FOR VAYECHI
AN END TO THE WORLD WE KNOW?
So, the “End of the World” came last Friday according to some interpretation of an ancient Mayan calendar.
And just as it came, it went. Just like the rest of these eschatological predictions!
It seems to be happening lately with some frequency: A person, usually somewhat of a lunatic, or maybe a full-fledged lunatic, announces to anyone who wishes to listen that the world is about to end. And some people, perhaps a little vulnerable, or perhaps really unwise, buy into this lunacy. They are prepared to hunker down in a bunker to be saved when the world comes to an end. It is always unknown how these people expect to survive, and where they will be on an ended world…
These predictions, of course, never come to pass.
Of all groups, NASA found it necessary to debunk this silly call about the world ending. They explained how their scientists and their sophisticated “eyes in the sky” had detected anything unusual in the Universe, and certainly not an apocalyptical happening. As if any sane person needed reassuring.
When I was still teaching in the classroom some three years ago, a high school student was convinced of this particular prediction’s coming to reality. After discovering that this purported prophecy was to be on a Friday night, the onset of Shabbos, I responded, “The only part of this world that will be ending on that day is the six days of the week. In their place, Shabbos will be introduced to the world yet again.” I then asked the student to be so kind as to contact me after this fabled doomsday. I have yet to hear from him, and I do not expect to hear from him in the future.
Motivating those prediction-making and hysterical people are a conglomeration of factors, from religious fanatics, to astrology, to fantasies of truly nutty types. The underlying dynamic of all these doomsday predictors involves a specific date of massive catastrophe, Heaven forbid. It is the “end of the world” – except for those who follow “The Call,” and are prepared.
Two big questions, however, come to mind, which are never addressed. First, why does the world have to end? Why send billions of tons of water, or widespread destruction through other means, to destroy not just people and animals, but all other living matter, as well as buildings, homes, furniture, cars, and all other items? What does that accomplish? Moreover, in the times of Noah, the Flood was to renew the world. Following the Flood, though, the Torah recalls the Almighty’s words: “I will no longer curse the earth because of man… I will never again kill all living things as I have done… There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.“ (B’raishis (Genesis) 8:21; 9:11.) The Holy Creator of the world does not wish to perform this type of activity of destroying the world ever again. That promise, in the Torah of ultimate truth, will never be changed.
Second, if the Almighty chooses, Heaven forefend, to do away with swaths of human beings, or with the entire state of being, all He needs to do is stop creating. The creation of the world was a true “creation”: Prior to Creation, there was absolute nothingness. From this nothingness, or in Latin, “ex nihilo,” the universe, as is known today, was created. A Picasso painting, for instance, was formed when the artist took pre-existing paint to a pre-existing canvass. Once the paintings were completed, Mr. Picasso’s painting have no need for his presence. This is since the paintings and the canvass were both in existence before Picasso joined them. The Universe, however, was created from nothing. The Almighty is, therefore, in a constant state of creating it to ensure it continues to exist and does not revert to absolute nothingness.
If, according to the calls and predictions, the world were to end, it would be a lot easier for the Almighty simply to cease creating it. By basically “pulling the plug,” the entire operation would be gone without leaving a single trace, not even an atom.
No, the world is not ending. Not now, and not ever. The Torah, the prophets, and other wise Sages throughout history would have brought this to the attention of humankind if it were so.
The universe and the world were not created in order to be destroyed. Instead, the world will be undergoing a change. This is what is predicted by the Torah, by the prophets and by Sages and leaders throughout history. These are not merely the perpetual regular weather and atmospheric vicissitudes and fluctuations, but revolutionary changes to the world which all lead up to, and herald, the Messianic era. Major changes, in medicine, technology, science, and so forth, began gradually – as predicted by Torah sources – some two hundred years ago, and have reached astounding speeds over the recent few decades, accelerating ever more as the days and weeks pass.
Not all the changes are immediately positive. When there is change, painful adjustments are sometimes involved. Eventually, these changes will culminate in a most beautiful and well-predicted era of peace and tranquility, together with health and prosperity for all mankind. Not doom and gloom, not destruction and catastrophe, but the coming of Moshiach, the Messiah, who, as precisely predicted, will bring all these changes to fruition.
There is no date, however, offered for this moment aside from one attempt by the patriarch Jacob, as recorded in this week’s Torah portion, “Vayechi.” Jacob’s attempt is surprisingly clear and bold. It was during his final moments in this world, and he had gathered his children and grandchildren. He was preparing to share words of blessing, encouragement, admonition and prophecy with each of his sons, the progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Prior to all those words, though, Jacob states the following: “I will disclose to you what will happen to you at the End of Days.” (B’raishis (Genesis) 49:1.)
According to the tradition of the Sages in the Midrash, Jacob was about to predict the date for the final redemption with the Moshiach. Nothing, however, comes of this. Jacob, instead, moves ahead with his words to his children.
It is quite strange to learn what Jacob wished to disclose. As it stands now, prior to the coming of the Moshiach, it has been over three thousand seven hundred years since Jacob’s times. By disclosing the time of the Moshiach’s arrival, Jacob would have informed his children of the depressing fact that they would be required to wait at least thirty-seven centuries, and counting, before eternal relief and salvation! How could this disclosure have been of any benefit to anyone?
It is all about real change. Regarding the advent of the Messianic era, the prophet Isaiah predicts that it can occur either at its designated time, or earlier. (See Isaiah 60:22. Talmud Sanhedrin 98 a.) In other words, it depends on the people: as a reward for better behavior, the final redemption can come early.
Jacob was not about to give away the designated time of the final redemption. That would have been excessively disheartening. His intention was to reveal to his children about the Exodus from Egypt, which, with prodigious behavior, could have turned into the final redemption. Had Jacob revealed this information, the children of Israel would obviously have done everything in their power to accelerate this process, but they would have done so as a direct result of such knowledge.
Yet, this information was withheld by Jacob. It was not disclosed because, ultimately, the Almighty wants real change inspired by the individual, not based on what others suggest. Real change is accomplished when one contends and works through issues personally. One then makes the necessary personal changes, internalizing one’s changed ways.
When a person, instead, reacts on the basis of someone else’s recommendations without personally internalizing the ideas, the changes continue to remain with the other person, to a certain extent. Real change does not occur unless it is personal.
Having endured the condition of exile through thick and thin – and everything in between – for so many centuries, the Jewish people, together with the rest of the world, have changed, and continue to change – for the good – at increasing speed. The Jewish people, and the world, are at the threshold, poised, at any moment, for the imminent ultimate redemption.
It is this type of “end of the world” where everyone is heading. It is not about doom and gloom and it is not about destruction. It is about a shift; an adjustment; a change. It is about the fall of Communism in the Former Soviet Union; it is about the global intolerance of persecution, poverty and violence; it is about the ongoing changes in the Middle East; it is about the global changes in technology, medicine, et al.
Together with calling on the Almighty to bring this epoch into full glory immediately, it is also incumbent upon all people to prepare themselves for this imminent day, with proper Torah-based knowledge and understanding, so that, through preparedness, every single person will happily usher in that spectacular day with great anticipation, amid even greater joy and gladness.
SUMMARY: The world did not end recently, as predicted, and neither will it be destroyed. By recording the episode with Jacob, the Torah teaches about the potential for real change for the good.
Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos and all the best. May the coming week bring you only good news, happy news and healthy news.