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The Plan

By Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)

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April 23, 2023

Iyar 2, 5783


Introduction. 1

Signs in the Heavens. 4

Kedusha. 5

Preparing for Mashiach ben David. 7

The Creation Calendar. 11

Spiritual (Jews) vs. Physical (Gentiles) 14

Exiles. 26

Techiyat HaMetim (Resurrection of the Dead) 36

Brexit 37

Russia. 37

hlineThis paper is based on Shiurim given

by Rabbi Mendel Kessin.

 

Introduction

 

In the beginning, the Satan[1] came to incite man to rebellion against G-d.[2] He was Adam’s test. Adam’s only task was to ignore him, but by listening to him, Adam, so-to-speak, gave him existence. Now the task is changed. Midda-keneged-midda,[3] Adam must destroy the Satan. So what did he do? Adam cut the Satan’s cable, so-to-speak, cutting him off from the flow of kedusha.[4] But the Satan was smart, he quickly spliced his cut cable into Adam’s (the yetzer hara[5] was formerly outside of man, but now it resides within us). So now, the kedusha that we receive from the sefirot can be siphoned off by the Satan.

 

Adam’s task was passed on to us. Our relationship to the Satan is one of combat. We have to grab all the kedusha and keep him from getting it. HaShem[6] however, put conditions on it. If a Jew does a mitzva,[7] the kedusha goes to him, but if a Jew does an aveirah (a sin), it goes to the other side, to the Satan. And he turns around and gives it to the goyim[8] so that they can destroy us with it.

 

HaShem gave the Jews gifts and we, through the loss of the kedusha to the other side, gave them away to the goyim, deepening the exile.

 

Mitzvot[9] allow us to testify that the will of HaShem[10] is supreme because there is a natural tendency for us to be in-charge. We do not readily allow others to dictate our actions. Because of this tendency we are prone to stray from His word and to serve our own pleasure. When we sin, HaShem has some tools to bring us back to Him and at the same time create a tikkun, a correction, that will fix us up and fix up the world in order that we should bring the Geula, the redemption and Mashiach.[11]  (It is obvious that the coming of Mashiach ben David[12] is one thing and the redemption itself is another, just as Moshe Rabbenu came to Mitzrayim prior to the redemption, prior to the exodus from Egypt – they were two separate events.[13] It is possible that the same thing will take place in the future redemption, as stated in Midrashim, “Just as the first redeemer was revealed and then concealed … so too with the final redeemer, etc.)

 

The Midrash brings us some insight:

 

Midrash Pesiqta deRab Kahana - Midrashic sermons for Shabbat HaChodesh, Pisqa Five V:VIII R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Levi, Like the first redeemer, so will the final redeemer be: Just as the first redeemer appeared to them and then went and disappeared from them, so the final redeemer will appear to them and then go and disappear from them. And how long will he disappear from them? R. Tanchuma in the name of R. llama bar Hoshaia, R. Menahema in the name of R. Hama bar Hanina: Forty-five days, in line with this verse of Scripture: From the time when the regular offering is abolished and ‘the abomination of desolation’ is set up, there shall be an interval of one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Happy the man who waits and lives to see the completion of one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days [a difference of forty-five days].[14] As to the forty-five days that remain over the figure given in the earlier verse, what are they? They are the forty-five days on which the Messiah, having appeared to them, will go and disappear from them. Where will he lead them? Some say, ‘To the wilderness of Judea,’ and some, ‘To the wilderness of Sihon and Og.’ That is in line with this verse of Scripture: Therefore I will seduce Israel and bring her into the wilderness.[15] He who believes in him will eat saltwort and the roots of the broom and live, for in the wilderness they pick saltwort with wormwood and the roots of the broom are their food (Job 30:4). And he who does not believe in him will go to the Gentiles of the world, who will kill him. Said R. Isaac bar Marian, At the end of forty-five days the Holy One, blessed be He, will appear to them and bring down manna. Why? For there is nothing new under the sun.[16] What is the pertinent scriptural verse? I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; I will make you dwell in tents again as in the days of the festival.[17]

 

The next phase, HaAtchalta d’Geula,[18] is qualitatively more profound, marked predominantly by the mashiach becoming aware of who he is, similar to how Moses discovered his mission at the age of 80, having been constrained by exile and alienated for half a century from his fellow Jews.

 

Similarly but more profoundly, Mashiach ben Yosef is a “tragic figure”. His tragedy is that he agreed to accept millennia of suffering to enable the Jews to “make it,” to survive to this point in time. Rabbi Kessin described him as “paralyzed. He’s stuck, inhibited by G-d Himself” but, in the phase of HaAtchalta d’Geula, he will be “released”.

 

Freed from that klipah (impurity) of suffering, the Mashiach ben Yosef is debilitated and in need of rehabilitation, as are the Jewish people. Their simultaneous rehabilitation will enable both to “grow”. The nation will then be able to “tolerate” him when he reaches the zenith of his power. The rabbi interpreted this peqida (the initial wakening of the messianic advance) to be similar to Moshe’s fifty-year exile from the Jewish community in Egypt after which his “release and rehabilitation” began at the episode of the burning bush.

 

What is the point of the rehabilitation?  In Egypt, the Jews were rehabilitated from their low level in order to participate in the overwhelming revelation at Mount Sinai. This preparation began with the first plague, all of which went well beyond a punishment for the Egyptians. During the last plague of darkness, the Torah states that “...all the Israelites enjoyed light in their dwellings;” it was a spiritual enlightenment of such magnitude that by the time the Jews reached Mount Sinai, they had been rehabilitated to the point that a common maidservant had greater insight into Divine wisdom than that which Ezekiel experienced in seeing the Divine Chariot. They had become, according to the Gemara, totally inured to the pollution of the Satan. They were at the level of Adam before the sin. How else to explain going from the spiritual depths of Egypt to such an exalted level?

 

“It was a resurrection,” Rabbi Kessin said. One cannot go “from the lowest pit to the highest roof”. Rehabilitation is a critical stage at the onset of the Redemption. Not only does logic dictate the need for rehabilitation, but we see it in Torah in the Exodus from Egypt; as foretold by Micah, “the last Redemption will be as the first“.

 

Micah 7:15 'As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things.'

 

The primary tools that HaShem has to restore us and to effect a tikkun[19] for the damage we have brought are teshuva,[20] mitzvot,[21] yissurim (suffering), and the destruction of His House[22] whereby we are sent like a child out of his father’s house to fend for ourselves until we come to our senses. When HaShem sent us out of His House, this earth shattering change caused us to focus on what we had when we were in His House. We no longer had the nearness to HaShem that we felt when we witnessed His ten constant miracles[23] and mitzvot of the offerings which provided a near constant reminder of who we are and our place in the world.

 

Because man strives to replace HaShem and to put himself in that position of being in-charge, HaShem begins the corrective process by bringing pain and suffering into our lives. Suffering diminishes man’s ego to zero and brings him to understand that he is not HaShem. If we are helpless in the hospital with an illness, then our ego finds very little cause to believe that we are controlling our own destiny. The pleasures of our sins are soon forgotten in our desperation to be restored in body (and soul to our Creator, if we are very fortunate). Likewise, midda-kneged-midda, measure for measure, the suffering brought by HaShem removes the pleasure that our sin had acquired.

 

Tisha B’Ab,[24] when the Temple was destroyed and we were evicted, will bring the Geula[25] because we feel the lack when we are kicked out of His House and no longer have the support of our Father. The destruction of the Temple, will bring Mashiach because of the ensuing exile and suffering. This is the tikkun. The end of days will inevitably bring the Geula, redemption, but we have a choice: We can do it the easy way, or we can do it the hard way. So far we have always chosen the hard way, hence this long and bitter exile.

 

Avraham’s life shows that his descendants will have many ups and downs that will be unbelievable. Consider that HaShem told him to get up and go away from his home, his family, his friends, and all that was familiar to him. When he arrives in the ‘promised land’ the first thing to happen is a terrible famine where he is forced to descend to Egypt. When he gets to Egypt, the head honcho, Pharaoh, steals his wife, and once gone she can never be restored because Pharaoh can’t be insulted by having his cast-off wives becoming the wife of another man. So Avraham is really struggling with these awful events that all started when he obeyed HaShem. Then just when things could not possibly get any worse, suddenly his wife is returned to him along with copious quantities of wealth. His was truly a life of ups and downs! However, in HaShem’s plan, both the ups and the downs will bring the Geula. The very suffering we despised becomes the catalyst for a new beginning. However, suffering is not the only tool that HaShem uses to bring about the Geula.

 

As Avraham had to leave his father’s house, so also did Tisha B’Ab and the churban forced us to leave our Father’s house. Yet this churban, as we have already mentioned, is yet another way to bring the Geula.

 

We need to be like Avraham. We need to be obedient and at the same time try to understand the ups and downs that HaShem brings into our lives. We need to figure out what HaShem is doing because it is a catalyst for building Emunah, faithful obedience, which leads us to put HaShem in-charge rather than ourselves. Part of the focus of this study is to begin to see the hand of HaShem as He brings about the Geula by bringing a tikkun for all of our misdeeds.

 

As an aside: Moshe and Aaron were both born in Mitzrayim because the Mashiach ben Yosef always come from the country that He is to overthrow.  In the same way, the future Mashiach ben Yosef will come from the western world and almost certainly from the United States, which is the greatest country in the western world.

 

 

 

Signs in the Heavens and Amazing Events

 

I have previously noted that HaShem uses signs in the heavens to communicate with His people. The lunar eclipses, on Pesach[26] and Succoth,[27] of 5774, 5775, and 5776 were certainly signs.

 

The year 5776 is the first year of the Shmita[28] cycle.

 

So, what happened shortly after 5776? That was secular year 2016.

·       In late November, of 2016, Donald Trump was elected to become the next president.

·       Britain Voteds to Leave the European Union.

 

In 2017,

·       In late January, of 2017, Donald Trump was elected president of the USA.

·       The US recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

 

In 2018,

·       The US moved their embassy to Jerusalem.

·       The revamped North America Free Trade Agreement became the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

 

In 2019,

·        U.S. President Donald Trump signs Proclamation on Recognizing the Golan Heights as Part of the State of Israel.

 

In 2020,

·       The Abraham Accords were signed which brought more peace to Israel. Israel and Turkey agreed to normalize diplomatic ties following a six-year rift in their relationship.

·       Jordan receives its first shipment of natural gas from Israel.

·       The Leviathan gas field begins full operations.

 

While their message may be difficult to understand, never-the-less it is impossible not to have a sense of foreboding as He diminishes the moon on His festivals. Yoel chapter 3 adds to this gloom:

 

Yoel (Joel) 3:1-5 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; 2 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My spirit. 3 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 4 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of HaShem come. 5 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of HaShem shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as HaShem hath said, and among the remnant those whom HaShem shall call.

 

So these ominous signs are going to bring the Geula for those who call upon His name, to those involved in His service through prayer. Those who have researched astronomical events have said that a series of four lunar eclipses[29] that fall on Pesach and Succoth have only occurred four times in the past: 1493, 1949, and 1967. Everything occurred shortly after events which mitigated the exile, the galut.

 


 

4th

5th

5th

5th

6th

6th

6th

Passover eve

Tabernacles eve

New Year for festivals and for Jewish Kings

Passover

Rosh HaShanah &

New year for Gentile Kings

Tabernacles eve

Fast of Esther

(The day before Purim)

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Nisan 14, 5709

Tishri 14, 5710

Nisan 1, 5710

Nisan 15, 5710

Tishri 1, 5711

Tishri 15, 5711

II Adar 13, 5711

April 13, 1949

October 7, 1949

March 18, 1950

April 2, 1950

Sept. 12, 1950

Sept. 26, 1950

March 21, 1951

Total lunar

Total lunar

Annular solar

Total lunar

Partial solar

Total lunar

Penumbral lunar

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st

2nd

 

2nd

 

3rd

3rd

Passover eve

Tabernacles eve

Passover

 

Tabernacles eve

Passover eve

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

 

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Nisan 14, 5727

Tishri 14, 5728

Nisan 15, 5728

 

Tishri 14, 5729

Nisan 14, 5729

April 24, 1967

Oct. 18, 1967

April 13, 1968

 

October 6, 1968

April 2, 1969

Total lunar

Total lunar

 

Total lunar

 

Total lunar

Penumbral lunar

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st

2nd

 

2nd

 

3rd

3rd

Passover

Tabernacles eve

Passover &

Sabbath

 

Tabernacles

Shushan Purim

partial lunar eclipse april 15, 1995 (Laos)

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

 

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Nisan 15, 5755

Tishri 14, 5756

Nisan 15, 5756

 

Tishri 15, 5757

II Adar 15, 5757

April 15, 1995

October 8, 1995

April 3, 1996

 

Sept. 28, 1996

March 23, 1997

Partial lunar

Penumbral lunar

 

Total lunar

 

Total lunar

Partial lunar

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

5775 is a Shmita Year

5776 is a Yovel (Jubilee) Year

6th

7th

7th

7th

7th

1st

1st

Passover

Tabernacles eve

New Year for festivals & for Jewish Kings

Passover &

Sabbath

Rosh HaShana eve &

New year for Gentile Kings

Tabernacles

Fast of Esther

(The day before Purim)

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Description: Description: solar eclipse

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Description: Description: lunar eclipse

Nisan 15, 5774

Tishri 14, 5775

Adar 29, 5775

Nisan 15, 5775

Elul 29, 5775

Tishri 15, 5776

II Adar 13, 5776

April 15, 2014

October 8, 2014

March 20, 2015

April 4, 2015

Sept. 13, 2015

Sept. 28, 2015

March 23, 2016

Total lunar

Total lunar

Total solar[30]

Total lunar

Partial solar

Total lunar

Penumbral lunar

 


The last lunar eclipse will be at the very end of the Shmita[31] year,[32] and some say the beginning of the Yobel (Jubilee) year, and Yobel brings freedom. In the Yobel year all of the land goes back to its original owner. It would be appropriate for Jews to be gathered back to their land in a Yobel year.

 

Now let’s look at the brighter side of this long exile. Consider that the founding of America softened the exile by allowing Jews to escape the persecution in Spain. Recall that 1492 was a very bad year for Jews in Spain because that was when the expulsion of the Jews took place. Curiously, Columbus left on his epic voyage on the very day of the expulsion, which happened to be Tisha B’Ab in 1492.

 

Christopher Columbus’s diary begins with: “In the same month in which their Majesties [Ferdinand and Isabella] issued the edict that all Jews should be driven out of the kingdom and its territories, in the same month they gave me the order to undertake with sufficient men my expedition of discovery to the Indies”. The expulsion that Columbus refers to was so cataclysmic an event that ever since; the date 1492 has been almost as important in Jewish history as in American history. On Tisha B’Ab, July 30, of that year, the entire Jewish community, some 200,000 people, were expelled from Spain. Thus the very source of our pain and exile also was the source of its mitigation by providing a place for the Jews to escape persecution. And so America has softened the exile by providing a wonderful land for our exiles. This is a messianic advancement! Just as the churban began on Tisha B’Ab, so also did the exile and expulsion from Spain begin on Tisha B’Ab. Thus our Geula begins on Tisha B’Ab!

 

Similarly, the eclipse in 1949 came shortly after Israel became a nation and provided an escape from the wandering exile. This too was a messianic advancement that would provide refuge to the Jews after World War II. It is as though HaShem is beginning to bring the exile to a close in stages.

 

Finally, the eclipse series of 1967 came shortly after the Jews reclaimed Jerusalem in the six-day war. This further mitigated the exile by bringing us closer to the place where HaShem put His name. This suggests that the eclipse series that culminates on Succoth 5776 will also be related to our exile. Thus even though a lunar eclipse is a bad omen for the Jews, it contains a tikkun that ultimately is for our benefit. From this we learn that a bad omen is mitigated by the festival.

 

During a lunar eclipse, if there are minimal atmospheric disruptions,[33] the moon turns red. Now red is the color of Esav. It is as though Israel has overcome Esav.

 

Kedusha[34] - Holiness

 

Now let’s begin to look at more of the cause and effect that reveals the hand of HaShem in the world. To begin, we must understand that the Satan[35] can grow or diminish based on how much kedusha, holy energy, he receives. If all Jews do mitzvot, and never sin, then the Satan dies. If they sin and become lax in the performance of mitzvot, then he grows. When the Satan grows it is bad news for the Jews.

 

History is about the balance of kedusha in the world, and who controls it. It works both to Israel’s advantage and to her disadvantage.

 

Rabbi Eliyahu Margolis of Mir-Yerushalayim[36] says that for every plague brought upon Mitzrayim,[37] there was a corresponding gain in kedushah to the Bne Israel.[38] The death of the firstborn, for example, brought new holiness to the firstborn of the Bne Israel. This theme recurs. In Beshalach,[39] Rashi says that the Egyptians pursued the Bne Israel “as one man with one heart“. In Yitro,[40] that phrase is used to praise the Bne Israel. HaShem planted the midda, the measure, of unity among the doomed Egyptians so that its impression would reappear for holiness among the Bne Israel.

 

In the Haggada,[41] the Tannaim[42] are quoted as outdoing each other to expand the number of plagues in Egypt and at the Yam Suf,[43] because the more plagues the Egyptians got, the more illnesses the Bne Israel would be protected against. The guarding, the lovingkindness, of Israel is built on the structure of the destruction of Egypt.

 

“The acts of the fathers are a sign for the children”.[44]

 

Conversely, the Torah tells us that Yitzchak,[45] our Patriarch, hinted to Yaaqob[46] that there was a disconnect:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 27:22 The voice is the voice of Yaaqob and the hands are the hands of Esav.[47]

 

The Midrash[48] explains this to mean that as long as the voice is that of Yaaqob, which is as long as there are the ‘chirpings’ of the children studying Torah in the synagogues and the adults in the study halls, the hands will not be that of Esav. As long as the Jewish people (and their children) are engaged in Torah study, the power of Esav (Edomites) is held at bay and is incapacitated. However, if the voice of Yaaqob is silent then Esav will have the upper hand.

 

It is well known that Yitzchak blessed Esav after giving the major blessing to Yaaqob. The blessing of Esav was not a true blessing. It was a conditional blessing. When Yaaqob got the blessing that Yitzchak originally intended for Esav, Esav’s cry caused Yitzchak to bless Esav with an interesting blessing:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 27: 33-40 Isaac trembled violently and said, ‘Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him – and indeed he will be blessed!’

 

When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, ‘Bless me – me too, my father!’

 

But he said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully [be-mirma] and took your blessing.’

 

Esau said, ‘Isn’t he rightly named Yaaqob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: he took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!’ Then he asked, ‘Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?’[49] And Isaac answered and said unto Esau: 'Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him; and what then shall I do for thee, my son?' And Esau said unto his father: 'Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father.' And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him: Behold, of the fat places of the earth shall be thy dwelling, and of the dew of heaven from above;

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 27:40 Yitzchak states, And it shall come to pass, when you (Esav) shall break loose and you shall shake his (Yaaqob) yoke from off thy neck.

 

Rashi[50] comments that when Israel will violate the precepts of the Torah then Esav will achieve the blessings of the physical. Thus Isaac did not bestow upon Esav any new blessings but, rather he limited the blessing of the physical, which he had previously given to Yaaqob. If Yaaqob uses the physical as a means to achieve intellectual perfection, then he will truly merit the blessings of the physical. However, if he violates the Torah[51] and seeks the physical as an end, in and of itself, then Esav will have the upper hand and merit the blessings of the physical.

 

Esav gets blessed with the fat places of the earth. I suspect that this include the oil that drive our Indudtrial society. There were copious quantities of oil in the Middle East, In America, and in Great Brittain, all part of Edom.

 

Curiously, Israel has now discovered oil and is exploiting that resource. Does this mean that Yaaqob is about to throw off Esav’s yoke?

 

Yitzchak blessed Esav (Edom / Rome / Christianity), giving him the right to throw off the yoke of his brother, Yaaqob (Israel), whenever his brother strayed from the path of G‑d. This trait in our Patriarchs is embedded in their descendants today. Esav still hates Yaaqob and Edom still subjugates Israel whenever Israel strays from their primary mission to bring HaShem to the world through Torah study and mitzvot. This back and forth relationship is now clearly visible in the clash of nations.

 

We will look at how this plays out in history after we get a bit more background.

 

Preparing for Mashiach ben David

 

HaShem will not bring Mashiach ben David until He prepares mankind for his arrival. Because of the greatness of the messianic aura, the world needs to be prepared. If we are not properly prepared, we will be destroyed by his greatness. We are taught this by Joseph in Egypt.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 50:25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

 

To understand the needed preparation, we will need to understand the mystical concept of Ohr HaGanuz. When G-d created the world and said, "Let there be light", the illumination that resulted was not what we see today. This was a light, say our Sages, which enabled one "to see from one end of the world to another”.[52]

 

The Ohr HaGanuz,[53] the spectacular light with which G-d made at creation, by which He gave the Torah (represented by the first set of tablets), and will eventually end the exile and usher in Yemot HaMashiach,[54] was hidden until the time of Mashiach. Our sacred commentaries have suggested that the Ohr HaGanuz was stored in the words of the Torah. When one learns Torah he gains some of that world-spanning perspective provided by this fantastic light. It is the light that banishes all intellectual darkness, the light that allows man to see truth as it is, and that gives him the capability to accept the truth and to live by it.

 

The Ohr HaGanuz, or the Ohr Mashiach – the light of Messiah, is the light at creation that allowed Adam to see from one end of the world to the next, meaning that this light allowed Adam to see that everything emanated from HaShem. This idea was illustrated at Mt. Sinai when HaShem spoke to the Jewish people. Every time he spoke, the people were blasted back ten mil and expired. Their souls were drawn to their source as they comprehended HaShem’s oneness. The revelation of HaShem was the Ohr Mashiach, the light of Messiah. This same light is found in the words of the Torah, the first set of Luchot (tablets), and the Torah SheBaal Peh[55] and can be apprehended through Torah study.

 

The Ohr Mashiach is a light with goodness, like that of Yosef HaTzadik,[56] of Torah SheBaal Peh, and of Eretz Israel, that remains below the surface and shines only for those who pursue it: He [G-d] made a separation in the illumination of the Light, that it should not flow or give off light except for the righteous, whose actions draw it down and make it shine. However, the actions of the evil block it, leaving them in darkness, and it is this that was the hiding the Light.[57]

 

The daughters of Tzelafchad loved the land of Israel and pleaded for a share:

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 27:1 The daughters of Tzelafchad, the son of Cheifer, the son of Gilad, the son of Machir, the son of Menashe, from the family of Menashe, the son of Yosef, approached. These are the names of his daughters: Machlah, No’ah, Chaglah, Milkah, and Tirtzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying: 3 'Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not among the company of them that gathered themselves together against HaShem in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he had no son? Give unto us a possession among the brethren of our father.'

 

This is why Yosef is associated with Eretz Israel: FROM THE FAMILY OF MENASHE, THE SON OF YOSEF: Why did it have to mention this, since it already said “the son of Menashe”? To tell you that Yosef loved the Land, as it says, “Bring my bones up”,[58] and that his ‘daughters’ also loved the land, as it says, “Give us our possession”.[59]

 

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:13-17 And of Joseph he said: Blessed of HaShem be his land; for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, 14 And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, and for the precious things of the yield of the moons, 15 And for the tops of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the everlasting hills, 16 And for the precious things of the earth and the fullness thereof, and the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush; let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him that is prince among his brethren. 17 His firstling bullock, majesty is his; and his horns are the horns of the wild-ox (רְאֵם); with them he shall gore the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth; and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

 

Now a רְאֵם, a reem, is a mythical creature.[60]

 

Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 18 “But my horn hast thou exalted like that of the reem”. Just as the horns of the reem are taller than those of all beasts and animals, and it gores to its right and to its left, likewise (is it with) Menachem,[61] son of 'Ammiel, son of Joseph, his horns are taller than those of all kings,[62] and he will gore in the future towards the four comers of the heavens, and concerning him Moses said this verse, “ His firstling bullock, majesty is his, and his horns are the horns of the reem: with them he shall gore the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth”.[63] All the kings will rise up against him to slay him, as it is said, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers (take counsel together)”.[64] And Israel who (will be) in the Land (of Palestine) (will experience) great trouble,8 but in their troubles they (will be) like a green olive, as it is said, “I am anointed with fresh oil”.

 

So, this ox has the horns of a reem, which he will use to gore the nations. The ‘son of Joseph’ is Mashiach ben Yosef.[65] Mashiach ben Yosef is said to be of the tribe of Ephraim (son of Joseph), and is also sometimes called Mashiach ben Ephraim.[66] He is magnificent to look at because the horn are not ox horns, but rather the horns of a reem. These horns are a metaphor for the Mashiach ben Yosef’s weapon, which is Chakma, wisdom. When we say that His Chakma is ‘beautiful’ we are really saying that He blends all areas of wisdom together to form a unified perspective. He is able to show how all of reality, as evidenced by its wisdom, fits together. Mashiach ben Yosef will use his ‘horns’ of wisdom to pierce the falsehood of the nations. This is the Ohr Rishon,[67] the First Light or the Primordial Light. 

 

Shemot (Exodus) 13:19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

 

The bones represent the essence of Yosef, his Chakma. This is based on the above pasuk: "And Moses took the bones of Yosef". However the word for "bones" - "atzamot" - is very close to another Hebrew word, "atzmuto," which means "his essence”. Moses, the leader of the Jewish people, did not only take the bones of Yosef; he also took with him the essence of Yosef. This idea is brought forcefully home by the Targums to:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 41:45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah;

 

Targum Onkelos gives the meaning of the name as "the man to whom mysteries are revealed"; pseudo-Jonathan, gives the meaning of the name as "one who reveals mysteries";[68] Josephus,[69] "a finder of mysteries". The mysteries were the Ohr Rishon, the primordial light, which Moshe took out of Egypt as the ‘bones’ of Yosef. This is illustrated by Chazal, speaking about Kriat Yam Suf, the splitting of the Reed Sea, when they said:

 

Mechilta Shemot 15:2 At the time of Keriat Yam Suf, even a simple handmaiden attained a higher degree of prophetic revelation than that which was attained by Yehezchel and all the other prophets.

 

The reason that all of the people attained such an incredible level of prophecy is that, upon leaving Mitzrayim, this wisdom (bones) of Yosef, the Ohr Rishon was revealed to all the people. This Ohr Rishon was revealed again at Sinai where the revelation was so powerful that they all died, twice! After this exposure, the Bne Israel cried out to Moshe:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not G-d speak with us, lest we die. 20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for G-d is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. 21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where G-d was.

 

Because of the sin of the golden calf, this light was withdrawn from the Jewish people. They created a shor, an ox that represented Yosef HaTzadik, as we saw previously. This created an impurity, a barrier between them and this Ohr Rison, this tremendous wisdom.

 

Now imagine this light being revealed to the Jewish people today, who have descended so much due to our sins. We would not survive the experience. We need to be prepared first, just as Yosef, and his wisdom, his bones, prepared the Jews in the days of Moshe, so also will Mashiach ben Yosef prepare the world before the advent of Mashiach ben David. Mashiach ben Yosef has the following tasks:

 

  1. Kibbutz Galiyot: Gather the exiles back to Israel.
  2. Build the Temple
  3. Reveal the messianic light.
  4. Bring in the redemption

 

Mashiach ben Yosef’s tasks then lead into the general Messianic signs:

 

 

When the Ohr Rishon is revealed it will be nearly instantaneous and complete. It requires no effort to learn. It is a knowledge of total reality.

 

Shechinah = Torah = Klal Israel = Eretz Israel

 

These four items are identical, even though they appear different they are the same substance. Thus, the Ohr Rishon is really a knowledge about yourself. This explains why it is total and apprehended so quickly. However, with the impurity that we surrounded the Ohr Rishon, we now have to labor to learn Torah and thereby learn about ourselves. Our learning is neither total, nor quick. We learn slowly, with much effort, and what we learn is incomplete and comes with impurity. This impurity is reflected in the fact that we have to ask questions. The fact that a question even arises is due to the impurity surrounding the Ohr Rishon which we caused by the sin of the golden calf.

 

The Ohr Rishon must be released. The first set of broken Luchot, the tablets, that contained the Ohr Rishon were stored in the Aron, the ark. These pieces are the perfect representation of the Ohr Rishon and its current state. It is fragmented, disordered, and nearly unrecognizable. It is like a five-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, all of one color!

 

We need to release the Ohr Rison, the Torah, from the impurity. This requires effort. The job is to release the Ohr Rishon from its chains. The job is not to know the Torah; the job is to release the Torah from the impurity. If you labor and sacrifice for Torah learning, then you will know. According to the suffering, is the reward. We labor not to gain the Chakma; we labor to release the Chakma from its impurity. This is the mechanism that teaches us that we are not in charge. Just as the mitzvot have us performing labors that we do not want to do, in order to remind us that HaShem is the boss. The impurity, the yetzer HaRa keeps telling us that we are in charge, not HaShem. This impurity’s tikkun, correction, is to become convinced that we are not in charge and that HaShem is in charge. The more we labor and suffer to perform the mitzvot, the more we overcome the impurity that tries to convince us that we are in charge. Our sacrifice negates our own interests and demonstrates our seriousness. Therefore, if we labor and sacrifice for Torah, then Torah is given to us – given to us, not understood because of our comprehension, but given to us as a gift.

 

We must release the Ohr Rison in order to permit the arrival of Mashiach. The essential labor of the Torah is to release this Ohr Rishon. This light is chained.

 

Upon reflection of the history of our people we can appreciate the authenticity and veracity of the blessings of Isaac as their ramifications have been manifested throughout the experiences of our nation. We will now explore a few of those times when the baton changed hands, as manifestations of the Ohr Rishon. It is worthwhile to note that the Ohr Rishon will have three components to notice in the following historical examples:

  1. The topics
  2. The forms
  3. The methods

 

What is the history of the release of the Ohr Rishon? We can see this through the following:

 

When the first Temple was destroyed, about 2500 years ago, the Shechinah[70] left the Temple and was given to the Satan for nourishment. When he grows, then the power goes to Esav, in the guise of the Gentiles, as a way to connect with HaShem in an impure form. So, 2500 years ago (within 100 years of the destruction), Buddhism,[71] Confuscism,[72] and Taoism[73] suddenly appeared in the east. Science and Greek philosophy began at the same time: Aristotle,[74] Plato,[75] Socrates,[76] and Pythagoras[77] all arose during this period. At about the same time, in 509 BCE,[78] Rome became a republic.

 

I am reminded of the story of the encounter between the Jewish prophet Jeremiah and the Greek philosopher Plato. When Jeremiah returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile and saw the ruins of the Holy Temple, he fell on the wood and stones, weeping bitterly. At that moment, the renowned philosopher Plato passed by and saw this.

 

He stopped and inquired, “Who is that crying over there?”

 

“A Jewish sage,” they replied.

 

So he approached Jeremiah and asked, “They say you are a sage. Why, then, are you crying over wood and stones?”

 

Jeremiah answered, “They say of you that you are a great philosopher. Do you have any philosophical questions that need answering?

 

“I do”, admitted Plato, “but I don’t think there is anyone who can answer them for me”.

 

“Ask,” said Jeremiah, “and I will answer them for you”.

 

Plato proceeded to pose the questions that even he had no answers for, and Jeremiah answered them all without hesitation. Asked the astonished Plato, “Where did you learn such great wisdom?”

 

“From these wood and stones,” the prophet replied.

 

The subscript to their not-so-platonic dialogue is as follows: To the philosophic mind of Greece, human reason marked the limit of wisdom. Plato could not entertain the possibility that the answers to his questions could be discovered in the holiness of the Temple, where the Divine Presence resided. Jeremiah told him that there is wisdom that lies beyond man’s intellect; the pathway to that wisdom now lay in ruins, and that was the cause of his tears.

 

It says in Psalms, “The stone that the builders despised will become the cornerstone”.[79] There are those who would build a society on materials other than the materials of Jewish tradition; but the stones of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem, mourned by some and despised by others, will ultimately be the cornerstone of human wisdom and peace among the nations.

 

The Creation Calendar

 

Six thousand years is equated to the six days of creation. Thus, the days line up with the millenniums thusly:

 

Day of Creation

1000 Year Eras

First Day

First Millennium

Second Day

Second Millennium

Third Day

Third Millennium

Fourth Day

Fourth Millennium

Fifth Day

Fifth Millennium

Sixth Day

Sixth Millennium

Seventh Day

Seventh Millennium

 

 


 

CREATION

EVENTS

One Day

3760-2760bce

0: Day SixAdam the Light of the World is created. (Ramban)

930: Adam died having given seventy years to King David.

 

 

A Second Day

2759-1760bce

1056: Noach is born.

1948: Avraham is born.

1996: Dispersion from the Tower of Bavel.

 

 

A Third Day

1759-760bce

2000: Avraham destroys his father’s idols.

2018: Covenant between the parts.

2084: The Akeida.

2238: Yaaqov and his family descend into Egypt for 210 years.

2449: The Mishkan is erected, it will stand for 480 years.

2928: First Temple begun. 72 years before the end of the third Millennium.

 

 

A Fourth Day

759bce-240ce

3000: First Temple is still standing.

3338: First Temple was destroyed. It stood for 410 years.

3342: seventy years of Babylonian exile begin.

3408: Begin building the Second Temple to stand 420 years.

3782: Yeshua dies (approx.)

3829: The Second Temple is destroyed.

172 years remaining in the fourth millennium.

 

 

A Fifth Day

241-1240ce

4000: The nations have dominion.

 

 

 

The Sixth Day

1241-2240ce

5000: beginning of which the “beasts,” symbolizing the kingdoms that knew not the Eternal, will rule, but after a tenth thereof - in the proportion of the time from the first sparkling of the sun to the beginning of the day - the redeemer will come, as it is said concerning him, And his throne is as the sun before Me. This is the son of David.

5708: The nation of Israel is established.

 

 

The Seventh Day

2241-3240ce

The seventh day which is the Sabbath alludes to the World to Come, “which will be wholly a Sabbath and will bring rest for life everlasting”.


 


 

The Sixth Day

 


YEARS of the Sixth Millennium

MIDRASH

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XXIX:1 

TALMUD

Sanhedrin 38b

5000 - 5083 years

(1240 CE – 1323 CE)

In the first hour the idea of creating man entered His mind

In the first hour, his [Adam’s] dust was gathered.

5084 - 5167 years

(1324 CE – 1407 CE)

In the second He took counsel with the Ministering Angels

In the second, it was kneaded into a shapeless mass.

5168 - 5250 years

(1408 CE – 1490 CE)

In the third He assembled Adam’s dust

In the third, his limbs were shaped

5251 - 5333 years

(1491 CE – 1573 CE)

In the fourth He kneaded it

In the fourth, a soul was infused into him.

5334 - 5417 years

(1574 CE – 1657 CE)

In the fifth He shaped him

In the fifth, he arose and stood on his feet.

5418 - 5500 years

(1658 CE – 1740 CE)

In the sixth He made him into a lifeless body

In the sixth, he gave [the animals] their names.

5501 - 5583 years

(1741 CE – 1823 CE)

In the seventh He breathed a soul into him

In the seventh, Eve became his mate.

5584 - 5667 years

(1824 CE – 1907 CE)

In the eighth He brought him into the Garden of Eden

In the eighth, they ascended to bed as two and descended as four.

5668 - 5750 years

(1908 CE – 1990 CE)

In the ninth he was commanded [against eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge]

In the ninth, he was commanded not to eat of the tree.

5751 - 5833 years

(1991 CE – 2073 CE)

In the tenth he transgressed

In the tenth, he sinned.

5834 - 5917 years

(2074 CE – 2157 CE)

In the eleventh he was judged

In the eleventh, he was tried.

5918 – 6000 years

(2158 CE – 2240 CE)

In the twelfth he was pardoned

And in the twelfth he was expelled [from Eden] and departed.


The Bne Israel[80] were in Mitzrayim, Egypt, for 210 years, according to Chazal. This can be derived as follows:

 

Yaaqob stands before Pharaoh at 130 years old. If we add Isaac’s age of 60 when Yaaqob was born, 190 years passed from the 400 years scheduled from Isaac’s birth, leaving 210 years in Egypt.

 

Yocheved, a daughter of Levi, was 130 years of age when Moshe was born. She was the one recorded in Tanach as born ‘between the walls’. Moshe was 80 when HaShem delivered Bne Yisrael from Mitzrayim.[81] {210 = 130 + 80}

 

The Zohar,[82] says that Techiyat HaMeitim[83], “The Resurrection of the Dead,” will begin no later than 210 years (corresponding to the number of years we were enslaved in Mitzrayim) before the year 6000, which is 5790. The “Leshem[84] Shevo v’Achlamah[85] seems to accept this date as being the final and real one. We are now in the year 5772, which is 228 years before the year 6000. This means that Techiyat HaMeitim will occur within the next twenty-six years, according to this understanding.

 

Techiyat HaMeitim must occur before September 28, 2030 (Tishri 1, 5791).

 

The Zohar[86] also states that this future period will begin after forty years of Kibbutz Galiyot, or, “Ingathering of Exiles“. This term refers to the return of the exiles from the Diaspora to Eretz Israel. Thus, according to this calculation, Kibbutz Galiyot would have begun in the year 5750, or, 1990, just about the same time that Russia “mysteriously” collapsed and allowed its Jewish “citizens” to finally emigrate after so many decades of trying.

 

Kibbutz Galiyot must begin before September 20, 1990 (Tishri 1, 5751).

 

According to the Leshem, based upon the Zohar and tradition, Yemot HaMashiach, the Messianic Era,[87] must happen in advance of Techiyat HaMeitim, specifically sometime within the forty years of Kibbutz Galiyot.[88] As of this writing (2023 – 5783), that would mean that Mashiach must come and complete his work, the preparation of mankind and the world for Resurrection of the Dead, over the next 7 years.

 

Yemot HaMashiach must occur before September 28, 2030 (Tishri 1, 5791).

 

Spiritual (Jews) vs. Physical (Gentiles)

 

When the Jews have the Shechinah they have beauty and might with wisdom. When they sin, this great beauty and wisdom went to the goyim in the form of Greek and Eastern philosophy. The might went to the Roman republic founded in 509 bce. In Eicha[89] we find our kings and princes went to the goyim after the first churban:[90]

 

Eicha (Lamentations) 2:9 Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the goyim: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from HaShem.

 

When the second Temple was destroyed, in 3839AM,[91] Christianity appeared. Baseless hatred and Lashon HaRa[92] caused its destruction, midda-kneged-midda[93] Christianity began using these same sins against us. Their cathedrals had much beauty, but their ‘victories’ in war, science, and the arts were astounding. They have what was ours. (Think about the ramifications when they become our inheritance).

 

Sanhedrin 97a The Tanna debe Eliyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation;[94] two thousand years the Torah flourished;[95] and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era,[96] but through our many iniquities all these years have been lost.[97]

 

If we are currently in the 2000 years of Mashiach (this is the year 5783), where is he? We should have seen Him 2000 years ago and we should still see His work in the world. Where is He? Rabbi Shimon Kessen made a very interesting statement when he declared that Yeshua was the promised Mashiach ben Yosef who came 2000 years ago.[98]

 

Yeshua was a gilgul of Esav. ישוע = Yeshua. When we turn the letters around we get עֵשָׂו = Esav. 

 

As an aside, it is axiomatic that the Jesus of Christianity[99] is not the Yeshua that Rabbi Kessen is speaking about. The Yeshua of the Nazarean Codicil was NOT HaShem in the flesh, G-d forbid! Yeshua was NOT born of a virgin else He could not be Mashiach ben Yosef. This Yeshua did not call for the abandonment of the Torah, rather He observed the Torah and commanded His disciples to observe the Torah as well. This Yeshua was NOT part of a trinity.

 

The Yeshua of the Nazarean Codicil[100] was Mashiach ben Yosef, no more no less. Since Mashiach ben Yosef is always concealed from the Bne Israel, it is understood that most will NOT recognize him, as we read in Kol HaTor:[101]

 

Kol haTor 2:39 [Bereshit (Genesis) 42:8] Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him -- This is one of the traits of Yosef not only in his own generation, but in every generation, i.e., that Mashiach ben Yosef recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him. This is the work of Satan, who hides the characteristics of Mashiach ben Yosef[102] so that the footsteps of the Mashiach are not recognized and are even belittled because of our many sins. (See below 103). Otherwise, our troubles would already have ended. Were Israel to recognize Yosef, that is, the footsteps of ben Yosef the Mashiach which is the ingathering of the exiles etc., then we would already have been redeemed with a complete redemption.

 

Kol haTor 2:103. [Tehillim (Psalms) 89:52] the footsteps of your Mashiach -- In the verse “who taunted the footsteps of your Mashiach.” Wherever footsteps of mashiach are mentioned, they refer to the mission of the first Mashiach, Mashiach ben Yosef. As is known, the enemies of God and the enemies of Israel cause trouble to the entire process of the beginning of the Redemption that occurs in the footsteps of the Mashiach. In the Psalm, it states regarding this matter: “who taunted the footsteps of your Mashiach”.[103] Our Sages have already enumerated all the tribulations that come during the footsteps of the Mashiach. We have no one to lean on except our Father in Heaven and His will that we occupy ourselves with the awakening from below, and stand firmly against all disturbances and taunts. We must act in the spirit of Eitan HaEzrachi, who is our forefather Abraham, and according to a parable of the Gaon (as explained in Chapter 1), the first Mashiach ben Yosef. The Gaon added the hint in the verse: “How will I know that I will inherit it .” The word ‘’ in gematria equals [566].

 

As it is written: “Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him”.[104] From this pasuk we understand that Rabbi Kessen’s revelation will be quite shocking and unexpected to most of the Bne Israel, just as Yosef’s revelation was quite shocking and unexpected to Yosef’s brothers.

 

Thursday night at six PM is equivalent to the year 1240.

 

In 5000AM, the year 1240CE, the Zohar[105] says that the Ohr Mashiach,[106] the light of Mashiach, begins to come down. This time frame corresponds to the start of the sixth day (Thursday sundown), which is Erev Shabbat.[107] This Ohr Mashiach,[108] the light of Messiah, is inner light. The Zohar[109] was discovered right after 1240. Because of our sins, the goyim are getting this light along with the Jews. So why are they not getting all of the light? The answer is that Jewish suffering is nearly complete for their sins. It is time for the light to begin returning to its owner.

 

What does Ohr Mashiach look like with the goyim? Science! It lets them see the inner light. If the Jews sin, then the Satan receives the flow of Divine energy, twists it into a physical caricature of its spiritual form, and gives it to the nations. In this case, the light of Mashiach, a divine wisdom which gives insight into the spiritual worlds, was converted into a body of knowledge that shows the mechanics of the physical world. And what is that? Science! Certainly we have benefited from the many advances in science, along with the rest of the world. There has been a terrible price, however. Why does the Satan want the world to be filled with knowledge of science? Until science’s advent, atheism was unheard of; it had no intellectual underpinnings. Science, however, can be construed to present a form of reality that does not include HaShem. Once the Satan could influence the nations into giving up their religions (which, twisted they may be, still involve an awareness of a divine being), he could then turn the nations onto the Jews and “enlighten” them.

 

Since all the advances in science came ultimately from the Satan, who had taken the Ohr Mashiach that had been meant for us, had twisted it into a force for understanding the physical world, and had given it to the nations, we must take another attitude every time that we visit one of those big-box electronics stores to buy yet another appliance. As we gaze in wonder at the latest super-small, yet super-speedy computers (far faster than last year’s model) and marvel at the latest that technology has wrought, a sad thought must cross our minds: “All this is but a perverted shadow of what was really meant – for us!”

 

In the 1240’s, science began with Roger Bacon and his advocating of the scientific method. He was the connector between philosophy and science. Bacon sent the Pope his Opus Majus,[110] which presented his views on how to incorporate the philosophy of Aristotle and science into a new theology. Bacon also sent the Pope his Opus minus, De multiplicatione specierum, and possibly other works on alchemy and astrology.

 

So, the Jews get kabbala[111] with the Zohar[112] in 1286CE (5046AM[113]), and its study of the inner light while the goyim get science and its inner light. The Zohar details the spiritual causes of the physical universe. We get the spiritual and they get the physical.

 

In 1180, sixty years before 1240, the Rambam[114] completed the Mishne Torah, which was a revolutionary re-ordering of the Torah that reassembled the broken pieces of the Gemara into a form which was easily comprehended by the common man. Maimonides intended to provide a complete statement of the Oral Law, so that a person who mastered first the Written Torah and then the Mishneh Torah would be in no need of any other book. By 1240 the Mishne Torah had achieved wide distribution that included responsum.[115]

 

In the late 1500’s, Francis Bacon became the first practitioner of the scientific method. This was the Ohr Rishon becoming manifest in the physical world. At about the same time, in the spiritual world, the Arizal[116] began explaining the Kabbala, which was metaphoric in nature and is considered the father of contemporary Kabbala; what became known as Lurianic Kabbala. A contemporary, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero was a central figure in the historical development of Kabbalah and the leader of a mystical school in 16th-century Safed, Israel. He is known by the acronym the Ramak. As science got more physical with the scientific method, Judaism was becoming more mystical with the Kabbala. A second development in the late 1500’s, was the development of halachic literature by Rabbi Yosef Karo who’s Magnus opus was the Shulchan Aruch, the Set Table. This was the first reconstruction of Torah into its application. There are various legal codes in Judaism but the Shulchan Aruch is the most widely consulted. It was authored in Safed, Israel by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later.

 

In the 1700’s, the great Gentile Sir Isaac Newton,[117] the father of modern science, began to affect the world. At the same time a renewal was happening in the Jewish world as this era saw the advent of most of the major Achronim[118] and Chassidic[119] leaders, including Rabbi Moshe Chaim of Luzatto (1707 – 1747). Thus 5500A.M. = 1740 saw the rise of science in a big way as the Zohar[120] interprets along prophetical lines:

 

In the 600th year of the 6th millennium (i.e., in the years 5,500-5,600 in the Hebrew calendar corresponding to the years 1740-1840 CE.) the upper gates of wisdom will be opened and also the wellsprings of wisdom below (science and technology). This will prepare the world for the 7th millennium like a person prepares himself on Friday for Shabbat, as the sun begins to wane. So it will be here. There is a hint about this in the verse “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life …all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened”.[121]

 

This passage,[122] from the Zohar, has been explained by the Talmudic[123] Sage-Mystics of Israel, the Chassidic masters and specifically by the Sages of Shklov,[124] as referring to the fact that from the 18th, and especially from the 19th, century onward, the Kabbalah would experience a profound renewal clarifying and rendering more accessible her own esoteric traditions.[125] Any student of contemporary mysticism cannot but be astounded by the relatively recent dramatic accessibility of the Kabbalah and its new and ever increasing popularity.[126]

 

With the gradual opening of the gates of wisdom[127] above and below the messianic revelation that will begin from the year 1840 will resemble the wisdom of King Solomon in his day.[128]

 

Paralleling the revelations of “wisdom from above,” this prophecy necessitates revolutionary discoveries occurring simultaneously in the secular world, with regards to the “wisdom from below”. Stimulated by the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, the wellsprings of theoretical models and new technology have incessantly burst forth. A wholly new paradigm of scientific thought, and consciousness, is emerging. The year 1840 witnessed the emergence of electromagnetic theory,[129] electromagnetism,[130] which in turn paved the way for the discovery of radio waves, the harnessing of electricity, telecommunications, television, computers, and the investigation of atomic energy and the development of the atomic bomb. New psychological and neurological descriptions of the brain, ethnopharmacology,[131] black hole phenomenon,[132] genetic engineering, lasers and holography, are further examples of the changes and ideas that have taken place in our generation. Of even greater significance has been the effect of the early 19th century breakthroughs of non-Euclidean geometry, which set the stage for the 20th century theories of Einstein’s relativity,[133] quantum mechanics, and the search for the Unified Field Theory.[134] Currently, under the name of “Super Strings”,[135] this theory is being proclaimed by leading physicists as an unmistakable genesis of a new physics. Most recently, the scientific community and public at large are being initiated into a new world of fractal geometry,[136] chaos theory,[137] virtual reality,[138] and the ever accelerating, neural network[139] of the worldwide Internet.

 

The statement, “wellsprings of wisdom below”, is interpreted as the industrial revolution, which according to Wikipedia, had its origins in the 1780’s but was not felt until 1830’s or 1840’s. We are still feeling the effects today with all the scientific revolutions that followed.

 

The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.

 

There are three reasons why today’s transformations represent not merely a prolongation of the Third Industrial Revolution but rather the arrival of a Fourth and distinct one: velocity, scope, and systems impact. The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance.[140]

 

According to the teachings of esoteric Judaism, all knowledge, both spiritual and material wisdom, originally coexisted in a seamless unity within a higher dimension. Together, these two modes of wisdom comprised a larger, all-encompassing Universal Torah.[141] A collapse, i.e., the episode of the eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil,[142] however, ensued in which the database of all knowledge split itself into “spiritual” and “material” planes of existence. Thus, we have the roots of the conflict between “religion” and “science”. Yet, any given mystical or technological truth can only be one of two sides of the same puzzle. Thus, the material world is also a mode of spirituality, only externalized and concretized. Vice-versa, the spiritual world is a mode of the material reality, only internalized and spiritualized.[143]

 

From both a secular and scientific perspective, as well as from a fundamentalist religious perspective, this unique synergistic re-union is very challenging, if not intimidating and appears “heretical”. Yet, this is the explicit doctrine of the Gaon of Vilna[144] and his clandestine cadre of Talmudic Sage-Mystics of Shklov. The ultimate truth is not revealed through the supra-natural alone nor is it only discovered through scientific development; it is more than both. Both forms of wisdom are destined to reunite. Perforce, this is stimulating a worldwide paradigm shift in consciousness. These stages of global evolution are aspects of the Messianic Era which is central to the teachings of esoteric as well as traditional Judaism.[145]

 

The greatest challenge to religion is science because science can offer an alternative to HaShem[146] and His creation. That is why the Satan makes this offer to those who would choose this path. As a matter of interest, we have no record of any atheists[147] before the rise of science, and in particular the idea of evolution.

 

According to this tradition, our role as the “Final Generation” in the re-unification of these two modes of wisdom is achieved by matching the right tool with the right job. In other words, we must use the new maps, models, and metaphors of the “wisdom from below” in order to grasp the “wisdom from above”. In turn, the transcendent wisdom of the Torah will cast its light of clarity and direction upon the enchanting and often overpowering tools of science and technology.

 

The “gates of wisdom above” parallel the opening of the “wellsprings of wisdom below”. This refers to revolutionary discoveries in the sciences that would completely change our view of the world.[148] We have also seen ongoing examples of the revelations of “wisdom from above”. We can see it historically in the release and publishing of crucial Kabbalistic teachings. Although a number of the works of the Arizal[149] were circulated after he died in 1572, the most authoritative texts of Lurianic Kabbalah, the Shemone Sh’arim[150] by R. Chayim Vital,[151] remained in closely guarded manuscript until the beginning of the 20th-century. The availability of previously unpublished esoteric manuscripts of the early Kabbalists, the teachings of the Ramchal[152] and the Hasidic masters,[153] and finally the esoteric writings of the Gaon and his disciples, including Kol HaTor,[154] have given our generation increasing access to these crucial teachings.

 

This does not mean that our generation is more advanced than our predecessors. To the contrary, our grasp of the “inner” wisdom is decidedly more “external”. It does mean, however, that this wisdom is no longer restricted to a select few. In order to hasten the redemption, the inner wisdom has come down into the public domain, with all the inherent dangers that this “descent” suggests. This is born out, on the one hand, by the emergence of the Kabbalah as an accepted field of academic research in universities in Israel and in the world at large. This is in sharp contrast to the Kabbalah’s previous status of belonging to the “Old World” and the realm of superstition. On the other hand, this prophecy is reflected in the appearance of Orthodox Yeshivot, mainly Sephardic, which openly teach Kabbalah side by side with Talmud[155] and Halachah.[156] Further, any longtime student of the Kabbalah cannot but be staggered by the recent proliferation of classical Kabbalah literature, in Hebrew, English, and other languages, which continues to increase in momentum.

 

5750A.M. (September 1989) on the cosmic weekly calendar corresponds to 12:00 noon. At that time the sun begins to set. 5750A.M. begins the change over to the final climax. We are expecting the following events:

 

  1. ikvot Meshicha – the footsteps of the Messiah - The time immediately before Mashiach.[157]
  2. HaAtchalta d’Geula[158] – the release of Mashiach ben Yosef from captivity.
  3. Yemot HaMashiach[159] – Messianic days.

 

September 1989, 5751A.M., is Friday noon[160] (between the eves). Thus, the intensity of Ohr Mashiach is rapidly increasing. This time frame saw the collapse of the Berlin wall and the beginning of the demise of communism in Russia. It is also the time when the internet opened up. By 9/11/1993 the World Trade Center collapses after the most dramatic terrorist event in history. It was also the deadliest.

 

We are now at approximately 12:40 PM, in 5776. Every hour is 41 years and 8 months. (At the time of evening there will be light.) Six and a half hours after dawn.

 

In our day we are seeing 7500 journal articles published every single day! These all represent new ideas and understanding in the many fields of science. That’s how fast science is growing. The sum total of man’s knowledge doubles every 5.5 years. Nine out of ten scientists, that have ever lived, live today because of the tremendous outpouring of the Ohr Rishon. The acceleration of human knowledge is astounding! Just remember: This all brings the Geula, the redemption, by preparing the world and effecting the needed tikkun, correction.

 

This is all necessary to prepare the world for the outpouring of Chakma, wisdom, that will come with Mashiach. Remember what happened at Mt. Sinai when the Bne Israel were blasted back 12 mil?[161] We need to be prepared, and this out-pouring of the Ohr Rishon is necessary so that we are able to withstand the Chakma, the wisdom, of the messianic age. It is not just the Jewish world that needs to be prepared, it is also the Gentile world that needs to be prepared.

 

This preparation includes movies which are highly spiritual and messianic in nature. Consider Star Wars and “the force”. Its similarity to kedusha or tumah, impurity, is so obvious that it is concealed only from the naïve. Yet, they are gaining the Chakma, the messianic understanding to prepare them for the Ohr Rishon. Hollywood is teaching kabbalistic concepts in a manner that is palatable to the general public, via movies and videos. Many movies are so strongly kabbalistic that the wise have no problem discerning it. What is remarkable is that these movies are being shown throughout the world and are translated into many other languages, all to prepare the world for the messianic age. HaShem is using the tumah, the impurity, of Hollywood movies to convey deep spiritual concepts in a form that is acceptable to the Gentiles; so that the whole world is prepared for Mashiach. They are learning the concepts of redemption, of Messiah, of kedusha, and evil vs. good.

 

Iyov (Job) 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

 

Eventually, when the world is properly prepared, the unclean will be removed and only the clean will remain.

 

In the Torah world, we are now seeing books on the Gemara from ArtScroll that fully explain the Gemara, in English. The books contain background and explanations that are difficult to come by. We have never had such publications in the past. This suggests that Torah is emerging from the klipah, the husks that have made learning so difficult in the past. The whole concept of daf yomi’s popularity revolves around the ArtScroll Gemara’s accessibility to those who were not able to attend Yeshiva. Because HaShem is freeing Torah from the klipot, we are getting all of these astounding publications, which are bringing Torah to a much wider audience.

 

As we said before, the Ohr Rishon will have three components to notice:

  1. The topics
  2. The forms
  3. The methods

 

ArtScroll is completely remaking the form into that which is much more comprehensible with less research and providing expert insights at the tips of your fingers.

 

Kabbalah, together with scientific discovery and its technology, is essential in ushering in, and even accelerating, the incoming and final stage of global evolution, traditionally referred to as the Messianic Era. Thus, modern science and technology are one of the manifestations of the messianic process itself. The doctrine of (combined and intertwined) “Kabbalah and science” securely grabs hold of both extremities of the separate, and often opposing, disciplines of ancient religious truth and evolving scientific knowledge. Accordingly, the true confluence and interpenetration of these systems will only emerge when these two things happen. Paradoxically, the newly discovered models and metaphors provided by the “external wisdom” of science will help illuminate the deepest secrets of the ancient mysteries of the “internal wisdom” of the Kabbalah. Reciprocally, those same ancient mysteries of the Kabbalah’s “internal wisdom” will define, explain, and help reshape our perception of the entire phenomenon of the external physical world.

 

There is even more to the unique vision of the role that secular wisdom must play in the messianic unfolding. Not only does science and technology play a prophetic and mystical role, alongside the ancient mystical teachings[162] of Judaism but, according to this tradition of the Talmudic Sage-Mystics, this synthesis depends upon the Jewish nation being re-centered in a rebuilt Jerusalem.

 

The Satan is dying because after 2000 years the Jews have suffered enough.[163] This means that all of the kedusha, holiness, given to the Satan and to the goyim is being taken back by the Jews. The monumental suffering of the holocaust[164] greatly speeded up the tikkun. Consider that during the holocaust every nation was involved in the killing of the Jews, whether overtly or covertly by denying them safety (The east may be an obvious exception[165]). This was the Satan’s first strategy – kill the Jews and bring them such suffering that they no longer perform mitzvot.

 

The Satan’s second strategy was to use the Erev Rav[166] to divert the Jews from mitzvot.[167] The Erev Rav[168] believes that pickled herring, gefilte fish, and Jewish culture is what makes a Jew, not Torah. The Erev Rav[169] are the reformed, conservative, and reconstructionist leaders of the Jews. To understand why Chazal designate the leaders as “erev rav”, let’s examine what Meam Loez teaches us about this group.

 

“They were called a "mixed multitude" (erev rav) because they consisted of many different types of personalities”.

 

“There was also another reason for the designation erev rav. Among the Egyptian occultists who joined the Israelites were two of their greatest masters, Yonos and Yombros.[170] These people knew how to calculate the times of the day most propitious for their occult practices”.

 

“Although erev (ערב) is usually translated as "evening," in the occult arts, this term denotes two periods in the day. The first is from noon until mid-afternoon (around 3:00 p.m.). This is called "great evening" (erev rav), because it comes at the time of the "great Mincha''. [The "great Mincha" is the time of Mincha beginning at noon; it is called "great" because it encompasses a full half of the day. It is distinguished from the "small Mincha,'' beginning late in the afternoon, encompassing only two-and-one-half hours.]”[171]

 

“The second period is from mid-afternoon until midnight. This is the time the Forces of destruction have their greatest power. [Lesser occultists can only practice their arts during this period.]”

 

“The master occultists, however, even knew how to practice sorcery during the day, doing whatever they desired. All the Egyptians looked up to them, and would obey whatever they said. The followers of these occultists were known as the erev rav, people who practiced their rites during the ‘great evening.’”[172]

 

Consider that the state of Israel was not formed by Torah observant Jews; rather it was formed by secular[173] Jewish leaders.[174] They were trying to destroy Torah Jews. They are a fifth column[175] within the ranks of the Jewish people. They were not seen as enemies, rather they were our brothers.

 

Rome has been providing the Satan the Kedushah he requires … until they become so wicked that he can no longer suck from this source. The Satan needed Kedushah from another place so he goes to his ‘ally’, Ishmael.[176] Ishmael has some Kedushah because it was put into him by Avraham when he pleaded with HaShem to give him life:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 17:18 And Abraham said unto G-d, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 19 And G-d said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

 

So Ishmael had Kedushah, but Ishmael wants a quid pro quo.[177] Instead of the Satan working with Edom (Rome),[178] Ishmael wants the Satan’s exclusive help for himself. Ishmael’s nation is destined to supplant the Roman nations. Thus the Muslims are taking over Israel, Europe, and even the United States. They want a Moslem like president (Obama) in the US. The job of the American administration is to destroy Rome and thereby elevate Ishmael. This administration has to support the Palestinians. Obama supports Morsi who self-destructs. This administration must elevate and empower Iran. Yet Ishmael is running out of kedusha as seen by the collapse of multiple Arab states, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Lebanon, and Syria all indicate that Ishmael is running out of kedusha.

 

In a recent lecture, Rav Moshe Wolfson shlita, the esteemed mashgiach[179] of Yeshivat Torah V’Daat said that the fall of a nation is preceded by the fall of its sar, or administering angel. Once the sar falls, then the nation will fall. This is based on the Zohar[180] which says that what the Jews saw on the banks of the Yam Suf was the sar of Egypt dying.

 

Israel has discovered oil[181] and gas[182] which will cause them to grow stronger as the Arab states implode (If we can’t get oil from the Arabs, then we will surely buy from Israel). Because Ishmael[183] knows he is dying, he must go super-nova by creating ISIS[184] which is the death throes of Ishmael. ISIS is a banding together of many nations of Muslims[185] in one desperate move to survive.

 

At the Reed Sea:

Shemot (Exodus) 14:13-14 HaShem shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of HaShem, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. HaShem shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

 

In modern times this manifests as Israel stands on the sidelines while the Arabs destroy each other. Israel is just protecting and Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. their borders while the Arabs kill each other without any help from Israel. It means we are approaching the end[186] where HaShem is able to openly manifest His power. Further, the Arabs are now killing Christians (Edom).

 

A piece of rabbinic literature [written 2000 years ago] known as the Yalkut Shimoni[187] touches on many future scenarios both for the nation of Israel and for the world. In its section on the biblical Book of Isaiah and the prophecies contained therein, a rabbi cited by the Yalkut Shimoni[188] states:

 

“Rabbi Yitzchak said that the year the Messiah will arrive when all the nations of the world will antagonize each other and threaten with war. The king of Persia (Iran antagonizes the King of Arabia - Saudi Arabia) with war. The King of Arabia goes to Edom (The Western Countries, headed by USA) for advice. Then the King of Persia destroys the world (and since that cannot be done with conventional weapons it must mean nuclear which can destroy most of the world). And all the nations of the world begin to panic and are afraid, and Israel too is afraid as to how to defend from this. G-d then says to them, ‘Do not fear for everything that I have done is for your benefit, to destroy the evil kingdom of Edom and eradicate evil from this world so that the Messiah can come, your time of redemption is now’”. [Persia and Ishmael are one people according to the Maharal. Persia[189] represents the Syrians, Lebanese, and Arabians.]

 

Paras[190] will incite a war against other Arabs. Edom will seek counsel before Paras destroys Edom.[191] The last great war is Paras[192] vs. Edom.[193] The great city of Rome (New York?) will be terrorized. Then Mashiach ben David will sprout. It sounds like Mashiach is born in America. To do this Iran needs the atomic bomb. At the end of Yoel we see Edom vs. Ishmael. Obama’s American government is Ishmael’s savior. He is giving them the bomb by the year 5790AM[194] (2030AD). The American President, as a Muslim sympathizer, must empower the Iranians with missile and bomb technology. Iran (Shiites) wants to destroy the world to bring the 12th Imam.[195] (Note that Ishmael has twelve Sarim based on the fact that he had twelve sons.[196]) Some say that this is the war of Gog u’Magog, with Paras (Iran) being Gog. The whole world (Magog) will be the United Nations.

 

The war of Gog u’Magog, as prophesied in Yehezchel chapter 38, has been brought to fulfillment by the UN. Because the UN represents the 70 root nations (193 political entities), when the UN takes an action it is an action of all 70 nations. In this scenario, the 70 nations are Magog and the leader of these nations is Obama. Obama is Gog.

 

The latest UN anti-settlement resolution, number 2334, which condemned Israel was HaShem’s way of showing the heart of the nations. Many times their hatred is concealed and their bad acts are done under cover to conceal their sins from the world. Now that their hearts have been revealed, when it is time for punishment the whole world will be guilty and show that they deserve what HaShem is handing out.

 

The latest UN anti-settlement resolution, number 2334, which condemned Israel was HaShem’s way of ending the “two-state” solution to the war with the Palestinians. Since Judea and Samaria have been given to the Palestinians, there is no longer any way for Israel to negotiate with the Palestinians by offering them some land. The UN gave away Israel’s bargaining position.

 

This is the last war. The last war deals with Iran! Iran could only do this if they have an atomic bomb. This will enable them to make war against Israel and the entire Middle East. In this war the Israeli Arabs will side with Arabs elsewhere, against the Jews. As a result, the Jews will completely expel the Arabs from Israel. Israel will then contain Jews only. This begs the question: Why don’t the Jews expel the Arabs now? The answer is that Israel is afraid of the reaction of the rest of the world. Until the Jews are attacked in a wholesale manner from within and without, until that time they must do what the world wants. But, after they are attacked in such a manner, then they will be free to destroy and expel every last Arab. In this war they will have America as its ally because Trump does not tolerate those who refuse to make a deal. He will have already seen that they cannot make peace and he will realize that the Arabs need to be destroyed or expelled from Israel.

 

One of the ways that we recognize the hand of HaShem is when the actions of our leaders do not make sense. This is clearly the case with Iran. The leaders of Iran have shouted “death to America” and “death to Israel” many times. In the midst of this kind of talk, Obama wants to give them an atomic bomb. This does not make any sense, rather it is idiotic, bordering on insane. Yet, that is exactly what is happening.

 

Edom must be weakened because they have given the Jews the ability to study Torah. This strength must be weakened by the Supreme Court to legitimize same-sex marriage. Rampant immorality is what Rabbi Nachman[197] says will flood the world. The flood destroyed the world partly for this reason.[198] The rest of the world is following the lead of the US. Except Ishmael kills homosexuals to their credit! The end game is the end of the exile, of Ishmael, of Edom, and the Erev Rav. This is Tisha B’Ab. The American government’s job is to destroy Edom in favor of Ishmael. Thus the American government acts foolish in order to accomplish this task. Thus the Satan will bring the Mashiach.

 

In Esther we see that everyone brings the Geula, the redemption. Mordechai because he serves HaShem, gets a reward. Haman brings the Geula and is destroyed because he wants to destroy the Jews.

 

Klal[199] Israel is at their lowest point because of intermarriage and mitzvot. They have greatly descended. They need to be brought low so that they are not culpable for their sins and HaShem can save them despite their sins. Like Avraham who descended to his lowest point when Paro took Sarah,[200] but that turned out to be his greatest reward. The Jews must be uplifted to be able to do Torah and mitzvot, otherwise when Mashiach comes they will be destroyed by His kedusha.

 

The Four Exiles

 

There are four major nations, and their corresponding exiles, mentioned in Daniel chapter 2. Ishmael is not on the list. However, the four are really 8. The final exile is Edom according to the Midrash Sacher Tov.[201] the bottom of the feet is represented by Ishmael and Edom. The four exiles, among the eight kingdoms are:

 

1) Babylon-Chaldea,

2) Media-Persia,

3) Macedonia-Greece,

4) Edom[202] (= Rome = the western world) and Ish­mael[203] ( = Arabs).

 

The eight total nations to subjugate the Jews are:

Egypt

Babylon

Persia

Greece

Rome (the greatest) = Edom = Esav = Christianity

Ishmael - Moslem

Amalekites

Erev Rav - enemy within

 

The secret of these kingdoms is found in Chad Gadya[204] which is read by Ashkenazim[205] (and some Sephardim[206]) at the end of the Pesach seder. Israel is the kid. The two zuzim are the two Luchot. There are eight nations between the kid and HaShem, as delineated by Rabbi Mendel Kessin:

 

Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon) = cat

Belshazzar (Babylon) = dog

Madai (Media) = stick

Achashverosh (Babylon) = fire

Macedonians (Greece) = water

Greece = ox

Rome / Edom = Slaughterer

Ishmael = Angel of Death

 

A second opinion:

 

The ten stanzas of Chad Gadya, according to Ohr Somayach, correspond to the ten kingdoms that will rule from before the beginning of time until the end of the world. They are:

 

HaShem alone before the creation.

The Babylon of Nimrod

Egypt

Yisrael until the destruction of the First Temple

The Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar

Persia and Media

Greece and Macedonia

Rome

Mashiach

HaShem alone

A third opinion:

 

The symbolic meaning of this sequence of people, animals and objects remained obscure until the Vilna Gaon presented the following interpretation. Each verse alludes to one person or event in Jewish history:

 

The kid is the birthright mentioned in Genesis 25. This is the right to take the baton that had been passed from Abraham to Isaac, to continue Abraham’s mission to build a world full of loving kindness and monotheism and devoid of idolatry, child sacrifice and other evils.

 

My father is Yaaqob who bought the birthright from his twin brother Esau, who had been born first and thus had the natural right to the birthright.

 

The two zuzim are the bread and stew Yaaqob paid Esau for the birthright.

 

The cat represents the envy of Yaaqob’s sons toward their brother Joseph’s, leading them to sell him into slavery in Egypt.

 

The dog is Egypt, where Joseph landed, and where eventually the entire clan of Yaaqob and the subsequent Israelite nation lived, were enslaved and were redeemed.

 

The stick is the famous staff of Moses, used to call forth various plagues and part the waters of the Sea for the Israelites to cross.

 

The fire represents the thirst for idolatry among Israelites that proved to be a persistent bane for over 800 years, from the year they left Egypt until the destruction of the First Temple in the Fifth Century BCE.

 

The water represents the Fourth Century BCE sages who eradicated idolatry.

 

The ox is Rome (Esau’s descendent) who destroyed the 2nd Temple in 70 CE.

 

The butcher is the “Messiah Son of Joseph” (Mashiach Ben-Yoseph) who will restore full Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.

 

The Angel of Death needs no introduction; in this song he represents the death of Messiah Ben-Yoseph

 

The Holy One of course also needs no introduction; here He arrives with Messiah Ben-David.

 

The repetition in each stanza underscores the ebb and flow of Jewish history – sometimes we’re down, but then we rise up. While most of the song looks backwards, it ends with an optimistic view toward the future, a fitting conclusion to the Seder.

 

Our Hakhamim have associated the opening words of Genesis with the four exiles.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2 And the earth was without form (tohu), and void (bohu); and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

 

With respect to this seemingly uninformative verse, our Hakhamim have explained the words this way:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis II:4 R. Simeon b. Lakish applied the passage to the [foreign] Powers. NOW THE EARTH WAS TOHU (E.V. ‘UNFORMED’) symbolizes Babylonia: I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was tohu-E.V. ‘waste’ (Jer. IV, 23)[207]; AND BOHU (E.V. ‘VOID’) symbolizes Media: They hastened (wa-yabhillu) to bring Haman (Est. VI, 14).[208] AND DARKNESS symbolizes Greece, which darkened the eyes of Israel with its decrees, ordering Israel, ‘Write on the horn of an ox that ye have no portion in the God of Israel.’[209] UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP - this wicked State[210]:just as the great deep cannot be plumbed, so one cannot plumb [the depths of iniquity of] this wicked State. AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED: this alludes to the spirit of Messiah, as you read, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isa. XI, 2). In the merit of what will [this spirit] eventually come? [For the sake of that which] HOVERED OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS, i.e. in the merit of repentance which is likened to water, as it is written, Pour out thy heart like water (Lam. II, 19). R. Haggai said in the name of R. Pedath: A covenant was made with water[211] that even in the hot season a breeze stirs over it.[212]

 

 

 

Within this single and ominous verse, there is an allusion to all four exiles that the Jewish people were destined to experience throughout their long history until the Messianic time, which has still yet to occur. And without exception, all of them have come to pass as predicted, with the final exile, the “Roman Exile” (Edom) still in progress.

 

HaShem hinted to these four exiles in the story of creation, as we saw earlier. At the beginning of creation it is written that, “The world was tohu and bohu, and darkness covering the deep”. The four phrases:

1) “tohu”,

2) “bohu”,

3) “darkness”, and

4) “covering the deep”

 

The four phrases hint to the four exiles (The following image depicts Daniel 2:33–34, 41–43):

 

 

Galut - Exile

Klipot

http://www.betemunah.org/edom_files/image017.jpg

Babylon

Tohu - Formless

Media - Persia

Bohu - Void

Greece

Darkness

Rome

(Edom)

Covering the deep

 

From Daniel we see that the Jews will endure only four exiles before Mashiach comes. However, Rav Chaim Vital, who is the disciple of the Arizal, writes something very fascinating. He teaches that there will be a fifth galut which will sprout out from the exile of Edom, called galut Ishmael. When Ishmael falls Mashiach will come.

 

As we see today, the media speak about the terrible cruelty and killings which Islamic extremists are performing around the world, even within their own people. Of course there is the focus of carrying out these atrocious acts in Israel. It appears that we are now in the Fifth galut: Galut Ishmael, the Arab exile. As Rav Chaim Vital continues and writes, that this will be the worst of all exiles. The situation will get so bad that our only salvation will be for us to cry out to HaShem and HaShem will listen and bring the redemption. This last statement was always puzzling. how is it possible that all Israel will put their differences aside and unite as one people to cry out to HaShem? Now we can see the brutality that will bring us together.

 

Current Events

 

The situation that is responsible for current events is that the Satan is dying. When we do mitzvot, the kedusha comes to Klal Israel, and we grow thereby. If we sin, the kedusha goes to the Satan, and he grows thereby. When Israel is up, then Esav and the Satan are down, and vice versa.

 

To rectify creation, the tikkun, we must take back all of the kedusha from the Satan. This will kill the Satan. At this time, the Satan is dying. Let’s look at some of the pieces that are used in the tikkun.

 

There are two Meshichim with two different missions:

  1. Mashiach ben Yosef – Take back the kedusha by eliminating sin.
  2. Mashiach ben David – To bring down the rest of the kedusha by encouraging mitzvot.

 

The tikkun, the correction, is accomplished using the following methods:

  1. Teshuva
  2. Doing the mitzvot. This was supposed to be the main vehicle for tikkun, but, we failed.
  3. Suffering will undo our sins and bring Klal Israel strength. This is now the main path for tikkun.

 

There are three strategies, in war, when supplies are running low. All of them have been employed by the Satan as he has lost kedusha due to the suffering of the Jewish people.

  1. The big bluff using shock and awe. The holocaust is an example where the nations of the world ganged up to kill the Jews. The goal was to discourage other Jews and cause them to sin. This failed.
  2. Discourage the enemy. Using dissidents, the Erev Rav[213] (The Jews that want to destroy Judaism, the leaders of the liberal political parties in Israel, the leaders of the conservative and reform movements) to discourage the Jews. This also failed.
  3. Call in an ally for replenishments. Ishmael, the Arabs, the Muslim, are the only other nation which can draw down kedusha. Avraham said, “may Ishmael live before you”. HaShem said, “I have heard”. According to the Maharal. I return, Ishmael wants to be the Bechor, the firstborn.

 

These three strategies were employed beginning in approximately 1990 (5750). At that time, the world began to change. This is Friday noon of the sixth day of creation. This is when the sun begins to set. September of 1989 is when this began. This is when the Berlin wall collapsed.[214] The Soviet Union collapsed shortly thereafter.[215] This is when the intifada began.[216] When Ishmael (Arabs) takes over, Edom begins to collapse.

 

Now the Arabs / Islam are taking over Europe and beginning to rise in the United States, the greatest part of Edom. Islam (AKA Ishmael) is the fastest growing religion.[217]

 

Edom is represented by the pig, which is NOT KOSHER now, but will become kosher in the future:

 

Why is the pig called [in Hebrew] chazir? Because in the future, Gd will return [le-HaKazir] it to Israel.[218]

 

Bereshit Rabbah 63:8 Rabbi Isaac said: “[God declared]: ‘You have given a name to your swine [Esau]; then I too will name My firstborn, as it says, Thus says the Lord: Israel is My son, My firstborn.

 

Bereshit Rabbah 65:1 Why does he compare it [the Roman State] to a swine? For this reason: when the swine is lying down it puts out its hoofs, as if to say, "I am clean," so does this wicked State rob and oppress, yet pretend to be executing justice. So for forty years Esau used to ensnare married women and violate them, yet when he attained forty years he compared himself to his father, saying, "As my father was forty years old when he married, so I will marry at the age of forty”.[219]

 

The pig is an allusion to Edom [Rome]... And why is the last-named called hazir? Because it will yet restore (hazar) the crown to its owner. This is indicated by what is written:

 

Ovadia (Obadiah) 1:21 And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.

 

Thus if the pig becomes kosher, then so also does Esav become kosher. Thus, Esav, and specifically the United States, will eventually have a purification. This idea is brought into further clarification by the following Targum:

 

Targum Yonatan, Genesis 50:13 In the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron (the burial place of the Patriarchs) . . . Esau’s head lies in the bosom of Isaac.

 

This indicates that there is part of Edom which is good, and it is the place where Chakma, wisdom, resides. The head of any organization is the leader. The United States is the undisputed leader of the world today. Thus the good part of Esav, the head, seems to be the United States.

 

In the era of Mashiach the world at large will be purified and achieve a higher spiritual level, so that the pig will become permissible for food. (How does this square with one of the basic beliefs of Judaism, that the laws of the Torah will never change? Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar[220] suggests that G-d will alter the pig’s physiology so that indeed it chews its cud and therefore bears both kosher signs.)

 

Esav (Edom), and western civilization, has four characteristics:

  1. Arrogance and atheism. Russia took on these attributes. Russia has begun to fall. The czar has fallen and communism is in decline. There may be some good left as Russia loses its anti-Semitism and works with America.
  2. He was a fraud. Europe took on this attribute. Europe’s Muslims are causing the end of the Schengen zone; they are causing it to fall. Brexit is destroying their unity.
  3. Materialism and pleasure seeking. The United States took on this attribute. The good part of Esav. America will flourish under Donald Trump.
  4. Parents are honored. The United States and Esav both honored parents[221] (Mother’s Day and Father’s Day is unique to America). They have also given tremendous charity and foreign aid. Their charity sponsors much Torah study.

 

The goal of the Christians is to convert the Jews. This makes them an ally of the Arabs (Ishmael) to make the Jews sin. Obama became the king of Edom and he was a Muslim or at least a very strong sympathizer of the Muslims. Obama’s election in 2008 was a miracle given that he had no particular talent or background that qualified him. He was a community organizer. His friends were mostly radical communists and Muslims.

 

The gematria of Obama is the gematria of Mashiach and of Nachash (serpent).[222] This means that he has a role in the messianic process, to bring the Mashiach. His role is to destroy the Mashiach and derail the messianic process. Obama has designated the end-of-time; this is one of the main reasons that he rose to power. Mashiach ben David has to come by 5790. Mashiach ben Yosef has to come earlier. In July, of 2015 (5775), Obama gave Iran the right to build an atomic bomb through an agreement. The agreement legitimizes their right to have atomic bombs 15 years. This means that they will have a legal atomic bomb in 2030 (5790), right on time according to the midrash. This will lead to the last war, as designated by Obama. This will lead to a clash of civilizations.

 

Yaaqob was to bring down kedusha. Esav’s job was to subdue evil. Trump will play Esav’s role to subdue evil. Additionally, he will undo the legacy of the democratic party. At the same time, he is destroying the media and the leftist liberals.

 

Obama, as a concealed Muslim in a Christian nation, had six jobs:

  1. Allows the Satan to survive.
  2. Destroy the United States (Edom). His meteoric rise was indicator that He was HaShem’s choice.
  3. Defend Moslems: Raise and empower Ishmael. Empower extremist Muslims. (by giving Iran the atomic bomb and designating the end-of-time.)
  4. He designated the end of time.
  5. He initiated Gog u’Magog.
  6. Destroy Israel.

 

We can see that Obama’s mission was laying the groundwork for the final war with Iran (Persia):

 

Yalkut Shimoni Remez Yeshayahu 499: Rabbi Yitzchak said: In the year that Melech HaMashiach will be revealed, all the kings (leaders) of the nations will be struggling against each other. The leader of Iran will contest with the leader of Arabia, and the leader of Arabia will go to Aram or Edom (depending on the edition) to get council from them. The leader of Persia will respond and destroy the entire world. All the nations of the world will be trembling and shaking and falling on their faces. They will be seized by pains like labor pains.

 

The Jewish people will be trembling and quaking and saying: "Where can we go? Where can we go?" And [HaShem] will say to them: My children, do not fear! Everything I did I did only for you! Why are you frightened? Don't be afraid--the time of your redemption has arrived!"

 

Talmud Yoma 10a - "Rebbi states that Rome is destined to fall at the hands of Persia. Rav states that Persia is destined to fall at the hands of Rome. Question: Can the builders (Persia [Iran], who permitted the rebuilding of the Holy Temple) fall before the destroyers (Rome, who destroyed the Temple)? The sages answer: If the King (Hashem) so decrees”.

 

Rearranging the Hebrew letters of the word “Islam” gives you the word “Samael”,[223] the angel of death.

 

The Talmud,[224] states that the nation of Edom (which, according to the mystics, refers to the Western nations such as the U.S. etc.) and the nation of Paras (Persia/Iran) will be the last two powerful nations standing just before the coming of the Messiah. And the Talmud[225] discusses whether Edom will fall into the hands of Paras during the wars preceding the coming of the Messiah, or vice-versa.

 

The Middle East Arabic nations are imploding: Somalia,[226] Tunisia,[227] Egypt,[228] Yemen,[229] Libya,[230] Iraq,[231] Afghanistan,[232] Syria,[233] and Lebanon.[234] This is the collapse of Ishmael. This situation is compounded by the use of fracking in America. As we reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil, so we reduce their income and hasten their collapse. This situation is further exacerbated by the finding of natural gas[235] and oil[236] in Israel. As Israel gains energy independence, Ishmael is further weakened and the collapse is hastened.

 

Since the Arabs have contributed almost nothing to the world, in the last 1500 years, except oil. If they lose this oil they become expendable. In Sadia Arabia, for example, the current oil fields are predicted to run out in 5782AM (2022). This is driving the Satan crazy as he watches his resources decline. He starts to exploit the baseless hatred that exists between Jews.[237] The rise of Yair Lapid, with his 19 seats in the Knesset and his influence has brought about a "spiritual holocaust" as he attempts to divert Haredim[238] from their Torah studies and into the army. He also is attempting to take away government funds from the kollels,[239] which will cause them to collapse as the Haredim have to go to work. Finally, he is attempting to make the Jewish day schools teach secular topics and cease, or minimize, their Torah studies. HaShem sees that we want to hate each other, so He send Lapid (Erev Rav) deepen the hatred and force us to abandon the mitzvot. This will benefit the Satan and provide his kedusha. Lapid coming out of nowhere is a signal of the hand of HaShem moving in this matter.

 

Once Lapid and his 19 seats became available, the ruling coalition no longer needed the religious parties to enable them to rule. This diminished their influence and revealed the deep antipathy that existed toward them. As the rulers increased their sins, so the Satan was nourished from their sins. Lapid, as one of the greatest anti-Semites in history, was used by HaShem to bring about His will.

 

Lapid’s negative force on Klal Israel was balanced when the Palestinians kidnapped three teenagers.[240] This crime touched the hearts of Jews everywhere and produced unity and love amidst the Jewish people. This was an effective counter-balance to the baseless hatred being fostered by Lapid and his cohorts. The end result is that New elections were called where Netanyahu expelled Lapid and his seats from the ruling coalition.

 

Rabbi Kessin expounded on the Torah section Naso,[241] which speaks of 12 tribal leaders who bring sacrifices including atudim (goats); because the Torah is written without attendant vowels, this can also be read as atidim (future). The Torah implies that there will be 12 prime ministers. Who is the twelfth? Netanyahu.

 

This is not taken to mean he is the last of all, but that he is the last of the erev rav prime ministers. Historically, the erev rav were non-Hebrews who participated in the Exodus without Moses’s consent. In a modern context, they are Jews with power and influence, whose objective and impact has been to reduce Judaism to a culture rather than a covenant between G-d and the Jews. Their influence works to wrench Torah from the consciousness of the Jew. Their power has prevailed for centuries in one form or another.

 

Under their leadership, Israel is woefully unprepared to accept mass immigration despite a relatively healthy GDP compared to other nations with far greater populations and national longevity. Even though Israel is a success story, 1.8 million Israelis live below the poverty line and the economy suffers from too many bureaucratic regulations and insufficient employment opportunities.

 

As long as Netanyahu is in power, the Jews cannot do teshuva and rise spiritually. Rabbi Kessin warns that Jews mustn’t fool themselves into believing that even though Netanyahu has allowed some legislation or budgetary consideration to favor Haredim (religious Jews), such concessions are “a million miles away from encouraging Jews to learn Torah”.

 

When Lapid fell, the Satan sought a new source of nourishment. He caused the rise of the reform movement (Erev Rav) in Israel. This was manifest by the legitimizing of the “Women of the Wall”. The goal of the reform movement is to distance Jews from the Torah, to bring sins instead of mitzvot.

 

Now let’s look at more recent events and how they play into the events of the last days.

 

Trump came on the political scene and was treated as a joke. He was universally disparaged in the press and he became the fodder for late night comedians. His selection as the Republican candidate was nothing short of a miracle. He displaced sixteen well known heavy weights in the Republican party. His election was a miracle of miracles.[242] All the polls showed him losing, yet he became the winner. Why did he win?

 

Donald Trump won because he was not part of the administration, Democrats and Republicans, who had lied to the people and made promises that they never intended to keep. The Republicans advanced the Democrat’s goals to the detriment of the people who elected them. They wanted an outsider who would look at the country as they looked at it. They wanted someone who was not a liar. Someone who sees the problems that they see. Trump is a business man who has become the champion of the common man. As a billionaire he is not dependent on contributions from influence peddlers. Because he can be his own man and do what he wants to do without losing his financing, he has great power.

 

Trump is a real estate guy in New York and has developed many relationships with Jews because there are many Jews in the real estate business. This has given him a desire to assist Jews. This desire has been enhanced by the fact that his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren are Jewish. His appreciation of Jews is also reflected in the advisers that he has surrounding him. However, there is a down side: Those who hate him or his policies will transfer that hate to Jews. This will almost certainly lead to a rise in anti-Semitism.

 

Trump has made overtures to the Arabs to bring them together for peace. As a deal maker, he will, or already has, realized that they don’t want a compromise, they want the whole enchilada. They will settle for nothing less than the complete destruction of the Jews and of Israel. The Arabs, and specifically the Muslims, cannot make peace for the following reasons:

  1. Theologically (in the Koran) they are forbidden from giving up land that they have once inhabited, and this includes Israel.
  2. If an Arab leader makes peace his own people will kill him the next day. This is no idle threat.
  3. The peace will become international law and then when they want to renege, the nations of the world will be united against them because now Israel has become a recognized state. So, if they attack Israel, then Israel has the full backing of international law to destroy them. They no longer need to restrain themselves.

 

A Middle East peace is therefore impossible.

 

The primary reason that HaShem chose Trump appears to be his big ego. He is an ego maniac. Every organization or building is called ‘Trump’. This ego gives him the strength to defy everybody. He will do what he wants, regardless of what people say or do. He is the epitome of defiance. This gives him the strength that very few ever have. He does what he wants to do and nothing stands in his unapologetic way. His essential role as President, is to defy the world and do the job that only the defiant can do. He will do the jobs that intimidated the politicians and frustrated the diplomats by being neither a politician nor a diplomat, but being an ego centric, self-willed, defiant leader.

 

The Republicans hate Donald Trump because they cannot control him. The Democrats hate him because they cannot control or even influence him. When he decides to act, he is accountable to no one but himself.

 

America is the good side of Esav. Japan is a great country because they rescued and saved Jews during world war two, despite being Hitler’s Axis powers.[243] Japan is now the third largest economy of the world.[244] Why did they save Jews? Why did they treat the Jews with such kindness? The answer to both questions is that they were grateful to Jacob Schiff for his loan many years earlier.

 

Trump is perfect for America (Edom) because he wants to make it great again. HaShem wants them to be great because they sponsor the Jews to learn Torah and America provides support for Torah to spread around the world. Further, they are the greatest distributors of foreign aid in the world. Their tzedaka benefits the entire world. Because of these merits, HaShem wants to restore their fortunes and provide the wherewithal to continue these good works. It is like a traveling salesman who gets an expense account as long as he makes good deals. He can eat fancy foods, wear the best clothes, and live is the best hotels as long as he brings home the deals. In the same way, as long as America provides for the Jews and for the world, HaShem will give America what she needs to continue her good works.

 

Trump will:

  1. Overturn all of Obama’s negativity.
  2. Destroy the Clintons for their sins.
  3. Be the champion to destroy Iran and the Arabs. HaShem needs a champion to defend and protect Israel from the rest of the world.

 

To understand what HaShem is doing it is necessary to review a bit of history. Let’s start with Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor. Why did they do this, given that their top advisor warned them against doing it because it would awaken the sleeping giant who was avoiding the war. The bombing of Pearl Harbor surprised even Germany. Although Hitler had made an oral agreement with his Axis partner Japan that Germany would join a war against the United States, he was uncertain as to how the war would be engaged. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor answered that question. On December 8, 1941, Japanese Ambassador Oshima went to German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop to nail the Germans down on a formal declaration of war against America. Von Ribbentrop stalled for time; he knew that Germany was under no obligation to do this under the terms of the Tripartite Pact, which promised help if Japan was attacked, but not if Japan was the aggressor. Von Ribbentrop feared that the addition of another antagonist, the United States, would overwhelm the German war effort. But Hitler thought otherwise. He was convinced that the United States would soon beat him to the punch and declare war on Germany. The U.S. Navy was already attacking German U-boats, and Hitler despised Roosevelt for his repeated verbal attacks against his Nazi ideology. He also believed that Japan was much stronger than it was, that once it had defeated the United States, it would turn and help Germany defeat Russia. So at 3:30 p.m. (Berlin time) on December 11, the German charge d’affaires in Washington handed American Secretary of State Cordell Hull a copy of the declaration of war.[245]

 

Thus, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor led directly to the war with Germany and the ultimate liberation of Jews from the death camps and the establishment of Israel as a place to take care of the Jews. To put it another way, Edom’s good side was forced to save the Jews.

 

If we look at what happened with the attack on the World Trade towers we can also see the hand of HaShem. What was the point? Ultimately, this attack alerted America to the danger of the Arabs (Ishmael) and Islam, and awoke the sleeping giant to begin a war with Israel’s enemies, thereby aiding the Jews in their war with Ishmael.

 

These two historical examples illustrate that HaShem is manipulating history in favor of His plan. He is moving the world to its final conclusion, slowly, but surely. These historical precedents suggest that HaShem has put Trump in place to aid the Jews against the Arabs (Ishmael).

 

Trump is a man of truth. It would be nearly impossible to become a billionaire if you were dishonest. We are also seeing his honesty in the opening days of his presidency where he has faithfully acted according to his campaign words. Because of his ego it is likely that he will go down as the greatest president that this country has ever had. The man who wants his name on every building and casino surely wants to make America great again and have this accomplishment ascribed to him. Further, there is much anecdotal evidence that he has a great deal of chesed, kindness, towards his fellow man. This will go a long way towards endearing him to HaShem.

 

Anyone who visited Israel in the 1970’s found the Arabs to be cordial and not at all antagonistic. Today, quite the opposite is true. The Arabs are openly hostile and antagonistic towards the Jews. The Arabs no longer fear the Jews. Why?

 

The election of Bill Clinton led to the Oslo accords. Why did HaShem want scandal ridden Bill Clinton to be President? The answer is that HaShem needed a womanizer and Bill Clinton was tailor made to fill this role. Clinton’s rival, George H.W. Bush had an 88% approval rating. For him to lose to Clinton was an open miracle. Clinton won because he understood that the primary issue concerning the citizens was the economy. Bush did not understand this. So, Clinton the womanizer gets himself embarrassed and degraded in the incident with Monica. A degraded man always looks for a way to make a positive mark on the world to attempt to erase their degradation. Clinton’s degradation led him to seek a legacy, and peace between the Israelis and Arabs was the low hanging fruit.

 

In this regard, Clinton attempted to give the Arabs everything, via the Oslo Accords, and the Israelis nothing. In the end he legitimizes Arafat and brings him to the White House more than any previous President. Thus, HaShem wanted Bill Clinton to be degraded so that he would seek a legacy to cover his degradation. This, in turn, led to the Oslo peace process that elevated the Arabs and lowered the Jews. The lowered Jews, then began to fear America and let the Arab’s run over the Jews with impunity. Thus the Arabs lost their fear of the Jews and reverted to rebellious behavior.

 

The Oslo accords gave the Arabs half of the land of Israel, and Rabin agreed to this! This was the first time that Jews ceded land to the Arabs, thereby legitimizing their claim of ownership. Fortunately, Arafat refused to accept the extensive land area that was offered. This shows HaShem’s protection for His land.

 

Each subsequent war with the Arabs led to a decrease in their fear of the Jews, as the Americans pressured Israel to do a sub-standard job in their war effort. As the Arabs sent missiles into Israel, the Jews fled before them. In the end, the Arabs no longer feared the IDF. These actions brought a sense of equality between the Arabs and the Jews, to the extent that the Israeli Atomic bomb is now going to be balanced by the Iranian atomic bomb. Thus, step-by-step the Arabs lose their fear of the Jews so that they will feel able to initiate a final war with the Jews where they have confidence in their strength and the support of America.

 

Resurrection of the Dead

 

The duration from death to resurrection will be the same for everyone, but the time of death will not be the same for everyone, and thus the period of time of the deaths and resurrections for the entire generation will continue for a long period of time. However, righteous people who have died previously will resurrect immediately after the 40 years from Kibbutz Galiyot, the ingathering of the exiles.[246] This is what it says in Midrash Ne’elam:[247] There will be many resurrections, and the duration of time will be, according to Rebbi Yehudah, from 40 years after Kibbutz Galiyot, at which time the first resurrection will occur, and the resurrections will continue from then until the last resurrection for 210 years. According to Rebbi Yitzchak, 214 years …[248]

 

According to the Zohar, the entire period of time allotted for Techiyat HaMeitim (resurrection of the dead) is between 210-214 years in advance of 6000 (2240 A.D.). These are not the opinions of obscure rabbis, but of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, the author of the Mishna, and Rebbi Yitzchak, a central figure of the same time period. They are, therefore, mainstream opinions, with which no one argues, at least not in the Zohar. As hard as this may be to fathom, that Techiyat HaMeitim may be only 9 to 13 years away (in 5777), there really is no reason not to believe it.

 

Mashiach ben Yosef comes first, then Mashiach ben David comes and brings Techiyat HaMeitim. The more materialism a person has absorbed, the longer it takes before he is resurrected. Thus not all the righteous will stand immediately, but rather they will be resurrected over a long period of time.

 

Given this scenario, the following events have to take place before 5790 (2030):

 

  1. The clash of civilizations between Ishmael and Edom and Ishmael and the Jews.
  2. The entrance of Mashiach ben Yosef to bring the Jews back to Israel, rebuild the Temple, reveal the messianic light, and engage in the war between Gog u’Magog.

 

All these events have to take place in the next 13 years!

 

Next, Mashiach ben David appears and wipes out Gog u’Magog. (Hezekiah and Senacharib could have been the war of Gog u’Magog, except Hezekiah did not sing a song. There was another attempt in the days of Purim. Ezra would have been Mashiach ben Yosef. Chanukah was another attempt. Germany could also have been the war of Gog u’Magog. Rabbi Wasserman said the Gog u’Magog is divided into three parts. WWI, WWII, and the final war.

 

Because the time period is so short, we are going to see many events going on at the same time. We will see the steep descent into immorality and immoral behavior. This is manifest as transgenders in the army and having general acceptance, the move to allow either gender into bathrooms and locker rooms, the open and legal acceptance of gays and a forcing of others to accept their behavior.[249]

 

At the same time, Kabbala and the mystical study of the Torah will become increasingly popular and will proliferate through secular culture.

 

We will also see the proliferation of the internet and technology to every land so that Mashiach can teach the whole world.

 

Brexit

 

Britain is the second largest European economy after Germany, and the greatest militarily. The exit of Britain diminishes many aspects of Europe. With the exception of France and Germany, the rest of the states are all bit players. What is HaShem doing by Brexit and the diminishment of Europe? This is a punishment for Europe’s anti-Semitism. This will severely diminish their clout vis-à-vis Israel.

 

There also appears to be a great deal of interest, by the French, to leave the European Union. If that happens it is unlikely the EU will survive. The collapse of the EU suggests that the wickedness of Europeans towards the Jews is about to be punished, thus providing a tikkun. This represents a partial collapse of Edom.

 

Russia

 

Russia has killed a lot of Jews and destroyed Judaism. This has been Russia’s heritage for many generations. This was the communist plan. They wanted to destroy religion. The history of Russia is the history of anti-Semitism.

 

Vladimir Putin is a very interesting man. He has suppressed violent anti-Semitism. He has passed laws to promote Judaism and against anti-Semitism. He has been attending Jewish functions, like Chanukah, and committed both state funds and his own funds to Jewish causes. He hangs out with rabbis. Thus Putin is a non-typical Russia. There is no rational explanation for Putin’s attitude towards the Jews. Russia, now, has a very low incidence of anti-Semitism.

 

In Putin’s youth he was befriended by a frum family and treated like a son. His judo teacher, for fifteen years, was also Jewish. He also had a teacher who was Jewish. His attachment to this teacher was so strong that when he visited her in Israel and saw that she lived in a run-down building, he bought her a new home in the heart of Tel Aviv. Thus the tremendous chesed of the Jews of his youth had a profound impact on him and gave him a special affinity for the Jews.

 

Putin has many of the same characteristics of President Trump. Both are very defiant, strong-willed men who have a special relationship with Jews.

 

Why the Russian turn-around? Clearly Putin has been chosen for a very special mission, just as Trump was chosen for his mission. Their mission is to defy the world. Why? Israel will war with Iran that will involve most Arabs including the Israeli Arabs. The rest of the world will condemn Israel. Then Israel will evict the Arabs for their own survival. With the EU diminished, they will have diminished ability to condemn Israel when they start to defend themselves. America (Trump) will defend Israel. And for the first time, Russia will not obstruct Israel, as she has done for 50 years, till about the year 2000.[250] Instead Russia will defend Israel! What a turnaround, HaShem is weakening the enemies of the Jews.

 

Esav will eventually have a purification.

 

Speculations on the future of HaShem’s plan.

 

Yalkut Shimoni[251]

What is “by your light we see light” (Psalms 36:10)? This is the light of Messiah, as it is said, “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4).

 

This teaches that before the world was created, the Holy One, blessed is he, looked forward to the generation of Messiah and its deeds. He hid [the primordial light] for Messiah and his generation beneath his throne of glory.

 

Satan said to the Holy One, blessed is he, “Master of the universe, for whom is the light that you hid beneath your throne of glory?”

 

He responded, “It is for him who will ultimately refute and shamefully rebuke you”.

 

“Master of the universe, show him to me,” he said.

 

He responded, “Come and see him”.

 

As soon as he saw him he became frightened and fell on his face, saying, “Certainly this is Messiah, who will ultimately cause my downfall, as well as all of the princes of the idolaters in Gehinnom. As it is said, ‘He will swallow up death forever, and the HaShem God will wipe away the tears from every face’ (Isaiah 25:8)”.

 

 On this the Messiah says: Lord of the world, with gladness and joy of heart I take it upon Me, on condition that not one of Israel should perish, and that not only those alone should be saved who are in My days, but also those who are hid in the dust; and that not only the dead should be saved who are in My days, but also those who have died from the days of the first Adam till now; and not those, but also those who have been prematurely born. And only these, but also those who have come into Thy knowledge to create them, but have not yet been created. Thus I agree, and thus I take all upon Me.

 

In the hebdomad when the Son of David comes, they shall bring beams of iron, and shall make them a yoke to His neck, until His stature is bent down. But He cries and weeps, and lifts up His voice on high, and says before Him: Lord of the world, what is My strength, My spirit, and My soul, and My members? Am I not flesh and blood? In that honor David (the Son of David) weeps, and says: 'My strength is dried up like a potsherd.'

 

In that hour the Holy One, blessed be His Name, says: Ephraim the Messiah, My righteous one, Thou hast already taken this upon Thee before the six days of the world, now Thy anguish shall be like My anguish; for from the time that Nebuchadnezzar, the wicked one, has come up and destroyed My house, and burned My Sanctuary, and I have sent into captivity My children among the children of the Gentiles, by My life, and by the life of Thy head, I have not sat down on My throne. And if Thou wilt not believe Me, see the dew which is on My head, as it is said (Cant. v. 2) 'My head is filled with dew.'

 

In that hour the Messiah answers Him: Lord of the world, now I am quieted, for it is enough for the servant that he is as his Master (his reminding us of our Lord's saying, Matthew 10:25).

 

Yalkut Shimoni[252] states:

 

“Rabbi Yitzchak said that the year the Messiah will arrive when all the nations of the world will antagonize each other and threaten with war. The king of Persia (Iran antagonizes the King of Arabia - Saudi Arabia) with war. The King of Arabia goes to Edom (The Western Countries, headed by USA) for advice. Then the King of Persia destroys the world (and since that cannot be done with conventional weapons it must mean nuclear which can destroy most of the world). And all the nations of the world begin to panic and are afraid, and Israel too is afraid as to how to defend from this. G-d then says to them, ‘Do not fear for everything that I have done is for your benefit, to destroy the evil kingdom of Edom and eradicate evil from this world so that the Messiah can come, your time of redemption is now’”. [Persia and Ishmael are one people according to the Maharal. Persia[253] represents the Syrians, Lebanese, and Arabians.]

 

 

In this next part we see that Mashiach ben Ephraim will take on the sins of the Jews who were unable to obtain an atonement through suffering, dying, or any other method. The mechanism that Mashiach ben Ephraim uses to suffer for the sins of others is the fact that all Jews (Israel) are really parts of a whole. We are all responsible for each other. Thus Mashiach ben Ephraim can take on the sins of those who are unable to obtain an atonement for themselves.

 

“The iniquities of those who are hidden with you will ultimately bring you into an iron yoke, and they will do to you like this calf, darkening its eyes; they will choke your breath with the yoke and with their iniquities. Your tongue will ultimately cling to the roof of your mouth. Are you willing on these terms?”

 

Messiah said before the Holy One, blessed is he, “Master of the universe, will this suffering last for many years?”

 

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him, “By your life and the life of your head, I have decreed a week upon you; if your soul is in pain, I will expel the suffering at this time“.

 

He said to him, “Master of the universe, with a joyful and glad heart, I will accept upon myself on condition that not one of Israel will perish”.

 

In the following pasuk we see that Mashiach ben Ephraim died for all those who were responsible for the tikkun between Adam HaRishon and Avraham.

 

"Great will be the suffering the Messiah of the tribe of Ephraim has to undergo for seven years at the hand of the nations, who lay iron beams upon him to crush him so that his cries reach heaven; but he willingly submits for the sake of his people, not only those living, but also the dead, for all those who died since Adam; and G-d places the four beasts of the heavenly throne-chariot at his disposal to bring about the great work of resurrection and regeneration against all the celestial antagonists".[254]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

This study was written by

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David (Greg Killian).

Comments may be submitted to:

 

Rabbi Dr. Greg Killian

12210 Luckey Summit

San Antonio, TX 78252

 

Internet address:  gkilli@aol.com

Web page:  https://www.betemunah.org/

 

(360) 918-2905

 

Return to The WATCHMAN home page

Send comments to Greg Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com

 



[1] The evil inclination, another name the Satan. Satan in Judaism is not a physical being ruling the underworld, rather, in the Torah, the word Satan indicates “accuser,” “hinderer” or “tempter”. Satan is therefore more an illusory obstacle in one’s way - such as temptation and evil doings - keeping one from completing the responsibilities of tikkun olam (fixing the world). Satan is the evil inclination to veer off the path of righteousness and faithfulness in G-d. Throughout the Torah, Satan challenges God to test the true loyalty of his followers, including Adam and Eve, as well as Abraham. However, Satan remains inferior to God and is incapable of taking action on mortals without G-d’s permission. In the Talmud and Midrash, Satan appears as the force in the world, responsible for all sins. Some Midrashim claim that the sounding of the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah is utilized to keep Satan away as Jews begin to atone for their sins. Even the morning after Yom Kippur, many Jews attend services to guarantee Satan does not make one last effort to instigate Jews to commit sins.

[2] Much of this study is based on a Tisha B’Ab shiur, and others, by Rabbi Mendel Kessin.

[3] Measure-for-measure.

[4] sanctity

[5] The evil inclination, another name the Satan.

[6] HaShem means ‘The Name’ is the way pious Jews refer to God when He exercises the attribute of loving kindness.

[7] Doing a mitzva means obeying a Torah commandment.

[8] A Gentile.

[9] Plural of mitzva, performing Torah command.

[10] Lit. “The Name”, is the way pious Jews refer to the yod-hay-vav-hay (tetragrammaton) name of G-d.

[11] Mashiach = Messiah

[12] Messiah the son of David. This is the Messiah who will rule and reign as the king.

[13] From Chapter Fourteen of Rabbi Shlomo Majeski’s Likutei Mekorot, Volume 2.

[14] Daniel 12:11-12

[15] Hoshea (Hosea) 2:16

[16] Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 1:9

[17] Hoshea (Hosea) 12:10

[18] The beginning of the redemption.

[19] Tikkun = a correction, something that causes the world to be restored to what it was at creation.

[20] Teshuva = repentance and a return to religious practice.

[21] divine service for HaShem.

[22] The Temple in Jerusalem

[23] Avot 5:5

[24] Tisha B’Ab is a solemn fast day on the ninth day of the fifth month where Jews mourn the destruction of the Temple.

[25] Geula = redemption

[26] Pesach = Passover

[27] Succoth = The Feast of Tabernacles.

[28] Shmita = Sabbatical cyle of 7 years. The 7th year is the Sabbatical year.

[29] A lunar eclipse is normally characterized by the moon turning blood red. Now red is Esav’s color. Thus we understand that an eclipse on a festival is a time when the Jews overcome Esav, as we will soon see.

[30] The molad is at 12:43PM and 3 chalakim, Jerusalem time.

[31] Shmita = Sabbatical year - It is said over in the name of the Chafetz Chaim that 75 years after the outbreak of World War 2, a 3rd world war will breakout. Rav Tzvi Meir Zilberberg of Yerushalayim said in the name of Rav Pam Zatzal who said over from Rav Elchonon Wasserman h’yd who spoke to us in the year 1939. He said there will be ten Shmita cycles following WWII that will be a preparation for Mashiach and that Mashiach can come at that time, which falls out on Succoth in the year of 5776.

[32] Our Sages teach that Mashiach is expected at the end of a Shmita year.

[33] Clouds, volcanic eruptions, dust storms, etc.

[34] Mishnaic Hebrew

[35] The Satan: understood to be the root of the evil inclination which causes one to veer off the path of righteousness and faithfulness.

[36] The Mir is one of the world's largest Yeshiva's with over 7000 students.

[37] Mitzrayim = Egypt

[38] The Bne Israel = The Children of Israel

[39] Beshalach, Beshalach, or Beshalach (בְּשַׁלַּח — Hebrew for "when [he] let go," the second word and first distinctive word in the parasha) is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the Book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 13:17–17:16.

[40] Yitro or Yitro (יִתְרוֹ — Hebrew for the name "Jethro," the second word and first distinctive word in the parashah) is the seventeenth weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 18:1–20:23.

[41] The Haggada is the script / outline of the Passover seder.

[42] Tannaim (Hebrew: תנאים [Tannaim], singular תנא [taˈna], Tanna "repeaters", "teachers") were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10-220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 210 years.

[43] Yam Suf = Red (Reed) Sea

[44] Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 9

 

[45] Yitzchak = Isaac

[46] Yaaqob

[47] Esav = Esau

[48] In Judaism, the midrash is the genre of rabbinic literature which contains early interpretations and commentaries on the Written Torah and Oral Torah (spoken law and sermons), as well as non-legalistic rabbinic literature (Aggadah) and occasionally the Jewish religious laws (halakha), which usually form a running commentary on specific passages in the Hebrew Scripture (Tanach).

[49] Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer depicts Yitzchak summoning Esav for the blessing on the night of Passover: The nightfall of the festival day of Passover came, and Isaac called unto Esau his elder son, and said: “O my son, tonight the heavenly ones utter songs, on this night the blessing of the dew is bestowed. Make me savory meat whilst I am still alive and I will bless thee”.

[50] Shlomo Yitzchaki (22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), in Latin: Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi (Hebrew: רש"י, RAbbi SHlomo Itzhaki), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and commentary on the Tanach. Acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise and lucid fashion, Rashi appeals to both learned scholars and beginner students, and his works remain a centerpiece of contemporary Jewish study.

[51] Torah = The first five books of the Bible, occasionally used to reference all the Hebrew scriptures.

[52] Hagigah 12a, cf. Bereshit Rabbah 41:3

[53] The concealed light.

[54] Yemot HaMashiach = Days of Messiah

[55] The oral Torah.

[56] The Kli Yakar says that there were 2 Aaronot that we carried with us through the dessert, the Ark of the Covenant (Aaron Habrit) and Yosef’s coffin, and these 2 Aaronot were equivalent – one carried the tablets of the covenant, the other carried Yosef who was a personification of the Torah. It was that image of complete righteousness that we took with is as an example into the Wilderness.

[57] Shaarei Leshem, p. 133

[58] Bereshit (Genesis) 50:25

[59] Bamidbar (Numbers) 27:4 - Rashi

[60] The Talmud has for "reem" אורזילא or ארזילא, which etymologically recalls the Arabic "ghazal" (= "gazel"), but is said to be the name of an animal of such size that it could not enter the ark of Noah, but had to be fastened thereto by its horn (Zeb. 113b; comp. B. B. 74b; Shabbat 107b; Yalkut Shimoni, ii. 97d, where it is said that the reem touches the clouds). If the Talmud intended the urzila for the unicorn, it cannot be identical with the one-horned ox which Adam is said to have offered as sacrifice (Hul. 60a and parallels), because the urzila is classed among the animals of the field that may not be offered for that purpose. The Tosefta on the passage in Zebaḥim explains the urzila as the buffalo.

[61] Mashiach ben David is Menachem. – Zohar Bamidbar 173b. Sanhedrin 98b.

[62] The Venice edition reads: all animals. The 1st ed. omits the name of " Menachem, son of' Ammiel, son of Joseph," and reads instead: "the son of David”.

[63] Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:17

[64] Tehillim (Psalms 2:2

[65] Mashiach ben Yosef = Messiah the son of Joseph

[66] Sukkah 52b

[67] And that's called the First Light, or in Chasidic literature it's called Ohr Rishon, the First Light, and it is perfect, incredibly strong, but it's not destined to last. It's destined to be there only long enough to open that space and then it goes away, and it leaves a tremendous aching emptiness, a longing for the light that was once there. But it leaves a darkness. The longing, the absence of the light, the feeling of what was once there brings in a second light. But the second light is very, very faint, almost nothing compared to the first, but it's the one that lasts. It's the one the whole exercise was intended for, and although it's very small and only a faint echo of the first light, it what remains... The second light becomes the soul and the residue [of the First Light] becomes the body. We are, all of us, body and soul, made of the light and made for the light. Consider: Yochanan (John) 8:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”.

[68] The definition of "Wisdom" according to the Talmud (Tamid 32a) is one who can see now what the future will bring: “Who is a Chacham? One who sees the future”.

[69] Ant. ii. 6, § 1

[70] Shechinah (Biblical Hebrew: שכינה is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the dwelling or settling of the divine presence of God.

[71] About 400 B.C.E.

[72] About 500 B.C.E.

[73] About 550 B.C.E.

[74] About 36o B.C.E.

[75] About 400 B.C.E.

[76] About 420 B.C.E.

[77] About 500 B.C.E.

[78] Common Era or Current Era, abbreviated CE, is a calendar era that is often used as an alternative naming of the Anno Domini system ("in the year of the Lord"), abbreviated AD. The system uses BCE as an abbreviation for "before the Common (or Current) Era" and CE as an abbreviation for "Common Era". The CE/BCE designation uses the same numeric values as the traditional Anno Domini year-numbering system introduced by the 6th-century Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus, intending the beginning of the life of Jesus to be the reference date.

[79] Tehillim (Psalms) 118:22

[80] The following is based on Rabbi Winston’s essay on redemption.

[81] Mitzrayim = Egypt

[82] Midrash Ne’elam, Toldot 140a

[83] “Techiyat HaMeitim” - (f.); Revival or resurrection of the dead; one of the fundamental beliefs of the Jewish Religion, and the last of the RAMBAM’s list of thirteen such beliefs

[84] Shlomo Elyashiv, January 5, 1841 - March 13, 1926, also known as the Leshem or Ba'al HaLeshem, was a famous kabbalist, who lived in Šiauliai, Lithuania. The primary work for which Elyashiv is known is Leshem Shevo V’Achlama which was written in four parts.

[85] Drushei Olam HaTohu, Part 2, Drush 4, Section 12:9

[86] Midrash Ne’elam, Toldot 139b

[87] Christians believe that their Messiah will return in the year 2030 based on the understanding that He died in the year 30AD and that He will return after two days of 1000 years each.

[88] Drushei Olam HaTohu, Part 2, Drush 4, Section 12:10

[89] Eicha is the transliterated Hebrew of ‘Lamentations’.

[90] Churban was the term applied to the destruction of the second Temple.

[91] Anno Mundi (Latin for "in the year of the world"; Hebrew: לבריאת העולם, "from the creation of the world"), abbreviated as AM or A.M., or Year After Creation, is a calendar era based on the biblical accounts of the creation of the world and subsequent history. While numerous efforts have been made to determine the biblical date of Creation, yielding varying results, two in particular have established epochs for significant calendars, including one that is still in use today.

[92] Lashon HaRa = Evil Speech

[93] midda-kneged-midda = ‘Measure for measure’

[94] I.e., no Torah. It is a tradition that Abraham was fifty-two years old when he began to convert men to the worship of the true God; from Adam until then, two thousand years elapsed.

[95] I.e., from Abraham’s fifty-second year until one hundred and seventy-two years after the destruction of the second Temple. This does not mean that the Torah should cease thereafter, but is mentioned merely to distinguish it from the next era.

[96] I.e., Messiah will come within that period. This should be around 240CE. 240CE is when Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai wrote the Zohar. Now, 240CE -30 years of Yeshua = 210. 210 is the same number of years that we were enslaved in Mitzrayim.

[97] He should have come at the beginning of the last two thousand years; (maybe) the delay is due to our sins. See also Yalkut on Psalms 139:16-17, (vol. 2, pg. 129d). See also Abodah Zarah 9a; Midrash Tehillim 90:17

[98] 32:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfzBQCi66Uo&feature=youtu.be 

[99] Christianity has radically changed since the first century CE. In the first century, Christianity was just Jews who recognized Yeshua as Mashiach ben Yosef, much like Chabad Lubavitch did with the Rebbe. By 325CE, Christianity had adopted the Nicene creed and had outlawed Torah study and introduced many idolatrous concepts.

[100] Nazarean Codicil is a more accurate name for the writings commonly known as the New Testament. These writings are neither new, nor are they a testament. They are oral law at the four PaRDeS levels.

[101] “The Voice of the Turtledove”, by the Gaon of Vilna’s grand-nephew and disciple, Rabbi Hillel Shaklover.

[102] Throughout the text we see the Gaon’s theme that we have to make a distinction between Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. Similarly, he refers to two types of Geula. The first started at a time during which we are witnesses to the conquest of the land of Israel, the ingathering of the exiles, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the removal of the spirit of tumah and impurity from the land and people, the large-scale cultivation of the land, etc. As one takes a look at what has happened in Israel this past century, one can say that many, though certainly not all, of the Gaon’s requirements have been fulfilled.

[103] Tehillim (Psalms) 89:52

[104] Bereshit (Genesis) 42:8

[105] Zohar 1 Bereshit A.21.239, 3 Vaera. 32 Reckoning of the Messianic Era.445; Gen. 7:11 - The Zohar (lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology.

[106] AKA Ohr Rishon. the "Ohr Mashiach (the light of messiah)" is the light which brings a person to spirituality and an inner spiritual redemption.

[107] Erev Shabbat = The eve of the Sabbath.

[108] The Ohr Mashiach (the light of the Messiah) was revealed and this brought the Kabbala to light.

[109] The chief text of the Jewish Kabbalah, presented as an allegorical or mystical interpretation of the Pentateuch.

[110] The Opus Majus (Latin for "Greater Work") is the most important work of Roger Bacon. It was written in Medieval Latin, at the request of Pope Clement IV, to explain the work that Bacon had undertaken. The 840-page treatise ranges over all aspects of natural science, from grammar and logic to mathematics, physics, and philosophy. Bacon sent his work to the Pope in 1267, accompanied by a letter of dedication which was found by F. A. Gasquet in the Vatican Library and published in 1897. It was followed later the same year by a smaller second work, his Opus Minus, which was intended as an abstract or summary of the longer work, followed shortly by a third work, Opus Tertium, as a preliminary introduction to the other two.

[111] Kabbalah (Hebrew: קַבָּלָה, literally “receiving/tradition”) is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought that originated in Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist in Judaism is called a Mekubal (Hebrew: מְקוּבָּל).

[112] Moses De Leon completed the main substance of the Zohar before 1286 in the form of the Midrash ha-Ne'elam, or "Mystical Midrash”. In the printed editions the Zohar is composed of five volumes. According to the division in most editions, three of them appear under the name Sefer ha-Zohar al ha-Torah; one volume bears the title Tikunei ha-Zohar; the fifth, entitled Zohar Chadash, is a collection of sayings and texts found in the manuscripts of the Tzfat kabbalists after the printing of the Zohar.

[113] AM = Anno Mondo = the years since the world was created.

[114] Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, also known as RaMBaM or "Rambam"), one of history's foremost rabbis.

[115] By Meir of Rothenburg (1215-1293)

[116] Isaac (ben Solomon) Luria Ashkenazi commonly known as "HaAri" (meaning "The Lion"), "HaAri Hakadosh" [the holy ARI] or "Arizal" [the ARI, Of Blessed Memory (Zikhrono Livrakha)], was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Syria. He is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah; his teachings being referred to as Lurianic Kabbalah.

[117] December 25, 1642 – March 20, 1726

[118] Achronim (lit. "last ones") is a term used in Jewish law and history, to signify the leading Rabbis and poskim (Jewish legal decisor) living from roughly the 16th century to the present, and more specifically since the writing of the Shulchan Aruch (Hebrew: שׁוּלחָן עָרוּך, "Set Table", a code of Jewish law) in 1563 CE.

[119] Hasidism, sometimes Chasidic Judaism, (Hebrew: חסידות‎‎, Chassidut, Ashkenazi pronunciation: originally, "piety") is a Jewish religious sect. It arose as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine during the 18th Century and spread rapidly through Eastern Europe.

[120] Zohar part I, 117a

[121] Bereshit (Genesis) 7:11

[122] The next few paragraphs of explanation were written by Rabbi Joel Bakst.

[123] The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד Talmud "instruction, learning", from a root LMD "teach, study") is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism.

[124] They were a circle of disciples of the Vilna Gaon led by Rabbi Benjamin ben Shlomo Zalman Rivlin (1728-1812). 

[125] “What was forbidden to investigate and expound upon just yesterday becomes permissible today. This is felt by every true exegete. Numerous matters whose awesome nature repelled one from even approaching in previous generations, behold, they are easily grasped today. This is because the gates of human understanding below have been opened up as a result of the steadily increasing flow of Divine revelations above”. R. Shlomo Eliyashiv, Leshem Sh’vo V’Achlamah, Chelek HaBi’urim, p. 21d.

[126] This same tradition has been handed down by an unexpected yet highly authoritative source, R. Yisrael Salanter (1810-1883), the leader of the Mussar Movement. In confirmation of the statement of the Zohar, he is said to have commented, “Prior to 1840 the study of Kabbalah was a closed book to all but the initiated”. The Kabbalist, R. Shlomo Eliyashiv, who quotes this tradition, continues, “Thus, from 1840 onwards, permission has been granted for those who truly desire to enter within. The Kabbalah is no longer the private domain of the initiated masters”. Leshem Sh’vo VeAchlamah, Sefer De’ah 1:5:4 (p. 76)

[127] Zohar I:117a

[128] R. Hillel of Shklov

[129] James Clerk Maxwell (1831 – 1879) was a Scottish scientist in the field of mathematical physics. His most notable achievement was to formulate the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, bringing together for the first time electricity, magnetism, and light as manifestations of the same phenomenon.

[130] Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis.

[131] Ethnopharmacology is a related study of ethnic groups and their use of drugs. Ethnopharmacology is distinctly linked to plant use, ethnobotany, as this is the main delivery of pharmaceuticals. Ethnopharmacy is the interdisciplinary science that investigates the perception and use of pharmaceuticals within a given human society. Emphasis has long been on traditional medicines, although the approach also has proven useful to the study of modern pharmaceuticals.

[132] A black hole is a region of space-time exhibiting such strong gravitational effects that nothing—not even particles and electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from inside it.

[133] Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist. He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). Einstein's work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science.

[134] The Unified Field Theory is a theory that describes two or more of the four interactions (electromagnetic, gravitational, weak, and strong) previously described by separate theories.

[135] Superstring theory is an attempt to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces of nature in one theory by modelling them as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings.

[136] A fractal is a natural phenomenon or a mathematical set that exhibits a repeating pattern that displays at every scale. It is also known as expanding symmetry or evolving symmetry. If the replication is exactly the same at every scale, it is called a self-similar pattern. An example of this is the Menger Sponge.

[137] The branch of mathematics that deals with complex systems whose behavior is highly sensitive to slight changes in conditions, so that small alterations can give rise to strikingly great consequences.

[138] Virtual reality or virtual realities (VR), also known as immersive multimedia or computer-simulated reality, is a computer technology that replicates an environment, real or imagined, and simulates a user's physical presence and environment to allow for user interaction. Virtual realities artificially create sensory experience, which can include sight, touch, hearing, and smell.

[139] A computer system modeled on the human brain and nervous system.

[140] The above two paragraphs come from  the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016

[141] Torah literally meaning “instruction” or “teachings”.

[142] The tree in the Garden of Eden bearing the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve disobediently ate (Gen. 2:9, 3).

[143] Several paragraphs and much inspiration comes from the writings of Rabbi Joel David Bakst at http://www.cityofluz.com

[144] Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, (Hebrew: ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן‎‎ Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman) known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym HaGra ("HaGaon Rabbenu Eliyahu") or Elijah Ben Solomon, (Vilnius April 23, 1720 – Vilnius October 9, 1797), was a Talmudist, halakhist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of mitnagdic (non-hasidic) Jewry of the past few centuries. He is commonly referred to in Hebrew as ha-Gaon he-Chasid mi-Vilna, "the saintly genius from Vilnius".

[145] For a thorough discussion of traditional, as well as, some contemporary views of Torah and Science, see Challenge – Torah Views on Science and its Problems, Aryeh Carmell and Cyril Domb, editors (Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and Feldheim Publishers, 1978). It should be noted that in the first volume of this otherwise comprehensive work only one short paragraph is quoted from Kol HaTor, and then almost in passing.

[146] In Judaism, HaShem (lit. " the name") is used to refer to God, when avoiding God's more formal title, Adonai (lit. " My Master")

[147] But atheists aren’t inheriting the Earth just yet. In many parts of the world, sub-Saharan Africa in particular, religion is growing so fast that atheists' share of the global population will actually shrink in 25 years as the world turns into what one researcher has described as “the secularizing West and the rapidly growing rest”. The other highly secular part of the world is China, where the Cultural Revolution tamped down religion for decades, while in some former Communist countries, religion is on the increase.

[148] The principle of a parallelism between the historical development of science and Kabbalah is also advanced by the contemporary Torah master, R. Dr. Chaim Zimmerman, z”l: “According to the Sages, Knowledge (whether it is Torah knowledge or secular knowledge) comes from Heaven. This means that the sum total of all knowledge that flows into the world during any one period or generation is determined by Hashgacha [Divine Providence] in direct correlation to the merit of the generation and of those individuals who discover it. According to this principle [of parallelism], we can verify that in a period when knowledge is revealed in the non-Torah world, the same quality of knowledge is revealed in the Torah world. When the non-Torah world had a Newton and a Leibnitz, the Torah world had the Gaon of Vilna and the Sha’agat Aryeh. In a generation of Einstein and Planck, the Torah world had a R. Chaim Soloveitchik and R. Abraham of Sochotchov…. In short, the more science progressively reveals the secrets of our physical world, the more the secrets of the Kabbalah become indispensable in understanding the real meaning of the Torah. The Hashgacha has determined that these two categories of knowledge develop and progress in parallel lines”. (R. Dr. Chaim Zimmerman, Torah and Reason, Hed Press, Jerusalem 1979, pp. 287, 291).

[149] Isaac (ben Solomon) Luria Ashkenazi (1534 – July 25, 1572) (Hebrew: יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Luria Ashkenazi), commonly known as "Ha'ARI" (meaning "The Lion"), "Ha'ARI Hakadosh" [the holy ARI] or "Arizal" [the ARI, Of Blessed Memory (Zikhrono Livrakha)], was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Syria. He is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah. His teachings being referred to as Lurianic Kabbalah.

[150] The Eight Gates

[151] R. Chaim Vital was the chief student of the Arizal.

[152] Moshe Chaim Luzatto (Hebrew: משה חיים לוצאטו, also Moses Chaim, Moses Hayyim, also Luzzato) (1707 in Padua – 16 May 1746 in Acre (26 Iyar 5506)), also known by the Hebrew acronym Ramchal (or RaMHaL, רמח"ל), was a prominent Italian Jewish rabbi, kabbalist, and philosopher.

[153] The Hasidic movement also takes note of this passage from the Zohar and agrees that it is heralding new revelations in Jewish mysticism, albeit with a different venue. It is well known in the Chabad tradition that the mystic revelations of the “wisdom from above” refer to the emergence of the Hasidic movement and to the publication of classic Hasidic (Chabad) literature, which occurred at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries; see Rabbi M. M. Schneerson, On the Essence of Chassidus, Kehot Pub., 1974, p. 91.

A direct tradition from the Ba’al Shem Tov himself is quoted by R. Aaron Marcus (1843-1916), a German Torah scholar who wrote on Kabbalah and Chassidut. He became a strong adherent of Hasidic teachings and maintained close relations with many Hasidic leaders in Poland and Galicia, in particular with R. Shlomo Rabinowitz of Radamsk. In his Keset HaSofer he writes what is almost a commentary on the Gaon’s view of the revelations of science during the period preceding the Final Redemption: We now know with certainty that the prophecy of the Zohar in Parashat VaYeira has been fulfilled in our generation. Thus, throughout the first 6 centuries of the sixth millennium (5000-5600 = 1240-1840), the spiritual quality of Malchut-Kingdom, which is also known as the “Lower Wisdom,” would ascend slowly. Then in the six hundredth year of the sixth millennium (5600 = 1840), “the gates of wisdom above and the wellsprings of wisdom below” began to open. This is also the prophecy of our master R. Yisrael Ba’al Shem Tov concerning the kavanot (meditations) while reciting Psalm 107 [during the Mincha prayer immediately preceding the onset of the Sabbath]. He interpreted the verse homiletically, “In His hand are (mech’karei aretz) the deep secrets of the earth and the heights of the mountains are His” (Psalm 95:4). Instead of reading mech’karei aretz, “deep secrets of the earth,” read me’chakrei aretz, “investigators of the earth”. The “Hand of God” represents here the aspect of Malchut-Kingdom, the last [and most manifest spiritual] level that is now operative. It is in this Hand of God that all the progress and success of the gentile investigators lies; Keset HaSoferBereshit 2, p. 8.

[154] Kol HaTor = Voice of the Turtledove, see http://www.yedidnefesh.com/kol-hator.html

[155] The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד talmūd "instruction, learning", from a root LMD "teach, study") is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is also traditionally referred to as Shas (ש״ס), a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim, the "six orders", a reference to the six orders of the Mishnah. The term "Talmud" normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli), although there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud, or Palestinian Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi).

[156] Jewish Law

[157] The time appointed by Gd for the Messianic redemption is a closely guarded secret. (Pesachim 54b; Midrash Tehillim 9:2. See Zohar Chadash, Bereshit, 8a.) Nonetheless, we are offered many hints to recognize its proximity: when certain conditions come about, await the imminent coming of Mashiach. Most of these conditions are quite disturbing, clearly displaying a situation of the very “bottom of the pit”. (Midrash Tehillim 45:3. See Ma’amarei Admur Hazaken-Ethalech, p. 103f.; and Besha’ah Shehik-dimu-5672, vol. Ip. 551; relating this to the principle (Midrash Tehillim 22:4; Zohar II:46a) that the darkest moments of the night are immediately before daybreak. Cf. Zohar I:170a. For this analogy see also the comment of R. Elijah, the Vilna Gaon, cited in Even Shelemah, ch. 11:5.) One major source describes the world-condition in those days as follows: increase in insolence and impudence; oppressing inflation; unbridled irresponsibility on the part of authorities; centers of learning will turn into bawdy houses; wars; many destitutes begging, with none to pity them; wisdom shall be putrid; the pious shall be despised; truth will be abandoned; the young will insult the old; family-breakup with mutual recriminations; impudent leadership. (Sotah 49b)

[158] The beginning of the redemption.

[159] The days of the messiah.

[160] According to this paradigm, the year 5751 (October 1990–September 1991) equates with high noon on the sixth day (the sixth millennium). The year 5751 begins an entirely new era. Just as on Friday afternoon we begin the mad rush to prepare for the Shabbat day, so too, all the wonders you see from this year are nature’s frenzy to prepare for a time beyond time. We have entered what the ancient sages referred to as the Era of Mashiach.

[161] Shabbat 88b

[162] Zohar I:118a. See Zohar Chadash, Tikunim, 96c; and Mayanei Hayeshu’ah, I:2. Cf. below, note 84. Note also Igeret Teyman, ch. 3, that prophecy shall be restored to Israel prior to the coming of Mashiach.

[163] Maharal, in a telling parable, describes the relationship between the embryonic “kingdom of Israel” and its “Edomite” environment: Fruit grows within a husk; when the fruit ripens the husks falls off... So it is with Israel. Their kingdom emerges and grows from within the kingdom of the nations i.e., from the existential power of the kingdom of the nations, and from their level, it raises itself to a higher level. And when the kingdom of Israel reaches complete maturity the kingdom of nations is removed, just as the husk is removed, and falls off when the fruit reaches its perfection. ...The Messianic revolution will take place in the hearts and minds of the people. The “falling off of the husk” does not refer to a political or military event, nor does “kingdom of the nations” refer to a political entity. The husk refers to the value system of the Western world. The falling off of the husk signifies the victory of spirituality over materialism, faith in G-d over unbounded trust in one’s own power, and awareness of divine providence over belief in blind chance.

Yet it appears that the “kingdom of Israel” in its infancy (and here “kingdom” means both state and cultural entity) is still definitely “attached to Edom”. Could Maharal, from his 16th century vantage point, be referring to the reality of the State of Israel today?

[164] The Holocaust (from the Greek ὁλόκαυστος holókaustos: hólos, "whole" and kaustós, "burnt"), also referred to as the Shoah (Hebrew: השואה, HaShoah, "the catastrophe"), was a genocide in which Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany and its collaborators killed about six million Jews. The victims included 1.5 million children and represented about two-thirds of the nine million Jews who had resided in Europe. Some definitions of the Holocaust include the additional five million non-Jewish victims of Nazi mass murders, bringing the total to about 11 million. Killings took place throughout Nazi Germany, German-occupied territories, and territories held by allies of Nazi Germany.

[165] Read up on the history of the Jews in Kobe, Japan to see how China and Japan went out of their way to help and preserve the Jews. This points to the fact that Adam’s sin affected primarily the ‘west’ or left side. That is why anti-Semitism has been largely absent in the east.

[166] Interestingly enough, another name for the Erev Rav was “HaAm,” or “the people,” as noted above. In fact, Chazal say that every time the Torah refers only to HaAm, which, on a simple level, can apply to the Jewish people as well, it is really a direct reference to the Erev Rav themselves. Hence, when the verse says: Shemot (Exodus) 13:17 After Pharaoh sent the people away. HaShem did not lead them through the land of the Philistines. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh says that it refers to the Erev Rav, whom Pharaoh sent along with the Jewish people to cause precisely the kind of trouble they cause in parshah Ki Tisa. The general understanding is that the Erev Rav are Jews who wish to divert us from Torah and mitzvot. The Erev Rav made their first appearance at the redemption in Egypt. From this we learn to expect them whenever we experience redemption. This happens because the sparks of kedusha have coalesced in the Jews and that is where the impure force must go to get the Jews to sin and give up the kedusha.

[167] In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word mitzvah, refers to precepts and commandments commanded by God.

[168] If the Bne Israel had made the calf themselves, they would have said ‘this is our god’ (Instead of ‘this is your god’.). The Torah’s language - together with a whole bunch of additional commentaries by our sages - makes it clear that the Erev Rav were responsible for leading the authentic Am Yisrael away from the service of G-d, with devastating consequences. And they are still doing that today. The Vilna Gaon expounds on this at length in Kol HaTor, Chapter 2, Section 2, Letter bet: “Erev Rav” is a concept, and is a title that can be given to any Jew that tries to dissuade other Jews from belief in Sinaitic Torah, and the Final Redemption. That’s what the Erev Rav did in the desert, and that is what the Erev Rav has done in every generation. In Toldot Yakov Joseph (Parshat Nasso) written by Rav Yaakov Joseph of Polnoye, of blessed memory, says that now in the years of the coming of Mashiach the evil inclination concentrates on the leaders and Rabbis and not on each individual, because if the leaders fall into the net of the evil inclination thereby straying from the right path, then they will bring down with them the masses that follow those leaders. “...And they are called Erev Rav, because they are the heads (leaders) of the Jews in the exile and therefore they are called RAV”. (Likutim Ha GRA)

[169] “….the Erev Rav is our greatest enemy, the one who separates the two Mashiachs. The klipah of the Erev Rav works only through deception and roundabout ways. Therefore, the war against the Erev Rav is the most difficult and bitterest of all. We must strengthen ourselves for this war; anyone who does not participate in the battle against the Erev Rav becomes, de facto, a partner with the klipah of the Erev Rav, and was better off not being born in the first place”.

[170] the sons of Bilaam. Aka Jannes and Jambres.

[171] Berachot 26b

[172] Zohar Ki Tisa 191a/b. This is difficult to understand in light of what is found in Zohar Beshalach.

[173] I think we are very close to the moment in time when real Torah-faithful Jews will let go of the “Religious-Zionism” term and the Erev Rav among us who are part of that group will cling ever more tenaciously to it as it really defines them. Because, let’s face it. Zionism created a way to be Jewish without the Torah. And if you want to appear “religious” or even be a rabbi without obligating yourself to those mitzvot which are impossible to reconcile with Western values, there’s no better home for you than Religious-Zionism.

[174] The Chazon Ish was clear that the “Zionist secular government” would fall before the Messiah would come, and this fall, he believes, will be facilitated by Paras.

[175] A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group—such as a nation or a besieged city—from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or nation.

[176] Ishmael is a figure in the Torah who was Abraham's first son. Ishmael is the Arab world and Islam.

[177] Quid pro quo (“something for something” in Latin) means an exchange of goods or services, where one transfer is contingent upon the other. English speakers often use the term to mean “a favor for a favor”; phrases with similar meaning include: “give and take”, “tit for tat”, “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours”.

[178] Esav = Edom. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a) teaches that Mashiach sits at the gates of Rome. The Maharal explains that this means that Mashiach will only appear when the power of Rome comes to an end. The Roman Empire does not exist today, but as a world power it still exists among the descendants of Edom. Says Rabbi Dessler, our modern civilization has been developed over many centuries, but its cradle stood in the Roman Empire. It is understood that ‘Rome’ means western civilization and in particular it’s religions that include Christianity and Islam.

[179] Spiritual Dean.

[180] Zohar section 2, page 18a – LB.

[181] In the Golan Heights.

[182] The Leviathan and Tamar gas fields.

[183] They way one ascertains whether something is still alive is whether it has a self-preservation instinct. Edom and Ishmael no longer have the self-preservation instinct, which indicates they are near death. This is why America, and Europe and Russia will do nothing to stop Iran from getting the bomb, nor will they do anything to prevent the spread of ISIS.

[184] The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Islamic State (IS), and by its Arabic language acronym Daesh, is a Salafi jihadist unrecognized state and militant group that follows a fundamentalist, Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam.

[185]According to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, "Moslem and Muslim are basically two different spellings for the same word”. But the seemingly arbitrary choice of spellings is a sensitive subject for many followers of Islam. Whereas for most English speakers, the two words are synonymous in meaning, the Arabic roots of the two words are very different. A Muslim in Arabic means “one who gives himself to God”, and is by definition, someone who adheres to Islam. By contrast, a Moslem in Arabic means “one who is evil and unjust” when the word is pronounced, as it is in English, Mozlem with a z.

[186] Rashi’s Commentary for: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 40:2 for she has taken etc. [Jonathan paraphrases:] For she has received a cup of consolation from before the Lord as though she has been punished doubly for all her sins. According to its simple meaning, it is possible to explain, ‘for she received double punishment.’ Now if you ask, how is it the standard of the Holy One, blessed be He, to pay back a person double his sin, I will tell you that we find an explicit verse (Jer. 16:18): “And I will pay first the doubling of their iniquity and their sin”.

[187] Yalkut Shimoni (Hebrew: ילקוט שמעוני) or simply Yalkut is an Aggadic compilation on the books of the Hebrew Bible.

[188] Yalkut Shimoni, Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 60

[189] Ultimately, Paras will keep pushing to be a superpower and come into conflict with Russia. In the end, both nations will crumble in an ensuing war between them, which is the Edom vs. Paras war referenced in the Talmud.

[190] Iran (Persia).

[191] The Gemara in Yoma 10a is clear – at the End of Days, Edom (lead by US) will fight Paras (Persia, Iran).

[192] The Maharal writes that Ishmael is included in Paras, because the attribute of Paras is tyvvah (lusts), as it is with Ishmael. Thus, Paras is really the power of Ishmael.

[193] According to the ancient Midrash Pesiqta Rabbati, there will first be a conflict between Edom and Paras, followed by an “alliance” between Edom and Ishmael (i.e., Edom and Paras, as Paras is Ishmael, according to the Maharal). Can you imagine the West, Russia, the Arabs, and the Persians on the same team? This is Gog u’Magog.

[194] AM stands for Anno Mundi = Year of the world. This dating system is used by Jews to date all events form the Creation of Adam.

[195] Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Mahdī is believed by Twelver Shī‘a Muslims to be the Mahdī, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams who will emerge with Isa (Jesus Christ) in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world.

[196] Bereshit (Genesis) 17:20

[197] Nachman of Breslov, also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover, Nachman from Uman (April 4, 1772 – October 16, 1810), was the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement.

[198] What were the root causes of the Flood? Rashi cites sexual immorality and idolatry. Following the Gemara in Sanhedrin, Rashi adds that “Hamas” or theft sealed the generation’s fate.

[199] The Hebrew word Klal means both “law” and “collective”. In this sense, Klal means the whole collective of Israel.

[200] Bereshit (Genesis) chapter 12.

[201] Midrash Tehillim or Midrash to Psalms is a haggadic midrash known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by Nathan of Rome in his Aruk (s.v. סחר), by R. Isaac ben Judah ibn Ghayyat in his Halakot (1b), and by Rashi in his commentary on I Sam. xvii. 49, and on many other passages. This midrash is called also "Aggadat Tehillim" (Rashi on Deut. xxxiii. 7 and many other passages), or "Haggadat Tehillim" (Aruk, s.v. סער, and in six other passages). From the 12th century it was called also Shocher Tov (see Midrash Tehillim, ed. S. Buber, Introduction, pp. 35 et seq.), because it begins with the verse Prov. xi. 27, "שחר טוב יבקש רצון ודרש רעה תבואנו", etc.

[202] Byzantium/Christianity

[203] Arabs/Islam

[204] Chad Gadya or Had Gadya (Aramaic: חַד גַדְיָא Chad Gadya, "one little goat, or "one kid"; Hebrew: "גדי אחד Gedi echad") is a playful cumulative song in Aramaic and Hebrew. It is sung at the end of the Passover Seder, the Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

[205] A Jew of central or eastern European descent.

[206] Jews of Spanish or Portuguese descent.

[207] Jeremiah refers to the desolation wrought by the conquering might of Babylonia. Tohu and bohu are applied to Babylonia and Media (Persia) respectively in the sense that they caused chaos and destruction.

[208] This happened in Media, and wa-yabhillu is linked up with ‘bohu’. Or possibly wa-yabhillu is read: wayabo bohu lo, and they brought desolation to him.-Mah.

[209] The reference is to Antiochus who endeavored to annihilate Judaism and implant Hellenism in its stead; ‘ write on the horn of an ox ‘ probably implies a public disavowal of Judaism.

[210] Pesik. R.: to the wicked State of Edom-i.e. Rome.

[211] I.e. it is the eternal nature of water.

[212] He translates ‘ruah’ literally, wind, and also stresses the present tense of merahefeth, lit. ‘hovers’; thus the verse means that at all times a breeze, caused by God, stirs over the waters.

[213] They are like a cancer, like a group of cells proliferating to the destruction of the body. Like cancer cells, the erev rav are not recognized as enemies of the body. Therefore, the body does not defend itself against them. The erev rav always become great along with the rise of the Mashiach, like a counter-balanced force.

[214] The Berlin wall was ‘officially’ opened in November of 1989.

[215] On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the Kremlin, thereafter replaced by the Russian tricolor. 

[216] The first intifada lasted from December 9, 1987 until the Madrid Conference in 1991. From 1989-1992, the intrafada claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 Palestinians.

[217] 23% of the global population are known as Muslims.

[218] This idea appears in various medieval biblical and Talmudic commentaries, but is not found anywhere in any Talmudic-era source. See Likutei Sichot 29:128, where several versions of this adage are cited.

[219] Midrash Rabbah – Leviticus 13:5

[220] Ohr ha-Chaim, Leviticus 11:7.

[221] Devarim Rabbah 1:15. For further sources indicating the high esteem the Sages held for Esav in the performance of this command, i.e. honoring parents, see Ishei HaTanach, Esav, Kavod Aviv.

[222] Trump is the gematriah of Mashiach ben David.

[223] Samael (Hebrew: סַמָּאֵל, "venom of God" or "Poison of God," or "Blindness of God" Sammael or Samil) is an important archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore, a figure who is an accuser (Satan), seducer, and destroyer, and has been regarded as both good and evil. Rabbinical writings describe Samael as the guardian angel of Esau and a patron of Edom. He is considered in Talmudic texts to be a member of the heavenly host (with often grim and destructive duties). One of Samael's greatest roles in Jewish lore is that of the main archangel of death. He remains one of HaShem’s servants even though he condones the sins of man. As an angel, Samael resides in the seventh heaven, although he is declared to be the chief angel of the fifth heaven, the reason for this being the presence of the throne of glory in the seventh heaven.

[224] Avodah Zarah 2b

[225] Yoma 10a

[226] 1990s 

[227] Within two years of 2011.

[228] Within two years of 2011.

[229] Within two years of 2011.

[230] Within two years of 2011.

[231] 1990s 

[232] 1978 to present.

[233] March of 2011.

[234] The great Sunni Arab implosion that began with the 2011 “Arab Spring” was unforeseen in its suddenness, violence, and extent.

[235] In the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel.

[236] In the Golan.

[237] Baseless hatred caused the destruction of Temple.

[238] Haredim are members of any of various Orthodox Jewish sects characterized by strict adherence to the traditional form of Jewish law and rejection of modern secular culture, some of whom do not recognize the modern state of Israel as a spiritual authority.

[239] A kolel or Kollel (a "gathering" or "collection" [of scholars]) is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a Kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning Sedarim (sessions); unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a Kollel consists of married men for the most part. A Kollel generally pays a regular monthly stipend to its members.

[240] On June 12, 2014, three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped at the bus/hitchhiking stop at the Israeli settlement of Alon Shvut in Gush Etzion, in the West Bank, as they were hitchhiking to their homes. The three teens were Naftali Frenkel (16, from Nof Ayalon), Gilad Shaer (16, from Talmon), and Eyal Yifrah (19, from Elad).

[241] Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:12-83

[242] Zohar II:8a

[243] Look at what the Jews of Kobe did and how they provided extreme chesed at a time when the Jews needed it the most.

[244] The economy of Japan is the third largest in the world by nominal GDP, the fourth largest by purchasing power parity and is the world's second largest developed economy. According to the International Monetary Fund, the country's per capita GDP (PPP) was at $36,899, the 22nd-highest in 2013.

[245] This last part was excerpted from the History channel’s web site.

[246] The conquest and development of Eretz Yisrael by the Jewish People is one of the main responsibilities of Mashiach ben Yosef.

[247] Zohar, Parashat Toldot 140a

[248] Drushei Olam HaTohu, Chelek 2, Drush 4, Anaf 12, Siman 9

[249] One of the main reasons for the Mabul (the flood) was because of homosexuality.

[250] They were the ones who came up with the saying that “Zionism is the same as racism”. The third edition of the thirty-volume Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Большая Советская энциклопедия, БСЭ), published in 1969-1978, qualifies Zionism as racism. Paul Johnson and other historians have also argued that United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 of 10 November 1975 that equated "Zionism" with "racism" was orchestrated by the Soviet Union. Resolution 3379 was pioneered by the Soviet Union and passed with numerical support from Arab, Muslim and African states amidst accusations that Israel was supportive of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

[251] Yalkut (ii. p. 66 c, end)

[252] Yalkut Shimoni, Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 60

[253] Ultimately, Paras will keep pushing to be a superpower and come into conflict with Russia. In the end, both nations will crumble in an ensuing war between them, which is the Edom vs. Paras war referenced in the Talmud.

[254] Pesachim R. 36