The Footsteps of Redemption  

Rav Shraga Yair of Bialovzeg, a chassidic rebbe from the 19th century, has an astounding interpretation on the opening words of parshas Mikeitz, “Vayehi mikeitz shenasayim yamim,” which literally means “And it was the end of two years.”

These words can also mean: “Mikeitz,” at the end of days, “shenasayim,” years, will turn into “yamim,” days. This is a prophetic statement meaning that at the End of Days (Acharis Hayamim), what previously took years to unfold will occur in a matter of days. History literally will be on fast-forward. Major events, huge inventions, and epic innovations will happen in rapid succession and at great speed. This is because time is running out.

Rashi and Pnei Yehoshua offer the same interpretation for the words in parshas Ha’azinu that state, “v’chash asidos lamo — the future will rush forward.” They explain this to mean that there will come a time when historic events will be on fast-forward.

There are two lessons to be gleaned from this. Firstly, this unique phenomenon motivates and compels us to accomplish more on behalf of the Jewish People, as time is literally at a premium. Rav Aharon Leib Steinman ztz”l said that we must act feverishly to reconnect as many Jews as possible before the available time lapses. Rav Steinman said that this is the most important mission for the Jewish People — to bring back as many Jews as we can.