We are all aware of the worsening economic, social, and other decrees hovering over the Torah world in Eretz Yisrael.

We increase our davening in response, we hold special tefillos in our shuls, maybe we learn extra Torah or try to do some other mitzvah more, or better.

Yet there is one thing that is written so clearly in sefarim.

We find in Parashas Ki Seitzei: an explicit promise from Hashem that He Himself will be with us to help and protect us (ki Hashem mishalech b’kerev mechanecha lehatzilcha mikol ovecha…). But there is a condition:V’haya mechanecha kadosh — your camp shall be holy.

When we are modest, holy and hidden, then the Shechinah will dwell with us.

As Harav Mattisyahu Salomon, shlita, points out: Do we realize how much we benefit when Hashem is with us? If we have Hashem’s protection, we have everything, as it says in Shemoneh Esrei: When Hashem’s Countenance is upon us, we are granted all good — Toras chaim, brachos, life and peace.

Surely if we all do some real teshuvah in this area, Hashem Yisborach will come even closer to us and save us from types of tzaaros no one should know of.

Hashem wants to be with us. Let’s not make Him turn His face away from us to avoid seeing something improper, undignified or out of place. Let’s all try to make a kabbalah, in our heads or verbally, of something that we can do in this area to improve. In our collective merit, these decrees will be turned around and Moshiach will come, bimheirah biyameinu amen.

Z.B.

Yerushalayim