The Insanity of the End
Only the sage survive.
bs’d
The question of how Hashem will decide
Who sees it through to the end
Is one that many have pondered.
What tool will He use?
What criteria to judge
Between those who succeed or succumb?
Just one Jew’s thoughts on the matter…
Though it appears daily proving itself—
That the measure by which He’ll sort it all out
is, quite simply, through the prism of—
Yes.
And we're not referring to those psychiatric inventions
Listed in the DSM.
Were talking full-fledged nutso here:
People frankly losing their minds.
Two types of madness will grip the world
As the era of Mashiach approaches—
What you might refer to as a ‘colder' crazy vs.
The hotter, more panicked variety.
Chalk it up to the humors, if you will—
With some more beholden
To the aspect of fire,
While others from water are drawn.
In any event, that's what you'll see:
A general lunacy seizing the earth,
Alongside fevers and rising pressure
That accompany Gogumagog.
A rash of totalitarian edicts will also add to the mix,
As most of the globe comes to learn—up close—
Of Orwell's stamping boot.
With the dread and uncertainty of financial collapse
Already crouching at your door,
Poverty and rage should also ensue,
Testing the best and most prepped of us all
To determined who’s fit for the end.
Not to mention the ‘outsiders’,
Brute louts one and all,
Washing unwashed to our shores—
Whose berserker cruelty will in the end overwhelm
Every naive locale.
Criminals,
Gangs,
Armies and
Bands—
Every creed of opportunist—
Grazing on weakness, wherever they can
Through lawless, chaotic pastures…
Best give it some thought and prepare.
But how?
Well, first, with an understanding that Hashem doesn’t want
a world that's packed full of crazies,
And He'll all but ensure that you haven’t a chance
If you happen to be of that ilk.
He'll simply dispense with you—
Fruitcake, nutcake, mungeecake all—
By leaving you fend for yourself.
So, if you consider yourself
Indispensible,
Pray, tell..
What would you think to do?
Or in the mirror, as the case may be.
And assess yourself honestly:
Then answer these—
Are you one of those types who’s winning the game
To cope with the trials and tests
That Hashem daily sends your way…?
Do you anger of a sudden when troubles arise…?
Do you lose your patience or hope or faith
When tested—
By unruly teens on the bus…?
Or the breakdown of an old appliance…?
Or when your children refuse to listen…?
Or they don’t arrive home on time…?
Now ramp that up 100 fold, and consider your future course
When…
There's no electricity,
Or water,
Or food,
Or bombs are falling at your door.
Or roving bands of Mohammedan youth are terrorizing your block.
How will you answer Him then?
Because there is a sure-fire Jewish way
To deal with all these misfortunes—
A way
That G-d prefers we behave
When ordeals of this sort abound.
For these are the tests that ultimately determine
Whether we merit to life—
On the other side of Mashiach.
But madness is patently not the solution—
Though it’s precisely where one arrives
If his middot are not all in order.
Middot quite simply are the bedrock and essence
Of a Jew’s continued existence.
When they're not properly apportioned,
When they haven’t been properly tended,
The result, in the end, is less a man
Than a giant bag of toys!
Now, it may take a more overt form,
Or one less obviously so,
But madness of some variety and strength
Will undoubtedly begin to kick in
When one’s kilter is out of whack.
Because then the behavior straight becomes wonky,
With the mind chasing rapidly behind.
HOT MADNESS VERSUS COLD
It's important therefore to curb the conduct
And fix the bearing
That's leading your mind astray,
As early as possible—and to the proper degree—as Rambam suggests HERE and HERE.
If you're fortunate enough to be blessed with a spouse
Or chavruta or friend who can help
To identify both those middot
That require
Intensive intervention,
And those
Of a more subtle
Dis-
Tinction—
Where a finer nurturing will be needed—
Then all is good.
If not, and you have to tackle't alone,
The sifrei mussar await!
Kin’ah, ga’avah, ka’as and the rest
Be yours to put in their place.
And save you from
Non compos mentis
And a breakdown that leads to disgrace.
Whether it be ‘cold’ crazy—a straijacketed
Drooling inaction—
Or a warmer iteration—
That sees you rushing off, manic, with steam shooting forth—
Geyser-like—from holes in your head,
We urge you, good Jew, not to be
A casualty of the insanity of the end.
Make an attempt to get your head straight and
Do the hard work of training yourself
In the ways of Orchot Tzaddikim,
Mesillat Yesharim and the Rambam’s Shemoneh Perakim—
Chovot HaLevavot, Shaarei HaTeshuva and the holy Michtav M’Eliyahu.
There’s really no shortage of books that pertain
To setting oneself on the good path,
And learning to deal
With EVERY ordeal
That the Holy One sends your way.
Hatzloocha!
Dean Maughvet