The word that is being repeated over and over these days is – a tangle; a tangle from which there is no way to untangle it. The most veteran political foxes are silent in embarrassment. The seasoned commentators, who are omniscient all year round, admit that they see no way out of the tangle.
What do we do? – Pray!
In normal times, a person may be caught up in the thought that he is in control of the situation. He is smart, clever, experienced, knows how to maneuver, recognizes opportunities, reads the map correctly. He does not feel the need to rely on the Creator's help. It seems to him that he is managing well on his own.
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Then he gets into trouble, and it becomes clear to him that all his wisdom and skills cannot get him out of the strait.
Suddenly he feels his limitations and the fact that things don't always go as he plans. At this point, he raises his eyes to heaven and prays.
Signal from above
In the Book of Psalms it says: "I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where does my help come?" The simple meaning is that a person looks around and asks where his salvation will come from. But the sages of Israel explain that this is not a question, but rather an answer. When a person is in trouble, when he sees no earthly source of salvation – from there, 'from where', from the feeling of no way out – from there will help come.
These situations are a kind of signal from above. The Creator of the world sometimes shatters the feeling of 'I am powerful and my hand is strong' that we may be caught up in. The absolute belief in our power and abilities cracks.
Suddenly it becomes clear that we are not so wise and great. That we are not capable of solving the problems on our own.
From this fracture, something good grows. The shell of pride and arrogance crumbles and we are revealed in our fragility. We realize that we and our lives are in the hands of the Creator, 'like clay in the hands of the maker.' Everything is in His hands, and we need to pray and ask that He give us the strength to succeed, to progress, to prosper.
The recognition of our nothingness opens our hearts to pour out a true prayer before the Creator of the world on Rosh Hashanah. To recognize the great importance of this day, when 'all the inhabitants of the world will pass before you like the sons of Meron.' Prayer from the bottom of our hearts will open the gates of heaven for us, and we will receive the highest blessing, and suddenly it will become clear that everything will be resolved easily, in a way we never even imagined.
Percent of each other
And another thing became clear to us – to what extent we are all one people, all of whose parts are connected to each other and are interconnected.
The election results made it abundantly clear that one cannot move without the other, just as the right leg needs the left leg to walk properly.
Even bitter rivals, when they find themselves in the same boat in a stormy sea, realize they have no choice but to cooperate to steer the boat to a safe shore. It's time to turn a new page. Without hatred, without incitement, without predation.
We all need to live here together and find a way to respect each other, their ways, their beliefs, and their lifestyles.
It is precisely the situation we find ourselves in that can unite us around shared values and age-old tradition. Let us gather together in synagogues, listen to the sound of the shofar, and pray for the raising of the horn of Israel and the complete redemption very soon.
