Blind Trust

17 Teves 5782

“It came to pass, in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage” (Shemos 2:23)

“Until this point, the children of Israel were so deeply sunk in their galut that they could not even sense it. But now, when the first budding of their redemption began to emerge (in Moshe’s coming of age), they could begin to feel the depth of their suffering.” (Midrash Rabbah)

So too it is with us, now that our exile is coming to an end we are beginning to feel the pain of living in such a “dark” world. On paper we are living in one of the most prosperous and peaceful times in human history, however, we all feel that something is going wrong. Something is missing. This something is our wholehearted return to G-dliness and the immediate redemption that this will bring.

“Another reason for their designation of bnei aliyah (men of ascent). Even their divine service in the area of ‘doing good,’ in their fulfillment of Torah and its mitzvot, is for the sake of Above” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 10)

The fact that G-dliness is concealed at this time counter-intuitively makes it easier, not harder, to perform mitzvah’s wholeheartedly. Blinded of the tremendous reward each mitzvah brings, we can all ascend to the level of the “men of ascent” — at least temporarily — while we perform mitzvah’s purely out of the blind faith that it is the right thing to do. We can thus use the darkness of this time to our own advantage, using its full potential to bring Moshiach as quickly as possible.

“For better one day in Your courtyards than a thousand [elsewhere]. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my G-d, than dwell [in comfort] in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord, G-d, is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and glory; He does not withhold goodness from those who walk in innocence.” (Tehillim 84:11-12)

It is better to restlessly walk about in the house of G-d, doing as much as we possibly can in Torah and mitzvos, than going along in comfort with the main stream. During this critical period we should have blind faith that doing the right thing will lead us on the right path, no matter what other people say or what the world looks like to our eyes, for “He does not withhold goodness from those who walk in innocence.”