“Ki seitzei l’milchama … when you go out to war….”
That is how our Parsha begins. How appropriate are these words to our current era, as we are at war on many levels.
We are at war spiritually. As we near the Yomim Noraim, we are aware of the battle within us, to cleanse our neshoma, to guard our eyes, our tongues and our hearts from the toxic temptations and provocations which fly in every direction in this chaotic world. How do we focus on Hashem and His healing Torah? How do we protect ourselves? This is a war we must win!
Then there is the political world, which seems every day to edge closer to a conflagration which could easily escalate to proportions which no one could control, the effects of which no person could escape.
And then there is the war being fought on the streets and the media of countries around the world, the war against us, the Children of Israel, the individual Jew and the Jewish Nation as a whole.
A gadol once said, “Democracy is the world’s worst form of government.”
Most of us grew up in a world which seemed basically sane. We assumed that the majority was good and that government would function for the benefit of law-abiding, peaceful people. But what happens if the majority are callous, brainless, or – sorry about this – downright evil? What happens then?
You think it cannot happen?
In New York City a majority (including many Jews) voted for a chief executive who does not attempt to hide his hatred for Am Yisroel. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler y’mak shemo was appointed Chancellor of Germany, having risen to this office through the legally-constituted electoral process. This is what can happen in a democracy.
In last week’s Parsha we read, “You shall surely set a king over yourselves whom G-d will choose….” (Dvarim 17:15) And, of course, the king of Israel must himself be subservient at every moment to the Ribono shel Olam. “Kingship in Israel should be permeated with the spirit of the Torah and should be only a means of directing the nation to the Torah.” (Rabbi S. R. Hirsch)
As we near the Yomim Noraim, our mission is not just to insulate ourselves from the spiritual poison which pollutes our world, but also to understand that the myths on which we have been raised are just that: myths.
If I am correct, there is going to be a revolution in our world that is beyond what mankind has seen before. It is becoming clear that “old-fashioned” democracy is imploding before our eyes. As I see it, this entire structure – built after all by the sons of Edom who have constructed the culture called “Western Civilization” – this structure is trembling and crumbling just as the mighty empire of Mitzraim crumbled and collapsed in the days of our ancestors. In the words of Dovid ha Melech, “They do not know nor do they understand. In darkness they walk. All foundations of the earth collapse.” (Tehillim 82)
The coming upheaval will far surpass in magnitude the collapse of Ancient Egypt, but the new world will shine with the glory of the All-Mighty G-d and will never collapse. It is up to us to prepare ourselves and not cling to the old structure.
The Chofetz Chaim is reported to have said that, in the war directly before the coming of Moshiach, the Angel of Death will not have power to harm those who cling with all their strength to Hashem and who reject the culture of the surrounding nations. Those who stick like glue to Hashem and His Torah will survive and go on to live in the Days of Moshiach.” (Heard from Rav Matisyahu Salomon zt”l)
I saw a similar statement in the name of Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein zt”l, who said, “In the final war before the coming of Moshiach, all the Jews who fear Hashem will survive. Hashem will say to them, ‘All those who are removed from the secular, worldly culture … you are Mine!’” (Seen in Redemption Unfolding)
May we live to see those glorious days!
GLOSSARY
Dovid ha Melech: King David
Gadol: a great rabbi
Mitzraim: Ancient Egypt
Parsha: Torah portion
Ribono shel Olam: King of the Universe, G-d
Ymak shemo: may his name be erased
Yomim Noraim: Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur
