Modern Tower of Babel

Just a quick thought:
The original Tower of Babel was created by a united force of corrupt people. They all used their strength and power to attempt to make a united "global" government - one especially powerful - hence their desire to fight Hashem and "rule" without Him.

Their punishment was separation - to different nations, languages and parts of the world. This has been the case ever since. The world has yet to be united in its desire for anything!

But today, we see the world headed towards global government. It started with the League of Nations, changed to the UN and is now basically headed by obama. They even awarded him an undeserved Nobel Peace Prize, without his making peace in any form.

Unless of course that "peace" really means being the leader of the global government that will unite once again to attempt to destroy Hashem. This time, that attempt will not be merely a tower to shoot arrows at Hashem, rather a coup on the people of Hashem - the Jewish people. For if there are no people of Hashem (c"v), what kind of Kingdom does Hashem have?!

As our Prophets have told us, there will be a global government that will attempt to destroy the Jewish people. This will take place on the Land of Israel. There will be an unprecedented war in magnitude (yes, bigger than WW2). Every nation will be involved. The leader will be named Gog. Everyone should already know these things. (If not, leave me some comments, and I'll try to gather and post the sources).

Our Rabbis told us that we will not know who this character is, until he arrives on scene. There are very strong indicators that this man is obama. He is getting warmed up in his role. His meteoric rise to fame is definitely proof of Hashem's direct involvement. The fact that he will likely NOT get re-elected, means that this situation will reach its climax within the next 3 years.

Man will never learn. History DOES repeat itself. May Hashem protect us all and bring us Mashiach quickly, safely and peacefully, Amen!

Self Destruction

Am Yisrael has historically caused ourselves much destruction and problems. All of our problems are self-inflicted, since if we clung to Hashem properly, He would never have sent us any problems or "bad" decrees. The name a few - the 40 years in the desert, the destruction of both Batei Mikdash, the subsequent Galuyot that we are still suffering from and all that comes with it, and dare I say it- the Holocaust too.

We might not always know exactly what we did wrong, especially since we have lost our Prophets and Sanhedrin; but we do know that we are not perfect and sadly have strayed far from our connection to Hashem. Connection to Hashem = everything wonderful; separation from Hashem = really scary c"v.

When spiritual deficiencies cause physical punishment is understandable. Yet, when the spiritual deficiencies cause physical self-destruction, it is even more amazing. I refer to the situation Israel is facing - specifically with hamas. The self-destruction is apparent to anyone with open eyes. If one has read Rabbi Meir Kahane, he predicted today's situation long ago.

The Israeli Army (IDF) believes in the value of human life - understandable, commendable. They claim it to be a Jewish trait from the Torah - that is not the whole story however. The Torah does not condone putting Jews in danger to protect our enemies' lives. What the IDF does is above and beyond what 'ANY army in the history of warfare has ever done', yet that has not given them an inch of leverage with the UN or anyone else. Instead, the recently released Goldstone report found fault with the IDF during Operation Cast Lead in precisely what the IDF was careful to avoid - unnecessary human casualties.

Today we know that if a child is given a bad title (dumb, stealer, late, untidy) they will take that role soon enough. There is no reason for them to try to impress the other party, if they are not recognized for it. Unfortunately this lesson in self-destruction, Israel has yet to learn. Had they razed the West Bank after issuing warnings and dropping 2 million leaflets, the world would have issued the same scathing reports - big deal. They got it anyway, even though they worked so hard to prevent the casualties. Had they denied entry of aid into their enemies hands, they would have been condemned nonetheless, but they would have starved out their enemy.

The scary thing is that they knew this from the start, yet continued to behave as they did. The world would never give them any leeway - simply because they are Jewish and the world hates us all. Some might even respect a country who properly defends itself. But that was not what was done.

Israel might be thinking they are doing the "right" thing, or the "moral" thing or the "Torah" thing. But those questions are decided by the Torah and its professionals - the Rabbis. A unlearned one cannot be pious (Pirke Avot) - simply, because he does not know what to do or how to do it, what piety can he attain?

Today, it is clear - Hashem wants more from us. We watch and wait as this same situation unfolds with Iran. Will Israel do what's right, what's REALLY right, or what the world wants them to do? (The world basically wants Israel to paint a big bullseye to help Iran aim a nuclear missile to the correct position, c"v.) As we have seen historically, the options on the table may be many, but if we forget for a second WHO is really moving the chess pieces, we become the losers, c"v. If one thinks they are running the show themselves, their punishment is that Hashem let's him do just that. Which usually results in the kind of self-destruction we mentioned above.

May we all merit to see Hashem's light shine upon us and show us the correct path in EVERY facet of our lives, so that we shall not falter c"v for even a moment. We can then merit the coming of Mashiach, quickly, amazingly and peacefully!

Debunking Mashiach Rumors

It's really unbelievable, but over the past several years, Mashiach "rumors" have been spreading nonstop. Not only are they coming frequently from different sources, if we take a step back we are probably living in the most densely clustered period in history for such rumors.

No doubt, there must be a reason for this phenomenon.

I've personally witnessed in my own life how Hashem "prepares" a person for upcoming events. For example, I might have "happened" to hear my Rabbi answering a certain Halachic question, which I did not know the answer to; and minutes later have to deal with the same question in my own home. Only now I already know the answer. This is known as "Refuah Lifne Hamaka" - the cure before the affliction (disease) and that is how Hashem runs the world.

It seems clear to me that although these rumors about Mashiach coming on this day or that day have yet to materialize, they are preparing us for his imminent arrival by accomplishing two powerful tasks:
1. Causing us to constantly think about Mashiach and [re]evaluate our lives
2. Causing us to become desensitized, since Mashiach did not arrive on those dates, making us to become more incredulous to each subsequent rumor

These two tasks work together. They bring the "real" believers closer to Hashem and redemption by making them be on their best behavior. They also cause a person to flex his muscles of Emunah, believing that Mashiach will come despite the fact that "x" date or event has passed and Mashiach still did not arrive.

It also creates an environment of disbelief. So many dates and times have passed and Mashiach has not arrived, that when he actually DOES arrive, we may have a hard time believing it. We know that Mashiach will arrive "suddenly" (Pit'om) or as Yaakov Shwekey's song is titled - "Pis'om". We will truthfully not be prepared for Mashiach. Additionally, we will say 'He's here already? It was too fast, we're not ready!'.

Hopefully, some of us will be prepared at least a little. May it be SOON and PEACEFULLY!

(and to all who believe he has come already in one form or another, I sincerely hope and pray that Hashem shows you the correct path, so that you in fact merit to see the REAL Mashiach and do not delay his arrival by your misguided beliefs)