Don't Laugh! Make Sure You Are Waiting For Moshiach

It's good. Okay, brooke him up by him everyone. Brooke him up by him. Good morning everyone. Welcome everyone. Welcome everyone. It's a It's a very big school. It's a very big privilege to the shul. We thank the Katsin Elbogen family for sponsoring this wonderful wonderful event. This Torah event, this uh scholar in residence event of having Rabbi Daniel Goldstein here as our guest speaker. He's a very well-known speaker. He's the rabbi of uh Kehilath Tifereth Mordechai in Cedarhurst, New York. Uh he's the author of many many beautiful s'farim. And the s'farim are going to be on sale immediately following the shiur. And uh he he's agreed he'll sign them, inscribe them, which is always a wonderful thing. Um Rabbi Goldstein's name goes before him as uh I don't want to say one of the up-and-coming speakers because he's already he's already there. He's already He's already there as as one of the major speakers in the in the Torah world today. Very popular on uh Torah Anytime and on uh and many other venues. And uh he's certainly a it's a very big privilege to the shul to have him uh to have him speak and have him share Torah. Uh uh You know, on Motzei Shabbos we say here in the shul uh not everyone, but we try to say in the shul it says that uh the makom the greatness God loses or also God loses different loses different text of the Kadosh Baruch Hu shamayim tamayim and v's anasim. Meaning, when you see the greatness of Hashem, that's where you see Hashem's modesty. So, that that's sort of like a always a feeling I've always had as well that uh you know, to say that he's gifted with with a beautiful intelligence and he's gifted to be able to be a disseminator of Torah. So, certainly he's using his God-given gift. But, there's just one personal anecdote I want to to share which makes it very special and very personal and very meaningful to me that Rabbi Goldstein is here this morning. And that is that um for years, I don't know how long it was, but for years Rabbi Goldstein lived in my in my mother-in-law's building uh in uh in Kew Gardens Hills uh in Queens, New York before he he made his way up to the uh big time in uh Cedarhurst. But, um you know, during that time my my um my mother-in-law is a widow. Uh she lives alone. Uh difficult There's no Shabbos elevator in that building. And uh when I she was here for Shabbos, many of you saw her. And when I told her that Rabbi Goldstein was coming to speak, her comment was, "He was always so friendly to me. He always said good morning. He always had a good word. He always made sure to spend a minute with me." And to me, that's That's not worth all the Torah. That's That is Torah. That is Torah. Because if it's if it's not Torah's chesed, if it's not Torah which leads to spending time with a widow and an almana who lives alone, then then what else is there in this world? So, therefore, it's a specially personal privilege for all of us, but for myself especially, to have discussed to ask Rabbi Goldstein to please share words of Torah with us. Thank you. Wait, click his mic on. Everyone can put their phones on. Good idea. Okay, good morning everyone. Thank you, Rav, for the very generous introduction. I want to assure you that your Rav is a great khakham. Cuz the khazal tell us that a khakham madaber belashon guzma. The sages like to exaggerate. So, thank you for the intro. Uh the influence of the Rav reverberates far beyond the walls of uh this eminent Bet Knesset. And especially in times like this, khazal tell us that our fortress, our protection, are batei knesiyot u'vatei midrashot. You know, people always wonder, what is the protection of the Jewish people? We're in a time of danger. We have enemies looming. We're surrounded by shiv'im ze'evim. What is the protection of the Jewish people? It's the shuls. The batei knesiyot. Every amen, every amen yehei shmei rabba, every dvar Torah is a weapon, is a bullet, is a protection for the Jewish people. So, at a time like this, we have to think, what could we do to support the fortresses of the Jewish people? So, this Bet Knesset is one of the very important metzudot, one of the important fortresses for klal Yisrael. And my understanding is that the shul is soon having um a fundraiser to be able to uh, continue the efforts of the of the rav and the base haknesses and really to to support klal Yisrael to protect klal Yisrael. So, while we're doing whatever we can to support acheinu base Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael, let's not forget that one of the great ways we could offer protection for klal Yisrael is supporting our own source of hagana and bezras Hashem our humble blessings to the shul and to the rav they should continue the shem u'tiferes to be one of the great uh, castles and fortresses for the Jewish people. There's an episode in parshas Vayeira that I never I never even stopped and and thought for a moment, you know, why does the Torah speak about this episode in such great detail? We know that Avraham Avinu was waiting quite a while to have a child. And Sarah was already 90 and Avraham was uh, 99. And the malach comes, three malachim come to Avraham. And they say, "Guess what? Good news. Next year kayitz chaya, you're going to have a child." Fine. And Avraham serves the malachim. Vayelachei Avraham. Ratz Avraham. And really the story should end there. In other words, the malachim come, they tell Avraham you're going to have a kid. And Avraham says, "Great news." And we'll read in the end of the parsha that Hashem pakad es Sarah, that Sarah had a child. But the story continues. The story records the reaction of Sarah to this news of the malach Hashem. What was Sarah's reaction? Vatitzchak Sarah bekeve leimar. Sarah laughed. She was 89 actually. Sarah laughed. Why do we need to know Sarah laughed? Why does the Torah record this? Is this Is this an honor for Sarah Imenu? That here it is, she's waiting her whole life, she davened and davened and davened and the Ribono shel Olam comes through the ages of the malach and says she's going to have a child and Sarah laughed. It's what I call too much information. What do I need to know that for? And the story continues. The Ribono shel Olam is upset at Sarah. And the Ribono shel Olam comes to Avraham and he says, "Avraham, lama zeh tzachaqa Sarah leimor?" Why'd she laugh? You know, if I would have asked Avraham and told Avraham that Sarah laughed, you know what you would have called that? Lashon hara. Maybe rechilus. But the Ribono shel Olam is allowed to do it. He's the ultimate truth and he comes to Avraham and said, "Why did Sarah laugh?" And the story continues. Avraham goes to Sarah, "Why did you laugh?" Now, how did Avraham know that Sarah laughed? God must have told him. So now Avraham, if if I would have done that, that would have been downright rechilus. Avraham tells Sarah, "Why did you laugh?" And Sarah says, "I don't know what you're talking about. Why do you always blame me? Well, I didn't laugh." And "Vayomer lo ki tzachak." You laughed. Who said those words, "Vayomer lo ki tzachak"? We simply understand it to mean Avraham said, "No, you laughed." You know, the Netziv learns that these are not the words of Avraham, these are the words of God. You know, Chazal say that Avraham was taf el to Sarah b'nevu'ah. Avraham was secondary to Sarah in prophecy. Then the Netziv asks, "What do you mean? Avraham was secondary to Sarah in prophecy? Does anybody know how many times did God speak to Sarah in the whole Chumash?" Once. And what did he say? Said two words. He said, "No, you laughed." Lo yi kitzchak. Three words. Says the Chofetz Chaim, somebody showed me a letter. The Chofetz Chaim says, "I studied this. I could not figure out what is this all about? Why do I need to know Sarah laughed? Why did God ask Abraham why did she laugh?" "Why did Abraham ask her, 'Why do you laugh?' Why did Sarah deny it? And why did Abraham or Hashem press the issue, 'No, you laughed.' What's this all about? Why do I need to know this?" Says the Heilige Chofetz Chaim, this story is us in the end of days, in 2023. Because we know we sense it, it's just around the corner. The redemption is it's coming. So, if it's coming, why don't we prepare ourselves? Do we do teshuvah every single day? Do we say, "We wake up in the morning, Ribono shel Olam, I'm returning to you. I'm repenting. Vidui, charata, azivah sachain, ani hinni muchan u'mezuman l'kabel panay. Whenever you're ready, I'm ready for you." Why don't we do that? The answer is cuz we laugh. We're incredulous. We don't really think it's happening. The reaction of Sarah is our attitude toward the Geulah. Deep down, we're laughing. We say, "I'm going to just do my thing. You let me know when Mashiach is here. In the meantime, I'm going to be following Yeshiva World News and Matzav every 3 seconds to to see the same recycled thing that, you know, somebody else made up. And then they're going to retract it, and then they're going to apologize for retracting it. Nothing against any news outlet. But most of the time, it did happen, it didn't happen, it didn't happen yet, maybe one day will happen. It should have happened. You wake me up when Messiah is coming. We're laughing. And the is going to ask us when Messiah comes, why do you laugh? Why weren't you ready? Why didn't you prepare? And we're going to say, I wasn't I was ready. I was waiting. I was prepared. And we don't want to shut him to say to us, "No, you laughed. You weren't really waiting. You weren't really prepared." We know that after 120, one of the primary questions that a person is going to be asked, of course, we're responsible for all 613 mitzvahs, but the Gamara identifies there are certain overarching mitzvahs that we are most responsible for, and one of them is they're going to ask us, "No, see piece of Yeshua?" Did you await the coming of Messiah? Which is a question, really? We really have to be awaiting the coming of Messiah. Where does it say that in the Mish? Which parsha? Anybody know? What parsha does it say you have to await the coming of Messiah? At first glance, it seems like an unusual obligation when there's so many mitzvahs in the Torah and there's so many important mitzvahs in the Torah, and yet we'd be hard-pressed to identify where exactly does the Mish does the Torah demand that we await the coming of Messiah? We would expect that the six questions that were asked after 120 somehow be all-inclusive encompassing mitzvahs. Yet, where exactly are we expected to await the coming of Messiah? But before we address that question, what I would like to do this morning is perhaps to make it a little bit more real and so that we could connect to this ideal a little bit greater to identify specific junctures in time when we could fulfill this great objective in life of awaiting for the coming of Messiah. So, let's start with Shmona Esrei. We know we say two brachas in Shmona Esrei. We say V'Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh Tishkon and we say Es Tzemach Dovid. Is there any difference between these two brachas? Are they the same idea? We mentioned Dovid in in both of them. What is the What is the theme of V'Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh and the theme of Es Tzemach Dovid? It's interesting, according to some it's really one bracha. I believe the Tosafos read in Maseches Sukkah points out, you know, if you notice Do they say Kraveitz Moshiach's Kraveitz is not a very popular adding to the davening, let's put it that way. It's not a very popular custom. You know? Condensing actually usually works better, you know? So, it's surprising most people are more receptive to condensing than to adding. If it's not tov v'od Tov me'at. But if you study the Kraveitz on Purim which are additions Kraveitz by the way stands for Kol Rinah Vi'Yeshuah Ba'Halel Tzaddikim. There's an addition to all the brachas of the Shmona Esrei except for Es Tzemach Dovid. And the Tosafos read says because V'Yerushalayim and Es Tzemach Dovid is really one bracha. But we say it as two different brachas. What exactly is the difference between V'Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh and Es Tzemach Dovid? So, I always understood and I think it's it's correct that V'Yerushalayim is asking for the rebuilding of Yerushalayim. And Es Tzemach Dovid is the restoration of the Malchus Beis Dovid. Even though we mentioned Dovid in V'Yerushalayim because really Yerushalayim does not have a halachic status of Yerushalayim without the Malchus Beis Dovid. But it's a separate idea conceptually. There's V'Yerushalayim and as Es Tzemach Dovid. it. But actually, the Arizal says something else. The Arizal says there's a concept, and we're going to come back to this in the end, of two Mashiachs. There's Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. We're going to have to address why do we need a Mashiach ben Yosef and a Mashiach ben David. So the the Arizal says when you say "V'chi say David Melech Yisrael Tochein", you should have in mind that you want the Ribono shel Olam to send Mashiach ben Yosef. Cuz Mashiach ben Yosef is the throne of David. It's the preparation, the foundation of David. So when you say "V'chi say David Melech Yisrael Tochein", you should request the Mashiach ben Yosef's safe arrival, because there's a tradition that Mashiach ben Yosef's arrival may be met with opposition, difficulty, or perhaps even worse. So we daven for the safe arrival of Mashiach ben Yosef. And when you say "Ki lishuasecha kivinu kol hayom", you should be mechaven for the coming of Mashiach ben David. So that after 120, when they ask you, "Nu, Reb Yid, did you await the coming of Mashiach?" You say, "Yeah. When?" So at least we could say, "Look, three times a day, or whenever I daven the Shmoneh Esrei, I had in mind, I stopped, I don't know, I you know, maybe put like a red alert in the siddur, put a mark in the siddur, stop, focus, try to engender a feeling of awaiting for the Mashiach when you say the words "Ki lishuasecha kivinu kol hayom". That is one juncture that we can be mekayem the inyan of being metzappeh lishuah. Number two. Friday night. There's this thing called Kabbalat Shabbat that Jewish people say Friday night. They do it in Passaic? Yeah? They're good audience. They laugh a little bit. If you noticed in the stanzas of the L'cha Dodi, which was written by Reb Alkabetz, there are about 10 stanzas. Most of them have nothing at all to do with Shabbos. Nothing at all to do with Shabbos. Now, the first three, the three that people say when they're awake, are about are about Shabbos. L'cha Dodi likras kallah, pnei Shabbos n'kabelah. Shamor v'zachor b'dibur echad, likras Shabbos v'simcha. That's about Shabbos. And then people start nodding. But actually, if you would keep yourself awake, the rest of it has nothing to do with Shabbos at all. Mikdash Melech ir Melucha is the Beis Hamikdash. Hisna'ari mei'ofar kumi livshi bigdei tif'arteich ami al yad ben Yishai is a request for the coming of Mashiach ben David. His'oiri his'oiri uri uri shir daber is a t'fillah that Hashem should restore prophecy. Lo yeisei vo'isi v'lo yeisei kol mi is Hashem should cover up the shame of Yerushalayim. Yamin u'smol tifrotzi is about the expansion of Yerushalayim. You know, Yerushalayim will expand ad Damesek. Let the Syrians know now that Jerusalem will extend all the way till Damascus. I'm not I have a feeling they're really going to embrace that. The expansion of Jerusalem until Damascus. And then, by the time you stand up and you turn to the west, bo'i v'shalom ateret ba'alah, you're greeting the Shabbos. But the vast majority of L'cha Dodi that almost all kehillos in Klal Yisrael say have absolutely nothing to do with Shabbos, it's about the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash, the restoration of Malchus Beis David. Why on Friday night, as we're awaiting the coming of the of Shabbos, are we not reciting a t'fillah about Shabbos? Instead, we're praying for the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash, the restoration of Malchus Beis David, and so forth. Says Hagahoun Rav Reb Moshe Shapiro, something out of this world. He says the Gemara tells us in Maseches Taanis on daf lamed, a very interesting tidbit. The Gemara says, did you know what day of the week the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed? Okay, anybody know? Are there eight possibilities? Right? Cuz there are only eight days a week. There are eight possibilities. Say, "What? What's this guy talking about?" Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Shabbos, Motzei Shabbos. So, Motzei Shabbos? The Gemara tells us the first Beis Hamikdash and the second Beis Hamikdash were all destroyed, they're both destroyed Motzei Shabbos. Why Motzei Shabbos? Says the Maharal, "Dvarim gedolim einam bemikreh, great things are never happenstance." You see, there's a concept in Jewish thought that time and place can coincide. There are times that correspond to places that correspond to people. This is called Ashan, Olam Shana Nefesh. There are times that correspond to places. The time, the zman of Shabbos in time, corresponds to the Beis Hamikdash in place. In other words, what Shabbos is in time, the Beis Hamikdash is in place. Shabbos is the Mikdash of time. The Beis Hamikdash is the Shabbos of place. Therefore, the only time that the Beis Hamikdash could be destroyed is when you're moving away from Shabbos. When you're exiting Shabbos, when you're moving away from, that's a time that's possible, it's a gap, it's a juncture that's possible for Churban Beis Hamikdash. But as you're headed toward, then conversely, that's the opportunity for the building of the Beis Hamikdash. Therefore, the Beis Hamikdash, both the first and the second, were both destroyed at the one time of the week that you're moving away from Shabbos. When are you ever moving away from Shabbos? Sunday is Monday is Tuesday is There's only one juncture in time that you're moving away from Shabbos. What is it? Motzei Shabbos. Motzei Shabbos is the only possibility for Horban. Therefore, conversely, says Rav Moshe Shapiro, the time that's predisposed and designated for yearning for the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash is Kabbalas Shabbos. Meaning, since Shabbos and the Mikdash are synonymous, as we're awaiting and yearning and pining for Shabbos, we are likewise expressing our yearning and pining for the Geulah and the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash. Therefore, says Rav Moshe Shapiro, he writes a very interesting language, Halacha L'Maaseh. This is not just Jewish thought, this is practical Halacha. After 120, we have a great responsibility to be able to answer in the affirmative that we were When were we Yeshua? When? When do we do it? The great time that's designated to be Yeshua is Friday night Kabbalas Shabbos. You'll ask the Rav, your Halachic authority, but I know sometimes the women gather together Friday night to say Tehillim. That's beautiful, but maybe it shouldn't be at the expense of Kabbalas Shabbos. Kabbalas Shabbos has a specific goal and objective. You don't want to give that up. It's a time that's designated for the fulfillment of one of the greatest ideals in life, namely, yearning for the Geulah. Even Friday night, we don't say show we say Alenu Al Kol Yisrael. V'Yael. Yerushalayim. We daven for Yerushalayim. Why are we davening for Yerushalayim? We're not in Yerushalayim. Cedarhurst is a great place, but it's not Yerushalayim. Cedarhurst is even better. Why? Cuz when Mashiach comes, it's the closest to JFK. Closer to Newark. To Newark? How many minutes? 20. Less traffic. On Sunday, I could beat you. So, the second designated spot is Kabbalat Shabbat. The third. This is an idea that occurred to me recently. Probably the most famous comments of the Ramban in all of his commentary is the Ramban at the end of Parshat Bo. Before I tell you what the Ramban says in a nutshell, I want to come back and address a question we started with. If awaiting the Mashiach is so important, why is there no mitzvah in the Torah to await the coming of Mashiach? Says the Smak, Sefer Mitzvot Katan, there is a mitzvah in the Torah to await the coming of Mashiach. You know what it is? Anochi Hashem Elohecha asher hotze'ticha me'eretz Mitzrayim. Belief in Hashem requires emunah in the coming of Mashiach. How so? Says the Smak, well, the Hashem introduced himself to Klal Yisrael. I am the Almighty. I took you out of Egypt. So, says the Smak, if we're obligated to believe in the existence of Hashem and that he redeemed us from Mitzrayim, part and parcel of that is belief he's going to redeem us from our current galut. That means the first mitzvah in the Torah is to believe there's a creator who controls this world and is going to take us out of New York and New Jersey. That's the first mitzvah in the Torah. The first mitzvah in the Torah is there's going to be a Geulah and you need to wait for it. Okay. The Ramban in the end of Parshas Bo asks the basic question, why are there so many mitzvahs that are zecher l'Yetzias Mitzrayim? You know? So, you wake up in the morning and you walk out. No, don't walk out the door. There's a sign on the door. The sign reminds you that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim. And then you tie the tefillin around your arm. In case you're going to forget that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, you limit your circulation for an hour and you put wrap it around your head so that you don't forget Hashem took you out of Mitzrayim. And then on the way out of the shul, in case you forgot since you took off your tefillin, you have another reminder. And if you went to uh get a coffee and then you went home, you have another reminder on the mezuzah on your house. And you said Shema, there you also reminded yourself that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim. And in case you forgot, you need to take a cup of wine Friday night and declare zecher l'Yetzias Mitzrayim. And you now do melacha every seventh day to remember Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim. And if that's not enough, seven days a year you need to leave your house and sit in a booth to remember Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim. And if that's not enough, you can't eat bread for seven days a year. Says the Ramban, I'm not going to forget. Why Why do we have so many reminders? Says the Ramban, because Ribono shel Olam performed the greatest show in history to demonstrate that he's the creator and he controls this world and there's prophecy and that Torah is min Hashamayim and he's not going to prove himself in every generation. So therefore the Rebono shel Olam says, you may never forget this. I want you to attach it to your doorposts. I want you to wrap it around your arms. I want you to stop what you're doing every seventh day. I want you to declare it over a cup of wine every leil Shabbos. You're going to sit in a booth seven days a week. Let not there not be a doorpost that you walk through that doesn't remind you of this. So now let's put the SMaK together with the Rambam. If every moment of the day were encountered with reminders that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, and part and parcel of remembering Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim is the belief in the coming of the Geulah, that means k'mo at every moment of the day we need to remind ourselves to await for the coming of Mashiach. Which means every doorway you go through, since of course we always remember when we walk through the door, that it serves as a reminder. Of course, you know, it's it's so ironic. Nobody would ever chos v'shalom not kiss the mezuzah. Where it says that I'm not sure. But to fulfill the d'Oraisa of the purpose of the mezuzah, namely to remember that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, which according to the SMaK means to await the coming of Mashiach, that means every Jewish door you walk through is supposed to be or an alert, I'm yearning for the coming of the Mashiach. And every time I say Krias Shema, I'm saying Ani Hashem Elokeichem asher hotzeisicha me'eretz Mitzrayim, and that's supposed to be a reminder, I believe Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim and I'm awaiting the coming of Mashiach. And every Friday night as I make or listen to Kiddush, and I'm remembering Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, I'm awaiting the coming of Mashiach. Because when that great day comes and Hashem says, "Did you laugh?" We're going to say, "I didn't laugh. I wasn't laughing. I was on it. I was on it Keli Yishuascha Kivinu Kol Hayom. I didn't divert my mind from the coming of Mashiach not one moment of my life. I remember that every Krias Shema is not only to remember Yitzias Mitzrayim but also to instill within me a yearning for Mashiach and every doorway and every Hanachas Tefillin and every Kiddush Friday night and every Shabbos and every Sukkah and every Pesach Keli Yishuascha Kivinu Kol Hayom. You ever wonder what those words mean? To wait the Mashiach all day long. What do you mean all day long? All day long? Yeah, all day long. Your Mezuzah, your Tefillin, your Krias Shema, your Shabbos, your Sukkos, your Pesach Oh, you start you already started preparing for Pesach? Great. Every drawer, every sock, every nook and cranny that you're searching for the Chometz, you're yearning for the coming of So, otherwise, what are you doing? That's the purpose of it. That's number three. And here's number four. You know when the fourth juncture to yearn for the coming of Mashiach? Right now. And when I say right now, I mean with the events that are unfolding before our eyes. To try to put into a historical context what is what is taking place today. What is happening? You know, I feel that even in my own lifetime as a kid, if you would would asked me, you know, what Galus are we in? People would have said we're in galus Edom, galus Rome. What else? That's what That's what everybody would have said. And yet, if you ask people today, what galus are we in? There's almost a new answer to that question. It's something we saw the transition of this in our own times. Somehow, we've now been exposed to a new idea, a new concept. Something called galus Yishmael. What is galus Yishmael? Where does it come from? What's the basis of it? What's the source of it? Why don't the midrashim talk about it? You know, if you look in the midrashim on safer Bereishit, in countless places, almost every single time you have the number four in Bereishit, whether it's the four rivers of the Garden of Eden, whether it's the very beginning of the Torah, The midrash says the four galus, the four rivers in Gan Eden, the four galus. The Brisbane have a sermon Emma Khash Ekha Gedola noifeles alav. Again and again and again, even in this past week's parsha Vayeitzei, the Adorim and the Even, the four galusim. And every single time, Midrash Rabbah says, Bavel, Babylon, Paras, Persia, Yavan, Greece, Edom, Rome. Every single time. What about galus Yishmael? Why is Yishmael not on the list? Is Yishmael a galus? Should it be on the list? What galus are we in now? Is America one galus? Is Eretz Yisrael a different galus? So, actually, the Ibn Ezra, interestingly, says Yishmael is one of the fourth four galusim. The fourth. The fourth galus is galus Yishmael. And what's the third? He says, "Yavan and Rome because Rome came from Greece." So, Ibn Ezra identifies the third galus is Greece and Rome, and the fourth is galus Yishmael, but the Ramban vehemently disagrees cuz the Ramban says that every medrish identifies the fourth galus as galus Edom. So, now the million-dollar question is, why is Yishmael not one of the galus? Right? Good question. So, the Maharal in a number of places gives two answers to this question. First, I'm going to tell you the answer he doesn't like. I like it. And then I'm going to tell you the answer he likes. The answer he doesn't like, right? He likes it, but he says the second answer is the definitive answer. He says you have to know what a galus is. A galus is when you're subject to one of the four malchiyos. What's a malchus? He says, "If you want to know what a malchus is, you need to understand what's malchus Yisrael." Why do we have malchus based on it? You know, we read in this week's parasha Reuven was born, Shimon was born, Levi was born, and when Yehuda was born, the Torah uses an expression, "Vat'aamod miledes." Literally, she stopped. But the Shla Hakadosh says "Vat'aamod" means a loshon of "amida". Amida. What does that mean? See, God has a throne. But God is not recognized in this world without his throne. You know what his throne is? Avraham is one leg. Yitzchak is a second leg. Yaakov is a third leg. The fourth leg is David Hamelech. David who regel revi'i. Which means without David, the throne has no stability. So, when Yehuda was born, "Vat'aamod miledes", God's throne had stability. You see, God is only recognized in the world through the medium of Malchus base David. When David sat on his throne, through the medium of David, Hashem was recognized in this world. The majesty, the power of the Rebono shel Olam was recognized in this world. But the Babylonians came, they destroyed the base Hamikdash. They almost destroyed Malchus base David. By the way, the Medrash says, when they blinded Sidkiyahu, the Medrash says, Sidkiyahu should have taken the Babylonians and slammed their head on the floor, the Medrash says. A very strong language. How could you allow the Davidic dynasty to fall to the floor? Malchus base David is the medium with which God is recognized in the world. But the Babylonians usurped it. And then when the Persians conquered the Babylonians, they took the Babylonian power, which is our power, and they usurped it. And then the Greeks conquered the Persians, and the Persians conquered who conquered from Babylon, who took our And the fourth galus, galus Edom, is really holding hostage Malchus Yisrael. Says the Maharal, the definition of Malchus is the power that originally belonged to the Jewish people that was usurped by these entities. But Yishmael never took our power, the Maharal says. Yishmael's power is an independent source of power. What's Yishmael's source of power? Four words. Abraham Avinu davened for Yishmael. He said, Lu Yishmael Yichye Lefanecha. That's it. That's all. Everything you see today, everything we see today is from a tefila of Abraham Avinu. Lu Yishmael Yichye Lefanecha. The Zohar even says that we have a taina on Abraham for offering that tfila. And when the navi Yeshayahu says loy avinu ata, it's the Jewish people telling Abraham, "Why didn't you pray for us the way you prayed for Yishmael?" And the reasons why Abraham did did that. There are many many reasons. But these are just the facts that the Maharal lays out. The power of Yishmael is not the malchus of Yisrael, it's the tfila of Abraham Avinu. Therefore, they don't make the bill. They're not on the list. The list are powers that usurp malchus Yisrael. Yishmael never takes malchus Yisrael. But says the Maharal, let me tell you the definitive answer. And before we hear the definitive answer of the Maharal, I want to share with you two gemaras. And you'll see how the Maharal literally opens up the heavens and how the gemara predicted 1,500 years ago exactly what is taking place today. The gemara Avodah Zarah tells us that in the end of days God will take out a safer Torah and he'll say, "Whoever contributed to this, come get your reward." So the UN will convene. And they're going to take a vote. And they're going to going to unanimously support Israel and the Jewish people and that they're all worthy of receiving reward. Because all of our dear friends in the UN who love us so much and have our back. They do everything so that we could learn Torah. So God's going to say, "Okay, please line up and come get your reward." So the gemara says the first nation who's going to line up is Rome. And Rome's going to say, "We built marketplaces and bathhouses. And everything we did was so that there could be more yeshivas and lim in klal Yisrael. And God's going to say, "You fools." Interesting, he doesn't say, "You're wrong." "I used you for that, but you're a fool because that wasn't your kavana." "You fools, that wasn't your intention." And the Gemara says they're going to walk away dejected and empty-handed, and they're not going to receive any reward. The Gemara says, "Who will be the next nation who will request reward?" Paras, Persia. And Persia will say, "We waged many wars, we built many bridges, we conquered many cities. Everything we did," Persia says, "was so that the Jewish people will be able to learn Torah." And God's going to say again, "You're You're also fools. That's not what you did it for." Ask the Gemara, "Why will these be the two nations that will request reward in the end of days?" Says the Gemara, "Because they're very chashuv." Ask the Gemara, "What makes Rome and Persia chashuv?" Says the Gemara, "They'll be because they are the only two nations that will exist until Mashiach comes." Rome and Persia. What in the world does the Gemara mean? There will only be two nations that will last until Mashiach comes? Rome? The Roman Empire fell 2,000 years ago. Rome will last until Mashiach comes? So, for Rome, we call it a halba tzara. That's not a big deal. USA, USA. The United States of America is the spiritual heir of the values of the Judeo-Christian values. And the United States, and I believe the Ben Ish Hai writes this explicitly, the United States of America is Rome today. So, if you want to know what does Does Gemara mean that Rome will last until Messiah comes? That we have a way to explain. But what does the Gamara mean that Persia will last until Messiah comes? Persia will last until Messiah comes, really? Didn't Greece destroy Persia more than 1500 years ago? Do you know what's left of Persia today? Let me tell you. You could go to the British Museum and there was a Persian who was drinking coffee 1700 years ago. You know what they found? They found his coffee mug. But not the cup part, the handle. So, if you want to know what's left of the Persian Empire, there they found a handle of a mug from 1700 years ago. But what does the Gamara mean that Persia will last until Messiah comes? So, if it makes you feel better to think that the Gamara is talking about Iran that until Messiah comes, there there'll be two nations standing. United States of America and Iran. Okay, if that makes you feel better great. There are those who learn that way. I don't believe the Maral learns that way. But what's more frightening is the Gamara in Yuma. Because the Gamara says that before the end of days, there'll be two nations standing. And the Gamara wants to know who will defeat who? Who will beat who? So, now living here in the United States of America we hope the Gamara is going to say that Rome will destroy Persia. That makes us feel better. This way we could sit in the tri-state area until Messiah comes knowing that the last nation standing will be Assyrian Persia leap over Rome. But frighteningly, the Gamara doesn't say that. The Gamara brings the opinion of Rabbi Assyrian Rome leap over Persia. Rome will fall to Persia. Does that make you feel good? How does that make you feel? The Gemara says before Mashiach comes, Asidan Rome and Persia will be at odds. The Gemara continues, the Gemara brings the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan, Asida Rome and Persia will be at odds. And then the Gemara brings the dissenting view. Asida Persia and Rome will be at odds. So based on the Gemara in Avodah Zarah and the Gemara in Yoma, it comes out that before Mashiach comes, there'll be two nations standing. Rome and Persia. And regarding who will defeat who, it's machlokes. But really the serious question is, what does it mean that Parthas will last until the end of time? So let me come back to the Maharal. Regarding the question, why is Yishmael not on the list? Why is he not one of the four exiles? Says the Maharal, he is one of the four exiles. Which exile is he? Says the Maharal, Yishmael is Parthas. Yishmael is Parthas? But Yishmaelim are not Persians and Persians are not Yishmaelim. Says Maharal, the four galusim are not four ethnicities. They're not four religions. They're not four countries. They're not four types of genetics. The four exiles are four personality types. And the Parthas and Yishmael have the same personality. They wage a lot of wars. Therefore says the Maharal, when the Gemara refers to Parthas, Yishmael is part of Parthas. According to the Maharal, the heavens have opened up. Cuz when the Gamara says in the end of days there'll be two nations standing, Rome and Persia, now we have a way to understand this. In the end of days there'll be two nations, there'll be two superpowers, United States of America, the Western world, and Ishmael. And according to the Maral, the Gamara predicted more than 1,500 years ago exactly how things will play out in the end of days. There'll be two superpowers, there'll be Rome and Persia, United States of America and Ishmael. And now the million-dollar question is, who stands last? And I'm not here to make you feel good, that's your rabbi's job. The Gamara, according to most views, say "Asida Rome will be trampled by Persia." Ishmael is the last man standing. Rav disagrees. Rav says "Asida Persia will be trampled by Rome." So you say I better I hope we pass like Rav. I hope the United States will be standing last. And the good news is Tosafot in Avodah Zarah, when he quotes the Gamara in Yoma regarding who's the last man standing, Tosafot just brings the opinion of Rav that Rome is the last man standing. But it does seem like most later authorities seem to say that Galut Ishmael is the last Galut. Rabbi Chaim Vital writes that after the four Galuts, there'll be a fifth Galut, Galut Ishmael. The Vilna Gaon writes, we mentioned there are two Mashiachs, Mashiach ben Yosef, Mashiach ben David. Says the Gaon, why do we need two Mashiachs? Says the Gaon, Mashiach ben Yosef is called shar, bachor shorai hadalai. Mashiach ben David is called chamar, aniv v'rocheiv al chamar. Mashiach ben Yosef will take us out of golus Edom. Eisav is called a shar, parim, bulls. First comes Mashiach ben Yosef and he takes us out of golus Edom. Then comes Mashiach ben David. The aniv v'rocheiv al chamar and he'll take us out of the golus of the of the shivtei Yisrael chamar. Golus Yishmael. But one thing the Gra says that's very frightening is the Gra says don't you ever mix the shar and the chamar together. Don't you ever mix Eisav and Yishmael together. If Eisav and Yishmael ever got together, they would destroy the entire world. That's why you can't plow with an ox and a donkey together. And my understanding is the Rav told me in this shul, nobody plows with an ox and a donkey together. Kol hakavod. Don't you ever plow with an ox and a donkey together. The ox represents Eisav. The chamar represents Yishmael. You cannot mix the two. If they would ever come together, they would destroy the world. My grandfather, who was a Holocaust survivor, passed away few years ago at 106 years old. He was a talmid muvhak of Menachem Ziemba. He wrote in his memoirs that when he was in Auschwitz, he saw Eichmann. Eichmann invited a special guest to Auschwitz, the mufti from Jerusalem. And the Eichmann and the mufti would sit together arm in arm and they would pass Jews in front of them and they would beat them. You want to know what a world looks like when Eisav and Yishmael get together? I Auschwitz. So many people they think that if uh you know, the president of the United States and the prime minister of Israel and Arafat, they get together and they shake hands, that's a good thing. Watch out. Watch out if Esau and Ishmael ever come together. And according to the Maharal, there was another instance in history when Esau and Ishmael got together. There was a man by the name of Haman. Ahasuerus came from what nation? Paras. Paras and Ishmael are synonymous. You know what happens when Haman and Ahasuerus come together? Lahashmid, Laraglo Yabed. Says the going, that's why when Esau was very angry at Yaakov, Vayistom Esau leyaakov, what did he do? Vayeilech Esau el Ishmael vayisa machala bas Ishmael. Cuz Esau knew the only way to destroy Yaakov is to be in cahoots with Ishmael. Reb Chaim Kanievsky Zechuto Yagen Aleinu offers an opinion of who will be the last man standing. He says interestingly if you look at Rashi in Zechariah, Rashi tells us that the four galusim are really dual galusim. Bavel Kasdi. Paras Madai, Persia and Media. You know, the media is the biggest galus of all. Yavan Mikdan. Edom Ishmael. So, the four galusim are really eight. Says Reb Chaim, well, how convenient. You know, isn't it interesting? In Chad Gadya, there are eight characters. You have the cat and the dog and the stick and the fire and the water and the ox and the shochet and the malach hamavet. Says Reb Babylonians were compared to a cat. The Gemara compares the cry of Nebuchadnezzar to a screaming shunra cat. Koyresh, I'm sorry, Belshazzar, the Gemara says drank from the kalim of the Beis Hamikdash, he licked it up like a kalba, like a dog. Koyresh beat his oppressors with a stick, Chazal say. But the Persian Achashverosh, v'achavah say barah, but he's fire. And Alexander the Great of Macedonia, the Gemara in Talmud says he comes to Gan Eden, they sprinkle water on him, he's mayim. And the Yevanim made us ride on the horn of a ox, a shor ain lo nocha lecha v'lo keisa, so he's the ox. And now we're left with two job vacancies. We have a shochet, and we have a malach hamaves. You know, maybe we should put on the bulletin. We have two job opportunities. Shochet and malach hamaves. And there're two qualified suitors for these jobs, Eisav and Yishmael. They're both vying for the job of shochet and the job of malach hamaves. In my opinion, they're both very well equipped and trained for both of these jobs. The shochet and the malach hamaves. Presumably, the malach hamaves is last man standing before Mashiach comes. So me living in America, I would like to think, you know, Eisav is the last man standing. So I would have interpreted, and I think it's reasonable, you know who the shochet is? It's Yishmael. After all, Avraham Avinu gives the cow to Yishmael to do what? To do shchita, to train him in mitzvos. So I would have said Yishmael is the shochet. And the malach hamaves, my grandfather saw him, Dr. Mengele, the angel of death. Eisav. And I would have like to assume like Rav, America's the last man standing like twice as not with the Zara. And that Esau is the Malachim of us. Rabbi Chaim says nice try. Rabbi Chaim says Esau is a Shochet. And he brings many many Chazal that Esau is referred to as a Shochet. And Chazal say about Ishmael, all other nations plunder money, Ishmael plunders souls. Ishmael is Malachim of us. Says Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Ishmael is the last man standing. Says Rabbi Chaim and the proof is the Balaturam at the end of Chayei Sarah. The end of Chayei Sarah, Chayei Sarah ends Al Pnei Chol Echav Nafal. It talks about the downfall of Ishmael. The Eilah Toldos Yitzchak, the Balaturam says when Ishmael falls in the end of days, Az Yitzmach Ben David. Says Rabbi Chaim, last man standing, we go like Rabbi, we go like Rabbi Yochanan, Asida Raimi Shetipa BeYad Paras. He's saying Rabbi Goldstein, you disturbed my Sunday. Ishmael is the last man standing? What an unpleasant thought. So I would like to just to conclude by sharing with you a perspective on this. And I think it's a historically accurate perspective. And I think it in a way will put us at ease. But it's just a theory. When we talk about then the end of days there'll be two superpowers and one will fall to the other. So we perhaps have like a science-fiction perspective on this. There'll be a nuclear war. There'll be a war and one will conquer the other. Who's going to conquer who? Rome or Persia? Who will be the last man standing? Does the Gamara have to mean that? Any student of history knows what happened to the Roman Empire. Was the Roman Empire ever conquered? Was it ever defeated? Did the Persians come with a big invading army and overcome Imperial Rome? Never happened. What happened to the Roman Empire? Political disillusionment. It crumbled from within. It disintegrated at the seams. They realized that they were bereft of any value. They realized they had no value system. And they realized it was not a civilization or society. So nobody conquered it. Nobody defeated it. There was no war. It just crumbled at the seams. Could the Gamara mean that in the end of days there'll be two value systems in the world? The value system of the Western world. So-called Judeo-Christian value. Values based on the Bible. And then the values of extreme Ishmael. Ishmael. Well, where they actually stand for something today. Although it's not good. Where they have a value. But does Rome have a value today? United States was built on the values of the Bible. Does it still continue with these values? Does this Is this country still built upon the The that it was built upon. When the Gamara says I see the Romi Shatito biad Paras, does it mean that Paras will conquer Romi? Or will they come where Romi will wake up in the morning and say, "Actually, with this the the border open and the majority of this country consisting of people who don't want anything more than to see the downfall of it. Where it Does anyone actually still believe in the values that the country is built on? Where the country is having an identity crisis. Where Yishmael, yes, it's extreme, but it is meyusad on a certain value system. And they're willing to give it all up for it. So, in the Gamara says I see the Romi Shatito biad Paras. You know, there's more than one way to look at that. And of course, Mashiach will come and will reveal that ein od milvado and what the true value system of the world is. And that vehaya Hashem lemelech al kol ha'aretz, bayom hahu yihyeh Hashem echad But it's worthwhile to think about what the Gamara predicted that in the end of days there'll be two superpowers. One is called Romi, one is called Paras. The Maharal identifies Paras as Yishmael. But I don't think it has to be the same way other malchiyos fell without being conquered. We're living through a transition. We're seeing every day what's happening to Romi, what's happening to Paras. But one thing's for sure, this is a fourth juncture to be metzapo Yeshua. Because Chazal tell us that at the downfall of Yishmael oz yitzmach ben Dovid. Chazal tell us the fifth and final golus is golus Yishmael. So while Shmone Esrei when you say Keli Yeshuascha kivinu kol hayom is a juncture to await the coming of Mashiach. And when you daven Kabbalas Shabbos it's a juncture to await the coming of Mashiach. And every time you do a mitzvah that zecher l'yetziyas Mitzrayim it's an opportunity to yearn for the coming of Mashiach. But if you're privileged to be witness to these extraordinary times where we see the golus Yishmael it's a special opportunity to be metzopeli l'geulah. And if you think, well, you know, the geulah hasn't come for so many years, is it going to come for little old us? Please let me conclude and I've been saying this in all almost all my shiurim. You know, Rav Schwab on the seder he has a a remarkable interpretation of the words we say every day, ahava rabba ahavtanu. Which is usually understood to mean with a great love you have loved us. Rav Schwab says this is not what the words mean. I want to ask you a very simple question and I myself I think I would have answered it incorrectly before I saw this comment of Rav Schwab. If I were to ask you, who does Hakadosh Baruchu love more? You? Your grandparents? Your great-grandparents? Earlier generations? Who does Ribono Shel Olam love more? I always thought the answer is Hashem loved them more. You read Es Hadoyros, Mah ani u'mah chayai. My tefillah doesn't hold up to their tefillah, my maasim tovim doesn't compare to theirs, so probably Hashem loved them more. Says Rav Schwab, no. Ahava rabba. Rabba doesn't mean great, it means ever increasing, expanding. The Rebono Shel Olam's love for the Jewish people gets more and more and more. You know what the proof is? Says Reb Schwab. Yeah, I could tell you my own time. When I was a kid I was in high school, so the Rebbe would give a shear, so hopefully you were listening. If you weren't listening, before the test you would have to, you know, figure out the Gemara. So they had something called the Soncino Gemara. You know, Soncino Gemara, so you would open up the Soncino and then you would look at an, you know, an archaic translation in the Queen's English and you realize that you actually understand the Aramaic better than you understand the English. And then when when I was in eighth grade ArtScroll came out with Gemara Makos. Wow, I could learn a masechta on my own now. And then they came out with Hamifked. And then slowly, slowly, slowly they came out with the whole Shas. Not for my great-grandfather, not for my grandfather, not even for me, for my kids. And now if you have a problem with any Rashi in Shas, the Mesifta Gemara is mevare every Rashi in Shas, every Tosafos in Shas. You can get ArtScroll Tosafos now. Says Reb Schwab, why? Why is the Torah expanding? Why is there so many opportunities today? Because the Rebono Shel Olam loves us more today than he ever did. So if the Mashiach didn't come yesterday, that's because Hashem's love for Klal Yisrael yesterday was only infinite to the 10th power. Tomorrow it's going to be infinite to the 11th power. So the the era that we're living through provides us with another special opportunity to be metzappeh l'Yeshua. And in the zechus of our coming together this morning to prepare ourselves and to elevate our focus on this very important subject. May I call this bring the Ula the we should all be to see in our times the Lama the old man have you mean Amen. Thank you. Sure. Thank you. Thanks for being here.