HaShem talks to you. Are you listening?

If, like many, you’re a thoroughly modern man or woman, you probably don’t spend much time thinking about G-d. You’re probably too busy.

Even if you pray and study, you seem always to worry about the details of ‘getting and spending’. That worry turns your heart to money, not G-dliness.

You multitask to save time. You use a hands-free phone while you drive. You text while you eat.

If that describes your lifestyle, you might want to hit the ‘pause’ button. The world might be changing. HaShem, the G-d of Israel, could come knocking at your door.

You’ll want to be ready. It wouldn’t be smart to tell Him, ‘I’m busy. Come back next month’.

That might work with a door-to-door salesman. It won’t work with G-d.

Can you see what’s going on? HaShem is talking to you. Of course, He doesn’t use Prophets any more. He stopped doing that long ago. Their method of communication wasn’t, apparently, all that effective.

But you’re different. You live in a world that’s techno-savvy. You’ve got internet.

At last, with wifi, G-d has your attention. Using news headlines, He can communicate with you in an instant.

That’s much more G-d-like.

Have you been paying attention—or have you been too busy texting? HaShem’s using the news headlines to repeat to you exactly what He’d said more than 2,500 years ago.

For example, back then, He’d said that the day will come when a Great Leader of a Great Nation will act against the Jewish people (Yecheskeil, 38:10). That Great Leader, HaShem said, will conceive a ‘wicked design’ against Israel (ibid).

If you’re thoroughly modern, you’ll probably find HaShem’s writing style (through the voice of his Prophets) to be ‘archaic’. Don’t worry about it. He isn’t asking, ‘r u ok’?

In His own way, He’s asking, ‘whr r u?’

He’s telling you that the present is now the same as the past. Both reveal a war against Jerusalem. He spoke of it first in the Prophets. Now you see it in the news.

Will you also see a Great Leader from a Great Land prepare to battle against Israel (ibid)?

Certainly, the Jewish people have been gathered into Israel from many nations (Yecheskeil, 38:8, 38:12, in The Living Nach, The Later Prophets, 1995, p.415). In the last hundred years, Israel’s Jewish population has grown from app 83,000 to more than 6 million. Does this mean that HaShem is ready to change the world?

You’ll have to pay attention. You’ll have to figure out if America is the Great Nation that comes to war against Israel. You’ll have to figure out if President Obama is the Great Leader of the Great Nation the Prophet described.

Does Obama’s rush to help Iran continue its demonic nuclear ambitions mean anything (“Once again, Obama betrays Israel”, Newsday, November 26, 2013)? Do the vulgar descriptions of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a ‘chickensh*t’ mean anything (“Ditching Israel, Embracing Iran”, The Weekly Standard, November, 2014)?

You’ll have to pay attention. Will you read the headlines?

In Israel, Arabs rage against Jews (“Tensions Snowball in Jerusalem”, Arutz Sheva, November 2, 2014). US Secretary of State John Kerry tells Israel (through his spokesperson) that Muslims must be allowed onto the Temple Mount, even as Muslims call for a ‘Day of Rage’ against Jews in Jerusalem (“US Told Israel Temple Mount ’Must Be Opened to Muslims’”, Jewish Press, October 31, 2014).

The US said nothing about Jewish concerns for security in Jerusalem in the face of raging Arabs. It said nothing about Jews continuing to be banned from the Temple Mount. Its only concern was for the Muslim. It didn’t mind that, three days earlier, Muslim leaders had called for an Intifada in Jerusalem (“Abbas Calls for 'Jerusalem Intifada' - Just Like Arafat Did”, Arutz Sheva, October 28, 2014).

Will such indifference to Jewish safety play a role in G-d’s plan for the world? Will America’s indifference—and the Arabs’ hostility--to freedom of Jewish worship on the Temple Mount affect G-d’s plan for the nations?

In ancient times, King David of Israel spoke of Edom, Yishmael and others who gather together to plot craftily against Israel (Psalm 83). He described how they seek counsel to wipe the Jews out as a nation (ibid).

Does the leader of the (Edomic) America join with the Arab descendants of Yishmael to create a wicked design against the Jews? Do they craft a plan to wipe out the Jewish nation?

Are you paying attention to the headlines?

Follow the news. Read your Tanach. Read the weekly Torah and HafTorah Portions. Think about what you read.

November, 2014 might be the beginning of the Great War the Prophet Yecheskeil talks about. It might not be.

Nevertheless, make no mistake. HaShem, the G-d of Israel, is talking to you.

Are you listening?