Messianic Speculations By HaRav Ariel Bar Tzadok With the regards to the messianic speculations running so rampant today, the old saying rings so loudly true; we cannot see the forest through the trees. So many individuals are talking about Mashiah; they are all saying so many things, most of which contradict one another. There is so much clutter and noise that even if there was any true information it is being drowned out in a cacophony of noise and misinformation. Simply put, all the messianic speculations are hindering the public from perceiving any accurate messianic information. In Biblical days when the prophets roamed our land, they too faced a similar problem. Numerous references throughout the Bible show us that in those days the prophets were faced with the debilitating problem of false prophecies and false prophets. These false prophets were not practicing other religions, they were all religious Jews who spoke in G-d s Name, yet they spoke things that G-d never told them. So what was going on? Clearly the false prophets were not intentionally trying to deceive the public, but deceive and mislead is what they did. They thought that they were doing the right thing, but they were way off the mark. How did this happen? The answer is unfortunately rather simple. Prophets used to go to school to learn their skills. The schools of the Benei Nviim were a far cry from modern-day yeshivot wheree only academic learning is practiced. Benei Nviim did not learn their trade from books; they learned it through meditative experience, guided by a master prophet, who taught his students on a one-to-one basis, similar as the Law is described in the Mishna Hagigah about the learning of Ma aseh Merkava. Needless to say, not everyone who tried to walk this path succeeded in accomplishing his goal. Just like Ma aseh Merkava requires a student to possess a specific type of mind, which by nature is intuitive, so too the novice prophet had to not only practice long hours of meditation, he also had to be of the mindset that could benefit from those practices. Prophecy was a combination art and science that enables the human mind to expand beyond the confines of conscious perceptions of the finite physical world and to experience other forms of reality only accessible to the intuitive mind. Indeed, intuition (Hokhma, wisdom) is not an acquirable trait. One cannot work hard to learn it; on the contrary, one has to cease one s academic function and allow the inner unconscious mind to come to the surface and thus lead the 1
conscious mind into deeper realms of existence. One can thus only receive this Hokhma. Therefore the knowledge of this type is called received, better known in Hebrew as Kabbalah. The pathway to this greater reality is through the inner recesses of the unconscious mind. Therefore, the original Kabbalistic teachings were called Ma aseh Merkava. The Merkava experience was founded upon the same types of teachings taught in the Biblical schools of the Benei Nviim. They and they alone knew the proper path into the PaRDeS. Yet, when referring such psychic travel, it was also referred to as a descent and never an ascent. One went down (yored) before the Merkava; one never ascended before it. This subtle nuance of language is no accident. It was chosen specifically to identify the proper method of Merkava/prophetic practice. Today those levels of expanded consciousness that we call prophecy are presently closed to us. No one today can honestly say thus says G-d. G-d is not talking directly to anyone today with a message for the nation. Tradition teaches us that Eliyahu HaNavi must return before Mashiah comes and needless to say with his advent, prophecy will come along with him. This does not mean that all of a sudden people never trained and tested in the prophetic arts will all of a sudden become prophets. This is a simple impossibility. Maybe, if we are so blessed, Eliyahu will take students and teach them thus reviving the ancient schools of the Benei Nviim. Without such a hope, there will be no restoration of prophecy. From where will Eliyahu come and when is he expected, who knows? We are all still waiting. One thing is for sure; Eliyahu will prophesy. He will say, Thus says G-d. To date, no one has been bold enough or stupid enough to try to pull that one off. So when the first one comes and says these words, and prophesies truth, such a one can be tested to ascertain if indeed he is Eliyahu HaNavi returned. Until then, we have no prophecy. This being said let us look at our other options, these being Ruah HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration; holy spirit) and Ma aseh Merkava, the two of which obviously go hand in hand. Now, Ruah HaKodesh is another level of expanded consciousness that simply does not fall upon someone from Heaven. Granted, throughout the centuries there have been countless Sages and holy individuals, yet these honorable statures alone do not qualify any of them to receive Ruah HaKodesh. As is properly documented in all the literature of the genre, Ruah HaKodesh is a level of expanded human consciousness that requires of one much practice and exercise in the areas of mental exercises and consciousness expansion. Just because one is a big Rabbi and is a brilliant academic does not automatically mean that such a Rabbi has Ruah HaKodesh. Being a learned Rabbi has nothing to do with receiving Ruah HaKodesh. Indeed, all academic accomplishments are totally unconnected to receiving Ruah HaKodesh; if this were not true then we would see secular academics and college professors, like their religious counterparts all having Divine inspiration. We clearly see that this is not so, not with the secular and neither with the religious. Some may be psychic and others may be intuitive, but these alone, untrained, are a far cry from Ruah HaKodesh. Receiving Ruah HaKodesh requires a complete transformation of personality and a reorientation of mental functioning away from academia and towards intuitive experience. Granted, throughout 2
the centuries we have always had numerous Sages who did indeed follow this path and received the prized connection with Ruah HaKodesh that they sought. Yet, one should investigate their biographical information. One will see that those Sages of old who accomplished this connection led a lifestyle radically different from our own and they invested long periods of time in isolated meditations, which included the chanting of holy names, the invocation of angels and many similar practices that are frowned upon and feared today. The lives of Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulkhan Arukh, the Ari zal and the Ba al Shem Tov stand out as prime examples. Receiving Ruah HaKodesh is a rather mechanical process. One needs to go through the necessary steps of consciousness expansion and if they are performed correctly then one can indeed expect to receive the sough after results. Yet, with Ruah HaKodesh, as with prophecy before it, we have those who go through the motions of practice, yet without the sincere inner commitment. What we then get are those who believe they are filled with Ruah HaKodesh, but who in all reality are only full of themselves. It is also possible that in their pursuits that some malevolent forces attaches to them and fills their minds with holy and sacred images. The individual then comes to believe that he is indeed in touch with something holy when in fact; it is the opposite that is true. Such misguided religious individuals end up becoming unwitting agents of evil, spreading false visions, false messages and false hopes. Yet, they themselves cannot see for themselves that what they are attached to is evil. This type has penetrated the religious communities since Talmudic times and many have caused great harm to countless other souls. This unfortunate reality continues to our present day, with some so-called great leaders saying things and doing things that instead of bringing their followers closer to G-d, actually instead distances them. Experts of Jewish Law have long held to an important rule. Jewish Law is never supposed to be ordained based upon spiritual or supernatural means. Torah Law as we practice it belongs to this Earth and those living on it. Therefore, the direction of the Law must be decided based upon the rational and realistic needs of the people. Even if a Sage were to possess Ruah HaKodesh, it in and of itself it does not qualify or define the Law. This is evident from the famous Talmudic story describing the incident between Rabbis Yehoshua and Eliezer. When Rabbi Yehoshua and the majority decided that the Law requires that something that could be considered acceptable nonetheless be branded unacceptable, Rabbi Eliezer sought all sorts of supernatural means to persuade the others to his opposing point of view. Even a Voice spoke from Heaven indicating its support of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Yehoshua very respectfully reminded Heaven that the Torah itself has ordained that the Law is in the hands of the Sages and that their word is final. Later on, one of the Sages present at this great debate was visited by the immortal prophet Eliyahu HaNavi who confirmed to him, that even Heaven agreed with Rabbi Yehoshua, in spite of the Voice that spoke. Essentially Rabbis are supposed to be experts in Torah Law. Essentially Rabbis are supposed to be Torah lawyers. This and this alone is their role. There is no requirement for them to have experience in meditation, Ma aseh Merkava or to have Ruah HaKodesh. Indeed, the vast majority of Rabbis, both past and present, as knowledgeable of Law as they may be, have none of these other attributes, no meditative experience, no Ruah HaKodesh and therefore essentially no real spiritual experience. Many Rabbis are not even spiritual persons, regardless of their strict levels 3
of religiosity. They do not have to be. They are experts in their fields and that is it. One should not expect more from an expert in a field other than mastery in one s area of expertise. Only those well trained in the proper prophetic meditative arts have the ability to consciously and properly connect with Ruah HaKodesh. They and they alone are the experts in this field. These are the Kodashim and men of renown. Usually these individuals are found amongst the true Kabbalists. However, as Kabbalah has become more and more an academic pursuit it has lost its meditative connection. Today, the vast majority of Kabbalists are nothing more the speculative mystical philosophers, without any meditative experience or the abilities that come through Merkava practices. Indeed, most Kabbalists today frown upon such studies and look with scorn upon those who have mastered the skills (of Kabbalah Ma asit). Nevertheless, despite the silly objections of the academic Kabbalists of the strictly religious communities, the true Kabbalists, who know and practice the prophetic techniques, still exist; and more so, their numbers are growing. Yet, they do not seek visibility, nor do they seek to attract large numbers to their side; neither do they seek fame, popularity, honor or public acclaim. The true Kabbalists, like in centuries gone by, prefer to remain anonymous; practicing what they do in private and serving our blessed Creator in the age-old ways of seclusion. These truly connected individuals have for over a decade now has stopped leaking warnings of future events to the public. Those who know already know and those who do not know, most likely never will. I cannot say more about this for this would violate a sacred confidence and trust. What I can say and must say is this. Those today who are making speculative messianic statements have no basis for these statements whatsoever. Granted, we can all look to the Bible, Talmudic and even Kabbalistic literature and see signs of fulfilled prophecies in our days. One does not need Ruah HaKodesh to recognize what has happened and what is happening still. One does not even need Ruah HaKodesh to foresee certain general trends and events that are soon to come upon the world, Israel and the United States. Prophecy fulfillment can be compared to a freight train; once it begins to move, it is not easy to slow it down. Yet, although we know the general details of what may soon befall us; no one outside of those properly connected even have the ability to ascertain any details. No one knows when Mashiah is coming. Today, most today do not even really understand how Mashiah is coming. Most today will not even recognize Eliyahu HaNavi when he comes. Most today will mistakenly identify someone else as Mashiah and bet their all upon him. And when he dies, as he is destined to, then the true tests of faith begin. We have a long and arduous road ahead of us before Mashiah finally comes from out of the skies with his armada of specially designated higher entities whose job it is to service our Creator in the retaking of our planet from those who presently possess it. We are in the middle of a real life star wars and the end, while in sight, is still far away. We will get there, yet how and when are questions no one is going to answer for you. 4
Remember those who claim to know, do not know; and those who know, make no claims whatsoever. Those who speak do not know and those who know do not speak. Let this warning serve to silence all those who are spreading around reports and information that they cannot possibly know. If someone claims to have information from a secret source, be cautious and question whether or not the secret source knows and practices the prophetic arts, whether or not they are of the yordei Merkava and whether or not they can wield the holy Names and the infamous Sword of Moshe. If the secret source is known to possess these skills in truth, then it may be wise to hear their words. Yet, for those who do not know what I am talking about or to what I am referring, be polite, be respectful, but also dismiss them comprehensive and completely. They very well may be decent, good and even holy people, but still, without certain other credentials; they cannot have access to certain other information. These are merely the facts. Everyone may chose to believe whatever it is that they wish. My intent is to simply dispel the false promises presently running rampant and to restore sanity and simple faith in our arduous wait for the coming of G-d s true Mashiah. The road is long and we have much more to travel, but the end is in sight. Things will get worse before they get better; but better they will get. Our job now should be to prepare for the hard times to come. Maybe we can discuss more about this in future essays. Then again, everything that needs to be said has already been said. All I can do is to be repetitive. This sometimes is helpful. But for those who do not want to wait. Look to the past and see all that has already been said. Read it and reread it. Maybe you can still hear the Soft Inner Voice speaking inside your heart. At least, I pray that you still can. No matter what happens, never, ever lose faith. Prophecy will be fulfilled and a new dawn and a new world will soon come. It is to be wonderful, marvelous and most of all, how it comes will be a shocking surprise to us all. 5