Gog & Magog, Iran, and the Messiah: Prophecy Reveals What’s Coming

Rabbi Isser Weisberg

Who is the Moshiach? (Messiah) When will the Moshiach arrive? -Soon! Says this scholar of the End of Days. Who will win the war with Iran? America or Iran? - BOTH are able to, and it will be decided in Heaven. You'll want to hear this interview and learn what ancient sources say about all of these questions as Tamar Yonah speaks with Rabbi Isser Weisberg on what Prophecy says.

Click here to watch on You Tube

How Our Inner Thoughts Have Power Over Our Destinies

In an address the Lubavitcher Rebbe gave in 1963, he expanded on the philosophical and spiritual dynamic behind the principle  "tracht gut vet zein gut" - “Think good, and it will be good.” 

He began by asking the obvious question: On the basis of what should one believe that in the face of any challenge, “it (the outcome) will be good”? Isn’t it presumptuous to assume that in every given situation we are always deserving of Divine grace, regardless of our state of religious and moral standing? 

And what of the basic Jewish belief that there is a Divine order of reward and punishment that governs our world, making salvation dependent on righteous behavior?

The Rebbe’s answer was: When a Jew decides to place his trust in G‑d, believing that his current crisis will be resolved favorably despite facing a bleak reality that suggests otherwise, he has, in effect, risen above his own nature, which in turn elicits, reciprocally, “measure for measure” the suspension of the Divine order, where only the righteous are deserving of salvation.   In fact, according to Nachmanides [Bechukotai 26:11]: “When the majority of the Jewish people are complete [in their faith in G‑d], their affairs are not run by the natural order…to the extent that there is no need for a physician or to follow the ways of medicine, as it says, ‘I am the L‑rd your healer….’” Obviously, those times of spiritual perfection are all too rare, and under the current circumstances, we are encouraged to follow the natural order of things.

G‑d, the creator of Man, understands how difficult and even “supernatural” it is for a human being to truly believe—to the degree that he or she no longer experiences fear and anxiety—that an unpromising and even seemingly hopeless situation will have a positive outcome. And, thus, as a result and even reward for the extraordinary act of worship of “tracht gut,” G‑d deems the believer, who is otherwise undeserving of a positive outcome, to be deserving in this instance of an extra measure of Divine generosity.

This was extracted from an essay at Chabad, to see the original plus footnotes, click here

No Revenge and No Worries

"You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the members of your people" [Kedoshim 19:18]

There are times, said the Chofetz Chaim, that a man grows angry with a friend who did not do him a particular favor.  Such feelings are completely unjustified.

To what can this be compared?  To a man who was walking down the street, looking for his friend.  As he passed people in the street, he would ask them "Have you seen my friend perhaps?"

"Try looking for him in the town square," he was told.  "There are many people gathered there; maybe your friend will be among them."

He went to the town square, searched for his friend, yet he did not find him.

Would it even occur to him to feel anger toward those individuals who directed him to the town square?  Of course not! He realizes that he must simply continue his search.

The same thing applies to the prohibitions of taking revenge and bearing a grudge, said the Chofetz Chaim.  We are forbidden to feel anger towards a friend who did not do us a favor.  What reason can there be to be angry with him?  Hashem obviously did not designate him as the one who would bestow this particular kindness upon us.  We must simply turn to someone else, and place our request with him; perhaps he is the one who will be able to assist us. 

If a person accustoms himself to constantly thinking in this manner, he will never bear a grudge or feel the need to take revenge.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

No Intermediaries

What is a Rebbe? What does a mitzvah reveal?

A Rebbe is not an intermediary, we don't require an intermediary, we are already connected to Hashem.  So why do we need a Rebbe?  Rabbi Nochum Schapiro explains - 2 min video:

Is the Prophecy about Iran and Turkey Coming True?

Rav Ron Chaya

An ancient prophecy foretells a decisive war between Rome and Persia before the liberation. Yet, who are these powers today, and what role does Turkey play in this scenario? Indeed, certain geopolitical signs seem to correspond precisely to these millennia-old writings. Are we truly on the verge of experiencing the events that herald the coming of the Messiah?

[French with English subtitles.  If you make yourself a You Tube account, it remembers your settings, so as soon as you click on the "CC" your chosen language automatically appears in the sub-titles.  If you don't want to make a You Tube account, then you need to click on the Cog as well as the CC, and navigate to auto-translate and choose your language.]

Click here to watch on You Tube.

Moshiach's Coming, Climate Change and the Sun

H/t Anonymous commenter

Rabbi Sholom Zirkind

Understanding "the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun and the light of the sun will be sevenfold" and "climate change" at the time of Moshiach.

The Three Blessings

Chassidus teaches that the Angel Michoel is responsible for bestowing the three blessings of  health, wealth and children.  Some people have all three, some people have only one of them, and some people have none at all.  The word ''children'' does not just refer to being blessed with having children, but also that the child grows up to be a mensch... that you receive nachas [loosely translated as pride and pleasure] from your children.

The Zohar teaches that if a Jewish woman covers her hair, she will be blessed with all three..... [Likutei Sichos, vol. 13, p. 188 Lubavitcher Rebbe]

.... unfortunately, these days, it is not always that simple.   Our souls are all reincarnations and our situations in this life are probably determined by our past lives and whatever needs to be atoned for and fixed in this life  [although for women, covering the hair is still a very good way to give yourself and your family extra blessing from Above].

Of course, Torah, Tefilla [prayer] and Tzedaka [charity] can improve all three blessings.

Wealth

There are two tests – for a wealthy person, his challenge is to not believe that he is the creator [of his wealth].

For the person in dire straits, it is to still believe.

Both can be educated through the “Ma-an” [manna - the daily seeds which fell, giving the Jews food during their duration in the desert].

For the wealthy person, the Ma-an was literally the Jews' sustenance  - for though people were famously wealthy – having taken the Egyptian wealth, nonetheless they were in a desert, and the Ma-an was their sole sustenance which forced them to daily look Heavenward.

In contrast, the Ma-an was miraculous in that if you took extra even for one day, it rotted [in other words, the poor person could appreciate that extra was actually not a blessing].

How To Unlock Divine Flow 

However, the key to unlock the Divine infinite flow is by setting aside one’s ego – acknowledging that everything is merely G-d’s kindness.

We find there is a commentary that explains that after Yitzchak gave Maaser [tithe] on the produce of his fields, he discovered that the same produce multiplied one hundred times.

In other words, what Hashem is coming to teach us is that from the reward of giving Maaser, man is blessed even a hundred times more. 

We can ask, if the ultimate reward is spirituality, and fulfilling unconditionally G-d’s will, why does the Torah promise physical rewards [as we learn in the Shema]?

Furthermore, why would it be so laudable that in the messianic era so many Divine miracles will create a miraculous physical abundance [such as “When you plant, things will grow” – “The taste of the tree’s bark will be like its fruit” – all indicating a world of complete physical pleasure]

The answer is that in truth, everything in the physical flows from the Torah.

Hence when a Jew engages in the Torah [as the Zohar teaches, “First G-d creates through Torah, then Jews maintain through its study”] so this manifests not only spiritually, but also physically.

In the era of Moshiach this flow will be apparent.

Sources: Lubavitcher Rebbe: Likutei Sichos 4 Page 1099; Likutei Sichos 5 Page 12; Likutei Sichos 37 Page 79; Kabbalah Wisdom 

The Year Melech haMoshiach Appears

Rabbi Yuval Ovadia

"We are living through the famous words in the Yalkut Shimoni, but many are asleep and do not realize.  We are living history: the past, the present and the future. This is the year that the King Moshiach appears! That's what the Midrash says, it is not me saying it!  This is an ancient Midrash which has been studied for thousands of years, studied, quoted and we have waited for it to come true. Because this Midrash speaks of a year in which the Moshiach will appear. It explicitly says it will be in that year!"

[In its section on the biblical Book of Isaiah and the prophecies contained therein, a Rabbi cited by the Yalkut Shimoni states]: 

“In the year Moshiach comes all the nations of the world will provoke each other and threaten with war. The king of Persia (Iran) will provoke the King of Arabia (Saudi Arabia) with war. The King of Arabia goes to Edom (The Western Countries, headed by USA) for advice. Then the King of Persia destroys the world. And all the nations of the world begin to panic and are afraid, and Israel too is afraid as to how to defend from this. G-d then says to them “Do not fear for everything that I have done is for your benefit, to destroy the evil kingdom of Edom and eradicate evil from this world so that the Messiah can come, your time of redemption is now.”

The rest of the video is Rabbi Ovadia explaining all that is happening now which ties in with the passage above.  Click the CC to activate the subtitles on the video, then the Settings cog to Auto-translate.