The Thicker the Darkness
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The Pasuk in Yirmiyah says that Hashem will always remember the great love He had for the Jewish people when they left Egypt and followed Him into the desert, not knowing how they were going to eat. Instead of complaining or worrying, they trusted that Hashem would take care of them. That service was so precious to Hashem, even after they saw Him openly. They witnessed the ten plagues and knew He was with them. Imagine if today, when Hashem is so hidden, if someone struggling financially trusts in Hashem instead of worrying, and lives his life happily knowing Hashem is taking care of Him. How beloved would that person be to Hashem? We live in a time when having Emunah is difficult and serving Hashem is difficult. But, because it is so difficult, our opportunities for greatness are enormous.
It says in the beginning of parashat Bereshit, "וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל-פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם"-The spirit of Hashem hovered upon the surface of the waters. The Midrash says that the spirit is רוחו של משיח-the spirit of Mashiach. This means Hashem created the spirit of Mashiach, even before He created the world. Chazal tell us that Mashiach is going to be the greatest man who ever lived. He is going to wipe out all of our enemies and bring the world to its final Tikun.
Every single generation has been waiting for this holy man to come. Our holy forefathers brought recognition of Hashem into the world. Although they did so much good, their generation did not see Mashiach. Moshe Rabbenu received the Torah on Har Sinai; he led the דור דעה-enlightened generation in the desert for forty years. They lived with open miracles every single day, eating Mann and drinking from the well of Miriam. Yet, their generation did not merit seeing Mashiach. Yehoshua and the זקנים-elders did not see him either. The Nevi'im prophesied about Mashiach, but they did not merit seeing him. The אנשי כנסת הגדולה-the men of the great assembly came and illuminated the world in Torah, 120 of the greatest rabbis, but they didn't see Mashiach either. The generations of the Tanaim and Amoraim were so great that they were able to revive the dead. However, they did not merit Mashiach. The Rishonim, the Rambam, Rif and Rashi came and went, but still no Mashiach. The generation of the Bet Yosef and the Arizal, with all of their Kedusha, yet still no Mashiach. There have been so many great Tzadikim throughout the ages, but none of them merited to see Mashiach.
Which generation is going to see this great Tzadik, who all of history has been waiting for? Which lady is going to be carrying him inside of her? It could be someone living right now, in our generation. We ask, "How can that be? How can such a spiritual giant be born during our days, when the world is on such a spiritual low?" Rav Yerucham writes that it is because "the thicker the darkness, the brighter the light." Because we live in such darkness, we have the best opportunity for greatness. We can become the best generation of all time with our small deeds. We don't see Hashem. We don't get recognition for our efforts. There are so many things pulling us away from serving Hashem. But if nonetheless, we could still manage to grow and get close to Hashem at this time, we can become so great and merit Mashiach.
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