On September 15, the second day of Rosh Hashana, the 70th (there’s that number 7 again) UN General Assembly begins, and France is expected to introduce a resolution to the UN Security council to recognize a Palestinian State. “Up until now,” writes ETF Daily News, “the US has always been blocking such a resolution, but Barack Obama has already indicated that things may be different this time around. It would be extremely difficult to overstate the significance of this.” Other significant events occurring in September which, in tandem, create a smorgasbord of End of Days scenarios, include: Congress’ vote on the Iran nuclear deal on September 17, Pope Francis’ arrival in the United Sates on September 23rd, which coincides with Yom Kippur and the Muslim Holiday of Eid al-Adha or “The Feast of the Sacrifice,” and a major lunar eclipse on Sukkot, this time a super moon, which means the moon will appear 14% larger. The Pope will address Congress to endorse a UN Document called “Transforming Our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” which aims to “strengthen universal peace” and take steps toward eliminating poverty by 2030.
The Torah though is quite clear that eliminating poverty isn’t about to happen, not by 2030 and not ever, as it clearly states in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 15:11 “For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying: ‘Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land.'” Chapter 15, of course, is talking about Shemitah.
Even for those who scoff at superstition, there may be some financial and political hiccup in September due to the plethora of events, the relative instability of certain regions of the world, such as the Middle East, Russia and the Ukraine, and, of course, self-fulfilling prophecy. Doomsday scenarios are often worth paying attention to not because they involve some kind of mystical likelihood of being true, but because other people are paying attention to them, and that may affect the movement of stock prices and commodities. During times of widespread anxiety, gold tends to rise in price, so those who have bars or coins of the precious metal may prefer that the Jeremiahs of the market keep chattering. When it comes to what moves the markets, perception is often everything, uncertainty is a huge deterrent to investment, and a cause of market dips.
If the world doesn’t end this Rosh Hashanah, there is always Stephen Colbert to look forward to on September 16th, with Kevin Spacey, Willie Nelson, Carol Burnett and others on The Late Show. If we have until Yom Kippur, CharismaNews reminds us that at least we can participate in Talk Like a Pirate day on Facebook September 19th.
Hardy har har.
The Yom Kippur War, in 1973, came at the end of a Shemitah year.
