Rav Aviner reminds Am Yisrael that despite terror, wars, political turmoil, and global opposition, the process of Redemption is ongoing — sometimes hidden, sometimes revealed — just as our sages taught.
With wars raging, terror striking, political divisions deepening, and the nations of the world lining up against Israel’s sovereignty, many Jews ask: “Is this really the time of Redemption?”
According to HaRav Shlomo Aviner, Head of Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim, the answer is unequivocal: Yes.
“The Master of the Universe never promised that Redemption would come without difficulties. Even Moshe Rabbeinu, the redeemer from Egypt, faced setbacks. Pharaoh hardened his heart, and the Jewish people suffered even more before deliverance arrived.”
Rav Aviner cites the Ramban on Sefer Shemot, who explained that Redemption unfolds gradually, sometimes with regression before progress. The Sages compared it to a gazelle in Shir HaShirim:
“Just as a gazelle appears, disappears, and reappears further ahead, so too the Redeemer may seem to vanish — but in truth he has only advanced beyond our sight.”
History echoes this truth. After the brutal Hevron pogrom, despair shook the Jewish community. Yet Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook urged courage, declaring in his essay “Return to the Stronghold!” that the Redeemer had not vanished, only hidden for a time, and would soon reveal himself again.
Today’s crises, Rav Aviner stresses, are no different. Every setback is part of the hidden advance of Redemption.
🌄 The Test of Faith
Rav Aviner points to Shir HaShirim 2:17: “Be like a gazelle upon the mountains of Beter.” Just as the gazelle disappears in a mountain cleft but continues forward unseen, so too the Redemption continues when concealed.
This, he teaches, is the test of our longing for salvation: to hold fast to faith not only when the Redeemer is visible, but especially when he seems absent.
🔑 Rav Kook’s Two Pillars of Yearning
- Faith: Even when Redemption seems stalled or regressing, we must believe Hashem is advancing it in ways beyond our vision.
- Action: What Rav Kook called “creative yearning” — seizing every opportunity to advance the Geulah through courage, mitzvot, and building Am Yisrael.
Rav Aviner concludes:
“When we face hardships, we must not despair but strengthen ourselves. This is not the first setback in our national rebirth — nor will it be the last. But if we rise with faith and courage, we will prove worthy of the challenge. And in the end, Am Yisrael will prevail.”
