The Kabbalah
of Basra
Saddam, Bush and the Rebbe
By Yosef Y. Jacobson
"The day of your liberation is near."
- President Bush, in an address to the nation, March 17, 2003.
The crisis begins
Twelve
years ago, about a month after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, as the U.S. began building a coalition of nations against Saddam Hussein,
one of the foremost religious voices of our generation, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M.
Schneerson, addressed thousands of disciples, quoting an ancient passage of the Midrash dating back some 1,500 years, foretelling
the events of the day.
"The leader of Persia," states the Midrash, "will attack an Arab nation and the Arab king will go to Aram for advice. The leader of Persia will bring destruction to the entire
world, and all of the nations will be struck by panic and fear ... Israel will also be overtaken by panic and fear,
and they will cry, 'Where
shall we go? Where shall we go'?
"Mashiach will then tell
them: 'My children,
fear not. Everything I have done, I have done for you. Why are you afraid? Do
not fear! The time of your liberation has arrived (Yalkut
Shemoni Isaiah, remez 499).'"
Who is Persia?
Who is Aram?
A few weeks later, during the holiday of Sukkot in October 1990, the Rebbe went on to explain that
the Midrashic words "the leader of Persia"
may be understood as "the leader of Iraq,"
since ancient Persia
included the territory of present-day Iraq.
"Aram,"
which in Hebrew means "exalted," or "powerful," refers to
the world's superpower. Thus, "the Arab king going to Aram for advice"
may represent an Arab country, Kuwait,
coming to the U.S.
for help.
The authentic spiritual and moral core of humanity will emerge in its
full splendor…
"Despite the ominous situation," the Rebbe declared, "there was
no reason to become confounded or fearful." On the contrary, this
confrontation was heralding the time of our redemption, that moment in history
when the authentic spiritual and moral core of humanity will emerge in its full
splendor and heaven will become one with earth.
During the next months, the Lubavitcher Rebbe reiterated these Midrashic words numerous times, as he called on the Jewish
people and the world to replace fear with courage and confusion with
determination. "We ought to prepare ourselves and the world at large,"
the Rebbe said, "for the great spiritual revolution that will engulf the
globe, by increasing in the study of Torah, the observance of mitzvot, and acts of goodness and kindness." Each and
every one of us, the Rebbe suggested, should be teaching himself and the
surrounding world about a higher way of living - a life of ethics, honesty,
goodness and peace. A life of Mashiach.
The war begins
The war began on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 1991. A tremendous part of
the fighting was concentrated in Basra,
that ancient port city off the Persian Gulf in southern Iraq,
home to the Republican Guard and, according to many, the location of the
dictator himself.
The Rebbe viewed Saddam…as a
truly evil person…
Three days later, on Sabbath, Jan. 19 (4 Shevat 5750), the Lubavitcher Rebbe
devoted a large part of his public address to the war against Saddam Hussein.
The Rebbe viewed Saddam - a person who chopped off the ears and noses of
dissidents, tortured children in front of their parents, gassed thousands to
death and craved the death of Israel
- as a truly evil person.
The Rebbe saw him as a scion of the great anti-Semites of old, professing the
legendary brutality and Jew-hatred of Nebuchadnezzar (ancient king of Iraq
and Babylonia, arch-hero of Saddam), Amalek, Haman and Pharaoh.
The Rebbe knew very well of the ulterior motives accompanying so many American
foreign-policy decisions. Yet he felt America
and its values of freedom and individual liberty were a blessing for mankind,
and that its war against a monstrous tyrant was a moral act, one that would
save and liberate countless innocent lives.
The Rebbe encouraged the American armed forces to finish the job…
I recall vividly how during his address on that Sabbath, the Rebbe encouraged
the American armed forces to finish the job they had successfully begun. "Seventy
or 80 percent of the work has been accomplished already," the Rebbe
stated. "The job should be concluded 100 percent."
Moses' fear
In a fascinating discussion about fear and
courage, the Rebbe discussed the opening verse of that week's Torah portion
(the portion of Bo), where "G-d said to Moses: 'Come to Pharaoh '"(Exodus
10:1).
The Zohar, one of the foundational texts of Kabbalah, comments on this passage:
"Now it is time to reveal secrets that are bound above and below. Why does
it say, 'Come to Pharaoh'? It should have said, 'Go to Pharaoh!' But G-d
brought Moses into a chamber within a chamber, to the supernal and mighty
serpent from which many levels of evil evolve... Moses feared the great serpent.
Moses was ready to confront the manifestations
of this serpent, but not to its core. Moses was afraid to come close to its
essence, because he saw that it was grounded in supernal roots." (Zohar,
part II, 34a)
In other words, Moses was ready to confront Pharaoh in his many forms and
manifestations, but when the moment came and Moses was called to face that
ruler's core-evil in his innermost chamber, even the great Moses was overtaken
by fear. Thus, G-d needed to reassure Moses and say to him, "Come to
Pharaoh." You are not going alone, I am coming with you.
G-d in Basra
As the address continued, the Rebbe went on
to discuss the tremendous significance of the fact that the center of the
fighting took place in southern Iraq,
in the city of Basra. He quoted a
verse form the Prophet Isaiah, foretelling the events of the ultimate
redemption:
"Who is this coming from Edom,
with sullied garments from Basra?"
(Isaiah 63:1) is the question an anonymous onlooker asks G-d when he sees G-d
returning as a warrior from the battlefield of Basra.
"I soiled my garments [in My war against evil in Basra],"
G-d responds, "for a day of vengeance is in My heart and the year of my
redemption has come."
The end of the war coincided with Purim…
According to many Talmudic sources, the city discussed by Isaiah in this
prophecy is located in Babylonia, or present-day Iraq
(1). This means G-d was saying that He Himself will be confronting the evil in Basra,
just as G-d promised Moses that He Himself would join Him in confronting the
evil of Pharaoh (2).The Rebbe, apparently comparing Saddam to Pharaoh, was
speaking of the courage required to confront the tyrant of Iraq
face-to-face and subdue him.
The Rebbe concluded by assuring the Jews living in Israel
that they would be safe and secure. "There will be no war in Israel,"
the Rebbe stated. "Israel
is the safest place in the world." Indeed, despite Iraq
launching 39 Scud missiles at Israel,
not one death could be contributed directly to those attacks.
As we all remember, the first Persian Gulf War ended only a few weeks after it
began. On Thursday, Feb. 28, 1991,
Saddam withdrew completely from Kuwait
and a cease-fire was declared. The end of the war coincided with Purim, the day
in which we celebrate the victory of the Jewish people against another tyrant
and mass killer by the name of Haman who lived in
that region some 2,400 years ago.
Two days later, on Sabbath, the 16th day of Adar 5751 (March 2, 1991) the Rebbe
blessed the American government and its armed forces. He spoke of the U.S.
as "a nation of generosity," allowing and encouraging Jews to practice
their traditions in full freedom and prosperity. The Rebbe expressed a
heartfelt prayer "that the American troops succeed in their mission in Basra."
This last statement at the time was extremely perplexing. Did the Rebbe not
know that the war had ended? Was the Rebbe unaware of the fact that the troops
had withdrawn from Basra and from
the rest of Iraq?
After all, the Rebbe himself had predicted that the war would be over by Purim!
Why, two days later, was the Rebbe praying for the success of an American
campaign in Basra?
12 years later...
The answer to this question we received this
week.
By the end of the day, our troops were at the outskirts of Basra…
Twelve years later to the day the Rebbe delivered that prayer on the 16th of
Adar 5763, the U.S.
and its allies declared war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
By the end of the day, our troops were at the outskirts of Basra.
Forty-eight hours earlier, on the eve of Purim, the same night in which the
first Persian Gulf war ended, President Bush declared:
"Many Iraqis can hear me tonight in a translated radio broadcast, and I
have a message for them: If we must begin a military campaign, it will be
directed against the lawless men who rule your country and not against you. As
our coalition takes away their power, we will deliver the food and medicine you
need. We will tear down the apparatus of terror and we will help you to build a
new Iraq that
is prosperous and free. In free Iraq
there will be no more wars of aggression against your neighbors, no more poison
factories, no more executions of dissidents, and no more torture chambers.
"The tyrant will soon be gone. The day of your liberation is near."
The day of our liberation, too, is near.
Endnotes:
1) See Talmud Shabbat 29b; Avodah Zarah 58b; Yerushlami:
Kilayim 7:1; 3:1; Shviit
6:2; Midrash Eicah Rabah section 3; Shir Hashirim
Rabah section 7; Midrash Shmuel chapter
25. It is clear from many of the above sources that many of the Talmudic sages
resided in this Babylonian city and that Jewishlife
in Basra was vibrant.
2) Cf. Zohar Veira p. 32a concerning a major war that will take
place at the end of days with the children of Ishmael, in which Basra is also
mentioned (Quoted in the edited version of the Rebbe's talk that Sabbath,
Sefer Hasichos
5751 p. 280).
Copyright © 2002 by Yosef Y. Jacobson, with gratitude to Shmuel Levin for his editorial assistance.
Rabbi Yosef Y. Jacobson is an acclaimed teacher, lecturer and writer, based in the New York area. For a copy of his speaking schedule, or to order his audio tapes or subcribe to his weekly essay, contact: YYJacobson@aol.com.
