Corona – The Big Picture
We are so busy arguing about the Corona crumbs, we completely ignore the pie! Is this about Bibi? Or is there a bigger picture – and larger forces at work?
You want to go back to work? You want to start feeding your kids again? Listen to the Prime Minister. Listen to Who he ministers to.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been saying the same thing for the past six months:
There is only so much the government can do to stop Coronavirus. It’s up to every citizen to follow the rules. If you don’t follow the rules, we are helpless to this plague.
Protest the man all you want. Replace him with Benny Ganz. Replace him with Naftali Bennett. Once they become Prime Minister, they will say the exact same thing:
Once you, the people, take your fate into your own hands and follow the rules, this nightmare will end and we can get back to our lives.
The situation is no different with Trump in America. He isn’t to blame for bringing Corona to the US, and if you want to protest someone, go protest WHO and the CDC. They are the ones who made the big mistakes, to not properly test and work to contain people who were sick with the virus when it was still possible to do so. Trump’s only mistake was to trust the government officials!
What are these rules?
-
1. Wear a mask at all times, which fully covers you mouth AND nose, with no exceptions. Make sure the mask is a proper mask with 2 layers (which a lot of cloth masks are only one layer, and some are not designed well and don’t close well over the nose without creating holes).
-
-
2. Always wash your hands, especially after coming home and before eating.
-
-
3. Maintain a distance of 2 meters (6 feet) from people at all times.
-
-
4. Avoid crowds. This includes bars, restaurants, protests, demonstrations – and – prayers in synagogues with people who aren’t following the rules. It also applies to religious events with a lot of people that also aren’t following the rules.
We are so busy arguing about the Corona crumbs, we completely ignore the pie!
Who should be able to enter the country? Which businesses can open? Who can go back to work? Should 10 people be allowed into the Beit Knesset or 20?
If we all take personal responsibility, we won’t need these petty arguments. The Corona threat will be reduced to the point that anyone can enter the country. All business can open, everyone can go back to work, and every Beit Knesset can be filled to capacity.
The Big Picture
It’s a light form of idolatry to believe that a plague sent by Hashem can, or should, be stopped by a single man.
In all human history, an idol never made a person repent, or even do something unpleasant. No leader is asking this of us. To assume that any leader who is not asking us to return to Hashem will defeat – or even confront – Corona – is lunacy.
It’s time for us to stop bothering our Prime Minster and start beseeching our King.
The last lockdown reduced new cases temporarily. But what did we do during that time? Spent hours watching Netflix or worse. Instead of seeing the plague as a big wake-up call from G-d, and worked on returning to Hashem, we, as a nation, bolted farther from Him. Some of us perhaps took on to improve in some area, and not everyone kept it up after the lockdown ended.
We ignored His warning. Now it’s a lot louder.
The Full Picture
This month, we read in the Torah: Because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that the Lord, your God, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers… And the Lord will remove from you all illness, and all of the evil diseases of Egypt which you knew, He will not set upon you, and He will give them to all your enemies (Deuteronomy 7:12, 15).
That’s the cure!
Once we perform Hashem’s commandments, He will remove the Coronavirus from us once and for all.
It’s that simple.
Corona means crown. We all wear a crown, the crown of Torah. The kingship of mitzvot. We are commanded to wear tzitzit on our garments to remember to keep the mitzvot. Our Sages say that wearing tzitzit (four corner shirts with 8 strings attached to each corner) is like bearing the seal of a king.
In the same way that feudal lords would have a seal of the monarch on their clothing to show their connection to royalty, we wear tzitzit to show our loyalty to the King of Kings. Lords of the manor would adhere to special rules made only for them – also to show their role in the royal house.
The King of the universe designed special rules for His children, the children of Israel, to follow. Once we accept and adhere to His commandments, in the blink of an eye, the Corona will turn from a virus to a blessing.
If you want to go back to work. If you want to see your loved ones. If you want a taste of the life you lived, start taking on the King’s Commandments.
-
– Observe the Shabbat. Learn the basics and try your best. Maybe you can at least keep Shabbat through the morning to begin with, and in this way, all of your hours spent sleeping are also credited as hours that you kept Shabbat.
Rabbi Arush says that the most important thing is just not to touch electricity, and not to drive. Turn off your phone, turn off the TV, put the food up on a hot plate, set up a hot water urn designed for constant use, set some lights to be on and others off, and just stay home! Spend the time with your family, and thinking about your purpose in life. Walla – you just kept Shabbat! It’s so easy, and so rewarding.
-
– Recite the Shema every day. Try to do it in the morning and the evening.
-
– Learn Torah, and learn emuna! Go buy The Garden of Emuna and The Garden of Miracles – Say Thank You and See Miracles and see how much happier and sweeter your life becomes.
Why surrender your fate to a government official when you can take responsibility.
G-d was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there had been but 10 righteous people. He spared all mankind the Great Flood in the merit of one righteous man.
G-d spared the Jewish People destruction countless times in the merit of nobody. It was in the merit of our forefathers who lived thousands of years ago that He redeemed us and kept us whole to inherit the Good Land of Israel.
The impact of a single act of repentance is massive.
* * *
David Ben Horin lives in Israel with his wife and children.
Tell us what you think!
Thank you for your comment!
It will be published after approval by the Editor.