Redemption - From Counter-Intuitive to Intuitive

The prophet Tzefania says something that would have seemed incredulous only a few decades ago. It's a passage we say most every day in our morning prayers. His last verse quotes God's promise to the Jewish People in Moshiach's era:

"At that time I will bring them, and at that time I will gather you, for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your captivities before your eyes, said the Lord."

How in the world could a Jew have comprehended that verse a few decades ago. "... among all the peoples of the earth ...". Really? How could billions of people, across 7 continents, in some 200 countries, discover about the Jewish People so the latter become a household name?

When newspapers became common, one could already imagine that they would carry the news, but even then, not all places could readily have gotten the information, certainly not at one time.

Of course today this question has its obvious answer, especially with the technological leap of the last 20 years that gave us the smartphone and the internet.

But back in days of the prophet, and thereafter for a good 1,700 years, the above verse could hardly have made much sense. How could they even have imagined such a global recognition? Maybe back then people figured the news could spread much like Indians "spoke" to one another with "smoke signals" from the hilltops, as Jews in fact did in ancient times to signal the day of "Rosh Chodesh" from the hilltops, the message originating from Jerusalem.

Another verse in our prayers is from Psalms (106:47):
"Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name, to boast with Your praise."

Gather us from the nations? Or as we say daily, "And gather us from the 4 corners of the world". How could these verses make sense back then, or even understood? Surely an ancient Jew could hardly have figured this would mean we'd be travelling back to Israel using the airways! More likely, early on, Jews figured God meant we'd be taking long voyages by ship to get to the Holy Land.

Of course Jews always trust Hashem and any promise He made could happen as miraculously as the splitting of the Reed Sea. But we also know Hashem doesn't perform miracles unnecessarily. So the miracles of the airplane, the internet and the computer were made in order that by Moshiach's time it would all appear so natural.