Saturday, August 8, 2015

What the Yalkut Shemoni Midrash Says That Gives Me Chills

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                                  
Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran

Ayatollah Khamenei, head of Iran

Israel faces a great threat;  Iran with money and nuclear power, enough to make an atomic weapon to use on                                                                                         her.
                                                                               
That's the cue for the next star actor to appear on stage from the wings.  It's a midrash that should give us chills.  It's found in the Yalkut Shemoni Midrash.  It is a book composed of " interpretations and explanations of Biblical passages."  Harmless information, right?  The Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis tells us about its shocking information:  
                                                                                       

"In the Yalkut Shemoni it is written that before the revelation of the Mashiach, the world will be in turnoil."  Boy, isn't it now!  "The king of Persia, today's Iran, will provoke the king of Arabia."  This is true.  For the first time ever, Israel and  Sunni Saudi Arabia are talking about teaming up to protect themselves against the Shi'as of Iran.  Iran's potential ability of having atomic weapons is causing all the Middle East Muslim nations to now plan on having their own nuclear plants.  Instead of a world giving up nuclear capabilities, it's now arming itself to the teeth in such eventuality of a berserk nation armed to the teeth.                                                                      
Esther Jungreis, wife of Rabbi, born in Szeged, Hungary, Holocaust survivor

"The king of Arabia will go to Edom. "  This was thought to be the leader of the Christian nations. Perhaps.  What worries me is that Obama has threatened to shoot Israel's planes if they try to go and bomb the nuclear site in Iran.   "  This should be the role of the United States as America has been the world's leader of freedom, though it has slid  lately.

  "Edom" had been a country before Joshua and the 600,000 had entered called Idumea or Mount Seir.  It lay south of the Dead Sea and bordered on the Red Sea at Eilat.  and Ezion Geber.  The Edomites were also Semites, traditionally descendants of Esau who was the father of the Arabs.  Herod I had been King of Judea in 73 BCE to 4 BCE and was the son of Antipater the Idumean by his Nabatean wife, Cypros.  Is this alluding possibly to the Palestinians?  Yes, they do seem to be the cause the nations are speaking  for instead of Israel today.  Of course the Edomites were traditional enemies of Israel in the past as well.  They had fought against Israel's King Saul and were defeated by Israel's King David.  They had many frequent wars, just as they do today.  
                                                                                

  "King Salman of Saudi Arabia will go to Edom to take counsel (sounds to me like Abbas and the Saudis will be in a pact of defense against Iran like Israel may be doing with Saudi Arabia,   while the king of Persia will threaten to destroy the entire world. "   I hope they are not to be in a collusion.  This is exactly what Iran is doing-out to destroy the world, though the P5+1 don't seem to be worried with their Plan signed and sealed with all its standard practice secrets imbedded in it that Congress hasn't been able to view.  They're not the ones under Iran's threats;  Israel and the USA are, but Obama is only worried if his flawed plan does not pass Congress and is not put into effect.  

"Israel will be in a state of panic."  Israel's IDF doesn't panic, but I bet it's on a state of high alert most of the time.  Rabbis will be advising the Knesset members and populace.  The Rebbitzin feels that this is an act to redeem Israel, like buying Israel back,   since so many Muslim nations are not recognizing her after 67 years of existing, and then Israel will not experience any further pain or subjugation.  I'm putting words in her mouth, but am trying to explain hers.

Whew!  How did anyone know this would happen?  This book was compiled from the Tanakh (Bible) most likely by Rabbenu Simeon of Frankfurt-the chief of Rabbis of Frankfurt in 1308. It has been also thought that this midrashic collection relating to all the books of the Bible was compiled by Simeon Ha-Darshan, presumably of Frankfort-on-Main in the 13th century.  The work has preserved many sections from Midrashim which are no longer in existence. A midrash is the finding of a new meaning besides the literal one in the Torah and other books of the Tanakh.  Today it means that found mostly in legend and ethics.    "The aim of the compiler of the Yalkut was to assimilate the bulk of rabbinical sayings at his disposal, following the order of the verses of the Bible." 

Forty years ago we would have never thought there'd be such problems with Iran. The shah of Iran was a great American ally and Israel's best friend in the Middle East.  Before you knew it, the shah was exiled and an Ayatollah appeared in his place causing Iran to be committed to Israel's destruction.  

 Israel has had its 67th birthday in May.  We all pray that she will see her 68th, her 69th and her 120th just for starters and be in a better, safer world.  The United States just had its 239th birthday.  May it live to see it's 240th, its 241st and so on and reach 500 without ever having war touch its soil.  We pray for no loss of life for anyone and for all to live peacefully.  
                                                                         
Ancient Persians 
Persia, today's Iran, had  been a bone of contention for the Jewish people.  It started with the Babylonian Empire's attack and conquest of Judah  by Cyrus in 538 BCE.  For the next 200 years, Jews who were living in Mesopotamia due to their earlier exile by the Assyrians in 722 BCE and in Judah and those left in Israel were under Persian rule.  Many had been taken to Persia, proper.  

It was under Persian auspices that Jews were returned to Judah from exile though it continued to be a Persian province with a little local autonomy.  In the Book of Esther, one can read that Jews were then living throughout the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire and that they were numerous and influential people.  The Babylonian Talmud was written under Persian rule.  
                                                                          

A Persian queen was SHUSHANDUKHT   of Jewish birth.  ' Ernst Herzfeld has speculated that the tomb of Esther and Mordecai in the city of Hamedan might be the tomb of Shushandukht.  Shushandukht was the wife of Yazdegerd I and mother of Bahram V. She was the daughter of a Jewish exilarch.   She created the Jewish neighborhood in the city of Isfahan." In our version of the history, Queen Esther (Hadassah) was the wife of king Ahashueros and the niece of Mordecai who was an advisor to the king.  


It was later that fierce religious persecutions happened under Zoroastrian influence followed b persecutions.  People are always trying to stamp out our religion.  Then the Arab conquest happened in 641/642 CE.  It introduced a new, generally tolerant spirit with some reservations. 

 By the 19th century, however, Persian Jewry was among the most depressed of the world's Jewish communities, even with diplomatic interventions occasionally happening and secured by Western Jewry. and promises by shahs would be overlooked.  Jews started emigrating after 1948 when Israel was created.  Many felt mighty uncomfortable under the strict Islamic regime of Ayatolla Khomeini. 

 Their numbers went from 80,000 in 1978 to 20,000 in 1989.  Today there are from 25,000 to 35,000.  It's not easy to leave.  I knew of a teenager  who left but had to leave secretly on a camel with a waiting group of other teens.  Some were shot dead.  He's a doctor today in New Jersey.  As it was in Germany in the 30s, it's very hard to just pick up and leave your business, your family and friends and home and go off to another land where they don't even speak your language or accept your educational credentials.  There is a lot to consider.  

Resource: The Jewish Press, 7/31/15, p 25 and 59, Time to reach out to our father by Rebbetzin's Viewpoint.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalkut_Shimoni
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0021_0_21181.html
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.sephardicstudies.org/iran.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Saudi_Arabia

1 comment:

  1. Well we certainly see things more clearly, now that D. Trump has replaced B. Obama and Mohammad bin Salman is the designated successor in Saudi Arabia.
    Thanks for the article !

    ReplyDelete