Today, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. Many have heralded him as a supporter of the Jews and the “Greatest Friend of Israel.” However, recent happenings and that day’s Hayom Yom remind us where to put our trust.
By Anash.org writer
Today, millions around the globe will watch as Donald J. Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States and takes on the role of leader of the free world.
For months, many of us have passionately campaigned and hoped for this moment: when a leader who calls himself the greatest friend of the Jewish people assumes the most important position in the world.
He replaces the current holder of power, whose administration betrayed us and jeopardized the safety of our brethren in Israel and Jews worldwide. Our new leader, alongside his administration, will stand with us and support us in ways no president has before. He will empower us to defeat our enemies and restore our ability to stand tall with pride once again.
Or so we had hoped.
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This past Wednesday, as the Jewish world buzzed with the news emerging of the deal that the “strong and tough, right-wing” Prime Minister of Israel had agreed to under the pressure of the “greatest friend of Israel ever,” many may have noticed the relevance of Wednesday’s Hayom Yom. It served as a loud wake-up call in a moment of darkness and chaos.
“Listen and pay attention, Israel, this is the time set for the redemption by Moshiach. The sufferings befalling us are the birth-pangs of Moshiach. The Jewish people will be redeemed only through teshuva”.
“Have no faith in the false prophets who assure you of glories and salvation after the War. Remember the word of Hashem, ‘Cursed is the man who puts his trust in man, who places his reliance for help in mortals, and turns his heart away from Hashem.””
The Rebbe was no stranger to diplomacy. The Rebbe directed thousands of diplomatic missions, whether to Washington, Moscow, Eretz Yisroel or beyond. At times, the Rebbe sent his own Chassidim on these missions, and at other times, the Rebbe guided politicians, influencers and others to exercise their influence in matters of critical importance for the Jewish people.
Yet, despite the great emphasis the Rebbe placed on proper diplomatic relations and political ties, he always made it clear that our fate lies solely in the hands of Hashem. We are instructed by Hashem to do our hishtadlus and do our part to the fullest, but we must never forget that our efforts are only the Keli, the tool. The true outcome of any diplomacy depends on our faith and bitachon in Hashem.
While the Rebbe communicated with the President of the United States about the fate of the Jews in Russia, he also made sure to say L’chaim for them at each farbrengen. Likewise, while being deeply involved in every detail of the Seforim court case, from advising on legal documents to strategy, the Rebbe continued to pray daily at the Ohel and urged his Shluchim to expand their activities to new heights.
There were many other instances as well. The Rebbe often directed his emissaries on diplomatic missions to bring along a Tzedaka Pushka, study a specific part of Torah, and so on.
The Rebbe often referenced the example of Mordechai and Esther. Although they held prominent positions in the palace of Achashverosh, when the danger to the Jews in the kingdom arose, their first priority was to gather the Jewish people for Davening, Teshuva, and fasting. Only after that did Esther enter the king’s chamber to intercede on behalf of her people. This was in contrast to when they partook in Achashverosh’s feast and put their faith in him, as well as in Esther – their sister in the palace.
As Chassidim, it is our responsibility to vote, and at times campaign, for the leaders, politicians, and parties that prioritize the security of the Jewish people in Israel, the safety of Jews worldwide, and the values of Torah and Mitzvos.
Yet, it is crucial to remember that these individuals are only human, and the true destiny of the Jewish people is in the hands of Hashem. Our spiritual actions—Torah, Tefila, and Tzedaka—are the most effective and decisive means to influence critical decisions.
At the farbrengen of 20 Chesvan 5745, the Rebbe spoke about the elections happening that day for President of the United States. The Rebbe noted that while we may have voted for “Hashem,” meaning the candidate who best aligns with the values of Judaism, Shulchan Aruch, and Torah, it is still possible that we could make a mistake, and the person we elect may not make the right decisions.
Nevertheless, the Rebbe says, “The hearts of kings and ministers are in the hands of Hashem.” When we “vote” for Hashem and live according to His will as expressed in the Torah and the 613 Mitzvos, Hashem will show Himself as the true and ultimate King of the world and will do what is best for the Jewish people.
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Even before taking office, the new president pressured Israel’s leadership into accepting what has turned out to be one of the most disastrous deals currently unfolding. It’s not the place here to detail the full tragedy of the agreement, but suffice it to say that Israel is now (b’derech hateva), unfortunately, in a far more dangerous position than it was before the war, with none of the war’s objectives—destroying Hamas and returning the hostages—being achieved.
Clearly, the “best friend of Israel” assuming office did not bring about the expected outcome.
It is important to emphasize, as the Rebbe often did, that in reality, no external force, not even a powerful ally like the United States, can dictate or control our decisions within our own country.
If the Israeli government had stood firm and resisted the intense pressure, they might have faced some backlash or criticism, but in the end, they would have emerged stronger and safer. Ultimately, both the American government and much of the world would have supported or at least not interfered with their non-negotiable position.
To be clear, the new president taking office today is just beginning his term, and there is good reason to believe he will support Israel and the Jewish people to a far greater extent than his predecessor. We hope and pray that this will indeed be the case.
However, from there to having blind faith in a human being is a completely different story.
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To conclude with the final part of that Hayom Yom:
“Return Yidden to Hashem. Prepare yourself and your family to go forth and receive Moshiach, whose coming is imminent.”
The day that trump put out his ceasfire idea, the one he said thet he would never do was the same day that the rebe shlit”a told us in hayom yom that we should not trust in nevi’ei sheker
So true, and so well-written. Thank you for this clear message!
Thank you. Wonderful.
Sicha was 5735
Very true point mentioned here. One comment is that this is the deal that Israel was trying to make and Trump just pushed it through, nevertheless what the article says is very true and important to remember. To trust in Hashem and no one else.
Big yasher koiach for this.
Vote just to create a keili but please don’t put your faith in and reliance on any man.
Whether they intended to or not, the people you placed your faith in just engaged in an horrific act of treachery that if not for God’s overabundant mercy will result in horrific outcomes r”l.
Unfortunately we are in a very precarious situation today because of this. However, now that we see that a gentile of flesh and blood will not be our savior, let us place our faith in God and *nowhere else*.
Today’s Hayom Yom comes from Hakriah Vehakedushah, where the Friediker Rebbe passionately writes every month for 5 whole years both in Yiddish, Lahak and English on this very subject and beseeches us and everyone to recognize what is really happening and to only place our trust in Hashem.
Many times the Rebbe would highlight the fact that only Jews in the Israeli government can perpetrate such atrocities against themselves. Here and now is a case in point.
You make an outrageous and false claim that this deal was forced upon the Israelis because of pressure from Trump, what a dumb lie which is spread by all Trump and Bibi haters.
According to John Kirby, the Biden administration spokesman on these matters, this deal was agreed to by Bibi already in April, but did not happen only because Hamas rejected the deal.
To make such a statement didn’t make Biden look good at all, if anything it only made Trump look better because it implied that Hamas got scared of Trump’s threats and therefore they caved and accepted this deal.
To write lofty spiritual articles invoking Torah and the Rebbe should not be based on lies and falsehoods. If anything this is a clear example where the Rebbe’s words describe Israelis behavior in the most atrocious manner while blaming America, when in reality the US government (in our case President Trump) would prefer them to hold strong and wipe Hamas off the face of the earth. It is the weakness and internal politics within Israel that created this travesty.
And yes, we can only trust in Hashem that this disaster won’t case unnecessary bloodshed. But it is not Trump’s doing, it lays squarely on the floor of the Israeli government.
“As Chassidim, it is our responsibility to vote, and at times campaign, for the leaders, politicians, and parties that prioritize the security of the Jewish people in Israel, the safety of Jews worldwide, and the values of Torah and Mitzvos.”
As the Rebbe emphasized many times, it is not our responsibility nor is it okay for Lubavitch to campaign or identify with any political party or candidate, something the Rebbe emphasized many times, as also described (among other places) in a Derher article called “Lubavitch is Apolitical” https://derher.org/wp-content/uploads/Derher-5784-09-Iyar.pdf pg. 36.
Our banner is Torah, mitzvos and chassidus, to the exclusion of everything else (including topics that were very important to the Rebbe, like Giyur Kahalacha, that the Rebbe clearly instructed that shluchim should not involve themselves in it – 24 Teves 5749, strongly suggested to learn).
Also to point out, that in the 20 Cheshvan 5735 sicha referenced (it was midterm elections, not presidential), the Rebbe says that אנא נסיב מלכא – we vote for Hashem, i.e. the choice of who to vote for should be decided based who will be better for Yiddishkeit, Torah and mitzvos. IMHO (feel free to disagree), it doesn’t overly seem that the emphasis is on who’s better for the safety of Yidden and Eretz Yisroel, rather who will further the cause of the Oibershter in this world more (the line can be very thin between the two, but I still feel there’s a difference).
As Carter was leaving office, the Rebbe spoke (on Yud Shevat 5741) about how Yiddishkeit teaches us hakoras hatov – to be grateful for the things someone did for us, and the Rebbe specifically spoke about the outgoing president, thanking him for the positive things he did in office (opening Dept. of Education, preventing the US from going to war), while clarifying that the Rebbe’s stance on the peace deal with Egypt was tragic. Similarly, there are things that we can thank the outgoing president for, and they should not be ignored.
Thank you for posting this article, to clarify many of the misconceptions many have had recently, and to remind us all that regardless of who’s in office, לב מלכים ושרים ביד ה’.
May we merit that the disasters of this deal and all other tzoros becomes irrelevant with the coming of the Geulah Shleimah now.