Geula-Related Recent Links

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Interesting Recent Links - Kippur 5775




Ovadia Yosef underwent a Berit Mila today (the great-grandson of Rav Ovadia Yosef ZT"L, that is)


Terrorism and Anti-Semitism



Miscellaneous


Rebbetzin Chana's China Set (h/t MIC)


Monday, September 29, 2014

5775 Years in Terms of 77 "Generations"

The following Hiddush should be read with an open mind.  It should not be taken as Torah MiSinai and I have no mesorah for it, but it could explain a few things if you keep your mind open.  Please comment with your He'arot whether you like it or not.

I. The Ketz is Based on Generations

Hashem told Avraham Avinu regarding the Ketz from the Egyptian Exile (Bereishit 15:16): ודור רביעי ישובו הנה [And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither].

The Mishna in Eduyot 2:9 says:
ובמספר דורות לפניו הוא הקץ--שנאמר "קורא הדורות מראש" (ישעיהו מא,ד); אף על פי שנאמר "ועבדום, ועינו אותם--ארבע מאות, שנה" (בראשית טו,יג), אמר "ודור רביעי, ישובו הנה" (בראשית טו,טז).
And in the number of generations in front of him is the Ketz, as it says "He that called the generations from the beginning". Even though it says "and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years", He said, "And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither".
There is a difference of opinion on whether this part of the Mishna is a continuation of the first part of that Mishna or a separate statement, but the Tosefot Yom Tov quotes the Ra'avad as saying that it's a separate statement that is saying that the true Ketz is based on generations - not years.  Going further is the Melechet Shelomo's quote from Rav Shelomo Sirillo, who extrapolates that the Ketz of Mashiah is based on generations and not years (ע"ש).

II. How long is a "Generation"?  75 Years

A. Average from the First Half of History

The Abravanel on the verse from Ha'azinu: בינו שנות דור ודור ["consider the years of many generations"] tells us that this verse is actually telling us look at the years made up of each generation.  As we know from Bereishit, people lived very long lives in the very beginning of history.  Not only that, but the ages in which they had their children was much higher than it is presently.  For example, Adam Harishon had Shet when he was 130.  One generation in the time of Adam Harishon was, therefore, 130 years.  Later, the years per generation decreased dramatically.

As many Sefarim say, the word אדם is Rashei Teivot for אדם דוד משיח (Adam, David, Mashiah).  This tells us that the world has a beginning, a middle, and an end and these figures are significant in these 3 stages.  The middle figure is King David, who was born in the year 2854 and lived 70 years.

(The next 2 sources come from the book Mishmar Halevi.)  It can be inferred from Rashi on Tehilim 61:7 that he holds that a generation for David Hamelech is 35 years.  However, Ibn Ezra on Iyov 42:16 used that verse against the idea that a generation is 35 years.  In addition, the Ibn Ezra says that King David was 11 generations after Yaakov Avinu, while Heiman, who lived at the exact same time as King David, was double that (i.e., 22 generations).

Let's list the generations from the beginning of Creation until the time of King David:

Generation #Figure
1Adam
2Shet
3Enosh
4Kenan
5Mehalalel
6Yered
7Hanoch
8Metushelah
9Lemech
10Noah
11Shem
12Arpachshad
13Shelah
14Ever
15Peleg
16Re'u
17Serug
18Nahor
19Terah
20Avraham
21Yitzhak
22Yaakov
23LeviYehuda
24KehatPeretz
25YitzharHetzron
26KorahRam
27EvyasafAminadav
28AsirNahshon
29TahatSalma
30TzefaniahBo'az
31AzariaOved
32YoelYishai
33ElkanaDavid
34Amasai
35Mahat
36Elkana
37Tzuf
38To'ah
39Eliel
40Yeroham
41Elkana
42Shemuel
43Yoel
44Heiman

There are 33 generations from Adam until 35 years after King David was born, which is a generation for King David, as Rashi explained.  2854 + 35 = 2889.  If we now take the average generation from Creation until 2889, we'd calculate 2889 / 33, which equals 87.55 years.

Heiman already had children who sang and was the head of the household when he was appointed by King David to sing (see Divrei Hayamim Alef 6:18 and Radak there).  Let's say that the end of his generation could be around the same year - in 2889.  To get the average generation from Creation until 2889, we'd calculate 2889 / 44, which equals 65.66 years.

King David and Heiman were the 2 extremes, as per the understanding of the Ibn Ezra.  To now get the average generation, we now average out the 2 extremes of 87.55 years and 65.66 years and we get to 76.6 years.  Being that Bo'az was extremely old (some say 400 years old!) when he married Rut, it would seem to vastly skew the average and we can therefore subtract another year and a half or so to make an even 75 years.

All this tells me that from the time of Creation until the time of King David, an average generation is approximately 75 years.  We are not yet counting the generations, but telling how long a generation should last based on the first half of history and applying that number throughout history.

B. Based on a Lifespan

Although most people would consider a "generation" to mean the amount of years from father's birth until son's birth, there is another opinion as well.  The Ibn Ezra on Bereishit 15:16 says that the measurement of a generation is ומדתו הקץ שידור אדם בחלדו - the end of time of man's living on earth, meaning a lifespan.   The Radak in Sefer Hashorashim explains it similarly.

The verse in Tehilim (90:10) says that a normal lifespan is 70 years, but if someone is stronger, 80 years.  The average between a weaker person and a stronger person is 75 years.


III.  77 "Generations" until Mashiah?

Let's now take a look at Bereishit 4:24:
כִּי שִׁבְעָתַיִם, יֻקַּם-קָיִן; וְלֶמֶךְ, שִׁבְעִים וְשִׁבְעָה
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
According to the simple explanation of this verse, Lemech was saying a Kal VaHomer that if Kayin, who purposely murdered, could remain alive for 7 generations, Lemech, who killed accidentally (or acc. to some Midrashim, in self-defense), should be able to remain alive for 77 generations.

If one generation is 75 years, 77 generations is 5775 years.

Interestingly, the Tanhuma on this verse says that at this point, Lemech became the Malach Hamavet.  This could possibly mean that after 77 generations, i.e., 5775 years, the Malach Hamavet will be gone.  (Even though the simple explanation of the Midrash is that Lemech became the Malach Hamavet after the 130 years that Kayin was the Malach Hamavet, it's possible to say that it means 77 generations total from Creation.)

Also, interestingly, the very next verse (Bereishit 4:25) is:
וַיֵּדַע אָדָם עוֹד, אֶת-אִשְׁתּוֹ, וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן, וַתִּקְרָא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ שֵׁת: כִּי שָׁת-לִי אֱלֹהִים, זֶרַע אַחֵר--תַּחַת הֶבֶל, כִּי הֲרָגוֹ קָיִן
And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son, and called his name Seth: 'for God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him.'
and the Midrash Rabbah 23:7 explains on this verse that when Shet was born, Havah foresaw the Mashiah being born.

May the year 5775 bring a slaughtering of the Satan - who is the Malach Hamavet - and bring us the coming of our King Mashiah with mercy, bimheira veyameinu, Amen.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Ketiva Vahatima Tova to All my Readers

5774 has been a tough year for all of Kelal Yisrael.  Abraham Foxman called it an annus horribilis.  With the boys being kidnapped and murdered, rockets flying everywhere causing mass panic and some injuries and deaths, soldiers getting killed, anti-Semitism rising, new, massive terrorist groups emerging, Iran gaining more legitimacy for itself, Turkey's becoming more anti-Israel and anti-Semitic by the day, we had no one to turn to but our Father in Heaven.  We hope that, as we say in Ahot Ketana, תכלה שנה וקללותיה and תחל שנה וברכותיה (may the outgoing year and its curses end and may the new year and its blessings begin).

5775 gives us new hope for a better tomorrow.  There will surely be wars to be fought, but unlike some of the wars Israel has fought in the recent past, G-d willing, these wars will have definitive, positive resolutions to them.  Those will, in turn, G-d willing, lead to the real war to end all wars (unlike the first war so described a century ago).

We ask Hashem to accept our prayers in Selihot every day:
תִּשְׁעֶה לִתְפִלָּתִי וּלְשִׂיחַ רִנָּתִי
כִּי אַתָּה תִקְוָתִי וּמִי לֹא יְעִידֶךָ

May our prayers for a very good upcoming 5775 be accepted.

Tizku Leshanim Rabot, Ne'imot VeTovot.
Ketiva Vahatima Tova.
A gut gebenched yahr.
Shana Tova.

Interesting Recent Links - Ha'azinu 5774/5775 II

Kidnappers'/Murderers' Elimination
כן יאבדו כל אויביך ה'


Murderers of the Three Kedoshim Shot Dead in Hebron
Murderer of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali Hy”D Killed in West Bank Raid

Mrs. Frenkel was Happy Not to See the Smiling Faces of the Terrorists in Court

Maran Rav Ovadia ZT"L - 12 Months Since His Passing


(Almost-23-minute video about Rav Ovadia with never-before-seen footage)



Miscellaneous




Monday, September 22, 2014

Interesting Recent Links - Ha'azinu 5774/5775

Please excuse the very long list of links

Geula-Related


Rav Chaim Brim would recall the fear that overcame him when he was in the presence of the Brisker Rov. He retold his experience when the Rov spoke at the celebration of a sheva brachos for his son, Rav Meir Soloveitchik.

He recounted that the Rov said that the words we recite affirming our belief in the imminent arrival of Moshiach, “achakeh lo bechol yom sheyavo,” do not mean that a person waits for Moshiach each day once a day. Rather, it means “kol hayom,” throughout the entire day. We await the arrival of Moshiach all day.

“When the Rov said this vort,” testified Rav Chaim, “we all lowered our heads in shame in the face of his obvious, tangible emunah and our own low levels. It was humiliating.”
 5775 - ... Other Sources

The Hope for Geula [Redemption] 5775 (besides linking to my post, an interesting first comment there)


Anti-Missionary




Anti-Semitism and Terrorism



Orthodox Union Hails U.S. House Resolution Condemning Anti-Semitism

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren: ‘Fair’ to Compare Israel’s Actions in Gaza to Holocaust

US Senate Candidate Uses Campaign To Spread Slogan: ‘With Jews We Lose’
SHOCKING: Anti-Semite In Kentucky Running For U.S. Senate; Uses Campaign Slogan ‘With Jews We Lose’

Britain Growing Increasingly Anti- Semitic: Really? You Think?

National Lawyers Guild Seeks to Indict Obama for Helping Israel Build Iron Dome

Texas Sheriff: Reports Warn Of ISIS Terrorist Cells Coming Across The Border

Americans in ISIS Have Returned to U.S.




Miscellaneous

(The Satmar Rebbitzen prayed 40 days for Shidduchim for 2 grandchildren and both got engaged on day 40)







Yom Kippur and Eid al-Adha Coincide This Year

This year, the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which commemorates their very-much-mistaken notion that Yishmael was taken up as a sacrifice on Mt. Moriah instead of Yitzhak, falls out on October 4th according to Wikipedia and Google.  (However, timeanddate.com has it as Sunday, Oct. 5 for English-speaking countries like the U.S.)  This timing is quite interesting yet again.

Remember when Eid al-Adha fell on Parshat Vayeira 3 years ago and then again last year?

Algemeiner:
Fears of Violence in Mixed Areas as Jewish, Muslim Holidays May Collide in Once in 30 Years Occurrence

In the wake of a summer wracked by Arab-Jewish violence within Israel, in Gaza, and in the West Bank, security and local authorities in mixed Jewish Arab areas are bracing for a potential “perfect storm”: the solemn Jewish Yom Kippur fast and the festive Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday – falling on the same day, Israel’s Walla News reported Sunday.

While leaders in mixed–populace cities like Jerusalem, Jaffa, Acco, Ramle, Haifa, Nazareth and elsewhere are trying to convey a message of reconciliation, the fact the two observances have such different characteristics makes that difficult: Yom Kippur involves 24-hours of fasting, prayer and introspection, while Eid al-Adha is a family celebration in which lambs are routinely publicly slaughtered for a feast.
It's interesting to note that there are opinions that say that Akedat Yitzhak occurred on Yom Kippur, such as the Yalkut Reuveni and the Rikanati.

May the fasting and Teshuva we do this year on Yom HaKippurim overpower the slaughtering and feasting done by our Muslim cousins so that we may be rid of this Galut Yishmael we are in once and for all.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Rav Fish on the "6000 Verses" in the Torah for 6000 Years

Rav Fish this week has an absolutely amazing essay on how each verse in the Torah corresponds to a year.  He goes through quite a few verses and their corresponding year and shows how they match.  Sometimes, he's off by a bit, but it's still very interesting.

He even goes into future years too!  This goes according to his Shita of what he believes will occur during those years.

The gemara in Kiddushin 30a says that there are 5888 verses in the Torah.  The Mesoret Hashas there gives 2 other figures: 5845 and 5842.  These latter 2 figures depend on whether one reads the Ten Commandments as printed in Humashim (13 verses), using Ta'am Tahton (12 verses), or using Ta'am Elyon (9 verses).  It also depends on whether Bereishit 35:22 is divided in half or not.  The 5888 figure can be arrived at if we use the 5845 figure and count each verse in Ha'azinu as 2 verses.

So, how do we get to 6000 verses?  The Roke'ah gives an explanation that really, in Shamayim, there are 6000 verses.  Moshe Rabbeinu reached the 49th gate (ותחסרהו מעט מאלקים) and only reached the 50th gate on the last day of his life, whereby he was able to include the last 8 verses.  Each gate contained 120 verses, so 49x120 = 5880, plus the last 8 verses from the 50th gate = 5888.

Many of the examples he cited came from either the book "Matbe'a Shel Avraham" or Rav A. Kalil.

One example he gave is that in the year 4000 begins the "Days of Mashiah", who is from the tribe of Yehuda.  The 4000th verse of the Torah is וַיִּסַּע דֶּגֶל מַחֲנֵה בְנֵי-יְהוּדָה, בָּרִאשֹׁנָה--לְצִבְאֹתָם; וְעַל-צְבָאוֹ--נַחְשׁוֹן, בֶּן-עַמִּינָדָב.

Another example is that in 4895, the Rambam - Rav Moshe ben Maimon - was born.  The 4895th verse of the Torah is הוֹאִיל מֹשֶׁה, בֵּאֵר אֶת-הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת לֵאמֹר, referring to the Mishneh Torah (Sefer Devarim), which is the same name the Rambam used for his magnum opus.

For Hebrew speakers, it's very much worth seeing all the connections made.  Again, some of the years are a little bit off, but not by much.  It's all very interesting.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

The 5775 Hope for Geula - Part 3 - Final

Continued from Part 2 (or start at Part 1)
  • 11) 7-Year Shemita Period in Which Ben David Comes
We know from the gemara Sanhedrin 97a:
Our Rabbis taught: in the seven year cycle at the end of which the son of David will come-in the first year, this verse will be fulfilled: And I will cause it to rain upon one city and cause it not to rain upon another city; in the second, the arrows of hunger will be sent forth; in the third, a great famine, in the course of which men, women, and children, pious men and saints will die, and the Torah will be forgotten by its students; in the fourth, partial plenty; in the fifth, great plenty, when men will eat, drink and rejoice, and the Torah will return to its disciples; in the sixth, [Heavenly] sounds; in the seventh, wars; and at the conclusion of the septennate the son of David will come. R. Joseph demurred: But so many septennates have passed, yet has he not come! — Abaye retorted: Were there then [Heavenly] sounds in the sixth and wars in the seventh! Moreover, have they [sc. the troubles] been in this order!
As I showed in the first half of this post, based on a Midrash that was similar to this gemara, the first 5 years of this Shemita cycle (5769-5773) were eerily accurate.  Regarding the men, women, and children, pious men and saints dying in the third year, 5771 saw the brutal murders of Leiby Kletzky A"H and Baba Elazar ZY"A, and started a period whereby we lost many of the Gedolei Yisrael.

In the sixth year, we hear "sounds".  Rashi's first explanation is that we hear sounds that Mashiah is coming.  Refer to Rav Kanievsky, the Halban, and Rav Shernbuch above.  The intensity in which we've heard these sounds has really picked up.  Rashi's second explanation is that it refers to the sound of the Shofar.  This may help explain.

In the seventh year, 5775,  there will be wars.  The US-led coalition against ISIS is shaping up. Thousands of Hizbolla missles are aimed at Israel while they're not fighting Syrian rebels.  The Gaza ceasefire is expiring on Rosh Hashana.  The Russia/Ukraine conflict is still an issue.  Terror cells are popping up everywhere in the world.  Let's just say that it doesn't look like world peace is happening any time soon.



The Zohar mentions that in the 73rd year, a bunch of nations gather in Rome and get pummeled with rocks from the heavens while the Mashiah is revealed throughout the world, followed by an ingathering of the exiles.  Since Adam Harishon was created in year 2, which at Rosh Hashana, 5775 will have been 5773 years prior, it's possible to call 5775 the 73rd year of the century.  The Zohar continues and says that until the end of the century, Yishmael leads many nations to fight against Yerushalayim.


  • 13) Troubles coming like a river
We know from the gemara Sanhedrin 98a:
R. Johanan said: When thou seest a generation overwhelmed by many troubles as by a river, await him [i.e., await Mashiah], as it is written, when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him; which is followed by, And the Redeemer shall come to Zion.
This summer has been a summer for the ages.  First, 3 boys were kidnapped, and we all prayed while the IDF went to go find them.  Then, we found out they were murdered.  This was followed by rocket attacks by Hamas that lasted the better part of 50 days.  Then, the UN decided that Israel committed war crimes so it is now investigating those.  Meanwhile, anti-Semites in the world have awoken from their slumber in the name of anti-Zionism or even the old-fashioned kind.  Over by the Euphrates River, a new enemy has popped up, threatening to make a caliphate that includes Eretz Yisrael.  This is not to mention Iran, who's happy the world is looking elsewhere and might just pop up with a nuclear weapon any day.  Like a river indeed.


  • 14) Spiritual Awakening
We have to constantly see what caused the Destruction of the Beit Hamikdash to see what is needed to rebuild it.  Our sages tell us that baseless hatred caused the Destruction.  This past summer, for the 18 days that we didn't know where the 3 Yeshiva boys were, the entire Jewish nation prayed for them in a show of unity for a cause.  Unfortunately, the outcome wasn't what we had hoped, but our efforts to unite surely made an impression in Heaven.

In addition, we know from the gemara Shabbat 118b:
R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon b. Yohai: If Israel were to keep two Sabbaths according to the laws thereof, they would be redeemed immediately, for it is said, Thus saith the Lord of the eunuch that keep my Sabbaths, which is followed by, even them will I bring to my holy mountain, etc.
This upcoming Parshat No'ah, there is a worldwide Shabbos Project to help those who have not had the opportunity to keep Shabbat before in their lives do so halachically with thousands and millions Jews throughout the world.  May those who see the beauty of that Shabbat continue to see the beauty of future Shabbatot for the rest of their lives and may that Shabbat bring us to our immediate redemption, as promised.


UPDATE: A commenter reminded me of this one and I decided it really should be added.

  • 15) 70 Years since the end of WWII

Rav Elchonon Wasserman HY"D said in the name of the Hafetz Hayim ZT"L that the period of Ikeveta Dimshiha will last 70 years after the next big war, which happened to be WWII.  While it was thought at first to be 70 years since the start of the war, it can easily be applied to the end of the war, which ended in 5705.

UPDATE 2 (11 Heshvan 5775):

  • 16) She'al Lecha Ot
Rav Mordechai Schlesinger ZT"L wrote in She'al Lecha Ot (read the whole essay from pdf page 109 to 115, but especially p. 113) in the name of an old book that Yemot Hamashiah would last from the year 5600 until the year 5775, which is the real Ketz.
As Rav Fish brought down in 5773:
It's brought down in the book "She'al Lecha Ot" that he found in a very old book that the Keitz of Mashiah is hinted to in the verse (Shemot 38:28) וְאֶת-הָאֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע הַמֵּאוֹת, וַחֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים, עָשָׂה וָוִים, לָעַמּוּדִים [And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars]. The hint is:

ואת האלף - which is Rashei Teivot for ואם תמנה ה'אלף - and if you will count 5000
וּשְׁבַע מֵאוֹת וְשִׁבְעִים וְחָמֵשׁ - and 775
[Verse 25's version has the word] שקל - which is Rashei Teivot for שנת קץ לישראל - and year of the Keitz for Israel
This year should be a year of salvation - תְּשֻׁעָה - for Israel
In conclusion, there is much to be excited for in the coming year.  The 1946-year wait may be coming to end.  What does this mean for us?  It means that we must repent.  We are in the month of Elul when repentance is the word of the day.  But, if our minds realize how great a feat our repentance can accomplish, it may give us that extra boost of energy to push the Yetzer Hara away for good.  Furthermore, if we don't repent, a king whose decrees are Haman-like comes into the picture.  Let's not go there.  May the merit to see our Final Redemption happen mercifully this coming year.  Amen.


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The 5775 Hope for Geula - Part 2

Continued from here
  • 5) Vezeh Lecha Ha'ot

I translated Rav Fish here:
And it's also brought down in the book "Vezeh Lecha Ha'ot" by Rav David Margalit, a student of the Ketav Sofer, that the process of Redemption will be from 5760 until 5775, and then, Mashiah Ben David will come.
(I've searched for this book online at Hebrewbooks, huji, Google Books, and Otzar HaHochma without success.  With the exception of Rav Fish's newsletter, I have yet to find an online reference to its existence or even the existence of its author.  If someone has a copy or knows where one could find it online or even a reference to it online, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know.  Thanks.)

  • 6) Rav Kanievsky Shlit"a
A number of statements have been coming from one of the greats of the generation - Rav Chaim Kanievsky Shlit"a since this past Spring, 5774 about us being close to Mashiah's arrival.  See herehere, here and here, just to name a few.

Especially, see here, where I translated Rav Fish:
I [=Rav Fish] heard in the name of Rav Eliyahu Borer Shlit"a who merited to learn as a Havruta with Maran Hagaon Rav Chaim Kanievsky 30 years ago, and he remembers that in his time, Maran said about the Ketz of Redemption, "Whoever knows doesn't say." This is because there is the Ketz of the Gr"a that some people know about, but don't talk about. Now, as 30 years have passed, we hear from Maran again and again that Mashiah is at the doorway. Lich'ora [at first glance, it seems that] this is a proof that indeed the Ketz of the Gr"a has arrived.
Note that in Tamuz, Rav Kanievsky denied rumors that quote him as saying that Mashiah is coming this year so that one can hold weddings during the nine days, etc.  Nevertheless, he made clear that we are on the threshold of Redemption, and, as Ladaat reported, repeatedly mentioned the gemara that says that in Motza'ei Shevi'it, Ben David comes.

  • 7) The Halban (Milkman) Shlit"a
Translated from Kooker from the beginning of Av this year:
And to conclude, [we will] bring down the message that the Halban wanted to give over a few days ago and right in the middle of Operation Tzuk Eitan, which is happening in Gaza:
They informed me from Heaven that the Geula process started today.  Am Yisrael is going to be redeemed.  No one knows how long it will take, dear brothers, but know that the Complete Redemption process has begun, and because of this, the troubles are not going to cease in coming.  However, you should know, brothers and sisters, that you now have the chance to get on the Geula train.  May it be Hashem's will that we merit this, Amen.
See also the video posted at RealBibleCodes and Shirat Devorah.

  • 8) Rav Moshe Shternbuch Shlit"a 
Rav Shternbuch started dealing with the Russian capture of Crimea and its Geula implications, as per a tradition from the Gr"a, at his Purim Seuda.  He repeated his words later, saying, in part:
At this point of his words, Rav Shternbuch switched to deal with the capture of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russians and said: "Our rabbi, the Gr"a, said close to his death that when the Russians will capture Crimea, we will know that this is a sign for the footsteps of Mashiah.

"It's accepted from the Gr"a that when Russia gets stronger, then Tum'a gets stronger. The Kelipa of Russia is 'Dubiel' who inherited the Kelipa of Persia, and since they are Greek Xtians, they in turn have mixed in with them the Kelipa of Yavan with Edom," said Rav Shternbuch. He added, "Also, the author of 'Binyan Olam', Rav Yitzhak Isaac Haver, the student of the Gaon Rav Hayim of Volozhin ZT"L said before his death to his student Rav David Luria ZT"L that 'If the Russians will capture the entire city of Crimea - and especially the fortification of Kerch - one should already expect the feet of Mashiah.

"Similarly, " continued Rav Shternbuch in his words, "The Gaon Rav Simha Zelig Rigger ZT"L, the Av Beit Din of Brisk, said that it was a tradition passed to him from the students of the Gr"a in the name of the Gr"a that the kingdom of Russia will strengthen before the coming of Mashiah and the nations will fear them.

"The Gaon Rav Hayim of Brisk ZT"L also saw the Russians as a Kelipa that gets stronger before Mashiah. However, Rav the Gaon Rav Hayim added that the matter is dependent upon us - that only if we will be awakened and be strengthened in Torah and pure fear of Hashem, then HKB"H will hasten to redeem us at this time of Divine will. However, if we don't awaken, then G-d forbid, we will lose the moment and we will need to endure Hevlei Mashiah.

"What comes out of his words," summarized Rav Shternbuch, "is that the capture of Crimea is calling us from Shamayim that this is an opportune time to now work on the coming of Mashiah by awakening, strengthening in Torah, and pure fear of Hashem."
Later, in Iyyar, he said the same.

  • 9) Rav Kaduri ZTVK"L
Ariel Sharon passed away this past Tevet.  Rav Kaduri - along with other Kabbalists in 5765-5766 - said (see the end of this post) that after Sharon will be the Mashiah, which was originally interpreted to mean that after his tenure as prime minister, the Mashiah will arrive. But as Rav Fish explained, it's possible that he meant after Ariel Sharon's passing.

(That is also how an Israel Hayom article interprets it straight out, citing Xtian sources.  However, I wouldn't trust the Xtian sources so much - their track record on anything that has to do with Rav Kaduri is terrible.)

  • 10) Moishela, an autistic boy
I personally don't have an opinion on whether messages from autistics come from a Higher Source or not.  I can tell you that some people I respect do consider them from that Higher Source.  But even if you personally don't consider these messages coming from that place of Kedusha, they're always worth reading since they are always filled with Mussar that we all need.  Plus, just the mere fact that someone would go out on a limb and make the following amazing prediction warrants mention.  Here's an excerpt:

I Have Been Given Permission to Reveal to you Future Events

...

Then we will come to Purim and we will beg Hashem to save us from Haman and we will have a Haman here, a Haman that we will have to be saved from and we will have to fight, fight our fears, beg Hashem to save us from this awful terrible horrific person and his armies and his police. We will have to beg very hard. Hashem will save us.

He will save us, and then will come Pesach and we will be a tattered bunch of tired people when we sit around the Seder table, with Matzoh and wine miraculously provided for us by Hashem and we will beg Hashem to save us. We will beg Hashem. We will beg Hashem to bring the Geula Shelaima. On Shvii Shel Pesach we will hear the Shofar. We will hear the Shofar and on Leil Haseder each house will see Eliyahu Hanavi, all the Jews that are Emesdik will see him and it will give us strength, but it still won’t be the time of redemption. I can’t go on farther than that to explain, but when we see Eliyahu Hanavi we will know that very soon this terribly long Golus will be over, and we will be finally free. From that moment on, there will be more and greater wars. There will be false prophets and false messiahs, but we will hold on to Hakodosh Boruch Hu and to the seed of Dovid Hamelech, to our Moshiach Tzidkainu, our true Moshiach. He will reveal himself and we Motzai Shviis will walk into the Bais Hamikdosh and be Makriv Korbonos and be happy and be dancing with the greatest joy ever felt in the whole world, even though around us two thirds of the world will have been destroyed, and very few Yidden and even fewer Goyim will survive.
You can read the whole thing there or here or here.

To be continued - here




Tuesday, September 16, 2014

The 5775 Hope for Geula - Part 1

We are coming up to the year 5775, and I think it would be a good idea to review the relevant statements by the great rabbis of the past and present who connected this year with our coming Redemption.

Of course, I must clarify for the public that no year is a definite year and certainly no date is a definite date.  The following is a compilation of what makes the year 5775 an auspicious one for the Final Redemption and what makes it a special year.  One should continue to expect the Geula every day no matter what happens.

Thanks to A.K. and A.M. for their ideas for this post.

The Zohar mentions a sad, bitter sound that will be sounded in the End of Days at the daylight hours when the sun is shining from the 6th day - in the year that Yovel and Shemita come together, which is 274 from the 6th day.  The year 5775 is exactly 274 years from the beginning of daylight hours, which started in the year 5501.  Also, 5775 is a Shemita year, and there is a theoretical calculation made by Gilui that would make 5776 a Yovel year (see the explanation here).

(With Rav Fish's explanation - see here) The Ariza"l takes Shemot 38:28 (וְאֶת-הָאֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע הַמֵּאוֹת, וַחֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים, עָשָׂה וָוִים, לָעַמּוּדִים) and applies the "one thousand" in that verse to the exile of the fifth millennium.  He also explains that the sixth millennium (which is the Sod of Vavei Ha'amudim) is mixed with good and evil.  The implication is that at the year 775 of the sixth millennium, the good will separate from the evil to make a filtered world.

  • 3) The Ba'al Hatanya
As I translated here:
I heard from my grandfather, the pious, famous Rav Yehuda Aryeh Leib Tziviak ZT"L, who told over when he was living in Warsaw that he heard from the elders - the Hasidim of the Rasha"b - ZY"A, who told over about a Hasid who received an Aliya to the Torah by the rabbi, the Ba'al Hatanya ZY"A on Parshat Pekudei, and the rabbi was reading the Torah. When he reached the verse וְאֶת-הָאֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע הַמֵּאוֹת, וַחֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים, עָשָׂה וָוִים, לָעַמּוּדִים [And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars], he heard from the holy rabbi that he said in a whisper that the year [5]775 is the time that the coming of Mashiah will quickly be revealed. And afterwards, the Hasid related [to the rabbi] what he had heard from the rabbi's holy mouth. And when the Ba'al Hatanya heard this, he was insistant in the matter [and was not happy that this matter got revealed] and the other man did not finish the year [alive].
The Konanta Me'az continues (my translation):
And the year that the holy rabbi the Ba'al Hatanya talked about was the year 5775.  And this is hinted to when they say, "טהורה לתשעה חדשים וכנגדה באילן זית" [lit. "For a large animal, if it is Kosher, its gestation is for 9 months, and similar to it is the olive tree"], that means that the world will be purified from the impurity of exile in the year תשע"ה 5775 - and similar to the olive tree - as it says "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives".  That is our righteous Mashiah, who will stand on the Mt. of Olives and resurrect the dead, speedily in our days, Amen Selah.

    • 3b) R' Leibel Groner - Story with the Ba'al Hatanya #2
The following comes from the Hezbos blog (also found this story here)
A discussion is brewing online within the Groner family, שיחי''ו (Rabbi Leibel Groner was one of the Rebbe's secretaries).

The story is that the Alter Rebbe was once reading from Pekudei 38:28, which mentions the sum of 1775 talents collected.

ואת האלף ושבע המאות וחמשה ושבעים

Instead of reading the "hei" of "ha-elef" (the thousand) with a "patach", he read it with a "tzeirei" (which turns the letter "hei" into 5).

When the Alter Rebbe read it as “5775” his Gabbai corrected him. The Alter Rebbe then said again “5775”, to which the Gabbai once again corrected him. This repeated itself 4 times. Thereafter the Alter Rebbe went into deep meditation. When he quit his meditation he opened his eyes and whispered to the Gabbai that “5775” had something to do with the coming of Moshiach.

Rabbi Groner verifies the authenticity of the Rebbe previously revealing this story to at least one of his secretaries.

It is believed this story's source comes from an as yet unknown "Polish" sefer.

    •  3c) Rav Yosef Berger - Story with the Ba'al Hatanya #3
Kaduri.net (my translation):
The Ba'al Hatanya ZY"A once entered his Beit Midrash and saw one of his students learning in Parshat Pekudei the verse וְאֶת הָאֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע הַמֵּאוֹת וַחֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים עָשָׂה וָוִים לָעַמּוּדִים וְצִפָּה רָאשֵׁיהֶם וְחִשַּׁק אֹתָם.  The Ba'al Hatanya lifted his voice and said, "Oy!  When will we merit this already!  When will we see this already!"

The student of the Ba'al Hatanya ... understood that his rabbi didn't mean the 1775 pieces of silver, but had something more important in mind.  He thought and thought and didn't understand until it was sparked in his mind that his rabbi, the Ba'al Hatanya, meant the time of the Keitz, the end of the exile, and the Complete Redemption with the coming of Mashiah.

How is this possible?

... ואת ה-אלף means 5000 years.  ושבעה מאות וחמשה ושבעים means the year 5775 - the 775th year of the 6th millennium from Creation.  Then, we will merit that there will be ווים לעמודים for the Mishkan of Hashem.

And on this, the Ba'al Hatanya groaned, "When will we merit this already..."  Will we merit to see the moment of Redemption?  Will we see the coming of Mashiah in the year 5775?!

The Ba'al Hatanya himself writes that the verse ואת האלף should be used to calculate the Keitz.  He uses the calculation to mean the year 5603, which is 1775 years from the Destruction of the Beit Hamikdash.  One may think that this calculation should be used to undermine the use of all the stories of the Ba'al Hatanya to mean this year.  Not so.   He calculates it to mean the year 5603 because he used 172 years of exile from the 4th millennium in the calculation.  However, if we start the calculation from the beginning of the 5th millennium, which start the 2000 years of ימות המשיח, as per the gemara on the bottom of Sanhedrin 97a, it comes out to 5775.

  • 4) The 278 Shemitot
I [=Rav Fish] heard from Rav Yosef Morsiano Shlit"a, based on what is brought down in Targum Yonatan on Shemot 12:40 that every Shemita is called "שנה" [lit. year] and every year is called "יום" [lit. day]. And if we calculate from the time of the Destruction of the Second Beit Hamikdash in the year 3828 until the Shemita year of 5719, there were 270 Shemitot, which hint to the 270 days of pregnancy which correspond to exile. And the year after the Shemita year of 5726 - in 5727 was the Day of Birth. Therefore, it was a Time of Acceptance of Prayers with the Six Day War. However, we had not yet been redeemed at that time since we need to add another 7 Shemitot to complete the 8 days until the Berit Mila, at which time we will connect to Hashem completely in the Sod of Redemption. And this comes out to the year 5775, when on Motza'ei Shevi'it, Ben David comes.
Or the alternative explanation:
R' R. Z. explains [it a little differently - ] that we should calculate from the time of the second Beit Hamikdash that was destroyed in 3828 until Shemita of 5726 and there are 271 Shemitot, which is the gematria of הריון [meaning pregnancy, a very famous gematria mentioned by the gemara Nidah 38b] that corresponds to exile. And Motza'ei Shemitta - in 5727 - corresponds to the day of birth. And from then begins the next 7 Shemitot, corresponding to the first 7 days of the boy, culminating in 5775, upon which it says וטמאה שבעת ימים, and Motza'ei Shevi'it of 5775 [5776] corresponds to the 8th day, when the Orla will be circumcized and Mashiah Ben David will come, speedily in our days Amen.

To be continued... here

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Interesting Recent Links - Nitzavim/Vayelech 5774





Adele Biton


Terrorism and Anti-Semitism


NYPD Investigate Anti-Semitic Message Found In Crown Heights Building

Yarmulka-Clad Jew Nearly Run Down, Called ‘Cancer,’ by Passersby in Netherlands

Israeli Family Attacked En Route to Kosel

PA: Hamas Higher-Up in Gaza, Released in Shalit Deal, Pulled Trigger on Israeli Teens’ Abduction

Columnist at Erdoğan Aligned Newspaper Calls for Taxing Jews to Pay for Rebuilding Gaza

Obama’s War Rules

WATCH: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz Walks Off Stage After Being Booed For Pro-Israel Remarks
Sen. Ted Cruz Defies Hecklers, Defends Israel
Cruz Walks out After Pro-Israel Comments Draw Boos

Swastikas Painted On Kosher Butcher Shop In Northeast Philadelphia



Giyur Bill




Yosef Family










Miscellaneous