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

Hilchos Melachim | Ch 12

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[183] [184] Blessed is Hashem Who has assisted us

 that Shema, whose central idea is the Oneness of Hashem, serves as the introduction for the entire Six Sets of the Mishnah, since the foundation for all halachic discussion is a recognition and fear of Heaven. 572 Similarly, the Rambam also begins with our obligation “...to know that there is a Primary Being,” for by knowing and contemplating the existence of Hashem, one comes to fear Him. In their conclusions as well, the Talmud and the Mishneh Torah both end with the letter Mem; the Talmud ends with the word “ shalom ,” and the Mishneh Torah with “ mechasim .” The concepts expressed in these words are connected too, for the ultimate state of peace will come in the times of Moshiach, when all evil and sense of separateness from the Divine will be nullified, and everything will be “covered” and bound with Hashem’s presence. Erev Pesach 5748. Toras Menachem vol. 3 pg. 68 183. “Blessed is Hashem Who has assisted us” After describing the Messianic state of the world in the previous halachah at length, the Rambam seems to close by saying, “The Sages and prophets desired the days of the Moshiach not for the sake of ruling over the entire world… Rather . . . so that they would be free to [engage] in [he study of] Torah and its wisdom, without anyone bothering or disturbing [them]…” However, the Rambam here goes back to describing the state of the world, “IAnd at that time, there will be neither hunger nor war,” and then finishes with “Therefore, there will be great sages, knowledgeable of the deep hidden matters…” It would seem more reasonable to first describe the times of Moshiach in full, without interrupting with regard to the intention of the Sages, which should have been written before the Rambam details the Messianic era, or after . Why does he place it in the middle? The explanation: The Rambam splits his description of the times of Moshiach to indicate that the final halachah is bringing a new, deeper vision of the times of Moshiach. Until the last halachah, the Rambam described the future state of the world in relation to the Jewish people. In the last halachah, he introduces a whole new dimen sion: he explains how the entire world will change.

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Pardes Hamelech

A common thread links the first three halachos together; they focus on the changes that the world will undergo in order to enable the Jewish nation to serve Hashem in the most complete way. In the last halachah, an entirely new idea is intro duced: First of all, the world will reach a state of perfection. The Rambam writes similarly in Hilchos Teshuvah that “Hashem will remove all the obstacles which prevent us from fulfilling it, for example, sickness, war, famine, and the like.” 573 There, however, the change described in relation to the Jewish people. In our halachah, however, it is taken a step further. “ There will be neither hunger nor war ,” a change in the entire world . The world at large will have the opportunity to enjoy the wonder ful change brought by Moshiach’s arrival. “The sole occupation of the entire world will be to know G-d,” a new reality where the entire world will be focused on knowing Hashem. And moreover: Not only will the world become complete both physically and spiritually, the world will actually transcend its own limitations. As the Rambam concludes, the entire world will have one single occu pation: Knowing Hashem. The entire existence of the world will be submerged into this higher mode of existence, the true G-dly reality. This level of ultimate transcendence is the culmina tion of the Rambam’s work, the Mishneh Torah : As explained in previous segments, the purpose of Torah’s laws is to elevate the material items they affect. This purpose will be fully realized only when Moshiach comes, when we will experience a perfect observance of Torah and mitzvos in all its details. 574 This idea is communicated by the Rambam in the final chapters of his work, excluding the final halachah. This final halachah teaches that this perfect observ ance of Torah will uncover yet a new idea — that the Torah inherently transcends creation; it is Hashem’s will and wisdom. In fact, all of creation was originally created for Torah. 575 When this level of Torah is revealed, it becomes apparent that the entire creation has no self-standing existence, and is merely a vehicle for the Torah. This true culmination of the Torah’s purpose is alluded to in the Rambam’s final halachah, which describes the ultimate change in the world. 576 Hadran 5751. Sefer Hasichos vol. 1 pg. 98

.574 .ä¯ã"ñ ä"ìùú åìñë è"é í"áîøä ìò ïøãä .575 .î"ëáå .åúìéçúá ú"äò é"ùøéô .576 .äëåøàá (208 'ò à"ç ù"äñ) ç"îùú ïøãä íâ äàøå

.572 (äôåñì áåø÷) åúçéúôá éøéàîä íâ äàøå .úåëøá ùéø æ"àéøä é÷ñô äàø .úåëøá 'ñîì åúîã÷äáå .573 à"ä è"ô äáåùú úåëìä