In these days, when all of Israel and the entire world are shocked and appalled by the acts of the massacre and atrocities carried out on the rejoicing day of Simchat Torah by the wicked Ishmaelites, may their names be erased, we have no choice but to reflect upon the holy words of our rabbis, the leaders of our generation, may their merit protect us.
A story is told by the Gaon Rabbi Shmaya Eliezer Dzikovsky (brought down in the book Neot Deshe) that when he visited the Land of Israel in the year 5693 [1932-1933], anti-Semitism was raising its head in Europe as the Nazi oppressor, may his name be erased, rose to power. Masses of Jews felt the ground burning beneath their feet and sought a safe haven. He asked to hear from the mouth of the master, the "Chofetz Chaim," if it was advisable to ascend to the Land of Israel.
Before he even managed to express his fears, particularly the great apprehension regarding the security situation prevailing in the Land of Israel due to the Ishmaelites plotting against the Jews (as it was only a few years after the 1929 Hebron massacre), the "Chofetz Chaim" preceded him and said: "The holy Torah says regarding Ishmael: 'And he will be a wild man' (Genesis 16:12). It is well known that our Torah is eternal, and this means that this is an eternal declaration concerning Ishmael, that Ishmael will remain a wild man forever. Even if all the civilized nations of the world gather together to educate Ishmael and instill culture within him, it will be of no avail. The Torah testified about him that he will be a wild man, and 'will be' means that this is his interpretation forever, for eternity."
The "Chofetz Chaim" sighed and said: "Who knows what this wild man is liable to do to the Jewish people in the End of Days!"
And our master, the Gaon Rav Soloveitchik, said that out of the phrase "wild man" (pereh adam), the primary focus is the "wild" (pereh) and not the "man" (adam). Even if an Ishmaelite studies to be a lawyer, he will be a wild lawyer; and if he studies to be a doctor, he will be a wild doctor. The wildness within him will never depart from him for eternity!
These words have proven their strength in these very days, as we are exposed to and witness the horrific atrocities committed by the Ishmaelites. Their savagery and barbarism prove that we are not looking at a "man" before us, but rather at a "wild beast" that has no humanity within it.
Furthermore, my revered father, my master and teacher, may his merit protect us, quoted the holy Rabbi Aharon of Belz, may his merit protect us, who said that the Ishmaelites and the Egyptians are even greater evildoers than Hitler, may his name be erased, because the impurity (kelipah) of the Ishmaelites is worse and constitutes a greater impurity than the impurity of a dog (see the Zohar, Names Part 2, 60a).
We also heard from the author of the Chukei Chaim, may his merit protect us, who would stand and warn about the innate wickedness of the Ishmaelites, and he would strike them with a severe comparison, saying that the residents of Gaza have Amalekite blood mixed within them, may their names be erased.
The holy Rabbi, the author of the Shefa Chaim from Klausenburg, may his merit protect us, also stated (in Shiurei Chodesh in the year 5748 [1988]?) that Hitler, may his name be erased, was merely an instrument wielded by the Arabs to destroy the Jewish people. He described a condition and testified that during his time in the Feldafing concentration camp, immediately after he was liberated from the yoke of the Nazis, may their names be erased, they accommodated them in a camp where thousands of "Husseinis" [followers of the Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini] were housed. He wrote there regarding all the terrible cruelties of the oppressors, noting that they took letters and names in the Arabic language, "for the Arabs were the ones who taught the Nazis how to kill the Jewish people, and they were the ones who incited them to destroy the Jewish people."
"And as mentioned, the main root of the hatred these wicked people have is toward the Jewish religion, just as the wicked Titus, may his bones be crushed, whose main hatred was against the Jewish religion. This is why these evildoers schedule their expulsions and killings, and their decrees specifically on Jewish holidays—sometimes on Rosh Hashanah, sometimes on Simchat Torah, and sometimes on Purim, etc. On every holiday, there has been trouble. And they saw clearly that the impurity seeks specifically the Jewish holidays to harm Israel, because the root of their hatred is toward the Jewish religion. This war is the war of darkness against light, as the impurity wants to obscure the holiness. This issue stems back from the venom injected by the primeval serpent into the first man, and it has not ceased to this day; on the contrary, as the days of Mashiach approach, the hatred of the Sitra Achra [the Other Side/evil forces] grows and intensifies even more."
Therefore, let us come and perform the repentance of the scales [weighing our deeds], and strengthen ourselves in the love of Israel, and fortify ourselves in Torah study, especially currently in studying the "Laws of Shabbat." We must support the many people who need physical and financial assistance for all their life necessities. Let us strengthen ourselves together in complete faith and cry out to God, for we have no one to lean on but our Father in Heaven. Whoever said to His world "Enough!" will say "Enough!" to our troubles, and we shall merit that this will be the final war. May He wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens, and may we merit the redemption of Israel with great mercy and abundant kindness, Amen, May it be His will.
The Final War Before the Redemption
In these days when the Land of Israel is in a state of war, and all of the Jewish people need a great salvation, our task is to pray that this will be the final war of Israel, which will bring us to the true and complete redemption.
As is known regarding the debate that took place between the Tzaddikim over whether to justify the victory of Napoleon or the victory of the Russian Empire, the holy Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov, may his merit protect us, preferred that Napoleon should win, because he believed that Napoleon's war would be the war of Gog and Magog, and Russia would be the battlefield of that war, and this would bring about the coming of the Mashiach. However, his disciple, the holy Rabbi Naftali of Ropshitz, may his merit protect us, was of the opinion like our master the holy elder, the Baal HaTanya, may his merit protect us, and like the Maggid of Kozhnitz, namely, to oppose Napoleon. They sought to hinder Rabbi Rimanov, may his merit protect us, from granting victory to them and bringing the war forward, as they did not agree that the redemption should come through such immense suffering.
In that year, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, may his merit protect us, asked his disciple, Rabbi Naftali of Ropshitz, may his merit protect us, to be the emissary of the congregation in the Musaf prayer on Yom Kippur to pray for Napoleon's success. His disciple did not agree but flipped it, and instead prayed for his downfall. When his Rebbe realized this, Rabbi Naftali traveled to a tavern to persuade the innkeeper, and from there he traveled to the Maggid of Kozhnitz to be against Napoleon—as per the opinion of the Baal HaTanya.
Thereafter, in the year 5572 [1811-1812], the three Tzaddikim attempted to bring the redemption, but not through war, yet in a different manner. In that very year, the three of them passed away: the Maggid of Kozhnitz passed away on the eve of Sukkot, the Seer of Lublin fell from his window while ill, and the holy Rabbi Menachem Mendel passed away alone through his trials to bring the redemption. But all of them passed away and gathered their strength to pass on. Before his passing, he said to them: "I struggled with all my strength to bring the salvation through distress and the sufferings of the birth pangs of Mashiach, but the generation's leaders opposed my efforts to bring it forward at this time, and they caused my downfall." He accepted the heavenly decree, but added in the Yiddish language: "Es vet noch umkroken grine verim mit kiperne fiskes biz Moshiach vet kumen"
(Meaning: Green worms with copper snouts will still swarm around until the coming of Mashiach—referring to the shells/bombs of iron/metal that will fall until the coming of Mashiach).
