When I was growing up among the assimilated Jews of New York City, one of the central credos of our liberal outlook was what we called, “separation of church and state.” In America, the “church” cannot govern! We thought that “religion” was naïve. The Existence of G-d was a fantasy of people who lived in a world of unreality. We were supposed to create the “Rules of Life” through our own logic. Ethics and morality were the subject of debate, where each person could be correct and yet each person could have different standards.
The result was chaos, not just political and moral, but psychological chaos. People’s lives were ruined. There have never been more insane and unhappy people than there are in the “Age of Freud.” Freud himself was a rebel Jew who set out to divorce the world from our only Rock of Stability, our connection with the Master of the Universe.
Divorce from Hashem became a “religion” in itself, and the world plunged downward, as morality and the concept of brotherhood were abolished. The Torah tells us that we are all descended from one father and mother, Adam and Chava. But Darwin, lehavdil, tells us we are descended from apes. Aping Darwin (apologies for the pun!), mankind has forgotten our Divine origin.
There are no real kings in the world today because the idea of an earthly king works only if we understand that there is a King of the Universe. When we try to imitate Hashem, Who governs His world with justice and benevolence, then there is life and peace. Otherwise, there is only chaos, “tohu vavohu.”
And that is what surrounds us today.
This week we initiated the month of Tammuz. Summer is a fearsome season. In the hot, dry months – dry especially in the Land of Israel – our most tragic days occur. What is more fearsome than the days leading up to Tisha B’Av, when the Holy Nation was scattered to the Four Corners of the Earth and the Bais Hamikdosh was set ablaze by subhumans whose entire life was a rebellion against the King of the Universe.
What hope is there in this dark season?
I saw this passage in the Sefas Emes. “In what merit will the Final Redemption be hastened? Whereas the redemption of Egypt was accelerated in the merit of the patriarchs – what we call “zechus Avos” – this merit may no longer be available for contemporary generations. Chazal tell us (Shabbos 55a) that the merit of the Patriarchs has been exhausted by previous generations in times of distress….”
This is frightening. We do not descend from apes; we descend from holy Patriarchs whose merit has sustained their children through the millennia. As Hashem said to Avraham Avinu, “By Myself I swear ... that since you have … not withheld your son, your only one, I shall surely bless you and greatly increase your offspring like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your offspring shall inherit the gate of its enemy and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your offspring!” (Beraishis 22:16ff)
What if that incredible bracha has expired, G-d forbid! What if we no longer have the protection that has shielded us against seemingly impossible odds throughout the millennia! How will we survive? The Sefas Emes continues ….
“However, the final redemption will still occur in the merit of the Matriarchs, the Mothers of the Jewish People! Hashem will ‘skip over the hills’ (see Shir ha Shirim 2:8) – the obstacles to Moshiach’s arrival -- in the merit of the gentle compassionate women who built and nurtured the Jewish People, for their merit is inexhaustible!” (Artscroll, Sefas Emes on the Three Festivals)
This is a fountain of hope whose bubbling water can sustain us forever, just like the gushing waters which sustained our ancestors in the Midbar through the merit of Miriam! What a powerful source of hope for us!
An amazing thought occurred to me: what is the Final Golus, our last challenge before Moshiach? Golus Yishmoel, the worldwide explosion of hatred emanating from our half-brother Yishmoel.
What is the difference between us and Yishmoel?
One thing and one thing alone: our mothers!
Our mother is Sarah; Yishmoel’s mother was Hagar.
Zechus imahos! The merit of the Matriarch Sarah, who raised Yitzchak with a holy soul, versus the heritage derived from the pagan, Hagar the Egyptian, whose son thrives on violence and cruelty. The zechus of the mothers is what will sustain and save us in the Final Battle of History! How amazing is this!
“Rav Avira expounded: In the merit of the righteous women who lived in that generation, the Children of Israel were redeemed from Egypt.” (Sota 11b) And our gadolim tell us that the Final Redemption will follow the pattern of Yetzias Mitzraim.
So there is abundant hope, my friends! The zechus of our imahos is inexhaustible! We are awaiting the advent of Moshiach ben Dovid, whose ancestor Rus arose from the degraded society of Moav.
“Thus said Hashem: a voice is heard on high, wailing, bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children. She refuses to be consoled… for they are gone. Thus said Hashem: restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your accomplishment – the word of Hashem – and they will return from the enemy’s land, and your children will return to their border.” (Yirmiah 31:14ff)
GLOSSARY
Bais Hamikdosh: the Holy Temple
Bracha: blessing
Chazal: the rabbis of the Mishnah and Gemara
Gadolim: great rabbis
Golua: exile
Imahos: the matriarchs of the Jewish People: Sarah, Rivka, Rochel & Leah
Midbar: the desert, specifically the Biblical Sinai Desert
Tohu vavohu: the primordial chaos at the beginning of Creation
Yetzias Mitzraim: the Exodus from Egypt
Yishmoel: the half brother of Isaac, our primordial enemy, father of the Arabs
Zechus: spiritual merit
