By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Once again, we are reminded that we are living in historic and dangerous times. Israel’s assassination of terror leaders in retribution for the wanton murder of twelve Israeli children has led to a sense of impending war in Eretz Yisroel. As of this writing, Israelis are waiting fearfully for Iran and its proxies to shower the country with a rain of powerful rockets, never previously seen or experienced. As the mournful month of Av begins, we watch from afar with much trepidation.
We see that al pi derech hateva, Israel is in a fight for its very existence, dependent more than ever on the United States, which is being led by a weak administration. Americans are resolute in their support of Israel, but the country’s leaders have been sending mixed signals. To be fair, the United States has been backing Israel, providing the artillery, munitions, and support Israel required to keep the Gaza war going until now. At the same time, President Biden has been holding back the delivery of equipment Israel deems essential, while pressing Israel to sign onto a cease-fire deal that they don’t see as being in their best interest. Despite the rhetoric of absolute support, there are obvious cracks and leaks that undermine Israel’s position.
We are living through a very difficult period in a very difficult world. The United States is in a difficult situation as fears of recession settle in and markets crash. The media is in full throttle for Kamala Harris, and the fact that she is an extreme liberal with near-socialist leanings has been buried as the propaganda campaign for her election bears fruit. Americans are confused and apparently easily influenced to support a candidate who is not in their best interest. It is often stated at election time that the future of the country is at stake, and this time it seems truer than ever.
We are fearful of the present as well as of the future. We don’t know where to turn and are quite apprehensive about the tenuousness of our situation. Wherever Jews find themselves, we are reminded that we are in golus.
We have not yet perfected ourselves and made ourselves worthy of Moshiach ben Yosef arriving and foretelling the arrival of Moshiach ben Dovid. Thus, we remain in golus.
As we contemplate the current reminders that we are in golus, we see that people who had become so assimilated that they almost lost touch with Judaism are now reminded to reattach to the faith of their forefathers and mothers. Secular Israelis, such as those who were celebrating a music festival when it was attacked on Simchas Torah, were shocked into adopting mitzvos.
We realize that history is being made daily, and as the events unfold, they are carefully guided and orchestrated by Hashem. Presidents, prime ministers, and generals are in Hashem’s hands, acting out His plans to prepare the world for Moshiach’s coming.
Let us view what is transpiring through the lens of golus and geulah.
We live in the times of ikvesa d’Meshicha, the times Chazal warned about. We must increase our devotion to limud haTorah, lomdei Torah, and shemiras hamitzvos. We have to embrace each other and increase the achdus among us, ridding ourselves of hate and division.
The world was created for Torah, and in its merit, we exist and prosper. We support Torah and Torah supports us. As we approach the days of Moshiach, we have merited to see support of Torah becoming popular, with unprecedented amounts of money being raised for yeshivos. There can be no greater zechus than assisting yeshivos and kollelim to sustain themselves and expand. We need great zechuyos these days.
When our forefather Yaakov perceived that his family was going to be living in Mitzrayim, he sent Yehudah ahead to establish a yeshiva where they would be able to study Torah. Yaakov was doing what was necessary to sustain his family and also sending a message to future generations that yeshivos are vital to our existence and continuity. All throughout Jewish history, there have been yeshivos wherever we were, and the yeshivos helped our people remain vibrant and endure. We must do what we can to ensure their financial stability and vitality.
During the period leading up to the Gulf War, people were fearful of what would happen to Eretz Yisroel. Iraq’s ruler, Saddam Hussein, was threatening that if America attacked his country, he would retaliate by bombing Israel with rockets loaded with explosives, as well as disease-causing agents, killing by sickness those who wouldn’t die from his explosions.
People were fleeing Israel to places considered safer. Students from overseas were being pressured by their families to return home. Many turned to Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach for his counsel. He advised those who asked him what to do, to remain in Eretz Yisroel for the duration. He said that while the fate of Israel should a war break out with Iraq wasn’t clear, it was equally unclear what the situation would be in foreign countries. He ruled, with the clarity borne of decades of toil in Torah, that since at that time Eretz Yisroel was not a greater makom sakanah than anywhere else, it was folly to try to figure out which place was safer than the other.
Iran threatens not only Israel, but the entire Middle East. It openly threatens Jews wherever they are, and governments everywhere are advising Jewish people to take extra precautions. And it threatens the United States, just as it does Israel. No place is safe from the long reach of its terror. Our safety depends on Hashem, and tefillah is crucial.
It happened once that the lion, king of the animals, decided to hold a birthday celebration for himself. A call went out from the kingdom that every animal was obligated to attend the celebration and must also bring a present to the king.
All the animals from near and far converged on the appointed day to take part in the great celebration of the king’s birthday. The fox also came, but he couldn’t decide on an appropriate gift and arrived empty-handed.
Suddenly, the gathering grew silent as the gift presentation ceremony got underway. One by one, each animal approached the lion king, bowed, and presented a gift. And then the turn of the fox came. Though considered very wise, he had done something very unwise and had come without a gift.
The king’s minister suggested that since the fox is known for his wisdom and wisdom is housed in the heart, the fox should present his heart to the king as a gift on this great day of celebration. The king readily agreed to the proposal. The fox, however, fearing that he was outfoxed, shuddered at the idea of the king ripping out his heart and killing him. He thought quickly.
“My dear king,” he said, “it is true that my heart is very precious and would make an appropriate gift to His Highness on his birthday. However, because of the great value of the heart, I guard it extremely well so that it does not get hurt and I don’t take it with me wherever I go. I leave it at home in a special place under lock and key. Therefore, I ask of you that you allow me to leave the party to run home and retrieve it so that I may present it to you.”
The benevolent king acquiesced to the heartfelt request. The fox ran off as fast as his legs could carry him and lived happily ever after.
Rav Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, rov of Yerushalayim, told this story as a parable to explain the posuk that we all know that appears at the end of Eicha: “Al zeh hayah doveh libeinu, al eileh choshchu eineinu, al Har Tzion sheshomeim, shualim hilchu vo.” He explained it as follows:
Al zeh hayah doveh libeinu: Why is it so long that we have been forced to mourn the destruction of the Botei Mikdosh? Why have our eyes blackened from this long and arduous golus?
Shualim hilchu vo: It is because we have been acting like the fox in the little fable that left his heart at home. We also leave our hearts at home. We go to shul to daven, and instead of using our heart to think about the meaning of what we are saying and daven with concentration, we mumble our way through the prayers without heart because we left our hearts at home.
Al zeh, this is the reason, doveh libeinu, that we have become blackened and distraught over mourning the churban for so long. Shualim hilchu vo, we have been davening like a fox, with no heart and no thought.
Our davening has the ability to bring the geulah, but we have to concentrate on what we are saying, recite each word carefully, and say it with heart and conviction.
The Vilna Gaon says in next week’s parsha of Va’eschanon that when Hashem created His world, He empowered tefillah as a part of teva. Tefillah has the power to change things, to erase gezeiros and harsh judgments. But it goes without saying that tefillah only has that power when done properly, with heart and kavanah.
In all times, and especially in a time such as now, we need to pay more attention to our tefillos. During the summer, when we aren’t in a rush anywhere, we have the opportunity to slow down and take the time to ensure that we say each word properly, without slurring or mumbling, giving thought and heart to what we are saying. Doing so can change our lives and can change the course of the world.
We are in a period when nobody knows what the next day will bring. We can effect change and help ourselves in our matzovim and our brethren in theirs by adding a few minutes to our davening. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain.
The Chofetz Chaim asked Rav Binyomin Hatzaddik, the Maggid of Radin, the following question. Many times, Jews have gone through rough patches. Winds of war were blowing and it felt as if Moshiach was on the way. Then things settled down and Moshiach did not arrive. What happened? What went wrong? He was so close. Why didn’t he come? The golus so is long and the night is so dark. When will it end?
The Maggid answered with a parable. He said that on a winter day, some people set out on a long journey in a wagon, as that was the mode of travel in those days. They hired a comfortable wagon that traveled on skis, as two strong horses dragged it through the Russian tundra.
They set out at night. As the driver tended to the horses and the road, they got comfortable, recited chapters of Tehillim, drank alcohol to keep themselves warm, and engaged in small talk. This went on for a few hours, and then they drifted to sleep. As they slept for twelve hours, the sun rose and set. After the sun had set, they woke up, said some Tehillim, spoke to each other for a couple of hours, and then decided that it was time for a drink. With the alcohol again in their systems, they quickly dozed off and slept through the entire next day.
By the time they woke up, it was dark again. They turned to the driver and asked him what was going on. “How long can a night last? We’ve been traveling for so long and it’s still night! When will we see daylight again?”
The driver responded to them, “Silly people, one day passed and another day passed, but you slept through them.”
The Radiner Maggid explained that this was addressed by Yeshayahu Hanovi, who says, “Shomer mah mile’il, omar shomer asah boker vegam loylah, im toboyun boyu, shuvu eisoyu.” We ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu, who is the Shomer Yisroel, “Shomer mah mile’il,” why is this night of golus so long? The Shomer responds, “Asah boker,” the morning has come; there were many opportunities for redemption, for geulah, for the great light to shine. “Vegam loylah,” but you missed your opportunity, and therefore darkness returned.
The solution, he said, comes in the second half of the prophecy. “Im toboyun, boyu.” If you want the light of the redemption to shine, you must daven for it. And Rashi adds that if you want to hurry along the redemption, “Shuvu eisoyu,” then you must do teshuvah and repent.
So many times, we were almost there, but we needed the extra push, and we needed to daven more and better, and we didn’t. We needed to do teshuvah, but we didn’t. The opportunity slipped by.
I’ve written previously that the last time I spoke with my rebbi, Rav Moshe Shapiro, Iran’s saber-rattling and nuclear ambitions were in the news and people were fearful. I asked what we should be thinking at the time as the world and Eretz Yisroel shook in fear. He looked me in the eyes and said, as only he could, “Pinny, herr gut vos ich zog eich. Der vos veis epes vegen di zachen, anybody who knows anything about these things, knows that this will lead to the geulah.”
May we do what is incumbent upon us, and may his words come true very soon, as this chodesh of mourning is turned into a chodesh of joy, bimeheirah beyomeinu. Amein.
{Matzav.com}