Ido the Prophet's Mistake

Ido the prophet (Kings 1:13) died an unusual death. G-d told him to avoid food and water in Beit El (a region of idolatry, where he prophesied to King Yerovom). He fell victim to an old man, a false prophet, who caught up with Ido traveling home, inviting Ido to dine with him. The old man duped Ido to believe he too was a prophet and that he now received a prophecy to tell Ido he can dine before taking his long return trip home.

Ido, upon taking to his trail again, encountered a lion that killed him.

Why this story in Tanach? What is its lesson? It teaches that a prophet’s mission cannot be changed by anyone other than he who delivered the prophecy to him in the first place! If Hashem dispatched him, only Hashem could now alter his mission.

The Rebbe of Lubavitch prophesied we have embarked upon the Era of Redemption. That means - for collective Jewry - they are on the road to complete redemption out of exile. It may not appear that way with the giant facade of exile still looming behind our backs, but if we “open our eyes”, we will see Redemption's manifestation unfolding as we breathe. We can begin to recognize the contours and scale of the entire transformation as we behold presently how Good and Evil become clearly demarcated for the whole world to see, and for each person in turn to pick the side he chooses, as the world turns into its new mode of existence. This Jewish New Year of 5775 draws down with it new lights with which to "see" the grand miracles that abound in this new era.

The Rebbe, besides being leader of the generation, is, as Moses was, a prophet. We have a monkey-wrench thrown into the fray (since the 3rd of Tammuz, 5754) that seems to obfuscate Natural and Supernatural aspects as to how they relate to Moshiach himself. But as long as people continue to learn about and understand Messianic issues, even if they deny the Lubavitcher reasoning, they are on the right path. (As the word “Moshiach” itself (משיח) suggests, which also spells out the words “from discourse”, (מִ  שִׂיחַ)).

No prophet can now deny the Rebbe’s mission (one he dreamed of since his childhood and) one he clearly asserted in the early 90’s. The Rebbe, as we Lubavitchers recognize, is King Moshiach. We base this presumption not on hunches but rather on the Rebbe’s own verbal pronouncements.

As the situation now deems, he cannot rule unless enough Jews acknowledge his sovereignty. A Jewish King requires the Jewish nation have a say in the theocratic initiative. May it be the will of Hashem that enough Jews awake from their diaspora slumber to commit to this fantastic turn of history, so we can already dance with Moshiach, bring Jerusalem alive with cheer and watch as Evil dissipates from physical existence and the 3rd Beit Hamikdash is built, when G-d and Jews will once regain universal prominence and nobility.