The recent news from Israel indicates we experienced a miracle of epic proportions. It seems that the fact bombs exploded in multiple busses and no one was hurt is only the most revealed part of a miraculous web of events that have occurred, the full extent of which we may never properly comprehend.
Since I don’t have access to more information than what is available to everyone on the internet there is no use in me sharing political or security commentary about the thwarted attack. But as a Jew, I have the benefit of learning Torah daily and seeking to understand reality through its prism and I’d like to share my thoughts on last night’s events from that vantage point.
Every weekly Torah portion which is read during synagogue services on Shabbat is divided into seven sections, parallel to each day of the preceding week. The first section is dedicated to Sunday, the second section to Monday, etc., and the final section is dedicated to Shabbat. Also remember that on the Jewish calendar, every day of the week begins the night before, just like Shabbat starts on Friday at sunset. The bus explosions happened on Thursday evening at approximately 9:00 pm which means it was already Friday on the Jewish calendar. Here is what you will find in the sixth section (parallel to Friday) of this week’s section Mishpatim:
“I (G-d) am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way, and to bring you to the place that I have designated. Be watchful in his presence—heed his voice and do not rebel against him, for he will not overlook your iniquity, since My Name is with him; For if you will diligently obey him and thus do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and persecute your persecutors.”
“For My angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will annihilate them. You must not prostrate yourselves to their gods nor serve them, nor may you follow their practices; rather, you must shatter their idols and demolish the pillars they have set up to worship as idols. You must serve G-d, your G-d, and I will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove illness from your midst.”
There are no coincidences in the world, especially not in the Torah. In these six short verses dedicated to this Friday, G-d declares our eternal ownership of the Land of Israel, and His promise of divine protection. Our brothers and sisters in Israel are surrounded by millions of enemies who wish to harm them every day, but G-d protects them constantly.
Last night G-d’s protection was felt throughout the world with the “kaboom!” of several empty buses exploding with no casualties. Let us thank G-d for this tremendous miracle and do our part to usher in the era that is described in the final verse of today’s Torah section. Through serving G-d with increased Torah study, mitzvah observance, and encouraging others to do the same, we will merit G-d’s blessings of abundance, and the removal of all “illness” - including the threats of violence and terror from any of our numerous enemies. May this blessed era of Moshiach begin very soon!