By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
We know how it will end.
‘The wolf will lie with the lamb’.
That is G-d’s promise as prophesied by the Prophet Isaiah.
It’s the way the world will look when Mashiach will come.
Sadly, until we get there, things are not so simple.
And this week they got horrific.
When I asked our daughter who lives in Rechovot, ‘how are you coping’? she responded ‘I hope I don’t have to wake my babies up yet again tonight to run to the shelters’.
Anyone who has not experienced this cannot truly fathom it.
Children, in the safety of their home, in the most comforting space a child knows, their bed, being shaken out of a deep sleep to shelter from murderous missile attacks.
In the holy land of Israel. The one place in the world that every Jew can call a homeland.
First of all make sure not to get confused by our enemies who are using all kinds of marketing and social media to distort the reality.
I don’t know of any Jew in the world who isn’t horrified when they see the ugly swastika or other Nazi memorabilia surface in their environs.
That outrage, amplified many times over, is what we must all be feeling at this time.
What we are witnessing in our beloved Holy Land is the brutal attack on our brothers and sisters, our children and grandchildren, our parents and grandparents. On our fellow Jews.
Our beloved and heroic IDF is doing everything in their power to self-defend.
We must join in the effort. We cannot stand by idly.
But, you rightfully ask what can we do?
First of all, be vocal about your support for your own brothers and sisters.
For those who are fighting for the defense of the people of Israel. They are heroically putting their life on the line for the sake of reaching sustainable and enduring peace.
As well, give moral and any other needed form of support to those living in Israel. They are representing all of us.
We must all pray for Israel.
The Torah promises that Israel is ‘a land that the eyes of Hashem are upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year’.
We pray for that supervision by the Almighty to be revealed in a benevolent and beneficent way.
We need to act on behalf of Israel.
To do mitzvahs. Good deeds that show our attachment to G-d and good deeds that show our oneness with others.
An emphasis should be placed on Tzedaka and acts of goodness and kindness.
For Jewish men, a special emphasis should be placed on putting on Tefilin. The Rebbe explained in preparation to the six-day-war that Tefilin is a mitzvah that has special significance in regard to instilling a fear on our enemies. As well as having the blessing of preserving life. We need to focus on life.
For Jewish women and girls, kindling Shabbat and Holiday candles is mitzvah that should be strengthened and emphasized at this time. Kindling Shabbat candles usher peace and light into the world.
We need peace and light!!!!
This is relevant to each and every one of us.
CLICK HERE for more on what you can do for Israel.
We, the Jewish people are like one body. We stood together at the mountain of Sinai and G-d gave us the Torah. All of us together. If one of us would have been missing the Torah could not have been given.
Here is a little story that happened to me today.
I was going to meet up with Noah, young man whose interest in Judaism was reignited while he was working in Bangkok. We were going to meet in my brother Yehuda’s Chabad house in Westport as Noah lives not far and this way I could visit my brother and meet Noah on the same Connecticut trip.
But first I had a meeting with someone at the Rebbe’s Ohel. My brother Zalman a Chabad rabbi on the west coast, had asked me to accompany his friend who was visiting the Rebbe’s Ohel for the first time. I was eager to pray at the Ohel as I had two pressing matters. The plight of my family and people in Israel and the health situation that my community is weathering in Thailand.
While at the Rebbe’s resting place praying, I had the thought that it would be appropriate to loan a pair of Tefilin for Noah as I had no doubt he would pray in them daily. That would be a good contribution to the efforts for Israel. In my customary note in which I had jotted down the things I was praying for, I included my prayer to be successful in organizing a pair of Tefilin for Noah.
I went to the Ohel with my brothers friend, prayed side by side and then I walked out to the street with him as he waited for transportation. He handed me a donation. I counted it and saw that it was the exact amount of money that a new pair of Tefillin would cost. I told the donor of my intention to spend this money on getting the Tefillin that I had just prayed for. The timing and exact money amount made it obvious to me that this is what I should do. My brothers friend was in agreement and he was elated to be part of this special mitzvah. My brother in Westport happened to have a new pair which I purchased and loaned to Noah. Below I have attached a picture of Noah in his new Tefillin.
It inspired me to see the fulfillment of my prayers with such immediacy.
May all our collective and individual prayers be fulfilled with speed and in their entirety.
May there be peace and tranquility in the holy land of Israel and in the entire world.
Shabbat Shalom and (one day later) Chag Sameach!!!
May you receive the Torah with joy and in a way that it resonates within you.
Rabbi Yosef Kantor