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The Twin Towers, The Tragedy, & Geula
It happened suddenly. Two suicide planes deliberately crashed
into the Twin Towers, completely destroying them. * What does this teach
Chassidim who believe that everything has a connection to our avodas Hashem,
particularly inyanei Geula? 10 lessons
By Menachem Ziegelboim
1) Anticipation
The world is ready for something new. Everybody thinks that
life has changed and will never be the same again. "America of yesterday is not
the America of tomorrow," wrote one journalist, and many commentators added that
the anticipated change is not necessarily American but a worldwide change.
There is an anticipation for a new world order. Yes, the very
world order that the Rebbe MH"M asked us to believe in and work towards.
2) The Suddenness
It all happened so suddenly. The American military didn’t
have time to react. If somebody had told them the day before that Komikozies
would take over American passenger planes, who would have believed it? If
somebody would have said that the Twin Towers would no longer be standing by
10:30 the next morning, who would have believed him? If someone would have said
a plane would deliberately crash into the Pentagon in the capitol of the United
States, wouldn’t he have been laughed out of town? If someone would have said
that the president of the greatest superpower in the world would have to flee
for his life to an undisclosed destination, wouldn’t we have thought him crazy?
But it all happened. Much faster than anyone could have ever
imagined.
This is the answer to those who say, "the immediate coming of
Moshiach seems unrealistic"; "tomorrow morning Moshiach will rule the world";
tomorrow night we will be able to learn the first Torah teachings of Melech
HaMoshiach."
Until now, people shook their heads at someone who said in
perfect faith that "any minute now, Moshiach will be here." Yet events which
were just as unimaginable happened. Suddenly.
3) Seeking a Leader
Now, while everything is in confusion, is the time to realize
more than ever before, that there is no leader other than the Creator of the
world, and that we need a human leader of the caliber of Moshiach.
How thrilling it was to read this thought in an article
written by a senior journalist for Maariv, Mr. Shalom Yerushalmi. One would
think he was a Chabadnik!
"After such a horror perpetrated by terrorists in the United
States two days ago, nobody has a proper perspective. It will take days or weeks
in order to see how the pieces are arranged on the new international
chessboard...but what is already clear after this unimaginable attack is that
the world needs a leader of great historic proportions to deal with the most
serious crisis since the outbreak of World War II who will save us all from
destruction.
"I refer to a leader or leaders who will change man’s
thinking about terrorism, who will use all the free world’s resources to fight
terrorist nations to the end, because they will arm themselves with nuclear
weapons (ch’v).
"We need a historic leader who will lead us towards freedom,
far from danger. A leader who will bang on the table in Moscow and stop the
selling of information and nuclear weapons to Iran. Who will stop the selling of
missiles from North Korea. Who will destroy the murderous empires of the Taliban
and the Ayatollas. A leader who will build a large international western
coalition, effective and united, because this war is complicated and far more
important than the Gulf War.
"The world needs a leader who will know how to deal with the
frightening economic ramifications of these events. Who will be able to bolster
the belief of the American people in a power whose national symbols crumbled
within hours. Who can overcome the results of the tremendous oversights and
failure of their intelligence, which led to the success of this terrorist
attack, and reestablish these sectors. A leader who is spiritually fortified to
be able to deal with horrific dimensions of tragedy and loss, which America is
experiencing for the first time.
"In short, a leader of humanity who will save humanity from
itself, we have to pray and hope..."
Who said people don’t want Moshiach?
4) Asking for
the Right Leader
Things are so much clearer when everybody knows there is no
leader. The president of the greatest superpower in the world fled, hid, and was
flown away. At least at first, he looked utterly shaken. When he recovered
somewhat it was too late. Everybody saw he didn’t have what it takes. Another
leader was needed.
Isn’t this the best time to approach a neighbor or relative,
friend or acquaintance, or even a Jew on the street and say, "Such a complicated
world can’t manage without a leader. Now you also realize that we need somebody
else. Perhaps the time has come to ask for a real leader, Moshiach?"
5) "It Will Become Clarified and White..."
One doesn’t need to delve into it that deeply to understand
the significance of what happened. The two sides of good and evil are so clear,
freedom versus oppression, construction versus destruction. Good and evil have
been clearly delineated as the prophet says will happen before Moshiach comes.
6) "Money Will be Lacking"
The newspapers had headlines like, "The terrorist attack has
caused a recession which every American, and subsequently every person in the
world, will feel." "The stock market is dropping."
Boeing fired 30,000 employees; airlines have fired tens of
thousands of additional employees; consumer spending in New York is at its
lowest ebb and is affecting the rest of the world. The stock markets in Tokyo,
New York, Hong Kong, and the entire world have gone down. Expert American
economists say, "The last time such a drop occurred was 84 years ago."
Imagine what lies in store for those countries that are less
financially stable... Yet another sign of Yemos HaMoshiach. "Ha’pruta techsar
min ha’kis" (A coin will be lacking in one’s pocket).
7) Gog U’Magog?
No, this is not the war of Gog and Magog. The Rebbe said
there would not be another war of Gog and Magog before Moshiach’s arrival, yet
this is still a great war. Not about a particular piece of land, but about the
whole world. What will rule the world, democracy and freedom (which the Rebbe so
highly praised), or blood and terror?
The gloomy prophecies and the threatening scenarios which we
always feared are happening. Here and now. A Jew who goes to work in
Yerushalayim or even Manhattan, or anywhere else in the world, is no longer sure
about his safety.
If only we were past this point already...
8) A Prophecy Comes True
These days, the words of the Zohar are being mentioned again
and again. "After another twelve days, everybody will tremble and the sun will
be dimmed at midday like the day was darkened on the day the Beis HaMikdash was
destroyed, to the point that heavens and earth were invisible.
"One voice will be aroused in the thunder and lightning and
the earth will tremble from this voice and a number of battalions will die of
it.
"And on that day, in the great city of Rome there will awaken
a great tongue of flame, when that voice will be heard around the world, and it
will consume a number of towers and a number of palaces and many towers will
fall. Many princes and ministers will fall on that day and all will gather on
it, for evil and all peoples of the world will be unable to be saved...and the
entire world will be in great confusion" (Zohar Parshas Teitzei).
There’s another Zohar:
"On that day three great walls will fall in that city of
Rome, and the great palace will fall and then Melech HaMoshiach will be revealed
throughout the world and he will be given the kingdom. When Moshiach is
revealed, the peoples of the world will be in calamity after calamity, and
enemies of Israel will be strong etc. (Zohar Parshas Balak).
9) The Newspapers Cry Out – Geula!
It’s hard to believe but even the religious newspapers are
writing a lot about the tragedy from the Geula perspective. The headlines
were large and stood out. Apparently it took a tragedy of this magnitude to get
even the religious newspapers to talk about Moshiach. As the Rebbeim said,
starting with the Alter Rebbe, when Moshiach comes they will write about it in
the newspapers. Get ready! We’re in the middle of the process.
10) Midrash and Maaseh
Yalkut Shimoni (421): Rabbi Yishmael would say: Three wars
of confusion will be waged by the Bnei Yishmael in the future at the
end of days. One at sea and with drawn bow, one on dry land with drawn sword,
and one on a great city which is worse than the other two, as it says,
"and because of the severity of war" and from there Ben Dovid will sprout
and will see the destruction of these and those, and from there he will come
to Eretz Yisroel, as it says, "who is this who comes from Edom...why are
your clothes red...for it is a day of vengeance in my heart... (Melachim
remez 261). |
