The Birth of Israel After the Holocaust: A Miracle of History - Rabbi Daniel Glatstein

Okay, good evening friends. We're continuing in Devra. We're up to the fifth mida. It's a brief recap. The ra told us it is for a person to be comparable to the creator to be similar to him. How can we just look like him and not act like him? So the mido is amido number one is to emulate Hashem's incredible tolerance that while he is giving us our life force we're using it against him that's amazing tolerance on Hashem's part that Hashem who is so kindly which is represented by the word kale kale and he's also a god of vengeance Nevertheless, he tolerates. He doesn't say, "Well, yeah, you want to sin? Well, figure out get your own generator because I'm not giving you power. You know, I'm not pumping you electricity. You go go to Lowe's and get your own generator if you want to sin against me." The second does that when we sin, we create this mash and Hashem has to feed it. So, not only does he sustain our sin, he even supports our monster that we create. Number three, that Hashem personally cleanses our sin. So all of these things we have to try to emulate. Hashem's tolerance, Hashem's forbearance that even to be able to tolerate whatever result somebody hurt us and it continues to to cause us aggravation to continue to help the person. um Hashem personally cleanses our sin and then that Hashem acutely feels our pain as if he's our our relative, as if he's our spouse. Okay, we're up to the fifth mid. Fifth Mida is very interesting. He does not maintain his anger forever. This is another mid. The mid is like this. Until now for a person did a ver Hashem in order for the person to do a ver Hashem has to give the person life force. So Hashem continues to give life force even though we're using it against him. But what if a person continuously sins? So Hashem should therefore continue to punish. Even if a person perseveres in sin, he continuously sins. So, Hashem's anger should not subside. But there comes a point where Hashem says, "Okay, I got angry. I punished. It's not working. The person's not doing chuva." So, really, nothing is saying that Hashem should stop getting angry or minimize his anger. Hashem has a mida. Okay, enough already. Like, the person's continuing to sin. My anger is not changing him. My punishments are not turning him around. Okay, let me try something else. Let me try being nice to him. That's another of that even though a person continues in the sin, Hashem does not continue in his anger. And even if he does continue, it eventually stops. It's not forever. He nullifies his anger. Even a person does not repent. Like we find in the days of Yuramayash in Malim in the times of Yuramayash Malik Israel where Hashem returned the borders of Klis to its original spot before it was conquered by Aram. The kings of the goyam conquered the cities from Kamas until the Mediterranean. Yuramoyash came and he restored the original borders even though we were still serving a des. So why was Hashem showing us this kindness? It's not like we did chuba. We kept on serving idols and Hashem stopped being angry and he allowed us to restore the borders. So um even though we were worshiping uh the calves and hashem had mercy on them they never did chuva came if so why is god having ramanus on them if we didn't do chuva why is hashem having ramanus on k if we didn't do chuva you know you would think we didn't have era hashem punishes us we continue to have era hashem should punish us more like you know in the you do you sin you get punishment you attribute the punishment to coincidence so then I'll double down the punishment you still attribute it to coincidence I'll triple it I'll do it sevenfold so what exactly is this mida where we're continuing to sin and hashem traps drops the punishment even though we don't do chuba why you know why because of this mid it's because of this mid that God does not maintain his anger forever just the opposite he weakens his anger. You see if let's say a guy comes into my into my uh house into my closet and I have let's say I don't know six shirts and he takes my the first shirt and he draws it on a with a permanent Sharpie on it. So I'm going to get angry at him and so get angry at him. So what does he do? He goes and he takes a red Sharpie doesn't I'm going to get angry at him and get more angry at him. No, by the So you would think by the fifth shirt you should get, you know, really angry. No, if we would be emulating Hashem, we got angry. We had a right to get angry. We needed to show the guy he can't do this, but he's not listening. So we just we chill. In fact, we show kindness. Look, Even though the sin is extent, it's still around. It's still happening. Hashem doesn't punish. He awaits and he has mercy. Lest a person do. This is the meaning of the I will not quarrel forever. I will not bear a grudge for eternity. Sometimes Hashem acts softly. Sometimes he acts harshly. This is an an astounding mida. Even though the person's not changing, he's not repenting. He's not relenting. He's at this he's he's at it. He keeps on sinning again and again, still Hashem's anger. At a certain point, Hashem allows it to subside. Now the Rev Goldberg in his commentary to quotes the P in that we laid on Bozimisar. You know that Pyzimisar in Hashem's fierce anger, he remembers his mercy. While he's getting angry, even when he should get angry, Hashem cools it off. Where's an example of this? We're going to see. I want to share with you two things. One, page 352 by Rev Goldberg. There's a yakuchim yakman says that if does chuva we'll be redeemed. If we don't do chuva we won't be redeemed and we will only do chuva if we have to go into exile and in affliction and not having food and we won't do chuva until eloh comes. So if goldberg asked what do you mean until yo comes? Why would elo come before we do chuva? If all the punishment didn't get us to do chuva. So why is Hashem sending alo in the first place? So he says the answer is that it could be sometimes even before we do chuva while we're sinning, Hashem says, "Okay, I'm you know the anger is not working, the punishment's not working. Let me try being nice to them. Maybe maybe I'll get a different results." Okay, now you could already imagine how we should apply this in our own lives. You know, let's say you have a kid. They did something wrong. They need to be punished. and they need to be punished and then they're continuing to do this something wrong. So now what do you indefinitely just show anger and punishment or at a c certain point you say okay now I'm gonna emulate Hashem they don't really deserve the kindness and they they're continuing to sin so they really still deserve the but to emulate Hashem I'm going to show why but they're still sinning no that's the it's called now the following idea from is oya. It's one of my favorite ideas. to 1945. Obviously, there was a decree on the Jewish people of unparalleled. Never in our history have we seen anything like that. Was God sending a message? Says you have to say he was sending a message. What was the message? At the very least, some kind of change, some kind of chuba. So then, now you would think if if a nation doesn't respond to such harsh punishment, then we're hopeless. So now what? After the holocaust, so then what Hashem do then? I didn't get their attention. They didn't change. So now I should bring a double holocaust. What do we have now? Hashem said, "Okay, take Israel here. take your own homeland unparalleled. In other words, you a Jew has to appreciate that if we're able to have a certain sovereignty in Israel, whether you consider whether you like the way it's run or you don't like the way it's run, but the fact that you could go there and you could go to and you could buy real estate there and you could live in communities there. It's a tremendous. What was 1948 says says 1948 was the Hashem says okay the Holocaust I sent the Holocaust I sent it for a reason I was sending you a message you didn't get the message okay let's try something else let's try the state of Israel I'm not going to be angry with you forever at a certain point of time Hashem says I'm going to cool That's how the looks at the establishment of the state. If you don't like that, you could take it up with him. That's how the understands the divine orchestration of the establishment of Israel in the aftermath of the Holocaust. I'll read to you his words. He said, "Let's look very carefully. It's to learn and do cha. If you don't do cha, there's no hope." No, there is. Even those who didn't learn their lesson the extreme from maybe a person says you know the didn't work but maybe they'll do from the that's the says the establishment of the state he says I would not call it you know And he he says I would not call it the beginning of the gula but I would call it from one extreme of the of 6 million to the second extreme of the establishment of that's by the way said the establishment of the state of Israel is like you know, there's a sick child. They have terrible maka. So, what happens when they're recouping? So, the organizations come and they'll drive them around in a Porsche and in a in a a Lamborghini and they'll give them, you know, like some of these hostages, you know, they had there's a guy in Israel, right? Uh he goes to the hostage, you know, what do you want? And you know, oh, you you want a Lamborghini? And the next thing they know, they're driving off in a Lamborghini, right? What is that? What? because they were held in a cave now they get to drive a Lamborghini. So it's like yeah there's such a phenomenon in this world that like you know after suffering there's like a a consolatory prize so to speak that's how the panovich uh looked at the establishment of state but saying a little different saying that what it is is basically the so let's let's uh over here how does this apply to our behavior This is fitting for a person to custom with their friend. Even if you have to rep reprimand your friend with you have to rebuke him or you have to rebuke your children. And let's say your friend or your children, they're basically they're suffering from the rebuke you gave them deservedly. They deserve it because they're not re improving. So what do you do if they're not improving? So you hit them harder, punish them more. You know, you think here, they did this crime, so I punish them this amount. Now they're upping it. So now what? At infin. I just going to keep on hitting harder and harder, punishing more and more. No. You don't increase the rebuke more. Don't keep on being angry. You have to nullify it. Don't preserve the anger indefinitely. Even if it's a permitted anger, similar to what was explained If you will see the donkey of your enemy. So do you know what the case is? Remember the garra? The gar is in I believe it's in it says if you will see the donkey of your enemy crouching under the burden you have to help him and actually thear says what if you see your friend's donkey needs help unloading which is a and your enemy needs help loading. So Tyus asks, the Gomorrah asks, "What kind of enemy?" What do you mean your enemy? You're not allowed to have an enemy. So the Gomorrah says, "We're talking about you saw somebody violate Arios, but you saw it by yourself. So you're allowed to hit the guy, but you're not to testify against because you only have one witness. So he's an authorized enemy." There are certain people in this world that are hakic enemies. How? Let's say you witnessed them commit a cardinal sin, but because you witnessed it alone, you can't testify against them. So this guy, the Torah says if he needs help loading up his animal, you should help him. But what do you mean? The says I have to hit him. The answer is yeah, I have to hit him. But what? Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. But right now, he needs help. So what's going to happen? I'm now going to invoke the mid of I know I hated him. I hated him for the last week ever since I saw him do that. But now he's in a jam. I'm going to cool it right now. He needs some help. The say what is a s you saw him sinning and he's an individual and therefore you can't testify you hated him because of a sin he committed and even so the says you should literally you should help him however it could also be interpreted as I forsake. What are you forsaking? Listen very carefully. You know the way the Torah says to help him is forsake you shall surely forsake with him. Why doesn't it just say like what's what are you forsaking? You know what I'm forsaking? I'm forsaking the hate I had to him. I was allowed to hate him. I was supposed to hate him. I was commanded to hate him. But at a certain point of time, cease and desist, forsake what's in your heart, it's a mitz to draw him close with love. Maybe this will help. So, you know, I like over here this sh there's no talking, right? We don't no talking or no phones. I don't want any phones, especially on chabas, nobody. But even during the week, no phones. Yeah. So if a guy takes out a phone, I'm calling him out. No, you can't. You can't. You go there. There's so many other shs you could go to. Don't don't ruin. There has to be one shaw at least in the Jewish people that's holy. You could go if you want to defile the shul. Go to a different shaw where everyone's on the phone. Everyone comes in with like 90gallon slurpees and uh and they're talking and they're on their phones, you know, they're ATM machine on their phone. Netflix. I don't know what they're doing on their phone. You know, you have a guy in middle mill. I don't know what I can't even, you know, not initial. So now, but after after I already, you know, after he's not feeling good that he got So now I'm going to go over I'm going to be his friend. Why? How how long am I supposed to be upset at him for? You know, he got the point. I can't I can't like be on, you know, bad terms with him forever. Okay, he got the message. Now he's going to be my best friend. the other guy who didn't bring the phone, he's not going to get the same best friendness because I have to stop the, you know. So, you're saying we should bring our phones? No, bring your phone. I'll throw you out of here. But then afterwards, I'll be I'll be your friend. Yeah. Um anyway, um she says, This guy who was a mitzvah to hate now you have a mitzvah to draw him close with love it might help in this fashion meaning sometimes where cannot influence the guy maybe this is of that hashem does not preserve his anger for ever Okay, we'll hold over here. Now, you have to hear a little bit about the war.