The Sweet Taste of Revenge

"Then Hashem will open up your heart and the hearts of your offspring—to love Him with all your heart and soul, in order that you may live. Hashem will inflict all those curses upon the enemies and foes who persecuted you." (Deuteronomy 30:7)

One cannot but help think of the above verse in today's Torah reading when thanking Hashem for the removal of one of the biggest threats our nation has known in modern times. Nasrallah, whose fiery rhetoric, missile barrages and menacing, taunting presence led hundreds of thousands of Jews to flee their homes is no longer, gone with the wind. He reminds me of Rabshakeh, the Assyrian General sent by his king to blaspheme Hashem, the "true God," as Hezekiah beseeched Hashem for help, for the pride of our nation; that night, the entirety of the Assyrian army died in a mysterious plague. 

How grateful we are, how many blessings were shared - hatov ve'hametiv - the one Who is abundantly good, and adds greater good - who has protected us from yet another enemy.The words of the Haftorah as well ring so powerfully and poignantly true:

In all their troubles [God] was troubled,
And the angel of the divine Presence delivered them.
In love and pity
It was [God] who redeemed them,
Raised them, and exalted them
All the days of old.

May the renewal of our spirit, and national pride welcome a new era of Teshuva as we look to mend our ranks and create greater unity, truly our greatest strength. 

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