Between Israel and the Nations
On this day, when the eyes of the Jewish People look towards their Father in Heaven, beseeching that He acquit them in judgement, of what...
On this day, when the eyes of the Jewish People look towards their Father in Heaven, beseeching that He acquit them in judgement, of what relevance is this story?
When harsh decrees are issued against Israel, God forbid, it helps to sing the melodies of the enemy nation. Thus the verse states, “He beheld their pain when he heard their singing” (Tehillim 106:44). Moharan I:27
Song has the unique ability to reveal a person’s innermost character. Rebbe Nachman wrote: “One can discern from a person’s singing whether or not he has accepted the yoke of Torah” (Likutey Moharan II:31). He also said that the main purification of the soul occurs through song, which reveals the individual’s deepest longing for God (Ibid. I:54). It is known that the Baal Shem Tov could hear words even in the melody of a violin, as the verse says: “And all the daughters of the song are brought low” (Kohelet 12:4). The word “brought low,” siach, also means “to talk.” The music itself spoke to him (Ibid I:225). Thus, in times of oppression, by singing the songs of our enemies, we reveal the great difference between the Jewish People and the other nations. The Jews sing the song with their hearts full of longing for God and Torah, whereas the enemy sings the same melody with their hearts full of desire and malicious intent. This juxtaposition creates an accusing angel against the opposing nation.
I remember once, during World War II, that a number of Breslover chassidim sat together on Simchas Torah in the house of Rabbi Shlomo Wexler, zt’l of Jerusalem. Rabbi Wexler shared this lesson with us, and right there began to sing the German national anthem (for he was born in Germany.) Soon everyone joined in. The longing that poured from the depths of their hearts was so intense. They cried out to God to defeat the enemy and save our people. How completely different from the cruelty that accompanied this song when the Germans it among themselves.
The Torah Reading on Rosh HaShana
Perhaps this is the reason why we read the Torah portion of Hagar and Yishmeal (Ishmael) on Rosh Hashana. On this day, when the eyes of the Jewish People look towards their Father in Heaven, beseeching that He acquit them in judgement, of what relevance is this story?
The verse states about Ishmael, “And God heard the voice of the lad, from where he was” (Bereishit 21:17). God had compassion on him, even though his descendants would one day inflict great pain on Israel, as the Zohar says, “Woe, to the day that Ishmael was born,” and “There is no exile as difficult as that of Yishmael” (Zohar 2:32, 3:17). In fact when Yishmael was about to die and cried out to God, the angels rose in accusation. “Master of the Worlds, will you save this man whose descendants will one day kill Your children with thirst?!” (Bereshis Rabbah 53:19). But because Hagar had thrown herself on God’s mercy, His compassion was aroused towards the child, and He saved him. Perhaps on Rosh HaShana we are pleading: “God, if You had compassion on them, simply because they threw themselves upon Your mercy – how much more should You have compassion upon Your beloved people, the children of Avraham (Abraham) Yitzchak (Isaac) and Yaakov (Jacob), when their eyes are turned towards You now.”
The Beit Yisrael of Gur wrote: “God has compassion upon the Jewish People even when they are unworthy. On Rosh Hashana, in the synagogue of the Koznitzer Maggid, after they read the verse, ‘And also the son of the handmaid I will make a nation, because he is your seed,” (Bereishit 21:13), the Maggid would rise and declare, ‘Master of the World –him, but not us?’ That is, if You help the children of her mistress” (Beit Yisroel, Bereshit p. 39).
(Used with permission from the author. From the book "In all my Ways" Keren Ohr Publications)
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