There Are Only Two Options

There are only two options.

Either the exile is ending or it is not. For millions of Jews it can’t be ending, at least as far as they are concerned, because it never started. Yes, the Jews may have once lived as a nation in Israel and were forced out. After that, they say, Jews went the way of all exiled nations, settling elsewhere and adopting the future of their gentile hosts.

Until No One Can Tell the Difference

No big deal, they think, as many don’t even consider themselves Jewish anymore. It takes a Hitler or the like, ysv”z, to teach them otherwise. In the meantime, for them, it’s all about assimilating until no one can tell the difference anymore.

Assimilation? Once upon a time it was a religious thing. In this era of political correctness however it has become a political goal as well. It’s no longer enough for some Jews to separate themselves completely from Judaism. They have to also completely disassociate themselves from Israel as well.

This “community” of Jews give themselves fancy and appealing names. They like to disguise their actions by making their causes sound heroic and universally acceptable. A self-hating Jew by any other cause, however, is still a self-hating Jew. The day may come when they will regret their actions, but in the meantime they are annoying and dangerous.

Many Might Not Want it to Be Over

The second group is different from the first, proudly Jewish and Israel-supporting. They too, however, do not believe the exile is over. They do believe it started and is ongoing, but not over. Many might not even want it to be over, entranced by the current status quo and desiring to preserve it.

This puts them on the defensive. The world around them does not like the status quo and very much wants to change it. This has come to mean, in today’s world, that Israel must go away, if not completely than at least politically. Since both options are unacceptable to this second group, they fight with all their political might to stop a tidal wave of anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions.

Their response is as useless as a person trying to stop a truck from rolling backwards down a steep incline. Political momentum is not in their favor. The intelligence level of the “enemy” works against them. If they persist with their current course of action, they will be more than disappointed. They will be run over and crushed, as they have been in the past.

[T]hose Who Believe this Fourth and Final Exile is Coming to an End

The third group of Jews are those who believe that this fourth and final exile is finally coming to an end. Some in this group base themselves on hope, some on intuition, and some on sources and historical realities. All however prepare for the “end” of this fourth and final exile in one way or another.

Some from this group live in the Diaspora, but the majority, I surmise, live in Eretz Yisroel. A person can have the luxury of believing the end of exile is approaching if they do not have to worry about running to another land for safety. It’s not that they believe they are 100 percent safe in Eretz Yisroel, just a lot safer. Being where they think God wants them to be at this stage of history, they trust He will protect them as well.

Of course, no one really knows what is truly going on in the world today or exactly how things will play out from this point. Many, however, have a difficult time accepting that the world can get much worse, crazier than it already is, and sense that something dramatic has to occur to change it. It’s the “what” that remains the big variable.

If the exile is truly at its end, and it should be after have a 2,000 year continuous run, then it’s good-bye stats quo. The logistics alone demand it. The mentality of Jew and gentile today insist on it.

Something Historical Has to Change

Something has to happen to help clarify who is really Jewish and who is not. Something historical has to change to make Jews in the Diaspora WANT to go home, and Jews in Israel to WANT to stay there. Not everything will have to go once Moshiach comes, but much of it will. The way of doing “business” in the past will no longer be the way of doing it in the future.

According to this third group of Jews, the upcoming American election is not only about choosing the lesser of two evils. It represents a historical threshold for the Jewish people in specific and the world in general. It is a statement about the intellectual and moral level of society, about the direction society is headed in the near future. We have known for some time that the Western world lost its moral compass. We’re finding out vis-a-vis this election just how missing it is.

Washington Was Once Called “Rome,”
With its Very own "Capitoline Hill and River Tiber"

This is why on one level it really doesn’t make a difference who gets into office. The end is the end. Perhaps who wins will make a difference as to the final approach to the end. Either way though, this fourth and final exile, the “Roman Exile” will come to a conclusion. (Washington, of course, was once called “Rome,” with its very own Capitoline Hill and River Tiber.)

Nevertheless, American citizens do “have to” vote. Unless you belong to the third group ]…] and have a very high level of trust and faith in God, living completely with reality of, “There is none other than God,” you have to vote. The only question is how to vote, and by “how,” I do not only mean “for whom.” […]

Bitachon and Emunah

It’s a very complicated situation. In fact, I would say today that because it is, it is one of bitachon and emunah more than other elections in the past. If it was a question of maintaining the status quo, Trump would seem the least risky, seemingly being the most pro-Israel and conservative (in some things at least). But it is not about maintaining a status quo.

Transitioning to the Messianic Era

It […] is about transitioning to the final stage of history, the Messianic Era, as peacefully as possible. Honestly, I don’t know who represents that path more, because it has more to do with what God has in mind than how mindless the two candidates seem to be.

My only suggestion is that voters, at least those who belong to [the third group], acknowledge this reality. This means praying to God for Divine help in making the Torah-right decision that will result in the greatest Tikun Olam—World Rectification.

Be as L’Shem Shamayim—altruistic—when casting your lot. Give yourself over to the will of God, and let Him decide the course of history in a positive way with your vote.

In part from Perceptions by Rabbi Pinchas Winston Shlit”a