I hope everyone had uplifting Sederim on the first days of the holiday, and that all of our hizuk in emunah and bitachon will bring the Mashiach.
One of the questions they will ask after 120 years is ציפית לישועה' Sipita L’Yeshua?
Did you look forward to G-d’s salvation? (which hopefully we are doing in these days) The Bet HaLevi tells us that this concept isn’t just about whether we look forward to Mashiach. But rather, do we look forward in every situation we are in,
וְלֹא נִתְיָאֵשׁ מִמֶּנָּה וְהִתְחַזֵּק בְּבִטְחוֹנוֹ בְּכָל פְּרָט שֶׁנִּתְחַדֵּשׁ עָלָיו.
Did we keep up our hope?
Did we strengthen our reliance in Hashem in every detail of our life? In every twist and turn, do we rely on Hashem and look forward to His salvation?
The Pele Yoetz says the same thing.
ולא על הגאולה בלבד צריך להיות יושב ומצפה, אלא על כל מין צרה שלא תבוא
על האדם צריך להיות מצפה לתשועת ה' כהרף עין.
It’s not just on the ultimate redemption but in any crisis that shouldn’t happen. We should always look forward to Hashem’s Yeshuah, His salvation, and He will save us in the blink of an eye.
The Arizal says that every day, when we say the words
לישועתך קוינו (וצפינו ) כל היום
We hope (and look forward from afar) to Your salvation all day long,
A person should have in mind,
שמצפה לישועה על כל צרה שנמצא בה,
that he is looking forward to salvation from any problem that he has.
והוא מסוגל מאד
And this is a great Segulah.
The Arizal is giving us a great Segulah: Look forward to Hashem’s Yeshua in every situation.
(There is a difference between the words Sipita and Kivita: Sipita has a similar root to word in the mountain “Har Hasofim,” which in English is called Mount Scopus- as though you can see things that are far, like with a telescope.)
Sipita is knowing it’s coming- like waiting on the platform for a train- you know it’s coming.
Kivoy/ Kivita means to hope. We hope the day will come.
We have a responsibility, Kol Hayom, every day our lives, or all day, to always look forward to Hashem’s salvation.
The Ramchal, Rav Moshe Chaim Luzatto, author of the Mesilat Yesharim, has a whole derush/essay on the concept of Kivoy/ Hope. He says the whole world is built on kivoy/hope. Any blessing that comes from G-d needs hope first. Even in creation, he says all the lower worlds were waiting for the upper words. The grass didn’t come out until Adam Rishon prayed for it. Everything needs hope. He describes all the benefits of the person that has hope:
When you say to Hashem that you are waiting קויתי לישועתיך- for Your salvation, I hope, Hashem, A person who has kivoy/ Hope, is dealing directly with Hashem. There are no messengers.
He says the word Tikvah/ Hope, comes from the word kav- a straight line. This Hope is so powerful that it breaks through and pierces and goes up to G-d, literally.
The person who has kivoy is always happy because he knows the Yeshua is going to come. It might take time, but he knows it will happen.
He continues and says that the power of kivoy works, even if a person doesn’t have a lot of good deeds.
השם מתגלה עליו ומעביר כל פשעים.
Because he’s so connected to G-d, G-d reveals Himself, and takes away his sins.
And,get ready for this major Chiddush:
וזה סוף התיקון
The final correction of the world, that will bring Mashiach, will come,
מגודל תקות כל ישראל באורך הגלות ובוטחים באמונה שיגאלו.
with the tremendous hope of the whole of the Jewish people, in this long exile. When they rely with faith, that Hashem will save them.
That’s what it means when it says that at the end of time that a Sadik B’Emunatoh Yiheh, a Sadik will live by his Emunah.
Something about this always bothered me. With all this talk of bitachon and hope, what about Teshuva? Where does that fit? Of course, we have to do Teshuva, but the Ramchal continues with a tremendous chiddush:
ותקותו היא טהרתו
His hope will purify him.
The word Mikveh has the same root- to purify.
He says, הוא במדריגה עליונה שאין עושה בו פגם
It’s such a high level that a person reaches, that all his deficiencies go away.
This isn’t a shortcut. Obviously if you’re so connected to G-d, you’re praying good, you’re learning you’re be doing Mitzvot etc.
He says, וזהו סוד התשובה. This is a secret of Teshuva.
שהוא ממש שב אל מקורו, והסטרא אחרא לא יכלה לו,
The person returns to his Source, and the evil forces can’t get to him.
That’s what שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד ה' means.
We say this on Shabbat Shuva when we get ready for Kippur. We want to return till the Kiseh Hakavod. That’s for regular Teshuva.
The Ramchal says that he pierces through with this direct line of hope and makes a hole, a crack breaks through to the Kiseh Hakavod.
This brings to mind something that one of our congregants, Mr. Morris Beyda, brought up. He mentioned the story of the wicked king Menashe, who worshipped all kinds of avodah zarah. In the end, his enemies captured him and put him in a hot cauldron and were boiling him alive. He called out to every idol, but none answered him. Then he recalled that when he was a young boy his father Hizkiyahu (who was righteous), told about the Jewish G-d. So, he prayed to G-d, a heartfelt prayer, and his prayers went up. But it says that the angels were blocking his prayers. They wondered how the wicked Menashe’s prayers could be let in. And it says G-d made a hole, a tunnel, under his Kiseh Hakavod, his throne, to let Menashe’s prayers enter.
It says that Menashe is the one that teaches us lessons of Teshuva, and there is a special place where Menashe is, taking care of all Baalei Teshuva.
This king, who was so wicked turned around. His father, Hizkiyahu HaMelech, didn’t even want to have children because he saw that his son would turn out to be so wicked. But G-d said, “Don’t be so smart. You have children and leave it up to Me.”
What Hizkiyahu didn’t realize was that Menashe would be able to do such a Teshuva. It was beyond the scope of his vision.
What comes back to us is the that it doesn’t say that Menashe said Vidui. All he did was hope to Hashem.
This is the concept that the Ramchal is teaching us. Hoping to Hashem has the power to pierce through. We must hope to Hashem from the bottom of our hearts. It must be real. We and all Klal Yisrael.
Who knows if all these challenges that we are going through now or just an opportunity for Klal Yisrael to exercise our hope?
We hope for health, for parnasa, or maybe even to get back to school.... We are hoping for so many things. That hope, beEzrat Hashem, will connect us to Hashem in a real way, and bring Mashiach Sidkenu, BmHerah BYamenu
Amen.