פקוד פקדתי

HT: Yosef

Before Yaakov Avinu passed away, he called his grand-daughter Serech bas Asher to him.  He had blessed her with a long life and knew that she would be the only one from his generation who would still be alive to witness the Redemption from Egypt.  He told her that when the true Redeemer arrives he will use the words פקוד פקדתי  - P'kad p'kaditi

She was instructed to keep the words a secret.

When Moshe Rabbeinu came to the zekkeinim, he told them 'Hashem told me פקוד פקדתי'.

They went with these words to Serach who told them that these are the words that signify that Geula is finally here.

The words פקוד פקדתי are also gematria תשפ״ד  -  5784

פקוד פקדתי = 784

Also see Rabbi Kessin here

When G-D approached Moshe, He said, “pokod pokaditi”—I have surely remembered = which refers to His having “remembered” the afflictions of the Jews and that He’s come to take them out. Not only that, Moshe went to the klal—community and told them this and he used that expression of “pekidah” by which they recognized him as the Mashiach because he used the “right language,” of “pekidah.”

 

The Rope of Moshiach

Rav Refael Dovid Auerbach [the brother of Rav Shlomo Zalman] related that over 90 years ago his father, Rav Chaim Leib Auerbach, once approached one of the caretakers who used to light the stove in a shul in the Old City of Yerushalayim. Although the caretaker was over 95 years old, he awoke early each day to light the stove and heat the shul before davening. The caretaker mentioned that his father used to travel to see Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk. Rav Chaim Leib asked the caretaker if he could relate anything his father had told him about the Tzaddik. The elderly man told him ten stories about the author of Noam Elimelech. Later Rav Chaim Leib told all of them over, but Rav Rafael could remember only three of them.

It was Rebbe Elimelech's custom, the caretaker related, to teach two types of Torah at shalosh seudos, the third Shabbos meal: one on the weekly parshah and the other about the days of Moshiach. Rav Rafael recalled the concepts that Rebbe Elimelech taught about the days of Moshiach, as told to his father by the old caretaker of the shul in the Old City.

In the times of Moshiach, the chareidim will be trampled and so badly mistreated that had this been so in the times of the Baal Shem Tov, no-one could have withstood it due to their fragile souls. However, in the times of Moshiach the hearts of the people will be so tough that they will be able to endure the trampling and degradation that will be common in those days.

In the times of Moshiach, there will be great foolishness, and the line between good and evil will blur. Rebbe Elimelech brought the analogy of sifting flour with a sieve. At first all the grains of the flour - the fine and the coarse - are shaken together, battered against the sides of the sieve. In the midst of the shaking, the fine flour passes through the sieve's holes and falls to the bottom, again receiving a blow when it lands.

When the course leftovers see the fine clean flour, they become arrogant and say "See how lowly you are? You have fallen to the bottom and received an additional beating while I, the coarse waste, have been left above and not received any beating."

The coarse grains do not realize how short-lived is their triumph, because in just a short while the sieve will be overturned and the coarse grains will end up in the trash for good.

In the generation of Moshiach, Hashem will, so to speak, stretch a long rope from one end of the world to the other, and all of Klal Yisrael will take hold and grasp the rope. Hashem will take one end of the rope, and violently shake it until they will all be in the air. Not everyone will be able to withstand this shaking and many will fall to the ground. The foolish ones will say "If Hashem is shaking us so hard, surely He wants us to loosen our grasp" and they will fall to the ground. Only the wise ones will hold on tight with all their strength and might. This is "chevlo shel Moshiach" - literally "the rope of Moshiach" - usually translated as "the labor pains of Moshiach".

Source: "Mipeninei Noam Elimelech" translated by Tal Moshe Zwecker

Light for Israel

 

The Middle East Conflict at the End of Time

 Rabbi Mendel Kessin, new shiur

Chizuk

HT: DL

I don't know who this man is, but he's very powerful. If you know who it is, please leave a comment.

Updated: It is Rabbi Shlomo Farhi.

The 50th Level of Tumah [Impurity]

Transcription now available: The Transformation of Reality in the Messianic Era

Rabbi Mendel Kessin

Excerpt: When the Mashiach comes, it’s because the world has reached mem-tes sha’arei tumah—the 49th level of tumah—and what we see now is that the world is now entering the 50th.  Remember what I said about RaMCHaL? The messianic era is supposed to be an unbelievably glorious era, no death, everybody's wealthy, a utopia, but the Satan will say, justifiably defending justice: they're in the mem-tes sha’arei tumah. The Jews in Egypt are on the 49th level of tumah so how can You bring the messianic era? You can't do that! They don't deserve it! This isn't justice! How can you give them the Messiah?

Clear Prophecy

 HT: Yosef

Translation: The Levush brings down from Rav Hai Gaon that Techias Hameitim [the revival of the dead] will be in the month of Nissan, and the war of Gog U’Magog will be in the month of Tishrei. That’s why on Pesach we Lein the Haftorah from Sefer Yechezkel about Techias Hameitim, and on Shabbat chol hamoed Succot we lein the Haftorah of Gog U’Magog. 

The Chatam Sofer says that it doesn’t mean Milchemet Gog U’Magog [the war of Gog u Magog] will be on Succot because that’s z'man simchateinu [time of our rejoicing], rather it means it will happen on the days after Succot, at the end of Tishrei.

To round things off nicely, the yarzheit of the Chatam Sofer is 25 Tishrei, which it is currently in America, although in Australia we are already into the 26th Tishrei.  

The Chatam Sofer

5784 - A Message from the Past

HT: Yosef

There is a very interesting quote recently discovered with a weird and non logical push at a number that seems very out of place.

Looking at the current situation in Israel, perhaps a tzaddik from 200 years ago was trying to hint something to us about this year 5784.

The Bnei Yissaschar, The Rebbe of Dinov, had a grandson who authored a book called "אור למאיר" "Light for Illumination". At this time, they were all great tzaddikim (righteous individuals) with their eyes deeply focused on the heavens. 

In the portion of Parshas Bo, the following insights are presented: 

The four exiles that the Jewish people endured are rooted in spiritual exile and redemption, similar to their physical exiles, notably the exodus from  Egypt. The Midrash says that in the portion of Bereshis [Genesis], the Torah tells us: "והארץ היתה תהו ובהו וחשך על פני תהום ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים" - "the earth was unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep, and a wind from G-d sweeping over the water". 

Following this verse is the statement: "ויאמר אלהים יהי אור ויהי אור" - "God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light". This light, it is suggested, was concealed until the times of Moshiach because it needed to be subdued and was only accessible to great tzaddikim (righteous individuals). 

In Shemos 10:23, it is mentioned that "ולכל בני ישראל היה אור במושבתם" - "but all the Israelites enjoyed light in their dwellings". "אור למאיר" suggests that this refers to the light of Moshiach, which was revealed in the homes of the Israelites at that time. "במושבתם" - in their dwellings - is then modified by "אור למאיר" with the deliberate omission of the Hebrew letter "vav" (ו). 

The gematria (numerical value) of this word, with the "vav" omitted, equals 784. 

The commentary proceeds to explore the gematria of the words "דוד" - (Dovid, meaning King David) and "משיח בן דוד" - Moshiach ben Dovid, the Messiah from the lineage of David.  "דוד" has a gematria of 14, and "משיח בן דוד" is considered to possess the "Power of Dovid," resulting in a gematria of 28. The square root of 28x28 equals 784. 

Furthermore, the phrase "מלך ישראל קים" - King of Israel endures - has a gematria of 781. When combined with the words themselves, it totals 784 (781+the 3words = 784). 

"אור למאיר" then quotes the Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria) and suggests that when Moshiach arrives, the light of the Moon and the Sun will be the same. This symbolizes a time when the primordial light created in the beginning will be fully revealed to humanity. 

It appears that "אור למאיר" is delving into intricate connections between gematria, biblical verses, and Messianic concepts. These connections may, at first glance, appear to be quite stretched, almost like an attempt to place a bullseye around an arrow that has already found its mark. Yet, beneath this intricate web of associations, there seems to be a deliberate and persistent effort by "אור למאיר" to convey a central theme.

The emphasis on the number 784 hints at a deeper, perhaps even spiritual or prophetic significance. This emphasis might be signaling the year 5784, which holds the potential for profound significance in the context of Messianic expectations and the awakening of spirituality.