Moshiach has the soul of Moshe Rabbenu

MOSHIACH IS THE SOUL OF MOSHE RABBENU

Excerpt of a shiur given by Rav Eliezer Berland, shlita, in Lod

Moshiach is the neshama (soul) of Moshe, and Moshe came from Midian. At the beginning, Moshe was a Midianite, and his father-in-law was a Druze. All the Druze say that they are descended from Yitro.

There is a kooshia (a difficult question): Why did Moshe give the name ‘Gershon” first? He should have given the name ‘Eliezer’ first, and only after that Gershon, according to his own reasoning.

I.e., he gave his son the name ‘Eliezer’, to signify that he was ‘saved from the sword of Pharoah’.[1] And he gave his son the name ‘Gershon’, to symbolize that ‘I have been a stranger in a strange land’ – but this happened after he was saved from Pharoah.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE FITTING TO FIRST NAME HIS SON AFTER THE MIRACLE THAT SAVED HIM FROM PHAROAH, AND ONLY AFTERWARDS BECAUSE HE WAS A ‘STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND’.

When Pharoah came to kill Moshe, his neck turned to marble. When they come to murder a Jew, his neck turns to marble. Once upon a time, when they came to murder a Jew, his neck would turn to marble.

Rav Natan relates in Likutey Halachot (Brit Milah, 5) that the Torah doesn’t tell us this about Moshe stam, for nothing. Rather, it’s comes to teach us throughout the generations that there will be a miracle for each Jew, when they come to kill him, that his neck will turn to marble.

AND THIS WAS THE MIRACLE [THAT OCCURRED] ON THE 13TH ADAR, IN THE TIME OF MORDECHAI AND ESTHER, WHEN THEY CAME TO MURDER ALL THE JEWS, AND NO JEW WAS KILLED.

According to the laws of nature, this was impossible. 127 nations could have murdered all the Jews.

In Hevron, they murdered all the Jews just because of one woman. 67 Jews had their arms and legs chopped off, by the Arabs, yimach shemam. And they wanted to send them help, but the British said that this would only infuriate the Arabs. So the Jews of Hevron suffered the most awful torture, the suffering of hell, until they died, without arms, without legs. The Arabs cut their limbs off with axes, [and submitted them to] every type of torture in the world, until they killed them.

But on Purim, there was a miracle, so that not even one single Jew was murdered. No Jew was killed, nothing happened to even a single Jew, across all 127 states.

All the Arabs, all the Druse, they all hate Israel. Everyone is waiting for our downfall – but this isn’t going to help them. Before Moshiach comes, we will have to run away and hide in the desert.

Translated from the Shivivei Or Newsletter #88.

[1] After Moshe killed the Egyptian in Egypt by uttering the Ineffable Name, he was tried for murder by Pharoah, and sentenced to be executed, but in a miracle, Hashem caused Moshe’s neck to turn to marble, saving his life. Moshe subsequently escaped to the desert, and ended up in Midian.