Everyone likes to be taken seriously, even comedians and clowns. It validates a person, makes them feel as if they have somewhat of a meaningful existence. It’s hard to take ourselves seriously if no one else does, and that can be very disheartening.
God is no different, though for a very different reason. Obviously He requires no validation from us for His sake, but for our sake. Everything He does is for our good, the good and the seemingly bad, the easy and the hard, and taking God seriously means that we take it all to heart and appreciate it.
It’s like a doctor who sees their patient not take their health issue seriously. As the doctor prescribes a healthier diet and lifestyle to help the patient preserve their health, they sense that the patient is only listening half-heartedly. It seems clear to the doctor that they have no intention of following his instructions once they leave.
That’s when the doctor shifts gears. He gets more serious and starts talking about the potential consequences of not adhering to the adjusted lifestyle. He recounts a few disaster stories of those who didn’t to engage his patient and wake them up to reality. Only once the doctor sees that his patient has taken him seriously that he finally eases up and sends his patient on their way.
Lots of things are always going on in Jewish history, and for different reasons. Sometimes they happen behind the scenes, sometimes they happen out in the open. Sometimes they are reasons to celebrate and feel encouraged, and other times they lead to mourning and take the wind right out of us.
Jewish history is a journey with a starting point and an ending one, with no breaks in-between, even if we take them anyhow. Something is always being accomplished towards the end goal whether we can see it or not. Not only is there no rest for the weary, but even less so for those heading for the World to Come.
We were given Torah and mitzvos for our own spiritual health. We were promised redemption, and even the eventual ingathering of our exiles from around the world back home to Eretz Yisroel. We were warned about the War of Gog and Magog if we didn’t take our spiritual well-being seriously enough, and even told how to avoid its consequences, as well as Chevlei Moshiach, if history comes down to it.
Now the question is, what’s the patient’s response? Do they take their situation seriously? Are they listening attentively to the “doctor,” or half-heartedly? Are they prepared to live more cautiously, or throw caution to the wind? The answers to these questions determine whether the doctor, God, will have to change gears with the person to shake them up, or give them a “bye” to the next round.
For example, anti-Semitism has increased tremendously around the world in recent times. A few years ago, many would have argued that this did not mean increased danger for Diaspora Jews, but today, many of those same people are not so sure anymore. They may not (yet) be running to Eretz Yisroel, but they are wondering about their future outside the land.
Others just brush it off as a temporary uptick, one that they have convinced themselves is worth waiting out. They don’t know that they are right. They just hope they are right, even though Jewish history strongly suggests that they are not.
It’s always been a potent concoction for a Jew. It’s a dangerous mixture of wanting to maintain the status quo, being overly invested in the Diaspora, and not being interested in living elsewhere, not being familiar enough with past history, and assuming too much civility about their gentile hosts.
Unfortunately, by the time such people realize that they were wrong, it is already too late to do anything about it. The signs they said that they needed to see before deciding that it was indeed time to leave had to be so blatant that they could only occur once the situation became intolerable, and therefore deadly.
The Zohar says that the learning of it spares a person from Chevlei Moshiach, which includes the War of Gog and Magog. Elsewhere it says that Moshe Rabbeinu told Rebi Shimon bar Yochai (he had visitation rights) that with the Zohar, the Jewish people would leave exile in mercy. Sounds a little self-serving, no?
No, because the Zohar explains itself. Kabbalah is the level of the Aitz HaChaim, the Tree of Life. It doesn’t just refer to a more sublime level of Torah. It is a higher level of spiritual consciousness, one on which a person can more clearly see and understand the purpose of Creation and therefore, fulfill it.
Everything else (even including Gemora), the Zohar says, is on the level of the Aitz HaDa’as Tov v’Ra, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It does not spare a person from Chevlei Moshiach or Gog and Magog because the troubles of the End of Days is to put an end to evil once and for all. Only Kabbalah exists above that level of reality.
Not everyone can learn the Zohar, and not everyone should. Does that mean that some people, because of their level of understanding, are doomed to suffering through the travails of transition to Yemos HaMoshiach? Only if they do not compensate by showing God that they very sincerely take Him, His promises, and His fulfillment of them seriously. Very seriously
That is a state of mind and a thing of the heart. It will show up in action when it can, like learning “extra” Torah, praying extra hard for a merciful redemption, saying Tehillim to improve the situation, being more generous with tzedakah, and helping others through difficult situations. But other times it will just be the sense of urgency and anticipating that a person lives with from day to day.
The road to Hell may be paved with good intentions, but so is the one to Heaven. What determines which one a good intentioned person takes is how much they are willing to rely upon, and ask God to tell them what to do to help Him with His plan. When we ask God for His help, and specifically to do His will, we really show Him how seriously we take Him and His plan.
And that’s everything, during peaceful times and especially during the turbulent ones.