The Alter Rebbe once famously declared that we must 'live with the times' (and not the Times, thankfully). We know, thanks to his brother who clarified his words later on, that this means living not only with the weekly portions of the Torah but also their daily divisions. Hassidic masters explained that the events of the days of our very own life will be hinted at the corresponding daily division of the weekly portion.
Waking up to last night's NY Gubernatorial election results, it's hard not to picture ourselves as Lot in his cave, bewildered and dazzled after a very tumultuous night, witnessing the desolation of what he felt was an entire world destroyed.
Yesterday we read how, despite Lot's best pleas and offers, the residents of Sodom sealed their fate. They were happy in their depravation, wanton crime, and mob violence. Cruelty was not simply part of the system; it was the system. Even those who should have known better, such as Lot's two married daughters, simply couldn't imagine that things had gone so wrong. When Lot came to warn them about the impending doom, they took it as buffoonery. They fiddled as Sodom burned. As a result of their refusal to face reality, when destruction rained down and swallowed up Sodom, included in the devastation were said daughters and their husbands.
There was simply nothing to do, no one to reason with; Lot had to pack his bags and move on. His wife was, in the end, unable to let go of Sodom and escape its strong pull. She turned around to witness her beloved city's destruction at the price of her life, turning into a pillar of salt. Even Lot was ultimately saved only due to the angels rushing him out, as he had been tarrying behind, trying to gather all his possessions to ensure he lost nothing in his flight.
Many will now tell you that the lesson to draw from yesterday night's results is simple: Most New Yorkers are happy with the lawlessness descending upon the city. They are okay with the daily assaults and attacks on Orthodox Jews in our neighborhoods. Things would need to get significantly worse before they even begin to consider that things have to change, and perhaps nothing short of a Gomorrah-like upheaval would create room for it.
Don't be like Lot's married daughters! Don't be like Lot's wife! Don't be like Lot! We can't stay behind. We can't regret leaving. We can't even take care to make sure the financial hit won't hurt too bad. We must pack up and go now if we don't want to be engulfed in the same destruction coming to New York City's inhabitants.
We are not physically safe and will not be spiritually safe much longer because of the assault on yeshivot. Therefore it's time for Yetziat New York City and to go to the Promised Land ("Miami, if I forget you…"). Our great-great-great-grandchildren will be telling their children and grandchildren how we fled Pharoh Hochul and made it to the Land of Oranges and Disney.
There's also an entirely different lesson to learn from this. A much better one: Running away certainly didn't solve Lot's problems. Neither was giving in to despair and drinking away his sorrows.
No to Doom and Gloom!
The main lesson to learn from Lot and his family is not that we need to flee; instead, it's about letting go. Letting go of the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. We have to concentrate on our survival, physical and spiritual, even if that means letting go of the material. It means we can't look back on the golden years of New York City and have to adapt to our new reality.
We don't have to flee; we have to dig in. We don't have to run away; we have to fight back.
Lot had angels to protect him. We do not have such protectors. Lee Zeldin lost, but the truth is that there is no way to know whether he would have indeed been a friend. In fact, we already know the opinion of our Sages on the matter (Pirke Avot 2:3):
Be careful with the government, for they befriend a person only for their own needs. They appear to be friends when it is beneficial to them, but they do not stand by a person at the time of his distress.
It could be Satmar made the right bargain, and thanks to their endorsement of Gov. Hochul, they will be able to single-handedly get the decree uprooted thanks to their relationship. Or maybe it was merely appeasement, and they will be the last fed to the proverbial crocodile. Or they will be in the same boat as all of us. Time will tell. Either way, we cannot rely on any of this either.
Fleeing is not a solution: even if we uproot ourselves and start anew next door in New Jersey, who's to say that we won't face the same problems down the road in 3-4 years? If we move to Florida, that we won't face the same situation in 10 or 15? If we move to Texas, in 15 to 20?
Israel is not the solution, either. Thanks to unstable governments year after year, who is to say that a man won't end up responsible for the Ministry of Education or Finances and make Lieberman look like one of the greatest allies we ever had in Israeli politics?
Fleeing usually just means that you're problems are two steps behind, and when you finally settle down, they'll soon catch up with you. To sit down in despair, to drink yourself in a stupor, you only let problems ferment and get worse. You might forget about them temporarily, but they won't forget about you.
Doloy Samoderzhaviye Olbani!
It's time to act, and it's time for each and everyone one of us to shoulder a part of it. Brider un shvester, together we are strong enough.
If the police won't protect our neighborhoods, we must do our part, our hishtadlut, and let Hashem take care of the rest. It means more shomrim, more voluntary patrols, and more men learning Krav Maga.
If the Board of Regents think they will be the ones to topple the Torah education we have been providing our children for over 3,335 years, they are very mistaken. We must organize ourselves, begin legal challenges and go to the Supreme Court if need be. We have to prepare for civil disobedience as well. They can't arrest each and every single one of us.
Our grandparents, and theirs before them, all the way to Sinai, were ready to do mesirus nefesh for Torah education as we are reminded every Yom Kippur with the Ten Martyrs, and we must be ready to do the same. Mesirus nefesh doesn't simply mean to lay down our lives, thankfully. Even in our darkest moments in America, it's hard to imagine things even getting close to such a situation.
Mesirus nefesh, however, means that if we have to close yeshivot and move clandestine classes into living rooms, we will make do. If it means sending children to yeshivot out of State after Bar Mitzvah, we will do what is necessary. Read about Samarkand. Read about the Underground of Russia and how we kept Torah education under the worst conditions.
We are the proud descendants of strong Jews to shook heaven and earth to ensure that our way of life would continue, that we would raise our children as Torah Jews, and the same way they stood up to the test and did what was necessary, so will we.
And with G-d's help, lots of prayers, and even more concrete actions, we will be able to create safer neighborhoods, to better our yeshivot according to our conscience and not decrees from Albany, and although we are going through the most challenging time for American Jewry since WWII, we will be able to proudly look back at everything we accomplished.
Without turning into a pillar of salt, that is.