BS”D
Dear Messiah Watch International Member,
www.rabbiyess.com
Every discipline of human endeavor has rules. Now...(and I am not meaning to insult anyone’s intelligence here)…in mathematics one of the basic rules we all know beyond doubt is that 2 plus 2 equals 4. In Judaism we also have rules (they are called Laws of the Torah) and these Laws have for Judaism the same degree of irrefutable certainty as '2 plus 2 equals 4' has for mathematics.
Tonight (as I sparked up the laptop after 2 days of Holidays followed by the Sabbath) I was greeted by a Google News Alert about Basra which seriously rattled my cage. More on that later below. But first we need to review a small part of one chapter of Judaism’s Torah Laws. What follows is from Chapter 10 of Maimonides’ Laws of the Foundations of the Torah…specifically Law #4 from that chapter. Please read:-
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4) If a Prophet predicts something bad, such as that so-and-so will die, or that this year will be one of war or famine, etc., and his prediction did not come true, then it is not a disproof of his prophecy and we do not label him as a false Prophet, for the reason that God is exceedingly merciful and [often] revokes bad decrees, so it is possible that those on whom evil had been decreed had, like the citizens of Nineveh, repented, or had had their decree suspended, as with Hezekiah.
But if, however, the prophet decreed good things and his prediction did not come true, then he is definitely a false prophet, for whenever God makes a good decree, even if it is conditional, He does not revoke it.
From here we see that a Prophet is tested only with respect to good matters. This is what Jeremiah said in his answer to Hananiah the son of Azur, when Jeremiah was prophesizing bad things and Hananiah good things:
`If what I say does not come true, it is not a sign that I am a false prophet, but if what you say does not come true, it shows that you are a false prophet', for it is written, "Nevertheless, hear now this word...As for the Prophet who prophesies for peace, when the word of that Prophet shall come to pass, then shall it be known that the Lord has truly sent the Prophet."
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In a nut shell the above Law can be reduced to two options:-
1) A negative Prophecy (one foretelling of a pending doom) can possibly not later manifest and such later absence of manifestation does not necessarily negate the validity of the Prophet or this negative Prophecy because the subsequent repentance (of those whom the negative prophecy affects) can cause Heaven to rescind what was Divinely Decreed originally and prior to the later repentance which averted it. e.g.- Jonah’s negative Prophecy towards Nineveh and that city’s subsequent repentance which averted the manifestation of that negative Prophecy.
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Jonah Chapter 3
1) And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, 2) Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. 3) So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. 4) And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed” ….
10) And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them; and He did it not.
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2) A positive Prophecy (something telling of a good that is to occur) must become manifest.
Let us review to make this even simpler.
a) A negative Prophecy may or may not manifest dependant upon repentance.
b) A positive Prophecy is a must happen and will happen entity in its own right.
The above two Laws are going to have very great bearing upon our grasp of and how we are to appreciate current events in Iraq and especially regarding Basra. Stick with me please…you will not leave empty-handed.
We are going to address and analyze 3 different Prophecies and see how (metaphorically) 2 plus 2 equals 4.
Prophecy#1:- Circa 1990-91 Rabbi Schneerson stated as a clear and certain Prophecy “Immediately to the Redemption! Behold! There! King Messiah approaches.”
Analysis:-
Beyond question this falls into the category of a Positive Prophecy (one which will and must manifest according to our above cited Law from Maimonides.)
Prophecy#2:- Two days after the First Gulf War ended (after Bush 41 had declared a ceasefire in 1991) Rabbi Schneerson stated “...may G-d grant that country [America] success in its war against Basra [Iraq] and may we soon merit the fulfillment of the Prophecy [from Isaiah 63:1], "Who [meaning: God] is that coming in soiled garments from Basra?" with the coming of [the Final] Redemption."
Analysis:-
a) Within this 1991 Blessing for America’s future military success against Basra lies another Prophecy. Rabbi Schneerson revealed to all back in 1991 that there would be yet another war to occur in Iraq (the one that began in 2003 and which we are all focused on now. Hence the Prophecy was/is true.) Furthermore Rabbi Schneerson characterized it not as ‘the war against Saddam‘, nor as ‘the war against Iraq’ but rather as a ‘war against Basra.’ Hmmmm! [NOTE:- It was not referred to as the ‘war against terror’ either!]
b) All of Judaism’s Laws regarding prohibited work (activities that are not allowed to be done on the Sabbath) arise from the immediately adjacent Torah passages having to do with the work done in the construction of the Tabernacle in the desert. The Laws of the Sabbath supercede those activities of building the Tabernacle. From this we learn that adjacency carries much weight.
Why, therefore, did Rabbi Schneerson jump and/or connect from his own Prophecy regarding a future American war against Basra to Isaiah’s reference to Basra (found in Isaiah 63:1?) Was the Rebbe’s foreseen war of America against Basra the same event foreseen by Isaiah 63:1 also in reference to Basra? Why the linkage and adjacency?
The two references to Basra were uttered in the same breath from Rabbi Schneerson! Was this linkage but a prayer I.e “may we merit…” or was more conveyed there by adjacency? Was there a hidden hint there posing as a prayer?
Know with a certainty that Isaiah 63:1 is a positive Prophecy that will irrefutably manifest. What can be more positive that God manifesting a Divine Intervention and causing the Final Redemption to manifest fully as Isaiah 63:1 foretells will occur starting in Basra?
Last March President Bush declared an end to major combat while standing on an aircraft carrier adorned with a "Mission Accomplished" banner. Then things went south. We had insurgency, foreign suicidal/homicidal terrorists flooding the streets, multiple casualties and embarrassments militarily, diplomatically and now $50 oil. Now for the latest news tonight…read on…and notice what I have highlighted in red bolded and underlined text, please.
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http://www.boston.com/dailynews/275/world/Oil_rich_southern_Iraqi_provin:.shtml
BASRA, Iraq (AP) Three southern Iraqi provinces, which lie atop more than 80 percent of Iraq's huge oil reserves, are considering setting up an autonomous region, claiming the area is being marginalized by the central government, officials said Friday.
The issue was raised this week during a visit by Vice President Rowsch Shaways, who invited members of city councils in the southern provinces of Basra, Missan and Dhiqar to visit three northern Kurdish provinces that secured autonomy after the 1991 Gulf War.
But no formal demand or blueprint has yet been put forth.
Walid Ghaitan, Basra's representative on the National Council, said the city and the southern region were not fairly represented in Baghdad. The National Council is serving as a watchdog for the interim central government until elections are held in January.
''Is it fair for a city like Basra with 3 million people to only have one representative on the National Council?'' asked Ghaitan. ''Isn't this enough to call for federalism?''
An autonomous south could harm [greater] Iraq's economy because most of Iraq's oil reserves are in the region. Oil is the main source of funds urgently needed for reconstruction of the country.
Iraq has the world's second-largest oil reserves 112 billion barrels second only to Saudi Arabia.
The quest for federalism, first reported by the Financial Times, might also lead to a much-feared fragmentation of Iraq, with its multiple rivalries among ethnic, religious and tribal groups.
''We are for the idea that the states and cities of the south become a federal union because Basra and the south in general have been isolated from central decision-making,'' said Salem al-Taqi, a member of the Basra city council.
''This is what makes a large number of Iraqis call for federalism,'' al-Taqi said.
Army Brig. Gen. Ali Thani, a politician without party affiliations, said he too supports federalism.
''Our ambition is that Basra and the southern cities of Nasiriyah and Amara become a federal unity with an administration, economic and independent authority.''
''This is a legitimate demand for Iraqis who previously suffered from injustice,'' he said, referring to repression of Iraq's Shiite majority by the fallen regime of Saddam Hussein.
The Shiites, who make up about 60 percent of the country's 25 million people, are concentrated in the south.…
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How nature abhors a vacuum. Out went Saddam and in came the various vultures of self serving interests. Introduce freedom (American style) to the Arab world and all the Mullas and clerics go berserk. They don’t want their black-robed women in mini-skirts dancing to Springsteen. They are not interested in Islamist society having a 1960’s love-in. Or a 2004 lust-in. One of the retired U.S. Generals stated early last week on Fox News that the USA is about 70,000 troops short over there. Furthermore he stated that containment of the insurgency is a military impossibility at present there. That Iraq’s new military/police force is a farce.
And with 60% of Iraq’s Shiite population concentrated in the oil rich south now seeking autonomy…who else (besides this fishless Rabbi) can see America going to war against Basra from the air, sea and ground and thereby bringing Rabbi Schneerson’s and Isaiah’s Prophecies front and center?
I do believe at this juncture that when Rabbi Schneerson Prophesied “America’s war against Basra” he was stating America’s war against oil…or, more accurately, America's war against the lack of it. For no oil means no America. And the sad truth is that 3rd world countries are in much better shape to survive by milking their goats and walking to their local markets for locally grown food than America is.
With all eyes on the election and Washington State’s volcano…I am keeping mine glued right on Basra...thank you very much. For our war against Basra has not even begun yet. But it will as certain as 2 plus 2 equals 4.
Rabbi Moshe Yess
