USHERING IN THE MESSIANIC AGE

Rabbi Hillel Livlin of Shklover, the grand-nephew and disciple of the famous Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Kramer, the Ga'on (Genius) of Vilna (1720-1797; See: http://tinyurl.com/ccwdh http://tinyurl.com/a9mzr http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilna_Ga'on ) wrote the very mystical work קול התור, KOL HATOR, THE VOICE OF THE TURTLEDOVE, - the latter term being a name for Messiah as found in Song of Solomon 2:12). Rabbi Livlin of Shklover did not simply interpret the passages in the Bible that I will quote presently to mean that one must not use unfair weights and measures when conducting commerce as they are usually interpreted. He went much further than that. He said that the passages actually mean that the Messianic Age cannot come until there is economic equality in Israel and he was basing his interpretation on ancient sources. The passages that speak of the demand for equality most clearly are: Deuteronomy 25: 13- 16. "There we read: " Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thy house diverse measures, a great and a small. A perfect and just weight shalt thou have; a perfect and just measure shalt thou have; that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, even all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God." The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text, The Jewish Publication Society translation [1917].

Rabbi Livlin's interpretation is astounding. For it means that only in an Anarcho-Communistic society will the inner Torah, the Torah as it will appear during the Messianic Age, be revealed. Therefore, that society must be founded previous to the Messianic Age. We cannot wait for the Messianic Age in order for perfect economic justice to be brought about. We are invested with the responsibility to create that society, not the Messiah.

Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com