21 Apr WHEN PROPHECY MEETS HISTORY: THE GRADUAL DAWN OF REDEMPTION

There is no doubt that
we are experiencing a
moment in history
unlike any our nation
has seen since the
days of King David
and Shlomo. For two
thousand years, we endured every form of
persecution in every corner of the world,
facing relentless and often vicious accusations.
We were charged with horrific crimes without
the ability to defend ourselves.
The world itself has not fundamentally

changed—even after the Holocaust, deep-
seated prejudices and accusations have not

disappeared. We continue to encounter old
narratives in new forms. Just as we were once
subject to blood libels of killing children, we
are still blamed and called baby killers. Just as
we were accused of controlling the world, we
continue to face those same claims—now
repackaged in modern forms, such as
accusations that Jews manipulate global
events or push America into a war for their
own benefit.
Public figures and political voices contribute
to these narratives, reflecting how enduring
and complex these perceptions remain across
different societies. Figures such as the Pope
have joined in criticizing the recent war, and
leaders in countries like Spain—the very land
of the Inquisition—position themselves at the
forefront of opposition to the Jewish people.
Yet something remarkable has changed. As
our Prime Minister has often emphasized, we
are no longer helpless. Today, we possess the
ability to defend ourselves—and we do so
with strength and success beyond all
expectations.
Rising Lion
The unimaginable success of the Jewish
nation is evident in many fields. Militarily, the
Israeli army is regarded as a world power,
known for its technological advancement,
intelligence capabilities, and operational
effectiveness. Economically, the shekel has
shown notable strength and resilience over
time, reflecting broader indicators of stability
and growth.
In innovation as well, Israel has earned the
reputation of a “Start-Up Nation,” producing
leading developments in cyber security,

agriculture, medical technology, and high-
tech industries that are used around the world.

Its contributions to science, medicine, and
technology continue to grow, often far
exceeding its size and resources.
Across many other areas—education,
research, culture, and humanitarian aid—its
achievements are striking and widely
recognized, reflecting a pattern of influence
and advancement that continues to expand.
On top of all this, in the Land of Israel the
Torah world is flourishing like never before.
Torah study is taking place in numbers

unprecedented in history, alongside
widespread acts of chesed and a growing
atmosphere of kedushah. Cities are filled with
Torah schools, yeshivot, and tinokot shel beit
rabban, creating vibrant centers of learning
and spiritual life throughout the land.
Step-by-Step Redemption- Talmud View
This very phenomenon is already described in
the Talmud and the Zohar as part of the
process preceding the coming of Mashiach in
the end of days—how Israel will rise slowly
and steadily, step by step, until it shines forth
upon all the nations of the world.
Chazal describe the process of the Geulah—
the final redemption—as unfolding in a
gradual manner. Contrary to popular belief, it
will not occur all at once, but rather slowly,
step by step. The Yerushalmi (Brachot 1,1)
opens with the following story: “Rabbi Chiya
bar Abba and Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta
were walking in the Valley of Arbel when they
saw the first light of dawn. Rabbi Chiya said:
So too is the redemption of Israel—at first it
comes little by little, but as it progresses, it
grows stronger and stronger.”
He compared it to the progression of the Jews
in the story of Purim, where the salvation
unfolded gradually:
“At first—‘Mordechai sat at the king’s gate’;
then—‘Haman took the royal garments and
the horse’; afterward—‘Mordechai returned
to the king’s gate’; then—‘Mordechai went
out from before the king in royal garments’;
and finally—‘the Jews had light and joy.’”
The Maharal (in his introduction to Ohr
Chadash on Megillat Esther), explains that
since the redemption comes from Hashem, it
does not occur all at once, but rather unfolds
in stages. It is impossible to ascend to the
highest level of redemption in a single
moment.
The reason for this, as the Midrash Tanchuma
(Dvarim 1,2) explains, is that when Hashem
reveals His light upon Israel, He does not
bestow all of His goodness at once, because
they would not be able to endure such an
overwhelming abundance. If He were to grant
His full goodness in a single moment, they
would all perish.
For this reason, Chazal compare the
redemption to a deer, which advances through
swift leaps—one jump after another. So too
the Geulah: beginning from the lowly state of
Israel in exile and striving toward the highest
heights, it must proceed gradually and cannot
come all at once.
Chazal explain that just as the night is
completely dark, so too was the exile—filled
with unimaginable suffering of every kind.
Just as the darkness before dawn is the deepest
darkness—as the Midrash Shocher Tov
teaches (68)—so too, Israel experienced its
greatest suffering, as in the Holocaust, just
before returning to its land (see also Kli Yakar,
Shemot 6,1).

Then, as the day begins, a faint light appears
on the horizon and gradually grows brighter
and stronger. So too is the redemption: it does
not come all at once, but rather unfolds slowly,
as Israel becomes stronger and stronger
gradually over time. At the moment when a
ray of light first begins to shine, the sky is still
mostly dark. So too is the beginning of the
Geulah: it does not happen all at once. When
it begins, there is already some light—
glimpses of success—yet much darkness and
suffering still remain. But as time progresses,
the light grows stronger and the darkness
fades. In the same way, Israel continues to
grow stronger, and the suffering gradually
diminishes, until finally, the sun emerges in
full strength, shining with complete intensity.
And just as anything that comes too close to
the sun is consumed by its power, so too will
Israel stand in its ultimate strength.
Today, that which our grandparents yearned
for over generations—we are privileged to
witness with our own eyes.
The Zohar Words
The Zohar (Bereshit 160,1) also follows this
principle: “‘Mi zot hanishkafah’—this refers
to Israel. When Hashem will raise them up
and bring them out of exile, He will first open
for them a very small, thin opening of light.
Afterwards, He will open another gate,
slightly larger than the first, until He
eventually opens for them the higher gates
that face all four directions of the world.
This is comparable to a person who has been
sitting in darkness all his life. When one wants
to illuminate him, one does not suddenly
flood him with great light. Rather, one first
introduces a small ray of light—like the eye
of a needle—then a slightly larger light, and
so on, gradually increasing it, until the full
light is revealed properly.”
The Malbim
The Malbim (Micha 4,8) also explains this
process in detail, describing the restoration of
the Jewish people as a “strong fortress” that
will unfold in three stages:
1. Those exiled from Yehuda and Binyamin
will begin to return to Tzion.
2. A “small government” will emerge, similar
to the period before the first monarchy in
Israel, led by shoftim (judges). (It is
remarkable to note that he describes a stage in
which the country would be led by judges
rather than leaders, or a prime minister, etc.
Some have observed that in today’s reality,
the judicial system plays a very significant
role in the governance and legal framework of
the state, influencing many aspects of life in
the country.)
3. Ultimately, there will be the establishment
of the Malchut Beit David, the Davidic
kingdom.
Is Zionism Compatible with the Torah View?
Contrary to the popular belief that Zionism

was purely a secular movement, some of its
earliest founders were devout rabbis:
Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer (1795–1874), a
student of Rabbi Akiva Eiger, was one of the
earliest and most influential rabbinic voices to
articulate a religious framework for Jewish
return to Eretz Yisrael in the modern era.
At the core of his ideology was the belief that
redemption does not come through miraculous
intervention, but unfolds through natural
historical processes initiated by human action.
He strongly rejected the idea that Jews must
remain passive in exile while waiting for
divine redemption. Instead, he argued that the
nation has a responsibility to actively pursue
settlement in the Land of Israel, agricultural
development, and communal rebuilding, even
before the arrival of Mashiach.
In his seminal work Derishat Tzion (“Seeking
Zion”), which received many warm rabbinic
approbations (haskamot), including from the
Malbim and Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, Rabbi
Kalischer outlines a vision in which the
ingathering of the exiles and the rebuilding of
the Land are not contradictions to faith, but
rather expressions of it.
A key element of his thought is the idea of
“natural redemption” (geulah tiv’it), meaning
that historical processes themselves can serve
as instruments of divine providence. In this
framework, political sovereignty, economic
development, and settlement activity are not
merely secular developments, but potential
stages in a larger redemptive unfolding.
Rabbi Kalischer also emphasized practical
steps: encouraging agricultural training,
supporting Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael,
and establishing institutions that would enable
a self-sustaining Jewish presence in the land.
He saw these efforts as not only permissible
but spiritually significant, potentially
hastening the final redemption.
Although controversial in his time, his ideas
later became foundational for various
religious Zionist approaches, which saw in his
writings an early articulation of the concept
that redemption can develop gradually
through historical and national revival rather
than occurring solely through sudden
supernatural transformation.
In this sense, Rabbi Kalischer’s ideology
represents a shift in emphasis: from waiting
for redemption to participating in its
unfolding.
Rabbi Yehuda Kalischer expresses the idea of
gradual redemption:
“The redemption of Israel for which we await
should not be imagined as something that will

come suddenly—
where Hashem will
descend from Heaven
to earth and say to
His people, ‘Go
forth,’ or that He will
send His Mashiach in
an instant from the heavens to sound the great
shofar for the dispersed of Israel, gather them
to Jerusalem, and surround it with a wall of
fire.
Certainly, all the prophecies will be fulfilled
in the end of days, and not a single word will
be lost, Heaven forbid. But it will not occur in
haste, nor in a single day. Rather, the
redemption of Israel will come little by little.
The beginning of the redemption will be
through an awakening of generous spirits and
through the will of the nations to gather some
of the dispersed of Israel to the Holy Land…
And when many of the dispersed of Israel will
be in the Holy Land and in Jerusalem, and
they will offer their sacrifices as a pleasing
fragrance to Hashem, then it will be will
before the Master of all to bestow upon His
people the light of Ruach HaKodesh.”
This passage powerfully reinforces the central
theme: redemption is not a sudden miracle,
but a gradual, unfolding process—beginning
with human initiative and culminating in
divine revelation.

Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai
Another rabbi was Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai, a
student of Rabbi Eliezer Papo- the Pele Yoets,
who was among the early rabbinic figures to
advocate for active Jewish settlement in Eretz
Yisrael. He developed a religious framework
that emphasized human initiative in the
process of redemption, arguing that the return
to the Land of Israel should be advanced
through practical steps such as organized
settlement, communal cooperation, and the
establishment of Jewish agricultural life in the
land.
Rabbi Alkalai viewed these efforts not as a
replacement for divine redemption, but as part
of the unfolding process through which
Geulah would gradually emerge. He drew on
classical sources to support the idea that Israel
has a role to play in preparing the conditions
for its own national restoration, thereby
hastening the fulfillment of prophetic
redemption.
Those rabbis lived roughly fifty years before
the emergence of modern secular Zionist
figures such as Theodor Herzl, and in many
ways they helped lay the ideological
groundwork that later influenced the
development of the Zionist movement, rather
than the other way around.

Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal
Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal (1885–
1945), author of Eim HaBanim Semeichah,
was one of the most striking rabbinic figures of
the 20th century to radically reassess his earlier
views on Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael in
light of the Holocaust.
Originally a member of the Hungarian
Orthodox establishment, Rabbi Teichtal
initially opposed active Zionist initiatives and
held the prevailing view in his environment
that redemption would come only through
divine intervention, not human-driven national
rebuilding. However, during the horrors of
World War II, as he witnessed the destruction
of European Jewry firsthand, he underwent a
profound intellectual and spiritual
transformation.
In Eim HaBanim Semeichah, written while in
hiding during the war, he argues passionately
that the Jewish people had erred in remaining
passive regarding the rebuilding of Eretz
Yisrael. He re-examines classical sources and
concludes that redemption is not meant to be
awaited in passivity, but rather pursued through
action—particularly through settling the Land
of Israel, strengthening Jewish unity, and
taking responsibility for national restoration.
A central theme of his work is that human
initiative is not a contradiction to faith, but part

of the divine plan. He interprets historical
suffering as a wake-up call, urging Am Yisrael
to engage in practical steps toward redemption
rather than relying solely on miraculous
intervention.
Summary
When we think about Zionism, it is important
to distinguish between different meanings of

the term. Secular Zionism is a national-
political ideology that is independent of Torah

values which is negative. However, Zionism as
an idea of return to Eretz Yisrael has deep roots
within Torah sources and rabbinic thought long
before its modern political expression.
Of course, there are many different approaches
within this discussion—from rejectionist
views such as those associated with Satmar, to
various intermediate positions—but I felt it
important to highlight voices that are often
overlooked. These rabbinic figures are
frequently not given a platform in popular
discourse, despite the fact that their vision, in
many respects, has unfolded before our own
eyes in remarkable ways.