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Copy Right 2022

Rabbi Dr Zvi Aviner

IDOLATRY-9/   

The Awesome, End of Days’ Judgment

 

 

Since Moses words about the Six Days are credible,

so should his words about Adam be credible.

After all, Moses’ goal is NOT to tell us about nature

as much as about ourselves, and our relation with G-d.

 

Moses says, that on the Sixth Day, before the Sabbath,

ELHM announced the creation of Adam.

Like with all creatures before him, ELHM, the All-Mighty JUDGE,

created Adam to withstand a trial and a judgment.

 

Harsh as He is, ELHM is just and fair. He wouldn’t place us in a trial

without informing us its terms: what we need to do to win it,

and what would happen if we lose it.

 

What does ELHM expect from Adam? 

You see that in the Text.

It says that on the Sixth Day, before making Adam,

ELHM Judged all the creatures that He had created earlier on that Day,

and He said that “It was good.”

 

Then, after making Adam, at the End of the Sixth Day,

He passed a new judgment – on all the Six Days,

the entire six Floors building, including Adam,

judging if they have become Very Good.

 

As it says:

“And ELHM saw everything that He had done

And behold, it was Very Good.

and it was evening, and it was morning, Day Six.” (Genesis 1: 31)

 

Hence, the fate of the entire Six Days, depends on this End of Days judgment.

Since CREATION can’t elevate itself from being good to be very good,

it would be up to Adam to accomplish that remarkable task.

 

It is Adam, rather than CREATION, who should become

Very Good in ELHM’s eyes.

 

Note that although the verse uses the past tense,

the Rabbis said that the Chapter was written as if it had happened,

from the point of view of the CREATOR, telling us what He expects to happen.

 

Note also that our week is only a memorial of the Six Days of CREATION,

and our Sabbath is only a memorial for the next Day, the Eternal Sabbath,

also called “the Sabbath to come,” as we chant every Friday night.

 

Let’s note that for Adam, being just good as all other creatures before him,

wouldn’t be good enough in ELHM’s eyes.

In ELHM’s eyes, Adam should be more than just another ‘good’ animal

on the line of CREATION, an extension of the Evolution.

 

Adam should elevate himself to be more than an animal,

more than a mere ‘Homo Sapience’, a smart creature,

in order to be deemed “Very good” in ELKM’s eyes.

 

 

ERLHM, the CREATOR of Nature, wishes us to be more

than an end product of the Evolution.

 

(The Nazis preached that Man should be

strong and merciless, like animals in the jingle,) .

 

What exactly should Adam do, to be deemed ‘Very Good’ in ELHM’s eyes?

 We’ve already said that by speaking in plural at Adam creation

ELHM opened the door for idolaters to err.

Adam should, at least, overcome the IDOLATRY challenge,

to be Very Good in ELHM’s eyes.

 

 But there is another aspect of Adam’s End of Days trial.

We should recall that all creatures made at the end of a Day,

were judged – at the end of their Day –

whether or not they could support the next Day.

 

If they could, they were deemed ‘good,

and were allowed to live into the next Day.

if they could not, they were eliminated to nothingness.

 

Since Adam was made at the End of the Sixth Day,

he faces a similar trial. He would win it,

if he could   support the next Day,

which is the Seventh Day of CREATION,

the so-called Eternal Sabbath.

 

 

Now, what is exactly the Eternal Sabbath?

As the Torah says, the Sabbath is the Day In which

ELHM the JUDGE will ABSTAIN from doing more work,

ABSTAIN from more creating and ABSTAIN from more JUDGING.

(The Hebrew word “shabat” means abstained, not ‘rested.’ )

 

In the Sabbath Day of CREATION,

there will be no death and no birth,

no sorrow and no sickness and no calamities.

It is a Day full of Holiness, Joy and endless Love.

 

Since ELHM Abstains from ruling on the Sabbath,

who controls it?

 

Here is the answer:

YHVH, who is another Attribute of the Infinite, Nameless CREATOR, rules the Sabbath.

Her presence filles the Sabbath with Holiness and Joy.

On Earth, ‘She’ exercise MERCY, COMPASSION, FORGIVENESS and HOLINESS.

 

What is the meaning of YHVH?

YHVH is a Hebrew acronym for “He was, He is, and He will be.”

YHVH is pronounced as an acronym, letter by letter,

as you’d pronounce CNN, ABC, NBC, no vowels between the consonants.

 

Hence, to win his “End of Days” Judgment, Adam is expected to:

win the IDOLATRY trial,

‘proof’ to ELHM that he, Adam, can support the Sabbath,

can do YHVH work while living in the Sixth Day.

 

 

 

 

 What are the possible outcomes of the ‘End of Days’ trial?

The answer is given in the verse that says:

 

“And ELHM finished on the Seventh Day

 all the work that He had done,

 and He abstained on the Seventh Day

from all the work that He had done” (Genesis 2: 2-3)

 

Thus, at the end of the Sixth Day, our Day,

ELHM will judge all the work that He has done, including Adam.

 

if Adam is found Very Good, ELHM would ‘simply’ “finish’ – end – His work,

abstain from more work, more judgment, and enter the Sabbath Day,

along with Adam and the entire Six Days.

 

 But if Adam has failed to be deemed Very Good,

Or he has become only ‘good’ as all other animals before him,

ELHM would finish – terminate with wrath – all the work that He had done,

the entire Six Floor Building, including Man.

 

But here is a challenge:

How could Adam, made by ELHM, feel the

MERCY, COMPASSION, FORGIVENESS HOLINESS JOY and LOVE

of the Eternal Sabbath, while he lives on our Sixth Day?

How would Adam ever support the Sabbath, to be Very Good?

 

ELHM, the CREATOR of Nature, would not prepare him for that,

by panting MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENSS in his heart as a natural reflex,

for those features are the opposite of ELHM’s features!

 

 And another challenge to Adam’s trial.

Since Adam would be endowed with Free Will and bad inclinations,

How could he withstand ELHM’s scrutiny for long?

He would surely sin sooner or later – and then destroyed!

How could he ever hope to see the Sabbath!

 

These two obstacles faced Adam:

He would have to win his tough IDOLATRY trial,

and prepare himself on the Sixth Day to enter and support the Sabbath!

 

In fact, tradition says (Rashi) that in the past,

ELHM had created many other Universes,

and then terminated them, for no one there

could become Very Good.

 

This time, in this Universe,

ELHM wishes to end our Universe differently.

This time, He ‘LONGS’ to Enter the Sabbath,

like a GROOM longing to meet his BRIDE.

 

A hint for that is given in the verse describing the Sabbath, saying:

“And ELHM ended – khalah – all His Work that He had done.”

 

 The miraculous word “khalah” has a triple meanings:

Khalah – finished, ended,

Khalah – a bride,

Khalah – to consume with anger to ashes, to nothingness.

 

Indeed, what is a bride if not someone your heart is ‘consumed’ with desire and love?

 

 Thus, ELHM poses our world two options:

‘At the End of Days Judgment,

either He meets His Bride, the khalah, the Sabbath, whom He longs so much to see,

otherwise. –  khalah! He would consume the world to nothingness, as He had done to other Universes before!

 

As we’ve said,

Since the world can’t improve itself to be Very Good,

Since nature can be ‘good’ at best,

that task falls on the tiny shoulders of Adam, and he is expected

to “escort ELHM towards His Bride, the sabbath.”

 

To help Adam fulfil his enormous task,

ELHM in His Kindness made some concessions towards him.