“From David Will Come the One who Cuts Off Edom”

THE DAILY CHIZZUK OF MOREINU HARAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A – “EVERY CONDITION THAT A PERSON MAKES APPLIES FOR ALL GENERATIONS”

WEDNESDAY, 28 TISHREI 5785 – “DAVID, YOU CAN CONQUER THE WHOLE WORLD, BUT BECAUSE OF IDOLATRY, YOU WILL HAVE TO RETURN IT.”

These are his holy words:

Ruth asks Naomi, “Where have you been?”

[Ruth says:] “I was with Boaz!”  “…with my young men” (Ruth 2:21).

[Naomi answers:] Don’t say “young men,” say “young women.”

For anyone who pays attention, this isn’t clear.  What, do you want to teach Ruth how to speak?  What to say?

RATHER, THE INTENTION IS THAT THE “YOUNG MEN” ARE THE CHERUBS.  RUTH SAYS: BOAZ PROMISED TO SHOW ME THE CHERUBS.  I WANT TO SEE THE CHERUBS.

THE “YOUNG MEN” ARE THE CHERUBS, THE ANGELS “MEM-TET” AND “SANDAL.”  RUTH WANTED TO SEE THE TEMPLE.  RUTH WANTED TO CONVERT.

It’s written by Rachav, “cord of scarlet thread” (Yehoshua 2:18).  After this, the “cord” isn’t mentioned.  Only the “scarlet thread” is mentioned.  Because Rachav lowered the spies with a red cord, but if she had lowered them on a ladder, then also Yirmiyahu would have been raised up from the pit on a ladder.  Because Yirmiyahu is one of the descendants of Rachav, but because Rachav lowered them on a cord, also Yirmiyahu needed to suffer.  Because a rope is terrible torture.  One needs to tie the rope under the armpits, and they pull him up – this is agonizing suffering.  Every condition that a person makes applies for all generations.

800 years already went by.  From Rachav to Yirmiyahu is 800 years.  Eglon was Ruth’s father.  Ruth is Eglon’s daughter.  She was the daughter of a king, but then she abandoned him and went to gather ears of grain.  They had beds of gold, and she went to gather ears of grain.

Ehud ben Gera came after Eglon.  He said to Eglon, the king of Moav, “I have a word from God for you,” and Eglon, the king of Moav, stood up in order to hear the word of God.  Therefore, he merited to Ruth.  Because he stood up to hear, he merited to Mashiach ben David.  Ehud said, “a word from God,” and Eglon immediately stood up.  They didn’t check Ehud before he came into Eglon.  They had needed to check him.  Because he was left handed, Ehud put the sword on his right side.  The sword is always on the left side, but he put the sword on the right side, and the guards checked only the left side.  So he entered with the sword.

And he said, “I have a word from God for you.”  Then, Eglon immediately stood up.  They said from Heaven, “Baruch Hashem, you merited to stand up to hear the word of Hashem.”  So he merited to Ruth.  Ehud thrusted the sword into Eglon along with the handle – everything went in.  Then for six hours, they didn’t know where Eglon was.  They thought that maybe he doesn’t feel well.  Maybe he rested a bit.  After six hours, they broke the door open and found him wallowing in blood.  In the meantime, Ehud ben Gera succeeded in crossing the Jordan, [passing] the quarries, the place where they quarry stones.   Then all the Jewish people arrived and destroyed Moav.

This is what Balak said.  What is Balak afraid of?  Biden said not to fight Moav.  Biden said not to fight with Rafiah, not with the people of Moav and not with the people of Ammon.  “Do not attack Moav” (Devarim 2:9).  Who wrote this?  Biden wrote this!  “I don’t permit you to fight Moav.”  So they listened to him [the voice of Hashem].  Not like today where they disregard Biden.  Moshe Rabbeinu listened to His voice.  Hashem said, “Do not attack Moav,” [and] Moshe said, “I won’t fight Moav.”

So what was Balak afraid of?  Why did he call on Bilam like that?  What, did he go crazy?  Biden said, “Do not attack Moav, and do not provoke war with them.”  But Bilam said to Balak, “Know, that those Jews – no trace will be left of Moav.  In another 400 years, 200 years, it will be fulfilled, ‘I see it, but not now; I perceive it, but not in the near future.  A star shall go forth from Yaakov, and a staff shall arise in Israel, crushing all of Moav’s princes and dominating all of Seth’s descendants’ (Bamidbar 24:17).  No trace will remain of them.  King David is going to try and conquer the whole world.”  It’s written in the second section of Midrash Rabba that David asked of Hashem, “Let me conquer Rome.”  “Who will bring me to the fortified (matzor) city” (Tehilim 60:11).  What is the fortified city?

The fortified city is Rome!

David said, “Who will bring me to the fortified (mivtzar) city.  In chapter 60, it’s written “fortified (matzor) city,” but in chapter 108, it’s written “fortified (mivtzar) city.”  Rashi asks what is “mivtzar.”

IT’S ROME!

DAVID WANTED TO CONQUER ROME, BECAUSE ROME DESTROYED THE SECOND TEMPLE.  SO HE SAID, “HASHEM, LET ME MERIT TO CONQUER ROME.  I WANT TO CONQUER ROME.”

THE KADOSH BARUCH HU SAID TO HIM, “YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN CONQUER ROME?   IN THE END, YOU’LL RETURN IT.  “WHO LED ME TO EDOM?”  HE HAD ALREADY CONQUERED EDOM.  ALL OF EDOM IS FROM JERUSALEM TO EILAT.  THE AREA OF MA’ALE ADUMIM, KFAR ADUMIM IS CALLED EDOM.

Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: The Kadosh Baruch Hu said to David, “I know that you can conquer the whole world, but know that in the end, they’ll worship idolatry, and you will have to return it.  It’s impossible to remain in Rome, because the Jewish people will worship idolatry.”  Therefore, he says, “from me.”   What is “from me”?

THAT “FROM ME,” FROM DAVID, WILL EMERGE THE ONE WHO WILL CUT OFF EDOM!

In the Gemara in Sanhedrin, it is written that Ruth was the daughter of Eglon.  Eglon was the son of Balak, and from Ruth came David.  It’s written in Sanhedrin 105b: Rabbi Yose said that Ruth was the granddaughter of Eglon, and Eglon was the son of Balak.  Ruth was the daughter of a king, because Eglon was the king, the grandson of Balak, and Balak was the son of Yitro.  The Zohar says that they all converted except for Balak.  Everyone who was under Yitro converted, but Balak went to became king over Moav; Balak didn’t convert.

Balak was the grandson of Yitro.  He didn’t want to convert, so Bilam said to him, “Know, that no trace will remain of Moav.”

David said, “from me will come.”  “I see that from me will come the one who will cut off Moav.”  Everything that David argued was for the future, because David knew that now it was impossible to attack – “Do not attack Moav, and do not provoke war with them.”  Moshe didn’t go to war with Moav, but what would be in another 200 years, another 400 years?  David would be in another 400 years.

Now, they entered the Land at the end of forty years.  After 440, there was David, after 480 years, there was the Temple.  All that Ruth asked for was to see the Temple.

Ruth says, “I want to convert.  I want to see the “young men,” the Temple, because the “young men” are the cherubs.  The Zohar Chadash on Ruth says that the entire essence of Ruth is “She envisions a field and buys it” (Mishlei 31:16).  What does it mean, “She envisions a field and buys it”?  It’s written in Midrash HaGadol in Bereishit, that “She envisions a field” is the Temple, that Bat Sheva would pray that her son would build the Temple.

https://vimeo.com/1024522658