A Jewish and Democratic State: Pre-Messianic Zionism and Internationalist Communism as Conspiracies of One Another

 

 An aerial view of the Temple Mount

in the Old City of Jerusalem

Written Between December 2010 and August 8^th, 2011

Edited on February 3^rd, 2016 and December 9^th, 2017

Table of Contents

Foreword by the Author

Part One: Spirituality

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Jewish Eschatology

Chapter 2: The Legitimacy of Zionism in Question

Chapter 3: A Jewish and Democratic State

Chapter 4: The Fulfillment of the Prophecies

Part Two: Transubstantiation

Chapter 1: A Time of War and Suffering

Chapter 2: The Destruction of Israel’s Enemies

Chapter 3: The Recognition of Wrongs

Chapter 4: The In-Gathering of the Exiles

Chapter 5: The Restoration of Jerusalem

Chapter 6: The Re-Planting of the Land

Chapter 7: The Rebuilding of the Holy Temple

Chapter 8: The Restoration of the Sanhedrin

Chapter 9: The Re-Imposition of Rabbinic Law

Chapter 10: The Ordination of the Rabbis

Chapter 11: The Reign of the Davidic Dynasty

Chapter 12: Jerusalem Becomes the Center of World Government

Chapter 13: The Elimination of Death and Suffering

Chapter 14: The Destruction of the Weapons of War

Chapter 15: The Spiritual Restoration of Humanity

Chapter 16: A House of Prayer for All Nations

Chapter 17: Conclusions on Prophetic Fulfillment

Part Three: Materialism

Chapter 1: Mashiach: Individual or Collective?

Chapter 2: Samuel, Saul, and David

Chapter 3: Rabbi Kahane and Rebbe Teitelbaum

Chapter 4: Avigdor Grün and David Ben-Gurion

Chapter 5: Theodor Herzl and Political Zionism

Chapter 6: Marx, Trotsky, Stalin, and Lenin

Chapter 7: Secularism, Anarchy, and Economics

Chapter 8: Levi Baruch’s Letter: Exposition

Chapter 9: Levi Baruch’s Letter: Analysis

Chapter 10: “Workers of the World, Unite!”

Chapter 11: The Russian Revolution

Chapter 12: Nixon, Graham, and Kissinger

Chapter 13: Mashiach: Human or Divine?

Chapter 14: Tyranny or Peace?

Chapter 15: The Seventh Millennium (Conclusion)

Content

Foreword by the Author

Written on August 8^th, 2011

          The following essay was composed between December 2010 and August 2011.

          During this time-frame occurred the Egyptian Revolution, the Tunisian “Jasmine Revolution”, the resulting “Arab Spring”, the Libyan Civil War, and numerous other civil conflicts throughout Northern Africa, Arabia, elsewhere in the Middle East, and Central Asia.

          Thus far – in addition to conflicts in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya – the year 2011 has seen civil uprisings in Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen; demonstrations and protests in Mauritania, Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Djibouti, and the Sudan; and the declaration of independence of the Southern Sudan.

          This year (2011), the United States marked its eighth year of military involvement in Iraq, with plans to keep an American presence in that country past this December. The U.S. also marked its tenth year in Afghanistan, with a possible withdrawal date of some time in 2014.

          In the spring of 2011, the U.S. and several Western European states invaded Libya, and they subsequently handed over control of the conflict to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (N.A.T.O.). In early May, the U.S. claimed that a team of Navy S.E.A.L.s and C.I.A. operatives killed Osama bin Laden in Northern Pakistan.

          The U.S. has also begun conducting drone strikes, targeting forces in Yemen and Somalia, in addition to continuing drone strikes against forces in Pakistan, which have occurred there since 2004, the escalation of which having begun in 2008.

          Nearly two years ago, in 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama stated before the United Nations General Assembly that “the time has come to re-launch negotiations – without preconditions – that address the permanent-status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem”.

          During the same speech, Obama further stated that “the goal is clear: two states living side by side in peace and security; a Jewish State of Israel – with true security for all Israelis – and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967”.

          On May 15^th of 2011, the day after the sixty-third anniversary of the State of Israel’s declaration of independence, thousands of protesters and demonstrators marched on that country’s borders with Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip, sparking clashes which left at least fifteen people dead.

          Four days later, Barack Obama called for the United States to support a future sovereign Palestine, based on the borders that existed before the Six-Day War of 1967. The same day, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected this proposal, calling what would become the State of Israel’s borders in such a situation “indefensible”.

          In the prevailing view of the Israeli government, and of the majority of Israelis in general (and in the view of Netanyahu in particular), the building of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem is a result of “natural growth”, and thus should not be ceased or curtailed. In the same view, the city of Jerusalem, whole and undivided, is the capital of the State of Israel. Additionally, in their view, there should be no “right of return” extended to Palestinian refugees (Netanyahu himself having briefly waffled on the “right of return” in spring before resolving to oppose it); Israel has pulled out of the Gaza Strip; and the State of Israel should not extend any recognition of sovereignty to the representatives of the Palestinian territories.

          On top of these U.S.-Israeli talks, the Palestinian National Authority has stated an intention to seek full membership in the United Nations, becoming its 194^th member. In September 2011, it plans to ask the U.N. General Assembly to upgrade Palestine’s status from that of an observer to that of a non-member state, which would give it access to dozens of U.N. agencies, as well as potentially allow it access to the International Criminal Court.

          Lately, there have been attempts to reconcile Hamas of Gaza with Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah administration in the West Bank. This reconciliation is seen as vital for mobilizing popular support behind the goals which Palestine will seek in September 2011, but Israel is wary about the potential for protests.

          All the while, more and more countries around the world are recognizing the sovereignty and independence of, as well as establishing diplomatic relations with, Palestine. Currently, somewhere between 120 and 150 countries recognize Palestine, while 160 recognize the State of Israel.

Given these facts, it appears evident that now is a high-stakes time for relations between the State of Israel and the nation of Palestine.

          Amidst the ongoing debates regarding the political solutions to the Israeli-Arab conflict – such as 1) the one-state, Israel-only solution; 2) the two-state solution; and 3) the three-state solution, which would involve the cession of the Gaza Strip to Egypt, and the cession of the West Bank to Jordan, while leaving Israel intact – there seems to be no agreement that this conflict is strictly a political problem.

          Many who are inclined to claim that the Israeli-Arab conflict is not primarily a political, but a religious, one, would cite that the Land of Palestine has been a site of consistent religious turmoil for hundreds of years, if not thousands.

          However, Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of Neturei Karta has repeatedly claimed that as recently as a hundred years ago, the Jews and Muslims in the area lived as brothers, and that the militarism of adherents to political Zionism is the primary cause of the up-tick in violence that has been seen in the area within the last several generations.

          But to assert that the Jews and Muslims in Israel-Palestine hold diametrically-opposed goals which can only be achieved upon the annihilation of either the State of Israel or a politicized nation of Palestine – however valid such an assertion may be shown to be – unfortunately only serves to obscure the true nature of the conflict. This is to say that among each people, religion and politics inform one another to varying degrees.

          I can only hope that this essay may serve to enlighten its readers on the inextricability of religious-Zionist and political-Zionist ideas from one another, as it pertains to the history and current events of the State of Israel.

Part One: Spirituality

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Jewish Eschatology

          According to the writings of the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others, Mashiach (the Messiah, or “anointed one” of the People of Israel) has several enumerated characteristics and attributes, and is to perform several important tasks and functions in the End of Days.

          Following a time of war and suffering, Mashiach is to destroy the enemies of the People of Israel, and the nations of the Earth will recognize the wrongs they did the People of Israel. Then, Mashiachwill gather the exiled Jews whom are dispersed among the many nations of the Earth, back to the Land of Israel.

          Next, the city of Jerusalem is to be restored, along with the ruined cities of Israel, and the Land of Israel will be re-planted and flourish. Then, the zemach (meaning “branch”, an expression ofMashiach) is to rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem as the Third Temple, under the guidance of, and with help by, Mashiach.

          Concurrent with the re-building and re-dedication of the Temple is the re-imposition of rabbinic law, including the sacrifices, as it was during the time of the original Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin (the Great Assembly in Jerusalem, which was a sort of “supreme court” of religious law, made up of seventy-one rabbis) is to be restored, and the process of ordaining rabbis is to be re-established and resumed.

          Following the completion of the ordination of the rabbis of the court of the Sanhedrin, the prophet Elijah is to present himself before the court, and announce the coming of, and identify, Mashiach. Mashiach will then rule in justice over the Jews and the nations of the Earth as representative of the L-rd. This will restore the reign of the Jews to be again under the tribe of Judah, and the patrilineage of King David (through Solomon), excluding branches of their lineage which have been cursed; i.e., those of Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Shealtiel.

          Jerusalem will become the center of all world government, ushering in an era of spiritual fulfillment and world peace, in which the Jews will be restored to the divine ideal. All of humanity will be converted to Judaism, and the Temple will thereby become a place of worship for people of all nations. Hunger, poverty, disease, and death will cease; the dead will rise again; and the weapons of war will be destroyed.

          It would appear as though some of these events have come to pass, either partially or completely, while others have not. So how is it that this is so, and what does it mean about whether Mashiach has arrived or is yet to come?

Chapter 2: The Legitimacy of Zionism in Question

          Recently, at an event protesting Zionism, Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss claimed that the Old Testament says that the State of Israel is not to exist, unless and until Mashiach establishes it, and that until that happens, any form of sovereign government existing among the Jewish People is always an impediment to peace.

          A woman who supported Zionism responded to the Rabbi that Mashiach had already come. Unfortunately for us, the Rabbi did not ask the woman to name, nor identify, this Mashiach, whom she believed had already appeared, nor did he ask her whether Mashiach was living or dead.

          Precisely what, or whom, grants Jews the right to have a sovereign state of their own, is a matter of controversy. Certainly each nation of people should be permitted to have its own land, because people have to have a land off of which they can live, by raising crops and livestock, in order to sustain their lives and their livelihoods.

          But what specifically entitles the Israelis, the citizens of a self-described “Jewish state”, to govern the people living in the Land of Israel (otherwise known as the Land of Palestine) through the enforcement of laws made by man, and not by G-d?

          Are we to accept, without question, that the permission of the United Nations, and the consent of the international community, are enough to merit granting the right to modern statist governance of a land occupied, both previously and currently, by Arabs? And, at that, to a people whom had been, by and large, absent from that land for nearly a hundred generations, and moreover, to a people many of whom were converts, or descendants of converts, to Judaism, and thus have little direct national, and ethnic or racial, identification with the land?

Chapter 3: A Jewish and Democratic State

          The State of Israel was established in May 1948 as a Jewish state. In the mid-1980’s, the country’s Supreme Court confirmed Israel’s status as a democratic state. The court decreed that what constitutes “a Jewish and democratic state” is to be decided by the citizens.

          Today, the State of Israel more closely resembles a secular state than a theocracy (which focuses on enacting religious law). About half of Israelis today describe themselves as secular. Much of Jewish culture today is dominated by the Reform (or Progressive) Judaism and Revisionist-Zionism strains of thought. It could easily be argued that these ideologies place more focus on the importance of cultural heritage as integral to the Jewish lifestyle, than on religious heritage and fidelity to Jewish law.

          I will mention as a side-note (although my intention is not to focus on the democratic nature of Israel as much as on its status as a Jewish state) that today the State of Israel is, obviously and demonstrably, a representative democracy, rather than any type of participatory democracy, which would be closer to the democratic ideal. However, its proportional representation -style parliamentary body, the 120-seat Knesset, is more permissive of the existence of minority parties than are most other Western democracies, and is thus more participatory.

Chapter 4: The Fulfillment of the Prophecies

          In Part Two, I will examine each major attribute and event pertaining to the role of Mashiach in Jewish eschatology, and I will explain whether, and to what degree, these have been fulfilled by the current generation of Jews, as well as by the most recent several generations thereof. In so doing, I aim to uncover how likely it is either that Mashiach exists in some form today, or that the agents performing these actions become Mashiach in such fulfillment.

Part Two: Transubstantiation

Chapter 1: A Time of War and Suffering

          …and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.

- Ezekiel 38:16

          This passage is taken to mean that, in the End of Days, Mashiach is to come following a time of war and suffering. There have certainly been numerous episodes of war and suffering which have occurred throughout the twentieth century.

          Examples of war and suffering having taken place before the establishment of the State of Israel include: 1) the First World War, which saw nearly twenty million deaths; 2) the subsequent flu pandemic which killed fifty million; 3) the Ukrainian Holodomor famine of the early 1930s, during which as many as twelve million died, over 60,000 of them Jews; 4) the conflict between Japan and China before and during World War II, which saw the death of nearly twenty million; and 5) European-theater World War II aggression which killed nearly sixty million, five or six million of them Jews.

          The series of conflicts between Jews and Muslims in the Levant from 1947 to 1949 saw about 15,000 to 24,000 deaths, about a third of the casualties having been sustained by Jews. It was during this time that Israel declared its independence from Great Britain, and the State of Israel was established.

          Episodes of war and suffering which followed the State of Israel’s creation include: 1) the Suez Crisis of 1956, which saw about 3,200 deaths, with an Egyptian-to-Jew death ratio of about 17-to-1; 2) the Six-Day War in 1967, which saw about 25,000 deaths, with a Muslim-to-Jew death ratio of nearly 25-to-1; 3) the War of Attrition of 1967, which saw between 5,000 and 13,000 deaths, with a Muslim-to-Jew death ratio of somewhere between 3-to-1 and 15-to-1; 4) the Yom Kippur War of 1973, which saw 10,000 to 22,000 deaths, with a death ratio of five Jews per Muslim; 5) the Lebanon War of 1982, which saw 28,000 deaths, with a Muslim-to-Jew death ratio of over 42-to-1; and 6) the Lebanon War of 2006, which saw between 1,700 and 2,000 deaths, with a Muslim-to-Jew death ratio of about 10-to-1.

          These facts show that there have been periods of war and suffering before, as well as after, the establishment of the State of Israel. This means that appearance by Mashiach – either now, in the future, or at any time since the First World War – would be explainable in the context of Jewish prophecy and eschatology, because Mashiach’s appearance could be shown to follow a time of war and suffering.

Chapter 2: The Destruction of Israel’s Enemies

          I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

- Numbers 24:17

          This passage is taken to mean that, in the End of Days, G-d (acting through Mashiach) is to smite and destroy the enemies of the People of Israel.

          As I have shown, there have been episodes of war and suffering before, during, and since the establishment of the State of Israel; episodes which have involved at least partial destruction of the enemies of the People of Israel.

          An obvious place to start is the defeat of Germany and the Central Powers in the First World War, and the defeat of Germany and the Axis Powers in the Second World War. Next, in the thirty years which followed the end of World War II, we have the Israeli War of Independence, the Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition, and the Yom Kippur War.

          In the First Intifada (the Palestinian uprising against Israel of the late 1980s and early 1990s), about 2,000 Palestinians were killed, about half of them as accused Israeli collaborators. In the Second Intifada of the first half-decade of the twenty-first century, Israeli forces killed about 5,000 or 6,000 Palestinians. The Palestinian death toll from the second half of that decade numbers about 1,700, and the Muslim-to-Jew death ratio in the Gaza conflict of 2008 to 2009 was more than 100-to-1.

          Combined, these nine major post-WWII conflicts, including the Lebanon Wars of 1982 and 2006, total somewhere between 55,000 and 68,000 deaths of combatants and civilians belonging to nations which were enemies of Israel, including the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, the countries of North Africa, and the Sudan. The Israeli death toll from all of these events combined numbers a mere 17,000 to 32,000.

          With the exception of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the only major military event of the Arab-Israeli conflict which saw more Israeli deaths than Muslim deaths, the total death ratio of the conflict since Israeli independence comes out to more than five Muslims per Israeli. Including the Yom Kippur War, the death ratio is still more than 2 ½Muslims per Israeli.

          These figures do not even include the numerous Muslim deaths which have occurred between these major conflicts, nor do they take into account the “casualties” which consist of the many native inhabitants of the Palestinian territories who fled their homes, or whom have been otherwise displaced (either by choice or by force), nor their injuries.

          The figures also do not take into account the deaths in the several wars in Iraq throughout the last several decades, which could be argued to have been fought in part for the benefit and defense of the State of Israel, and in order to supply it with Iraqi oil.

          It may be that none of the so-called “enemies of Israel” which have fought the state since its creation have been completely destroyed, but Israel has been involved in a series of conflicts with Muslims, and with nation-states that have Muslim majorities, which combined have averaged a Muslim-to-Israeli death toll of greater than 2-to-1.

          The State of Israel, with its approximately eight hundred undeclared nuclear weapons, its refusal to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and its $1.5 billion in annual military aid from the United States, appears, as always, ready and willing to continue to attempt to defeat and destroy whatever it believes to be an enemy of the People of Israel.

          These facts show that many “enemies of Israel” have been destroyed, at least partially, and therefore the appearance of Mashiach would make sense, provided that it occur within the same time-frame.

Chapter 3: The Recognition of Wrongs

          …so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see; and that which they have not heard they understand.

- Isaiah 52:15

          This passage is taken to mean that in the End of Days, due to the actions of Mashiach, the nations of the Earth are to recognize the wrongs they did the People of Israel.

          In 1998, the Vatican issued a formal apology for failing to take more decisive action in challenging the Nazi regime during the Second World War in order to stop the extermination of Jews.

          Since the 1980s, various European countries have enacted laws which make it a crime to deny, negate, diminish, minimize, excuse, sympathize with, or justify either the Holocaust, other genocides, or crimes against humanity. Such countries include Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland.

          In 2001, the European Union’s executive commission passed a law which criminalized denial of the Holocaust. Due to efforts by the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries, member states of the E.U. are free to choose whether to impose a maximum three-year jail sentence on individuals found guilty of Holocaust denial.

          In 1986, Israel’s parliament passed a law which makes denying or diminishing the Holocaust, or sympathizing or identifying with its perpetrators, a crime punishable by five years of imprisonment.

          The significance of these facts is that, in the last thirty years, many nations have symbolically recognized the wrongs which were done to the People of Israel, including countries which were responsible for those wrongs, as well as countries which turned blind eyes towards the atrocities. This could mean that we are now in the “End of Days” (Olam Ha-Ba; “the world to come”).

Chapter 4: The In-Gathering of the Exiles

          And it shall come to pass in that day, that the L-RD shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

- Isaiah 11:12-13

          But, the L-RD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

- Jeremiah 23:8

          “For, lo, the days come, the days come”, saith the L-RD, “that I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah”, saith the L-RD: “and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”

- Jeremiah 30:3

          For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the L-RD their G-d, and David their king, and shall fear the L-RD and his goodness in the latter days.

- Hosea 3:4-5

          These passages are taken to mean that, in the End of Days, G-d (acting through Mashiach) is to gather the Jews dispersed among the nations of the Earth, back to the Land of Israel.

          Events from the eighth to the sixth centuries before the Common Era, as well as conflicts between the Roman Empire and Judea, contributed to the dispersal of the Jewish People to surrounding Arab-occupied areas, and to other nations around the world. From 70 C.E. until the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jews were widely considered to be in exile.

          Between 1882 and 1929, nearly 200,000 Jews immigrated to the land which later became the State of Israel. A quarter-million more arrived in the following decade, most of this immigration having been illegal. Legal immigration sharply declined during the Second World War.

          In the three years following the establishment of the state, another 700,000 immigrants arrived. Between 1952 and 1990, a total of about 1.1 million Jewish immigrants arrived. The year 1991 saw the aliyah (“ascent”; immigration into Israel) of about 200,000, mostly due to mass emigration from countries affected by the collapse of Communism. Another 800,000 or so have arrived in Israel since the early 1990s.

          In order to complete the Gathering of the Exiles into the Land of Israel, the remaining 7.2 to 9.2 million Jews living elsewhere in the world must make aliyah to Israel. At current immigration rates, this would take about four hundred years, even assuming a population growth rate of zero (Note: such a rate is highly improbable because it is a province of Orthodox Judaism to desire significant increases in the birth rate).

          Israel’s annual economic growth rate remains strong at about eight percent, and settlements are continuously being built, making room for natural population growth and for more potential immigrants. Throughout the last hundred years, it has been a constant task of Israelis to build in preparation for the arrival of new immigrants.

          Today, there are somewhere between thirteen and fifteen million Jews in the world. About 5.8 million of them live within the boundaries of the State of Israel. This means that approximately 40% (two-fifths) of the world’s Jewish population has been gathered into the State of Israel.

          From these facts, it would be fair to conclude that the in-gathering of the exiles has not yet been completed, and thus, G-d (acting through Mashiach) has not yet fulfilled this prophecy.

Chapter 5: The Restoration of Jerusalem

          When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then you and your daughters shall return to your former estate.

- Ezekiel 16:55

          Therefore prophesy and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign L-RD says: [‘]My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the Land of Israel.[‘]”

- Ezekiel 37:12

          These passages are taken to mean that, in the End of Days, G-d (acting through Mashiach) is to restore the city of Jerusalem and the ruined cities of Israel.

          From 1844 to 1944, the population of Jerusalem grew by a factor of ten; from 16,000 to 160,000. Jerusalem has gained an additional 600,000 residents since the end of the Second World War. In 1980, Israel added to its Basic Law a declaration that Jerusalem, whole and undivided, is the capital of the State of Israel. The U.S. and the United Nations voiced opposition to that declaration.

          When the State of Israel was established, the Old City, and adjacent parts of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, were not yet parts of Israel. They and other territories were captured during the Six-Day War in 1967, and the city limits of Jerusalem were expanded.

          Israeli settlements in, and outside, greater Jerusalem (which, combined, number about 200,000 in population) have, in recent years, been a continuing source of conflict, as well as an impediment to Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

          The significance of these facts is that the city of Jerusalem has been restored. This is not to say, however, that restoration of Jerusalem would solely entail a physical restoration and growth of the city; to the contrary, it would mean a restoration of the population of the city, which really means a spiritual and cultural rebirth of the Jewish People in general. There will be more on this spiritual rebirth later.

Chapter 6: The Re-Planting of the Land

          For the L-RD shall comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the L-RD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

- Isaiah 51:3

          I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

- Ezekiel 36:29-30

          “Behold, the days come”, saith the L-RD, “that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed: and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of My People of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them”, saith the L-RD thy G-d.

- Amos 9:13-15

          These passages are taken to mean that in the End of Days, G-d (acting through Mashiach) is to cause the Land of Israel to be re-planted and to flourish, the barren land having been made abundant and fruitful.

          In 1901, the Jewish National Fund was founded at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, as a quasi-governmental, non-profit organization. Its purpose was to purchase, lease, and serve as a trustee of land in Ottoman Palestine – for, and on the behalf of, the Jewish People – and to develop the land for settlement by Jews.

          In the first decade of the twentieth century, the Jewish National Fund (J.N.F.) played a central role in the founding of Tel-Aviv, one of Israel’s largest cities. It also established the Olive Tree Fund, which has led to the planting of more than a quarter billion trees in Israel.

          The J.N.F. has built over two hundred ten dams, reservoirs, and water treatment plants; over a thousand parks; and hundreds of miles of roads. It has developed 250,000 acres of land, reclaimed more than 50,000 acres of cropland, and provided infrastructure for more than a thousand communities.

          The J.N.F. has funded research into the conservation of soil and water; the rehabilitation of rivers; and development of sustainable ecological practices, in order to improve the quality of life among people living in arid regions in the face of water shortages and drought. It has brought life, including forests, to the Negev Desert in the south of Israel, and intends to eventually provide infrastructure for a quarter-million new settlers there.

          When the State of Israel was founded, the Jewish National Fund owned more than half of the land which was held by Jews in the region. By 2007, it owned 13% of the total land in Israel.

          Additionally, the State of Israel is the site of three desalination plants, and the future site of two planned desalination plants. The plants take salt water from the sea, and employ a process of reverse osmosis, removing salt and minerals in order to create fresh water.

          Thus, as prophesied, the Land of Israel has been re-planted, and flourishes, the land having been made abundant and fruitful.

Chapter 7: The Rebuilding of the Holy Temple

          …and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forever and My tabernacle shall be with them.

- Ezekiel 37:26-27

          The text contained in the Book of Ezekiel, 40:5 through 42:20, is described as G-d’s instructions on the construction of the Holy Temple, as revealed to Ezekiel.

          The passages are taken to mean that Mashiach is to rebuild the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah (also called Mount Zion) in the Old City of Jerusalem.

          The First Temple, also known as Solomon’s Temple, existed from 954 B.C.E. until its destruction at the hands of the conquering Babylonians in 587 B.C.E..

          About sixty years after its destruction, it was replaced by the Second Temple, which became known as Herod’s Temple, when Herod renovated it in 19 B.C.E.. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.. In 363 C.E., there was a failed attempt to rebuild the Temple.

          The site of the Temple Mount is currently home to the Islamic places of worship the Dome of the Rock (completed in 691 C.E.) and al-Aqsa Mosque (completed in 705 C.E.).

          The Jewish Temple which is to be rebuilt would be the Third Temple, also known as Ezekiel’s Temple. It would be used for sacrificial worship, and its existence would provide for the performance of many important mitzvot (meaning “obligations”, “rituals”, or “commandments”) which cannot be exercised without it.

          Although there is controversy over whether the Temple is to be rebuilt by human or divine hands, those who participate in the rebuilding of the Temple are considered to act as the zemach(“branch”; an expression of Mashiach).

          Twelfth-century Spanish rabbi and philosopher Moses ben-Maimon (also known as Maimonides, Moses Maimonides the Great, or simply “the Rambam”) has been interpreted as having said that only Mashiach can build the Temple. However, the same statement has also been interpreted as meaning that any Jew who participates in the rebuilding of the Temple is a potential Mashiach.

          There are currently three organizations in Israel whose stated goals include building the Third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah. They are the Temple Mount Faithful Movement, the Movement for the Establishment of the Temple, and the Temple Institute.

          The Temple Mount and Eretz Yisrael Faithful Movement (“Eretz Yisrael” meaning “the Land of Israel”) was founded in 1967 by Gershon Salomon. In 1990, the group announced that it was going to lay a cornerstone for the Temple on Mount Moriah. Israel’s police and its High Court of Justice prevented this, but not before several dozen Palestinians were killed by Israeli Border Police in riots protesting the announcement.

          The influence of the Temple Mount Faithful Movement has declined since 1987, when the more religiously Orthodox elements within the group split off, and formed the Movement for the Establishment of the Temple. The Temple Mount Faithful Movement is routinely prevented by Israeli authorities from accessing the Temple Mount. Recently, the group has developed close ties (financial and otherwise) with Christian fundamentalists.

          The Temple Institute (or Hachon HaMikdash) was founded in 1987 by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, whom is also involved in an attempt to restore the Sanhedrin (Note: there will be more information on the Sanhedrin shortly). Other prominent members of the Institute include Rabbi Chaim Richman and Rabbi Yehuda Glick. Rabbi Glick believes that the either the Dome of the Rock should have the Third Temple built over it, or else the mosque should be integrated into the construction plans of the Temple.

          The Temple Institute has garnered and spent over $27 million for its operations. It believes that the Rambam should be interpreted as having urged Jews to rebuild the Temple, if and when they are able to do so. The Temple Institute’s members visit the Temple Mount, at times and locations which are in accordance with the requirements of Halakhic law.

          The Temple Institute has made and procured several items which are to be used in ritual services in the Temple. Such services would involve the use of sacred vessels, a mock-up of the Ark of the Covenant, and a red heifer bred to have attributes specifically outlined in the Bible. This red heifer is to be sacrificed, becoming only the tenth or eleventh in history, and its ashes are to be used in order to purify the souls of those who have come into contact with the corpses of the dead, or with their graves.

          In the last two decades, Christian cow farmer Clyde Lott of Nebraska has assisted the Temple Institute to obtain hundreds of heifers from which the sacrificial animal is to be bred. A candidate for slaughter named Melody was even produced back in 1996, and another was born in 2002, but both were subsequently found to be unsuitable for sacrifice. However, in March 2010, a representative of the Temple Institute claimed that there was “definitely a kosher red heifer here in Israel.”

          Results of a poll which was taken in 2002, and published by the Jerusalem Post, revealed that 53% of Israeli Jews would like to see the Temple rebuilt.

          The significance of these facts is that there have recently been, and that there currently are, people and entities in the State of Israel which are attempting to restore and rebuild the Third Temple, and provide for the existence of the space and the items which are required in order to carry out the ancient rituals. Hence, the End of Days may be soon to come.

Chapter 8: The Restoration of the Sanhedrin

          And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called the city of righteousness; the faithful city.

- Isaiah 1:26

          This passage is taken to mean that in the End of Days, G-d (acting through Mashiach) is to re-impose rabbinic law as it was during the time of the Sanhedrin, which is to be accomplished through the restoration of the Sanhedrin itself.

          The Sanhedrin was a Great Assembly – a sort of “supreme court” – of rabbinic law, made up of seventy-one rabbis. There have been numerous past attempts to reinstate the Sanhedrin; they occurred in 1538, 1830, 1901, 1940, and 1949.

          Since 2004, there has been an ongoing attempt to restore the Sanhedrin. This would involve establishing the court as an upper house of the Israeli national government, supplanting the Knesset (the State of Israel’s parliament) which would continue to exist as a lower house. A Basic Law would be passed, establishing a Constitution subject to the laws of the Torah, and many democratic mechanisms and civil laws within Israeli law would have to be revised in order to become compliant with Jewish rabbinic law.

          Were the Sanhedrin to supplant the Knesset as the supreme seat of legal authority in the State of Israel, it would render the government a theocratic kritarchy (or critocracy; rule by judges), meaning that it would operate under the rule of judges in accordance with Jewish religious law, with representative democracy as a secondary governmental paradigm.

          The lack of religious authority in the law of the State of Israel is a constant source of controversy in modern Israeli society. Members of the Orthodox community frequently protest violations of the Sabbath, which include people driving and businesses staying open, and sometimes they even throw stones in protest. The religious education of Israeli children is also a matter of controversy.

          Ultra-Orthodox Jews may apply for deferment from the State of Israel’s draft in order to study scripture, but they must perform national or army service afterwards. In recent years, the number of people who may apply for this deferment has been reduced. In 2006, the developing Sanhedrin claimed that it is the only entity which has authority to make policy relating to defense and the military.

          Despite this push (by some) for more religious authority in Israeli law, the government of the State of Israel still operates as a secular institution.

          The significance of this is that restoration of rabbinic law has been attempted numerous times, but has not yet been completely successful.

Chapter 9: The Re-Imposition of Rabbinic Law

          To re-impose rabbinic law as it was during the time of theSanhedrin, would involve the restoration of the sacrifices which I explained above, as well as other mitzvot. It would also involve the restoration of the Laws of Jubilee, and the proper ordination of rabbis for service on the rabbinic court of the Sanhedrin.

          The Laws of Jubilee (or Yobhel), also known as the Laws of the Seventh Year, are laws which integrate the Hebrew calendar into Jewish religious societal life. They dictate that the seventh day of the week (the Sabbath, or Shabbat, or Shabbos, meaning “cessation”) is to be observed as a day of rest.

          The laws also dictate that every seventh year – the Sabbatical year (also known as Shmita, or Shemitah) – the land is to be given rest, in order to improve the yield of crops. Additionally, produce from the fields are to become ownerless, allowing virtually free and shared access by everyone.

          On the Jubilee – which occurs every forty-nine or fifty years, at the completion of seven cycles of seven years – 1) indentured servants are to be set free; 2) personal loans and debts between Jews (whether in Israel or elsewhere) are to be cancelled; 3) property, fields, and houses in the Land of Israel are to revert back to their original owners or heirs; and 4) throughout this time period, the prices of lands in the Land of Israel are to become progressively less expensive.

          The Laws of Jubilee dictate that debts which are owed to courts – or which are owed to or by non-Jews – are not forgiven on the Sabbatical Year; and that produce may be grown on land in Israel which is owned by non-Jews. Rabbinic courts are to help moderate and supervise the sale and tenancy of land for such arrangements, but this practice is controversial among the ultra-Orthodox community.

          The main purposes of these laws are: 1) to provide a temporal structure for Jewish society; 2) to guard against excesses and against the accumulation of wealth and land in the hands of the few, and 3) to promote social cohesiveness, as well as a sense of connectedness with nature, and with the fulfillment of labors performed and enabled by G-d.

          As punishment for the seventy years prior to the construction of the Second Temple which the Jews had spent not observing the Laws of Jubilee, they were exiled amongst the seventy nations of the world, for an additional seventy years, so that the land could get its due rest. The numbers seven and seventy are significant for Jews, and appear many times throughout the Old Testament.

          There is controversy over whether the Laws of Jubilee are to be obeyed amongst modern Jewry. While some say the laws are always binding whenever there are Jews in the Land of Israel, others say the Laws of Jubilee are purely voluntary. Still others say that the Laws of the Seventh Year only apply when the Jubilee Year is in effect – which occurs either when the majority of the world’s Jews are living in the Land of Israel, or when there are members of all twelve tribes of Israel living there – and that the observance of the law is not a biblical obligation, but merely a rabbinic one.

          In terms of the modern State of Israel, the government views the laws as voluntary, and the civil courts do not enforce them. There is a need in Israel to maintain modern agricultural and commercial systems, and it is for this reason that rabbinic and civil courts show certain flexibility towards one another.

          However, Israel’s Supreme Court intervened when, during the most recent Sabbatical Year (2007-2008), the Chief Rabbinate of Israel tried to avoid taking a position on conflict about the laws which arose between religious communities. The Rabbinate had desired to support local decision-making on the issue, but the state mandated nation-wide standards.

          Today, the Jubilee Year (meaning the forty-ninth or fiftieth year) is not observed, nor is it designated, because it is unknown on which Sabbatical Year it would fall.

          The significance of these facts is that there is at least a partial upholding of the Laws of Jubilee in modern Israeli society. Hence, rabbinic law has not been fully re-imposed.

Chapter 10: The Ordination of the Rabbis

          G-d, acting through Mashiach, is to bring about the proper ordination (Semicha) of rabbis, for service on the rabbinic court of the Sanhedrin.

Maimonides said that the coming of Mashiach is not a prerequisite for the re-establishment of the Sanhedrin, and that the people should feel free to re-establish it, when and if they are able to do so.

          In the year 358, Roman Emperor Theodosius the First forbade the rabbinic court of the Sanhedrin. He declared the ordination of rabbis illegal, under punishment of death, and mandated the destruction of the town where the ordination occurred.

          The following century, after the patriarch Rabbi Gamaliel the Sixth (a member of the Davidic dynasty) died without a male heir, Emperor Theodosius the Second abolished the position of Nasi(meaning “prince”), the title of the chief rabbinic justice of the court of the Sanhedrin.

          According to Maimonides, in order for the special ordination of rabbis to be re-established and resumed, the rabbis of Israel must agree to grant ordination to one person, whom may then ordain other rabbis. Three attempts to re-establish ordination had their chains of ordination broken; these attempts occurred in 1830, 1901, and 1949.

          In 2004, Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum was elected by consensus to receive Semicha. However, Rabbi Teitelbaum passed away only two years later. Later, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz accepted the position of Nasi, but resigned the position in 2008. Rabbi Re’em Ha-Cohen may become Nasi of the developing Sanhedrin.

          The significance of these facts is that the current developing Sanhedrin may eventually bring about the resumption of the ordination of rabbis.

          Once the Sanhedrin has been properly ordained, the prophet Elijah will present himself before the court and proclaim the coming of, and identify, Mashiach.

          It almost goes without saying that this event has not yet occurred, although the woman who confronted Rabbi Weiss (whom I mentioned towards the beginning of this piece), who told the rabbi “he already came!”, may have some evidence refuting this claim.

Chapter 11: The Reign of the Davidic Dynasty

          The staff shall not depart from Judah, nor the scepter from between his feet…

- Genesis 49:10

          And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

- 2 Samuel 7:12-13

          He [Solomon] shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.

- 1 Chronicles 22:10

          “Behold, the days come”, saith the L-RD, “that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”

- Jeremiah 23:5

          These passages are taken to mean that once Mashiach appears, the reign of the Jews will once again be under the lineage of Solomon, the son of David. David and Solomon are both members of the tribe of Judah.

          This lineage is known as the Davidic Dynasty, or the House of David, which I mentioned earlier in discussing the Sanhedrin. In fact, Mashiach is referred to as Mashiach ben David, meaning “Messiah, son of David”.

          As a descendant of King David, Mashiach is also known as Mashiach nagid, meaning “anointed prince”. Mashiach would be at once a king, a priest, and a servant, restoring both the nation and the priesthood, and ruling over an Israel that is both a royal and priestly nation.

          Being that any and all members of the Davidic Dynasty are considered to have the potentiality to become Mashiach, it is essential to keep track of who these people are. This task is currently being performed by the website davidicdynasty.org. Many prominent rabbis around the world can rightfully claim membership in the families which are listed on the site.

          The significance of these facts is that members of the lineage of Solomon are living today, which means that – since all Davidic Dynasty members can become Mashiach – it is still possible for Mashiach to appear, and to reign over the Jews.

Chapter 12: Jerusalem Becomes the Center of World Government

          And many people shall go and say, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the L-RD, to the house of the G-d of Jacob; and He will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in His paths”: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the L-RD from Jerusalem.

- Isaiah 2:3

          This passage is taken to mean that once G-d (acting through Mashiach) reigns over the Jews, the city of Jerusalem is to become the center of all world government.

          This has not occurred. However, prior to the discovery of the New World by the people of Africa and Eurasia, “T-and-O” maps commonly depicted Jerusalem as the center of the known world.

          Also, the decision to prosecute the war crimes of the Nazis in Jerusalem – which is typically not done, because crimes are traditionally prosecuted where they occurred – arguably foreshadowed the modern circumstances in which the whole collective body of the Jews, as a recent victim of mass murder and destruction, is held to be, more or less, a just arbiter of what is, and what is not, a crime against humanity.

          Additionally, it would be easy to argue that concern for the safety of the Jewish People and the Jewish State, has given rise to an American foreign policy which aims to achieve “no daylight between the U.S. and our ally Israel”, a relationship which many American leaders prize, billing the State of Israel as “the only democracy in the Middle East”, and “our only ally in the region”. This policy has resulted in significant Jewish and Israeli influence over the foreign policy of the United States, which is arguably an empire, having troops stationed in four out of five of the world’s countries, and being involved in some 130 conflicts around the world as of 2016.

          The significance of these facts is that – although Mashiach has not yet returned to reign over the Jews – the city of Jerusalem, and the State of Israel in general, hold significant military, political, and juridical power; if not only in the region that is the Middle East, then also in the world in general.

Chapter 13: The Elimination of Death and Suffering

          But with righteousness shall He… reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.

- Isaiah 11:4

          He will swallow up death in victory; and the L-RD G-d will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the L-RD hath spoken it.

- Isaiah 25:8

          Thy dead men shall live, together with My dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

- Isaiah 26:19

          Therefore the redeemed of the L-RD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

- Isaiah 51:11

          These passages are taken to mean that, in the End of Days, G-d (acting through Mashiach) will eliminate death and suffering, and the dead will rise again.

          Modern times have seen an explosion in world population, a dramatic increase in average life expectancy, and remarkable strides in the development of medicine and in agricultural and commercial systems. Such systems – in addition to charitable organizations (governmental, religious, and otherwise) – have made significant progress toward the alleviation of hunger, poverty, and disease, which are chief and widespread factors contributing to the suffering and death of people around the world.

          One needs only look as far as Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine, to see the role which Jews have played in the alleviation of suffering in recent history.

          The significance of these facts is that at no other time in world history have death and suffering been as rare as they are now, in proportion to world population. However, death and suffering have not yet been eliminated, nor have the dead risen.

Chapter 14: The Destruction of the Weapons of War

          And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years.

- Ezekiel 39:9

          And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

- Isaiah 2:4

          These passage are taken to mean that in the End of Days, G-d (acting through Mashiach) will cause the weapons of war to be destroyed.

          According to an estimate by Janes Weapons Quarterly, the State of Israel currently possesses approximately eight hundred undeclared nuclear weapons. It has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and it receives $1.5 billion in annual military aid from the United States.

          One needs only look as far as Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer, both of whom played significant roles in the development of the nuclear bomb, to see the role which Jews have played in the creation of weapons of war in recent history.

          Thus, it seems evident that the State of Israel, and Jews in general, are doing little to bring about the destruction of weapons of war.

          However, the world in general is currently witnessing some destruction of weapons of war, as the United States and Russia are now in the process of negotiating bilateral nuclear arms reduction, which would see both countries cut their nuclear arsenals approximately in half.

          The gun control issue also plays into this question. Gun bans were enacted in the Soviet Union and Fascist Italy in the twentieth century. German Jews abode by Germany’s gun control laws, which were strengthened by the Nazis, including an outright ban on the issuing of firearms permits to Jews in 1935. Needless to say, this obedience of the law contributed to the ease by which Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis during World War II.

          In 1986, Aaron Zelman, a Jewish-American former firearms dealer, founded a group called Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (J.P.F.O.), which currently has more than 4,000 members.

          The J.P.F.O. has produced materials which call attention to the fact that the Nazis enforced gun control laws, and it has accused American politicians of using such laws as inspiration for the drafting of American gun control legislation. The J.P.F.O. has also produced pamphlets entitled “Why Does the A.D.L. Support Nazi-Based Laws?” and “J.P.F.O. Facts Versus A.D.L. Lies”.

          Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the A.D.L. (the Anti-Defamation League), whom is Jewish, commented, “the linkage to gun control is a tactic by Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership to manipulate the fear of anti-Semitism toward their own end.”

          It seems that lately, Jews have been on both sides of the issue of the destruction of the weapons of war. But the significance of these facts is that there has been at least some destruction of the weapons of war which has affected, been participated in, and abode by Jews.

Chapter 15: The Spiritual Restoration of Humanity

          And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the L-RD alone shall be exalted in that day.

- Isaiah 2:17

          They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L-RD, as the waters cover the sea.

- Isaiah 11:9

          “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me”, saith the L-RD.

- Isaiah 66:23

          “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days”, saith the L-RD, “I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their G-d, and they shall be My people.”

- Jeremiah 31:33

          And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them.

- Ezekiel 37:24

          For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the L-RD, to serve Him with one consent.

- Zephaniah 3:9

          The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

- Zephaniah 3:13

          Thus saith the L-RD of hosts; “In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, ‘We will go with you: for we have heard that G-d is with you.’”

- Zechariah 8:23

          And the L-RD shall be king over all the earth: in the day there shall be one L-RD, and his name one.

- Zechariah 14:9

          These passages are taken to mean that in the End of Days, all humanity will be converted to Judaism, all people will know the Word of G-d by heart, and the Jews will be restored to the divine ideal in an era of spiritual fulfillment. This is the restoration of the people of Jerusalem which I mentioned above.

          Today, about half of the citizens of the State of Israel describe themselves as secular, but statistics show that the number of those who consider themselves religiously observant is rising.

          The significance of these facts is that the Jews’ spiritual fulfillment, and their restoration to the divine ideal, are being affected to some degree.

Chapter 16: A House of Prayer for All Nations

          And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

- Isaiah 11:10

          Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the L-RD, to serve Him, and to love the name of the L-RD, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My covenant; Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.

- Isaiah 56:6-7

          These passages are taken to mean that in the End of Days, due to the action of G-d acting through Mashiach, people from all cultures and nations will be attracted to, and included in, Jewish worship, and that the Third Holy Temple is to become a place of worship, and a house of prayer, for people of all nations.

          In the early 1500s, the Ottomans conquered Jerusalem, and Jews began to gather at the Western Wall to pray. In the first half of the 20^th Century, the importance of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall to the Islamic religion grew. In 1929, Muslims rioted against Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall because it was perceived that Jewish prayer endangered Islamic mosques.

          When Jordan controlled the Temple Mount in the two decades following the establishment of the State of Israel, the significance of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount to Islam subsided. Jewish holy places were desecrated and destroyed, and Jews were denied access to their holy sites.

          The significance of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount to Islam began to grow again when, during the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel gained control of eastern Jerusalem and the Mount. Subsequently, the Israeli government retained sovereignty and security control over the area, but it turned administrative control over the Temple Mount to the Jordanian Islamic Waqf (a religious endowment and trust) as a gesture of peace, ordered an Israeli flag which had been raised over the Mount during the conquest to be removed, and banned Jews from holding prayer services there.

          In the mid-1990s, Yasir Arafat’s Palestinian Authority gained administrative and religious control of the Waqf. Israel granted the Palestinian Authority full sovereignty on the Mount in 2000, but the Jordanians began to re-assert their control in 2004.

          Today, Muslim citizens of the State of Israel are normally allowed to enter and pray at al-Aqsa Mosque, but certain groups of Muslims (depending on their age; where they are from; and the time and day of the week, which has to do with customary times and dates of prayer) have their prayer restricted by the Israeli government for security reasons.

          Since 1967, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has ruled that Jews should not walk on the Temple Mount, because they may step on the site of the Holy of Holies, the Tabernacle where the Ark of the Covenant once stood. Only the High Priest (the Nasi) may enter the Tabernacle, and only on Yom Kippur.

          Several Jewish religious and political leaders have demanded that Jews be permitted to pray at the site on Jewish holidays. The Israeli Supreme Court has supported individual prayer there, but Israeli police prohibit Jews from praying on the Temple Mount in any overt manner (including spoken prayer). Overt prayer is strictly regulated, but visiting rights as tourists are less strict.

          Some Jews and Christians in Israel interpret the prophecy that the Temple will become a house of prayer for all nations, as urging that members of any religion should attempt to pray on the Temple Mount. For the Israeli authorities to enforce such practice, would undermine the authority of the Waqf to permit and deny the right to pray to certain individuals and groups at certain dates and times.

          Some Jews believe that prayers on the Temple Mount by people of all nations should only take place once the Third Holy Temple has been built and Mashiach has arrived. This is because, in their view, it is only after Mashiach arrives, that all of humanity will be converted to Judaism, which means that the people of all nations would then become Jewish, and all the prayers they would make on the Temple Mount would share the same significance.

          The significance of these facts is that the former site of the First and Second Holy Temples has not yet become a house of prayer for people of all nations. But as I explained, there are elements in the State of Israel today which seek to use legal remedies to change that.

Chapter 17: Conclusions on Prophetic Fulfillment

          Now I will, as concisely as possible, summarize the conclusions which I have drawn, from my exposition of information pertaining to the relevance of Jewish Old Testament prophecies about the actions of Mashiach in the End of Days, to the history of the State of Israel and the Jewish People in the last hundred years or so.

          There have been numerous episodes of war and suffering which have occurred throughout the twentieth century; before, during, and after the establishment of the State of Israel. Many of these events have involved Jews, both as victims and as perpetrators. Therefore, an appearance by Mashiach following any of these events, may be interpreted as fulfillment of the prophecy found in Ezekiel 38:16; thatMashiach is to come after a time of war and suffering.

          The defeat of Germany and its allies in both world wars, as well as the repeated defeat of many Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa, may be interpreted as fulfillment of the prophecy found in Numbers 24:17; that Mashiach is to destroy the enemies of the People of Israel. However, it could also be argued that this fulfillment was only partial, because some of the defeats of those enemies were partial.

          The formal apology for inaction during the Holocaust which was made by the Vatican in 1998, and the criminalization of denial of the Holocaust which has occurred in many European countries in the last thirty years, may be interpreted as fulfillment of the prophecy found in Isaiah 52:15; that in the End of Days, nations are to recognize the wrongs they did the People of Israel.

          The immigration of approximately two-fifths of the world’s Jewish population into the State of Israel, the vast majority of which having taken place within the last hundred and thirty years, may be interpreted as fulfillment of the prophecies found in Isaiah 11:12-13, Jeremiah 23:8 and 30:3, and Hosea 3:4-5; that Mashiach is to gather the exiled Jews dispersed among the nations of the Earth back to the Land of Israel. However, this in-gathering is not yet complete.

          The growth in the population of Jerusalem in recent years – as well the modernization of the city, the capture of East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount by the State of Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967, and the building of settlements on the outskirts of the city – may be interpreted as fulfillment of the prophecies found in Ezekiel 16:55 and 37:12; that Mashiach is to physically restore the city of Jerusalem and the lost cities of Israel. However, it can be disputed whether thespiritual restoration of the Jews (as “the city of Jerusalem”) has been fulfilled.

          The efforts of the Jewish National Fund to plant forests; to build dams, reservoirs, water treatment plants, parks, and roads; to conserve and develop ecosystems and infrastructure in arid regions; and the efforts of the State of Israel’s seawater desalination industry to create fresh water in order to assist these processes; may be interpreted as fulfillment of the prophecies found in Isaiah 51:3, Ezekiel 36:29-30, and Amos 9:13-15; that in the End of Days, the Land of Israel is to be re-planted and flourish.

          Efforts in recent years by the Temple Mount and Eretz YisraelFaithful Movement, the Movement for the Establishment of the Temple, and especially the Temple Institute, to bring about the construction of the Third Holy Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and to obtain the items necessary to bring about ritual ceremonies and sacrifices there (following the actual completion of the project and the implementation of such ceremonies) may be interpreted as a step towards the fulfillment of the prophecies found in Ezekiel 37:26-27 and 40:5 through 42:20; that Mashiach is to rebuild the Holy Temple as Ezekiel’s Temple in the End of Days.

          The efforts to reinstate the practice of these ceremonies, as well as recent efforts to nominate a rabbi who would restore the chain of proper and special rabbinical ordination – which would enable the existence of the Sanhedrin court of rabbinic law, which could potentially replace or supplant Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, as the supreme court of legal authority in the State of Israel – and at least a partial imposition of the Laws of Jubilee (voluntary and unenforced though they may be) may be interpreted as fulfillment of the prophecy found in Isaiah 1:26; that Mashiach is to re-impose rabbinic law as it was during ancient times. However, the Israeli government has yet to fully and formally embrace the rule of rabbinic law.

          Due to the fact that the Sanhedrin has not yet been fully re-established, it has not yet, and could not yet have, come to pass, that the prophet Elijah has presented himself before the court to proclaim the coming of Mashiach, so this prophecy is unfulfilled.

          Accordingly, the prophecies found in Genesis 49:10, 2 Samuel 7:12-13, 1 Chronicles 22:10, and Jeremiah 23:5, regarding the reign of the Jews becoming again under the lineage of King David (which would be fulfilled by the return and rule of Mashiach), and the prophecy found in Isaiah 2:3; that the city of Jerusalem will become the center of all world government, have also not yet occurred.

The progress which has been made by modern medicine, agriculture, commerce, and charity in the last few centuries – which has served to alleviate hunger, poverty, and disease – may be interpreted as increasing the likelihood of fulfillment of the prophecy found in Isaiah 11:4, 25:8, 26:19, and 51:11; that in the End of Days, death and suffering will be eradicated.

          The provisions of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the ongoing bilateral nuclear arms reduction negotiations between the United States and Russia, and even the spread of gun control legislation, may be interpreted as partial fulfillment of the prophecy found in Ezekiel 39:9; that in the End of Days, the weapons of war are to be destroyed.

          The increase in the number of Israeli citizens who describe themselves as religiously observant – if the trend continues among Jews as a whole worldwide – could be interpreted as fulfillment of the prophecies found in Isaiah 2:4, 2:17, 11:9, and 66:23; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 37:24; Zephaniah 3:9 and 3:13; and Zechariah 8:23 and 14:9; that in the End of Days, the People of Israel are to be restored to the divine ideal, in an era of spiritual fulfillment. However, this would not fulfill the prophecies that all humanity would be converted to Judaism and all people would know the Word of G-d by heart, without reading.

          Attempts by the Jewish and Christian communities in Jerusalem to pray on the Temple Mount, and demands that prayer by members of all religions be permitted there, may (if successful) be interpreted as fulfillment of the prophecies found in Isaiah 11:10 and 56:6-7; that people of all cultures and nations will be attracted to, and included in, Jewish worship, and that the Third Holy Temple is to become a place of worship, and a house of prayer, for people of all nations. However – although this is a matter of opinion and interpretation – it appears evident that this is not to occur through the assertion of legally protected rights to freedom of religious expression, but only once people of all nations are converted to Judaism, and become imbued with knowledge of the Word of G-d, causing their prayers to share the same significance.

          The significance of these conclusions is that nearly all of the biblical prophecies pertaining to Mashiach and the events of the End of Days, may be interpreted as having been either completely or partially fulfilled, being in the process of fulfillment, or having the potential to be fulfilled, given the occurrence of certain circumstances, and the fulfillment of certain prophecies, which must happen in order to potentiate the fulfillment of others.

Part Three: Materialism

Chapter 1: Mashiach: Individual or Collective?

          Not a single one of the aforementioned eschatological prophecies, which may be interpreted as having at least partially come to pass, were performed by a single person. The interesting thing about this is that some of these prophecies are supposed to be performed within the course of a single human lifetime, and solely through actions performed by G-d acting through Mashiach.

          You might have noticed that nowhere in this piece have I referred to Mashiach as “him” nor “he”, nor as “she” nor “her”. Nor have I addressed whether Mashiach is, indeed, intended to be conceived of as an individual person. Whether Mashiach is an individual person or a collective entity is, in fact, a matter of dispute among Jewish scholars.

          In addition to all the prophecies I have mentioned, Mashiachmust bring the epithet “son of G-d”. The Prayer of Enosh refers toMashiach as a “first-born son” begotten by G-d. In the Book of Daniel,Mashiach is referred to as “Son of Man”. Isaiah said Mashiach would be “a man of this world; an observant Jew with ‘fear of G-d’”. This would seem to indicate that Mashiach is an individual person.

          However, in the Book of Exodus, the L-rd says, “Israel is My son; so, let My son go, that he may serve Me”. By using the word Israel, the L-rd seems to be clearly referring to the People of Israel, and not to any particular individual person (however, Israel is an alternative name for Jacob, but this does not seem to be relevant). Thus, it is evident that the People of Israel bring the epithet “son of G-d”.

          Furthermore, Isaiah identified the Suffering Servant as Israel, which several Jewish scholars such as 11^th-Century rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki (also known as Rashi) interpret as meaning that the Suffering Servant, the People of Israel, and Mashiach are all one and the same.

          Since it may be interpreted that Mashiach is a collective entity, anyone who interprets those prophecies which have at least partially been fulfilled, as having occurred through the action of Mashiach, could reasonably conclude that the several most recent generations of the People of Israel, acting as a collective Mashiach, were responsible for such actions.

          The most perplexing thing about all of this, is that many of the events which have contributed to the fulfillment of these prophecies, have occurred since the establishment of the sovereign government of the State of Israel.

          This is problematic because, according to 3^rd-Century Talmudic sage Rabbi Chanina bar Chama, “The son of David will not come until even the most insignificant form of government no longer exists among the Jewish People.”

          In Sanhedrin 98a, Rashi interpreted this as meaning that “absolutely no sovereign governmental body of the Jewish People shall exist, even the most minor or trivial type of regime”.

          The significance of these opinions is that any kind of regime or government controlled by Jews in the time of the exile, necessarily impedes, and prevents the arrival of, Mashiach. As such, being that about two-fifths of the world’s Jews now reside in the Land of Israel, it remains a matter of controversy whether the Jews are still in exile. Some – including Rabbis Yisroel Dovid Weiss, Yoel Teitelbaum, and Moshe Teitelbaum – have argued that the Jews broke the exile mandated by G-d.

Chapter 2: Samuel, Saul, and David

          Given these Talmudic opinions, it would be helpful, for the purposes of full disclosure, to note that not only the Talmudic sages, but the Old Testament itself, outspokenly oppose reign over the People of Israel by any entity other than G-d and members of the Davidic Dynasty.

          As told in 1 Samuel, Chapter 8, Samuel made his corrupt sons judges over Israel. This prompted the elders of Israel to tell Samuel to give to the people a king, who would judge them like all the other nations. Samuel prayed, and G-d told Samuel that the people had not rejected Samuel, but G-d, as their ruler, but also that the people had forsaken both of them.

          G-d told Samuel to give the people a king, but G-d also instructed Samuel to tell the people what their king would do. Samuel explained to the people the various ways the king would rule over the people’s sons, daughters, and servants; how he would direct the people’s agricultural and military affairs; and how he would confiscate a tenth of some of their crops and livestock.

          “And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the L-RD will not hear you in that day.” Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.:

- 1 Samuel 8:18-20

          The Jews’ error in asking for a king was in trying to emulate the other nations, while Israel is supposed to act as an example to the nations of the world. The king whom Samuel chose was Saul, whom then employed David as his harpist and as a soldier. Saul was king for only two years, and died tragically after failing to carry out G-d’s commandment that the People of Israel wipe out the nation of Amalek.

Chapter 3: Rabbi Kahane and Rebbe Teitelbaum

          Late-20^th-Century American-Israeli Rabbi Meir Kahane – the founder of the Jewish Defense League, and of Israel’s now banned Kach party – viewed the State of Israel as an entity which possessed the capability of bringing about Redemption. Rabbi Kahane felt that only the secular elements within the Israeli government, and not the State itself as a whole, had to disappear in order to permit the coming of Mashiach.

          The late Satmar Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum, the father of the lateNasi nominee Moshe Teitelbaum, differed with Rabbi Kahane on this issue. Yoel Teitelbaum believed that the entire governmental apparatus of the State of Israel – not having been created and headed byMashiach following the full ordination of the Sanhedrin, and the completion of the construction of the Third Holy Temple – must disappear in order to permit the coming of Mashiach. This disagreement between Rabbis Kahane and Teitelbaum embodies the dispute between religious Zionism and religious Anti-Zionism.

          Those who believe that the Israeli government is a transitory phase which will eventually bring about the subversion of the secular government to the religious court of the Sanhedrin, view themselves and the People of Israel as playing an active role in the immanentization of the eschaton, meaning the bringing-into-being of the circumstances which would enable the events of the last days to take place.

          Those who object to the legitimacy of the existence of theentire governmental apparatus of the State of Israel on religious grounds, on the other hand, believe that it is only through the action of G-d and Mashiach in the End of Days, that the final wars guaranteeing the sovereignty of Israel are to be fought, and a sovereign government among the People of Israel is to begin to exist.

          They believe that the current State of Israel is illegitimate because Mashiach did not personally establish it, and because the Era of Mashiach has not yet begun, and also because that event and era may still be more than two centuries away.

          If the late Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum was correct, in his agreement with Talmudic scholars Chanina bar Chama and Rashi, that the disappearance of the entire sovereign government of the State of Israel (as well as any and all additional sovereign government existing under the control of Jews) is required for Mashiach to appear, then why does such a large sector of the Jewish People support the state government?

          To answer this question, it shall first be necessary to provide some context regarding the relationship between Zionism (both secular and religious) and collectivistic political, social, economic, and religious thought; and to provide some background on the lives of important philosophers of those subjects.

Chapter 4: Avigdor Grün and David Ben-Gurion

          Avigdor Grün was a lawyer, and a leader of the Hovevei Zion movement, meaning “those who are lovers of Zion”. The movement, which began in the 1880s, was established in order to promote and advance Jewish settlement and agriculture in the Land of Israel, which was then under the rule of Ottoman Syria. The movement was considered apolitical, and its members were of various political persuasions.

          In the 1890s, Hovevei Zion became a charity organization, so that it could be recognized by the Russian government. Then, it was known as the Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Palestine, and also known as the Odessa Committee.

          Before the committee was closed in 1913, Hovevei Zion received contributions by philanthropists such as French banker Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, the father of James Armand Edmond de Rothschild. James Armand Edmond de Rothschild later financed the construction of the Knesset building (the parliamentary building of the legislative branch of government of the State of Israel), and his wife Dorothy donated the State of Israel’s Supreme Court building.

          Avigdor Grün’s son David Ben-Gurion was born in 1886. He grew up in Poland, which was then part of the Russian Empire. While attending the University of Warsaw in the first decade of the twentieth century, Ben-Gurion joined Poalei Tziyon (meaning “workers of Zion”), a movement of socialist Zionist Jewish workers. Another leader of this movement was Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, the second president of the State of Israel.

          Ben-Gurion identified with the more moderate, “rightist” social democratic strain of the movement, which began to diverge from the more radical, Orthodox Marxist Left in 1919.

          In the following few years, Poalei Tziyon’s left wing – which had evolved into the Jewish Communist Party – split, forming a pro-Zionist faction known as the Palestinian Communist Party, and an anti-Zionist faction called the Communist Party of Palestine. The two factions reunited in 1923.

          Yet another sector of the left wing aligned itself with Hashomer Hatzair (meaning “Youth Guard”), eventually evolving into Mapam (which stands for the United Workers Party), the second most popular party at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel.

          In 1919, the right wing of Poalei Tziyon, under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion, formed Ahdut HaAvoda (meaning “Labor Unity”), which in 1930 merged with another party to become Mapai(which stands for the Workers’ Party of Eretz Israel) the most popular party at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel.

          In mid-May 1948, Ben-Gurion became the First Prime Minister of Israel. Several days earlier, Minhelet HaAm – the thirteen-member People’s Administration – voted for the declaration of independence of the State of Israel. Although only ten of the thirteen members were present for the vote, the vote was nevertheless carried out. The administration voted six-to-four in favor of declaring independence. Ben-Gurion was one of two future Israeli Prime Ministers to have voted in favor of independence.

          In 1962, the year before he left his position as Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion said that within twenty-five years, “In Jerusalem, the United Nations (a truly United Nations) will build a shrine of the Prophets to serve the federated union of all continents; this will be the scene of the Supreme Court of Mankind, to settle all controversies among the federated continents, as prophesied by Isaiah.” This seems to echo the prophecy that in the End of Days, Jerusalem will become the center of world government.

Chapter 5: Theodor Herzl and Political Zionism

          Theodor Herzl was born in 1860. He was an Austro-Hungarian writer, playwright, journalist, and political activist. He is known as the father of modern political Zionism. Herzl was raised to speak German in a Jewish household that was more secular than devout, and he saw religion as uncivilized.

          Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Herzl began to believe that persecution against Jews could not be defeated – and that, because of anti-Semitism, Jews could not be assimilated into Christian societies – and so it seemed appropriate to him that Jews should attempt to avoid anti-Semitic sentiments and violence through the establishment of a sovereign Jewish State. Herzl once wrote that he considered the Jewish question not primarily a religious or a social question, but a national question.

          Herzl envisioned a Jewish State which would combine a modern Jewish culture with European cultural heritage. He did not imagine that citizens of this State would be religious, nor even that they would mostly speak Hebrew, and he desired that the Temple should be rebuilt on modern principles. Herzl also did not imagine that there would be conflict between Jews and Muslims.

          In his 1896 book Der Judenstaat (meaning “The Jewish State”), Herzl expressed interest in creating a state in the Land of Palestine, which he considered the historic homeland of the Jews, although he had also considered Argentina as a potential location. Herzl’s idea for this sovereign Jewish State in the Land of Palestine was soon thereafter praised by Hovevei Zion, the movement which I mentioned above as having had the father of first Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion as a leader.

          Jews and non-Jews alike were attracted to Herzl’s ideas, and representatives of the governments of Britain, Germany, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire – which then ruled the Land of Palestine – met with him. Herzl played a key role in the First Zionist Congress, which was held in 1897 in Basel, Switzerland. The following year, the Second Jewish Congress established the Jewish Colonial Trust. With the backing of Germany, Herzl desired to implore the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire to sell land to the trust, in exchange for a consolidation of Ottoman debt.

          Herzl envisioned the Jewish State as one which would embrace the politicoeconomic philosophy of Mutualism. He desired that there be a developed welfare program, public ownership of natural resources such as agriculture, and cooperative industry and trade. He favored what he termed a gentle expropriation of private property in the land that would become the state, as well as a discrete and circumspect “removal of the poor”.

Chapter 6: Marx, Trotsky, Stalin, and Lenin

          Heinrich Karl Marx was born Moses Mordecai Marx in 1818 in the town of Trier, when it was administered by the Kingdom of Prussia. Trier is now located in Western Germany.

          Karl Marx inherited the name Moses from his paternal grandmother’s father Moses ben Joshua Heschel Lwow, and the names Mordecai and Marx from his paternal great-great-grandfather Mordechai Ha-Levi Marx. Many of Marx’s ancestors on both sides of his family were rabbis.

          Marx’s father, Hirschel Ha-Levi, changed his name to Heinrich Marx in 1824, upon being baptized as a Lutheran, in order to keep his job as a lawyer. His brother Samuel succeeded their father Meir Levi Marx, who later dropped “Levi” from his name, as chief rabbi of Trier. Previously, Meir Levi Marx had succeeded Moses ben Joshua Heschel Lwow, the father of his wife Eva, as the chief rabbi of Trier.

          Marx’s mother was named Henrietta Pressburg. Her father was Rabbi Isaak Heyman Pressburg, the son of either Rabbi Michel Lazarus Pressburg, or his brother Mayer. Her mother was Nanette Cohen of the Barent-Cohen family, many of whom were rabbis.

          Marx perceived that persecution of the Jews in Europe was largely due to their practice of usury, having said that extortion and bills of exchange (i.e., money) are the Jews’ only real gods. “Religion is the opiate of the masses” is one of Marx’s most famous quotations.

          Leon Trotsky was born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein in the Ukraine in 1879. Trotsky’s family, like the family of Theodor Herzl, was Jewish, but not observantly so. Trotsky’s grandfather discouraged his family members from associating with Orthodox rabbis, and instead encouraged them to pray for the Tsar.

          Unlike Herzl, Trotsky believed that Jewish persecution wouldsubside, due to assimilation of Jews into the cultures of their host nations. Trotsky recognized that a nation cannot normally exist without identification with a geographical territory, and he was very interested in Jewish emigration to the Land of Palestine. While some sources claim that Trotsky did not consider Zionism a solution to Jewish persecution, other sources claim that he enthusiastically desired that Jews leave Europe and establish their own nation-state in Palestine.

          Trotsky did not believe that the Jewish question could be resolved within the framework of capitalism. Trotsky was at various times a Bolshevik and a Menshevik (respectively meaning “majority” and “minority”) in the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (the R.S.D.L.P.). Trotsky attempted to mend rifts between various factions in the R.S.D.L.P., describing himself as a “non-factional social democrat” and opposing bureaucratization in the Soviet Union.

          The R.S.D.L.P. was co-founded by a secular Jewish socialist party of highly questionable devotion to Zionism. That party was called the Jewish Labor Bund (which means federation or union), and was also known as the General Jewish Labor Bund of Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. The Bund supported the Bolshevik overthrow of the Russian government, but within several years of the revolution, theBolsheviks suppressed the teaching of Hebrew, closed down the Zionist parties (including Poalei Tziyon) and arrested thousands of their members.

          Josef Stalin, who eventually ordered Trotsky’s assassination, was born Ioseb Valentinovich Dzhugashvili in Georgia in 1878. Although Stalin married three Jewish women during his life, there is debate over whether he had any Jewish ancestry by blood.

          Stalin resented Orthodox Judaism and desired to destroy Jewish culture. He believed that every Jewish nationalist was an agent of American intelligence, and that every Jew was a potential spy. Although he publicly denounced anti-Semitism, he actively attempted, and encouraged others to attempt, to incite it.

          Stalin viewed what he called “bourgeois Jewish nationalism” as a potential threat to the Soviet Union. He desired to offset the influence of the Zionist movements in Russia that were intent on establishing a State in the Land of Palestine, by establishing a Soviet “Zion” in eastern Siberia. In 1934, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast came into existence, embodying Yiddish cultural heritage in a proletarian socialist framework. The Oblast (which is a territorial administrative jurisdiction) still exists today, and is the home of the world’s largest menorah.

          In the last several years of the 1940s, during which the State of Israel was established, Stalin warmed up to Palestinian Zionism, viewing the State of Israel as a potential proxy nation of the SovietUnion.

          Vladimir Lenin was born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov in Russia in 1870. Lenin supported an alliance between the working class and the liberal bourgeoisie against the regime of Tsar Nicholas II, while Trotsky believed the working class alone (the proletariat) should overthrow the Tsar.

          As in the case of Stalin, it is debated whether Lenin actually had any ethnic Jewish heritage. If Lenin did have any Jewish heritage, then he was probably one-quarter Jewish. Expressing a similar view to that of Stalin, Lenin wrote in 1913 that those who support Jewish nationalism and Jewish national culture are bourgeois enemies of the proletariat, and accomplices of the rabbis.

          Lenin and Trotsky were the leaders of the October Revolution, which overthrew the Russian Provisional Government that succeeded the Tsarist regime. This so-called “Russian Revolution” was not only disproportionately non-Russian by ethnicity, but rather, predominantly Ashkenazic Jewish.

          The government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics became even more predominantly Jewish following purges, and remained so until the 1930s, when Stalin purged ten million, half a million of whom were Jews.

Chapter 7: Secularism, Anarchy, and Economics

          Notwithstanding the roles which Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Chaim Weizmann, and Menachem Begin played in the development of theless collectivistic wing of Zionism; I believe that the facts which I have laid out about Avigdor Grün, his son David Ben-Gurion, Theodor Herzl, Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, Josef Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and the various parties, groups and movements which I mentioned; show that communism, labor socialism, social democracy, and Mutualism have had profound influence on the development and history of Zionism, and on the State of Israel.

          It would be confusing to attempt to explain why prominent figures in the history of socialism who may not have even had any Jewish ethnic heritage (such as Lenin and Stalin) – as well as prominent figures in socialism who were undoubtedly ethnically Jewish but nevertheless retained a secular character (such as Marx and Herzl) – were so interested in the question of Jewish persecution.

          It would also be perplexing to attempt to explain why Leon Trotsky – if the rumors of his enthusiastic Zionism are true – would ally himself, even temporarily, with Lenin and Stalin, who had such open disdain for Orthodox Judaism, and for religion in general.

          But perhaps most difficult to attempt to explain would be the following: When a person (such as Theodor Herzl, Vladimir Lenin, or Josef Stalin) abhors and despises both Orthodox Judaism and Jewish culture, considers himself secular and / or non-religious, and subscribes to a collectivist politicoeconomic ideology which he perceives as anarchistic and as non-statist, how can the same person approve of the establishment of a government which, at its outset, proclaimed to define and describe itself as a “Jewish State”?

Chapter 8: Levi Baruch’s Letter: Exposition

          An article entitled “The Secret Origins of Bolshevism: Henry Heine and Karl Marx” appeared in the June 1^st, 1928 issue of the French magazine La Revue de Paris. The article featured what was alleged to be a passage from a letter which had been addressed to Karl Marx. It has been asserted that this letter was published for the first time in 1888.

          The author of the letter was purported to have been a person named Levi Baruch, whom has also been referred to as Baruch Levy. Information about Levi Baruch is difficult to come by. He has been referred to as one of Karl Marx’s guides, as well as Marx’s rabbi, and he has been described as a member of Das Verein für Kultur und Wissenschaft der Juden (the Society for the Culture and Science of the Jews).

          It has also been claimed that the original correspondence was written in either German or Yiddish. It could very well be that the original letter was written in Yiddish, then translated to German, and then translated to French, before finally being translated into English. If this is true, then it would account for the numerous discrepancies between the various translations which exist. The following quote is an amalgamation and synthesis of three translations into English, which I have written:

          The Jewish People, taken collectively as a whole, will be its own Messiah. Its domination and rule over the world will be achieved through the union of other human races; by the abolition of frontiers and the annihilation of monarchy, which are bulwarks for particularism, and hinder the establishment of a world republic, in which the Jews will exercise the privilege of citizenship everywhere.

          In this new organization of mankind, the sons of Israel – who, at present, are scattered all over the entire surface of the Earth – will all be the same race and of the same traditional culture (without, however, forming another nationality), and be, without contradiction, the prominent and leading element everywhere, and in all parts; particularly if it is successful in laying upon the masses of workers a permanent leadership by some Jews.

          The governments of the different peoples forming the universal world republic will pass – falling effortlessly, and without difficulty or opposition – into the hands of the Israelites, in favor of the victory of the proletariat. It will then be possible for the rulers of the Jewish race to abolish and suppress the personal private property of the rulers, and to everywhere administer and make use of the resources and public funds of the state.

          Thus will the promise of the Talmud be fulfilled, in which it is said that when the Messianic time is come, the Jews will have and hold the keys to the goods and the property of all peoples of the whole world, in their possession and in their hands.

          Some have claimed that this letter is a fabrication, and that Levi Baruch is a fictional person who never existed. Some have backed this assertion with the claim that the letter was published in an anti-Semitic magazine. However, this possibility appears flimsy, being La Revue de Paris, which published the letter in 1928, has been described as controlled by the Zionist de Rothschild banking family of Europe.

          But let us put this issue aside, deal directly with the text at hand, and examine and analyze its author’s understanding of the relationship between socialism and Jewish eschatology.

Chapter 9: Levi Baruch’s Letter: Analysis

          The author asserts that “The Jewish People, taken collectively as a whole, will be its own Messiah”. This view of collectivistic Messianism is certainly reconcilable with interpretations of Mashiach which may be argued to be found in the Book of Exodus and the writing of Rashi.

          The author expresses interest in bringing about “the union of other human races” and “the abolition of frontiers”. He says that “the sons of Israel” … “will all be the same race and of the same traditional culture” and that “Jews will have and hold the keys to the goods and the property of all peoples of the whole world, in their possession and in their hands.”

          These ideas are perfectly reconcilable with Old Testament prophecies that in the End of Days, all the people of the world will know the word of G-d by heart, and will be converted to Judaism. And certainly, if everyone in the world becomes a Jew, then this would fulfill the author of the letter’s desire that Jews “have and hold the keys to the goods and the property of all peoples of the whole world, in their possession and in their hands”.

          The author expresses interest in bringing about “the annihilation of monarchy”. To end monarchy would clearly acknowledge G-d’s disapproval of the Jews having any king, or any ruler which is not either G-d himself or Mashiach.

          However, and unfortunately, this is as far as the author of the letter goes, before straying into the realm of a distorted vision of Zionism, which recognizes the legitimacy of a type of sovereignty – a type which is not divinely mandated – affecting and being controlled by the Jews, and into the realm of a distorted vision of Jewish eschatology which seems to allow for the possibility that in the End of Days, some people will still not be Jewish.

          The author expresses a desire that Jews “exercise the privilege of citizenship everywhere” and that the Jews exercise “domination and rule over the world”. He writes that Jews will be “the prominent and leading element”, “particularly if” … “successful in laying” … “a permanent leadership by some Jews.”

          The author further writes, “The governments of the different peoples” … “will pass” … “into the hands of the Israelites”, and refers to “the rulers of the Jewish race”. He also expresses a desire that the Jews “everywhere administer and make use of the resources and public funds of the state.”

          These parts of the letter clearly indicate that the author believes that in the End of Days, Jews will exercise citizenship, domination, rule, leadership, and administration of public funds. Additionally, that governments of the different peoples – not even hesitating to use the phrase “the state”, no less – will still exist.

          This letter seems to suggest that in the End of Days, Jews will have rulers, be rulers, and lead and administer governments; and that some of the people they rule will not be Jewish. The letter seems to suggest that “some Jews” will dominate other Jews and non-Jews alike, apparently with little to no room left-over for rule by G-d.

          This is especially troubling, given the reasons which the author of the letter puts forth for bringing about this rule by Jews; which he gives as the victory of the proletariat, the abolition and suppression of the personal property rights of rulers, and the laying of permanent leadership by some Jews upon the masses of workers.

          Thus, the author of the letter seems to be recommending that Jews take it upon themselves to bring about not the abolition of governments per se, but the subjugation of the governments of the peoples of the world, to rule by Jews, for the purposes of abolishing private property, leading the workers, and gaining victory for the proletariat. That is, the author seems to be recommending that Jews stage coups over the world’s governments, in order to bring about a proletarian socialist worker society lacking private property rights.

          The author of the letter apparently feels that, once the issue of nationality has been dealt with (which is to be fulfilled through the abolition of national borders), it will be easier to solve the problem of class struggle, through proletarian leadership of the workers against private property.

          While explicitly socialist, the sum of the ideas contained within the letter is not statist-Zionist in a way that is absolutely certain. However, the author’s use of the phrase “the rulers of the Jewish race” neither confirms nor precludes that some Jews will be subject to man-made law. However, the author’s statement that Jews will exercise citizenship, appears to come down on the side of the subjugation of some Jews to the laws of men.

          Were it not for the author’s single invocation of the Talmud, and his two uses of the word “Messiah”, it could be said that the letter could very well have been written by a secular person whom does not even subscribe to the Jewish faith; a person who simply wishes to subtly corrupt traditional Jewish eschatological Zionism, in order to transfer power to those Jews most committed to the cause of socialism.

          Considering that the legitimacy of this letter, and the existence of its author, are under question, however, it would be intellectually irresponsible to use this letter by Levi Baruch as the sole piece of evidence supporting the proposition that secular Jews have corrupted traditional Judaism for socialist purposes. Therefore, it shall be necessary to delve into the thoughts and ideology of a person who both influenced Karl Marx, and was, certainly and verifiably, a real person who indeed lived.

Chapter 10: “Workers of the World, Unite!”

          It has been claimed that “Religion is the opiate of the masses” – perhaps Marx’s most famous quotation – was likely first written by Moses Hess, a proto-Zionist socialist philosopher from the city of Bonn, who influenced, and collaborated with, both Marx and Friedrich Engels.

          At one time, Hess advocated Jewish integration into the universalist socialist movement, saying, “To this coming cult, Judaism alone holds the key. This ‘religion of the future’ of which the eighteenth century philosophers – as well as their recent followers – dreamed… Each nation will have to create its own historical cult; each people must become like the Jewish People, a people of G-d.”

          Aside from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Moses Hess also influenced Zionists Theodor Herzl and Ze’ev Jabotinsky. Jabotinsky, a founder of Revisionist Zionism, honored Moses Hess (alongside Herzl, Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, and Hovevei Zion leader Leon Pinsker) as one of the people who made possible the Balfour Declaration of 1917, in which British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour promised to Lionel Walter de Rothschild, British support for the establishment of a Jewish national homeland in the Land of Palestine.

          It was that same Lionel Walter de Rothschild whom, upon his death in 1937, willed to the British Museum two checks for several thousand pounds, which were given to Marx by Lionel Walter’s father, Lord Nathan, in order to finance Marx’s socialist cause.

          Being that Marx died more than a decade before Theodor Herzl’s ideas became popular and widespread, it can only be guessed from Marx’s writings whether he would have supported modern statist Zionism. Indeed, some claim that Leon Trotsky’s alleged interest in Zionism required him, to some degree, distance himself from Marx’s criticism of Judaism, and of religion in general.

          But back to the topic at hand; namely, Moses Hess. Hess viewed the struggle of races and nationalities, rather than economic and class struggle, as the prime factor of past history, having said, “race struggle is primary, the class struggle secondary.”

          This idea would seem to be perfectly in line with the alleged Levi Baruch’s viewpoint that, if the issue of race and ethnicity is dealt with first, then it will be easier to solve the problem of class struggle. But while the supposed Levi Baruch seemed to be advocating thatsocialists adopt tenets of Judaism in order to further their own purposes, Moses Hess seemed to believe that it is Jews who need to adopt socialism for their own purposes.

          As an attempt to analyze this apparent discrepancy may prove itself to be without purpose (being that it could just as easily be concluded that there is no discrepancy here, and that various philosophers advocated the integration of Jewish and socialist thought into one another, to serve the purposes of each to some degree), it may be more productive to simply ask – rhetorical though the question may be – Why do we see in such people as Moses Hess, once again, a tendency to express both exaltation and disdain for Judaism in various instances throughout their writing careers?

          Perhaps an answer to this question may be found in the fact that Karl Marx’s father hated French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, whom is purported to have said “religion is what keeps the poor from killing the rich.” It seems likely that Karl Marx was well-aware that the morals imposed by religion served as an impediment to workers’ revolution, and so, it would make sense for socialists to desire to first annihilate religion, in order to facilitate the union of the working class across lines of religion, in addition to lines of race and ethnicity.

Chapter 11: The Russian Revolution

          Not to downplay the contributions of either democratic populist Nikolay Chernyshevsky, nor other prominent revolutionary philosophers and political economists, but the writing of Karl Marx played a part in the development of the socialist ideology which led to the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, which was led by Lenin and Trotsky.

          In an issue of The Barnes Review, Russian civil rights lawyer Marina Marynova claimed that the July 1918 murders of the Christian Tsar Nicholas II and his family, the Romanovs, were deliberately ordered to be carried out by Jewish revolutionaries, because the revolution’s leaders was believed that the non-Jewish Russians participating in the revolution would not have the heart to commit the murders.

          Marynova further claimed that there existed forensic evidence at the scene of the crime that these murders took place as religious rituals, and that coded signs and numbers which would indicate a connection with Kabalistic Jewish mysticism were found there. She claims that the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office denied this possibility.

          One of the coded signs was allegedly decrypted by a Kabbalah specialist as meaning “the head of religion, people, and the state was killed here”. Furthermore, the repeated appearance of the number eight in a series of numbers, which was alleged to have been found at the scene of the murders, has been interpreted as meaning that Tsar Nicholas was considered as a sacrifice compared in purity to Christ.

          If Marynova’s assertions are true, might this mean – reminiscent of the manner in which the supposed Levi Baruch characterized Jews as a whole as their own Messiah – that a segment of the Jewish population of Russia which participated in the revolution and approved of the murder of the Romanovs believed itself to be acting, on behalf of all Jews in general, as a collective embodiment ofMashiach in its sacrifice of the Tsar and his family?

          Furthermore, what is the significance of the fact that the Soviet(meaning “council”) Communist government, if not certainly one which views itself as the embodiment of Mashiach, is obviously a collectivism-oriented political body in the first place?

          Such a “political body” or “body politic” is perceived by its members to be a corporate body – not in the business sense of the word “corporate”, but in the sense of the root of the word “corporate” being “corpus”, meaning “body” – in that the corporate body serves as both a symbol and an expression of the union (or unity, or oneness) of the members themselves.

          When referring to a church, temple, or religious organization, the “body politic” is also termed the “corpus mysticum” (“mystical body”). The mystical corporeity (bodily-ness) of such “bodies” is best exemplified by the Catholic ritual of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the word “communion” itself being an amalgamation of the concepts of commonality and oneness. In the Holy Communion, Catholics partake in the transubstantiated eucharist; the eating of wafers and the drinking of wine, symbolizing, respectively, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Christianity.

          Thus, it takes little stretch of the imagination to see how government and religion are similar, in that their institutions often purport to symbolize and express the oneness of their members.

          But I digress; now that we have fully explored both the idea of a collective Messiah, in not only a religious, but also a historical context, it becomes appropriate to ask, “Have any important Jewish historical figures in modern times claimed to be an individual Mashiach?”

Chapter 12: Nixon, Graham, and Kissinger

          While U.S. President Richard M. Nixon denied being anti-Semitic, hundreds of hours of taped audio recordings of confidential conversations which took place between Nixon and his closest advisers, which have since been made public, revealed Nixon to have said many things which may be regarded as anti-Semitic or Judeophobic.

          About the Jews, Nixon said, “The Jews are all over the government”, Washington “is full of Jews”, “Most Jews are disloyal”, “generally speaking, you can’t trust the bastards. They turn on you”, and that Jews needed to be brought under control by putting someone “in charge who is not Jewish” in key government agencies.

          Southern Baptist evangelist preacher Reverend Billy Graham once told Nixon that Israelis were “the best kind of Jews”, and brought up to Nixon the fact that according to Revelation 3:9, some who claim to be Jews are liars who belong to a “synagogue of Satan”.

          Graham also expressed to Nixon his view that Jews are disproportionately overrepresented in Hollywood, and among media powerbrokers, having spoken of a Jewish “stranglehold” on the American media.

          When Reverend Graham was revealed to have made these statements to Nixon, it prompted Abraham Foxman, the director of the Anti-Defamation League (A.D.L.), to characterize Graham as a purveyor of “age-old classical anti-Semitic canards”. Graham spokesman A. Larry Ross responded by saying that Graham has never been an anti-Semite, explaining that the Book of Revelation passage in question refers to Jews whose “lives and work are not in keeping with traditional Jewish values”.

          Despite the popular perception of Richard Nixon as anti-Semitic, and the evidence supporting this perception, Nixon’s most influential adviser, by his own admission, was Henry Kissinger, whom is Jewish. Kissinger served as Nixon’s National Security Advisor, and later, concurrently, as his Secretary of State.

          In late 1973, Egypt and Syria (while united into a single state, the United Arab Republic) attacked the State of Israel in what became known as the Yom Kippur War, the only major episode of hostility in the conflict between Israel and its mostly Muslim neighbors in which more Israelis were killed than Muslims. Henry Kissinger helped negotiate the end of the Yom Kippur War.

          Although Kissinger initially opposed it, Nixon directed a massive military airlift in order to aid Israel, six days after the assault by Egypt and Syria began. In recognition of Kissinger’s contribution to securing the State of Israel, a hill in Israel was named “Kissinger Hill” in his honor. In regards to the United States having aided the State of Israel to survive the Yom Kippur War, Kissinger is alleged to have said “You foolish Jews, can’t you see I am your Messiah!?”

Chapter 13: Mashiach: Human or Divine?

          In an exploration of the historical context for the perception of Mashiach as individual and as collective, and of the evidence for individual self-perception and for collective corporate perception asMashiach, it is critically important to address whether Mashiach is even traditionally considered to be human, as opposed to divine, in the first place.

          G-d is not a man, that He should lie; neither the Son of Man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?

- Numbers 23:19

          Thus saith the L-RD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the L-RD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside Me there is no G-d.

- Isaiah 44:6

          Son of Man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, “Thus saith the L-RD G-d; [‘]Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a G-d, I sit in the seat of G-d, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not G-d, though thou set thine heart as the heart of G-d[‘]”.

- Ezekiel 28:2

          I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim; for I am G-d, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.

- Hosea 11:9

          The purpose of these four passages – as evidenced by the phrases “G-d is not a man”; “G-d is not” … “the Son of Man”; “beside me there is no G-d”; “thou art a man, and not G-d”; and “for I am G-d, and not man” – seem to be to differentiate G-d from man. This would suggest, because there is no G-d but G-d, Mashiach could not be divine, but rather, only human; the Son of Man.

          Being that Isaiah called Mashiach “a man” and “an observant Jew” (emphasis mine) – and that Rashi interpreted the Suffering Servant, the collective whole of the People of Israel, and Mashiach as one and the same – these facts leave the door open for individual Jewish human beings, and collective groups of Jewish human beings, to become Mashiach.

Chapter 14: Tyranny or Peace?

          Being that Mashiach is certainly human, and that Mashiachmay be either an individual person or a collective (such as the Jewish People as a whole), that which remains to be considered, is whether any or all of those figures who have been alleged to have perceived themselves either as Mashiach, or as individual agents belonging to and acting on the behalf of the larger collective Mashiach – namely, the Jewish participants in the Russian Revolution, and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger – meet additional requirements ofMashiach, as outlined in the Book of Isaiah.

          And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

- Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3

          And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the L-RD alone shall be exalted in that day.

- Isaiah 2:17

          How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy G-d reigneth!

- Isaiah 52:7

          In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.

- Isaiah 54:14

          Let us address first the second passage; i.e., “the L-RD alone shall be exalted”. Considering that the mystical political body which is the state, causes the members to perceive that they themselves have the capacity to judge (judgment, of course, being something which can only be done by G-d through Mashiach), it would seem that such mystical bodies – such as the political institutions of the Soviet Union to which the Jewish participants in the Russian Revolution had fidelity, those of the United States of America to which Henry Kissinger has and has had fidelity, and those of the State of Israel – are exaltingthemselves in such a way that supplants the role of G-d (and of G-d through Mashiach) as judge, and the role of G-d as the only entity which shall be exalted.

          However, this is only a valid characterization of the situation, ifindeed the political institutions of the Soviet Union, the United States, and the State of Israel are not, in fact, Mashiach. Of course, I can’t provide you with incontrovertible evidence that they are not so, and your assessment comes down to little other than faith, and whatever personal judgment you care to pass (albeit judgment which may very well supplant the exclusive roles of G-d and G-d through Mashiach as judge).

          In regards to the first, third, and fourth passages which I have provided, Mashiach is a messenger of good tidings, salvation, and peace, and not of tyranny or terror. This begs several questions: “How much salvation and peace has Henry Kissinger brought to the world, as opposed to tyranny and terror?”, “How much salvation and peace did the Jewish participants in the Russian Revolution bring to the world, as opposed to tyranny and terror?”, “How much salvation and peace have the Jewish People – the collective on whose behalf such revolutionaries may have claimed themselves to have been acting – brought to the world, as opposed to tyranny and terror?”, and “How much salvation and peace has the State of Israel brought to the world, as opposed to tyranny and terror?”

          And what of those people and entities which participated in the immanentization of the eschaton, but whom may not have declared themselves to be Mashiach?

          What of the Jewish National Fund, which caused the Land of Israel to be re-planted and to flourish? What of the Temple Mount andEretz Yisrael Faithful Movement, the Movement for the Establishment of the Temple, the Temple Institute, and the people who have donated to these groups? What of all the doctors, researchers, scientists, inventors, and agricultural and commercial industrialists whom have made it possible to delay death, and to diminish suffering?

          What of the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.), which promotes the destruction of the weapons of war? What of all those besides the governments of the United States, Russia, and Israel, which have fought Israel’s enemies; particularly the Allied nations of World War II, which fought Hitler and the Nazis?

          What of proponents of gun control from around the world – whom, like the I.A.E.A. – promote the destruction of the weapons of war? What of all those who potentiated Jewish immigration to Palestine? What of those who both supported gun control andpotentiated Jewish immigration to Palestine; namely, Hitler and the Nazis?

          How much salvation and peace have they brought about, as opposed to tyranny and terror? Might any of them be Mashiach? Again, I can’t answer these questions for you.

Chapter 15: The Seventh Millennium (Conclusion)

          In the Gregorian year 2239 of the Common Era, the Hebrew Calendar will enter its seventh millennium, which is referred to as “the great and continual Shabbat”. This time period is also called the Age or Era of Mashiach, the Messianic Age or Era, and Olam Ha-Ba(meaning “the World to Come”).

          According to the late Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Mashiach is to come either before or at the onset of the sixth millennium of the Hebrew Calendar.

          The Talmudic scholar Rashi wrote, “absolutely no sovereign governmental body of the Jewish People shall exist, even the most minor or trivial type of regime”.

          The late Satmar Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum agreed with Rashi, having believed that the entire governmental apparatus of the State of Israel, in addition to any and all sovereignty existing among the Jewish People, must disappear in order to permit the coming of Mashiach. No sovereign government; no matter how democratic, no matter how tolerant of individual liberty; none (unless you count the Sanhedrin rabbinic court).

          Neturei Karta spokesman Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss says, “seeing that any political entity can fall within hours, even without any bloodshed”, one can still expect Mashiach to arrive at any time between now and the year 2239 of the Gregorian Calendar.

          To quote Rabbi Weiss once more, “We pray for the speedy and peaceful dismantlement of the State” of Israel.”

Shalom (peace).

For more entries on Judaism, the State of Israel, and the Israeli-Arab conflict, please visit:

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/relationship-of-jewish-nationalism-to.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/land-claims-in-greater-israel-1946-2009.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2011/01/iran-and-israel.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2011/03/911-heres-what-i-think-happened.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2011/03/middle-east-foreign-policy.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2011/11/percentage-of-jewish-americans-in-us.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/01/issues-israel-and-palestine.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/03/fuck-bill-maher.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/03/defense-policy.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/07/seeds-of-world-war-iii-being-sown-in.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/11/similarities-between-anti-zionist.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2013/07/letter-to-freedom-from-religion.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2013/09/response-to-andrew-klavans-video.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-emanuel-family.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/on-zionism-and-state-of-israel.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/september-11th-2001.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/02/zionism-images.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-syria-debate-in-congress.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-relationship-between-adolf-hitler.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/criticism-of-glenn-becks-libya-coverage.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/summary-of-webster-tarpleys-libya.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-israeli-role-in-911.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/barack-obama-universal-sycophant.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/notes-on-duplicity-in-us-foreign-policy.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/notes-on-conflict-in-syria.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-two-state-solution-in-israel-and.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/us-withdrawal-from-united-nations.html