The Challenge Before Moshiach

See also

• Normalization

Research

• "Living in the Age of Sexual Temptation" in Douglas Braun-Harvey MA, MFT, CGP, CST, Michael A. Vigorito LMFT, LCPC, CGP - Treating out of control sexual behavior - rethinking sex addiction-Springer Publishing Company (2016) p. 65 and on.
• Triple A: "Accessibility, Affordability, and Anonymity" - Al Cooper. Cyber Psychology & Behavior. Jan 1998.187-193.http://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.1998.1.187. See also here.
• Coolidge effect. Read about it here.

Torah Sources

• ר' צדוק הכהן מלובלין - צדקת הצדיק אות צה: בימי הנעורים רתיחת התאוה מתגברת ואז מרבה חטאים מצד היצר רע רחמנא ליצלן והם חטאת נעורים וזה היה בדור המבול כמו שנאמר שם (בראשית ח, כא) כי יצר וגו' מנעוריו. וגם כן מסגל טוב הרבה מצד היצר טוב וחשקות לדברי תורה, וזה היה דור המדבר כמו שנאמר (ירמיה ב, ב) וזכרתי לך חסד נעוריך והם עצמם אותם הנפשות כמו שמובא בזוהר פנחס (רטז סוף ע"א) עיין שם, דהיו ראוים לקבל תורה במבול אילו זכו ונשמת משה היתה שם. ודורו של משיח אז יהיה פעם שלישי אותו דור בסוד מה שנאמר (תהלים קג, ה) תחדש כנשר נעוריכי ואז יהיה התיקון הגמור שבאות בערבוביא חטאת נעורים וחסד נעורים והטוב יתגבר על הרע ויהפכו לטוב.

• כתב החפץ חיים זצ"ל (הובא בספר חפץ חיים על נ"ך הוצאת הרב ש. חרל"פ עמ' קכ"ג) "שבסוף הגלות כאשר הוא כעת יש מלחמה נוראה מאד בין הקדושה לטומאה, והטומאה מפיל חצים נוראים וכוי ולא נשאר מן המלחמה שלמים בכל אבריהם כי אם מועטים, הם השרידים אשר ה' קורא והם הגבורים האמיתיים והס הם הבעלי תורה וכוי כל אחד לפי מדרגתו שמזרזים שאר עבדים שיעבדו עבודתו באמונה". והגהייצ רי אליהו לופיאן זצייל הוסיף לבאר את הדברים, דכמו בכל מלחמה כשמגיע שעת ההכרעה מי יהיה המנצח ומי יהיה המנוצח אז מגבירים שני הצדדים כל הכוחות שיש להם, כן נמי בסוף הגלות שעת הכרעה היא, שהמרכבה הטמאה שהיא הממשלת זדון יודעת שעוד מעט היא תכלה לגמרי מן הארץ, לכן היא מתאזרת בכל הכוחות להדיח ח"ו את ישראל ולרחקם מאת השי"ת כאשר אנו רואיס עתה בעוונותינו הרבים (עי' לב אליהו חייב עמי קי"ב באריכות, וכענין זה מצינו בתוס' יו"ט אבות פ"ה מ"ה):
  • "ולא אירע קרי לכ"ג ביום הכפורים - יש מי שהקשה ולמה יארע לו קרי אחר שהיה מזרזין אותו כל שבעת הימים והוא בטהרה כל היום ההוא וזקני העם כל הלילה לא יחשו מלזרזו. והתשובה כי יצר הטוב ויצר הרע מתקוטטים זה עם זה כשני אויבים. וכשאחד מהן קרוב להיות מנוצח יתחזק על עמדו בראותו כי כלתה אליו הרעה והרבה מן האנשים בעת פטירתן יתחזקו וידברו דברים טובים כאילו הם בריאים. ולזה היה קרוב מאד להיות הכהן בעל קרי. כ"כ במד"ש בשם החסיד ז"ל. ועמ"ש בריש דמאי בדבור והחומץ שביהודה וכו' לתרוצי הא דמתקנים לו כהן אחר. דתנן בריש יומא ופירש הר"ב שם משום קרי".]והנה עינינו רואות בעליל שמעיקרי המלחמה שהמרכבה הטמאה נאחזת בה בדורינו היא הריסת כל גדרי קדושה וטהרה וצניעות. ממש "צדו
  • צעדינו מלכת ברחובותינו". והדבר מקשה עלינו מאד לשמור על עיניו בקדושתן ובטהרתן. (והאר עיננו עמ' א)
  • The same thing is that now before Moshiach comes, the Satan doesn't want Moshiach to come, so the כח הטומאה is working overtime because he wants to be the winner. (Rav Ahron Lopian)

Further Reading

• Positive Vision - Day 40: The all-out assault against kedushah seems to be the nisayon of our generation. Seemingly, no other generation has ever faced the challenges we do with regard to shmiras einayim. But why now? What's "motivating" the yetzer hara? The Sheim MiShmuel (Lech Lecha) notes that the final battle before Mashiach will be fought by the children of Yosef, with Mashiach ben Yosef leading the charge. Why? Because Yosef's most outstanding characteristic, that for which he is referred to as Yosef "HaTzaddik," is kedushah. And at the same time that he will lead the physical charge against the enemies of Klal Yisrael, he will lead the spiritual war as well. The battle for kedushah is the final frontier. It is the last battle before Mashiach. It is not surprising then that the yetzer hara is going for broke. Nothing is more dangerous than a cornered enemy, one that realizes it is now or never.
• Battle of the Generation Ch. 1. Based partially on Shmuz #145.
• The Last Battle Why it's so hard, good for into Rabbi Yosef Elefant explains why this challenge is the final battle before Moshiach can come. בכף ירך יעקב - this is the last fight

Zos Brisi

The main purpose of a person coming down to this world is to perfect the matter of kedushah (The Chazon Ish).

Our generation, that of Ikvesa D’Meshicha, is faced with nisyonos like never before. The spirituals challenges brought about by modern technology are of a kind that our ancestors never encountered and never dreamed possible. Today, a small device held in the palm of one’s hand can, in a matter of minutes, wreak havoc with one’s neshamah in a way that is not easily rectified.

It is no exaggeration to say that modern technology, if left unfiltered and unchecked, has the potential to destroy us as the Am Nivchar, the Chosen People, whose mission is to bring light to the world by studying Hashem’s holy Torah and faithfully abiding by its mitzvos.

Gedolim of our generation, among them Harav Avraham Pam, זצ"ל, have stated that the world has not sunk this low since the Dor HaMabul.

But there is a “flip side” to this spiritual crisis.

The Hebrew word נִסָיוֹן (test) is related to נֵס, banner, which flies high above a ship. A nisayon brings forth hidden greatness in the one being tested, demonstrating for all to see that this person can overcome challenges and grow from them. Anyone who has gone through difficulties in his life knows that when they are approached with emunah and are overcome, he emerges a greater person than he was before he encountered them.

The great nisyonos in matters of kedusah that modern technology present are a “double-edged sword.” They can, rachmana litzlan, cause one to sink to the depths of tumah and deny him any sort of pleasure in avodas Hashem. Conversely, each time someone successfully triumphs by keeping his senses and his neshamah pure, he has grown in a way that only Hashem can measure. As Chazal put it, “If a person is mekadesh himself a bit, then [Shamayim] is mekadesh him a lot."

The Battle Can Be Won

Despite today’s challenges, a ben Torah must know that it is possible to remain pure and holy. As Chazal teach: “One who seeks to purify himself will be granted Heavenly assistance.” Avos D’Rav Nosson states that Hashem showed Adam HaRishon all future generations. Already at the time of Creation, the nisyonos of each generation and the way to overcome them were a reality. By overcoming our nisyonos, we perfect ourselves and all of creation and bring the world closer to its ultimate tikkun with the coming of Mashiach.

Chazal further teach that Hashem does not make excessive demands of us. We are not given a nisayon that we cannot overcome. Hashem, the Source of all that is good, wants only to shower us with goodness, to help us succeed, to draw us close to Him. Any challenge that He presents to us is for our benefit, so that we may grow from our experience and climb the ladder of spiritual ascent.

The Midrash informs us that Hashem does not elevate someone to prominence until he is first tested. Avraham passed ten difficult tests; only then does the Torah say, “And Hashem blessed Avraham with everything.” Yitzchak was tested harassment by Avimelech, King of Pelishtim; only then does it say, “ ... and in that year he reaped a hundredfold; thus Hashem blessed him.” Yaakov overcame the tests of Eisav, Lavan and Dinah; only then does it say, “Hashem appeared to Yaakov again when he came to Padan Aram, and He blessed him.”

And of course, Yosef was faced with the difficult test of being confronted by Potiphar’s wife. He languished in prison for twelve years but emerged as the leader of his land, the father of two Shevatim, and earned for himself the title of Yosef HaTzaddik. The Midrash concludes with the verse “Hashem tests the tzaddik.”

Nisyonos, when successfully overcome, bring forth greatness.

[..]

Great tzaddikim have said that it is specifically our generation, the generation that is faced with nisyonos as never before, that will bring Mashiach. Each time we avoid looking where we should not look, avoid speaking what we should not speak, avoid listening to what we should not hear, and avoid thinking what we should not think, we have accomplished something very great and have brought the Final Redemption one step closer.

It’s in our hands.

Vahaer Eineinu

[Vahaer Eineinu p. 78 and on.]

One More Lap

Many wonder, why are we, today, faced with such horrific impurity, to a degree unknown before modern technology.

Confusing as it all seems, we know that whatever emanates from our loving Father is only beneficial. There must be a reason why Hashem allowed this development.

Think for a moment about how a budding young boxer would go about building up his arm muscles. Not overnight, but gradually he would train himself to lift successively heavier sets of weights. As his strength increases, he faces and defeats ever more challenging opponents.

By dint of Hashem’s testing us with tumah, our "kedusha muscles" grow larger and stronger. In order for us to reach greater levels of kedusha, we must successively overcome more difficult challenges.

So has it been since time immemorial. When B’nei Yisrael were in Mitzrayim, they sank to the 49th level of the impurity of the culture that surrounded them. When they left Mitzrayim, they cleansed themselves from these 49 levels of tumah in 49 days, thereby attaining the 49th level of kedusha. They were neither exposed to the 50th level (an absolute low) of impurity nor were they expected to withstand it. The Ohr Hachaim (Shemos 3:8) explains that since this was prior to Matan Torah, they could not have coped with the 50th level of tumah. Therefore, correspondingly, they could not rise to attain the 50th degree (the zenith) of kedusha.

Now at the climax of our history, ushering in the Mashiach era, Hashem wants to present us with the full force of 50 levels of kedusha. We are therefore witness today to an entirely new ball game. Permission has been granted to the denizens of the netherworld to thrust a final fling of the 50th level of pritzus full force into our faces. After Matan Torah, with the Torah as our arsenal, we are able to tackle every last bit of the fight – until we vanquish the reign of evil. With our souls fortified with Torah, we are capable of reaching and receiving the zenith of kedusha.

Now we’re on the last lap of our journey, amidst the ever-quickening pace of Ikvesa D’Meshicha. We hear an unprecedented note of urgency – the corollary being that whoever lets themselves be swayed, even if they survived and succeeded in climbing up the previous rungs, will be caught and trapped by the 50th degree of impurity.

But whoever is determined to combat the mighty pull of the dragnet is thereby hacking down the imprisoning walls of tumah and developing great stamina in the process. This continues until the moment when our spiritually powerful arms will pry open the gates for Mashiach to arrive amidst the full 50 degrees of our hard-earned kedusha.

See also

• לקוטי אורות (להר"מ וואלפסון שליט"א) תניא פרק ז' עמ' תפב-תפו. ועיי"ש שמביא את דברי האוה"ח שבעקבתא דמשיחא יפלו אף לשער הנון כו' עיי"ש.
• The Last Battle - Rabbi Yosef Elefant explains why this challenge is the final battle before Moshiach can come. (בכף ירך יעקב - this is the last fight)