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BEGIN WITH A GRIN

An American and an Iranian died and went to Gehenim. They asked the angel in charge for permission to contact their families and let them know what happened to them.

The angel said, “Fine, but there’s a price.”

“We’ll pay whatever you want!” said the two of them.

The American was first. He spoke for ten minutes. As soon as he finished the conversation, the angel said to him, “The cost for your conversation is an hour in a pit of pitch.”

The Iranian called his family and spoke to them for an hour and a half. As soon as he finished his conversation, the angel said to him, “You can go.”

“What?! How come he doesn’t have to pay for it?” complained the American.

Said the angel, “A local call is free.”

PREPARE FOR WAR

Last year, we wrote about the historic prophecy of Eldad and Meidad, the twosome in our parsha (11:26), upon whom there was an emanation from the spirit of Moshe (along with the seventy elders), and they prophesied in the camp. Yehoshua, Moshe’s closest disciple, intervenes and wants them stopped. “My master Moshe, lock them up,” he says. We asked the question: Why? What was so terrible about what Eldad and Meidad prophesied? What was their prophecy about?

We brought Rashi’s explanation but focused on the explanation/translation of Yonasan ben Uziel, that they prophesied about the War of Gog and Magog! Not for naught, as in Yonasan ben Uziel’s translation of the verse, there is a detailed (and frightening) description about the terrible atrocities of the bloody war that will take place on the eve of the Geula.

Obviously, nobody ever imagined that a war (in microcosm) like the one described there would begin on Simchas Torah 5784… but we all know what happened.

Much of what is happening around us during this war is similar (indirectly or directly) to the harsh prophecies of Yechezkel the Prophet (chapter 38-39) and Zecharya the Prophet (chapter 14) about the War of Gog and Magog. For example, the king “Gog” is referred to as the leader of many nations: Meshech, Tuval, Put, Gemar, and others. One of the nations that stands out in the prophetic description is the kingdom of Poras, which we know of today as Iran. Another nation that is mentioned is “Beis Tugrama” which we know of today as Turkey. And we all know, sad to say, about Iran’s involvement in the current war and about Turkey’s participation in escalating the tensions.

The Malbim, in his commentary on Yechezkel, says that in his opinion, the description about the numerous nations that will be participating in this world war, refers to nations from the Christian and Moslem religions who will collaborate against the Jewish people… Unfortunately, we see the rise of antisemitism around the world and the opposition to the Jewish people, mainly from European, Christian nations.

Some will want to say that the death of the President of Iran parallels the death of the king “Gog,” which is described in the Navi as an essential part of Israel’s victory in this war. Others explain that the “great hailstones” that are said to fall from heaven during this war, correspond to the missiles or ballistic missile attacks from the air, etc.

However, let us set aside all the allusions and explanations, because it is not the way of Chassidus, and we haven’t seen any explicit reference to this from the Rebbe. Let’s take a look at what the Rebbe has to say about the War of Gog and Magog, and how this will help us in our avodas Hashem to bring the Geula.

THE REAL WAR IS INSIDE

The Rebbe quotes from the writings of the Arizal that “Gog u’Magog” is numerically equivalent to seventy, representing the seventy nations who will stand against the Jewish people. “For then, Gog will rule over seventy nations, and all will come together against Israel, and when they are redeemed from their hand then there will be a great salvation, because now when they were redeemed from Modai and Yavan they were exiled to Edom. And so too, every single day they are saved from this one and fall into the hands of that one. On this day though, they will be saved from the hands of all of them.” In other words, the purpose of the events of this war is one thing, to bring the Geula, an eternal Geula after which there won’t be galus. This is unlike the other redemptions which we experienced previously, the redemption from Modai which led to the exile of Yavan, or the redemption from Yavan which led to the exile of Edom.

What does this mean for us?

The Rebbe explains that the War of Gog and Magog in man’s service is a war of refining middos. Every person has seven evil middos which are described in Chassidus as the seven Canaanite nations, the nations living in Eretz Yisrael (Palestinians?). Each midda is comprised of ten for a total of seventy (corresponding to the seventy nations of the world).

During galus, the Jewish people have refined their animalistic middos to the best of their ability. One more so and the other less so, with one focusing on controlling anger, another on the trait of lust, a third uprooting the midda of arrogance, and a fourth vanquishing the midda of combativeness. Each with their own war. However, before the coming of the Geula, the time will come (and has come) to refine all the middos, not just one midda, and not just in general but in great detail!

This is the spiritual allusion to us in the War of Gog and Magog. We need to search out within our own souls those corrupt middos that we didn’t want to deal with until now, and start the intensive inner work of refining each one of them.

Yechezkel (39:2) says that the fall of the nations, and the king “Gog” leading them, will be “on the mountains of Israel,” referring to the mountains of Yerushalayim. In the spiritual service of refining the middos, this means that we need to bring all of our middos to a state of “Yerushalayim.” Yerushalayim is comprised of two words, yirah shalem, a pair of word which are explained in Chassidus to mean “completeness of awe.” Every Jew needs to bring himself to a state in which he truly fears G-d, not just with a fear of punishment and not just a fear of sin, but awe of Hashem Himself.

However, the Rebbe reveals the most important point to us at the end of that sicha. The Rebbe says that the reason that G-d told us about the War of Gog and Magog wasn’t in order to frighten us. G-d doesn’t use the tactics of certain kiruv organizations of our time. The real reason that G-d revealed these things to Yechezkel and Zecharya was to teach us how to free ourselves of these future travails in the easiest way, because when a Jew accomplishes what he needs to within his own soul, when he refines his natural middos in all their details, he is thus “accomplishing the victory in war with all the seventy nations in the War of Gog and Magog, in the most literal sense!” “And by winning the war in spiritual avoda, we also accomplish the victory in the actual war!” Along with bringing the true and complete Geula!

TO CONCLUDE WITH A STORY

We will end with a story about true fear of heaven which leads to control over man’s evil middos. In Rabbi Yechiel Moshe Greenwald’s Likutim Chadashim he brings the following story. Two tzaddikim were traveling and they reached a village. One of them went to a house to ask for a fire to light his pipe. He stayed there for a long time, about fifteen minutes. When he finally returned, the other one asked him what took so long. The tzaddik said: I tarried because I learned what fear of heaven is. I will tell you what I saw.

I saw the villager who lives in this house trying to split the head of a calf with a shovel. It’s hard work and the villager asked his old father to hold the calf’s head so he could hit it properly. However, the father did not hold the calf’s head properly and the villager was unable to strike it with his shovel. The villager grew angry at his father and shouted: If I wasn’t G-d fearing, I would split your head with this shovel!

Even when you’re very angry and it’s hard to control yourself, remember what true fear of heaven is!

Good Shabbos!

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