Illustration by Yoseph Savan based on The Zohar . by Ariel Ben Avraham . The Prophet continues describing the qualities of the Jewish king, as God commands him to do so. As we said in our previous commentaries, these qualities also belong to every Jew by our Pact with the Creator. The Torah commands every Jew to be connected to God through Torah study and observing His Commandments. This is the Pact we accepted unconditionally when God gave the Torah to the Jewish people. Let’s be always aware that it is an eternal Pact.
Our ancestors wanted to have a king like the other nations, and God in the Torah gave specific Commandments for the king of Israel. These include being a guardian of the Pact, and a wise learner and teacher of the Torah, among other duties and restrictions.
The kings of Israel are inheritors of these Commandments, as the focal points of Israel’s commitments with the Creator. Hence we all share the qualities, duties and obligations derived from our permanent connection with God. We must understand the Messianic Consciousness as a Jewish collective awareness of God’s Plan for the Final Redemption. This awareness does not belong only to a single person but to all Israel. We depend only on God’s will, and not relying on one individual. The Torah and the Hebrew Scriptures repeat time and again that God is our One and only Redeemer, and we must understand the Jewish king messiah as the focal point of our collective Final Redemption. The paradigm and reference of what the Messianic Consciousness is and will eternally be for all.
“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall grow forth out of his roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the reverence of the Lord.” (11:1-2)
The Prophet reminds us that king David is the main reference of the Jewish king messiah, as an extension of the Psalmist, son of the righteous Jesse. Righteousness is the stock, the trait and the quality from where we all are redeemed. Hence the foundation of the Messianic Consciousness is the will power and determination to always choose goodness over wickedness. This is what a righteous person does all the time. This is the premise of our connection with God in order to be the vessel of His spirit in us. As we choose goodness every moment the spirit of God rests upon us. Thus the qualities of goodness rest on us as wisdom, understanding, guidance and might, knowledge and reverence of God’s will.
“And his delight shall be in the reverence of the Lord, and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears.” (11:3)
The reverence of the Creator — what our Sages refer as the “fear” of God — is what we experience in our Love of God, as awesome and impressive before our inability to conceive Him. The more we know about His ways and attributes, the more we love Him and revere Him as our most sublime delight. In this awareness of reverence to Him we can only discern through His Torah. Our will becomes the vessel and the chariot of His will. In this permanent connection with the Creator there is no room for personal agendas or ego’s fantasies and illusions. These are the sight of our eyes and the hearing of our ears.
“But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the land; and he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” (11:4)
Again God reminds us through the Prophet that choosing and pursuing goodness is the foundation of His Torah and His will. This is the righteousness we must plant in the land as our life, as individuals and as the Nation God commands us to have and to be. In practical terms we have to care for each other as the main purpose of goodness by doing what is right. We have to integrate all Israel as an united Nation, bringing together the rich and poor, the meek and the rebel, the passionate and the passive, the water bearers and the warriors, the wise and the ignorant, and all diverse and multifaceted Jews.
The voice of righteousness, the rod that comes out of our mouths — as the outcome of goodness and expressions of Love’s ways and attributes — is the guide and conductor of all aspects of life, and will prevail over the negative trends in human consciousness. This voice is the language and expression of goodness as the Light that turns darkness into Light.
“And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” (11:5)
This voice is the expression of goodness as the guide and conductor of every aspect of life. This voice comes from righteousness — as the expression of the goodness of Love’s ways and attributes — that integrates and encompasses all levels and dimensions of consciousness.
“And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” (11:6)
As we integrate and unify all aspects and levels of consciousness, harmony prevails in all dimensions of life. The Prophet makes reflect the Messianic Consciousness in the material world as also the place where meek and wild animals dwell together in harmony. We can understand this ideal state of consciousness as righteousness guiding and directing our discernment, thought, mind, feelings, emotions, passions and instincts through Love’s ways and attributes.
The Messianic Consciousness is the stage when the negative trends and tendencies are turned into positive expressions. Hence evil in all its manifestations are removed from what we are, have and do. Envy will become cooperation, wrath will be turned into joy, greed will be generosity, indifference will become compassion, indolence will be solidarity, cruelty will turn into care. The regency of Love’s ways and attributes will rule every life in this world, as the premise to enter the Messianic Era. This is the final stage in which our sole interest will the knowledge of our Creator.
