In Honor of the 57th Anniversary of the Six-Day War

26 Iyyar 5784
Day 41 of the Omer 

UPDATE from 4 pm... (10:30 pm) See further updates in the comments section.

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THE SIX-DAY WAR

June 5, 1967 - June 10, 1967

26 Iyyar (Yesod of Yesod) - 2 Sivan (Netzach of Malchut)

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?" 

Bemidbar - The Golan in the Torah

by Prof. Yoel Elitzur

Each 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!!

The Incredible Untold 

Story of the Six-Day War