Vchittu Charvotam L'itim (And They Shall Beat Their Swords into Plowshares)

And they shall beat their swords into plowshares is one of the prophecies of the Redemption, as written in Isaiah: "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." The meaning of this prophecy is that instruments of war will be transformed into tools for working the land. This destiny is fulfilled as a result of the action of the King Moshiach himself, as written at the beginning of the verse, "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many peoples."

Beginning of the Fulfillment of the Prophecy

In a talk from Shabbat Parshat Mishpatim 5752 (1992), the Rebbe revealed that the fulfillment of this prophecy had already begun. The Rebbe referred to a meeting that began on the eve of that Shabbat, in which the leaders of the superpowers—the United States and the Soviet Union, George Bush and Boris Yeltsin—convened, and at its conclusion signed the "Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty" (START), in which the presidents committed to reduce their atomic weapons arsenals by 25 percent. The United States and Russia agreed to hold no more than 2,200 nuclear warheads. At the conference, which was also attended by leaders of other countries, an agreement was reached to stop the arms race that had been conducted during the Cold War, and the leaders declared the diversion of resources that had until then been directed toward war purposes to improving the economy and to cooperation and mutual assistance.

Russian Tank Converted for Firefighting Purposes

In this talk, it is further explained that this prophecy is one of the direct actions of the King Moshiach himself. The prophecy began to be fulfilled specifically in New York, the city of the leader of the generation, and specifically at this time, when a halachic ruling was issued by rabbis and teachers of Torah law that the time of Redemption had already arrived, and the Rebbe is presumed to be Moshiach. Therefore, the beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy proves that Moshiach is already revealed and acting in his capacity, and this is the leader of our generation, the Moshiach of the generation.

It should be noted that since this agreement, many more agreements have been signed between various countries and powers on reducing weapons and mutual assistance, such as the European Union and the International Treaty for Nuclear Disarmament.

Continued Development

The aforementioned agreement, signed between the United States and Russia in 5751 (1991), expired in 5770 (2010).

In 5769 (2009), the President of the United States, Barack Obama, spoke in the capital of the Czech Republic and vowed to rid the world of nuclear weapons. After a long year of negotiations with Russia, he returned on the 24th of Tishrei 5770 (2009) to the same city to fulfill his promise and sign, together with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, a new agreement to reduce the strategic weapons stockpiles of both countries. The document signed by Obama and Medvedev obligated the parties to reduce their destructive arsenal by one-third. The number of nuclear warheads was cut to 1,550, the number of available launchers from land and sea was reduced to 800, and the number of bombers available for nuclear bombing was reduced to 70.

A chair that has been constructed using weapon parts.

After signing the agreement in Prague, Obama and Medvedev tried to persuade other countries holding nuclear arsenals to follow their lead.

On the 12th of Iyar 5772 (2012), Russia and the United States announced that since signing the agreement, they had already destroyed about 75 percent of their chemical and nuclear weapons. A year later, the United States announced that it had dismantled about 95 percent of its weapons, and worldwide about 75 percent of existing strategic weapons had been dismantled.

A military vehicle that has been repurposed and converted for agricultural use.

On the 11th of Tammuz 5773 (2013), the President of the United States announced that out of all the weapons in his possession, he was going to destroy up to one-third of them and again called on all other countries to reduce their weapons as well.

Further Reading

• And They Shall Beat Their Missiles into Medical Instruments, Beit Mashiach Weekly, 30 Nissan 5780 (2020), page 30
• And They Shall Beat Their Biological Weapons into Monitoring and Warning Laboratories, Beit Mashiach Weekly 1202, page 42
• And They Shall Beat Their Swords into Plowshares, Tzivos Hashem Camp supplement to Beit Mashiach Weekly, 26 Shevat 5780 (2020), page 2
• The World is Racing Toward Redemption!, Nachshon Peretz, Beit Mashiach Issue #1296, pp. 16-21

External Links

Sicha of Shabbat Parshat Mishpatim 5752 (1992)

• Sicha of Shabbat Parshat Mishpatim 5752, Additional link to text version, Another link: Children's adaptation - torah4blind website
• Rabbi Zalman Notik, Bush and Gorbachev in the Light of Chassidus lecture on the sicha
• Tag: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares" on the Geulah website
• Moshiach's Action in the World // Rabbi SDB Wolf on the Geulah website
• The Transformation in Korea: It's Real! This is Not Deception! // Rabbi Avishai Ifargon on the Geulah website
• Z. Goldstein, The Writing Was on the Wall, But Not Always - Adapted point from the sicha

News Items

• They Shall Beat: The Senate Approved, UN Secretary General Blessed, Tevet 5771 (2010)
• And They Shall Beat Their Swords into Fishing Fields
• "They Shall Beat Their Swords into Plowshares" Gallery of converted war tools

Nuclear Disarmament

• They Shall Beat Their Swords: The Nuclear Umbrella is Shrinking, Nissan 5770 (2010)
• Rabbi Avishai Ifargon, Russia and the United States: We Have Dismantled Most Chemical and Nuclear Weapons, Security commentary column from a Chassidic perspective, 12 Iyar 5772 (05/04/2012)
• The inscription "They shall beat their swords" on the UN wall
• The Peace Revolution of Melech HaMoshiach on the Geulah website
• Actions of Melech HaMoshiach: They Shall Beat Their Swords into Plowshares, New World Order Without Wars on the Geulah website
• Nuclear Warhead Missile Converted to Communications Missile, 24 Iyar 5772 (05/16/2012)
• US and Russia Extended Weapons Reduction Agreement by 5 Years on the Geulah website
• Wars Are Disappearing from the World on the Geulah website
• US and Russia in Discussions to Reduce Weapons in the World on the Geulah website
• Obama: The United States Will Reduce Nuclear Weapons by a Third, 11 Tammuz 5773 (06/19/2013)

Images

• The inscription "They shall beat their swords" on the UN wall
• The Factor Behind President Bush's Declaration Revealed on the Geulah website
• World Nations Fighting for Peace: This is Redemption! on the Geulah website
• Former Soviet Union Countries, Gallery of tanks and other war tools that were engineered into snow plows, field combines, or precision digging tools
• "They Shall Beat Their Swords into Chairs" - Gallery of weapons designed as useful objects and decorative items