Hashem is sending us so many signs in an effort to get our attention
While the oft-quoted statement that “Yidden are living in very difficult times” could easily describe most of the last 2,000 years of our nation’s history, recent events have been particularly frightening. And these events, which took place in such rapid succession, happened in the midst of Chodesh Adar, the month that is usually associated with simchah, only adding another formidable dimension. It should be obvious that something supernatural is going on, a clear manifestation that “chamas haMelech lo shachacha.”
Several weeks ago, a series of devastating earthquakes took place in Turkey and Syria, killing over 50,000 people and injuring an additional 105,000. We saw the stark images of 550 collapsed buildings, while over 50,000 other structures had to be knocked down preemptively, as they were in imminent danger of toppling.
Years ago, following a different devastating earthquake in Haiti, I referenced in these pages the Chofetz Chaim’s famous letter in which he reacted to the devastating 1923 earthquake in Japan that killed more than 100,000 people. He declared a public taanis and issued a public call to do teshuvah, reiterating that everything that happens in the world happens because of Klal Yisrael, and that the tragedy had been a warning to us.
In another letter dated Av 5687 (1927), the Chofetz Chaim refers to an earthquake that took place in Yerushalayim that year. While no Jews were killed, it left many homeless, starving, and susceptible to the many diseases and illnesses that ravaged the impoverished city.
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