The time has arrived to break the Status Quo!
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
The world witnessed the inauguration of a new President of the United States this Erev Shabbos. The degree of polarization during this election cycle has been unusual, unlike any other in the recent past. One among many of the reasons for the abundance of rancor has been a plan the President has to change the status quo in many areas of government. People with vested interests are sounding the alarm. They are in a state of chaos afraid of losing control of a world within which they have become comfortable and find predictable. Take for example the proposed changes being put forth in education. The new administration is interested in making big alterations and choices for all students, things that could lead to decentralizing the authority of the teachers unions, which are up in arms. They are afraid of losing control. The new administration is bringing in people that are interested in shaking up all areas of government with new ideas and fresh approaches, questioning the way things have been done until now. What can all of this teach us in our daily service of Hashem?
In the Hayom Yom for Inauguration Day, Erev Shabbos the 22ndof Teves it states:
“Just as wearing tefillin every day is a Mitzva commanded by the Torah to every individual regardless of his standing in Torah, whether deeply learned or simple, so too is it an absolute duty for every person to spend a half hour every day thinking about the Torah-education of children, and to do everything in his power - and beyond his power - to inspire children to follow the path along which they are being guided.”
From this Hayom Yom we clearly see the Rebbe’s guidance for each one of us is to constantly challenge the status quo and to use all of the resources at our disposal to seek innovation and inspiration for our children with regard to their education. The Rebbe says that we can never leave good enough alone!
In the larger picture, the principal underpinning of the galus is the fear of change and the breaking of the status quo. As long as we have predictable boundaries for our daily lives we can go back to sleep. The moment things start to change, the moment things get shaken up we become entirely uncomfortable. In order to return to our slumber, the slumber of the galus, we need to reinstate the comfortable boundaries and demarcations of the humdrum galus with which we are so familiar. The very first step toward Moshiach is to breakaway from the status quo. Once that has been broken we have opened up an entirely new set of possibilities and opportunities.
While it is true that before we undertake a daunting task we have to know the proper path to forge because we don’t just need to break the status quo we also need to improve and grow. The Rebbe has advised us to study about geula and Moshiach from all of the Torah sources. By learning these sources we gain the clarity of vision necessary to go beyond the patterns of the galus, which is our current situation, and prepare ourselves our families and ultimately the world at large for a new and everlasting world order of geula and Moshiach.
A Good Shabbos A Good Chodesh