When Hashem Warns Us...

As you all know, I'm a big fan of reading into the news. I strongly believe they are Hashem's messages to us, especially when they concern our very near future. So when we get a headline such as "Iran can produce a nuclear weapon within 60 days" - that should be like a shot of ice-water on someone sleeping.

Hashem is not sending us messages because He wants us to get all excited and start coming up with theories of what will happen. The goal is not for us to say "the IDF/Mossad/Shin Bet will get them". Sadly, that is the response some people have. These messages are talking to our heart. They raise our blood pressure and turn on the adrenaline. They are fuel for prayer, supplication and action.

This news coming out the day after Yom HaShoah - Holocaust rememberance day, is a specific juxtaposition for us to realize that we are facing it again. It happened once before and it CAN happen again. It may be a little different this time, since we have a large population of Am Yisrael on Eretz Yisrael - (so they don't need trains). We all understand the implications of Iran having nuclear weapons. But are we going to act?

My fellow Jews, we are being warned. We have been warned again and again. If we don't heed the message, they will get louder. It's just that the volume knob has just a tiny bit room left and it's pretty clear what that means. Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak has been saying it for years. "Kol Dodi Dofek" - the sound of my beloved is knocking - it started with rocks, then molitov cocktails, guns, it further escalated with bombs, mortars, Qassams, then Katyushas, Grad. We have apparently not received (or acted upon) Hashem's message.

Hashem wants us to make Teshuva - for us! He needs nothing from us and derives no benefit at all from anything we do (but He is "proud" of what we did for our sake). He wants us to become better to refine ourselves, for our own sake. We are too stuck in the mud of our daily lives and routines to realize that. But Hashem has provided us with ample reason to wake up and get into action. He's giving us a chance before it's all over. That's what all this is about. The time has come. It may take a while to complete, or it may rush like a raging river - but it is definitely here.

If we wish to help ourselves, we will commit to change - quick. We'll soon see that everything else is worthless. All that will exist is truth and closeness to Hashem. If we want to see it, we better make sure we've been on our best behavior. Close your eyes and imagine the Third Bet Hamikdash, may we all merit to see it THIS YEAR Amen!