ALL Hostages Will Be Released This Hebrew Year - 5785!

This Shabbos happened to be Tu B'Av, the 15th of Menachem Av. This day in Jewish tradition is extremely significant; It is held to be one of the most joyous days of the year. It ranks with Yom Kippur! Many great events in Jewish history occurred this day. They stopped dying in the desert ... Unmarried girls went out and danced ... etc

On this Shabbos we read the Torah portion of Veetchanan (ואתחנן). Possuk 5:4 reads as follows:

פנים בפנים דבר יהוה עמכם בהר מתוך האש

That verse's gematria equals =

תהי׳ה שנת פדיון כל השבויים

It's the only possuk in the entire Torah with that gematria value (1743)!

I hope the Torah is trying to tell us something; That we have great news as yet gone unnoticed? There still remains about 1¹⁄₂ months before we move on to year 5786. May it happen in this very year then, that all the hostages finally get to come home!

The Recent Jewish Turnaround

In Torah portion KiTavo, Hashem lists many curses that will betake Jewish people should they stray from Torah's ways. After mentioning several such horrible circumstances, there's an interruption, a break in the string of horror events. There is this one verse that's interjected as a promise of Hashem. Then Hashem continues with a much longer list of horrible events the Jews might suffer.

This one interjected verse is Hashem's promise to exact these miseries upon the Jewish people should they not follow Torah's precepts, saying that it will be a forever promise.

The implication of this verse is to remind Jews that they have a choice in the matter, for all generations to come.

This single verse in the midst of many frightful verses, says, as I understand the words to mean, “It can be good or bad, and you and generations after will always have this switch you can turn off or on, to control your destiny. It could be horrible at one point, but suddenly, as easily as a flip of the switch, Jews can immediately reverse the tide to flow in the opposite direction, to make it all good. Literally the possuk (KiTavo 28:46) says, “And they will be as a sign and a wonder, upon you and your offspring, forever.” "They" refers to the curses, "sign" refers to the actual tragedies, and "wonder" I figure could mean when it's all good, and this promise will stand "for all generations", today's included.

It's as if Hashem is telling us, after having begun His long list of tragedies that can happen, a by-the-way sentence in midstream, that we should know that all this bad stuff here to be recounted need not befall the Jews if only they choose to go in Torah's ways.

The gematria of this one verse, might give us a hint that points to the same thesis. The gematria of KiTavo 28:46, 1573, we find that it is equal to the value of 7 words inside a verse found in Esther 9:1, namely, the phrase: "ונהפוך הוא אשר ישלטו היהודים המה בשנאיהם"

This phrase from the Purim story is exactly appropriate because it alludes to the miraculous turnaround we experienced in Persia under Queen Esther and King Achashverosh, and that which we see happening in Judaism today.

Today too Hashem is remodeling the lives of Jews everywhere. Until only a century ago, Jews were hounded whereever they lived, usually oppressively, yet today there's hardly a Jew anywhere on the globe that cannot be free and do as he wishes, without any oppression at all.

And the most recent events, as Israel has triumphed miraculously against so many of its enemies in a matter of weeks and months, while destroying Iran's (x-Persia) nuclear might and threat from all its proxies in the North, South and West of Israel - we are are the good path - on a great path towards final redemption, it seems quite clear.

Open your eyes folks, we're into the new Era of Final Redemption and soon will greet our King Moshiach.

Reconciling with Truth

Can people have completely opposite views? Can a so-called Palestinian believe the exact opposite of what a Jew wholeheartedly believes, when both are certain of their truths?

Torah, the only source of ultimate truth, confirms this contradictory possibility. 

Consider an example from Torah's word "abomination", which means absolutely disgusting or hated. 

Torah first mentions the word "abomination" in the story of Joseph, when he sets two tables apart for his 2 groups of house guests, for a meal. One table he sets up for his Jewish brothers. For his fellow Egyptians he sets up a separate table. Why this separation? Torah (Miketz 43:32) explains that Egyptians would not share in the beef eaten by the Jewish guests because they regarded sheep as divine. Partaking in such a meal they would deem an abomination. It would nauseate them seeing Jews eating what they considered sacred and divine.

Here then is an example where the same animal is regarded from entirely opposing viewpoints. One view regards the animal as holy, while the other relishes it as edible.

The second appearance of that word in Torah (Achrei Mot 18:22) is when Torah commands the Jews to avoid male homosexuality. The verse says, "And a male you should not bed as you would a woman for that is an abomination."

Is the word "abomination" used in Torah merely as a figurative hyperbole? Is its mention used just to appear stringent but not strictly punishable? Perhaps it just means bad, but not extremely bad?

The 3rd mention of this same word in Torah (Kedoshim, 20:13) answers this question in no uncertain terms: "The man who beds another male as he would a woman, both committed an abomination, both should die, the blood is on their hands."

So we see, what is an abomination to one person can be what another actually aspires for. Two people or two nations can have entirely opposite and contradictory viewpoints.

Of course the final truth between opposing views can only be as Torah deems it. It's up to individuals themselves to learn the real truth because only one side is ultimately correct.