30 Sep WRAPPING UP HISTORY: YISHMAEL, EDOM, AND THE LAST ERA

As we bring the year
to a close, it seems
like not only the year
is ending, but history
and the world as well.
Looking back, it is
fascinating to see the enormous number of
events that took place. From the beginning of
massive demonstrations in Israel aimed at
overturning the government, to the horrific,
brutal attack in south Israel against the Jewish
people, and the growing venom of anti-Jewish
and antisemitic demonstrations that spread
like wildfire around the world. The war
against seven different enemies—including
Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and
Judea and Samaria—opened an eighth front:
international pressure, starting in Europe and
extending to the UN and the International
Court.
This is just a part of the list, but it goes far
beyond that, without even mentioning other

world’s significant events such as the Ukraine-
Russia war, the resignation of the U.S.

president, the conviction of the former
president, and the indictment of the New York
mayor. The sheer number of events that
historically would take generations to unfold
all happened in the span of one short year. It
clearly feels like Hashem is preparing to
“close the shop,” running a liquidation sale to
end this journey and bring the redemption.
The holy Chafetz Chaim once said that as the
end of time approaches, Hashem accelerates
events to bring everything to a close. Just as
people rush to complete many tasks as Friday
afternoon nears Shabbat, so too does the pace
quicken as the day of history draws to an end.
Let’s look back at history and see how the
small Jewish nation survived exile under the
four empires, as mentioned in various places
in the Torah and by Chazal. By examining
their prophecies in relation to our time, we can
try to understand where we find ourselves
positioned within that framework.
The Torah and Jewish tradition, especially
through the interpretations of Chazal, mention
four major empires that will rule over the
world before the coming of the final
redemption. These empires are referred to in
various prophetic texts and are understood as
the dominant world powers that would
subjugate the Jewish people throughout
history. This concept is derived from visions
in the Book of Daniel and elaborated on in the
Talmud and other rabbinic writings.
Daniel’s prophecies:
In the book of Daniel, the prophet shares
visions that focus on future world empires and
the ultimate redemption of the Jewish people.
In one key vision (Chapter 2), Daniel interprets
a statue with four sections—gold, silver,
bronze, and iron mixed with clay—
symbolizing four successive empires,
Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, that will
dominate the world and subjugate the Jewish

people. Another vision (Chapter 7) describes
four beasts, also representing these empires.
The prophecies highlight that after these
empires fall, Hashem’s eternal kingdom will
be established, bringing the Messianic era.
The Four Empires:
1. Babylonian Empire (Bavel):
– The first empire is Babylon, led by King
Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed the First
Temple in Jerusalem and exiled the Jewish
people to Babylon. The Babylonian Empire is
viewed as the beginning of the era of exile and
subjugation for the Jewish nation.
– This is based on the dream of
Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of the prophet
Daniel (Chapter 2), where Babylon is
symbolized by the head of gold in a statue
representing world empires.
2. Persian-Median Empire (Paras
u’Madai):
– The second empire is the Persian-Median
Empire, which conquered Babylon under
King Cyrus (Koresh) and allowed the Jewish
people to return to Israel and rebuild the
Second Temple. Despite this kindness, the
Persian Empire is still viewed as an empire
that subjugated Israel.
– In Daniel’s visions, Persia is often
represented by the chest and arms of silver in
the statue (Daniel 2), and by the bear in Daniel
7.
3. Greek Empire (Yavan):
– The third empire is the Greek Empire, led
to cultural persecution and the events of the
Hanukkah story. Hellenistic influence
threatened Jewish identity, and the Greeks
attempted to impose their culture and religion
on the Jewish people.
– In Daniel’s vision, Greece is symbolized by
the belly and thighs of bronze (Daniel 2), and
by the leopard (Daniel 7).
4. Roman Empire (Edom):
– The fourth and final empire is the Roman
Empire, which destroyed the Second Temple
and exiled the Jewish people once again.
Rabbinic tradition associates Rome with
“Edom,” based on the descent of Rome from
Esav and sees it as the longest and harshest
exile, which continues in various forms today.
– Rome is depicted as the legs of iron and the
feet of iron mixed with clay (Daniel 2),
symbolizing its strength but also its eventual
division and fragility. In Daniel 7, Rome is
represented by a terrifying, beast-like creature
with iron teeth.
These four empires—Babylon, Persia, Greece,
and Rome—are seen as successive powers
that ruled over the world and subjugated the
Jewish people. Each empire represents a stage
in Jewish exile, and rabbinic tradition holds
that after the fall of the fourth empire (Rome/
Edom), the Messianic era will begin. The
unfolding of these historical events is viewed

through the lens of divine providence
and prophecy, marking the stages
leading up to ultimate redemption.
Yishmael
Reading the above, it seems that
Yishmael is not mentioned as an
empire, even though Yishmael
represents one of the two largest
religions in the world and holds a
significant amount of territory in the
Middle East and Africa. Why isn’t
Yishmael counted as a fifth empire?
Let’s begin by mentioning that according to
Rav Saadia Gaon and the Ibn Ezra, Yishmael
is indeed counted as an empire. The Ibn Ezra
also explains Daniel’s second vision of the
four animals, interpreting the last beast with
ten horns as a reference to the empire of
Yishmael. The ten horns symbolize how it will
spread across the entire world.
The prophet continues, showing that while the
four empires lost their rule gradually,
Yishmael’s downfall will occur in an instant.
We may have already seen a glimpse of this
when Israel took out the mighty Hezbollah in
three days without even putting boots on the
ground.
Our question is regarding all other
commentaries that do not consider Yishmael
as an empire.
The Ramban explains that the empires
mentioned in our sources are only those
nations that conquered the world, ruling from
their predecessors. Each of those mentioned
took over from the previous empire, but
Yishmael never did. Although Yishmael is a
large and populated nation, it has always
remained in the shadow of Edom and never
took over from it.
A deeper explanation can be found in the
Maharal (Ner Mitsva), who opens a gate to
understanding the entire concept of these four
empires and why Chazal were concerned with
explaining the sequence of events that seem to
be unrelated to the study of Torah but rather
pertain to history. Chazal’s role, as known,
was to learn and teach Torah, not history or
world events.
The Maharal explains that the concept of
empires has a divine meaning. The sequence
of events is as follows: When Avraham Avinu
discovered that there is a Creator, he began
preaching and teaching this to the entire
world. Gradually, Avraham became an
influential figure as people from all over were
drawn to his teachings, making him powerful
and influential. He was a true leader, not
through ruling over people in the traditional
sense, but by influencing them to crown him
as their leader, hence Hashem has crowned
him as a king. This kingdom was not merely
about political power; it was a divine rule with
a spiritual impact on all of creation. It marked
the first time in history that Hashem’s plan
was being enacted in the world.

This divine inspiration was passed down to
Avraham’s followers and descendants until
the end of time. However, something tragic
happened along the course of history. The
Babylonians fought with Israel, destroyed the
Temple, and took over the kingdom from
Israel. Not only was Israel exiled, but the
Divine Presence (Shechinah) was also exiled.
From that point until the arrival of Mashiach,
Hashem’s presence is considered to be in
exile. The kingdom was taken from Israel, and
over the course of history, it was ruled by four
different empires, each taking power from the
one before.
Now, speaking about Yishmael, they never
had to take over the empire, and therefore,
they are not mentioned as one of the empires.
The reason they didn’t, says the Maharal, is
because they themselves were descendants of
Avraham Avinu and thus possessed a sense of
royalty in their own right.
The prophecy of Daniel did include the nation
of Yishmael, the son of Avraham and Hagar,
considered the progenitor of the Arab nations
and, by extension, the Islamic world. The feet
of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar saw were
partially made of metal and partially of clay.
The metal symbolizes Edom, while the clay
represents Yishmael. This conveys the
message that, at the very end of time, Yishmael
and Edom will be the last two forces to rule
over the world.
Thus, there is a dispute in the Gemara (Yuma
10a) regarding whether Edom or Yishmael
(presented as Persia—today’s Iran) will rule
over the entire world at the very end of history.
This debate arises from the fact that the feet of
the statue contained both metal and clay.
At the end of the prophecy, the statue is broken
by a stone, representing an eternal kingdom
led by an “old man” who takes the rule for
eternity, symbolizing the coming of Mashiach.
Fortunately, there is a happy ending that
unfolds at the end of time—the arrival of
Mashiach and the final redemption, which
will bring the full revelation of Hashem to the
world. Based on the prophecies mentioned
above and many other statements by Chazal, it
seems closer than ever. We are living in a
historical moment, witnessing the last and
final stage of the world.
May we all indeed witness the return of
Hashem to Zion in the upcoming new year.
Amen.