When the Veil Begins to Thin — a step-by-step study
נְבוּאָהNevuah — prophecy
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What this lesson is about
Every one of us has heard this verse — it is the last line of Aleinu, said three times a day, and it is in the haftarah of the first day of Sukkot.
The texts
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“On that day Hashem will be One”
Zecharyah 14:9
“And Hashem will be King over all the earth. On that day Hashem will be One and His Name One.”
Step by step
The chapter. Zechariah 14 describes “the day of Hashem”: living waters going out from Jerusalem (v. 8), Hashem King over all the earth (v. 9), and the nations going up every year to celebrate Sukkot (v. 16).
Rashi (English below): all the nations will abandon their idols and acknowledge that He is One, and His Name will be mentioned by everyone.
The puzzle. Isn’t Hashem already One? We say it in the Shema every day.
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“Is He not One now?”
Pesachim 50a
“Is He not One now?” Rabbi Acha bar Chanina said: The World to Come is not like this world. In this world, for good news one says, “Blessed is the One who is good and does good,” and for bad news, “Blessed is the true Judge.” In the World to Come, it will all be “the One who is good and does good.” … In this world the Name is written one way and pronounced another; in the future it will be written and pronounced the same.
Step by step
The Talmud asks our exact question. Its answer: Hashem is One now — but we experience Him as two. Good news gets one blessing, bad news another. In the future we will see that it was all one goodness.
The Name. Today the Divine Name is written one way and pronounced another (we say Adonai). In the future what is written and what is said will match — what is hidden and what is revealed will be the same.
Rashi on the Shema (Devarim 6:4, English below): Hashem, who is now our God and not yet acknowledged by the nations, is destined to be One Hashem for all — and Rashi quotes Zechariah 14:9. Every Shema already contains this prophecy.
The conclusion. “For I, Hashem, have not changed” (Malachi 3:6). Hashem does not change. Our perception changes.
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The word that is still inside everything
Tanya, Sha’ar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 1 & 3
In the name of the Baal Shem Tov: “Forever, Hashem, Your word stands in the heavens” (Tehillim 119:89) — the Divine word that created each thing is still inside it, bringing it into being every moment. If our eyes could see that life-force, the physical form would not appear to us as separate at all.
Step by step
The teaching. The Alter Rebbe brings a teaching of the Baal Shem Tov on Tehillim 119:89: the words with which Hashem created the world (“Let there be a sky…”) did not stop. They are still “standing” inside each thing, keeping it in existence every moment.
Chapter 3. If the eye could see the Divine life-force inside each thing, the physical thing would not seem to exist on its own at all.
How it fits. This is “Hashem is One” from the inside: nothing is separate from Him — we just cannot see it yet.
Think it through
Wait — isn’t Hashem already One? What could “will be One” mean?Think about it first — then tap for discussion notes
Pesachim 50a answers: He is One now, but we experience Him as two (good and bad, written and spoken). “Will be One” means the world will see His oneness. Rashi on the Shema: one day all nations will acknowledge Him. The Tanya: everything is already one with its Divine source; what is missing is our sight.
Key takeaways
Zechariah 14:9 ends Aleinu and is read on Sukkot.
Pesachim 50a: Hashem is One now; we will see it in the future.
Rashi: every Shema contains this prophecy.
Hashem does not change; our perception does (Malachi 3:6).
