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B"sd
Let Us Heed the Lessons of Passover and Hasten Our Redemption
Gary Cooperberg
March 31, 2004
As the process of Divine Redemption continues to unfold, the Satan is working overtime to try to thwart it. Our Rabbis tell us that as the night is always darkest just before dawn, so too will redemption be close just when things seem bleakest. Have things ever appeared worse in Israel than they seem to be today? After all the incredible miracles our G-d has performed for us, and after all the suffering the Jewish people have been forced to endure for over two thousand years, who could have imagined that any Jewish leader would be prepared to voluntarily surrender that which we have paid for in so much pain and so much Jewish blood? And, what is even more incredible, the effort to surrender is being made by a leadership whom most believed to be the most idealistic and fearless of all, the bulldozer himself, General Ariel Sharon! Yet, rather than bulldoze our enemies, he has chosen to bulldoze his own people in a futile effort to curry favor with the White House.
All of this insanity has a purpose. It comes to test our faith in G-d. It reminds us that it is not our cleverness, nor our military prowess which brings us victory. It is only when we turn to our G-d, in pure faith that we merit the miracles He performs for us every day in this country. When common sense and logic give way to lunacy, normal people tend to lose hope and can easily lose faith. Even in the so called "right wing" camp we hear strange calls for solutions that ignore Jewish obligations. Netanyahu is willing to go along with Sharon's surrender plan only if we "get something in return"! In other words, he is prepared to surrender Jewish principles for a price. Beni Alon wants to encourage our Arab enemies to "voluntarily" leave Israel for Jordan. How nice. Maybe they will voluntarily stop murdering Jews too. And since when does a right-wing religious person recognize Jordan as an Arab country? The brilliant concept expressed in the phrase, "Jordan is Palestine" finds Jews not only recognizing a non-people as a legitimate entity, but suggesting to give this non-entity recognized sovereignty on Jewish Land! No Jew, not even an authentic King of Israel, has a right to do this!
Logic, pragmatism, political wisdom and strategic surrender have no place in the Land of Israel. In this country we are required to place faith in G-d above all of these accepted concepts. It is bad enough that the President of the United States has a "vision" of two states on Jewish soil, one Arab and one Jewish (a fact, by the way, which already exists in the example of Jordan). But for a Jewish government to accept and actually aspire toward this goal is intolerable. No matter what Mr. Sharon may have in his mind, to declare his willingness to accept any form of foreign sovereignty over Jewish Land is sinful, not to mention treasonous, and will only bring tragedy to Israel, G-d forbid.
As the festival of Freedom is about to be celebrated in Israel, we would do well to reflect upon the many lessons this holiday holds for the Jewish People, and for the entire world. Our liberation from slavery in Egypt and all the miracles entailed in that event are recounted by Jews every day of the year, every Shabbat, and every Jewish holiday. On the actual anniversary of that stupendous event we even attempt to relive it as we recite the story at a late night dinner with the entire family. We must strive to feel what our fathers felt as G-d miraculously changed our status from slaves who had no hope to ever escape our imprisonment, to free men who were to use that freedom to serve our Creator and become a living example for all the nations of the world to also serve G-d.
It was not a simple matter to implement that transformation. As a matter of fact the great Torah sage, Rashi, tells us that eighty percent of the Jewish People were not prepared to leave Egypt and had to be put to death by G-d during the three days of darkness. And even after we were redeemed there were Jews who challenged Moses and even suggested returning to slavery in Egypt! If such things could happen to a generation which was privileged to see the incredible miracles of the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and hearing the Voice of G-d on Mount Sinai, then what are we to expect from a generation so far removed from such holiness? It is for this reason that our G-d is so patient with us. He understands our weaknesses and is patiently encouraging us to elevate ourselves to genuine faith in Him.
We have a government which is neither holy nor democratic. Yes, we get to vote on election day, but that is where our input ends. Once we elect a government, that government becomes an independent entity which feels no obligation to those who elected it. We survive in spite of our leadership, certainly not because of it. When we understand, and truly believe that our future is guaranteed by the Creator of the Universe, only then will we be able to maintain our sanity.
Today, as the flames of antisemitism are being fanned all over Europe, it should be clear to us that living in Exile is a sin that will not long be tolerated by our G-d. Jews have always had an obligation to live in the Land. Until we regained our sovereignty here it was understandable that most Jews could not implement that obligation. Today for a Jew to remain content living in Exile is a sin against our G-d. Coming home is not a political decision. It is a religious obligation. Were Jews in the United States and elsewhere to come home in droves our G-d would certainly remove the bonds of slavery to foolish faithless leaders by replacing them with a true Jewish redeemer. So, at the end of the Passover seder, when every Jewish family recites the prayer, "Next Year in Jerusalem", let our hearts hear what our lips are saying. This is no longer merely a hope. Nothing is stopping us from turning that prayer into reality. We can put an end to modern day Jewish slavery, and enter into a new era of true Freedom of service to our G-d. All we need is to be honest with ourselves and recognize that two thousand years of yearning and praying has resulted in those prayers being answered. It is time for us to take notice and fulfill the dreams of our forebears.
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