Time!

• Author: Rabbi Nachman Kahana
• Published date: 11 March 2021
• Date: 11 March 2021
• Publication title: Israel National News (Israel)

A chicken farmer cried out desperately to the rebbe for an eitza (suggestion), because his chickens were dying. The rebbe told the man to feed them wheat. Two weeks later, the farmer returned crying to the rebbe for another suggestion because the chickens were still dying. This time the rebbe told the man to feed them barley. Two weeks later, the scenario repeated itself; and this time, the rebbe told the man to feed the chickens corn. Two weeks later, the man came crying desperately to the rebbe, "Does the rebbe have any more suggestions?" The rebbe replied, "The question is not how many suggestions I have, the question is how many chickens do you have left?"

This story comes to illuminate the most essential component of life: TIME!

There is "big time" like the longevity of the created universe. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 97a) states that our world (most probably meaning humanity) will survive for 6000 years, and then it will be destroyed for another 1000 or 2000 years, at which time Hashem will usher in a new episode of human existence. Some kabbalists maintain that the universe will go through seven periods of 7,000 years and will then be destroyed; and yet others (Rabbeinu Becha'ya commenting on Bamidbar 10:35) maintain that the universe will go through 18,000 jubilees of 50,000 years each (or 900,000,000 years) before the Great Day of Judgement.

As impressive as these numbers are what is relevant for us mortals is the fleeting flash of 70-80 years of our existence in this world, and how we perform the service of Hashem during that time.

For the past 20 years, I have been sending out divrei Torah; I believe without missing a week.

That's 50-plus divrei Torah times 20 years, equal to not less than 1000 divrei Torah. The vast majority of these writings are variations on the theme of escaping the spiritual and physical (and of late, the financial) death sentence of the galut. And, as in the story of the rabbi and the chicken farmer, I can say: "I have, God willing, many more divrei Torah. However, the question is, how much time do you have left in the galut?"

Until a year and a half ago, many Jews in the galut could have returned to Eretz Yisrael, purchased beautiful homes, and had stacks of money left over. The situation has declined dramatically and will continue to do so into a never-ending black hole. Many who could have come on aliya can no longer do so, unless they are willing to walk away from their beautiful homes which have become gilded cages.

The...