There is a great principle within the thirteen principles of emunah:
“He is first and He is last.”
Nothing existed before Hashem, and nothing can exist after Him. Anything that begins comes through Him, and it continues thanks to His power. Whatever comes to an end is part of His master plan.
As we are about to print “the final newsletter” in its current format, it is natural to feel that we are reaching an end of sorts.
184 newsletters.
Close to 30 million printouts.
Eight years of activity.
But the truth is that there is no ending here. This newsletter, which we are calling the “last,” reminds us of the great principle that “He is first and He is last.”
When we opened the phone line eight years ago, there were those who said, both bluntly and lovingly, “It will last no more than three months.” This is the way of the world; initiatives rise and fall. Ideas light up the world for a short time and then burn out. And indeed, based on the natural way of things, perhaps that is how it should have been.
But this initiative never relied on natural processes. It relied on He Who is first, Who existed before this idea; and it is He Who will be the last One after it.
A half a year after the phone line opened, this newsletter was born – without a primary sponsor, without a stable support system, without a “business model” that would promise a future; only with emunah.
And this newsletter, which perhaps should have had a short lifespan, turned into a means of lighting up hearts, strengthening homes, and reminding thousands of Yidden that, day after day, there is a First and a Last.
There is hashgachah; there is a Leader of this world.
We conclude with the final printing in this format, with the understanding that this is not the end, but rather the beginning of something higher.
If to date we disseminated millions of copies, with tens of thousands of stories, then it is our obligation to do even more.
More chizuk. The generation today needs even more emunah, more simple reminders that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the First and the Last — even in times of confusion, even in times of constant change.
And thus we are not narrowing down, but expanding; not ending, but going deeper; not saying goodbye, but moving forward.
This final newsletter in its present format is the beginning of a new stage.
We thank Hashem for what was, and we daven that we be trustworthy messengers to disseminate ever more light, until everyone sees with their eyes and understands with their hearts that
He is first — and He is last.
Gut Shabbat
Pinchas Shefer
