HOPE, AND THE LOVE OF HASHEM FOR HIS PEOPLE.

Dear Family,

Hope everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Devorah Leah on your birthday next week. Wishing you a happy year with much new development, for you and your Family.

We are now in the second of three weeks where we are commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

Yirmiyahu in this week's Haftorah chastises the People for their behaviour, and prophesises about the destruction it will cause.

However, what reflected to me this week in the Sedra Matos Massai, the Haftorah, and also Tanya, was Hashems great love for us, and how open He is to forgive us, therefore providing us with the powerful tool of HOPE. (based on the Teachings of The Rebbe)

Throughout our history, and similarly in our own personal lives, we see these periods of fluctuation between a stable, upright and treasured relationship with Hashem, (represented by the 3 dots of the segol vowel which have a stable shape, and reflect in the word am segula in the haftorah - a treasured people), and then periods when we go astray and lead a slanted and crooked life without stability (represented by again 3 dots, but this time representing the shape of the vowel shuruk - reflecting the word shorek in the haftorah - the planting of our animal natures within our true selves)

So when we go through these periods of straying, and distance from Hashem, where our behaviour is not up to standard, and we have turned instead to the nations which surround us, THEN WE DELUDE OURSELVES INTO BELIEVING THAT WE ARE BEYOND HOPE! (as Yirmiyahu points out in the Haftorah)

But this is not true.

And this is also seen in the sedra where Hashem tells Mosheh to extract vengeance against Midian.

We see from last weeks sedra how the Jews had gone astray with the Midianite women and their idols, and Hashem did bring down punishment for this.

But this was not the end of the story.

Hashem now instructs through Mosheh in this week's sedra, to go out and carry out Hashems revenge against Midian.

We see here how much Hashem loves His People EVEN THOSE AMONG US WHO LACK THE MORAL FORTITUDE TO RESIST TEMPTATION, HOLDING ACCOUNTABLE THOSE WHO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE PEOPLE. (ie in this case Midian, and not those Jews who sinned)

This intense love of Hashem, can only inspire us to love Him with a reciprocal intensity, by trying to carry out His Will in this world.

And the Haftorah ends 'Yisrael, if you return to Me says Hashem, you will return to your former glory. If you remove your detestable things from My Presence, you will not wander in exile.'

Gut Shabbos and Gut Chodesh , and this should be for all of us in our days.