Based on Gemara Sanhedrin 97a, Maharal, and Ramchal (Da’as Tevunos)
I. The Sugya in Sanhedrin: The Order of Redemption
The shiur opens with the Gemara in Sanhedrin 97a, which delineates the specific seven-year cycle (Shavua she-Ben Dovid ba) preceding the arrival of Mashiach. The Gemara creates a structured timeline of volatility:
Year 1: Partial rainfall (rain in one place, drought in another).
Year 2: The "arrows of famine" are sent out (likely agricultural blight).
Year 3: Severe famine; the death of the pious (anshei ma’aseh) and the forgetting of Torah.
Year 4: A state of "satiety but not satiety" (sova v’eino sova).
Year 5: Great satiety (sova gadol); Torah returns to the learners.
Year 6: Kolos (Sounds/Rumblings/Reports).
Year 7: Milchamos (Wars).
Motzaei Shevi’is (Post-Year 7): The arrival of Ben Dovid.
The Gemara’s Difficulty: The Sages object, noting that many such cycles have passed (kamah shevu’im) without the Redeemer arriving.
Abaye’s Resolution: The events occurred but without Kolos [year six] and Milchamos [year seven] and also the events didn't ha[[en k’sidran (in this specific sequential order). This implies that the chaos preceding Mashiach is not random; it follows a precise Divine logic where specific stages of degradation and confusion must precede the ultimate revelation.
II. The Hashkafic Dilemma: The Necessity of the "Fall"
The shiur transitions to a deeper inquiry: Why is this turmoil necessary? Why must the Sukas Dovid (House of David) "fall" (hanofeles) before it can be rebuilt?
The Maharal posits that two contradictory states—Galus (Exile) and Geulah (Redemption)—cannot coexist. For the new reality of Redemption to take hold, the reality of Exile must be totally nullified. The breakdown of the old order is a prerequisite for the installation of the new order.
However, the primary analysis relies on the Ramchal in Da’as Tevunos, distinguishing between two modes of Divine Providence:
Hanhagas HaMishpat (The Guidance of Justice): This is the standard operating system of the world, where schar v’onesh (reward and punishment) dictate reality. Good begets good; evil begets retribution.
Hanhagas HaYichud (The Guidance of Unity): This is the deeper, overriding will of Hashem to reveal His absolute Oneness (Ein Od Milvado). This guidance operates beyond human logic and merit.
III. The Paradox of Dor Shekulo Chayav
The Gemara states Mashiach will come either in a generation that is entirely innocent (kulo zakai) or entirely guilty (kulo chayav). Both will bring to the reveltation of Yichud Hashem.
Kulo Zakai: There is so much good the evil will no longer serve any purpose and thus dissapate.
Kulo Chayav: This seems illogical under the rules of Justice. Why would a guilty generation be redeemed?
The Ramchal’s Chiddush: When evil (Ra) dominates, it is actually part of a process of self-destruction. Evil has no intrinsic existence; it exists only to mask Hashem's presence. When evil reaches its apex—when it dominates the metzius entirely—it ultimately collapses under the weight of its own falsehood (sheker).
This is the concept of Bar Nafli. The "Falling Sukkah" of David does not fall simply as punishment; it falls because the framework of Mishpat is collapsing to make way for Yichud. When the darkness is absolute—like the deep darkness before the dawn (Ayelet HaShachar)—the Ra exhausts its purpose and dissolves, forcing the revelation of the Tov (Good) simply because nothing else remains.
IV. The Mechanism of the "End of Days"
The transition from Exile to Redemption is the transition from Mishpat to Yichud.
In Mishpat: We appeal to God based on fairness.
In Yichud: We appeal to God based on His Name (Lema'an Shimcha). Even if we are unworthy (chayav), the Geulah must come to demonstrate that Evil is an illusion and that Hashem is One.
The shiur explains that in the final generation (Ikvess d’Meshicha), the "Evil" creates a reality that is unsustainable. It becomes batal (nullified) not because we destroyed it through righteousness, but because its own emptiness consumes it.
Example: The shiur references the pathetic nature of modern tyrants (like Saddam Hussein) whose immense ego and power evaporate overnight, revealing they were mere puppets.
Demographics as Hashgacha: The shiur notes a modern phenomenon where secular/materialistic societies essentially cease to reproduce (a "culture of death"), while Torah society flourishes with life. This is the Ra destroying itself structurally, leaving the Tov to inherit the earth by default.
V. Synthesis: The Two Tracks
The shiur concludes that we are witnessing the interplay of these two tracks:
The Track of Teshuva (Mishpat): The unprecedented Baal Teshuva movement where people actively choose Hashem.
The Track of Self-Destruction (Yichud): The secular world’s descent into chaos and emptiness, where the Ra creates a void that necessitates God's revelation.
The "wars" and "rumblings" of the seventh year are the final spasms of the Hanhagas HaMishpat before it yields to the absolute, unilateral revelation of Hanhagas HaYichud. We do not need to fear the "fall" of the Sukkah; the fall is merely the removal of the temporary structure to allow for the eternal, unbreakable edifice of the Geulah Shleimah.
Maskana (Conclusion): We are living in a time where the "logic" of history is breaking down (as seen in the inexplicable nature of events like the Holocaust or the rapid rise and fall of modern powers). This breakdown is the "fall" that heralds the rising of the Light of Mashiach, derived not from our merits alone, but from the unstoppable revelation of Hashem's Oneness.
