Dear Mrs. Bluth,
There is so much grief and troubles in our world today; I can hardly believe what I read on a weekly basis. How is it possible that so much of the ills of the secular world have infiltrated into our worlds that is supposed to be immune to it by virtue of living a Torah life? The newspapers frequently print stories of wealthy Jews who have bought favors from high placed people in politics, or committed crimes against society, which bolsters and stokes the flames of anti-Semitism and brings down our moral standards. Our youth is afflicted with all sorts of addictions and cannot think without their electrical gadgets that they are plugged into every waking moment. There is no dignity in our dress, no cohesiveness to the family dynamic and no respect for anything or anyone. I am so depressed at the hopelessness of it all and the depths to which we have fallen. All I see is doom and gloom all around me.
There is nowhere to turn for answers. Each rav thinks he is the only one who is right, yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs have become centers for kids with emotional and mental issues and the Jewish home life as I once knew it has all but vanished. Kids grow up like weeds, unsupervised at home because both parents work and come home too tired to attend to their children’s’ emotional and spiritual needs. Where once parents were the most important entities to shape their children and guide them forward, today that station is held by the family computer that is always ready to fill their heads with information no child should be exposed to and so many adults cannot exist without. I see this all around me and I am heartbroken because it has infiltrated the homes of my children and grandchildren and who wants to listen to an old man? I have no say with them so how can I expect others to understand?
What was not lost in the Holocaust is slowly and quietly being vaporized in this modern world. Can we survive this destruction? Please give this old man some words of hope and comfort so that I can believe that someday it will be better. Maybe not in my lifetime, but someday.
A Survivor
Dear Friend,
If we are true believers in Hashem, then we know that there is a reason for everything that happens and although we cannot fathom the why and what of Hashem’s master plan for the universe and its creations, we are obliged to accept that it is for our own benefit and we should not question it. That being said, we do also have free choice, lust after things we should not have, place value on things that are valueless and sacrifice the sanctity of home and family in pursuit of them.
Every generation has its “golden calf” that blinds it to the shallowness and destructiveness of what we think we want and need. We forget that we already own the most precious and perfect treasure in all creation, given to us at Har Sinai. It is only when we recognize this and look away from the glitz and glamour that pulls at us that we can return to the Torah life we are meant to live. We just have to get our priorities in line with the program and then we can begin to fix and repair the damage we caused and show Hakodosh Boruch Hu that we finally have it right. Then and only then will we be zoche to welcome Moshiach and realize the ultimate Geula.
Hold on to this and have faith that we will, indeed, come to our senses, hopefully sooner than later, and that you will have no more reason to be sad and disillusioned.