09 Sep A CHILLING VERSE FOR THE AGES

In the tochechah, the
curses in this week’s
parsha of Ki Savo, there
is a fascinating pasuk.
“Yisa Hashem alecha
goy mei’rachok mik’tzeh
ha’aretz ka’asher yideh
hanasher – Hashem will
bring against you a nation
from a distance, from the end of the earth, like
the eagle flies [Devarim 28:49].
The Gemara relates in Masechtas Sukkah [51b]
about the spectacular community that the Jews
once had in Alexandria of Mitzrayim. There

was a huge basilica that held one-million two-
hundred-thousand people, double the number

of those that came out of Mitzrayim. This
community came to a tragic end by the hands of
Alexander the Great of Macedonia. (Whether
it was Alexander the Great of Macedonia or
another czar is hotly debated by the Abarbanel,
the GR”A, and others.)
The Gemara tells us that they met their sorry fate
since they transgressed the Torah prohibition of,
“Lo sosifun lashuv baderech hazeh od,” not to
return to live in Egypt. In Esther Rabbah, the
story behind Alexander’s decimation of the
Jewish community is revealed. Alexander had
a son born on Tisha b’Av and it was reported
to him that all the Jews were fasting on that
day. On the next Chanukah, Alexander had a
daughter who died. The Jews were in a quandary
whether they should light candles for Chanukah

or whether they should desist, so that Alexander
shouldn’t think they were happy on the day
his daughter died. Ultimately, they decided to
celebrate Chanukah, come what may.
The queen, while she was in deep mourning,
was enraged by the Jewish celebration and
requested of her husband to punish the Jews.
Thus, Alexander set out to Alexandria, a trip
that should have taken him 10 days. However,
he arrived there in but 5 days. Upon arrival, he
asked the Jews what they were reading from the
Sefer Torah. They were reading at that moment
the aforementioned verse: that Hashem will
bring against you a nation from a distance like
the eagle flies. Alexander felt this was an omen
to destroy the Jews since he arrived in half the
time from a distance. Thus, he set out to destroy
them forthwith.
What’s truly amazing is, millennia later, this verse
came alive once again. The week of 9/11/2001,
we read this verse in our weekly parsha. We saw
the truly prophetic nature of Hashem bringing
a nation from a distance, “Ka’asher yideh

hanasher,” like an eagle flies, for the terrorist-
pilots came from a great distance, from the other

end of the world, commandeering the planes
‘like an eagle swoops.’
What is additionally amazing is the unique word
selection of the word yideh. The more normal
word would be ya’uf. Astonishingly, the word
yideh, which is spelled yud-daled-alef-hei,
makes up 9/11, for daled (4) and hei (5) equal 9,
and alef (1) and yud (10) equal 11.

The posuk continues, “Goy asher lo sishma
l’shono – A nation that you will not understand
their tongue.” In the post-analysis of 9/11, when
the intelligence bureaus such as Interpol or the
CIA tried to figure out why they didn’t foresee
this horrific act, it was discovered that they didn’t
have enough cryptographers who knew how to
speak Arabic.
Continues the posuk, “Goy az ponim asher lo
yisa ponim l’zakein v’na’ar lo yachon – A nation
of incredible impudence that has no respect
for elder statesman, nor does it have mercy for
the young.” This describes perfectly the jihad
mentality where homicide-bombers have no
compassion for women and children, nor do they
have any respect for international diplomacy.
With amazing precision, the next posuk
continues, “V’heitzar l’cha b’chol sh’arecha –
They will distress you by all of your gateways.”
This forecasts the shutting down of all bridges
and tunnels and airways during the terror of 9/11.
“Ad redes chomosecha ha’g’vohos v’hab’tzuros
asher attah botei’ach bahein b’chol artzecha –
Until the coming down of your most elevated and
most fortified towers which you have the most
faith in from all of your land.”
We believe, of course, in the accuracy of the
Torah. But, it certainly strengthens our belief
when we see the word of the Torah come alive
throughout the ages. It is an eerie fact that on
the day that of the celebration of the opening of
the Twin Towers, Rav Avigdor Miller, zt”l, zy”a,
pronounced that as mighty, “As the Twin Towers

are, if Hashem wants them to come down, they
will surely come down.”
May it be the will of Hashem that we not
experience any more curses. Rather, we should
celebrate very soon the coming of Moshiach,
the building of the Beis HaMikdash, and the
coronation of the scion of the Davidic dynasty,
with long life, good health, and everything
wonderful.