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Toward the end of our parsha (Balak), we find the non-Jewish prophet, Bilam prophesying about the Jewish people. He says (Num 24:19), “There will descend from Yakov, [one who] will destroy the remnants from the city.” Rashi explains that this is a reference to the meshiach, who will arrive in the end of days, destroy the enemies of the Jews, and bring peace, prosperity and G-dly awareness to the world. The meshiach will rule from “sea to sea, and from the river to the end of the world” (Psalms 72:8). We find a similar statement in the prophet Zecharia (9:9-10), who says, “Behold, your king will arrive…poor and riding on a donkey..and he will rule from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.” The Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 11:1) also interprets Bilam’s prophecy as referring to the meshiach, who will rule “from sea to sea.”
Understood simply, the meshiach will rule over the entire world. As R’ Abraham ibn Ezra explains (on Psalms 72:8), from “sea to sea” means from the Red Sea to the Mediteranean, while “from the river to the end of the world” refers to the river emerging from Eden (the Euphrates in the east) all the way to the end of the earth in the west. If so, then, why does the prophecy not say simply that Meshiach will rule over the entire world? And why does the prophecy specifically mention the sea (“from sea to sea”), when in truth the reign of meshiach will cover the entire globe?
The way to understand these riddles is to look inside of ourselves. In order to prepare for meshiach, we have to prepare ourselves inside and out, by learning and fulfilling mitzvoth. As the Chernobler Rebbe (in Maor Einayim, parshat Pinchas) said in the name of the Ba’al Shem Tov, “Every Jew has to rectify and prepare the portion of meshiach that corresponds to his soul.” Every Jew has a spark of meshiach in the inner recesses of his heart. It is his spark of spirituality that is united with G-d, beyond reason and logic. When G-dliness becomes revealed in the world, this private spark will emerge and become one with the shechina, the collective awareness of G-dliness in the world. In order to merit to the outer manifestations of the meshiach (his rule over the world), we have to first see that the spark inside rules over us in all respects, “from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.”
What does this mean in avoda (connection to G-d)? The “sea” alludes to those qualities inside of ourselves that are hidden, and “earth” alludes to how those qualities become revealed in the world outside of ourselves. Specifically, there are two kinds of “sea” inside, and we have to rule over both of them (as the verse says, “from sea to sea.”). Like it says in the prophet Zecharia (14:8), “On that day, living waters will flow from Jerusalem, shooting toward the primordial sea and shooting to the final sea.” One sea is “primordial”; that is the first of our soul-faculties – our intellect. And the other sea is “final”; it is the product and result of intellect and emotions – our actions. Our performance in this world is not perfect unless it flows from our intellect all the way through our actions. Complete connection with G-d is expressed when our intellect not only produces G-dly thoughts and ideas, but permeates our emotions and actions as well.
That is, to begin with, man must make all his thoughts holy, since his overall conduct depends upon his intellect. And then, when his intellect is secure, he must apply it to his heart and ultimately his actions. It is not enough to have good ideas and to understand things well. Nor is it sufficient for the ideas to give birth to good and holy feelings. Ultimately it is necessary to rule “from sea to sea,” from intellect to action, and to act upon our ideas.
However, after working on ourselves, ensuring that holiness permeates our intellect and our actions, it could still be that we’re only concerned with ourselves. It could be that all that we think, feel and do has only to do with our own selves, making sure that we are connected with and serving G-d. It may totally lack the dimension of connecting with and helping other people. That is why the verse continues, “from the river to the ends of the earth.” The river is the cradle of civilization, emerging from the garden of Eden, where man was created. We find ourselves in this cradle of civilization in order to turn it into a garden, as it was originally. Toward that end, our actions have to speak not only for ourselves, but for the sake of others. The purpose of the river emerging from Eden is to irrigate the creation – to permeate it with holiness and spirituality. We can’t ignore the rest of the world while we pursue our own spiritual perfection. We have to go to the “ends of the world” to help others as well, and that is why the verse says “from the river to the ends of the earth.”
From Likutei Sichot of the Lubavitcher Rebbe ztz’l, vol.38, pp. 100-102 Rabbi David Sterne, Jerusalem Connection in the Old City of Jerusalem