Twenty-six years have passed since the demise of Maran HaGaon
R' Yechezkel Abramsky zt'l (Elul, 5736). Aside from
the greatness of his genius, which finds expression in his
work, Chazon Yechezkel, his finger was always poised
on the pulse of his people. His concern for the public
welfare was also evident in the numerous messages of
hashkofoh which he wrote for various periodical
publications. He maintained an unflagging campaign against
the enemies of religion, and his exhortations were compiled
in a collection of essays.
Many letters and essays, however, did not receive sufficient
notice and awareness by the general public at the time. Among
these was one Kol Korei which, R' Yechezkel testifies,
was written with his very lifeblood. He sent it to the
gedolei hador, Hageonim R' Moshe Mordechai Epstein and
R' Isser Zalman Meltzer zt'l, begging them to add
their signatures to it in order that it be "publicized in
every place where our Jewish brethren are to be found."
In the end, this public announcement was never published by
him, as his son Rav Menachem Ezra testifies, for reasons we
do not fully understand.
In this public outcry, the Chazon Yechezkel depicts the
difficult situation of European Jewry eight years before the
Holocaust where, in his prophetic vision, he raises the fear
which later paled by far in contrast to the actual reality
that took place. "And who knows if this tyrant (Hitler
ym'sh) will not seize full power?"
Many excerpts seem as if they were written for our very
generation, as if we are standing by his very side. They are
quoted as follows:
"When Your people, Yisroel, are smitten before the enemy for
their having sinned unto You, and they return to You and
praise Your name, and pray and plead unto You in this House,
then shall You hearken from Heaven and shall forgive the sin
of Your people Yisroel, and You shall return them to the Land
which You gave to their forefathers" (Melochim
I:8).
"Against the enemy that oppresses you, for each and every
trouble, may it not come upon Yisroel, shall you sound the
trumpets" (Sifri Behaalosecha).
To Maranan Verabonon, leaders and heads of Yisroel,
and to every man who bears the name of "Jew:"
Most of the Jewish people is now drowning in a sea of
troubles and harsh decrees, which include events and acts
reminiscent of the Middle Ages: a virulent hatred, religious
coercion and persecution, murder, pogroms, dastardly libels.
Once again, Jews are being treated as sheep whom they can
blithely lead to the slaughter, their blood `begging' to be
shed like oxen, rams and sheep.
But these times are different from former eras in history. In
the past, when danger threatened the rule prevailed that, "No
harm is wrought upon us without its message and valuable
lesson." We received both the good and the bad from the
outside, not related to our merit or consent. And [in those
days] it happened that upon being beset by many troubles, the
kinks and crimps in our hearts [our shortcomings and
failings] were straightened out and we were able to see the
light of emunoh. At those times, many of the wayward
returned to their people and their heritage. And it was, when
"they were oppressed" through physical suffering, the Divine
Spirit would declare, "So shall they increase and burst
forth" -- in their spirit.
However, the terrible situation which threatens us now does
not fortify our spirit, does not strengthen our soul, and
does not unite us. This time, on the contrary, these dreadful
occurrences have uprooted the youth from its place, in a
storm that blows violently and attacks and undermines the
bulwark of our Jewish heritage. How apt are the words of the
kinos lamenter who mourned, "Over the destruction of
the Beis Hamikdash which was laid waste and razed,
shall I mourn each year a lamentation anew."
In the past, the remembrance of the destruction of the
Beis Hamikdash would have a powerful effect upon us
and would rouse in us memories of days gone by, sentiments of
national unity, and these would bring back our Jewish sons to
their heavenly Father. Now, in these many days of agony and
sighing, the remembrance of the Beis Hamikdash "which
was laid waste and razed," the very days of horror which face
us daily, are evil days for Jewry not only per se
because of the actual evil that befalls us, but even more so
because they do not arouse a spiritual reawakening and
consolidation which was always the reaction that took place
when disaster struck. Now, to our distress, our spirit is
weaker than ever!
Were we not gnawed at by jealousy of our own brethren, if
only the unity of the Jewish people were intact and strong as
in the past when, wherever a part of us was being persecuted
the rest of the body of Jewry would feel it -- then the
entire nation would take up the arms of prayer and besiege
the botei knessiyos and botei midroshim to
plead for heavenly mercy upon those segments of our people
who were in danger. And then, our cries and wails would rend
the very heavens to rouse heavenly compassion upon the
surviving remnant. The groaning and moaning that would issue
forth from the tents of Yaakov would fill the entire world to
declare that the Jewish people are a single and unique nation
in this world, all of whose units are like organs in one
body, cohered and adhered one to the other. When danger
threatens one segment, the entire body reacts, as it is also
directly threatened. When troubles befall one part, the
entire mass is in distress.
Now, however, when the nation at large is complacent, serene,
unconcerned, it behooves us to declare the day of erev
Rosh Chodesh Elul as a day of prayer in which all of
Jewry throughout the world, with no exception, resolve to
beseech for mercy for us all. May the merciful One overturn
the Attribute of Judgment which is extended over us to an
Attribute of Mercy. And may our redemption be altogether
complete.
