{"id":116279,"date":"2024-10-10T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=116279"},"modified":"2024-10-05T08:53:35","modified_gmt":"2024-10-05T06:53:35","slug":"10-00-102","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=116279","title":{"rendered":"Why the Past Gives Us Hope as We Enter a New Year for Jews and Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Why the Past Gives Us Hope as We Enter a New Year for Jews and Israel<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n

Pini Dunner<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo such torment \u2026 has ever transpired previously in history. The bizarre tortures and the freakish, brutal methods invented by the depraved, perverted murderers, solely for the suffering of Israel, are unprecedented and unparalleled. May God have mercy upon us, and save us from their hands, in the blink of an eye.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

These shocking words were written in the depths of hell \u2014 the Warsaw Ghetto in the summer of 1942 \u2014 by Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the fabled Piaseczner Rebbe, who, together with hundreds of thousands of Polish Jews, had been forced into the ghetto by the Nazis less than a year earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

At its peak, the Warsaw Ghetto held over 400,000 Jews crammed into just 1.3 square miles. The overcrowding led to catastrophic conditions: extreme poverty, widespread disease, and starvation. But worse was yet to come. Between July and September 1942, 265,000 ghetto residents were deported to the Treblinka death camp for extermination, while another 35,000 were viciously murdered in the ghetto.<\/span><\/p>\n

In April 1943, Jewish resistance fighters staged the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the most significant act of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. The fighters held out against the Nazis for a month before being brutally crushed. The remaining inhabitants were then dispatched to their deaths, including Rav Shapira, who perished at Trawniki on November 3rd, 1943, during the infamous Operation Harvest Festival (\u201cAktion Erntefest\u201d), when the Nazis eliminated all remaining Jewish laborers in the Lublin District.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rav Shapira wasn\u2019t just any rabbi. He was a spiritual firebrand and a towering figure of resilience, even when facing the unthinkable horrors of Nazi brutality. He gave weekly speeches in the ghetto about faith, resilience, and divine love, never allowing himself to be crushed by fear and despair.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith what can someone strengthen themselves, at least a little bit, so long as salvation has not appeared? And with what can the spirit be elevated, even the tiniest bit, while being crushed and broken like this? Firstly, with prayer and with faith that God would never utterly reject His children. It cannot be possible that He would abandon us in such mortal danger as we are now facing for His blessed name\u2019s sake. Surely, He will have mercy immediately, and rescue us in the blink of an eye.\u201d (Sacred Fire: Torah from the Years of Fury 1939-1942<\/em>, p.333)<\/span><\/p>\n

Rav Shapira\u2019s words reflected the pain of the moment, but they also exuded unwavering hope. Each week, he recorded his speeches on scraps of paper, hoping to publish them once the horrors ended.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Rav Shapira was murdered, miraculously, his teachings survived the Holocaust thanks to the Oyneg Shabbos <\/em>group, who preserved documents and testimonies from the Warsaw Ghetto by burying them underground in milk urns in early 1943, under the leadership of historian Emanuel Ringelblum, who was discovered in hiding and murdered in 1944.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rav Shapira\u2019s manuscripts were found after the war. They eventually reached Baruch Duvdevani, a Polish-born religious Zionist activist whose family had been followers of the Shapira Hasidic dynasty. In 1960, he published Rav Shapira\u2019s work in a book titled Eish Kodesh<\/em> (Sacred Fire<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Rav Shapira\u2019s words were not meant to inspire future generations \u2014 he composed them as a direct response to the crisis he and those around him were facing in real-time \u2014 their preservation has ensured that his faith, resilience, and spiritual defiance continue on as a legacy, speaking powerfully to anyone struggling with suffering and hardship. They remind us that even in life\u2019s darkest moments, the human soul can find strength and connection to the divine, trusting that good times will follow bad.<\/span><\/p>\n

This past year, in the wake of October 7th and all that has transpired since, I have found myself returning to Rav Shapira\u2019s teachings repeatedly. In particular, that first quote haunts me; he seems to be describing the horrific events of October 7th with vivid clarity \u2014 an echo from Jewish history.<\/span><\/p>\n

But I have also been inspired by Rav Shapira\u2019s faith. When everything seemed dark \u2014 as Israel reeled from unimaginable horrors and went to war, and as Jews around the world felt vulnerable and under attack \u2014 Rav Shapira\u2019s unshakable faith became my anchor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rav Shapira never allowed moments of pain and confusion to turn into a crisis of faith, and I found strength in his incredible resolve. We have all struggled this year, when even victories \u2014 whether against Hamas in Gaza or antisemitic mobs on college campuses \u2014 have been twisted into weapons to attack us. Thankfully, Rav Shapira\u2019s model of faith provided a firm foundation for me to stand on. His resilience reminded me that even when we don\u2019t understand the world\u2019s darkness, God is still present, shaping a future redemption.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as the Nazis were ultimately brought down, despite their early victories and seeming dominance, so too will the enemies of Israel today \u2014 Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran \u2014 meet the same fate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rav Shapira\u2019s words remind us that evil\u2019s apparent success is always temporary, and its defeat inevitable. We stand today as witnesses to the unraveling of their power, knowing that just as the Jewish people survived then, we will rise again now, stronger than before.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tragically, Rav Shapira did not live to witness the fall of the Nazis. But his faith was not misplaced. The Nazis were ultimately defeated, and the Jewish people, whom they sought to annihilate, rose from the ashes of Europe to rebuild their lives \u2014 not just in the newly founded State of Israel, but in vibrant, thriving communities around the world. The Jewish spirit was not broken; it came back stronger, fortified with faith and determination.<\/span><\/p>\n

And today, as we celebrate a new Jewish year and reflect on the past year, we can see that our faith was not in vain. Though we have endured profound loss and faced the painful reality of rising hatred against Israel and Jews across the globe, we are also witnessing the collapse of our enemies \u2014 their plans and strength unraveling before our eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hamas, who heinously butchered our people and then celebrated our grief, has been decimated, and its leaders are dead. Hezbollah is weakened, its leadership gone, and its threats subdued. Iran, the puppet master behind this indescribable evil, scrambles to defend itself against the inevitable. Like Hitler in the final days in Berlin, they know that their time is coming.<\/span><\/p>\n

And so, as we continue to navigate these turbulent times, Rav Shapira\u2019s words resonate across the decades with renewed significance: \u201cEven if you are broken and oppressed, you must nevertheless be sincere and whole. Take strength in God because you know that God is with you in your suffering. Do not attempt to project into the future, saying, \u2018I cannot see an end to the darkness.\u2019 Rather, simply accept whatever happens to you, and then you will be with God\u2026[and] your salvation will draw close.\u201d (Sacred Fire<\/em>, p.213)<\/span><\/p>\n

These words are as true today as when Rav Shapira first spoke them. Though the challenges we face are immense, our faith must remain firm. Time and again, we have experienced God\u2019s presence, even in our darkest hours, leading us toward a brighter future.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nazis were defeated, and today\u2019s enemies will also fall \u2014 and when that day comes, the Jewish people, resilient and steadfast, will rise stronger than ever. We have overcome destruction before, and with unwavering faith, we will meet the challenges ahead, knowing that our adversaries will be vanquished, and the Jewish people will stand tall and strong.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em>
\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion’68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.
\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:
\n<\/em>webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why the Past Gives Us Hope as We Enter a New Year for Jews and Israel Pini Dunner A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org. \u201cNo such torment \u2026 has ever transpired previously in history. The bizarre tortures and the freakish, brutal methods invented by the depraved, perverted murderers, solely for the suffering of Israel, are unprecedented […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116279"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=116279"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116327,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116279\/revisions\/116327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=116279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=116279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=116279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}