I have just returned home to Safed after a four-week stay in Jerusalem for personal business and medical consultations (the outcome of which has been most encouraging) and for the festival of Shavuot. We stayed on after the festival because our granddaughter gave birth to a baby boy, and we waited for his circumcision, which took place in Bney Brak last Sunday.
The surprise Israeli air attacks on Iran had begun the previous Friday, and since then the entire country has been in full war mode to a far greater degree than throughout the Gaza war, even prior to the neutering of Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria. Everyone in Israel knows that the threat from Iran, which has been looming ever more fearsomely since the 1978 revolution, is far more dangerous. Schools and businesses in Israel are currently closed and large gatherings banned until further notice except for essential services, and all unnecessary travel is discouraged.
Yet as great grandparents of the new-born baby, my wife and I felt obliged to participate in his circumcision, particularly as I had previously been invited to be the one to hold the baby (as “Sandak”) at the time of the procedure, and a good friend drove us there and back. However, traffic on the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway was very sparse indeed, giving a most eerie feeling. The circumcision went smoothly with great joy among the few immediate family members who were able to attend. However, shortly after my wife and I left Bney Brak, a building in the city was hit by an Iranian missile.
Israel under fire
Since last Friday the Iranians have been sending volleys of missiles every few hours day and night, causing millions of Israelis, young, old and little children, to have to flee to bomb shelters and safe places, entirely disrupting their sleep and waking hours. With schools and places of work closed, families are confined to their homes or shelters with all the pressures and frictions this causes. People of all ages and particularly children have been deeply traumatized by the repeated warning sirens that sound day and night.
Yet in spite of everything, morale in the country is tremendously high, particularly in the light of the astounding successes of the Israeli air force in neutralizing Iranian air defenses and many of her missile launchers, and causing havoc in Tehran, despite our pilots having to travel over 1800 kilometers to reach their targets. Everyone can see that the enemy has been deeply humiliated.
Yet the war is far from being over, and fears remain of nasty surprises the Iranians may have in store as things escalate, which is highly likely in the event of military intervention by the US, which seems imminent. Dozens of Israelis have already been killed in the Iranian attacks and hundreds more injured, and there has been considerable physical destruction up and down the country, including severe damage earlier today to the Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva.
Nevertheless, a high proportion of the Iranian missiles have been intercepted, and others have miraculously fallen in areas where damage has been minimal, in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17).
Finally here
For years Jews in Israel and throughout the world have feared this war against Iran. It was always inevitable, and it is now evident that the Israeli armed forces and intelligence have been preparing assiduously for it (more so than in the case of the Hamas’ October 7 invasion). War is most certainly fearsome, particularly for a civilian population that feels, with just cause, that at any moment ballistic missiles might explode on them from out of nowhere
On the other hand, this is a strange war and very different from the ongoing war in Gaza (which continues relentlessly). This is because in the case of Iran, Israeli forces are not involved on the ground (except for covert teams) but are fighting mainly from the air, leaving most of the population on the Israeli home front uninvolved except for having to deal with the enemy missile attacks.
It is impossible to predict how things will go if and when President Trump orders US forces to enter the war. For decades western governments feared that involvement in a war with Iran could cause them immense damage both from attacks from within Iran and also from attacks by Iranian proxies and sleeper cells against western interests across the world. It was through their very fear of this war that they sought to mollycoddle Iran and restrain her nuclear ambitions through diplomacy.
It is now clear that this approach has been a dismal failure, yet for all the fears of possible nasty surprises the Iranians may have in store, I believe that it is not at all unlikely that in the actual event, these losers will find themselves largely impotent.
So far none of Iran’s supposed allies have expressed serious intent to weigh in and help her war effort. Russia is fully entangled in her own war with Ukraine and has already officially stated she will not get involved. Likewise Turkey and China seems unlikely to give Iran practical support, leaving only maverick groups like the Houthis at her side, and while these can inflict nasty blows, they are far from invincible.
Seismic shifts
Looking beyond the immediate present, it is clear that the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East and indeed the entire world is shifting at breakneck speed. Within the space of a couple of years Israel has undoubtedly become the most powerful country in the Middle East, striking panic in the hearts of her enemies and admiration among millions of people who crave for peace and cooperation instead of endless wars and hostilities.
The humbling of Iran and likewise of Edom were seen by the Torah sages as the climax of the End of Days, to be followed by Israel’s final redemption. As those who study the daily page of Talmud (“Daf Yomi”) embark now on our new tractate, Avodah Zarah (2b), we see that the two leading protagonists at the End of Days are Edom (America-Europe) and Paras, (Persia/Iran).
Who will beat who?
In Tractate Yoma (10a) we find contradictory opinions among our sages as to whether Edom will vanquish Paras, or whether Paras will vanquish Edom. If we consider either scenario in contemporary terms, the thought must be very sobering. We may hope that superior American military power can quickly beat Iran into submission. But if people’s fears of Iranian sleeper cells, suitcase bombs, supersonic intercontinental ballistic missiles and the like in Europe and America were to materialize, the destruction on both sides could be very great.
“Operation Rising Lion”
What is profoundly encouraging to lovers of the God of Israel and the Torah is that “Operation Rising Lion” (as Israel prime minster Netanyahu has termed Israel’s campaign) demonstrates a new self-confidence on the part of the Israeli government under his leadership, and a willingness to take audacious initiatives with or without a green light from Israel’s American patrons. In the words of Balaam’s end-times prophecy: “Behold, a people that rises like a young lion, and lifts itself up like a lion; he does not lie down until it devours its prey and drinks the blood of its kill” (Numbers 23:24). “…And Israel shall do valiantly” (Numbers 24:18).
Yet many challenges will remain even after Iran is defeated. While there are now voices in the Arab world favoring future cooperation with Israel economically and technologically, the radical Moslem jihadis are unlikely simply to disappear, while a formidable threat to Israel militarily is neighboring Egypt, which has enormous concentrations of forces and equipment on Israel’s borders (in outright defiance of the Israel-Egypt “peace” treaty) and is always willing to use Israel as a scapegoat for all her own domestic woes.
“The Abraham Accords”
The so-called “moderate Arabs” such as Saudi Arabia and the Emirates may currently be displaying a positive countenance towards Israel, largely because they are interested in the material benefits they want from cooperation under the so-called “Abraham Accords”. However, as I discussed in my last message, the fundamental Islamic rule of Takiya permits and indeed encourages Moslem deception of their enemies when the Moslems feel weak, showing a friendly face while secretly plotting their enemy’s downfall.
If indeed the present war with Iran signifies that we are truly at the “End of Days”, I suggest that the litmus test of whether the “moderate Moslems” have indeed changed – whether Ishmael will truly repent – is if their religious leaders will publicly and unequivocally declare that “Moses is true and his Torah is true”.
Ishmael’s Repentance
The prophesied repentance of Ishmael at the End of Days is founded on the verse in Genesis chapter 25 verse 9, telling how following the death of Abraham, “Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the Cave of Machpelah…” The verse mentions Isaac before Ishmael, indicating that Ishmael himself deferred and gave precedence to Isaac, recognizing him as the authentic bearer of Abraham’s tradition.
When the Moslems and all the world will finally acknowledge the truth of the Torah, we will know that the complete Redemption has finally arrived. Until that time, we, God’s Chosen People and our friends and allies, will continue in our Torah path, certain with the absolute certainty of perfect EMUNAH in the coming of Mashiach, “And even though he may delay, I will still await him every day until he comes!”
