Sent to Make Peace
The prophet of zeal will return, the Chachamim teach, not to push anyone away but to bring peace to the world.
The last words of the prophets promise that Eliyahu will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. What, then, will he come to do? Rebbi Yehoshua received a tradition, handed down from Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and from teacher to teacher back to Moshe at Sinai, that Eliyahu will not come to declare families pure or impure, to push away or to draw near, except to undo what was done by force. Rebbi Yehudah says he will come only to draw near. Rebbi Shimon says he will come to settle disputes. And the Chachamim say: neither to push away nor to draw near, but to make peace in the world. The prophet who once stood alone against a whole nation, burning with zeal, will return as the one who brings hearts together.
Source: Mishnah, Eduyos 8:7 (on Malachi 3:23–24)
Eliyahu's mission is to turn parents and children toward each other, and we can begin it before he comes. This week, think of one relationship across the generations that has grown cool: a parent you call less than you should, a grown child, a grandparent. Make the first move. Call without an agenda, ask one real question, and listen to the answer. Let the conversation end warmly, even if nothing big is settled.