Prophecies Unfolding: A New Horizon

Alongside prophecies that warned of the curses that would befall us from abandoning the Torah, there were also prophecies that revealed that there would eventually be an end to the exile and suffering. These foretold that the people would embark on a path leading toward complete redemption. Many prophecies addressed events that would occur in the period preceding this redemption.

In our generation, we have an advantage that past generations did not. Previously, one needed a strong faith to believe that the prophecies of redemption would be fulfilled at any moment. Observers of past events did not notice encouraging signs. In contrast, today, we witness the miraculous fulfillment of prophecies in unforeseen ways.

For instance, can one find a rational explanation for the fact that Germany and its allies conquered so many countries during World War II, yet stopped at the gates of the Land of Israel? How can one comprehend that after the terrible Holocaust, which destroyed a third of our people, the surviving remnant gathered specifically in the Land of Israel? No one could have predicted these phenomena.

Only divine providence orchestrated these wondrous events, and therefore could announce them in advance through the prophets: 'But on Mount Zion there will be deliverance; it will be holy.' (Obadiah 1:17). The Land of Israel has started to flourish again. After many years of desolation and destruction, we now witness its blooming with our own eyes.

This, too, was foretold millennia ago, as it is written in the Scriptures: 'But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home.' (Ezekiel 36:8). As the sages said: 'Rabbi Abba said: There is no more revealed end than this – when the Land of Israel gives its fruit bountifully, the end will be near.' 'It provides you with signs before his (the Messiah's) coming, to know when he is near.' (Sanhedrin 98a, Rashi and Ramah there).

Another phenomenon that might astonish any observer is the growing wave of *teshuva*, or return to Jewish observance. Realists once predicted, just decades ago, that the image of the religious Jew would soon vanish.

It was believed that in a generation or two, Jews who observe Torah and mitzvot would be relics of the past. Yet, not only did this prediction fail entirely, but rather than diminishing, the number of study benches in the houses of learning increased. Moreover, even the descendants of those realists who forecast the decline of religious Judaism are now joining the circle of Torah observance.

This surprising trend is explicitly mentioned in the Torah: 'When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you... and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him...' (Deuteronomy 30:1-2). According to the Torah, troubles and loss of direction will lead to a return to Hashem and His commandments.

We still do not fully grasp the entire meaning and scope of the *teshuva* phenomenon, but it is known that many years ago, the prophet Amos described it vividly (Amos 8:11): 'The days are coming, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I will send a famine through the land - not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.'

Today's great thirst for spirituality, which encompasses wide segments of the population, is not a passing phase or a chance occurrence; rather, it is closely linked to the soul of the nation, with the prophets having pointed to its coming long ago. All these signs, along with countless others not mentioned here, serve as a prelude to the coming redemption.

The signs unfolding before our eyes testify to a great era that is about to dawn, to the fulfillment of the generations' dream, to the great love of the Creator walking with His children through history, step by step, toward the complete future destiny.