I just spent 10 magical days in South Africa—the country I grew up in which will always have a special place in my heart.
On Friday night, I davened in the magnificent Sydenham shul, where my brother-in-law, Rabbi Yehuda Stern, is the rabbi. The choir and chazan sang beautifully. The energy was vibrant and moving. I was the guest speaker and gave what I hope was an inspiring sermon.
But then, just as I finished speaking, all the lights went out. It was pitch black.
I was sitting with my boys, watching everyone’s reaction.
Nothing.
Nobody panicked, nobody screamed, nobody ran for the doors. In fact, the service continued uninterrupted. After a couple of minutes the generator kicked in and the lights turned back on.
What happened? It’s called “load shedding” and has become par for the course in South Africa. The country does not have enough power, so they cut it at certain times of the day. When we were at a restaurant, the power suddenly went out, we waited a few minutes, and the generators kicked in. The street lights don’t work. Your stove and hot water will suddenly go off. Many people are investing in solar panels for their homes, as well as inverters and generators. Every morning when I went to shower, I prayed, “Please, Hashem, let it be hot!”
I discussed it with my sister Estee, the rebbetzin, amazed that no one panicked in shul, and she shared a powerful thought: Nobody panics because they know the lights will definitely come back on in a matter of minutes, as soon as the generator kicks in. Knowing that the darkness is temporary allows them to stay calm.
And I realized there’s a tremendous parallel here to our spiritual lives. We are in exile, and the lights have been turned off ever since the destruction of the Holy Temple. But we’ve become so accustomed to the dark, that we think we are living in the light. It’s become our norm; we don’t recognize what we’re missing.
We know, however, that soon Hashem will turn the lights on. We know that Moshiach, the Final Redemption, and the rebuilding of the Temple are all imminent.
And the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s message to the Jews of South Africa was always: “It will be good for the Jews in South Africa until Moshiach comes, and even afterwards.”
The coming of Moshiach is imminent; let’s hasten it by doing an extra mitzvah today.