By: Rabbi Dovid Markel
Text VI
אין בין העולם הזה לימות המשיח אלא שיעבוד מלכיות בלבד.
תלמוד בבלי ברכות לד,ב
There is no difference between this world and the world to come except “shibud malchiyus” (foreign domination).
Talmud, Brachos 34b
In light of everything that was explained to this point, this statement may now be understood. The purpose of the Messianic redemption is not to exchange the world for a different one, but to introduce the Aleph dimension. This will bring about the perfection and transformation of the world into one in which G-dliness is openly revealed, but it will still be the same world. Reality will not change. Rather, true reality, which always was at the very core of the world, will be revealed.
So What Is the Aleph?
Nothing is random in Torah. Each of the letters contains meaning and is there for a reason. Adding an Aleph to a word is therefore not merely symbolic. The name of the letter Aleph shares the same meaning as the word “Aluf,” which means the “Master” of the world and refers to HaShem.
What needs to be revealed in creation is the Aleph, which is the “Divine essence.” Revealing the Aleph changes everything and transforms reality. This “Divine essence” is the underlying source and foundation of all existence. When it is hidden, the world is in a state of chaos and confusion. But when it is introduced, everything becomes unified and purposeful.[1] The world as HaShem created it is perfect. Despite the fragmentation and conflict we perceive, ultimately all its diverse elements are united by their intrinsic harmony and unanimity of purpose. The era of Moshiach will be a time when this underlying harmony will be readily perceivable and revealed.
[1] To use an example from quantum physics, it is similar to a Unified Field Theory, or The Theory of Everything.
