Mike Pence, Israel, and the Final Redemption

There are moments when we recognize that the world is shifting and that something momentous is happening. We all have our view of the future and what it will be.  Those of us who are believers tend to have varied accounts of the End of Days.  Despite the many interpretations of Biblical passages dealing with the final Redemption all agree on the main points.  These involve a return of the people of Israel to their ancestral homeland within the borders of their ancient Kingdom.  This return appears to occur after millenia of years wandering in exile.  The Land which lay fallow suddenly sprouts again and more than that the People of Israel become a leading force for good throughout the whoe world.  Of course there are prophecies and accounts of trepidation as envisioned in multiple chapters in Zecharia and Ezekiel, but there is not saying to what extent these prophecies must occur because each prophet spoke in generalities.

Most of the prophecies detailing the return of the Jewish people to their Divinely ordained homeland have occurred.  The miraculous wars fought against all odds and the continuing ingathering of the exiles and now the next stage which appears to be about locating and integrating the lost tribes back into Israel is already well under way.

The 70th Year Marks a Crossing Point

The number 70 in Judaism is a critical number.  Our sages recognize it as an end of one stage and a beginning of the next.  70 played an important role at the end of the first exile when it was clear that King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Israel after 70 years just as the prophets said he would.

We are now at an important inflection point in world history.  This is the 70th year since Israel’s founding and we have a President and Vice President in America that not only won the election last year in miraculous fashion, but seem to understand that they are meant to play a pivotal role in history.

Mike Pence knows the Bible and with this knowledge it is no surprise that when he spoke at the Knesset yesterday he mentioned the number 70 and its connection to the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital.

Mike Pence spoke on this fact with the following words:

“Seventy years ago, the United States was proud to be the first nation in the world to recognize the State of Israel.  But as you well know, the work we began on that day was left unfinished, for while the United States recognized your nation, one administration after another refused to recognize your capital.

But just last month, President Donald Trump made history.  He righted a 70-year wrong; he kept his word to the American people when he announced that the United States of America will finally acknowledge Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. 

The Jewish people’s unbreakable bond to this sacred city reaches back more than 3,000 years.  It was here, in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, that Abraham offered his son, Isaac, and was credited with righteousness for his faith in God.

It was here, in Jerusalem, that King David consecrated the capital of the Kingdom of Israel.  And since its rebirth, the modern State of Israel has called this city the seat of its government.”

The Vilna Gaon said that the final redemption will occur in a similar fashion as the redemption during the Second Temple period. That is up until the very end.  Pence paid homage to the very fact that the people of Israel are the descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He made a clear connection to the miraculous rise of the Nation of Israel in its historic homeland to the final redemption.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev clearly states that the end will not begin on Pesach, but rather Purim.  He is not talking about actual dates, but concepts. Purim is about the miraculous wrapped within the guise of the mundane.  So too now.  What seems like simple politics is the Redemption literally unfolding in front of our eyes.

Esav’s Head Can Be Rectified While Its Body Dies

Our sages teach us that the Roman Empire and the subsequent Catholic Church and now the decadent morality of the Western World are the outgrowth of Esav, Jacob’s brother.  Yet there is a curious midrash, which details the burial of Jacob and the subsequent decapitation of Esav (who tried to stop it).  Esav’s head mysteriously rolled into the Cave of the Patriarchs along with Jacob’s body.

We know from extra biblical sources that Esav knew and believed in Torah and the Creator, but his body’s lusts and drives overtook his reasoning and drove his decisions.  The midrash I detailed above indicates that at the end Esav’s head can be and will be redeemed and come to Jacob’s aid.

There is no question about it. America is far different from any other nation aside from Israel.  In the cosmic archetype structure of the universe, the European drive to destroy Israel as well as individual freedom appears to be analogous to Esav’s body.  Juxtaposed to this is America, which sought out to redeem and return Christianity to its original source.

Pence said the following in regards to America’s special reverence to the Bible and Christianity’s Hebrew roots:

“My country’s very first settlers also saw themselves as pilgrims, sent by Providence, to build a new Promised Land.  The songs and stories of the people of Israel were their anthems, and they faithfully taught them to their children, and do to this day.  And our founders, as others have said, turned to the wisdom of the Hebrew Bible for direction, guidance, and inspiration.

America’s first President, George Washington, wrote with favor to “the children of the stock of Abraham.”  Our second President, John Adams, declared that the Jews, in his words, “have done more to civilize man than any other nation.”

And your story inspired my forebears to create what our 16th President called a “new birth of freedom.”  And down through the generations, the American people became fierce advocates of the Jewish people’s aspiration to return to the land of your forefathers to claim your own new birth of freedom in your beloved homeland.” 

With Esav’s cosmic head now severed from its decadent European body, the American ideal can be restored to its true roots.  While European leaders deny the miraculous return of the Jewish people to their homeland, Americans do the opposite.  Mike Pence said as much with the following:

“The Jewish people held fast to a promise through all the ages, written so long ago, that “even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens,” from there He would gather and bring you back to the land which your fathers possessed.

Through a 2,000-year exile, the longest of any people, anywhere, through conquests and expulsions, inquisitions and pogroms, the Jewish people held on to this promise, and they held on to it through the longest and darkest of nights.  A night that Elie Wiesel proclaimed “seven times sealed.”  A night that transformed the small faces of children into smoke under a silent sky.  A night that consumed the faith of so many and that challenges the faith of so many still.

And tomorrow, when I stand with my wife at Yad Vashem to honor the 6 million Jewish martyrs of the Holocaust, we will marvel at the faith and resilience of your people, who just three years after walking beneath the shadow of death, rose up from the ashes to resurrect yourselves, to reclaim a Jewish future, and to rebuild the Jewish state.  

And this April, we will mark the day when the Jewish people answered that ancient question — can a country be born in a day, can a nation be born in a moment? — as the State of Israel celebrates the 70th anniversary of its birth.  

As you prepare to commemorate this historic milestone, I say, along with the good people of Israel, here and around the world: Shehecheyanu, v’kiyimanu, v’higiyanu la’z’man ha’zeh.” 

Never during exile have we the Jewish people, the Children of Israel received such praise and admiration and offers of true partnership to fulfill the Creator’s will.  It is precisely this that seems to indicate that we may not be in exile anymore.  The 70 years since the creation of the State of Israel is almost up.  It is this 70 years that was a transition between exile and redemption.

We have been so busy building our nation that it takes rightous gentiles yearning to be part of G-D’s grand plan to tell us what is happening before us.  The Nation of Israel is meant to be a light to the world; a magnet for others to come and join us for the work ahead.  The next stage of the Redemption is this work.

 

Longing for Redemption

Throughout most of the year, we are satisfied and grateful as we appreciate the redemption process unfolding before our eyes. The return of Jewish self-determination following nearly two thousand years of exile, the Land of Israel bearing her fruits after being barren for so long and the revival of the Hebrew language as a spoken vernacular are only three of the many wondrous feats that have graced us in the modern age. And although the re-born State of Israel is still far from perfect and often requires a deeper vision to recognize the Hebrew Kingdom developing to fruition beneath the surface despite all of the challenges that exist, our general attitude must be positive as we acknowledge the historic significance of our generation and express gratitude to HaShem for the miracles performed on our behalf.

But once a year we take time to recognize how much of the redemption is still incomplete as we mourn the destruction of our Temple and the Jewish people’s lack of complete national freedom. On the one hand, we see the goal – that amazing revolution in reality that is moving the world towards what it was always meant to be. We see the Divine Ideal from before Creation sprouting forth as Israel experiences a national renaissance on our native soil.

At the same time, however, during these sorrowful days, we remember how much of that absolute goal is still absent from our reality – how the Temple has yet to be rebuilt, how much of our country has yet to be liberated from foreign rule, how submissive our leaders behave to the demands of foreign powers, how socioeconomic injustices plague our society, how unbridgeable the gaps seem between Israel and our neighbors, how rampant corruption appears to permeate our political system and how many of our people still live in exile by choice.

This recognition of what is currently lacking is itself part of the appreciation we feel throughout the entire year. The true understanding of redemption can only be perceived when we are able to see where the process is going, what great historic objective is about to be attained and how much we still have to work for its completion. This understanding of the State of Israel’s deficiencies is what gives us the ability to value our achievements – to appreciate the foundations that have already been built.

Three weeks, nine days and then finally one day a year we remember and experience anguish for what is still not complete and how much of a struggle still awaits us. Because of how much the world is suffering today and how great and amazing Israel’s complete redemption will be, we are overcome with grief for what the world is still waiting for – that perfect, ultimate rectification of existence that will bring the world to levels of blessing and perfection beyond what humankind can even currently comprehend.

In his introduction to Musar Avikha, Rabbi Avraham Yitzḥak HaKohen Kook writes that “As long as a person does not learn for himself the lofty essence of the soul of man and the loftiness of the soul of Israel and the elevated value of Eretz Yisrael, as well as the longing and yearning every Jew must feel for the building of the Temple and the redemption of Israel, it is almost impossible to experience the taste of Divine worship.”

If one does not understand the true essence of Am Yisrael or experience a desire for the return of G-D’s Temple, he probably cannot help but find daily prayers somewhat monotonous. All of the requests in the Amidah are directed toward superior ideals – the full expression of the Nation of Israel in our land and the entire system of everything in this world as it was always meant to be. But if one does not appreciate the significance and true grandeur of these things and only drearily says the words because they are written in the book, he may justifiably wonder why tefillah feels so dry. If he has not learned and clarified for himself the value of these vehicles – what they do for the world and reality and all of humanity, then the words of the prayers will feel meaningless, as they do not genuinely stem from the depths of his soul.

When instructing us to serve HaShem with all of our hearts, the Torah is referring specifically to tefillah. As it would be ridiculous to assume that the Kadosh Barukh Huactually needs our prayers, the obligation to engage in the activity three times a day is clearly for the sake of something beneficial to us. Tefillah serves as a thrice-daily exercise session for our ratzon (will power) and an examination for the true quality of our lives. It is the essential instrument for measuring how much we link up to HaShem – how much our conscious will is aligned with the will of our Divine Source.

By exercising our will three times a day, tefillah helps us to properly internalize and direct our lives towards the national aspirations of the Jewish people. The true intensity and quality of our lives as Jews can be determined successful when that which we read from the siddur is actually close to our hearts. When healing for the sick, the ingathering of our exiles, the restoration of justice, the rebuilding of the Temple and universal peace are the concerns that regularly occupy our thoughts and deeds, we can be confident that we truly want that which HaShem wants and we are then able tol’hitpallel with true attachment and devotion.

Sincere tefillah logically stems from the emptiness we feel at the absence of that which we request. If one occupies himself with the study of Torah and clarifies for himself what is yet to be achieved, he will begin to feel pain for what is missing from our world. He will become thirsty with yearnings for redemption and recite the tefillot from the depths of his heart. In order to feel this emptiness, however, one must know and appreciate the true value of Israel’s redemption and what blessing and refinement it brings to Creation.

Rabbi Moshe Ḥaim Lutzatto writes in Mesillat Yesharim that a person should feel constant, almost physical pain for the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the Jewish people. But how many of us are so consciously unified with Israel’s collective soul that in these days before the ninth of Menaḥem Av we feel the anguish of the Hebrew Nation and what is lacking from our reality? How many of us are so sensitive to the humiliation of Israel and to the accompanying concealment of HaShem’s Ideal for this world that we actually suffer this torment in the depths of our very beings? If we could understand the reality of what the world is actually missing, we would not be able to concern ourselves with what we can or cannot eat, buy or listen to during this period of national mourning.

To truly feel the deficiency in the world around us, we must learn to recognize the magnitude of the redemption unfolding in our times and be able to appreciate that which has already been accomplished. Only with this appreciation are we able to comprehend what is still missing from the process and what we must do to effectively participate in transforming the ninth of Av from a day of mourning to a festival of unparalleled joy.

HAVE WE HAVE ARRIVED? Israel, Syria, and the Final Redemption

Isaiah 17:1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

The above verse has been rolled out over and over again since the Syrian civil war began six years ago.  The verse offers an important sign that indicates the final stage of the redemption of the Nation of Israel at the End of Days. Now, with tensions rising between the USA and Russia over President Trump’s shooting of 59 missiles into Syrian territory, the above verse has become extremey significant.

With those 59 missiles Donald Trump not only recalibrated the Syrian conflict, he has changed his and in turn America’s relationship with the Putin regime in Russia to one of possible rapproachment to nearing open conflict.

King Solomon says the following in the book of Proverbs:

21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever He will.

We believers know that a leader has no true will power of his own when it comes to global affairs and so the Trump White House no matter the promises before the election of not getting involved in Syria is now involved. Trump is not the sort of president to back down and there is no position Russia or Iran could retreat to in order to compromise with the USA on Assad’s future.  Given this, the conflict in Syria has become the trigger for something far bigger.

In ancient days Damascus was always the thorn in the side of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. This ongoing tug of war between the Kingdom of Israel and Aram and later Assyria played itself out in much of the book of Kings.  The State of Israel at this stage is a representation of that Kingdom, with only the Messiah representing the return of the Davidic Kingdom of Judah.  Furthermore we understand that Damascus falling at the End of Days is equally important, not just for the rectification that needs to occur in relation to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but because of the way in which this once great city becomes no more.

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The Bible is replete with accountings of a final war between the Nations of the World. Although this war is global, it is also connected to the Land of Israel.  The modern State of Syria, at least the area of Syria and Lebanon up to the Euphrates River fell within the Davidic Kingdom and will be part of that reconstituted Kingdom at the End of Days.

The Nations of the World duke it out in and around the Land of Israel just prior to the Messiah’s arrival.  It is this war that spreads out from a collapsing Damascus that lays the foundation for a new era.  It is once again the principal of chaos to order, we see thoughout the Creation and expressed so beautifuly in the beginning of the Torah and its accounting of the Creation of the World. We are entering a period of intense chaos, one which will lead to a new order.

Syria, Passover, Rebbe Nachman, and the Ongoing Redempion

Every year we find ourselves back at the Seder and yet every year there seems to be a new set of personal, national, and global challenges.  Passover is our time to feel that our personal and national freedom is guided by the Almighty.

Each one of us sees the world and the chaos that flows throughout it as a threat to our very existence.  Yet, the opposite is true.  The chaos is an opportunity.  This chaos will settle and afterwards there will be a new order and set of rules for the world to follow. Yet, just like the time of the first redemption we did not know when the chaos would end, we drew comfort in following Moses, the one true leader of the generation. However, it was not Moses alone. The Midrash teaches that it was in fact the bones of Joseph who the Nation of Israel carried out of Egypt and went in front of it that led to the Sea splitting.

We are at the proverbial sea again. There are nations all around us.  Some are fighting eachother and others are preparing to attack us.  We have no where to go and yet we wonder in which form our salvation will come. The politicians want us to believe it is they who we should trust, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that the Messiah will conquer the world without firing a shot.  How does this happen? We know the redemption from Egypt is a prototype for the final redemption.  The chaos of the world around us is nothing other than the clearing of the deck to make way for a far higher consciousness to prevail. The boundaries and order established by the elites are crumbling. The false kingdom is being laid to waste.

Damascus, who challenged the Kingdom of Israel thousands of years ago, essentially challenging the Creator’s plan, will now be destroyed as the empires of the world take one final swipe at eachother before their reign comes to an end.

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Rebbe Nachman said his fire wil burn until the coming the Messiah. Those who opposed his leadership just over 200 years ago, thought the statement was mad. Yet, it is Rebbe Nachman and his teachings who have penetrated the mainstream Jewish conciousness in a way that could have never been imagined even 20 years ago. As the world of lies continues to crumble, the world of truth prepares to be revealed.

Passover instills us with a deep faith that all is in the hands of the Almighty and all will be good no matter the chaos that seems to be ovetaking us.  Syria is the trigger for the final war. Rebbe Nachman teaches that simple faith in the Almighty is the key to the final redemption.  Now more than ever we too need to cling to the faith that all is for the best just as we did during the very first Passover thousands of years ago.

Redemption Requires Israel to Shed its Slave Mentality

“Pharaoh approached; the Children of Israel raised their eyes and behold! – Egypt was journeying after them, and they were very frightened; the Children of Israel cried out to HaShem. They said to Moshe, ‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the Wilderness? What is this that you have done to us to take us out of Egypt? Is this not the statement that we made to you in Egypt, saying, Let us be and we will serve Egypt? – For it is better that we should serve Egypt than that we should die in the Wilderness!’

Moshe said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand fast and see the salvation of HaShem that He will perform for you today; for as you have seen Egypt today, you shall not see them ever again! HaShem shall make war for you, and you shall remain silent.’” (SHEMOT14:10– 14)

Acknowledging that Israel greatly outnumbered the Egyptian military at the Sea of Reeds, the Ibn Ezra provides a remarkable explanation of the above verses. He writes: “How could a camp of six hundred thousand men fear their pursuers? Why should they not fight for their lives and the lives of their children? The answer is that the Egyptians had been Israel’s masters. The generation leaving Egypt had learned from childhood to endure the Egyptian yoke and they possessed a low soul. Being weak and unaccustomed to warfare, how could they now fight against their masters? We see that Amalek came with a small force and, if not for Moshe’s tefillah, they would have weakened Israel. G-D alone does great deeds and orchestrates events. He arranged for all the males who had left Egypt to die out – because they lacked the strength to fight the Canaanites – until another generation arose who had not seen exile and who possessed an exalted spirit.”

The Ibn Ezra teaches that despite their superior numbers, Israel was not commanded to stand and fight. The Hebrews had been conditioned by several generations of slavery to fear and obey their Egyptian masters. Possessing a low soul made them near incapable of warfare, thus requiring Moshe’s tefillot to later overcome the Amalekite ambush (SHEMOT 17:8-13). According to the Ibn Ezra, this low soul was the reason that the generation departing Egypt would later need to die out in the desert over a forty-year period. Their children – a new generation raised in freedom – would then be able to wage a war of liberation against the Canaanite kings.

The low soul that the Ibn Ezra speaks of is similar to what modern psychologists term “learned helplessness.” At various historic points, this slave mentality has prevented the Jewish people from successfully advancing our national mission. One example of this neurosis in recent decades has been the confusion among many scholars concerning the process of redemption and how the Jewish people must relate to – and interact with – the historic events unfolding in modern times.

Israel’s Prophets and ancient Sages teach that there are two ways in which the final redemption can occur. There is the miraculous way (aḥishena) and the more mundane natural process (bi’eta). Due to the bitter realities of life in the Diaspora, Jewish communities in recent centuries were conditioned to believe that the redemption could only transpire through open miracles. Taking the initiative to advance salvation through physically conquering the Land of Israel was scorned as forbidden by many rabbis who claimed that Israel must sit patiently and wait for the Kadosh Barukh Hu to redeem His people. In the ghettos of Europe, where day-to-day life included a fear of gentile persecution, the idea of Jews valiantly recapturing Eretz Yisrael by force of arms seemed as if it would be even more an aberration of the natural order of the world than HaShem performing supernatural miracles on our behalf. As a result of this reality existing for so long, many Jews became trapped in this mindset of helplessness even once the political reality surrounding them had changed.

Other factors also contributed to the Jewish idealization of learned helplessness. Because of the internal damage inflicted upon Israel by so many unsuccessful messianic movements, the study of the redemption process was halted in most houses of study throughout Europe, leading to any attempt at bringing salvation closer through human efforts becoming widely seen as tantamount to an act of heresy. The combination of these factors created an expectation that the redemption would occur through supernatural events above and beyond human participation. Practical efforts to achieve redemption came to be viewed as destructive behavior stemming from a weakness of faith.

Learned helplessness became most prevalent in Jewish circles during the decades leading up to the development of political Zionism. The handful of Torah giants at the time who understood that Hebrew liberation could – and most probably would – unfold through a series of natural historic events were unable to effectively spread their ideas or inspire the faithful masses to actively participate in the redemption process. But examining the words of these visionary scholars can help us to retroactively recognize how correct they truly were and how much their teachings still illuminate our proper path.

Rabbi Yehuda Ḥai Alkalai, the famed kabalist of Sarajevo, wrote of redemption from within in Raglei Mevaser. In it he explains: “Redemption will reach us in a natural way. Had the Almighty wished to redeem His people through miracles, the exile would not have lasted so long. Moreover, in the present Jewish situation even a naturally attained redemption would be miraculous. Redemption will grow from within the people and not with the Messiah performing miracles, as in the days of the Exodus from Egypt. Final redemption will be the result of national initiative aided by G-D, as it is written: ‘And the Children of Judah and the Children of Israel will be gathered together’ (HOSHEA 2:2), and ‘Shake yourself from the dust, arise and sit down, O Jerusalem, release the bonds from around your neck,’ (YISHAYAH 52:2). Yishayah uses the reflexive form to emphasize that redemption will stem from self-help.”

In his Reply to the Skeptics, Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmakher states: “To our great misfortune there are yet many who mistakenly believe that they will sit in the comfort of their homes when suddenly a voice from heaven will proclaim redemption. But it will not be so! The Babylonian exile, though destined to last no more than seventy years, required the practical leadership of Daniel, Ezra and Neḥemia to achieve a significant return toEretz Yisrael. Unlike many of our own contemporaries they did not say ‘let every man remain at his place and redemption will come of itself.’”

Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Kalisher illuminates the way to redemption in Drishat Tzion. He writes: “It is wrong to believe that redemption will come as a sudden revelation of G-D from heaven, calling upon His people to leave the Diaspora. The vision of the Prophets must come true, but not as a sudden event. Final redemption will come in stages with the return of the people to the land and ultimately by the coming of the Messiah. Dear friend, you must rid yourself of the illusion that the call of the Messiah will come as a bolt from the blue arousing the sleeping masses. Redemption will come about through an awakening of well dispersed gentile leaders and governments, viewing favorably the return of Jews to the Holy Land.”

In regards to Rabbi Kalisher’s last point, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Ḥarlop – a prominent disciple of Rabbi Avraham Yitzḥak HaKohen Kook and former head of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav – teaches in the sixth volume of Mei Marom (Mayanei HaYeshua) that initial gentile support for Israel’s return to our land must eventually give way to hostility from the international community in order facilitate a later stage of the redemption process that will force the Jewish people to become independent through the realization that our strength and security stem not from alliances with other nations but directly from our relationship with the Kadosh Barukh Hu.

In Awake, Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever teaches: “Even though natural events will lead to redemption, this is not simply an historical accident. There are no coincidences in the Universe, since G-D’s Will is also manifested in the course of natural events. Accordingly, it is for us to rouse the powers that be to treat the Jewish people favorably, whereupon Divine help will surely be forthcoming in the ingathering of the exiles to the Holy Land. As the Prophet proclaims (YISHAYAH 62:10): ‘Go through, go through the gates; clear the way of the people; cast up, pave the road; clear it of stones; raise a banner over the peoples.’ Yishayah’s intention is clear: we must awaken and do all in our power to clear away the obstacles in the path of our redemption.”

These scholars stressed the fact that human initiative would be necessary in bringing Israel’s redemption to fruition. Their ideas were highly advanced for their time – especially when compared with many of their contemporaries – and their teachings represent a Torah of action that challenges the psychological state of learned helplessness. While it is clear that we have still not yet tasted full redemption, the process has certainly begun to unfold. There exists a sovereign Hebrew state in much ofEretz Yisrael but in order for us to participate in bringing total salvation, a higher approach to Torah study must be adopted.

The holy Ohr HaḤaim speaks of redemption and self-awakening in his commentary on VAYIKRA 25:25. There he states: “Redemption will start with a stirring in men’s hearts urging them: Do you feel secure living in a strange land, exiled from your G-D? What pleasure does life offer so far removed from the lofty values that were yours in the presence of the Almighty? Superficial, ill-conceived desire will then become repulsive and a spiritual craving will awaken your soul, improving your actions until G-D will redeem. Who will be called to stand in judgment? The Jewish leaders of the Diaspora who throughout the years did not encourage their people to return to Zion. They will be made to bear the shame of a forsaken homeland.”

In Eim Habanim Smeiḥah, written during the Holocaust, Rabbi Yissakhar Shlomo Teikhtal echoes the Ohr HaḤaim’s statements on the dangers of passivity. “The Orthodox, on the other hand, those zealous for G-D’s Will, stood aside and took no part in this effort. They remained with their traditional view that ‘sitting back and doing nothing is best’… It seems to me that all the leaders who prevented their followers from going and joining the builders [of Eretz Yisrael] will never be able to cleanse their hands and say ‘our hands have not spilt this blood.’”

A new generation has arisen today, alive with a more vibrant Torah of redemption. It is a generation infused with an exalted spirit of vitality as Israel’s youth is again being raised on our natural soil. The homeland – which had for so long refused to provide fruits to any stranger – has blossomed under the renewed political sovereignty of her native people.

The vitality infused into the Jewish people today has inspired incredible acts of valor and self-sacrifice, even amongst those not observant or even knowledgeable of mitzvot. At nearly impossible odds, Israel has won miraculous victories over our enemies. We have liberated portions of our homeland and revived the Hebrew language after many long centuries of separation from both. These incredible events are part of a greater process prodding history forward as Israel returns to the international stage in order to ultimately shine blessing and light to mankind. HaShem has inspired a new generation with a lofty spirit uncorrupted by fear, passivity or the learned helplessness of the Diaspora. Israel’s youth demands a greater and fuller Torah that encompasses and infuses all aspects of life with the necessary strength and courage to usher in an era of universal redemption.

Trump, Israel, and the Final Redemption

Today is the day.  The unlikely rise of Donald Trump, from building mogul, reality TV Star to the highest office in America has been the story of the past year.  Pundits counted him out, the left thought he was a clown, and his own party wanted nothing to do with him. Yet, he succeeded in a near miraculous fashion.

Jewish history is ripe with unexpected events, historical anomalies, and non-Jewish political leaders lending a hand to help push the long march towards redemption.  It is not lost on anyone that Trump’s rise is more than just about a flamboyant entertainer unexpectedly rising to the top.  Trump’s daughter and son-son-law are both observant Jews who support Israel in an unwavering fashion.  Some of Trump’s closest friends are both orthodox and highly supportive of Israel’s permanent return to all of its historic homeland.

While all of the above makes a Trump Presidency truly historic for those who support the Jewish return to all of the nation of Israel’s ancestral homeland, there is something far deeper going on.

America is Different

The Founding Fathers of America understood that there is a Creator to all things; an active G-d which is involved with the history of the world.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

By naming the Creator as the source of our rights Jefferson was hooking the destiny of America with that of the Bible.  The Founder Fathers believed their destiny was so bound up with the Hebrew Bible that there were those among them that wanted to make Hebrew the official language of America.  Afterall Adams and others were considered to be Hebraists, which was a movement that sought to reconnect Christianity to its roots in Judaism.

The final redemption is about mankind recognizing that the Creator and his Torah are the source and building blocks for all.  Trump may not be politically correct.  He may be thrice married and expresses himself in a way liberals scoff at, but he understands the roots of America’s greatness.  This greatness unlike its European counterparts, is America’s connection to the G-d of Israel, which goes back even before the Declaration of Independence.

While Europe has done everything in its power to rid itself of Christianity’s Hebrew roots, America has done the opposite and embraced them.

Eisav’s Head is Burried with the Patriarchs

There is a midrash (tanaic story from the time of the Mishna) that relates to Eisav coming to the Cave of the Patriarchs when Jacob’s sons come to bury him. Chushim the son of Dan quickly lobbed his head off.  The head rolled into the cave and is buried with Israel’s patriarchs and matriarchs.

The sages of the Torah teach that Rome is the expression of the exile of Eisav in the world.  Rome became Christian and spent centuries attempting to sever Christianity from its source. Now at the End of Days, the midrash makes more sense than ever.  Eisav’s head was always “kosher,” while his body, not.  America has a unique role in reconnecting “the head” of Eisav to its Israelite source while disconnecting it from its pagan influence, which is drawn from the decadent liberal culture flowing from the main stream media, Europe, and American universities.

The battle between Israel and the world is far more to do with reaffirming a direct connection to the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and spreading their teachings to the world.  Far too many Jews have forgotten that this is Israel’s mission. Ironically, Americans understand that they too can share in this mission by lending a hand to the Jews that do embrace the covenant of their forefathers.

On a subconscious level, this is what angers those who oppose Trump. At a base level they desire to break America’s bonds with its Hebrew roots, because they themselves are fearful of the responsibility such roots carry with them.

At the End of Days, just before the Redemption as Israel returns to its Land, the prophecies are unfolding as written. There is another midrash that clearly states: Eisav will return the Crown of Torah to Israel. It does not say Israel will take its crown, but rather it will be returned to it, connotating a partnership.

Trump and America appear ready to stand up to the global elite and fulfill the USA’s mandate to be a partner in redeeming Israel and all of mankind, that is if those that oppose the new President don’t try to uproot the source of its wellbeing first.

REDEMPTION WATCH: On January 15th the End Begins

As we creep closer to the end of Barack Obama’s tenure as President of the United States, he and his erstwhile henchman, John Kerry have decided to undertake a full scale war against the tiny Jewish State and in doing so take on G-d himself. With UNSC Resolution 2334 deeming everything beyond the 1948 Armistice line as being occupied territory (including Judaism’s holiest sites) the pair, along with French President Hollande are set for one final battle.

On January 15th, with just 5 days to go until Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, 70 nations will gather in Paris, France to push Israel into coughing up just enough of its sacrocanct land to create another Arab state, called Palestine.

The French Initiative is about feeding the Islamic beast, so Europe and America can be saved.

Obama and Kerry know what they are doing.  They have been planing this for a few years.  They have been waiting, biding their time until the last moments of their administration in order to put the screws on the Jewish State.

They will have “Palestine” come what may.  This is their dream, their yearning.  Obama and Kerry despise us.  They despise our history and our return. By backing Palestine, they get to be the great refuters of the anient prophecies. “You see!”  they seem to be saying. “We told you the G-d of Israel is not real.”

But the Almighty is real. It is he who has brought us back to our homeland and it is G-d himself who will redeem us at the End of Days.

Ironically it is the very conference in Paris, which instead of removing the hand of G-d from history will act as the catalyst for the final war at the End of Days.

The prophets tell us of a great gathering of the nations of the world to occur right before the Messiah is revealed. This gathering is intended to come against the Jewish people’s hold over Jerusalem. But before they succeed G-d destroys them. In other prophecies as in Zecharia, they fight amongst themselves on their way to taking Jerusalem.

This war is called Gog U’Magog.  The great Chassidic master the Baal Shem Tov teahes that Gog U’Magog is code for the 70 nations. Why? The numerical value of the Hebrew letters of Gog U’Magog is 70.  These are the 70 archetypal nations of the world. These are 70 nations opposite the 70 souls of the House of Jacob.

Why France? France in Hebrew is צרפת.   When shifted around the letters spell פרצת, which in English means to break through.

The 70 nations (Gog U’Magog), the descendents of those that built the Tower of Babel are set the to break he world through to the next stage of humanity by coming against Jerusalem. It is this war, a war against G-d’s own plan that will be the final war.

Our sages teach us not to fear the darkness, because we know that it gets darkest just before the surise.

January 15th is coming.  The nations are gathering and we feel alone. Yet, everything is happening as it should.

This is the final war between good and evil. Rightousness and wickedness.  Between a truly fair society or one that only pretends.

Are you ready for the beginning of the end?

At the End of Days Who Will Rule?

Our mystical tradition teaches us that everything in this physical world is a reflection of the upper worlds.  “Upper” refers to less tangible and more spiritual realms.  This is why, whether or not Donald Trump delivers on 100% or 50% is less important than the actual shake up of the world order that has sought to break apart our G-d centered reality. People from all walks of life around the world seek to be free.  This does not mean free of obligations or responsibilities, but rather they want to have self governance to make their own choices in their lives.

The Creation is built on free choice.  We see this is the beginning of the Torah when the Creator gives Adam and Eve one single commandment “Do Not Eat From The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.”  A commandment is a choice.  You can either follow it or not.  When we follow them we grow closer to the source of creation.  When we don’t we move farther away.  This is why Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that the commandments in the Torah and the rulings of the sages are advice on how to attach ourselves to the Creator.  If we want to be free and act as a our authentic G-dly selves, we would act positively on these pieces of advice. If we shun them, then we jettison our divinely created selves and merge into the broader forces of nature.

The Globalists would like to take away this ability to choose.  They want to decide for us already that we are in fact just pieces of nature that need to be ruled over. If they succeed then they rule and G-d becomes buried in story books.

The war of Gog U’Magog is a war between the forces of the Creator and those who oppose a G-d centered reality. This is why the main purpose of redemption is to reveal he Divine root in Creation. This is what the forces of the New World Order are so frightened of.  They have disconnected themselves so much from their Divine root that they will be wiped out at the end.

Many freedom loving people are ecstatic over Trump’s victory, but beware, because the Globalists will find other ways to fight.  This is exactly why the battle cannot be fought directly or we will lose.  We must through our thought, speech, and actions uncover the divine light within creation and wield it carefully over the enemy. This they cannot stand up against.

When the Nation of Israel returned to its Land.  The world shook because it meant that what we had been insisting on for 2000 years was true.  It meant that the prophecies are true.  It meant that G-d does not only exist as Creator, but as an active participant in everyone of our lives. The Tower of Bavel has begin to collapse, but that is when those forces of darkness are most dangerous.  The sages of the Talmud understood this and all prayed for Messiah to come, but also prayed that they would not live to see it.  The final battle is about to begin and change the world forever.

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At the End of Days: Bread and Circuses. G-d Chose Circuses

Originally Posted on Years of Awe

It is said that when a formerly great civilization is in its death throes, the elites of that society want to keep the large pampered population happy and satisfied.  Give them Bread and Circuses!  Keep them happy and content with frivolity and gaity as the society’s fate hangs by a string over the Abyss.  Bread kept them from pangs of hunger, and the Circuses kept them entertained when the Huns and the Visigoths were at the Gates of Rome clamoring for conquest.  Of course this worked all the way until the bitter end when Rome was eventually sacked by its Germanic conquerors.  It might be hard to look at America having a similar fate.  Unlike Rome it is surrounded by a moat comprising two oceans, a friendly northern neighbor, a warm water gulf to its southeast with a weak link at its southern border.  For that one might think that one just needs a “yuge” wall, and everything will be ok….right?  Actually not.  The global economy is so inter-connected that when it collapses, it will collapse everywhere.  And America is soheterogeneous that the enemies are really inside the Gates of the empire.  So when it collapses, one will have to spend more time protecting oneself from neighbors than and invading horde.  Morally and ethically, the great American Empire is dead.  The nation under G-d only exists in the minds of a minority of nostalgic dreamers while the majority party with wine, women, song, and yes, Sports.  Ever since the financial collapse in 2008 and the 777.7 point drop in the Dow on the 29th of Elul at the end of the previous Shmittah year in 5768 (2008), Central Bankers the world over have taken over as a majority interest in the markets of the Western World.  It is not a free market anymore.  With Zero percent and negative target interest rates going into their ninth year now, the idea of a healthy boisterous free market recovery from the Great Recession and 2008 financial collpase is no more than smoke and mirrors.

So for whatever reason, HaShem has granted the Central Bankers their right to control their Toy (the stock markets of their countries) for the last eight years so that the rich formerly prosperous job creating civilization until the 2008 financial collapse could be given pig’s lipstick so that no one complains about hunger pains as the mores and economic engine of this formerly great civilization wither away underneath the surface.  Yet, as we entered the 49th year (Summer of 2015) since the beginning of the “Summer of Love” and promiscuous immorality which started in May/June 1967, HaShem began speaking to us all through the one vehicle besides the stock market which all men (and women) fallen or not seem to pay attention to…. Sports or those Circuses of old that kept people in their decrepit moral state entertained until the bitter end.  The key is to look at the sporting events since May/June of 2015 since it was at that time that we entered the 49th year of Western Civilization’s reception of debased impurity.  Because no one pays attention to anything else except money and sports, and because the stock market is rigged by Central Banks, HaShem seems to have taken to getting his message out through Sports for those who are paying attention.  Heck, you can’t expect people yucking it up with wine, women, song, and Sports to be giving much heed to a dusty book like the Bible (Tana”kh) and its 2500 to 3000 year old prophets anymore, can we?  When your average American spends a night at a hotel in Dubuque, Iowa, is he more likely to take the Gideon Bible out of the top desk drawer, or is he/she more likely to turn on the cable tv to watch a sporting event on ESPN?  So HaShem knows His target audience, and He wants to tell the formerly greatest G-d centered civilization since Hizkiyahu’s Judea what will soon befall it.  So here we go!

1. June 2015 was the beginning of the 49th Summer since and including the Summer of Promiscuous Love/Sex in San Francisco, CA Golden Gate Park in 1967.  It was also in the first/second week of June that Yerushalayim was united in the 6 Day War.  For those paying attention, starting that June one week before Shavuot, Jews were given an opportunity to grow through all 49 levels of purity to arrive at the 50th Gate this past Shavuot, the beginning of the 50th year since the reunification of Yerushalayim.  The 50th physical gate in Yerushalayim is the Golden Gate “Shaar HaRachamim” from the Qidron Valley to the Temple Mount with a direct beeline to the Mount of Olives across the Valley.  “Golden” almost always alludes to 50 or -50 in either direction.  We have now already entered the 50th Gate.  We will be inside that gate until Shavuot 5777 since we entered it between one week before Shavuot until Shavuot 5776.  (Yom Yerushalayim is exactly one week before Shavuot.)  To mark the beginning of the 49th year in June of 2015, American Pharoah, the horse representing America’s entrance to the 49th level of impurity, won the Triple Crown in horse racing precisely on that second Shabbat in June at the Belmont Stakes.  Less than two weeks later the US Supreme Ct. forces homosexual marriage certificates on all 50 States including those states like Alabama and Tennessee that wanted to have nothing to do with it.  The main forces pushing for this were leftist Jewish Judges Ruth B. Ginsburg and Elena Kagan.  Also that June, as I remember, the Supreme Ct. ruled that if you are a Jew born in Yerushalayim, you can’t have Israel as the country of birth on your birth certificate.

This all occurred about the same time.  So America entered the 49th level with the victory of American Pharoah. The Gemorrah in Chullin discusses the two things which can totally cut even a gentile nation off from G-d’s providential love where He takes into account its previous generation of greatness.  One of those two things is for the legal apparatus of that nation to start granting marriage contracts to homosexual men to sanctify what cannot be sanctified even in the mildest way.  So as America entered the -49th Gate, it was well on its way to setting the stage to fall to -50.  This did correspond with an event here in Israel, the beginning of the Stabafada on Hoshana Rabbah 5776 at the Lion’s Gate of Yerushalayim also from the Qidron Valley but into the residential part of the Old City in the mixed Arab/ Jewish Quarter.  (It is the closest of all the other of Yerushalayim’s gates both inside the walls and at the entrances to the City to the Golden Gate. One could call the Lion’s Gate the Malkhut that is in Malkhut Eastern Gate which would lead to Machane Yehudah once Mashiach shows up and begins to reign.  The present location of Machane Yehudah is to the West because the Mashiach ben Yosef Era that we are in placed most Jewish settlement to the west of the Old City.)

2. next event: the 50th Super Bowl and 49ers Stadium in the Mekabel tumah capital of the world, the same city of San Francisco, California (some write that as Californication).  This was in the first week in February.  Two days later Donald J. Trump won his first Primary in New Hampshire.  From this we see that he was on shlichut to take the middle third of American culture from its station at -49 to -50 over the course of the Primary season with the last primary being in Californication one week prior to Shavuot.  The Denver Bucking Broncos won the Super Bowl because this avodah by Trump would buck the rider on the horse (Esav) backwards, forever destroying his Malkhut.  Previously from 1918 until 1967, the more avant garde leftist third of American culture had fallen through all 49 levels of impurity.  So now it was time for the Middle third to crash through the basement.

3. next event:  The Golden State (-50th Gate) Warriors have the best regular season EVER in the history of professional basketball played anywhere.  I think their regular season record was 73 -9.  Yes, their arena is in the San Francisco Bay Area.  This event took place just to prove the point that Donald Trump succeeded in his shlichut so that by end of the first week in June 2016, 2/3ds of American culture had fallen to -50.

4. next event:  The Golden State Warriors lost in the NBA Championship to the Cleveland, Cavaliers during the First, Second, and Third week of June.  So now that the middle of American culture was at -50, it was time for Donald Trump to be coronated at the Republican National Convention in Middle America, in Cleveland, OH.  But Cleveland was more than just the place.  It represented Kaleivland, the lands in Eretz Yisrael which were specifically designated for yerushah by Moshe Rabbeinu himself while the rest of the Aretz was divided up by the lottery of Yehoshua bin Nun.  So the potential to arrive at +50 BEFORE Yerushalayim arrives at +50, lay in the lands specifically bequeathed to Kaleiv by Moshe Rabbeinu.  Kaleiv’s Lands were then partially divided up by Kaleiv himself as he gave part of his land as a yerushah to his son in law Othniel ben Kenaz.  Kenaz was most likely a Kenizite convert, and therefore Othniel himself could not take part in the lottery.  (The Kenizite territories were amongst the three Canaanite nations which did NOT dwell in Eretz Yisrael of the pre-Messianic Era whose borders are outlined in Sefer BaMidbar.  So it was permissible to marry a Kenizite.)

I believe that Kenaz was also Kaleiv’s step-father after his father Chur had been previously murdered by the Erev Rav.  The name Kenaz with a Qoof is a completely foreign word to Hebrew.  It only appears as a Hebrew shoresh in Tanakh referring to either one of the ten Canaanite nations or to one of the sons of Eliphaz who was also named Kenaz.  That would make Kaleiv who as only 39 or 40 years old when he spied out the land, Betzalel’s uncle.  He is NOT the same Kaleiv who was Chetzron’s son and Chur’s deceased father although he was likely named after him.  As we entered through the 50th Gate here in Israel, we experienced the sad murders in the Lands of Kaleiv of Hallel Yaffa Ariel zt”l, HY”D of Qiryat Arba and Rav Mikki or Micha’el Mark zt”l, HY”D of the Othniel Yeshivah.   Just before the 17th of Tamuz Trump was coronated in KaleivLand, Ohio which by the way was founded in the 1790s by a General MOSES Cleaveland!  So even the Kaleivland of the New World was founded by Moses!  But by the 17th of Tamuz, this Kaleivland was at -50.  In a continuation of reaching +50 in the Lands of Kaleiv, it took Hallel’s mourning father Amichai who is a Kohein to almost immediately draw the connection between the Lands of Kaleiv at +50 and the Temple Mount.  He very well knew the dictum that only when the sun rises in Chevron, can the mourning korban be brought on the Temple Mount because it is in Chevron that we do mitzvot bein Adam leChaveiro lishma at +50.  Yet it is on the Temple Mount where we do mitzvot bein Adam leMakom lishma at +50.  It is why the Avot may have preferred to live in Chevron to perfect their bein Adam leChaveiro midot day in and day out, and only on special occasions did they visit Har HaMoriah to also perfect their bein Adam leMakom.  So right after the Shiva, the Ariel family decided to lead a large group of people to do Aliyat Har HaBayit.  It was at that time that Amichaisurreptitiously blesses the Olim with Birket Kohanim while he isostensibly telling a story about how to do it!

And by the way, right on cue with the win by the Kaleivland Cavaliers in the NBA Championships when Middle America and its culture entered -50 territory, on the night of Tikkun Leil Shavuot Sefirat HaOmar Mateen went into that Gay Bar in Orlando and murdered 49 homosexuals, and at Alot HaShachar he himself became the 50th dead body in that Bar.  Why was Orlando chosen to be the site of this worst terror attack ever on American soil?  We learned about that two days later when that little two year old boy was dragged into the 7 Seas Lagoon at the Grand Floridian Resort at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World by an alligator.  Disney since the mid-1930s has been carefully teaching little tots that the solution to their problems is to rely on Magic (Kishuf) and to seek out the assistance of the local witch.  All of their fantasy movies are rooted in this premise even if their adventure movies are not.  So at least half of all Disney movies from the 1930s onwards appeal to kishuf as a solution to the problems of little children, and I believe this has played a large part in the degeneration of American culture over the decades.  Even the theme opening to the Wonderful World of Disney is to the music of “When You Wish Upon a Star” when Jimminy Cricket is singing to the cosmos (avodat kochavim) that this puppet made of wood may yet live and then we see Tinker Bell from Peter Pan wave her famous wand so that all the little tikes including Peter could fly over those alligators/ or crocodiles to confront Captain Hook and his nasty pirates.  Well it did not work out so well for that two year old boy at the Grand Floridian Resort.  And remember this was within 48 hours of Sefirat HaOmar Matteen’s dirty deed at the Pulse Gay Bar to indicate why HaShem in a sense chose Orlando as the place to get out His message.

5. The Fifth event:  Well well well, I actually thought that these Sports messages had come to an end.  But now I see that the Chicago (bear) Cubs have finally made it to the World Series against Kaleivland and its Native Americans for the first time since the end of the LAST WORLD WAR!.  Talk about significance!  Dubiel (Bear Power) is about to go forth to take over the world in the last world war in history, and America is about to fall apart at -50 (because -50 is spiritual quicksand) to be re-apportioned once again amongst its truly native peoples.  Now this can only happen if the other two creatures in Daniel 7 destroy each other.  The Lion with Eagle’s wings folk (rugged individualists in Great Britain (the lion) and in the United States(the eagle’s wings)) must mutually destroy the Four Headed leopard folks (the New Secular or Greek Order for the entire World) now that the rugged individualists in America and Great Britain are -50.

Now one can begin to understand why Donald Trump and Nigel Farage are kindred spirits.  The architect of Brexit and the one who loves his name in Gold in “Yuge” letters on his towers are the lions with eagles’ wings at the end of history, and in both cases the Globalists hate their guts.  Did anyone notice that Billy Bush whose hot mic tape almost ruined Trump’s candidacy is both Gog H.W. Bush Sr.’s nephew and Gog ben Gog’s first cousin?  Then there is the issue of his first name Billy which is Yiddish for “to bark” because at +50 and at -50, we all have the face of a dog (kaleiv).  So choose your Kaleiv!  Now why would the Bushes be supporting the Arkansas HillyBillies in their third run for the Presidency?  because in this election cycle, the competition is NOT between liberals and conservatives but between rugged individualists/ patriots and Globalists.  So in this cycle, the Bushes want the Clintons to win.  So in both cases in England and in the US, the two philosophical powerhouses of the Galut (the rugged individualists and the NWO Globalists) are well on the way to destroying each other!  And look who is waiting in the wings, Putin the Bear and his allies the Persian Bears!  Go Cubs!  and as America tears itself apart, Kaleivland will disintegrate into the Mouth of the Abyss, Pi Tehom.  And as we find our red heifer, perhaps the Native Americans will find their White Buffalo and will return to their happy hunting grounds of old.  Go Indians!

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The Case of NO Merit:  What must be stressed at this point in time is why there seems to have been an interlude since the 3 Weeks (17th of Tamuz to the 9th of Av) where Geulah events have been placed on hold and placed into Suspension.  It is true that when Middle America entered -50 territory just before Shavuot 5776, that America in particular as the world’s most exceptional nation ceased to be exceptional, but the nation was still existing in a day to day reality of the Judgement from the previous Tishrei 5776 season (Rosh HaShanah 5776 b’Ruchniyut or spiritually and Hoshana Rabbah 5776 b’Gashmiyut in terms of its physical blessings from on High).  It is one of HaShem’s characteristics of Mercy that He only judges the World and its fate once per year during the Month of the Scales in the Fall.  The sign of the TZeDeQ (aka ZoDiaC) has no face because the Judge is the One True Judge where there are no angelic intermediaries during the month of Tishrei.  So even though America was at -50 already by Shavuot, it was still existing off the merit of being at -49 from Tishrei 5776.  With the Tishrei 5777 season behind us, this is no longer the case.  No Prophet Yonah went to the nations of the world over the last several months to get Donald Trump supporters to repent from their rebellious ways.  And as we learn from Sefer Yonah itself, without merit to the nations who are thinking of causing Klal Yisrael harm, they don’t have the merit to cause us harm if they themselves have no merit themselves.  It is why Yonah boarded a ship to Tarshish.  He knew that Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire and that that empire was destined to destroy the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  Yet, the Assyrians would only succeed if they themselves repented of their sins while Klal Yisrael with numerous prophets at our disposal continued to refuse to repent of their sins. So Yonah, at first, adamantly refused to take part in the destruction of his own country.  In his zeal to love his fellow Yisraeli, bain Adam leChaveiro, he tried to shirk his obligation to G-d Himself, bein Adam leMakom.  Yet, upon being successful in G-d’s mission to Nineveh after being swallowed by the fish and spat out on dry land, he bitterly asked for G-d to take his life.  How could he face his fellow countrymen in Eretz Yisrael ever again knowing that his prophesy to Nineveh had consigned them to total destruction!!   Well now the world in total has fallen to -50 while Klal Yisrael hangs on at -49 for the last 99 years since the Bolshevik Revolution.

Before the Bolshevik Revolution the majority of the world’s Jews were Shomrei Shabbat.  After the Revolution that was no longer the case.  That was the sure sign that a significant number of the world’s Jews were falling below -49 in the Fall of that Yovel year 5678 (Fall of 1917).  Observing Shabbat is our “signpost” that we are still in business to perfect the World under G-d’s unchallenged rule.  Giving it up is to take the plunge below -49.  Yet, a significant number of the world’s Jews still keep Shabbat and give birth to Jewish children.  So that is what counts.  We now outnumber the Bolsheviks who by now don’t even have Jewish descendants.  Therefore after 99 years, the nations of the world have beaten us to the sewer.  Send them Congrats for winning that tortoise and the hare style race.  It took 99 years, but it finally has happened.  And in the words of the Gemorrah, we are a generation of NO Merit, but our enemies who want to divide us have even less merit!!  So Baruch HaShem, b’itah, Obama will very likely be going to the UN Sec Council between election day Nov 8th and the tenth of Tevet to divide the Land of Israel and to create Paleostine.  What is interesting is from what exact date does he have zero merit to succeed?  Well calculate thus.

On Rosh HaShanah, Rosh Chodesh Tishrei, along with that judgement being sent into the physical world on Hoshana Rabbah, the 21st of Tishrei, the world is judged for the coming year, BUT the judgement for Rosh Chodesh Tishrei itself is still on the previous year’s judgement because each year during Tishrei ten days of repentance out of love and fear and 21 days of repentance out of Lishma Joy are allowed for in each year’s judgement.   So the actual process of judgement and repentance takes 21 days from the beginning of Rosh HaShanah to the end of Sukkot, the 7th or last day of that Moed.  So once the judgement has been settled on in both the World to Come and in this world, almost three quarters of the month of Tishrei is already complete.  So the Judgement only goes into effect at that time, BUT while the positive aspects of the Judgement can be accessed right away on the 22nd of Tishrei, the negative aspects must be filtered through and mitigated by the following Rosh Chodesh, Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan.  Then and only then does the day by day judgement including all of its negative aspects for the new year begin to enter the world.  Yet, for 7 full days from the molad for that month, the Judgement of the New Year is mixed up with the Judgement for the previous month of Tishrei whose seal was placed on it in Tishrei one year ago that is from Tishrei 5776.   So until the 7th of Cheshvan this year, the days of Cheshvan have aspects of the Judgement for both years 5776 and 5777.  Only on Zayin MarCheshvan (7th of Cheshvan) do we begin anew with only the Judgement for 5777 being applied for and against us.  This year Zayin MarCheshvan is American election day (Nov. 8th, 2016).  So when Obama goes to the UN, guess what?  The world that comes to divide the Land of Israel will have NO MERIT to accomplish its task.  Maybe THIS is what HaShem has waited for!?

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In This Generation Of Redemption We Must Clarify Our Role

It is crucial in this generation of redemption that we clarify for ourselves the exalted role we are meant to play. We must wholeheartedly embrace our national function as the heart of mankind that will usher in an era of absolute peace and fulfill the Hebrew mission of bringing Creation to total perfection.

“This day, HaShem, your G-D, commands you to perform these decrees and these statutes, and you shall observe and perform them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have distinguished HaShem today to be a G-D to you, and to walk in His ways, and to observe His decrees, His commandments and His statutes, and to hearken to His voice. And HaShem has distinguished you today to be for Him an Am Segula, as He spoke to you, and to observe all His commandments, and to make you supreme over all the nations that He made, for praise, for renown and for splendor, and so that you will be a holy people to HaShem, your G-D, as He spoke.” (DEVARIM 26:16-19)

These verses allude to Israel’s collective historic role, as well as the special relationship we enjoy with HaShem. Concerning verse 19, the Ramban explains the words “for praise” as meaning that “all the nations of the earth will praise you for HaShem being close to you.” It is through the story of the Jewish people in history that the Divine Ideal will be expressed in this world and humanity will come to know HaShem as the timeless and boundless ultimate Reality that creates and sustains all that exists. Israel is tasked with setting an example of national kedusha and bringing mankind to Creation’s ultimate goal – a world of total goodness functioning in accordance with the Divine plan that preceded it. Israel must lead the world to an era of total peace and universal perfection through the establishment of a Hebrew Kingdom in the Land of Israel that will reveal HaShem’s Oneness to all of Creation.

The Hebrew Nation is a treasured people uniquely created to help mankind in reaching its ultimate purpose. Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi teaches in The Kuzari that Israel is meant to be to humanity at large what the heart is to the human body, pumping blessing and life to all the peoples of the world. Israel is G-D’s emissary on earth – His national expression uniquely created to personify and manifest His Divine Ideal.

HaShem established a partnership between Israel and Himself – a partnership in constructing a world of total goodness. The union between HaShem and Israel is an unparalleled partnership of love and devotion. Because the most exalted unification most humans are able to grasp is that between a husband and wife, King Shlomo compares the relationship between Kadosh Barukh Hu [G-d] and Israel to that of a man and woman. This is the meaning of the words “My Beloved is mine and I am His” (SHIR HASHIRIM 2:16).

Two lovers are seen, one in partnership with the other. I am His and He is mine. This is the purest alliance that can exist, for each gives to the other rather than selfishly taking. The partnership of man and woman is expressed through the clinging of body and soul as the partnership between HaShem and Israel is one of Jews clinging to Him and to His Torah. It is crucial in this generation of redemption that we clarify for ourselves the exalted role we are meant to play. We must wholeheartedly embrace our national function as the heart of mankind that will usher in an era of absolute peace and fulfill the Hebrew mission of bringing Creation to total perfection.

What Happens When a Fake King Twists the Light of Redemption?

King Francois Ayi

Months ago I was introduced to “King” Francois Ayi.  I was invited to a dinner party to meet an extraordinary individual originally from Togo who claimed to be a King and have Jewish roots.  There was a few of us there. Francois Ayi was personable and appeared to be genuine, but concerns persisted and yet many of us shelved them.

Over the next months and many meetings, Francois Ayi and I became friends and yet a quiet discontent grew within me.  I kept my feelings to myself as he became the focus of media attention in Israel as a “Jewish King.”  At one point members of the nascent Sanhedrin even called him the King of Africa.

I of course challenged them on this and still gave Francois the benefit of the doubt that it was us Jews so enamored to be loved by an African King that we ourselves embellished his story. At the end that was not the case.  Francois Ayi used everyone he met differently.  He met with government officials and religious leaders. His targets wre believers and those yearning to bring dedicated Israel loving Africans closer to the truth.

Yesterday as Rav Daniel Asur, one of the rabbis who brought Francois Ayi into notoriety here in Israel came out against Ayi, blasting him for using us and misleading many who met with him. The “King” it seems may have royal blood, but his goals were at the end nefarious.  The rabbi had caught him using his phone on Shabbat although Francois Ayi claimed he had begun to keep the Sabbath.  Messages were made on his phone by him exalting the use of voodoo and other witchcraft.  The list goes on.

My main issue with Francois Ayi is essentially his incessant need to ask for money and to promote himself to many as the ultimate leader.  This got to the point where in fact he began to build multiple followers here in Israel that actually still believe he could be the Messiah.

Bending the Light of Redemption

The question isn’t if we were fooled or why many of us did not listen to others’ “wisdom” in this case.  It is clear none of us, even the great sages are perfect. We all make mistakes and many times let our desire to do good get in the way of staying on the middle path.  The question is how did this charlatan get away with this and why?

We understand that as Israel has returned to its ancient homeland as prophesied in the bible a great awakening has occurred. This awakening is the light of redemption or otherwise known as the spirit of the Messiah (Ruach Mashiach). It is potent and powerful. Yet it comes with such heightened spiritual energy it attracts many who bend it and use it for their own gain.

Make no mistake this dark side holiness only has power by virtue of this light that is increasing daily in our world.  It is why there is global chaos at the same time as this redemptive consciousness keeps growing. 

I expect more and more of these leaders will arise as we continue within our redemptive process, which is a global process. We must filter those who seek to harm us and our friends from within and connect with those forces who are like-minded in seeing a world that is rectified.