Americans: Does Anyone Remember the Coronavirus?

In Israel, unfortunately, there's already a second wave forming - ה' ישמור.  While in America, everyone's on to a new trouble: riots in the streets.  Yes, we're constantly reminded of the new way to live due to the virus, but we've become accustomed to it already, and Wake-up Call 2.0 has arrived.

A couple of gemara teachings come to mind.

1) Berachot 13a:

״הִנְנִי עֹשֶׂה חֲדָשָׁה עַתָּה תִצְמָח״, תָּנֵי רַב יוֹסֵף: זוֹ מִלְחֶמֶת גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג.

With regard to the following verse: “Behold, I will do new things, now it will spring forth” (Isaiah 43:19), Rav Yosef taught a baraita: This refers to the future war of Gog and Magog, which will cause all earlier events to be forgotten.

מָשָׁל לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה — לְאָדָם שֶׁהָיָה מְהַלֵּךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וּפָגַע בּוֹ זְאֵב וְנִיצַּל מִמֶּנּוּ, וְהָיָה מְסַפֵּר וְהוֹלֵךְ מַעֲשֵׂה זְאֵב. פָּגַע בּוֹ אֲרִי וְנִיצַּל מִמֶּנּוּ, וְהָיָה מְסַפֵּר וְהוֹלֵךְ מַעֲשֵׂה אֲרִי. פָּגַע בּוֹ נָחָשׁ וְנִיצַּל מִמֶּנּוּ, שָׁכַח מַעֲשֵׂה שְׁנֵיהֶם, וְהָיָה מְסַפֵּר וְהוֹלֵךְ מַעֲשֵׂה נָחָשׁ. אַף כָּךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל — צָרוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת מְשַׁכְּחוֹת אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת.

The Gemara cites a parable: To what is this comparable? To a person who was walking along the way and a wolf accosted him and he survived it, and he continued to relate the story of the wolf. A lion accosted him and he survived it, and he continued to relate the story of the lion. A snake accosted him and he survived it, he forgot both the lion and the wolf, and he continued to relate the story of the snake. Each encounter was more dangerous and each escape more miraculous than the last, so he would continue to relate the most recent story. So too with Israel; more recent troubles cause the earlier troubles to be forgotten.

 

2) Sanhedrin 98a:

 אמר רבי יוחנן אם ראית דור שצרות רבות באות עליו כנהר חכה לו שנאמר (ישעיהו נט, יט) כי יבא כנהר צר (ו) רוח ה' נוססה בו וסמיך ליה ובא לציון גואל.

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: If you saw a generation whose troubles inundate it like a river, await the coming of the Messiah, as it is stated: “When distress will come like a river that the breath of the Lord drives” (Isaiah 59:19). And juxtaposed to it is the verse: “And a redeemer will come to Zion” (Isaiah 59:20).

The general message is that is that Hashem is in control of the world and that our understanding of how the world is supposed to work can be uprooted in an instant.  And therefore, we realize that אין על מי להשען אלא על אבינו שבשמים.  This realization will help bring the Geula.

May the signs we are seeing help us await his coming and lead us to the goal we hope to attain.  Amen.