Posek Hador HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shternbuch spoke about the earthquake in Turkey after his shiur klali this week.
At the beginning of his words, HaRav Shternbuch brought the words of the Navi Zecharya who prophesized that the houses in Jerusalem will be destroyed even before milchamas Gog U’Magog. “The Navi Zecharya (14: 2) prophesized on the era before milchamas Gog U’Magog: ‘And I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to war, and the city shall be captured, and the houses shall be plundered, and the women shall be ravished, and half the city shall go forth into exile – and the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.'”
“And behold that before Milchamas Gog U’Magog, the houses in Yerushalayim will be destroyed, and half of Yerushalayim will go into exile – and these words – although they appear to us as far-fetched, but we’re maaminim bnei maaminim that all the words of the neviim are emes, and it’s clear as the sun in the sky that that’s what will be.”
“Who doesn’t fear this matter? Because no one can guarantee for himself in which half of Yerushalayim he’ll be, in the half that will go into exile or in the other half. And therefore, in this era, we need to snatch more and more mitzvos and even mitzos kalos, and especially the mitzvah of Talmud Torah, that every word of Talmud Torah is a mitzvah in itself…limmud Torah is the way to be saved from chevlei Moshiach.”
“We need to look at the earthquake in Turkey and Syria as the ‘קול ה’ בכח’ that announces and tells us ‘Look what I can do.’ And as it’s written in the Gemara in Yevamos (63, 1), ‘Rabbi Elazar bar Avina said: There’s no calamity that comes to the world except for Yisrael, as it says: ‘I have cut off nations, their towers have become desolate. I have destroyed their streets so that there are no passersby…I said: ‘Surely you will fear Me, you will accept mussar.’”
“This is a warning from HaKadosh Baruch that if chalilah v’chalilah, we’ll destroy the Torah HaKedosha, chas v’shalom, He will destroy the houses. And therefore now is the time to be mechazeik as much as possible and heed the ‘kol Hashem’ calling to us to wake up and snatch more and more mitzvos.”
“And although the Gemara in Brachos explains that an earthquake expresses Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s sorrow on the tza’ar of Yisrael but when the earthquake is so powerful with tens of thousands of dead, it also expresses a warning to Am Yisrael.”
“And I saw in several mekomos that they explained that a terrible calamity of an earthquake with so many dead people is mainly to show ‘Hashem’s love for Yisrael’ Who protected us and didn’t bring an earthquake to Israel but in Turkey. It should be known that this is not the derech. I didn’t see this by Gedolei Yisrael but adaraba, Gedolei Yisrael were awakened to see this as a ‘judgment’ – that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is showing His power through a terrible tragedy by the Umos HaOlam in order to warn us, as is explained in Yevamos 63.”
“And it’s certainly true that Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves us very much to an immeasurable extent but the cause of such a terrible calamity isn’t to awaken us to realize that He loves us, but Hashem is showing us that a time will come that He will take revenge on the reshaim, and all this in order to awaken us to teshuvah and to instill fear in us of punishments from Shamayim.”
“One must look at the events of the time with the lens of Torah and the eyes of Daas Torah and not with the superficial eyes of the people on the street who seek to find only ‘Ahavas Hashem’ in every event and don’t understand that this is a clear call from Hakadosh Baruch Hu to show us His koach and gevurah and awaken us to teshuvah, to toil in the Torah and correct our deeds.”
וה’ יעזור שנזכה במהרה לקיום התפילה ‘ותחזינה עינינו בשובך לציון ברחמים’, ויתקיים במהרה וכל קרני רשעים אגדע “תרוממנה קרנות צדיק, ונזכה לגאולה שלימה במהרה בימינו בקרוב אמן.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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19 Responses
Israel is, and always has been, on a fault line. Eretz Yisrael has frequent earthquakes. Predicting an earthquake in Eretz Yisrael is about as difficult as predicting on in California (or predicting snow in upstate New York, or hurricanes in Florida).
I spoke with Rabbi Reisman, about this topic.
Rabbi Reisman gives many Shiurim. He is well known.
He told me very clearly that it does not mean every single house.
Only the homes of the wicked will be destroyed. Every single individual that is in the process of making his ways better and becoming a better person, should not worry, Hashem will protect you.
This already happened in 1948 war of independence. The salvation came in 1967.
Most older buildings in Jlem likely will collapse in the next major earthquake there.
Ahavat hashem, daas Baal habayis
Yiras hashem, daas Torah
It is a known thing, that if a Navi says that something not good might happen, if we do Teshuva, Hashem will take care of us big time.
Let us work on getting better and our homes will be just fine.
If a Navi will say that a good thing will happen, it will for sure happen even if we no longer deserve it, however, the other way around, if we do Tshuva, then Hashem will permanently delete that not-good Nevuah.
I read that it doesnt happen all right away like the city being divided ALREADY happened in 48 and now will be another part. Reb Shternbuch is very choshuv
Barn Owl:
Please stop spewing idolatrous lunacy on this site.
Maybe it’s a warning that if we don’t show compassion for the families of tens of thousands of tzelem Elokim killed in this earthquake and a million left homeless, then HASHEM will also not have compassion on us?
And maybe THAT’s the test?
1) Barn
What are you saying? Listen to the Gadol Hatorah. Why do you make excuses and DANCE BETWEEN THE RAIN DROPS.
DO good, Learn more Torah, Respect BeChinam Other Jews …
2) It sounds as if the speration line and destruction of 1948 is what the Rav is talking about, but with blind faith must say “We will do and then we will listen”.
It hurts all of us when one Jew get killed CS by a terror, why not prevent by listening to Rabanim.
Real Rabanim. Here is a Sadik who is warning us.
Who knows if he didnt pray that the 7. magnitude instead hit other places. Twice !!!
Apikorsim blame “falt line, weather, …”
HaShem Should have mercy on us when Frum Yiddien (the best of the crop) doubt.
Sorry old folks, it’s pretty obvious that Barn Owl is practicing satire at it’s best and it poking fun at the zionim for perceiving 48 as being the אתחלתא דגאולה.
No need to take it seriously. Personally I enjoyed a good chuckle.
Avraham: ‘Every single individual that is in the process of making his ways better and becoming a better person, should not worry, Hashem will protect you’.
The Gemoro and the Rambam say that every person should constanly look at himself as being a Beinoni, mid-way. A slight tip in either direction will be the deciding factor as to whether one is a Tzaddik or Rosho.
There is no room for complacency. Even a shteiging person must consider himself at every given moment as being borderline.
B”H the Tsionim are fulfilling the words of the Neviim right before our eyes!
Every tragedy has a wake up call message directly from Hashem that you’re not going to find in any sefer in the world or read in any newspaper from a Gadol Hador or speaker saying about the tragedy.
THE SHOCKING MESSAGE:
On February 6 2023 Turkey and Syria we’re both hit with a major Earthquake followed by another earthquake shortly after causing the deaths of over 35,000 lives and hundreds of thousands of injured with their homes destroyed and jobs lost etc….
There’s a famous fact and truth when it comes to things happening throughout our lives. It’s called “There’s no such a thing as coincidence” and the truth of the matter is that it’s really so true cause actually it’s all as we say it “everything that happens is Ka-incidence” which Ka in Hebrew is actually Hashem’s name and in Hebrew means that everything that happens throughout our life-from our every second of breathing to major horrific tragedies Chas V’shalom-is actually a act coming directly from Hashem who runs the entire world. Cause actually the shocking date this earthquake happened on February 6 2023 is actually 2-6 which when you put it together you get Hashem’s name and when you put the year together of 2023 you get Directly from Hashem the Shocking 2 chapters in Tehillim referring to tragedies which is Chapter 20 & 23 which many of us say daily in davening Shachris. So we need to all start opening up our eyes and openly realize that every tiny thing happening anywhere in the world is actually a decree coming directly from Hashem and everything is actually a direct Ka-incidence.
May we all wake up and FACE REALITY to accept Hashems wake up call for serious Teshuva and Achdus together ASAP so Hashem can send Mashiach already bkarov.
Let’s all hope and pray and believe that all those referenced houses will be the ones being bulldozed in East Jlem.
Rabbi Sternbuch may be a big Posek but this attitude of doom and gloom (incl Gog and Magog etc) was NOT the approach of Gedolei veTzadikei Hador!
To Sam Klein
Reb Shmuel
Thank you for a wonderful comment.
Why are people mocking Barn Owl? He’s 100% correct. It is BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS that the prophecy that half the city would be captured was fulfilled in 1948, and is now done with. It will not happen again in the future. The Navi saw that period thousands of years earlier and told us about it, and now it has happened. Those STUBBORN AND PERVERTED PEOPLE who insist that that was not the fulfillment of the prophecy are basically telling HKBH that it wasn’t enough to do it once, He must do it again! If it does happen again those people will be responsible, and the blood will be on their heads, because they demanded it from HKBH.