At a pre-Shavuos gathering in Ra’anana, the noted posek and member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein, delivered powerful words of chizuk to a group of Brazilian olim, expressing wonder and gratitude over the miraculous survival of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisroel despite overwhelming odds.
The remarks were delivered following Rav Zilberstein’s regular Thursday evening shiur for doctors from hospitals across the country, held at Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak.
During his address, Rav Zilberstein reflected on the precarious security situation and the miraculous resilience of Am Yisroel. “We are a tiny nation,” he said, “barely eight million people, surrounded by huge, powerful countries. And yet, we are still here.”
Pointing specifically to Iran, he remarked, “Iran is ten times the size of Israel, and yet it stands powerless. We are surviving here through nisei nissim—open miracles.”
Rav Zilberstein stated emphatically, “It is clear as day—we are living in the period right before the coming of Moshiach.”
He went on to describe how much has changed in recent decades: “Until 90 years ago, who dreamed of aliyah to Eretz Yisroel? Everything was still called Palestine. Who had any foothold here at all?”
“Seventy or eighty years ago, things began to change,” he recalled. “They brought over yeshivos—Mir, Chevron, Porat Yosef, Slabodka, Etz Chaim, and others—and Torah began to blossom here.”
With emotion, Rav Zilberstein spoke of the recent missile attacks. “The Arabs fired hundreds and thousands of bombot—and baruch Hashem, they didn’t explode. They were launched to every corner of the country, and no one understands how they failed to detonate.”
He concluded with heartfelt thanks to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, saying, “We must thank Hashem, who has separated us from those who err and shows us clearly that we are on the threshold of bi’as haMoshiach. Boruch atem laHashem, Creator of Heaven and Earth. May you be blessed with all good things, my dear ones.”
{Matzav.com Israel}