I received the following message and wasn't able not to answer. Here are the message and my answer:
Grand Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch of the Eda Charedit, a great grandson of the Gaon of Vilna ob"m, said this past week that the times of the Moshiach are here. His source is the Vilna Gaon himself.
Rav Shternbuch received a closely guarded secret that came to him from Rabbi Yitzchak Chever zatza"l, who received it from Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin zatza"l, who received it from the Gaon of Vilna himself, who revealed it shortly before his death: “When you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the times of the Messiah have started, that his steps are being heard. And when you hear that the Russians have reached the city of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul), you should put on your Shabbat clothes and don’t take them off, because it means that the Messiah is about to come any minute”
And here is my answer:
Sorry for redundancy but, what a Genius was the Gaon Z"L!
It is incredible to see how with his Ruach Hakodesh he saw that there will be a period in time that the people will be so blind and will not see the hand of Hashem in all this:
- the 1st WW that abolished the Ottoman empire giving the possibility for the Balfour Declaration;
- the Balfour Declaration that allowed jews to come back as a nation to Eretz Israel;
- the 2nd WW that practically destroyed the Galut;
- the huge Kibbutz Galuyot that started more than 100 years ago not only from one place after 210 years, as in Egypt exile, but from hundreds of places after 2000 years ;
- the agricultural richness in which the Eretz Israel is receiving her People back;
- the revival of Lashon Hakodesh after centuries as a fluid speaking language;
- the incredible miracles of salvation of Am Israel during The Indenpendece, Six Days, Yom Kipur, Lebanon etc, wars;
- the biggest flourish of Torah learning in Eretz Israel (and elsewhere) in history;
- the amazing heroism and Kidush Hashem that IDF soldiers have shown defending His people and His land;
- the Name of Israel raising from dusts and proudly expressed everywhere even in the most far places in the world;
- the tons of other signs given in the Talmud and other sources, including the Gaon himself! (see the book Kol HaTor); etc, etc
But we are blinded. So he reveals another secret sign: when you hear that Russia has captured Crimea... AHA! Prepare yourself! the Geula started! But stay cool, no rush. Now just sit and wait until they get to Istanbul, THEN wear your Shabbat clothes...
Once again demonstrated: Hashem is so full of Hesed! he is bringing the Geula to a generation like us....
Btw, Crimea became part of the Russian empire during the Gaon's life.
Moshe
Moshe
