New mayor of New York
מאת ר' ש. קאפלין שליט"א
not just to the people in New York, it’s a message to the entire כלל ישרא ל . We don’t have to worry what is going to be, what happens is dependent on הקב"ה which depends on the way we behave, לב שרים ומלכים ביד ה', the hearts of kings and ministers are in the hands of הקב"ה and we must know that it’s up to our behavior how leaders treat כלל .ישראל
I happened to be in the room with the Manchester ראש ישיבה זצ"ל one morning when he was having his breakfast. At that time there was a big worry by the אידן in ארץ ישראל as there was a certain MK who if he would have enough seats in the Knesset he would be needed to join the collation government and it would be very bad for the frummer אידן, because this person had very strong views against the frummer אידן. When I was sitting in the room with the ראש ישיבה זצ"ל somebody barged in and said, “ראש ישיבה! Did you hear what happened?!” “No…” said the ראש ישיבה. “This person got in,” he said, “it’s going to be terrible.” The ראש ישיבה said, “What are you talking about? What are you worried about? It’s all ביד ה', if הקב"ה wants, this person can drop dead, הקב"ה is in control, you don’t have to worry what’s going to be, we must worry how we behave because that determines what’s going to be.”
ר' אלישיב זצ"ל was the big מתמיד of כלל ישראל, waking up at 2am, learning though the night and then learning the whole day. There was a once a question who would become mayor of ירושלים, it was very important that a certain person should become mayor and ר' אלישב זצ"ל made השתדלות to visit certain people to discuss and encourage; this big מתמיד closed his גמרא because he felt it was so important for the אידן in ירושלים that a certain person should become mayor.
The morning after the elections, his grandson wanted to give ר' אלישב the news who became mayor. After שחרית for a few moments he managed to converse with ר' אלישב, and he told ר' אלישב that ב"ה the candidate that he promoted got in. ר' אלישב turned to him and said, “Why are you telling me this? What’s the difference?”
That means, we must sometimes do השתדלות to get the right candidate, the right mayor, the right prime minister, the right president, the right leader, we’re supposed to do השתדלות to a certain level, but once it happens said ר' אלישב, “What do I care who got in?” It’s the רבש"ע, once someone gets elected even he has no control what happens he loses his Bechiro as לב שרים ומלכים ביד ה', it’s ביד ה' which is dependent on our behavior.
ר' ירוחם זצ"ל the great משגיח of Mir writes that the עבודה זרה of today is thinking that the presidents, prime ministers, mayors will decide what happens to us, that is the עבודה זרה of today.
The final station
ר' חיים מוואלאזין זצ"ל once cried during מעריב uncharacteristically.
After מעריב his תלמידים asked him, “Rebbe! Why did you cry? What happened during מעריב?” excessively
ר' חיים מוואלאזין said, “Throughout גלות the תורה is at different stations…” He just became aware – obviously ברוח הקודש that the final station for תורה is going to be in America. At that time in America there were כמעט no אידן, no ישיבות, no קהילות, people at the time couldn’t dream of such a thing taking place, but he said that he just became aware that the final station before משיח is going to be in America, today indeed there is very much תורה in America.
But why did he cry?
He didn’t explain why he cried.
Perhaps he foresaw the חורבן that would happen to the תורה in Europe.
The final station of תורה is going to be in America before משיח, and today אידן in America are very comfortable, and most אידן comfortable, and perhaps one of the reasons why הקב"ה did this and allowed a mayor who has a history of being against us, to such a position of power, is because maybe we are feeling too comfortable, and maybe we must realize that living where we are living in חוץ לארץ is only a station, when a person travels to London he is not travelling to Euston, he goes on the train to Euston in many countries are very but that’s not where he wants to be, he’s going home or he is going to visit someone, a station is just a place where we arrive, it’s not the final destination, an airport is a place where one arrives, it’s not the final destination.
That is why ר' חיים מוואלאזין used the word destination. We must realize this and live with this, that when we become too comfortable in our hosts country הקב"ה sometimes sends us a message, it’s not really your place, it’s only a station, it’s not the final destination.
The של"ה הקדוש writes that אידן should feel like guests in גלות, were like אורחים.
We must know הקב"ה is in control and what happens in New York city or anywhere else in the world is dependent on what הקב"ה wants and is dependent on our behavior. station, it’s not final
Two years to the day
הקב"ה gave us a few weeks ago a tremendous message about this, that He is the One in control, and He is the One orchestrating events.
We all remember on הושענא רבא the final hostages remember that these hostages were captured on שמיני עצרת תשפ"ד, and they were released.
We were released on הושענא רבא תשפ"ו. That is exactly two years, that was the last day of the two years according to the Jewish calendar.
I was thinking about where else we find in the תורה something happening at the end of two years.
יוסף ,ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים was an extra two years in prison, when it came the last day of the two years פרעה had a dream, in the newspapers in מצרים or the radios, the news was that פרעה dreamt and couldn’t find anyone to interpret the dream until he found a Jew in prison who knew how to interpret dreams and he interpreted it and it was favorable in the eyes of פרעה and פרעה therefore released him from prison.
In the newspapers the story was a series of events that lead to יוסף’s release.
The תורה is writing it in the opposite way, ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים, because it was the end of two years and that was the end when יוסף was supposed to be released, that was why פרעה חולם, that is the way we look at the news of the world, it was מקץ שנתים ימים – now is the time that יוסף is supposed to come out of prison.
The מדרש in איוב פרק כ"ח writes, "קץ שם הקב"ה ,ליוסף" made an end time for יוסף, "כמה יהיה בבית האסורים", how long he would be in prison, "כיון שהגיע הקץ", when it reached the final date of when he was supposed to be in prison, "ופרעה חולם", and פרעה dreamt.
This is supposed to be our השקפה in everything, it’s not the cause that has an effect, there is supposed to be an effect and that creates a cause, it’s not because of prior events that something happens, it’s because that something is supposed to happen why the events leading up to it took place.
We might look at something that happened because of events previously, that’s wrong, supposed to happen and therefore the events which led to it took place, we must switch around the way we look at things.
הקב"ה sent us a message: they came out to the day at the end of two years to remind us of the פסוק of ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים which the message of that פסוק is: what’s the cause and what’s the affect, יוסף was supposed to come out so therefore פרעה dreamt, the hostages were supposed to come out that day, so Trump dreamt, there was a Trump, there was Netanyahu, happened negotiations, Qatar, various people involved and if you read the secular papers you will see pages and pages of reasons why it took place.
They got it all wrong, we must look at it that they were supposed to come out on הושענא רבא and that is why all those events took place, to bring it about and for it to look like טבע.
It’s a very important and powerful message that we received a few weeks ago, and we must learn from that message, if this person became the mayor of New York it’s because הקב"ה decided that he should become the mayor of New York, everything that happened was all a lead up for it happen and nothing could have stopped it, even Trump, the groisa Trump, the groisa knacker tried to stop it but it didn’t help, he thinks he is running the world, but he’s not, he’s a puppet ביד ה', when he says things which הקב"ה doesn’t want it’s totally irrelevant, this fellow became mayor despite Trump trying to stop it happening.
Looking at events in the right way is so important because otherwise it’s a type of כפירה, when we read about world events and news we must be careful how we discuss it, we shouldn’t feel that it’s because of certain things that this came about, it came about because הקב"ה wanted it, הקב"ה orchestrated the events to make it happen.
Maybe there is ח''ו a גזירה in ש מים and he is being put in place for that, but we can Daven and be מבטל the גזירה through תפילה all can change, and בעזרת ה' he will do nothing that disturbs us, and the Yidden in NY will continue to live peacefully בעזהי''ת.
Written by Avrohom Dov Kohn – אברהם דוב הכהן כהן
