The Jewish people in the Land of Israel and throughout the world are experiencing a state of 'nothingness' today. The erroneous conception that ruled for decades has collapsed, worldviews are changing, and it's clear that the reality that existed until now cannot continue. The personal and family worlds of countless individuals have been shaken – moving from stability to feelings of mourning for the murdered, terrible worry for the hostages, pain for the wounded, the experience of uprootedness for thousands displaced from their homes, concern for the safety of those mobilized, and fear of enemy attacks and threats. How does one cope with this 'nothingness'?
In the experience of 'nothingness', certainly under these circumstances, there is pain and difficulty – but also uncharted opportunity. Every significant change in reality, one that is not merely cosmetic but genuine progress, requires nullification of the previous state to reach the new state – a stage of 'nothingness' between the first 'something' and a new, far better 'something'. Thus, to give birth anew, a woman must endure labor pains. Consequently, one can also say the opposite – every state of 'nothingness' is an opportunity to leap to a new, far better reality, and every crisis is the potential for a new birth. The crisis that befalls us today must be transformed into "the birth pangs of Mashiach" – a messianic birth process in which we will transition from exile to true and complete redemption, a genuine transformation from a state not founded on Torah to a Messianic state.
But how does one persevere through the crisis? How can one truly reach a new beginning? The Baal Shem Tov taught that in the difficult time of the footsteps of Mashiach, the only thing we can hold onto is faith that transcends reason and knowledge. The main test in this period is the test of faith. Faith is the highest power in the soul, the beginning and foundation of all powers that follow it, and to truly start anew, we must return to the point of faith. To do this, we must relinquish all routine behaviors, all previous experiences, all existing understandings and worldviews, and even desires and things that brought us pleasure – and focus only on faith beyond reason and knowledge, from which the entire personality can grow anew.
And again we ask: How can one reveal the faith hidden within us in times of severe trial? The verse says, "The righteous shall live by his faith" – the power of faith in the soul is the point of righteousness that exists in every Jew. Therefore, just as we believe in God, we must believe in every Jew, and certainly in the Jewish People as a whole, that within them lies the power of faith, the ability to persevere, to triumph, and to change for the better. And just as there is a point of righteousness in everyone, God plants true tzaddikim in every generation who can awaken faith within us. In times of hardship and crisis, every Jew and the entire Jewish people must ingather and take shelter in the shadow of a true tzaddik – and receive from him an inspiration of faith that will enable a new construction of the collective and the individual. And there is an additional virtue today: in times of clarity, we are mainly occupied with good, which brings us pleasure. There are times, however, when all-out war against the absolute evil exposed in the world is required. This war, too, uncovers tremendous faith in the soul and opens a door to a new world that is entirely unimaginable good.
