B"H
THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH OF NISSAN
Dear Friends:
We have come to the month of Nissan, the month of Redemption!
How we yearn for the Geula! As our Exile becomes more painful and our hearts ache with sorrow, grief and fear, many of us find ourselves crying out to our Father in Heaven.
"Tati, we can't take it any more. We cannot cry another tear! We have none left! We're willing to give up all the toys of Exile: the cars, the cell phones, the entertainment, the ‘good life' we have learned to pursue... all of it! Just bring us back to our Holy Land in peace and harmony! Let us immerse ourselves in Your Holy Torah. That's all we want! It is enough!"
Nissan is the month in which Redemption becomes reality.
But how do we bring it about? What can we do?
On April 8, 2009, approximately one year from now, we will recite Birkas ha Chama, the Blessing on the Sun. Our rabbis have instituted this blessing to be said every twenty eight years when the sun returns to the exact position it occupied relative to the earth at the moment of original Creation.
That's not all.
Occasionally, a few times throughout history, Birkas ha Chama has fallen on the 14th of Nissan, the day before Passover.
One of those times was directly before Yetzias Mitzraim, the Exodus from Egypt.
Another time was directly before the original miracle of Purim.
The next time will be ... NEXT YEAR!
According to the Kadosh Elyon, the Ostrovster Admor, [1] this will be the very last time in history that Birkas ha Chama can fall on the day before Passover and that, "shortly afterwards, the Redemption must come."
The cosmic event which preceded the two greatest Salvations in the history of the world will take place next year!
My dear friends, let us try to understand this. We know that the Children of Israel are chosen by G-d to be His emissaries in the world, to live by His Torah in the Holy Land. Why is it that we are universally hated, reviled, cursed and attacked? Why are we the universal scapegoat? Why is the entire world shooting words, bullets and missiles at us?
Why? Because they are trying to kill G-d Himself, trying to free themselves from moral restraints in order to carry on their depraved lifestyles! They can't reach G-d , however, so they attack His children!
But we seem so helpless, weak and powerless. What can we do?
Look at the events of Passover! The Children of Israel were subjugated and enslaved, victims of the "superpower" Egypt. No one could challenge the "mighty" Pharaoh. Then came a man named Moses, a servant of the Al-mighty. G-d ruled that Egypt must fall, and Egypt came down like a pile of match sticks or a house constructed of playing cards. The mighty nation disintegrated before anyone knew what was happening. What had seemed the ultimate power, a civilization that would never end, blew away like a puff of smoke.
My dear friends, we must not be blind to the signs that are before our eyes. Did we not see the World Trade Center topple in seconds? Did we not witness the mighty economic structure of Bear Stearns falling apart before our eyes? Did not the powerful governor of one of our great states fall in the blink of an eye? These were mighty structures and mighty men. I am not casting aspersions upon any man nor making any moral judgments. There but for the grace of G-d go any of us!
Yet, we must know that to assume the invincibility of anything but the Almighty G-d and His Torah is to depend upon straw. Egypt became a shambles and its great army drowned in the Red Sea. The Nations of the world who strut in today's sunlight are ephemeral creations in the Eternity of G-d 's Reality. My friends, we must know that G-d is preparing great acts which, with His mercy, we will see in our lifetime. Cosmic events greater than the power of any man to control are unfolding. We cannot stop them, but, if we stick like glue to G-d and His Torah, we will live through them and enter a new existence so great as to be the stuff of our dreams.
"When G-d will return the captivity of Zion, we will be like dreamers. Then our mouth will be filled with laughter and our tongue with glad song. Then they will declare among the nations, ‘ G-d has done greatly with these."' [2]
Not even the mightiest of men could stop the collapse of the mighty fortress of Egypt, and no one can stop this process. When G-d desires to liberate His children, no man or nation can stand in the way. Whoever believes that the Moslem or Western nations are strong is incorrect. They are twigs which will soon blow away in the mighty wind that G-d is preparing.
"For behold, the kings assembled, they came together. They saw and they were astounded. They were confounded and hastily fled. Trembling gripped them there, convulsions like a woman in birth travail. With an east wind you smashed the ships of Tarshish." [3]
When the Blessing on the Sun occurs on the 14th of Nissan, not only does the sun return to its original position relative to the earth, but, in addition, the moon is full. Both Great Lights are in the position they occupied at the very moment of their Creation! [4]
Every month we say the following prayer: "May it be Your will, my G-d and the G-d of my forefathers, to fill the flaw of the moon that there be no diminution in it. May the light of the moon be like the light of the sun and like the light of the seven days of creation, as it was before it was diminished, as it is said, ‘The two great luminaries.' And may there be fulfilled upon us the verse that is written: They shall seek G-d , their G-d and David, their king. Amen." [5]
WHEN THE BLESSING OF THE SUN OCCURS ON THE 14TH OF NISSAN, THE UNIVERSE IS IN EXACTLY THE SAME ALIGNMENT AS AT THE MOMENT WHEN G-D CREATED THIS WORLD. THEN THE EARTH WAS NEW AND PURE, UNTOUCHED BY CORRUPTION, A WORLD OF PERFECT SANCTITY, PERFECT LAW, PERFECT ALIGNMENT BETWEEN MAN AND HIS CREATOR. THIS WAS THE MOMENT OF ORIGINAL REDEMPTION, WHEN G-D CREATED PERFECT ORDER OUT OF CHAOS!
Nations of the world, who dare to torture G-d 's Children and challenge our eternal right to dwell in our Holy Land in peace, beware! The fate of Egypt will be yours!
Soon we will see the invincible power and the salvations of G-d. The story of Egypt is the story of our generation. This year, at our Seder Table, when we recite the words "Next year in Yerushalayim," we should know that the Ultimate Geula and Yeshua are near.
May we all soon see that day of perfection, purity and eternal simcha. May G-d soon wipe away every tear. May He have mercy on us all and allow us to rejoice soon, in our lifetimes, at the rebuilt Temple and to see Moshiach ben Dovid our King reigning in Yerushalayim Ir ha Kodesh!
Roy S. Neuberger
© Copyright 2008 by Roy S. Neuberger
[1] This information came from an article by Dr. Julian Schamroth of Yerushalayim, in an article kindly given to me by Rabbi Avraham Spiegel. According to Dr. Schamroth, the Ostrovster Admor lived some two hundred years ago.
[2] Psalm 126
[3] Psalm 48
[4] The full moon actually is visible on the 15th of Nissan. In April, 2009 it will take place at exactly 2:56 pm on April 9, some twenty one hours after Birkas ha Chama. The timing is very close. It is interesting that Megillas Esther seems to regard Purim as one long day, as if the 14th and 15th are one. It says there (Megillah 9:20), "Mordechai ... sent letters .. charging them that they should observe annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days ... as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies..." This seems to allow us to regard these two days as one, especially in regard to redemption from our enemies.
[5] From Kiddush Levana, the Sanctification of the Moon
