By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
Please G-d on Monday I will get my second dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Yes, I am still in New York.
Talking about New York….
I was appalled when I heard the governor of NY make a statement reminiscent of Pharaoh in Egypt.
“Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, "So said the Lord God of Israel, 'Send out My people, and let them sacrifice to Me in the desert.' "
And Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord that I should heed His voice to let Israel out? I do not know the Lord, neither will I let Israel out."
That was 3,333 years ago.
A few months ago the governor of NY referred to the Covid numbers going down and gave a contemporary version of Pharaohs statement. He said:
The number is down because we brought the number down. God did not do that.
What an arrogant blasphemous statement.
But I didn’t write this article to decry pompous and untruthful statements.
Rather I would like to share what the Torah tell us about viruses and vaccines.
One of the cardinal beliefs of Judaism is “detailed Divine Providence’. This means that every leaf that falls from a tree is a purposeful part of G-d’s plan for the world.
Just as G-d directs the ‘big stuff’ similarly He is involved in every small detail of the ‘small stuff’.
Yep, every microbe and every germ is directed by G-d.
When germs don’t spread it is by His will. When they do spread it is also by His design.
It is not just by chance that somehow, ‘supernaturally’, the 43 flights from Wuhan to Bangkok in January of 2020 that brought 6,982 passengers to vacation in Thailand, did not create a massive spread of Covid in Thailand.
There have been several articles lately that point out how difficult it is to give any logical explanation about the very low infection numbers in Thailand.
Neither is it by chance that after having such low numbers of infection for so long, the numbers have suddenly jumped up. There are now more than 1000 infected people daily in Thailand. (We pray that these numbers go down, down and away very soon).
We, as humans cannot fathom WHY G-d does what He does. A G-d that a human mind can wrap their mind around is not G-d. Yet we know with perfect clarity that it is He who directs and guides every single microbe.
It is comforting and empowering to know that our Sages taught us that G-d provides the cure before he unleashes the illness.
Together with the virus that G-d has brought into the world, G-d has also provided us humans with the wisdom, intellect and fighting spirit to develop a vaccine that fights the spread of the virus.
Thank G-d for the vaccines!
The numbers go down because G-d blesses our human efforts. We need to work hard, lets be very clear about that. Medical advancement doesn’t just happen effortlessly. But the power for our work, and more importantly the success of our work, is all from G-d.
This concept goes much deeper and broader than Covid 19 and the battle to contain it.
The vaccines are but a small look at the overall mission of humanity.
From the very beginning of creation G-d created Adam and Chava (Eve) and placed them in the Garden of Eden with a clear mandate. To work it and guard it.
The mission of humanity and more particularly, the mission of the Jewish people is to uncover, reveal and publicize the presence of G-d in this earthly existence.
It requires effort. For G-d created our world in way that it should conceal Him. He designed it in a way that the inhabitants of this planet can choose to deny Him if they so wish.
Yet He desires that they find Him and uncover the truth of His presence.
Illness is an aberration. We are not meant to accept it without putting up a fight. In a world of open G-dly revelation everything is perfect. Imperfect health is not possible.
It this flawed world, G-d introduces illness. The flaw is intentional.
It is something G-d wants us to battle and overcome. By praying to G-d and investing our best efforts into the fight, we reveal G-ds presence in the world.
There is entire gamut of internal challenges we face. Laziness, selfishness and our desire for indulgence. The challenges are intentionally planted into us by G-d. So are the energies and faculties needed to overcome them.
Our natural tendency to laziness is in order for us to dig deeper into our reservoir of strength and energize ourselves.
Our selfish natures are not intended to have remain self-centered. Rather our negative personality traits are challenges that G-d wants us to overcome.
Covid 19 is not meant to remain unvanquished. It is part of G-d’s instruction to us as humans to work hard to stamp it out using vaccines and any other effective methods.
The fight against the virus reminds us that we must be constantly overcoming the scourges of human nature.
The phrase that sums this up is what we say in our daily prayers ‘Letaken Olam Bemalchut Sha-Dai’ ‘to perfect the world to accept the sovereignty of G-d’.
Many use the two words excerpted from the above statement, ‘Tikun Olam’ meaning to perfect and rectify the world (to accept the dominion of G-d).
It is up to us to do our best to turn on the light of G-d’s revelation here on earth.
When the time is right, and the Rebbe taught that the time is NOW, G-d will do His part by pulling aside the veil and curtain that hide Him from being revealed in this world.
When that revelation happens, i.e. when the Mashiach comes, the challenges will disappear.
The sicknesses will be non-existent.
Human nature will be benevolent and kind.
No jealousy. No strife. Not even competition.
We await this day eagerly and expectantly.
Until that day arrives, we carry on energetically and busily adding in acts of goodness and kindness. Providing vaccines. Studying more Torah and doing more Mitzvahs and keeping up our yearning and praying for that special day, when we can greet Mashiach.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Kantor
Click here for the 'moments of wisdom' on this weeks parsha which touches on the 'quarantine'.