When Hope Meets Reality

People think about the future. They study events, follow developments, analyze trends, make predictions and form expectations. They invest hopes in people and causes, work toward certain outcomes, and convince themselves that if enough people understand what is at stake, things will turn out the way the people think they should.

Leading up to elections, people follow polls, read analyses, listen to political commentators and discuss the prospects of candidates and parties. They make calculations and develop theories about what voters are thinking and what they will do when they enter the voting booth. They become convinced that the facts are on their side, that the public will recognize what is at stake, and that the outcome we anticipate is not merely possible but inevitable.

And then reality intervenes.

The votes are counted, the winners are declared, and the results are not what they hoped for. The candidates they supported lose, the policies they feared gain momentum, and the people they believed would recognize the dangers confronting them make different choices. Suddenly, the future they envisioned looks very different from the one unfolding before them.

That is where we find ourselves following the recent elections in America and Eretz Yisroel.

In both countries, the results raised troubling questions about the direction of society and the future of issues that are important to us.

In Israel, the results brought disappointment to many who hoped for a stronger showing by the parties representing the Torah community and for a political outcome more favorable to the interests and values we cherish. The numbers were not what had been hoped for, and the implications left us concerned about what lies ahead.

In America, we see a political movement increasingly accommodating and supporting ideas that were, until recently, considered far outside the mainstream. Socialism is gaining acceptance, traditional moral standards are being challenged, and hostility toward Israel has become an increasingly prominent feature of political discourse. Antisemitism is now rationalized, excused, or ignored when it emanates from politically favored quarters. Openly antisemitic Democrats were elected, and when the extent of the Republican losses became clear, the vice president was quick to break with the president and throw Israel under the bus.

In Eretz Yisroel, the future of the Torah world, the ability of bnei yeshivos to devote themselves to learning, and the relationship between the state and those who live according to the dictates of the Torah have become central issues in a bitter political struggle. The election results have strengthened those who seek fundamental changes in the longstanding arrangements that have helped preserve the world of Torah.

Elections have consequences. Governments enact laws, appoint judges, determine policies, and shape the environment in which we and our children live. It is our responsibility to participate in the political process, support those who defend our interests, and do what we can to preserve a society in which Torah Jews can live according to their beliefs.

And now the question is how a believing person responds when events unfold in a way that he neither anticipated nor desired.

It is a question that has confronted Jews throughout the generations. We have lived through periods of great promise and periods of terrible disappointment. We have seen governments rise and fall, leaders emerge and disappear, and political circumstances change in ways that seemed impossible only a short time earlier. We have experienced moments when the future appeared bright and others when the darkness seemed overwhelming.

When the results go against us and the future appears less secure than it did yesterday, we are confronted with a question that goes beyond politics.

Where does our strength come from?

What is it that has preserved us through the centuries, through the rise and fall of empires, through periods of benevolent government and times of terrible persecution, through generations when Jews enjoyed relative security and generations when everything they possessed was taken from them?

The answer is found in this week’s parsha.

Parshas Toldos introduces us to a struggle that began before the birth of Yaakov and Eisov and continues until today. Rivkah felt that the children were struggling within her and went to seek an explanation. She was told, “Shnei goyim bevitneich,” that she was carrying two nations, two peoples who would follow different paths and whose relationship would be marked by conflict.

Yaakov and Eisov were not merely two brothers with different personalities. They represented two fundamentally different approaches to life, two competing understandings of what matters and what gives a person strength.

Eisov was the man of the field, the hunter, the person who understood the world in terms of physical strength and immediate gratification. He lived for the present, for what he could acquire and enjoy, for the satisfaction of his desires. When he returned from the field exhausted and hungry, he was willing to surrender his bechorah, his birthright and the spiritual responsibilities associated with it, for a bowl of food.

Yaakov was an ish tom yosheiv ohalim, a person devoted to Torah, to truth, and to the eternal values transmitted by Avrohom and Yitzchok. He understood that life is not measured by the pleasures of the moment or by the power a person can exercise over others. Its purpose is to fulfill the will of Hashem and to build something that endures beyond the circumstances of the present.

Their differences were not confined to their own lives. They established the paths that their descendants would follow.

When Yaakov entered his father’s room to receive the brachos, Yitzchok heard his voice and felt his hands. Confused by the contradiction, he declared, “Hakol kol Yaakov vehayodayim yedei Eisov.” The voice was the voice of Yaakov, but the hands were the hands of Eisov.

Chazal reveal the eternal significance of these words. The strength of Yaakov lies in his voice, in Torah and tefillah. Eisov’s strength lies in his hands, in the exercise of physical power.

As long as the voice of Yaakov is heard in the botei medrash and botei knesses, the hands of Eisov cannot exercise their full power against him. When that voice weakens, when Klal Yisroel neglects the source of its strength, the hands of Eisov gain ascendancy.

This is not merely a beautiful thought or a comforting interpretation of a posuk. It is a description of the history of our people and a guide to understanding our place in the world.

We live in a society that measures strength in terms of votes, money, influence, military power, and public opinion. Political parties celebrate when they win elections because they have acquired the ability to shape events. Nations measure their security by the size of their armies, the sophistication of their weapons, and the strength of their alliances. Individuals seek connections to powerful people because they believe that those relationships will protect them when difficulties arise.

And there is truth to all of this. We are required to act responsibly within the natural order that Hashem created. We must defend ourselves, cultivate friendships, and make use of the opportunities available to us. We cannot sit idly by while others determine the future of our communities.

But the mistake begins when we confuse the means with the source.

Political influence is a means. Military strength is a means. Wealth, connections, and public support are means. They can be valuable and even necessary, but they are not the source of our existence or the ultimate guarantee of our survival.

Our source is the Ribbono Shel Olam, and our connection to Him is maintained through Torah, mitzvos, tefillah, and emunah.

The nations of the world have had armies, governments, palaces, and the power to impose their will. They have controlled the lands in which we lived and determined whether we would be welcomed, tolerated, or persecuted. They believed that their power was absolute and that the Jewish people were at their mercy.

Yet those empires disappeared, their rulers are forgotten, and their once-mighty institutions became subjects for historians. The Jewish people remained.

We remained because the voice of Yaakov continued to be heard, not because we consistently possessed greater political influence or superior military strength.

It was heard in the botei medrash of Bovel, in the yeshivos of the Rishonim, in the communities of Ashkenaz and Sefarad, in the great centers of Torah in Lithuania and Poland, and in the humble homes of Jews who sacrificed everything to remain faithful to the Torah.

It was heard when Jews were prosperous and when they were impoverished, when they lived under governments that protected them and when they suffered under rulers who sought their destruction.

It was heard in the darkness of the ghettos and in the ruins of Europe, and it was heard again when survivors rebuilt the Torah world in Eretz Yisroel and America.

The circumstances changed. The governments changed. The maps changed. But the voice remained.

And because that voice remained, so did we.

This is the perspective we must bring to the events of the past week.

We are disappointed by the election results because we recognize the dangers they may bring. We worry about the growing acceptance of socialism and the erosion of the principles that helped make America a land of freedom and opportunity. We are concerned by the normalization of antisemitism, the weakening of support for Israel, and the increasing hostility toward traditional values.

We worry about what will happen in Eretz Yisroel if those who fail to appreciate the centrality of Torah learning gain the power to impose their vision upon the Torah community. We know that the preservation of the yeshivos and kollelim is not a peripheral concern but a matter that touches the spiritual foundation of Klal Yisroel.

But we must not allow those worries to overwhelm us or cause us to lose sight of what is truly important.

The results of an election can alter the political balance, but they cannot alter the eternal truths upon which our lives are founded. A political party can lose seats, but the Torah does not lose its authority. A government can enact laws, but it cannot change the obligations of a Jew. Public opinion can turn against us, but it cannot diminish the sanctity of a daf Gemara or the power of a heartfelt tefillah.

And no election can repeal the promise that Klal Yisroel will endure.

There is another lesson in Parshas Toldos that is particularly relevant to our times.

When Yitzchok experienced a famine, Hashem instructed him not to leave Eretz Yisroel. He remained in Geror, where he faced hostility from the Pelishtim. Despite the difficulties, he planted crops and was blessed with success. His wealth increased, and the Pelishtim became envious.

They filled the wells that Avrohom had dug, attempting to deprive Yitzchok of the water necessary to sustain his household and flocks. When Yitzchok reopened those wells, the local shepherds quarreled with his servants and claimed the water for themselves.

Yitzchok did not surrender his mission. He moved on and dug another well. When that, too, became the subject of conflict, he moved again and continued digging until he finally reached a place where there was no quarrel.

He called the well Rechovos, declaring, “Ki atah hirchiv Hashem lonu uforinu va’aretz.” Hashem had made room for them, and they would flourish in the land.

The Pelishtim could obstruct his efforts, fill his wells, and create difficulties, but they could not prevent the brocha that Hashem had decreed for him.

Yitzchok did not allow the hostility of others to determine whether he would continue his work. He did not abandon the path of his father because circumstances became difficult. He continued digging, continued building, and continued demonstrating his faith in the promise of Hashem.

We, too, must continue digging.

When one well is stopped up, we must dig another. When one avenue of influence closes, we must seek another. When the political climate becomes less hospitable, we must respond with greater determination to preserve and strengthen the institutions upon which our future depends.

Above all, we must recognize that the wells of Torah can never be abandoned.

The posuk emphasizes that Yitzchok reopened the wells that his father Avrohom had dug and restored their original names. He worked to preserve and perpetuate the legacy he had received.

That is our task as well.

We are the descendants of Avrohom, Yitzchok, and Yaakov. We have inherited a way of life that has sustained our people for thousands of years. Every generation faces its own challenges, and every generation must find the strength to overcome them, but the source of that strength does not change.

The temptation, particularly in a time of disappointment, is to believe that our future depends upon finding better strategies, more persuasive spokesmen, or more powerful allies.

Those things may have their place. We should be intelligent and effective in our public affairs, and we should not underestimate the importance of maintaining good relationships with those who exercise authority.

But if we devote more energy to analyzing election results than to strengthening our connection to Torah, we will have misunderstood the lesson of the moment.

If we have time to discuss political developments but struggle to find time to learn, something is out of balance.

We must ask ourselves what we are doing to strengthen the world of Torah and when we sense moral decline, we must ensure that our homes reflect the values our people have been faithful to over the ages.

The answer to the weakening of morality is to strengthen our own commitment to kedusha. The answer to the spread of sheker is to deepen our devotion to emes. The answer to a culture dominated by materialism and self-indulgence is to raise children who understand that the purpose of life is not to accumulate possessions or satisfy desires, but to become better people and serve Hashem.

The answer to the growing influence of Eisov is to strengthen the voice of Yaakov.

There is a profound difference between political power and spiritual strength. Political power depends upon circumstances. It can be gained in one election and lost in the next. It depends upon coalitions, personalities, public moods, and events that are often beyond anyone’s control.

Spiritual strength is built through consistency, sacrifice, discipline, and devotion. It is strengthened when a person learns another blatt Gemara, davens with greater kavonah, overcomes a temptation, speaks kindly to another person, or chooses to do what is right when doing so is difficult.

A person sitting in a bais medrash struggling to understand a difficult sugya of Gemara may appear to have little influence over world events. He does not command an army, control a government, or possess the ability to enact legislation. He may not have $2 million to spend on an antique sefer, but the Torah he learns is part of the spiritual foundation upon which the world stands.

The power of the kol Yaakov cannot be measured by conventional standards.

We must certainly oppose measures that threaten the yeshivos and the ability of bnei Torah to learn. We must speak out when Torah Jews are unfairly targeted or when the value of Torah learning is disparaged. But the most meaningful way to strengthen the world of Torah world is by filling the botei medrash and by supporting the roshei yeshiva and rabbeim who transmit Torah to the next generation. We strengthen the cause of Torah by encouraging our children to value learning, to respect talmidei chachomim, and to recognize that the greatness of a person is determined not by his wealth or public standing, but by his devotion to Hashem.

It is easy to speak about bitachon when everything seems to be going our way. The test comes when the results are disappointing, when the path ahead is uncertain, and when we cannot understand why certain things happened.

Then we must remember that Hashem’s governance is not limited to the outcomes we welcome or understand.

Yaakov Avinu’s life teaches us this lesson.

Although he received the brachos, his life was not one of uninterrupted comfort and tranquility. He was forced to flee his home, spent years in the house of the deceitful Lovon, struggled to build his family, and faced one difficulty after another.

The brachos did not exempt him from hardship. They accompanied him through hardship and enabled him to fulfill the mission for which he had been chosen.

We imagine that if we are doing what is right, the road ahead should be smooth. We expect our efforts to be rewarded with visible success, our tefillos to be answered in the manner we desire, and the forces opposing us to be defeated.

But the lives of the avos teach us that greatness is not measured by the absence of challenges. It is revealed in the way a person responds to them. Each of our avos faced many challenges and confronted many nisyonos, rising from each one.

Yaakov remained Yaakov in the home of Yitzchok, in the house of Lovon, and during the long years of difficulty that followed. His surroundings changed, his circumstances changed, and the dangers confronting him changed, but his essential identity remained intact.

We must remain the descendants of Yaakov, faithful to Torah, whether the political climate is favorable or hostile. We must continue building families, supporting yeshivos, strengthening our communities, and living according to the values that have defined us throughout our history.

There is no obligation to find a silver lining in every disappointment or to minimize the dangers that may lie ahead. We can acknowledge the setbacks, examine the reasons for them, and work to achieve better outcomes in the future. But we cannot permit disappointment to become discouragement.

Indeed, it should have the opposite effect.

When the world reminds us how little control we have over events, it should inspire us to deepen our relationship with the One Who controls them. When we see how quickly political fortunes can change, we should appreciate more fully the permanence of the Torah. When we discover that the people and institutions upon which we placed our hopes are less dependable than we imagined, we should renew our commitment to the source of strength that has never failed us.

Our mission is to live as bnei Torah, to sanctify Hashem’s name, to raise generations who remain faithful to His commandments, and to ensure that the voice of Yaakov continues to resonate.

We can spend our days worrying about what Eisov will do, or we can devote ourselves to strengthening the voice of Yaakov.

The answer to the power of Eisov is found in the bais medrash, in the siddur, in the Chumash, in the Gemara, in the Shulchan Aruch, and in the homes where parents raise their children to love Torah and live according to its teachings.

It is found in the determination of a bochur who refuses to be distracted from his learning, in the sacrifices of parents who make Torah education their highest priority, in the generosity of those who sustain the yeshivos, and in the unwavering faith of Jews who continue to serve Hashem despite the difficulties they encounter.

The hands of Eisov may appear powerful. They may control governments, command majorities, and shape the policies that affect our lives. We cannot know what challenges tomorrow will bring or how the political battles will unfold.

But we do know what has sustained our people through every generation, and we know what we must do now.

We must strengthen our devotion to Torah. We must deepen our tefillos. We must increase our commitment to mitzvos and middos tovos. We must build homes in which the voice of Yaakov is heard clearly and proudly, and communities in which that voice is not drowned out.

We must remember that the most consequential victories are not always recorded on election night. Some take place when a young man commits himself to another hour of learning, when a family resolves to bring more kedusha into its home, when a person overcomes his yeitzer hora, or when a community rallies to strengthen an institution of Torah.

Those victories shape the future of Klal Yisroel.

We do not know what challenges await us in America and Eretz Yisroel, but we know who we are.

We are the children of Avrohom, Yitzchok, and Yaakov. We are the heirs to a tradition that has outlasted every empire that sought to extinguish it. We carry a Torah that has remained unchanged while the world around us has been repeatedly transformed.

And we have been given the key to our endurance.

“Hakol kol Yaakov.”

As long as that voice is strong, as long as it continues to rise from our yeshivos, shuls, homes, and hearts, the hands of Eisov will not have the final word, for it is not the strength of Eisov that determines the future of Klal Yisroel, but the strength of the kol Yaakov.

Hinei lo yonum velo yishon Shomer Yisroel. And the kol Yaakov will continue to empower and sustain us until the coming of Moshiach very soon in our days.

What Will Matter Tomorrow?

We live in interesting times, and sometimes we become so immersed in what is happening that we lose sight of who we are and what really matters. We get caught up in elections, analyzing the results, debating who the real winners and losers are, and speculating about what the outcomes portend for the future. People need things to talk about, subjects to fill the empty spaces in their lives, and they become absorbed in the latest news development, the latest hock, controversy, or scandal. Before long, they can become so consumed by the events and distractions of the moment that they forget who we are, where we come from, and what we stand for.

Elections consume enormous amounts of attention. There are campaigns, personalities, predictions, victories, disappointments, maneuvering, and endless analysis. In Eretz Yisroel, the political debate touches the very foundations of Jewish life, the future of the country, and the relationship between the Torah world and the broader society. In America, as well, elections can become all-consuming, with people passionately debating the direction of the country and what the results will mean for the future.

These matters are important. They affect our lives and the lives of our children, and we cannot afford to be indifferent to what happens around us. But they are not the entirety of our lives, nor should they become the measure by which we define ourselves. The question is not only what happens today, who wins or loses, or which political forces gain ground. It is also what we are building for tomorrow, what we stand for, and what we are passing on to the generations that follow us.

That lesson is reflected in the life of Avrohom Avinu. Following the passing of Sorah Imeinu, Avrohom does not remain absorbed in the past, dwelling only on the life they shared and all they had accomplished together. After arranging for Sorah’s burial in the Me’oras Hamachpeilah, he turned his attention to the future and sent Eliezer to find a wife for Yitzchok.

Avrohom understood that what he and Sorah had begun had to be carried forward, nurtured, and strengthened by those who would follow them. Their responsibility was not merely to live lives of greatness, but to establish a legacy that would endure.

That remains our responsibility as a people. Our mission extends beyond any particular administration, election, or political contest. Governments come and go, political fortunes rise and fall, and the issues dominating the headlines today will give way to the controversies of tomorrow, but the obligations of Klal Yisroel remain. We must be mindful of the values, traditions, faith, and commitments we are transmitting to our children, and of the kind of world we are preparing them to inherit.

The posuk states, “Vayihiyu chayei Sorah,” and Rashi cites the familiar words of Chazal, “Kulon shovin letovah — All her years were equally good.” Sorah lived through upheaval, uncertainty, displacement, and enormous personal challenges. She left her birthplace and family, wandered from place to place, endured years of waiting, and experienced trials that would have overwhelmed most people. Yet her life was not defined by the turmoil surrounding her. Her identity and sense of purpose came from her relationship with Hashem, her emunah, her kedusha, the good she did, and her many accomplishments.

Sorah did not allow the circumstances of the moment to obscure the larger purpose of her life. She remained steadfast in her mission, and the years of her life were woven into one continuous tapestry of faith and devotion to Hashem. The world around her changed, circumstances shifted, and challenges arose, but her inner compass remained fixed.

That is a message we need today. We can follow the news, care about elections, debate political developments, and worry about the future of America and Eretz Yisroel. We can recognize that the decisions made by those in positions of power have consequences for our families, our communities, and our people. But we cannot allow the stream of information, speculation, and controversy to displace the things that give our lives meaning.

We cannot become so preoccupied with what is happening around us that we forget what is happening within us, what we are responsible for, and what Hashem expects of us. The study of Torah and our dedication to mitzvos are the constants of life and should be the constants of our lives.

What endures is not the commotion of the moment, but the life we build, the values we embody, and the legacy we leave behind.

Every generation has its tests. Each period presents unique challenges, and every generation tends to believe that the difficulties it faces are more formidable than anything its predecessors had to endure. The nature of the tests changes, the circumstances are different, and the pressures take new forms. Many of the challenges confronting us today involve self-control and discipline in an age of unprecedented plenty, convenience, and virtually unlimited access. The struggle is often not how to obtain what we need, but how to restrain ourselves from indulging in everything that is available.

It was not that long ago there were only a handful of wealthy individuals, and few could have imagined today’s degree of communal wealth and material comfort. Life was simpler, material expectations were more modest, and the temptations that accompany prosperity were less pervasive. People had fewer choices, fewer luxuries, and fewer opportunities to indulge themselves.

In the generation before that, our communities were largely made up of immigrants who had come to this country fleeing hunger, persecution, and death. They faced an entirely different set of challenges. Institutions of Jewish education were underdeveloped, employment opportunities for shomrei Shabbos were inadequate, and the fear of not having enough to feed one’s family was a very real concern. They were forced to make do with little, and maintaining a Torah life required much sacrifice. Only those with tremendous strength of character and faith were able to withstand the pressures and transmit their mesorah to their children. Millions were lost to assimilation, while those who remained loyal to Torah did so through courage, determination, and extraordinary mesiras nefesh.

Yet they drew the strength to persevere by looking beyond themselves and the circumstances of their generation, studying the lives of those who came before them, beginning with the avos and imahos, whose experiences, struggles, and triumphs are recorded in the Torah so that we can draw inspiration and guidance from them. Their lives are the foundation of our identity and an enduring source of strength for every generation that follows.

The posuk (Bereishis 24:22) relates that after Eliezer determined that Rivkah was the girl destined to marry Yitzchok and become one of the imahos of Klal Yisroel, he presented her with a golden nose ring weighing a beka and two golden bracelets weighing ten zohov.

Rashi explains that these gifts carried profound significance. The beka alluded to the shekolim of Klal Yisroel, about which the posuk says “beka lagulgoles.” The two bracelets represented the two Luchos, while the words “asorah zohov mishkolom” alluded to the Aseres Hadibros.

To someone observing the encounter between Eliezer and Rivkah, it appeared to be an ordinary exchange of gifts. There was a man traveling with a caravan who had found a suitable young woman and was presenting her with valuable jewelry. Nobody watching could have understood the extraordinary significance concealed in those gifts. Only through the Torah and its meforshim, with the benefit of understanding what unfolded and what was to come, can we appreciate the depth of Eliezer’s shlichus and the way he went about finding Yitzchok’s basherte.

Rivkah’s brother, Lovon, the very embodiment of deceit and chicanery, was captivated by Eliezer, the gold he had given his sister, and the impressive caravan of camels accompanying him. While Eliezer understood that he was participating in an undertaking that would shape the future of Klal Yisroel, Lovon couldn’t see past the jewelry and the wealth. Eliezer saw the mission; Lovon saw the opportunity. One perceived the hand of Hashem guiding events, while the other was preoccupied with what he could gain from them.

That contrast is not limited to Lovon. People are often so taken by what is immediately visible that they never stop to consider what may lie beneath the surface. We judge situations by what we see, measure success by what we possess, and determine whether things are going well by the circumstances confronting us at a particular moment. We see the immediate development but fail to recognize that there may be a much larger picture unfolding, one that we are not yet capable of seeing.

But as maaminim and descendants of Avrohom Avinu, we know that nothing is random, that Hashem guides our lives in particular and the world in general, and that, quite often, His plan is beyond our comprehension.

Recognizing this requires a certain kind of self-mastery as well. The yeitzer hora wants us to see only what is directly in front of us, to become consumed by the moment, and to lose sight of the larger picture. The yeitzer hora encourages impatience, resentment, and despair. Emunah teaches us to look beyond the immediate circumstances, to recognize that Hashem is directing events, and to trust that there is a purpose even when we cannot discern it.

There is always what we see and experience on the superficial level, and then there is the deeper reality, which we cannot always perceive or appreciate. Eliezer understood that reality. Lovon did not. The difference between them is the difference between living with emunah and being governed by the appearances of this world.

We spend so much time discussing elections, analyzing political victories and defeats, debating personalities, and repeating the latest gossip, convinced that we are examining the important developments of the day. Some of these matters are indeed consequential, and we have a responsibility to pay attention to them. But how often do we become absorbed in the surface of things, arguing over what happened and who came out ahead, without considering the deeper questions of where events may lead and what they mean? We scrutinize the latest headlines, dissect the words and actions of public figures, and eagerly pass along the latest hock, while overlooking the larger picture unfolding before us.

Avrohom Avinu teaches us that a person must learn to look beyond the immediate scene. Where others see only what is visible at the moment, a person guided by emunah understands that what we see unfolding is Hashem’s plan. We have to develop the depth and discipline to see beyond the immediate, to look ahead, and to believe in the future.

The great builders of Torah weren’t dissuaded by the news of the day. They remained focused on their mission no matter who was in power, which way the stock market was moving, or which side appeared to be gaining the upper hand.

The parshiyos we learn during these weeks inspire us to recognize that we are bnei Avrohom, Yitzchok v’Yaakov. They remind us of the greatness of our heritage, the responsibilities that come with it, and what we must do to succeed in the roles Hashem has entrusted to us. Each of us has a mission. The road does not always unfold as we planned, and life often brings us circumstances we never anticipated. But what may seem to us like an interruption or a detour is all part of Hashem’s plan. With emunah and bitachon, we can maintain our dignity, our confidence, and our sense of purpose.

Our confidence in a better tomorrow must never be shaken. We cannot allow the yeitzer hora to depress us, diminish our ambitions, or persuade us that our efforts are futile. We cannot control everything that happens around us, the decisions of others, the political climate, or the twists and turns of our personal lives. We cannot always choose the circumstances in which we find ourselves, but we can choose the people we become as a result of them. We can decide whether to be governed by anger, jealousy, fear, and disappointment, or whether to remain anchored in Torah and emunah. That is the deeper meaning of being moshel b’chol asher lo, mastering ourselves rather than allowing the world around us to master us. We cannot determine what tomorrow will bring, but we can determine whether we will face it as people who know who they are and Whom they serve.

We must be as resolute as our grandparents were when they arrived in a strange country, surrounded by an unfamiliar language and customs. They did not know what tomorrow would bring, and life presented them with hardships, disappointments, and temptations aplenty. Every morning, they arose with an awareness of their great heritage and the obligations that accompanied it. They had a Chumash, a Gemara, a Tehillim, and a siddur to remind them who they were, what they were living for, and how to look beyond the difficulties and threats of the day. Their circumstances did not define them. Their identity came from the Torah and mesorah they carried with them.

They bequeathed that strength to us. They left us the ability to withstand adversity, maintain the proper perspective, and face life with confidence. Their outlook was not dependent on circumstances or the latest turn of events. It was rooted in the immutable truth that Hashem runs the world, and our responsibility is to remain faithful to Him and to the mission He has given us. When things happen to us or to the world around us, when we cannot understand what is unfolding or know what to do next, we should ask ourselves: What would Avrohom Avinu have done? What would Eliezer have done? What would our grandfathers and grandmothers have done? What would our rabbeim and their rabbeim have done? Their example can help us see beyond the immediate circumstances and respond with the wisdom, restraint, and emunah that have sustained our people throughout the generations.

But that perspective does not come by itself. We need to learn, to reflect, and to work on ourselves. Study the parsha with the meforshim. Study the seforim hakedoshim such as Chovos Halevavos, Mesilas Yeshorim, the works of the Chofetz Chaim, the Sefas Emes, and so many others. Find seforim that speak to you, that you can understand and learn consistently. Review them. Learn with a chavrusa or a rebbi. Pick up the phone and speak to a rebbi or a rov when you need guidance. There is no reason to just drift through life when we can easily find direction and purpose.

We should care about what happens in America, in Eretz Yisroel, and throughout the world. We should be informed and involved. But we must not allow the events of the day, the latest controversy, or the endless stream of gossip and speculation to consume us. The headlines will change, political fortunes will rise and fall, and today’s great controversy will soon be replaced by tomorrow’s. Our mission, however, remains the same and will never change. We must continue learning, growing, strengthening our middos, and reaching higher, so that we can fulfill the purpose for which Hashem placed us in this world.

The news from Eretz Yisroel is troubling, Torah is under attack, and we fear what the next couple of weeks may bring. But if we keep ourselves rooted in Torah and inspired by the examples of the avos and imahos and those who came before us, we will have the strength to persevere.

May Hashem enable us to grow in what is important and live each day in a way that brings us closer to the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

Noach Built A Teivah. Avrohom Built A Tent

Parshas Vayeira introduces us to Avrohom Avinu after his bris milah. The Torah tells us that Avrohom was sitting at the entrance of his tent, in the heat of the day, recovering from a painful procedure at an advanced age. He could have been forgiven for remaining inside, resting and tending to himself. Instead, the Torah tells us, “Vayisa einov vayar.” Avrohom sat outside, lifted his eyes, and looked outward. When he saw three strangers approaching, he ran toward them, welcomed them, offered them food and drink, and concerned himself with their needs.

The image that the Torah uses to depict Avrohom Avinu is that of a person who is always looking beyond himself.

Chazal tell us that Avrohom’s home had openings on all four sides to make it easier for guests to feel welcome and to enter. Avrohom’s tent was not a fortress into which he sought retreat from the world. Avrohom understood that the service of Hashem does not mean withdrawing from responsibility for the people around him.

That message becomes even more powerful later in the parsha, when Hakadosh Boruch Hu tells Avrohom what is about to happen to Sedom.

Avrohom could have responded with silence. Sedom was the antithesis of everything he represented. It was a society built on cruelty and corruption, a place whose very name became synonymous with moral depravity. Avrohom had no personal responsibility for its inhabitants, and he certainly had no reason to defend their way of life.

Yet, when he hears that Sedom is destined for destruction, he immediately begins to plead with Hashem not to destroy the city.

Avrohom cannot stand quietly when other human beings are at risk. He pleads. He bargains. He asks whether fifty tzadikim can save the city, then forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, and finally ten.

Avrohom did not know the people he was advocating for, and it is very likely that he knew they were totally unlike him. He was advocating for human beings simply because they were human beings.

Avrohom’s greatness was not simply that he was a righteous tzaddik. His greatness was that he understood that righteousness carries responsibility. A person who knows the derech Hashem cannot live only within the boundaries of his own private life. He must look outward and ask what kind of world he is helping to create.

The work of refining middos requires a person to accustom himself to caring about others, so that the needs of another person become as important to him as his own needs.

Rav Moshe Braverman of Yerushalayim was invited to attend a gathering in a nearby neighborhood to raise funds for a young almanah who needed financial assistance.

Rav Braverman stood up and said, “Whoever wishes to help this young almanah should leave.”

The people who had gathered to raise funds for the young woman looked at him in amazement and didn’t understand what he wanted from them.

When the hubbub calmed down, he continued. He said, “Those who should remain here are those who feel the pain of the young woman and her children as if it were their own pain and their own problem. I don’t want you here if you think that how this almanah should go on is her problem, but I’ll help her. You should only be here if you feel her problem as if it were your own, if you feel the children’s pain as if it were your pain.”

Rav Yisroel Salanter would say that, in our generation, a person cannot be a tzaddik nistar, a hidden tzaddik. There is simply too much to do, too much to accomplish, too many people who need help, and too many opportunities to bring Torah and kedusha into a world that desperately needs them. How can a person close himself within his own daled amos, devote himself exclusively to his private avodah, and still consider himself a complete tzaddik when there is so much good left undone?

Rav Yisroel did not merely preach this idea. He lived it. He left the familiar confines of Lita and traveled through Germany, Prussia, and Paris to reach Jews who needed guidance, strengthen their connection to Torah, and spread kedusha wherever he could. He understood that the responsibility of a Yid requires him to be concerned about the world around him and to reach out to others to make them and the world a better place.

This is one of the great differences between Avrohom Avinu and Noach, and why there are opinions in Chazal that if Noach had been in Avrohom’s generation, he would not have been considered a tzaddik.

Noach was a tzaddik who survived a corrupt generation. When the world around him descended into depravity, he was able to preserve himself and his family, to maintain his integrity amid a society that had abandoned its moral foundations. He remained a tzaddik tomim in a world of rishus and tumah. Hashem commanded him to build a teivah, enter it with his family and every type of creature, and remain inside it while the Mabul destroyed the world outside.

Avrohom was the av hamon goyim, the father of a multitude of nations. He did not only seek to protect his holiness from the world. He sought to bring holiness to the world, to teach humanity about Hashem, and to demonstrate through his own life what it means to live with chesed, righteousness, and moral responsibility.

Noach built a teivah. Avrohom built a tent.

The teivah had to be closed off from the world outside. Its walls were necessary for survival; they protected those inside from the destruction raging beyond them. Avrohom’s tent, by contrast, was open on all four sides. It was designed to welcome the stranger, to offer shelter to the traveler, and to create opportunities for people to encounter the goodness and truth that Avrohom embodied.

Noach’s greatness was that he remained a tzaddik despite the corruption surrounding him. Avrohom’s greatness was that he could not be satisfied with his own tzidkus while the world around him remained in darkness. It wasn’t enough for him that he discovered Hashem. He wanted to share that knowledge with as many people as he could. He dedicated his life to bringing others closer to Hashem.

The lesson is not that we should abandon the walls that protect our families, our communities, and our mesorah. Those walls are vital. The lesson is that they must not become the limits of our concern. We build strong Jewish homes and institutions so that Torah can flourish, but we need to care about the wellbeing of the world. We should have something to contribute to it, something to teach, something to share, and something to offer those who might otherwise never encounter the light of Torah.

A person can spend a lifetime perfecting his own daled amos and his home. But Avrohom Avinu teaches us that the ultimate test is what happens when someone approaches the entrance. Do we turn inward, satisfied with the spiritual world we have constructed for ourselves, or do we lift our eyes, recognize the needs of another human being, and make room for him in our lives?

The teivah saved Noach and his family from the Mabul and was necessary for that time. But following the Mabul, Avrohom’s tent became a model for a life devoted to bringing brocha to others.

Torah Jews know that we must guard our values, our homes, and our children. We cannot allow the culture outside our doors to dictate who we are. There is also a danger in believing that because we have built strong Jewish homes, nothing outside those homes matters. In fact, it does matter. The society in which we live affects our children. It affects our communities. It affects the safety and security of our families. It affects the ability of Torah institutions to function and of Jewish life to flourish. We may not control everything that happens around us, but we are not exempt from caring about it simply because we have our own private world.

Obviously, we are not responsible for everything that goes on, and we are not obligated to involve ourselves in every argument, but when we are given the ability to participate in helping the society in which Hashem has placed us, we must take advantage of the opportunity.

Avrohom’s tent had an entrance in every direction because wherever he looked, he saw another opportunity to do chesed, another person whose needs mattered, another responsibility that could not simply be pushed aside.

We, too, have our tents. We have our families, our shuls, our yeshivos, our schools, and our communities. We work hard to build walls that protect the values we hold dear.

But while we build those walls, we must have doors, because there are times we have to look out, reach out, and go out.

The society in which our children will grow up makes a difference, and to the degree that we can impact it, we should. The culture in which we live makes a difference, and if we can influence it and help improve it, then we should.

Avrohom Avinu teaches us that a life devoted to Hashem cannot be confined to our own spiritual growth and the welfare of our own families. We must do what we can to uphold the values of morality, decency, and responsibility that make a society better.

We have been blessed to live in a country where we can build shuls and yeshivos, educate our children in Torah as we choose, and practice our faith openly. These are extraordinary blessings, and we must never assume that they will always be taken for granted or that the conditions that have allowed Jewish life to flourish will continue without the efforts of those who cherish them. The future of our communities depends not only on what we accomplish within our own walls, but also on whether we take seriously our responsibility for the world beyond them.

We are already witnessing cracks in the very fabric of the freedom we have long cherished. The rising tide of antisemitism, the open hostility directed at Jewish communities, and the increasingly strident public condemnation of Israel are warning signs that we cannot afford to dismiss.

When hatred of Jews is normalized, when Israel is singled out for condemnation and the threats and violence directed against it are minimized or ignored, and when Jewish students and families must question whether they can live openly and safely as Jews, we must recognize that something fundamental is being eroded.

The flag of freedom still flies, but we cannot assume that the freedoms we have enjoyed will endure on their own. Preserving them requires vigilance, courage, and a willingness to stand up before the cracks grow into something far more difficult to repair.

That responsibility requires us to act. On Election Day, we must go out and vote, supporting candidates and policies that uphold the moral foundations of society, respect religious freedom, and help preserve an America in which Torah Jews can continue to live, learn, raise families, and transmit our mesorah to the next generation.

We cannot control every outcome, and we certainly cannot determine the course of history. But we are responsible for doing our part, using the opportunities available to us to protect what is precious and strengthen the society in which we have been privileged to live.

When we see one party stray and become home to antisemites, and welcoming to socialists and communists who despise us and what we stand for, we should seriously consider whether supporting its candidates is prudent.

When a party nominates and supports candidates who are hostile to the Jewish state and advances policies that conflict with our most deeply held values, we must be prepared to withhold our support. When a party opposes efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring the nuclear weapons it seeks to use against Israel, we must have the courage and conviction to vote accordingly. And when candidates promote positions that undermine traditional family values and the moral principles upon which a healthy society depends, they should not expect to receive our votes.

Avrohom Avinu did not regard the condition of the world as someone else’s concern. Neither can we. We must remain steadfast in our commitment to Torah and avodas Hashem, while recognizing that this commitment carries with it an obligation to help shape the world around us. We must educate our children, strengthen our communities, stand up for our values, and exercise the civic responsibilities that are ours.

We must carry on perfecting our homes, yeshivos, schools, and shuls, and doing what we can to make the world a safer and better place, doing what we can to enhance the kochos of kedusha and preparing the world for Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

A Perfect Life

There are moments in life when everything we have relied upon suddenly seems uncertain. The plans we carefully constructed no longer appear workable, the future we envisioned recedes beyond our reach, and the ground beneath our feet seems less secure than it did yesterday. We can find ourselves confronting circumstances we never anticipated, struggling with questions for which we have no answers, and wondering why the path ahead has become so difficult.

It is in such moments that we can begin to appreciate the greatness of Avrohom Avinu and the extraordinary significance of the first command Hashem gave him: “Lech lecha mei’artzecha umimoladetecha umibais avicha el ha’aretz asher areka,” to leave behind his land, birthplace, and father’s home, and head to an undisclosed place.

With these words, the Torah introduces us to the father of our nation, the man who would become the embodiment of emunah, whose life would illuminate the path for generations of his descendants.

We first learned the parsha when we were young, too young to appreciate the depth of its meaning. When we get older, we can better imagine what Hashem’s command meant to Avrohom and Sorah. A person builds a life in the place where he was born. He knows the people, understands the surroundings, and develops relationships and routines that provide him with a sense of belonging. Avrohom was asked to leave the world he knew and the foundation upon which he had built his identity. And for what? To go where? He didn’t know.

Hashem did not explain the plan to him. He didn’t provide Avrohom with an itinerary, describe the challenges he would encounter, or assure him that his journey would be entirely pleasant.

Avrohom was promised that if he left home, he would receive tremendous brocha, but he was not given an explanation of the road ahead or the destination.

But Avrohom understood that when Hashem calls upon a person to move forward, He does not always reveal where the road will lead. The obligation is to listen, to trust, and to take the next step.

Rashi, citing Chazal, explains that Hashem did not reveal the destination in order to make the journey more beloved to Avrohom and increase his reward for each step he took.

There are some people who enjoy traveling. I am not one of them. I tend to view a journey as a means to an end. I endure the discomfort of the journey because I want to reach a destination, and the sooner I get there, the better. I recently received an invitation to an out-of-town wedding, and it reminded me how much I dread plane travel, with the inevitable delays, the endless lines, the disappointments, and the hours strapped into a seat, waiting for the ordeal to end. If I want to reach a distant place, however, there is no choice but to endure the journey. The travel itself has little value. What matters is arriving.

The Torah teaches us that life does not work that way. In our journey through life, the road is not merely an obstacle standing between us and our destination. The journey itself is the destination. Every step taken in obedience to Hashem, every moment of trust when the outcome is uncertain, and every struggle through which we remain faithful rather than surrender to fear is itself an achievement. We may be focused on where we hope to arrive, but Hashem values the person we become along the way. We measure success by reaching our destination, but the Torah teaches us, through the story of Avrohom Avinu, that there is profound value in every step that brings us closer to Him.

We want to know where we are going. We want to understand what will happen next and how everything will work out. We seek reassurance that the difficulties we experience will lead to something better, that the sacrifices we make will produce the hoped-for results, and that the uncertainty we endure will ultimately be resolved.

But that’s not how life works.

We may spend years preparing for a particular future, only to discover that events have taken us somewhere else entirely. We may do everything we know to be right and still encounter disappointment. We may daven for a particular outcome, work hard to achieve it, and then find that things don’t work out as we expected.

Life is full of nisyonos. Sometimes, when we face a nisayon, we have no idea what to do or how to proceed. Sometimes, we know what to do, or think we do, but we are afraid to do it. But the toughest nisayon is when we find ourselves in a situation and try to figure out why Hashem put us in that situation.

We live in a world of nisyonos, tests that confront us throughout our lives and are woven into the fabric of existence. A nisayon can come in the form of an illness, a financial setback, a disappointment involving a child, a family difficulty, a failed undertaking, or a door that closes just when we thought it was about to open.

Sometimes a person is tested by a sudden crisis. At other times, the challenge is the slow accumulation of burdens that never seem to be lifted. There are tests of patience, tests of character, tests of faith, and tests of endurance. There are nisyonos that require courage, and there is the simple nisayon of getting out of bed each morning and doing what we know we must do.

Life is rarely simple, and oftentimes things happen that involve pain and hurt. Bitachon and emunah do not demand that we pretend suffering does not hurt. The Torah does not ask us to deny the reality of pain, suppress our tears, or greet every disappointment with a smile.

Emunah is not the absence of pain. It is the knowledge that even when we are in pain, we are not abandoned. It is the conviction that the world has a Master, that our lives are not governed by random forces, and that the circumstances we cannot control remain within the domain of the One who created and sustains us, and that everything He does is for a good purpose.

A nisayon places a demand upon us, and we retain the ability to decide how we respond. We can allow adversity to harden us or use it as an occasion to deepen our compassion. We can become embittered by disappointments, or we can learn from them to become more sensitive to the disappointments of others. We can allow uncertainty to distance us from Hashem, or we can use it as an opportunity to turn to Him with a sincerity we might never otherwise have discovered.

We don’t choose the nisayon. We don’t seek out challenges, but when we know they are presented by Hashem, we are better able to deal with them, confront them, and grow from them.

A person can endure hardship and emerge wounded, exhausted, and struggling. Emunah and bitachon guide us to continue seeking Hashem, to continue doing what is right, and to refuse to let circumstances rob us of the values by which we live.

There is another lesson in Avrohom’s journey that deserves our attention.

After Avrohom obeyed Hashem and arrived in Eretz Canaan, the Torah relates that a famine struck the land. Avrohom was forced to go down to Mitzrayim.

Consider the apparent contradiction. Hashem had told Avrohom to leave his homeland and travel to the land He would show him. Avrohom followed Hashem’s command, but upon reaching the destination, instead of finding the promised abundance, he encountered a famine so severe that he could not remain in the land.

The famine was a nisayon to see if Avrohom would question Hashem’s promise.

What happens when we do what is right and things go wrong? What happens when we make the responsible choice, follow the path we believe Hashem wants us to follow, and discover that the outcome is not what we expected?

We may have worked honestly, treated others fairly, and fulfilled our obligations, yet suffered financial losses. People devote themselves to raising their children with care and love, and then their children disappoint them, forcing them to face difficulties they never imagined. We may have invested our hearts in a worthy endeavor and watched it fail. We may have davened with all our strength for a certain outcome and then found ourselves confronting the reality we desperately sought to avoid.

We imagine that if we are on the right path, the road should be smooth. We expect that doing what is right will protect us from painful surprises and that fulfilling our responsibilities will produce the results we seek. The lives of our avos teach us otherwise.

Avrohom’s greatness lay in responding to each stage of his journey as it came, continuing to live with the knowledge that Hashem was directing his path even when the circumstances were difficult to understand.

This is a lesson we need when life does not conform to our expectations. A disappointment is not a verdict on our choices. A closed door does not mean that our efforts were wasted. And a difficult chapter does not tell us how the story will end.

We are responsible for making the best decisions we can following the Torah, making appropriate efforts, and doing our hishtadlus. We are not responsible for controlling the outcome. That distinction can spare us from a lifetime of unnecessary guilt and frustration.

We do our part. We strive to act properly. We daven for success. And when events unfold differently than we hoped, we continue forward.

As children we thought that every good story has a happy ending. The struggles are temporary, the obstacles are overcome, the right people find one another, and everyone eventually lives the life they dreamed of. We expect our own lives to follow a similar script. People imagine that they are entitled to the perfect job, the perfect family, financial security, a beautiful home, and a life in which everything falls neatly into place. When reality fails to deliver that picture, they feel cheated. They look at what they have and see what is missing, measure their lives against what they imagined they would be, and wonder why the happiness they expected remains so elusive.

Part of growing up is learning that life is not a fairy tale, and part of developing emunah is recognizing that we are not the authors of our own stories. Hashem determines the circumstances into which we are born, the blessings we receive, the challenges we confront, and the roads we travel. To the degree that we learn to live fully and faithfully within the reality Hashem has given us, we attain happiness.

The fairy-tale ending we seek is not necessarily the life in which every problem disappears and every wish is fulfilled. It is the life in which we learn to embrace our circumstances, find meaning in our struggles, appreciate our blessings, and recognize that even the challenges we would never have chosen can become part of our growth. When we stop demanding that life be perfect before we allow ourselves to be happy, we begin to discover a deeper kind of joy, one that does not depend upon everything going the way we imagined it would.

As long as we measure success by the standards peddled by a superficial culture—perfect children, effortless wealth, physical beauty, dazzling white teeth, a sprawling house on a generous lot, and an expensive car in the garage—we will always find someone who has more and something in our own lives that falls short. We will spend our days chasing an image of happiness that keeps receding just as we approach it.

We can spend a lifetime waiting for the perfect life, never realizing that the life Hashem gave us is the one in which we were meant to find our purpose, our growth, and our joy, and that this is the truly perfect life.

The perfect life portrayed in fairy tales does not exist. There is no life in which every dream comes true, every relationship unfolds as hoped, everything follows the path we envisioned, and every day brings only satisfaction and joy. That imaginary perfection distracts us from the perfection we are capable of achieving in the lives Hashem has actually given us.

For the truly perfect life is not one in which a person is spared nisyonos, but one in which he confronts them and triumphs. It is a life in which challenges, as unwelcome and painful as they may be, become opportunities for growth. It is a life in which disappointment deepens our understanding, adversity strengthens our emunah, and struggle brings out reserves of courage, patience, and compassion we might never otherwise have discovered. We may not choose the tests that confront us, and we need not pretend to welcome them. But we can choose to face them with emunah, to learn from them, and to refuse to let them defeat the person we are capable of becoming.

The perfect life is not the life in which nothing goes wrong. It is the life in which, when things go wrong, we grow stronger in emunah, greater in character, and closer to the person Hashem wants us to become.

This is the lesson we learn from Avrohom Avinu, whose life stands in stark contrast to the fairy tales that shape immature expectations of happiness. When Hashem told Avrohom, “Lech lecha,” He accompanied it with extraordinary promises. We could have imagined that Avrohom’s life from that point on would be an upward trajectory of luxurious glory. We would have thought that Avrohom would be spared the disappointments and hardships that ordinary people have to deal with.

Yet, almost immediately after arriving in Eretz Canaan, Avrohom encountered a famine and had to go down to Mitzrayim. He had no children and had to send away his relative who came with him. He had to fight a war with local kings. The journey that began with promises instead brought him deprivation. Though he did indeed live a blessed life, Avrohom’s life was marked by repeated nisyonos, each demanding new measures of emunah and bitachon.

But the first of our avos paved the way for us and showed us how to live, teaching us not to measure the truth of Hashem’s promises by the comfort of our present circumstances.

The fairy tale ends when the obstacles disappear and everyone lives happily ever after. The Torah’s version of a good life emerges through the obstacles themselves, when a person confronts a nisayon without surrendering or abandoning his emunah.

Avrohom did not become Avrohom Avinu because his life unfolded according to a comfortable script. He became the father of our nation because he remained loyal to Hashem’s truth through a series of challenges and difficulties.

We do not choose our nisyonos, but we do choose how we respond to them. Like Avrohom and Sorah, we can choose to live lives of purpose, goodness, and growth, even when circumstances are not what we had hoped or imagined. We learn to appreciate what we have rather than dwell on what we lack, to recognize the many brachos Hashem has bestowed upon us, and to take advantage of opportunities to deepen our emunah, strengthen our character, and become better people.

As bnei and bnos Torah, our mission is to live as Avrohom and Sorah did, bringing kedusha and goodness into the world and striving to become worthy of the continued brachos and protection that Hashem bestows upon us as we continue the chain of the mesorah in our families, preparing the world for Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

The Courage to Stand Apart

As we learn this week about Noach and the Mabul, we encounter a description of the world that is devastating and unsettling. The pesukim (Bereishis 6:11-12) tell us, “Vatishocheis ha’aretz lifnei ha’Elokim vatimolei ha’aretz chomos — The world had become corrupt before Hashem, and the earth was filled with thievery.” The Torah continues, “Vayar Hashem es ha’aretz vehinei nishchosah — Hashem saw the earth, and behold, it had become corrupt.”

Acharonim note a striking feature of these pesukim. The Torah describes a world consumed by corruption, a society steeped in theft, violence, immorality, and the abandonment of basic decency. Yet, when the Torah speaks of seeing the corruption, it singles out that Hashem is the One who observed what was happening: “Vayar Hashem.” Hashem saw what had become of His world. The implication is that the people inhabiting that world did not see what was unfolding around them. Either they were so deeply implicated in the wrongdoing that they could no longer see it clearly or they had become so accustomed to their surroundings that nothing about the prevailing behavior seemed unusual.

How could an entire civilization descend to such a level without recognizing what was happening? How could people live amid rampant theft and violence, surrounded by moral decay, and carry on as though everything were perfectly normal?

Perhaps the answer is that corruption rarely announces itself as corruption. It advances gradually, one compromise at a time, until yesterday’s outrage becomes today’s accepted practice. What once would have shocked the conscience becomes commonplace. What once demanded protest becomes a subject of indifference. Eventually, people no longer ask whether their behavior is right or wrong. They ask only whether it is customary, whether others are doing it, and whether they can get away with it.

Not only were the people of Noach’s generation committing terrible sins, but their society had lost the ability to recognize those sins for what they were. The corruption had become so pervasive that the distinction between right and wrong had blurred, until the abnormal had become normal and the indefensible had become accepted.

When an individual sins, there may still be a conscience that troubles him, a voice that reminds him that he has crossed a line. But when an entire society embraces the wrongdoing, that voice becomes easier to silence. People reassure one another that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. They point to their neighbors, their friends, and the accepted practices of their time. The oldest excuse in the book is that “everyone is doing it,” and if everyone is doing it, then it can’t possibly be wrong.

Yet, the fact that an entire world accepts something does not make it right. A society can reach a consensus and still be profoundly mistaken. An entire generation can lose its moral bearings while remaining convinced that it is right.

We see this in the way nations condemn Israel and promote the modern-day blood libel that the Jewish state is guilty of genocide. We see it in the world’s most prestigious award being given to a Jew-hater who promotes the genocide charge. We see it in the antisemitic marches in European capitals, in the legislation Western nations enact against Israel, and in the growing hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people within the American Democratic Party.

And this lesson must give us pause closer to home as well. At a time when more Jews are devoting their lives to Torah, and when chesed and tzedokah are being performed on a scale that may be unprecedented in our long history, we must also confront the troubling reality that certain forms of contemptible conduct within our own community are becoming increasingly accepted. The extraordinary growth of Torah and chesed does not absolve us of the responsibility to recognize what is wrong among us.

The Torah’s description of the Mabul teaches us that this is not merely a historical curiosity. It is one of the great dangers facing human society in every age. When the standards of right and wrong are determined by what people do rather than by what they should do, the very idea of a moral standard begins to disappear. Instead of asking whether our behavior meets the demands of truth and justice, we judge truth and justice by whether they accommodate our behavior.

The tragedy of Noach’s generation was that its people apparently no longer saw the tragedy.

There is a remarkable lesson in the Torah’s identification of the particular sin that filled the earth, namely chomos, thievery. Chazal teach that the people of that generation had become so accustomed to stealing that they devised ways of taking from one another in amounts so small that the victims could not obtain legal redress. Each individual act might have appeared insignificant, but when everyone participated, the cumulative result was the destruction of society.

This is what happens when people stop respecting the rights of others. The first theft may be accompanied by discomfort, the second by a little less hesitation, and eventually a person can reach a point where he no longer finds anything wrong with taking what belongs to someone else. He finds excuses, identifies loopholes, and persuades himself that what he is doing is acceptable. Others do the same, and soon the entire society operates by standards that would once have been unthinkable.

The members of the generation of the Mabul did not necessarily need to become spectacular villains, each committing some extraordinary act of wickedness. They needed only to create a world in which everyone felt entitled to take a little, excuse a little, and disregard the other person a little. When those small acts became the accepted way of life, the society became corrupt.

The lesson reaches far beyond theft. Whenever people become accustomed to dishonesty, cruelty, exploitation, or the humiliation of others, they gradually lose their sensitivity to the damage they cause. The question is no longer whether another person has been wronged, but whether the wrongdoing is common enough to be excused. The more widespread a practice becomes, the less likely people are to challenge it, and the less likely they are to recognize the harm it inflicts.

This is how a society can deteriorate without experiencing a moment of collective alarm. There is no single morning when everyone awakens and announces that right and wrong no longer matter. Instead, the standards erode little by little, until people look around and see nothing unusual in what has become of them.

And that is the lesson of Noach.

The Torah tells us, “Noach ish tzaddik tomim hayah bedorosav es ha’Elokim hishalech Noach — Noach was a righteous and wholehearted man in his generations; Noach walked with Hashem.”

Noach lived in the same world as everyone else. He breathed the same air, encountered the same people, and witnessed the same conduct that had become ordinary in his surroundings. He was spared the influence of his society because, while the others accepted the standards of their generation, Noach measured his conduct by the will of Hashem. If Noach knew that Hashem considered that conduct wrong, Noach’s guide was Hashem, not public opinion, not what everyone did, what everyone bought, or where everyone went. He kept himself accountable to a higher standard.

Noach measured the world against the will of Hashem rather than measuring the will of Hashem against the world.

That distinction is fundamental.

It is relatively easy to recognize wrongdoing when everyone around us condemns it. When a society agrees that an act is shameful, a person can maintain his integrity without having to question the assumptions of his friends or challenge the practices of his community. The real test arrives when the prevailing culture has accepted something that the Torah rejects, when a person must choose between the approval of those around him and his responsibility to Hashem.

That is when a person discovers whether his standards are rooted in Torah or merely borrowed from his surroundings.

Hashem instructed Noach to build the teivah over an extended period so that he could carry on discussions with the people of his day and seek to influence them to mend their ways. Though Noach’s efforts proved fruitless, he himself wasn’t swayed by the degradation of the society around him and remained committed to acting according to the will of Hashem. Though he was constantly mocked, he continued building the teivah as Hashem had commanded him.

That is the responsibility of a Jew in every generation. We cannot control the moral climate of the world, and we cannot always persuade others to recognize what is wrong. But we are responsible for ensuring that the standards by which we live our lives do not become casualties of the society around us.

We live in a world in which the language of morality is constantly invoked, but the meaning of morality is increasingly contested. Conduct that was once regarded as shameful can be celebrated, while those who object are dismissed as backward, intolerant, or out of touch.

Just because something is popular, widely promoted, and accepted by influential people does not mean that it is right. Popularity is not proof of truth, and acceptance is not evidence of righteousness.

The world can applaud something that is wrong, just as an entire generation can become accustomed to behavior that destroys the fabric of society. If we allow the prevailing culture to determine our standards, we risk losing the ability to distinguish between what is right and what is merely fashionable.

This danger is not confined to the larger society. It exists within our world as well. A person can become accustomed to speaking improperly, treating another person unfairly, wasting precious time, or making compromises in his hanhogah until what once troubled him no longer registers. He may continue to regard himself as an honest person, a responsible person, and a ben Torah, even as he gradually adjusts his standards to accommodate his behavior.

The danger is not only that we may do something wrong. It is that we may reach a point where we no longer recognize it as wrong.

A person who knows that he has stumbled can seek to correct himself. A person who has convinced himself that there is nothing to correct has closed the door to improvement.

That is why the Torah’s description of Noach’s generation should give us pause. It teaches us to consider not only what we are doing, but how we judge what we are doing. Are our standards determined by the Torah, or do we slowly, and perhaps unknowingly, adjust our understanding of Torah to accommodate the standards around us? Are we troubled when we see something wrong, or have we become so accustomed to it that we no longer notice or care? Do we examine our conduct honestly, or do we find comfort in the knowledge that others behave the same way?

Noach’s generation became so immersed in its conduct that its people lost the ability to recognize where their choices were leading. The world was filled with chomos, and yet the corruption had become ordinary. What should have been a cause for alarm had become the background of everyday life.

Noach teaches us that we must preserve the ability to see clearly, even when those around us have lost it.

There is a reason that the Torah tells us that Noach walked with Hashem. A person who leads his life by what everyone else does gets swept away in the tide of hedonism, self-indulgence, and a way of life incongruous with Torah values.

Noach reminds us that when the entire world goes astray, righteousness may look strange and may feel lonely. When everyone goes somewhere and you don’t, it may appear as if you are the one missing out, but, in fact, you are like Noach in the teivah, living life the way it was meant to be lived.

Over the Yomim Noraim and Sukkos, we invested much effort in reaching higher levels of ruchniyus, striving to improve ourselves, strengthen our connection with Hashem, and carry the inspiration of those exalted days into the year ahead. The task of those days was to work to elevate ourselves above the distractions of the world and draw closer to the person we know we can become.

As we return to regular life, what we gained over Tishrei is vulnerable to the murky floodwaters of a society in which the lines between right and wrong are increasingly blurred and our generational values can gradually be eroded.

As we learn this week’s parsha and return to school and yeshiva, we must take the lesson of Parshas Noach to heart and work to go against the flow rather than get swept away by the challenges to our mesorah and Torah way of life.

We can choose the standards by which we live, the influences to which we expose ourselves, and the values we transmit to our children. By remaining loyal to Torah and its values and doing what we can to bring goodness and ruchniyus into the world around us, we build our personal teivah, a place of refuge in which our families can remain anchored even as the waters rise around us.

We may not be able to keep the world from sinking, but we can ensure that we do not allow ourselves to sink with it. We can act as our grandfather Noach did, attempt to influence those around us, seek to make the world a better place, and help prepare the world for the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu bekarov.

Bereishis: Why We Are Here

The Torah begins by telling us the story of creation, Bereishis. The Torah introduces us to the creation of the universe, the formation of the world in which we live, and the emergence of mankind, the one creation entrusted with the ability to recognize its Creator and choose how to live.

Yet, as Rashi reminds us at the beginning of the parsha, the Torah is not a history book. It is not intended merely to tell us how the world came into existence or to provide us with an account of the earliest generations of mankind. The Torah is our guide to life, teaching us how to conduct ourselves, how to relate to Hashem and to one another, and how to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. Why, asks Rashi, does the Torah begin with the story of creation and devote the entire first parsha to creation and the lives of Adam and Chava, Kayin and Hevel, and the generations that preceded Avrohom Avinu? Why not begin with the mitzvos, with the commandments that define our obligations as Jews?

Rashi explains that the Torah begins with Bereishis to establish that the entire world belongs to Hashem. He created it, and He determines who will inhabit its lands. When the nations of the world accuse Klal Yisroel of stealing Eretz Yisroel, we can respond that the One Who created the world gave the land to us.

This is a fundamental lesson in our understanding of the world and our place in it. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world and placed us in it, entrusting us with the responsibility to live in accordance with His will. The land we inhabit, the resources we enjoy, the talents with which we were endowed, and the very lives we lead are gifts from Hashem. Everything we possess comes with an obligation to use it properly.

Before the Torah tells us what to do, it tells us why we are here. Before it presents the mitzvos that shape our lives, it establishes that the world was created deliberately, with purpose and with direction. The universe is not a random collection of events, and human life is not an accident without meaning. Everything begins with Hashem, and everything we do must be understood in the context of His creation and His will.

The Torah tells us that man was created b’tzelem Elokim, in the image of Hashem. This is perhaps the most profound statement about the human condition. Man is not simply another creature inhabiting the earth. The posuk tells us that Hashem created man from adomah and blew into him the spirit of life, nishmas chaim. He endowed us with a neshomah, the ability to speak, the capacity to think and understand, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, to exercise bechirah, and to make choices that have eternal significance.

The greatness of a person does not lie in his physical strength, his wealth, intelligence, or accomplishments in the eyes of the world. His greatness lies in his ability to transcend the adomah from which he was created, from which flow his physical instincts and desires, and to give sustenance to his neshomah, as our lives are meant to be dedicated to fulfilling the spiritual purposes for which we were placed in this world.

That is the challenge of tzelem Elokim. We are given extraordinary abilities, but those abilities carry extraordinary responsibility. We can build and destroy, encourage and discourage, bring happiness and cause pain. We can use our intelligence to discover new ways to improve the world or to devise ways to harm others. We can use our words to comfort a person who is suffering or to inflict wounds that may never heal.

We are not passive observers in the world. We are active participants. The first human beings were placed in Gan Eden, a world of extraordinary beauty and abundance. They were given everything they needed, with one clear restriction.

Adam and Chava’s failure to heed that command introduced a fundamental reality of human existence. Having free will means that a person can choose incorrectly, even when the right path is clear. The challenge of life is not merely to know what Hashem wants from us, but to overcome the inclinations and temptations that lead us away from it.

And when Adam sinned, Hashem asked him, “Ayeka? Where are you?”

Hashem certainly knew where Adam was. The question was not about his physical location. It was an invitation to confront what had happened, to recognize his responsibility, and to consider where his choices had brought him.

That question echoes throughout the generations. Where are we? What are we doing with the lives Hashem has given us? Are we using our abilities to fulfill our purpose, or are we allowing ourselves to be distracted by pursuits that have little lasting value? Are we moving closer to Hashem, or are we allowing the pressures and attractions of the world to draw us away?

It is a question that each of us must ask ourselves, not only during the introspective days of Elul and the Yomim Noraim, but throughout the year. A person can be busy from morning until night, accomplishing one task after another, and still lose sight of where he is going. He can accumulate wealth and achieve recognition and relevance without addressing the most important question of whether he is living the life Hashem wants him to live.

On Shemini Atzeres, in the diaspora we lained Koheles. Various reasons are given for this minhag, but perhaps one of its messages is that Koheles helps seal in the gains we made during Elul and Tishrei. After spending these weeks examining our lives, our priorities, and our relationship with Hashem, we are reminded that so much of what occupies people in this world is ultimately hevel, fleeting and without lasting significance. The challenge is not to withdraw from the world, but to learn to distinguish between what is hevel and what is important, between what demands our attention and what deserves our attention, between what fills our days and what gives those days meaning.

Along with that comes the responsibility to recognize Hashem and see His hand in all aspects of our lives.

We are required to do hishtadlus. We work and seek to earn a living, but we recognize that whatever we have is because Hashem gave it to us. The work is a means, but the income comes from Hashem.

We build armies, establish security services, create sophisticated intelligence systems, check credentials, erect fences, and take every reasonable precaution to protect ourselves. But we must never confuse the means with the source. The systems are tools. The protection comes from Hashem.

This week, Israel and Jews throughout the world marked the third anniversary of the October 7^th massacre, a day on which we were reminded of that truth in a most painful way.

Israel possesses one of the world’s most powerful armies and most sophisticated security establishments. It has intelligence agencies considered among the finest anywhere, advanced surveillance systems, layers of fences and barriers, and countless people whose responsibility is to identify threats and protect the country’s citizens.

And yet, on that morning, those systems failed simultaneously. Warnings were missed. Signals were ignored. Assumptions were wrong. The people whose job it was to prevent such an attack were unable to do so. It was a fulfillment of the posuk, “Einayim lohem velo yiru oznayim lohem velo yishma’u.” The eyes of the nation’s security apparatus were simply closed.

We were reminded that, ultimately, it is not the army that protects us, not the intelligence agencies, not the fences, and not the technology.

Hashem Hu Ha’Elokim.

The One Who created the world is the One Who runs it.

And just last week, we received another extraordinary reminder of that truth, this time in the skies.

The attempted terrorist attack aboard a flight bound for Tel Aviv could easily have ended with the deaths of everyone aboard and potentially many on the ground. The co-pilot, who had previously been identified by his former employer as a security risk, attacked the captain in the cockpit and attempted to take control of the aircraft. The plane plunged thousands of feet in a matter of seconds. Passengers were thrown from their seats. The cockpit became a scene of violence and chaos.

And yet, the plane did not crash. The passengers did not die.

The subsequent investigation revealed serious questions about the security procedures governing foreign airlines and their crews. Israel had systems in place, protocols, departments, and databases, but it emerged that foreign pilots were not being independently vetted in the manner one might have assumed. The responsibility was divided among different agencies, but the crucial information was not being acted upon. Had they been doing their jobs, the Jew-hating co-pilot never would have been allowed to board the plane and be seated in the cockpit.

If the flying public’s safety depended on human beings, people would have every reason to be terrified every time they get on a plane.

Instead, we are reminded that our safety rests with Hashem.

And the miracle of the FlyDubai flight went far beyond the failures of the security system.

The heroism of people aboard the plane is credited with saving the plane from crashing to the ground and killing everyone on board, but it was a series of miraculous occurrences that allowed that heroism to occur. The passengers have rightly been hailed as heroes. They saw what was happening and acted with extraordinary courage.

A woman who happened to be standing near the cockpit heard the commotion and began screaming. Several passengers rushed toward the cockpit, overpowered the attacker, and restrained him. Others cared for the wounded captain. They guarded the cockpit and helped ensure that the plane could be landed safely.

But even their heroism was possible only because of a remarkable chain of events that unfolded at precisely the right moments.

The captain, gravely wounded, losing much blood and under continued attack, miraculously retained the strength and presence of mind to open the cockpit door. Had that door remained closed, the passengers would have had no way to reach him or the attacker.

A plumber who happened to be sitting relatively close to the cockpit heard what was happening and rushed forward. He pulled the attacker away from the captain, and as others dealt with him, the plumber, with no previous flying experience, found himself in a cockpit with a plunging aircraft. He had once seen how a plane’s control stick raises and lowers the plane, and he lifted the controls with all his might to get the plane to fly upward.

He had no training that should have qualified him to fly a Boeing 737. Yet, at that moment, when 170 lives were in jeopardy, Hashem put the idea into his head of how to save them.

There were other seemingly unlikely occurrences as well.

Additional pilots happened to be aboard the flight as passengers. A dentist who happened to be on board was able to provide critical medical assistance to the wounded captain. Passengers found charging cables and other materials that could be improvised to restrain the attacker. Men and women who had been strangers only minutes earlier suddenly worked together as a team, each one doing whatever he or she could to save the lives of everyone aboard.

The world calls such things coincidence. It calls them luck. It speaks of fortunate circumstances and improbable happenstance.

We know better.

We know that there is no happenstance. There is only the Ribono Shel Olam, Who runs the world and Who can arrange a thousand details, many of them invisible to us, so that they converge at precisely the moment they are needed.

It is interesting that both of these events occurred during the days of Sukkos and Shemini Atzeres, when we celebrate how Hashem protected us from the elements in the midbar and as we were about to begin studying Bereishis.

We left our homes, the places that provide us with walls, roofs, locks, alarm systems, and the illusion of permanence, and we entered the sukkah. We sat beneath a roof that does not really protect us from the elements, as we experienced when it rained over Yom Tov. We left behind the physical structures in which we invest so much of our energy and reminded ourselves that our true protection does not come from them.

We sat in the sukkah, in the tzila demehemnusa, the shade of the Shechinah, and proclaimed that the walls around us are not what guarantee our safety. The roof over our heads is not what determines whether we will be protected. We have to take reasonable precautions. But after all the hishtadlus has been made, we recognize that the One above is the One Who protects us.

And then we return to Bereishis.

Why does the Torah begin by telling us that Hashem created the world?

Because we need to know that the world is not governed by chance, that history is not a series of random events, and that our lives are not determined solely by the decisions of men and the systems they construct.

The same Hashem Who created the heavens and the earth can cause the most powerful security establishment to overlook a threat. He can cause a warning to be missed. He can allow a plane to descend thousands of feet and then, through a series of seemingly random events, provide the precise people and abilities needed to save it.

He can place a plumber in a particular seat and turn him into a pilot. He can place a dentist on a particular flight and turn him into an emergency doctor. He can place additional pilots on a plane and give a dying captain the strength to open a door. And He can bring all of those seemingly unrelated details together at exactly the moment when they are needed.

That is not merely the lesson of last week’s FlyDubai flight, nor is it only the lesson of October 7^th, when the army couldn’t prevent the rampage and was powerless to stop it.

It is the lesson of our daily lives, when every day is filled with miracles we take for granted.

Bereishis bara Elokim — Hashem created it all. He runs it. He guides it. He determines its course.

We do our hishtadlus. We are not permitted to sit back and rely on miracles. But after we have done what we can, we recognize the truth with which the Torah begins and upon which everything else rests — namely, that Hashem runs the world.

His ways are mysterious and not always understood. We cannot always see why one person is saved and another is not, why one warning is heard and another is missed, or why one seemingly insignificant event becomes the link that saves hundreds of lives.

We don’t know why one person becomes ill and another remains healthy, why one person becomes wealthy while another struggles financially, or why one person’s life seems to contain far more suffering and challenges than another’s. We cannot understand the ways of Hashem or the reasons for the individual tests He sends to each of us. But we know that nothing happens by itself and nothing happens without purpose. Hashem sends us the challenges we need to help us grow, to strengthen our emunah, and to bring us closer to Him.

We must never give up. We must never convince ourselves that our challenges are insurmountable or that we cannot overcome them. Those who recognize the Yad Hashem, place their trust in Him, and believe that He is with them through every challenge can face life with confidence, knowing that Hashem will give them the strength to persevere and overcome.

Bereishis bara Elokim. Chazal teach that the world was created for reishis, for Klal Yisroel and for Torah. Hashem created the world for us. He created it with the expectation that we would be able to accomplish our mission in it. The world was not created to defeat us. It was created to provide us with opportunities, challenges, and circumstances through which we can fulfill the purpose for which we were placed here.

We should therefore never allow anything or anyone to break our spirit, and we should never allow anyone to convince us that we cannot succeed. No matter what happens, no matter what challenges confront us, we must remember that we are living in Hashem’s world and that the One Who created the world is with us every step of the way. With emunah, bitachon, and the determination to continue moving forward, we can overcome the obstacles placed before us and accomplish what Hashem expects of us.

This week, as we return to the rhythm of life after Yom Tov, and as we begin studying Parshas Bereishis, we need to carry these lessons with us. The warmth and inspiration of Elul, the Yomim Noraim, Sukkos, Shemini Atzeres, and Simchas Torah should not remain behind with the Yom Tov.

The days ahead may be colder and darker, and the long winter may sometimes seem bleak. But we enter it with the light of Bereishis bara Elokim. Hashem created the world, He guides its every detail, and He placed us here because He knows that we are capable of fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.

We have every reason to move forward with emunah, with bitachon, and with confidence that, with Hashem’s help, we can succeed.

May we all be zoche to a gezunteh vinter and the geulah sheleimah bekarov.