Va'olech Etchem Komemiyut (Human Height in the Redemption)

"And I will lead you upright (komemiyut)" is one of the promises of redemption appearing in Parshat Bechukotai. According to the Gemara discussed below, this verse also alludes to the promise that in the redemption, people's height will be greater.

The Promise

Regarding the verse "And I will lead you upright (komemiyut)," the Gemara learns that the word "komemiyut," which means stature (or height), speaks about the height of the Jewish people in the redemption, which will be different from people's height in current times.

According to Rabbi Meir, people's height in the redemption will be two hundred cubits (approximately one hundred meters), twice the height of Adam HaRishon who was one hundred cubits tall. He learns this from the precise wording "komemiyut" in plural form, meaning two statures (double the measure of Adam HaRishon).

According to Rabbi Yehuda, the height in the future will be one hundred cubits (fifty meters), like the height of the Heichal building of the Beit HaMikdash with its walls (because without the walls it is not one hundred cubits). He proves this from the verse: "That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner pillars carved in the form of a temple."

The Promise in Chassidic Teachings

In Chassidic teachings, the dispute between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda is explained in a deeper way:

There are two types of divine service and character in a person. There is what is called the service of tzaddikim (righteous), whose purpose and virtue is to draw down supernal lights and revelations into this lower world. And there is what is called the service of baalei teshuva (those who return to God), whose purpose is to elevate things that are not holy from this world and transform them into holy and good. In Chassidic terminology, the service of tzaddikim is called "or yashar" (direct light) and the service of baalei teshuva is called "or chozer" (returning light). Each of these two types has a virtue that the other does not have, and in the redemption, these two types will unite, and every Jew will have both types and virtues.

The dispute is about how these two types and modes will be integrated. According to Rabbi Meir, they will unite only in the person's soul, but in the physicality of the person's body, they will not unite, and each of the modes will be expressed in a separate form and action. Therefore, he holds that a person's height will be two hundred cubits, one hundred for each mode and type.

According to Rabbi Yehuda, these two modes of service will truly unite in the person, and in the very same action that he does, both the "or yashar" and the "or chozer" will be included. This unity will also penetrate the physical body, and therefore he holds that a person's height will be only one hundred cubits because within one hundred cubits, two statures will be included.

According to this explanation, their proofs for their positions are better understood:

Rabbi Yehuda also learns from the verse "And I will lead you upright (komemiyut)" that there will be two statures (as is obvious from the language of the verse, "komemiyut," in plural form - two statures). However, he brings an additional verse introducing that the two statures will be included in one stature, and therefore he proves from the Beit HaMikdash, where the two aspects of "or yashar" and "or chozer" were included together.

The explanation for the view that the stature will double in the redemption is that in the redemption, both the stature of the divine soul and the animal soul will be harnessed to the will of Hashem.