Hashem Will Reign

After the death of Aharon on the first of Av, the Torah tells us וישמע הכנעני, that the king of Canaan had heard about this tragedy that befell the Jewish people.

The כנעני is a euphemism for all things evil. It included Amalek, the Seven Nations, the מלאך המות, Angel of Death, and the Yeitzer Hara. They heard that Israel was now vulnerable with Aharon’s death and the disappearance of the protection from the Clouds of Glory. They saw this as an opportunistic time to attack Israel.

This trait of our enemies attacking us when they believe we are down, is a theme that has haunted us throughout history.

Both Nevuchadnezzar and Achashveirosh celebrated when they believed that the seventy year prophecy of Jeremiah, that the Temple would be rebuilt, had not come true. Haman believed it was an auspicious time to annihilate the Jews because they were, “scattered among the nations.” Titus also convinced himself that Hashem was only powerful in the sea and not on land. Hashem sent a gnat up his nose to prove otherwise.

I believe that to this very day, the enemies of the Jewish people are still frightened by the G-d of Israel. They continue to delude themselves into believing that they can act any way they want, and there will not be any consequences.

History has also taught us that Hashem neither sleeps nor slumbers. That day will come when the earth will acknowledge that Hashem is One, and His name is One.