אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: אין בן דוד בא עד שתפשוט מלכות אדום כל העולם כולו ט' חדשים
The Gemara (Yoma 10a) says that Moshiach will only come after Malchus Edom, the final evil superpower, enjoys world domination for nine months. This is proved by the Pasuk that says, לכן יתנם עד עת יולדה ילדה, in which Geulah is compared to birth. Just as birth is preceded by nine months of pregnancy, so too the redemption will follow nine months of peak exile.
What is the depth of this comparison?
The Maharal (Netzach Yisrael 21) explains that Am Yisrael hasn't yet begun to truly be. The potential of the people has not realized its actualization. The state of the Jewish people in the exile is likened to that of a fetus in the womb: raw potential, barely alive and harbored-up waiting to thrive in the light of day. ויגידו צדקתו לעם נולד. Many Psukim drive this point home. (There are also Psukim that make a similar reference to the Jews upon their exodus from Mitzrayim.)
Geulah marks the birth of our truer selves.
This applies to my life as well: Rebbe Nachman Mi'Breslev zy"a explains that we most often fall, or enter a state of spiritual exile so-to-speak right when we are on the cusp of attaining a higher level in Avodas Hashem. The obstacle is there to create the Razton needed to grow further.
Just as it is with the individual so to is it with the nation as a whole. This is the meaning of why the Galus must maintain its zenith for nine months. The nation is waiting to be "born". The individual's personal exile drives him to a higher state of being. The צפיה לישועה - the nationwide longing for the redemption, can only stem forth within the context of Galus.
More on this to come...
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