A DARK DAY IN KLAL YISRAEL

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An Open Letter to God
By TheCoolJew.com Editor Yosef Shidler

Father in heaven, Its 6:30 AM, I have slept very little. My Blackberry has been by my side all night, I am constantly waking up to check through the latest twitter posts. When I awoke a few minutes ago my heart sank when I read from people on the scene that Leiby was found dead. As I write this, I can still hear the choppers outside above my head. I know this is going to be a VERY dark day for the Jewish People. All the details as to what happened will emerge over the next few hours. Some reports even saying the man behind this act was a Jew himself. (Update 9:45 The Murder a is a Jew by the name Levy, he Molested the Child, Scared of Arrest, Killed him & Threw in Dumpster) For Klal Yisrael we will never be the same. Today will be remembered as a VERY DARK DAY in the Jewish world. It occurred to me over the past 48 hours, why did Hashem do this, and what message was he sending to yidden? Every event is hasgacha protis. All the more so an event of this scale (one which has taken the headlines of FOX NEWS and NBC websites) is an open lesson to all of klal yisrael. WHY DID WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS KARBON? My first thought goes to a talk of the The Lubavitcher Rebbe, it happened after a woman in Crown Heights (Pesha Leah Lapine) was murdered. In that talk which was said after she was murder, the rebbe says the reason: NONE. No reason given will suffice. Such an event amongst us is reason we MUST cry. Events like this must not be rationalized, for no reason will suffice. We say we will NOT accept this and we will say we will not excuse this. This is what the rebbe said after that event. I tried to locate that video, but hasgacha had it, I came upon another one of relevance. In this one of Lubavitcher Rebbe, which I put below, the Rebbe asks why and how could it be that Hashem allows things like this to happen. The answer, seen in the video at 3:50, is that evidently Hashem wants us to cry with the deepest of sincerity.

We are just days away from the three weeks being upon us, yet again! One thousand nine hundred and forty one years into this golus and we are still here. No Beis Hamikdash. Instead our children are being taken as karbons. Since this story began, on Monday, we have seen such an amazing display of chesed in klal yisrael. Ordinary people turned into heros. Men who had families, stood outside in a heat wave (reminds me of how Hashem made it extra hot after Avrham had his bris), hours on end, they continued into in the streets all night, and all the next day, praying and hoping for someone they may have not even known. To some it was someone foreign from another community. Another world, another lifestyle another, way of thinking. Every news station admits that the way our community,the Jews of Brooklyn, joined together is something unmatched anywhere else. This kiddish Hashem did not go unnoticed. Not by world and not by Heaven. Its something which stands out to be noted. It will forever be remembered. The ahavas chinam, baseless love, that was displayed was unparallelled. People who were secure and comfortable in the catskills bungalows made it a point to get up and return to the city, they drove hours back from upstate. Not just one or two but by the busloads, all so they can be just one more person involved in helping bring the boy home. This is Ahvas Yisrael and ahavas chinam like never before.

We all know the famous story of what led to the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. We know the famous story of kamtza and bar kamtza. Two Jews, both of whom had no reason not to see eye to eye, who had an empty hatred towards each other. That was the beginning of it all. That was the story that started this golus. Today, I think we can say we watched the beginning of the end. It is just days before the start of the three weeks, I think we may have developed a major TIKUN for that event and time. The Rebono Shel Olam gave klal yisrael a massive test. Hashem asked us as a nation: two thousand years into this golus, how much do you care for each other? How much do you all care for just "ONE" amongst your ranks? Will you still care for him if he is not a Satmar? Will you still care for him if he is not Litvish? Will you still care for him if he is not Lubavitch? Will you still care for him if he is not from your own group? To this Klal Yisrael said once again Naseh Vinshmah. By the hundreds we took to the streets. Every person to do a part, each in his own way. Some on foot, some with money, some with connections. People were moser nefesh for just that "one" amongst our ranks. "Tell us where to march," they said, "Tell us where to look? Do we look on this street or do we look on that street? Do we look high or do we look low?"

Hashem sat in heaven watching the moves of klal yisrael. He watched and waited. He watched as over 48 hours klal yisrael stood side by side, kish eched u'blev eched united for one cause. To bring home someones child. It mattered to non that he was from the boyan chassdis and not from another. It didnt matter if he was from Flatbush or Crown Heights. All that mattered was a Jewish Child needs to be brought home.

OUR DEAR FATHER IN HEAVEN, you saw what happened. Yes we have some crazy people among us. Yes it was another Jew who did the crime here. You left room in your Torah for murders too. You have law for them. They must pay for the crimes done. But look at the masses of Yidden. You saw how we responded. It is said of you that you act in a way called midah kineged midah, measure for measure. To date, your first born son (so you call us in shemos 4:22), has been lost for over two thousand years. You just witnessed the nature of Klal Yisrael, to unite no matter what. It didn't matter his background or his past. All that mattered was to bring the boy home. Our dear father we cry out to you AD MOSAI! Until when will we stand in this golus and wait for you to "storm the doors" of golus, bringing us home. We have displayed to you in the most powerful way that we are a nation united together. Must we go though yet another three week of mourning? End this golus now and bring us home. Don't allow Leibby's neshama to go to waste. Allow the boys voice to echo out in front of your Holy thrown on high. Allow it to take the place of your ketores and other karbonos and let it be appeasing to you as a testimony to all, that the Jewish people are ready to come home. PLEASE SEND YOUR RIGHTEOUS MOSHIACH TO STORM DOWN OUR GOLUS DOORS & REUNITE A SON WITH HIS FATHER!

Update: Please also see the follow up article about moving forward: HERE

WATCH starting at 3 Mins 50 Seconds