One of the most touching things that I heard in those first days, about 3 weeks ago, when the Ukrainian Shluchim families and their communities were forced to leave behind everything, and literally run for their lives, was a voice note from Mrs. Estie Wilhelm from Zhitomir. She shared it on the day that her husband was forced to leave his makom hashlichus.
It’s a story that she said she already told many times before, but has never been so relevant like it is now, and that this is the moment of truth, where we need to unpack all that we repeated our whole lives, and actually apply it.
A few years earlier, while her family was visiting her father in Antwerp, they took their little kids, aged 4 & 1, to a huge amusement park in Holland.
One of the first rides right at the entrance was a kid’s train, in which each of the cars had a pretend steering wheel. Her 1 year old, Yudale, sat right in the front car, and was having the time of his life! He kept turning the wheel and getting a thrill out of the feeling that he is the one driving this entire long train!
When the ride was over, of course he wanted to do it again, and the ride attendant was happy to let him go as much as he wanted, since it was a cold day out, and the park was nearly empty anyway.
But Yudale didn’t want to stop. He wanted to go again and again and again. No matter how much his parents tried to explain to him that there is a whole huge amazing park to see, and it’s a shame to sit on this one little ride the whole day, he just wouldn’t let go.
Finally, they saw they had no choice, and so his father pulled him out of the train car by force, while little Yudale cried and screamed that he didn't want to go!
On the spot, his father thought out loud,
“This is just how it is in life. We too, are happy to stay where we are, we don't want to have to change, we don’t want to leave our comfortable place behind, and move on...
“And so when our Father, Hashem, takes us out without our consent, we cry and we scream, and kick with our hands and feet...
“We don’t understand that we didn’t come to this world to sit in one place. We don’t realise that our Father only wants to take us to a much better place, because there are much greater opportunities awaiting us…”
Listening to her message, I was completely in awe.
I couldn’t believe her strength in being able to recognize and so fully trust in Hashem’s essential goodness, even while in the moment, in the midst of so much fear and uncertainty!
And I thought, that while they were being shaken out of their comfort zone physically, we were all being shaken out of our comfort zone psychologically.
Lately, Hashem has been telling us that as much as we felt we were surviving, or even thriving, in golus, as much as we felt comfortable, and afraid of change, or of leaving it behind, it’s just time to move on!
And it’s not because He doesn’t love us chv, but the opposite! It’s because He is the MOST loving Father, and He wants to take us to the GREATEST era in history, as soon as possible! He just can’t wait to show us and let us enjoy the rest of the awesome “amusement park” - the wondrous world of the Geulah that He has in store for us!
May we immediately see the good in a tangible revealed way with our physical eyes, to the point that we are able to thank Him!
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