Earthquakes as Messengers

“And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” (Vayikra 12:3) 

After an earthquake in 1927, the Chafetz Chaim, zt”l, published a pamphlet entitled “Mah Lecha Nirdam“. 
 

He explained in this pamphlet, that the Jewish people no longer have prophets that can warn them and arouse them to do teshuva. Therefore, Hashem now sends other messengers and orchestrates events in the world, like earthquakes, to inspire the Jewish people to repent and return to Hashem through teshuva. 
 

Similarly, Chazal taught in the Yerushalmi (Brachot 9b) and the Midrash Tehillim (104) that earthquakes serve as a warning that people have been drawn into the impurities of promiscuity and other sins. 
 

The Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 49:6) similarly taught that when the people of Sodom began acting morally depraved, Hashem sent them earthquakes for 25 years to inspire them to repent. However, they did not heed the lesson and they did not hear the message. Therefore, Hashem destroyed the city. 
 

Earthquakes can destroy homes and property. People can be harmed and even killed. The sins of people embolden and strengthen the Sitra Achra – forces that are created to punish those who rebel against the King of Kings, specifically those who become consumed by the sins of promiscuity and illicit sexual behavior. These forces are given Heavenly permission to inflict destruction and pain upon these sinners, may the Heavens be merciful. 

A New Era of Temptation 

The proliferation and advancement of technology has destroyed the protective fences of our holiness. There are some people in our community who use these devices without filters. And they justify this by claiming that you need to have these devices to survive in the current business environment. They feel that these are indispensable tools that are simply required to earn a living. 
 

This is clearly the Yetzer Harah infecting one’s perspective. A person cannot believe that he can earn a respectable livelihood by destroying the fences that protect his holiness. Rather, you must believe and understand, that you cannot earn even a penny that is not granted to you by the Heavens, for the work that you have done in a Torah-permissible way. 
 

In fact, the opposite is true. If a Jew compromises his holiness and his commitment to Torah, Jewish Law, and mitzvot, then he is punished. Earning a living becomes more difficult. And the Sitra Achra is granted permission to damage what you do have. 

Financial Struggles 

Shlomo HaMelech wrote (Mishlei 6:26), Because a man is brought to a loaf of bread for a harlot. Chazal taught (Sotah 4b) that this pasuk teaches, that a person who is acting morally depraved will become so impoverished that they would be forced to ask for even a loaf of bread. 
 

The Tikkunei Zohar (30b) taught that when a person abandons the fences of holiness, then “poverty” chases after them. Even if a person was born with the mazal to be wealthy, they will lose everything. 
 

This sin of disregarding the fences of holiness does not just impact one’s personal livelihood, but the entire community suffers. 
 

Chazal taught (Gittin 57a) that there was a drop in the price of grains in Egypt. The Beis Din searched throughout the city to see if anyone had neglected the guard gates of holiness. They found a father and son who had indulged in illicit and promiscuous sins. The Beis Din punished them, and the grain economy bounced back. 
 

Chazal describes, at the end of Sotah, that in a time when there is a prostitution district where people would indulge in their perverted desires publicly, these sins will result in the cost of living rising. However, when a person tries to overcome these challenges and to withstand these tests by adhering to the boundaries and gates that the great Torah scholars created to preserve our holiness, they merit that their livelihood will never suffer. They will only receive greater reward. 

Do Not Cry, Search 

If it is difficult for a person to earn a living, or he sees other people suffering through financial difficulties and he is concerned about his own finances, he needs to realize that worrying cannot help his situation. All his efforts and precautions cannot help him if the Heavens have decreed that he should feel this financial pain. 
 

The only solution is that he needs to reflect and search his soul and seek out if he has breached the fences that were created to protect his holiness. If he rectifies and rebuilds those “fences”, he can be rewarded by being saved from financial hardships. 
 

R’ Dovid of Tolna, zt”l, once heard a man saying aloud the word of the Mishnah at the end of Kiddushin, “I have committed evil actions and I have lost my livelihood.” As he said the words “I have lost my livelihood” he burst into tears. The Rebbe said to him, “If you would cry at the first words over your ‘evil actions’, then you wouldn’t need to cry over your lost livelihood.” 
 

Yosef HaTzaddik, carried the tradition of his forebears and protected his holiness and purity even though he was living in Egypt surrounded by their perverse culture. Therefore, he was rewarded to live out the remainder of his life in affluence and honor. And he sustained the entire country during the years of famine as it says (Bereishit 42:6), Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; it was he who sold grain to the entire populace of the land… 
 

Avraham Avinu, while the people of Sodom infected and polluted the world with their promiscuous culture, guarded the fences of holiness. And he was rewarded with tremendous wealth that was able to sustain many people and he became known as (Bereishit 17:5), father of a multitude of nations… 
 

Hashem gave Avraham Avinu the mitzvah milah (circumcision) as a reward. This mitzvah helps the Jewish people overcome the power of impure desire. As the Rambam wrote (Moreh Nevuchim Volume III, Chapter 35) that the purpose of this mitzvah is to lessen the desires that are amplified by the foreskin. 
 

We can now understand our pasuk which alludes to the reward for milah. The word “ימול –circumcise” is an acronym for ו‘ירבו מ‘אוד ל‘א י‘מעיט- your abundance will be increased and not diminished. This phrase is based on the pasuk (Tehillim 107:38), And He blessed them, and they multiplied exceedingly, and their animals did not decrease. This is describing one’s livelihood. 
 

By adhering to the fences of holiness which are empowered by this mitzvah, then you will not suffer financially. Rather, you will be rewarded with abundance. 

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The Kalever Rebbe is the seventh Rebbe of the Kaalov Chasidic dynasty, begun by his ancestor who was born to his previously childless parents after receiving a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov zy”a, and later learned under the Maggid of Mezeritch zt”l. The Rebbe has been involved in outreach for more than 30 years and writes weekly emails on understanding current issues through the Torah. Sign up at www.kaalov.org.