B"H
THOUGHTS FOR THE TENTH OF TEVES
Dear Friends:
Today we fast; it is the Tenth of Teves. Thousands of
years ago, on this day, our Holy City of Jerusalem was surrounded
by enemies.
What is so different today?
Jerusalem is surrounded once again. Now, as then, she
was vulnerable only because there were enemies within as well
as outside.
There is good reason to fast today!
Weep, my brothers and sisters!
Today we witness what may be the greatest act of sinas
chinom in history. Unwarranted hatred of Jew
against Jew brought about this Exile some two thousand years
ago, and now we seem to be witnessing its ultimate realization.
"Catastrophe" is too light a word. Perhaps it is more
like "tohu va vohu." [1] Perhaps, as I speculate
in my book WORLDSTORM, we mortals who walk the earth have succeeded
in reversing the steps of G-d's creation. He made a perfect
world in six days and we, in six millennia, seem to have reversed
that creation and brought the world back almost to the brink
of primordial chaos.
There's not too far to go. One more blundering step
and we may fall off the cliff into eternal emptiness, G-d forbid.
I am tempted to lash out at the so-called leaders of Israel,
who have taken upon themselves to destroy the hope and unity
of our people, the integrity of our Holy Land. But I
know it will do no good. Anger is always self-defeating;
I know from personal experience.
So what can we do?
I know that G-d will not let us perish. He did not save
us up to now only to let our stupidity and self-hatred prevail. "G-d
protects the simple." [2] Or, as we say every day in the Shemonah
Esreh, He will send a Redeemer "for His Name's sake, with
love," even if we don't deserve it. He will also destroy
those who destroy; of this I am sure. But we must leave
the judgment and its execution to G-d. It is beyond
us.
There is, however, something we can do.
My friends, I have witnessed something terribly wrong. You
may think it is insignificant, but I don't.
Sometimes a Jew says "hello" to another Jew, or perhaps "Good
Shabbos," and the second Jew stares right back and walks past
without responding. Or perhaps the second Jew grunts or makes
some barely audible sound in return.
My dear friends, you may laugh at me, but I submit that "ahavas
chinom" will conquer "sinas chinom," unwarranted
love will conquer unwarranted hatred. And it starts
right here, with you and me. If we don't recognize
that our very existence and the existence of our children
depends on ahavas chinom, then we are literally walking in
darkness.
I am not saying we should stop at greetings. Of course,
all forms of chessed and kindness are part of our Torah and
our lifeblood. A kind word, a listening ear, tzedaka,
every act of kindness brings the Final Redemption that much
closer and heals both giver and receiver. But the very
act of greeting each other may seem so prosaic as to be forgotten. And
that is where it all begins. "Rabbi Masya ben Charash
said, 'Initiate a greeting to every person."' [3]
We must reverse the self-hatred among our people. And
we had better start right now. I don't think that too
many of our people are really aware how serious our situation
is. We must greet each other with feeling, and
return greetings with feeling! Even if we don't want
to! We had better realize NOW that our Jewish Family
is in horrible danger. If we don't act like family then
we are not going to be able to reverse the vicious self-hatred
that threatens to tear us apart.
The tornado is coming! The tsunami is coming! The
explosion is coming!
I hope I am wrong, but the signs are as clear as day.
Yes, Moshiach ben Dovid will come. Yes, Eretz Yisroel
will be ours again. Yes, the Temple will be rebuilt.
BUT WILL WE SEE IT?
Remember, only twenty percent of the Children of Israel survived
to participate in the Redemption from Egypt! Must we
repeat the catastrophe? Will we never learn?
My friends: ahavas chinom, unwarranted love. Smile
at your brother and sister just because it is your brother
and sister. Greet your brother or sister. Return
their greeting. Don't even do it for them; do it for
ourselves! Let's be selfish, really selfish! Let's
save our family! "If I am not for myself, who will be
for me?"
We can overpower the haters by reuniting.
You think it sounds naïve?
You never know. Our Father in Heaven will see His children
being good to each other and He may say, "Enough Golus! Enough! My
children want to return to Me. They are trying to overcome
hatred among themselves. I will help them. I will
sound the Shofar Gadol! I will send Eliahu ha Novi with
Moshiach ben Dovid. I will build the Bais ha Mikdosh
for them! I will return them in peace to My Holy City
of Yerushalayim, to Yehuda and Shomron, the West Bank and the
East Bank. Eretz Yisroel will stretch in peace to its
utmost borders until the end of time; peace and justice will
rule the world. The world will be filled with the knowledge
of G-d as the sea fills the ocean bed." [4]
It might just happen that way.
But it all depends on us, you and me.
Written with tears,
Roy S. Neuberger
© Copyright by Roy S. Neuberger 2007
[1] Genesis 1:2: The "astonishing emptiness" before
G-d formed the world.
[2] Psalm 116
[3] Pirkei Avos (Ethics of the
Fathers) 4:20
[4]
Isaiah 11:9
