War of Gog and Magog

War of Gog and Magog is a war expected to occur before, or at the beginning of, the Messianic era. In this war, Gog king of Magog, will gather many armies and go to war against the Jewish people. This war will be extremely difficult and dangerous, but eventually Hashem will defeat Gog and his armies with signs and wonders, and thus the entire world will know and recognize the reality of Hashem.

Source edit

The primary source for this concept appears in the Book of Yechezkel (Ezekiel):

"Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, Thus says Hashem Elokim: On that day, when My people Israel dwells securely, you will know. And you will come from your place, from the uttermost north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a great assembly and a mighty army. And you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud covering the land; it will be at the end of days, and I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I show My holiness through you before their eyes, O Gog.
Thus says Hashem Elokim: Are you the one of whom I spoke in ancient days through My servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for years that I would bring you against them?
And it shall come to pass on that day, on the day when Gog comes against the land of Israel, declares Hashem Elokim, My wrath will rise up in My anger. And in My jealousy, in the fire of My fury, I have spoken: Surely on that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep upon the ground, and all mankind on the face of the earth shall tremble at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains, declares Hashem Elokim; every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will enter into judgment with him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will make Myself known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am Hashem." — 38:14-23

In the Gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin, "Hashem wanted to make Chizkiyahu the Mashiach and Sancheriv Gog and Magog." From this we learn that there is no precise identity for Gog and Magog, and it depends on the character of the generation; if the generation is worthy, the Mashiach of that worthy generation will fight against Gog and Magog.

Time of the War edit

In the words of Chazal regarding the timing of the War of Gog and Magog, there are contradicting sources. In one place it is written that the War of Gog and Magog will be during the Messianic era after the coming of Mashiach, and in another place it implies that it will be before the Messianic era. The Rebbe reconciles these opinions and suggests the possibility that the war will occur after the coming of Mashiach ben Yosef, which in certain respects is considered the beginning of the Messianic era, but before the coming of Mashiach ben David. On another occasion, it appears that he expressed that the war would occur before the coming of Mashiach.

The Rambam rules that the war will begin only after the Messianic era and it constitutes one of the signs of the King Mashiach and will prove that he is fighting the wars of Hashem.

The Rebbe innovates that the sign given by the Rambam that Mashiach needs to fight the wars of Hashem is only if the redemption comes in the manner of "in its time" (b'itah), but if the Jewish people merit and the redemption comes in the manner of "I will hasten it" (achishena), there will be no need for war at all.

Nature of the War edit

The Rambam expressed about this war:

"And all these matters and similar ones—no one will know how they will occur until they occur, for these matters are concealed with the prophets. Even the sages have no established tradition regarding these matters." — Laws of Kings, Chapter 12, Law 2

Purposes of the War edit

The purpose of the war is to cause the entire world to believe in Hashem, after everyone will see His signs and wonders. An additional purpose: to refine the Jewish people and remove from them the transgressors and rebels.

Occurrence of the War edit

The occurrence of the war is not a necessary condition for the coming of Mashiach, like all negative prophecies that need not be fulfilled. There is a tradition from the Baal Shem Tov that after the lengthy exile we have already been exempted from this war. The Rebbe referred to this and said that there is an opinion that this war was fulfilled in World War I. Before the Gulf War, the Rebbe said: "It is obvious, to the extent that one does not even need to mention it, that after the Holocaust—'trouble will not rise twice,' not anything like it nor even a fraction of it, G-d forbid. On the contrary: there will only be good and kindness, visible and revealed good, for every Jew and for all Jewish people wherever they are, and with emphasis—visible and revealed good!!!"

External Links edit

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Harel, Everything you wanted to know about the War of Gog and Magog lecture, 26 Tevet 5774 (29.12.2013)