The Imminent Fall of Damascus

It’s hard not to see Redemption creeping up on us.

Firstly, every Jewish circle seems convinced of it. Even goyim, להבדיל, or “klipah”, acknowledges it, and because the timing is ripe, they strongly promote their version of the prophecy (in an attempt to forestall God’s agenda).

We take the Land of Israel for granted, but this too is a relatively recent phenomenon. Actually it's part of the same phenomenon - Redemption. Years earlier, Israel was only a concept. And we see too in every war we fight with our enemies how God orchestrates it with so many miracles.

Regarding current Middle East upheavals we sense a deja-vu with in Biblical context as well. For example, the Rebbe, quoting many Zohar sources, says (see video here) Jerusalem will rise only when Damascus falls! We note a supportive linguistic prop too - that דמשק and מקדש comprise the same letters.

Meanwhile, surrounding the Land of Israel, her avowed enemies are devouring each other. Enemy countries must now funnel resources and energies to maintaining inner stability rather than allocate capital to wipe out the little Jewish land.

The world at large now recognizes the utter evil that reeks from Israel’s haters and the muslim population. The world now has open windows to view for themselves the cruelty these enemies inflict even upon their own kind. They see, as divine providence would have it, what happens to anybody who stands in the way of their petty whims.

We see how anti-Semitism across the world again raises its ugly head. Why? Because, as the Redemption unfolds, people will have to choose what side they are on, either on the side of the Jews, or on the side of their haters. The world being swept in that direction involuntarily.

We note that practice of the Jewish religion is - amazingly, if history is to serve as a barometer - free in almost all places where Jews live - a phenomenon that Jews never merited in their long history in the diaspora.

We see too in Israel, despite its being a juggernaut of secular culture, even though public Israeli education frowns on religiosity, the population there remains more on the right than on the left, no matter how hard the media, courts and other powerful leftist circles try to shape opinion. For example, the only way Bibi could win his last election was to talk the talk of the right, although he continues to walk the walk of the left.

Even though Israel’s secular public adores and idolizes America, seeking hard to mimic American culture, divine providence has - thankfully - intervened and placed a rabid Jew-hater into the White House in order to wean Israelis off this reverence for “America the great”. Instead of awe for the mythical giant, Israelis will now begin to appreciate all that is Jewish, rather than be taken by the temporary glitz of America.

Here’s another nugget from current events to support the notion that Redemption quickly approaching. ISIS just conquered Palmyra - known in Hebrew as “Tadmor”. Among the legions that joined in destroying both our Holy Temples in Jerusalem were tens of thousands of archers from Tadmor, a city built by King Solomon (Divrei Hayomim II, 8:4). Palmyra’s conquest opens up for ISIS a quick highway to Damascus as well as access to a strategic airstrip. We should be happy to see the downfall of Palmyra, as foretold by Reb Yochanan (see here):

אשרי מי שראה במפלתה של תדמור

Interestingly, the gematria of this phrase has its equivalence to only one possuk in all of Torah:

והנה דבר יהוה אליו לאמר לא יירשך זה כי אם אשר יצא ממעיך הוא יירשך

... where God assures Abraham (Lech Lecha 15:4) that his servant “Damascus Eliezer” will not inherit what belongs to Abraham, but rather to one his own children (ie, Jacob) shall this heritage be bequeathed.

Another Midrash source reads (the reason for happiness) slightly differently:

אשרי כל מי שהוא רואה במפלתה של תרמוד

This has the following possuk (Beshalch 14:19) for numeric equivalence:

ויסע מלאך האלהים ההלך לפני מחנה ישראל וילך מאחריהם ויסע עמוד הענן מפניהם ויעמד מאחריהם

... where God leads the Jewish nation to Redemption and protects them in the process!