President Trump and the Final Redemption
B”H
Originally published inThe Times of Israel
“It is known that all events that transpire in the world are by Divine Providence, and they contain a lesson and instruction in the service of man to his Creator…” – The Lubavitcher Rebbe, January 31, 1992
As many know, the miraculous victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential election contained a mysteriously spiritual element. His daughter and son-in-law visited the Ohel at Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, New York, presumed to be the resting place of the Rebbe. (I say presumed because many believe that the Rebbe is alive.) The miracles wrought by visits to the Ohel are legendary. Requests scribbled on a piece of paper regarding marriage, health, livelihood and just about anything in a person’s life are tossed into a semi-enclosed mausoleum. People report turnarounds and “coincidences” that better their fate and, yes, even save their lives. The video of the Rebbe in the reception area, delivering a talk on a Torah subject, can also strike home and contain a personal message to the supplicant.
In spiritual terms, who exactly is Donald Trump and why would he have merited a miracle from the Rebbe?
To find the key, you would have to be aware of the historic prophecy of the Rebbe, delivered in 1991, “The time of your Redemption has arrived.”
The Redemption is the climax of the plan for the world. As it says on the Isaiah wall opposite the UN, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.” This is the goal: a world of peace, prosperity and brotherly love.
With his prophecy, the Rebbe was saying that the process toward this goal has begun.
The Rebbe is a proven prophet. Besides the visionary insight into people’s lives that result in personal miracles, the Rebbe’s prophecies are also global. For example, in June, 1967, when the Arab nations united to destroy Israel, the Rebbe predicted there would be a miraculous victory.
The Israeli media carried the prophecy so it is a matter of public record.
And indeed, the tiny nation of Israel routed its powerful neighbors in an indisputable victory known as the Six Day War.
Another remarkable prophecy was made to Russian scientist Herman Branover, an expert in magnetohydrodynamics and a refusnik whose release from the Soviet claws is another legendary story about the Rebbe’s supernatural powers.
In 1987, while the Iron Curtain was in its full strength, the Rebbe told Professor Branover, now in the United States, to build housing in Israel for the thousands of Jews about to come out.
Professor Branover could hardly believe this but dutifully built housing for 250 Russian émigrés. Shortly thereafter to his amazement, Gorbachev announced perestroika, “restructuring,” loosening the bonds of the Stalin years and allowing Jews to emigrate to Israel.The Rebbe’s vision proved true. There was not nearly enough housing for the Russians.
Which brings us back to Donald Trump.
Those familiar with the Bible know the story of Jacob and Esau. As Jacob is en route back to the Holy Land he has an encounter with his wild and wooly brother Esau. Jacob, living under his deceitful father-in-law Laban, had righteously adhered to the values he inherited from his father and grandfather, Issac and Abraham. He built a family of 12 righteous sons. Like his father and grandfather, Jacob understood that there is a Divine plan for the world, –the Redemption. He was ready. But he could not do it by himself. He needed the partnership of Esau, and he was hoping that his brother had tamed his lustful and arrogant nature and would help bring the world into that peaceful era where the main occupation of all the peoples would be to know G-d.
At their encounter, Jacob saw the Esau wasn’t ready. “I’ll meet you in Seir,” he told him, alluding to many centuries hence when the descendants of Esau, by that time Rome, signifying Western civilization, would be willing to work together for a world adhering to G-d’s laws.
The Bible refers to Esau as red haired and ruddy.
In 1992 the Rebbe said another astounding thing:
“Esau is refined and ready for the Redemption.”
As the Rebbe’s prophecy of Redemption unfolds, is Donald Trump this Esau?
He is brash and bold, and ruddy, and has a lot of rough edges. But his heart is in the right place and his actions are pushing the nation toward laws based on Divine morality.
As we see, it’s a tremendous and painful struggle. As one very perplexed friend asked us, “Why do people love Donald Trump?” The answer is that for all his flaws, he is genuinely oriented toward the values of the Redemption and is working his heart out to bring them to fruition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Basha Oka Botnick is the president of Geulah Generation, a Jewish women's organization based in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, devoted to learning the talks of the Rebbe known as Dvar Malchus and spreading matters of Moshiach and Redemption.
