Moshiach’s Victory In A Peaceful War
By Rabbi Zushe Kohn

Although nearly a decade has passed since the Rebbe instructed us to learn inyanei Geula and Moshiach, explaining that it is the fastest and easiest way to bring about the Redemption, many of the Rebbe’s teachings on the subject remain difficult to comprehend. The Rebbe, of course, provided us with all the information necessary to comprehend his teachings, but we have to do our part in studying and analyzing it until these teachings are thoroughly understood.

With this objective in mind, we present our readers with the first in a series of articles discussing and considering important concepts related to Moshiach, with the intent of clarifying some of the Rebbe’s more enigmatic statements. Readers are invited and encouraged to email their questions, explanations, and perspectives addressed to forum@beismoshiach.org to be included, G-d willing, in future articles in this series. Whenever possible the author will offer his own resolutions to the questions posed.

Question: In Seifer HaSichos 5752, page 110, column 2, the Rebbe MH"M says, "We see that in various respects Moshiach has already been — and continues to be — victorious in fighting the wars of Hashem. Moreover, he succeeds in fighting these wars in a peaceful manner..."

Answer: We must first understand the nature of the wars of Hashem that Moshiach fights. "Wars of Hashem" means the struggle to establish Hashem’s sovereignty over the entire world. Although this struggle can assume the form of real war (as has often been the case), it essentially refers to any form of struggle against the concealment of G-dliness.

Now we can understand the expression "peaceful war (of Hashem)." David HaMelech says of the Torah, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Likewise, our Sages state, "the Torah was given for no other purpose than to make peace in the world." Indeed, the Tanach and Talmud are replete with references to the Torah as the embodiment of peace. Hence, the peaceful-war victories of Moshiach refers to his success in illuminating the evil and darkness of our world with the light and warmth of the Torah.

Having explained the meaning of peaceful warfare we can now proceed to answer the second question: In what areas do we see the peaceful victories of Moshiach?

One of the first things that comes to mind is the incredible downfall of the mighty Soviet empire. Logic and history both dictate that the downfall of a ruthlessly evil Communist regime can only be accomplished through a revolution involving much loss of life. Yet, in this case, it happened without bloodshed because there weren’t even two sides fighting each other. The entire country, including most of the Soviet army and police, as well as most of the Communist leaders, simply decided that tyranny, totalitarianism, and the oppression of human rights simply could not go on.

There can be no doubt that this transformation was the result of Torah and mitzvos. Nor can there be any denial that the Rebbe was responsible for the continued observance of Torah and mitzvos during the dark days of Soviet oppression. Indeed, 25 years before this astounding event occurred, the Rebbe declared that when Russia will fall, everyone will know that it was Moshiach who brought it down.

This scene repeated itself in various countries during the past decade. Just recently it happened in Yugoslavia, and it appears to be happening in Syria and Iran.

Another area in which we see Moshiach’s victories in his peaceful wars of Hashem is on the theological front. In stark contrast with the past, non-Jews today are eager to hear the word of G-d as transmitted by Jews. Moreover, gentiles today view violence, war, and racism as unacceptable, and strive instead to attain peace, harmony, and friendship within the international community.

Volumes could be written on the subject of the awesome and unprecedented transformations being wrought by the Rebbe MH"M. For now, though, we have merely scratched the surface with the above few examples.