The impossible has become routine in Israel. Three years after the Holocaust’s systematic extermination of six million Jews, the State of Israel emerged from the ashes. In 1967, Israel conquered vast territories in just six days. Arab nations that once swore to push Jews into the sea now extend hands of peace. What’s more, Israel has undergone a remarkable spiritual transformation ā a nation founded on largely secular, socialist principles now sees religious music topping the charts across all cultural sectors. These aren’t incremental changes spanning generations – they’re seismic shifts compressed into mere years, even months. What we’re witnessing defies conventional understanding of historical progress. It’s as if someone pressed fast-forward on God’s timeline.
Is God accelerating the redemption of Israel in our time?
I once witnessed two Bible scholars engaged in debate over this fundamental question. One argued forcefully for the possibility of immediate redemption. “The gates could open at any moment!” he insisted, citing Psalm 95:7, “Today, if you hear His voice.”
The other scholar disagreed. “Exodus teaches that God will drive out our enemies ‘little by little’ (Exodus 23:30),” he countered. “All historical evidence shows that redemption unfolds through gradual processes, not sudden ruptures.”
Both scholars cited valid biblical sources, yet they presented contradictory visions of how redemption works. This question isn’t merely theoretical ā it directly impacts how we interpret the extraordinary pace of developments in modern Israel. Are we witnessing divine acceleration, or simply the natural unfolding of a process that still requires generations to complete?
In Israel’s earliest days, David Ben-Gurion declared: “In the Land of Israel, a person who doesn’t believe in miracles is not a realistic person.” His words reflected the extraordinary reality of Israel’s founding. The very existence of modern Israel challenges standard historical expectations. Many believers struggle to reconcile their theological understanding of redemption with the startling pace of events unfolding before their eyes.
This verse captures the disorienting nature of God’s redemptive work. The Hebrew word for “as in a dream” – k’cholmim – implies something far more intense than mere happiness. It conveys a state where reality so exceeds expectation that it resembles a dream sequence. In dreams, hours of experience compress into minutes of actual sleep. Similarly, God compresses generations of redemptive history into brief periods when He chooses.
Jewish thought presents two seemingly contradictory approaches to redemption’s timeline. Maimonides, in his 13 Principles of Faith, states definitively: “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of redemption. And though it may tarry, I will wait for it every day.” This is a clear statement that redemption could arrive immediately while acknowledging it might also develop over time. It demands both patience and readiness.
The final redemption involves, after all, the restoration of Israel’s sovereignty – a complete political and spiritual renewal. How could an entire governmental system change overnight? The Sages teach us not to rely on miracles. Redemption through natural means requires time.
Yet we can’t ignore what’s happening. God appears to be “skipping over mountains” in our generation. Isaiah declared, “In its time I will hasten it” (Isaiah 60:22). Rabbi David Kimchi explains this apparent contradiction: “When its time comes, I will hasten its completion quickly, for the time from the beginning of salvation until its completion will not be long.”
This resolves the paradox of slow-yet-sudden redemption. Even without obvious miracles, hidden divine intervention challenges our concept of what’s realistic. Israel has witnessed stunning developments: from the Holocaust to sovereignty in three years, from territorial vulnerability to the lightning Six-Day War victory, from international isolation to diplomatic breakthroughs. Each development would normally require generations. Instead, they’ve happened within years or even months.
The comparison to dreaming in Psalm 126 provides crucial insight. Just as dreams compress hours of experience into minutes of sleep, our return to Zion compresses historical progression. The exile stretched across millennia, but the ingathering has accelerated exponentially with each decade. What once took centuries now takes years; what took years now takes months.
The Vilna Gaon taught that as we approach the final redemption, time itself compresses. This is evident in the pace of technological and political change across the world, with Israel at the epicenter.
“Be realistic!” skeptics demand. But in Israel’s case, being realistic means expecting the unexpected. The coronavirus pandemic demonstrated this principle perfectly. Within weeks, the entire world halted. The mighty 21st century, with all its technological prowess, bowed before an invisible enemy. This, too, serves God’s purposes, preparing human consciousness for humility rather than hubris.
Isaiah declares:
This is the answer to our question: Redemption operates on dual tracks. Its foundation builds gradually, establishing the necessary conditions. But its culmination arrives with stunning swiftness when those conditions are met. We are witnessing both processes simultaneously in Israel today – the patient building and the sudden breakthroughs.
Our task is clear: build with patience, but watch with alertness. The gaps between each “little by little” grow shorter by the day. Those with eyes to see recognize that redemption is accelerating. The pace of events in Israel isn’t coincidental – it’s divine confirmation that we stand at a pivotal moment in redemptive history. The dream is becoming a reality faster than anyone imagined possible.
