Kabbalist sage Rambam suggests Jews are god
By Mendel Menachem Schneerson (the failed messiah)
Source: "Likutei Sikhot" Volume 23, pp. 172-181
All creatures in the world, including the peoples of the world, are beings created by the Almighty as RAMBAM writes: "all beings in heaven and on earth, as well as between them, do not exist except by virtue of the truth of His existence." But as for the Jews, it is said about them: "The Jews and the Almighty are one."
The prophecy of Zechariah says: “And it will be in all the earth, the word of the Lord: two parts of it will be destroyed and die, but the third will remain in it.” The Midrash explains that the third part is the Jews and it turns out that in the future two-thirds of the population, that is, the peoples of the world, will perish.
It follows from this that Even-Ezra's commentary is consistent with Zechariah's prophecy.
But how can it be that the prophecy of Zechariah contradicts all other prophecies, according to which the nations of the world will remain in the future?
In the Talmud (tractate "Sanhedrin" 111a) there is a dispute between the sages, how to understand the words "the third will remain in it." One sage, Resh-Lakish, says that a third is a third from Shem, and Rabbi Yohanan objects to him and says that this is a third from Noach.
There are commentators who believe that, according to Rabbi Johanan, the peoples of the world are included in the third part that will remain on earth. But this is difficult to accept, since most commentators believe that it is about the Jews. Furthermore, according to all explanations, Resh-Lakish states that in the future there will be no peoples of the world.
Let us now turn to the legislative part of the Torah.
RAMBAM writes in The Laws of Kings that Moshiach "will correct the whole world and everyone will serve G-d together." After that, Rambam cites the prophecy of Yeshayahu: “And the wolf will live next to the sheep and the leopard will lie in rows with the lamb,” the meaning of which is that Israel will live in peace with non-Jews.
These actions of Moshiach to correct the world are not only signs by which we can identify him, but this is important even before the arrival of Moshiach according to what RAMBAM writes: given to Noah." And since Moshiach will have to correct the whole world, by forcing the peoples of the world to observe the 7 commandments of Bnei Noah, we are preparing the coming of Moshiach.
To understand all this, consider the words "two parts of her shall be cut off." How can it be that in the future all nations will perish, because “God is good to all, His mercy is on all His creatures”?
Although we see that in the past there were cases when the Almighty was going to destroy the population of the earth (“The end of all flesh has come ... now I destroy them from the earth”, “And He erased all that is on the surface of the earth”), but it was for the fact that "the earth was filled with falsehood" and "perverted all flesh its way on earth."
But from the words of the prophecy it is clear that it does not speak about the punishment of criminals among the peoples of the world, but about the destruction of all mankind, including "the pious among the peoples of the world" who observe the 7 commandments of Bnei Noah.
Besides, when we talk about punishments in the past, we mean the time of exile, when the world was covered with darkness. But in the future, when everyone will see the light of the Almighty, why is it necessary to destroy the peoples of the world?
It could be assumed that this is not about physical extermination, but about the fact that in the future the peoples of the world will stop producing offspring and will die out on their own. It is known that the power of childbearing is given from the Almighty, and man himself does not possess this power.
But this explanation is unacceptable, because after in the future “everyone will serve Gd together”, it is not clear for what reason the Almighty will deprive the peoples of the world of the power of childbearing. In addition, there are numerous testimonies that the peoples of the world will remain.
From this it is necessary to conclude that all explanations that in the future the peoples of the world will disappear from the face of the earth cannot be taken literally. And the dispute about how many people will remain must be understood as an explanation of how this will happen.
After the onset of liberation, when the revelation of the Most High in the world comes, evil will completely disappear from the face of the earth. And it is clear that among the peoples of the world there will be neither villains nor opponents of the Creator.
But since the Liberation will come mainly for the Jews, it should be noted that the change in the state of the world is connected with the liberation of the Jews. This echoes the fact that the creation of the world happened for the Jews.
And this is how the debate of the sages should be understood: whether the peoples of the world will feel the Liberation for themselves as a consequence of the Liberation of the Jews, or whether they will feel the Liberation as their own.
According to the first approach, the Liberation in the world will happen only for the Jews - so that the Jews can learn the Torah and keep the commandments perfectly. Therefore, it is not enough for the oppression of the people against the Jews to stop, but the whole world must be corrected and then it will be a suitable place for the Jews.
It can also be assumed that the Liberation is relevant to the whole world, and not only part of the liberation of the Jews. That is, all over the world, in every detail, it will be seen that the intention of the Creator during its creation was to purify the world.
Now it becomes clear that in accordance with these two approaches it is possible to explain the meaning of the phrase "destroy all the sons of Sheth."
In accordance with the first approach, according to which the Liberation in the world will happen only for the Jews, it turns out that the existence of the peoples of the world as such will cease - "they will be exterminated and die." And not only as nations, but also as individuals.
But in accordance with the second approach, according to which Liberation is related to the whole world, it turns out that in the future the peoples of the world will remain and their existence will not cease.
The law in this matter establishes RAMBAM, which adheres to the second approach. This can also be seen from the words of Rambam, that “everyone who has taken upon himself the seven commandments and punctually fulfills them, belongs to the righteous of the peoples of the world and has a share in the World to Come; but only in the event that he accepted them and fulfills them because the Almighty commanded so in the Torah, informing us through Moshe Rabbeinu.” That is, during the Giving of the Torah, there was a change in the fulfillment of the 7 commandments (which were known before). This change is that the peoples of the world have become significant in their own right and have the opportunity to earn a share in the World to Come.
And the Alter Rebbe writes about this in Tanya (Chapter 36): “...then the material side of the body and the world will be cleansed, and they will be able to accept the clear light of the Most High, which will shine on the Jews through the Torah and from the predominance of the reflection of this light that shines on the Jews, the darkness of the peoples of the world will also shine.”
When the truth of the Most High is revealed in the world in the future, all creatures in the world will feel it - they will understand that they do not have their own existence. This is what it is said that Moshiach will "destroy all the sons of Shet" - he will show them that their entire existence is nothing; he will break their shell and make them a receptacle for receiving the light of the Most High.
It must be added that when the Almighty rules over the whole earth, there will be a difference between the Jews and the peoples of the world. All creatures in the world, including the peoples of the world, are beings created by the Almighty as RAMBAM writes: "all beings in heaven and on earth, as well as between them, do not exist except by virtue of the truth of His existence." But as for the Jews, it is said about them: "The Jews and the Almighty are one."