Episode Details

 Pereh
Adam - The Final Exile and the Battle that Ends History 

Last Friday, just after sunrise minyan at the
Kotel, I was talking with friends when one of the guys from New York spotted me
and gave me a huge hug proclaiming loudly, “Rabbi Bibi, one of my favorite
rabbis, they miss you in Miami.”  

At that moment, a soldier with his machine gun observing
walked over: “Are you Bibi from New York — the one involved with the helmets
and vests?” 

Before I could answer, someone else said, “Yes,
that’s him.” 

The soldier gave me a long hug.

No words. Just a hug. 

Those moments at the Kotel are hard to explain
— the raw mixture of danger, holiness, exhaustion, and gratitude. 

As I walked toward the plaza to record a class,
a young man from America approached me. 

“Rabbi… what exile are we in right now?”
“I know Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, Rome… but what is this?” 

I immediately thought of something my rabbi, Rabbi
Asher Abittan זצ״ל, taught me over twenty-five years ago. 

He said: “The four exiles listed by Daniel are
not the end of history.

The Mekubalim speak of a fifth exile — the exile of Yishma’el.” 

Unlike the previous exiles — symbolized by animals
— this one is represented by a person. 

A dangerous person. 

A wild human. “Ve-hu yih’yeh pereh adam” “He will be a
wild man.” 

Rabbi Abittan added: “When a wild animal
realizes it is cornered — it becomes the most dangerous.” That is what we
are witnessing. 

Ma’aseh Avot, Siman Labanim - The actions of
the fathers shape the destiny of the children. 

The Midrash teaches that when Avraham walked
into Eretz Canaan, every step left a spiritual imprint.

History follows those footprints. 

Rabbenu Beḥaye (Bereshit 21) writes: “There is
no nation that hates Israel more than the children of Yishma’el.” 

How did that hatred begin? 

1. S̱arah afflicts Hagar וַתְּעַנֶּהָ
שָׂרַי — “Sarai afflicted her.” 

Ramban explains: S̱arah sinned in afflicting
Hagar, and Avraham erred by permitting it.