Signpost 2 · Rav Haim Ziegler זצ״ל

The Three Wars of the Yalkut Shimoni

From the sea, on dry land, and near a great city

A teaching of Rav Haim Ziegler zatsal · Éditions Gueoula

Translated from the French original; the French version remains the reference text.

From the sea, on dry land, and near a great city

The Yalkut Shimoni reports in the name of Rabbi Shimon that three great wars will arise at the end of days.

The first comes from the sea: “the bow with arrows drawn”, a war waged at a distance.

The second is fought on dry land, at close quarters.

The third, the heaviest, stands near a great city — and the text does not say which.

1 The teaching

“Rabbi Shimon said: three wars of great noise will arise at the end of days.” — Yalkut Shimoni

The Rav’s first point: it says at the end of days, not during the exile. The count does not begin just anywhere.

2 The three wars

1 — From the sea. “The bow with arrows drawn”: a war waged at a distance, not hand to hand.

2 — On dry land. Erets bayabashah: a war on the ground, in contact.

3 — Near a great city. The heaviest of the three. The text leaves the city veiled.

The Rav stressed that the text deliberately hides the name of that city. He did not fill it in himself.

3 What the Rav drew from it

He said: it was known when the Mashiah would come — when war would be seen between the Arabs and the West, in that period.

The Zohar adds that dominion will pass from one side to the other, and that neither will enter the land to free the other.

A signpost gives a position, not a date. The Rav read markers; he set no calendar.

Four questions on the second signpost.

Which collection reports this teaching?

In the name of Rabbi Shimon.

When are these wars to arise?

That is the Rav’s first point.

How is the first war described?

A war waged at a distance.

What does the text say about the great city?

The Rav did not fill in what the text keeps hidden.