Hashem informs Avrohom Avinu after his battle with the four kings, Anochi magen lach. Do not worry, I will guard you from any retaliation. I will watch over you and protect you from harm. The commentaries tell us that Anochiis a reference to Har Sinai and the giving of the Torah. It’s a promise that holds true throughout the generations. Whenever a child of Avrohom Avinu is in trouble, G-d himself will come and save him. If you believe (the first commandment) Anochi Hashem Elokecha, I am a G-d that will personally protect you from harm-– you will be saved.
R’ Eliezer Ganzfried from Yerushalayim went through the deepest, darkest times in his life while being imprisoned in Auschwitz, but was saved through a miraculous turn of events. R’ Eliezer had two sets of numbers on his arm from that heinous time – but one set of numbers was crossed out, and one was left untouched.
These numbers are the proof of a living G-d he explained to his grandchildren:
In Auschwitz, we were always going through selections... sometimes every few weeks. Those that were told to go to the left were sentenced to a horrible death. Since I was young and able to work – I was always sent to the right.
If one of us was selected to go to the left, their numbers were immediately crossed out. They simply branded 2 lines over them, then on to the gas chambers. Notice one of my numbers is crossed out in that fashion. One day during a selection, I was told by the Kommandant to go to the left. A certain death.
I remembered learning the sefer Nefesh Hachim by R’ Chaim Volozhin, in which he says that believing – Ein od milvado, there is no one besides Hashem – will help save and protect any Jew from any trouble. From the moment I was given the terrible death sentence, I closed my mind to any thought other than Ein od milvado, there is no one else but Him.
Ein od milvado, Ein od milvado. Those words raced through my mind over and over again as I bolted for the other side and joined my friends who were to be spared. The Kommandant saw me and brought me to Dr. Mengele yimach shmo, explaining that I was defying his orders.
I did not stop, and continued thinking with deep emunah.. Ein od milvado, Ein od milvado..as Mengele looked at me and reached down for his gun. But suddenly out of nowhere, he stopped and said.. It’s a mistake - make a new set of numbers for him and bring him back to the work detail.
In these uncertain times when war and terrorism and a deep fear of the future has crept back into our lives, we all need an antidote to the many challenges we face on a daily basis. Emunah in our Creator is a tried and true method and a promise and assurance from our forefather Avrohom. Thinking, believing and saying Ein od milvado (Hashem alone will take us out of our troubles) is a demonstration of deep faith that will help restore our sanity and keep us from harm.
Written by R’ Avrohom Hillel Reich based on a lesson and story by Harav Ben Tziyon Sneh Shlita
