Destruction and Hope for Jews

Destruction and Hope

Dovid Eidensohn

Today, the Tenth of Teves, begins the end of Jewish dominance in Jerusalem and Israel. It begins a decline described terribly in the Mishneh Sota 49A and B, which concludes with the terror of the Ikviseh DiMeshicha, the period just prior to the coming of Moshiach, when family and society just fall into the abyss. Then comes Moshiach, described by Rambam in the end of Mishneh Torah in Melochim, as a period of great glory and rejoicing and the shining light of heaven on earth.

The Chazon of Brisk once came to the Rov of Brisk, Reb Chaim Brisker, and, as he was wont to do, said something clever. “When King David arrives with Moshiach, I intend to live next door.” Reb Chaim replied, “When Moshiach arrives, a Jew will not find an available hole in the ground.” This means that today, with all of our travail, when we continue to serve HaShem, we achieve constant reward. Our suffering and success in Torah is recorded in heaven for us to benefit in the Coming World. But when Moshiach comes, the doors are closed. Then everything is revealed and nothing hidden, other than the earlier opportunities to achieve  rewards from heaven for serving HaShem with the difficulties Jews knew. In that sense, when we arrive in Messianic times, it will be a time of great happiness but great fear because we now know that the rewards we once accrued are now blocked. But those who lived their difficult lives with true faith in HaShem will have much less fear and need to find a hole somewhere in the ground than those who spent their lives with less devotion to heaven and the future world.

Avrohom Avinu was thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship idols. HaShem saved him by sending an angel  in the flames. Yitschok knew that HaShem had been commanded to kill him and part of his soul flew away at the terror, but he lived longer than his father or his son Yaacov. Yaacov did not have the flames of Avrohom or the knife of Yitschok, but he suffered terribly from the early death of his beloved wife Rochel, his fear of Aisov who wanted to kill him, and his agony at the loss for many years of his beloved son Yosef. He was blessed with twelve righteous sons who were the founders of the Jewish people, but his suffering marked him and he died much before his father and grandfather.

Avrohom had Yitschok, and Yitschok had Yaacov, who were full Jews. The Torah, however, was not given until Sinai, although earlier Jews knew its laws to some degree and obeyed some of them. But from the early Avose, HaShem commanded the Jews to prepare for living, even in Israel, as strangers. Avrohom and Yitschok lived in Israel under the influence of Palestine kings who honored them. After his marriage Yaacov returned to Israel. There his daughter Dina was captured by Shechem and humiliated. In revenge, her brothers Shimon and Levi wiped out the family and community of Shechem. Then the nations of Palestine united to destroy the Jews.  HaShem appeared to Yaacov and promised him divine protection; and the angry nations did not attack Yaacov.

HaShem decreed that the early Jews would be strangers in their land for four hundred years. Some of these years were in Egypt when Yoseph was the ruler of the land under Pharoah. Pharoah had a dream that nobody could explain. Then Yosef predicted to Pharoah that there would be seven years of plenty and seven years of hunger. The time came for the Jews to leave Egypt and return to Israel. HaShem made a mighty miracle that the Jews escaped from Egypt and came to the Sinai desert. When the Egyptian army pursued them to bring them back to Egypt, HaShem destroyed the Egyptian army. At Mt. Sinai, HaShem spoke to the assembled Jews the beginning of the Ten Commandments.  But, even as Moshe was afterwards in heaven studying Torah from HaShem, the remaining Jews worshipped the Golden Calf and HaShem and Moshe became very angry.

From then on HaShem had times to be proud of Jews and times to be bitter at Jews. The book of Yechezkel the Prophet is filled with the bitterness HaShem expresses over the sins of the Jews. The reality is that HaShem sent many prophets to warn the Jews to repent, but very often they did not. There were good times and bad times. There were 410 years when Jews were in Israel and the Temple of Solomon was built. Then it was destroyed with the prophecy that in seventy years it would be restored. This took place in the time of the Persian king who liked Jews, told them they could leave Persia and live in Israel, and even gave them money to support building there. This was around the time of the Persian king of Mordechai and Esther, both of whom were prophets.

When Haman, the senior officer of Persia after the king, appeared in public wearing an idol, Mordechai insulted him. The Jews were terrified that Haman would destroy all of the Jews. But Mordechai trusted in HaShem and had no fear. Haman then went to the king to demand the death of Mordechai. He probably did not know that Mordechai had saved the life of the king from those who wanted to kill him. The king asked Haman, “If I have somebody I appreciate, how do I honor him?” Haman assumed, “Who does the king want to honor other than me?” He gave the king a glowing project of honoring that person. The king then said, “Do that to Mordechai the Jew.” When Haman began to argue, the King ordered him, “Do what you just said to Mordechai the Jew.” And he did it.

Mordechai did not fear Haman because Mordechai was a perfect tsadik, who has no fear of the wicked. The Jews, however, trembled at Haman and were terrified that Mordechai had insulted him. But the king told Haman to honor Mordechai.  Eventually, the king had Haman hung on a huge tree on his estate, and replaced him with Mordechai. Mordechai became the new assistant ruler of Persia under the king. Thus HaShem protects the perfectly pious and destroys those who oppose them.