Growth Opportunities

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

Parshas Lech Lecha opens with one of the ten nisyonos Avrohom Avinu confronted. Nisyonos are commonly translated as tests or challenges. Avrohom was confronted by ten of them and earned the title of Avinu by passing each test and overcoming the challenges.

A common misconception when studying these parshiyos is that Avrohom Avinu faced ten difficult situations, which he successfully endured. He was therefore blessed with better times.

Upon further scrutiny, however, one finds that this is not what a nisayon is about and it’s not what life is about.

There are many interpretations as to why we lain the story of Hagar and the birth of Yishmoel on Rosh Hashanah. Perhaps we can suggest another.

We read in this week’s parsha that Hagar, the servant of Avrohom and Sarah, ran away from them. Sarah didn’t take kindly to her, so, having had enough of the bad treatment, Hagar ran off into the desert. A malach found her in the desert and asked her where she was coming from and where she was going. She replied that she was running away from Sarai. The malach told her to return to where she had come from. “Shuvi el gevirteich vehisani tachas yadeha - Return to your mistress and submit yourself to her domination.” The malach then told her that she will have so many children that it will be impossible to count them. He told her that she would give birth to a son and that she should name him Yishmoel to memorialize the fact that Hashem heard her prayers. He then told her that the son would be a terrible person, who would be despised and hated by all (Bereishis 16:1-16).

Ostensibly, the malach was seeking to comfort her, so why did he tell her to go back to Sarai and be mistreated? What consolation was there in hearing that she should return and submit to her painful existence? Apparently, he was telling her to go back so that she may give birth to a son who would be granted to her on account of Hashem hearing her prayers. Why, then, did the malach tell her that he would be an awful person? Why would hearing that entice her to return? “Go back and suffer, but have no fear, as you will have a terrible son.” Why? “Because Hashem heard your prayers.” How does that provide her with an incentive to return to the home of her mistress?

In fact, if we think about the pesukim, we realize that the malach was not telling Hagar that her future would be bright. He didn’t tell her to return because she would live happily ever after in Avrohom’s house. He was telling her, “This is your shlichus, this is your mission, so embrace it. Your mission in life is to work for Avrohom and Sorai. Your mission is to give birth to this son. Hashem heard your prayers and this is what He wants from you.”

The happily-ever-after ending was the assurance that it was Hashem’s will that she return to Avrom and Sorai, difficult as it may have been. And that, too, is a consolation. Once she understood that her suffering was part of a Divine plan, she was able to accept it. When she heard from the malach that her mission was to give birth to the archetype pereh adam, she was relieved, satisfied with the knowledge that the travails were chosen for her by a loving G-d who heard her prayers.

When there is faith, there is strength and acceptance of any situation.

The Ramban (Bereishis 22:1) says that the purpose of a nisayon is to reveal a person’s dormant abilities. A nisayon is not really a test. It is an opportunity for growth. A person grows by accepting the curveballs that life throws his way and maintaining his faith and determination as he acts and reacts properly.

The posuk states, “Lech lecha…el ha’aretz asher areka - Go…to the land that I will show you.” The Meshech Chochmah explains allegorically that by following Hashem’s word, Avrohom would be shown his latent abilities, and they would be shown to the world, as well. We can add that it is by being faced with nisyonos and overcoming them that Avrohom was nisaleh, as his potential was realized.

Chazal proclaim, “Ba’asarah nisyonos nisnasah Avrohom Avinu ve’omad bekulam.” This literally means that Avrohom rose up to all his tests. The Slonimer Rebbe explained that Chazal state that “omad” refers to tefillah. As Chazal say, “Ein amidah elah tefillah.” He explains that Avrohom Avinu faced ten nisyonos and responded to each one in the same fashion: by davening.

We may wonder what Avrohom davened for. What was his request of Hashem?

We may answer that his prayers were not necessarily for him to merit what we would call a happy ending. Avrohom davened to merit the strength and conviction to fulfill Hashem’s will, come what may, and react the way that was expected of him.

This idea is further enforced by the Torah’s description of the Bris Bein Habesorim. When Avrohom heard of the pain and the darkness of the golus (15:12 and Rashi there), he was overcome by great fear. Hashem promised him that his children will live in a strange land, where they will be enslaved and tortured for four hundred years, ultimately being redeemed berechush gadol. “You will die at an old age, and the fourth generation of your progeny will return to the Holy Land, because until then the Emorites will not have sinned enough to merit their eviction.”

Although he was informed that his children would be oppressed for four hundred years, he was comforted because he was told that it was part of a greater plan. Four hundred years of enslavement should be crushing. The revelation that his people would be subject to such confinement and abuse should have caused Avrohom more pain. But he accepted it, for he knew that it was the will of Hashem and not something caused by happenstance. Avrohom was promised the Land of Canaan and he was comforted with the knowledge that although the happy ending wouldn’t come as soon as he had expected it, he learned that there were many Divine calculations that determined the length of the exile, “lo sholeim avon ha’Emori.” It wasn’t how he had envisioned it, and there would be many years of pain and deprivation on the way, but he was happy, for he now knew that there were more factors involved in Hashem’s plan than he could ever fathom.

We are conditioned to expect every story to have a happy ending. Many of the problems we face stem from these false expectations. People are sad and feel unfulfilled because they think that they are entitled to the perfect job, family, children, neighborhood and life.

As we grow and mature, we have to accept the reality that Hashem decides what we get. The fairy tale ending comes when we embrace His plan and make it our own. When we realize that a perfect life is one that embraces the challenges that it confronts, we can begin to anticipate achieving joy and inner peace. As long as we are stuck with fictionalized views of life, in which success and happiness are defined by perfect children, wealth, beauty, shiny white teeth, and a big house on a big lot with an expensive car in the garage, we will be unhappy and always seeking to find the elusive joy.

A group of bochurim facing the Russian military draft went to the Chofetz Chaim to request a brocha that they be spared. He assured the group that they wouldn’t be drafted. Indeed, they weren’t. There was one bochur, however, to whom the Chofetz Chaim said, “Es iz nisht geferlach if you get drafted, as a person can be mekadeish sheim Shomayim wherever he is, and he can help others observe mitzvos.”

That bochur was drafted into the army and faced hardship, privation, hunger and loneliness. Along with his troop, he stopped in a town that had a Jewish community. The soldier went to speak with the local rov and unburdened himself about his difficult situation, explaining how rough it was to be a lone shomer Torah umitzvos. The lack of kosher provisions added to the burden.

The rov, determined to help him, set out to obtain kosher food for the soldier. The rov organized the local askonim, who went through the tedious bureaucratic process and eventually succeeded. The rules were changed and kosher food was allowed. The bochur convinced another 40 Jewish boys to eat kosher.

The Chofetz Chaim’s message to the boy was that everyone has a shlichus and is part of a plan, and the ultimate goal is to be mekadeish sheim Shomayim. “If you are destined to be in the army and can be mekadeish Hashem, encouraging people to do mitzvos during your period there,” said the Chofetz Chaim, “then that is your happy ending.”

People wonder how we can be happy on Purim when we know the fate of Esther Hamalkah, heroine of her people. Her valor and the rescue of the Jewish nation came at extreme personal cost. Esther remained the wife of the wicked King Achashveirosh long after the Jewish people were saved. The lives of everyone else she knew returned to normal, while she remained in a place she didn’t want to be.

The answer might well be that she also had joy, for she knew that she was where the Ribbono Shel Olam wanted her to be. Her shlichus was to serve as the queen, and therefore, for her, serving in that position was her happy ending.

This is what the Chovos Halevavos refers to when he writes that a person with proper bitachon is most joyous. Those who are able to internalize this message achieve serenity and peace. They are blessed with clarity, allowing them to appreciate their task.

Perhaps, the reason we read the story of Hagar on Rosh Hashanah is to reinforce that message. Whatever Hashem plans for us in the coming year, we will accept and embrace, because that is our destiny and we know that we are fulfilling the will of Hashem.

When Hagar heard from the malach that she should return and face suffering again, she accepted it, for it was Hashem’s will.

May these parshiyos open the floodgates before us so that we perceive our roles as His servants, “chayim birtzono,” living by His will. And may our paths be joyous and serene until we merit the great day when “oz yimalei sechok pinu - laughter will fill our mouths.” On that day, just as the reason for his children’s suffering was revealed to Avrohom, we will be able to look back and understand everything that afflicted us. We will know why we suffered and why it appeared as if we were lacking what others took for granted. The plan and plot will be revealed, and everyone will be joyous.

We are currently experiencing tough times. Anti-Semitism is evident everywhere, even in places where Jews have been prominent for many decades. The economy is precarious, many people have lost considerable amounts of money and worry about the future, the pandemic is still here, and next week’s election will decide the future direction of this great country.

The onset of winter’s cold is compensated by the warmth of the winter parshiyos, the accounts, stories and messages that formed us as a people and guide us until today. The avos hakedoshim imbued us with strengths and qualities that stand the test of time and define us through trials, travails and tribulations. May we use the abilities we’ve been given to emerge from our present period stronger, more inspired, and more dedicated to fulfilling our purpose in this world.

Decision Time

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

The national election is upon us and the future of this great republic will be decided next week. Ever since Barack Obama and Joe Biden won the White House almost twelve years ago, there has been a constant media drumbeat that has only become stronger since Donald Trump announced his candidacy.

It proclaims that Republicans and conservatives are narrow-minded, myopic, xenophobic, bigoted and racist. Obama presented a Democrat coalition that followers believed would endure for an entire generation. Even Republican voters, who rely on the mainstream media, believed the narrative and feared that their candidates would never win another election.

Many pundits wondered on the air and in print, if the Republican Party would ever again have a majority, or even a close minority, in the Senate or House. The presidency? Ha! Not a chance, they said there would never again be a Republican president of the United States.

And then Donald Trump came out of nowhere. A billionaire real estate tycoon, he entered the Republican primaries and went on to beat 17 qualified people, who were vying for the nomination.

Obama campaigned very hard for the Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton, promising voters that she would continue his agenda. He and his family and those close to him all campaigned vigorously for Clinton, yet Trump won every state in which he battled. Obama pleaded with the electorate to see the choice as a referendum of his legacy. Democrats, the media and the Washington bureaucracy were incredulous at their defeat at the hands of novice, non-politician who had never previously run for anything.

From the day Trump entered the race, he was mocked and vilified. The mainstream powerbrokers and media portrayed him as a buffoon who could never last through the primaries. As he won the primaries in state after state, leading Republicans went to great lengths to have him disqualified. They didn’t understand his power; they didn’t get his strength. The more money they spent against him, and the more they undercut him, the stronger a force he became. There are Republicans who still won’t accept him and are supporting Biden.

Former Vice President Biden was basically handed the nomination and presented as the inevitable winner, just as Mrs. Clinton was four years ago. Every poll, pundit and expert immediately declared Biden the front-runner, convincing themselves and many others that he would definitely recapture the White House for the Democrat party. Trump has no chance; they have been saying all along.

The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, and every other media outlet have been repeating in many different ways the message that Trump is unsuitable for the presidency and must be thrown out in order for the country to survive.

Just as was done during the 2016 election, polls were used to obfuscate what is really going on around the country. Just look at Trump’s rallies and see the enthusiasm and thousands of people streaming to hear, see and cheer the president, and you can see that that there is a wave of support for this man that being ignored by mainstream media and experts. Across the country there are Trump flotillas and parades being held, lawn signs and bumper stickers sprout in the most unexpected places, yet we are supposed to believe that Biden is coasting to victory.

Biden is a weak candidate, who spends most of his time hiding at home from reporters and people. He has no coherent message, and if you take away his teleprompter, it becomes evident that he has difficulty stringing together lucid thoughts. Even as the big day approaches, last week he stayed home and out of sight most of the time, and this week he is making a couple appearances in front of tiny audiences. While President Trump is barnstorming the country conducting multiple rallies a day, Biden is doing very little to sell himself and his agenda to voters. The media experts say with great confidence that he is sitting on his lead.

He is promising to shut down this country’s production of oil and gas, putting it back at the mercy of Middle Eastern potentates. He is promising to raise taxes on people and corporations and do away with Trump’s tax relief measures, which lowered the taxes everyone pays and led to a surging economy.

Trump was dogged with allegations that he colluded with Russia to win the election, leading to impeachment in Congress. By now, it has been proven that the president was the victim of a disinformation campaign and the charges against him were bogus. But those same politicians and talking heads who pressed the case against him are mum over the revelations that members of the Biden family entered into illicit business deals in China, Ukraine and other places, with Joe getting a part of the action.

The same media and politicians who spent a couple of years and much money slandering Trump, have made the Biden allegations go away. Yet, Biden has the temerity to say that the election is about which man is the one with morals and character. It is quite ironic that he is portrayed as a simple, honest, blue collar guy, though he has been cheating his whole life.

When Obama ran for president, he campaigned as the candidate of hope and change, though once in office he dished out little hope and a lot of the wrong type of change. Biden doesn’t even do that. He says a dark winter is ahead, the country may need to be closed down again, your taxes will rise and the price of gas will rise. The country’s air, land and water are cleaner than they have been in a very long time, without the crushing environmental regulations Biden wants to reinstate. Trump is promising the best economy ever in 2021, while Biden will send it spinning backwards. Trump is the one proposing a sunny future, with the economy roaring back and corona a distant memory.

Biden harkens back to the pre-Trump days of insiders and polls driving the candidates’ agenda. Trump speaks cotemporally, in a straightforward way, without big words and sounding official. He doesn’t speak intelligently, is not well-read or well-versed, and had no experience in doing anything he promised, but he followed through on his promises, and more.

While Biden is a very flawed candidate, he has the active support of most power brokers, the media, the elite, and everyone in the mainstream. Trump isn’t only running against a washed-up politician, he is running against the media, the power structure, the Washington swamp and almost every labor union and interest group.

When Trump took over, illegal immigrants were streaming into this country. ISIS was beheading Western captives; the economy was in the doldrums and Obama and the media were claiming that manufacturing would never return here and Trump’s promises to bring them back and lower unemployment and cut taxes were deceptive and impossible to follow through on. Trump did just that, getting manufacturing companies to return here and lowering unemployment to record numbers, as wages went up.

He placed three conservative justices on the Supreme Court, advocated for the sanctity of life and marriage, pushes for school choice, made peace in the Mid-East, freed Rubashkin and enacted prison reform and went to work making America great again. He rebuilt the military, brought Iran to its knees and convinced North Korea’s dictator to back down from his belligerence that threatened a nuclear war.

He recognized Yerushalayim as Israel’s capital, shut down the Palestinian office in Washington, recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and helped Israel more than any previous president.

He fought the coronavirus as best as possible, quickly shutting down entry to the US by Chinese citizens, as he was mocked and vilified by Biden, Pelosi, de Blasio and their cohorts. He ramped up production of ventilators, set up hospitals, and brought the country to a quick halt to stop the spread of the virus. He brought together doctors, scientists and experts to study the virus and understand how it works in order to best combat it. Meanwhile, Cuomo and others were forcing nursing homes to accept Covid patients into their facilities, leading to the deaths of thousands of prone elderly people and causing the numbers of deaths to rise exponentially.

Under Trump, the pandemic is still raging, but the mortality rate has dropped considerably as Operation Warp Speed developed and funded by the president is about to deliver a vaccine in record time. He defended the rights of people to worship, even now, and fought to open schools and businesses. Masks have become the latest method of virtue signaling, to demonstrate a moral superiority as much as to prevent illness. He is mocked for not towing the party line on masks and closings, but under his direction deaths have dropped, the economy is coming back and states which follow his direction are open.

Leftists and secularists are in control of the schools, universities and media. They propped up a champion of the old way of doing politics and cleared the way for him to win the nomination as Democrat candidate for the presidency. And now Democrat think they are so close to victory that they can feel it. Nobody knows what this country will look like should they actually win the White House, especially if they will also control the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Just take a look at the large cities of this country, which are controlled by Democrat mayors, and you will have an inkling of what is in store. New York City, formerly the country’s capital of business and culture, is now seeing a rise in crime, boarded up businesses, and fleeing taxpayers. Instead of beefing up the police so they can lower crime and create a level of comfort for businesses and citizens, the leftists in charge have cut the police budget and turned a deaf ear to the concerns of law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. They have set loose inspectors of various city departments to do what the police refused to do, and torment local shopkeepers and citizens over emergency arbitrary Covid regulations.

The Republicans, with few notable exceptions, are impotent. They are afraid to speak up and arouse the ire of the media. So, for now, the only one condemning the leftist socialist tilt is the president.

For now, nobody knows if the people are acquiescing to the anti-police, anti-white orthodoxy that is said to be sweeping the nation. Nobody knows whether people understand what the Democrat agenda is when they tell pollsters that they will vote for Joe Biden. Maybe the poll numbers are a result of people’s fear to let it be known that they do not agree with those who seek to erase the country’s history and philosophy.

What we do know is that if the leftists win and take hold of the reins of power, the country and especially its Jews will be in for very trying times. The past few months can chas veshalom continue for four years.

Biden sees a future of masks and plexiglass and bankrupted cities and Trump sees rebirth and revitalization, open schools and open cities. We have just seen what leftist justice means, and how fair leftist governors and mayors are, creating red zones out of thin air and convincing the world that the ultra-orthodox Jews are to blame for the spread of corona.

The Democrat party has evolved into a group of avowed leftists, led by the likes of Reps. Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi, socialists such as Bernie Sanders and AOC, Marxists such as Black Lives Matter, and the overwhelming majority of liberal Jews, blacks and Latinos. In order to preserve their coalition, it is vital for Democrats to cause their constituents to view the Republican Party as bigoted, racist, opposed to working people of all races and dedicated to stripping minorities of their rights and privileges. Class warfare is a classic Marxist tactic adopted by communists and Saul Alinsky, architect of much of the modern Democrat party and intellectual guide of notables Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Trump has his faults, but he advocates for moral causes. We benefit from a proper moral climate. He works to improve the economy. Our community is desperate for a good economy, and for more and better jobs.

Do we want a return to the days of Barack Obama? Have we forgotten what he did to undermine the country’s moral standing and weaken the country in myriad ways? Have we forgotten how Obama and Biden treated Israel and its prime minister, seeking to undermine them at every opportunity and advocating on behalf of the Palestinians, who President Trump has totally sidelined?

As a people who have been buffeted about from one country to another, we appreciate that this country is the most accommodating to us in history. This is in large part due to the constitution, which guarantees free speech and freedom to worship as we please. It is imperative that we elect candidates who take seriously their pledge to uphold the constitution and the freedoms it offers every citizen of this great and compassionate land.

On November Third, make your voice heard.

The Noose Is Tightening

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

We learn this week about the Mabul that destroyed the entire world, except for Noach, his family and representative animals, who were all saved in the teivah.

Rashi (Bereishis 6:13) enlightens us as to what caused the flood and the destruction. He cites the Medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 26:5), which states that wherever there is overwhelming immorality and avoda zorah, devastation comes to the world, killing the good along with the bad.

For 120 years, Noach warned the population that if they would not improve their ways, a flood would come and wipe them out. They didn’t listen. He begged and pleaded. He told them that G-d had spoken to him and told him that He was planning to destroy the world. The people weren’t impressed. They weren’t affected.

No doubt, their news providers told them that there had never been such a flood before and that scientifically it wasn’t possible for the entire world to be destroyed. The politicians delivered speeches informing people of their rights, and as the world tilted increasingly lower, they were reassured that they were within their constitutional liberties and no harm would befall them. Noach was no doubt portrayed as an anti-science and anti-progress demagogue who was standing in the way of progress.

In our day, as well, the world has become insensitive to messages of morality and the world sinks further into a liberal morass.

A pandemic sweeps across this country and the world and scientists, doctors and political leaders, are unable to stop it. Despite their best attempts, the virus continues to spread.

The values that were at the core of this country are being suppressed. Individualism has been replaced with lumping everyone together in groups.

“Group think” is in. Agree with me or I will seek to have you cancelled. One of the mainstays of this country is free speech and the right for people to express their opinion. That ability is increasingly being hampered. Certain opinions are promoted and are allowed to be heard, while others are increasingly being shut down. This is being done to advance the progressive agenda. More frequently religious voices as well as those advocating for morality, decency and the principles upon which this country was founded.

Many people currently get their information from social media, which is increasingly shutting down talk they disagree with. Just see what happened last week, when a major American newspaper, which happens to be conservative, revealed documented proof that Joe Biden set up his son to profit from his connections. The son shared the corrupt proceeds with his father and the rest of the family. The story was suppressed on social media and kept out of the mainstream press.

If your conversation doesn’t fit with the current progressive narrative, it and you will be cancelled out.

Repression of speech and thought, especially regarding our community and beliefs, is perilous and can prove very damaging to us. If we can’t get our message out, in times such as now, when every media outlet is dumping on Orthodox Jews and presenting us as the underlying cause of the coronavirus spread, we will continue to be scape-goated for every problem in society. And there are many problems.

If the governor of New York State and the mayor of New York City are able to successfully single us out for derision, scorn, mockery and punishment without any objection raised to their bullying, that does not portend well for our future here. They demonize, intimidate, threaten and persecute us in typical Alinsky fashion, and we are unable to fight back or set the record straight.

It is not about masks and it is not about health, for if it was, why is only one subset of citizens being singled out for condemnation, vilification and tough enforcement?

This past Shabbos as inspectors were snooping around Borough Park shuls and yeshivos, a large rally was held in Manhattan. It began in front of the Trump International Hotel and then the attendees marched to Central Park. There were no nasty warnings, nobody tried to shut them down, and media coverage was fawning. It was billed as the National State of Emergency Get Out The Vote Rally, and featured speakers such as Jacob Blake‘s father and Breonna Taylor‘s mother, advocating for the Democrat party.

The Orthodox hot spots are not the only areas where this is an uptick of the virus in New York State, yet there isn’t anyone who doesn’t believe that they are.

If we, and America, are not careful, it can become the way of the land. Free speech for everyone is not the only value on the chopping block. So is the presumption of innocence, the right to free practice religion, the value of the individual, the right to think for yourself, judging each person fairly based on their own accomplishments and character, the appreciation of a person who works hard to support themselves and other values this country endowed its citizens with.

These values have been replaced with new words and new concepts that are foisted upon the American people. Those who dare to question or speak out are cancelled out, losing their job and reputation. The fear of becoming ostracized keeps everyone in line, spouting the new groupthink and politically correct incantations.

The new buzzword is “white supremacy,” and it is increasingly prevalent. It means that the United States of America - its culture, businesses, sports, education system and everything about it - is deeply rooted in sin. At its core, they say, America is an evil, rotten country. Everything, from schools and language to the economy, museum hirings, professorships, SAT scores, mortgages and politics, is mired in white supremacy.

White people are encouraged to apologize for their whiteness. In the name of increasing diversity and righting historical wrongs, whole swaths of white people are pegged as colonialists, racists, oppressors and worse. Of course, Jews fall neatly into all of the above categories. Jews and Zionists are bad. Black Lives Matter is good. AOC is the future; support for Israel is the past. Leftist looters and violent demonstrators are good, while Yiddelach who want to daven with a minyan are evil.

As the country convulses over the way the black minority was historically treated, Jewish people, though relative newcomers to this land who have faced oppression and discrimination wherever they have lived, are publicly condemned by leading politicians without compunction or response. The gloves are coming off and we have to face up to the fact that we are still in golus and the noose might be tightening.

No matter what you think about Joe Biden, the Democrat Party has increasingly lurched left and is now controlled by progressive socialists and anti-Semites. Should the Democrats gain power this year, we may very well be in for rough times, and we will not be able to endear ourselves to the new bosses simply by kowtowing to them. There is no telling what they will come up with. Let’s hope we don’t get there, but we need to know the danger ahead and understand our responsibility when we step into the voting booth.

What do we do? How do we react to the changing temperature and zeitgeist?

Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman had an interesting insight into why Noach was saved from annihilation. He cited the Medrash that comments on the posuk, “V’eileh toldos Noach,” that he was “noach laShomayim v’noach labrios.”

Noach was a gentle person, who was pleasant to all. There were other fine people in his day, but they weren’t as pleasing as he was, and so he was saved and they weren’t.

Rav Shteinman added, “There are many rough people who get into fights over everything. Those people weren’t saved. The one who was saved was Noach, because, as the Medrash says, he was pleasant in the way he conducted himself, in the way he spoke and in the way he dealt with people.”

We should be examining how we act and how we sound to other people if we want to be spared from the ongoing pandemic and political revolution. It would seem that one way to save ourselves would be to act in a way that will find favor with Hashem and everyone we come in contact with.

Rav Shlomo Kluger wrote in his tzavaah to his son that he should frequent the home of Rav Chaim Volozhiner and “thirstily drink in his words, examine his sterling middos and adopt them as part of your own behavior. See how he speaks softly and calmly with everyone and with a content look on his face. See how he shows respect to children and young people, and how that brings about friendship and a communal love. See how his conduct causes people to respect him, as Chazal say, ‘Who is respected? The one who respects others.’”

As the world spins out of control, and as the pandemic continues, it is tempting to be fretful and despondent, fatigued over the stubborn bug and apathetic about trying to prevent the spread. We can be forgiven if we become dejected, as these times are frustrating and anxious.

However, we must learn from Noach and act with moral clarity and decency to improve the world and ourselves. We must be decent and good, while trusting in Hashem and praying that He remove the pestilence from among us and that our actions cause us to find favor in His eyes and the eyes of man.

Atop the Mountain

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

A secular man walked into a small makolet grocery store somewhere in Israel and searched for the owner to help him fetch the bread, milk, tomatoes and leben he desired for breakfast. The owner was nowhere to be found. He asked a bearded religious man who was in the shop if he knew the whereabouts of the owner. The man responded that the store has no owner.

“How can that be?” the other man asked.

The religious man told him that a ship exploded off the coast of Chaifa and some of the pieces landed on this spot. They joined together and formed a store. That is how the store came to be and how everything got there.

The other fellow was incredulous.

“Are you crazy?” he asked. “How can that be? What are you even talking about?”

“I’m the crazy one? You’re the crazy one! Since you are not a Sabbath observer, that means that you don’t believe Hashem created the world. And if the world does not have a Creator, that means that everything in the world came into existence by itself. There was a Big Bang, and particles flew out of that, and through evolution and other processes, the world came into being. So, if you believe that the whole world was formed that way, why can’t you accept that this tiny store came about from a big bang?”

This week, we begin anew, following Elul, the Yomim Noraim, Sukkos, Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. We joyfully celebrated completing the study of Chamisha Chumshei Torah and now embark on beginning again from Bereishis and the story of creation.

Jews around the world open their Chumash and begin studying the Torah’s first posuk. They look down to the first Rashi, and once again are reminded of the question of why the Torah begins with the story of creation. Since the Torah is about what defines and obligates us, should it not have begun with the parsha of Hachodesh Hazeh Lochem, which describes the first commandment given to the Jews as a nation?

We read Rashi’s answer: This way, if the nations of the world accuse the Jews of stealing the land of Eretz Yisroel from other nations, you will be able to answer them and tell them that the entire world belongs to Hashem; He created it and He can give it to whomever He pleases…and He gave it to us.

As we read that response, we inevitably wonder if the nations of the world really care about what it says in the Torah. Will those who accuse us of thievery be satisfied with an answer based upon what it says in the Torah? We may wonder, therefore, why, even if it is important to establish Hashem’s ownership of the world and our rights to the Land of Israel, the Torah must begin with this.

But then we get to the next Rashi, where he writes, “Bereishis, bishvil Torah shenikreis reishis ubishvil Yisroel shenkire’u reishis… The Torah opens with the word bereishis because it signifies that the world was created for the Torah, which is also referred to as reishis, and to teach us that the world was created for Am Yisroel, who are also called reishis.”

As we ponder the connection between the two Rashis, we begin to think that Rashi doesn’t actually mean to say that the goyim will be influenced by the arguments of the Torah. Rather, his intent is for us to continually remind ourselves of some fundamental truths that dictate our purpose in this world: Hashem created the world and singled out the Jewish nation as His chosen people for all time. He designated them as the recipients of the Holy Land, where they can elevate themselves through studying and observing Torah to perfection.

Since time immemorial, Jews have been singled out for hatred by the nations of the world. We have been accused of every conceivable sin as the other nations have sought our destruction. The Torah opens with the statement of creation and Hashem’s dominion over the world to remind us that wherever we are and no matter what the nations of the world accuse us of, we should not become dejected.

The Alef-Bais of Torah is to know that Hashem created the world and fashioned a special place for us in that world. This is why the second Rashi tells us that the world was created for Torah and Am Yisroel.

The Jew appreciates this and is able to stand up to all the scoffers who mock his devotion to Torah. The Jew recognizes that the Torah is not a history book designed to trace the odyssey of a people. It is the Creator’s “guidebook,” whose purpose is to teach His people how to live in the land he created in six days. Nothing that anyone says or does can change that immutable fact. We cleave to its every word and base our lives upon it.

On the day we end the annual cycle of study and begin anew, our celebration and joy are unparalleled. On this happiest of days, we dance and sing songs of praise of Hashem and thank Him for choosing us and for giving us the Torah. We sway to tunes that express our love for the Torah and our devotion to it. Nobody can prevent us from our celebration.

We realize that the Torah is as relevant today as on the day it was delivered to the Bnei Yisroel on Har Sinai and on the first day of creation. That awareness increases the fervor of our dancing and heartfelt simcha.

As we celebrated, we understood why Sukkos follows Yom Kippur and why Simchas Torah follows Sukkos. Because the sukkah helps us hold on to the spiritual levels we reached from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur. Sitting in the sukkah and absorbing its messages separates us from the temporary and conditions us to focus on the real and the permanent.

We sat in our sukkah looking up to the heavens, realizing that we are never alone. That knowledge brought us joy, contributing to the happiness of the Yom Tov. We enjoyed the simcha that comes from working to understand Torah, simcha that comes from knowing that a Jew is never alone, simcha that comes from properly observing a mitzvah. The simcha of sitting in a sukkah and Simchas Torah was only rivaled by the joy experienced while holding the lulav and esrog.

When Yom Tov ends, although we have by now returned to the temporary world we have been spared from over the past couple of weeks, we are able to preserve the simcha in our hearts. That simcha, that feeling of joy, carries us as we once again face the countless pressures and challenges that are bound to confront us. We must do our best not to allow anyone or anything to take from us the joy and satisfaction we felt over Yom Tov.

Following Elul and Tishrei, we are armed and prepared for a fresh start. Studying Bereishis reinforces that. We are reminded that nothing that happens is by chance and everything that transpires is ratzon Hashem. No matter what the coming months bring us, we will not be broken or depressed. We will not raise our hands in utter despair and lose hope in the future.

Already during Sukkos, ill winds began blowing, as our people were once again unfairly singled out for derision and punishment. We had thought that the adage of Pirkei Avos regarding the nature of politicians and their relationships with us was no longer valid. We thought that in our day and age, as our people have achieved social acceptance and high positions in government and the private sector, and as we have achieved unprecedented wealth, education, erudition, sophistication and articulation, we would no longer be turned into scapegoats by vindictive, small-minded leaders.

Yet, we have now seen the familiar story play out again. New York’s governor, who has dealt with our community with derision and contempt, had the temerity to claim that he was “doing this for a very simple reason—because I have such respect and love for the Orthodox community. …It’s out of respect and love, and because I want to protect them.” Acting capriciously, he unleashed a stream of invective and media articles all but blaming Orthodox Jews for New York City’s corona uptick.

He and the city’s worst mayor ever promoted the lie that we don’t care about health, as they threw pesukim at us, as if they know them better than we do. They paint us as backward illiterates and worse. They ignore rising rates in other sections of the city, as if they do not exist. They punish people who live in the same zip codes as the evil Orthodox, shutting their schools and stores, and letting them know that it is the fault of the Jews.

The very same people who publicly condoned mass protests and gatherings are bent out of shape by people exercising their rights to practice their religion. As the World Health Organization issued a warning that lockdowns should not be used to fight the virus, the governor and mayor were locking in on a lockdown on so-called Orthodox zip codes. A WHO spokesman said, “The only time we believe a lockdown is justified is to buy you time to reorganize, regroup, rebalance your resources, protect your health workers who are exhausted, but, by and large, we’d rather not do it.”

Which brings us to the reason lockdowns were implemented as the virus spread wildly in March and April. We were told that this was done to flatten the curve of disease so that hospitals and medical workers would be able to keep up with the increased demands for care. In fact, the recent upticks of people testing positive has not led to anything close to crushing demands of hospitals and health professionals, neither of whom have been overwhelmed. Nor has the uptick led to increased deaths, as 99.97% of people under 70 who contract the disease survive. People over 70 survive 94.5% of the time. Every life is precious and important, but the low numbers do not justify the damage that is caused to children - and their parents - when schools are closed. They also do not justify forcing businesses to close, many of them forever.

There is certainly no justification for limiting houses of worship to no more than 10 people, irrespective of the size of the sanctuary. It makes no sense to close schools that have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sure that they comply with all health regulations. It makes no sense to close schools that have had no, or minimal, cases of children who were deemed positive in the regular system of testing. There is no justification to single out one ethnic group and throw everything at them, while ignoring rising rates in other communities. There is no good reason why the compliant media glossed over the protests which riled American cities as the virus raged, delivering miles of gushy reportage about the heroic protesters and their essential cause, and mocked religious Jews and everything about us.

Covid is a serious disease that sickens, injures and kills. We need to do everything possible to stop its spread and save lives. But government regulations need to be rational and justified, irrespective of the arrogance of the people issuing the edicts, or their political problems and ambitions.

Why does the Torah begin with Bereishis? To enable us to tell the nations of the world who mock us that Hashem created the world. Will they care? Will they honor the response? No, they will not, but when we are mocked and vilified, we need to be reminded of the truth. We do not respond in kind; that is not our way. We are the am hanivchar, who stood at Har Sinai and were addressed by the Creator. We have a mission in this world. We follow the law and are good, loyal citizens. We don’t mimic the actions of others. All we ever ask for is to be treated fairly and justly; it seems like a simple request. This country was different. It afforded us unprecedented protections for which we are most thankful, as we pray for the future.

When the Chiddushei Harim passed away, his young grandson, the Sefas Emes, was selected to serve as Gerrer Rebbe. Certain people objected to the selection, which seems like the obvious choice in hindsight. They said that he was too young and there were older, better qualified people who should become rebbe.

The Sefas Emes addressed the issue head-on. He said that there was a tall peak that people worked hard to conquer. Finally, a group of mountain climbers joined and, through dividing responsibilities and working very hard together, they were able to climb to the top of the mountain. When they got there, they found a young child sitting there, smiling at them quite contently.

The mountain climbers were astounded and asked him how he got there.

“How were you able to get all the way up here?” they asked.

He answered them, “Oh, it’s simple. I was born here. I did not have to expend all my energy getting up here. My parents did all the work for me.”

Said the Sefas Emes, “This is why I am able to lead the great chassidus. I was born on the top, obtaining my strengths from my holy fathers who came before me. Thus, although I am young, I possess the strengths necessary to lead the flock.”

We were all born on the top. We are all children of holy parents. Our souls stood at Har Sinai as Hashem delivered the Torah to us. We are all children of Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov. We come from a long line of people who sacrificed everything so that we could be born on top of the mountain. We are a people forged in the cauldrons of the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Yevsektsiya, the Holocaust, pogroms, privation, and ghettos. It’s never been easy for us, but we are here and those who worked so hard to demoralize and destroy us are gone.

We stand on the shoulders of great heroes who lived their lives loyal to Torah, morality and the law. And there is nothing anyone can do to take that away from us as we continue our centuries-long march to the Promised Land, which will soon reopen and welcome us all to its borders as the Bais Hamikdosh is rebuilt, bemeheirah beyomeinu. Amein.