Hoshana Raba: The 3 Hour War of Gog u Magog

Rabbi Daniel Glatstein  5 min video

Yarzheit Vilna Gaon / Gog u Magog Sukkot

The yarzheit of the Vilna Gaon is today, 19 TIshrei.

Painting of the Vilna Gaon from Yesodei Hatorah School corridor wall

Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna - The Vilna Gaon - Leader of Lithuanian Jewry, Torah scholar and kabbalist. Born: Vilna, Lithuania, 1720   Left this world on: 19 Tishrei  Vilna, Lithuania,1797

Popularly referred to as the Vilna Gaon, the Gra (initials of Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu), or simply as the Gaon. Considered to be the greatest Torah scholar of the past two centuries.

Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein, speaking at his beis midrash in Ramat Elchanan, Bnei Brak, mentioned the great miracles that took place over the past year, when tens of thousands of rockets were fired from all directions, yet they did not cause many casualties. 

At the same time, the Rav referenced the words of the Bartenura in Maseches Megillah, who wrote: “It is a tradition passed down to us that the resurrection of the dead will occur on Pesach, and the War of Gog and Magog on Sukkos.” “Therefore,” he said, “we must strive not to spoil things. In other words, everything depends on us, on each and every one of us. This is a time of special favor, and we must try not to spoil it, meaning to make every effort to fulfill Hashem’s will, each person according to their ability.” 

Simultaneously, the Rav also mentioned the mesorah passed down through generations from the Vilna Gaon stating that the War of Gog and Magog will take place during three hours of Hoshanah Rabbah, and whoever wants to be saved should sit in the sukkah. Concerning this, it is said, “For He will conceal me in His sukkah on the day of evil” – the day of evil being the War of Gog and Magog – and whoever wishes to be saved should sit in the sukkah, said Rav Zilberstein. 

Rav Zilberstein noted that his brother-in-law, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, said that these three hours refer to the hours before sunrise on Hoshanah Rabbah.

North Korea joins Russia's fight against Ukraine, a few days after it has blown up roads and railways on the border with South Korea North Korea took another dramatic step and announced that it is joining the fight with Russia against Ukraine. According to reports North Korea has already started transferring tens of thousands of soldiers to Russia to help it with the fighting - That's not all, China is now provoking Taiwan.  All that remains is that the United States the King of Edom will fight the King of Paras which is Iran and this will happen after Israel attacks Iran and here you have a third world war Gog u Magog.  The King of Edom will fight against the King of Paras.  How will this happen? Israel will attack Iran, the United States will intervene and then Iran will fight against the United States. That's all. Everything will be ready.  In two weeks and a half will be election in the United States and it's happening now, we're done.  Source: You Tube

Rabbi Shimson Raphael Hirsch discusses the connection between the sukkah and the battle of Gog and Magog. . 

In the name Gog we see the word Gag, roof, something sturdy which has been built to protect us as opposed to the Sukkah which has a very weak roof made of twigs and branches. 

Just as people have the power to make themselves safe and secure by building strong roofs, so they delude themselves into thinking they can make themselves safe from that which comes from above, namely Hashem. They think they can find security in the protection of their own might. 

The battle of Gog and Magog is a battle of the Roof against the sukkah, the illusion of human strength and power against the sukkah truth of the confidence in Hashem's protection.

Source: Sukkot, the Messianic Era and the Nations of the World at Sefaria

Failed Assassination Attempt on Netanyahu

Breaking: Iran's 🇮🇷 assassination attempt on Israel 🇮🇱 Prime Minister @netanyahu earlier today has failed. An Iranian drone targeted Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea, but no one was injured.

https://x.com/DrEliDavid/status/1847558493814804989

Now read this - 

The only time that Moshiach ben Yosef is mentioned in the Gemara is in Succah daf 52A. There the Gemara brings the passuk in Zechariah (12) which speaks of a great eulogy which will take place in the times of Moshiach. There is an argument as to who is the subject of the eulogy. One opinion is that they are mourning the death of Moshiach ben Yosef, and the other opines that they are mourning the death of the yetzer hara (evil inclination)......

....... it is the yetzer hara (evil inclination) that is being ‘eulogized.’ According to this opinion, Moshiach ben Yosef does not die, but rather, actually completes his task of destroying the forces of evil, and thus removes the evil inclination from the world (to a certain extent).  According to the Gra and others, indeed, the decree of death for Moshiach ben Yosef has been rescinded (עוד יוסף חי), and thus the second opinion of the gemara is the one that will actually play out in reality. This is due to the length of the exile the Jewish people has endured, which has actually completely atoned for the sin of Yerovom ben Nevat, and therefore removed the need for Moshiach ben Yosef’s death. 

Source:  Ari Goldwag's blog Death of Moshiach ben Yosef

The Moon is on Steroids

This was how the moon looked last night in several places around the world.

Look up tonight and check out the full moon.

Rawdon, Quebec Oct 18

Australia October 18

Destroying the World: A Possible Scenario

 

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 since that cannot be done with conventional weapons it must mean nuclear which can destroy most of 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.”

How can the King of Persia [Iran] destroy the world?

Answer: by closing the Strait of Hormuz

Sly Iran move could ‘crater’ world economy

Gog u Magog: The Strait of Hormuz

This was published in 2012 [yes I've been doing this a long time !!]

Received via email [Yosef Kaner] - free translation from the Hebrew 

Rav Yekutiel Fish posted an interesting quote from Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim from Luntschitz [who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries, more commonly known as the "Kli Yakar"] in his Kli Paz, indicating that the Milchemet [war of] Gog and Magog will be centered in an area he calls Hormuz...... 

In the sefer Kli Paz "The Vessel of Pure Gold" from the commentry Kli Yakar, who was a Rosh Rabbonim [head of the rabbis] in the land of Israel 400 years ago, ''that there will be a sacrifice in Basra'' [Isaiah 34] that should be in the war of Gog and Magog and that it should happen or occur in a place by Basra named Hormuz. And the Navi's words since the sacrifice to Hashem in Basra and the great slaughtering in the land of Edom and it will descend, animals with them and cattle with Abirim [the strong healthy bulls] since the day of vengeance is to G-d and the completion of years of fighting Zion.. And it says ''the animals will descend with them'' to tell you there are many kings in the remaining nations that will join with Edom to help him and the slaughtering to G-d in Basra - a country with a distance from Bavel - its name is Basra and it is next to Asher which is Assyria and Persia in between the boundary of the land of Edom - The Hormuz - and today it is under the rulership of Yishmael and blessed is the one who knows the truth of these things. However it will be there - the war in the end of days.

וְהֶרְאוּנִי דָּבָר מַבְהִיל בְּסֵפֶר 'כְּלִי פָּז' מִבַּעַל הַ'כְּלִי יָקָר' שֶׁהָיָה רֹאשׁ הָרַבָּנִים בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי כְּאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה (ישעי' לד) שֶׁהַ"זֶבַח לַה' בְּבָצְרָה" שֶׁיִּהְיֶה בְּמִלְחֶמֶת גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג יִתְרַחֵשׁ בְּמָקוֹם עַל יַד בַּצְרָה שֶׁשְּׁמוֹ הוּרְמוּז. וְנָבִיא אֶת דְּבָרָיו "כִּי זֶבַח לַה' בְּבָצְרָה וְטֶבַח גָּדוֹל בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם, וְיָרְדוּ רְאֵמִים עִמָּם וּפָרִים עִם אַבִּירִים וְגוֹ', כִּי יוֹם נָקָם לַה' שְׁנַת שִׁלּוּמִים לְרִיב צִיּוֹן". וְאָמַר "וְיָרְדוּ רְאֵמִים עִמָּם וְכוּ'', לְהַגִּיד שֶׁהַרְבֵּה מְלָכִים מִשַּׁאר הָאֻמּוֹת יִתְחַבְּרוּ עִם אֱדוֹם לְעָזְרָם. "כִּי זֶבַח לַה' בְּבָצְרָה", מְדִינָה יֵשׁ רָחוֹק מִבָּבֶל שְׁמָהּ בָּצְרָה, וְהִיא בֵּין גְּבוּל אֲשׁוּר וּפָרַס וּבֵין גְּבוּל אֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם, הוּרְמוּז, וְהִיא הַיּוֹם תַּחַת מֶמְשֶׁלֶת הַיִּשְׁמָעֵאלִים. וּבָרוּךְ הַיּוֹדֵעַ אֲמִתָּתָם שֶׁל דְּבָרִים, אוּלַי יִהְיֶה דֶּרֶךְ שָׁם הַמִּלְחָמָה בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים"

Darach Kochav m'Yaakov

 

Photo: RBA / FB

Here's my capture and rendition of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) captured about 5 hours ago (Oct 13 @ 19:35 local time) from San Luis Reservoir, California. I did not notice the anti-tail in the single frames, otherwise I would have framed it differently 😬😅 You may need to tap on the image to see the whole thing. I could see the comet with my eyes without any trouble, and much better with binoculars. Moonlight was annoying. Without moonlight, this comet would be putting a much bigger show. I used a Canon 70-200mm lens @ 145mm, and a Sony a7s camera. No tracking. 37 x 5 secs subs, f/2.8 @ ISO 1600.

Photo: Cory Poole Photography/FB

Comet Visible and It is Huge

 From the 1.30 min mark on this video

The Fallen Sukkah of David

Art by Joan Landis

by Rabbi Gedaliah Aharon Kenig zt''l - founder of Nachal Novea community in Tsfat and foremost Breslev leader of the previous generation.

Integrating the mind through perfect faith

Reprinted from Tzaddik Magazine

The sukkah is associated with King David.  It is thus called the ''Sukkah of David''.  It could have been called by another name, like the ''Sukkah of Israel'' or the ''Sukkah of Moses'', yet our sages connect sukkah to David haMelech.

The fourth evening of the holiday of Sukkot marks the yahrzeit of Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, who is referred to as the nachal novea mekor chochma - ''the flowing river, source of wisdom'' [Proverbs 18:4].  He proclaimed an astounding concept to the world:  ''There is no such thing as despair!''  Nothing in the world is beyond hope.

How can such a claim be made when everything points in the opposite direction? Everyone experiences situations textured with despair to the point that it appears the entire world has ended.  Everything seems black, with no glimmer of light.  The despair these situations engender is called the ''Fallen Sukkah of David.''

Yet Rebbe Nachman asserts: ''There is no such thing as despair!''  Although it is impossible to avoid difficult situations, the mind possesses a special power that can prevent one from falling completely during hard times.  On Sukkot we pray:  ''May the Compassionate One raise for us the ''Fallen Sukkah of David''.  Conceptually, the Sukkah of David represents a spiritually cleansed mind connected to a higher spiritual level, a place beyond our own intellectual perception of the world.

Integrating the Mind

According to the kabbalah, the sukkah represents the levels of perception beyond the conscious mind called makifim or ''external intellect''.  In contrast, pnimim or ''internal intellect''' is the knowledge we have successfully acquired.  These two levels are dynamically related: when the higher intellect enters our mind enabling us to understand it, the new insight becomes encompassed within our internal intellect.

Makifim are those levels of understanding that transcend intellectual grasp. They surround and hover above the conscious mind, radiating understanding into the internal intellect.  It is this upper level of intellect surrounding the mind that is called sukkah.  This is similar to a physical sukkah, which completely surrounds us.  During the holiday of Sukkot, we are required to enter the sukkah with our entire body, which includes the head, our intellect. Without the entire body entering the sukkah, the mitzvah of sukkah remains unfulfilled.

''David merited the crown of malchut - kingship'' [Kohelet Rabbah 7:2]

The physical universe and everything that occurs within it, is part of the lower level of the World of Action, and connected to the kabbalistic sefira of malchut.  Malchut itself possesses a type of ''intellect'' expressed as the animating intelligence contained by everything in the world.  This intelligence corresponds to King David and the lower internal intellect mentioned earlier.  The crown of King David, however, symbolizes the higher surrounding intellect, corresponding to the concept of sukkah.

When we don't understand why things are a certain way in the world, the power of faith should be exercised. Faith draws down the highest light into any situation. If you believe that there is a G-d Above Who governs the world, you won't dismiss something as meaningless just because you don't understand it. On the contrary, despire your current inability to understand, you will know everything is functioning according to a Higher Plan which is just and fair.  This faith will then illuminate your entire reality. In every situation, you now connect the upper surrounding intellect, called sukkah, to the lower internalized intellect, corresponding to your current perception of how the physical world operates.  When you believe that whatever happens is governed from Above, it is clear that it is good.

''When I dwell in darkness, G-d will be a light for me'' [Micha 7:8]

Even if I am sitting in darkness and don't understand what is happening, if I nonetheless believe that everything is just and fair because it is supervised by G-d, then this faith is a light for me.  Despite the darkness, it does not even occur to me to despair, since the same governing Power that brought me here to this situation or state of mind will do everything for my good and ultimately take me out of this darkness.

Through this expression of lower intellect, you will now attain the higher intellect, called sukkah. The merging of these two intellects is called the ''Sukkah of David'', which occurs when your perception of the way the world operates [Malchut David] is joined with the upper surrounding intellect [sukkah].  The opposite occurs when the two are separated, a division caused by thinking everything is under the jurisdiction of nature and human agency.  ''David'' is separated from sukkah - our perception of this world is separated from the upper intellect, faith in Divine governance of the world. This state is called ''The Fallen Sukkah of David''.

Thus, when Rebbe Nachman says ''There is no such thing in the world as despair'', he is drawing down the highest light into the human heart to give us the ability to understand that regardless of the difficulties we experience, there is a higher Power in charge of every detail in the world.  The process of attaining this level of understanding is called ''raising the fallen sukkah of David''.  Sukkat David is the rectified state of mind where the upper and lower intellect are united.

Turning Darkness into Light

G-d created us in order to know Him.  How is it possible for a limited physical human being to know G-d, Who is Infinite?  It is only possible to know G-d through facing the difficult challenges in life, and strengthening ourselves to get through them.

During times when it is extremely difficult to find G-d, one may fall, since it seems that G-d doesn't exist. The difficulty of the search itself brings one to a state of nothingness. By strengthening oneself during these moments, the very obstacles which prevented perception of G-d can be transformed into a vessel for Divine light.

Sometimes we undergo bitter situations where our understanding disappears completely. Even though we want to believe in G-d, we live inside a dark cloud. However much we search, we cannot find Him. This is a very dangerous situation, because we are unable to see G-d in spite of a sincere desire to find Him. What can we do?

Rebbe Nachman has advice for this dilemma as well.  Cry out ''G-d! Where are You? I don't see you but I believe You are here! Where are you?''  These cries will eventually enable you to return to your proper place, because the question of ''Where are You?'' indicates a belief in the existence of the thing for which you are searching.  You believe G-d is present, but you just don't know where.  The repeated cries of ''Where are You?'' from the depths of the heart are answered with: ''Here! Deeply inside, where You have always been.''

''The whole world is filled with His Glory''

One begins to sense G-d's direct supervision over every detail. Anything that seemed unjust or unfair is now understood as being orchestrated in a wondrous way for the good. Only by passing through darkness and obstacles can we draw closer to G-d, which is a fulfilment of the Divine will.

Sometimes during difficult times we say ''Oy! This is too much! I've had enough obstacles and darkness! I'm finished!''  This way of thinking is erroneous, since we were not created to remain on a single level.  On the contrary, we were created to continually ascend from level to level.  Difficult situations are necessary in order to progress and come closer to G-d.  The message of Rebbe Nachman is that it shouldn't even occur to a person to despair and think ''I can't go on''.  Strengthen yourself over and over again, and eventually you will make it through.

There is always a limit to difficulties because G-d doesn't leave us in difficult straits forever.  The only purpose of obstacles is to create a vessel to receive light. Material obstacles and the vessels they can create have measure and definition. However, G-d's light is unlimited.  We need only to strengthen ourselves and not give up. Sometimes one becomes so weak in the last moment and loses everything. This is a shame, since at that very moment a vessel is being completed to receive a higher light. At the end, the darkness can become so overwhelming that we think we are lost and give up completely, G-d forbid.

Constantly strengthening oneself is the secret to our existence.  There is no book in the world that can tell the entire awesome story of what the Jewish people have undergone since inception. Yet, despite everything, we continue to exist. This is only because of our patience, trust and will to strengthen ourselves anew each time, despite constant suffering.  We will continue to develop, and with the help of G-d, we will exist until the end, when the purpose for which we were created will be fulfilled. To know the unlimited light of the Infinite One.

Vessels to receive light are formed through obstacles. By overcoming the obstacles, the obstacles themselves are transformed into vessels of pleasantness.  Rebbe Nachman calls this pleasantness ''supernal delight'' which can now flow into completed vessels.  The delight that the upper intellect can experience is more pleasant than anything in this world. This is the meaning of ''May the Compassionate One raise for us the Fallen Sukkah of David.''

Rebbe Nachman is proclaiming to the entire world a message that everyone must hear.  There is no such thing as despair! There is no situation beyond hope! The Jewish people have always found themselves in difficult situations, and today is no different. Instead of losing hope, we must strengthen ourselves with perfected faith, especially during the days of Sukkot, when we bring our entire physical being into the sukkah.  We will then be worthy of being illuminated with a new light, which will reestablish the ''Fallen Sukkah of David forever''.  Amen.

Translated and adapted from a shiur given in Tsfat.