Without doubt, antibiotics are one of the most significant, lifesaving medical advances of the 20th century. Unfortunately, however, all antibiotics sold today are like a double-edged sword: Not only do they kill pathogenic bacteria, they also indiscriminately kill harmless and even useful bacteria that make up the normal flora of the human body. Without these useful bacteria, which compete with and crowd out the harmful bacteria, we are more susceptible to dangerous secondary infections.

Scientists in England have at last succeeded in developing a new antibiotic which wipes out Staphylococcus aureus, a virulent strain of bacteria that is resistant to many drugs and is the cause of many hospital-acquired infections. The new antibiotic is selective for Staphylococcus and does not harm other species of bacteria.

The method of selective warfare, of localizing the attack only against the most dangerous elements while leaving the harmless alone, has been adopted not only by science but by the military as well. In our generation we no longer witness world wars that sweep neutral nations into the fray and exact heavy civilian casualties. Modern warfare is characterized by targeted military operations in Iraq and Pakistan, with sincere attempts not to hurt innocent people. Sophisticated computerized systems detect and target security risks with remarkable accuracy.   

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We can surmise that this sweeping change in the world parallels a remarkable development in the spiritual world. Great changes will come about through the discernment of a single individual with a highly developed sense of smell.

Regarding Moshiach, it is said that he will judge with his sense of smell. He will discern between a tzadik and rasha simply by sensing the truth, as the prophet Isaiah writes: "And he shall be animated by the fear of the Lord, and neither with the sight of his eyes shall he judge, nor with the hearing of his ears shall he chastise." His sensitivity to goodness and holiness will enable him to detect the difference between good and evil, allowing him to protect the righteous and obliterate the evil.

Under the leadership of Moshiach, evil in all its revealed and hidden forms will disappear, and there will no longer be even the possibility of the existence of evil. The positive forces, including those that are now hidden, will be freed from the threat of terror and will flourish unimpeded, to reach heights that we cannot even imagine, in both the personal and global spheres. This is what awaits us in the soon-to-be revealed era of Moshiach.

Prof. Yirmiyahu Branover is chairman of the Center of Magnetohydrodynamic Studies and Training at Ben-Gurion University.