14 Sivan 5784
14 Sivan 5784
Assimilation is more rampant than most Jews understand and I would posit that most of the assimilated have no idea that they have, in fact, been assimilated. A kippah on the head is no indicator of a kosher hashkafah.
If you can listen to the following video excerpt (3:40) of a JNS interview and not be able to identify the basis of my assertion, you may also have fallen prey to this scourge on the Jewish world. Check yourself accordingly. This kind of thinking has been, and continues to be, the main impediment to the revelation of Mashiach in our days!!
13 Sivan 5784
"The only way to win is not to play the game."
I honestly don't know what it is going to take to get the Jews to look up - beyond the political circus - and see that left and right are artificial constructs intended to maintain control by making people think they still have choice. All you need to do to verify my words is to acknowledge that no matter which "side" takes the reins of government, nothing essentially changes.
These hooligan protesters in Israel have the right idea about Netanyahu but for the wrong reasons. That doesn't mean he doesn't have to go, and the sooner the better, but he must be replaced by something better, not more of the same (or worse) from the other side. The "choice" that The Powers That Be allow us is not only not working for our benefit, but they pose an existential risk, not only to the Jews, but to the entire free world!! And it's going to be up to us to put a stop to them.
Hamas and Hezbollah, even Iran, are just the tip of the iceberg. We got a glimpse into the reality that lies beyond what we normally are allowed to see during COVID. Has everyone so soon forgotten how Netanyahu arranged with his good buddy Pfizer head Albert Bourla to be first in line to get the whole population of Israel injected with an untested experimental "vaccine"? [See: Pfizer CEO hails ‘obsessive’ Netanyahu for calling 30 times to seal vaccine deal.]
Across the board, from the staunchest chiloni to the "modern" chareidi, Jews looks admiringly at Israel's hi-tech, start-up nation reputation and feel a swell of pride in it, as if the Prophet Yeshayahu had written: "The Technology will go forth from Zion and the word of AI from Jerusalem." What an unrivaled blessing we've become to the world, such a "light unto the nations."
Well, think again! Think again!! Because while engaging in this love affair with the god Technology, the noose has been slowly but surely closing around all our necks!!!
While we have been 100% distracted with war and politics, TPTB have been reducing the number of farms around the world. (Do you think it is a coincidence that agriculture in Israel has taken one of the hardest hits over the past nine months?) [See: The number of farms in the world is declining, here’s why it matters to you; Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Why?]
The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Israel is an initiative established by the Government and led by the Innovation Authority.The centre aims to create and share knowledge, experience and best practices related to innovative technologies’ regulation by establishing collaborations between governments, leading corporations, the private sector, and experts from around the world.Launched 19 September 2019Host Institution Israel Innovation AuthorityCentre Head Daniella Partem
Program's DescriptionThe world is in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution – a period during which technological breakthroughs and industrial disruptive technologies are blurring geographical borders and challenging existing regulatory frameworks. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and autonomous transportation are rapidly changing our lives, creating new risks and opportunities, and raising ethical issues. Government regulations must keep up with the rapid pace of technological changes and bring progress to Israeli citizens.To help government regulation adapt to the rapidly changing technology, the World Economic Forum founded a network of Centers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR). This network aims to create and to share knowledge, experience and best practices related to innovative technologies’ regulation by establishing collaborations between governments, leading corporations, private sector, and experts from around the world.The C4IR network began operation in San Francisco in 2017 and operates centers in China, Japan, and India. Alongside the official centers, there are other countries that joined as ‘Affiliate Centers’ including South Africa, Colombia, Brazil, the UAE, Norway, and Saudi Arabia.In January 2019, as part of Government Resolution No. 4481, it was decided that the State of Israel would join the C4IR. Accordingly, in August 2019, the Innovation Authority established the Israeli Center for Regulation of Innovative Technologies that serves as an Affiliate Center in the C4IR network.Participation in the network will enable to advance the readiness of the Israeli market to new technologies, specifically innovative disruptive technologies that will significantly influence life in Israel. The Israeli center will work with local regulators to assist them in adopting flexible and innovative regulations that are suitable for technological developments and that allow for the promotion of innovation, research and improved services while preserving public interests (such as safety and privacy).The Innovation Authority believes that creating a flexible, innovative regulation environment that is adapted to technological developments provides a significant opportunity to advance an innovation ecosystem for growing technologies. This environment is necessary for the Israeli high-tech industry to be able to maintain its leading technological position in these fields but also to enable the State of Israel to provide its citizens with the tremendous benefit promised by technological progress.The Israeli Center, established in 2019, promotes technological fields at the heart of the International Center’s (C4IR – WEF) activity, the development and application of which influence productivity and growth in the State of Israel. The Center promotes collaborations with the Ministries of Transport, Health and Justice in the fields of regulation of smart transportation, autonomous vehicles and drones, and in fields of Artificial Intelligence and information economics.
12 Sivan 5784
In true Amalek style, the missionaries always go for the low-hanging fruit - the poor, tired, hurt and helpless on the fringes of society. They are coming now for the ones Yishmael did not finish off!!
10 Sivan 5784
8 Sivan 5784
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
7 Sivan 5784
Carroll Quigley (November 9, 1910 – January 3, 1977) was an American historian and theorist of the evolution of civilizations. He is remembered for his teaching work as a professor at Georgetown University, and his seminal works, The Evolution of Civilizations: An Introduction to Historical Analysis, and Tragedy And Hope; A History Of The World In Our Time, in which he states that an Anglo-American banking elite have worked together for centuries to spread certain values globally. (Source)
...The reluctance of the Milner Group to push the Zionist cause in Palestine was based on more academic considerations, chiefly two in number: (1) the feeling that it would not be fair to allow the bustling minority of Zionists to come into Palestine and drive the Arabs either out or into an inferior economic and social position; and (2) the feeling that to do this would have the effect of alienating the Arabs from Western, and especially British, culture, and that this would be especially likely to occur if the Jews obtained control of the Mediterranean coast from Egypt to Syria. (p. 170)...The attitude of the Milner Group toward the Arabs and Jews can be seen from many quotations from members of the Group. At the Peace Conference of 1919, discussing the relative merits of the Jews and Arabs, [Jan] Smuts said: "They haven't the Arabs attractive manners. They do not warm the heart by graceful subjection. They make demands.* They are a bitter, recalcitrant little people, and like the Boers, impatient of leadership and ruinously quarrelsome among themselves...." [John] Dove declared that the whole Arab world should be in one state and it must have Syria and Palestine for its front door.... The Arab world, he explained, needs this western door because we are trying to westernize the Arabs*, and without it they would be driven to the east and to India.... He concluded:I suggest that partition should not be permanent, but this does not mean that a stage of friendly tutelage is necessarily a bad thing for the Arabs. On the contrary, advanced peoples can give so much to stimulate backwards ones if they do it with judgment and sympathy. ...Personally, I don't see the slightest harm in Jews coming to Palestine under reasonable conditions. They are the Arabs' cousins as much as the Phoenicians, and if Zionism brings capital and labour which will enable industries to start, it will add to the strength of the larger unit which some day is going to include Palestine*. But they must be content to be part of such a potential unit. They need have no fear of absorption*, for they have everything to gain from an Arab Federation. (p. 171)
...The attitude of the Milner Group toward the specific problem of Zionism was expressed in explicit terms by Lord Milner himself in a speech to the House of Lords on 27 June 1923:
I am not speaking of the policy which is advocated by the extreme Zionists, which is a totally different thing...I believe that we have only to go steadily with the policy of the Balfour Declaration as we have ourselves interpreted it in order to see great material progress in Palestine and a gradual subsistence of the present [Arab] agitation....
...I am and always have been a strong supporter of pro-Arab policy which was first advocated in this country in the course of the war. I believe in the independence of the Arab countries, which they owe to us and which they can only maintain with our help. I look forward to an Arab Federation...I am convinced that the Arab will make a great mistake...in claiming Palestine as a part of the Arab Federation in the same sense as are the other countries of the near East which are mainly inhabited by Arabs. (p. 172)
He then went on to say that he felt that Palestine would require a permanent mandate and under that condition could become a National Home for the Jews,...but "must never become a Jewish state."*
Commenting on the bolded items...
"They do not warm the heart by graceful subjection. They make demands."
In other words, Jews do not know their place and fail to acknowledge in an acceptable way the superiority of their Anglo overlords.
"...we are trying to westernize the Arabs."
No surprise here. One hundred years later and while they appear to have succeeded in many respects, there were unforeseen consequences. When you build a bridge, traffic goes both ways. Witness London today.
"...if Zionism brings capital and labour which will enable industries to start, it will add to the strength of the larger unit which some day is going to include Palestine."
The Jewish presence in Palestine was only viewed in a positive light by what they had to bring to the table with regards to improving the Arab world - money, progress, good influence. Do we not see this exact same thinking with regard to Gaza today?! Nothing has changed in a hundred years. The only difference is that today it's the United States doing the talking in place of Great Britain.
The "larger unit" mentioned here is a reference to their plan to create one great Arab State, an idea called Pan-Arabism, which supposedly died a natural death in the 1960s. But is now reportedly enjoying a rebirth of sorts: Neo Pan-Arabism.
...The Arab uprisings of 2011 looked like the final nail in the coffin of pan-Arabism. Syria was the prime example. The last bastion of pan-Arabism, still clutching the slogans of the 1960s and claiming to host regional organizations that would take over the mantle of Arab politics in the future, faced imminent collapse. But unlike in previous decades, when threatened Arab regimes sparked mass protests across the Arab world, few Arab citizens seemed to care about Assad's fate or to be willing to die for him.
... A similar fate befell the Palestinian question. Its staid leadership did not appeal to the younger generation of Arabs; it was older bureaucrats who replaced the handsome revolutionary figures of the past century, using outdated slogans and methods. Moreover, in the midst of the turmoil in the region, the plague of the Palestinians seemed less unique. Blood was everywhere, war was everywhere. Advocates of normalization thought the decade of the 2010s was theirs. Israeli leaders felt the moment was ripe for further advances, not only against the Palestinian Authority, but also against Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran.And the lethargy was not confined to the state level. There are several pan-Arab institutions and organizations working in the Arab world to promote Arab unity. ...The Arab masses revolted, and no pan-Arab structure could provide a framework for their movement.Meanwhile, American and European organizations stepped in to provide an alternative. The Open Society Institute/Foundations, the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, various EU initiatives, to name a few, established branches and sent countless delegations to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries to train local NGOs, empower youth, observe elections, advise the emerging political class, etc.The objective of Western countries and organizations was subtle. Unlike the USSR during the Cold War, for example, which advocated the establishment of communist regimes and societies; unlike pan-Arabism, with its stated goal of establishing a unified Arab supra-state, these organizations advocated the creation of an open society, a liberal democracy, or, in other words, an Arab world in the image of the neoliberal West, detached from pan-Arab ideology, economically open, and friendly to Europe and the United States. The type of regimes that have been established or are in the process of being established in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, and Yemen have taken European liberal democracy as a model; they have not adopted any pan-Arab structure....Pan-Arabism has indeed had many deaths, but it has also had many rebirths, and theories about the end of pan-Arabism have often been disproved or proven wrong. Already in the period between 2010 and 2012, a series of opinion polls in several Arab countries concluded that "82% of the respondents confirmed that they consider the Arab peoples closer to them than any other group. Europe, for example, was seen as having ties with Arabs by only 7% of respondents, and non-Arab Muslim nations by only 4%" (Sawani, 2012).It is true that many young Arab activists are Westernized individuals who dress, tweet, write, and even speak like Europeans (Tufekci, 2017). But contrary to the assumptions of many Western diplomats and observers, deep within society, Arabs feel more Arab than democratic or global citizens. They knew they were neither European nor American, but they considered themselves Arab. And just as many Russians resented European and American interference in their internal affairs after 1991, which they saw as a humiliation, so too did many Arabs. The building of neoliberal Arab states was happening on the surface, but behind the thin line, anger was growing. Consequently, the MENA regimes that emerged from the turmoil of the Arab uprisings understood that their legitimacy rested on a rehabilitated pan-Arab narrative.Pan-Arabism therefore lives on, but in a renewed form; it is neo-pan-Arabism. This new thinking has much in common with its earlier version. It comes with claims about the unity of the Arab world, and it still uses the same institutional mechanisms,.... Palestine is central to its message, and Zionism and imperialism are its declared enemies. It is also a populist way of doing politics and a tool to legitimize existing regimes - or to consolidate their legitimacy.One of the main characteristics of neo-pan-Arabism is that it is not an ideology. ...It is more about how they present themselves, not what they do. ...these regimes have adopted the trappings of pan-Arabism, but have retained the neoliberal economic model of their immediate predecessors.Among the peculiarities of neo-pan-Arabism on the international stage is the renunciation of arming anti-Western militant groups. ...Thus, the most threatening statement against Israel made by Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune during the Arab League summit in Algiers in 2022 was about supporting the Palestinian issue in the United Nations not, say, sending weapons or striking Israel. And unlike classical pan-Arabism, which allied itself with leftist groups around the world, neo-pan-Arabism is not part of the global leftist movement. Its practitioners have ties to the European far right, and many of them prefer Donald Trump to Joe Biden (The Associated Press, 2017).
February 17, 2024MUNICH, Feb 17 (Reuters) - There is "an extraordinary opportunity" in the coming months for Israel to normalise ties with its Arab neighbors, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday, while also emphasizing the need for the creation of a Palestinian state.The top U.S. diplomat said there were genuine efforts led by Arab countries to revitalize the Palestinian Authority so it can be more effective in representing the Palestinians."Virtually every Arab country now genuinely wants to integrate Israel into the region to normalize relations...to provide security commitments and assurances so that Israel can feel more safe," Blinken said during a panel discussion at the annual Munich Security Conference."And there's also, I think the imperative, that's more urgent than ever, to proceed to a Palestinian state that also ensures the security of Israel," he added.The Biden administration has been working to secure a mega-deal that will see ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel normalize. The Kingdom and other Arab countries are seeking the creation of a Palestinian state as part of the deal.
I think this goes a long way to explaining the pushback, as well as the demands, we have been receiving from the US, EU, UN since this war began. The tactics may change but the goal remains the same, whether it is for a hundred years or two thousand.
But only the will of the Creator will hold sway. Baruch Hashem Yitbarach!!!
5 Sivan 5784
49 Days of the Omer
Erev Chag Shavuot
I just have to say right now that I have a very strong feeling that something great is right upon us. May we each be found worthy to receive it!
I hope you enjoy these meaningful excerpts which I've taken from previous Shavuot blog posts.
~ Chag Shavuot Sameach!! ~
...Shavuot and Pesach have a special relationship which makes them really, in a sense, almost like one holiday, namely, the Holiday of Redemption, Physical and Spiritual, of the Jewish People.
~ ~ ~
4 Sivan 5784
48 Days of the Omer
Not making any claims, only that this is the way Hashem's Meshichim will speak.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who voted with the Sharon government four years ago to expel 10,000 Jews from their Gaza and northern Samarian homes, told the Cabinet on Sunday he will not repeat the same mistake. His support for the expulsion plan, known as the 2005 Disengagement, was critical until the Sharon government had enough backers, allowing Netanyahu to vote against the program after its execution was assured.
National Union Chairman MK Yaakov Katz responded to the Mitzpe Yitzhar home and goat pen demolition. “The PM-in-effect, Ehud Barak continues to trample the Judea and Samaria Settlement Movement. PM Netanyahu, elected by the Zionist nationalist majority must stop this policy, demonstrate leadership and fulfill the wishes of his voters. The outposts have legal resolutions, and the PM should act according to them.
Benjamin Netanyahu was born in 1949 in Tel Aviv... He spent his high school years in the US, ... Returning to Israel in 1967, Mr. Netanyahu enlisted in the IDF and served in an elite commando unit, ....
Mr. Netanyahu received a B.Sc. degree in architecture and a M.Sc. in business management from MIT. He also studied political science at MIT and Harvard University. Between 1976 and 1982 Mr. Netanyahu worked in the private sector, first with the Boston Consulting Group, an international business consultancy, and then in a senior management position at Rim Industries Ltd. In 1979 and 1984 Mr. Netanyahu initiated two international conferences that emphasized the need to fight terrorist organizations and regimes that provide them support....In 1982 Mr. Netanyahu assumed the position of deputy chief of mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. In 1984 he was appointed Israel's ambassador to the UN,....
Returning to Israel in 1988, Mr. Netanyahu was elected to the Knesset on the Likud party list and was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. During the Gulf War he served as Israel's principal representative in the international arena. In 1991, he was a senior member of the Israeli delegation to the Madrid peace conference and as such, participated in the first strategic cooperation program between Israel and the US. [This was the beginning of "Oslo."]
In 1993 Mr. Netanyahu was elected Likud party chairman and served as head of opposition until his election to Prime Minister of Israel in 1996....During his term as Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu implemented policy that combined fighting terror with advancement of the peace process.
In the economic realm, Mr. Netanyahu led the liberalization of foreign currency regulations, accelerated privatization of government-owned companies and reduced budget deficit.
...After the completion of his term as Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu served as a business consultant to Israeli high-tech companies and was a popular speaker on the global lecture circuit. In 2002 Mr. Netanyahu returned to politics, first as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then, in the course of 2003, as Minister of Finance. He initiated policies that encouraged growth by reducing the public sector and strengthened the private sector. ...These steps, praised by the US administration, credit rating companies and the IMF, ....
...Those who are super-rich are no longer squeamish about displaying their wealth. One tycoon is building a 60,000-square-foot estate in the ancient city of Caesarea, along the coast between Tel Aviv and Haifa. Plans are underway for a special terminal at Ben-Gurion airport to handle the bustling traffic in private planes and helicopters. The national motor vehicle department said recently that it had to draft new regulations to allow for the import of Rolls-Royces, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins."Before, people in Israel were ashamed to be rich," said luxury real estate broker Meir Menahem, sipping a latte at his oceanfront office. "Even if you had money, you lived simply. Today, people are not ashamed. If they are making money, they want to live better."His firm, Neot Shiran, is helping the super-rich find new places to spend their money by promoting exclusive residential communities along the Mediterranean Sea north of Tel Aviv, where former kibbutz-owned farmlands are being transformed into the Hamptons of Israel....If you're looking for that Malibu ranch atmosphere and need space for tennis courts and stables, there's sprawlingBnei Zion, where all you can see from the roads are intercoms and driveways. Land is zoned agricultural, so it won't cost as much to fill the pool or water the putting green.But Herzliya Pituach, nestled on the seaside bluffs of the north Tel Aviv district, remains the standard-bearer for those seeking the ultimate address. This year the sale of a $36-million home, next door to the U.S. ambassador's house, broke Israel's record for a residential transaction.It's a high-end, all-cash market that didn't exist when Menahem started in the mid-1990s. Back then, a 2,000-square-foot house was considered big and sales topping $1 million were rare.Israel began shifting from its socialist roots in the 1980s and 1990s. Deregulation, privatization and tax cuts — which peaked when current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu served as finance minister a decade ago — opened opportunities for a handful of the nation's richest families and recently immigrated Russian oligarchs to take over former state-run businesses. Today, Israel's economy is one of the most concentrated in the world, with about a dozen tycoons controlling a large portion of the country's banks, manufacturers, real estate firms, food producers, media outlets and retailers.State-owned "corporations were sold off to very wealthy families and this provided opportunities to accumulate a lot of wealth," Hebrew University professor Michael Shalev said.Binyamin Netanyahu periodically appears before his handlers to report on his progress, like on this occasion in the summer of 2010:Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu assured the New York-based Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) on Thursday that he is willing to further the council’s agenda for the Middle East by supporting an Israeli retreat from Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu further claimed that all core issues could be discussed in direct negotiations, and that if it were up to him, a peace deal between Israel and the American-backed Palestinian Authority could be signed by the end of 2011.“If it’s up to me, we’ll have an agreement,” he said.
...The Zohar (Mishpatim 120A) speaks about the "erev rav" before the Moshiach will come. It connects the verse "Binyamin is a wolf that devours," to the "erev rav" that will control Am Yisrael before the Moshiach comes and says they will be like bad wolves that will eat the plenty of the Torah scholars who are like sheep. All this will only happen "in the morning will eat til," similar to another verse, "til Shiloh (Moshiach) will come." The rest of the verse, "and in evening will share the loot," according to the Zohar, refers to the Geula, that shall be at Mincha time when Hashem will share the loot of the "erev rav" between Moshiach ben Yosef and Moshiach ben David. Rabbi Yosef Sheinberger, shlit"a, added that the Zohar implies that the head of the "erev rav" at the time when Moshiach comes will be named Binyamin. This was also the name of the establisher of these days' "erev rav," Binyamin Zev [Herzl], exactly like the verse says.
1 Sivan 5784
45 Days of the Omer
Rosh Chodesh - Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Bamidbar
Excerpted from the Stone Edition Chumash Commentary...
The Book of Bamidbar deals in great measure with the laws and history of the Tabernacle [Mishkan] during Israel's years in the Wilderness. Ramban notes striking parallels between the Tabernacle, as seen through the light of these laws, and the Revelation at Sinai. These comparisons suggest that the Tabernacle - and later the Temple and the synagogue - was to serve as a permanent substitute for the Heavenly Presence that rested upon Israel at Sinai. By making the Tabernacle central to the nation, not only geographically but conceptually, the people would keep "Mount Sinai" among themselves always. Just as they had surrounded the mountain, longing for closeness to God, they would encamp around the Tabernacle symbolizing that their very existence was predicated on their closeness to the Torah.
One day soon, when Mashiach ben David reigns from Yerushalayim, we will all meet together at the Beit Hamikdash Hashlishi to renew the covenant of Sinai and these are the words we will hear on that day. From the Haftarah...
...It shall be on that day - the words of Hashem - you will call Me "my Husband," [Ishi] and you will no longer call Me, "my Master", [Ba'ali]....
I shall marry you to Me forever; I shall marry you to Me with righteousness, and with justice, and with kindness, and with mercy. I shall marry you to Me with fidelity; and you shall know Hashem.
~ Chodesh Tov and Shabbat Shalom ~
29 Iyyar 5784
44 Days of the Omer
Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan
Still a couple of hours left to say it...
~ Rosh Chodesh Tov ~
29 Iyyar 5784
44 Days of the Omer
🟠 Thu morning - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in RealtimeSPECIAL REPORT - ON RECRUITING CHAREDIMFollowing the massacre of Oct. 7, it was widely reported thousands of younger charedim RAN to the IDF enlistment station and VOLUNTEERED to be recruited into the IDF.2 months ago the Knesset's Research and Information Center published recruitment rates by population groups - and it happens to include what happened to those 4,000 charedim who tried to join the IDF…3,120 of the 4,000 ultra-Orthodox youth were found "unfit", mostly due to medical reasons. Has the army stopped recruiting low-profile soldiers for combat support units, for intelligence, training, computers and command?And that's not even the worst.Out of the 880 ultra-Orthodox youth who were found eligible, only 540 were recruited. That is, out of the 4,000 ultra-Orthodox youth who asked to enlist, the IDF recruited only 13.5%, and even among the 800 ultra-Orthodox determined to be fit for service, only 61% were recruited.These numbers strengthen the claims that the army is not prepared to recruit mass ultra-Orthodox and actually does not want to.(( Could this be changed - yes. But currently the IDF for the most part literally doesn’t want them. ))Via @ramonhaim - Haim Ramon
[The foregoing, in its entirety, was taken from the latest Israel Realtime Updates report - June 6, 2024@ 10:22 am.]
29 Iyyar 5784
Yom Kippur Katan
44 Days of the Omer
28 Iyyar 5784
43 Days of the Omer
(Chesed of Malchut)
Yom Yerushalayim
Hodu l'Hashem ki tov, ki le'olam chasdo!!
26 Iyyar 5784
Day 41 of the Omer
UPDATE from 4 pm... (10:30 pm) See further updates in the comments section.
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a It was taught, Rabbi Yehudah said: In the generation when the son of David comes, the house of assembly will be for harlots, the Galilee will be in ruins, Gablan will lie desolate, the residents from the border towns will wander about from city to city, receiving no comfort (hospitality), the wisdom of scribes will be in disfavor, God-fearing men will be despised, people will be dog-faced, and the truth will be absent, as it is said, "And the truth is absent, and he who withdraws from evil makes himself prey." (Isaiah 59:15)
Question: "Is there any certainty of the Gavlan/Gablan referring to the Golan or could it be referring to another area like the Gaza envelope or parts of Judea & Samaria?"
by Prof. Yoel ElitzurEach year, Parashat Bemidbar is read during or shortly before the beginning of the month of Sivan. Aside from their role in heralding the upcoming festival of Shavuot, the first two days of the month of Sivan have taken on a special significance in the last several decades, as these days in 1967 were the fifth and sixth days of the Six-Day War, when we merited receiving an incredible and unique divine gift: the Golan Heights.
[So, "NO!" Donald Trump did not "give" Israel the Golan Heights!!]
In 1967, these two days fell out on Friday and Shabbat, June 9-10. As a final operation ending those six days of salvation, seven brigades of Israeli soldiers advanced to the Golan Heights and the slopes of Mount Hermon. For years leading up to the Six-Day War, the Syrians had been firing artillery shells at the towns in the Hula Valley and the Jordan Valley from their position in the Golan, and these attacks increased dramatically during the first few days of the War. In addition, the Syrians built a diversion canal in the Golan with the purpose of robbing Israel of its share of the Jordan’s waters.The advance on the Golan, the subject of which had been mired in internal debates among the military and state leadership, began on Friday, 1 Sivan with difficult battles that continued through Friday night, killing many soldiers and wounding many as well. A dramatic, perhaps even miraculous turning point occurred the next morning. The Syrian command received the erroneous impression that the battle for the Golan was lost, and was suddenly seized by tremendous fear. The Syrian chief of staff instructed all Syrian forces to destroy their posts and to retreat past Quneitra for the purpose of defending Damascus, the Syrian capital. Damascus Radio broadcast the erroneous report that Quneitra had fallen to the Zionists, causing a mass exodus of Syrian soldiers and civilians eastward, accompanied by clouds of smoke from the bombing of their own outposts and stations. Israel immediately took advantage of this opportunity and stormed ahead to Quneitra and the Ruqad River, which flows north-south along the eastern side of the Golan Heights in the direction of the Yarmouk River. When the Golan region, with its prominent open plains, abundant water and beautiful streams, fell into Israeli hands, it was entirely devoid of inhabitants. Afterward, ancient synagogues and batei midrash – including that of Rabbi Eliezer Ha-Kappar[1] – were discovered, many settlements and one city were founded, agriculture and cattle-raising infrastructure was established and the nation of Israel arrived (and continues to arrive) en masse to tour in the beautiful Golan. On December 14, 1981, the Israeli Knesset passed the Golan Heights Law, which applied Israel’s laws and government to the Golan Heights.[2]Rabbinic literature mentions a place called Ha-Gavlan, or in Aramaic, Gavlana or Gavlona, a region that is equivalent to the Galilee: “In the footsteps of the Messiah… Galilee will be destroyed, Gablan (Ha-Gavlan) desolated” (Mishna Sota 9:15). There is no settlement in Rabbinic literature called Golan or Gavlan, but Eusebius, who lived during the time of the Amoraim, recognized in the Bashan region (which he calls “Batanaea”) “a large village called Gaulōn in a district of the same name” (Onomasticon 64:8). Eusebius did not provide further information, and it is unclear to which site he is referring. In any case, Eusebius is the latest source that mentions a specific settlement called Golan. Since then, until today, the name Golan has only been used in the regional sense. [Continues here]
This Miracle Messianic War of Hashem will be fought once again, this time by Mashiach ben Yosef, and when it is finished, we will have ALL of the Land from the River to the Sea ...and beyond. And no one will be giving anything "back"!
I pray all of us will merit to celebrate this victory speedily and soon!! Amen!!
