B"H
THOUGHTS ON ELECTIONS
Dear Friends:
Lately we have been reading the Torah Parshios describing the construction of the Mishkan. It is striking how carefully Am Yisroel builds the Mishkan. Every detail is made exactly in accordance with the incredibly precise instructions of G-d. And perhaps because of our faithfulness in building the Mishkan exactly as G-d had instructed us, we were zoche later to build two Temples, through whose merit we are sustained to this day amidst constant adversity. We still daven toward the Kodesh Kadoshim and from that spot our prayers ascend to the throne of G-d. With His help may we see the third Bais ha Mikdosh soon in our days!
I had my car serviced recently at a big dealership. There was a very modern room with many people waiting for their cars. There was, of course, a huge television screen mounted on the wall with a PA system insuring that everyone could -in fact had to! - listen to CNN. I wanted to study gemora and could not concentrate in that insane atmosphere, so I was very kindly shown a nice quiet conference room which I had all to myself.
But while I was passing back and forth through the waiting room I had a chance to notice the election hysteria gripping this country. It reminded me of what I have written in WORLDSTORM about the institution of monarchy. There are no real kings in the world today. The entire institution is dead, because people cannot bear to subordinate themselves to anything. People in this era believe that THEY are the king; they must be powerful and "entitled"; they must rule. They also believe that they have the requisite knowledge and intelligence.
The concept of monarchy implies that a person is subordinate. Someone who can live with that idea can also live with the idea that there is a King of Kings Who rules the universe! The idea of a king of flesh and blood is an earthly representation of the Reality by which the world is governed.
But in today's world we do not want to accept that there is anything above us. We do not want to be under anyone. We do not want to believe in earthly kings, and by extension we do not want to believe in G-d. Actually I would say it is the reverse: we don't want to believe in G-d and so the institution of monarchy is taboo in our contemporary world.
This world is in chaos because we don't want to subordinate ourselves to G-d , and because we believe that we are intelligent and wise enough to rule ourselves. This is true, tragically, even in the State of Israel, which of all places must be governed by Torah Law. We have a government in Israel which wants not just to ignore but to denigrate Torah. Therefore we witness chaos and extreme danger there as well as in the entire rest of the world, lehavdil.
There is a front-running candidate in the United States whose motto is "change." My friends, do you know what that means? It has very sinister implications, but we reap what we sow. Western Society has for years believed that there is something intrinsically good about "change." "New" things are supposed to be good; young people are better than old people, new fashions and cars and computers and technology are better than old. New morality is supposed to be better than old morality; freedom is better than "Victorian" or "old-fashioned" standards. Everything new is supposed to be better than everything old.
"Havel havailim... futility of futilities!" [1]
My dear friends, we are living in an upside-down world.
Who says that "new" is better than "old"?
How did Am Yisroel survive the millennia of torture, exile and persecution? We survived exactly because we clung to Torah with every ounce of our strength! We did not change one law, one letter, one dot: NOTHING! We have clung with beyond-human strength to the words G-d taught us on Har Sinai and that is the only reason we have survived and will survive forever B"H!
NOTHING HAS CHANGED AND NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE! NOTHING!
It is up to us to ignore the insanity in this world and commit ourselves with renewed strength to the Torah, for that is the only way we will survive! We must take our cue from the way our holy ancestors built the Mishkan. "These are the things that G-d commanded: TO DO THEM...." [2]
May we soon see the day when the world is cleansed of insanity and the harsh voices of chaos are stilled forever! May we soon see the Third and Eternal Bais Hamikdosh erected in the Holy City of Yerushalayim amidst the joy of the revelation of Moshiach ben Dovid and the Final Redemption!
In the merit of the Month of Purim may we soon see eternal simcha!
With blessings,
Roy S. Neuberger
© Copyright 2008 by Roy S. Neuberger
[1] Koheles (Ecclesiastes) 1:1
[2] Shemos (Exodus) 35:
