going home ... to yerushalayim: Reb Neuberger: I Believe That The War Has Begun

20 November 2025

Reb Neuberger: I Believe That The War Has Begun

I BELIEVE THAT THE WAR HAS BEGUN

This is a special message because I believe that we are in an urgent situation.

Clear dangers are affecting all Jewish communities today, and we need to understand and act appropriately. I have stated the following many times, but these passages are so relevant that they deserve repetition.

The Chofetz Chaim predicted three wars before the coming of Moshiach. He referred to the First World War as the first of these wars. Then, before his petira in 1933, he predicted the Second World War, which he said would make the first war look like “child’s play.” Finally, he predicted a third war, which would result in the end of civilization as we know it, followed by the advent of Moshiach ben Dovid.

Rav Dessler zt”l wrote: “The destruction of Edom will only come through the destruction of this world [as we know it]. Hakadosh Baruch Hu will cause the very foundations of life on earth to collapse. Tranquility will be disrupted, personal lives will be filled with worry, fear and yissurim and the entire world will cower in dread of destruction and devastation. Only then will the light of Moshiach be revealed….” (Michtav M’Eliahu)

Another prediction: “In the end of days, the King of the South will clash with the King of the North, who will storm against the King of the South with chariots, cavalry and many ships. And he will come into many lands, flood them and pass through them.” (Daniel 11:40) Metzudas Dovid comments: “This [passage] refers to the final days of the last exile. The King of the South [Yishmoel] will fight ferociously with Rome [Edom], as if goring him with the horn of a beast. The King of the North [Edom], also known as ‘Rome,’ will fight fiercely against him, with great force and fury, like a windstorm. He will have many great ships, and in them men of war. The King of the North will come to the land of the King of the South, fight his people and pass through there….” (I saw all these passages in the book, Redemption Unfolding)

I believe we have reached a point in time which indicates a new reality. With the recent New York City elections, something has changed. It has now become “kosher” to hate Jews. A bitter wind is blowing over the entire world. Within Israel, the government is imprisoning yeshiva bocherim for the “crime” of learning Torah.

Under these circumstances, I believe that we are now all in a state of personal danger. Chazal state: if the Jewish People do not teshuva before Moshiach, “[Hashem] will appoint a king over them whose decrees will be as harsh as those of Haman….” (Sanhedrin 97b) If this is the case, urgent measures are required on the part of all who want to take steps to survive.

With humility, I would like to suggest the following.

1) We should all make an extreme effort to show friendship to our brothers, all the Children of Israel. We should search our heart and identify hatred, jealousy or even a wish for a bad thing to happen to another Yid. We should then shine a bright light on these feelings and attempt to cleanse our souls from this poison. At the end of Shemoneh Esreh we say, “May the expressions of my mouth and thoughts of my heart find favor before You, Hashem, my Rock and My Redeemer.” Krias Shema al Hamita begins, “I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or who sinned against me….”

2) We should daven in general with great intensity and – I emphasize this – with tears, begging for our lives. Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch Shlita”h said, “davening without tears is not enough!” Mechilla, but I see many people rush through davening and brachas. I wonder how they can possibly understand what they are saying. But we are praying for our life! “Guardian of Israel, protect the remnant of Israel. Do not let Israel be destroyed, those who proclaim ‘Shema Yisroel.’” However, when we cry during davening, it should be audible only to ourselves and Hashem, not to others.

3) We should contemplate the empty, poisonous nature of the foreign culture which surrounds us. We should attempt constantly to distance ourselves from its influence and trust only in Hashem. We have been infected by their obsession with money, entertainment, food – like their ancestor, Esav, who stuffed his mouth with red meat -- pleasure, and technology. The internet now controls the entire structure of worldwide civilization. This is as fragile as a reed and will at some point collapse completely, leaving the world in chaos. Thermonuclear war can occur at any time. We must not fool ourselves into thinking that we are safe. “Ain od milvado … there is nothing but Hashem.”

Having said this, I want to emphasize that the Chofetz Chaim and others have said that, in the Final War – Milchemes Gog Umagog – those with dvaikus to Hashem who separate themselves from the surrounding foreign culture will be saved, unlike in previous wars. We have to cling to this promise. What else is there to cling to?

About thirty minutes before I wrote these words, a package arrived at my home in Israel. The delivery man, from a well-known company, wore a black yarmulka and carried a gun on his belt. I had never seen this person before. He handed over the package, then said, “I love you,” gave me a hug and drove away.

“Mi k’amcha Yisroel, goy echad b’aretz … Who is like Israel, a unique nation in the world!” There is no other nation like this. That is why the other nations hate us, because they are jealous. Hashem will surely save us and bring Moshiach soon. Now it is our turn to do our utmost, so we merit to live in the perfect world which will follow the destruction of evil. “When the wicked bloom like grass and all the evildoers blossom, it is to destroy them forever!” (Tehillim 92)

May we all see that beautiful world soon in our days!