Since the catastrophe of October 7, 2023, antisemitic acts have reached unprecedented heights in modern times. Although we are thrilled that the living hostages have been liberated, antisemitic rhetoric and violence continue unabated. The results of the recent New York City mayoral election have also raised concerns. The lies, hatred, and acts of violence against Jews in America parallel those of the pre-Holocaust years.
As a rebbi, teacher and former day school principal with five decades of experience, I am often approached by present and former middle and high school students who suffer from anxiety over the current situation. They wonder about their own safety and are perplexed with many hashkafic questions. I often direct them to one source: the siddur.
The siddur is the last part of Torah SheBe’Al Peh (the Oral Torah tradition) to be written. In addition to serving as the repository of our praises, petitions and aspirations – that is, the handbook of our relationship with Hashem – it is an important part of our tradition that requires serious Torah study. The siddur provides us with an appropriate lens through which we can study halacha, hashkafa, and Jewish history.
First, I advise my students to put things into perspective. Yaavetz notes in his introduction to his commentary on the siddur:
How can it be that he who denies G-d’s Divine providence, does not stand in shame when he studies the uniqueness of our status in the world? We are a nation long exiled, a “dispersed sheep” from early times. After all the sorrows and changes we have endured for two thousand years, there is no nation as persecuted as Jewry. Many and mighty are those who rose to annihilate and destroy us, yet they could not overcome us. What can the clever philosopher or historian reply to this – that the hand of chance caused all these things? By my life, when I contemplate these wonders, they seem to me greater than all the miracles that Hashem did for our ancestors in Egypt and in the wilderness!
Our continued existence as a people is nothing less than miraculous and eloquent testimony that Hashem continues to guard and protect us.
Another source that I recommend to my students is the Gra. In the V’Hu Rachum prayer that we recite on Mondays and Thursdays, it states:
Zarim omrim ayn tocheles v’sikva, chon om l’shimcha m’kavah tahor, yeshu’asaynu karvah, yaganu v’lo hunach lanu – “Strangers say to us: there is no hope for you. (Hashem) be gracious to the people whose hope is in Your Name. Pure One, hasten our salvation. We are worn out, and no rest is granted us.”
Gra notes: “The strangers” i.e. the nations of the world, “say to us” continually that “there is no hope for you” to await your redemption. “Be gracious to the people whose hope is in Your Name” i.e. Jewry awaits Your salvation during our suffering that has convinced the other nations that our end is near, G-d forbid. However, it is clear to us and the “Pure One” that “our salvation is hastening,” for the present is bleak and the light of deliverance will surely come shortly thereafter. It is true that “we are worn out and granted no rest.” Yet there is no greater sign that our rescue is close at hand (Siddur Tefillas Eliyahu [Gra], pp. 119-120).
It is critically important that our self-image, as Hashem’s people, does not suffer because of the enmity of biased, uninformed bigots.
This theme is reflected once again on Chanukah. The Midrash (Breishis Rabba 2:4) states:
“‘And darkness’ symbolizes Greece, which darkened the eyes of Israel with its decrees, ordering Israel, ‘Write on the horn of an ox that you have no portion in the G-d of Israel.’”
Rashi comments that the severity of the Chet Ha’egel was such that it was equivalent to Bnei Yisrael inscribing on the horn of an ox that they had cast aside their relationship with Hashem, chas v’shalom.
Rav Henach Leibowitz, zt”l, suggested that the Misyavnim (Hellenists) engaged in psychological warfare with our ancestors by questioning their very self-identity. They argued: “You Jews claim that you are a distinct and distinguished people by virtue of your allegiance to Hashem. It is a lie! You never were monotheists. In the very shadow of Har Sinai your ancestors constructed an avodah zarah! Your neviim were continually criticizing you for your stubborn attachment to avodah zarah. You are no different from – and certainly no better than – your gentile neighbors.”
Our Rosh Hashanah tefillos relate that Hashem loves us and yearns to shower us exclusively with His great chesed. While we cannot claim to fully understand His ways, we humbly accept that whatever He decrees is for our good and the wellbeing of Jewry.
To summarize, one critically important way to deal with the baseless hatred of our enemies is through tefillah. Hashem is the only One who can deliver salvation to our people. Returning to Hashem through tefillah is a proper and effective response to our present situation.
Comments (0)