HaGaon HaRav Baruch Dov Povarsky delivered a special chizuk talk to his talmidim at Ponevezh last week about the war.

“I want to speak a bit about matters that are weighing on my heart, and actually on all the bnei yeshivah,” the Rosh Yeshivah began. “Everyone is aware of the situation in Eretz Yisrael today, it’s a very difficult situation. חרון אף ה – mamash חרון אף – an eis tzarah l’Yaakov. Our hearts grieve on the large number of fatalities and hostages, including babies. So many people killed – it can mamash be said דמם נשפך כמים – like it’s written in Tehillim ‘שפכו דמם כמים.'”

“But everyone needs to know one thing. Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn’t want to punish us. It’s written וְיָדַעְתָּ עִם לְבָבֶךָ כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר יְיַסֵּר אִישׁ אֶת בְּנוֹ ה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ מְיַסְּרֶךָּ (דברים ח’ ה’). The punishment of Hakadosh Baruch Hus is out of love, not out of hatred, chas v’chalilah. Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves His nation Yisrael and because He loves us, He brings us tzaros. When a father hits, it’s only because he loves his son. Hakadosh Baruch is now ‘hitting us’ – we need to know and believe that Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves us and everything He does is out of love, like a father who hits his son.”

“The Gemara says in Masechtas Kesuvos – חבלה הותרה מכללה בבית דין. What was permitted in the Beis Din? The Beis Din punishes by putting people to death and flogging them. The question is – why doesn’t the Gemara say that חבלה הותרה אצל אב – for a father is also permitted to hit his son. The answer is that a father doesn’t hit – a father kisses – חושך שבטו שונא בנו. A father’s potch is not חבלה, a father’s potch is a kiss. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is our father. Avinu She’b’Shamayim loves us very much. And when He gives us tzaros, it’s because He loves us. Avinu She’b’Shamayim loves us very much – and therefore Klal Yisrael always has tzaros – everything is yissurim from love.”

“Yeshaya HaNavi says: ‘דַּבְּרוּ עַל לֵב יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וְקִרְאוּ אֵלֶיהָ כִּי מָלְאָה צְבָאָהּ כִּי נִרְצָה עֲו‍ֹנָהּ כִּי לָקְחָה מִיַּד יְהוָה כִּפְלַיִם בְּכָל חַטֹּאתֶיהָ.'”

“Why was כפלים [double] taken? A sin deserves a punishment but why double? The answer is according to the passuk in Yirmiyahu: Hakadosh Baruch Hu says ‘לשוא הכיתי את בניכם מוסר לא לקחו.'” [I punished my children for no reason, they didn’t accept the mussar].

“When Hakadosh Baruch Hu punishes us, what does He want? He loves us and He wants us to correct ourselves. If it doesn’t help, then Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, ‘I hit my children for no reason, they didn’t accept the mussar.'”

“If we don’t do teshuvah, Hakadosh Baruch has tza’ar. If the punishment was for no reason, apart from the tza’ar of Hakadosh Baruch for the very act of hitting Am Yisrael, He has more tza’ar that we didn’t accept the mussar. And when we don’t accept mussar, we’re now sinning by causing pain to Hashem for no reason.”

“At the time of the Churban, Chazal wrote that Hakadosh Baruch Hu cried – He destroyed the Beis Hamikdash and then He cried? The crying was because – did Hakadosh Baruch Hu want to destroy the Beis Hamikdash? He was crying on the tza’ar of the Churban and also on the tza’ar that He hit his children and they didn’t learn mussar from it. They sinned twice and therefore they deserved a double punishment.”

“In this situation, each person must do teshuvah for his personal sins – not those of his friend. No! No! Each person should look only within himself what he needs to be mechazeik in – everyone needs to be mechazeik and everyone should think about what he personally need to correct.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)