in their respective analyses of the phrase, “I will remove wild beasts from the Land.” In Rav Sternbuch’s view, the Rambam maintains that the Messianic times will be a period wherein “the wild beasts will no longer be able to do harm to mankind.” This, Rav Sternbuch suggests, “is not a change in nature, [since it is not] manifestly evident to one and all.” In contrast, he asserts that the Ra’avad championed the view of Rabbi Yehudah, as found in the above-cited Sifra. Namely, “I will remove wild beasts from the Land” should be taken literally, “this means there will longer be any violent animals.” In other words, vicious and carnivorous beasts will simply cease to exist. (Sefer Ta’am v’Da’at, Parashat Bechukotai, 26:6).

Throughout our long and storied history, our people have longed for the arrival of the Mashiach. Over and over again we have asked ourselves the same question: “How will we know when he has finally arrived?” Once again, the Rambam helps us answer this crucial question:

King Messiah will arise in the future and return the kingship of David to its former greatness and glory. He will rebuild the Holy Temple and gather all of the exiles to the Land of Israel. All of the laws will be in effect during his days just as they were in earlier times. We will [once again] offer korbanot (animal offerings) and keep the laws of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years just like all of the other laws stated in the Torah. (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 11:1)
As clear cut as these words may seem, how will we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the one who accomplishes these holy tasks is indisputably the one and only Mashiach? The Rambam answers:

If a king will arise from the House of David, who, like his ancestor David, diligently contemplates the Torah and observes its mitzvot as prescribed by the Written Law and the Oral Law, and will compel all of Israel to walk in (the way of the Torah) and rectify the breaches in its observance, and fight the wars of God, we may, with assurance, consider him Mashiach. If he succeeds in the above, builds the Temple in its place, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Mashiach. (11:4, underlining and emendations my own)

One of our tasks as ovdei Hashem is to be an or l’amim (light unto the nations, Sefer Yeshayahu 49:6). Little wonder, then, that our hopes and desires for the imminent coming of Mashiach are universalistic ones that embrace a vision of peace for all the nations of the world. Consequently, the Rambam concludes with these inspiring words:

He will then improve the entire world, motivating all the nations to serve God together, as Sefer Tzephaniah 3:9 states: “I will transform the peoples to a purer language that they all will call upon the name of God and serve Him with one purpose.”
 
At that time, the famous words of Zechariah the prophet will be realized and ring true throughout the entire world: “And the Lord shall become King over all the earth; on that day shall the Lord be one, and His name one.” (14:9) May this time come soon and in our days. V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom
​
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
Many may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: https://www.box.com/s/7bf01f9abcabf02e25c3
 
*** I have posted 164+ of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.