It has been a year of tzaros. We said in the Selichos this morning, “Me’eis l’eis tzarasi merubah miyom she’avar kashah haba — From moment to moment my troubles increase; the day that comes is more difficult than the one that passed.” We have lived through a year of troubles and suffering for the Jewish people as a whole and for countless individuals.
It has been obvious for many months that we are living in a time of divine wrath. It appears that the Ribbono shel olam is not satisfied with His world. There are wars, famine, and sickness all over the world, and we have suffered especially in Eretz Yisrael from daily casualties. In America we lulled ourselves until now into the belief that we are secure. But the events of these last days have left us stunned.
The Rambam tells us that even though the mitzvah of shofar is an inscrutable divine decree, it signals to us, “Uru yesheinim mishnaschem... — Wake up, those of you who sleep, and those of you who have fallen into a deep slumber, arouse yourself from your slumber.” If we have not heard the message of the shofar of Elul, then we surely must hear the awesome message the Ribbono shel olam has sounded with His shofar. He has given us the message that no place is safe, that no one here on earth is in control. You’ve built yourselves towers. You call them the World Trade Center. It’s not there anymore.
The world’s greatest military power is the United States. Its power is centered in the Pentagon. The Pentagon has been hit, and no one has any idea of what the future will bring. Only He is the Ba’al habayis. The Ribbono shel olam is teaching us that He is in charge, that no human power controls the world.
In the Second World War there were a number of great powers: the United States, Russia, England, China, France, Germany, Japan. But one by one they weakened. The only superpower left was the United States, and now we see that the United States can be struck by a few crazy men. Do you think these meshugaim and countless others like them who would destroy the world have not been around for a long time? You think these people just appeared now?
The Vilna Gaon comments on the passage in the Haggadah “Shebechol dor vador omdim aleinu l’chaloseinu v’HaKadosh Baruch Hu matzileinu miyadam — In every generation there are those who rise up to destroy us, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hands.” You think there’s no one there who wants to destroy klal Yisrael? he says. “Tzei u’lemad... — Go out and learn from Lavan HaArami.” Lavan sought to destroy the entire world. Yaakov was living with him; Lavan was his father-in-law, his uncle, his business partner. Yaakov had no inkling that Lavan wanted to destroy him. But he did.
These people have been around all along.
Even if we didn’t know who they were or what they intended, they were there. But they couldn’t do anything if the Ruler of the universe wouldn’t let them. If the Ribbono shel olam is not happy, each of us has to say, “What can I do to make the Ribbono shel olam pleased with His world?”
We see what a churban a few individuals can cause. We’re not talking about armies with superweapons. It is said they used plastic knives and box cutters. No one will ever really know. But look what yechidim accomplished. And there are thousands, millions, of such individuals. If the Ribbono shel olam would open our eyes to see the number of would-be destroyers in the world, we wouldn’t be able to survive from the terror we’d feel. Hashem constantly guards and protects Yisrael and the world. But when He is not satisfied, a few individuals can do the most horrific things.
“Merubah middah tovah mimiddas puraniyus — The divine measure of good is much greater than that of punishment.” Individuals have such a great potential to do good in this world. Moshe Rabbeinu alone saved klal Yisrael with his tefillos. We, too, must all strengthen ourselves with our tefillos for all of klal Yisrael and pray for the safety and security of this great country.
This is the time of chevlei Mashiach. Our Sages tell us, “Mah ya’aseh adam viyenatzel michevlo shel Mashiach ya’asok baTorah u’vigemilus chassadim — What should a person do to save himself from the birth pangs and suffering that will precede the coming of Mashiach? He should engage in Torah study and in acts of kindness.” There are those who say that the Second World War was the culmination of the chevlei Mashiach. No one knows. But the events of the past days surely have all the signs of a time of terrible suffering, and each person has to seek some merit to be saved from this suffering.
Bnei Torah, students of the yeshivah, have a special responsibility. The first Rashi in Tanach cites our Sages’ statement that the world was created for the sake of Torah and for the sake of Yisrael. If there are no Jewish people learning Torah, the world will cease to exist. And in direct proportion to the quantity and quality of Torah learning, there will be a secure perpetuation of the Almighty’s creation. These are days that call for greatness, and we cannot be small people. We are facing a war. The war will be fought with all sorts of weapons with awesome capacity for destruction.
But there is another war, on a higher spiritual level, that will be the decisive factor in the victory or, Heaven forbid, the defeat of the forces of good against the forces of evil. The weapons in that war are Torah and tefillah and gemilus chassadim, acts of kindness. Torah study in the yeshivah must be strengthened with no interruptions. Our tefillos have to be said with greater concentration. And we must put our minds and hearts to find ways of helping others.
Finally, each person must ask himself, “What is the meaning of life? What do I want from my life?” When we let the events embodied by the words “World Trade Center” sink in, when we have seen what has happened to what was called the World Trade Center, when we think of the thousands of lives lost, when we think of the widows and the orphans, the agunos, the parents, relatives, and friends of all these people, there must be a sobering reassessment of what life is all about. One minute a person was the head of a large, successful company, and now that person and that company no longer exist.
Each Jew, especially each ben Torah, must think, What can I do now? How can I reorder my priorities so that the Ribbono shel olam will once again be happy with His world? I must think, “Yehi chevod Hashem l’olam yismach Hashem b’ma’asav — Let the glory of Hashem be eternal, and let Hashem rejoice with his creatures.” Let this be a shenas ratzon, a year of divine favor. A year of doing what the Ribbono shel olam wants. It does not matter what this or that country thinks, nor what the opinion polls think, nor what the talk shows think. It’s what the Ribbono shel olam thinks that’s important.
Each of us must say to himself: What do I want to accomplish in my life? Is my object in life to have a good time, to have a lot of money, to have a high position, to have a big company that can go up in smoke? Or is it to sanctify the Name of Hashem? And how can I sanctify the Name of Hashem? By Torah and acts of chessed.
We should pray to the Ribbono shel olam, “Bnei ircha kimei olam v’rapei mizbechacha heichal v’ulam Yehudah v’Yisrael sham ya’avducha kulam yigdal shimcha mei’olam v’ad olam — Rebuild your city as it was in days of yore and rebuild the Beis HaMikdash. Let the people of Israel all serve You there together, and let Your Name be made great for all eternity.”