Now, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be busy accomplishing right now in Golus. Just like in Mitzrayim the Bnei Yisroel became very great – we’ll talk about that yet, how they acquired a tremendous perfection of character in Mitzrayim – we also have to be busy gaining perfection while we’re in Golus.
Don’t listen to what some people say that our destiny is only Eretz Yisroel, aliyah. Like I heard almost forty-five years ago at a banquet in Boston; it happened to be my business to be there, I couldn’t help it, and a Mizrachi gadol, one of the biggest leaders of the Mizrachi, was speaking there. I won’t mention his name because he’s long dead but he said, “You American Jews are making a great error by building big synagogues and yeshivos in America. Go to Eretz Yisroel and build,” he said. “That’s the only place that has any future.”
In those days there was no Lakewood yet. There was no Chaim Berlin, no Mirrer Yeshiva, no Torah Vodaas, no Tiferes Yerushalayim – there was nothing except for YU. And he was telling the world then that it doesn’t pay to build in America.
It’s so silly what he said! During those years, from then till now, a whole generation grew up of Beis Yaakovs and yeshivos; a glorious young generation. And we’ll continue like that. Let’s hope that we’ll keep on building yeshivas until in Dayton, Ohio you’ll have big kollelim. And way out in Sioux City and in Grand Rapids there’ll be big Torah centers! And we’ll be fortunate enough to bring back our lost brothers and sisters; Jews all over America will come back to the Torah.
The Great Surprise
And then one day – maybe soon – we’ll be surprised when suddenly we hear the great shofar blast announcing that it’s time for a new stage of our history. We’ll be surprised but we’ll be ready because we ate the matzah every year and the matzah was telling us that Hashem is watching and guiding history; that He’s in charge, and that whatever has to be done for us to reach our destiny, it’s going to happen according to His Plans and His Timeline.
And no Pharaoh and no President Bush and no Queen of England, nobody, can do anything about it. If it means Mayor Koch will be running around in the streets of New York, asking us to pack our valises so it’ll be. Because Hashem’s destiny for the Am Yisroel will be fulfilled by hook or by crook. If He has to pull a crook by putting a hook in his nose, He’ll do that too. Because the matzah means that He has a Timetable and that His schedule will be carried out!
And that’s what the matzah is telling you. The loyal Jew eats his matzah and reminds himself of this eternal principle that our forefathers learned on Pesach night, that everything in history – our national history and our personal histories – is done according to the exact timetable of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
The Matzah Testifies:
Hashem is in complete control of history and operates according to His perfect timetable. The matzah comes to symbolize this principle; it reminds us that when the time comes for Hashem’s plans to unfold, nothing can delay them – not Pharaoh, not laws, not circumstances.
The matzah says that everything, from large-scale historical events to personal experiences, occurs precisely when Hashem wills it to and it encourages hope and readiness by testifying to us that just as the Bnei Yisrael were unexpectedly redeemed from Egypt, we too should have faith in the ultimate redemption. The matzah is a “talking” reminder of Hashem’s power, precise timing, and the trust we must have in His plans.
