“These Are The Days Of Chevlei Moshiach”

 

HaRav Shternbuch: “These Are The Days Of Chevlei Moshiach”

HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shternbuch spoke about Israel’s war with Iran in a recent sicha to members of the Teshuvos V’Hanhagos kollel.

“The Arabs are now launching many rockets at Eretz Yisroel, causing destruction and devastation to several buildings, with some people killed and others wounded,” the Rav began.

“But it’s important to understand: this is not, Chas V’shalom, a coincidence. Anyone who understands knows that this is the voice of Hashem—“קול דודי דופק פתחי לי אחותי רעייתי.”

“In every generation, during times of crisis, our ancestors gathered in shuls and Batei Midrash to daven, cry out, and search their hearts to see what needed to be corrected within them.

“The Torah says, ‘אם תלכו עמי קרי, והלכתי עמכם בחמת קרי.’ This means that if people say these events are just coincidences, Hashem will show us what it truly looks like when we are left to ‘coincidence’.

“The Rambam says that if during times of trouble, people do not cry out but instead say, ‘this is just the way of the world,’ this is cruelty—and such a response will cause even more suffering.”

“Hashem’s ways are hidden from us. We have never truly known what lies ahead—not even during the good times. Some people think they understand Hashem’s ways, and that’s why they suddenly have questions when bad things happen. But we know: if we have questions, that doesn’t mean there’s no meaning—it means we accept that nothing happens unless it’s declared from above, even the smallest movement.

“We must not panic! We need faith in Hashem. As HaRav Schneider, zt’l would quote during a war: “Every bomb has an address.” A rocket doesn’t fall randomly—Hashem directs it exactly where it lands. And throughout all generations, this has been the way we survived Galus: with faith, without questions.

“The Passuk says: “תאמר בלבבך רבים הגויים האלה ממני איכה אוכל להורישם, לא תירא מהם” That our duty now is not to fear them. The truth is that when people believe that the Yeshua comes from natural means this endangers us. Because the only true path to Yeshua is through trust in Hashem.

“In Tehillim it says, “מאין יבוא עזרי.” The deeper meaning is only when we realize that our situation is one of absolute helplessness מאין—only then, when we no longer turn to human beings for help, will “יבוא עזרי.”

“This is the time of Chevlei Mashiach—the labor pains before the arrival of Mashiach. The Mishnah in Sotah says, “ואין לנו על מי להישען אלא על אבינו שבשמים.” That is, at the end of Galus, we will come to understand that we have no one to lean on but Hashem. Only then will the Geulah come, because we’ll finally recognize that we can do nothing on our own—it’s all the will of Hashem.

“The Sefarim explain that the reason Hashem brings so many hardships upon us is to bring us to the realization that we desperately need His salvation.

“This is clearly expressed in שירת האזינו: “כי ידין ה’ עמו ועל עבדיו יתנחם, כי יראה כי אזלת יד.” It means that Hashem will return to have mercy on us only when we recognize that, according to the laws of nature, there is no hope. As long as we continue to fool ourselves into thinking salvation can come through natural means, we cannot merit Hashem’s help. This is the clear and undeniable truth!”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2420287/harav-shternbuch-these-are-the-days-of-chevlei-moshiach.html