The Ultimate Blindfold

Nothing in this world comes without G-d – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Even as we debate the usefulness or the decency of social media or smartphones, we need to understand that Hashem put this in His world. He created the past, the present, and the future. Hashem knew that we would all be on Facebook holding an Apple even as He instructed Adam not to touch it.

Social media eats up every free moment of our time. That’s exactly what the people who create these applications aim to do – suck up every moment. Their primary goal is to confiscate every moment we have to think, to act, and even see.

It’s like Hashem is pushing all of our heads in the sand. What is He trying to distract us from?

Ever since the dawn of the first tool of escape, television, redemption has been blossoming. The seeds were planted while TV was being developed, from the 1890s to the 1930s. TV was first used commercially throughout the harshest birth pangs of Mashiach. Personal computers and VCRs became popular throughout the 1970s, right after we secured the entire Biblical Land of Israel. The internet came out the year the Berlin Wall fell, and Soviet Jewry contributed to the greatest in-gathering of Exiles to Israel in the history of mankind.

The closer the Jewish People inch to Redemption, the more layers of blinders Hashem places on all of us. That’s today’s test.

We can see the world for all the dirtiness and get upset, falling into the deepest sin of despair – or we can see through it all and praise Hashem for intensifying the darkness to prepare us for the greatest light.

When did social media come out? When did the iPhone come out? What seminal event in the annals of mankind became the catalyst for the ultimate blindfold? Nothing. It isn’t a single event. You cannot see it unless you are here in Israel. It’s a chorus of thousands of little events that are reaching fever pitch. A blindfold can obstruct sight, but not sound.

Israel is growing faster than any nation on earth. Even throughout the financial collapse of 2008, Israel’s economy still continued to grow!  Now, our growth is on super drive.

In 1946, the Anglo commission was hesitant to recommend a Jewish State because they didn’t believe that the Land could support 600,000 Jews. They didn’t think there was enough food or water. Today, we have 8 million citizens. That number is set to double in the next 30 years. We are exporting food. We are exporting energy resources. We are exporting water.

The sapling of Redemption has now become fruit-bearing trees — lots of them. Cities are being built out of solid rock. Harish used to be three hills located 10 miles east of Caesarea. Today it is a town of houses, apartment buildings, and stores ready to hold 100,000 people. In 2008, the Rova was a single empty field. Now, this town situated between Nazareth and Jenin has hundreds of buildings that can hold 50,000 people. Givat Tamar was a Judean Hill. Today it is a vibrant town that can hold 25,000 people.

All of these places did not exist just one decade ago. They are still mostly empty. We are building faster than we can fill the buildings with people. Herzliya is projected to triple in population. So is Eilat. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are doubling in size. Infrastructure projects, more housing, and new centers for hi-tech, commercial, and office use are everywhere. The settlement of all the Land, from Tel Rumedia, Hebron, to Tel Aviv is massive.

Redemption is speeding up at an eye-popping pace. I guess it has to happen while the rest of the world’s head is turned. The closer we get to Mashiach, the clearer the truth becomes – but the more obstacles are put in our way to see them.

Enter what may be the ultimate obstacle. It’s something that holds every waking moment of our time. A man more ubiquitous than any person on earth. Donald J. Trump. Is our universal obsession with everything he says, does, tweets, eats, drinks, looks at, postures, even anticipates the greatest distraction ever put before man?  Just when we thought the blindfolds couldn’t get any tighter! The light Hashem is concealing at this very moment must be brighter than anything we or our ancestors have ever witnessed.

Get ready.

* * *

David Ben Horin lives in Israel with his wife and children.