The Jewish Tragedy
Published: May 30th, 2015
Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis
I’ve been focusing the past couple of weeks on the tragedy that has
befallen our people, not just in our own time but in prior generations
as well – our inability to see and appreciate the Hand of G-d in our
lives.
The consequences of such blindness and ingratitude become evident when
darkness envelops us, when G-d withdraws Himself from our presence. It
is then that we demand haughtily, “Where is G-d? Why did He allow this
to happen? Why isn’t He making a miracle for us? Are we not His people?”
We fail to accept responsibility for the breakdown in our relationship
and blame G-d for His abandonment. We fail to understand that even in
the depth of our darkness it is His protection that enables us to
survive. Where it not for Him, the nations of the world would long ago
have devoured us.
Following the 1967 Six-Day War my brother-in-law
HaRav HaGaon Amram HaLevi Jungreis,
zt”l, who was the rabbi of Yazur, Israel, wrote an amazing letter to us.
He was a total man of G-d, studying Torah and performing
mitzvos
day and night. His devotion to Torah study was such that he wouldn’t
even allow a telephone in his house, lest it take away one second from
learning. So this letter from him was very special.
He wrote about Psalm 126,
Shir HaMa’alos, which we sing prior to Grace After Meals on Shabbos and
Yom Tov. The Psalm speaks volumes. It commences with, “When Hashem will return the remnants of Zion we will be like dreamers.”
Indeed, we have witnessed the stunning miracle of the return of the
remnants of our people from all over the world to our ancient homeland –
but we were dreamers and failed to comprehend it. In that very same
Psalm it is also written, “[At that time] the nations will declare that
Hashem has done greatly with them [Israel].”
My brother-in-law explained that everything in life is relative. For
example, if a rich man finds a dollar on the street, it means nothing to
him. But if a beggar finds that same dollar he will rejoice.
The nations of the world who are rich in military expertise and are
accustomed to victory in battle cannot be easily impressed by small
triumphs of little nations. But it’s another story when a little nation
achieves a victory such as Israel’s in the Six-Day War.
King David predicts that prior to the coming of the Messiah, the Jewish
people, who for millennia were homeless and defenseless, with no
military wherewithal, would in the blink of an eye become a mighty power
in the world, triumphing against all odds. At that time the powerful
nations will declare in astonishment, “G-d has done great things for
these people. If G-d would only do this for us, we would rejoice.”
In June 1967, Egypt’s Nasser swore to wipe Israel off the map, massing a
huge army in the Sinai, expelling UN peacekeeping troops, and closing
the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. But little Israel was like
David of old, defeating the Egyptian army and the Syrian army and the
Jordanian army – and numerous troops and armaments sent by other Arab
nations eager to join Nasser in marching on Tel Aviv.
In six lightning days Israel decisively beat back the combined might of
its enemies and made astounding gains on all fronts. For the first time
in nearly 2,000 years Jerusalem was returned to the Jewish people.
Rabbis blew the shofar at the
Kotel, the remnant of our Holy
Temple. First the time in almost two millennia we repossessed Mamma
Rochel’s burial place as well as Hebron, the city of our Patriarchs and
Matriarchs.
Let us again consider my brother-in-law’s analogy. The billionaires –
the large, powerful nations – wanted our little dollar because overnight
that little dollar had become more precious than gold. The mighty
United States of America was, at the time, embroiled in the long and
costly war in Vietnam, and American generals wanted to know the secret
of Israel’s astonishing military success.
The secret was a simple one. Alas, the majority of our people did not
know it – and still do not know it or even want to know it. But unless
we know and can identify the source of our strength, it will disappear.
If that happens, disaster is sure to follow.
The simple source of our power can be summarized in one word: Hashem. I
say “simple” because we need only recognize it and it will appear.
Although there are multitudes who recognize the guiding Hand of G-d in
the history of Israel and in all its battles, the vast majority of Jews
do not.
When the Jewish people place their trust in G-d there is no strength or power that can prevail against them.
“They [the nations] may go forth with chariots and horses but we go forth with the name of our G-d” (Psalm 20).
As we come closer to the awesome days of
Mashiach, the Jewish
people will experience stunning victories as well as terrible tragedies.
Events will unfold so rapidly that before we absorb one, another will
follow. If, G-d forbid, we refuse to acknowledge G-d’s presence, the
consequences will be painful and horrific.
The Six-Day War was a miracle. We rejoiced. We sang and shouted with
exultation. Six days – six incredible days. Everything that befalls us
individually and nationally is orchestrated from Above. But we choose to
be blind. We do not wish to see. Instead of thanking G-d, we
congratulated ourselves and proclaimed the words the Torah tells us
never to proclaim: “
Kochi…my strength and my might did this.”
We deluded ourselves into believing it was
our acumen,
our military know-how,
our strategic planning, and
our valor that brought about our miraculous victory.
We are living in dangerous and ominous times. The winds of war are
blowing and our spiritual blindness can be deadly. We must learn to open
our eyes, ears, and hearts lest we continue to stumble and fall. If we
continue to be blind and deaf and refuse to see the Hand of G-d reaching
out to us from Above, we cannot hope to survive.
The Torah likens the Jewish people to a little lamb surrounded by 70
ferocious wolves always ready to devour us. I know I have mentioned this
many times but I will refer to it again and again until such time that
we have an awakening that will bring an end to the Jewish tragedy of
spiritual blindness. This can be realized only if we understand – not
just intellectually but in our hearts as well – that our protection
comes solely from Hashem.
We just celebrated the great
Yom Tov of
Shavous. The
Midrash
teaches that at Sinai Hashem picked up the mountain and, holding it
above our heads, warned of the consequences that would befall us if we
did not remain loyal to the Torah.
Not once but many times in our long saga have we seen the disastrous reality of that warning.
This is our Jewish tragedy: The inability to see and the inability to hear.
