On a recent podcast, Rabbi Ouri Cherki spoke about a conversation he recently had with a secular Israeli pilot. The pilot was truly impressiveāaccomplished, intelligent, and articulate. Their conversation turned to the state of the world, and Rabbi Cherki shared his belief that the world is improving. The pilot’s response was immediate and forceful: “Why would you say that? I believe things are getting worse.”
The pilot saw war, terrorism, antisemitism, and hostages. Rabbi Cherki saw the same events. Two people, looking at identical circumstances, yet seeing fundamentally different worlds. How can this be?
Are we living through terrible times, or unbelievably good times?
The pilot would seem to be right in his assessment. Antisemitism is surging worldwide, nations abandon Israel and support Hamas, even as self-declared experts from the left and right spread falsehood. Hostages are suffering in dark tunnels beneath Gaza. The evidence of darkness is overwhelming. How could anyone possibly claim these are good times?
Before the State of Israel was founded, when the British still ruled the Holy Land, a reporter once came to interview the Chief Rabbi, Abraham Isaac Kook. They discussed the many challenges facing the Jews of that timeāfinancial hardships, security threats, and community infighting. Yet throughout their conversation, Rabbi Kook remained relentlessly positive.
Confused and frustrated, the reporter finally challenged him: “How can you be so upbeat? The situation here is very grave!”
Rabbi Kook took a pen and drew a small black dot on the white wall of his office. “What do you see?” he asked.
The reporter answered, “I see a black dot.”
“That’s precisely your problem,” Rabbi Kook responded.
When standing close to a wall with a small black mark, that dot dominates your vision. It appears enormous, overwhelmingāthe only thing worth noticing. But step back a few paces, and suddenly that same dot becomes tiny, almost insignificant against the vast expanse of white surrounding it. The dot didn’t change; only your perspective did. This is what Rabbi Kook understood about his own troubled times, and what Rabbi Cherki tried to explain to the skeptical pilot. Our perception and perspective shape the way we see our world.
Rabbi Cherki explained to the pilot: Examine any metric you chooseāthe world is improving in every way. Justice systems have evolved from barbaric punishments to emphasizing rehabilitation. Women’s rights have advanced dramatically from centuries of oppression. Warfare, while still devastating, claims far fewer lives proportionally than in previous eras. Medical advances have conquered diseases that once decimated populations. Life expectancy has doubled in many regions. Infant mortality has plummeted. Economic prosperity, while unevenly distributed, has lifted billions from extreme poverty. From a bigger picture historical perspective, we are living at a time of incredible blessing!
The current painful hostage situation illustrates this transformation. Dozens of innocent Israelis are suffering in the hellish Hamas tunnels beneath Gaza. Yet, unlike past centuries, when abducted people vanished without trace or hope, today, much of the world knows their names. Israeli society has mobilized unprecedented efforts for their return, and millions worldwide demand their release. The suffering is real, but the response reveals how humanity has progressed.
The shift in the fortunes of the Jewish people makes this progression very clear. At a conference in 1930s France before the Holocaust, representatives from nations worldwide gathered to discuss which countries would accept Jews fleeing Europe. The Canadian delegate declared: “We must show concern for the Jews, but Canada cannot accept even a single Jewāit would be too much for Canada.” Anyone familiar with Canada’s vast, uninhabited territories understands the absurdity of this claim. Ships departed Europe, reached American shores, and were forced to return to Europe, condemning their Jewish passengers to death.
Yet today, every Jew in the world has a home he or she can always go toāthe State of Israel. The transformation in our situation is nothing short of miraculousālight pouring into history after centuries of darkness.
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, one of Israel’s leading rabbis, explains: “We find ourselves in a strange situationāthings hurt us, but we should be grateful for this capacity to feel pain. In earlier times, people resigned themselves to tragedy. Who concerned themselves with casualties? Who acknowledged bereaved families? Wounded soldiers were abandoned on battlefields. It’s almost inconceivableāpeople today can hardly believe such callousness existed.”
Just a few months ago, America was heading off a cliff and turning away from Israel. Today? Americans rejected the woke and anti-Israel attitudes of the Biden administration. The United States is now coordinating its attacks on the Houthis with Israel. Who could have imagined such a rapid shift?
King David, who knew both triumph and tragedy, wrote:
David didnāt deny the darkness; he acknowledged walking through death’s shadow valley. Yet he refused to fall into depression, never forgetting the incredible light of Godās blessing in his life.
āIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times.ā Charles Dickens’ famous opening rings true today, but with a crucial insight: it truly is “the best of times” right now, even if far too many people can only see “the worst of times.” Like the reporter fixated on the black dot, they miss the overwhelming evidence of light flooding our world.
Here in Israel, it would be easy to focus only on the darkness that Hamas brought on October 7. But at Israel365, we refuse to focus on the darkness, for we have the privilege and joy of witnessing the incredible light that our Christian brothers and sisters have brought to Israel during these hard times! Every day, you inspire us and give us the strength and means we need to bring light. During hard times, your light and friendship help us see the great blessing that God is showering upon us, even as we fight a long and difficult war.Ā
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