Don’t Be Afraid

All these events are wake-up calls from Hashem. Everything that happens to us – both as a nation and as an individual – has a message for us on both levels. Current events are Divine post-it notes of sorts, trying to get our attention and remind us of something we need to remember or rectify. Deciphering the exact messages of world events is far beyond the scope of anything I dare to comment on, but the important thing to remember is that these events are not random or out of control. Hashem is sending them specifically to wake us up, and is controlling every single aspect of each situation and its implications around the world with mind-boggling detail.

  

While we know these events are Hashem calling out to His people, they can still be terrifying. People are still hurting because of job losses, destroyed homes, sickness, war, terror… As Rabbi Arush says, emuna is the ability to cope, and in order to combat this fear and function effectively through it, I have found it helpful to remind myself of some fundamental emuna principles. Every day I think about these, and reflecting on these fundamental emuna concepts has really helped me (as I hope it will help you!) to stay as strong and joyous as I can be in the midst of this tremendously difficult period in history.

 

Ein Od Milvado – There Is Nothing Besides Hashem

 

Hashem really is in control of absolutely everything. Nothing has any power, or even existence, without Him. Don’t put your trust in anything at all – nothing and no one can help you but Hashem. Hashem is making anything and everything we might even think of putting one iota of trust in completely disintegrate like a house of cards.

 

Even more, we must remember that any power we ourselves think we have is also nothing! We do not make decisions or have the power to change things, there is no “might of my hand” – only Hashem giving us whatever power or influence we think we have. To quote a brave Israeli soldier that fought in the recent war in Gaza: “My strength had failed me, yet when I begged G-d to allow me to be a conduit for His strength…I was able to stand and fight. Those nights my body was there, but G-d fought on that field.” This is ultimate recognition of ein od milvado – there is nothing other than Hashem to trust in.

 

Fear Him and None Else

 

If you fear Hashem and focus on what you need to do in your service of Him, you have nothing else to fear. Just as there is no substance to anything else that you can trust in – there is also no substance in anything else to fear! They simply cannot hurt you. No one can touch a single hair on your head without Hashem willing it.

 

Imagine a mail clerk with a boss that hates him, but he’s the best friend of the CEO. Now, whose will really matters here – the will of the boss, or of the CEO? Of course, the answer is that the CEO has the power to hire and fire, far above and beyond the boss – his will to keep the mail clerk matters much more than the bosses will to fire him. After all, the mail clerk doesn’t work for the boss – he works for the CEO, who appointed the boss to manage him. The CEO can hire and fire the boss just as easily as he can the son the mail clerk! So would the mail clerk fear the boss at all? Of course not – he knows he works for the CEO, and as long as the CEO is happy with his performance, he’s got a job.

 

The same is true of the entire world. Hashem is THE CEO. You work for the Boss – as long as you keep Him happy and fear doing anything that would upset Him, you have nothing else to fear because His will is the only one that matters.

 

There is Justice

 

The reality is that there are situations in which people who are out to harm us really do seem to have power. Even more, sometimes it even feels like we are being given into their hand, G-d forbid. This is a situation specifically built to test our emuna and our ability to remember, even under intense pressure, that everything Hashem does for us is really for the very best.

 

The most important thing to absolutely, positively know is that there is justice. King David says in Tehillim, Chapter 37 about an evil person designing to harm a righteous person: Hashem laughs at him, for He sees that his day approaches…their sword shall pierce their own heart. Hashem may make it seem like there isn't justice in order to test you, but don’t worry – Hashem is laughing at your enemies and the fact that they think they actually can harm you above and beyond Hashem’s will, and that they have any power on their own whatsoever. Their own day of judgment is rushing towards them, and it’s but a pittance in Hashem’s eyes to turn all their designs around in an instant. Just picture in your head that Hashem is laughing up in Shamayim (Heaven) – it’s a great image to quell our natural fear of something else that seems powerful (of course, remember this is only a metaphor).

 

Everything was Predicted

 

All the troubles that the Jewish people are facing today, both as a nation and individually, were predicted as the precursor to the coming of Moshiach. Hence, the troubles that we are going through prove the veracity of the prophecies, proof that Moshiach is coming! Don’t worry about these troubles, because the prophecies tell us that in the end, Hashem will judge our enemies and we will be saved from all of this suffering.

 

We may not know the exact timing or how much longer it will be, but we are promised that this is temporary – it WILL end. In the merit of our increased emuna and recognizing ein od milvado – there is nothing besides Hashem – G-d wiling that time will be very, very soon and in our days.