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It doesn’t take a genious these days to see that world is exactly what the title says. In a heap o’ trouble. I look around the threads and comments here and the stories of the day and it really makes me wonder if someone should be archiving all of this. I sometimes think of the google servers and what will be gleaned from them in a thousand years. By all accounts of what I see around me, moshiach is clearly going to be tarrying for a while. Oy there is so much to write but not nearly enough space or time. Shidduch crisis, corruption, molestation, OTD kids, arson, theft, sephardi/ashkenazi turmoil,yes Zionism, no Zionism, chillul shabbat, my rebbe is greater then your rebbe, court cases, agunot, chasidish vs litvish vs MO, bash the MO, bash the Yeshivish, bash dark skin, bash white skin, bash satmer bash NK, bash the state, bash kashrut, drug use, drug smuggling, tax cheats, super chumras, super kulas. Its all too much. At this point I am not even hoping for moshiach at all. We are probably not deserving of redemption at this point anyway. I just want the next generations to see what we have wrought and to learn from it. This is something we clearly have not been able to do. After all we have Nach and tons of Jewish history and we ignore it. So, we are now doomed to repeat it. So again, I think its nice that google archives everything. It will be the record of what happened to the people that used to be known as Jews.
“I am not even hoping for moshiach at all”
Although your sentiments are valid, this is one of the 13 principles of faith…you may benefit by reviewing & saying Ani maamin
“in a thousand years” – there’s way less than that to reach 6000
“that used to be known as Jews”- who will always be known as Jews
“By all accounts of what I see around me, moshiach is clearly going to be tarrying for a while.”
Hatzala, Tomchei Shabbos, Artscroll, Feldheim, Tehillim groups, Bonei Olam Atime, Chai lifeline, Chaveirim, Shomrim, Avos ubanim learning, Shiurim for all topics and ages, Our place,Oora, Aish Hatorah Hineni,the most tzedkas and Gemachs in the history of the Jewish People,Satmar Bikur Cholim, Chabad houses everywhere, Echo,NCSY,YUmechina Programs, Project Seed,Parteners in Torah,Whether in Kollel or working the ability to have time to learn on a high level due to the plethora that is out there, whether bichavrusa alone via sefarim or electronic media any time of day, Jews returning to Eretz Yisroel, an Israeli Government while generally not Frum that allocates millions to support Torah, a generation that rose up from the holocaust upon whom it can be said “Never have so many been indebted to so few”National Kashrus organizations,the legal arm of Aguda Yisrael to help press our needs,people such as Rebbeim and laymen and laywomen that are constantly working for Tzorchei Tzibbur and the list can go on and on Boruch hasehm
I do not have my head in the sand there are plenty of Tzaros in Klal Yisroel effecting all of us tuition,Shidduchim, etc.. and they do sorely need proactive addressing.But maybe Moshiach will come for all the good we have done in these past few generations. Always remember Ameich Kulam Tzadikim and Moshiach could come Kiheref Ayin.
The OP states he got his opinion from the many negative threads posted here.
So I guess I’ll have to double my efforts to generate threads of my style!
READY??
Ctrl Alt Del- I really do hear what your saying. Yes, our generation is falling deep…but @ the same time look @ what “abcd2 so beautifully wrote, and put a smile on my face.
The world is built with balance- when there is so much Tumah, there is the equal amount of Torah/Chessed/ and Kedusha..and many times its hard to focus on the good and the bracha we have…but in order to survive this terrible wave of tzaros, pain, war etc and allow it to make us afraid we need to strengthen ourselves with the good, get involvoved, change your perspective- because at the end of the day there are always going to be hard and unimaginably horrific things…thats just the way the world runs/ and seems to look like…but its how you look at it.
The next generation sadly probably wont be any different, maybe worse (as unfortunate as that is to accept) THATS WHY IT IS SO CLEAR THAT MOSHIACH IS ON HIS WAY!!! The world has sunk so low into the pitfuls of Tumah!
So the challenge you have is: through all this and all the nisyonos- WILL YOU PREVAIL and come forth when Moshiach FINALLY COMES and say, YES, I DID THE BEST I CAN!!
Dont let all the darkness, hate, fighting, and ugliness the world sometimes shows us, allow it to dictate our lives- Take the tools we have and the Torah, to HELP YOU, PREVAIL!!:)
Ctrl Alt Del:
This was mentioned b4 but not sufficiently emphasised in my opinion:
You are obligated to believe that he could come ON ANY DAY and you are obligated to hope that he comes.
These form one of the 13 principles of the Jewish faith as stated by Rambam. If you do not believe in and hope for Moshiach every day, whatever your feelings, – you place yourself outside the Jewish destiny as if you G-d forbid denied the Torah.
Remember -our forefathers in Egypt were idol worshippers on the penultimate level of impurity when they were whisked into redemption.
Just BTW a tremendous Gadol said that american Jews have a special Shemira due to all the tzedaka they do
Hatzala, shomrim, bonei olam,chai lifelie Ohel the most tzedkas and Gemachs in the history of the Jewish People,Satmar Bikur Cholim, Chabad houses everywhere have nothing to do with Derech Eretz?
These are all inyanim of derech eretz and Bein adam lichaveiro
please do not serve as a prosecutor against yourself and your friends. As mentioned above yes we have problems but Moshiach can come at any second to doubt that or to say otherwise is bordering on Kefira. Part of mussar (and I am not giving you any just stating fact that you could research on your own) is not to be so hard on yourself or others.To say Hashem is Chasvishalom going to punish us is not the mindset you should have. Daven for Yeshuos instead of worrying about what is wrong you can Daven to Hashem that despite are faults and because we need Moshiach to help us please send him. This is a major crux of our Yamim Noraim tefillas.
Hashem when judging knows our problems and faults mazids and shogegs yet still Hashem has infinite patience and Rachamim and loves us, judges likaf Zechus like a father to a child. We are Ameich Kulam Tzadikim and you are part of the family as well and you can trust your father will take care of you and your brothers with rachamim.
“That (believing) has nothing to do with hope.”
I’m not sure how one can separate believing & hope.
Moshiach will come either b’ito or achishena, depending on whether we are deserving or not.
Either way, Hashem has our back covered.
Ctr-
You got it all wrong! If you believe something, then you think there is a high degree of certainty that it is true. If you hope for something, then you understand there is a good chance that it will not happen. Hope includes some doubt, whereas plain belief does not. Hope has an element of uncertainty, whereas belief does not.
I think “achakeh lo” indicates that we want it. We also daven for the geulah several times a day, so I can’t see how one can say he doesn’t want it.
I loved abcd2’s response.
The good people rarely if ever make the news. Don’t judge us by the bad things you read in the paper. I davened this morning with a bunch of yidden who took 45 or so minutes out of their busy mornings to daven with kavannah to Hashem and declare berabim Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad. This won’t make the paper but there were probably close to a million if not over a million people that did this today. That’s a fact that you won’t find in the papers.
The papers? What century are we living in again?
In all seriousness, the topic in this thread really irks me and I hope (can’t say believe here) that Ctrl Alt Del’s mindset has changed as what would be the point of living thinking the way s/he does?
And where did RedNails19 go? She seems like someone I would like to get to know here…
streekgeek
Most of us dont use a Kindle on Shabbos. I hope you don’t either 😉
Sure, but many don’t read the newspaper on shabbos either, even in paper form.
Many? I wouldn’t be too sure about that..
jewishfeminist02
Halevai it were many as fkelly says. But there are some. Im proud to say that I am one of them 🙂
Very funny WIY. I don’t, my Nexus is my go-to tablet….
For many in our MO community, reading The Weekender (NYT) is an integral part of their oneg shabbat.
I hold that today’s newspapers should not be considered shtarei hedyotot, nor should reading them be considered an issur of vedaber dabar (unless, let’s say, you were reading a trade publication). I read in the Harchavot Peninei Halakha of Rav Eliezer Melamed that since advertisements are no longer the main means of identifying business or trade opportunities, one is allowed to look at ads as long as they don’t intend to make a purchase based on them, and as long as reading or looking at them gives the individual a sense of enjoyment.
I happen to enjoy reading The Weekender, and I don’t look at the stocks until after shabbat is over.
Ctrl Alt Delete – for sure, there’s tons of tzaros going on, but
1) you can choose to look at the negatives, or look at the positives in klal yisrael – and shomayim will follow suit (recently read a dvar torah that we’re kovea how shomayim looks at us which is why dan lkaf zchus, not speaking loshon hara, and being mevater/maavir al midosav are so imp, cuz it can cause kitrug and/or be kovea how shomayim deals with us
2) both are true – we have tremendous zechuyos, and B”H are growing tremendously, and at the same times there’s tons of tzaros – they say as mashiach comes the geula is like labor, and the labor pains are going to come harder and faster…until the sudden yeshua/simcha – it means he’s getting CLOSER not tallying more….
3) if you’re scared, all the gedolim say that the only things that will save us (besides strong emuna which we’ll need so we need to work on being mechazeik that) are torah and gemilus chasadim – so whether learning and/or supporting torah, and doing chessed – those are the things that’ll save us be”H…
and lastly, 4) the only thing we can do despite seeing the world “in pain” – besides davening for them/klal yisrael as a whole, which we should, – is to work on ourselves to be the best we can be before mashiach, who IS so close (many gedolim have said), comes and then we don’t have a chance for bechira/perfecting ourselves – soon we won’t have a chance anymore! They say a story about the Chofetz Chaim who saw so many pple far from Hashem and so many issues in the world that he wanted to fix it. Eventually, he realized he can’t and wanted to fix just his country. Eventually, he realized he can’t and wanted to fix just his CITY. Then his block, then just his family. Then eventually he realized the only person he can really fix is HIMSELF. and in the end he really changed the world.
Another story – Rebbetzin Neustadt says a story of a guy in Russia in the freezing winter, and his hand is totally frostbitten, will literally fall off if he doesn’t warm up soon. A guy comes along, sizes up what’s going on and starts rubbing the frostbitten guy by his heart. The frostbitten guy has no clue what he’s doing, but he realizes he might lose a limb, so he figures, ok lets see what this guy thinks he can do….meanwhile after 5 min of rubbing the frostbitten guy starts feeling some warmth in his shoulders, a few min later his arm, and several minutes later this totally frozen hand starts warming up, til he feels it in his fingertips and can finally move his hand B”H. So mr. frostbitten guy says to the other guy, “Thank you so much!!! but sir, can you tell me, why didn’t you just rub my hand?!” The guy answers him “I sized up the situation and saw that your hand was so frozen, that if I touched it, it would’ve literally fallen off. BUT, I knew if I rubbed your heart to pump harder, eventually I could get your circulation going, til eventually it would get to your extremities (fingertips etc)”
Reb Neustadt continues – that’s the mashal, the nimshal is that klal yisrael is the frostbitten man – and we frum yidden are the heart. Those who are totally off are the fingertips, and everyone else are somewhere in between. The stronger, and more “pumped” the heart gets, the more it will be GOREM (cause) all the limbs “til the fingertips” to be warmed.
I felt this was an amazing mashal as I always wondered how mashiach will ever come. Many mussar seforim have this concept. And Rav Moshe Shapiro, one of the gedolei olam and gedolei mussar, quotes a medrash in his “yishmael” shiur, saying that it only takes 1 kehilla to make mashiach come (I highly recommend listening to it, it’s on kol halashon)
So bottomline – we only need to work on ourselves, in baby steps, but as fast as we can, because the clock is running out…ask any of the gedolim…
Hashem should help us all to grow into the best pple we can be!
bump
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