There is a major principle which is so basic that the entire world is aware of it. It goes by various descriptions, for example, “the darkest part of the night comes just before the dawn.”
Perhaps the best example is our redemption from Mitzraim, which took place at the moment when we were at rock bottom, mem-tes sha’arai tumah, the forty-ninth level of impurity, a hairsbreadth away from the moment we would have ceased to exist – G-d forbid – as Hashem’s People. Can you imagine! Another second and all would have been lost! If one contemplates this, it is terribly frightening.
As you may know, I had this experience in my own life. On January 10, 1966, in the middle of the night, I awoke in a panic. Our marriage – two and half years old – seemed about to disintegrate and my entire life seemed about to explode. I felt helpless, totally distraught. I had tried “everything.” There was no way out. And then I got this “crazy” thought! Maybe there is a G-d! Crazy, but that one thought saved my life. That was the moment our existence changed forever. We turned 180 degrees and began anew. That was the bottom and we started to climb upwards toward Har Sinai.
Each year, we count the Omer, starting from the moment the Kohanim wave the barley offering in the Bais Hamikdosh on the second day of Pesach. This korban, made from grain commonly eaten by animals, is the beginning of our ascent from the dark world of Mitzraim to the ethereal light of Har Sinai. And Har Sinai itself is only a beginning, because the Torah Road leads ever upwards.
This phenomenon extends into all areas of life. For example, the advent of Moshiach is also predicted to come at a moment of tremendous chaos and challenge for the world. As Chazal tell us, “the Son of David (Moshiach) will not come until the entire world turns to heresy.” (Sanhedrin 97a)
In my book, Worldstorm, I suggest that Moshiach will not come until mankind has rebelled against Hashem to the extent that they turn the process of creation backwards to the point of “tohu vavohu … utter chaos,” the condition which existed at the beginning of the Days of Beraishis, the Creation of the world. Look around and you will see that this is happening right now before our eyes!
Why does life have to descend into utter darkness before every redemption? What is behind this principle? Why must it be like this?
Amazingly, a possuk we read recently gives us a clue for this phenomenon. This possuk, in Parshas Tazria, discusses “tzara’as,” the physical sickness which is caused by spiritual factors and can be diagnosed not by a physician but only by a Kohain. The Torah spends two entire parshios on this inyan and says the most remarkable thing: when the sickness spreads to the entire body – the moment one would expect the condition to be hopeless and sufferer doomed – that very moment, instead of being a death verdict, is the moment of redemption; the patient is “tahor … clean!”
“If the tzara’as will … cover the entire skin … from his head to his feet … the Kohain shall look, and behold … he shall declare the affliction to be completely cured!” (Vayikra 13:12-13) This is against all expectation, but that is what the Torah says and it is Hashem’s will!
My friends, this is actually logical.
We are a stubborn nation, who are called by Hashem, “am k’shai oref … a stiff-necked people!” (Shemos 32:9) We hold opinions to the point of mule-like stubbornness. Look at the trouble our ancestors gave Moshe Rabbeinu in the Midbar! Does it make sense? It is so crazy that we cannot believe it when we read about it. But are we any better in this generation? When I think about some of the crazy things I have done in my life I wonder what got into me! As the Torah says, one sins only when a “ruach shtuss” enters one’s head, a spirit of craziness! (Sotah 3a)
My friends, that is exactly the point. We are so strong in our self-willed stubbornness that it goes to the point of total extremity. Only when we are faced with the consequences, only when the edge of the cliff looms in front of us, when the sword is at our neck – G-d forbid – when the enemy is about to destroy us – G-d forbid – only then do we wake up and cry out to Hashem, “Help me! I was wrong! It is all my fault! Please Hashem, save me! I will do teshuva! I will come back to You!”
The most dangerous national park in the United States is the Grand Canyon. There are hundreds of miles of cliffs whose sheer walls extend thousands of feet downwards! Foolish visitors stand on the edge and make faces for the cameras. And then, a little slip, a rock is dislodged; one loses his footing; he trips on a root; he loses his balance and then … his body is found by park rangers two thousand feet below. All it takes is a bit of “ruach shtuss,” a foolish moment and it is all over.
Sometimes, with Hashem’s help, we realize our foolishness before it is too late. Sometimes the overwhelming darkness encompasses us and we scream out “ana Hashem hoshia na … please Hashem help me” just in time to save ourselves.
May we all wake up now, my friends! “Ele v’rechev … Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we call out in the Name of Hashem our G-d!” (Tehillim 20)
May the Dawn of Hashem Redemption come suddenly upon us, soon in our days!
Barley Field
GLOSSARY
Bais Hamikdosh: Holy Temple
Chazal: Rabbis of the Mishna and Gemara
Kohanim: Priests of Israel, descendants of Aaron, Moses’ brother
Korban: Offering the Holy Temple
Har Sinai: Mount Sinai
Midbar: Desert
Mitzraim: Ancient Egypt
Moshe Rabbeinu: Moses
Parsha: Section of the Written Torah
Pesach: Passover
Possuk: sentence in the Torah
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