Is Gog and Magog a physical, or a spiritual war?
Republishing from July 19th, 2016, as a possible response to the question of how Gog and Magog and the coming of the Moshiach might relate, in the light of Rabbi Eliezer Berland’s recent comments on Gog and Magog being delayed for 200 years.
Rav Eliezer Schick, ZTL, shares some of Rebbe Nachman’s ‘Hidden Scroll’ which explains what will happen before Moshiach comes
For around 200 years’, the Megillat Setorim, or hidden scroll, written by Rebbe Nachman has been one of the best-kept secrets of Breslev chassidut. Until recently, very few people had even heard of it, and even fewer had access to its secrets.
The scroll was written in code by Rebbe Nachman before his death in 1810, and it contains secrets pertaining to what will happen in the world before Moshiach comes, that only one in a generation is initiated into.
In the last generation, as the footsteps of Moshiach have come closer, more and more of the contents of the ‘hidden scroll’ have been leaking out. Before his untimely death last year, Rav Eliezer Schick, ZTL, wrote the following about the contents of Rebbe Nachman’s ‘hidden scroll’ in his book, Paolot HaTzaddik.
Rav Shick revealed that there would be a terrible ‘war’ prosecuted against the nation’s leading Tzaddikim, as part of the preparations for Geula. He wrote (my translation):
“There are the wars of Gog and Magog, which will include all the machloket (disagreements) and the accusations that will be made against the true Tzaddikim, those who uncover the true will of Hashem Yitborach.
“Because there are those who want to eat them alive [these Tzaddikim], God should have mercy, and who say every forbidden thing against them, and mock them a lot. And by doing this, they greatly distance Jewish souls from coming near to them, and also lengthen the duration of our bitter exile, God forbid.
“And because they do this, woe to them! Woe to the souls of these people, who have a share in the machloket and disagreements involving the true Tzaddikim, and who reveal Hashem’s true will in the world.
“And they are the brazen-faced of the generation, the people with the face of a dog [note: in the language of the gemara], the soldiers of Gog and Magog, who conceal the truth, and they are the wicked people of the generation, as written in, (Bava Metzia, 83): “As this one is exceptionally contemptuous, one may deduce that he is a wicked person.” [This was a statement made by Rabbi Elazar the son of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai, in relation to a mocking comment that was made to him by a laundryman, who it was later discovered WAS a very wicked person.] I.e, the man was so insolent and brazen towards one of the leading Rabbis of the generation, he had to be a wicked person.
“It’s written in the Midrash (BeMidbar Rabba, יח:י): ‘He who is brazen-faced, and who is not ashamed in front of those who are bigger than him, and he who is a baal machloket (troublemaker), you’ll see that he is the wickedest of the wicked.”
“And if I would tell you, my dear brother, what was written in the Megillat Setorim regarding these soldiers of Gog and Magog, and the people who cover over the truth, you would fall on your face from fear and dismay, about how this bitter exile would be lengthened by them.
“And it was already written in the Yerushalmi, (2a) that ‘the insolent one will win-out over the kosher one’, in order to maintain free will and spiritual tests.
“As we can see, my beloved brother, you must flee from all machloket and from all disagreements, and not get drawn into fights and arguments. And in particular, be very careful that you should have no part whatsoever in any mockery, disagreements or criticism of the true Tzaddikim, because you don’t know what the next day will bring. And you don’t know against who and against what you may be opposing or mocking.
“And even though they may want to try to convince you that it’s a ‘mitzvah’ to persecute kosher people, SAVE YOUR SOUL, my beloved brother, and run away from doing ‘mitzvahs’ like these, because otherwise ‘bitter will be you end’.
“And the opposite is also true: If you help the true Tzaddikim, then you will bring the geula closer, and you will merit to have all the good that has been set aside for the soldiers of the House of David. [Referring to Moshiach].”
Much appreciation for reposting this. Perhaps it would be a possibility for someone to explain in laymen terms as to what this means.
In the most basic layman’s terms, it means that the war of Gog and Magog is a spiritual war being waged by the people – the ‘brazen-faced’, wicked people – who are stirring up trouble and slander against the true Tzaddikim.
Every time someone believes a Channel 13 report that a true Tzaddik is somehow ‘bad’ – to give one recent example – they are strengthening the hand of these evildoers, who Rebbe Nachman describe as the soldiers of Gog and Magog.
By contrast, the people who are working on their emunat tzaddikim and avoiding all hint of participating in lashon hara and slander of true tzaddikim are the ‘soldiers for good’, who are bringing the geula.
In this way, Gog and Magog becomes a spiritual war instead of a physical one, at least at this stage. If the side of ‘good’ wins, then it’s possible the decree of an actual physical war can be sweetened, and won’t need to occur before Moshiach is revealed.
Rabbi Berland has said that we are already in the middle of Gog uMagog. When he said recently that it wouldn’t be for another 200 years, could he have meant that it would continue for no more than 200 years? I don’t understand the original Hebrew.