Month: November 2025 – כ״ג במרחשוון תשפ״ו
Don’t Fear Mamdani!
Republished with permission:
Hashem Is Our Only King
Many people are feeling uneasy about the results of the election for Mayor of New York. Just hours after the results were announced, there were already several anti-Semitic incidents. Rahmana li’slan.
In moments like these, we must remember a fundamental truth: no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, Hashem is always our loving Father. He is controlling every detail that happens every second of every day. Our King does not get elected. Our King does not change every four years. He was, He is, and He always will be the One and only power directing the fate of every individual and every nation.
Shlomo HaMelech says in Mishle, פַּלְגֵי־מַיִם לֵב־מֶלֶךְ בְּיַד־יְהוָה עַל־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר יַחְפֹּץ יַטֶּנּוּ. “The heart of a king is like streams of water in the hand of Hashem—wherever He desires, He directs it.”
The Midrash explains: just like water in a bowl can be tilted effortlessly in any direction, so too the heart of every leader is in the hands of Hashem, and He tilts it exactly as He wills. Whatever Hashem wants to happen, He brings about through the leader.
The Malbim there adds a deeper insight: ordinary people are given free will, but a ruler—who has power over multitudes—cannot be allowed unrestricted free will, or he could cause great harm(in general no one can use their free will to affect another person unless Hashem wills it). Therefore, once someone ascends to leadership, Hashem limits his free will and uses him as an instrument to carry out His plan.
That is why throughout history, there were leaders believed to be lovers of the Jewish people who suddenly acted with cruelty. And there were others who were assumed to be our enemies, who turned out to be our greatest allies. Once they come into power, they are governed entirely by Hashem’s plan. Whatever He wants for Am Yisrael—that is exactly what will unfold.
It does not matter who the leader is. Everything depends on our actions. The Gemara teaches that when Achashverosh gave his ring to Haman, that act brought about more teshuvah among the Jewish people than all the Nevi’im throughout history combined. Sometimes Hashem places a leader over us to awaken us, to push us toward teshuvah, to strengthen our emunah, or to remind us that only He controls the world.
So the real question is:
Are we going to trust in Hashem, or in the headlines?
Are we going to believe that Hashem determines our destiny, or that our lives are in the hands of politicians?Yes, Jewish history contains painful chapters. But none of those harsh events ever came because of what a leader wanted. They were all expressions of Hashem’s will—and even the difficult decrees came from His love. Like a doctor who administers a painful injection to heal the patient, Hashem sometimes gives us challenges for our ultimate benefit.
Everything He does is the absolute best for us. Always. We have been under Hashem’s watch, we are under His watch, and we will forever remain under His loving watch.
The best thing we can do is strengthen our belief that there is nothing in the world besides Him, and strive to be the best servants of Hashem we can be. It is always our deeds and our tefillot that determine how Hashem guides the world.
Baruch Hashem, we have a loving Father watching over us at every moment. That knowledge alone should give us the greatest sense of peace and strength.
הרב משה מלוביצקי שליט”א: הגאולה היא מעריכית
קוראים יקרים שימו לב – המאמר היום הוא מאמר אורח של ידידי ורעי, הרב משה מלוביצקי, מראשי אגודת ‘קדושת ציון’.
דבר ה’ אל מול קציני סדום (ראה ישעיה א י)
FUNNY: Don’t Abandon Elders!
No Longer Relevant
(cdu)
I sit in the corridor, because the air in my room is stale. And because my roommate hasn’t stopped moaning and groaning since she got here, three years ago.
My children told me the nursing home would provide companionship and responsible health care, but that’s just what the brochure says.
The others here are older than me, weaker, and often depressed. Staying cheerful and upbeat around them, and mostly-overworked nurses has not been easy.
At home, I kept busy with organizing my cupboards and drawers, and inviting friends over for coffee or an evening of inspiration. We discussed all kinds of life-enhancing topics, and laughed about our aches and pains. We forgot half of what we’d told each other the last time we met, so we never ran out of things to talk about!
Yet, here I sit, in the gleaming, pristine hallways of Serenity Nursing Home, feeling anything but serene.
In the last three years, I’ve swallowed about 500 pills, none of which I can name. I’ve choked down tasteless mush three times a day. I’ve started conversations with my roommate that went nowhere because she can hardly hear, so she always gets insulted by things I’ve never actually said.
I joke with staff members who barely smile, and they laugh before the punchlines, because they assume I have no idea what I’m saying anyway.
I am no longer relevant!
My children visit me once a month. Usually the first Sunday of the month, so they can cross it off their calendars, I guess.
The visits are superficial at best.
Here is a sampling:
Grown Child: (loudly enough to wake the dead) Hello, Grandma! How have you been?
Me: Could be better.
Child: Better? Awesome! How’s the food?
Me: Tasteless, pretty much.
Child: Tasty? Awesome! Sleeping well?
Me: Not a wink. My roommate…
Child: (even more loudly) Not your roommate, Grandma. How have YOU been sleeping?
Me: Okay, I suppose.
Child: That’s good. You need your sleep!
Me: For what, exactly?
Child: Hahaha, oh Grandma, you’re so cute.
You get the idea.
So, I’m planning to escape.
Not sure how, when, or where I’ll go, but I’ve got to get out of here. Will you help me?
I can wash dishes, fold laundry ,and do homework with your children. I offer great advice, but only if you ask me – not unsolicited. I don’t eat much, and lukewarm bottled water suits me fine. I wear the same three housecoats during the week, and a special robe on Shabbos. That’s about it.
If I spend one more week sitting in this bleak corridor, talking to absolutely no one, I’m going to lose it. I might start screaming like a lunatic, “Get me out of here!”
Please, save me before that happens, or they’ll lock me up in a much worse place than this, for sure.
I would offer to pay you, but my children monitor my savings accounts. Maybe you can kidnap me, hold me for a high ransom, and tell my children they better show up with the money or you’ll kill me. Then, after they Zelle you the money, you say, “We decided to keep her, after all.”
If they sound relieved, no further action need be taken. If they sound upset, tell them they can still visit me once a month, just as they do now.
It’s a fail-proof plan, no?
Oh wait, you don’t want to go to jail, right?
So I myself will confess to the police that it was all a ruse, created by me, to escape from a nursing home that was not meeting my needs. The nursing home might protest, but only because of the money, so we’ll settle with them.
Just please, take me far away from here.
Please!
If you are reading this heartfelt message, that means Phase 1 of my Great Escape Plan has already succeeded, so you can count on me for the rest, too.
Do we have a deal?
Reprinted with permission.