Could it be that the resurgence of the mageifah is a message that we must do more?

The Chofetz Chaim famously said that “when there is an earthquake in Japan, a famine in India, or persecution of blacks in South Africa, it is a message to Klal Yisrael.” Rav Dessler taught that if Klal Yisrael is punished, but we fail to heed Hashem’s message to improve ourselves, we deserve to be punished for having caused the original suffering for no purpose.

I make no claim to daas Torah. I merely make a suggestion based on a possible understanding of the tragedies of the past year, particularly the pandemic.

If shuls and yeshivos were forced to close or operate clandestinely, it may be a message that we are lacking in our respect for the sanctity of the shul, our support of Torah institutions, and our regard for the mechanchim and mechanchos who devote their lives to the Torah chinuch of our children. If more and more of our finest young women come back from their seminaries and choose careers other than chinuch — resulting in a worsening shortage of teachers at a time when, baruch Hashem, enrollments are skyrocketing — perhaps it means that the community at large is not encouraging idealistic dedication.

Has Klal Yisrael responded positively to the Covid crisis? Yes, in amazing ways. Chesed has been indescribable. The dedication of mechanchim and mechanchos has been beyond belief. Is it enough? Could it be that the resurgence of the mageifah in the form of the Delta variant is a message that we must do more?

I reiterate that I have no daas Torah, but as we approach the Yamim Noraim and the Yemei haDin, perhaps the above is food for thought.

Rabbi Nosson Sherman is general editor at ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 876)