As we follow the news daily, we feel nervous, scared, and a feeling of loss of control. The questions of what will be and what can be, fill our minds whether we like it or not. We try to move on with our daily lives, however the thoughts and knowledge that our brothers are on the front line in the South and the North, keep us worried non-stop. They are trying to defend us with all their might, and we are praying for them constantly.
There has been a great move spiritually in the country that is felt everywhere. The togetherness, and the solidarity are present in every corner you look. Many Jews have taken upon themselves keeping Shabbos for the first time, and many are putting on tefillin for the first time as well. The prayers of Tehillim that are recited daily are felt greatly throughout this time period, and a feeling of compassion, connection and unity are felt and seen all around.
The high holidays came and went so fast, we can hardly remember them, since these terrible events of the Massacre on Simchat Torah still linger in our minds and in our hearts. These horrible events barely let us move on with our lives. How can we move on when so many families have been murdered? So many families left without a home, and so many families wounded. So many cities in Israel are filled with the families from the South that lost everything they had. Living in hotels, not knowing when they will ever return back to their homes. I remember so clearly when thousands of Jews were chased out of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip so many years ago. How much they warned and begged and pleaded that moving the Jews from the Gaza Strip would lead to bloodshed, but to no avail. How many families back then lost everything they had and were forced to start all over again. It is written in the Holy Torah that “Kol Yisrael arevim ze la ze,” which means, that we as Jews are all accountable for one another. We are all one in the eyes of Hashem, and when one Jew is suffering we must all feel his pain and do all we can to help. So too if one Jew causes damage in some way, all of us should feel the pain and consequently will suffer the consequences somehow. A parent loves all their children and considers every child in the home as one. When we are united no one can harm us. Unfortunately we tend to forget this fact when all is well, and remember it very well when we fall down.
No matter what the Jewish people have gone through, are going through, and will go through, we always have Hashem, and the Torah, and one another. Hashem gave us the Torah so many years ago, knowing that this will save us. The Torah is an exact guide for us in every situation that will occur.
We started the book of Bereishit once again. The book of stories. The stories that tell the path of each and every Jew. The struggles and triumphs of each of our Forefathers and Mothers, that led the way for us till this very day.
Especially now in these hard times when we feel so lost and sad, we can find great comfort every week as we sit in the synagogue and listen to the stories of our heritage unfold. We can relate to Adam and Eve that were forced to leave the Garden of Eden, to Noah who saved himself and his family. To Avraham who found Hashem in times of great darkness, to Yosef who was chased by his own brothers. The comfort that we find in all these stories, is that we see how Hashem was and will always be there for us. We fall and rise and follow the footsteps of our ancestors, only to realize that we are never alone and that there is only one leader to this whole game plan, and that is Hashem. He was, is, and will be forever.
Let us keep strengthening ourselves with the holy Torah, and keep on guiding our every move by its light. And may we merit soon in our times to see the full Redemption in great mercy, please G-d, soon.
