The Rebbe's Rambam | Marking the completion of the entire set

Hilchos Melachim | Ch 12

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will arise to rectify the Jewish people and pre pare their hearts, i.e. to inspire them to repent , as it states: “Behold, I will send you Eliyahu the prophet before the coming of the great and awe struck day of G-d .” He will not come to purify that which was mistakenly deemed impure, nor to make impure that which was mistakenly deemed pure, nor to disqualify people who have mistakenly been established as having proper lin

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 3. In the following halachah, when describing Moshiach’s efforts to clarify lineage, he says, “he will not say ,” while regarding Eliyahu he says, “He will not come… ” Why the difference? The explanation: The argument is not about what Eliyahu will or will not do, but what is his role in the emergence of the Messianic age. He may engage in many various activi ties, but should those activities be understood as a step in the process of Moshiach’s revelation (as is evident in the verse the Rambam cites here, “I will send you Eliyahu Hanavi before the coming…”), or, as separate endeavors, similar to his functions throughout Ta nach 489 and afterwards. The first opinion says that his main role in the emergence of Moshiach is to bring peace in the world, and not to establish lineage. The Rambam does not say, “ He will not declare the pure, impure … ” because Eliyahu may indeed do those things. This opinion only maintains that it is not the main purpose of his appearance. i.e., “he will not come.” However, the second opinion disagrees. Although they too, agree that Eliyahu will bring world peace, that is not his fundamental function either. His true pur pose is to appear before the coming of Moshiach and predict his arrival, i.e., “precede the coming of the Moshiach.” This resolves the Rambam’s sequence: he first de scribes the time and function of this appearance, about which there is no argument — that he will come and prepare the Jewish people for Moshiach’s arrival. He

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Pardes Hamelech

then states that some understand his main role as ushering in world peace, while others understand his main role as being the prelude to Moshiach’s revela tion. Siyum Harambam 5747. Sefer Hasichos vol. 1 pg. 302 151. “A prophet for the Jews will arise to . . . prepare their hearts” The inner dimension of Torah — Kabbalah — remained hidden for many generations, yet the Arizal famously wrote that in his time, “It is permitted and it is commanded to reveal this wisdom [kabbalah].” 490 What changed? Why would it suddenly become permitted? A similar question could be asked on the Rambam. The Rambam writes in the final halachah that in the Messianic age, all people will engage in studying the secrets of the universe. This seems to contradict his own Halachos which state that a person may not study these topics without previously becoming proficient in the basics of the Torah knowledge. 491 How is that not self-contradictory? On a simple level, we could suggest that the Arizal permitted the dissemination of Kabbalah due to the low spiritual level of the generation. The inner dimen sions of the Torah have the power to inject vitality and warmth into the darkness of exile, and it was therefore necessary to reveal those secrets. On a deeper level, however, we can suggest the following: We find numerous “preparations” for the coming of

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