Torah Hovers Above History

Rashashana. This is actually a re-recording of the SH recorded Rashashana for Paras, but the uh the audio wasn't working, so the technical difficulties. So, it's late M Rashashana, but there one or two days left till paras. In paras, there are some very dark scenes before Moshe passes. This is his last day. He informs the Jewish people that they will resin the bris. They'll violate the breast. They will wander after foreign god gods. Hashem will be angry with them. I will hide my face from you and you will be eaten. You will be consumed by your enemies. This of course is known as a condition of hester upon him. For 2,000 years, Jewish history was characterized by Hester upon him. Um, we thought that over the last couple decades, we were Za and we were Zoha to Nissim and to the rescending of Hester upon him. But we realize that evidently the way the current trajectory is of Gula is taking the trajectory that it is taking there's going to be light and darkness shadows and sunlight and there's going to be a mix Hester Panim as well as Nissim. As if the the curse or the spectre of Hester Panim itself weren't sufficient. The very next Pik says a double veil, a double concealment, a hastara hastara. What exactly? means a general environment of not fully seeing aes and even within that even assuming that Hashem isn't facing paying attention to us there's still things that happened to us that are disproportionate that are mindboggling one can think of the holocaust in that way a double hastara that why were we in galas why was why wasn't hashem showing favor to us and then on top of that within the fact that we're being punished and not punished but we being tortured and and and and murdered. Um the disproportion and the type of persecution and the type of hatred that we faced was even more perplexing. And the question is within such a dark experience, what will still give us hope? What can we reach out to and hold that will anchor our faith? How do you build faith during crisis? And not just personal crisis, but national crisis. And not just a passing national crisis, but a deep and profound national wound. You could ask that question about the Holocaust. You could ask that question about October 7th. How do you build faith? What do you hold on to? So the next puss Mosha is told to write the Torah so that the Torah should be a witness to the Jewish people and help them climb out of these crisis. help them hold on to something during the crisis and doesn't really tell you what about the Torah, what about the Shira, what in there, what content, what sukim, what statements in this Torah that is a Shira will give us hope, will give us resolve, will give us faith, presumably the bris, presumably the shv, presumably the fact that Hashem loves us. So the Torah is written as a Shira and we open up the Torah to see all those promises and commitments and covenants and then after telling us about Hester stage one and then telling Mosher Rab tells Mosher Rabenu to write the Torah down because the Torah contains all these promises and covenants that will give us hope. the bris and the then adds the Torah will provide testimony that I haven't abandoned you even in your darkest moments. And by the way, here's statement number three. Don't worry, this registry of bris and that the Torah is or the Shir of the Torah is, it won't vanish. It won't disappear. It will always be around. And that's the message of Mosh Rabenu al Peepshhat again. Number one, there's Hester Panam. During Hesterum, we're looking for some anchor. We're looking for something to rebuild our faith, restore our faith, reinforce our faith. What are the faith boosters? Oh, everything in the Torah, there's no shortage in the Torah for statements that highlight Hashem's selection of the Jewish people and the eternity of that selection will never ever renegle on the bris. For that reason, the Torah has to be written. Now, you'd think, well, maybe the Torah at some point will vanish gives us a guarantee. Don't worry, the Torah which documents all these brises in shuah will always be available so that you can always open up a safer Torah open up ash locate the bris locate the locate the especially during a time of crisis and still maintain belief again national and personal there's a medish that creates an completely different tonality I forget where it is really too late for me to look it up I think it's in if you have a tarim I think it's quoted on this pekk I think it's or maybe um I think it's a regime but I may be wrong but the gist is very powerful is not the assurance that the Torah which documents all these faith builders during crisis like bris and shu and of will always be available. The eternity and the irrepressibility and the immutability of Torah is itself the faith booster is itself what allows us to survive Hester Pun. Namely, we can live in a world in which nothing makes sense. Not history, not the way the state of Israel is unfolding. Simply the fact that Torah never ever vanishes from this earth by definition because it hovers above above earth because it's the will of and in our darkest moments when everything else seems to be confusing. Hashem tells us during that look in the Torah. Don't look in the Torah and find look at the fact that the Torah is and that should give you faith and that should restore your faith. So is not a clause reassuring us that the Torah which documents all the bisos will always be there. That's one shot. Of course that makes sense. The second shade is if everything else fails, just trace and graph the flow of Torah through history and you'll realize that Hashem is right around the corner even though the the world feels dark. Excuse me. And so it's been through history at its darkest moments. Every attempt to squash Torah, to stifle Torah has ironically led to the eruption and the growth of Torah. So by definition any attempt to try to eliminate Torah from this world will just boomerang. So the Greeks try to Helenist tried to suppress Tamutra and explode it into the period of the Tanayim Hill and Shamay and one who lived right around that period. And then the Romans tried to persecute Torah out of existence and it led to the compilation of the Mishna and the second great wave of the Talmudic discourse which we call the Tufasim. Excuse me, I just have a little bit of a cold after Rashashana. I apologize. Remember the Baraka rebellion is stifled in 133 and Vidasi lives in the 3rd century. It's about 100 years later. And of course um the the attempt to eliminate Torah from the French Rhineland in the 11th century in the early 12th century. And then of course it leads to France becoming the hotbed for Torah and for Tulsus. Tulsus the school of Tulsus the Academy of Tus radically radically altered how we study Torah. And the attempts of Poland to persecute Jews in the 16th and 17th century the 17th century leads to Poland becoming the bastion of Torah. And throughout history, of course, in the Holocaust and and just the sheer sheer miracle, miraculous nature, that after we lost half of our population, a third of our population, half our national wealth and the yeshivas of Europe were just emasculated by the Holocaust. Now, 80 years after the Holocaust, Torah is being studied in greater volume, not necessarily caliber, but greater volume than ever before. And there's no question about this since the first B mikdash. So, Hashem is telling us in part of Mosha is relaying to us during times of crisis. Don't just look to the contents of Torah. The Bris and by the way, Torah will always be available for you to look it up and and and take note, but look at the fact that Torah remains despite historical pressures. And in some ways, not just despite, but in in because of historical pressures, Torah surges forward. Which brings us to to an interesting I say dilemma but ideological difference in today's world for someone like me. The fact that Torah is flourishing is in sync with how I view history. Cuz of course Kazal didn't give us specific signs when Mashiah's coming and how he'll come. But if you're looking through the cracks and you want to have some sense of historical bearing and historical coordinates, you look at the greening of Israel that it was a desert and a swamp land and it was barren and it was desolate and now it's blooming with cities and farms and mountains and hills and water and water technology. You look at Kubcolio obviously fact that millions of Jews are returning from all over the world. You look at the super power that Israel has become despite all the odds stacked against it. And you look at the flourishing of Torah. For me, the fact that Torah is learned at such a clip, whether it's in Mir inim or where I live, Panovish or whether it's in Lakewood, I feel it's because we have a state of Israel and it's both contributing to Gula. It's reflecting the redemptive age and at a material and at a material level obviously in Israel the fact that our government spends so much money to support Torah which which now recently has become a very very controversial for someone that loves Torah and supports Torah but yet how can you run a democracy where people that are contributing in ways that are more material are not getting their fair share. It's it's almost a financial issue which is loaded with moral questions. But in a more metaphysical level, I I believe that there wouldn't be a lake word if not for the fact that we have a state of Israel and that we have kios and that there's restored Jewish pride and when we feel pride we express it in Torah. I know a lot of people would find that statement controversial and understand why because Torah is meant to be apart from history as Pik itself says it could be the darkest period in history but I believe we're in a different period of history and the success of Torah and the traumatic success in Torah is not just a harbinger it's also being caused by whatever first steps initial preliminary protoeps we've taken to begin our gula and I think a lot of people would disagree agree with that and in fact they would disagree sharply that Torah has nothing to do with history and everything that's happening in history is not redemptive for those that don't see it as the beginning of a process and Torah is the only track and the only road towards goula and every gimmar that's being learned in some ways not as something which is in sync with sovereignty and statehood and peoplehood and state of Israel as I see it but in some ways not rebelling but standing opposed to and withstanding a process which people believe to be non-redemptive because it's secular and because Hashem hasn't officially declared it to be so. So in our day the the fact that Toras have been forgotten well for thousands of years that was Torah is not being forgotten during Hesterim. Now, of course, there's still a moments of Hester upon him, but I I I can't say that the return of millions of Jews and the rebuilding of and the return to the Kotel and the greening of our land and and Israel's rise as that doesn't feel like a it feels like a feel like but we're not fully there and there are moments of and are certainly like that. So now Torah is fueling the release of and the emergence from hast a to me that's a proof that we're in a different stage whereas for some people it's more or less still the Torah of a where hasn't changed much um I'm trying my best to articulate that other side I don't live that I don't feel that but maybe it's not the holocaust shalom of previous sufferings, but it's still not a period of Gilo Hashem and and and asagula and the ways that I would feel that Hashem has begun to invite Israel back into a more intimate relationship of Ava and Ava and Baru is now raising the flag of Ava and to me the flourishing of Torah is reflective of that. So, it's a very thought-provoking medish independent of whatever ideology you take. But just looking back at the past 2,000 years, no matter how bad it got, Torah always flourished and and and succeeded. And in some cases, it was in the wake of the persecution, it's what supercharged Torah. Now that we're in a different state, how does Torah play into that equation of Hustra Estra? So, just some ideas to think about. I hope this comes out. The audio comes out. Shadik him.