"The Eyes... of the Jewish people were closed" (Rashi v. 28)

In our times we are witnessing sings of redemption in the world, and it is tremendously upsetting to see that the Jewish people have their "eyes closed" and do not take note of what is occurring.

Primarily, these sing are changes in the way that the world leaders are acting toward Jews and Jewish values. The opposition to Jewish observance by a number of regimes has ended, most notably in the former Soviet Union where approximately one third of the Jewish people have found themselves in a position to observe the Torah and its mitzvos for the first time in 70 years.

Furthermore, the manner in which non-Jews perceive Jewish observance, even in the Western World. has changed radically in the past generation. Consider that before World War II, many thousands of Jewish families found themselves unable to earn a living if they were Shabbos observant, even in America, yet now we find that Jews who proudly display beards and peyos are accepted and respected by a broad cross-section of society.

However, the painful fact is that Jewish people have taken all this for granted, and fail to recognize that these are unprecedented changes of Messianic proportions. The redemption is no longer an unrealistic dream - we merely have to "open our eyes" to see that the time of redemption has indeed arrived.

(Based on Sichas Shabbos Parshas Mishpatim 5744; Bereishis 5752)