A Microcosm of Mashiach

In Noah’s ark, there were all types of animals, beasts of prey and docile types, and yet the predators did not consume the ordinary animals.

Now one of the prophecies that describe the era of Mashiach is “a wolf will dwell with a lamb,” that the beasts of prey will lose their destructive tendencies and dwell peacefully with other created beings. That, however, is a prophecy of the ultimate future. In Noach’s time, it had not been fulfilled — as evidenced by the fact that once let out of the ark, the predators did indeed prey on the other animals. Why then did they not do so in the ark?

In resolution, chassidic thought explains that Noach’s ark was a microcosm of the era of Mashiach. The same environment of peace and tranquility that will pervade the world at large during the era of Mashiach permeated Noach’s ark.

This provides a lesson for all of us. Although the world at large was not on a Messianic level of awareness, Noach was able to motivate his own immediate environment to reach that level. Similarly, in our own lives, each of us can live in the spirit of the redemption, anticipating the knowledge and harmony of that future era in our present experience.

Furthermore, doing so is the most effective catalyst to having this awareness spread throughout the world at large. For as more people come into contact with a Mashiach-minded person, one whose principles and values reflect that ultimate age, they will gravitate towards him and seek to emulate his conduct and in that way, make Mashiach a more tangible concept for each of us and for all of us.

Shabbat Shalom!

Candle lighting time in NYC: 5:56 PM