Almost Done

12 Kislev 5782

“[Jacob] prostrated himself seven times as he approached his brother.” (Bereishis 33:3)

The Midrash says that, “When Mordechai refused to bow to Haman, they said to him: ‘You’re going to get us all killed! How dare you go against the decree of the king?’ Said Mordechai: ‘I am a Jew.’ Said they to him: ‘Did not [our] forefathers bow to his forefather?’ Replied Mordechai: ‘I am a descendant of Benjamin, who was in his mother’s womb at that time. Just as my forefather did not bow, so too I shall not kneel nor bow.’”

“All the earth will bow to You, and sing to You; they will sing praise to Your Name forever!” (Tehillim 66:4)

Especially at this point in time, when evil has decreased so much in power, but in truth at any previous time, as Mordechai showed, Jews don’t need to bow to any person. We are the children of Hashem to whom the whole earth will bow soon. We can rest assured that when we carry out His will with all our hearts, we will be protected in a supernatural way, above the understanding of any human being.

“This was the spiritual service of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and of all the tannaim and amoraim who studied the revealed aspect of the Torah — to call forth the Divine light within this world, and to effect the purifications of kelipat nogah, throughout the entire period of the exile, the time of dominion of the Tree of Good and Evil.” (Lessons in Tanya, Kuntres Acharon, end of Essay 4)

“The time that [the evil] man dominates the man [of holiness]” (Tanya, as above) is coming to an end. Most of the work in bringing the redemption has been completed already by the Tzadikkim of the previous generations. The hold of evil over holiness is getting weaker and weaker, even if we might not be seeing it. Even if it is the exact opposite of what we are seeing, we must trust our leaders, the Gedolim HaDor, who assure us that “our undying devotion to the Torah and its commandments ever since Jacob’s time has largely refined the power of Esau, and we are now at the threshold of the final, Messianic Redemption.” (Lubavitcher Rebbe)