A Lesson from Afghanistan
It is difficult to remain apolitical in today’s charged political climate. Every aspect of society seems to have become a partisan issue.
While of course it is important to vote based on our values and beliefs, we must be careful not to fall into the partisan political trap.
One of the things the Jewish people have learned throughout our long history is that we can not put our absolute faith in any particular party or politician. We have seen the worst and the best come from all sides of the political spectrum.
While we do our best to establish a stable, safe, and prosperous society, we must put our ultimate faith only in G-d that He will take care of all our needs.
In Pirkei Avot 4:1 (Ethics of our Fathers) we learn, "Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? He who learns from every man, as it is said: 'From all who taught me have I gained understanding' (Psalms 119:99)".
While we may not agree with every person, we can learn something positive from everyone we encounter.
During the turbulent early years of the 20th century, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880, Lubavitch, Russia- 1950, Brooklyn, NY) was once traveling on a train to Petersburg. With him in the car were some noblemen, clergy, and a group of Chassidim. After a while, the discussion became a heated debate. The subject: ideal systems of government.
At the time, the world was a hotbed of "ism's"-- socialism, communism, capitalism, pacifism, fascism, etc. This debate, however, examined the issue from a Jewish perspective, each individual presenting various proofs from the Torah pointing to the virtues of a particular approach to government.
When they reached an impasse, as is the tendency with most debates, the Chassidim asked the Rebbe for his opinion. The Rebbe responded:
"You are all correct. The Torah is the source of all good in Creation. The positive elements within each of these systems are derived from Torah; their failings stem from the man-made additions to the Torah values."
This week’s Torah portion, Ki Seitzei, begins with the words: “If you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord, your God, will deliver him into your hands, and you take his captives”- Deuteronomy 21:10
The Kabbalists explain that in addition to the literal meaning of the words, which refers to the wars the Jewish people had to fight in Israel against their enemies, the Torah is also referring to the spiritual wars that each person must fight with their evil inclination and animal soul so that they make the right choices.
The Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov (1698, Okopy, Ukraine- 1760, Medzhybizh, Ukraine), taught: “Also from one’s spiritual enemies one must “capture captives.” Anything negative in man or in the world can be exploited for the good, if one can derive a lesson from it in the service of the Creator.”
Among the captives we can rescue from the evil inclination are the lessons we can learn from it. The first such lesson we can learn is that of perseverance. The evil inclination was created by G-d to attempt to seduce us into actions contrary to the purpose of our creation; it performs this task with the utmost dedication and tenacity. We should be similarly dedicated and tenacious in fulfilling the purpose of our creation: to reveal G-dliness in the world through learning G-d’s Torah and performing His commandments.
Over this past week, the world watched in horror as the events were unfolding in Afghanistan. America, with the mightiest army in the world, had invested tremendous resources and effort to enable the Afghani military and democratic government to eventually rule the country.
However, instead, the much smaller and ill equipped Taliban terrorists managed to overrun the country within less than a week.
In the words of Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, “end of the day, despite the fact we spent 20 years and tens of billions of dollars to give the best equipment, the best training and the best capacity to the Afghan national security forces, we could not give them the will (to fight)”.
If there is one lesson we can learn from the current situation, it is that the “will to fight” is much more powerful than all the resources and expertise in the world.
We were all entrusted with the mission of fighting evil and darkness by introducing good and light in this world through the performance of Mitzvot and acts of kindness to usher in a time of peace and prosperity through the coming of Moshiach. Our Sages have declared that “our generation is the last generation of exile and the first generation of redemption”. We must not be overwhelmed by the challenges we face but rather one more Mitzvah can tip the scale and bring redemption to the whole world.
