B"H
THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH OF KISLEV
Dear Friends:
Eliezer, Avraham's servant, is a great man. Head of his master's household, he is entrusted to find a wife for our Father Yitzchak. He is the man who asks G-d for exact guidance and his prayer is immediately answered as Rivka appears and offers water to him and to his camels. He is treated like a potentate in the house of Besuel.
And yet, the Torah repeatedly refers to him as a "slave." [1] How can this great man, entrusted with the conduct of affairs that will affect the entire future of the world, be referred to as a slave?
The United States has just elected a new president on a mandate of "change." His power and charisma seem awesome.
"Aile va'rechev, v'aile va'susim, v'anachnu b'shaim Hashem Elokainu nazkir." [2]
"Some rely on chariots and some on horses but we call out in the Name of G-d."
The society in which we live tries to give us an illusion of power, but in truth we are not in control of anything at all. We are taught "empowerment," and we suffer under the myth that we control the world.
If we are lucky, we try to control ourselves, but it is a lifetime battle, and a hard one at that. "Hakol bidai shomayim chutz m'yiras shomayim," [3] everything is in the hands of heaven except the fear of heaven. Fear of heaven is all we can try to accomplish in this world.
Now, however, the pitiful state of our weakness is becoming apparent as the world seems totally out of control. Yes, it is spinning out of OUR apparent control, but the Master of the Universe is the same as He always has been, "His greatness and goodness fill the world." [4]
My friends, does anyone understand what is going on in the world today? The forces at work are so massive that no man can understand them, let alone control them. Fires scorch the west; economic tsunamis devastate the heartland; madmen threaten the world with fiery missiles.
Yes, the world is changing, but not the way the politicians think. There is only one Master in this world, and it appears that He is preparing the kind of "change" that only those who deal in matters of Torah can understand.
We must seriously prepare for a new world. We must seriously prepare for a total change in the way of life to which we have been accustomed. As I have said before, this is not what I or any individual may desire, but it seems clear that this is what is happening.
THERE WILL COME A DAY WHEN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD WILL NOT BE NEW YORK OR WASHINGTON OR ROME OR BEIJING OR MOSCOW OR TEHERAN. THERE WILL COME A DAY WHEN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD WILL CLEARLY BE UNDERSTOOD TO BE THE TEMPLE MOUNT, LEHAVDIL, AND FROM THE BAIS HAMIKDOSH A LIGHT WILL SHINE FORTH THAT WILL PENETRATE THE ENTIRE WORLD.
Do we understand how different that world will be from the present one?
This means, my friends, that the "light" emanating from the bastions of the West and the East will sputter and go out. Commerce will no longer rule the world; "news" will no longer be important; no one will care about Wall Street, about prices and statistics and auto sales and advertisements and vacations and entertainment.
The Word of G-d will emanate from Yerushalayim. "On that day Hashem will be One and His Name will be One." [5]
My wife and I spent the month of Tishrai in the Holy Land. On the last evening before returning to the States, I prayed at the shul of the well-known posek and Torah leader, Rav Yitzchak Berkowitz in Sanhedria Murchevet, Yerushalayim. Between mincha and maariv Rav Berkowitz said a shiur on the upcoming Sedra, Lech L'cha. At the time, I was upset about many things, including leaving Eretz Yisroel. The economic news was catastrophic. I needed a lift.
What is "Lech L'Cha?" asked Rabbi Berkowitz. [6] What did G-d say to our Father Avraham? What was the rock upon which our holy way of life was founded?
G-d said to Avraham: "Come away from everything on which you ever thought you depended. Leave it all behind. There is no stability in this world except with Me. You can depend on nothing except Torah. Leave your land, your concepts, your ideas behind, everything you thought was real. To the extent that you think you can depend on anything else, you are distant from Me. Come to a way of life that I will show you. Come to Me and My Torah and then you will live and be a blessing to the world."
We depend, perhaps on our investments, our great job, our beautiful car. Perhaps we are gratified by our influence in the community, our popularity, our lifestyle, our espresso, our vacations, our sporting events, our golf game, our wilderness adventures with the family. We have a sense of stability based on the habits we have formed over a lifetime. We are comfortable with our lives.
Now, my friends, that world in which we have all grown up, those familiar surroundings, are going away. G-d is calling out to us, "Lech l'cha." The end of history is approaching. This is not a fairy tale. The day is coming when Jerusalem and not New York will be the center of the world, and that will be a very different world. Our sages tell us that if we stick like glue to G-d and His Torah we will make it through whatever comes our way and we will live in that beautiful world.
Although Eliezer was a great man, he lived in a different realm from our Father Avraham. Only Avraham answered to "Lech l'cha," and in so doing he became a servant of G-d. This unique gift of service to Hashem he bequeathed to us, his children, and thus we say, every morning, "Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, for not having made me a slave."
In a few weeks, we will kindle lights in the darkness. Chanukah, the holiday which occurs in the darkest days of the entire year, comes to remind us that absolutely nothing stands in the way of the Total Redemption which G-d promises His children. We light eight candles. Eight is the number beyond nature; beyond the logic of this world. No matter how dark this world looks, and it looks pretty dark right now, the full and complete redemption promised in the Torah will come. If we kindle those candles, if we live the purity of Torah in this impure world, if we cling to the Truth in this world of falsehood, if we follow G-d in this world of idolatry, if we fulfill our tradition of eternal service to the Master of the Universe, then we will emerge in the glorious light of a new world, and bask in the glory of the Bais Hamikdosh and the glow of Moshiach the Son of David, our eternal King, may we greet him soon in our days!
- Roy S. Neuberger
© Copyright 2008 by Roy S. Neuberger
