To Bring Moshiach We Have To Work Hashem's Garden

Dear friends, 

This Dvar Torah marks the beginning of the fifth cycle of Dvar Torahs. I am grateful to Hashem to be here and to be able to teach Torah. I am also grateful to all of you who read them and allow me to be part of your lives. 

Thank you so much and good Shabbos, 

Yitzi 

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In this week's parsha, Balak, we have the prophecy of the coming of Moshiach. In it Balaam says, "A ruler will come out of Yaakov." Rashi tells us that this refers to King Moshiach, as it says about him, "And he will rule from the sea until the sea." This is a verse from Tehillim, that continues, "and from the river until the ends of the earth."

similarly, Zechariah prophesies about Moshiach, he says, "Behold! Your king will come to you... humble and riding on a donkey... and his rule will be, from the sea until the sea, and from the river until the ends of the earth."

The Rambam, when explaining Balaam’s prophecy, he says, "This is the King Moshiach, about whom it says 'And he will rule from the sea until the sea.'"

Why do the verses go through the whole length of, "From the sea until the sea and from the river until the ends of the earth."? Why doesn't it simply say, that he will rule over the whole earth?

Why do they reference the seas and the river? Usually a king rules over the land and the waters are secondary.

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi explains, that the ultimate level we will reach in the days of Moshiach, is dependent "on our actions and service (to Hashem) during the time of the exile." In other words, through our Torah study and performance of mitzvahs, we prepare the whole world and especially the Jewish people, for the ultimate purpose of the days of Moshiach.

The way Hashem has it set up, we are rewarded measure for measure. According to the kind of effort we put in, that establishes the reward that we are given. So it is understood, that in order to prepare for, and have the high levels that we will attain in the days of Moshiach, we have to do our service to Hashem, in a Moshiach-like manner, meaning, that in order to merit the rulership of Moshiach, "from the sea until the sea, and from the river until the ends of the earth." We must serve Hashem in a similar way. How is it possible for us to be like Moshiach?

The Baal Shem Tov says, "Every one of Israel, has to fix and prepare the part of Moshiach that is in his soul." In other words, we each have a part of Moshiach in us, and by readying that part of us, we prepare the world for him to come. Being that every one of us has a part of Moshiach, we can be like him, and ready the world for his rulership.

Let's take a deeper look at the words, "From the sea until the sea, and from the river until the ends of the earth," to understand, how we can serve Hashem in a Moshiach-like way.

One of the differences between the sea and the land, is that in the sea everything is hidden. When you look at the sea, all you see is the water, you don't see what is in it. On land, it is the opposite, most everything is open and revealed. The sea is symbolic of the part of a person that is for himself, and land is symbolic of the part of a person that connects with the world and with others.

In the verse there are two seas. This is reminiscent of the verse in Zechariah's prophecy, "And it will be on that day, living waters will go out from Yerushalayim, half will to the first sea and half to the last sea." Meaning, that when we say, "He will rule from the sea until the sea," it means that we should rule over every aspect of our personal self.

In a person, the first sea, is his ability to think, the last sea, is his ability to do. They are the beginning and the end of a person's abilities, meaning, one should be master over all his abilities from the first until the last.

However, that is not enough. There is also, "From the river until the ends of the earth." When a person just works on himself, even if he perfects himself to the highest level possible, but he doesn't effect the world around him, he hasn't a accomplished his main purpose. He might be in an eden of his own, but it is only a selfish accomplishment. There has to be the "river that goes out of eden to water the garden."

The garden is Hashem's world, and even though it is hard to see it that way, our purpose is to reveal the essence of the world, that it is His garden. As it says about Adam, the first man, "And He put him in the garden of Eden to work it and to guard it." That is why we were placed in this world, to work the garden. For Adam, it was clear that it was Hashem's garden, but for us that don't see it that way, our job is to reveal that it is His garden, the place where He wants to be. And when we finish our work, it will be clear that the whole world, "until the ends of the earth," is His garden, and Moshiach will come.

May we merit to see the fruits of our labor, our Torah and mitzvahs that refine the world and reveal that it is truly Hashem's beautiful garden. He will then dwell openly in it, in other words, Moshiach will be here. May it happen soon.