Mashiach ben Yosef works through natural ways and in a gradual manner, although his era is awesomely spectacular.
Jerusalem Talmud, Berachot 1:1, pg.4b: “Just like the dawn breaks through a ray of light which expands little by little, and as it continues becomes brighter and brighter, so the Geulah (Redemption) of Israel in the beginning comes in little by little and as it continues grows more and more.”
The fact that it is being done slowly comes through human agency (MBY) whereas what is seen coming directly from G-d is done instantly (this is MBD).
In contrast, Mashiach ben David succeeds MBY. The Davidic era is miraculous, and as the Prophets describe, it is beyond the awesome quality of MBY’s era. [The Vilna Gaon writes: “MBY is a natural process prior to MBD era which is miraculous. MBY’s era is what the Talmud is referring to when it says there is no difference between the messianic era and this world except subjugation” (Berachot 34)].
But first things first, one must understand the process of MBY’s era which leads directly to ultimate Redemption (MBD’s era). Understanding MBY, is understanding how the Redemption Process occurs.
(Reshit Chochmah, Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas)
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MBY
Mashiach ben Yosef works through natural ways and in a gradual manner, although his era is awesomely spectacular.
Jerusalem Talmud, Berachot 1:1, pg.4b: “Just like the dawn breaks through a ray of light which expands little by little, and as it continues becomes brighter and brighter, so the Geulah (Redemption) of Israel in the beginning comes in little by little and as it continues grows more and more.”
The fact that it is being done slowly comes through human agency (MBY) whereas what is seen coming directly from G-d is done instantly (this is MBD).
In contrast, Mashiach ben David succeeds MBY. The Davidic era is miraculous, and as the Prophets describe, it is beyond the awesome quality of MBY’s era. [The Vilna Gaon writes: “MBY is a natural process prior to MBD era which is miraculous. MBY’s era is what the Talmud is referring to when it says there is no difference between the messianic era and this world except subjugation” (Berachot 34)].
But first things first, one must understand the process of MBY’s era which leads directly to ultimate Redemption (MBD’s era). Understanding MBY, is understanding how the Redemption Process occurs.
(Reshit Chochmah, Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas)
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HaShem Strengthens His Anointed One’s (Rosh HaShanah Torah portion note)
“The foes of HaShem shall be shattered; He will thunder against them in the heavens. HaShem will judge the ends of the earth. He will give power to His king, and triumph to His anointed one.” – (1.Sam.2:10)
The two Meshichim
(“He will give power to His king…”): this is MBD – King Mashiach as it is written, “Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” (Ps.110:1).
And
(“And triumph to His anointed one”): this is MBY, who is alluded to at the birth of Yosef when his mother Rachel exclaimed, “G-d has taken away my disgrace” (Gen.30:23): with prophetic vision she foresaw that an “anointed savior” will descend from Yosef and that he will remove the disgrace of Israel (Isa.4:1). In this context she called his name “Yossef, saying ‘Yossef HaShem – may G-d add to me ben acher (lit., another son), i.e., ben acharono shel olam – one who will be at the end of the world’s time (Agadat Mashiach, Lekach Tov, Num.24:17), from which it follows that ‘meshu’ach milchamah – one anointed for battle’ will descend from Yosef (Midrash Yelamdenu, cited in Kuntres Acharon of Yalkut Shimoni, pg.81, par 20; also see Torah Shelemah, Gen.30:23-24, par. 84 and 89).
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“I am Yosef your brother – whom you sold into Egypt ” (Gen 45:4)
The Kotzker Rebbe said: Is this a fitting way for Yosef HaTzaddik to behave? Do the righteous behave in such a way? His very first meeting where he revealed himself to his brothers, when the tears of emotion were still flowing, is it fitting to remind his brothers of their transgression, of the evil deed that they had committed. Instead, says the Kotzker Rebbe, Yosef really planned to say to his brothers, “I am Yosef your brother.” I am the same Yosef, just as I was when you parted from me at the time that you sold me to the Egyptians. I have not been corrupted by this filthy, depraved country. You have no reason to worry that perhaps you caused me to become defiled. “I am Yosef your brother’’—fitting to be your brother, a son of Yaakov, same as before, at the time “that you sold me to the Egyptians.”
Both the redemption process of Yosef (MBY) and the individual go unnoticed, we read in the work Kol HaTor:
“Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him — This is one of the traits of Yosef not only in his own generation, but in every generation, i.e., that Mashiach ben Yosef recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him. This is the work of Satan, who hides the characteristics of Mashiach ben Yosef so that the footsteps of the Mashiach are not recognized and are even belittled because of our many sins. Otherwise, our troubles would already have ended. Were Israel to recognize Yosef, that is, the footsteps of ben Yosef the Mashiach which is the ingathering of the exiles etc., then we would already have been redeemed with a complete redemption.”
Kol HaTor 2:39, translated by R’ Yechiel Bar Lev and K. Skaist, pg. 37
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Eisav, MBY & the Quality of Deception
Above we mentioned Eisav’s quality of “רמאות”, “deceptiveness”, which is emphasized by numerous midrashim (Tanchuma 8, Bereishis Rabbah 63:10, Midrash HaGadol 27:8, among others).
In truth, this middah of “deceptiveness” is not necessarily an evil one. It all depends on its application and intention. In Eisav’s case he utilized deceptiveness for selfish and evil ends. However, the Vilna Gaon teaches (Kol HaTor 1:2(14) and 2:104) that one of the tools used by Mashiach ben Yosef in the mission of tikun olam is secrecy and deceptiveness.
This is because the world is resistant to rectification. The evil that increased in the world is a force that is not receptive to being elevated and rectified, and this presents the difficulty of man’s, and primarily Mashiach ben Yosef’s, challenge toward tikun olam.
What is thus required is a strategy in which the resistant force of creation to rectification can be circumvented. This is where deception finds it holy and spiritual application.
Take for example the case of a young child who is sick and needs to take a particularly unpleasant medicine in order to get better. The parent finds the immature child unwilling to take the medicine they need, and unwilling to listen to reason. The parent, seeing that the direct approach is not working, places the medicine within a sweet tasting candy substance and gives it to the child, who is more than happy to ingest the medicine, although he is unaware that he has done so.
In the above example, although the parent has acted deceptively, they have helped the child get better, and only did so as a last resort, when no other means was available. The parent has in fact done the right thing and acted with the child’s best interests in mind.
This demonstrates how deception and secrecy, at times, can be the tools Mashiach ben Yosef uses to achieve tikun olam. Through acting, at times, in secrecy and with manipulation, Mashiach ben Yosef can circumvent the negative forces of creation that strive to prevent the redemption process from taking place. Some examples of such conspiring individuals who acted with holy intent, for the sake of tikun olam, include Rivka’s deception of Yitzchak, Leah’s deception of Yaakov, Tamar’s deception of Yehudah, and Yosef’s deception of his brothers (see Bereishis 27, 29, 38 and 42).
We thus find that Yaakov, in beginning to manifest the qualities of Mashiach ben Yosef, instead of Eisav; utilized deceptiveness for holiness and for the sake of tikun olam, when he deceived his father and took the blessings. (R’ Daniel Krentzman)