This lesson is dedicated by someone anonymously, in honor of his wife and the birth of their baby.
The following topic is always important, but due to current events, we can appreciate it even more. The Gemarah in Masechet Yoma says the following:
Why were the “Men of the Great Assembly” called by this title? What was so great about them?
שהחזירו עטרה ליושנה-Because they returned the crown to its old glory.
Moshe Rabbenu said, האל הגדול הגבור והנורא
G-d is great, He is strong, He is awesome.
But Yirmiyah the Navi asks, “How we can say that, when the goyim are “croaking” eg. making noises in God’s Hechal- where is the fear? They stopped the Norah/ Fear”
Daniel said, “The Goyim are subjugating the Jewish people. Where is the strength?”
But the Men of the Great Assembly came along and said no. It’s actually the opposite. It’s God’s greatness. G-d’s greatness is that He can do whatever He wants; but He’s holding back for some reason.
Where is the fear of G-d? If not for fear of G-d, how is the Jewish nation, one nation, able to survive amongst the many nations? The greatness of the Men of the Great Assembly was that they were able to perceive, even in exile, that there was still Gevurah, strength on G-d’s part, and that there was still fear of G-d.
The fact that a Jew walks down the street on any given day and is safe is a miracle. G-d instills fear. This goes back to the story of Yaakov Avinu in Bereshit peek לה
After the Shevatim fought against and wiped out the town of Shechem, they traveled.
וַיְהִי חִתַּת אֱלֹקִים עַל הֶעָרִים
And the fear of G-d was upon the cities that surrounded them
וְלֹא רָדְפוּ אַחֲרֵי בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב:
And they didn’t chase the Bnei Yaakov.
G-d instilled a fear in them.
People get scared when there are riots. And even though they start off over racial inequality, somehow they spiral into antisemitism. Then we see antisemitic graffiti, and Jews are possibly targeted. Suddenly, we get nervous and scared. We worry about what will be be. We think, There is rioting in the streets! How is this going to affect me?
A quote from Midrash Rabbah in Esther says that a certain Ceasar told Rebbi Yehoshua,
“Great is the sheep that can stand amongst 70 wolves.”
The Jewish people are compared to a sheep, and the nations around them are compared to wolves.
“You must have a very strong sheep that can fight off all those wolves.”
That’s the thought of some; that Jews must arm themselves and be strong. That we mustn’t go like sheep to the slaughter, as they say. They think we have to become strong sheep. But that is a silly statement, because there is no such thing as a strong sheep. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t protect ourselves. Of course not. But there is no such thing as a strong sheep. Ultimately, wolves are more vicious than sheep are, and sheep can’t protect themselves. Therefore, the Rabbi answered the Caesar, you got it wrong, He said
גדול הוא הרועה
Great is the shepherd who’s watching over the sheep.
That is the principle that has kept us alive all these years in Galut. G-d is called our Ro’eh, our shepherd.
It goes so far that the Yalkut Shmoni, on Yeshaya, Perek מ
says it’s compared to a shepherd that has sheep. If a lion comes to attack the sheep, do you comfort the owner? Doesn’t the shepherd need comfort? G-d is the shepherd. When things happen to His sheep, He’s the one that has to be comforted. He’s the shepherd.
The one that mentions this concept is Yaakov Avinu, when he blesses Yosef and his children. He says
הָאֱלֹהִים הָרֹעֶה אֹתִי מֵעוֹדִי עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה:
G-d has shepherded me from the beginning until today.
Rav Matityahu Salomon brings a beautiful thought. He says that word “הרעה” HaRo’eh/ shepherd is spelled without a vav, so it can be read as HaRa’ah - “looked like.” Yaakov Avinu is saying,
In my life, things happened to me that appeared to be evil. But in hindsight I see they weren’t evil. They were my shepherd.
Like David HaMelech says
( perek 23)
ה׳ רעי לא אחסר
Hashem is my Shepherd, I don’t lack.
בִּנְא֣וֹת דֶּ֭שֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵ֑נִי עַל־מֵ֖י מְנֻח֣וֹת יְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃
G-d brings me to luscious fields and He puts me on tranquil waters.
The words
“בִּנְא֣וֹת דֶּ֭שֶׁא “יַרְבִּיצֵ֑נִי can mean
G-d “puts me to crouch” on beautiful grass areas. But it can also mean “to be hit,”
I once heard Rabbi Ades say that we should read it this way:
בִּנְא֣וֹת דֶּ֭שֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵ֑נִי
I was at a luscious, grass area
And G-d gave me a beating.
(Why? I was very comfortable there)
עַל־מֵ֖י מְנֻח֣וֹת יְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃
Because He wanted to take me to a place with tranquil waters.
The luscious grassy area wouldn’t bring me tranquility.
The Shepherd knows what the sheep needs. He sometimes moves us from point A to point B, because point B is better for us.
That’s our lesson:
Throughout life, the Jewish people at large, and the individual have a great Shepherd. He’s always looking ahead and doing what’s best for us. Our Shepherd is powerful, even when all the lions are lurking in the distance. This sheep has survived it all, not because he’s strong, but because the Shepherd is great.
Have a wonderful day.