Our Generation - The Ingathering of Exiles

The bringing of the spirit is the task of the current generation, the generation that follows the gathering of the exiles.The first generation had to focus on the external aspect of redemption, the gathering of the limbs and placing them side-by-side. This consisted of preparing the way for living together, the building of the Land of Israel and arranging the practicalities of life there. These are represented by the flesh and sinews growing on the bones. But at this stage the bones are still separate, and hence the people are still divided into different groups, and there are many areas of division. This is all a result of the lack of a spiritual basis which only comes in stage two. That will bring the body to life and combine the limbs into one entity. It will be accompanied by a purifying spirit of Teshuva which will uplift the entire people.
This generation is the time for the spiritual redemption which will infuse life into the entire people. This is as the Zohar teaches that in the future the secrets of the Torah will be revealed and they will lead Israel out of Exile. This is the light that burrows into each soul and reminds it that it is a cell in a body, and not merely an independent being. It inspires people to increase their connection to the Schechina, to feel as part of the Nation, and to act out of a sense of belonging, love and a deep sense of unity for the sake of unifying with Hashem and no other motives.
This is the cause of the deep thirst for Kabbalistic knowledge that exists in current times. It is a sign that the time has come for this era to come into being, the time of the spirit. The Zohar and related works are the spirit of Moshiach. They are the spirit that comes into the bones to give them one life, complete and fresh.

Two Stages of Geula (Redemption): 2

The rearrangement of the bones is the first step and is accompanied by flesh and sinews growing on the bones. This indicates the stirrings of life for each limb, but they are still lifeless. Life would unite all the bones to work together to one purpose.
The next prophecy expresses the second stage of Redemption:
And He said to me, "Prophecize about the spirit, Son of Man. And say to the spirit, 'So says the God Hashem from the four winds the spirit will come and blow into these murdered people, and they will live.'" And I prophecized as I was commanded, and the spirit came into them. They came alive, and stood on their feet a great multitude."
So far the prophet has offered us a parable. At this point he explains the message. The Nation of Israel will return from Exile which is akin to death. They will come to Redemption, which is an awakening to a new life.
And he said to me, "Son of Man, these bones are the entire House of Israel which is currently saying our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, we have been destroyed. Therefore, prophecize and say to them, 'So says God Hashem I am opening your graves and lifting you out of your graves to me and I will bring you to the Land of Israel. And you will know that I am Hashem when I open your graves and take you from your graves to me.'"
The opening of the graves and the return to the Land of Israel are analogous to the bones coming near each other while still lacking any life. There is only a gathering of bones. Then comes stage two:
And I will place my spirit within you and you will come to life. I will place you in your land and you will know that I am Hashem. I have spoken and I have done!
Only after the Aliyah to the land will the spirit be given. Only then will we truly live in our land. We will comprehend our redemption and hold onto our land and discover our mission.

Two Stages of Geula (Redemption): 1

Hashem remembered His Nation and with unbelievable miracles returned us to our land after a bitter Exile. Thank God for His kindness towards us that He took us from death to life, darkness to light, from subjugation to other nations to freedom in the Land of Israel which produces beautiful fruit to its returning children.
The Navi Yechezkel explains that Geula (Redemption) happens in stages. The first stage is the gathering of Exiles, which is analogous to bringing the limbs of the body close to one another so that they should be together. This is the concept of "And the bones came close, bone to bone (Ez. 37:7). A closeness akin to that of neighbors. This is what we experience now that we are gathered to our land and live in close proximity to one another and are no longer scattered to the fours winds of the heavens.
After this stage comes the life giving spirit; the Neshama that flows through the limbs to truly unite them. They are no longer a gathering of bones that are near each other. This is the real connection in which the individual identity of the limbs is subsumed to the creation of a complete being - a national life, a life with the Schechina.
These two stages are clearly explained in the verses about the Dry Bones:

 ז וְנִבֵּאתִי כַּאֲשֶׁר צֻוֵּיתִי וַיְהִי קוֹל כְּהִנָּבְאִי וְהִנֵּה רַעַשׁ וַתִּקְרְבוּ עֲצָמוֹת עֶצֶם אֶל עַצְמוֹ. ח וְרָאִיתִי וְהִנֵּה עֲלֵיהֶם גִּדִים וּבָשָׂר עָלָה וַיִּקְרַם עֲלֵיהֶם עוֹר מִלְמָעְלָה וְרוּחַ 

אֵין בָּהֶם

"And I prophesied as I was commanded, and there was a noise and the bones came close, bone to its bone. And I saw and there was growing upon them sinews and flesh, and they were covered by skin above, but there was no spirit in them."

Redemption & the Inner Torah

The Zohar and other Kabbalistic works are replete with comments indicating that in future times the prerequisite for leaving Exile will be that the the inner teachings of the Torah would have to be revealed in their fullest sense. Based on what we have written so far we can understand that this is due to the fact that Kabbalistic thought is the Torah of the Schechina. These are not teachings which relate only to few individuals or certain aspects of people, rather they are teachings that relate to the entire body - the essence of the Schechina. The Kabbalistic teachings come to educate people in how to focus their essential selves as part of the Schechina as opposed to individual work for one's own perfection.
Every aspect of Kabbalistic thought is directed towards לשם יחוד קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה, for the sake of the uniting the Holy One, Blessed be He and his Schechina, to focus on the rectification of the Schechina rather than on one's self individually. This concept is expressed as עבודת צורך גבוהה, namely that the most significant acts we can do, the ones that come from the deepest recesses of our souls are not distinct from the Schechina and the Nation, but are serving the entire Jewish Nation. This can be compared to a cell that serves the entire body and whose purpose is not self-preservation, but that of the entire corpus.
This is the life of גאולה, redemption, with the Jewish Nation on its land. A life of Inner Torah in which one is focused on the entire Schechina rather than on an individual cell alone. Redemption depends on achieving this consciousness which is why it is dependent on the Zohar and the revelation of Kabbalistic concepts.