I’d like to wish all our readers, supporters, and friends a Chag Kasher v’Samei’ach. This was a year nobody will ever forget; it was one filled with much loss and has left many picking up the pieces of their lives. Our shuls and schools were closed, businesses remain in shambles, we experienced a tremendous loss of life, medical issues have plagued society, and there is still incredible unemployment. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I watched a video on WhatsApp this morning from Rabbi Yaakov Moskowitz’s Motivational Minute. His words can inspire every one of us.
Rabbi Moskowitz related a story told by Rabbi Heshy Kleinman, dated April 1945 – as World War II was coming to an end. The Germans had begun whisking away Jews in trucks deep into the forest and were preparing to annihilate our race. An exhausted German guard approached a little boy just as the Nazis were to begin to shoot the Jews, and demanded he begin to sing a song. The boy chose a shirah close to his heart, one that was ingrained into his very soul: V’hi she’amdah from the sacred Haggadah. The Nazi questioned the young child, “What do the words of this song mean?” The boy explained, “It means that in every single generation there will be people who will try to destroy the Jewish nation, but Hashem, our Creator, will always be seeking a method to protect us.
“The guard burst into laughter and retorted, “How is your G-d going to save you from this?” It was at this very moment, as the Jews were about to be shot, when a motorcycle pulled up with two high-ranking German officials. The officers told all the guards to halt the killings, explaining that the German Army had just surrendered to the Americans and every living person must be returned to civilization. The little boy thought, “V’hi she’amdah la’avoseinu v’lanu… v’HaKadosh Baruch Hu matzileinu mi’yadam.” In every generation there will be those who come to destroy us, but Hashem will always save us.
We should all pray that this year will be the time of the final g’ulah, and just as Hashem has always saved us in our darkest hours, we hope that we will be present to see Mashiach, b’ezras Hashem, ba’zman ha’zeh – this year.
Yaakov Serle