Growing Emunah Through History (His Story)
The Torah records the travels of the Bene Yisrael and their confrontations and conflicts in the final year in the Midbar prior to entering the Promised Land. In their final thrust to reach the River Jordan, The Amorites led by their king Sichon attacked Israel and ended up paying a heavy price. They lost a large swath of land including the great city of Cheshbon that was at the time considered almost invincible. It was a decisive victory for the Bene Yisrael because the conquered land became an extension to the Land of Israel and the eventual home for two and a half tribes.
Upon a closer look at the conquest of the city of Cheshbon, the Torah provides information that seems redundant and irrelevant to the narrative. It calls it, Cheshbon, the city of Sichon the king of the Amorites, who fought against the first king of Moav and captured the city from him. We already know that Sichon was the king of the Amorites from the previous pasukim, and why should we care how Cheshbon became the possession of Sichon? These questions were asked by Chazal and Rashi felt compelled to publicize it through his famous commentary.
Rashi explains, if the city Chesbon had remained in the hands of Moav, the Bene Yisrael would not have conquered it. HaShem had commanded Israel not to war against Moav in order to take their lands because it was meant for the descendants of Lot the nephew of Abraham. Therefore, because these lands were destined to eventually become part of the internal inheritance of the Jewish people, HaShem manipulated history for our sake.
This idea, HaShem manipulated history for the sake of the Jewish people was not a one-off situation. Time and again we see the hand of HaShem directing events that when we look back in hindsight we see that a seemingly disconnected event to the Jewish people was in fact orchestrated primarily for the sake of HaShem’s chosen people. Let me share two Biblical examples and two contemporary examples of this phenomenon.
We find in Megilat Esther two events that don’t appear connected to Mordechai, Esther or the Jewish nation as a whole. First, The demise of Vashti because of her insubordination to her husband. On the surface, she was insubordinate either due to her own power struggle or arrogance, or some interpersonal or intrapersonal conflict. Ultimately, we are able to connect the dots and say with confidence that Vashti’s downfall was a catalyst that brought Jewish salvation through Esther.
The other event was the plot to assassinate King Achasverosh by two men Bigtan and Teresh. Again, they had some vendetta against the king and wanted him dead. Ultimately, we connect the dots to see that their plot enabled Mordechai to have his name celebrated, which led to the salvation of the Jewish people. I’m sure you can uncover other Bible events that have the same pattern.
When it comes to contemporary situations, I heard from Rabbi Berel Wein, renowned Rabbi, historian, speaker and author who actually promoted this idea. He recalled that in 1963, the pope planned a trip to Israel and the middle east. Because of diplomatic considerations and the Israeli government’s poor reputation worldwide, the pope refused to fly directly into Israel. Instead, he planned to land in Amman Jordan. Since the land could not be traversed as was, the American government authorized the construction of a rode between Amman and Jerusalem. Sure enough, a short time later the road was constructed, and the pope proceeded on his historic visit to the Christian shrines of Jerusalem.
Four years later, June 1967, the miraculous six-day war was fought, and the Israeli troops went on to a smashing victory despite the lopsided advantage for the Arabs. Perhaps, the greatest outcome from the conquest was the recapturing of the Old City of Jerusalem and the Kotel. In order for the Israelis to retake the city it had to drive the Jordanians, who were occupying it, out of Jerusalem. To succeed militarily, the Israelis need to maneuver their tanks against them to drive them out. The only way they were able to deploy the tanks at that critical moment was to drive them on the pope’s rode and chase the Jordanians back to Amman. Why was the road really built?
We live at a time when history is playing itself out right in front of our eyes. One of the more significant events that has helped in Israel perhaps since the six-day war was the election of Donald Trump as president of the USA. He is not being crowned the messiah, but along with the moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem, something no other president would or could do, he did. He has also made it clear who is allegiance is with in the Middle East and he and his administration have acted and spoken accordingly. Why was Trump elected against such great odds?
This same idea can be seen here in Gibraltar. We live in a town that some of the buildings are very old and were built for the army in its time or other government buildings. Today, these buildings are occupied by our community’s religious organizations and homes for many who currently live here as the community is experiencing a significant population increase and a much-heightened growth in the ideals of the Torah. Why were these buildings really built for then or now?
This message, of how to understand history and the events of history both Jewish and otherwise, is important to sensitize children to. By exposing them to the notion that HaShem’s divine hand is constantly being revealed to us, the seeds of Emunah will take hold in their hearts. Our children have to come to know and believe that History is nothing more than His(HaShem’s) Story.