During a condolence call in Bnei Brak, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a leading authority in mainstream Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, promised a grieving father whose son had just passed away, “The redemption is closer than ever”.

It was reported in Kooker, a Hebrew language Orthodox news service, that Rabbi Kanievsky approached the bereaved man, who asked the rabbi, “How can you console me, when my dear son left behind ten orphans?”

Rabbi Kanievsky answered him, “Don’t be sad. The Messiah is already here. He will reveal himself very soon and your son will see his children again.”

The grieving father took comfort in Rabbi Kanievsky’s words, Kooker wrote.

It was reported last July that Rabbi Kanievsky predicted the Messiah would come this year since it is the year after a Shmittah (sabbatical) year. According to an ancient Jewish tradition quoted in the Talmud, the Oral Law, the Messiah will come in the year after the seven-year Shmittah cycle ends. This year in the Hebrew calendar will end on the evening of October 2.