Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Balak
From the Commentary on the Stone Edition Chumash...
Balaam, prophet of the nations. God, in His wisdom, ordained that the gentile nations should have a prophet, who would be comparable to Moses - though much inferior to him - so that they would not be able to contend that if only they had had someone who could communicate to them the will of God, they would have been as righteous as Israel. Balaam was that prophet. This Sidrah revolves around his ability to curse and his attempts, commissioned by King Balak of Moab, to curse the advancing nation of Israel. The Sages teach that there is an instant every day when God is "angry" (Avodah Zarah 4a; Berachos 7a), meaning that He judges sinners at that time. Clearly, someone who is guilty of transgressions is most vulnerable at that instant, and it was Balaam's "talent" to know when that moment was at hand. A curse at that time could subject its victim to such Divine judgment. Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel, but God thwarted his plan by not sitting in judgment on that day (ibid.). This Sidrah tells of Balaam's repeated futile attempts, and God's insistence that he bless Israel. So significant were these blessings that the Sages even considered making them part of the daily Shema prayers. God wanted these sublime blessings to come to Israel through the agency of the wicked and immoral Balaam, so that all the world would know that everyone is helpless to harm Israel against God's will (Shelah).
In Balaam's famous reference to the kochav miYa'aqov, we tend to focus on this reference to the revelation of Mashiach, but the two succeeding verses predict something equally astounding: "Edom shall be a conquest and Seir shall be the conquest of his enemies - and Israel will attain success. One from Ya'aqov shall rule and destroy the remnant of the city."
Again, from the same Commentary...
Seir and Edom - the two names of Esau's descendants - will fall to his enemy, Israel, and become its possession. Verse 19 [of chapter 24] concludes this aspect of the prophecy by saying that Israel will dominate Edom and destroy its most prominent city (Rashi). This describes the End of Days, because the current dispersion is called the Edomite Exile, during which Israel is considered to be under the dominion of Edom. This will end when Edom's power is broken (Ramban).
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Quote from the Haftarah: "He has told you, O man, what is good, and what Hashem seeks from you: only the performance of justice, the love of kindness, and walking humbly with your God."
~ Shabbat Shalom ~
Edom’s power is not broken. Hashem is publicly showing everyone in a very clear (and miraculous) way that President Trump will bring greatness to the nation of Edom (America) when he is president again soon. Rabbi Kessin has explained many times that Edom does teshuva and becomes great again before Moshiach arrives. So, we’re looking at Moshiach‘s revelation, unfortunately, no earlier than this coming January/February.
ReplyDelete-Chava
Chava, you are arguing with the Torah, Rashi and Ramban, not me and you sound very foolish. "Rabbi" Kessin is mistaken.
DeleteIf it’s positive prophecy that Edom has to fall and Trump can’t become president again, then why did Hashem make such a huge open miracle at the assassination attempt? As well, as the democrats destroying themselves by having Biden stay in the race with no good replacement. Wouldn’t it seem like Hashem has a plan for Trump to be president again?
Delete-Chava
I'll point out further that this is a POSITIVE PROPHECY for Yisrael so it must come true. The exile along with the chillul Hashem it perpetuates will only end when Eisav is destroyed. That goes all the way back to Ya'aqov's grasping of Eisav's heel when they were born!
DeleteChava, the two things are not mutually exclusive. Trump may very well be Hashem's choice to oversee the downfall of Edom. Not everyone sees the event as "a huge open miracle". In fact, there is credible evidence for it being staged. However, for our purposes, that's neither here nor there.
DeleteEven if it was a real attempt to eliminate him, there is nothing to say that the person who tried it won't be celebrated 80 years from now or that this will be the last attempt.
See The Many Attempts To Assassinate Adolph Hitler
The point is that Hitler was surely spared by HKB"H, as evil as he was, because he was also a tool in the hand of God.
What is important here is that you don't seem to understand yet that whether it's right or left, Eisav's kiss or Eisav's bite, they are both ways to destroy the Jews. For all that Trump claims to have done "for Israel" he said now you have to pay me back with a Palestinian State.
(TRUMP - Jan. 28, 2020) As everyone knows, I have done a lot for Israel: moving the United States Embassy to Jerusalem; recognizing — (applause) –- recognizing the Golan Heights — (applause) — and, frankly, perhaps most importantly, getting out of the terrible Iran nuclear deal. (Applause.) There’s a lot of spirit in this room. (Laughter.) It’s true. You don’t see it often. You don’t see it often.
Therefore, it is only reasonable that I have to do a lot for the Palestinians, or it just wouldn’t be fair. Now, don’t clap for that, okay? But it’s true. It wouldn’t be fair. I want this deal to be a great deal for the Palestinians. It has to be.
Today’s agreement is a historic opportunity for the Palestinians to finally achieve an independent state of their very own.
While it is barely remembered today, before Oslo, Yasir Arafat ym"sh was the sole survivor of a plane crash. This was a significant and indisputable miracle, assuming it really happened. Like Hitler ym"sh improbably surviving the slaughter of WW1 and the many setbacks he experienced on his way to power, and the many attempts to kill him after.
DeleteEven if there was a miracle, which I am skeptical of, we can't assume that Hashem's purpose for Trump is as a carrot rather than a stick.
If you check out pictures of Evander Holyfield's ear immediately after a piece was bitten off by Mike Tyson, there is NO BLOOD. Ears do not have much in the way of blood vessels or blood circulating in them. It's not even possible for Trump's ear to have spurted blood like we see.
I anticipate each of R. Kessin's shiurim, but when he gets specific vis a vis politics he can be very wrong. As one example, he was publicly very supportive of Gidon Saar as a healing element and successor to Netanyahu, basically right until he defected from Likud and openly displayed his disloyal and divisive nature.
To be fair to Chava, people are being lead astray by all the Trump talk on a certain geula blog. There is a wikipage on unsuccessful political assassination attempts across the globe. The list is very long. Everything is from Hashem and all those figures were saved, the good, the bad, and the indifferent. Google the same for the US alone, for presidents and contenders.
DeleteAlso most English speaking Jews are monolingual and are limited largely to an echo chamber of rabbonim who live in the galut. The responsibility lies with their leaders.
The Rambam says that we do not know how the geula will unfold ahead of time. Lehavdil, even the man they stan said we do not know Gd's plans.
What is for sure, anyone who tells you, insinuates or implies or leads you to believe that Moshiach can't come before x, y or z is certainly leading you astray. Any Jew with a public platform has to take their responsibility very seriously, and take into account how their words will be and are construed.
For Chava, the Rambam says that the only thing you can say is good is a mitzva, and conversely an aveira. Apart from that we don't know what is truly for our good. In the meantime, every Jew should be asking themselves, what can I do that will hasten the geula, even betoch be'ita there is achishena.
DeleteHashem is closing down the exile. Jews should be focusing on that, not on politics.
Why is the head of Eisav in the cave of Machpela?
ReplyDeleteSefer HaAgadah 3:111 based on the Talmud, Sotah 13a explains: The sons of Esav, Yishmael and Keturah came to wage war against the sons of Yaakov. However, when they saw Yosef’s crown hung upon Yaakov’s coffin, they all took off their crowns and hung them upon the coffin as well out of respect. When they came to the cave of Machpela, Esav appeared and tried to prevent Yaakov’s burial in it saying, “This cave has room for only four couples (that is why the city is called Kiryat Arba). Since Yaakov buried Leah in his place, the plot that remains is mine.” Yaakov’s sons replied, “But you sold your portion to our father.” Esav retorted, “Even if I did sell my claim as firstborn, did I sell also the original single portion due me as an heir?” They said, “You sold that also.” Esav said, “Show me the bill of sale.” They said, “The bill of sale is in Egypt. Who will go and bring it from there? Let Naphtali go- he is swift as a hind.”
DeleteHushim, the son of Dan, who was hard of hearing was standing there. When he asked why it was taking so long to bury Yaakov, he was told that they were waiting for Naphtali to return. Hushim asked, “And until Naphtali returns is my grandfather to lie shamefully unburied?” He seized a club and struck Esav on the head so hard that his eyes fell out. At that moment, Rivka’s prophecy (Breisheet 27:45) “Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?” was fulfilled.
How do we know that Yaakov actually bought his burial place in the cave?
In Breishhet 50:5 Yosef tells Pharaoh: “My father made me swear an oath saying, ‘Behold I am dying. In my grave that I prepared (kariti) for myself in the Land of Cnaan, there you shall bury me…’”
According to Rashi, Yaakov had taken silver and gold that he brought from Lavan’s house and made a piled heap of it and said to Esav: “Take this for your share in the cave.”
Sefer HaYashar (written in the 13th century, printed in the 16th century) adds that there was a full war that took place between the children of Esav and the children of Yaakov in Chevron while Esav was lying dead on the ground. Eighty of Esav’s descendents were killed. Zepho, Esav’s grandson and fifty of his men were taken captive. All who remained fled with Eliphaz, Esav’s son. They carried Esav’s body to Mt. Seir to be buried there but his head remained buried in Maarat HaMachpela where the battle took place. Not one of Yaakov’s descendents was killed.
Rabbi Aharon Kotler (1892-1962) said that although Esav was an evil person, his head was full of the Torah that he was taught by his father, Yitzchak and his grandfather, Avraham, therefore his head merited to be buried in the cave. (Source)
...A “headless” body—a physical life devoid of all ideal and direction—is a negative thing; but when a head is subverted by its body, when a person’s spiritual sensitivity and vitality have been commandeered to serve his material drives, this is a materialism that is far more lethal, infiltrating the soul’s innermost chambers and poisoning what is finest in man and his world.
On the day that Jacob was laid to rest, Esau’s head was severed from his body. The body, divorced from its spiritual vitality, went on to spawn the soulless materialism that is the commonplace challenge to the voice of Jacob. The head, freed from its corporeal subversion, was reunited with its source and kindred spirit in the bosom of Isaac. (Source
I'm just wondering how long until the Xians who spend time with Jews take the knowledge that Yeshu was a gilgul of Eisav, put it together with Trump being Mashiach material and claim he is the actual "Second Coming" of JC.
DeleteRegarding the civil war between Yaakov's and Eisav's families, the book Pharaoh by R. Alexander Hool mentions it. He dissects the secular historical narrative and fits the archaeological record into our mesorah. It was the first time I had heard about it. There is more too. About a time of peaceful coexistence until the connections between the two families were severed for good.
DeleteWhy is Trump being compared with hitler YMSV? And why is it being assumed that Trump hasn’t realized by now that you can make peace with the Palestinians? He’s not stupid.
ReplyDelete-Sara
He's not. It makes the point that clear Divine intervention is no guarantee of a happy outcome. Several attempts were made on Hitler's life and each time he miraculously survived. He even gave credit for it to God.
Delete