Prophecies from Sanhedrin 97a

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord,' wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.]8  it has been taught, R. Judah said: in the generation when the son of David comes, the house of assembly9  will be for harlots, Galilee in ruins, Gablan lie desolate,10  the border inhabitants11  wander about from city to city, receiving no hospitality, the wisdom of scribes in disfavour, G-d-fearing men despised, people12  be dog-faced,13  and truth entirely lacking, as it is written, Yea, truth faileth, and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.14  What is meant by 'yea, truth faileth [ne'edereth15  ]'? — The Scholars of the School of Rab16  said: This teaches that it will split up into separate groups17  and depart.18  What is the meaning of 'and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey [mishtollel19  ]'? — The School of R. Shila said: He who departs from evil will be dubbed a fool by his fellow-men.20

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It has been taught: R. Nehorai said: in the generation when Messiah comes, young men will insult the old, and old men will stand before the young [to give them honour]; daughters will rise up against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. The people shall be dog-faced, and a son will not be abashed in his father's presence.

It has been taught, R. Nehemiah said: in the generation of Messiah's coming impudence will increase, esteem be perverted,24  the vine yield its fruit, yet shall wine be dear,25  and the Kingdom will be converted to heresy26  with none to rebuke them. This supports R. Isaac, who said: The son of David will not come until the whole world is converted to the belief of the heretics. Raba said: What verse [proves this]? it is all turned white: he is clean.27

Our Rabbis taught: For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself of his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left:28  the son of David will not come until denunciators are in abundance.29  Another interpretation [of their power is gone]: until scholars are few. Another interpretation: until the [last] perutah has gone from the purse. Yet another interpretation: until the redemption is despaired of, for it is written, there is none shut up or left, as — were it possible [to say so] — Israel had neither Supporter nor Helper. Even as R. Zera, who, whenever he chanced upon scholars engaged thereon [I.e., in calculating the time of the Messiah's coming], would say to them: I beg of you, do not postpone it, for it has been taught: Three come unawares:30  Messiah, a found article and a scorpion.31

http://www.come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_97.html#97a_21

 I hope that these points will be elaborated point by point as we see all of this coming in our generation.

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Was The Expulsion From Gaza Prophesized?



22 of the Third Month 5772
 

Arutz 7: Katif Expelees Stuck as Caravans Taken for Expulsion 
 
Expelee families have new jobs, new schools, but nowhere to live as government reassigns their new caravan homes to Beit El.
 
Maayana Miskin, June 8, 2012

The government’s plan to demolish homes in Beit El’s Ulpana neighborhood threatens to leave more than one set of families homeless. In addition to the 30 families facing eviction in Beit El, 40 young families of Gush Katif expellees are facing the prospect of another year in the temporary caravan sites that have become long-term homes.
The young families were told they could start a long-awaited mass relocation to the Lachish region and would be given 40 mobile homes to stay in while they wait for construction of permanent homes. The families underwent the complicated process of finding work in the Lachish region and registering their children to local schools.
 
Then, just weeks before the move was to take place, government officials informed them that the mobile homes they had been promised would be taken to Beit El instead, to be used as housing for the more than 140 people facing eviction.
 
 “It’s adding insult to injury,” said Eitan Ben-Hor, a member of the administrative committee for the planned Lachish-region town Bnei Dekalim.
 
 “We’re families who want to move forward to permanent communities – not to have things easy, but to sacrifice in order to push things forward,” he said. “Suddenly at the last second they take the caravans in order to expel other people.”
 
“I’m not disappointed,” he added. “As someone from Gush Katif I don’t expect too much from the state. But I’m shocked by the lack of compassion. There are really no words to describe it.”
 
Let's take a look at the big picture, the picture of what is really going on here.
 


תלמוד בבלי, מסכת סנהדרין צז,א
 תניא ר' יהודה אומר דור שבן דוד בא בו בית הוועד יהיה לזנות והגליל יחרב והגבלן יאשם ואנשי גבול יסובבו מעיר לעיר ולא יחוננו וחכמת הסופרים תסרח ויראי חטא ימאסו ופני הדור כפני כלב והאמת נעדרת שנאמר (ישעיהו נט,טו) ותהי האמת נעדרת וסר מרע משתולל
 
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a
 It was taught, Rabbi Yehudah said: In the generation when the son of David comes, the house of assembly will be for harlots, the Galilee will be in ruins, Gablan will lie desolate, the residents from the border towns will wander about from city to city, receiving no comfort (hospitality), the wisdom of scribes will be in disfavor, G-d-fearing men will be despised, people will be dog-faced, and the truth will be absent, as it is said, "And the truth is absent, and he who withdraws from evil makes himself prey." (Isaiah 59:15)
 Is the Galilee in ruins, from Hizbollah's missiles?  Does the Gablan lie desolate from the same?  Has the wisdom of the sages of today been rejected?  Are G-d-fearing men despised?  Has the truth disappeared (into spread out sections)?
 
I believe that I discussed this originally with Tomer Devorah, a long time ago.
 
We can debate this passage, and its relevance, to our day another time.
 
For now, I will simply point out the eerie parallel between the fate of the former residents of Azza (Gaza) and the portion marked in red.
 
Clearly they have not found rest or comfort over the seven years.  Furthermore, many of the residents of Elei Sinai were already expelled once, from Yamit in the Sinai.
 
Our "rule of thumb," so to speak, is that negative prophecies do not have to be fulfilled, not if we do teshuvah (repentance).  But, teshuvah is not just saying we're sorry.  It's not just asking for forgiveness.  It's not just having regret.
 
It's also about changing our behavior, and making a commitment to do our best not to repeat our same mistakes again.

In order to do this, we must first determine what those mistakes are.
 
Let's think back seven years in Azza.  There was very little resistance, and the little resistance was undermined by the YeSh"A (AKA Pesha, AKA Resha) Council.

Now, let's look at Beth-El, where even one of it's own "rabbis" says that he won't participate in any protests against the destruction of several (not at all small) apartment buildings.  No doubt, many will follow him, due to his "charisma," not his halakhic support for what he proclaims.
 
I'm gonna go out on a limb here (not really), and suggest that trusting in the government is one of those mistakes.
 
When will we finally learn?
 
If we do not learn from our mistakes, and continue to repeat them, I have no doubt that the fulfillment of negative prophecies will become an regular part of our lives in Israel.  May G-d forbid!

http://esseragaroth.blogspot.com/

[muman613]

The part of this prophecy which says that the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog has many interpretations.

Here is one:

http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5764/roshhashanah.html


At the end of Tractate Sotah, the Mishnah describes certain things we will see during the time period called the "Birthpangs of the Messiah," the time before the Messiah arrives. "There will be an overabundance of Chutzpah," it says. "The young will embarrass their elders." And, it says, "the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog."

What does this mean, "the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog?" Again there are several obvious options (Rabbi Ezriel Tauber of Monsey has some photos from a "pet look-alike contest" that boggle the mind), but I heard a truly beautiful explanation that carries a loud ring of truth.

If you watch a man out walking his dog, you might end up thinking that the dog is leading the way. The dog is out in front, pulling the leash, and the man is following behind. But what happens when they reach a corner, and the man wants to turn right? The dog may continue forward for a little bit, until he realizes that the man has turned. A moment later, the dog is leading the man again, pulling on the leash -- but headed in an entirely new direction. The dog only appears to be leading, but is in reality subject to the whims of the master.

This is "the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog." The generation appoints "leaders" who are merely following the whims of the public, rather than telling them where they ought to go. This is not only true of political leaders; it applies as well to those spiritual leaders to whom the public looks for moral guidance. The news is filled with stories of ecclesiastical groups changing the tenets of their religion to meet the wishes of their modern-day laity. What sort of religious leadership is that? They, too, are thinking about keeping their leadership in the present, rather than laying out the course that people should follow -- whether or not it is popular.

Of course, as soon as the public recognizes that the leaders are actually followers, all religious authority is vacated -- leaving a spiritual void. Doing and saying what is right may be upsetting to many people in the short term, but it is the path to happiness down the road.


Here is this prophecy as expressed in Sotah 49b: http://halakhah.com/sotah/sotah_49.html

BECAME MORE AND MORE DEBASED; AND THERE WAS NONE TO ASK, NONE TO INQUIRE. UPON WHOM IS IT FOR US TO RELY? UPON OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE MESSIAH1  INSOLENCE WILL INCREASE AND HONOUR DWINDLE;2  THE VINE WILL YIELD ITS FRUIT [ABUNDANTLY] BUT WINE WILL BE DEAR;3  THE GOVERNMENT WILL TURN TO HERESY4  AND THERE WILL BE NONE [TO OFFER THEM] REPROOF; THE MEETING-PLACE [OF SCHOLARS] WILL BE USED FOR IMMORALITY; GALILEE WILL BE DESTROYED, GABLAN5  DESOLATED, AND THE DWELLERS ON THE FRONTIER WILL GO ABOUT [BEGGING] FROM PLACE TO PLACE WITHOUT ANYONE TO TAKE PITY ON THEM; THE WISDOM OF THE LEARNED6  WILL DEGENERATE, FEARERS OF SIN WILL BE DESPISED, AND THE TRUTH WILL BE LACKING; YOUTHS WILL PUT OLD MEN TO SHAME, THE OLD WILL STAND UP IN THE PRESENCE OF THE YOUNG, A SON WILL REVILE HIS FATHER, A DAUGHTER WILL RISE AGAINST HER MOTHER, A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, AND A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD;7  THE FACE OF THE GENERATION WILL BE LIKE THE FACE OF A DOG,8  A SON WILL NOT FEEL ASHAMED BEFORE HIS FATHER. SO UPON WHOM IS IT FOR US TO RELY? UPON OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN.