Rav Kanievsky on Mashiach's Near-arrival

This blog is not a "mashiach blog", and I do not report every time a rav or mekubal mentions the word mashiach or says mashiach is ready to come... I personally don't get any chizzuk from such statements, and in the 2000 years of our galus since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, so many people have said mashiach is coming by this or that date, and they have all been wrong, no matter how great the rav who said it was.. so I don't see a point in tracking such statements... if I am going to report a "mashiach sighting" it is because of a different aspect of what happened that I feel is noteworthy.
For example, Rav Moshe Shternbuch, "gaavad" of the Eida, recently said mashiachis coming soon and pointed to the Russian takeover of Crimea, based on the Vilna Gaon, as his indication, and added that if we strengthen ourselves in our faith at this time, mashiach will come now. OK. I hope he is right.
More interestingly, Kooker reports that a rosh yeshiva went in to Rav Chaim Kanievsky this past week for a bracha that he should be successful on the fundraising trip he was about to embark upon.
According to the reported story, Rav Kanievsky refused to bless him with a successful trip. Rather, Rav Kanievsky said that there is no need for the fundraising trip, as mashiach is coming very soon.
It seems that the rosh yeshiva actually canceled his trip because of what Rav Kanievsky said. I am impressed with his emunas chachomim, and especially for his sake, but also for all of us, I hope the summer zman opens up with the yeshiva under the auspices of Melech Hamashiach. I am also surprised Rav Kanievsky would say such a thing - saying not to do hishtadlus necessary for the upkeep of a yeshiva - I am sure he knows the history of "mashiach sightings" far better than I do and knows how many times they have turned out to be incorrect. It looks like Rav Kanievsky is really convinced that the mashiach's arriival is imminent.
We are in the month of Nissan, and we know that Nissam is the month of the redemption. Only one week of Nissam has passed, so we have 3 more to go. Hopefully Rav Kanievsky is right. I don't know any other way out of so many of our fights and internal squabbles and problems.
------------------------------------------------------ Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel ------------------------------------------------------