Who Was Donald J. Trump?

20 Kislev 5778

Yes, you read it right. Who WAS Donald J. Trump?

If we want to know who Donald J. Trump is today, it would be worthwhile knowing who Donald J. Trump was 'yesterday' - in a previous gilgul. Our sources tell us that all the important characters of the past will be reincarnated at the End of Days. It stands to reason that they will once again be important and influential figures.

Donald J. Trump campaigned for the US presidency on the slogan "making America great again." The concept of 'Greatness' seems to have a large appeal for him. It's also why he puts his name in giant letters at the top of his buildings and his books. (See here.) He also has a penchant for Greek architecture and Greek mythology. I wondered if he could be a gilgul of Alexander the Great. I have reason to believe that people look similarly from one gilgul to the next and I see a marked resemblance between Donald J. Trump and Alexander of Macedon.

I'm not the only one to draw connections between Trump and ancient Greece...

• Donald Trump presidency has echoes of ancient Greece
• Why the White House Is Reading Greek History
• A ‘Hiero’ in the White House: Trump’s resemblance to a Greek tyrant
• Meet the Donald Trump of ancient Athens (he won)

There is more, but you get the idea.

In examining Alexander's past relationship to the Jews maybe we can gain more insight into what is happening here today. I see some interesting parallels. What do you think?

Philip of Macedon

At the beginning of the fourth century BCE, in about the year 370 BCE, a king arose in Macedonia known as Philip of Macedon. ...Philip was a great warrior and organizer.

Most of all, he had the dream of empire in him. In seven years he was able to subdue all the Greek city-states and unite them, something that had not happened in almost five centuries. Of course, he united them at the point of the sword, but he united them.

Alexander the Great

Philip died but left a son, who would become one of the single greatest forces in history, Alexander the Great. He called himself that modestly, but the truth is that he was great.

Philip did not want Alexander to grow up to be a coarse and boorish Macedonian. So he gave him a tutor: the renowned philosopher Aristotle. It was Aristotle who implanted in Alexander the philosophic ideals of the Greeks.

Alexander was not a pagan because Aristotle was not a pagan. Aristotle’s concept of God was that a Creator exists. The Greek philosophers referred to God as the “First Cause.” He pushed the button, so to speak. However, once He did so He did not do anything more. What happened on Earth did not interest him. Therefore, there was no interference from Heaven as to what happened on Earth. It was another way of unburdening themselves of conscience – except now with the stamp of belief in God.

Nevertheless, the Greeks believed that God existed, which is very important because it will help explain one reason why Alexander was able to tolerate the Jewish religion, whereas many of the Persian emperors were not. Aristotle knew that all the stories of the gods – from Apollo to Zeus – were made-up. Alexander, as Aristotle’s student, also believed that. Thanks to Aristotle, therefore, the ideas of the Jews were much more acceptable to Alexander.

Alexander’s Encounter with the Jews

Alexander took over his father’s leadership position when he was yet a teenager. He would be dead by the time he was 29. In that short period he conquered the entire civilized world.

One of his campaigns brought him to the Land of Israel. He arrived during the reign of the great High Priest, the last of the Men of the Great Assembly, Simon the Just. Most historians say that he came in about the year 329 BCE. (He was dead by 323 BCE.)

The Jews were terrified of the now victorious Greeks, because they had backed Persia in the war. There were two choices. We will see this story repeated over and over again in the time of the Second Temple. One was to fight, which is what the Jews did later with the Romans. The second was to somehow come to an accommodation with the enemy.

Simon the Just chose the second course. The Jews were not about to defeat Alexander in battle; therefore, the correct way to deal with the matter was to come to an accommodation with him.

The Talmud describes the drama of that first encounter (Yoma 69a). Simon the Just came forth with other members of the priesthood, as well as the sages of the Sanhedrin, to greet Alexander at the gates of Jerusalem as he strode in on his famous white horse, which he rode all over the world in his conquests. According to the historians of the time, it was an enormously tall horse and Alexander was an enormously tall person. Plus, he always wore a plumed helmet. Combined, Alexander stood about 13 feet high on the horse. He was an awe-inspiring sight to behold.

When Alexander saw the Simon he dismounted and bowed to him. When he was questioned by his advisors, he told them that whenever he went into battle he dreamed of an angel leading him to victory. The face of the Jewish High Priest, he said, was the face of the angel he saw in his dreams. That was why he bowed down to him.

Alexander the Great and the Jews

Because of Aristotle, Alexander was positively disposed toward the Jews. Instead of destroying and subjugating them, he made an arrangement with them. As long as they would be his loyal vassals and pay their taxes they could remain autonomous. That was an enormous concession because Alexander was rarely that accommodating to anyone.

Out of gratitude to Alexander, the Jews did a few things. First, they agreed to name every child born the next year “Alexander.” That is why the name Alexander, or Sender for short, became a common Jewish name even to this day.

At the same time, it also opened the door for Jews to give their children other Greek names such as Antigonus Tarphon, among other names of Greek origin one finds in the Talmud. Ironically, through showing Alexander their gratitude by naming their children after him they unwittingly opened the door to the Greek language. And with the Greek language automatically came the Greek culture.

[ HELLENISM!]

The Jews also agreed to install a system of tax collection that would lead to terrible corruption. Indeed, it was so inherently corrupt that the Talmud held that anybody who was a tax collector was presumed to be a thief. This terribly pernicious system destroyed the morale of the Jewish community in the time of the Greeks long after Alexander was gone.  (Source)

Trump's speech yesterday is entirely in keeping with these characteristics of Alexander the Great. Just when I was ready to admit that I may have been wrong about Trump, he said...

Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions, but it is now also the heart of one of the most successful democracies in the world. Over the past seven decades, the Israeli people have built a country where Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and people of all faiths are free to live and worship according to their conscience and according to their beliefs.

Jerusalem is today, and must remain, a place where Jews pray at the Western Wall, where Christians walk the Stations of the Cross, and where Muslims worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

This is in keeping with Western "democratic" ideals, pluralism, etc., but it is unacceptable to Torah Jews - those who refuse to assimilate - and it will most certainly be unacceptable to Mashiach. These statements put Trump on the wrong side of what's coming. And any Jews who align themselves with him are on the wrong side, too.

This Hanukah, more than ever, may we find the courage to fight against the assimilation of the Hellenists and may we be zocheh to hear the words from Mashiach's own mouth "Mi l'Hashem elai!"