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Bitachon Weekly

Antisemitism Is a Bracha Min HaShamayim

  • Rosh Hashanah
  • 5787
  • English
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R' Yerucham Levovitz Zatzal in Parshas Ki Savo brings a story that he heard from HaGaon R' Ahron Bakst Zatzal, הי"ד (Talmid Muvhak of the Alter of Kelm, and the last Rav in Shavel before the Holocaust. He was a huge Baal Mussar, and a close friend of the Mashgiach, R' Yerucham). A Yid lived alone in a gentile village, where there were no other Yidden for his children to play with. Unfortunately, his children played with the Goyishe neighbors. He tried everything and anything to stop the relationship, but to no avail. He came up with a plan. What did he do? One time, when the Goyishe neighbor came to his house, he told him that all his children have: שְׁחִין Sh'chin, and their entire bodies are ridden with this horrific and highly contagious disease. That was the last time those gentile friends even set foot in his house!

R' Ahron Bakst Zatzal explained the story: Actually, this is exactly what Hashem does to save us from the gentiles. Antisemitism was caused by Hashem Himself. In order to get us away from the Goyim, He put in their hearts all that vicious hatred that makes no sense. We are lucky! Thanks to our "dear" antisemitism, we are still our own: עַם הַנִבְחָר special nation!

In 1966 I was in Yerushalayim, and HaGaon R' Noach Weinberg Zatzal told me that in Eretz Yisroel, 1000 Jewish girls were married to Arabs. Now, thanks to Hamas and Hezbollah, there won't be any intermarriage. There were a group of Bais Yaakov girls who had survived the Holocaust, and had gone through the worst Gehinom from those cruel Nazis. They ended up in Sweden. The Swedish Goyim were extremely friendly with them, and were very sympathetic to their plight. They invited them to their warm, loving homes, and introduced them to some "fine” Swedish young boys. The girls were too smart for them, and they disappeared as quickly as possible. One girl couldn't resist, and ended up marrying one of the boys. Later, after she had a child she had deep regrets, Rachmana Litzlan, and she ran away.

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