לקוטי שיחות חלק כח - בלק ב

In Bilam’s prophecy it is stated:

“And he shall crush all the children of Sheis.”

Onkelos translates this phrase as:

“He shall rule over all the children of mankind.”

By contrast, the Ibn Ezra explains the word vekarkar as an expression of destruction. Similarly, the translations of Yonasan ben Uziel and the Yerushalmi Targum emphasize the nullification and destruction of the nations of the world.

This raises a question:

How can one say that all the nations will be destroyed, when many prophecies describe the continued existence of the nations during the Messianic era?

The explanation may be that all opinions agree that the nations of the world will exist in the future.

The disagreement concerns the nature of that existence.

According to one approach, the nations will remain only as something secondary and subordinate to Israel. Their independent significance will disappear, even though they themselves continue to exist.

According to the other approach, the nations themselves will undergo refinement and elevation. Their own existence will become aligned with and expressive of the Divine purpose.

The Rambam and the teachings of Chassidus rule according to this second approach.

The reason is that if the nations themselves do not recognize that Hashem is King over all the earth, then the refinement of the world remains incomplete. If the world's refinement is incomplete, then the redemption itself and the revelation experienced by the Jewish people are likewise incomplete.

Therefore, the redemption is not only for the Jewish people. It also encompasses the nations of the world.

This idea is reflected in the words of the Alter Rebbe in Tanya:

“From the abundance of the illumination granted to Israel, the darkness of the nations will also be illuminated.”

Accordingly, the two approaches can be reconciled in the light of Chassidus.

In the future era, every created being will perceive and feel that:

“They exist only through the truth of His existence.”

As a result, all created beings will recognize that they possess no independent or absolute existence of their own. In this sense, their previous sense of self-sufficient reality will be nullified. This is the deeper meaning of the interpretation that speaks of the “destruction” of the nations—the destruction of their illusion of independent existence.

The Jewish people, however, possess a unique distinction.

In the future it will be revealed not merely that they derive their existence from Hashem, but that their very existence is intrinsically united with the Divine Essence itself.

As Chassidus expresses it:

“Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one.”

Thus, all creation will come to recognize its complete dependence upon Hashem, while the unique unity of Israel with Hashem will be openly revealed. Through this, the world will attain its ultimate perfection, and the redemption will encompass both Israel and all humanity.