Yoel Bin-Nun

Step by step, we have to absorb more and more.

It doesn't mean that all of us have to become Rav Yoel Ben Nun.

We don't all have to become the greatest Tanakh scholars of all time.

But Am Yisrael needs these words.

So Yoshiyahu was willing to fight for that, and Yirmiyahu was trying to warn him to say, "No, your generation does not fully deserve that." In fact, the Midrash says that they had idols that they hid behind doors so that Yoshiyahu's inspectors wouldn't find them.

And while this may seem a little bit extreme, Rav Menachem Leibtag and Rav Yoel Bin Nun in their shiurim on Yirmiyahu and Y- Yeshayahu explain that this was symptomatic of a deeper problem for Yosh- Yoshiyahu and his elites, his men, and the entire generation at the time, that they believed that they were living through Mashiach.

As we mentioned, there-- the p- period of spiritual decline when the Beis Hamikdash was effectively destroyed by Menashe rendering it inoperable by putting in avodas zaras and persecuting anybody that worshiped Judaism and by try-- literally stamping out Jewish religion.

In addition to that, the country lay in decay during that time period, only building it up during Menashe's reign of oppression.

There are others, though, who say that it is referring to Mashiach.

Reviot Ben Nun believes that it actually refers to the last king of Bavel.

His name was Nabonidus, and his son was Belshazzar.

and he, who was the last king of Bavel, ultimately crushed the people of Edom, and then he was subsequently defeated by Cyrus and the Persians.

So Rav Yoel ben Nun thinks that this is a much more recent prophecy, something that was fulfilled a couple hundred years after Yeshayahu lived and not the ultimate redemption.

And in fact, I'll post in the chat some pictures of a discovery that was made probably about 15 years ago, I think.

It's called the Sela inscription or the Jordan Rock in modern-day Jordan, near Bozrah, near Petra, near that area.

And the people of Edom, in addition to attacking independently, would often join in aiding other foreign invaders when they would attack the Jewish people, Aram, Assyria, and ultimately the Babylonians as well.

He publicized this and published and published a book, Am Nolad, about his find and about his arguments that this is the Mizbeach of Yehoshua.

I had the opportunity to go visit it under the leadership of Rav Yoel Bin Nun in 1983, and we were astounded when we got there and saw it and opened up the Tanakh and read this parasha in Yehoshua Chet as we stood at this Mizbeach.

There are, of course, archaeologists who disagree and say that it's not really the Mizbeach, and they give this argument, that argument, and what mountains can be seen from there, etc.

And it's something that's not yet been settled, but it's really a fascinating thing.