WORDS FROM OLD ABE

Print-friendly version

WORDS FROM OLD ABE

Harav Y. Reuven Rubin Shlita

The soft air was slipping through the trees and the market place had closed for the day. Sitting in a small cafe were two old friends, sipping from beakers of wine, chatting the chat of middle-class men catching a few moments away from work. The time was some two thousand years ago and the place was Rome. Theirs was an empire that ruled the world, and its culture had swept through the entire globe with its so-called enlightened society which included ruthless fights of men against lions and hand to hand combat between slaves to the death, all for the entertainment of the bloodthirsty crowds. One friend says to the other, “rumours abound in the streets, the Roman Empire is about to explode, and that which we see around us will be destroyed.” “Ach, don’t be foolish my friend, this is Rome, the greatest centre of sophistication in the history of mankind, nothing will destroy it!”. Well, we all know how that went down.  Since then, many others have built great cultures for themselves and shouted from their rooftops the glory of their strength, only to crumble into the dust of history.

As we sit in our restaurants of today, dare we not at least mention our own sense of trepidation. America and in fact most of western civilisation is being rocked to the core of their beliefs, minds are being shaped into ever changing distortions, and what was yesterday considered good and honourable, is today being ripped down by the rabble of ignorance.

There is a quote from the late president of America, Abraham Lincoln who said “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

Much of the mayhem and corruption that we witness today in the once glorious Golus America is caused by years of self-inflicted rot and the corruption of values. Today nothing seems sacred, and all is permitted. The country that ‘shined from sea to shining sea” is in trouble, and the rest of the world shakes in its path. As the wise old president said, this is not coming because of marching boots of foreign enemies, no, the rot has been born amongst their own ‘experts’ and left-wing sophisticates that disdain everything that built what America stood for. I wave the Stars and Stripes of my homeland to underscore how the western society that was seen as the utopian answer to mankind’s problems, is faltering not from the outside but from within.

Klall Yisroel has seen it all before, Rome, Babylon, Greece, and all the myriad of stops along the way of our golus, have had their moments and then fell into the ash heaps of what once was. Sadly, we ourselves have often been guilty of getting caught up in the arrogance of growth in those places, and suffered accordingly. The Jew in ancient Rome was probably proud of his place, and sipped the wine of arrogance whilst wearing his shatnas free toga.

In Eretz Yisroel some of the worrisome attitudes of Golus America have been fervently adopted. So much so, that even in the midst of a dangerous and painful war we find ourselves horrifically divided, causing ever more fear.

So, what can any one individual do to safeguard their neshomah despite the wobbling of the world? Can we remain steadfast and true to who we are? Where do we go from here, how can we create some semblance of peace in a world riven with anger?

Let us look inward, its Elul, a time for thoughtful introspection. In our Kehillah we have developed a special program for each of our Chevra. It’s called the yearly ‘Spiritual M.O.T’… Every member sits down with yours truly to discuss their own personal spiritual situation. We share ideas of programs that may be helpful, of ways to find chizuk in those areas where it’s needed. In general the idea is to measure and discuss things on a personal level and connect with one another at the place we are able to, and not just as part of a larger group.

The world is in turmoil, and many of us are worried and unsure. Let us talk together, share our individuality so that we can bring sholom into the world we live in. The Presidents and Masters of the political realm are but tools that are being used by the Eibishter as His creation goes through its tikun. We, each one of us, have a chiyuv to do what’s right for our personal path towards connection with Hashem. If we share and work together, we will make a difference, even if we don’t realise it.

May we all be blessed with a kesivah vechasima tova and galvanise our link with Klall Yisroel so that the end product of all we strive for, the coming of the Moshiach should come speedily in our days, Umain.