21 Elul 5771
The War Has Already Begun
Menachem, 8 Elul 5771
I will begin with a hard sentence: In the near future there will be a war. A war in all the Middle East. And then, they will forget all of the nonsense in the heart, in the thoughts, and in the deeds. And this war will draw in more countries, until it will truly be the BIG war. Not Gog uMagog, but the BIG war like what we call "World War 3." And the last clarifications will then be: Who is on the side of truth and who is not. And it's a lot closer than you dream. And what has happened and is happening this week, that is what the future will be based on.
(The Israeli Embassy in Egypt was overrun on 11 Elul and two days later, Turkey sent three warships to the Mediterranean and threatened Israel's navy.)
The coming times will be much harder that it was until now. But, don't despair, continue on, no matter what. And if it's hard now to be modest and close to the truth and to HKB"H, in the very near future, you will notice that it will begin to be still harder than it is now. But, together with this, you will see many women who will decide to sacrifice themselves for the sake of Heaven and will begin to dress themselves in much modesty. And this will annoy the Mitnagdim (those who oppose them). And then, there will be the BIG war. And the mitnagdim who are not Jews who stood at Har Sinai: "They will receive the award." And then, also, the Zionists will fall further. I don't know what else to say. Today is the end of the evildoers. They have a feeling that they are disappearing, that these days are their last and therefore, they are even more evil. [Daniel 12:10 - "...the wicked will act wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand; but the wise will understand."] And this feeling, it's not conscious, but sub-conscious.
And your examples just prove that the times are already even more difficult and we have to hold on, so to speak, to the rope of HKB"H and not let go. Now, He will swing us more strongly. Don't let go of the rope! And the rope is our connection to Him. And those who already feel the strength of the swinging and still succeeded to hold onto the rope until now, so, in the future, it won't be so hard for us. We won't tire so much from this rocking. And we can feel more secure that we won't fall, and we will succeed in holding on tightly to the rope, strongly with both hands. [Isaiah 41:10 - "Fear not, for I am with you...I have strengthened you, even helped you, and even sustained you with my righteous right hand."]
And in the end, Hashem will, so to speak, gather the ropes with all the Jews, and lay them down in the Land of Israel, in the Beit HaMikdash. [Ezekiel 36:24 - "I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the lands, and I will bring you to your own soil."] And they will bring korbanot and there will be peace, and there will be wholeness. [Bechukotai, Lev. 26:6 - "I will provide peace in the land...." Look in the Ramban there.]
Look, the Jews that came out of Egypt came out with much silver and gold, but, it's impossible that they had materialism, because they did not have food and water. So, what is materialism? The gold we cannot eat. And if there isn't food, there isn't life. And if there isn't life, there is no materialism.
It's clear that we will pass through a great fear in the war, etc. But, those who really believe - they won't be without food, without what the body needs in order to continue to live, liquid and food. It won't be a delicatessen, but the taste - it will be a taste of the Garden of Eden. And the miracle will be natural. In truth, everything now is also a miracle [See the Ramban, end of Parshat Bo]. It's just that it's covered with a lot of trash and impurity, and therefore, it's hard to see the miracles. When you eat sweets, it's the body and it doesn't at all reach even close to the soul and spirit, but in the near future, we will eat and it will be good for the body, but it won't be for us a lust and a craving to eat. It will fill the body and the body will operate perfectly. It will be for us strength to learn and to serve Hashem and to ascend in steps and not to fear and always, we will feel good, because we have to feel good in order to ascend spiritually. Because, if the body is full of pain and fatigue and depression, it's impossible to ascend spiritually [Look in Rambam, Hilchot De'ot, perek 4, halacha 1: "Since the body experiences health and wholeness from the paths of Hashem, that's why it's impossible that he will understand or know, and he is sick, etc."] And all the world of Mashiach and all the era of Mashiach - the goal will be to ascend and to ascend and to draw closer, more and more, to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, to the brilliance of the Shekhina. [Psalms 36:10 - "...By Your light, may we see light."][See end of the prayer 'Uva l'Tzion goel' - "...and merit that we live and see and inherit goodness and blessing in the years of Messianic times and for the life of the World to Come...." and it is often said at the end of Birkat HaMazon: "The compassionate One! May He make us worthy of the days of Mashiach and the life of the World to Come." And look in Rambam, perek 9, from Hilchot Teshuva and the end of Hilchot Melachim]. And it will be such an immense pleasure that I don't know how even to begin to explain or describe it. [Isaiah 64:3 - "...no eye had ever seen a god - except for You - that acted for those who trust in Him."]
Q. Why do we feel a 'heaviness'?
A. Now, we are heavy because already there is a war. The war began in Heaven as well as here. [See Daniel, chapter 2: "At that time Michael will stand, the great prince, etc."] And you are fighting this war daily. You are on the battlefield and many other Jews are fighting on several issues in Yiddishkeit, but the holiness is the issue. [See 'קול דממה דקה', Vol 38, and others] And it's also pertinent to a person's mouth, to speech.
And you will feel this heaviness until the war itself will begin - the physical war between all countries. Because the victory in Heaven will be before the victory in this world. So, therefore, first you will feel that the heaviness is going and disappearing even before the war finishes. The war will nevertheless be frightening. But, a person, the true Jew, will begin to feel relaxation and ease, motion in all his limbs, even before the war ends, because the victory in Heaven will come first and he will feel it. [Isaiah 40:29-31 - "He gives strength to the weary, and grants abundant might to the powerless. ...but, those whose hope is in Hashem will have renewed stength, they will grow wings like eagles, they will run and not grow tired, they will walk and not grow weary." Look in Sanhedrin 92.]
I'd just add the following from the introduction to the Kol Hator of the Gr"a:
"...As for the second Geulah (in the time of Mashiach Ben David), the Gaon, along with other master mekubalim, asserted that there will be great wars, both in the physical and metaphysical planes between the Jews and other nations, as well as internally between Jews and "Jews" who are part of the Erev Rav (the "Mixed Multitude")."
