For decades nuclear war was a deterrent. The Cold War was in place of a hot war. The belief that there are no winners in such a catastrophic war kept superpowers at bay and limited their ambitions. Differences and fears persisted, but for the most part, peace reigned.
The dangers of nuclear war and fallout were so real that nations even avoided nuclear rhetoric. It was almost as if just threatening nuclear war could accidentally lead to it. There were all kinds of threats, but not a nuclear one. It was just too big and scary.
The Cold War ended in the late 1980s and for a while it seemed as if the world moved away from stockpiling nuclear weapons. It seemed as if countries wanted to focus inwardly instead, and reduce international tensions. Perhaps this is why they intensified pressure on Israel instead.
But like so many times in history, a wild card upset the balance. This time it is Vladimir Putin. Without him, Russia and the Ukraine probably would have simply been trading partners, respecting each other’s borders. HE is the one who felt disgraced by the dismantling of the former USSR. HE once spied for the KGB. HE is the one who did not agree with the policies of Perestroika. Like Hitler before him, ysv”z, who felt the same way after the Weimar Republic’s capitulation to the West after World War I, Putin and what he is doing today was a long time in the making.
In many respects, what is playing out today is what played before World War II. Hitler annexed lands, always testing the resolve of the rest of the world to stop him. When he saw that no one wanted to start up for fear of causing a larger and uncontrollable war, he felt confident to keep up his conquest of Europe and, of course, its Jews. Had Divine Providence not said “Enough!” he might have taken it all, including England.
But nuclear war? That is so incredibly destructive for everyone. A lot of people would die in all countries within a certain vicinity. It would be hard to rebuild after the war because of nuclear fallout if conventional nuclear warheads are used. So it may be insane to take the Ukraine in this day and age, but it is definitely super insane to bring nuclear weapons into the picture. What are they thinking?
Then again, what was Hitler thinking when he tried to take over all of Europe, and then fight Russia at the same time? What was he thinking when he put so much money and manpower into building and running concentration camps when he needed for the war effort? What was the Emperor of Japan thinking when he bombed Pearl Harbor? What was FDR thinking when he tried to sit out the war? What was Obama thinking when he restored Iran’s nuclear program? And what are Jews thinking when they ignore rising antisemitism and pretend it doesn’t exist or won’t be dangerous?
We can ask the same question about so many leaders and events from over history, going all the back to the eating from the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We could ask it about ourselves as well on many occasions. Sometimes it’s just naiveté. Sometimes it’s just plain stupidity. Sometimes it’s about all of that and something more, something deeper called allilus.
You can learn more about allilus here, but in general, the word means pretext. In the case of God and history, it means that God makes things happen in ways that seem for local reasons, but in fact they are the result of far deeper, more primordial reasons. As smart, as powerful, and capable as mankind has become, we will always answer to God and be directed to fulfill HIS purpose of Creation.
WITHOUT allilus human logic might be enough to interpret and deal with most crises in human history. WITH allilus, it is another, often disastrous story. Nothing is more futile—and dangerous—than trying to use human logic to understand current events. Human logic alone doesn’t know enough to accurately decide what is going on and how to deal with it. It may want to say that things are going this way when in fact God’s master plan is bending them that way.
Therefore, the wise person knows that if crazy has entered into the picture, it should not simply be dismissed as crazy. It might seem totally illogical to us, but it might in fact be a divine message about where GOD is taking things, to prepare those who are listening.
Prepare? In which way? That will depend upon the person and their situation. But for starters, begin with “what if.” Ask yourself, and others if you can, “WHAT IF this is really the final act of the final redemption? What if history is about to go through a historic shift unlike any since the Torah was given? What would I do in the limited time left? What CAN I do in the limited time left?”
Your answers will probably surprise you, and could be an important redeeming factor as everything intensifies.