This week’s haftarah tells the story of Yirmiyahu HaNavi’s purchase of land when catastrophe loomed over Israel. This command from Hashem seemed to make no sense, even to the Navi who wrote it, but he listened to the Ribbono shel Olam, Who told him, “Behold! I am Hashem, the G-d of all flesh. Is anything hidden from Me?”
Last week in Israel, there was unbearable pain after a terrible accident in which chayalim accidentally killed their own chevrah. How can we deal with this?
We are now more than halfway through the awesome days from Pesach to Shavuos, the days from Mitzrayim to Har Sinai, from degradation to exaltation, from the dungeon to the Throne of Hashem. Each day, we count, one step a day, one step a day. S’firah is a difficult climb. Reb Moshe Sternbuch shlita said, concerning the acquisition of k’dushah by the kohanim: “In avodas Hashem, it is impossible to leapfrog. The only option is to make step-by-step progress based on one’s current situation and level.”
Spiritual accomplishment is acquired only through hard work, struggling with the yeitzer ha’ra daily, hourly, minute by minute.
Please listen to the words of the Chofetz Chaim zt”l: “So great is peace that we find regarding the travels [of am Yisrael in the Midbar]…that they would encamp with arguments and set out with arguments… [But] when they arrived in front of Har Sinai [they became ‘like one man with one heart’ (Rashi) and Hashem said: This is the time that I will give the Torah to My children. For when there is peace among them, the Divine Presence can dwell among them.”
The last brachah in Sh’moneh Esrei is for “peace.”
Light and Torah come with peace. Peace is the last brachah perhaps because it is the most difficult to attain. Since our expulsion from Gan Eden, peace has eluded mankind. We have a taste of it on Shabbos, but until the days of Mashiach, we cannot expect the entire world to be filled with peace. Certainly, today, there is strife everywhere.
I believe that this terrible accident is pointing to the lack of peace among us.
Just before going to sleep, we say, “Master of the universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or who sinned against me… I forgive every Jew.” This is our focus just before our neshamah goes up to Shamayim during the hours of sleep. We cannot enter Shamayim unless peace reigns among us.
The same is true of t’filah. The Arizal writes: “Before the morning t’filah, one should accept upon himself the mitzvah of V’ahavta l’rei’acha kamocha – You shall love your fellow as yourself.” It is as if Hashem says, “Do not expect to speak to Me unless you are at complete peace with your brethren.” It seems that if we nullify ourselves for our brother, Hashem will nullify any decrees against us.
We know that the attack of October 7 was preceded by months of unprecedented sin’ah in Medinas Yisrael. These demonstrations were a horrible chilul Hashem, as the world witnessed the Children of Israel tearing their brothers and sisters apart.
Shalom bayis among am Yisrael is nothing less than survival.
Bayis Sheini was not destroyed by our enemies; it was destroyed by sin’as chinam.
Sin’as chinam is a weapon that destroys lives and sends us into the jungle where people eat each other alive. Sin’as chinam manifests itself not just through vicious fights, but through a lack of kindness and chesed. Am I helping my neighbor who is a widow? Am I acting with sweetness to my friend or my neighbor, every Yid? Am I saying “Shalom” to him with a smile? Am I thinking about his needs and helping him when he is in trouble?
There will come a day, baruch Hashem soon, when the world will once again become a Gan Eden and peace will reign among all of Hashem’s creations. Right now, we can prepare for that day by making our own Gan Eden. If we live in peace now, we can hope to live in peace in the Days of Mashiach, may we merit to greet him soon!
Roy Neuberger is the author of six books and hundreds of weekly articles. He and wife Leah have spoken to Jewish audiences in 15 countries. They are the subject of the ArtScroll Book by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer, From Sinai to Yerushalayim Roy can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and online at www.2020vision.co.il.
