In a world of uncertainty, fear can be a gateway to deeper faith, prayer, and trust in Hashem’s guidance
There are moments when the world feels like it’s holding its breath. Tensions rise across the globe, markets are volatile, and news from Eretz Yisrael refuses to let up. For many of us, it feels like the ground beneath our feet just won’t stop shifting. Our sense of stability and predictability seems to be illusory.
But maybe it’s that very unsteady uncertainty that invites us to look somewhere deeper.
Rav Moshe Shapira ztz”l once offered a perspective that feels especially sharp in this moment. He drew attention to the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 39:1) that describes Avraham Avinu gazing upon the world and seeing a birah dolekes — a palace engulfed in flames.
Why a palace? And why aflame?
Rav Moshe explained: A palace suggests permanence, design, stability. It evokes order and purpose. But a palace on fire? Fire, for all its beauty, is fueled by destruction. It stays alive only by consuming what lies in its path. The moment it stops taking, it disappears. It may dazzle, but it does not endure.
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