In the early evening, in the middle of last week's Israeli elections, a massive thunderstorm exploded over Yerushalayim. Lightning, thunder and torrential rain tore through the skies.
My friends, this election may dominate the headlines, but Hashem is reminding us that there is only One Power running the world. That Power is in Shomayim, not on earth. And with that perspective - and that perspective only -- we have to view the future of the State of Israel.
When division prevails and people unleash their mouths, the result is chaos. In the voting booth, ones sees a box with dozens of slips, each representing a separate political party. How could so small a nation have so many parties? Furthermore, in this election, there was an unprecedented increase in the number of Arab voters, resulting in the election of a large bloc of Arabs to the Knesset. After two thousand years, Am Yisroel returns to Eretz Yisroel and sets up a system of government which permits our enemies to have power over us?
A great rabbi once said, "Democracy is the world's worst form of government."
My friends, we have to look beyond the chaos; we have to look to eternity, because Am Yisroel always lives with the vision of eternity. I do not know how the transition will unfold from the current disunity, but - just as the thunderstorm told us - the future of Am Yisroel is in the Hands of Heaven, and that is where we must turn for sustenance and guidance. Yes, directly to Shomayim!
In this week's Haftara we meet Dovid ha Melech in his old age. He is about to give his bracha to the future king, his son Shlomo. That bracha is ageless. This story took place thousands of years ago, but the bracha lives on until the end of time. The eternal question is: who shall sit upon the throne of Israel? Who shall lead us?
I would like to quote from the great master, Rabbi Shamshon Rafael Hirsch zt"l, who knew firsthand the reality of chaos. Rav Hirsch battled almost singlehandedly against the anti-Torah forces in Europe almost two hundred years ago. He himself was a warrior who tirelessly and fearlessly fought for Kovod Shomayim, and we would do well to listen carefully to his words. In the quote which follows, Rabbi Hirsch is speaking about Yaakov Avinu's bracha to his sons, the Twelve Shvatim; this description sounds remarkably like our Haftara's description of Dovid ha Melech speaking of his son Shlomo.
Here are the words of Rav Hirsch: "Yaakov is lying on his deathbed at the time of the nation's early beginnings ... [but] he envisions the scion of the tribe of Yehuda [at the far end of history, at which time] all will think that Yehuda's final days have come; his might is gone, his virility vanished. But - just at this point - when the gravediggers of world history will already have prepared the coffin for Yehuda's corpse, he will rise again in manly strength and the nations of the world will fall before him....
"[However] the reason for appointing a king is not primarily for military purposes. This apparently was the sin of the people in Shmuel's time: they demanded a king to lead them in the defense of their country .... [Rather Moshiach ben Dovid], the King of Mankind, does not ride on a horse but on a donkey. Thus, he arrives as an emissary of peace...." (Rav Hirsch on Beraishis 49:10ff)
What, then, is the role of the King of Israel?
"He is to be the Jew par excellence ... leading the Jewish Nation to the ... faithful keeping of the Torah.... 'the man raised on high,' who was called upon to exercise an unparalleled spiritual influence over Israel and, through Israel, over all of mankind." (Collected Writings of Rav Hirsch, Vol. 4, p. 275ff)
This, my friends, is our future. In the words of Rav Hirsch, "G-d gives the Land to you. To conquer it, you do not need a king. You need only to be yourselves, your real selves! Indeed, the halacha states that a king is appointed only after the complete conquest and settlement of the land." (Rav Hirsch on Dvarim 17:14)
We do not know the exact path which lies ahead, but it is clear that we need two things: unity and Torah. We need to be united. We need to stop fighting each other and we need to grasp hold of the Torah as a life preserver. We cannot live without Torah, but we also cannot possess the Torah unless we are united as "ish echad b'lev echad ... one man with one heart." (Rashi on Shemos 19:2)
My prediction: our internal chaos will increase. The nations will surround us in their hatred. We will reach mem-tes Shaarei tumah, as we did in Mitzraim. And then, as in Mitzraim when all seemed lost, Hashem will cause a spirit of unity and teshuva to descend upon us. Suddenly, "k'heref ayin ... in the blink of an eye," He will rescue us with the coming of Moshiach ben Dovid, may we greet him soon in our days!
Storm over Yerushalayim
GLOSSARY
Bracha: blessing
Dovid ha Melech: King David
Kovod Shomayim: the honor of Heaven
Mem-Tes Shaarei Tumah: the forty-ninth level of impurity
Mitzraim: Biblical Egypt
Shlomo: King Solomon
Shomayim: heaven
Shevatim: the Twelve Tribes of Israel
Teshuva: repentance
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