#43 - The GOOD Side of 9/11

Imagine telling a New Yorker that since everything Hashem does is for the good, this means that 9/11 was a good thing. The next thing you know - if you are lucky - the guy will scream at you: "Some noirve (the word nerve in New York accent) you have saying such a thing!"

Now notice that I didn't write as the title "The good side of the EVENTS of 9/11". While it may be true that there is a hidden goodness in everything that happens in this world, it may not be evident to us, but Hashem has a purpose in everything that occurs. Certainly, everyone has free choice, and if free choice is employed the right way, then future people will be hurt by others only by accident. But as Hashem knows the future, though free choice isn't dependent on that, He plans things as such to accomplish certain things. Now of course, this may not be the message you will feel like telling a family member of a victim of the events of 9/11 or the Holocaust, but if someone takes an honest view of the events of that fateful day some eight years ago - there were people who were clearly meant to live, and somehow didn't quite make it to work on time as they usually did everyday. And then there were others who came to work just in time for them to perish in the midst of the results of a most henious crime, not knowing when they woke up to sunrise that morning that they would not see sunset that evening.

Among the three thousand plus people who perished, the majority of whom who died from the Twin Towers, the financial representation of the United States (besides Wall Street) were some who were Jews, and a few of whom were observant Jews. On the other hand, there are also many stories of people, including some observant Jews, who were delayed to work for every reason under the sky which normally didn't happen on any other day. It is also true that the horrific events happened during the week of the recital of Selichot - forgiveness prayers - recited also by Ashkenazic Jews specifically beginning that week right before the High Holidays, and so these extra prayers delayed many from coming to work at their usual time, and so lived to tell the tale.

One thing that Midrashic literature informs us is that Hashem sends the cure before the blow. This may only be evident far later than when the blow took place. Kabbalists have informed us that the events of 9/11 is a preparation for the coming of Moshiach. As we can see, the United States started its war some four weeks later on the night of Hoshana Raba - the very day that the Vilna Gaon says the war of Gog U'Magog - the final war before Moshiach comes - is supposed to start.

Now, for those who are not Jewish or not quite keen in other parts of the Torah - there is always the Bible to turn to. And today, I am refering to one specific verse in the T'nach/Bible that will show that the events of 9/11 were in fact a preparation for the future building of the upcoming third Beit HaMikdash/Holy Temple, which will last forever.

But first, let's turn to Amos 5:2 - "She has fallen and will no longer rise - virgin of Israel; she has been abandoned upon her soil, with no one to lift her up." It is based on the contents of this verse, that King David with Divine spirit when composing Psalm 145, the prayer known as Ashrei, in which each verse begins with another letter of the Alef-Beit, omitted a verse for the letter Noon - as the above verse in Amos begins with "Nafla Lo Soseif", and so he King David did not want to start a verse that could lead to such a connotation, and even at which began the verse with the following letter Samech - Someich Hashem L'Chol HaNoflim - "Hashem supports all the fallen" (see Talmud Berachot 4b).

Now, in the spirit of optimism, there are actually two ways of looking at this. The first is what the Talmud continues on saying that there is an alternate way of translating the above verse in Amos - "She has fallen, but will no longer; rise up, O virgin of Israel".

And now, here is THE GOOD SIDE OF 9/11 - Amos 9:11: "On that day, I will raise up the fallen booth of David; I will repair their breaches and raise up its ruins, and I will build it up as in days of old". Among the explanations of what the "fallen booth of David" is, is the royal house of David, and as we know, Moshiach is supposed to descend from the Davidic dynasty, and this can also refer to the Beit HaMikdash/Temple for which King David made preparations. Now in Hebrew, the beginning phrase is "Bayom Hahu Akim Et Sukkat David HaNoflet". This phrase may sound a little familiar. You see, near the end of the Bircat HaMazon/Grace after Meals, we say a one line phrase during the holiday of Sukkot - HaRachaman Hu Yakim Et Sukkat David HaNofelet - "May the Merciful One raise up the fallen booth of David", which is obviously based on this very verse of Amos 9:11.

In the midst of the Haftara - portion of the Prophets section of the T'nach read after the Torah reading - of the first day of Sukkot - there is a verse that we always say at the end of the prayer of Aleinu, the concluding prayer of our three daily prayer services "Hashem will king over all the world, ON THAT DAY, Hashem will be One and His name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9). This means that there will be no more idolatry in Messianic times, because then everyone will not only know the truth, but see the truth - and hence, no more Christianity, Islam, Buddism, etc. In any case, it is interesting that we found the same phrase "On that day", as we found in Amos 9:11, which includes the phrase "Sukkat David", and hence referring to the Temple as a Sukkah - the booth that we live in during the holiday of Sukkot. And as we know, we have seven Heavenly guests - Ushpizin in Aramaic - during this holiday, each of its seven days which represent a particular Heavenly guest; and the one for the last day of Sukkot - which is also called Hoshana Rabba - is King David. And as we mentioned, the beginning of the war of the United States following 9/11 took place on the night of Hoshana Rabba, when some Jews stay up all night learning, which includes reading the entire book of Psalms that was composed by King David.

There are in fact two consecutive verses which each include a date of the Jewish calendar, "On the 24th day of the 6th month (Elul)...of King Darius". "In the 7th month (Tishrei), on the 21st day of the month..." (Haggai 1:15-2:1). Now, this is a little strange, how come the first verse here is mentioned as a verse on its own without an event attached to it in the same verse, and also why is it mentioned only at the end of a prophecy instead of in the beginning like with other prophecies mentioned in the T'nach, including the second verse here?

In recent history, following 9/11 on that same evening, the 43rd President of the United States (and this is my 43rd post) - George Bush - spoke to the nation about fighting back for what just happened in the States, whose speech took place on the night of the 24th day of Elul. And his name in Hebrew - spelled with the Hebrew letters Gimel, Vav, Reish, Gimel, Beit, Vav, Shin has the same Gematria as King Darius's name - Daryavesh (520)! And the war of the United States began on the night of the 21st day of Tishrei (Hoshana Rabba) in Afghanistan, though back in the United States, it was daytime of the 20th of Tishrei when and where President Bush spoke to the nation once more announcing the beginning of the war. Now mind you, the events that the prophet Haggai prophesied about was the construction of the Second Temple, which was halted at one point by the Persian government, but was given the royal stamp of Hashem to continue without being given prior permission by the current government.

"Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the Temple: I will be pleased with it and I will be honored - said Hashem" (Haggai 1:8). "The glory of this latter Temple will be greater than that of the first, said Hashem, Master of Legions; and I will grant peace to this place - the word of Hashem, Master of Legions" (Haggai 2:9). It's interesting to note that at end of some Chumashim, the number of Parshiyot/Torah portions, verses, words, and letters are mentioned with verses from the T'nach as a way to remember the particular number. So, to remember that there are 304,805 verses, these two verses of Haggai belonging to the context of the two dates of the prophecies, respectively are quoted. The first verse includes the Hebrew words Ertzeh Bo - "I will be pleased with it" with the Gematria of 304, and the second verse includes the words Gadol Yihyeh Kevod HaBayit Hazeh HaAcharon - "The glory of this latter Temple will be greater" with the Gematria of 805.

Now, here is a little twist of numbers here. These two numbers- 304 & 805 - are here to hint to the number of letters in the Torah - 304,805. But when you add these two numbers together, 304+805 - it adds up to 1109. You get it? The numbers of 9/11 with a zero - as in Ground Zero - in the middle! Moreover, the reverse date of the numbers in the Jewish calendar - which is the 9th day of the 11th month of the Jewish year beginning with Tishrei of Rosh Hashana - is the date of Tisha B'Av, the date of the DESTRUCTION OF TWO TEMPLES! And what caused this? When 10 of the spies whom Moses sent to check out the Land of Israel before the Jews were to enter the land came back with their evil report - it began with saying that it is a land flowing with milk and honey. BUT...and the rest is history. In Hebrew, unlike the usual word Ela for the word but; in this context, the word Efes, which also means ZERO, is used. Following this, the Jews cried their faces off, upon which, the Talmud tells us that Hashem replies, "You are crying on this night for nothing? I will give you a reason to cry in the future". And yes, my friends, this night was the night of Tisha B'Av. For that immediate generation of cry babies, for the remaining nearly 40 years lingering in the desert instead of making Aliyah, the ones who were in their 60th year dug up ground to be their graves on the night of Tisha B'Av, because they were to die as punishment for believing the evil report of the spies, dying before turning 60 years old, which meant that this was death at the hands of Heaven as a punishment. Interesting, the Hebrew letter for the number 60 is Samech, which is the most round number of the Alef Beit, and is spelled exactly as a ZERO when written as Hebrew script, and it was in their 60th year when Jews died every year on Tisha B'Av!

Perhaps this concept of adding two numbers within a number can be best illustrated as an Israeli guy told me. Some people think that when one tells a secret to one other person, it is just ONE plus ONE who knows this secret. But really, when you add ONE to ONE, it makes up the number 11-ELEVEN, and so it is really one person telling the secret to ten others, because that person to whom the secret was told will tell this to 9-NINE other people; and hence, it is a total of 11-ELEVEN people who now know the secret; and before long, it is no longer a secret. Mind you, this guy told this to me before the events of 9/11.

Anyways, getting back to our topic at hand pertaining to the verses used to remember the number of letters in the Torah/Chumash, the first includes the phrase Ertze Bo - and Bo in this context is spelled Beit,Vav. Now, when this word is spelled as a number, in Gematria, it is 2,006.
Now, while we obviously follow the Hebrew calendar in which we are in the year 5769, as I mentioned in my Gematriot blogpost early on, there are in fact hints in the Torah to the secular year. So, did something significant happen in 2006 of the secular calendar?

We'll get back to this question in a moment. But first, pertaining to the beginning of the construction of the Second Temple, the original permission granted for this is in the very last verse of the T'nach - "Thus said Cyrus king of Persia: Hashem, G-d of Heaven, has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has commanded me to build Him a Temple in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of His entire people - may Hashem his G-d be with him, and let him go up" (II Chronicles 36:23). According to Jewish tradition, this announcment was made on the 16th of Adar. Now, the Hebrew name of King Cyrus - Koresh - is the same Gematria as George W. Bush - the middle initial which is Vav in Hebrew, adding up to the number 526! And within the war in the Middle East which began in response to the events of 9/11, on what date of the Jewish calendar did President Bush Jr.'s war with Saddam Hussein took place? On the 16th of Adar (2003)! Now, why the particular hint to Bush's middle initial in this phase of the war unlike the first part where his middle initial is not hinted to? Because as you remember, it was his father, President George Bush, Sr. without this particular initial who had war with Saddam Hussein back in 1991; and so to distinguish the two, it makes sense to hint to President Bush Jr. in this manner. And now, getting back to the year 2006, what happened? Saddam Hussein was hung on December 30, 2006, and was buried on the next day - the LAST day of 2006. This date was Asara B'Tevet, one of the fast days in the Jewish calendar which marks the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who ordered the destruction of the Firt Temple. And if this was not enough, Saddam Hussein is believed to be a reincarnate of Nebuchadnezzar. Saddam Hussein ironically associated himself with Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king, though he was the president of a country full of Moslems! Moreover, he named one of the four divisions of his army the Nebuchadnezzar division.

Now, on the second verse used to remember the amount of letters in the Torah, the first word is Gadol/Great(er), the Gematria of 43 (and this is my 43rd post), and as we know, George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States. In the context of this verse, this is referring to the construction of the Second Temple. There are commentaries who note that in fact, this verse hints to the construction of the Third Temple, which we are waiting for, which will never be destroyed again. So, what is special here about the number 43, and what does Bush have to do with all this?

We have to remember that the kings and presidents behaving the way they do are really only puppets being led by the string that Hashem is pulling. While people do have free choice, Hashem uses rulers to do things according to Hashem's plans. I am not here to explain why Hashem brings certain people to make decisions when they too are supposed to have free choice to do the right or wrong thing like anyone else. But one thing is clear - everything that happens in this world is because of Jews. Yes, the Anti-Semites indeed say the same thing. In a way, they are in fact right. But the difference here is that Anti-Semites are jealous of Jews, and want to view them as people who have power and take everyone else's money, to the extent that Neo-Nazi groups have accused Bush on fighting on behalf of Jews and Israel, as a scapegoat for the failing economy. But it is Hashem who makes the moves to bring us Jews to do the right thing and to prepare the world for the Messianic Era.

Four months ago, my 29th post focused on Yom Yerushalayim/Jerusalem Day which is 28 Iyar and falls out on the 43rd day of the Omer. In this particular year, we are in fact in the 43rd year since the events of the availability of access for Jews to the holiest area in the world where the Temples stood took place "The Temple Mount is in our Hands!". I made a connection between the Jerusalem Day-43rd day of the Omer to the timing of the week - the beginning of Shabbat night, as there are seven weeks to the Omer counting, and hence, the beginning of Shabbat - the 7th day of the week, corresponds to the 43rd day of the Omer. And at the beginning of Shabbat, we say a prayer that is recited ONLY at this time of the week, even though it does not mention a word about Shabbat. This is the conclusion of the Beracha/Blessing that we recite right before the Shemoneh Esrei "Spread over us the booth of Your PEACE -Sukkat Shlomeicha - Blessed are You Hashem, Who spreads the booth of PEACE - Sukkat Shalom - over us and over all His nation Israel and over JERUSALEM. " The reason for my emphasis on the word peace is as a verse from Haggai which I quoted here pertaining to the Second Temple states that "I will bring PEACE to this place". Indeed, it was on Jerusalem Day in 1967 in the midst of the Six Day War that this took place - at least as a preparation for the ultimate peace in Jerusalem when not only all the nations will visit, but will recognize this as the center of Jews' worship of Hashem, and the Arabs with the rest of the world will no longer dictate our ownership, rights and presence to the area of the Temple Mount.

Also in that previous post about Jerusalem Day, I had mentioned a whole list of things related to Jerusalem as per the number 43 - words beginning with this number. I had mentioned that Jerusalem in fact has 70 names. In the midst of this list, the 43rd name is Migdal Eider, "TOWER of the Flock". The first two letters of this phrase are Mem Gimel which is the number 43. What I did not mention in that previous post is that this phrase is mentioned twice in T'nach. The first time is when Jacob was traveling with his family and settled in a place called by this name, "...Migdal Eider. When Israel (Jacob) lived in that land... (Genesis 35:21-22) and then "You, Migdal Eider...they will come back to you; and the original kingdom will arrive, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem (Micah 4:8). Indeed, it was on the 43rd day of the Omer that Jews, after no access to the holiest area in the world, was granted free access once again "they will come back to you". And among the times that the Torah uses the name Israel for Jacob, seemingly at random, this is one of the times that his name Israel particularly is used, as it is also the name of the LAND OF ISRAEL. It is a miracle that non-Jews of today are willing to call our land Israel rather than Palestine. After all, this name is the LAST word of the Torah, and accordingly, we Jews will have the LAST word shortly in the Messianic Era, when the Anti-Semites will no longer have what to say.

Very unfortunately, some people only focus on the middle third of the word Jerusalem - USA. Yes, too many people are caught up by the idolatries of today - money, movies, media, etc. (though not everything begins with the letter m), and forget what is the REAL MIDDLE or center of the universe - in terms of spirituality. When we get caught up in our fantasy world, we forget that in a moment's time, everything can change. It is hardly different from the Japanese who used the name USA on some of their products some decades back - you see, they have a city which is called Usa, and so it was an excuse to make it look like products they manufactured were American products, which would help better sell their products to Americans, while building up the financial stability of a nation who attacked the U.S.A. on December 7, 1941 - "a day which will live in infamy" following Japan's sneak attack on Americans at Pearl Harbor. And eight years ago on today's date of 9/11, happening on the 60th year of the first sneak attack on American soil, reality in the most affluent country in the world struck home. But unlike the United States who finished the war on Japan in 1945 with an atomic bomb, the United States today is still at war after eight years, which is largely if not mostly responsible for the declining economy not just in the States, but worldwide. And guess who is laughing? That's right - the Moslem Arabs. They know that while 19 of theirs took the plunge to kill a few thousand Americans, this was just the beginning of the expression of their hatred for the "Big Satan". The United States pouring astronomical billions of dollars into the war effort took its toll on the living conditions of the average American citizen - nay, even the American billionaires with their smart investments turning sour. And so who is really laughing all the way to the bank? That's right - the Moslem Arab oil owner billionaires, even as gas prices for the most part rose at an all time high.

And yes my friends, this war of the United States began on the last night of SUKKOT. Hashem is preparing the world for what really counts in life. Money is only a means to fulfill our spiritual needs, not an end to itself. But as the value of money is shrinking, so were special animal sacrifices offered in the Temple during Sukkot shrank - 70 young bulls symbolizing the 70 nations, as 13 were brought on the first day of Sukkot, 12 on the second, etc. until 7 were offered on the 7th and last day of Sukkot. And so correspondingly, there are 70 names to Jerusalem, where non-Jews who choose to believe in ONE G-d, as opposed to their concept of G-d in their man made religions, can find spirituality. As fortold in the prophecy of Zechariah that is read on the first day of Sukkot, on which 13 young bulls were offered as sacrifices, we read that "on that day" Hashem will be ONE, and his name will be ONE. One in Hebrew is Echad, which is the Gematria of 13. It's interesting to note that especially in the United States, the number 13 is considered tabboo to the extent that you will not find an elevator in that country that has a 13th floor. However for Jews, this is the very number representing the Torah, Hashem's attributes of mercy, and Hashem's oneness. And so Hashem relates to people the same way - it is in this month of Elul, the month of mercy, that Hashem struck the United States on 23 Elul, which in this year, 9/11 falls out on the nightime of this Jewish date, only one day earlier than it fell out on the Jewish calendar eight years ago on that fateful day, and Elul has the same Gematria as Zayin/Weapon (67), which is the word for the number SEVEN. And as I mentioned in my 23rd post, the time of the spring equinox, immediately preceding the timing of the equinox as per the position of the solar system over which the Bircat Hachama of once in 28 years is recited as mentioned by Abaye whose name is the Gematria of 23, the timing in the United States of the spring equinox fell out on 7:44 AM, of which 7 is the letter Zayin, the word for which means weapon, and 44 is the Gematria of Dam/blood(shed), the very first equinox of the 44th President of the United States, Moslem Arab Barack HUSSEIN Obama, who was voted into office just SEVEN years after the events of 9/11, and the media which is always known to be very picky in asking detailed questions, especially of politicans running for public office, REFUSED TO ASK HIM OF HIS THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ON THE DAY THAT THE EVENTS OF 9/11 HAPPENED, thought of, planned by, and carried out by Moslem Arabs.

In terms of the 43rd President of the United States whose last name was Bush, in reverse, it can be read in Hebrew as Shuv (the Beit and Veit is the same letter shape, the dot in the Beit just indicates it to be read as a B, and without the dot, it is a V sound) - RETURN, as Hashem told Jacob: SHUV "Return to the land of your fathers, your birthplace, and I will be with you" (Genesis 31:3). Along the above lines about Sukkot, the last place Jacob was at before returning to Israel soil was in a place called Sukkot. Similarly, the Gog U'Magog war which began on the last night of Sukkot began the last phase of this exile right before the upcoming Redemption. Refer to the end of my 39th Post in relation to Sukkot and Chevlei Moshiach/Birthpangs of the Messiah, as hinted in the Hidden Codes of the Torah. Yes, we need to RETURN to Israel, RETURN to Jerusalem, RETURN to the ways of Hashem, RETURN to the reality that we should wake up to without being rudely awakened by a reality that we do not want to face.

And so the destruction of the TWO Migdalim - the Twin Towers - the Hebrew word which begins with Mem Gimel (43), which occured on the 11th day of the 9th month of the secular calendar which were reduced to GROUND Zero, should remind us of the Two Temples that were both destroyed on the 9th day of the 11th month of the Jewish calendar (though happening on two different times), in which the year begins from Rosh Hashana (usually, we count the months from Nissan, the month of Passover, but the New Year begins from Tishrei) which were the spiritual towers of the world, the GROUNDS of which were accessable once again after a 19 year break on the 43rd day of the Omer, which is now called Yom Yerushalayim, the phrase which ironically comes from Psalms 137:7, the content of this Psalm which is about the destruction of both Temples. Thus, Hashem is here to remind us of what the real Tower is about, and if G-d forbid we don't recall our spiritual standing from the remains of the Temple and yearn for its rebuilding, then Hashem has his ways of reminding us striking at very physical and financial objects that will remind us of the Temples that we lost as a result of our sins, and that we need to mend our ways if we want everything back the way it used to be. And as long as Hashem, so to speak, does not have a home - the Temple on earth; we should feel the same way, and not feel comfortable - especially in exile outside of Israel where it is far harder to relate to spirituality without the holiness of Israel and Jerusalem.

Isn't it interesting that some of the main prophecies of the End of Times are recorded in the Book of MINOR Prophets? The reason they are called "Minor" Prophets is simply because their prophecies were fewer than those of other prophets. But so too is the nation of Israel called the "smallest of all the nations". And as the Book of Minor prophets are in fact called Trei Asar/Twelve in Hebrew (technically, it is an Aramaic phrase), so too we are the 12 tribes of Israel. And with Hashem, we are Echad/One, the Gematria of 13, but we are the Chosen Ones of Hashem, though we may be few in number, to lead the way for the rest of the world. And at the end, we will all see how the FALLEN Twin Towers will have led to raising up "the FALLEN booth of David" - THE GOOD SIDE OF 9/11, predicted thousands of years ago in Amos 9:11. Amen!

Erev Shabbat of the 23rd of Elul 5769, marking the 8th Yahrzeit of the Jews who perished in the events of September 11, 2001.

NOTE: My next post will G-d willing be on Sunday, the last one for the year 5769, and will reveal some startling facts about the 44th President of the United States that you may have never heard or seen before!