Hello Everyone,
In yesterday’s shiur we discussed two conflicting views of the Messianic era. Here is the Gemara from masechet Shabbat:
תלמוד בבלי מסכת שבת דף סג עמוד א
משנה לא יצא האיש לא בסייף ולא בקשת ולא בתריס ולא באלה ולא ברומח ואם יצא חייב חטאת רבי אליעזר אומר תכשיטין הן לו וחכמים אומרים אינן אלא לגנאי שנאמר וכתתו חרבותם לאתים וחניתותיהם למזמרות ולא ישא גוי אל גוי חרב ולא ילמדו עוד מלחמה
גמרא מאי באלה קולפא
רבי אליעזר אומר תכשיטין הן לו תניא אמרו לו לרבי אליעזר וכי מאחר דתכשיטין הן לו מפני מה הן בטלין לימות המשיח אמר להן לפי שאינן צריכין שנאמר לא ישא גוי אל גוי חרב ותהוי לנוי בעלמא אמר אביי מידי דהוה אשרגא בטיהרא ופליגא דשמואל דאמר שמואל אין בין העולם הזה לימות המשיח אלא שיעבוד גליות בלבד שנאמר כי לא יחדל אביון מקרב הארץ
In this suggyah we have a מחלוקת within another מחלוקת. The first מחלוקת is a מחלוקת regarding a detail of Hilchot Shabbat. On Shabbat it is forbidden to carry items from the home to the street, from the street into the home and to pick up items in the street and carry them. It is however permitted to wear clothing and ornaments. In this Mishnah Rabbi Eliezer debates the Sages if weapons are ornaments. The Sages say that weapons are not ornaments; they are objects to be viewed with scorn. Rabbi Eliezer says that they are ornaments. The Sages ask Rabbi Eliezer, if arms are ornaments then why will there be no more weapons in the Messianic era? Why won’t they still fill their role as ornaments? Rabbi Eliezer replies that there won’t be weapons in that time because they won’t be needed anymore.
The Gemarah then points out that the anticipation of a universally peaceful world is in opposition to the view of Shmuel. Shmuel said about the Messianic era:
אין בין העולם הזה לימות המשיח אלא שיעבוד גליות בלבד
So within the debate over weapons we encounter if weapons will be eliminated once the Messiah arrives.
Rav Kook explains the suggyah as follows.
Boldness and bravery are admirable character traits. They must, however, be channelled and applied properly. Therefore Rabbi Eliezer says that arms which are the outward manifestations of these traits are ornaments. The Sages object to this idea. They say that for the greatest majority of human history weapons have been used to bring suffering and destruction to the world. This is a simple fact of history which cannot be denied. It follows that far from being ornaments, weapons are looked upon with disdain and scorn.
Rabbi Eliezer concedes that in the Messianic era there will be no more need for weapons, and they will no longer be ornaments. What precisely will we experience in the Messianic era and why will weapons be totally obsolete?
Rav Kook says that contrast and difference are what make life dynamic and they drive change. A world where everyone thinks alike would be stagnant and most definitely undesirable. Nations ( which apparently according to Rav Kook are political entities inhabited by people with shared opinions) may find themselves in ideological opposition with other nations, and this is not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, disagreements can lead to progress. But, as long as nations disagree with each other there is a need for something to prevent the disagreements from becoming violent. That is why there is a need for arms. The threat of reprisal in case of violent attack upon a nation is what maintains the peace. In such an existence weapons may be viewed as ornaments. Even when they are not used their presence serves a valuable purpose.
The Messianic era will be an era of peace. However it will not be an era of bland agreement. Nations will still disagree with each other even after the Messiah comes. However what will be different is that people will understand that disagreements can be tolerated and even welcomed. There will be an understanding that differences of opinion should be respected and not settled by force. In this era weapons will be reminders of a less glorious past, a past when the threat of violence was required to keep the peace. That is why even Rabbi Eliezer agrees that in Messiah’s time weapons will no longer be ornaments.
How does Shmuel see the Messianic era? Shmuel bases his concept on this verse from the Torah:
דברים פרק טו פסוק יא
כִּי לֹא יֶחְדַּל אֶבְיוֹן מִקֶּרֶב הָאָרֶץ עַל כֵּן אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ לֵאמֹר פָּתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת יָדְךָ לְאָחִיךָ לַעֲנִיֶּךָ וּלְאֶבְיֹנְךָ בְּאַרְצֶךָ:
Shmuel learns from this פסוק that poverty will always be with us. This being the case the most that we can anticipate from the Messianic era is the political freedom of the Jewish people without a fundamental change in society.
Rav Kook explains that the poverty that will persist after the coming of the Messiah is not the sort of poverty which causes suffering and is a punishment for one’s misdeeds. Rather it is a sort of “want” which generates feelings of pity and love which are necessary in a society. Society in the Messianic era according to Shmuel will not be different from our society. There will still be a wide variety of temperaments and personalities. Societies at both the national and international levels will be vibrant and rife with differences. This being the case there will be, even in this blessed time, a necessity for weapons to fulfill their task as the ornaments whose presence maintain honest disagreements from degenerating into violence.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the shiur.
Happy Chanukah.
Stuart Fischman
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