Night Before Day

The days of creation end with the words, ויהי ערב ויהי בקר, “And it was evening and it was morning.” This is the source for the idea that in Judaism, the day begins at night.

We see this with all of the special days of the year, including Shabbat and all of the holidays. They all start at sundown.

Therefore, it is possible for someone to be born after dark but before midnight. His Hebrew birthday will already be the following day, while his secular birthday is determined whether he was born before midnight.

The Imrei Shefer commented on this by explaining that this is symbolic of Jewish history. The night represents darkness and suffering, judgement and punishment. The Jews have endured suffering and hardships throughout the generations. But in the end, the light shines with salvation and healing.

Regarding the nations of the world, the opposite is true. They start out with the light shining upon them, but in the end, there will be darkness because of their harsh treatment of Am Yisrael.

This is expressed by the statement of the Rabbis, “The righteous begin with suffering, and end with tranquility. The evil ones begin with tranquility, and end with suffering.”

It is our sincere hope that the two years of suffering endured by the people of Israel, has now come to an end. After the healing, great joy awaits our people. With Hashem’s help great prosperity and a spiritual awakening will be visited upon us. The Hand of G-d was clearly visible these past two years, for those wise enough to see. The light is now upon us, where we see Hashem’s blessings showered upon us.