Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Elder of Ziyon
I always enjoy when I read in the general press - I don't
know why I enjoy it, perhaps its vanity on my part, but I believe it is more than vanity - when I
read in the general press that no
statements were issued by the Israeli government in Yerushalayim because it is the Sabbath today and all
offices are closed.
I enjoyed very
much when I read in the (Boston) Globe yesterday that actually the proclamation of the State
of Israel was on the 14th of May but
since the State of Israel observes the Hebrew calendar, it was the fifth of
Iyar, and since the fifth of Iyar
coincided this year with Friday they
were afraid that the Shabbos not be desecrated by the celebrations, [so] they
advanced it to Thursday. Particularly
when the Christian Science Monitor [wrote it].
This means
kiddush Hashem.
Alright, I am not
completely in agreement at all times with the government of Israel, there are many policies which are wrong and
fallacious. However, we have to have a
look. Those are small details, peripheral matters. The main idea is correct and there is no doubt that hashgacha
(Providence) is planning something it is
far from geulah (redemption) yet, but hashgacha is planning something something in hashgacha holds something in
store for us I don't know. We are still
groping in the dark I don't know what
will... to me the chapter has not been
closed yet It is as if we are in the
middle of the writing of a chapter The
hashgacha is in the middle of writing a chapter... What the continuation will follow, what the
continuation will be I don't know; no
one knows. I have faith in God that it
will lead to geulah sheleimah (the complete redemption).
Whatever happens and transpires is
magnificent, and has tremendous significance
to the Jewish community as such and to individuals as well. Not only the community as such, but every
Jewish individual. After all, Jewish
nevuah (prophecy) has been realized - certain prophecies have been realized, I
wouldn't say in full [but] certain
prophecies have found their fulfillment and realization.Not every generation in
the last 2000 years could take pride in
the fact that ...this time a prophecy by Isaiah was realized. Our generation has been fortunate that
somehow the hashgacha found it necessary
to implement certain prophecies, and
we have been waiting for it thousands of years.
You will ask why
our generation? Why not the generation
of the Vilna Gaon? This question has
been raised. This question has been raised by the Satmarer. If, actually, the establishment of the State
of Israel is so important, you say it is
actually a result of the will of God, not,
as they call it, the will of the Satan, (we have Satanists somehow in the house,
Satan as an autonomous power which rules the world.) He actuality has a duality, the man has a
certain duality of darkness and light. It’s a very strange, strange distorted
philosophy he advocates Never mind his
argument with Zionism, I'm not interested in that The question should be answered - the
question should never be thrown into a waste basket. If you don't know how to answer a question,
say that you don't know.
Don't try to ignore
a question; this is one of our shortcomings, particularly of Orthodoxy We ignore questions. The question which is
unpleasant, we ignore. We don't care. We
don't hear the question. A question
addressed should either be answered or one should admit that it is insolvable There are many equations in mathematics which
are insolvable but still mathematics
retains its dignity If mathematics
should try to ignore an equation which is insolvable (....)
The same thing
with Orthodoxy; ask a question of a Rosh Yeshiva, the question has got to be
answered. "No, ah..." this is
no answer. Either answer the question,
resolve the problem or admit your inability, that you are not competent to
answer certain problems
The problem is a
big problem: This great miracle not happen in the 12th century when Maimonides
was alive Is it because our generation
is worthier? More worthy than the
generation of Maimonides, or the
generation of the Vilna Gaon, or the generation of the Baal Shem Tov? Why did this happen now?
Because
Maimonides could get along without Eretz Yisrael and as a matter of fact we did get along
without Eretz Yisrael! We got along very
well without Eretz Yisrael. Chazal says מדברך נאוה
(Shir Hashirim.) We interpret מדברך נאוה
[to mean] "Your speech is pleasant"
Chazal say מדברך נאוה means "your desert is
pleasant". Chazal say that in the
exile the Jews have excelled themselves have
exhibited excellence, displayed so much
tenacity and so much consecration, and so much loyalty
The Jews in the
first commonwealth could not stand up
and claim as much credit as the Jew in exile in Germany during the Crusades or in 1648 during the Khmelnitsky pogroms The Jew in exile was a proud Jew, a Jew who
was ready to sacrifice
But however,
after the Holocaust of Hitler, six
million people disappeared, actually one third [of the world's Jews] perished Missionaries...you don't know what was going
on in European countries In America it
was not so noticeable because we live in ...Jewish ghettoes But the Jews living in France, in England, in
Italy, there was actually a swarm of missionaries who descended upon them "Don't you see that the words of the
Gospel has been fulfilled? That God is angry at you?" "Do you still believe that your attitude
vis a vis Christ was the right one?"
"Now, if you will just accept baptism all problems will be
resolved"
I'll tell you if
not for the State of Israel, I don't what would have happened to the small
communities throughout Diaspora Shmad
(spiritual destruction), assimilation.....
disintegration, because of black despair. Because of simply not being able to understand
what happened. Do we understand what
happened? Can you explain, can any
theologian explain it? Can any philosopher interpret? Just accept the will of God. But for the real believer, for the man who
has indomitable faith in God, alright, it's possible, but for the people who are just on the
borderline, we don't understand what happened,
we cannot explain it. It was a time of hester
panim, complete hiding of the Face, God actually turned His back on our
people. If not for Eretz Yisrael...it's
impossible to imagine what would have happened to the Jewish diaspora, with the
dispersion. That's why our generation
has something which previous generations didn't, because our generation was in
despair and was in need of it.
