As Rabbi Yochanon ben Zakkai was traveling, he noticed a poor woman picking grains of barley from a pile of garbage. She told the Rabbi that she is the daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion, who was at one time the wealthiest man in Israel. When Rabbi Yochanon heard of this tragedy he cried out, "Happy are the People of Israel - When we fulfill HaShem’s will he protects us from the strongest nation; and when we don’t do HaShem’s will, He hands us over to the lowest nation."
We understand why Rabbi Yochanon said, "Happy are the People of Israel in a time when HaShem protects them from every nation." But why did he also say, "Happy are the People of Israel because when we don’t fulfill HaShem’s will, He hands us over to the lowest nation."
When a child misbehaves, the father will talk to the child and explain to him what he did wrong. In this case, the child knows that his father wants him to improve himself. As soon as the son shows the father that he understands his mistake, his father forgives and forgets. Whereas, if the child does something so awful that the father refuses to talk to him, the child has no way to know why his father is so upset. Even worse, the child has no way to reconcile himself with his father.
HaShem always conducts Himself with the People of Israel like the father, who encourages his son to correct his ways. In other words, He never severs His relationship with Klal Yisrael. One of the ways that we recognize that HaShem did not give up on us, is by the unusual turn of events in Jewish history. The sore troubles that we have endured, clearly demonstrates that HaShem is "talking to us" and He has not abandoned us to the natural course of events.
During these days before the Ninth of Av, may we realize that HaShem is next to us. As soon as we correct our ways, He will bring the final redemption and rebuild the Holy Temple. [Based on Lev Eliyahu]
TODAY: Know that HaShem is with you and will never leave you. He will always readily accept your desire to improve.
Important Numbers
