The China Syndrome

The Right Cure for the China Syndrome 

This plague may have originated from China, but its real Source is Hashem. For the first time since the Great Flood of Noah, G-d has executed judgment on all humanity.  

The fact that the only city outside of China to endure a military– enforced quarantine is Bnei Barak speaks volumes about what Hashem is telling us.  

This virus is infecting the righteous along with the evil. It smites the religious, along with the secular. It doesn't matter if you are rich, poor, white, black, Asian, Caucasian, liberal, conservative, Arab, or Israeli.  

China Syndrome does not discriminate.  

Why Did it Start from China? 

This plague was supposed to start from Israel. It was supposed to infect millions of Jews. The Gemara teaches that anytime a plague hits the earth, it is meant for Israel. It is up to us to make repentance as if it hit us directly.  

If the true culprit for coronavirus is us, what are we supposed to learn about it spawning from China? 

China is atheist. It rejects G-d. It punishes anyone practicing religion and rewards citizens who inform the government on anyone showing reverence to Hashem.  

There is no more exceptionally anti-G-d nation on earth than China.  

But, why has the rest of the world been infected? Why would Bnei Brak get hit? They love Hashem. Why are G-d fearing cities like Crown Heights and Boro Park bearing the brunt of this virus? 

Hashem is demanding His nation lead mankind back to Him. He is demanding that a nation, His nation, demand of itself the highest levels of holiness. He wants the light unto the nations to shine brighter and illuminate the world.  

The Spread of the Virus Started Years Ago 

The real virus in this world is our abandonment of Hashem.  

Everything we see on television, our phones, and social media tell us that it's okay to act as if He isn't watching. When voices surface warning us otherwise, even in free democracies, they are silenced like a Chinese dissident.  

In many ways, we are like China. We resist G-d. For those that serve Him, we don’t do enough to broadcast His message.  

That is why the righteous people are getting hit as hard as the evil people.  

The Only Remedy 

The world was not the same on September 12, 2001. It wasn't the same after the Great Recession of 2008. It certainly won't be the same, Hashem willing, after this mess is under control.  

When things return to normal, it will be a new normal. 

We must accompany the coming changes with changes of our own. We must reincorporate prayer into our daily routine. We must watch our speech with the knowledge that He is listening to everything we say, and He knows everything we decide to hear.  

We must learn Torah every day. We must fight jealousy, resentment, and hatred like the arch–enemy that it is.  

We must fight the China Syndrome of pushing G-d away from our world the way a legion of antibodies will fight a microbe to total extinction.  

What we are up against is life without Hashem. We face the tragedy of returning to the blasé, focusing on the ridiculous, slandering political opponents, accepting casual lewdness, and wasting each moment without awareness. We face not having the awareness that every second is a blank check from our Creator where we can write in the amount we dedicate ourselves to.  

By ignoring G-d in this world, we took the corona (Roman for crown) and put it on the head of man. We proclaimed man a god and let him dictate what is right and what is wrong. As a result, all that is bad in this world we do as if it were good, and all that is good in this world we avoid as if it were bad, including our Maker.  

The cure for Coronavirus is to return the crown to the Head of G-d by following His laws, His statutes, and His Judgments. In choosing to govern our lives according to His laws, we recrown Him King. We coronate Him ruler over our deeds, our thoughts, and our lives.  

In doing so, He will cure us. He will heal our world. He will redeem mankind. 

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