I received an excellent comment with a very important question, and thought it is something about which many are curious. The comment was on Rav Glazerson’s finding in the Torah codes telling us why events didn’t happen on Purim: we didn’t do as Hashem commanded us. First the comment:
My1ambition April 12, 2016 at 2:14 AM
Naysayers don't do anything and then claim these predictions are bogus. You claim that these predictions only work if you do something. The truth is that doing is all that matters. So why bother with predictions? Rambam was right.My response:
The fact that events that we are craving, Geula, Moshiach, etc will definitely happen (guaranteed in writing) is why we are so adamant about wanting to make predictions. Whether we are correct or not depends on us, but we still have a strong human desire to know “when.”
The truth is that these events are due to happen when all the Jews do Teshuvah. When will that happen? I have said many times: Hashem's perfect plan is to make this world so scary that all will look up and say one word of Teshuvah, "HELP!!!!" When everyone turns to Hashem, even if it is one word, all will happen. When everyone realizes that there is no political solution (electing proper evil leaders is nonsense), no military solution (killing off our enemies), no social solution (assimilating with the very people who are trying to kill us, which has failed many, many times throughout history), then we will see the only the solution of turning to Hashem and following His ways. Hashem is the only One Who can provide proper leadership, Moshiach, no enemies who will all be gone, and a world of goodness once we stop assimilating with those who hate us.
It is so obvious that the scary world is here and getting much worse. The day of everyone saying HELP is also getting very close. If it takes a huge star over our heads with the world falling apart around us, then that is part of Hashem's plan and only He knows that it will work.
Actually, the RAMBAM made predictions, but with two provisos. He said it is dangerous to predict the time of Moshiach if it is still far away, which is definitely isn't. The second proviso was the wording. If one says: "In my opinion..." The fact that we are trying to post information from Hashem through the FC individuals, from Rabbis, from dot-connecting scriptures with worldly events, may sound like opinion, but is hopefully Hashem's opinion.
Why make predictions? Because, we want to know when this world is going to change from an evil upside-down fantasy world to the world of truth and goodness. But more importantly, Hashem’s plan to help us come out of this with as high a success rate, as high a spiritual level, as happy as can be, that is the plan. We need predictions to let us know that we are out of time and that the doing on our part is absolutely urgent. The best Teshuvah possible, the best Tefillah possible, the best Torah study possible, the most helping of others that we can do, the most conscientious following of Hashem’s commandments possible. You have heard it all before, many times. If scary predictions make us step up the effort, let’s bring on the predictions. As long as we realize that these predictions are valid and that the time of the end is here, our sense of urgency will be greatly increased.
Will the predictions be accurate to the date as we want? Who cares? Hashem told us in the prophet Daniel, these things will be locked up until the end. The most important thing we need to care about is what is going to happen today, tomorrow, the day after. If it is the end, did we do today the best effort to ensure success tomorrow?
It is our lives and the lives of our loved ones that we want to help and make perfect. I predict those who follow Hashem’s way will succeed; those who don’t will wish they did.
Just saw this:
ReplyDeleteAlbert Einstein quietly fumed at the US for not doing more to stop the Nazis, a letter being auctioned later this month reveals.
"You can imagine how the new crimes committed by the Nazis in France make me suffer, crimes assisted to by the 'fascist' Vichy-traitors," Einstein wrote, in a letter dated September 3, 1942. The letter was published in full Thursday by the Daily Mail.
He hesitated to approach Washington on the issue, however - saying the US government was "a government controlled to a large degree by financiers the mentality of whom is near to the fascist frame of mind."
This is an excellent post. I just want to correct one thing: it was the Ramban - not the Rambam - who allowed predictions when it is close. See here continued onto the following page.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, but I would have to do some digging on the subject. I believe it was both the RAMBAM and RAMBAN who talked about predictions. It was the RAMBAM who is noted for telling us that we would be cursed if we make prediction, but I do believe the two provisos were made by him since he actually made a prediction (I remember the prediction that he made, even though it was inaccurate). I will check it further.
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