We now come to Maseches Eduyos, chapter 8, mishnah 7 - the final mishnah of the tractate. Here the chain of testimonies is sealed with the testimony of Rabbi Yehoshua and other Sages, and it closes on a stirring note: what is destined to happen at the end of days with the coming of Eliyahu HaNavi.
A tradition was held by the Jewish people from the days of Moshe Rabbeinu that at the end of time a prophet would come and clarify matters. But that description - "clarify matters" - is vague. In later generations the prophet Malachi said: "Behold, I am sending you Eliyahu the prophet," and from here that future prophet who would clarify was identified: Eliyahu HaNavi. And what will he do? Malachi continues: "And he will turn the heart of fathers back to the children, and the heart of children back to their fathers." This phrase too requires explanation: what does it mean to turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers?
Before us are four opinions as to what Eliyahu HaNavi will do at the end of history:
The opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua:
This is what we learn in the mishnah: "Amar Rabbi Yehoshua, mekubal ani miRabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, sheshama meirabo, veRabo meirabo, halachah leMoshe miSinai, she'ein Eliyahu ba letamei uletaher, lerachek ulekarev" - Rabbi Yehoshua testifies to a tradition he received from the Nasi who preceded Rabban Gamliel, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, who received it from his teacher, and his teacher from his teacher, all the way back to Moshe Rabbeinu himself at Har Sinai: it is not the role of Eliyahu HaNavi to disqualify the lineage of those who have become mixed into the Jewish people.
How so? A person whose mother was not Jewish and the matter was never discovered, or who underwent an invalid conversion, and similar failures of lineage - once the matter has been forgotten and is unknown to people, and that person has blended into the community and is presumed to be a proper Jew, the language of Chazal is: "Once he has blended in, he has blended in." Once a person has blended into the population and people regard him as a proper Jew, that is his status. Apparently the Holy One arranges that such people ultimately have Jewish souls, even if originally they were mamzerim or not Jewish - and this is the halachah.
More than that: even if a person held such a secret, he is not permitted to reveal it. Those who have become mixed in should remain mixed in; they are proper Jews and the halachah validates them. Therefore Eliyahu HaNavi does not come to identify the true lineage of people who were mistakenly labeled over the course of time.
What, then, will Eliyahu HaNavi do according to Rabbi Yehoshua? He will deal with those who were brought close by force - where a person of power compelled the community to accept someone who is not truly Jewish - and with those who were pushed away by force, where a person of power arranged for a Jew of fine lineage to be rejected, mistakenly labeled, excommunicated or badly treated. Eliyahu HaNavi will come and declare: that person whom everyone treats as a Jew is not a Jew, and that person whom everyone treats as a non-Jew is in fact a Jew; this one is a mamzer and that one is not a kohen, and so on. The reference is to cases that are not secret at all, but known and public, and it was only the pressure applied to the community by people of power that caused people to act as they did. These are the cases Eliyahu HaNavi will come to set straight.
Rabbi Yehoshua gives examples: one family, Beis Tzrifa, that lived in Ever HaYarden, on the eastern side of the river - and a certain ruler, Ben Tzion, forcibly pushed them away and removed them from the Jewish population on the basis of lies; and another family, which also lived in Ever HaYarden, whom that same Ben Tzion forced the community to accept as Jews even though they were not. These are the kinds of cases that Eliyahu HaNavi will clarify: who deserves to be included and who to be kept out, and what people's true lineage is.
It is worth noting that the mishnah does not mention the name of the family whose lineage was not proper, because of the prohibition of lashon hara - and even when speaking of someone who is no longer alive, names are not mentioned. All the more so when speaking of a good person, whose name we would not wish to mention. Here, even though this was a family that was not Jewish and was brought close by coercion, the mishnah does not identify it explicitly.
The opinion of Rabbi Yehudah:
Rabbi Yehudah disagrees and holds that even in such a scenario, where people were brought close by coercion or pushed away by coercion, Eliyahu HaNavi does not come to unsettle people's minds. Those who were wronged and pushed away unlawfully - Eliyahu will see to bringing them close; but those who were brought close unlawfully - Eliyahu HaNavi will not come to remove them.
The View of Rabbi Shimon:
According to the first two views, the verse "and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children" deals with straightening out matters of lineage, and the disagreement is only whether it involves both bringing near and pushing away, or bringing near alone. Rabbi Shimon holds something entirely different: the verse speaks of actual fathers and actual sons, and it has nothing to do with lineage at all - Eliyahu does not get involved in that and leaves things as they are. Rather, disputes broke out between the fathers, who are the rabbis, and the sons, who are the students, and because of those disputes a separation and friction arose between them. Eliyahu the Prophet will rule who was right and who was mistaken in each and every dispute, and in that way everyone will return to a single agreement in halachah, and the Jewish people will once again be united.
It is interesting to note that this may be the basis for the Gemara's expression "teiku." Some explain that it has no clear etymology, but is rather a contraction of two words: "teheh ka'i" - let the dispute stand in place and remain unresolved. Others, however, understand, and so it is brought in Tosafos, that "teiku" is an acronym:
"Tishbi" - Eliyahu the Prophet, who came from Tishbi.
"Yetaretz" - will answer and resolve.
"Kushyos" - questions of one type.
"U'ba'ayos" - questions of another type, which seek information.
The point is that people have questions and have no answers, and Eliyahu the Prophet will come and answer them. This expression fits perfectly with Rabbi Shimon's approach to the role of Eliyahu the Prophet at the end of days.
The View of the Sages:
The Sages disagree and say: "lo lerachek velo lekarev, ela la'asos shalom ba'olam" - not to push away and not to bring near, but to make peace in the world. At the end of days there will be a time of war - and here the Rambam derives the situation that precedes the war of Gog and Magog - and because of it fathers and sons will be distanced from one another, since people will not be able to enter a country or leave it. Eliyahu the Prophet will come to make peace in the world, so that they will be able to reunite and prepare the way for the coming of Mashiach. It is possible that this final war of Gog and Magog will actually take place, but it will last no more than the blink of an eye; and it is possible that there will be no war at all, only an anticipated war, in which the Jewish people think they are in danger, when in fact they are not in danger and they are saved.
This is what the Sages mean, in the words of the Mishnah: "shene'emar hinei anochi sholeiach lachem es Eliyah haNavi" - as it is stated, "Behold, I am sending you Eliyah the Prophet," the words of the prophet Malachi, that the Holy One, Blessed is He, brings Eliyahu the Prophet, "veheishiv lev avos al banim velev banim al avosam" - and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers - that families will be reunited, and the separation forced upon them by political problems will be resolved. And this will pave the way for the coming of Mashiach, with the help of Hashem.
In summary: the Mishnah that concludes Maseches Eduyos presents four views on the role of Eliyahu the Prophet at the end of days: according to Rabbi Yehoshua - clarifying the lineage only of those who were brought near or pushed away by sheer force, and not of those who were absorbed into the nation; according to Rabbi Yehudah - to bring near those who were pushed away unlawfully, but not to push away; according to Rabbi Shimon - deciding the disputes between the rabbis and their students and restoring unity in halachah; and according to the Sages - making peace in the world and preparing the way for the coming of Mashiach.
With this we have completed Maseches Eduyos, with the help of Heaven. And we move on - next in line is Maseches Horayos.