Don’t bite the stick

There are many sayings in the Talmud about the coming of Moshiach. They speak of the upheaval and change in the natural order which will occur as history approaches its climax. The Rabbis of the Talmud took this seriously, as they do all of our tradition, and were so afraid of the difficult times ahead that they publicly wished they would not have to go through the pain of the world ‘giving birth’ to Moshiach.

The sayings are short and cryptic, but like all of the Torah laden with meaning. We would recognise very well the allusions to runaway inflation, state atheism and disrespect for the elderly. Others are not so clear.

There is an explanation for one of the sayings which has always stuck with me. More than just a description of the descent of society, it seems to me to have a very practical application in our daily life.

בעקבות משיחא חוצפא יסגא ויוקר יאמיר הגפן תתן פריה והיין ביוקר ומלכות תהפך למינות ואין תוכחת בית וועד יהיה לזנות ותגליל יחרב ותגבלן ישום ואנשי תגבול יסובבו מעיר לעיר ולא יחוננו וחכמות סופרים תםרח ויראי חטא ימאסו והאמת תהא נעדרת נערים פני זקנים ילבינו זקנים יעמדו מפני קטנים בן מנוול אב בת קמה באמה כלה בחמותה אויבי איש אנשי ביתו פני הדור כפני הכלב הבן אינו מתבייש מאביו ועל מה יש לנו להשען על אבינו שבשמים – סוטה מט

We are told in Sotah 49b that during ‘the Footsteps of Moshiach … the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog.’ At first glance this is pretty nasty, maybe, but not very helpful. Without a connection to Jewish wisdom this seems like just a generic complaint about the poor behaviour of society, and we can get plenty of that in the letters page of the Caxton newspaper.

What is significant about a dog? If you hit a dog with a stick it will respond by attacking the stick. In a simple-minded way it ignores the person behind the beating and focuses its anger on the weapon in his hand. This is what a dog does and this is a characteristic prevalent in our generation. When we are faced with opposition or a setback or an adversary we focus on the personality or ideology or circumstances facing us without considering who is bringing this test against us. Who put our rival there? Who directed this turn of events? Who allowed these forces to come to power? G-d.

It’s tough to face because it challenges our trust in Him but there’s no way around the fundamentals of our faith. G-d is in control of everything, and He brings us the good as well as the bad. The murderous, destructive, wicked, hurtful, or even just annoying people and forces we encounter were sent not by accident by G-d. Look beyond the stick. G-d is the one who annoys, hurts, destroys or murders us.

The problem of why does G-d do bad things is ancient and entrenched in the human condition. It’s a valid and burning question, and it has no satisfactory answer that doesn’t draw deeply on emunah. But to ask the question already shows an awareness of the hidden hand behind events. Faced with the tragedy of the evil that people do we are more often drawn to focus on the agents of the evil and not the director. It’s easier to blame man than face G-d as our tormentor.

G-d is supposed to be entirely good, so it hurts to think of Him as a source of pain. It’s easier to focus our anger on the malicious people – the terrorists and fanatics who are the stick in His hand. We can denounce them as extremists and counter them with all our resources, but we’d be missing the point. We’d be biting the stick.

Perhaps seeking revenge diverts our attention from the pain, but upon reflection we should find more comfort in divine purpose in our suffering, even if we don’t know what it is. The Rambam writes that those who ascribe calamity to chance are in fact perpetrating great cruelty by being blind to the meaning behind it.

So what is the meaning behind the misery? Sometimes you can see an obvious message from Hashem, but in the main we’ve come back to the unanswered question whose only response is faith. Still, this challenge to our faith sets our sights on the Hand which holds the stick, and not the stick itself. May we grow in trust and faith that the painful stick is wielded with mercy and love and compassion beyond our comprehension.