Messianic Labor Pains

We live in awesome times – anyone who doesn’t strengthen himself in emuna could be an immediate candidate for stress, anxiety, and even worse, Heaven forbid.

Eleven months ago (Friday night, 11.3.11), terrorist murderers brutally stabbed to death the Fogel Family of Itamar – Rabbi Udi (36), his wife Ruth (35), and their children Yoav (11), Elad (4) and Hadas, 3 months. Words cannot describe the loss and the pain of these beautiful souls who symbolized everything beautiful about the Jewish People and the Land of Israel.

Even though there’s much room to criticize how the self-deprecating non-emuna government and the media have forsaken our beloved brothers and sisters in Judea and Samaria, and even though we know that there is no difference whatsoever between the Hamas murderers in Gaza and the Western-supported murderers known as the Palestinian Authority who just this week made a new unity pact, we here at Breslev Israel don’t play blame games or point fingers. Why? Everything is from Hashem and He wants us to open our eyes.

After seeing last year’s 8.9-level earthquake in Japan and the subsequent tsunami that tossed merchant ships up in the air like toy boats, does anyone still doubt Hashem’s might?

The Arab world continues to be ablaze from Morocco in the west to Yemen in the east. World powerhouse names Mubarak and Qaddafi have become nothing more than chaff in the wind. Assad is quickly following suit. And, if the political upheavals aren’t enough, just look at all the recent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and typhoons, mudslides, and the abnormally harsh winter the world is experiencing, with -25 C. in Uman right now. Something is happening; people can no longer ignore what’s going on in the world, sticking their heads in the ground like an ostrich because the ground is trembling…

What’s happening in the world, and why? The threat from Iran is more acute every day. What’s the connection between Tehran, the chaos in the camps of Ishmael in the Middle East (which will eventually spread to the camps of Ishmael in Europe and other points west) and between all the natural disasters? The answer is simple: the earth is trembling, and all the trembling are Messianic labor pains. As in labor before childbirth, the world now experiences excruciating contractions and pains, which ultimately lead to the birth of a new and more spiritual world, the world of Mashiach, Redemption, and our Holy Temple, soon and in our days, amen. That’s why our sages called this era chevlei Mashiach, or the era of Messianic labor pains, for the challenges of this generation resemble the pains of childbirth.

In light of the above, we should ask ourselves two questions:

1. What’s our task with all the chaos surrounding us?

2. How can we safely weather these difficult times?

Let’s preface our answer with a parable that the “Chofetz Chaim” of saintly and blessed memory told:

In a quaint little European town, there lived a grocer. He was very kind to people, letting everyone buy on credit and never chiding them to pay their bills. Everyone loved him with no exceptions. One day, a man came into the grocery store, picked up a bottle of milk and a loaf of bread, and put them in his satchel. “Charge my account,” he called to the grocer as he walked out the front door.

The grocer scurried from behind the counter and called the customer back inside. “Yankel, I can’t charge your account anymore. Not only that, but I have to ask you for all the money you owe me, back bills to the tune of 1,150 rubles.”

The customer almost choked: “1,150 rubles! That’s my annual wages! Why do you demand cash all of a sudden? I’ve been charging for years, and eventually, I always pay…”

“That only shows that your payments were far from covering your debts,” replied the grocer. “For years, you’ve been accumulating this debt. Now it must be paid, for I’m selling the grocery store and the new owner must begin with a clean slate. Besides, I’m going away – I’ll be retiring to a place where I can relax and sit in peace and quiet.”

The Chofetz Chaim’s parable is readily understood: the grocer is Hashem. Until now, He deferred the world’s payment for all its sins. In other words, He let them charge their spiritual debits instead of “paying cash,” that is, repenting daily for all their misdeeds. But nothing is forgotten; all past debts must be paid, because Hashem is “selling the store,” in other words, the world will come under the “new management” of Mashiach. This will be a world of emuna and much higher spiritual awareness; old debts must be accounted for before a person can exist in such a world. Also, the grocer – Hashem – will be moving to His home of peace, the rebuilt Holy Temple.

Rebbe Akiva alluded to this concept in Chapter 3 of “Ethics of the Fathers” when he said: “The store is open, the store owner lets you buy on credit, the ledger is open, the hand writes, and anyone who wants to borrow can come and borrow…the debts will be claimed from people with or without their consent…and everything is ready for the banquet.”

“The banquet” is Rebbe Akiva’s allusion to Redemption and Messianic times. They are fast upon us; that’s why Hashem is cleaning the world so thoroughly and quickly.
So what must we do?

The first order of business is to stop our needless whining and complaining about life’s difficulties; they are both cleansing us and preparing us for the Geula, the full redemption of our people. As such, they are for the very best and we must thank Hashem for them. But, if we don’t want additional difficulties, we merely have to do complete daily teshuva. When we cleanse our own souls, Hashem doesn’t need to cleanse them for us.

Second, we must cast aside logic and our sorely limited intellects and trust Hashem. We must rid ourselves of the “might of my right hand” myth, depending on Hashem for everything. Notice what the Torah says in Maftir Zachor, which we read the Shabbat before Purim:

“It shall be, when the Lord your G-d has given you respite from all your enemies that surround you, in the land which the Lord your G-d gives you for an inheritance to possess it, that you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; never forget!” (Devorim 25:19).

Let’s be precise in the Torah’s directive to wipe out all memory of Amalek: “It shall be, when the Lord your G-d has given you respite from all your enemies that surround you” – that’s Hashem’s doing, not ours or our armed forces. Hashem keeps our neighbors so busy with their own in-fighting that they have little time for us. And when the do decide – according to the prophecies (see Ezekiel, Chapter 14 among others) to rise up against Jerusalem. Hashem will fight our battles for us and wipe them out.

But, Hashem left us a task to do. Sure, he’ll destroy our Ishmaelite enemies but we have to wipe out Amalek and any remembrance of him, as the Torah says, “You shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek,” you, beloved sons and daughters of Hashem.

How do we wipe out Amalek? Rebbe Natan of Breslev says in numerous places throughout Likutei Halachot that Esau is Amalek and Amalek is p’gam habrit, or breach in personal holiness.

The Midrash tells of Judgment Day when the Heavenly Ministers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel face against the Minister of Esau and Amalek in the Heavenly Court:

The Minister of Reuven, Jacob’s first born, opens his case against Esau and Amalek. Before he succeeds in saying a word, their Minister silences him saying, “Who are you to talk? We all remember what you did to your father’s concubine Bilha!”

The Ministers of Shimon and Levi, the second and third born, rise to their feet and approach the stand. They too cannot utter a word for the Minister of Esau and Amalek bellows, “Return to your seats, murderers! You killed the whole town of Shechem after they agreed to circumcise themselves.”

Then comes the Minister of Judah, the fourth born; the Minister of Esau and Amalek smites him too, declaring: “How dare you speak against me, hypocrite! History knows what you did with your daughter-in-law Tamar!”

The Ministers of Issachar, Zevulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher run up to the witness stand, but the Minister of Esau and Amalek mows them down with one fell swoop: “You have no right to speak – you sold your brother into slavery for the price of a pair of shoes! You didn’t care about your father’s anguish; get out of here!”

The Minister of Benjamin cries out, “I didn’t participate in the sale of my brother Joseph, and…”

The Minister of Esau and Amalek cuts him off in midair and says with a smirk on his face, “Hold your tongue, Benjamin. We all know what you did to the miserable concubine at Giva.” Benjamin and all the other brothers cower in shame, until…

The Minister of Joseph rises to feet in the Heavenly Court. His eyes are like flame-throwers from which emanate the fires of holiness. Joseph’s perfect holiness burns the Minister of Esau and Amalek right there in the Heavenly Court, as Obadiah the Prophet said, “And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau straw, and they shall ignite in him and devour him.”

Only Joseph’s trait of tikkun habrit – personal holiness – can destroy Amalek, the grandson of Esau and the great grandfather of the wicked Haman. Our job is to strengthen ourselves in emuna, teshuva, and personal holiness – all which go together hand-in-hand to wipe the dark-side spiritual force of Amalek off the face of the earth.

As the Torah portion of Zachor teaches us, Hashem handles our physical enemies but He wants us to fight the war of holiness. Adar and Purim are especially conducive times for wiping out Amalek. Every tiny improvement in guarding our eyes, keeping our speech wholesome and dressing modestly is another nail in Amalek’s coffin. We must win this battle, soon, amen! Happy Purim!