"I Reserve Judgment..."

23 Heshvan 5778

Part of the message from the hozeh Nir ben Artzi, as posted on the front page of his Web site, Ta'ir Neri. I don't know how long it will remain there.

 We heard from The Absolute Truth by way of English translation that the hozeh Nir ben Artzi said last week that HQB"H is ready to reveal who Mashiah is. The question is when.

UPDATE from Shirat Devorah: Rav Menachem [Robinson, who blogs The Absolute Truth,] has had a stroke in his cerebellum. Pray and say tehillim for Menachem Berel ben Rivka.

Note: There seems to be a controversy in Shirat Devorah's comment section over whether to include Berel in R' Menachem's name. Having read it, I'd say that both ways are OK. But you can figure it out for yourself there (link above). FURTHER NOTE: Mrs. Robinson posted on her husband's blog a little while ago and says it's Menachem Ben Rifka.

Many thanks to Shirat Devorah for being our conduit of information in this matter, and to Mrs. Robinson for straightening us out!

***

I replied to an anonymous commenter on Reb Dov Bear bar Leib's blog, End of Days, who said the following:

The message of Nir Ben Artzi on how Moshiach will be revealed just doesn't sound right.
H', when HE deems it's time, He will see to it that we will know and the world will know. How, where, what and when is something only HKB'H knows! 

Reb ben Artzi haHozeh doesn't sit down and calculate. He sees visions; that's what Hozeh means. All he's telling is what he saw.


[Maybe I should have said it more like this: "A Hozeh, such as Reb ben Artzi, doesn't sit down and calculate..." I don't actually know what he does or how he does it. This note is not in the original message. -CDG]

I would reserve judgment for now if I were you or anyone else who questions right now, for positive or negative. We as a people have been through so much, for so long, it's hard to tell what's going on.

Reserving judgment means saying neither yes nor no. To give a negative example, HQB"H told Lavan haRasha, who was about to approach his son-in-law Yaaqov Avinu after the latter had left to return to his father's house, in Bereshith 31:24:

כד  וַיָּבֹ֧א אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־לָבָ֥ן הָֽאֲרַמִּ֖י בַּֽחֲלֹ֣ם הַלָּ֑יְלָה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ הִשָּׁ֧מֶר לְךָ֛ פֶּן־תְּדַבֵּ֥ר עִם־יַֽעֲקֹ֖ב מִטּ֥וֹב עַד־רָֽע

24 And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night, and He said to him, "Beware lest you speak with Jacob either good or evil." (Chabad translation)

Meaning, say nothing at all. L'havdil, perhaps this word from Reb ben Artzi is a test for us all. We must never doubt that haShem will redeem us. The questions, as always, are when and through whom.

Speaking of "through whom," I have always wondered how HaShem is going to get around the spiritual leaders of the nation to bring us Redemption, and with it our Righteous King Mashiah, Sanhedrin and Levitical Priesthood.

Remember that the 10 Spies who opposed Moshe Rabbenu were also the leaders of the nation, and they spoiled it for everyone, necessitating a 40-year-long wait until we could enter the Land.

I cannot, nay must not, leave it there. I don't want to accuse all rabbis of keeping geula from us, or us from geula. But, too many are: too fast, too slow, going in the wrong direction, making divisions among Jews where there were none before, and so on. It has been said many times, even here on this blog, that most rabbis at the end of days will be Erev Rav.

The rest is history...until, possibly, now, be"H.

Could it be that HQB"H is now offering a perfect solution: Putting the revelation of Mashiah's identity into the hands and mouths of the very ones who would keep us from attaining redemption? And threatening pressure on them if they choose not to?

We will have to keep our eyes open and watch carefully. Reb ben Artzi has put his entire life on the line here, putting this message right on the home page of his Web site! If he's wrong, all 7734 (turn upside down to see what the word is) will break loose and he may not survive it. I shudder to think what would happen to his family, too.

I hope he's right, but I dare not say "yes!" yet. Reserving judgment gives me a way out without doing harm to him or to our people. And it leaves the door open for geula, if he is right, rather than slamming the door in its face, so to speak, and automatically making him wrong even if he would have been right.

I wait with 'bated breath for the results.

How about you?

***

I repeat, please pray for Menachem (or Menachem Berel) ben Rivka. Thank you.

UPDATE: I knew there was something I forgot! See R' Lazer Brody's take on current events leading to geula shlemah on video here.

UPDATE: Devorah from Shirat Devorah, quoting Reb Menachem Robinson's daughter's FB page 15/11/17:
He’s still in the ICU. He’s on a respirator and can’t move. His condition has not improved. Please keep praying for him. Menachem ben Rivka