HaRav Nachman Kahana on Parashat Chukat 5772

BS"D 
Parashat Chukat 5772

The midrash states (Midrash Raba, Bamidbar 19:1):

זאת חקת זה שאמר (איוב יד) מי יתן טהור מטמא לא אחד, כגון אברהם מתרח, חזקיה מאחז, יאשיה מאמון, מרדכי משמעי, ישראל מעובדי כוכבים, העולם הבא מעולם הזה מי עשה כן מי צוה כן מי גזר כן לא יחידו של עולם, תמן תנינן בהרת כגריס באדם טמא פרחה בכולו טהור מי עשה כן מי צוה כן מי גזר כן לא יחידו של עולם

Job 14,4: ‘Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No human being can’ (only HaShem).

Avraham (the righteous who was born from) Terech, King Chizkiyahu born from Achaz, King Yoshiyahu born from Amon, Morchechai born from Shimi, the Jewish nation from out of the pagan nations, the World-to-Come from out of this world. Who has performed this? Who has commanded this to be? Who has decreed this to be? Only the Holy One Blessed Be He

The Midrash continues to tell of the contrary-to-logic, contradictory wonders of HaShem regarding the Para Aduma (Red Hefer). The kohanim who prepared the ashes and water of the Para Aduma became tamei, while the ashes and water when sprinkled on one who is tamei-met (through contact with a corpse) becomes tahor (the halachic terms tamei and tahor are not translatable).

The antithesis of Jewish redemption was our ancestors’ involvement with Yishmael and Aisav as individuals in their time, and our involvement with Aisav’s and Yishmael’s biological, religious and ideological offspring and followers during our protracted, tragic history.

Aisav represents those nations where Christianity is the dominant religion and Yishmael the nations where Islam is dominant.

These two illegitimate break-aways from the true wishes of HaShem (the seven Noachide commandments meant for the gentile peoples) will be the unwitting conduits to bring about the redemption of the Jewish nation and our return to the Biblical borders of Eretz Yisrael contrary to all reason and logic.

How will it evolve?

The world’s situation as it stands today is that Islamic-Shi’ite Iran will soon achieve nuclear capability. The West and some Islamic states are on a collision course with Iran, whenever they meet to discuss ways of defusing the ticking Iranian time-bomb. The parties are utterly frustrated in their attempts to find mutual grounds for understanding, except in one area - their mutual enmity and hostility towards the Jews in general, and specifically the Jewish State in Eretz Yisrael.

At some point, the two sides will join together in order to achieve their mutual goal of ridding the world of the maverick, renegade State of Israel and its archaic, heretical beliefs.

As the European states continue to sink into the endless abyss of financial bankruptcy, oil-rich Arab countries will extend an offer they will not be able to resist - financial bailout in return for political and military cooperation against the Jewish State.

This will be a "heaven-sent" offer for the Christian faith which has never recovered from the religious knockout they are suffering minute by minute by the Jews’ return to the Holy Land. And Islam will continue to stomp, buck, plunge, pounce and wrench as a caged wild animal, as long as the children of Yitzchak control Al Aksa and the building with the gold dome.

At some point in the near future, the peoples of Aisav and Yishmael will field an army to embark on an updated version of the Crusades. But this time, they will be certain that the communion between Rome and Mecca will arouse their gods to bless their "pure" intentions.

Here, in Eretz Yisrael, bewilderment will share the stage with dread. Many will try to leave, but there will be nowhere to go. The emergency "hotline" request to Washington will go unheeded because of the decision of the UN General Assembly where the US has no veto power. The US President will inform the Prime Minister that he has no choice but to remain neutral in this situation.

The sky will become clouded by the ascending dust caused by the multitudes of gentiles making their way to Eretz Yisrael, with each person filled with ardor, ecstasy and zealousness to do the will of his god.

The above scenario and what will pursue is detailed in the Book of Yechezkel (32:17) and elaborated on in the Malbim’s commentary, which I frequently quote in these weekly messages.

The prophet describes the treaty between the uncircumcised Aisav’ian peoples to the north and west of Eretz Yisrael - today’s Europe - and the circumcised House of Turgema – today’s Moslems.

The initial attack against the Jewish State will be launched by Moslem Egypt. They will be destroyed (byTzahal), and their allies will attack us to avenge the obliteration of the largest Moslem army in the Middle East. At the crucial moment of their attack, the pent-up religious and cultural animosity between Christianity and Islam and between Sunni and Shiite Moslems will erupt, and each side will destroy the other. The Jewish nation will emerge unscathed as the pre-eminent power in the world.

That is the scenario as described by the prophet Yechezkel.

This week, the Egyptian people democratically elected the head of the Moslem Brotherhood as its nation’s president. The Moslem Brotherhood is one of the sources of radical Sunni Islam, not far behind Saudi Arabia. Syria will soon fall into the hands of radical Sunni Islam, when the secular leadership of Dr. Assad (an ophthalmologist) will either escape or be hanged in the main square in Damascus.

The players are all present. Moslem Sunnis who hate Moslem Shiites who both hate Christians who hate them in return.

This will be the crescendo at this stage of Hashem’s plan for the world, where the contrary-to-logic, contradictory wonders of HaShem will appear in all its glory.

The Para Aduma that brings tuma to those who prepare it but brings tahara to one who is tamei, will be the model for the tuma of our enemies which will bring tahara and redemption to the Jewish nation.

This is what the Gemara, at the end of the first chapter of Tractate Berachot, is referring to when it predicts that the miracles of the future will outshine the unbelievable miracles of the Egyptian exodus.

Where will the Jews in galut be at this time? It remains better unsaid.

Shabbat Shalom

Nachman Kahana
Copyright © 5772/2012 Nachman Kahana