Transcript
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At the end of the book of Daniel,
in the last chapter,
it speaks about the End of Days,
when “knowledge will increase;”
matters “will be clarified and whitened,
and the many will be refined.”
So one sign of Moshiach’s coming,
as discussed in this verse
and in the preceding one,
is that the masses will also become
“clarified, whitened and refined.”
Until then they were misguided.
As we have often discussed,
every challenge must
benefit its recipient.
But here, what is the benefit
of being misguided;
of sometimes doing good, and at
other times doing the opposite?
Since Moshiach is about to arrive,
and the world must be “refined,”
including our physical world,
a confused person will become
“clarified, whitened, and refined,”
and come to the realization that he
may not have been righteous at all.
But how does this realization benefit him?
Rabbi Yonah of Gerona explains:
In the Torah, a doubtful guilt
offering must be worth two <em>selahs</em>
– otherwise it is not valid.
Yet a sin offering, for a definite sin,
need only be worth a <em>danka,</em>
which is a sixth of a <em>selah.</em>
Seemingly, one could argue the opposite:
A guilt offering is brought when one is
in doubt whether he sinned altogether;
he is not so involved in sin
that it is <em>certain</em> that he sinned,
only that he <em>might</em> have;
but a sin offering which is certain,
not voluntary, is worth much less.
Rabbi Yonah gives the reason:
The atonement brought about by
both a guilt offering and a sin offering
– for a doubtful sin or a certain sin –
is accomplished through repentance.
When one repents with a guilt offering<em>,</em>
although he repents on some level,
the thought crosses his mind:
Perhaps he need not repent altogether?
He might well not have sinned,
and been innocent all along.
But since he is obligated to bring
a guilt offering, he has no choice,
he does so, and he repents.
But he does so because
he feels obligated,
albeit without any outside coercion.
When is such repentance accepted?
Here, a mere <em>danka </em>will not suffice;
even twice that amount will not suffice.
He must bring two <em>selahs.</em>
Whereas, if he comes to the
understanding that his sin is certain,
he will repent with greater sincerity,
and then a mere <em>danka</em>
will suffice for his offering.
Likewise, among those who need to
be “clarified, whitened, and refined”
are some who, for some odd reason,
are not only unsure whether they are
acting undesirably and must repent,
but they remain stubborn
and continue in this fashion
not once or even twice…
Moreover, they entice others
who see them and do the same.
Indeed, it seems impossible for
them to be pulled out of their state.
Yet the Torah declares that
none of them will remain lost.
The solution: As “the many” gain
“clarity,” are “whitened and refined,”
the misguided, too, will
come to realize his mistake,
since he will also be “refined,”
and will now do all that he can
to get out of his current state,
all that he can, with a tumult,
the same tumult he made when
he was uncertain of his sin,
and pull out all those who fell
into a similar state, as well.
