Hide and Seek

We live in exciting times – awesome, sometimes frightening for the faint of heart, but nonetheless exciting. Just as the rumbling of thunder precedes the big storm, the tumult of current events is preceding the biggest event of history: the full redemption of our people and the coming of Moshiach, speedily and in our days, amen.
 
We do strange things at the Seder table on Passover to arouse our children’s interest. We don’t eat bread, only matza; we dip vegetables in salt water before we eat them; we recline on pillows like desert sheiks, and we eat bitter herbs. Our children then ask why, and we answer them. In that way, our children are aroused to ask us the meaning of Passover and readily listen to our answer.
 
So what’s the meaning of one earthquake after another in recent weeks? And why are volcanoes erupting, suddenly expectorating fire and lava high in the sky? And why is the entire Arab world in an uproar all at once? And why is the world economy about to crash? And why is Israel surrounded by increasingly radical neighbors?
 
We are Hashem’s beloved children and He is doing strange things to make us wake up and ask why. He wants us to ask, “Hashem, beloved Father in Heaven! What’s going on here? Why is there so much trouble in the world?”
 
Once we ask, Hashem – like a loving Father – answers (Isaiah 50:1-2):
 
“Because of your crimes, I have exiled your mother. Why did I come and there is no one? I called and no one answers! Is My Hand not capable of redeeming you?”
 
Hashem is reminding us that as long as we don’t have a Holy Temple in a reunited Jerusalem, The Shechina, The Divine Presence which is allegorically known as “Our Mother,” has no resting place and is still in exile. As long as The Shechina remains in exile, we do to. That’s the hard fact that many have had difficulty in accepting. Sure, we have an army, a navy and an air force, but our elected leaders won’t let us build homes on our own land if the foreign overloads object. Don’t be angry because that’s from Hashem too.
 
So why is Hashem squeezing us with political and security problems in Israel and with economic difficulties and increasing anti-Semitism abroad?
 
Why did I come and there is no one? Hashem is right here among us, but how many of us are really speaking to Him? How many Rosh Yeshivas are telling their students to stay away from Breslever books that implore a person to speak to Hashem on an individual level? How many so-called spiritual leaders are looking for self-interest and aggrandizement rather than bringing their followers to Hashem?
 
I called and no one answers! The awesome unraveling of events of recent weeks – both political and geophysical – is none other than Hashem calling us. Our first principle of emuna is that everything is from Hashem – everything. Hashem does everything for our good and for a purpose. He wants us to wake up! He is asking us why are heads are still into iPods, the NBA and Harry Potter and we we’re not yelling nightly for Hashem to end the Shechina’s exile.
 
The holy “Ramak”, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero of saintly and blessed memory, teaches that we are still in exile because we turn our heads away from the Shechina.
 
You might be saying, “Who, me? I don’t even know what the Shechina is. How can I be turning away?”
 
In the Garden of Yearning, my beloved teacher and spiritual guide Rav Shalom Arush, may Hashem bless him, explains that Shechina– the Divine Presence is emuna.
 
So who’s turning away from emuna? We all are.
 
Anytime we have a problem or some type of trouble, and we think of every trick in the book or of every possible person that might offer advice or a solution rather than simply appealing to Hashem for help, we turn our face away the Shechina. Rav Shalom says that the prayer that comes from true emuna has disappeared in exile because of our sins – this is the tragedy of the Holy Temple's destruction. Why? The emuna that leads to true and earnest prayer is the only true advice that one can depend on in any situation. Without it, a person is alone and helpless.
 
The holy Baal Shem Tov was once walking with several of his disciples when he found a little girl crying. He kneeled down next to the little girl and asked gently, “Little maiden, why are you crying?”
 
The little girl looked tearfully up at the compassionate face of the Baal Shem Tov and replied between sniffles, “Rebbe, my girlfriends and I are in the middle of a hide-and-go-seek game; it was my turn to hide, and no one is coming to look for me!”
 
Tears welled up in the Baal Shem Tov’s eyes: “The Holy Shechina speaks from the little girl’s throat,” he sighed to his disciples. “She is hidden in exile and no one seeks her.”
 
We must seek The Shechina, right away.
 
There are many doomsday prophecies going around, especially in light of what’s happening in the world. You can’t say that the doomsday prophets don’t have strong sources in Tanach to depend on. Yet, emuna has the capability of mitigating the harshest of judgments. The Gemara teaches us not to ever lose hope in Hashem’s mercy.
 
We can reverse the downward spiral of exile and calamity by calling Hashem’s name right now and by seeking His Divine Presence in our lives on a daily basis. We do that by strengthening our emuna and by speaking to Him, and by encouraging the whole world to do so as well. As such, we end the exile and the Shechina’s concealment, and we expedite the day when people will beat their swords into plowshares and the entire world will fill with a yearning for emuna and closeness to Hashem, speedily and in our days, amen.