National Self Esteem as the Jewish People

The Gemara in Tractate Nedarim asks a probing question – why was the Land of Israel lost to foreign occupation at the time of the destruction of the 2^nd Temple? We’d probably expect some answer like the Jews committed idol worship, or they had sinat chinam, they couldn’t get along with each other, or else they behaved in a lewd fashion. But no; the Gemara says none of these things. It says that the Jews lost the Land of Israel because they didn’t properly make the blessings of the Torah each morning.
 
What? Is the Gemara serious? Sure, blessings are important; but by missing our daily benediction for the Torah, we lost the Land of Israel 2000 years ago?
 
Let me explain: when A Jew wakes up each morning, he’s required to make 3 blessings on Torah learning. The first blessing is a general blessing thanking Hashem for the mitzvah of learning Torah. The second blessing is a request that not only we, but all our offspring until the end of time, will occupy themselves in Torah. The third blessing thanks Hashem for choosing us from among the nations to give us the Torah; this is what it means to be the “Chosen People” – we don’t claim to be superior to anyone else, but Hashem chose us to give us the Torah.
 
As long as we don’t yet have the Temple, we’re still in Diaspora. So meanwhile, we’re still making the same mistake that our ancestors made – we don’t properly make the blessings of the Torah each morning! What did our sages mean when they said that we don’t properly make the blessings of the Torah each morning?
 
Rebbe Natan of Breslev explains that the main problem of our ancestors is that they became discouraged – they didn’t believe in the value of their Torah learning; they didn’t believe in the value of themselves as Jews – they lacked a national self-esteem as the Nation of Torah. Therefore, they didn’t make a wholehearted blessing of the Torah each morning. Since they didn’t believe in themselves, and they didn’t believe in their Torah learning, their self-image as Jews was terribly low, and they lost their connection with the Land of Israel. Having lost their connection with the Land of Israel  and with Torah, they lost the Bet Hamikdash and the Land of Israel , and were dispersed to the four corners of the earth in Diaspora.
 
This is scary, for as long as we don’t reclaim our personal sense of worth as Jews, and our national sense of worth as the Jewish people, we can’t hold on to the Land of Israel ! Therefore, self esteem and self confidence are the two most important factors in our national success as well as in our personal success.
 
Rebbe Natan says that the people became discouraged – in Hebrew, nafal b’daato, or “falling from awareness”. In other words, at one time, they had a strong cognizance of their worth, the value of Torah, and their mitzvah service. Over the years, they had lost it. Rebbe Natan explains that this discouragement manifests itself in the neglect of Torah and the pursuit of foreign philosophies. A person pursues foreign philosophies when he or she fails to see the value of their own heritage – in our case, the Torah.
 
The Evil Inclination – the Yezter – is the culprit behind this free-fall of discouragement. He says, “Look, mister – your learning isn’t worth anything. You’re not worth anything. Nobody hears your prayers. You’re a loser – you’re a failure,” and all kinds of other lies. The minute a person believes the Evil Inclination, he or she is a double loser – first, they’ll be discouraged in the service of Hashem; second, they’ll be discouraged in themselves.
 
We are all like peddlers; if everybody would believe in what they’re selling, they’d sell all their merchandise at a premium price. A salesperson can’t possibly sell his or her own wares if he or she doesn’t believe in the quality of their own merchandise.
 
The same goes for our own prayer and Torah. If we’d believe that Hashem derives limitless gratification from every word of Torah that we learn, we’d be plowing away in Torah all day long. If we’d believe that Hashem stops everything He’s doing to listen to the voice of a person that prays to Him, we’d be praying with super enthusiasm; people would flock to the synagogues, and nobody would have to tell the people to stop the idle chatter. If you had an audience before a great king, no one would have to tell you not to talk to the butler at the same time. A person would be crazy to do so.
 
As such, we put little effort into Torah and prayer because we don’t believe in their power, and we don’t believe in our own power.
 
Take the littlest most insignificant Jew, with the littlest most insignificant mitzvah, or the littlest most insignificant prayer – there’s no reward in this world to pay for it.
 
So what are you devoting your life to? To football? To the Internet? To your hairdo? What are you left with? Emptiness!
 
Our Torah and mitzvot have a purpose –  the perfection of our souls for eternity. All the material amenities in this world aren’t worth a pile of onion peels compared to the smallest mitzvah. So why do people chase after money and material things? They don’t understand the power of Torah and mitzvot, and, they envy those that seem to be enjoying life more than they are.
 
With self esteem, when you realize that every minute of your life is important because of what you’re capable of accomplishing every single second, is it logical to squander time. When all the money in the world can’t pay for the smallest mitzvah, is it wise to chase money?
 
One of the things we look forward to in the full Redemption of our people is the restoration of our national self-esteem, when people will be proud to don the crown of Torah, speedily in our days, amen.