26 June 2026
16 Million People. Seven Letters. One misunderstood word.
Zionism belongs to the Jewish people.
Others can have opinions about it. But they don’t get to define it.
Not our enemies, not hateful mobs, not bots or useful idiots regurgitating lies on social media as if they know our history better than we do. Our national liberation movement has been recast as colonialism, racism, apartheid, and genocide, through repetition, inversion, and a sustained campaign to pressure Jews into surrendering its very meaning.
It’s only by understanding what Zionism is that we can see antizionism for what it is, too. Not the opposite of Zionism, but a comprehensive and sinister assault on Jewish life everywhere, wearing a sophisticated mask.
Enough.
In a world where the true meaning of words seems to matter less, we’ll speak up more. Where words are twisted into weapons, we’ll speak louder. Where lies spread, we’ll continue to fight for truth, because that is who we are.
We are the Jewish People. We are the People of Israel. We are Am Israel. Zionism is our identity, carried for thousands of years of exile by hope, faith, and memory, and now embodied in our survival, our sheer will, and our refusal to disappear.
Zionism is the Jewish People’s movement for self-determination in our ancestral homeland. It affirms our rights without denying anyone else’s. It is freedom, justice, co-existence, strength, innovation, diversity, survival, indigenous rights, and so much more.
For the People of Israel, the Land of Israel is our one and only home, the only place that ever was – and the only place that ever will be.
That’s Zionism. And it’s in our souls.
HaRav Zilberstein: “Is There A Greater Zechus Than This?”
In recent days, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein was asked by members of the public how it is possible that bochurim and avreichim are being thrown into prison for the “offense” of learning Torah.
Those asking the question noted that the Mishnah states (Avot 3:5): “Whoever accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah, the yoke of government is removed from him.” Rabbeinu Yonah explains that “once a person makes Torah his primary occupation and his work secondary, Hakadosh Baruch Hu protects him from harm and ensures that he won’t be forced to interrupt his Limmud Torah, nor will He place it in the heart of a tyrant who takes lives to impose his will upon him.”
HaRav Zilberstein responded that accepting the yoke of Torah does not merely mean learning in a yeshiva. Rather, a person must devote himself entirely to Torah learning, so that the only burden he carries is the burden of Torah, without worrying about anything else.
The Rav added that, in truth, “it’s a tremendous maa’leh for those who are arrested. For Chazal said: ‘Fortunate are you who were siezed for the sake of Torah.’ One who is arrested has merited to suffer for the sake of Torah, and can there be a greater zechus than that? Just like the Jewish officers in Egypt, who merited to be beaten because they refused to strike their fellow Jews; therefore, they were rewarded by becoming Nevi’im and Zakeini Yisrael.”
HaRav Zilberstein concluded: “We are living in the final moments of Galus, and there is now a great clarification of ‘Who is for Hashem, come to me.’ There is no greater zechus than demonstrating one’s devotion to Torah, and suffering for the zechus of refusing to become contaminated by the impurity of those who seek to be like all the other nations.”
“It is clear that anyone who suffers for this has a great zechus. It is not far-fetched to say that one needs a special zechus for this. Whoever accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah merits to be arrested for Torah, and afterward will receive great sechar for it. All those who have merited to sit in prison because they merited to learn Torah will yet see their greatness revealed.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
"A nation that dwells alone"
(Numbers 23:9)
Tammuz 11, 5786/June 26, 2026
"There is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9) Truer words were never spoken. Bilaam, the heathen Midianite prophet, may have been the first individual in history hired to curse Israel, but he certainly hasn't been the last. What appears to have been a boutique industry in his day, and one which he dominated, has burgeoned in our day into a global industry on steroids. One crucial difference, however, exists. While Bilaam, despite being an idolater, had G-d's ear, or, to be more precise, G-d has total control over what came out of Bilaam's mouth, today's mercenary cursers of Israel have cut themselves off completely from G-d. Bilaam, despite being hired to curse, was compelled by G-d only to bless Israel - and what astonishing blessings they were! Today's wanna-be Bilaams fill their mouths, not with G-d's truth, but with manufactured lies designed to malign Israel in any and every way possible.
Bilaam, in his thrice repeated efforts to place a curse upon Israel, chose each time a different location, gaining a different perspective, a different angle, seeking an opening, a breach in HaShem's protective shield over Israel. Each time he failed. Today's would-be Bilaams likewise try every angle under the sun, attacking Israel from the left and from the right. And from where do they draw upon their rich source of depravities that they accuse Israel of? From Israel's very enemies, of course. Apartheid, genocide, rape, bestiality, influence purchased with"dark money," you name it. Even a cursory search will reveal that these are the very iniquities being pursued by Israel's enemies, be they the Palestinians, the jihadists, Iran, Turkey, Qatar, the European Union, the socialists and communists and fascists, the weak-kneed, pusillanimous and morality deprived politicians, and all the other posers and pretenders. Not a single one measures up the the ankles of Bilaam, who, for all that he lacked in integrity and decency, was, nonetheless, a mouthpiece for G-d. Today's Bilaam impersonators enjoy no such status. The may write for the New York Times, they may have millions of followers on X or TikTok, they may be presidents or prime ministers, dictators or ayatollahs, but not a single one is in touch with G-d, let alone with what remains of the image of G-d in which they were created.
Nor will their curse stick. They make a tremendous noise. They are hurled with such fury that they do make dents. But they will never pierce the heart or the soul of the nation of Israel. When Bilaam arrived at Moav to curse Israel he did so from a distant perch upon a high mountain overlooking the Israelite encampment. He had Israel in his sights, but there is no evidence that Israel was even aware of his presence, and certainly not within ear shot of his words. Had he, in fact, uttered a curse, it would have fallen to the ground, unheard by the very people for whose ears it was intended. In fact, the only thing that Israel ultimately heard and recorded in the Torah, were the soaring words of praise, the unparalleled blessings that Bilaam spoke. As if to drive this point home, Bilaam's words, from ancient times to this day, form part of Israel's daily liturgy, spoken every morning by Jews the world wide: "How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, O Israel!" (Numbers 24:5)
The reason that today's curses won't stick is that Israel is not listening. Israel is not hearing the vile words. Yes, Israel is painfully aware of all the vitriol being slung in its direction, and yes, damage has been done. But ultimately, Israel is doing what Israel has to do, and that is to stay close to HaShem, to truly listen to His word only, and to never leave off from pursuing the path of redemption and rebirth in the land of Israel. Balak acted out of fear. In a panic he opened up his coffers to finance the greatest PR artist of his day to defame Israel. And yet, Israel posed no threat to Balak. Israel had no interest in Balak's territory or in his idolatry. Had he kept his mouth shut and saved his money he would have been much better off. It's a pity today's curse mongers don't take note. Billions upon billions of dollars are being spent to slander, defame and libel Israel. It provides a lot of salaries and keeps a lot of low life ne'er-do-wells afloat, but, ultimately it is money down the drain. What a shame it isn't being used for nobler purposes. But if learning a lesson from the experience of Balak and Bilaam proves too obscure for today's bible ignorant, self appointed princes of righteousness, a much more well known biblical phrase should surely come to mind:
"And HaShem said to Avram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you." (Genesis 12:1-3)
These words came straight from HaShem hundreds of years before Bilaam rediscovered them. Today's losers could do themselves and the world a big favor by learning this lesson, and like Bilaam, going home and getting a real job. Israel is "a nation that dwells alone." Like it or lump it. But don't mess with G-d's nation.
"אלימות המתנחלים" - סיפורם המטורף של המתנחלים האלימים מהשמאל הישראלי שהקימו את המדינה. #מתנחלים
What do you think about this??
"Settler Violence" - The Crazy Story of the Violent Settlers from the Israeli Left Who Founded the State.
Rabbi Wein: Balak
WEEKLY PARSHA FROM THE DESTINY ARCHIVES
Balak
This week's parsha introduces us to the usual suspects who are always present and active in Jewish history and world affairs. Balak and Bilaam are prototypes of the enemies of the Jewish people throughout the ages. They really have no legitimate cause to be our enemies. They impute hostile and aggressive behavior to the Jewish people, when in reality none of this is present.
They are motivated by jealousy, greed, and a terrible misreading of the situation that leads them to unreasoning hatred and the wish to eliminate the Jewish people completely. It is the existence of the Jewish people that truly troubles them. They resent the fact that the Jewish people left Egypt and were rescued from bondage. They also resent the special and unique experience of the Jewish people in receiving the Torah.
Still further, they resent the fact that the Jewish people will have a homeland and national state in the Land of Israel. So they engage in a seemingly nonviolent campaign to destroy the Jewish people. False accusations, curses and hatemongering create the tools of their campaign.
The Talmud pointed out to us that from the so-called blessings of Bilaam we are able to deduce what his real intentions were and what curses he intended to inflict on the Jews. Balak is willing to invest time, a great deal of money and his personal and national prestige in this attempt to discredit and eventually destroy the Jewish people.
He knows that he needs someone who will spearhead this drive and he also knows that such people are always available…..for a price. And it is also obvious that when it comes to the opposition to the Jewish people, money is no object. Therefore Balak and Bilaam form the perfect pair, the odd couple that is joined by their common goal of hatred of the Jewish people.
This couple is alive and well in our time. There are countless numbers of people, supported by all sorts of high sounding nongovernmental organizations, all dedicated to the cause of delegitimizing Israel, Judaism and the Jewish people generally. And there is no shortage of money, just as in the case of Balak, to finance this project. EU money, Arab money, and private money all flow into this effort to curse Israel and the Jews.
The goal of Balak is not so much to help his own people as it is to destroy others. All of this money, which currently is directed solely towards destroying Israel could be channeled into helping millions of Moslems rise from poverty, hunger and disease. But that is not the goal of this money.
Balak only wants the destruction of the Jews. And in our time, there is no shortage of spokespeople who wish to advance this nefarious cause. There are always many Bilaams ready and prepared to ride the populist cause of blaming the Jews and the Jewish state for all of the ills and problems of the world.
Bilaam has a serpent’s tongue. He speaks in a complimentary tone and in a reassuring voice. But that only serves to mask the enmity that he feels towards the Jewish people, an enmity that has no personal or national basis. Well, he is around today as well and we have to simply recognize that the world will eventually realize that its curses should be transmuted into blessings.
Shabbat shalom
Rabbi Berel Wein
This article is from 5775-2015.
Reb Neuberger: The Climactic War Against Torah
THE CLIMACTIC WAR AGAINST TORAH
The prospect of Rosh Hashanah without shofar is on my mind. I feel the pressure of forthcoming events so heavily, as if deep, dark clouds are in the western sky, heading in our direction. It seems imperative that we prepare for whatever is coming. It is a mistake to say that we cannot influence events, because each mitzvah influences events. If Yidden would live with the mission of sanctifying this world, we could – and b’ezras Hashem we will! – save the world.
Every Erev Shabbos, we say “Uri, Uri …. Wake up!” Maybe we are asleep.
I heard about a medical conference, at which the doctors heard frightening speeches on the fatal consequences of smoking. Then they went out for a smoking break! This is not a joke; it was apparently a true story.
It seems to me that we are acting like sleepwalkers. What about the so-called music at weddings, where people lose their hearing? A great rosh yeshiva told us that he suffers from tinnitus as a result of going to so many chassanas. Someone told me that he had a headache after a recent wedding and his wife had to leave because of the noise. What are we doing to ourselves? Are we living in reality?
If you walk in your sleep, you are going to bump into something or fall down the stairs, G-d forbid. It is not a joke. If the world is sleepwalking, then how will we survive?
In Europe before World War II, how many read the handwriting on the wall? Were the simanim not in plain view? Today, we are walking as if our eyes are closed. We are building palaces for ourselves in places where tomorrow may never come.
What will be in the year 5787? “Who will live and who will die?” Maybe Moshiach ben Dovid will come, but what will be before he comes? Right now, the signs are not hopeful. What is with the President of the United States? Once perceived as our “best friend,” he suddenly seems to be acting like our enemy.
Last week Rav Don Segal Shlita”h stated that the sharp reversal of Mr. Trump’s attitude is due to the “persecution of bnai yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel.” (Yeshiva World News)
My friends, we should all be shaking. One could really tear one’s garment over this. For months and years, it has been clear that there is something terribly wrong here. We have to know that the salvation of Am Yisroel comes from only One Place, and that is from our Father in Shomayim. No earthly power, king or political figure can save us. We have been placing our trust in dust and ashes. Each day we say, “Shomer Yisroel … Guardian of Israel, protect the remnant of Israel. Let not Israel be destroyed, those who proclaim, ‘Hear Oh Israel!’” That is the Source of Life.
Are we crying when we say these words? Are we begging the Ribono shel Olam to save us? Do we literally believe we are in mortal danger, G-d forbid? These words are not an exaggeration. We have to know that our lives hang in the balance.
When the government of Israel persecutes our uniquely holy Torah scholars, what is wrong with us? There is no other nation which possesses this treasure, our bnai yeshiva. This is our reason for existence and our only hope! Why are we harassing our national treasure?
My friends, this is nothing short of a death wish, national suicide G-d forbid! We have to know that there is a war going on. I am not talking about Iran; I am talking about the war against Torah!
Someone said last week that this is the proof of our kedusha, that the Satan is going after the “Kodesh ha kadoshim … the holy of holies.” Now, when the entire world perceives that Moshiach ben Dovid is around the corner and the Final Redemption is about to unfold, now -- precisely now! -- the forces of evil, both inside and outside Am Yisroel, are rushing frantically to try to stop the Redemption. They know that this is their last chance. They are desperate to destroy all kedusha in the world, G-d forbid.
“The worlds continue to exist in the merit of the few remaining Torah scholars who learn day and night. [Due to their Torah study] the world is not destroyed …. When people stop learning Torah, Hashem seeks to destroy the world…. If not for the synagogues and study halls where Torah scholars are sitting and learning, the destructive angels would instantly annihilate the entire world!” (Nefesh ha Chaim, Gate 4, Ch. 25)
My friends, Rosh Hashanah is in approximately eleven weeks. There will be no Shofar on the first day. We have to become our own shofar! Each one of us can cry out like a shofar, penetrating the Heavens, with voices of passion, begging Hashem to save us.
Dovid Ha Melech said, “Ani sefilasi … I am prayer!”
I want to say, “I am a shofar!” I am crying out to you, Avinu Malkainu, Our Father and King, Who wants to save us: “Ana Hashem hoshia na … Please Hashem, save us now!” Please Hashem, protect Am Yisroel, the Torah and Torah scholars.
Now is the time to cry out, night and day, and beg for the Redemption, the downfall of our spiritual and physical enemies and the coming of Moshiach ben Dovid, who will flood the world with the healing waters of Torah and bring a never-ending era of peace and justice when “Hashem will be King over all the world. On that day Hashem will be One and His Name One!” May we see it soon in our days!
Shofar
GLOSSARY
B’ezras Hashem: With G-d’s help
Kedusha: Sanctity
Ribono shel Olam: The Master of the World, G-d
Rosh yeshiva: the head of a yeshiva
Shofar: Ram’s horn sounded on Rosh Hashanah
Eliezer Meir Saidel: MOU – BALAK
MOU - Balak
כָּרַע שָׁכַב כַּאֲרִי וּכְלָבִיא מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ מְבָרְכֶיךָ בָרוּךְ וְאֹרְרֶיךָ אָרוּר. (במדבר כד, ט)
Balak is a really "out-of-place" parsha in the Torah. Firstly, it is the only parsha in the Torah that is named after a goy (king of Moav) who remained a goy (unlike Yitro who began as a goy but then converted). Secondly, nobody in Am Yisrael witnessed any of the goings on described in parshat Balak, it was all behind the scenes. If HKB"H would not have revealed them to Moshe, we would never have known about them (רש"י, בבא בתרא יד, ע"ב).
In this shiur I would like to explore the essence of the nation of Moav and try to understand how this relates to current events.
The gematria of מוֹאָב is 49, associated with מ"ט שַׁעֲרֵי טֻמְאָה. The origins of the nation of Moav began with טֻמְאָה. The eldest daughter of Lot, following the destruction of Sdom, slept with her father Lot and the child born of that incestuous union was Moav (בראשית יט, לז).
The next time the Torah mentions Moav (indirectly) is in connection with the wars of the princes of Eisav, וַיָּמׇת חֻשָׁם וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו הֲדַד בֶּן בְּדַד הַמַּכֶּה אֶת מִדְיָן בִּשְׂדֵה מוֹאָב וְשֵׁם עִירוֹ עֲוִית (בראשית לו, לה). For the first time, the Torah tells us where the kingdom of Moav is located. We spoke about it briefly in last week's shiur, that Moav is located directly north-east of Edom on the map, basically comprising most of the east coast of the Dead Sea, in what is now Jordan. Edom's hatred for Am Yisrael and their geographical proximity to Moav must surely have impacted Moav as well, אוֹי לָרָשָׁע וְאוֹי לִשְׁכֵנוֹ.
When Am Yisrael leave Egypt, Moav is mentioned in Shirat HaYam אָז נִבְהֲלוּ אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם אֵילֵי מוֹאָב יֹאחֲזֵמוֹ רָעַד נָמֹגוּ כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי כְנָעַן (שמות טו, טו), the generals of Edom and the gods of Moav will be in a panic. From this we understand that Moav was a pagan nation (אֵילֵי מוֹאָב).
The next time we encounter Moav is in this week's parsha, which the Torah succinctly summarizes in sefer Devarim לֹא יָבֹא עַמּוֹנִי וּמוֹאָבִי בִּקְהַל ה' ... עַל דְּבַר אֲשֶׁר לֹא קִדְּמוּ אֶתְכֶם בַּלֶּחֶם וּבַמַּיִם בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם וַאֲשֶׁר שָׂכַר עָלֶיךָ אֶת בִּלְעָם בֶּן בְּעוֹר מִפְּתוֹר אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם לְקַלְלֶךָּ (דברים כג, ג-ה). Moav did not militarily attack Am Yisrael like Sichon. They showed lack of hospitality, and worse – they hired Bilam to curse us and sabotage us spiritually.
In Shoftim we read how Eglon the king of Moav (grandson of Balak) oppressed Am Yisrael until אֵהוּד בֶּן גֵּרָא managed to assassinate him and Am Yisrael defeated them in battle וַתִּשְׁקֹט הָאָרֶץ שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה (שופטים ג, ל).
Although Megilat Rut appears later in the order of the Tanach, the story related in Megilat Rut is chronologically the next chapter in the saga. We all know the story of Rut, who was the granddaughter of Eglon (הוריות י, ע"ב). Tosfot (יבמות מח, ע"ב) highlights discrepancies in the timeline and proves that Rut could never have been Eglon's granddaughter, but was instead a descendant of Eglon. Rut, a member of the Moabite royal family first married Machlon (מלבי"ם, רות א, ד), son of the rich tycoon Elimelech and his wife Naomi. After Elimelech died, followed by his sons Machlon and Chilyon, Rut decided to convert and accompany Naomi back to Eretz Yisrael. There she married Boaz and became the great grandmother of David HaMelech.
When David was fleeing from Shaul HaMelech, he sent his parents to the king of Moav seeking asylum. David assumed that since his great grandmother Rut was descended from Moav, that Moav would look after them. However, the king of Moav killed David's parents because he didn't want David to become king (במדבר רבה, יד, א).
Later when David became king, he took revenge by conquering Moav and turning the kingdom of Moav into a vassal state which paid taxes to David.
After the death of Shlomo HaMelech and the split between the kingdoms of Yisrael and Yehuda, Moav temporarily broke free from the yoke of Am Yisrael, until king Achav reconquered Moav and restored them to vassal status.
All of the above was "build-up" for the episode that follows.
This episode is related in ספר מלכים ב, פרק ג (the chapter immediately preceding the story of the אִשָּׁה הַשּׁוּנַמִּית and אֱלִישָׁע and the miracle of the oil – the haftara of parshat Vayeira).
Our story takes place during the reign of king Yehoram of Yisrael, son of Achav (at the same time Yehoshafat was the king of Yehuda). As we said above, Achav re-subjugated the kingdom of Moav and they paid taxes to him.
After Achav died, the king of Moav at the time, Meisha, decided to stage a rebellion and attacked the spiritually vulnerable king Yehoram of Yisrael. Yehoram mobilized the army of Yisrael and sent a dispatch to king Yehoshafat of Yehuda asking him to join him in battle against Moav. Yehoshafat agreed.
Instead of attacking Moav directly, taking the shortest route to their common border, king Yehoshafat suggested they instead surprise Moav by attacking from an unexpected direction - from the south, instead of from the west. This required passing through the southern land of Edom, so they also recruited the king of Edom to help them fight together as one alliance against Moav.
While they were enroute through the scorching desert of Edom, their water supplies ran out. Yehoram king of Israel, who was not "religious" (Achav his father served idols), immediately interpreted this as a sign that G-d was against them and expressed the defeatist attitude that the battle was lost.
Yehoshafat king of Yehuda, on the other hand, who had faith in HKB"H, suggested a simple solution. What does a "religious" person do if they run out of water? They don't send a carrier pigeon to the logistics corp. to airdrop water supplies. King Yehoshafat said "Call for the Navi and let him organize water!" Which Navi? Elisha, the successor of Eliyahu HaNavi.
Yehoshafat said "It will not be simple though, because unless Elisha is commanded by HKB"H, he will not help!" Regardless they sent a messenger to Elisha requesting assistance. Elisha responded "Why should I help you (king Yehoram the idol worshipper)?" Eventually though, Elisha agreed only because king Yehoshafat of Yehuda (who served HKB"H) was part of the alliance.
Elisha said "Send for the musicians!" קְחוּ לִי מְנַגֵּן וְהָיָה כְּנַגֵּן הַמְנַגֵּן (מלכים ב, ג, טו), a prophet who wants to communicate with HKB"H has to be in a mental state of simcha. Elisha offered a mincha to HKB"H and related His reply "Behold this miracle which HKB"H so easily performs", declared Elisha. "HKB"H has given Moav into your hands and you will defeat them. You will smite every fortress and every stronghold city. You will flatten every structure, you will close up every well and you will rain projectiles down upon their fields".
HKB"H answered Elisha's prayer and the dry riverbed in the desert of Edom suddenly gave forth wells of water. The Midrash Tanchuma says that HKB"H caused it to rain prodigiously in the land of Edom and this caused flash floods in the Edom desert, filling every crevice with water.
They then attacked Moav from the south, firing rock projectiles at them. Moav, not expecting an attack from that direction, sounded the alarm, calling all their soldiers to arms, racing to the southern border. As the morning sun rose, it reflected off all the unexpected water in the Edom desert and in the early morning light it appeared red.
To the Moabites, who had never seen water in this region in their lives, it appeared to be blood! This drove them insane and they turned on and began killing one another. Their remaining forces tried to repel the attack, but the alliance of Yisrael, Yehuda and Edom smote and defeated them exactly as Elisha had foreseen. They blockaded Moav. Their rock projectiles destroyed the Moabite cities and fields. The rocks landed and sealed up the wells and penetrated the walls of their fortresses.
The king of Moav, seeing things were not going well for him, dispatched seven hundred "sword wielding warriors" to try לְהַבְקִיעַ, to try "break up" the king of Edom's camp, but failed.
They then took the king of Moav's son, his successor, up to the parapets of the wall of the city and sacrificed him there as an Olah offering. Rashi explains why they did this. Their advisors said that the reason that HKB"H performs miracles for Am Yisrael is because our forefather Avraham offered his only son to HKB"H. So Moav offered the son of the king as a sacrifice to their idols, hoping for a miracle.
This made the king of Edom very angry against Am Yisrael (מצודת דוד, מלכים ב ג, כז), because this gory sight aroused his pity for Moav. Another opinion (רש"י, שם) says that it was HKB"H who was angry against the kingdom of Yisrael who at the time were serving idols.
עַד כָּאן our story from the 3rd chapter of מלכים ב.
The subsequent centuries leading up to the destruction of the first Beit HaMikdash gave rise to mixed relationships between Am Yisrael and Moav. At various times we had cultural and trade ties with them, but their hate for Am Yisrael always simmered, waiting for an opportunity.
The Gemara (סנהדרין צו ע"ב) says that it was Moav (and Amon) who repeatedly urged Nebuchadnezzar to conquer Yerushalayim and destroy the 1st Beit HaMikdash. Nebuchadnezzar did not want to destroy Yerushalayim, he objected repeatedly, citing different reasons, but each time Moav provided a counter reason why he should. The end of the story is as we know – Nebuchadnezzar, convinced by Moav's surreptitious and poisonous rhetoric, conquered Yerushalayim and destroyed the Beit HaMikdash.
The sugya in the Gemara continues with with R' Nachman saying to R' Yitzchak "Do you know when בַּר נִפְלֵי will come?" (בַּר נִפְלֵי literally means the "son of a stillborn baby"). R' Yitzchak asked "Who is בַּר נִפְלֵי?" to which R' Nachman replied "He is the Mashiach!" R' Yitzchak said "Why do you call the Mashiach the derogatory name 'son of a stillborn'?" It is a reference to a Midrash (ילקוט שמעוני פרשת בראשית, רמז מא) where HKB"H showed Adam HaRishon every generation of mankind until the end of time. When He showed him David HaMelech, Adam saw that David would live for only 3 hours and then die. Adam said "I will donate some years of my life so that he may live!" Adam HaRishon donated 70 years of his life to David HaMelech (Adam was supposed to live 1000 years but he died at age 930). Therefore, the term בַּר נִפְלֵי refers to a descendant of David HaMelech, the Mashiach ben David.
The famous Gemara then goes on to describe what the generation will look like in the generation of Mashiach, which we all know well (פְּנֵי הַדּוֹר כִּפְנֵי כֶּלֶב, etc.)
The prophets (ישעיהו טו-טז, ירמיהו מח) prophesied the end for Moav. They ceased to be an independent nation about 800 years before the destruction of Bayit Sheini. They were swallowed up into the nations of Nabataea, Babylon and Persia (stretching from Jordan, through Iraq, to Iran of today).
To summarize what we have learned above.
Moav started as a nation from their inception through עֲרָיוֹת. This is one of their typifying characteristics. We see it at the end of our parsha, the episode of בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב and Ba'al Peor.
Another typifying aspect of Moav is their wealth. We see from our parsha how wealthy the king of Moav was אִם יִתֶּן לִי בָלָק מְלֹא בֵיתוֹ כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב (במדבר כב, יח).
Another characteristic of Moav is their never-ending hatred for Am Yisrael. This is the most counterintuitive characteristic. They should have been grateful to Am Yisrael, for if not for Avraham saving Lot from captivity in the war of the 4 vs. 5 kings, Lot would have died and Moav would never have been born. They owe their very existence to Avraham Avinu and his descendants. Despite this, they bore a hatred for Am Yisrael. The origins of this hatred perhaps began from their geographic proximity to Edom and Amalek who inculcated their neighbor Moav with this same inexplicable hatred for the sons of Yaakov. However, the hatred is much deeper than that.
It stems from the knowledge that they, Moav, are going to be unwittingly instrumental in the process of Mashiach and the Redemption of Am Yisrael. Just as their hatred for us is counterintuitive, so too is it counterintuitive that the matriarch of our Mashiach – Rut, came from the nation of Moav! Why was it necessary for the origins of Mashiach to emanate from this nation of depravity and hate for Am Yisrael? For answers to this question see shiur on Vayeitzei 2020. At every stage of their existence, Moav tried to prevent this from happening.
Case in point – our parsha Balak! Sefer Meir Panim quotes the Ari z"l as saying that Balak had a nightmare. In his dream he saw a vision of the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim (which Onkelos translates as פְּתוֹרָא, "table" in Aramaic). Why was this a "nightmare"? Because there is a direct linkage between David HaMelech and the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim. There are three keilim in the Midash that have "crowns" on them. The Aron, the Mizbeach HaKetoret and the Shulchan. These correspond to the three crowns listed in the Mishna כֶּתֶר תּוֹרָה וְכֶתֶר כְּהֻנָּה וְכֶתֶר מַלְכוּת (אבות ד, יג). The crown of Kehuna (Mizbeach HaKetoret) goes to Aharon HaKohen and his descendants. The crown of Malchut (Shulchan Lechem HaPanim) goes to David HaMelech and his descendants. The crown of Torah (Aron) goes to anyone who wishes to study Torah (יומא עב, ע"ב). Balak's nightmare was that the ancestor of David HaMelech (Shulchan, פְּתוֹרָא) was going to be descended from him – Rut.
This cannot be allowed. There are only two ways to stop such a thing, for Balak to commit suicide, thus cutting of his progeny and not allowing the emergence of the (great grand) mother of Mashiach - Rut, or … destroying the ancestor of Mashiach from the father's side - Am Yisrael. If there is no Am Yisrael, there will be no Boaz, no David HaMelech and no … Mashiach. Committing suicide for Balak was not an option, so how does one destroy Am Yisrael? The greatest superpower Egypt never succeeded to physically destroy them. The only way to destroy Am Yisrael is if HKB"H destroys them. How do you get HKB"H to destroy Am Yisrael? you get an expert curser Bilam to curse them (Bilam lived in a place called פְּתוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר עַל הַנָּהָר, does פְּתוֹרָה sound familiar?)
That didn't work out too well. Despite Bilam trying to curse, they all turned into blessings. Meanwhile, in the process Balak brought 42 korbanot to HKB"H at Bilam's advice to try curse Am Yisrael. Chazal say that בִּזְכוּת these 42 korbanot, his descendant was Rut. The passuk also tells us with Eglon the king of Moav, when Ehud ben Geira told him that he had a message for Eglon from G-d, Eglon stood up out of respect. בִּזְכוּת him standing up, Rut was his descendant. We see how HKB"H rewards רְשָׁעִים with such incredible things, imagine how much He rewards tzaddikim who perform His mitzvot!!
If you cannot destroy Am Yisrael by cursing, what's left? Getting Am Yisrael to sin, so that HKBH will be angry with us and destroy us chalila. Thus we have the episode of Ba'al Peor.
The king of Moav tried to prevent David becoming David HaMelech by killing his parents, who sought asylum by him.
Moav successfully tried to get Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the Beit HaMikdash, thinking that would be the end of Am Yisrael.
Throughout history, Moav has been trying to destroy the emergence of Mashiach. How does the Gemara end the sugya (above) – with Mashiach! If you try to play chess with HKB"H you will always lose. HKB"H always has a few unexpected curve balls that ensure you will never succeed in your diabolical mission. You may temporarily inflict harm, but you will ultimately fail.
Moav as a nation vanished, but their spirit lives on in the nations into which they were swallowed up, stretching from Jordan, across the Persian Gulf and to Iran.
Fast forward 3300 years!
The news is filled morning, noon and night talking about the "MOU", the Memorandum-Of-Understanding between the USA and Iran. I think that before this saga began, at least 98% of the world's population had never heard of the term MOU before (yours truly included). Unless you are a lawyer or someone involved in corporate treaties, you would probably never have heard of an MOU before, like me.
I am now going to show you how nothing is by chance, how everything is orchestrated by HKB"H. There is a definite Divine plan at play here and if we look deeper, we can uncover some of its intricacies.
When was this MOU digitally signed? Erev Shabbat Chukat. The abbreviation MOU sounds very much like "MOO". What is the subject that opens parshat Chukat? פָּרָה אֲדֻמָּה.
OK, you are saying – that is very weak. The next one, however, is not weak in any way – it is mind blowing!
MOU written in Hebrew is אֶם אוֹ יוּ. There is only one place in the whole of Tanach where the rashei teivot אם או יו appear. Do you know where that is?
וַיַּרְא מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב כִּי חָזַק מִמֶּנּוּ הַמִּלְחָמָה וַיִּקַּח אוֹתוֹ שְׁבַע מֵאוֹת אִישׁ שֹׁלֵף חֶרֶב לְהַבְקִיעַ אֶל מֶלֶךְ אֱדוֹם וְלֹא יָכֹלוּ. וַיִּקַּח אֶת בְּנוֹ הַבְּכוֹר ... (מלכים ב ג, כו-כז)
The last two psukkim from our story above. What are the statistical chances of that?
It is impossible to read that story without feeling a chill run up your spine. The king of Yisrael (chilonim/left-wing/army), the king of Yehuda (dati'im/right-wing/government) and the king of Edom (USA) all teaming up to make an alliance to attack Moav??
Who is the modern day Moav? They are easy to identify by their characteristics defined above. They are exceedingly wealthy. They have an inexplicable hatred for Am Yisrael and want to wipe us out. They are involved with עֲרָיוֹת. That description perfectly describes the combination of Iran/Qatar.
Both Iran and Qatar are exceedingly wealthy. What do they use their immense wealth for? For the benefit of their own people? On the contrary. The vast majority of their wealth is invested in destroying Am Yisrael, physically and spiritually.
Iran spends most of its wealth on (firstly lining the pockets of its leaders) and after that for building a military structure, including missiles, drones, proxies and (they hope) nuclear weapons that has one and only one purpose – to wipe Israel physically off the map. Just last week there was video footage of the street of Teheran with billboards of Chumeini, Khameini, Mujtaba holding hands, together with another billboard with a text in Arabic and in Hebrew (so we Jews would be able to read it) saying "In 5218 days Israel will no longer exist!"
Qatar similarly spends a vast portion of their wealth on trying to destroy Am Yisrael via propaganda – media channels such as Al Jazeera, funding universities all over the western world with anti-Jewish propaganda, fomenting antisemitism all over the world, supporting fundamental Islam all over the world, infiltrating local and national governments throughout the West. Fighting the war for the annihilation of Israel on the unseen front, like Balak and Bilam. In my view Qatar is much more dangerous than Iran. You can fight an enemy that you can see, like Iran. However, Qatar, because they are under the radar and invisible, are successfully poisoning the entire world against Am Yisrael using their petro trillions with almost zero pushback. They are "whispering" their poison into hungry ears, just like Moav did with Nebuchadnezzar.
This inexplicable hatred against Am Yisrael which is so counterintuitive, that they are willing to die for it, to sacrifice their own people, 40 thousand of them without blinking an eye, sending suicide bombers, etc. Where does it come from? It is genetically inbred so that they cannot escape it. It is that same hatred of biblical Moav for Am Yisrael, because they know in the depth of their hearts that it is they who are going to be inadvertently instrumental in bringing about Mashiach and they will do everything in their power to try prevent that from happening – for them it is a holy war.
Qatar is the surreptitious mirror image of the overt diabolical Iran. They are "mediators", which in other words means that they are "in bed with everyone". What do you call a woman who sleeps with everyone? It is called עֲרָיוֹת.
Read the story above carefully. Moav tries to send "700 sword wielding warriors" to cause a rift in the alliance of Edom and Am Yisrael? "Sword" is another word for "tongue", like in וְחֶרֶב פִּיפִיּוֹת בְּיָדָם (תהילים קמט, ו). Just as Am Yisrael's true power is in their "mouths" for the power of good, uttering divrei Torah, so too is the true power of our enemies in their mouths, for the power of evil. Like Balak in our parsha, like Qatar, Pakistan and who knows who else using the "swords of their tongues" to cause a rift in the Edom/Israel alliance as we speak.
The end of our story above, is that it ultimately failed. There is mention in that story of things that have not yet happened in our story today, they have yet to happen. Some of the things we read there have already happened, like projectiles raining down on Moav's cities, penetrating their fortresses (bunker busters, Fordu, etc.). Other things like projectiles raining down and destroying their "fields" and plugging their "wells" (which fields, which wells I wonder?) that have not yet happened in our modern story, but very likely will, soon.
Just like in that story, the slightest setback (no water in the desert) sends the "unbelieving" in Am Yisrael into a paroxysm of defeatism, so too in our modern-day story does the slightest setback send the unbelieving into harangues of defeatism and accusation. Just like back then the solution to the believers is crystal clear – call the Navi, trust in HKB"H to provide the solution, so today is the same modus operandi the only solution.
The very mention of the word MOU sends chills down many peoples' spines. It is a test of faith. It is only a temporary setback.
If you (mistakenly) think the MOU is a bad thing for Am Yisrael, check out the following gematriyot for the Hebrew version of אם או יו (gematriya 64) –
הָאַחִים
אוֹהֲבִים
וְהַבּוֹטֵחַ בָּה'
הַיּוֹם בָּא
נְבוּאָה
הַגּוֹיִם
גּוֹג מָגוֹג
דִּין
מוֹאֲבִיָּה
ט' בְּאָב הַגְּאוּלָּה
יָבוֹא הַגּוֹאֵל
הוּא אֵלִיָּהוּ
וּכְבוֹד ה'
דּוֹדִי לִי
אָדָם חַוָּה
I am not a Navi, I do not know exactly which of the things in this shiur will transpire, when, if at all. All I can do is present you with the things I have found for you to make of them what you will.
One thing is for certain. The end of the story is known. The Gemara (above) ends with it, the coming of בַּר נִפְלֵי. The nations of the world would be wise to pay heed to the passuk we began the shiur with.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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