In Parshas Shelach, the spies returned from Eretz Yisrael with a devastating report that ultimately doomed an entire generation. But was their sin really a lack of faith in Hashem?
Drawing on the Mishnah in Arachin, Rav Yitzchak Berkovits explains that the root of the Meraglim's failure was not theology but middos. Their inability to see the good, their tendency toward negativity, criticism, and pessimism, shaped how they viewed the Land, themselves, and even Hashem. From the giant cluster of grapes to the funerals that the spies misinterpreted, this shiur explores how perspective determines reality. Why do people focus on negative news? Why does cynicism feel so natural? And how can a habit of seeing the good strengthen our relationships, our self-image, and our emunah? This timeless lesson from the Meraglim challenges us to recognize how negativity distorts reality and to see that choosing to see the good is not naïveté but honesty.05 June 2026
THE LAND IS TOV MEOD MEOD
The Temple Institute
“The land that we scouted is an exceedingly good land!"
(Numbers 14:7)
Sivan 20, 5786/June 5, 2026
“The land that we scouted is an exceedingly good land!" Translated back into its original Hebrew the verse concludes with the words "tova (good) ha'aretz (the land) me'od (good) me'od (good)!" Remember way back when, when, upon completing creation at the close of the sixth day, "G-d saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good?" (Genesis 1:31) All that G-d had created was "very good." But the land He promised Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, to give to their descendants as an eternal inheritance, was "very, very good!"
At least it was in the eyes of Yehoshua and Calev, two of the twelve tribal dignitaries who were part of the mission sent by Moshe, by command of HaShem, to scout out the land of Canaan, intending to pave the way for Israel's conquest. Unfortunately, theirs was the minority opinion, and their exhortations fell upon deaf ears. The recalcitrant generation of the wilderness, influenced by the negative take of ten of the twelve spies, squandered away forever their chance at entering into the land of milk and honey, promised to them by G-d. By G-d!
"If pleased with us, HaShem will bring us into that land, a land that flows with milk and honey, and give it to us; only you must not rebel against HaShem. Have no fear then of the people of the country, for they are our prey: their protection has departed from them, but HaShem is with us. Have no fear of them!” (Numbers 14:9) So pleaded Yehoshua and Calev, but to no avail. What did they see that the others didn't see? Actually, nothing. They saw the same cities, the same mountains and valleys, the same inhabitants, the same massive clusters of grapes and figs and pomegranates. And, in fact, all twelve agreed that "the land you sent us to; it does indeed flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit," (ibid 13:27) displaying their bounty before the assembly.
But there was one thing which Yehoshua and Calev saw differently from their companions: "we saw the Nephilim there — the Anakites [lterally, giants] are part of the Nephilim — and we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.” (ibid 13:33)
They all saw the giants. And, in fact, there was a family of giants living in Hevron. This was certainly something to take into account when facing them in future battle. But upon seeing the giants, it appears that they looked at one another and saw something else, altogether:"we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves." They felt overwhelmed, puny, crushed, in the face of the giants, a feeling so intense that they made the bold, unsubstantiated claim that "and so we must have looked to them.” While their sense of helplessness was certainly impacted by their sighting of giants, it was their self image that crushed their hopes, sending them back to the desert encampment and bringing catastrophe to the entire nation. No one had defeated them but themselves.
What happened to their sense of self? Had not G-d created them in His image, and, having done so as a final act of creation, concluded that, "behold, it was very good?" What happened to "love your neighbor as yourself, I am HaShem"? It was only when they denied their divine creation by defining themselves as grasshoppers that the spirit of the people was crushed: "The whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night."(ibid 14:1) Not the giants and not the fortified cities, but the self defining image of grasshoppers, flitting from blade of grass to blade of grass, impotent and helpless that literally deflated the people, sucking out of their lungs the very breath of life that G-d had breathed into them. They cried without consolation.
It took a strong stand and a determined prayer by Moshe to temper G-d's rage, and instead of annihilating the nation on the spot, gave them a second chance, with a caveat. The caveat being, one additional year in the wilderness for each of the forty days the twelve spies scouted out the land and totally misread all that they saw, somehow reducing a land that was very, very good into an self imposed image of a nation of rootless, homeless grasshoppers.
Save, of course, for Yehoshua and Calev. While the male adults who witnessed G-d's miracles in Egypt, who were taken out of bondage by G-d's outstretched hand, who walked on dry ground through the Sea of Reeds, woke up each morning to a spread of manna at their doorstep and witnessed, as a nation, HaShem's presence at Sinai, hearing His voice saying "I am HaShem you G-d," would all perish in the wilderness, only Yehoshua and Calev would ultimately enter the land.
Yehoshua, faithful student of Moshe, would lead Israel into Canaan. And of Calev, HaShem said, "But My servant Calev, because he was imbued with a different spirit and remained loyal to Me — him will I bring into the land that he entered, and his offspring shall hold it as a possession." (ibid 14:24) "A different spirit - ru'ach acharet!" A different spirit from his fellow spies, but the very same spirit - ru'ach - breath - that G-d first breathed into man, creating, not a grasshopper, but a being who would, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the sky and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth." (Genesis 1:28) A being who would stand upright and be afraid of no living creature, least of all a family of giants living in the city where the father and mothers of the nation of Israel are buried.
Israel today has to contend with all sorts of giants and on multiple fronts. Israel is spurned, cursed, attacked verbally and physically, her very existence on this earth challenged in international forums. Missiles and rockets and drones, suicide bombers, car rammers and knife wielders. These are today's self defined "giants." But, in fact, they are the hapless grasshoppers perched on a blade of grass of self pity, envy and lies. Israel is a nation of Calevs, filled with a different spirit. A spirit that reminds us that we are created in the image of G-d, and that the land G-d promised us is a very, very good land, one worth defending to our very last breath. The words of Yehoshua and Calev are engraved upon the hearts of Israel's fighters, men and women, young and old: "Have no fear then of the people of the country, for they are our prey: their protection has departed from them, but HaShem is with us. Have no fear of them!” "HaShem is with us!" That says it all.
HAFTARAH FOR SHABBAT PARASHAT SHELACH
Joshua 2:1-24
"And Yehoshua the son of Nun sent two men out of Shittim to spy secretly, saying, Go see the land and Jericho. And they went, and came to the house of an innkeeper named Rachav, and they lay there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men have come here this night from the children of Israel to search the land.
And the king of Jericho sent to Rachav, saying, Bring forth the men who have come to you, that have entered your house, for they have come to search out the entire land. Now the woman had taken the two men, and had hidden them, and she said, Indeed the men came to me, but I did not know from where they were.
And it was time to close the gate, at darkness, that the men went out. I do not know where they went. Pursue after them quickly, for you will overtake them. And she had brought them up to the roof, and she hid them with the stalks of flax, that she had laid arranged upon the roof. And the men pursued them in the direction of the Jordan, to the fords; and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, they shut the gate. And before they were asleep, she came up to them upon the roof. And she said to the men, I know that HaShem has given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away because of you.
For we have heard how HaShem dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you completely destroyed. And as soon as we heard, our hearts melted, nor did there remain anymore spirit in any man because of you, for HaShem your G-d He is G-d in heaven above and on the earth below.
And now, I pray, swear to me by HaShem, since I have showed you kindness, that you will also show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token. And you shall preserve alive my father, and my mother, and my brothers and my sisters, and all that they have, and you shall deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if you will not tell this our discussion. And it shall be, when HaShem gives us the land, that we will deal with you with kindness and truth. And she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was in the town wall and she dwelt in the wall.
And she said to them, Go to the mountain lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days until the pursuers return, and afterwards you will go your way. And the men said to her, we will be blameless of this your oath which you made us swear; Behold when we come into the land, you shall bind this line of scarlet thread in the window by which you let us down; and you shall bring your father and your mother, and your brothers and all your father's household home to you.
And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of your house outside, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be blameless, and that whosoever shall be with you in the house, his blood shall be upon our head if any hand be upon him. And if you tell this our discussion, then we will be blameless of your oath which you have made us swear.
And she said, According to your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed; and she bound the scarlet line in the window. And they went, and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned; and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but they did not find them. And the two men returned and descended from the mountain, and crossed over and came to Yehoshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them.
And they said to Yehoshua, - For HaShem has delivered into our hands all the land; and also the inhabitants of the country have melted away because of us."
שמורת הנחלים הגדולים בפריחה נדירה וחיות הבר חוגגות The Southern Negev in rare bloom
A rare spring bloom gives wild animals the best conditions to survive in the harsh desert. Dorcas gazelles, Hares, migratory birds and rare Larks
Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber: Strictly Prohibited To Ascend And To Bow On Temple Mount
What does this mean?
“ Rabbi Ber wrote: “It is strictly forbidden to ascend and bow on the Temple Mount at this time. Entry into the Temple Mount compound is strictly prohibited at this time, as ruled by the leading sages of Israel throughout the generations. This has also been the position of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate throughout its history. The Torah prohibition against bowing on a stone surface forbids full prostration with outstretched hands and feet on stone flooring, and one who does so violates the prohibition: ‘You shall not place a figured stone in your land to bow down upon it.’” https://vinnews.com/2026/05/31/chief-rabbi-kalman-ber-strictly-prohibited-to-ascend-and-to-bow-on-temple-mount/
THIS NEEDS FURTHER ELUCIDATION:
Who is “placing….”.?
What is a “figured stone”?
Is the stone flooring on Har Habayit “placed” or is it considered from the same time as the Kotel?
And Who “placed it”?
04 June 2026
מה מראה שהקב"ה לא פשט את הרגל? צפו במסר מהמשגיח רבי דן סגל? מעמד ה'לחיים' ההיסטורי! #הרב_דן_סגל
תיאור: רגעים היסטוריים שלא תרצו לפספס: תיעוד בלעדי ומרגש ממעמד ה'לחיים' ההיסטורי שנערך במעונו של מרן המשגיח, עמוד העבודה רבי דן סגל שליט"א, לרגל המאורע הכביר של הופעת ספר 'קצות החושן' עם ביאוריו המאירים. צפו במראות הקודש, בדיבורי החיזוק ובשמחת התורה הפורצת גבולות.
Eliezer Meir Saidel: Crash Course in Faith - Shlach
Crash Course in Faith - Shlach
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה עַד אָנָה יְנַאֲצֻנִי הָעָם הַזֶּה וְעַד אָנָה לֹא יַאֲמִינוּ בִי בְּכֹל הָאֹתוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי בְּקִרְבּוֹ. (במדבר יד, יא)
When people think of hafrashat challah, they think perhaps of the world Shabbat Project, countless women around the world gathering to perform the mitzva of hafrashat challah erev Shabbat Vayeira (where we read about Sarah Imeinu, the first human to do hafrashat challah in history, baking matza bread for the angels).
Or perhaps bridal parties where the bride and her friends do hafrashat challah before the wedding. Or regular wives (and husbands) doing hafrashat challah while baking challah at home erev Shabbat. Or perhaps pro-bakers like myself (or our mashgiach) doing hafrashat challah in our bakery multiple times almost every day … This is what most people associate hafrashat challah with.
What they certainly do not associate hafrashat challah with is the episode of the meraglim! What possible connection could there be between the spies (who came back with a slanderous report about Eretz Yisrael) and hafrashat challah?
But, incredibly, immediately following the parsha of the meraglim, the Torah goes on to describe two "bread" related mitzvot. The Minchat Nesachim - 3 esronim of solet for a פַּר, two esronim for a אַיִל, one isaron for a כֶּבֶשׂ. This is then immediately followed by the mitzva of hafrashat challah, רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם חַלָּה תָּרִימוּ תְרוּמָה (במדבר טו, כ). How do we understand this?
Before we tackle the subject, a short introduction.
According to the Midrash (בראשית רבה יז, ח), Adam HaRishon is called חַלָּתוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, the "challah" of the world. HKB"H did hafrashat challah from the world (עָפָר מִן הָאֲדָמָה) and that "challah" was - Adam HaRishon, who was created from the dust of the earth.
HKB"H loves the mitzva of hafrashat challah. Adam HaRishon was not the first time HKB"H did hafrashat challah. Another Midrash (תנא דבי אליהו זוטא, פרק ב) tells us that HKB"H did hafrashat challah from all the countries of the world, and this "challah" was Eretz Yisrael. HKB"H then did hafrashat challah from Eretz Yisrael and this was Yerushalayim. HKB"H then did hafrashat challah from Yerushalayim and this was the location of the Beit HaMikdash.
The Midrash goes on to say that HKB"H did hafrashat challah from all the nations of the world and this "challah" was Am Yisrael. He did hafrashat challah from Am Yisrael and this was the tribe of Levi. HKB"H continued to do hafrashat challah from the tribe of Levi and this was Aharon HaKohen and his descendants.
Another example (not from the above Midrash), HKB"H's כִּסֵּא הַכָּבוֹד has four "legs". Each leg is represented by a different hafrashat challah. HKB"H did hafrashat challah from the animal kingdom and this "challah" was the lion. HKB"H then did hafrashat challah from the domesticated animal kingdom and this was the ox. He did hafrashat challah from the bird kingdom and this was the eagle. Finally, HKB"H did hafrashat challah from all living creatures and this was man – the fourth leg of the כִּסֵּא הַכָּבוֹד is in the form of Yaakov Avinu (some say David HaMelech).
HKB"H passed this method of hafrashat challah on to all living creatures. Creation of new life is also according to the principle of hafrashat challah. The male contributes his "hafrashat challah" (semen), the female her hafrashat challah (ovum), HKB"H complements with His hafrashat challah (neshama). The birth process itself is a kind of hafrashat challah, separating the infant from the womb of the mother (אלשיך, בראשית ג, טז).
We see from this that the way HKB"H structures the hierarchy of His creation, is according to the formula of hafrashat challah - with people, with places and also with every other creation He created.
After that introduction we can now begin the shiur.
If the world operates according to the methodology of hafrashat challah, as we have seen above, then by the same measure – beliefs also operate according to that methodology.
Humans have many beliefs. We believe the world is round (we didn't always). We believe in the laws of nature, like gravity. We also believe in things we cannot always prove or see, like karma (what goes around comes around). Some people believe in aliens (re: the Pentagon and the newly declassified UFO files), etc.
(Aside: I cannot understand why people consider belief in "extraterrestrials" so far-fetched. The Torah and Tanach frequently tell us that we "are not alone" and contain umpteen accounts of "extraterrestrials" visiting earth and people. Like the three angels visiting Avraham Avinu. Like the angel visiting Hagar.
Like the angel visiting Manoach and his wife before the birth of Shimshon [from the haftara two weeks ago]. How did they know he was not from this world? The angel ascended into the sky with fire and suddenly disappeared [שופטים יג, כ-כא]. There certainly are "extraterrestrials" and they are sent by HKB"H!
The only real question is why is it that only recently physical, irrefutable evidence has been made public that everyone can see with their own eyes! We are living in historic, biblical times).
When someone does hafrashat challah on their beliefs, that "challah" is faith in HKB"H, the most elevated of all the beliefs.
The foundation and cornerstone of our relationship with HKB"H is based on faith. Faith that HKB"H, the Creator, who created us, did so because He loves us and wants the best for us, כָּל דְּעָבִיד רַחֲמָנָא לְטָב עָבִיד (ברכות ס, ע"ב).
A small child cannot understand why his parents tell him not to play around the electric socket. The curious infant is inexorably drawn to explore and experiment. He wants to know what lies "hidden" inside the hole of that electrical socket, so he grabs grandma's metal knitting needle and crawls toward the socket with the intent to start poking around in there.
The father sees this out of the corner of his eye and quickly whisks him away. The child is unrelenting and crawls back toward the socket, so the father issues a polite warning "Chaimke, don't go near the electric socket!" If the baby listens, then all is well. However, sometimes it is necessary to teach him a lesson the hard way, by yelling or by spanking.
When the child matures, he comes to understand that the parent was simply trying to protect him and that the spank was for his own good.
When Bnei Yisrael left Egypt, they were likened to an infant (רש"י, יחזקאל טז, ד). How do you forge the "infant" that was Bnei Yisrael into Am Yisrael, the nation? You give them a crash course in faith.
HKB"H first sends Moshe as their redeemer. HKB"H lays out for Moshe the precise "roadmap", the entire military campaign strategy (שמות ג, טז-כ). "Gather up זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל and tell them that I have sent you. They will believe you. Then go with the זְקֵנִים to Pharaoh and tell him to let My people go. Pharaoh will not cooperate, so I will unleash a series of plagues on him and eventually he will let you go".
What was Moshe's first response to HKB"H? וַיַּעַן מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר וְהֵן לֹא יַאֲמִינוּ לִי ... (שמות ד, א) "They won't believe me when I tell them that You sent me!" But, HKB"H just told Moshe that they would believe him, no? So, HKB"H gives Moshe some signs to show them. HKB"H reveals to Moshe the "codeword" פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד.
Moshe arrives and (surprise) Bnei Yisrael don't believe him. Moshe shows them the signs and tells them the codeword and only then do they believe him וַיַּאֲמֵן הָעָם (שמות ד, לא). Moshe says to the זְקֵנִים, "OK let's go see Pharaoh and convey HKB"H's message to him – Let My people go!" The next passuk says וְאַחַר בָּאוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל פַּרְעֹה (שם ה, א), only Moshe and Aharon entered Pharaoh's palace. What happened to the זְקֵנִים?
You don't just waltz into Pharaoh's palace. You have to get past security first! Who guarded Pharaoh's palace? Lions, bears and wild animals (שמות רבה ה, יד). Anyone who attempted unauthorized access was – lunch! The זְקֵנִים saw the lions and bears and they were afraid to enter (Rashi, ibid.) But just in the previous passuk it says וַיַּאֲמֵן הָעָם, they had faith in HKB"H, they believed Moshe! "Yes, sure we believe, but first let's see you get past the lions and the bears, then we will believe … more!" The Midrash describes how Moshe and Aharon walked unharmed through the menagerie of wild animals, who not only caused them no harm, they began to lick Moshe and Aharon's feet and accompanied them to Pharaoh's inner chamber!
After Pharaoh receives Moshe and Aharon's message from HKB"H he flips! "Get out … and from now on the Israelites will have to make their own bricks!" When the Bnei Yisrael hear this, they gang up on Moshe "Let G-d be our witness and let Him judge you. You have doomed us and given Pharaoh an excuse to wipe us out!" But, just a few psukkim ago it said וַיַּאֲמֵן הָעָם, no??
Then Moshe himself questions HKB"H "Why have You made it worse for the people, why did You send me? Since I have arrived, things have only become worse!" (שם, ה, כב-כג) But, just a chapter or two ago HKB"H told Moshe in advance "Pharaoh will not cooperate", no? HKB"H says "How I long for the Avot, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov – they did not question me!" (שמות רבה ו, ד).
Then HKB"H unleashes a series of Ten Plagues on Egypt, not only to punish them for what they did to Bnei Yisrael, but primarily for Bnei Yisrael to see and believe that what Moshe told them was true – a crash course in faith! Plague after plague. First HKB"H cuts off the Egyptian water supply, then He undermines their self-confidence with the loud cacophony of frogs. HKB"H attacks them with every weapon in His arsenal, rains guided missiles down on them, destroys their economy, and finally kills them piecemeal.
In the end, Pharaoh surrenders and Bnei Yisrael parade out of Egypt, laden with all the Egyptians' possessions and with unbaked dough strapped to their belts. Only when they reach Sukkot do they bake this dough into matzot. How do they get to Sukkot (a distance of 520 mil, approx. 260km, three days walk from Raamses!) without the dough becoming chametz? According to the Midrash (מדרש שכל טוב [בובר] שמות פרק יב; ספורנו שמות יב, יז), HKB"H made a קְפִיצַת הַדֶּרֶךְ, He "teleported" them from Raamses to Sukkot instantly, in the blink of an eye.
So, if HKB"H is prepared to teleport them, why not teleport them directly to Har Sinai, give them the Torah and then teleport them directly to Eretz Yisrael? Why make them shlep through the desert, get stuck at Yam Suf, have to make the sea split, give them bitter water at Mara, let the Amalekim attack them at Refidim, let the erev rav lead them astray repeatedly, give them nisayon after nisayon? For what? Doesn't HKB"H love His people? Couldn't He have saved them all this tribulation?
The answer is that it was all a crash course in faith. Faith cannot be given - faith can only be acquired, הַכֹּל בִּידֵי שָׁמַיִם חוּץ מִיִּרְאַת שָׁמַיִם (ברכות לג, ע"ב). Only the person themself can do "hafrashat challah" with their beliefs and acquire faith, it cannot be done for them.
It was all a learning curve for Am Yisrael, to forge us into a nation. We are a nation only when we have acquired faith in HKB"H. When we were at Har Sinai we achieved that leap of faith. נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמַע, we accepted the contract without first reading it, because we had total faith that כָּל דְּעָבִיד רַחֲמָנָא לְטָב עָבִיד – if it is HKB"H giving us this Torah, it must be good!
However, we were still an infant who had not yet matured. It was a brief, but fleeting epiphany, the infant remained an infant. It required more lessons in faith, including the tribulations in the Midbar, like the spies. What, the spies didn't believe HKB"H when He told them that it was an אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ? It was another test of faith, which they catastrophically failed, the ramifications of which we are still experiencing 3337 years later.
The last two centuries (210 years) since the students of the Vilna Gaon made aliyah to Eretz Yisrael have been our יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם. Everything that happened to our nation in Egypt, has happened once again to our nation in the last 210 years. Exile, oppression, Holocaust, liberation, rebirth, wars, in-fighting, lack of faith - in ourselves and in HKB"H.
We are like the same infant that left Egypt, immature and not yet having acquired faith. HKB"H is putting us through that same crash course in faith that He did in the time of Moshe, because we have to acquire it on our own, it cannot be given.
We have experienced the same template episodes of the זְקֵנִים not believing that the Geulah has arrived, the war with Amalek, the mergalim - the national demoralisers, Korach - the anarchists with agendas. We have also experienced something close to Har Sinai, an incredible return to HKB"H and a thirst for Torah.
What we are experiencing now with Iran is nothing short of the Ten Plagues against our primary enemy. Klap after klap – drought and depleting their water supply, targeted missile attacks against their military infrastructure and hierarchy, relentless dismantling of their economy, etc.
HKB"H is doing all of this to punish them for what they did to us, but primarily for us – so that we should wake up.
This is not Trump doing it all, it is HKB"H! we are hanging on every word that Trump tweets and posts on Facebook. We are fearful. Will he sign a deal? Won't he sign a deal? …
We should be rejoicing. We are seeing prophecy unfold before our very eyes. Galut Edom is at an end. Trump is the last bastion of מַלְכוּת אֱדוֹם, an empire that has endured since ancient Rome.
Yaakov saw the four מַלְכוּיוֹת in the dream of the סֻלָּם. This many rungs for this galut, that many for the other. Then he got to galut Edom which just kept going on, up and up, seemingly without end. Yaakov asked HKB"H "When will this end?" HKB"H answered "This one, I will take care of personally and end their reign", as it says אִם תַּגְבִּיהַּ כַּנֶּשֶׁר וְאִם בֵּין כּוֹכָבִים שִׂים קִנֶּךָ מִשָּׁם אוֹרִידְךָ נְאֻם ה' (עובדיה א, ד).
Just as with ancient Rome we sporadically had good relations, like Rebi and Antoninus, so too today have we sporadically had good relationships with modern day Rome, like Bibi and Trump. But let us not forget that modern day Edom is responsible for wiping out 4/5 of our nation, not only with physical Holocaust, but also with assimilation.
Edom's reign in the world is waning. Europe and its colonies are gone. Russia is gone. The USA is going. After Trump it will be gone. Just like our prophets foresaw. No other world power took down Edom, it was HKB"H's hand. Foreign influences and immorality rotting it from within.
We are now in the final galut, גָּלוּת יִשְׁמָעֵאל.
Just like Yishmael was a פֶּרֶא אָדָם, so too will this galut be typified by barbaric behavior, beyond all human norms, causing us to cry out to HKB"H –
וְלָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁמָעֵאל, שֶׁעָתִיד הקב״ה לִשְׁמֹעַ נַאֲקַת הָעָם מִמָּה שֶׁעֲתִידִין בְּנֵי יִשְׁמָעֵאל לַעֲשׂוֹת בָּאָרֶץ בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים, לְפִיכָךְ נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁמָעֵאל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר יִשְׁמַע אֵ-ל וְיַעֲנֵם (פרקי דרבי אליעזר פרק לב).
The purpose of galut Yishmael is also to shame Am Yisrael, to cause those of us who have strayed from the Torah to return and do teshuva and this is exactly what is happening.
We are living through prophecy mamash. War with Iran (פָּרַס) will take place in the year of the coming of Mashiach (יחזקאל לח, ה; פסיקתא רבתי, לא, א). It doesn't get clearer than that.
It is all a crash course in faith. We need but open our eyes and see.
After the debacle with the meraglim, the national demoralisers, who cried בְּכִיָּה שֶׁל חִנָּם (תענית כט, ע"א), a baseless weeping, with no bearing on reality, the Torah tells us דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל אֶרֶץ מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם (במדבר טו, ב), when you come to your homeland that I (HKB"H) give you. Not the land that that you merited by your good behavior, nor the land of swamps that you drained, or the wars you fought with כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי, but that I (HKB"H) gave you! Because I promised it to your forefathers. לֹא בְצִדְקָתְךָ וּבְיֹשֶׁר לְבָבְךָ אַתָּה בָא לָרֶשֶׁת אֶת אַרְצָם כִּי בְּרִשְׁעַת הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ מוֹרִישָׁם מִפָּנֶיךָ וּלְמַעַן הָקִים אֶת הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע ה' לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב (דברים ט, ה).
Have you ever wondered why it is davka the generals and ex-generals in the army who are so left wing and against defeating our enemies? It is because they rely solely on כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי and have no faith in HKB"H. Only those who are privy to the most intimate military secrets know for a certainty that there is no way to survive in this hostile neighborhood purely on military might.
If they understood that it is our faith in HKB"H that gives us the strength to defeat our enemies, not technology or sophisticated weapons systems, then they would succeed in their military campaigns. וְזָכַרְתָּ אֶת ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ כִּי הוּא הַנֹּתֵן לְךָ כֹּחַ לַעֲשׂוֹת חָיִל לְמַעַן הָקִים אֶת בְּרִיתוֹ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה (דברים ח, יח)
The Torah tells us the remedy for the demoralisation of the meraglim is to "come to your homeland". HKB"H has brought us to our homeland, but for what purpose? To live bourgeois lives of materialism and narcissism? That is not why we are here, it is to serve HKB"H in the Beit HaMikdash, bringing korbanot.
It is to do "hafrashat challah" from our experiences during the last 3338 as a nation. To separate from the "dough" of Jewish history, the "challah", the most elevated elements of our nation – our faith in HKB"H and our unity with one another, that we experienced once for a brief instant at Har Sinai and that we will soon merit experiencing once again for ever more.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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