Stages of Nesira

The Nesira divides between two phases of Hashgacha. Before Nesira, Tikkunim fix the Sephirot, and through them the Partzufim. After the Nesira, Tikkunim are received by the Partzufim, and reach Sephirot through them.

Nesira is a process, not an event. At Yesod, Hod, and Netzach, Nesira takes place at 66.5, and at 67. At Chesed, Din, and Tiferet, Nesira takes place at 506.5. This is where the Atara starts. Before the Nesira, Atara refers specifically to Yesod, and generally to the Sephirot of Zeir Anpin. After Nesira, Atara refers to the upper Partzufim, and in particular to Arich Anpin.

The first Sephira to reach Atara is Yesod, at 66.5 of the center. The Tikkunim of Yesod move to Da’at, on the left side. Next is Hod, at 66.5 of the left. The Tikkunim of Hod move to Imma. Next is Chesed, at 506.5 of the right. The Tikkunim of Chesed move to Malchut, which now has Shlemut. Next is Netzach, at 67 of the right. The Tikkunim of Netzach move to Abba. Next is Tiferet, at 506.5 of the center. The Tikkunim of Tiferet move to Da'at, on the right side. Next is Din/Gevura, at 506.5 of the left. The Tikkunim of Din move to Zeir Anpin, which is now complete.

Malchut can rise after the completion of the Nesira of Yesod, Hod, Netzach and Tiferet, because here is where Malchut is connected, back to back.

Two Lines

Regarding Nesira, 506.5 is a line, not a point. It goes from right to left. The center is after seven years, in the third year of Shmita. Seven years, that brings Din. The length of the line is twelve, Chesed. Conversely, 66.5 is a line from center to right. Its length is 19, Chesed. At 6 years it touches the left, including it in the right - Din turning into Chesed for Yisrael. The economic upheaval is about to intensify. The price of crude oil went up some four dollars in two weeks.

Nesira

If Israel's "lights" walk in darkness, how can it be that we are close to the Redemption? Seeing the troubles that threaten Am Yisrael, and the world, how is it that the Light is close?

The rise of Malchut towards Keter has started covertly, in darkness, as I have explained with the help of Heaven. Just before the light breaks, the darkness increases. This is the secret of Nesira.

The prophet Yeshayahu (9:1) said: "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." Know that the darkness must be.

A Thought for the Fast

The Plan: Man must leave all kinds of idol worship, increase in Chochma, and through Chochma reach the Knowledge of HaShem. This is the Plan for every individual. This is the Plan for mankind.

When the time came for mankind to terminate idol worship, Am Yisrael should have led the world to progress, but in fact, Am Yisrael was the champion of idol worship. This brought the first exile, through which idol worship was abolished. Progress did come, though from "left field." Through the Babylonians.

When the time came for mankind to attain Chochma, Am Yisrael was again not ready to lead. This brought the second exile, through which Chochma is increasing. Progress did come, though from left field. Towards the end of the exile, Arizal, Ramchal, Vilna Gaon, and those who remained unknown, merited opening the gates of the upper Chochma. The lower Chochma came to the world largely through the secular Jew, though the initial sparks were Newton and Maxwell, non-Jews: The scientific revolution came from left field also.

Mankind will be led to the Knowledge of HaShem, and this must occur via the Jew. Am Yisrael is surely getting ready. Progress is coming, but watch out: It is coming from another left field. It cannot come from those who reject Chochma - lower or higher. Be ready. Have a good fast.

אין אדם מוצא לעתיד לבא אלא האור מה שהמשיך בידיעתו בעולם הזה. מי שידע הפנימיות יהנה באור הפנימי, ומי שלא השיגו לא יהנה ממנו על שום פנים. וכי יאמרו: הלא הדינים צריכים בישראל – הנעזוב אותם? לא, לא נעזוב אותם, אבל נקבע להם זמנים לפי שאי אפשר בלאו הכי, אך לא בהם נבלה זמננו ח"ו. הלא זה רע בעולם הזה, שרוב חכמי ישראל כבר רחקו מעל האמת ומן האור הנעים, כבוד ה' אלוקינו, ללכת אחרי פלפוליהם של הבל

(אגרות רמח"ל פ'ח)
(מכתב ס'ב)

Collapse

The politicians who print money to avoid the flood until they are gone, fan the flames. Suddenly, the loans with their high interest rates become Swords of Damocles, permanently disturbing the sleep of millions. Both borrower and lender live in fear. The former, of not being able to repay and thus losing his possessions. The latter - mostly banks - of the huge amounts of loans whose loss would spell disaster for a system already in deep crisis as billions of dollars in foreign loans to govermments overseas are quietly written off as unpayable. The explosion of the credit deck of cards is an arrow aimed at the heart of American democracy and social order. It will prove the illusory nature of the pension system - both governmental and private - a pension system that tens of millions innocently believe is there and theirs. Economic collapse will see raging mobs seeking both scapegoat and vengeance. The demagogues and haters will gladly present both. The scapegoat will be the minority who is so visible in his wealth and success; whose name in taverns and bars (the only places where one really hears the truth of what America thinks) brings forth hideous envy and jealousy and hate. His name is the Jew.

(Rav Meir Kahane - taken from "Forty Years")

Have We Gone Mad?

“In its time will I hurry it” (Isaiah 60). And the Rabbis explain: “If they, (the Jews) merit it, it (the redemption) will come hurriedly. If they do not merit it – it will come (only) in its time.” (Sanhedrin 96)

The question that arises is: If the Jew does not merit it, why should the Almighty bring him redemption at all? What is this “time” that is mentioned in the Scriptures hat is a final point at which, regardless of the lack of merits of the Jew, the final redemption will come? Why should it come and when we expect it to come – what are the signs that presage its arrival? […] The key to the bringing of the final redemption is the descent, so to speak, of the Almighty, the G-d of Israel, into such desecration, contempt and humiliation in the eyes of the nations as to question not only his Omnipotence, but indeed, His basic existence!

And as the Scriptures and the Rabbis again and again emphasize, the power of the G-d of Israel and His very existence are weighed and proven to the nations by the strength and victory of His people, Israel, or “disproven” by their weakness and defeat. This humiliation of the Jew is seen as the weakness and indeed, non-existence of the G-d of the Jew, a thing that is known as Hillul Hashem, the vacuum and void in which the Almighty is simply non-existent. Jewish power and victory, on the other hand, are seen as proof that there is a G-d in Israel, all-powerful, controlling, the world. That is why the Exile, with all its horrors and humiliations and defeats for the Jew, was the very essence of Hillul Hashem, while a return to the Land of Israel, in spite of the enemies of the Jew, is proof of G-d’s Omnipotence and is, the very opposite – Kiddush Hashem, the introduction and inviting of the Almighty into the world – because He exists in all His power and does indeed control it.

That is the reason for redemption “in its time,” despite the unworthiness of the Jew. And clearly we are living in that era today. One who does not understand is partner to one who refuses to understand. The era of the beginning of the redemption is surely at hand and woe unto the deceivers who deliberately refuse to accept this and who raise the specious and fraudulent arguments that many times in the past during our exile did people rise claiming to be the Messiah and Jews believed that they were living in the era of the redemption, only to be bitterly disappointed.

Of course, there were such periods and many were those who, like Shabtai Zvi, proved to be false Messiahs. But can one compare any of the eras of the false Messiahs to that of today? Did any of the false Messiahs produce a mass return to Eretz Yisrael and an independent Jewish state, no matter how barren of Judaism? What do we make of the Almighty when, with the wave of a hand, we dismiss the rise, after 2,000 years of the Exile, of an independent Jewish state and th return of more than a million Jews from the Exile, as nothing Divine? Do we understand what an incredible miracle is this State, again without reference to its religiosity? Is it a game of chance, an ordinary thing, that a Jewish State arises and so many exiles are ingathered, exactly as the Prophets promised?

Is it an accident of “fate” that ‘old men and old women sit in the broad places of Jerusalem’ and ‘the broad places of the city are filled with boys and girls playing,’ exactly as the prophet envisioned (Zecharia 8)? Do we make of the Almighty a non-player in the world, one who is divorced from all these incredible events? Do we do to Him what the nations did to Him during the long Exile – proclaim His irrelevancy or even His non-existence? Have we gone mad?

(Rav Meir Kahane - taken from "Forty Years")

In Its Time

“Behold the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take of the Tree of Life and eat and live forever.” (Genesis 3)

Man comes full circle. The putting forth of the hand in an attempt to reach immortality, to be as G-d. To be G-d! The essence of unbridled arrogant pride and ambition, the apex of Hillul Hashem. Yesterday, the first man, we, those of the final era.

Lasers, superconductors, transplants, near-human computer intelligence, artificial insemination and birth outside the womb, and above all, the discovery, tinkering with - and soon – creation of genes. Life itself, creation, becomes the goal of the neo-Adam. And he moves closer and closer to attainment of the moment when he sees himself as becoming Creator, Omnipotent and sovereign of life itself. It is the apex of Hillul Hashem and [...] the reason why this era - by its very nature - becomes the moment of [redemption] “in its time.” The moment when Man begins to move toward Divinity is the moment when G-d rises to touch him and say, “You who come from the dust and who wishes to rule – go; Go and rule the dust.”

And as an integral part of all this and so as to emphasize even more the reason for this era being the moment of “its time,” is the fact that in the arrogant attack on G-d as Creator and King, it is the Jew who, sadly, leads all the rest. And the words of the Rabbis echo throughout the ages: ‘This nation (the Jews) is likened to the dust and the stars: When they go down, they go down to the dust and when they rise, they rise to the stars.” (Megila 16). And the reference is not only to Jewish destiny. It is true, too, for the very characteristics of the Jew. One who is capable of achieving the highest spiritual heights, of climbing the tallest elevation of the soul. And one who is also capable of leading all the rest in descent to the depths of anarchy and rebellion and decadence and the casting off of the yoke of Heaven. Intoxicated and seduced by his intelligence, it is exactly that which becomes for the Jew the source of an arrogance that leads him, the son of the people that gave the world the idea of One G-d, to reject with contempt, the very existence of G-d. No one is a s vociferous and as much a leader in the struggle to deny G-d and enthrone Man and his intellect on the throne of Creation, as the Jew. And because of this, too, this must be the era of “its time.”

(Rav Meir Kahane - taken from "Forty Years")

How?

The Carmel disaster triggered an endless blame game. Rav Ovadia Yosef blamed Chillul Shabbat. The media blamed Yishai and Netanyahu. Yishai blamed Ariel Sharon. Others blamed Dan Chalutz. Chalutz blames the current government. Kadima wants Netanyahu to resign.

How could the burned bus not remind one of the scores of burned busses of the second "Intifada?" Unbelievably, the blame game was never really pursued regarding the uncountable horrors commanded by Arafat et al. Land for peace was too holy - an untouchable faith. And so it came to be that until this very day the priests of land-for-peace are the Gedolei HaDor, holding key positions in the State of Israel. Shimon Peres sits on high on the secular side, and you know who sits high on the religious side. How did we let this happen? And how is Ehud Barak, the igniter of Arafat and the enabler of Hezbolla, our minister of Defense? How is this man speaking his blatantly foolish mind on behalf of the Jewish State as if he were the minister of Foreign Affairs? Could there be a better cause for heavenly fire than such brazen national refusal to mend our ways?

Kahane was right.

The Oil Rally

The world's currencies are being inflated almost without precedent. The European Union is avoiding the bankruptcy of European countries by lending them new money. The US issues huge amounts of money, lending to itself. Likewise, the UK inflates the pound, South American countries inflate their currencies, and so forth. We are entering an age of inflation. The demand for oil exceeds the supply, which can no longer be increased. The demand must therefore be reduced, and the inflation is to accomplish this. The price of oil has started a long rally, one that will bring great trouble to the world. To the right you can see the price of crude oil in real time.

Painful Questions

Was it not the great Radbaz who paskened that the Dome of the Rock stands on Makom HaMikdash? Could it be that the Jewish consensus regarding the Temple Mount is off? Could it be that the Arabs, ever lying, are right when they say that the Jewish Temples did not stand on the Temple Mount?

The questions are painful, but must be posed. Below is an interesting warning from the Rambam's letter to the community of Marseille. The Rambam addresses astrology, but I submit that the same logic applies to those who hold that Tradition and Psak trump the Truth. It is much harder to assess the truth than to assume it. However, the former is the task of every generation, as Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi put it: "all the generations who have entered the covenant, are duty bound to examine the secrets of the Torah and to straighten out our faith concerning it by accepting the truth from whomever says it." And now the Rambam:

Thus you ought to know that fools have composed thousands of books of nothingness and emptiness. Any number of men, great in years but not in wisdom, wasted all their days in studying these books and imagined that these follies are science. They came to think of themselves as wise men because they knew that science. The thing about which most of the world errs, or all of it—save for a few individuals, “the remnant of whom the Lord shall call” (Joel 3:5)—is that thing of which I am apprising you. The great sickness and the “grievous evil” (Eccles. 5:12, 15) consist in this: that all the things that man finds written in books, he presumes to think of as true—and all the more so if the books are old. And since many individuals have busied themselves with those books and have engaged in discussions concerning them, the rash fellow’s mind at once leaps to the conclusion that these are words of wisdom, and he says to himself: “Has the pen of the scribes written in vain” (Jer. 8:8), and have they vainly engaged in these things? This is why our kingdom was lost and our Temple was destroyed...

Fort Antonia

Flavius Josephus writes in "The War of the Jews"(5:8):

Now as to the tower of Antonia, it was situated at the corner of two cloisters of the court of the temple; of that on the west, and that on the north; it was erected upon a rock of fifty cubits in height, and was on a great precipice; it was the work of king Herod, wherein he demonstrated his natural magnanimity. In the first place, the rock itself was covered over with smooth pieces of stone, from its foundation, both for ornament, and that any one who would either try to get up or to go down it might not be able to hold his feet upon it. Next to this, and before you come to the edifice of the tower itself, there was a wall three cubits high; but within that wall all the space of the tower of Antonia itself was built upon, to the height of forty cubits. The inward parts had the largeness and form of a palace, it being parted into all kinds of rooms and other conveniences, such as courts, and places for bathing, and broad spaces for camps; insomuch that, by having all conveniences that cities wanted, it might seem to be composed of several cities, but by its magnificence it seemed a palace. And as the entire structure resembled that of a tower, it contained also four other distinct towers at its four corners; whereof the others were but fifty cubits high; whereas that which lay upon the southeast corner was seventy cubits high, that from thence the whole temple might be viewed; but on the corner where it joined to the two cloisters of the temple, it had passages down to them both, through which the guard (for there always lay in this tower a Roman legion) went several ways among the cloisters, with their arms, on the Jewish festivals, in order to watch the people, that they might not there attempt to make any innovations; for the temple was a fortress that guarded the city, as was the tower of Antonia a guard to the temple; and in that tower were the guards of those three.

Fort Antonia was huge, like a city, big enough to house a Roman legion. It seems to me that it must be that it was built around the rock that is now under the Dome. Thus it was in between two deep valleys, one to the East and one to the West. On the northern side was an artificial ditch. I would guess that the part of the Antonian rock that was made smooth was the southern side of the ditch. Flavius Josephus relates to the ditch when he describes "The War of the Jews"(5:2) the Betseda hill:

It [Betseda] lies over against the tower Antonia, but is divided from it by a deep valley, which was dug on purpose, and that in order to hinder the foundations of the tower of Antonia from joining to this hill, and thereby affording an opportunity for getting to it with ease, and hindering the security that arose from its superior elevation; for which reason also that depth of the ditch made the elevation of the towers more remarkable.

Hippodrome?

I found that some say that the Roman building mentioned in the previous post was a hippodrome. A hippodrome surely fits Aelia Capatolina, and the location would perhaps fit the teaser Hadrian. Yet, the building in the model seems different. If you know more, please leave a comment.

An Intriguing Model

I saw this intriguing model, carved out of rock, in a public place in the "Old City" of Yerushalayim. Towards the right, it shows how Hadrian restructured fort Antonia, nowadays known as the Temple Mount. To the left (South) of fort Antonia, an apparently Roman structure stands on the place of the Mikdash. The location of the model is just outside of fort Antonia, near its North-Western corner. Should someone have any knowledge about it or about the structure standing on Makom HaMikdash, please leave a comment.

הליך הגאולה

כתיב במדרש, כי יתנדבו הרבה מישראל תופסי תורה וחסידים ואנשי מעשה לבא לדור בארץ ישראל ולהתישב בירושלים עיר הקדש איש איש כפי נדבת לבו, ונצנצה בו רוח טהרה והכשר חבת הקדש מארבע פנות העולם אחד מעיר ושנים ממשפחה, וכאשר יתישבו שם למען היות לו ניר ויתד נאמן בהר הקדש בירושלים, ועל זה נאמר: ולקחתי אתכם אחד מעיר ושנים ממשפחה, וכאשר יתישבו שם החסידים ההם ירבו להתפלל בהר הקדש בירושלים וישמע הבורא יתברך שמו ויתקרב קץ הגאולה. וארבע שנים קדם זמן הגאולה יבא משיח בן יוסף ושמו נחמיה בן חושיאל מזרע אפרים בן יוסף, וכפי מה שיהיו מעשינו כן תהיה ביאתו כמו ששנינו בפרק חלק: כתיב עני ורוכב על חמור וכתיב וארו עם ענני שמיא כבר אנש אתא הוה, וזכו וארו עם ענני שמיא, ולא זכו עני ורוכב על חמור, ויתקבצו אליו בירושלים מגבורי ישראל מארבע רוחות העולם ויעשה חיל ויכה מנציבי ארם וישמעאל שבירושלים ויגרש ממנה הערלים ויצא שמו בכל המדינות, וכאשר ישמעו כל ישראל כן כי הבאיש המלך המשיח בערלים יתחזקו ידם ויתקבצו אליו כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו ויקבץ מלך אדום כל חילו להלחם אתו, ומלך המשיח גם הוא יקבץ כל הנמצאים אתו וארבעים אלף מגבורי אפרים יבאו אליו דרך המדבר לעזרה ויפול מלך אדום בידו ולא יוסיף קום לעולם. וגם לשרו של עשו יפיל אותו הבורא יתברך לפניו, שנאמר: יפקד ה' על צבא המרום במרום ועל מלכי האדמה וגו'. ויכבש כל ארץ ישראל מן אמות העולם ויכבש שכינה אדום ומואב ועמון, שנאמר: אדום ומואב משלוח ידם ובני עמון משמעתם, ויבא להלחם על רומי ויחריבנה, שנאמר: והאביד שריד מעיר, ואחר כך יכרית כל זרע עשו שנאמר: ולא יהיה שריד לבית עשו, וישמעו כל האמות ויראו ממנו ויביאו לו היהודים במנחה, שנאמר: והביאו את כל אחיכם מכל הגוים מנחה לה' עד שלא ישאר אחד, ועל אותה שעה נאמר: כאשר שמע למצרים יחילו כשמע צור ואז יתישבו כל ישראל בארץ ישראל ויהיו שם חמש שנים, בשנה הששית לנחמיה יעלו שרי מלך פרס על נחמיה בן חושיאל כי לפרס תהיה המלוכה וידקר את נחמיה בשערי ירושלים ותהיה נבלתו משלכת שם ארבעים יום, ואדם ובהמה וחיה לא יגעו בה, ולאחר ארבעים יום יסתירנה הבורא יתברך בקברות בית יהודה ויספדו לו כל ישראל ארבעים ואחד יום, ועליו נאמר: וספדה הארץ משפחות, ותהיה צרה גדולה לישראל וינוסו דרך המדבר ביערים ובהרים בצחיחים ובמערות ויאכלו עשבי המדבר ויהיו שם ברעב ובצמא ובערום ובחסר כל ולא יוכלו להסתר מפני גויי הארץ, ובצרה ההיא יצרפו ויתלבנו וכל מי שהרהר רע על בוראו יתברך אז אמות העולם הורגים אותו והאחרים יחזקו במעוזינו תמיד ויעמדו במדבר חמשה וארבעים ימים, ועליו נאמר: והולכתיה במדבר ודברתי על לבה, וחכמי ישראל יתקבצו בגליל העליון, ואז תצא חפצי בה אם מנחם ומטה אשר נתן לה הבורא יתברך ויפלו לפניה האמות פגרים, כי יהרגו איש את אחיו ואת רעהו. וברומי יש צלם מאבן שיש ואז יצא ממנו ארמילוס בן השטן ויביא עמו עשרה מלכים ויגלה ישראל פעם שנית למדברות וחפצי בה תעמד בשער המזרח ויתר העם לא יכרת מהעיר, ותהיה שם מלחמה בחדש אב ובניסן יבא משיח בן דוד ושמו מנחם בן עמיאל, ועליו אמר משה: שלח נא ביד תשלח

Continue here.

Ne'ila

A thought came to me during Ne'ila, regarding the Shita of Rebbi:

The year 5744 (6129-385) had 385 days. The year 5746 (6129-383) had 383 days. The year 5775 (6129-354) will have 354 days. If 5776 (6129-353) would not be a leap year, it would be 355 days. Perhaps one can say that the decision to make year 5776 a year of 355 days should be taken 355 years before year 6129.

Perhaps I had a vision, about the Ne'ila of Rebbi's Shita. May we not miss it, and see the Geula soon, very soon. Shana Tova.

Hillel The Elder

Yeranen Yaakov has another inspired post. My comment is that the event אוי לנו כי פנה היום כי ינטו צללי ערב, regarding Bayit Sheni, appears to be the death of Hillel in 3771.

Hillel brought about a spiritual revolution, through his Midot, his love of man, his humility, his ethics. Jewish Law follows Hillel, not because of his superior learning, but because of Hillel's moral standing. Chazal teach in Shabbat 30b:

לעולם יהא אדם ענוותן כהלל, ואל יהא קפדן כשמאי

One should always be a humble person like Hillel, and not a formalist like Shammai.

Too often, Halacha is applied in Shammai's way. Too often, basic ethics and exemplary behavior are sacrificed on the altar of Halachic stringencies. May the coming year, 2000 years after his death, see the revival of Hillel's revolution.

P.S. Someone showed me this:

One rabbi close to the affair called the new process "unprecedented humiliation," and said it was the direct consequence of new guidelines to prove Jewishness the Chief Rabbinate recently implemented.

That is what I meant...

Chizkiyahu HaMelech

Chazal teach us (Sanhedrin 94a) that HaShem wanted to make king Chizkiyahu Moshiach. The previous post raises the question how he fits in. Chizkiyahu ruled from 3202-3230 in the Seder-Olam based calendar that has the first Churban in year 3339. Historically, the Churban took place 164 years before, in the year 3175. Historically, then, it appears that Chizkiyahu died in 3066.

If so, we can say that Chizkiyahu fits the Shita of Rav Yehuda who said in the name of Shmuel (Sanhedrin 99a) that Moshiach comes halfway year 1 and the Keitz. With the Keitz in 6129, the time for Moshiach would be 3065, one year before Chizkiyahu's death.

On The Years Moshiach Can Come

I saw this post. I appreciate the positive take of the author, but I think his silver lining is an illusion.

The timing of Bar Kochba is according to Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak, indeed. The year of the Keitz of the Smol (see Zohar Parshat Noach 62b,63a) is 6129 or 6133. The Mabul was in year 1657, 1656 years after Adam. The middle is 3893/3895, within the period of the Bar Kochba rebellion. After we missed Moshiach at that time, the Shita of Rav Nachman lost its relevance. Keitz HaSmol remains what it was, but now the Shita of Rebbi enters: The time for Moshiach is a "year" before the Keitz. That is, the number of years between Moshiach and the Keitz are as the days of a year.

According to the Shita of Rebbe, around the time of the Vilna Gaon, Moshiach could have come a "year" (384, 365 or 354 years) before Keitz HaYamin, year 5919, which is 210 (214) years before Keitz HaSmol (6129 or 6133). According to the Shita of Rebbi, Moshiach could therefore have come in 5535, or in 5554, four years before the Gaon's death. According to the Shita of rabbi Dosa (Sanhedrin 88a), Moshiach could have come in 5519, 400 years before year 5919. Interestingly, when the Talmidim of the GR"A arrived in Eretz Yisrael, in 5569, the window was already closed: 5569 = 6133-210-354.

In our times, Moshiach could have come in 5729 (or 5733), in 5745 (or 5749), or in 5764 (or 5768).

Halfway the Mabul and Keitz HaYamin is 3788, 40 years before the Churban, the time of Yeshu. Before Keitz HaYamin is Keitz HaEmtza, 5791, 210 years before 6001. Halfway the Mabul and Keitz HaEmtza is 3724, the time of Hillel. Shabtai Tzvi's period of fame was between 384 and 354 years before Keitz HaEmtza. Even false Meshichim do not come at arbitrary times.

Change Ahead

In the light of this post, the year 5770 was the year of Har Shafer, and 5771 will be the year of Charada. Targum Yonatan describes the transition as follows (BaMidbar 33:24):

ונטלו מטוורא דשפירן פירוי ושרו בחרדה אתר דתווהו על בישתא דמותנא

Year 5770 was a year of beautiful fruits. There was rain, and the Israeli economy blossomed more than any advanced economy. Threats of war were not actualized and we did not worry about them too much. This will change. There will be fear and bewilderment over בישתא דמותנא.

יכבשו רחמיך את כעסך - May Your Mercy Overcome Your Anger

Caroline Glick About Iran

Three Times 70 Weeks

The previous post can be reformulated as follows. From the beginning of Jewish national suffering in 2366, 417 years after the birth of Avraham, until the final Tikkun are three times 70 "weeks."

From 2366 until 3339 - the year of the first Churban - is a Moed, 973 years, 69.5 "weeks" of fourteen years each. From 3339 until 3829 - the year of the second Churban - is half a Moed, 70 "weeks" of seven years. From 3829 until 5775 is the period of Moadim, 69.5 "weeks" of 28 years, the length of the Machzor Gadol. The second Churban was in year ת of the 15th Machzor Gadol. The additional 69.5 "weeks" bring us to year ז of the 85th Machzor.

Daniel 9:27 says about the last of the 70 weeks: "He will forge a strong covenant with the great ones for a week, and at half a week he will abolish sacrifice and meal-offering." This is what happened to Bayit Rishon, after 69.5 weeks of its Moed.

Daniel 9:26 says that after 62 weeks a Moshiach is cut off. King Chizkiyah died (it seems) in 3230, at 61.71 "weeks."

We saw earlier that the first Churban came one Shmita period before the end of Yovel 36, and that the first Shmita of Yovel 85 comes to complete Yovel 36. From the present point of view, then, we see that it comes to complete the Moed of Bayit Rishon and makes it into 70 whole "weeks" of fourteen years.

In this light, I venture to say the following. After the Moadim's 69.5 weeks of 28 years, the Jewish sacrifices at the Altar of the Exile will stop. I note that the Vilna Gaon died in 5558, at 61.75 "weeks."

The first Shmita of Yovel 85 culminates in year eight of the Yovel, year Samech of Mazchor 85, which represents Yovel year 36. After this year, the 70 "weeks" of the Moadim are completed. Thirteen years remain until the Tikkun of the third Aleph Sofit at the end of the Machzor. This leaves one year for the completion of the Moadim. That year is the year of the third Samech. See this post and its references.

[Update: As pointed out in the comments, during Bayit Sheni, Hillel died in 3771, at 61.71 "weeks." At 69.5, Eliezer ben Hananiah stopped the sacrifices for the Emperor of Rome.]

Sanhedrin 97b brings:

אמר ליה אליהו לרב יהודה אחוה דרב סלא חסידא: אין העולם פחות משמונים וחמשה יובלות, וביובל האחרון בן דוד בא. אמר ליה: בתחילתו או בסופו? אמר ליה: איני יודע. כלה או אינו כלה? - אמר ליה: איני יודע

Eliyahu said to Rav Yehuda, the brother of Rav Sala Chasida: The world does not last less than 85 Yovel periods, and in the last Yovel period Moshiach comes. [Rav Yehuda] said to him [Eliyahu]: "In the beginning or in the end (of the last Yovel period)?" [Eliyahu] said to him: "I do not know." Will it be completed or not? [Eliyahu] said to him: "I do not know."

I think that the above answers what Eliyahu did not know.

Tish'a B'Av

I saw this post by (Yeranen) Ya'akov. I think it was written with Ruach HaKodesh, and I would like to polish it a bit, in my way.

The period between the first and second Churban was 70 Shmitot, a repeat of the 70 Shmitot that were not kept before the first Churban. Thus, it seems proper to say that, in Yeranen Ya'akov's Shita, Sepher Daniel's half Moed is 70 Shmitot, which, after all, is also a concept of Sepher Daniel.

Note that the announcement of the crushing of Avraham's sons in exile, at the Brit Bein HaBetarim, was 70 years after Avraham's birth.

The crushing of Avraham's sons actually started right after Aharon was born, which was 417 years after the birth of Avraham. Moshe was born 420 years after the birth of Avraham. Note the appearance of the same numbers, 417 and 420, in this post.

The first Churban was 139 times seven years after the birth of Aharon. If 70 times 7 is half a Moed, 139 times 7 can be called a Moed. As 139 is one third of 417, it appears that the 417 years until Aharon reflect Daniel's three Moadim, just as the 70 years until Brit Bein HaBetarim reflect half a Moed.

After the half Moed had ended, the second Churban was in year 3829 in our year count (3828 in the count of the Tanna), and two times 139 Shmitot later will be Shmita year 5775. That, then, is the end of the crushing of Jews in exile.

After that comes the first Shmita of Yovel פ"ה.

Finally, the Gematria of "בשנה האחרת" is still saying what is a Moed. If Kollelim are included for the two words, one obtains 973 - 139 times 7.

Wafa Sultan

Wafa Sultan about Islam.
Translation of the video's title: "Wilders defends our way of life".

Obama's Predicament

America has sent warships into the direction of Iran. I suspect that the main purpose of this step is to impress Saudi Arabia. After the economic crash of 2008, the world's oil consumption has now returned to the level of 2008. Saudi Arabia holds most of the world's spare production capacity, about 4 million barrels per day. With the current growth of the world economy, an amazing 4 percent per year, we will run out of this spare production capacity by the summer of 2012.

For now, Saudi Arabia can keep oil prices low, and this is what Abdullah has promised to Obama, provided that Obama performs. The Saudis want Obama to create a Palestinian state, and to neutralize Iran. Here is Obama's predicament. It is dangerous to attack Iran. The oil prices would likely explode. America could collapse. Therefore, to ensure two years of economic stability, Obama will have to follow his fantasy and go for a Palestinian state. Israel should not comply. The coin can be flipped. If Obama cannot make a Palestinian state, he will have to tackle Iran.

Gadol, but not Kadosh

Bileam was a man of profound spiritual achievements. His understanding was at level of that of Moshe Rabbeinu. Bileam was also evil. How can this be?

After Bileam did not succeed to curse Israel, he understood why. He advised Balak that there was one way to hurt the Jews - by drawing them into sexual sin. Bileam had understood the great difference between himself and Moshe, between himself and the Jew. Mah Tovu Ohaleicha Ya'akov, how goodly are your tents, Ya'akov. Ya'akov was holy. Moshe was great and holy. Bileam was great and unholy. He was steeped in sexual sin.

Human status is naturally related to Gadlut, greatness. Not to Kedusha, holiness. This should have been different in the world of Torah, but often it is not. What counts, is to be a Talmid Chacham. The Torah warns us. It is possible to be Bileam. It is possible to be Gadol and to not be Kadosh. It is good to be Gadol, but only if one is also Kadosh. Without Kedusha, Gadlut does not help. Even worse, it hurts. Bileam was evil. Without Kedusha, Gadlut leads to evil.

The Three Terrors Con The World

Ma'ayan Mitgaber

The stream of oil leaking into the Gulf was first reported to be 1000 barrels per day. Later it became 5000 barrels per day, and now it is reported to be 60000 barrels per day. I think this is not only because the early estimates were wrong. The flow of oil from a deep high-pressure source naturally increases, as it causes erosion of blockages that hinder it.

The oil that flows into the Gulf is a natural example of a Ma'ayan Mitgaber, a spring that grows stronger. This one is a curse from Tehom, but it mirrors one that is a blessing from Shamayim.

Who merits "drilling into" the spiritual level of Keter experiences a Ma'ayan Mitgaber. The "fluids" coming from Keter flow via Chochma, Bina, Da'at into the "spine." As blockages are removed by the flow, the Ma'ayan becomes stronger and stronger. For who merits, Chidushim can become a continuous experience.

Ongoing Assault

Obama visited "the Gulf," for the fourth time, on day 56 of the disaster. Amazing, Obama now visits the Gulf more often than Mitchell visits Israel...

Obama exclaimed: "This is not simply one catastrophic event. It is an ongoing assault, whose movements are constantly changing."

I heard Obama describe his treatment of Israel: It is not simply one catastrophic event. It is an ongoing assault, whose movements are constantly changing.

On day 57, Obama spoke about the people of the Gulf coast who had been hoping to recover from hurricane Katrina. They had hoped for a good fishing season and a good tourist season. Instead, they are hit by the current tragedy. Obama is going to measure progress by how these people are helped.

Well, Obama's assault on Israel is hitting a people that had hoped to recover from the expulsion of Jews from the Gaza strip. They had hoped for a temporary freeze of international pressure. Instead, they are now hit by a building freeze, even in Yerushalayim, forced negotiations, and international flotillitis. Obama is being measured by his own yardstick.

The Wars of Ishmael

In the era of redemption Ishmael will rise up and become strong while hating Isaac, Jacob and their descendants. They will provoke kings and nations, while the world is sinking into a chaos of wars and tragedies. The following is from Pesikta Rabbati (Kumi Ori 36):

R. Yitzchak said: "The year the Messianic king is revealed... Persia will provoke Arabia, Arabia will go to Edom, to take counsel from them, and then Persia will go back and destroy the whole world... Israel will be in a tumultuous panic, asking: "Where shall we go? What shall we do?"

The Holy Zohar, likewise, often states that the Ishmaelites will attack the Jewish People and Eretz Yisrael in the end of days. The Zohar Bereshit, 119a, teaches: "At that time the Ishmaelites will be aroused together with all the nations of the world to attack Jerusalem." The Zohar further teaches (Vaera, 32a):

The Ishmaelites shall long have control over the Holy Land when it is empty... and will deter Israel from returning to their place... In the future, they will stir up major wars, and Edom's descendants will gather against them and wage war on them... one on the sea, one on dry land, and one near Jerusalem. These will employ great force against each other, and the Holy Land will not be given over to Edomite control.

Thus the war of Ishmael will be against Israel and will also be part of the series of wars between the nations.

All this will occur in an age of global collapse, which G-d will bring in order to punish the nations, sanctify His profaned name, defeat and eradicate false gods and religions, and publicize His Oneness to all the world.

[Rabbi Meir Kahane, Or HaRa'ayon - English translation - chapter 29]

Three times 11 around 66

We noted the special nature of 11 years around 66 of the right, four years before 66 plus seven years after 66, from 5772 to 5783.

Likewise, there are periods of 11 years around 66 of the left (in 5765) and around 66 of the center (in 5758).

The 11 years around 66 of the center are from 5754 until 66 of the left - 5765. This is the period of the great Jewish assault on Jewish destiny. The assault was initially led by the likes of Shimon Peres, Yossi Beilin, and Yitzchak Rabin, helped along by the devastating rabbinical support of Rav Ovadia Yosef. The assault was finalized by Ariel Sharon, helped by the devastating rabbinical support of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. The nations of the world applauded the Jewish assault unanimously.

The 11 years around 66 of the left are from 5761 until 5772. These are the years of Yishmael's response to the Jewish assault. In Israel, the start was the Intifada of 5761. In the West, the start was the attack on the Twin Towers. The climax will be in the coming two years. Subsequently, the 11 years around 66 of the right will start. There will be no relief.

Why Did It Happen?

[The following I wrote right after Hurricane Katrina had caused destruction along the Mexican Gulf coast.]

On August 14, Jews allover the world fasted with exceptional seriousness on the day of national Jewish mourning, Tisha Be'av. Their thoughts were preoccupied with the impending disaster in the Gaza strip. In the two weeks that followed, the world gleefully observed the expulsion of almost ten thousand Jews from the towns that they had built. The "roadmap" of the "Quartet", the international alliance that strives for the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Jews from their towns in the Land of Israel, achieved its first goals.

On the day of Tisha Be'av, the Jewish nation passionately prayed for a miracle, which many felt was sure to happen. The faithful Jews of the Gaza strip had created an exemplary and unique society - a world of Torah, morality, and honest economic success. How could it be that this was to be destroyed? For what reason?

We did not merit seeing the heavenly intervention that we so much hoped and prayed for. Many beautiful peaceful Jewish towns were destroyed. The refugees have no place to go back to. The flourishing Jewish coastal area of Gaza has gone.

Reality is subject to spiritual principles. One of them is that who interferes with the settlement of Jews in the Land of Israel, plays with deadly fire. With G-d's help, I wrote about this principle a couple of times - see The Secret of the Lion" and "The Sun is Signing".

The last paragraph of the latter article reads: "President George Bush, reconsider your steps. You are inviting disaster to your nation. The international alliance against the faithful of Israel that you plan to lead will cause the divine anger to burn immediately."

As it turned out, something did happen after all on the day of Tisha Be'av. East of the island of Antigua, a small turbulence was born that grew into hurricane Katrina as the expulsion of the Jews of Gaza proceeded. Katrina evolved in an unusual way, took various unexpected turns, until it unleashed its extreme power at the coastal area around New Orleans.

In the days that the last Jewish houses were destroyed, more than a million Americans were ordered to leave their houses and many of the refugees now have no place to go back to. As Jewish graves were removed from the Gaza strip, many of the Americans who could not bring themselves to leave their houses, paid with their lives.

The American administration and the other members of the Quartet are scheming to bring existential danger to Israel by forcing it to agree to the creation of a hostile Arab state in the Land of Israel. President George Bush, you have been misled by evil people, among them foolish Jews who discarded Judaism. You effectively joined their fight against the Torah of Israel and the G-d of Israel. To reverse the curse that ensued, you need only change sides: "I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse (Genesis 12:3)."

The Hidden Count

The count of Bina, which reaches 67 in 5772, the end of the eight kings of the left, is associated to the count of Din, which reaches 507 in 5786.

Likewise, the count of Chochma, which reaches 67 in 5777, the end of the eight kings of the right, is associated to the count of Chesed, which reaches 507 in 5776.

The count of the years of exile reaches 507 in 5783. It also has an associated count, a greatly hidden count, associated to Arich Anpin, which reaches 67 in 5768, the end of the eight kings of the center. Similar to the exile count, the associated hidden count occurs every 10 years, so that it reaches 68 right before 68 of Bina, and 69 right before 69 of Chochma.

The wise will understand that 56, 59, 60, 66 and 66.5 of the hidden count must be associated to seminal redemptive events. The same is true for 1, which occurred in 5108.

The Essence of Torah

The essence of Torah is to learn, to know, to become familiar with Divine attributes, concepts and ideas and to walk in G-d's ways, to cling to Him. Ritual observance is only the external expression of the internal idea. It is the conceptual framework which stands at the heart of Torah, determining the path one must follow. When a person does not understand a mitzvah and the idea behind it, or worse, he has internalized alien, distorted concepts and attributes, then when he fulfills the mitzvah, the external form of devotion, he is only emphasizing an idea that is fallacious, or, G-d forbid, that contradicts G-d's eternal truth. He "is not blessing G-d, but cursing Him" (see Bava Kama 94a).

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

The exile continued until we were smitten with the very hardest blow of all. Gradually, the accuracy and completeness of the Torah has been undermined. Strange idols have entered the Temple and as a result of this, and for many other reasons, internal and external, the Jews have embraced distorted ideas, until today many individuals, good and bad alike, claim that their perverse values are "the Torah Moses placed before the Children of Israel."

(From Or HaRa'ayon - English translation - chapter 5)

Rav Kahane

How sorrowful we must be over our current exile, which severed the Jew's connection to nature, denying him the seclusion he enjoyed with the Divine Presence, a relationship only to be found in the bossom of G-d's handiwork. The impurities which crowned and enveloped Israel, destroyed their delicacy of spirit. How much profundity and knowledge of G-d we lost as a result!

(From Or HaRa'ayon - English translation - chapter 1)

Our sages said (Yoma 72b): "What is meant by 'Why does the fool possess the wealth to acquire wisdom, seeing he has no understanding' (Prov. 17:16)? Woe to the enemies of Torah scholars, for they study Torah but possess no fear of G-d."

The message is clear. Does G-d desire mere wisdom and brilliance in Torah? Does he need vain argumentation and polished, sophisticated explanations? Is not all wisdom His? Just as He has no need of candle light, so has He no need of the Torah scholar's wisdom. As our sages said (Shemot Rabbah 36:2), "It is not that I need you. Rather, shower light upon Me the way I showered light upon you." In just the same way, G-d does not need the Torah, yet He gave it to mortal men for their own good so they would subdue their egos and cling to Him. Hence if their is no fear of G-d, the Torah becomes mere wisdom, and better that man should not study it.

(From Or HaRa'ayon - English translation - chapter 2)

Rav Ashlag

עניין מתן תורה

עניין מתן תורה, שהיה במעמד הר סיני, אין הפירוש שאז נתנה התורה פעם אחת ואחר כך נפסקה הנתינה. אלא, אין העדר ברוחניות, כי רוחניות זה עניין נצחי שאינו נפסק. רק מפני שמצד הנותן אין אנו מוכשרים לקבל התורה, אנו אומרים, שהפסק הוא מצד העליון

מה שאין כן אז, במעמד הר סיני, היו הכלל ישראל מוכנים לקבלת התורה, כמו שכתוב: “ויחן העם תחת ההר, כאיש אחד בלב אחד”, שהיה אז הכנה מצד הכלל, שהיה להם רק כוונה אחת, שהיא מחשבה אחת על קבלת התורה. אבל מצד הנותן אין שינויים והוא תמיד נותן, כמו שכתוב בשם הבעל שם טוב, שהאדם מחויב כל יום לשמוע את עשרת הדברות על הר סיני

התורה נקראת סם החיים וסם המוות. ויש להבין, איך שייך לומר שני דברים הפוכים בנושא אחד. יש לדעת, שאין אנחנו יכולים להשיג שום מציאות כפי שהיא לעצמה, אלא הכול אנו משיגים רק לפי הרגשותינו. והמציאות, איך שהיא לפי עצמה לא מעניינת אותנו כלל. לכן התורה, כשלעצמה, אין אנו משיגים כלל, רק אנו משיגים הרגשות שלנו. וכל ההתפעלות שלנו היא רק לפי הרגשותינו

לכן בזמן שהאדם לומד תורה והתורה מרחיקה אותו מאהבת ה’, בטח שהתורה הזו נקראת “סם המוות”. וכן להיפך: אם התורה זו שהוא לומד מקרבת אותו לאהבת ה’, בטח שהיא נקראת “סם החיים”. אבל התורה בעצמה, זאת אומרת מציאות התורה כשלעצמה, בלי חשבון התחתון שהוא צריך להשיגה, נבחנת לאור בלי כלי, שאין שם שום השגה. לכן כשמדברים מהתורה, אז הכוונה על הרגשות שהאדם מקבל מהתורה, שרק הן קובעות את המציאות אצל הנבראים

ובזמן שהאדם עובד לתועלת עצמו, נקרא זה שלא לשמה. אבל מתוך שלא לשמה באים ללשמה. לכן, אם האדם עדיין לא זכה לקבלת התורה, אז הוא מקווה שיזכה לקבלת התורה בשנה הבאה. אבל לאחר שהאדם זכה לבחינת השלמות של לשמה, כבר אין לו עוד מה לעשות בעולם הזה, כיון שתיקן את הכול, שיהיה בשלמות הלשמה

ולכן, בכל שנה ושנה יש זמן קבלת התורה, מטעם שהזמן הוא מוכשר לאתערותא דלתתא (התעוררות מלמטה), משום שאז מתעורר הזמן שהיה מגולה אצל התחתונים האור של מתן תורה. לכן יש התעוררות למעלה, שנותנת כוח לתחתונים, שיוכלו לעשות פעולת ההכשרה לקבלת התורה, כמו שהיו אז מוכנים לקבלת התורה

אי לזאת, אם האדם הולך על דרך שהשלא לשמה יביא לו את הלשמה, אז הוא הולך על דרך האמת, והוא צריך לקוות שסוף כל סוף יזכה לבוא לשמה, ויזכה לקבלת התורה. אבל צריך להיזהר, שהמטרה תהיה תמיד לנגד עיניו, אחרת הוא ילך בקו הפוך. משום ששורש הגוף הוא בחינת מקבל לעצמו, לכן הוא מושך תמיד לשורשו, שהוא דווקא בעל מנת לקבל, שהוא הפוך מהתורה, שנקראת “עץ חיים”. לכן התורה נבחנת אצל הגוף, לבחינת סם המוות

Seven Steps

The following is from Kol HaTor, chapter 4:

ואלה הם עיקרי דרכי האתחלתא דגאולה המעשית באיתערותא דלתתא

קבוץ גליות, ב) בנין ירושלים, ג) ביעור רוח הטומאה מן הארץ ע"י נטיעת אדמת הקדש וקיום מצוות התלויות בה, סוד קץ המגולה, ד) גאולת האמת ע"י הקמת אנשי אמנה, ה) קדוש השם, ו) גלוי רזי התורה, ז) תקון עולם במלכות שדי

Translation:

Practically, these are the principal paths for action during the beginning of the Redemption when the awakening starts from below:

1) Gathering in the exiles;
2) Rebuilding Jerusalem;
3) Eradicating the impure spirit from the Land by planting the Holy Land and fulfilling the commandments that depend on living in Israel, which is connected with the revealed end;
4) Redeeming Truth by setting up people of Truth (Anshei Amana);
5) Sanctifying God;
6) Revealing the mysteries of the Torah;
7) Repairing the world in the Malchut of the Almighty.

Regarding steps 4 and 5, the GR"A foresaw that the merging of upper and lower Chochma would lead to great Kiddush HaShem. Recently, in the wake of certain attempts to unify scientific findings with Torah, two leading students of the heritage of the GR'A, Rav Elya Weintraub and Rav Moshe Sternbuch, have openly challenged established scientific findings. For the time being, Chillul HaShem takes the place of Kiddush HaShem. The pivotal fourth step, which corresponds to the fourth Tikkun of chapter 5, will be a daunting task.

מעשה וחשבון

The following is from Kol TaTor, chapter 4.

לכל זמן ועת לכל חפץ" עפ"י רבנו הזמן והעת באים לפי החפץ וזאת כונת לכל חפץ. בחז"ל אנו רואים ארבעה מדורים על אופני הגאולה: א) אם עושין תשובה נגאלין ואם לאו אין נגאלין. ב) ואם אינם עושים תשובה מעמיד עליהם מלך שגזירותיו קשות מהמן ועושין תשובה ונגאלין. ג) הגאולה תבוא באתחלתא ע"י שיבת ציון ואפילו בהתחלה של אחד מעיר ושנים ממשפחה כדעת ר' יהושע, וזה סיוד קץ המגולה. ד) שהגאולה תהיה בכל אופן בעתה וזהו "קץ המכוסה", אך יש לחשוב מראש כי כל הדעות הן דברי אלקים חיים, לכן אמר לנו רבנו צריכים לקדם ולבחור את האופן הנתון בידינו אופן ג'. ובמדה שנעשה ונקיים אופן זה לא יהא כבר צורך בהתראות חז"ל של גזירות וכו', זה יגרום גם לתשובה כללית, לא יהא צורך להעמיד מלך שגזירותיו קשות מהמן וקץ המגולה יקרב את קץ הגאולה

ובנוגע לדעה שכלו כל הקצים, הכונה על מועדים כאלה שלא נתקיימו בהם המעשים של היעודים בידי המיועדים כמבואר לעיל, ולמאן דאמר תיפח עצמותיהם של מחשבי קצין הכונה על מחשבי קצים גרידא בלי המעשים של איתערותא דלתתא שאינם מתחשבים עם האתחלתא הבאה ע"י משיח הראשון מב"י להכשרת הגדולה בפועל, ולכן כתוב בלשון עצמותיהם כי הם החוטאים נגד "עצמות יוסף" שבזה צפון סוד משיח בן יוסף בפסוק "ויקח משה את עצמות יוסף עמו"

שאנו מקדמים את פני הגאולה, לרצות את אבניה ולחונן את עפרה, הגאולה מתקרבת אלינו בסוד כי בא מועד וכמו שכתוב שובו אלי ואשובה אליכם. - ובמדה זו מתגלים לפנינו רמיזין קדישין על מועדי הפקידות וקץ המגולה בדור אחרון זה המגיע עד הקץ האחרון קץ הפלאות, ועד קץ הימין בשלמות הברכה בסוד "יד ימינו על ראש אפרים". קצת גלויים בענין זה בדרך צפנת פענח עד כמה שיש ברשותנו לגלות ברמיזין ידובר בפרק הבא בסעד"ש

Translation:

“Everything has its season, and there is a time for every desire” [Koh. 3:1]. According to the Gaon, the season and time accord with the desire, and that is what is meant by “every desire.” In the Talmud we note four sections regarding the mode of Redemption: a) If the people repent, they will be saved; otherwise, they will not be. b) If they do not repent, God will place a king over them whose decrees are harsher than those of Haman; so the Jews will repent and be saved. c) The redemption will come at first by the return of the captivity of Zion, even if there is only “one from a city or two from a family” [Jer. 3:14], according to Reb Yehoshua. This is what is meant by the Revealed End. d) The Redemption will come in any case at its designated time, which is referred to as “the concealed end.” However, beforehand one must consider that all of the views expressed are those of the Living God. Therefore the Gaon told us that we must progress and select the mode that is within our power, that is, the third mode. Should we accomplish this and fulfill this mode, then there will be no need for our Sages’ warnings regarding harsh decrees. Since the fulfillment will stimulate general repentance, there will be no need to set up a king whose decrees are harsher than Haman’s decrees. The revealed end will thus hasten the culmination of the Redemption.

Regarding the view that all ends have ended, this refers to the designated times during which designated deeds by designated emissaries were not carried out, as explained above. Regarding the statement that the bones of those who try to figure out the ends should swell, this refers to those who only compute the figures, without considering the deeds that are necessary when the awakening comes from below. They do not take into consideration the beginning that comes with the first Mashiach, Mashiach ben Yosef, in order to prepare the way for the great redemption by deeds. The term “bones” is used to indicate that such people sin against the “bones of Yosef” which contain the mystery of Mashiach ben Yosef as revealed in the verse: “Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him” [Ex. 13:19]. Should we hasten the Redemption, by cherishing her stones and favoring her dust, then the Redemption will come closer, as revealed in the verse: “when the time comes, ” and as is written: “return to me and I will return to you. -- To this extent the holy hints about the designated times and the revealed end will be disclosed to us in the final generation which will reach the final end, “the wondrous end” [Dan. 12:6], until the end of the days when the blessing will be completed as indicated by the verse: “his right hand on Efraim’s head” [Gen. 48:17]. Some of this matter is revealed through “explaining what is hidden.” In the following chapter, with the help of God, we will discuss this matter to the extent we are permitted to reveal the hints.

See also this post.

Seven Tikkunim

The following is from Kol HaTor, chapter 5, part one. For the background, check t-h-e-s-e p-o-s-t-s.

תקון ראשון: השתוות. השתוות היינו מדות שוות בשני צבאות, רגליהם רגל ישרה, תצ"ט ופלגא מימינא ו-תצ"ט ופלגא משמאלא וכו'. וכן מבחינה זו על דרך המעשה שבין אדם לחברו להקמת אנשי אמנה בקו המשוה

על דרך הפשט: השתוות, היינו שעל כל אחד להשתוות עם הכלל, לא להתנשא, לא להתגדל על אחרים לא בגשם ולא ברוח. וזו כונת הגמרא "אין בן דוד בא עד שיהיו כל המדות שוות" - "עד שיהיו כל השערים שקולים"

(סנהדרין צ"ח)

This is the convergence of left and right, of Din and Chesed, at טצ"ץ. The Tikkun of the first Samech and the Tikkun of טצ"ץ are two aspects of the same - the equality of HaShem Tzevaot and Elokim Tzevaot. This was manifested in the six-day and Yom Kippur wars. On the side of Tum'ah, a similar equality was reached, as manifested by the oil boycot and the ubiquitous subsequent manipulations of Esav by Yishmael.

תקון שני: התעלות. התעלות ברוח ובמדות טובות בכת וסוד "מטטרון שר הפנים", בעליה בהתעלות דזיהרא עילאה מעלה התקיעות אשר חושבן שמו עולה "טצ"ץ ביסוד" והוא שרו של מב"י

על דרך הפשט: התעלות, היינו על כל אחד להתעלות ולהתרומם להתרומם מדרגת הבהמות והחומריות השפלה. לעלות ולהתרומם ברוח במידות, ברגש וחינוך, כי האדם העומד במקום אחד, היינו שאינו שואף לעליה רוחנית ואינו מתרומם בהשגות עילאיות דומה הוא לבהמה, ועלול לכל מעשים רעים, כחית השדה ח"ו

This is also convergence of Din and Chesed, at the time when their Tikkunim co-occur, after טצ"ץ. The Tikkun was realized while the powers of Tum'ah had their victory in the "Hitnatkut."

תקון שלישי: התכללות. התכללות בסוד א-ל שד-י במלוי האותיות ובסוד הכולל ובסוד "ציון מכלל יופי"

על דרך הפשט: התכללות - היינו שכל אחד, כל פרט בישראל צריך להתכלל בתוך הכלל. אין בפרט אלא מה שבכלל, כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה. כל פרט הוא חלק מהכלל, אין נפרד פרטי בישראל מכל הבחינות הן בהרמת קרן הכלל והן בעזרת אחרים. וגם בתוכחה זה לזה, כי לא חרבה ירושלים אלא בשביל שלא הוכיחו זה את זה

This is the Tikkun of Yesod, an aspect of Chesed. This was realized together with the co-occurrence of Din and Chesed of the previous Tikkun, during the same historical events. On the other side, at 66 of the left, uniquely evil souls came to power and joined forces - Ahmadinejad of Iran and Mashaal of Hamas.

תקון רביעי: התטהרות. התטהרות בסוד שכ"ז דטהרה עילאית שכבת טל אורות, שורש ומקום הטהרה ובסוד ג' הדרגות, האיר ושין (?) וארשתיך לי וכו' ונחתה ו' אל ה' לחבר מעבר הנשמות

על דרך הפשט: התטהרות (או התקדשות) - התטהרות מנטיות תאוות טבעיות המשחיתות את הגוף והנפש. התטהרות מהרהורי טומאה וכדומה, לשאוף לרוח טהרה המביאה לרוח הקדש

This is the Tikkun of years ה and ו of Machzor HaGadol פ"ה, after the previous Tikkunim. This Tikkun is a step further towards the full union of left and right. Spiritual nourishment reaches the physical. At the personal level, this is a profound awakening. To the Yachid, it is attainable at all times, but its Ribui has an appointed time, until there will be a critical number of Anshei Amana. Then is the time to establish Sanhedrin, ahead of 66 of the right.

תקון חמשי: התחדשות. התחדשות בסוד החדש הזה לכם, חדושי תורה בנגלה ובנסתר בסוד טצ"ץ ביסוד ובסוד "טית סימן יפה" שבג' עולמות פתח טוב בתורה סוד "אור חדש" על ציון, כי מציון תצא תורה - תתחיל תורת משיח צדקנו להגלות קימעא קימעא בעקבות משיחא

על דרך הפשט: התחדשות, היינו אחרי הדרגות הנ"ל צריך כל אחד לחדש חדושים בתורה ומעשים טובים, כי לכל אחד מישראל בעולם הזה יש שליחות מיוחדת, לגלות חדושים בתורה ולחדש וליצור פעולה טובה בעד הכלל בסוד "מעשה וחשבון"

This is the Tikkun of year מ of Machzor HaGadol פ"ה. For the Yachid, Hitchadshut is a direct consequence of the awakening. For the Tzibur, the growth takes time.

תקון ששי: התגברות. התגברות על כל כחות העמלקות בכח "שר צבאות" "בראש העם" ולהתנער מעמק העכור "כאשר ירים משה את ידו" וגבר ישראל ותמכו בו אהרן וחור בטוריא דתרי משיתין.

על דרך הפשט: התגברות היינו התגברות על רוח הטומאה הכללית, מי שכבר זכה לכל הדרגות הקודמות יש לו אז הכח להתגבר על כחות הטומאה לא רק במלחמת הגנה אלא גם במלחמת תנופה ל"הגנת ישראל" לבעור רוח הטומאה, שהיא הרוח הרעה של העמלקות, לבערה מקרב ישראל, התגברות גמורה על היצר הרע ועל כל המדות הרעות

This is the Tikkun of year ס of Machzor HaGadol פ"ה. Victory at זית זך.

תקון שביעי: התיחדות. התיחדות קוב"ה ושכינתיה בסוד ג' חלקי האותיות טצ"ץ ביסוד כי אחרי שיהיו שני העצים עץ יוסף ועץ יהודא לאחדים בידך תחילה, אז יהיו שניהם "לאחד בידי" היינו ביד ה'. דא גאולת האמת עד דרגת. משוש חתן על כלה, שלמות הגאולה

על דרך הפשט: התיחדות, התיחדות עם קודשא בריך הוא. אחרי העליה בכל ששת הדרגות הקודמות אפשר להשיג את הדרגא של יחוד קוב"ה ושכינתי' והחזרת השכינה לציון ושלמות הגאולה מהרה אמן

This represents all Tikkunim after year ס, which are solely on the side of Kedusha. Tum'ah can no longer be strenghtened.

The GR"A

ואין דרך אחרת להגיע לדרגה זו כי אם ע"י לימוד רב ונכון בשתי הקצוות מתהום ארעא עד רום רקיע ועפ"י הכתוב כי כל בשמים ובארץ, ללמוד היטב את סודות תורתינו הנובעים מחכמה של מעלה וללמוד היטב את מחקרי ארץ הנובעים מחכמת התורה הקשורים יחד כדברי הזוה"ק על שנת ת"ר לאלף השישי יתפתחון תרעי דחכמתא לעילא ומבועי דחכמתא לתתא וכו', כי אין לעלות על הסולם שראשו מגיע השמימה מבלי לעלות תחילה על דרגות הסולם המוצב ארצה

There is no other way to reach this level [the level described in Devarim 26:19] except through extended and thorough learning of two extremes, from the depth of the earth to the height of the heaven. This is the meaning of what is written: "as everything in the heavens and on earth" (Divrei HaYamim I 29:11), to learn very well the secrets of our Torah which flow from the upper Chochma and to learn very well the studies of the earth which flow from the Chochma of the Torah, the two of which are bound together according to the words of the holy Zohar about the year 600 of the sixth millenium: "the gates of wisdom from above will open, and the sources of wisdom from below," etc. Because it is impossible to climb the ladder whose top reaches heaven without first going up the steps of the ladder that is based on the earth. (Kol HaTor 5, part 2).

Shmita and Galut

Parshat Behar starts with the Mitzva of Shmita. If we do not keep Shmita, we must pay with Galut. According to the official chronology, the time from Bayit Rishon to Bayit Sheni was an Idan of 480 years. There were in the order of 480/7 would-be Shmita years in them, which were not kept, and thus the last 70 years of the Idan became years of Galut. Historically, the time from the destruction of Bayit Rishon was in year 3175, 10/3 times 70 years before the year 3409, when we start counting the years of Bayit Sheni. It must be that the 10/3 times 70 years were to compensate for 10/3 times 480 years of not keeping Shmita.

Rav Kook

כשחושבים על דעת אלוהים בלא השכלה ובלא תורה מתהוה ברעיון ציור אפל מלא תוהו ובוהו ואחר כך כשבאים להשתעבד לעבודת אלוהים על פי המושג הריקן הקדום האדם הולך ומאבד את זוהר עולמו על ידי מה שהוא מקשר את עצמו לדברי תוהו ובוהו נידף וכשהדבר הזה נמשך משך של איזה דורות מוכרחת הכפירה לצאת בצורה תרבותית לעקור את זכר אלוהים ואת כל המוסדים של עבודת אלוהים אבל מה היא עוקרת רק הבלים ודברי נואש שהם רק חוצצים בין האדם ובין אור אלהי אמת ועל משואות החורבות שהכפירה מחרבת בונה דעת אלהים הנשגבה את היכלה

(Free translation)

When one speculates about God without [secular] knowledge and without Torah, one develops in one’s mind a dark image, full of emptiness and confusion. When that person now turns to divine worship based on this previous empty concept, man slowly loses the splendor of his existence, because he becomes attached to empty and confused ideas. When this goes on for several generations, it is inevitable for Kefirah to show itself culturally with the goal of eradicating the memory of God and all the trappings of God worship. But ultimately, what is it eradicating? It is eradicating nonsensical and hopeless ideas that truly interfere between man and the light of the true God. It is upon these destroyed ruins trampled by Kefirah, that God’s supreme wisdom builds its temple! (Shemona Kevatzim volume 1, page 31).

I see this as a beautiful exposition of the secret of Sasson and Simcha.

Hat Tip to Piere Sogol

מדרש הקץ

Update

Prophetic Conspiracy

I received a question regarding the historical accuracy and the authorship of the Torah.

Tenach is the vehicle of communication between the prophets of the era before Bayit Sheni, and the Ba'alei Hasaga of later generations, and, via their commentaries, between Ba'alei Hasaga of the generations. In every generation there are Ba'alei Hasaga, but until the time of Moshiach they must be few in number. Conversely, as long as they are few in number, the days of Moshiach did not arrive.

The prophetic nature of Tenach regarding the future is obvious. Regarding the past, it is just as prophetic. There is some literal history in Tenach. There is almost no literal history in the Chumash. It does not mean that history cannot be derived from it. Even the future can be derived. All of history is encoded in the Torah. Do not miss the crucial word: It is encoded.

Until the time that Klal Yisrael will number many Ba'alei Hasaga, that is, until the time of Moshiach, it is hard to speak about this, because the masses are bound to misinterpret. This loss of access to the truth is the heart of the Galut. It is a test. As it were, HaShem wants to see if we can recover it. Also, the truth would enrage Edom and Yishmael.

While speaking may lead to trouble, in our time silence does the same. Every rational and knowledgeable person knows that the Torah is not accurate regarding ancient history. The truth is coming out. It must be that Moshiach is coming.

Eliyahu

In Devarim 32:7 we read:

שאל אביך ויגדך זקניך ויאמרו לך

This can be translated as: "Ask your father and he will appoint your elders and they will teach you." Rashi hints that the father refers to the prophets, and in particular to Eliyahu, who is called father in II Melachim 2:12:

ואלישע ראה והוא מצעק אבי אבי רכב ישראל

I suggest that this sheds light on Malachi 3:23-24:

הנה אנכי שלח לכם את אליה הנביא לפני בוא יום ה' הגדול והנורא: והשיב לב אבות על בנים ולב בנים על אבותם פן אבוא והכיתי את הארץ חרם

See, I will send you Eliya the prophet before the great and awesome day of HaShem. And he will return the heart of the fathers (the prophets like Eliyahu) to the sons (the new elders), and the heart of the sons to the fathers. So that I will not come and destroy the world.

The sons receive from the fathers. In other words: The olden days are renewed. The sons reach the level of the fathers. But this is not all. The fathers receive from the sons. In other words: What the fathers could not reach themselves, they achieve through the sons. This applies specifically to Eliyahu, and therefore it is he who must come.

"So that I will not come and destroy the world." A priori, the world was to come to its end in the year 5366. The Arizal merited preventing this through his understanding of the Torah that underlies the Zohar. It was revealed to him. He was Zocheh L'Gilui Eliyahu. This was the beginning of a long process. The Arizal was not given the time to organize and publish his knowledge. In fact, he was given only a very short time to teach to his students.

As a result, the work of the Arizal was transmitted to later generations in a very imperfect way. Why did it have to be this way? To establish that the key is not the Arizal, or any other sage. The key is Gilui Eliyahu, revelation. The key is Truth. The key is closeness to HaShem. The key is Yisrael. It is the task of every Jew to try and reach the spiritual level of truth and prophecy.

Eliyahu appoints elders. So that they will teach you. Also you.

Camel Domestication

In the standard rabbinical chronology, Avraham Avinu was born 500 years before Yetziat Mitzrayim. In my chronlogy this would be in 829 (1329 minus 500). Around this time, camels were domesticated. The Torah mentions camels when describing Avraham's wealth (Bereishit 12:16). Perhaps Avraham was at the cutting edge of camel domestication. It could explain his position of power.

[Thanks to Elisheva]

Mesirut Nefesh

On the eigth and last day of Miluim, the dedication of the Mishkan, at the height of Simcha and Kedusha, suddenly two sons of Aharon are killed, and Aharon stands silent.

Why is Aharon silent? How can HaShem do this to him, Davka on this day of perfection?

The name Miluim hints at the answer. Something had to be filled, completed, during the days of Miluim. That something is related to what happened at a previous "Simcha," the one around the Golden Calf. Chur dared to confront the idol worshippers and was murdered by them. Subsequently, Aharon cooperated.

In the face of Chilul HaShem, a Jew must be prepared to fully trust HaShem, and sacrifice himself, if need be. Certainly the Kohen Gadol must act this way. Aharon failed, and this was his sin.

The days of Miluim come to repair. Therefore, at the completion of the days of Miluim, something had to happen that could make up for the sin. Aharon has to accept the death of his sons, who died in a sense in his stead. He understands, and stands silent. His acceptance is the repair.

[After Rabbi Meir Kahane, Or HaRayon, Chapter 17 (Mesirut Nefesh)]

On Possible Pasts

In the language of physics, current reality is a superposition of its possible futures. The future is not a definite property of what is now. Less intuitive is the principle's time-reversal. Yet, also the reverse is true: The past is not a definite property of current reality. The current is a superposition of possible pasts. I suggest that the following is a case in point.

As mentioned before, the week before Mashiach in a sense extends to four years before its time. Its time is a function of the time of Yetziat Mitzrayim, year 1329. Now, the week before Moshiach would indeed start four years earlier if Yetziat Mitzrayim would have been in the year 1325.

Midrash HaKeitz (version 2)

Rabbi Yitzchak, who knew the Keitz, calculated in the years of Malchut. He said: The world was created ששת ימים, which is six times one thousand years, from year 1 to year 6001. Each day is Erev and Boker, and so the world is 12 times 500. But the very end of Malchut is a little later, as is written (Yirmyahu 31:16) יש תקוה לאחריתך. Therefore, the very end must be the year 6133, 511 (תקו"ה) times 12 from year 1.

Rabbi Yehuda, who heard from Eliyahu (Sanhedrin 97b) and knew Ma'aseh B'reishit, calculated in years of the Earth. He said: It is written (B'reishit 6:3) "his days shall be a hundred and twenty years." Read "his generations". The generations are ע"ב נ"ב, Keter Malchut. That is, 72 generations of 1000 years until the Mabul, and 52 generations of 120 years thereafter. Also, the generations are Tzaddik Malchut, צ' נ"ב, Ninety generations of 800 years until the Mabul, followed by 52 generations of 120 years until the end, in accordance with what is written (B'reishit 7:1): צדיק לפני בדור הזה. Until Yetziat Mitzrayim are ברי"ת generations of 120 years. The Brit of the Tzaddik, Noach. After Yetziat Mitzrayim, מ' דורות remain, forty generations of 120 years. Together: ברי"ת מ' דורות, or 78,240 years, until the year 6129. The Brit of the Mem.

Replied Rabbi Yitzchak: Add four years and get ברי"ת ד"ם.

Rebuts Rabbi Yehuda: Even so, ד"ם is Dalet Mem, not Mem Dalet. Add Dalet to the Rosh and not to the Keitz. Say ד' שנים and afterwards מ' דורות. Derive that Yetziat Mitzrayim was in the year 1325 and agree with Chachamim that Bayit Rishon stood 410 years!

רזא דאלף

One Idan of 480 years after Yetziat Mitzrayim in 1329, four years after the reign of David HaMelech, the time of the Mikdash arrived. However, the successful construction only started when three Idanim had passed from Yetziat Mitzrayim, in the fourth year of Shlomo HaMelech, in year 2769. From the end of the reign of David, year 1805, until the end of the reign of Shlomo, year 2805, is one thousand years. Hence, Shlomo is said to have taken 1000 נשים. Read: 1000 שנים. As is written: האלף לך שלמה.

There were 410 years from the beginning of Shlomo's reign until the destruction of the Mikdash in year 3175. Seventy years later, the time of the second Mikdash arrived. The attempt to build it failed at that time, but three times 70 years after the destruction of 3175, in year 3385, the rebuilding started once again, and culminated in the dedication of the second Mikdash in the year 3409.

There were 420 years from the dedication of the second Mikdash until its destruction in 3829. In the year 4480, 651 years after the second destruction, the El Aqsa mosque was completed, slightly north of Makom HaMikdash. Three times 651 years after the second destruction, the building of the third Mikdash is due to commence at the proper location.

Kriyat Yam Suf

What forces the Nations to chase after Israel?

When Paraoh pursued Israel as it stood before Yam Suf, Israel was seriously divided about how to handle the situation. Some wanted to give up and return to Egypt. Some wanted to fight the Egyptian army. Some prayed fervently. Some wanted to jump into the sea. In the end, the truth became apparent to all, and Israel stood united. It would not have happened without Paraoh. It would not have happened without Moshe.

The same is true today. The nations of the world are unknowingly pushing for the redemption of the truth, and sense that this must come from Israel and the Torah of Israel. In the mean time, Israel is very divided about Torah in general, and regarding the correct approach to the redemptive process in particular.

Getting Israel to agree on the truth is literally as hard as Kriyat Yam Suf. It cannot happen without an event similar to Kriyat Yam Suf. It cannot happen without Moshiach.

It Can Happen Again

In Beitar, many were killed, but not 80000 myriads. The number is understood in the context of another exaggerated report of deaths, in Egypt. The Mechilta brings on the phrase "Chamushim Alu Bnay Yisrael?" (Shemot 13:18):

ד"א וחמושים עלו אחד מחמשה וי"א אחד מחמשים וי"א אחד מחמש מאות ר' נהוראי אומר העבודה לא אחד מחמש מאות עלו שנא' [ואמר לך בדמיך חיי ואמר לך בדמיך חיי] רבבה כצמח השדה נתתיך (יחזקאל טז ז) וכתיב ובני ישראל פרו וישרצו וירבו ויעצמו (שמות א ז) שהיתה האשה יולדת ששה בכרס אחד ואתה אומר אחד מחמש מאות עלו העבודה לא אחד מחמש מאות עלו אלא שמתו הרבה מישראל במצרים ואימתי מתו בשלשת ימי אפלה

"Another opinion: Chamushim Alu - one in five (went up from Egypt). Some say: one in fifty. Some say: one in five hundred. Rabbi Nehorai says: By the Temple service! Not even one in five hundred went up, as it is written: '[in your blood, live!, in your blood, live!] רבבה כצמ"ח השד"ה נתתי"ך (Ezechiel 16:6,7).' And it says: 'The children of Israel were fruitful and swarmed (Shemot 1:7).' And it was such that a woman would give birth to six children in one time. And you say that one in five hundred went up? By the Temple service! Not even one in five hundred went up, but many from Israel died in Egypt. When did they die? In the three days of darkness."

Rashi cites from this the first and the last part: one in five went up, and the others died in the days of darkness. It is an accepted tradition: HaShem killed eighty percent of the His nation during the days of darkness. The eighty percent is a scary number, because we know that the last redemption will be like the first.

What about the other opinions stated in the Mechilta? Is it conceivable that 98% were killed? And what about the opinion that the Mechilta stresses most? Is it possible that more than 99.8% were killed? Here, the Mechilta very likely speaks in code, and that is why Rashi and other commentators of Torah ignore it. It did not happen. Rather, the Mechilta conveys what should not be understood by all, as it speaks about the last exile and redemption in the language of the first exile and redemption. The days of darkness stand for the Galut, in which the only light is the light of Torah in Jewish houses. What were our Sages saying about the Galut?

I understand it as follows. It may be that one in five will go up: the Galut may be as short as five human generations - so that it would end around the time this Mechilta was likely written. However, the Galut could also take fifty human generations - so that it would end close to the year 6000. If a deserving generation will arise out of the Galut, all of its millions will go up. However, if - after fifty generations - a non-deserving nation will be redeemed, it is possible that no more than ten percent of them will go up, or even fewer. Our Sages used the code of the Mechilta to emphasize the likelihood of the latter scenario.

Now, if 80000 myriads died without seeing the Geula, the one-in-fifty deserving generation would number 16 million Jews, 800 million divided by 50. We must conclude that we are not a deserving generation. This must be one lesson of the Holocaust, after which far less than 16 million Jews remain. There is another lesson. If one in fifty is 16 million, one in five hundred is 1.6 million. The Jewish population of Eretz Yisrael counts already many more than 1.6 million souls. Ezekiel 16:6 auspiciously repeats the phrase "in your blood, live!" About 7.6 million Jews still live outside of the Land of Israel. It can happen again.

The Voice of Caesar Hadrian

After his seemingly gentle start, Hadrian turned against Jews in a furious fashion:

Talmud Bavli Gittin 57b:

הקול קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו, הקול - זה אדריינוס קיסר, שהרג באלכסנדריא של מצרים ששים רבוא על ששים רבוא כפלים כיוצאי מצרים

The voice is the voice of Yaakov, and the hands are the hands of Esav (Bereshit 27:22) - The voice, that is Caesar Hadrian, who killed in Alexandria of Egypt sixty myriads upon sixty periods, twice the number that left Egypt.

Talmud Yerushalmi Ta'anit 4:8 (in many prints 4:5):

אמר רבי יוחנן קול אדריינוס קיסר הורג בביתר שמונים אלף ריבוא

Rabbi Yochanan said: the voice of Caesar Hadrian killed in Beitar 80000 myriads.

The message is clear: Hadrian was ruthless. His voice is the voice of Esav the murderer. Remember and beware:

Zohar, Beshalach, 58b:

זמין קודשא בריך הוא לאחייא לכל אינון מלכין דעקו לישראל ולירושלם, לאנדריאנוס ללופינוס ונבוכדנצר ולסנחריב

In the future, HaKadosh Baruch Hu will resurrect all those kings who afflicted Israel and Jerusalem, Andrianus (Hadrian), Lupinus, Nevuchadnezar, and Sancheriv.

However, Hadrian did not literally kill 80000 myriads, 800 million Jews. At Beitar, he forced the long Edomic exile upon Israel. Every Jew who would die in this exile without seeing the Geula is in a sense his victim. The number given by Rabbi Yochanan, 80000 myriads, has a profound meaning for our times, which I hope to explain in the next post.

Caesar Obama

Hadrian, teaser of Israel, enticed the Jews to compromise in Yerushalayim, and Obama follows his ways.

Obama calculates wrong. He cannot repeat Hadrian's trick. The power of the US (or UN) cannot be preserved by destroying Israel. Edom is finally loosing the dominion. Israel can and must say no.

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