What relation does the prophet Elijah have to the coming of Mashiach?

Our prophets tell us that the prophet Elijah will come to announce the Redemption to our people. But his function will be more than that of a herald. He will also help create the mindset of love and harmony that will make Redemption a reality. Thus the prophet Malachi states that Elijah will “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers.” Maimonides writes that Elijah will come “solely to spawn peace.” For spreading peace and harmony will encourage Mashiach’s coming, creating a setting which he will desire to enter.

This also serves as a lesson to all of us, even those who don’t aspire to prophecy. Working to generate harmony in the microcosm in which we live will lead to the ultimate harmony Mashiach will introduce.

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The Sabbatical year makes us conscious of a more inclusive pattern that pervades our entire existence. Time is structured in sets of seven. As mentioned above (see essay on Parshas Chayei Sarah), in his Commentary to the Torah, the Ramban (Nachmanides) explains that just as there are seven days of the week, there will be seven millennia in the existence of the world, each one paralleling the corresponding day in the seven days of creation. The culmination is the seventh millennium which, like the Sabbath, will be a time of rest, peace, and spiritual fulfillment.

According to that conception, the present age can be compared to Friday afternoon, past midday. Now in every traditional Jewish home, at that time, the house begins to look a little Shabbosdik. Similarly at this time, G-d’s home, the world, is beginning to anticipate the era of the Redemption. We can see how the advances in science and technology have prepared the backdrop for Mashiach’s coming. What is necessary is for us to contribute the foreground by living in the spirit of the Redemption and mirroring to the fullest of our potential the mindset that will prevail in that era.

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When Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai completed his masterwork, the Zohar, he was told from heaven: “With this text of yours, the Jewish people will leave exile with mercy.” Implied is that the Zohar was not meant merely for abstract knowledge. The intent is not merely to understand the mystic interworking of G-d’s attributes, but to mirror those attributes in our lives and see them reflected in the world around us. For in truth, every element of existence expresses a different aspect of G-dliness and every event that occurs is a manifestation of His providence.

When people begin thinking and living according to these insights, the society that they produce will reflect the prophecies of knowledge, peace, and unity that accompany the era of the Redemption. The Redemption will not merely be an abstract ideal; but rather, a motif that ripple by ripple makes its way into the fabric of our lives.

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The ultimate renewal will come in the era of Mashiach. At present, we are speaking about making the best within an environment of challenge. Certainly, as explained above, we have the potential to prevail, but prevailing may involve a struggle and confronting difficulty. That’s because this entire epoch of time is one in which man is asked to show his power of achievement. It’s like the six days of the week in which we toil to earn our livelihood.

But after the six days, comes Shabbos, a day of rest. Similarly, after the six millennia of the present environment will come the era of Mashiach. A time “when there will be neither famine, nor war, neither envy, nor competition.” Mankind will focus its energies on the knowledge of G-d and on seeing G-dliness in every person and creation.

Moreover, we will not have to wait a full six millennia. Our Sages have explained that we can hasten Mashiach’s coming. How? By conducting ourselves in the spirit of the way of life Mashiach will teach. By anticipating the redemption through appreciating the G-dly qualities possessed by every person and every entity, we can precipitate the dawning of the age when this inner G-dliness will be openly apparent.