Widows, Orphans, and the Displaced

Recently several people have been davening for the children who lost parents to terror.

Unfortunately we have also been hearing about several people who lost their spouses due to terror and evil.  We are also hearing about many people feeling displaced on several levels.

I asked myself, what can I learn from these tragic situations?  I chose to look at the mitzvos regarding our treatment of orphans and widows, to biezras Hashem gain insight into the situation through our Mitzvos.

We have several mitzvos Hashem directs us regarding how we are to treat orphans and widows.  For example, it says in Shemos:  כָּל־אַלְמָנָה וְיָתוֹם לֹא תְעַנּוּן, You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan,^[1]amongst many.

The Shelah Hakadosh teaches us something I found very helpful to me.

“The whole legislation pertaining to the treatment of the helpless in society, i.e. the widow, the orphan and the stranger (newcomer to the Jewish people) all aim to teach us that we are part of one unit and are responsible for one another’s economic well-being.

This string of legislation concludes with the demand to wipe out Amalek who represents the impurity of the body”.^[2]

In other words,  if we follow the teachings of the Mitzvos in how to treat the widow and the orphans and the week, we learn how to take responsibility for another and become instruments in eradicating the cruelty and evil of Amalek!  We can use to illuminate and purify the world that seems very heavy and dark especially in light of the recent attacks on Klal Yisrael.

I think that we can use prayer to bless Hashem for giving us clues, and direction to erase cruelty from our existence, through our unity;  the way we treat each other, specifically the orphans, the widows and displaced.

אֲשֶׁר בִּדְבָרוֹ מַעֲרִיב עֲרָבִים, With His word He brings on evenings.

מַעֲרִיב, can also mean sweet, or responsibility.

When we say the opening blessing of Maariv, we can use it to bless Hashem for communicating to us His Words of Torah; His Mitzvos  which teach us to unify, accept responsibility for each other, particularly with those who are weak, displaced, orphans and widows.  Doing so will sweeten even the evenings, until the darkness of evil is erased from the world Biezras Hashem.

You are invited to share your tefillah for our orphans, widows, displaced as part of this great Mitzvah! https://instagram.com/partnersinprayer_?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

May it be a zechus for a world restored , a world healed, a world redeemed, Biezras Hashem.

 

 

 

 

^[1] Shemos, 22:21

^[2] שני לוחות הברית,, תורה שבכתב, כי תצא, תורה אור