B"H

THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH OF SHEVAT

      We are still in the winter, but the month of Shevat gives us a hint of spring, of redemption. On the Fifteenth of this month we celebrate Tu b'Shvat, the day on which the sap begins to run in the trees of Eretz Yisroel, and we begin to look to-ward the beautiful spring when the flowers bloom and we prepare ourselves for Purim, Pesach and the Redemption, may it come soon in all its glory!
      My friends, we are going through hard times. We children of Israel are under attack from all sides, even from within! Between our external and internal strife, the world often seems very dark. As we know, our troubles all find their origins in the events of the Torah. The controversy among Joseph and his brothers, the tragedy of the spies who did not have enough trust in G-d to survive in the Holy Land… we are living with the legacy of these painful events.
      Several weeks ago, Leah and I had the privilege of spending the Shabbos of Parshas Vayigash in Baltimore at the Shul of Rabbi Yossi Berger. Rabbi Berger said a memorable "droshe" on Shabbos which provides perspective for our current agonies.
      G-d says to our Father Yaakov, "al tira… do not be afraid of descending into Egypt, for I shall establish you as a great nation there. I shall descend with you, and I shall surely bring you up; and Joseph will place his hand on your eyes."*
      This is a passage of great consolation to our Father Yaakov, but Rabbi Berger** says it is more: Yaakov Avinu at this time was shown by G-d the entire future suffering and exiles of his children, down to our very day, and was told by G-d, regarding those future sufferings, "do not be afraid."
      But in that context, what did G-d mean by the sentence, "Joseph will place his hand on your eyes"? What does Joseph placing his hand on Yaakov's eyes (at the moment of his death in Egypt) have to do with the future sufferings of Yaakov's children?
      The amazing answer gives us hope today, my friends.
      G-d is giving Yaakov Avinu the "formula" through which he – and his children – will survive the terrible future sufferings of exile.
      Think of the life of Joseph: sold by his brothers and traded from slave-master to slave-master until he became an unknown servant in the G-dless, idol-infested land of Egypt. Abandoned by his family, seemingly forever, lost in a foreign land, falsely accused by his master's wife, thrown into prison seemingly forever, a slave, a criminal, a hated "Hebrew" imprisoned in a corrupt land, thought to be dead by his grieving father, his story seems one of unrelieved blackness and reason for despair.
      What in fact was the reality? The reality is that each of these seemingly tragic and desperate events in the life of Joseph was a step in the coming miraculous Redemption, not only of him and his family, but of the Children of Israel, a pre-cursor of the future Redemption which would lead us to greatness at Mount Sinai! Every step in the darkness was orchestrated by G-d as part of the glorious epic story which ended with Joseph becoming the monarch of Egypt and the savior of his family! It seemed like darkness but, if one could look with the vision of G-d, it was all bathed in light, a story of the coming redemption.
      This is what is meant by "Joseph will place his hand on your eyes" in the context of Yaakov's vision of his children's future exile. G-d was telling Yaakov Avinu: when your children will be drowning in apparent darkness and desperately crying out in their future troubles, they should know that the apparent darkness is not really darkness, it is in fact the preparation for the future glory which I am preparing for them at that very moment! Let the story of Joseph be a "covering for their eyes," let them not drown in despair at the events they see around them, for at that very moment I will be preparing their redemption!
      This beautiful explanation has given me much solace in the weeks since I heard it, and I wanted you to hear it also, so that we should all know, whatever darkness we may encounter in our days and the days ahead is only apparent darkness. We may still be in the midst of the freezing wind and rain of our dark winter, but the sap is beginning to flow in the trees and the beautiful fruits of the coming of our Redeemer, Moshiach ben Dovid, are being prepared by the Master of the World.
      May we all see that moment, soon in our own days!
      With blessings,
       
                                                                                                  Roy S. Neuberger

* Genesis 46:3-4
** In the name of Rabbi Avraham Yehuda ha Kohain Schwartz in his sefer Kol Aryeh, quoting the Zohar