Birth-Pangs

Pregnancy, labor & birth and their relevance to Moshiach

ח ב ל י    מ ש י ח

7 Insights

o f     M o s h i a c h

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Zion has gone into Labor

• Zion is like “Ziun” which means a “mark” in Hebrew.
• When Jewishness is reduced to miniscule form (just a mark).  
• And truth goes into hiding.
• And falsehood is celebrating.
• Like pregnancy, when the baby is tiny, hidden, and adverse side effects befall the mother.

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Such times are called “Gola” in Hebrew (גולה)

And like Pregnancy,

Gola worsens over time...

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There is also something new and wonderful developing during Gola –

Like the baby during pregnancy –

That’s the “Geula” (גאולה).

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Zion has given birth

Both pregnancy (Gola) and the baby (Geula) reach full maturity at the birth.

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Births have pangs...

What do we learn from this?

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Do We Need Gola?

• Why become pregnant?
• It can get very painful.  It’s a commitment.  And life will completely change once it’s over.
• That’s all true.
• But nevertheless people still choose to go through it. 
• We want the baby and that’s the only way to get it. 
• Gola is so bad – no one wants it.  Even (and especially) G-d Himself. 
• But it’s worth it, because that’s how we’ll ultimately achieve the Geula.

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What is Geula?

• Uneducated?  First pregnancy? 
• Pregnancy is a natural process.  Once pregnant, no need to do anything special. 
• (Except for looking after your general health, please) 
• At least in the first few months.
• But further into the pregnancy, need to prepare.  There’s a birth coming!
• Same thing with Geula.  Ignorance here is not bliss. 
• Especially toward the end of Gola, we need to know what Geula is about
• And ensure we’re ready for it. 

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Gola in Geula

• First is health.
• Monitor the baby during the pregnancy.
• But focus on the mother.
• Not only for her own health, but also, everything the baby needs before the birth comes from her.
• Similarly, the Geula is fashioned during and through Gola.
• Geula is in Gola, albeit hidden.

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Birth-pangs?  Get Ready!

• Easy births are great. 
• If you’re ready.
• To ensure you are, birth-pangs are signs that the birth is coming up.
• So that you quickly prepare for it.
• The signs of Geula tell us to make no mistake.  It’s about to happen. 
• So that we get ready for it.
• “Would I [G-d] bring to the birth-stool and not cause to give birth?!”

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Before the Birth - New Context

• We said earlier to focus on the mother in the beginning of the pregnancy, not the baby.
• Come time to give birth, we’re still looking after the mother.  For sure!  But in the labor ward.
• What’s changed?
• The whole context changes:  Hyper-care, excitement, everyone is teamed up and engaged with the birth to help make it happen.
• A healthy mother means spiritual endurance during Gola.  Jewish survival.  That’s what we’ve fought for all along.
• But the birth-pangs of Moshiach at the end of Gola direct our focus toward the emerging Geula.
• That becomes the context and purpose of everything we do.

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Geula in a Flash

• Labor is very hard.
• The sky could be falling.
• “What will be?!” – every laboring woman cries.
• But in a flash 
  • Not only the pain subsides (as if it never was), 
  • The baby we’ve been yearning for comes out, safe and sound.
• Wow.  Amazing turnaround! 
• We see lots of bad in the world.  Increasing.  On all levels.  These are the negative/external facets of Gola.  
• What will be?
• But in a flash 
  • Not only will it all die down, 
  • A new, much-awaited bonus / context will come into the picture.  Geula. 

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We Celebrate Revelation

• You just had a baby! – Congratulations!  Mazal Tov!
• But what’s the novelty we’re getting excited about?
  • You – the mother – are (slowly) getting back to your old self, and
  • The new-born baby is not really new.  It was there all along.
• However, the birth has revealed it all.  Life is not the same now.
• All the good things (Geula) are all here during Gola also.  But they are hidden. 
• Moshiach will bring them out into the open.
• That’s what we’ll celebrate.

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