Daf – Premonitions and Attempted Assassinations

There were no widely known immediate predictions of the recent assassination attempt of President Trump, but, in hindsight, maybe there were some premonitions. The Daf Yomi (Menachos 109) that was studied shortly after the assassination – unfortunately not before it – may have gotten some people thinking.

The aforementioned daf refers to a revelation by Shimon Hatzadik shortly before he died. He was actually on the other extreme from a person targeted for assassination. According to the Gemara (Yoma 69a), Alexander the Great met Shimon the high priest, bedecked in his priestly white garments (normally worn when he entered the holy of holies on Yom Kippur), at the gates of Jerusalem. Upon seeing the high priest, Alexander got off his high horse (perhaps figuratively as well as literally), and bowed to Shimon, explaining that he saw the high priest’s visage in visions providing him with tactical advice right before going to battle, and thereby guiding him to victory.

Alexander famously spared the Beis HaMikdash, allowed Jewish practices to continue, and asked that a marble image of himself be placed in the Beis HaMikdash. The Jews came up with an acceptable alternative way to show their appreciation, proclaiming that all male babies born that year (it turned out that many in subsequent years as well) were to be named after him in appreciation and tribute. As another aside, pro-Trump people might start naming their children Donald, and anti-Trump people might note that the initiative for naming buildings and entities after Trump is not coming from the Jews (although there have been some such namings in Israel) but by the president himself, but we digress.

At any rate, the high priest in this recent Gemara predicted he would die within the year. When asked for an explanation, he replied that every Yom Kippur, upon entering the holy of holies, he would have a vision that he would be met by an old man dressed in white who would enter the holy of holies with him and then would leave with him. This year the high priest was met by the old man dressed in black, who entered the holy of holies with the high priest but did not leave with him. Sure enough, after the holiday of Sukkot, the high priest became ill for seven days and then died. This was the end of his life, but not the end of the message he was to convey.

Shortly before the high priest died, he designated a successor. To make a disgraceful story short, there was some jealousy and intrigue, and the result was that some of the priests sought to kill the would-be heir who escaped to Alexandria (Alexandria! – there are no coincidences in this world). There are two contrasting versions of what happened, including whether a proper or an improper altar was then built, but without altering either version, the Rabbis concluded that if power can corrupt even a person who didn’t attain the power yet, imagine to what extent pure power can corrupt

Oh, by the way, let’s step back a moment. An assassination attempt thwarted! Sound familiar? A person accused of abuse of position and corruption? Also sound familiar?

The whole topic of premonitions took on added twists and turns with the most recent Trump near assassination. A couple of days before the attempted assassination, Jimmy Kimmel famously referred to Melania Trump as having the glow of an expectant widow; in his case, he wasn’t accused of having a premonition but of having contributed to the climate that leads to assassination attempts. He later insisted that his merry widow comment was a joke about an age gap. Then Trump’s own press secretary was quoted as having said, before the dinner that was hosted by the media that is generally hostile to the president, that “shots will be fired.” Again, the press secretary wasn’t accused of having a premonition; she explained that it wasn’t meant literally, but verbal shots at a roast (roast of course not meant literally either).

It may be noted that Rabbi Shalom Rosner, addressing this topic several years ago, cited Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l, as having commented that the high priest’s white clothing symbolized clarity, optimism, and positivity. A leader must think clearly and inspire positive behavior and optimism. After 40 years of leadership, Shimon HaTzadik sensed that the behavior of the Jewish people had declined spiritually and concluded that he was no longer able to inspire them adequately, so it was time for a new leader; it was time to pass the baton to someone else.

May we in Israel and in America – and everywhere else – be worthy of the best leadership possible, relatable to us as Jews as well as to the people and leaders throughout the world, and may we and everyone else always have leaders who can inspire us – and them – to lead lives of moral clarity, optimism, and positivity.

The writer hopes for a quick and positive outcome of the wars now being fought but has a premonition that it will not happen before this article will have been published.