Here is something that happened this week: Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran, since this past Sunday Iran, to protest the execution of a Shiite Muslim cleric named Nimr al-Nimr, overrun the Saudi embassy in Tehran, and as a consequence Saudi Arabia gave Iranian diplomats 48 hours to pack up and leave.Iran. Written over 800 years ago, the Yalkut Shimoni has something extremely relevant to say about today’s headlines. Since the Jewish people think that the Messiah is coming this year Saudi Arabia’s actions are being seen as the fulfillment of a messianic Jewish prophecy found in the ancient Jewish holy book known as the Yalkut Shimoni. ‘The year that Melech HaMoshiach [Messiah the King] will be revealed, all the nations of the world will be provoking each other. The King of Persia (Iran) will provoke the King of Arabia, and the King of Arabia will go to Edom (the West) to take counsel, but the King of Persia will in turn, destroy the entire world. The nations of the world will be outraged and panicked. They will fall on their faces, and they will experience pains like birth pangs. Israel too will be outraged and in a state of panic and ask, where do we go? But say unto them, “My children, do not fear, ‘Higiyah zman geulatchem’ [the time of your redemption has come]. And in the last redemption will be different from the first which was followed by further bondage and pain. After this last redemption, you will not again experience any further pain or subjugation.” As the end of the Hebrew year approaches, this is the advise the Jewish people are given "To this very day,the Arabs excel in prayer which occupies a significant place in their daily ritual. In order to counteract the power of their prayer, we need to improve the concentration and intensity of our own prayers.”
Some more from my knowledgeable buddy, Patty:
talking about the relevant passage in the Yalkut Shimoni, Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, better known as the Klausenberger Rebbe, said, “Remember these words. Now, perhaps, they are not understood, but in time, they will be, and they will be a source of chizuk (strength) to Am Yisroel (the Jewish people).” The Klausenberger Rebbe was an Orthodox rabbi with thousands of followers in the years prior to World War II. Most of his followers were murdered in the Holocaust. The Klausenberger Rebbe died in Israel in 1994. What was the prophecy of the Yalkut Shimoni that the Klausenberger Rebbe knew would bring comfort and strength to the Jewish people at a future date? The Yalkut Shimoni predicted thatthe year the Messiah would appear the “King of Persia [Iran] will provoke the King of Arabia [Saudi Arabia].” The two main sects in Islam are Sunni and Shia. While they both have much in common, the differences between the two sects in Islam have led to a long history of violent and deadly conflict among Muslims . Many of today’s political and diplomatic conflicts between Iran and other Muslim countries are connected to this Sunni-Shia divide Not surprisingly, Iran and Saudi Arabia do not share the same Muslim sect. Although the vast majority of the Islamic world today is Sunni, Iran, and, to a lesser degree Iraq, are home to the majority of the region’s Shiite Muslims. Saudi Arabia is more than 90 percent Sunni. Iran, by contrast, is 95 percent Shiite.
Many in Israel thought this prophecy was being fulfilled 5 years ago when Iran was caught plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador on U.S. soil.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/149899#.Vo6Sfo-cHcc
There is MUCH prophecy to be fulfilled before the Messiah's return. People get riled up saying "This is it! this is it!" and when nothing happens, those who might be converted to God look at them like they're cooks and turn away and rightly so.
We're supposed to be "watching" for the signs of the times and we need the Spirit of God to put the writings of the prophets and what's happening before us together correctly in a sense they fit together like a puzzle piece.
"Lord is what's taking place NOW EXACTLY what Isaiah or Joel or Ezekiel or Daniel or Nephi saw and warned us about? Is THIS PARTICULAR HISTORICAL EVENT the one they prophesied about?"
Without the Spirit of God, just about everything concerning the middle east can be made to fit in our minds with the prophesy written there.
Not sayin' the current situation with Saudi Arabia and Iran aren't relevant and fit precisely with this rabbi's prophecy. Just sayin' we need to tread carefully with regards to the scriptures and what's taking place matching up if that makes sense.
We have God to turn to and we do have a prophet in our midst, namely Thomas S. Monson......let's ask one of them about the rabbi's prophecy because one of them IS GOD and the other SPEAKS DIRECTLY FOR GOD and the SPIRIT OF GOD VERIFIES BOTH. Can't be led astray with that in place.
Deep waters are the midrash of Israel and must be carefully treaded. It is wise to KNOW your subject, it's source, and how the writings were compiled or organized before tossing out a tidbit such as this.
ReplyDeleteMidrash is a form of rabbinic literature. There are two types of midrash: midrash aggada and midrash halakha.
Midrash aggada can best be described as a form of storytelling that explores ethics and values in biblical texts. ("Aggada" literally means "story" or "telling" in Hebrew.) It can take any biblical word or verse and interpret it to answer a question or explain something in the text
Midrash halakha attempts to take biblical texts that are either general or unclear and to clarify what they mean.
Yalkut (y-ahl-koot) = Collection Hhimoni = to listen, give ear to.
To save much room and explanation here is some excellent commentary regarding the Yalkut Shimoni. The first one is as recent as April 2015.
http://parsha.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-2000-year-old-prophecy-in-yalkut.html
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0021_0_21181.html
Given what the good rabbi and his people were enduring at the time, it is reasonable that reminding the people of this particular midrash was comforting. The Yalkut Shimoni was taken from the Book of Isaiah (Yeshaaya).
It is an interpretation of Isaiah's words. Wait and see is the order of the day.
Hope this helps and gives something to go on for those interested in the origins of the Yalkut Shimoni. God bless!