Rabbi Rael Blumenthal

A few months ago, I sat at a wedding, catching up with friends and family members whom I hadn’t seen in many years.

Naturally, the conversation turned to current events, Israel, safety, security, and the future of our communities.

One guest from England shared that a number of his children had made Aliyah or were studying in Israel, and that England today is a very different place for Jews than it was just a few years ago.

“I’m happy they’re in Israel, but I’m worried about them. Who says that they’re safer there? And who says that the State of Israel will not be destroyed?”

I looked at him curiously, and he continued: “There’s a Rosh Kollel in my neighborhood who told me, in the name of the Satmar Rebbe, that before Moshiach comes, the State of Israel will be destroyed.”

He spoke with startling certainty: before Moshiach comes, something really bad is going to have to happen.

I don’t know if the Satmar Rebbe ever actually made this prediction.

Regardless, I think the perspective is fundamentally flawed.

On [Yom Ha’atzmaut 1968](), Rav Soloveitchik spoke about his understanding of the State of Israel within the grand story of the Jewish people:

“Alright, I am not completely in agreement at all times with the government of Israel; there are many policies which are wrong and fallacious. However, we have to take a broader view. Those are small details, peripheral matters.

The main idea is correct, and there is no doubt that Hashgacha (Providence) is planning something. It is far from Geulah (redemption) yet, but Hashgacha is planning something. Hashgacha holds something in store for us.

I don't know. We are still groping in the dark. To me, the chapter has not been closed yet. It is as if we are in the middle of writing a chapter. The Hashgacha is in the middle of writing a chapter… What the continuation will be, I don't know. No one knows.

I have faith in God that it will lead to geulah sheleimah (the complete redemption). Whatever happens and transpires is magnificent and has tremendous significance to the Jewish community as a whole and to individuals as well.”

Simply stated, the Rav was arguing that the extraordinary events we have witnessed must tell us something. We cannot be so bold as to claim we know exactly what Hashem’s plan is, but we also cannot be so blind as to deny that this is orchestrated with immense Divine intervention.

This orientation is neither unfounded nor novel.

The Navi tells us how Shimshon was chosen to be a hero of the Jewish people from birth.

A fiery angel appears to his would-be parents, informing them of their son’s future. But the encounter is terrifying. As the malach ascends heavenward in a flame, Manoach turns to his wife and says: מוֹת נָמוּת כִּי אֱלֹקים רָאִינוּ — “We shall surely die, because we have seen God.”

The wife of Manoach, though equally terrified, is not afraid—not for her life nor for her future—as she explains to her husband:

לוּ חָפֵץ ה’ לַהֲמִיתֵנוּ לֹא־לָקַח מִיָּדֵנוּ עֹלָה וּמִנְחָה וְלֹא הֶרְאָנוּ אֶת־כל־אֵלֶּה

“If Hashem had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a meal offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things…”

The perspective and orientation of Klal Yisrael is that we do not ignore the Hand of Hashem in history. God does not perform miracles for nothing.

There is a deep humility in recognizing that our generation has merited to witness the fulfillment of ancient prophecies promised to our people.

With each miraculous victory of the IDF, each rocket intercepted, each uncanny and unlikely success, we are invited to see how Hashem is unfolding His plan for the future of Klal Yisrael and the world.

In 1968, Rav Soloveitchik could not have predicted our world almost sixty years later. But if the Hashgacha was clear to him then, how much more so must it be for us today.

May we merit to this process to its completion – וְתֶחֱזֶינָה עֵינֵינוּ בְּשׁוּבְךָ לְצִיּוֹן בְּרַחֲמִים.