“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Yisro
Mevorchim Chodesh Adar
23 Shevat 5781/February 5, 2021
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FAKE NEWS
I have a hobby of
collecting newspapers that contain memorable headlines. So, when major events
occur, I buy the next day’s paper and add it to my collection. I have
newspapers from when the last few presidents won elections, President Clinton
was impeached, September 12, 2001, when President Trump was impeached (both
times), and some papers after worthwhile teams I root for win a championship.
After
Shabbos, I saw a screen shot of the day’s New York Times. I did a double take
as I saw that there was a picture of Rav Chaim Kanivesky on the front page.
There can’t be much more of a memorable newspaper than that, so I went on a
search to find somewhere that still had a New York Times available for sale. I
finally found one last copy in a gas station and quickly purchased it.
As can
be imagined, the paper wasn’t lauding Rav Chaim as a great and holy Torah
leader who has impacted and influenced countless lives. The quote under the
picture read “He is Israel’s Prince of Torah, but to some he is the King of
Covid.” I had no doubt that the New York Times wasn’t about to say anything
positive about our leaders or our communities. They and their cohorts – CNN,
BBC, WSJ, etc. never miss an opportunity to malign us and portray us as archaic
and deficient.
Still, I
excitedly showed my children the paper. I told them that it is likely a glimpse
into the messianic era, which isn’t too far away. At that time, pictures of Rav
Chaim and other great Torah leaders will reverently adorn the front pages of
these currently hostile news outlets. Unlike now, at that point when the truth
will be revealed, they will view Torah personalities as bearers of the
unadulterated truth and will strive to hear their messages.
Yeshaya
HaNavi majestically describes the messianic era. (Yeshaya 42:1-2) “Behold my
servant… he will not shout, he will not lift up and make his voice heard
outside…”
Rav
Schwab explains that when Mashiach comes, he will be so compelling and
convincing that he will not have to shout or advertise his mission in any way.
The nations of the world will be eager to hear what he has to say. The world
will recognize his teachings as the ultimate truth, and people will flock to
him from the ends of the earth to ask him their questions. The work begun by
Avrohom Avinu millennia ago – “And he called out in the Name of Hashem”
(Bereishis 12:8) – will be completed by Mashiach.
Earlier
(Yeshaya 41:21-24), the Navi mocks the false prophets of the nations,
challenging them to predict the future, and see if any of their predictions
come true. Yeshaya himself prophesized about what would occur with King Coresh
(Cyrus) of Persia and the rebuilding of the second Bais Hamikdash. When Yeshaya
said it, the first Bais Hamikdash was still standing, Persia was hardly a dot
on the map, and it was years before Koresh was born! Yet every word was
fulfilled exactly as he said. That reminds us that everything Yeshaya said
about the messianic era will be fulfilled too, in its time.
My
rebbe, Rabbi Berel Wein, relates that when he moved out of Chicago to become a
Rabbi in Miami, his mother would send him the previous month’s collection of
TIME magazines. He noted that when he read the magazines weeks after their
time-sensitive publication, he invariably found that they had gotten everything
wrong.
“Their
predictions as to events that would occur was woefully inaccurate and their
analysis of situations proved to be shallow and of little real strategic value.
“But this experience of receiving these old magazines –
which went on for many years – cured me of the belief in political and economic
experts and pundits. Unforeseen events always arose to mock their oracular
predictions and assessments. I always thought of the verse: “He Who sits
in Heaven laughs and the Lord mocks them.”
“So, I
developed the habit, nevertheless, of only reading old magazines, for in their
now evident false understanding of reported events, I did find fiendish
enjoyment and perverse pleasure. I imagine that since few people read old
magazines except when sitting in a doctor’s waiting room, the magazines can
keep on churning out their assessments, predictions and analyses without fear
of being exposed as being as constantly mistaken…. as they truly are.”
Rabbi
Wein also often quips that “One of the great mercies of the G-d of Israel is
that he doesn’t read the New York Times. They haven’t got a clue, even though
they have all the opinions.”
It’s a
great challenge that newspapers today could more aptly be described as viewspapers,
and their views are often inaccurate at best. It’s therefore important that we
remind ourselves that their opinions and portrayals are not necessarily a
reflection of reality.
But the
day will come when all that will change.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum