“Shir Hamaalot (A song of Ascents), When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion, we shall be like dreamers.”
We all read the news. We all hear of the tragedies. We all have ups and down in our personal lives and see the ups and downs in Klal Israel’s history. Desperation is so tempting. Why not just quit? Why not just stop our quest for Redemption? Why not stop perfecting ourselves and accept reality the way it is? Is it just because of this idealistic voice talking in our heart?
Actually, when we truly think of it, this idealistic voice in our heart is our voice of reason. History has shown that for the Jewish People, there is nothing more rational than Hope.
For the past two thousands years, the Jewish People have been yearning for redemption. With what has been the most painful history in the world, the Jewish People have constantly yearned for one thing: a Universal Redemption emanating from our national presence in our homeland. So, three times a day, we prayed facing Jerusalem. We prayed words of hope, some would call them dreams. This constant yearning, this Tzipiyah, probably seemed irrational to most by standards. And yet…
Sixty years ago, a process started. Sixty years ago, from the ashes of the Holocaust, rose a nation who went back to it’s land and found once again independence. Sixty years ago, the most unlikely story ever told became a reality. Sixty years ago the greatest miracle in history was actualized– The Jewish Nation was back on the map.
As we march on, as we move forward in the path towards our redemption, we are often stunned by some of the news we hear about. We see some of the tragic events Klal Israel goes through and we ask ourselves questions. Yes, even the most idealistic of us ask those questions: Wasn’t our redemption supposed to be joyous? Why all those tragedies? Is this all worth it? Is this really going to lead to our redemption?
Some of us have even lost their hope, they stopped dreaming. Some of us, because of the hardships of this process, have decided this could not be our redemption. Yet, most of us refuse to bow down to pressure because we know that in our history, hope is the most logical answer. We know, from our history, that even with all the hardships, our situation today is a miraculous one.
In the Yerushalmi, Chazal teach us that our redemption will come through a slow process. As they were going on a morning hike in the Arbel, watching the beautiful sunrise of Northern Israel, Rabbi Hiyah HaGadol told Rabbi Shimon Ben Halfata:
“כך היא גאולתם של ישראל, בתחילה קמעא קמעא, ככל שהיא
מתקדמת היא מתקדמת מהר יותר”“This is how the redemption of Israel will be: First, it
will come Kima Kima (slowly, slowly) and then, things will go quicker and
quicker”
Many people, when they read about this slow process of our redemption, understand that the redemption comes slowly in a nice straight line moving forward and higher, forward and higher, every day better than the previous.
However, our Rabbis teach us that really, the redemption comes through a different process. The process always moves forward, but it has both highs and lows, highs and lows. It’s like someone taking a hike in an area full of mountains: When you are on the top of a mountain the air is fresh, the sun is shining. Then you get in a valley, in between two mountains. Then, you start going back up again, reaching another mountain top. You are always moving forward towards your destination, but there are highs and lows, highs and lows. Actually, when you are on the top of a mountain, it looks as if the mountain top you want to reach is two seconds away. You feel as if it’s coming NOW, you want it NOW! (Mashiach NOW, Peace NOW, Everything NOW). Then, you start going back down and in the valley, the distance seems impossible to get through. You start losing faith in your ability to complete the distance. It’s too hard. You can’t do it! However, once you realize that this low, this horrible low, is still so much more ahead than the high you just passed, so much closer to your destination, then you start appreciating the process of your redemption.
כך היא גאולתם של ישראל
In these hard times, its tempting to stop hoping. Its tempting to stop dreaming. In tehillim, we say: “When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion, we shall be like dreamers.” Rav Mordechai Elon Shli”ta once told us that this is not really a factual description but rather a prayer. We ask God: Please, let us be like dreamers! When the process of redemption starts moving forward, let us attain our highs and realize they are not the end destination as we keep dreaming to move forward and let us pass through our lows without loosing any hope, without loosing our right to dream.
After a history filled with hope in which the greatest odds were defeated, odds are that if we keep hoping, we’ll keep growing. Then, in no time, our ultimate dream will come true and the holy Beit Hamikdash will be rebuilt on Har Habayit as a Beit Tfillah LeKol Haamim – A house of prayer for all the nations.
