Never Lose Hope

Rabbi Reuven Mann, ZT”L

Edited by B. Silberstein

This week’s Torah portions, Nitzavim-VaYeilech, are very relevant to the High Holiday season that’s just around the corner. Rosh HaShana initiates the Ten Days of Repentance. Because this is a time of judgment, when all humanity comes before Hashem, it is most propitious to examine our ways and engage in Teshuva. (Rambam, Hilchot Teshuva 2:6)

The Hope of Teshuva

Yet many people have a low opinion of themselves and despair of their ability to improve. Parshat Nitzavim, however, is optimistic and assures us in no uncertain terms that Bnei Yisrael (The Children of Israel) will be successful in their quest to return to Hashem:

“It will be when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have presented before you; then you will take it to your heart among the nations where Hashem, your G-d, has dispersed you. And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice, according to everything that I command you today; you and your children, with all your heart and all your soul.” (Devarim 30:1-2)

It is therefore essential that we always retain an outlook of hope and self-confidence. The Rabbis reinforce the principle that we must never give up, in physical or spiritual matters.

The Sharp Sword

The Gemara in Berachot 10a relates the story of the dialogue between the prophet Yishayahu and King Chizkiyahu, who had fallen ill. Hashem told Yishayahu to visit the sick King Chizkiyahu:

Yishayahu said to Chizkiyahu, “Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Set your house in order, for you will die…” (Yishayahu 38:1)  

Yishayahu said to Chizkiyahu, “The decree against you has been issued [, and this judgment cannot be changed.]” 

Chizkiyahu said, “I have received a tradition from the house of my father that even if a sharp sword rests upon a person’s neck, he should not [give up hope, and] refrain from praying for divine mercy.”

Most of us have heard many accounts of Holocaust survivors and their experiences under the Nazis. The other night on the History Channel, I heard a unique story that illustrates many profound teachings of Judaism. I was not able to get all the details, especially the name of the storyteller, whom I will refer to as the Survivor. 

This person, while still in his teens, was carted off to Auschwitz. The harsh conditions took their toll, and he soon became ill. During that time, word went out among the camp inmates that there was to be a “selection.” This always caused great fear, as all the prisoners had to line up before the Nazi “doctor,” who would determine who would live and who would die.

In this instance, the “physician” making the call would be none other than the infamous Joseph Mengele, the ultimate doctor of doom. The Survivor stood in line until he faced the “angel of death,” who took one look at him and waved him to the left, which everyone knew meant the gas chamber. As he started to walk in that direction, he could not reconcile himself to his fate and determined that he must do something, anything, to alter the outcome somehow, though the chance was the tiniest imaginable.

Bear in mind that the chances of anyone surviving a Nazi decree of death were essentially nonexistent. Such survival required an immensely unlikely miracle. But that is precisely what can happen when the “sharp sword” is pressing against your neck, and you retain the courage and determination to take action, no matter how desperate.

The Survivor stood once again before Mengele. He pleaded with him, saying that he was young and could still do much work for the Germans. Then, without having any idea why, he blurted out that his father was a great scholar and journalist who had written significant books.

(He would later say that he could not explain what motivated him to tell Mengele about his father. Why would that Nazi be impressed by or care about his father’s stature, and how would that nugget of information help keep him alive?)

Suddenly, however, Mengele leaned back and concentrated. Sitting next to him was a Jewish doctor who served as his assistant. He turned to the Jewish doctor and asked him, “Do you know this man’s father?” In point of fact he did not know that prisoner or his father, but he understood what was happening. He turned to Mengele and told him that of course he knew about his father, who was a very significant scholar.

Mengele then sat back and gave the matter more thought. He asked the Jewish doctor whether he would want the Jewish prisoner if he decided to give him to him as a gift. The assistant responded enthusiastically in the affirmative. The generous Angel of Death then graciously turned the inmate over to his Jewish assistant as a “gift.”

The sharp sword was removed from the condemned Jew’s neck through an amazing miracle. The Jewish doctor took care of the Survivor, and both managed to survive the Holocaust. Many years later, the Survivor attended a medical conference in France where his savior from Auschwitz was present. The doctor recognized the Survivor immediately, although his appearance had changed completely since the Auschwitz days. The two had a tearful and joyous reunion.

The Rabbis say that if one saves a single life, it is as though he saved an entire world (Sanhedrin 4:5). The same is true when one saves his own life. This story illustrates that we must never give up and always make efforts, no matter how remote and hopeless they appear.

Never Give Up

This also applies to the spiritual realm. “Even if a person has been a sinner all his life and does Teshuva at the end, it is effective” (Rambam, Hilchot Teshuva 2:1).

We should be concerned about ourselves and others at this time. If we are trying to bring someone back to Judaism, we should never give up or say that we have done everything possible, and now it’s hopeless.

We must make that extra effort even when we feel the sharpness of the sword upon our necks. For the mercy of Hashem is always there for those who seek it.

May we merit to achieve it.

Shabbat Shalom.