YATED NE’EMAN
27 Sivan 5769 • June 19 2009Page 45
Abomination Brings Annihilation
Standing up to the Challenges of Our Times
By Rav Moshe ShternbuchThe following was written by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis based on a shiur given by Rav Moshe Shternbuch, Rosh Av Beis Din of the Eidah Hachareidisof Yerushalayim, leil Parshas Shelach,in Beis Knesses HaGra in Har Nof.
NATURAL MEANS
Klal Yisroel
lived with constant miracles in the
midbar
. Every morning they woke up to find that enoughfood for the entire day descended from the Heavens. Atnight, the
amud ha’eish
lit up their way, and during theday they were guided by the
amud ha’anan
.With all of these miracles, Hashem sufficientlyproved to the Jewish people that He was more than quali-fied to take care of all of their needs. Under such condi-tions, it is hard to comprehend how
Klal Yisroel
couldhave any doubts about whether Hashem could bringthem into Eretz Yisroel. Why, then, were the
meraglim
sent and what were they looking for?After forty days in Eretz Yisroel,
the
meraglim
cameback and reported that they would not be able to cap-ture the land. While this is difficult to comprehend, evenmore shocking is that the
Sanhedrin
voted on this mat-ter and sided with the
meraglim
. After all of the miraclesthat they experienced, how could they have even hadthe slightest doubt?After experiencing miracles, we cannot continue togo about our lives as if nothing has changed. When wewitness Hashem changing the order of nature with ourown eyes, we are obligated to respond and raise ourlevel of awareness of His Prescience. For this reason,living with miracles daily was an extremely difficultchallenge for the generation of the
midbar
.Although the
meraglim
and the
Sanhedrin
realizedthat Hashem was capable of miraculously conqueringEretz Yisroel, they wanted to take the land via naturalmeans, making use of
tevah
. This would relieve themof their obligation of maintaining the lofty level neededto be worthy of constant miracles. Considering the cir-cumstances, the
meraglim
felt that conquest campaignorchestrated by human beings was doomed to failure,and the
Sanhedrin
confirmed this.If Hashem shows
Klal Yisroel
miracles, it means that Heknows that we are capable of living with a constant aware-ness of His Presence. Choosing to live by natural means isan outright rejection of His will and can arouse Divine wrath.Instead of being the beginning of their conquest of EretzYisroel, the return of the
meraglim
on
Tisha B’Av
turnedinto a day of great tragedy for the Jewish people.
IMPROPER HUMILITY
Before sending Hoshea ben Nun to spy Eretz Yisroel
,
Moshe Rabbeinu changed his name to Yehoshua.Yonasen ben Uziel reveals that Hoshea
had an impropertrait of humility, an attribute that could lead him to ac-cept the advice of the other
meraglim
. Changing hisname affected his personality and allowed him to over-come this flaw.While humility is a praiseworthy characteristic, thisattribute can be dangerous when it develops unchecked.A Jew has to elevate himself to reach the highest levelhe can, and to disregard feelings of inadequacy whichmight inhibit him from achieving this. In this way, hewill have true
hatzlacha
.For this reason,
mashagichim
in
yeshivos
should tryand identify each
bochur’s
strengths and encourage himto use them to reach greatness. Memory, drive and dili-gence are all traits which, when channeled correctly, cantake a person very far. But if a person is weak in one ormore of these areas, he should not feel down on him-self.Some
bochurim
and
avreichim
don’t feel that theyare achieving their definition of “success” and, as a re-sult, sink into despair. But, in truth, anyone who is us-ing his strengths to serve Hashem is succeeding. To think otherwise is to distort the worthy trait of humility.While the
meraglim
were in Eretz Yisroel,
they heard theinhabitants saying that they saw ants that looked like people.To this description, the
meraglim
commented, “…
and sowe were in our eyes
.” This warped humility led them to bringabout a catastrophe whose after-effects have plagued the Jew-ish People ever since.
A RECIPE FOR DESTRUCTION
We can never fully fathom why millions of Jews weremurdered, tortured, gassed and burnt alive at the handsof a brutal enemy during World War II. But one terrifyingpoint is clear: The Holocaust teaches us that whenHashem’s wrath is aroused, there is no limit to the devas-tation that can result.We are seemingly facing a similar threat today. Iran is work-ing at a fast pace to achieve the technology needed to producenuclear weapons. Whoever the leader of the country may be,the fact remains clear that they desire our destruction.Yet, we have nothing to fear from Iran or any otherthreats that are hurled at us. As in the times of the
meraglim
, we already have ample proof that Hashemtakes care of us when we find favor in His eyes. Divinewrath can bring harsh treatment, but Hashem’s favor canbring us miracles greater than we have ever experienced.Our real fear must be the atrocity that is scheduled totake place.
Gimmel Tammuz
, in only a week’s time, adetestable parade is planned on the streets of the HolyCity of Yerushalayim. Right here, in the palace of theKing, they plan to flaunt the greatest abominations knownto mankind.This parade is our greatest danger. Seeing
Klal Yisroel
quiet while such an abomination is taking place may wellinflame Divine anger and could have terrible ramifica-tions. Then we will truly have something to fear.A note of caution: Burning garbage bins, smashing traf-fic lights and other destruction of city property does not aidthe cause and is a desecration of Hashem’s name. This seem-ing religious zeal is childish behavior from individuals look-ing for an excuse to have what they consider a good time.Jews living outside of Eretz Yisroel should not think thatthis event will not have a direct impact on their lives.
Chazal
tell us, “When the mistress is afflicted, the maidservant willsurely suffer.” All
bracha
flows down into the world via EretzYisroel, and if an abomination takes place in the Holy Land,it will surely make itself felt across the globe.Anyone who can do anything that could really assist to
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