Given: July 13, 2022 for Yiboneh, Jerusalem
Introduction: The Overall Strategy of G-D
Everybody's walking around, basically, in a daze. That's the first problem. What is going on, really? The second problem is the deterioration of the world. The world has deteriorated significantly. In fact, it's hard to believe the descent of the world into incredible irrationality and immorality. In general, social values are beyond incomprehensible. People wonder what all this means because we've never seen anything like this. If you go back to (ancient) Rome, there was tremendous deterioration at that time. What's happening now? It's unintelligible to most people.
Before I begin, I want to dedicate this shiur to Rini Malko bas Reuven Yosef, that this shiur should be for an aliyas neshama—elevation for her soul.
What I want to do tonight is clarify everything, which is really a tremendous challenge because things are so off-the-wall that it's challenging to clarify anything. My goal is that, when you leave here, you will understand the overall strategy of G-D. What exactly is G-D doing? Make no mistake; behind all of this is G-D. It’s not that He chooses or wants the world to deteriorate this way—no—but He allows it to happen because he has bestowed upon mankind free will, and there are other reasons too. By the way, I can't use the word "mankind" because it is forbidden now in America. It's beyond belief! But I’ll use it anyway because I don’t really care what America thinks.
Participant: And you’re not in America.
R’Kessin: Right, but no, no, no. Israel is getting there shortly.
The “War-Room Perspective”: The Divine Agenda
The information that I want to give you will answer the question: what does this all mean? I use this example; it's a very good example.
Imagine there's a three-star general and his nephew, a reporter for a well-known news outlet, and they’re talking over lunch and the nephew says, "I know what you guys are doing," regarding the Vietnam War. The nephew proceeds to give his uncle his own interpretation of what he thinks was the overall military’s strategy. “I understand the strategy of war,” he continues. “You guys think it's all hidden—no, not at all!"
His uncle, the general, responds, "I want to tell you something. Your problem is that you get all your information from The New York Times. You have no idea what’s really is going on. I'll do you a favor. Since I'm a three-star general, I'll take you to the Pentagon."
They go to Virginia, to the Pentagon. They take the elevator down to a labyrinth of rooms buried below the Pentagon which is the largest office building in the world, by the way. They take it down, say, seven flights. The nephew is led into a humongous room called “the war-room.” There's a huge table with a map of the particular theatre of war, Vietnam, Southeast Asia. The general directs him to come closer to view the intricate placement of push-pins, each one indicating a battle. The nephew exclaims, "Aha! Now I see what's happening! What I thought was a decisive battle was really a diversion! Now I see."
In other words, if you want to understand what’s going on, you need what's called the “war-room perspective.” Forget about The New York Times or The Washington Post or the Jerusalem Post here, or Hamodia. Forget about all that!
What is the “war-room’s perspective”?—the Divine Plan. If you want to know what's going on, you have to be familiar with the Divine Plan of Creation. What is the objective of this entire “program” of Creation? Once you know it, you can try to discern events in terms of: well, does this match the program? Lo and behold, it does. That's what I want to tell you and that's what I do. I don't read the New York Times or the Jerusalem Post unless, maybe, to get a good laugh, but that's about it. This is the way you have to look at it. Therefore, what I want to do tonight is give you the war-room perspective of what's really happening.
A Gemara on the End of Days
Whenever you talk about Judaism, or hashkafa—Judaic world-view, which is what I'm talking about, you have to look into the Gemara because the Gemara, the oral law, is the source of everything. Let me tell you of a specific gemara that you're going to find very interesting. In fact, not only is it very interesting, it contains the secret of what is going on although you’d never know that from the excerpt itself. You must be astute and perceptive.
This gemara is in “Sanhedrin” and it’s talking about acharis ha’yamim—End of Days. Here's what it says: Mashiach ben David will only come in a generation that is wholly righteous or wholly guilty of sinning. That's what that gemara says. Obviously, it doesn't mean that everybody's sinning but that the overwhelming majority of Jews are sinning. We can characterize that generation, basically, as a “sinning generation.” That's one way to bring the mashiach. The second way to bring him is if everybody is righteous.
That is a strange gemara. We can understand if everybody's righteous so you bring the Mashiach ben David. Why? It indicates that the tikkun process, the rectification process, has been accomplished. What is the rectification process?—to bring G-D back into the world; that's what we want to do.
We can understand if the Jews have been successful, have done the mitzvos, learned the Torah and they're righteous. We can understand that; that's how you do the tikkun. But you’re going to tell me that the messiah, the mashiach, comes if everybody's sinning? It's incredible! What can that possibly mean? Good question. If everybody's sinning, if mankind, or “Jewish-kind,” has reached that level where the overwhelming majority is sinning, that's called the “mem-tes sha’arei tumah”—the 49th level of defilement. That's a bad place to be, as we will see. That's what that gemara means.
Why does the mashiach come if everybody is at the mem-tes sha’arei tumah? When the world descends to the 49th level of defilement, G-D wants to press the “restart button.” At the 49th level of tumah, of defilement, of pollution, of sin, the world cannot be sustained. That level of deterioration cannot occur and a civilized world be sustained. So, G-D presses the restart button. The amazing thing is that Mashiach ben David is the restart button. The messiah is the restart button. That's incredible, and I'm going to demonstrate how that is so.
We now have a very basic understanding. Are the Jewish people at the 49th level? There was a study done out of London recently that estimated there are 15.1 million Jews in the world. How many “haredim” are there? I don’t refer to the political party but to Torah-observant Jews. I don't know how they came up with this, but they estimated there are 2.1 million Torah-observant Jews and they're probably right; that's all there are—I mean those who are really observant. I'm not talking about being traditional where you observe two mitzvos and the rest forget about! That's not called “Torah-observant,” right?
Only 2.1 million Torah observant Jews? That's astounding! If there are 15.1 million Jews and 2.1 million are religious or Torah-observant, 13 million Jews are gone! Gone! You realize what that is? It's untenable! It's really the end of the Jewish people. If not for G-D, who's going to interfere with this? Jews are on their way “out,” without going into all the reasons: the assimilation, the intermarriage, the un-affiliation, the distractions, the smartphones, the internet and so on... They're gone! It's incredible.
Historical Perspective
The Flood: Part 1
Let's take a look, historically. When was the last time that the world was at the 49th level of tumah? It was the mabul—Flood! What was the problem? There was an incredible amount of theft. If there's a tremendous amount of theft, society cannot exist so G-D says: I’ve got to wipe them out.
Why? It's not “sin” that did it but the type of sin, one that doesn’t allow society to exist; it can't. A guy can walk into your house and take your property, take whatever he wants. By the way, it's happening in America, which I will talk about. Society can't exist and G-D wants society to exist, to do whatever it has to do, exercising free will and so on. G-D decided: I'm going to wipe out the planet. It's very hard to absorb that decree because He meant He is going to kill the planet. Have we any idea how extreme that is? But, remember what I said; that's the restart button. G-D “decided” to press the restart button and He did. He flooded the planet—Noach, his wife, his kids and their wives; they were all that was left! How many people is that? Maybe there were forty or fifty people. Everybody else died.
That was the decree and we understand why. But what sealed the gzerah—decree? Many times, G-D will issue a decree but it can be changed. When He seals it, it's over! It’s like Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana’s judgement being the “signature.” The “seal,” however, is Hoshana Rabbah, and that's it.
What sealed it? It's a very important question. The “Midrash Rabba,” the great “Midrash Rabba,” on parashas—Torah portion of “Noach” says: “lo nechtum gzar din”—the decree was not sealed only until—now sit tight because it's rather shocking—"a man would marry a man or an animal” and they were required to write a ketubah, a marriage document! What does that mean? It's one thing to do the sin—homosexuality, bestiality—but when you have to write a marriage document, that's legalizing it. It's now legal and it can be defended in court! "My husband"—and the guy saying this is the male wife—"didn't give me what he said he would according to what's written in our ketubah." The court will force the guy-husband to do it. That's legalization! That's what sealed the decree. It was the legalization of immorality. With that type of immorality, the world cannot exist. Without reproduction, it's over. That sealed the decree.
We now understand the mabul. We understand what sealed the decree and we understand why they died. It was the mem-tes sha’arei tumah, and we also recognize the restart button.
Egypt: Part 2
When's the next time we encountered the 49th level of evil?—Egypt. Chazal tell us that, in Egypt, the Jews reached the 49th level of tumah. There obviously wasn't immorality like the generation of the Flood but there was avodah zarah—idolatry. There was such rampant avodah zarah that G-D was almost of secondary importance. G-D could say: this cannot be permitted to continue because, if everybody is worshiping idols, where do I fit in? It's over with! They’ve reached the mem-tes shaarei tumah due to that sin. I’ll press the restart button.
What's the restart button in Egypt? G-D is not going to destroy the planet because He swore He would not bring a flood so what did He do? The restart button was Moshe Rabbeinu! Moshe Rabbeinu is the messiah, isn't he? He is Mashiach ben Yosef even though he's a Levi. He can be Mashiach ben Yosef—without getting into that.
G-D presses the restart button and, suddenly, there he is, Moshe Rabbeinu the messiah! The mashiach arrives. It's incredible, when you think about that. G-d decided that He does not want the Jews to fall through the 50th gate of tumah, because, if they fall into that, they cannot be redeemed; it's over with! Therefore, G-D reasons: I must end the program and I'm going to send Moshe Rabbeinu and He did. Moshe comes to Egypt, faces Pharoah and says, "Let them go! G-D commands you to let them go."
There you are!—49 levels, restart button, same thing. The exception is that it wasn't utter destruction of the entire world; it was the messiah. That's what “ein ben David bo” means in a generation that is kulum chayovim—all are sinning. The Jews in Egypt were klulum chayovim at the 49th level of defilement and, therefore, mashiach comes.
What happened? Moshe Rabbeinu tells Pharoah, "Let them go!" and not only does Pharoah defy the mashiach but, by defying mashiach, he also defies G-D. Mashiach is G-D’s ambassador, his agent.
Pharoah defiantly tells Moshe: well, the Jews are lazy. What they now must do is gather straw to make their bricks. Not only must they meet their quota of the bricks in the daytime, they now have to gather the straw which is, I think, what holds the mud together. Keep in mind that there are no flashlights in Egypt. Could you imagine that at—let’s say—3a.m., the Jews are scouring Egypt looking for straw to make the same tally of bricks during the day? Do you have any idea what kind of suffering that is? And all the Jews had to do this—men, women, and children.
Why did that happen? Besides the “why” is that the mashiach prompted it. If it weren’t for Moshe Rabbeinu, Pharoah would never have issued that edict. The answer is a very important idea because, when the mashiach comes due to mankind having reached the level of mem-tes sha’arei tumah, what happens?
Middas Ha’Din, Satisfying Justice
The great enemy of the Jewish people arises—the Satan. The Satan stands up and declares to G-D in the heavenly tribunal in a prosecutorial action: Ribono Shel Olam—Master of the Universe, You appointed me—and that's true—to be the guardian of justice. Middas ha'din, that’s my job. The Ribono Shel Olam is not going to destroy the Satan; he's doing his job. The Satan continues: You want to make sure they don't fall into the 50th, but You can't bring the mashiach! You know what a glorious day that will be! It's the greatest day of mankind! The benefit is glorious! You want to bring the mashiach to them at the 49th level of tumah? Come on! This makes no sense! This is a violation of justice and You are the G-D of justice! That's what the Satan says. What a powerful prosecution!
Since G-D has to abide by justice—that's His decree, right?—G-D admits to the beis din that the Satan is right and, therefore, He will satisfy justice so the Satan won't taana, have a basis for his complaint.
How is justice satisfied? There are not many ways to do that but one of the most important ways to satisfy justice is with suffering. Yes, yessurin—suffering, but terrible yessurin, because G-D has to bring all the Jews right up to the bar where they satisfy justice. Therefore, G-D did two things: the first is the decree of Pharaoh and that's why Pharaoh decreed the gathering of straw—not that Pharaoh was aware of what he was doing. G-D allowed him, or put it into Pharoah’s mind, that the Jews must suffer terribly for months in order remove the decree of the Satan, the taana, the Satan’s complaint. That's the concept of suffering as atonement for the Jewish people and mankind. So, that's what G-D did.
The second thing He did was to shatter the hope of the Jews. Imagine, the mashiach comes and the Jews are all celebrating, thinking: we're out of here! Then their situation becomes much worse! Could you imagine the despair and the hopelessness of the Jewish people? It must have been devastating. They would have taken mountains of Prozac to overcome the depression because how could they not? The mashiach himself was confronted and he was defied! He lost! Could you imagine the despair? That's a whole other discussion which I'm not going into. I just gave a shiur Monday night on the imperative of despair. The Jews had to have been broken and, as such, had to suffer terribly for months gathering straw. G-D had to subject them to this in order to raise their level in order to deserve the mashiach.
Once justice was satisfied, G-D told Moshe Rabbeinu,"Destroy Egypt!" which meant the ten plagues which wiped out Egypt supernaturally. G-D could have sent COVID—no problem, right? What's the big deal? A pandemic would have wiped out the whole of Egypt. G-D’s done that many times. Consider the Black Plague in 1350 that wiped out one third of Europe, maybe half of Europe. But G-D didn't send a Black Death. G-D had many ideas “in mind” but He wanted to demonstrate His awesome power and control of nature, which He did. Imagine transforming the water of the Nile into blood? This was real blood that even the Blue Cross would take. I don't know what type it was, but it was real blood. Astounding!
Now we understand what G-D does when he presses the restart button—of what?—of the End. He brings the mashiach to restart the world. That's a very important foundational idea.
We now have enough yediah—understanding of this concept of restarting the world to analyze what’s going on now, both in America and Israel.
The Current Restart
June 26th 2015 was a terrible day. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a vote of five to four, issued a decree which never happened before. They issued a psak din—ruling that, according to the 14th Amendment on equal justice for all citizens, you can’t discriminate against same-sex marriage. Whether the marriage partner is a man or a woman is irrelevant. That is the legalization of LGBTQ by the Supreme Court. They made it constitutional. It's not just a law written into a law book; it's part of the fabric of the Constitution. There is no greater law in America than the Constitution of the United States. This means you cannot discriminate against some guy wanting to marry a guy. You can't discriminate because, on the contrary, it's legal. Among the ways to overturn something constitutional—and there are various ways—a majority of the state legislatures must pass an amendment overturning it. They're not going to do this.
So basically, it's permanent. The Supreme Court passed it with a five-to-four vote and the one who was the fifth deciding judge is Anthony Kennedy. He has no idea what he's going to face when he dies and comes before G-D in judgment. Why?
America is a beacon to the world; that's why. This is not just for 330 million people. America is a beacon to the entire world and the world will follow this trend, this legalization that defies G-D. The world tries to imitate America. As such, America has corrupted the planet and is destroying it. In fact, America has become the generation of the Flood. Isn't this why G-D sealed the fate of the mabul? They legalized depravity, remember? They had to write a ketubah?—same idea.
So, G-D decided He's going to destroy America. It's an interesting concept.
What does “destroy America” mean? It means that G-D, once again, presses the restart button. What's the restart button for America? What I'm going to tell you now you’re unlikely to be familiar with. G-D initiated the messianic process on June 16th 2015; I actually have the date. The answer is: Donald Trump.
Donald Trump, who became the president of the United States, came down the escalator and he announced his candidacy on that date. You're going to look at me and say, "What? Donald Trump? He's a goy! Give me a break! It's impossible!" No! You have to understand who he is and the concept of “Esav.” Let me explain.
The Concept of Esav
How many avos—patriarchs are there? We generally think there are three avos: Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov. If that's the case, why are there four imahos—matriarchs: Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah? Ever wonder about that? Was Ya’akov simply lucky that he got two wives?—no, because there are really four avos, not three. Who's the fourth? There's Avraham, there's Yitzchak, there's Ya’akov and there is... Esav! Yes, Esav is the fourth av. There’s a lengthy shiur on that which I'm not going into here but I will tell you the main points.
Esav has the koach—strength of an av. He has the neshama—soul like that of Ya’akov Avinu. It's hard to believe, but that’s what he is. All I'm telling you is supported by chazal—sages.
In fact, there's a “Paneach Raza” written in the generation of the rishonim (early scholars, 1000-1500 CE) who wrote a sefer—book on the chumash—5 books of Moses which points out that the gematria—numerological value of “Esav” is twice that of “Ya’akov,”—spelled to include the letter “vav.” Therefore, had Esav done his job, he would have been twice as great as Ya’akov Avinu. What are the ramifications of that?
What was Esav’s job? Ya’akov's job was to bring down holiness and that's was he was, a yoshev ohalim—dweller in tents. He would “dwell in the tent” and bring down holiness through Torah and mitzvos. The job of Esav was that of an ish sadeh—man of the field, to go into the “field” of the world and subdue evil and remain righteous no matter what. Esav’s job was to subdue the Satan. That was Esav's job and that's why he's called an “ish sadeh.”
This is why Esav and Ya’akov were twins; they were equals. For those who are a bit kabbalistically-minded, Avraham represents chesed—kindness, Yitzhak represents gevurah—stringency, discipline, and Yaakov represents tiferes, which is “in the middle.” Tiferes is balance, the beauty of these two traits in balance. But tiferes has a right side and a left side, being in the middle. The right side of tiferes is Ya’akov and the left side of tiferes is Esav. He really was an av! He could have been great. In fact, the midrash says that, had Esav done his job, Yaakov would have had six tribes and Esav would have had six tribes. Do you believe this? Yes, Esav would have six shvatim—tribes, because he's a “half.”
The story of Esav is really the story of an av that failed and became a rasha—evil-doer. It happened as it did because he had freedom to choose notwithstanding the fact that Avraham Avinu was his grandfather and Rivka, his mother. Could you believe what a mishpacha—family he had? Yet, he became evil, was a rotzeach—murderer, without going into the sins of Esav.
G-D decided: wait a minute! I need someone to take his place because somebody has to do the job of Esav. His job can't just be dismissed. That job was given to Ya’akov. He went piggyback. Ya’akov had his own job to bring down holiness and he also took on the job of Esav to go into the world to battle evil and that is why he left Be’er Sheva and went to the house of Lavan. It was exactly for that reason. It’s an amazing story when you think about this.
Ya’akov Avinu took this on—fine—but he couldn’t do the job totally; it's impossible. Fighting evil requires a different temperament than learning Torah. Ya’akov didn't have the characteristics to enable him to do Esav's job, certainly not permanently. So, G-D reasons that someone else has to be given Esav's job.
Who was that?—Yosef. Most people don't understand who Yosef was. Yosef was a chatzi av—half a patriarch and that's why he was able to have Menashe and Ephraim heading up two tribes. A shevet—tribe cannot give birth to another tribe. Such doesn't have that type of neshama—soul but Yosef had such a neshama because he was a chatzi av. That's all I'm going to say about Yosef Ha’Tzaddik. Therefore, guess what? If Yosef took over the job of Esav, to go into the evil and fight it, now you understand why Yosef went to Egypt. He ventured into the evil yet remained righteous. That's just the beginning of the understanding of the whole sefer Bereishit—Book of Genesis.
Esav hated Ya'akov. We know that. Ya’akov’s fault is commonly regarded as “stealing the blessings.” In fact, in “Vayishlach,” Esav is coming to meet Yaakov Avinu with 400 guys in order to kill him. In fact, the malachim—angel, real angels, tell this to Ya’akov. What does Ya'akov do? He prays and does several other things.
Esav meets Ya’akov and, instead of killing him, kisses him. The Torah says this. Not only does Esav kiss him, but said, “Yehi lecha asher lach”—let that which is yours remain yours. Rashi says that "let that which is yours remain yours" means: you can keep the blessings; I'm ok with that. That means Esav was doing teshuva! Esav was right at the doorstep of repenting!
Ya’akov should have realized that Esav was about to do teshuva. Can you imagine the repercussions had he realized that? What is derived from Esav?—Edom. From Edom came Rome that destroyed the Beis Hamikdash. Rome became Western Civilization. Western civilization became Christianity. Could you imagine how many Jews died as a result of Christianity? In any case, that's what Ya'akov should have realized but he didn't.
What should Ya’akov have done? He should have given Dinah to Esav as a wife. Instead, he hid Dinah in a chest, hid her from Esav. Why Dinah? Dinah was no ordinary woman. She was one of the first ones in kiruv—outreach. When it says that Dinah went outside to look at the “banot Cana’an”—daughters of Cana’an, it doesn't mean she went out to check out the local fashion styles. She went out to do kiruv. Dinah was a very strong, dynamic girl and, had she married Esav, she would have “finished him off” in terms of his roughneck ways. He would have done teshuva.
Ya’akov did not realize that and so, instead of giving Dinah to Esav, he sequestered her. G-D appeared to Ya’akov and told him that, because he didn’t give Dinah to Esav, she would be abducted by Shechem and taken forcibly. It was an onesh—punishment. G-D expected Ya’akov to realize that Esav was about to do teshuva. It can be assumed that Esav didn't because Ya’akov never gave him Dinah.
What was the result? Esav, of course, returned to his evil ways. He returned “to his path” to Seir. G-D told Esav that, because he wanted to do teshuva and Ya’akov missed the signs, G-D will have him do teshuva at the End of Time.
What is Esav's purpose?—to assist in the tikkun process. When Esav failed, was he still involved in the tikkun process? The answer is, yes! Yitzhak told him, in conjunction with his blessings, that "if the Jewish people sin, you'll persecute them,” you'll punish them. Why? Esav’s persecution, in the form of Edom, of Christianity, will provide the atonement for the Jewish people. That's Esav assisting the tikkun process albeit by means of inflicting suffering. He’s to provide the suffering whereby their sins are expiated, Yitzchak told him.
The original job of Esav was not to provide atonement for the Jews; that became his task only because became a rasha. His original job, as it says in the prophecy that Rivka got from the prophets of the House of Shem v’Ever, was to assist the Jews do the tikkun by being the “man of the field.” The prophecy was told as, “rav ya’avod tza'ir”—the elder will serve the younger. Esav was to have helped Ya’akov do the tikkun because that was his job although it was not supposed to have been achieved through administering suffering. He was to have helped by doing mitvzos and fighting evil in the world but that never happened because Esav became a rasha. But, in the End of Time, it will happen and that's the promise.
There are many allusions to what I'm telling you. One of them, which is interesting, alludes to animals—actually four of them—one of them being the chazir—ham, pork, the pig. It's got split hooves but doesn't chew its cud so it's not kosher. The Gemara states that, in the End of Time, pork will become permitted. Pork represents Esav. There are four animals; each one represents a particular nation. The chazir, which is pork, represents Esav/Edom. Why will pork become permitted?—because Esav does teshuva. That's only one of the allusions to what’s going on.
It's amazing because Esav wanted to do teshuva but he never had incentive enough. G-D assures: I will restore you to assist—not that you'll become an av, a patriarch, again—but you will assist Ya’akov to do the tikkun, assist his descendants and, therefore, you will get unbelievable reward. For Esav, this will happen only at the End of Time, right before the mashiach comes.
So, on June 16th 2015, Donald Trump comes down that escalator.
Who is Donald Trump?
Who is Donald Trump? Donald Trump is a reincarnation of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus who loved Rebbe. The Gemara tells stories of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. He wrote a book called "Meditations” and was a very bright guy. In fact, Rashi brings it down saying, "There will be two great nations: one is Yehuda Ha’Nasi and the other is Antoninus.” Rashi says this in the beginning of “Toldos.”
Antoninus was a Roman emperor. A president of the United States is a Roman emperor because America is Esav. The Torah says "Esav zu Edom”—Esav is Edom. The Gemara says "Edom zu Romi" –Edom is Rome. Who is Rome today?—Western Civilization. What is that?—Christianity.
There are three parts, aspects, of Esav. It's important to know because Esav had three characteristics. The arrogance of Esav is Soviet communism, Russia—without going into it. The deceit, the deception, the fraud of Esav is embodied in Europe; that's Christianity. Christianity says "turn the other cheek," but they don't tell you it's your cheek that they turn. And what is the good part of Esav, the taiva? It's America. America is the more benevolent aspect Esav. That's why G-D has been, and is, behind America. There’s much to talk about on this subject and which I’ve talked about in previous shiurim.
Trump was to be the president of the United States and he announces his candidacy ten days before the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage. G-D presses the restart button and that's Donald Trump—fascinating!
About a month after he announces his candidacy, I realized who he was. And I knew he would win. I gave shiurim about that. Everybody thought I was crazy because nobody could believe it. Trump was what’s called the “comic relief” among the people running for president. He ran against sixteen heads of state: senators, congressmen, hard-hitters. It should have been impossible for him to win.
Then he won and I knew he would win. How? America forgot one thing; the only vote that counts, is G-D’s! Everybody else is irrelevant. I knew that he would win because he's Esav doing teshuva. I said that Trump will provide monumental assistance to the Jewish people because that's Esav doing teshuva. Did he?—of course! He's the greatest president in the history of The United States in his assistance to Israel. The embassy gets moved to Jerusalem, Jerusalem becomes the recognized capital, Israel is recognized as a state, the Golan is recognized as Israel’s, then he does the Abraham Accords. It’s incredible what this guy did! It’s because Trump loves Jews. You don't realize that he loves Jews—without going into why.
I'll tell something: Trump went over to Ivanka and said, "I want to become Jewish."
Ivanka said, "You can't become Jewish!"
Trump asked, "Why not?"
She responded, "If you become Jewish, who will I sell my chametz to?" (laughter)
Yes, he loves Jews. Why?—because that's what he is. He's rav ya’avod tza'ir—the elder will assist the younger. G-D started him off ten days before the Supreme Court issued their ruling which put America on par with the Generation of the Flood. They had legalized sexual perversion and it's getting worse. You will see cases in which incest becomes permitted, I don't want to go into that but America has become morally decrepit. You can’t even say "he" or "she.” You can't use pronouns anymore. It's as if the patients have taken over the insane asylum.
Therefore, Trump is the restart button. Trump is not a messiah but he is a messianic figure enacting Esav’s teshuva in the form of a gilgul—reincarnation. Looking at Trump, you notice that his hair is red. His head is red. He wears red ties. He's got a ruddy complexion. He's like Esav!
Somebody once said to me, "Wait a minute! He's a baal taiva—lover of pleasure—which he is—and he’s a baal gaivah—haughty, so what's the teshuva?
I said, "You don't understand; he has those characteristics of Esav because that's really who Trump is, but he's an honest guy. He doesn't have the fraud of Esav; that's the difference and that's the teshuva of Esav. Anyway, there's a great deal I'm skipping, but that's fine.
G-D pressed the restart button and let Trump become president and Trump was incredible regarding Israel. He would have completed the Abraham Accords but he didn't. Why not?—the Satan. Do you remember what I said that when G-D presses the restart button and mashiach’s coming is imminent, the Satan objects and complains: wait a minute! They don't deserve the mashiach! This is ridiculous; You can't bring the messiah now!" Imagine we’re in the heavenly tribunal, after all this time, and the Satan is up there objecting, saying to G-D: You can't do this! Come on, there's no middas ha'din! Where's the justice in this? You’re bringing the glorious era of the messiah? That's what the Satan says.
Enter, Biden
Once again, G-D admits: you're right. I have to stop Trump. Just like He stopped Moshe Rabbeinu—same thing. The angels of the heavenly court could object with: how can you stop Trump? You can't stop Trump! The economy is fabulous! You can't beat this guy with all his edicts, the inflation at only 1.4 percent"—and now I hear that today it's 9.1 percent—and oil is two dollars a gallon! How do you stop this guy? The economy is good and everybody has a job; it's impossible!"
G-D’s reaction? Excuse Me; I'm G-D! Watch what I do! What does G-D do? He brings Covid. Why?
It’s interesting that Biden becomes a senator—if I remember correctly—in 1972, from Delaware. It's typical of Delaware. He was a senator for 36 years. Who doesn't dream about such a career? Not only that, Biden became a vice-president for eight years! Not only is he a vice-president for eight years, he is the president! He has accomplished what every politician dreams of. What’s particularly startling is that he achieved this despite being voted the dumbest guy in the Senate. Not only that, he was voted the dumbest guy in his Law class. He plagiarized. Everybody knew this guy is the dumbest guy around. I mean he was normal, but was there any kind of allusion to brilliance? Forget about that! The question is: how in the world did he survive to become the senator for 36 years, then survives to become the vice-president, and then the president. How? That's the question. You now know the answer; it’s because G-D made him survive. G-D “needs” a guy like Biden to destroy the United States.
G-D is an amazing Being; He's the Grand Chess Master. Did you ever wonder how many strategic moves a master player can formulate? In rare cases, these guys can gauge probabilities of the repercussions of moving one pawn up to fifteen moves ahead. G-D can see 100 million moves ahead. In fact, G-D did something 800 years ago that will have favorable repercussions 800 years later. G-D does that. So, He needs Biden. He kept him alive, kept him in prestige, kept him in politics, gave him success so he should stay in politics. Why does G-D “need” Biden? G-D needs a puppet. A guy like Biden is the sort of puppet needed now. Who’s puppet is he beside’s G-D’s?—the evil of Esav.
Because America is the ra she’b’Esav—evil of Esav just as much as it is the tov she’b’Esav—the good part of Esav, it’s a war. Who is the evil of Esav?—the Democratic Party. They’re also the “progressives,” the “liberals,” all types of evil-doers whether they be anti-Semites or those espousing anti-values such as “gender fluidity” declaring, “Forget about your biological gender; you decide what you are!" So, G-D uses a guy like Biden to be a puppet of the Democratic Party. For this, G-D kept Biden alive and in politics. He gave him success and this guy is the dumbest guy in the Senate.
Could you believe the power of G-D? Now is the perfect time. When the Satan objects to the commencement of the messianic era—You can't do this stuff! You can't bring the Messiah or begin the messianic process—G-D allays the Satan’s indignant outrage and he’s assuaged: Don't worry. I got this guy waiting in the wings, and that's Biden.
The angels say: Biden? He's the dumbest guy in the Senate! How will You get him elected president? They marvel: It's too incredible. He can't be president, a guy like this! Not only that, look at Trump’s record! It's impossible to beat him!
So, G-D brings Covid and Covid had many effects. First, it allowed Biden to campaign from his basement. Nobody realized how bad off he was, how cognitively challenged this man is because he is in his basement. The guy hardly went out. The guy campaigned for the presidency from his basement? It also allowed Biden to lie. You couldn’t catch him so how are you going to check up on him? He's in his basement! Covid also gave Biden the pretext to blame Trump for Covid deaths which is, of course, dishonest. Besides that, it destroyed the economy. The terrific economy was Trump’s signature achievement. With Covid, there’s no jobs. All the stores were closed. You know what it was like in Israel? It was worse in America. The fourth thing Covid did was provide a pretext to allow mail-in ballots with which they cheated. Everybody wanted mail-in ballots, being afraid to go to the polls.
There are others effects of COVID but, for our purposes, Covid allowed this man who is completely incompetent and—I hate to say this because he's the president—a moron, to become president. If he wanted to, and were capable, he could change the whole fabric of America overnight. It's easy to get rid of inflation but he doesn't care because, not only is he a moron, he's a rasha. I'm not even talking about the bribes he took from China, from Moscow, from Ukraine—which he openly bragged of. He openly spoke of being bribed by the most corrupt government in the world—astounding!
What also “did Trump in,” and which he should have prevented, is his character. Trump's competence is consummate but most dwelled on his character. He's a defiant person which makes him both eligible and perfectly-suited to be president. The establishment hates him because they're all afraid of him. They know that, when he gets up there, he's going to wipe them out. His mistake was in underestimating the power of the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton to destroy him. And they did destroy him! Everybody who follows the news knows that Hillary got him impeached twice having hired the guy with the dossier which she paid for—without going into the whole business. The entire government: the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and the current White House are as corrupt as you can get. As the evil of Esav trying to destroy the good part of Esav, America is at war with itself.
G-D puts in Biden and what's Biden doing? He's wreaking havoc to destroy The United States: inflation, the porous southern border letting in two million illegals, fentanyl coming through that border and being illegally manufactured resulting in 120,000 deaths on average per year. It's hard to believe that this is actually happening because you can't even make this stuff up. Biden, through one side of his mouth, says one thing but, through the other side, contradicts himself. What's he talking about? 120,000 die from drug overdosing because he lets these cartel guys cross the border but he talks paternally about tougher gun laws? So now he’s a tzaddik? He’s a murderer! That's what he is, because he has the power to change it. He's so concerned about the ten people killed in Buffalo—which is tragic, of course—but, on the other hand, he doesn't care that 120,000 Americans die from fentanyl? And what about the crime in the cities? In San Francisco, you can go into a store and steal up to one thousand dollars-worth without consequence. What does that sound like?—the mabul, right? It’s theft and they won't prosecute you. They won't even arrest you. That's why San Francisco is called “Toilet City.” The homelessness, the drug addicts on the streets… San Francisco used to be a beautiful city but now it’s one of the worst cities in the United States. Crime is all over the place. These are the Democrats.
There's no oil anymore because Biden put a hold on oil processing. Groceries cost a fortune—for what? It’s because there's no oil so the delivery trucks don’t have oil so they charge you double to deliver. It all goes back, ultimately, to Biden defying Trump whose conviction it is that oil can be cheaply made in the United States.
The main thing is that Biden is destroying the country as he is meant to. It's hard to believe that, in one year, this man has changed America so you can’t recognize it. For those Jews who live in Israel, thank G-D, although Israel too has a lot of problems which I will talk about.
This is how G-D is answering the Satan. What’s the good news? The good news is that this is the gzerah—decree just like that which happened with the straw. It’s the same thing, to justify justice. When justice will be satisfied, it’s over, and that is the true beginning of the messianic process. That's the good news.
Is it ending? Yes, it's ending because Biden is collapsing in the polls. He's now down to about 35%. A “red wave” is expected to slaughter the democrats in November because everybody realizes this is the end of America.
The fact that you can't say "he" or "she" is brilliant on the part of the evil of Esav, the ra she'b'Esav. In the time of the mabul, if a guy were a homosexual, he likes guys, right? It was legal and he admitted to being homosexual. But in America, you are no longer necessarily a homosexual even though you're a man married to a man. How so? You can say you're a woman! Think about that. In America you could say "I'm a woman!" so you are not a homosexual. Do you realize that they removed the stigma of being homosexual? It's brilliant! That's how bad America has become.
If you think that's bad, first they kill the kids with abortions, murder them. Then, a kid who manages to be born goes to kindergarten and is given "Johnny loves Jack” to read. It’s intimating the validity of homosexuality or what they call “gender fluidity.” Change your sex! What's the problem? Imagine telling that to kids! When they finish high school, they go to colleges filled with rabid leftist with an agenda to further these aberrations. It's incredible how they will hound you if you're conservative. Whatever happened to the educational system? That's why over a million parents have pulled their kids out of public school. This is indicative of the deterioration of America. The Democratic Party has a very evil agenda and their man, their puppet, is Biden. That's why he's president of the United States and for no other reason. G-D is satisfying justice.
The good news is that they'll, hopefully, be able to make Biden a lame-duck president and, as far as I'm concerned, Trump will run again in 2024. This time, however, Trump won’t make the same mistakes. He's going to come out, as they say in Texas, “with both guns blazing.” He realizes what they did to him. They trumped up the charges—so to speak—about what?—nothing. Anybody who listened to the charges fabricated against Trump must laugh out of incredulity. For the events of January 6th, they are desperate to put him in jail, to defame him in order to prevent him from winning in 2024. They realize he learned his lesson and they know he’s defiant. He'll come after them; he learned his lesson. He's going to wipe out all those people that would put him in jail. I'm talking about the Democratic Party, about Hillary—good ole Hillary—go after the upper echelons of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, the intelligence division. He's going to go after what's called the "Secret State," or the “Deep State.” They know that and are deathly afraid at the prospect of his return to the presidency. He's going to “get even.”
Therefore, America still has to suffer; it's not quite over. The worst part of it, hopefully, will be over in November. It's only about three or four months from now so that's the good news, that the decree seems to be ending.
Ukraine
This brings us up to date. What about Ukraine? It's astounding to watch. Ukraine is a very corrupt place. More than that, they hate Jews. It’s been reported that 65% of Ukraine is anti-Semitic. They were worse than the Nazis. In Babi Yar when they were killing 33,000 Jews in one day, who did it?—the Ukrainians. In fact, the Nazis told the Ukrainians in so many words, "We like what you're doing but you're disorganized. Let's help you organize." But it was the Ukrainians who killed them. It’s a very evil country; I don’t care what you say. They have been killing Jews ever since the massacres by Bogdan Chmielnizki which began in 1648. He was Ukrainian and was responsible for having killed over one third of European Jewry in pogroms. That's how many Jews died under this Ukrainian. By the way, there is a statue, as far as I know, of Bogdan Chmielnizki in Kiev.
What I find interesting is that the world considers Zelenski a hero. The man is a moron. He's an idiot and any other epithet you want to apply. Why? What did Putin do? Putin didn't threaten the sovereignty of Ukraine. He told Ukraine, "Don't join NATO. I don't want missiles" because that's what you get if you join NATO. Putin, rightfully, doesn’t want missiles in Ukraine right next to Russia pointed at his country.
Kennedy did the same thing, if you remember the “Cuban Missile Crisis.” Khrushchev sent missiles to Cuba so what did Kennedy do? He said that if Khrushchev put missiles in Cuba, he’d bomb those ships. That's called the “Kennedy Doctrine.” That's just what Putin expressed: I don't want missiles pointed at my country. He didn't threaten the Ukraine’s sovereignty. Zelenski should have said "okay."
Imagine you're in a room and there are two doors. One of them is being guarded by an 800-pound gorilla. You're not going to go fight with the gorilla unless you’re crazy. You check out the other door which is tantamount to saying: I'm not going to fight with Russia. Russia’s got 5000 ICBMs. Someone could have advised Zelenski: You can't fight them. They're, basically, invincible. They can wipe you off the map in one day and Putin never threatened your sovereignty so why are you warring with these guys?
It’s because Zelenski wants to be a hero, so what did he do?—he destroyed Ukraine. The president of Ukraine destroyed Ukraine. It's unbelievable, and for what? He should have said: Okay I won't join NATO. I'll wait till Putin is gone and then I'll do it. You don't fight with Putin because we know Putin is a very dictatorial person. So, it’s Zelenski who destroyed Ukraine.
It's called “payback.” The Ribono Shel Olam—Master of the Universe is destroying Ukraine and the amazing thing about it is what's called its “poetic justice.” Who's destroying Ukraine?—a Jew! And they're the ones who killed the Jews. It's amazing what the Ribono Shel Olam is doing. But in order to make sure that there won't be a backlash against the Jewish people because it’s a Jew who’s destroying Ukraine—hundreds of billions of dollars have been wiped out—G-D makes the world think that Zelenski is a hero. No anti-Semitism! On the contrary, everybody admires Zelenski and that's hashgacha—Divine intervention or else there’d have been a surge of anti-Semitic rage. Ironically, they’ll probably give Zelenski a Nobel Peace prize. Do you know what it is that ten million people have fled Ukraine? It's the greatest emigration in the history of mankind. The other 34 million Ukrainians live in a country that looks like Dresden after WW2.
So that's Ukraine; it's called “payback.” Also interesting is that the Ribono Shel Olam seems to want to remove Putin who is now persona non grata. It seems that he’s compromising Russia and the world wants nothing to do with this guy. But really you never know about the world because they're very easily bribed. In any case, this is the concept of Ukraine.
Israel
Now, at the same time you have the gzera—decree against America, against Edom, there’s the same gzera against Israel because the Satan says: who's the mashiach for?—the Jews. They don't deserve it. Not only are 13 million Jews “gone,” but most Jews in Israel, tragically, are irreligious even if they happen to be traditional. We don't know the weight of the sins of Israel, but look who rules Israel—Lapid. It's the Eirev Rav! These guys hate religion even if they say they don't. They don't want to be told what to do by Jews, by religious Jews. They don't want the Torah. There are 1.5 million kids in the public schools in Israel and there's hardly any authentic Jewish education. If you say “Shema Yisrael” most of them can’t finish that testimonial. Could you imagine that 1.5 million kids know nothing about Judaism, basically. The Hartman curriculum used in the public schools is devised and developed by their institute affiliated with the Reform movement.
The last government was the worst government, one at war with Judaism. They wanted to change Shabbos, conversions; they want Judaism dead. They want the Reform movement to have legitimacy in conversions, in education, in kashrus; it’s been a war. It's the worst government in Israeli history in terms of defying Jewish practices. What's so interesting is that, just like Biden is collapsing, this government collapsed, so it would seem, maybe, that the gzerah is over.
We don't know what's going to happen and I find it fascinating that the election in Israel, slated for November 1st, is almost identical to the election in America because it's the same gzerah, the same decree. Hopefully the decree is one to end the onslaught against Torah and begin the process heralding the messianic era.
The “Good Note”
I want to end on a good note. It says in a pasuk—verse in “Nitzavim,”—a very strange pasuk but it's going to happen because G-D says—“Even if you are outcasts at the ends of heaven…” indicating several things. We know there's a Jew who owns a grocery store in Tahiti. Jews are all over the planet. It's astounding how 15.1 million Jews are spread throughout the planet so "even if you're outcast at the ends of heaven" is a prediction. It’s what will happen at the End of Time. Jews will be at the “ends of heaven.” It continues: “misham”—from there, “yekabetz'cha”—I will gather you. From the farthest reaches, G-D will go into the galus—exile itself and gather the Jews. This means He will separate the Jews from the goyim. Then it says “u'misham”—and from there, “yikachecha”—I will take you. What does that mean? G-D will elevate the Jewish people in Torah. That's what it means to come close to G-D. He's somehow going to uproot the ignorance among the Jewish people. So far, we don't know how this is going to happen. Then G-D says, “v'heviacha”—and I’m going to bring you to Eretz Yisrael. This is G-D's prediction in the End of Days. He is going to come and get us, just like He did in Egypt. He went into Egypt with Moshe, slaughtered the Egyptians, said He would take them out, which He did. He's going to do the exact same thing in this galus.
This galus is going to end supernaturally. We have no idea how it will to happen. I would like to give you a reasonable scenario, how I think it can happen.
Jerusalem. There is a Jerusalem in heaven; we know that. It’s just like the Jerusalem here. There's a Beis HaMikdash in heaven just like there was a Beis HaMikdash here. What is the third Beis HaMikdash, really? We know that it says that G-D is going to build the third Beis HaMikdash. One day, we'll wake up and there it is, the third Beis HaMikdash, one unlike the previous two. Just like the Beis HaMikdash here had an awesome Divine Presence, the Beis HaMikdash l’mala—Temple in heaven has an even more awesome presence of G-D, of the shechina. The Beis HaMikdash here is the shechina’s residence, but the Divine Presence in heaven in infinitely greater.
So, here's what will happen; that Beis HaMikdash is going to descend. The Beis HaMikdash in heaven is going to descend to this place and become physicalized. That's the third Beis HaMikdash. It is the Beis HaMikdash in what's called “Olam Yetzirah” in heaven where all the angels reside. That's the Beis HaMikdash we're going to have here. If that's the case, it means the Divine Presence in the Beis HaMikdash l’mala is going to be the Divine Presence here. Could you conceive what that means? Could you imagine the intensity of the Divine Presence in the Beis HaMikdash l’mala down here?
I'll tell you what that is because Yeshayahu, Isaiah, says, "ki timale ha'aretz lada'at es kavod ha’Shem”—the world will be filled with the knowledge of G-D. How?—by the Divine Presence of the Beis HaMikdash in heaven descending. What you're looking at is the messianic Light and that shechina is beyond belief and that will be the third Beis HaMikdash. The upper one will become the lower one with the same spectacular amount of Divine Presence. Therefore, the earth—the Earth!—"will be filled with the knowledge of G-D as the waters cover the seabed.” It's the messianic Light!
Up until now, we’ve had absolutely no concept what that could be. There's a very interesting Gemara in masechta “Ma'aser Sheni,” and it happens to be “Yerushalmi” that proves that the Beis HaMikdash will be built before Mashiach ben David comes—before, not after! Everybody says that Mashiach ben David will build the Beis HaMikdash—no! The Gemara brings proof, actual proof, that the Beis HaMikdash below, whose source is from above, will be built before Mashiach ben David. This means it will be built during the time of Mashiach ben Yosef and I believe that's the way G-D will awaken consciousness in a way we cannot begin to understand, awaken every Jew on the planet “ki timale ha'aretz lada'at es kavod ha’Shem—as the world will be filled with the knowledge of G-D.
Your consciousness changes because the presence of G-D is there. That's what it means that G-D will enter and "from there I will redeem you; I will gather you." G-D goes to every place there are Jews, even in Iceland, wherever they are. Imagine the media outlets the next day, when the Beis HaMikdash is standing where the mosque was! Imagine what the New York Times will say! "Unbelievable!” they’ll write. “The Jews are the real deal, the chosen people!" Everybody's going to realize that. Everyone that’s an anti-Semite, that made Jews suffer, will hire a psychiatrist because they’ll realize: uh-oh! G-D's coming after us! They’ll know the truth of what they did, how they persecuted and pained Jews.
I believe this is the way it certainly could happen, like I say and as the Gemara says. That third Beis HaMikdash will be built before Mashiach ben David; it’s an astounding concept. That Temple will be in our midst in the era of Mashiach ben Yosef.
Biden will fall. The Congress will fall. It could become conservative, republican, or whatever. When the decree to satisfy justice ends, G-D will destroy the Democratic Party because they’ve gone all out to destroy and corrupt America as they have the world because America is the beacon. They are due for an unimaginable onesh—punishment. The tragedy is that some of the main people of the Democratic Party are Jews. Why?—because that's the Eirev Rav. Doyou think there's only Eirev Rav in Israel?—no! There's Schumer, Schiff, Nadler, Feinstein, to name a few. There are many Jews in America that are Eirev Rav. It's the same phenomenon except that they hang out with Esav, with Edom, not with Israel.
The Zohar’s Time-line
I will end with this “Zohar.” The world will last until the year 6000. That’s “Olam Ha’Ze”—this world. That dating is congruent with the Gregorian calendar year 2240 which is approximately 218 years from now. The Zohar goes on to say that t’chiyas ha’meisim— resurrection of the dead begins 210 years before the very End. Taking 2240 and subtracting 210, the difference is 2030. That's less than eight-and-a-half years from now!
T'chiyas ha’meisim begins when Mashiach ben David comes, so understand what has to happen before. Between now and when t’chiyas ha’meisim begins, I believe Trump will return, the Democratic Party has to be destroyed, Mashiach ben Yosef appears and begins to elevate the Jews. The Beis HaMikdash descends and then there's the war of Gog u'Magog which I won't get into. Then Mashiach ben David is anointed and t’chiyas ha’mesim commences, all in less than eight and a half years from today. Is it any wonder that there's such incredible acceleration?
Everyday there's something new coming out of Washington or Ukraine or China or Russia or Iran. Iran builds bombs, then the Israeli government collapses. Your head spins! G-D is accelerating the process; that's really what's happening and which is fortunate for us. This is the period of time in which we live.
Chazal refer to the period right before the messianic era as “chevlei leidah”—birth pangs, like a woman about to give birth. Such is the pain that people experience before the mashiach comes. Imagining the infant inside the womb, you realize that's its world. Everything there is great. I get fed on time. I don't have to make any demands. I’ve got a fine cook. It's soft in here. I swim around all day. It's phenomenal! Then, all of a sudden, the body turns this child around and his head is pointed down and— forgive my language—all hell breaks loose, right? It's dying! Its head is being squeezed and it thinks: I’m dying! Hey, what happened to the Hilton Hotel I was in before? The baby pops out into a world that he couldn’t imagine based on where he was before. That's why it’s called “chevlei leidah,” the birth pangs. It’s the same for mankind.
The difference between now and the messianic era is unfathomable. If you think you have an inkling, you are incredibly mistaken. I will tell you one chazal in the “Midrash Raba,” at the end of “Koheles.” It says, “The Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu,”—which is everything we know: Bavli, Yerushalmi, Midrash, Mekhilta, Teshuvas, everything—is hevel, luft, air, compared to the Torah of the maschiach! Air! That's how insubstantial it is. It's surface. The Torah of the mashiach is comparatively substantial. That's what "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-D” means.
When the mashiach comes, it’s not simply that there’s no more anti-Semitism and everybody's rich. That's nothing! Reality changes to reflect the presence of G-D. We cannot imagine what that is even if we try. That’s the messianic era. The midrash continues, "and the Torah of the mashiach is hevel—emptiness, air, compared to the Torah of the Future World." We cannot begin to conceptualize that.
Here is one concrete example. In 1890, science thought that it had everything figured out—for those familiar with the history of science. The only thing that's missing is details. Imagine what’s been attained between 1890 and now in 2022. It's a joke! You're talking about Quantum Physics, Relativity, CAT scans, MRI's, smartphones, computers, digital imaging, the James Webb Telescope….Mankind’s existence in 1890 was vastly different than what it is today.
What awaits us is boundless wisdom. We cannot even begin to imagine what the messianic Light will reveal. Unfortunately, it takes time while the Satan's complaint—they don't deserve this resounds in heaven. This is why there is so much suffering, just like in Egypt.
So let us hope that this year we will be rid of all these resha'im—evil-doers, these murderers—that's really what they are—killing a kid right up to the time of birth. There are some crazies that say you can kill a kid within the first 24 hours after birth; all you have to do is consult your doctor. You're talking about legalized murder. But even if not up until birth or after, you can murder your kid? Are you out of your mind? The “gender fluidity,” the sexual perversion—it’s as if the whole world has gone mad!
But you now know that G-D is allowing evil to have its full due; that's justice. G-D wants to demonstrate also that they will destroy themselves. When you let evil do what it wants to do, ultimately it destroys itself.
So, let's hope that this year we're going to see the mashiach and finally be redeemed into a world that is so sublime that we cannot even begin to imagine its grandeur.
["Amen" coming from the audience]
Thank you.
[Applause]
Any questions?
Q & A
Participant: How does Iran fit into this whole picture? They are such a terrible threat to Eretz Israel.
R’Kessin: The answer lies in a midrash from “Yalkut” that speaks of the days, or the week, that Mashiach ben David comes. It shouldn’t be understood to mean a literal “week,” but, instead, a shmita cycle, and we are in a shmita year. This Gemara says that mashiach will come at the end of shmita which is four months way. It says too that Iran, “Poras,” will wage a war against Arabia, this in a midrash written 2000 years ago! It goes on to say that Arabia will seek council with Edom—which is America—and then Iran will begin to destroy the world. Israel won't know what to do, will go back and forth crying: what do we do! when, suddenly, a bas kol—Divine voice will be heard saying, “higia zman geulaschem”—the time of your Redemption has arrived. G-D then steps in and wipes them out. In other words, this is the last war according to that midrash because Iran is “Poras.” They are the end. That is the last war.
If you had read that midrash 2000 years ago, you'd have said, "Huh? Iran?" You look at Iran today and might say, "Iran can't do anything," but Iran is becoming nuclear. That midrash predicts that Iran will have the capacity to destroy the world. That's why they become nuclear. So, there's going to be a terrible confrontation between Israel and Iran here, in Israel. Everybody anticipates that. With crazy Biden sponsoring it despite the façade of the pact he signed with Lapid to do otherwise, and despite the sanctions that are still being lifted, Biden is desperate to gain some type of recognition. That's what it's really about, cozying up to Iran and allowing them to do their thing even though he knows these guys are sworn to destroy the Middle East. Iran are Shi’ites, and they want to take over Islam so how in the world can he do this? He is doing it because that's who he is.
I find it interesting that when Zelenski decided to join NATO, it was Biden who advised him to do it. Zelenski said, "Can you help me get into NATO?”
Biden said, "of course!" Is he crazy? You want to defy Putin and start a war with this guy?—yes, because that's who Biden is.
Putin, of course, said, "Is that really what you want to do?" hinting that he’ll wipe them out and that's what he's doing, wiping out Ukraine.
That's the story of Iran. Iran is the end, the last war.
Participant: Rabbi, did you hear that Iran’s war is in Syria, that Hashem is doing a chesed—act of compassion and so it's happening in Syria?
R’Kessin: I don't know if that's true; it may be true. I'm not in any way saying “no,” but in the midrash it does not say "Suria" and Suria was known at that time. Gemara brings down “Suria.”
Participant: It could be a proxy. It's a war with Iran outside the land of Israel as a chesed.
R’Kessin: Yes, but you have to remember one thing; the value that Iran has with proxies is that they can hide what they're doing. Don’t blame me! Go to Hezbollah, right? Meanwhile, Hezbollah is a proxy and it allows Iran to conceal themselves. If you think about it, G-D wants Iran, in a certain sense, to have the bomb so you know what G-D did? He fooled Bush. Bush thought the enemy was Iraq, Saddam Hussein. Bush never warred with Iran. Instead, he warred with Iraq. But even that was a diversion because if America wars with Iraq, Iran is left alone to make the bomb. Iraq was a diversion and, in the end, Saddam Hussein didn't have any nukes that he were purported to have, if you remember. G-D put in the mind of Bush: attack Iraq but leave Iran alone because I need them to get the bomb so they could be the last war. It's very interesting the way G-D works, the Grand Chess Master.
Participant: I have two questions. I want to know how China comes into play because I've heard many times that the Zohar talks about an army being out of the Far East. I don't remember the source but it's regarding China. Also, what about anything having to do with the “New World Order,” those few big people or countries trying to unite the whole world towards evil and having the power overall?
R’Kessin: Yes, in the End of Time, this is the climate. What is the term used to describe the atmosphere in the End of Time which defies G-D? It’s what's called in Hebrew—which you'll all appreciate—"prikas ohl”—overthrowing the yoke. Everything you're looking at, the LGBTQs, the transsexuals, abortion, the corruption, the crime, Biden doing these crazy things, the Democratic Party, China—all of them want to defy G-D. They're advocating for that which goes against the natural order and the natural values of mankind as G-D instills. G-D has allowed this overthrow in order to satisfy justice because one of the things that the Satan says is what about my guys? The good guys are sinning all over the place so why shouldn't my guys rule?
So, G-D says okay. These people are ruling because it satisfies justice. It's called “giving evil its due.” China is part of Yefes, part of the evil of mankind that wants to overthrow G-D. That's what Xi wants to do. That guy's a megalomaniac! Who knows what they're doing in China; they murder people. The purpose of the climate in the end is a complete rebellion against G-D and His values. China is part of that. They're all part of the open rebellion against everything that G-D commanded. It's the mem-tes sha’arei tumah. We live in a world that is at the 49th level, maybe the 50th. People say we're not at 49; we're at 50. When you constitutionalize LGBTQ, homosexuality, you've reached the 50th. That's the restart button. Trump is part of that and, very soon, there will be Mashiach ben Yosef who’ll change everything. That's the beginning of the process. But remember, when that process starts, when the turnaround begins, it is irreversible and irrevocable. That's the good news. Before that, it could be stopped by merits but once G-D has decided to invoke “b’ita”—in its time, it is irrevocable and irreversible, cannot be stopped. That's what we are waiting for. Keep in mind that you are looking at a time when the world’s climate is that of complete rebellion against G-D in every which way. Anything else?
Participant: I have two questions. You mentioned that Trump was a messianic-like figure…
R’Kessin: He's a messianic figure—correct, of Edom. He's not Jewish, but he's a messianic figure. What is the messiah?
Participant: a savior.
R’Kessin: No, he's an “anointed one.” The word “mashiach” means "anointed,” one designated to do a stupendous, global job. I'll tell you something shocking. Who is the mashiach of the Satan? He had a mashiach. Who represented the Satan committing one of the greatest evils of all time? Hitler! Hitler is a messianic figure but, of course, not a messiah the way we think of it.
There are three people who did such global tasks: Hitler—yimach shemo v’zichro—Mao who killed 75 million Chinese, starved them to death, and Stalin. These are the three greatest evil-doers besides Roman emperors like Caligula and the other jokers. It sounds strange, but you don't realize these are messianic figures because they are anointed. They are designated to do a major job in the world. Of course, the real mashiach is also an anointed one but he brings down the presence of G-D. So, “messiah” simply means “anointed” but for what task?
Participant: Thank you. The second question is: you mentioned the possibility of the mashiach coming in this year of shmita….
R’Kessin: Yes, because the Gemara, in “Sanhedrin,” says that the mashiach comes at the end of shmita, which is what—in three months?
Participant: But then you mentioned 2030, that it’s a possibility.
R’Kessin: The coming of Mashiach ben Yosef is a process. He's a real person but he doesn't just (suddenly) appear. That's a long shiur, but just to fill you in…
Who is the messiah?—not what his name is; I'm not going to tell you that. What kind of a person is he? He is somebody that you would never recognize and there's a midrash about his suffering for the sins of the Jews, suffering terribly. What happens to him? There's a pasuk—verse in Yeshayahu—Isaiah, pasuknun-bes—verse 52, towards the end, which says: "hine yaskil avdi”—behold! My servant will grow wise.
Who is G-D's servant? There are different opinions. Most people hold it's the Jewish people but the targum says it's the messiah himself. It continues: "v’yarum"—and he will be exalted, "v'nisa"— will become exceedingly high, "v’govah meod!"—will grow exceedingly. These are three expressions of growth. The midrash asks: why does it refer to messiah this way?
Mashiach starts off as “avdi”—my servant in prison, not literally but figuratively. He endures terrible suffering. He's in galus—exile just like Moshe Rabbeinu was in galus for 36 years. When he's released, "v’yarum,” he becomes great. He will be greater than Avraham Avinu; not bad! "V'nisa,” becoming exalted, means he will be greater than Moshe Rabbeinu, and "v’govah meod" means that he will be greater than the malachim—angels.
This is a man who lives amongst us, who is going to walk around amongst us! Could you imagine seeing a man that is greater than the malachim? It’s inconceivable! We cannot imagine someone greater than Avraham Avinu and Moshe Rabbeinu. Forget it! And malachim?
It means that the mashiach is the most dangerous man in the universe. Why? If you were to approach this guy, you would drop dead from his kedusha—holiness. It’s like Moshe Rabbeinu who, if you recall, wore a mask. You couldn't look at his face. You could not look at the kedusha of Moshe Rabbeinu—same thing. You cannot look at the kedusha of the mashiach. So, when he comes, he's going to kill everybody. Think about that. Fortunately, he starts off at zero because he's a prisoner, suffering for the sake of the Jewish people. Therefore, he's going to appear as a regular guy but his potential is inapprehensible. Then he will be released and he will “grow” and, at the same time that he grows, the Jewish people grow with him. That's the incredible thing. And that's what G-D means by, "and I will take you to Me." Somehow, G-D is going to elevate every single Jew to be a formidable talmid chacham—scholar, the same as happened by Sinai. This is in order to survive the mashiach, or else he kills you.
Every Jew will grow to a tremendous extent. How that will happen is unknown but the mashiach will grow and we will grow with him so we can survive. G-D has to change the Jewish people. G-D is not going to bring the mashiach to the Jewish people who are at the 49th level of tumah even though He did that by Moshe Rabbeinu. G-D had to because their fall into the 50th was imminent. The mashiach is greater than Avraham Avinu, than Moshe Rabbeinu, and greater than the malach, Gavriel. And mashiach is a human being! This is what the Redemption is.
We are looking at a time when we cannot imagine the greatness of every Jew! You won't even be able to recognize yourself! You won't! You don't realize what you will become. That's the final Redemption.
I must tell you this: I live in Lakewood, New Jersey. I was parked in a bank's parking lot. I wanted to go into the bank but it wasn’t yet open for business. Meanwhile, I turned on the radio. I hear this unbelievable screaming and clapping. Apparently, there was a guy—I think his name is Rivera. He's a relief pitcher and, apparently, he's phenomenal. I don't follow this stuff but I think his name is Rivera. Anybody here know baseball?
Participant: Mariano Rivera.
Yes, that's him—Mariano Rivera. They were sending him off; he was retiring. This was in Yankee stadium. There were likely about 40-50,000 people in that stadium to send him off. They were screaming at the top of their lungs. When I heard that, I said to myself: a guy's who's a relief pitcher… big deal! Okay, it's nice. It's baseball if you're into baseball. I understand, but considering the ultimate worth of things, who cares?
When the tikkun will have been completed and the Jews will have done it, you are going to see, not a just a stadium, but the entirety of Creation screaming at the top of its lungs: "The Jews did it! They did the tikkun! G-D can re-enter Creation!”
That's what I took away from the retirement of Mariano Rivera. All the malachim, the billions of malachim, are going to scream, "The Jews did it!" Imagine how you’ll feel because you'll be part of that.
Okay. One more question and that's it.
Participant: Did you ever think about who Elon Musk is? It’s notable that he went to a Jewish school in South Africa for a short time. They didn't have a private school...
R’Kessin: He did? In South Africa? I don't know who he is.
Participant: He's the richest man in the world and it was on Pesach that he announced the Twitter deal which now is blowing up. He's defiant against the lefties.
R’Kessin: Yes. Well, he's clearly part of what's called the “good people;” that's what I see. He wants to do good by changing Twitter, allowing it to be a platform for good stuff and so on, but I don't know who he is. I can just tell you who Trump is. I haven't thought about Elon Musk. Who is Jeff Bezos? He’s worth, what—2000 billion dollars? It's beyond conjecture who these guys are a gilgul—reincarnation of. I'm still trying to figure out who Biden is as a gilgul of. Who knows?
Participant: G-D created everything. For what purpose?
R’Kessin: For what purpose?—so you can choose to do good and, thereby, bring Him back. That's the short answer. You have free will and G-D wants you to choose good, do the mitzvos and that will enable Him to re-enter Creation from which He has absented Himself. That's the simple, clear, bottom-line answer. G-D promises this. We read it in “Shemona Esreh” in the first blessing: “umevi goel”—and He will bring the Redeemer, “lema'an sh'mo b'ahavah”— for His great Name's sake with love. He's going to do it. He promises. He swears that He's going to redeem the Jews. In the end, it’s going to happen. It has got to happen.
I'm speaking now for two hours; it's all the time I have. What you're suggesting is to stay here for another five hours. I can't do that. Yes, I need another five hours.
The rabbi's assistant: Can I please say one thing?
R’Kessin: Yes, go ahead.
Assistant: Rabbi Kessin has a website: https://www.torahthinking.org and there are eighty to ninety shiurim there, already transcribed, which you could listen to or read. Also, he has a YouTube channel called: “Torah Thinking”. https://www.youtube.com/c/TorahThinking/videos. There you’ll find approximately 400 shiurim—some audio, some video. If you prefer to read the shiurim, you can go to the website https://www.torahthinking.org/ He also has a Facebook page where all the links are regularly posted. Look for “Rabbi Mendel Kessin” on Facebook.
R'Kessin: This shiur will be on “Yiboneh” channel on YouTube so you could hear this whole shiur again.
Participant: What is our part in this process?
R’Kessin: I will tell you what the Ravaad says. The essential repentance on Yom Kippur is not about G-D counting sins. That's not what G-D is after. G-D is concerned, obviously, but that's not what He's really after. With sinning, do you do teshuva—repent? But even that is not what He's after. What G-D wants to know is whether you consider yourself to be part of His “team” or not. You'll notice by the Sin of the Golden Calf that Moshe Rabbeinu, in its aftermath, didn't say, "Well, all those people who didn't sin with the golden calf, come to me." He said, “mi l’ha’Shem eilai”—who is to G-D, come to me.
He never referred to the sin of making the golden calf. What he did say is, "Who is to G-D," meaning “you who are committed to G-D.” Are you a member of the “club”?—great! If you fall once in a while, it happens! G-D wants you to join the “club,” which means to be committed to Torah and mitzvos. If you sin, you do teshuva. Tallying up sin is not what He's about.
The Ravaad argues with the RaMBaM, who’s famous, that the critical thing on Yom Kippur is your allegiance to His “team,” to do the mitzvos and to learn Torah; that's the key. It’s not about: wow! He did five sins!—no. We all sin, right? This distinction is a very important concept. That's what you have to do.
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