Reb Neuberger – Parshshas Lech Lecha – Courage

 THE COURAGE OF NOACH AND AVRAHAM AVINU

By Roy S. Neuberger

 

I find it difficult to take a stand in front of people who disagree with me.

 

Chazal tell us that a shy person will not learn (Avos 2:6). In other words, if I am going to look ignorant by asking a question, I will not ask. The yetzer hara tries tells us we have to protect our reputation. After all, “I might embarrass myself!”

 

Why are we afraid to be different?

 

My father used to say, “Don’t have a sheep mentality!”

 

Well, Am Yisroel, let’s face it. We are different!

 

We are “Am levadad yishkon … a nation alone.” We need to ask Hashem for strength to be ourselves. We cannot afford to be afraid. If we are afraid, then we will, G-d forbid, cease to exist, because we are by nature different from every other nation!

 

For example, Hashem “did not give [Shabbos] to the nations of the lands, nor did You make it the inheritance … of idol worshippers…. In its contentment the uncircumcised shall not abide.” (Shabbos Shemoneh Esreh)

 

Dovid Ha Melech teaches us about fear of others when he says, “Hashem is with me. I have no fear. How can man affect me?” (Psalm 118)

 

But acquiring this attitude takes work.

 

This week and last week, the Torah has presented us with monumental heroes who were not afraid to serve Hashem, even in the face of worldwide ridicule. I hope that we can appreciate the courage of Noach and Avraham Avinu. The world has literally survived because they summoned up the strength to follow derech Hashem, even when they were entirely alone.

 

Noach was physically threatened. According to the Midrash, Hashem sent lions to protect him as he was building the Ark, because the rest of the world wanted to kill him.

 

Avraham Avinu’s own father tried to kill him! He was called “Avraham ha Ivri,” meaning that he was on one side and the rest of the world was on the other side. Contemporary politicians consult the polls to see which position is popular, but Noach and Avraham Avinu consulted only the Ribono shel Olam, the Ruler of the Universe.

 

My friends, it is appropriate to contemplate the depth of their courage. They saved our physical world and our spiritual world. We would not exist today if they had not been willing to abandon their egos and listen to the voice of Hashem.

 

Today’s world resembles the world in which these great men lived.

 

Today, there is a worldwide war against Moshiach, which means a war against G-d and His Torah. And who represents G-d and His Torah in this world? We do! The Children of Israel, which means that there is a worldwide war against us.

 

“Yaakov was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.” (Beraishis 32:25) The epic battle between the Jew and the rest of the world will continue until “the break of dawn,” the moment Moshiach arrives. Now the battle is heating up, as the dawn draws closer. The nations of the world sense the coming of the Great Redemption and they are making a final supreme effort to wipe out sanctity from the world.

 

The picture is so clear. For people who desire to follow their physical desires, to live for their appetites, there cannot be rules. The last thing they want is to understand that there is a Ruler who says, “Do not kill … Do not steal … live with sanctity … understand that your soul is eternal.”

 

We, the Jewish People, are the messengers who bring these words to the world, and that is why they hate us. The voice of the crowd is so loud that it reaches the heavens. This is why King David reassures us: “When the wicked bloom like grass and all the doers of evil flourish, it is to destroy them until eternity.” (Psalm 92)

 

Hashem is watching every move. He is unseen, but we are seen. “The voice of My Beloved. Behold, he is coming, skipping over the mountains, jumping over the hills…. I thought that I would be alone forever, but behold! He was standing behind our wall, observing through the windows, peering through the lattices.” (Shir ha Shirim, 2:8-9)

 

We await the man with the courage of Noach, the courage of Avraham Avinu.

 

May we greet Moshiach the Son of Dovid soon in our days!

 

Roy Neuberger’s latest book,

HOLD ON: Surviving the Days Before Moshiach

Available at Jewish bookstores and online at

https://mosaicapress.com/product/hold-on and Amazon.com.

“Hold On” has now been released in Hebrew in Israel

as “Tachzik Chazak” (Feldheim Publishers)

Roy and his wife speak publicly and via Zoom

Website: www.2020vision.co.il.

Email: newsletter@2020vision.co.il

 

© Copyright 2020 by Roy S. Neuberger

Reb Neuberger – “Corona” Means “Crown"

“CORONA” MEANS “CROWN”

By Roy S. Neuberger

Dear Friends,

You have already seen the article below. It was written by me some six months ago for Shabbos Hagadol, the Shabbos before Pesach. I think it is time to re-read it. 

Now, almost eleven months after we first heard of Covid 19, we do not know much more than we did at the beginning. One thing we do know is that it is not going away so fast. As Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits wrote, also about six months ago, “Nobody in this world knows if, when and how this [pandemic] is going to end.” 

Note the word “if.” That is a big “IF.” 

Corona is not here so that we can blame others. 

Corona’s message is the message of the Plagues in Biblical Egypt: “Children of Israel, let go of the foreign culture in which you are drowning.” 

In this week’s Parsha, a Flood is unleashed upon the world because its inhabitants had rebelled against Hashem to such an extent that they were beyond teshuva. 

My friends, we are not yet beyond teshuva. It has not quite gone that far. 

But we have to hear the message of Corona. 

It is time to restore the Crown to Hashem! It is time to stop blaming others and look inside. A new world is coming in which the Crown will be restored to the King of Kings! 

Do you know the literal meaning of the word “corona?” 

“Corona” means “crown.” In fact, the words sound almost the same. “Corona” is derived from Latin, the language of Edom/Esav, the language of the Roman Empire. The Torah lists – among the descendants of Esav – Magdiel, about whom Rashi comments, “Magdiel is Rome.” (Beraishis 36:43) This is the same Rome which destroyed the Second Temple and sent us into our present Exile.  

The symbol of Edom is the chazir, the pig. (Vayikra Rabbah, Parshas Shemini) Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler explains why the “chazir” is so named. 

This, my friends, is breathtaking! 

The word “chazir” is related to “chazzara… to bring back.” Rav Dessler explains that Golus Edom will end by restoring the Crown to its Owner, the King of the Universe! (I thank Rabbi Shaul Geller for bringing this to my attention.)

The Children of Israel are constantly recalling the Exodus from Egypt. Every day we mention Yetzias Mitzraim in the Shema. We cannot begin Shabbos without mentioning Yetzias Mitzraim. Why is Yetzias Mitzraim so fundamental? 

My friends, the Exodus is going to be repeated at the end of history. “Several times I heard from the holy Chofetz Chaim that we can learn about the end of our exile from what happened at the end of our exile in Egypt, as it says (Micha 7:15), ‘As in the days of your leaving Egypt, I will show wonders [in the final redemption].’” (Rabbi Elchonen Wasserman, quoted in Redemption Unfolding, page 78) 

We have to understand what is happening in our own days. In Ancient Egypt, Hashem overturned an entire civilization to free Am Yisroel from enslavement to a corrupt and idolatrous culture. The Plagues came to free us, not to enslave us. The same thing will happen at the end of history. 

“Is there any doubt that on that day – the words of Hashem – I will cause the wise men of Edom to be lost and discernment from the mountain of Esav? Your mighty ones to the south will be smashed so that every man from Esau’s mountain will be cut down through the slaughter. For your violence to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you and you will be cut down forever…. The day of Hashem upon all the nations is near… for you have drunk on My holy mountain, so shall all the nations always drink; they shall drink and swallow and become as if they had never been.… The House of Jacob will be as fire and the House of Yosef a flame … and the House of Esav like straw. They will kindle among them and consume them … for Hashem has spoken…. Then saviors will ascend Mount Zion to judge Esav’s mountain and the kingdom will be Hashem’s.” (Ovadiah 1:8ff, Haftaras Vayishlach)

We were freed from Ancient Egypt and we will be freed from our current bondage. The entire world is shaking. May we soon see the day when the Crown is restored to the king!

The crown of fire around the sun, seen only 

during a total eclipse, is called the “corona.” 

Neuberger’s latest book, 

HOLD ON: Surviving the Days Before Moshiach

Available at Jewish bookstores and online at 

https://mosaicapress.com/product/hold-on and Amazon.com. 

“Hold On” has now been released in Hebrew in Israel

as “Tachzik Chazak” (Feldheim Publishers)

Roy and his wife speak publicly and via