When the Hidden is Revealed: Love, Faith, and Redemption - Ari Abramowitz: Land of Israel Fellowship

Shalom, my friends. I'm not with you live on this week's fellowship. What you're watching now is something I pre-recorded earlier today, meaning right now. And I can't wait to tell you why. Because it's for a really good reason. In fact, it's for a reason so beautiful and so exciting that it's a living, breathing manifestation of what this para is truly about. believing in Hashem, trusting in Hashem, surrendering to Hashem, and walking with Hashem every step of the way. So, where am I right now? I'm at a wedding. But not just any wedding. This is the wedding of two extraordinary souls. The radiant and deeply special Alisa Tlitzky and the kind, inspiring, and remarkable Rabbi Leo D. Some of you may recognize these names, but for those who don't, let me share who they are. Alisa Tuplitzky has been a dear friend and uh close beloved partner in life in some ways of my wife Shaina for many years. Long before Shaina and I were married, she and Elisa were single together in Jerusalem, walking side by side through that long, sometimes difficult journey of searching for their husbands. And to the naked eye, it never made sense. Why does one incredible, beautiful woman find her husband at 22 while another equally incredible, beautiful woman remains single into her 40s? What's going on here? Alisa spent years searching again and again. She would meet someone, date, realize he wasn't the one, try again, not the right one, and again. Most people in that situation might grow weary, lose faith, maybe even give up hope, become jaded, but not Alisa. She never gave up. She held on to her faith. She persevered. She kept walking with Hashem. And Rabbi Leo D. Well, on April 7th, 2023, Rabbi D was traveling north to Tiberius from his home in the Judeian village of Ephra with his beloved wife Lucy and their five children. Because they couldn't fit all into one car, Lucy drove in a separate vehicle with their daughters, 20-year-old Maya and 15-year-old Reena, while Rabbi Leo Drove just a minute ahead with his other children, Karen, Tali, and Yehuda. In that single minute, everything changed. The car carrying Lucy and the girls was rammed off the road by a terrorist gunman. Two terrorist gunmen who proceeded to shoot them each point blank in the head. CNN called it a shootout. Maya and Reena were killed instantly. Lucy fought for her life for two days before succumbing to her wounds. The entire nation was shattered, broken. I was at the funerals. Devastation doesn't begin to describe it. And yet in the midst of unimaginable grief, the faith, dignity, and strength with which Rabbi D and his children responded uplifted the entire country and touched hearts across the world. And now, three years later, as you sit here watching this fellowship, I am, God willing, at this very moment, dancing and singing with the friends of Alisa and Rabbi D, celebrating a wedding whose light I believe will shine out and illuminate the entire world. It feels almost impossible. Out of the ashes of unthinkable loss, Hashem has written a new chapter, a chapter of hope, of healing, of joy. This is not just a wedding. It is a living testimony that even when we cannot understand the path, when we keep walking with Hashem, he leads us exactly where we need to be. Alisa's decades of steadfast faith, never giving up hope, Rabbi D's unimaginable strength, clinging to Amuna in the darkest valley. And now, Hashem has brought these two extraordinary souls together. You know, this wedding is more than a celebration of love. It is a revelation, a manifestation of the deepest truth of this parha. To believe in Hashem, to trust in Hashem, to surrender to Hashem, and to walk with him even and especially when the way is hidden. In paratim, the Torah warns us not to turn to divers, fortune tellers, or those who claim to reveal the future. Be wholehearted with Hashem your God. Rashi explains, "Walk with him with simplicity. Put your hope in him and do not attempt to investigate the future. Whatever it may be that comes upon you, accept it wholeheartedly and then you shall be with him and become his portion." I personally find such strength and guidance from these words as I have them engraved right above the in my living room above the the my holy books. It's right there in on this beautiful Jerusalem stone created by our good friend Yehuda Hartstark. Reach out to us if you'd like one too. I'm sure we could arrange that because this commandment touches the deepest point of faith to want to know what the future is on some level to try to escape the very purpose of life which is to trust Hashem today in the uncertainty in the unknowing. That is the purpose. If the outcome were revealed to us, the test of faith would disappear. The Balt Shtov explains that tamim means more than simple. It means whole, complete, unfractured. Faith means not living split between what is and what might be. It means surrendering the illusion of control and walking with Hashem as a child walks with his father, hand in hand, step by step, without needing to know what lies at the end of the road. The truth is that there's a great secret here. Our sages teach that the future is concealed even from the angels because hiddenness itself is holy. The concealment itself creates a space for our amuna. Rabbi teaches the whole world is a very narrow bridge and the main thing is not to be afraid. But how? by knowing that not knowing is itself a gift because it forces us into relationship with Hashem at that very moment. And that is the reason we're here on this earth. That is the beauty and the gift of life itself. And here we are in the midst of this war, in the midst of this long season of struggle. None of us know how it will end. Will there be victory? Will there be escalation? Will the nations rise against us? Will redemption break through suddenly? We cannot know and we're not meant to know because Hashem in his infinite wisdom has placed us here so that our faith muscles can grow strong. If we saw the future, there would be no need for courage. If we saw the end of the story, there would be no need for trust. But because the future is hidden, we are invited each of us to rise up in amuna to strengthen ourselves and to strengthen each other and to be tamim with Hashem. This is our calling in alul in these days of chuva. To return not only from our sins but from our illusion that we can control life by knowing more, predicting more, worrying more. To return instead to the simplicity of walking with Hashem. wholeheartedly, steady, loyal. The labava, he teaches us that faith is not the knowledge that everything will turn out good. Faith is the knowledge that everything is already good because Hashem is guiding the world. My friends, the uncertainty of our world is not a bug. It's a feature. It is the womb of redemption. It's the place where the light is hidden, waiting for us to trust. So as we stand in these uncertain days, we hold on to the verse of shuftim. We release the need to know the future. We embrace the opportunity to walk faithfully into the unknown. And in that very act, we're already fulfilling our mission to bring more faith, more light, more trust into the world, and to prepare ourselves for the day when the hidden will be revealed and the name of Hashem will be one. And so as we stand together in this sacred moment, we're reminded that a Jewish wedding, that a wedding is more than two souls uniting. It's a glimpse of redemption itself. A kupa, the canopy, is a microcosm of the beta mikdash, a place where heaven and earth meet, where tears of the past are lifted into the joy of the future. So tonight, Rabbi D and Alisa are not only building a new home, they're building a sanctuary of hope for all of us. Their courage, their love, their willingness to begin again teaches us what it means to truly walk with Hashem. So may Hashem bless this couple with unshakable joy, with children who will carry their light forward, with a home overflowing with Torah and with laughter and with peace. May their love be a song that strengthens the people of Israel. And may the light of their new new beginning join the great light of redemption soon to shine to all of AmIrael and the entire world. Amen. [Music]