Eretz eretz al techaseh damam. It is with tears that we begin to write these words. No words can even begin to describe the terrible, deep, and painful blow Klal Yisrael has suffered on the happiest day of the year, Simchas Torah. Hundreds of barbaric terrorists infiltrated the borders of Eretz Yisrael, with one agenda, to inflict as much pain, horror and terror on Jews, soldiers and innocent civilians alike, including children - for one reason only: that they are Jewish.
As we drown in a sea of blood and tears we must not forget to recognize the great nissim that did occur. Though the number of casualties, injured and abducted - may Hashem bring a speedy recovery and salvation - are staggering, it could have been far worse, al pi teva. After all, the terrorists, yemach shemam v’zichram, had been planning this for six months and had huge amounts of funding from Iran.
A Personal Ness
I personally must give tremendous shevach to Hashem for the great ness that He performed for me and my fellow mispalelim. The shul in which we were davening, along with several neighbouring shuls, not only had no bomb shelters, but are all built flimsily, and for unknown reasons, the sirens in the area malfunctioned during the missile attacks.
During the hakafos, as we were singing, dancing and celebrating the chedvesa dili, a rocket loaded with 20kg of explosives, capable of causing mass casualties and untold damage and chaos, hit the sidewalk, meters from numerous shuls, full of oblivious Yidden singing and dancing. Not only did the rocket not hit the shuls, it smoked up but miraculously did not explode. (It took the security officials many hours to remove it without it exploding.)
Why on Simchas Torah?
As we sit and mourn the losses and daven for the recovery of the many wounded as well as the release of those captured, many are wondering, why on the happiest and most special day of the year, on Simchas Torah itself, did we experience such carnage, such tragedy and pain?
In better times and in more difficult times, regardless of the situation, Hashem is always makdim refuah l’makah. Within the weekly parsha one can find the relevant lessons, inspiration or chizzuk needed for that specific time. Let us delve into the parsha:
The Torah begins by describing the creation of the world, in great detail. Why is this the most important thing with which to begin the Torah? The Torah is not writer chronologically. Why then does it begin with creation rather than discussing mankind, the Avos, or Matan Torah?
Don’t Ask that Question! Why Not?
We are all familiar with the story of the cruel executions of the assara harugey malchus. Following baseless accusations these ten enormous tzaddikim were taken to be killed by the Roman emperor in the cruellest ways imaginable. Upon seeing the terrible injustice the malachim cried out to Hashem, “Zu Torah v’zu sechara?” But Hashem’s response was, “Shtok - Quiet! If I hear this question being asked again, I will destroy the world and return it to tohu vavohu”.
Why did Klal Yisrael experience such terrible hester? Why did the greatest tzaddikim deserve such a fate? Why did Hashem shut down the seemingly reasonable question of the malachim and threaten to destroy the world?
Meshulam and the Stolen Material
Meshulam was the faithful tailor of the king. Every time the king, queen, or any of the princes, princesses or members of the royal family needed a new garment, they would summon Meshulam, hand him their order and, after taking measurements, he would never fail to impress them with his perfect, timely and most importantly, honest work. Once completed the king would always pay him handsomely and so Meshulam was able to support his family in comfort.
For some reason, there was a Bishop who hated Meshulam and did all he could to make his life miserable. He tried his hardest to libel him to the king but it all fell on deaf ears.
The day for the golden jubilee was fast approaching and the king summoned Meshulam. “For this occasion”, he said, “I need a robe more beautiful than anything you have ever made for me, so spectacular that all the dignitaries from all the countries and cities who will be coming to celebrate, will be supremely impressed. I do not want you to use simple material; I have purchased the finest and most expensive piece of cloth. Please make me a spectacular robe and have it ready in three months.”
After months of hard work perfecting his masterpiece, Meshulam proudly arrived at the palace bearing the robe. The king tried it on and was exceptionally impressed - the results surpassed his expectations. To say spectacular would be an understatement. As ever, the king thanked him profusely, paid him handsomely, and sent him on his way.
He Stole the Rest Some of the Royal Cloth!
The bishop, looking on, became extremely jealous. He hated this Jewish tailor; why should he get all the honor, and money to boot? He came running to the king with important news. “Your majesty”, he began, “you know your faithful tailor - Meshulam the Jew? Word has it that although he did a fine job making you a robe, he stole some of the precious royal material and sold it for a high price. Not only did he receive payment from you, he also made a fortune from the stolen material.”
The king would hear none of it. “That’s impossible”, he said, “everyone knows that Meshulam the tailor is an honest man”. However, the bishop convinced him that it wouldn’t harm to double check.
The king took the measurements of the material given to Meshulam and then had the cloak measured. Lo and behold there was a discrepancy: the cloak was significantly smaller than the material that Meshulam had received.
The police were called and Meshulam was arrested on suspicion of stealing from the king - an act no less than treason. He was thrown into a dungeon and sentenced to death. Nothing could convince the furious king otherwise.
His Last Wish – Cut the Royal Cloak!
On the day he was slated to be killed, Meshulam was taken in front of the king and granted his last wish. “What would you like?” asked the king. “A steak, a cigar, a glass of beer?” “No”, responded Meshulam. “I would like to have the cloak for five minutes.” “The cloak?” asked the king. “Yes”, said Meshulam, “the royal cloak. And a pair of tailor scissors.”
Meshulam was granted his request and, to everyone’s great surprise, he began cutting the cloak. “Stop!” shouted the king. “But why?” said Meshulam. “This is my last wish!” “So be it”, declared the king! “But Meshulam. You are an intelligent man - not a man of revenge. Explain to me why you want to cut the cloak.” Meshulam turned to the king and said. “Every last inch of material that you gave me is in this garment. Not a single thread is missing. You cannot see it as you are seeing a ready sown garment. The only way to demonstrate how it was made with every fold and thread is to undo the masterpiece, unfold it and unthread it - return it to its original state. Then you will understand everything – nothing will remain unclear.”
The Only Way to Understand!
With this we can explain the episode of the assara harugey malchus. Hashem’s message to the malachim was: “You were not there during ma’asei Bereishis when I created the world. If you continue to ask this question I will need to explain it to you, and the only way for you to understand is if I undo every last fold and every last thread of the world - return it to tohu va’vohu. Then, in its original state, there will be no questions.
This, explained the Vilna Gaon, was Hashem’s response to the malachim. Indeed, from your perspective, from your vantage point, you pose a great question. Why is all this pain, suffering, and carnage inflicted upon the greatest tzaddikim? I do not have an adequate answer that you can understand. You weren't there when I created the world. You did not see the masterplan of thousands of years. You do not understand every fold of fabric, every stitch and thread.
This idea is actually stated explicitly in Sefer Iyov. Iyov suffered more than any person in history - it is hard to fathom the pain and difficulty he endured. After many perakim detailing his complaints to Hashem, the pesukim (in Chap. 38) then detail Hashem’s response. Does Hashem explain how, in reality, it is all for the best? Does he give philosophical answers to the meaning behind it? No.
Where were you when I created the world?
Hashem asks Iyov: “Eifo hayisa b’yasdi aretz - Where were you when I created the world - when I laid the dimensions of the universe?” For two full perakim Hashem does not answer Iyov but instead asks him questions: “Were you there when rain was formed, when snow was formed? Do you know the secrets of darkness and light? Do you know how an ostrich lays its eggs? Do you hunt the prey for the old lion - do you make sure it does not go hungry? Who prepares the food for the ravens?” etc.
Hashem was telling Iyov: “You know nothing about creation, let alone the past and the future, and yet you want to understand the Creator. You do not understand even one of the forty trillion cells in the human body and you wish to understand the author of the cosmos! You don’t understand a single star in the galaxy, a single one of the trillions of animals, insects, fish, and plants and you wish to understand the Creator of them all!”
“Iyov, you were not there at the beginning when it was all created. You are jumping to page 200 in a huge novel and you want to understand the story!”
Begin with Bereshis – Realise What You don’t Realise!
This is why the Torah begins with Bereishis - creation. It is to teach us that we have come into the world in the middle of the story. We were not there when the story began - we are a mere speck in the universe and in the pages of history.
If we could run at the speed of light it would take us seven seconds to travel the earth. To travel the universe would take twenty-eight billion years. We are a tiny speck, a small part of a huge plan. How can we even begin to assume that we can understand the details of one speck in the middle of a complex story?
The Paradox of the Tears
The pasuk states: ‘Bila ha’maves la’netzah, u’macha Hashem Elokim dimah me’al kol panim.” The Arizal notes that the word dimah has the same gematria as mo’ed. This alludes to the fact that when the redemption will come the tears will be a mo’ed - a cause for celebration. The puzzling thing is that this does not appear to be an accurate calculation. Dimah has the gematria 119, and mo’ed, 120? The mefarshim answer that you must add the kolel (one extra).
Rabbi Jacobson offer a profound explanation of this gematria. Currently, the tragedies, pain, and suffering, are “dimah” a matter of painful tears over something that we cannot understand. Without the complete picture, dimah is not mo’ed - dimah is pain and mo’ed is happiness. However, when Mashiach will arrive we will have the “kolel”, meaning the entire picture. We will understand everything, mi’sof ha’olam v’ad sofo - the events from the beginning of creation until the end of history. At that point the pain - the dimah - will be the same as mo’ed.
The Chizzuk of Simchas Torah, the Chizzuk of parshas Bereshis
We experienced powerful dimah this week - pain, tears, and a lack of understanding. All this took place on the greatest mo’ed - Simchas Torah - surely the most inapt day of the calendar for tragedy. However, in light of the above we may say that this is actually the most natural day for this to occur. l’Asid lavo we will attain the complete picture and will understand the dimah, the tear, becoming a mo’ed.
Though we cannot attain full comprehension of this devastating event at the moment, Hashem granted us the gift of reading Parshas Bereishis this week. The detailing of creation is designed to make us realize that although we do not currently have the “kolel” - the complete perspective, we are part of a bigger picture, part of a master plan. Hashem is always metiv and doing the best for us, whether we merit to see it, or simply believe it.
May all the wounded have a refua shelema, the captured be redeemed swiftly and safely, and may we soon merit the geula shelema - the shira chadasha - when all the dimah, all the many tears we are shedding, will be transformed into a mo’ed, amid gleaming clarity and closeness to Hashem.
