TOMORROW WILL COME
Pesach, April, 1941
1
THE other day I read a report in a newspaper of a meeting that took place in London. It stated that over the platform flew a banner bearing this inscription: “To-morrow will come, and we shall make to-morrow”.
This meeting was not a Jewish one, but the banner bore the Jewish motto. Since the destruction of the Jewish State in the year 70 Jews have been marching to the rhythm of a hope that pointed to the future. We have no To-day; To-day is usually not worth living. We have only Yesterday and we live for To-morrow. We are great masters in the art of going on toiling and drudging in spite of and forgetting the wretchedness of To-day. We have survived utterly unbearable living conditions because we have always known that To-morrow would come, that we shall be there when To-morrow comes, and that we shall make To-morrow.
All our prophets spoke of To-morrow, of the “Great Day” that will come, that is bound to come because there is a God in the world, because there must be a meaning in life.
In the Haftarah of Shabbat Haggadol, which heralds the festival of Freedom and Redemption, we read the words: **Malachi i, III, 19.“For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the guilty and all that work wickedness shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch”.
For this day we Jews have been waiting all the dark years of our life in Exile, the day of the ultimate annihilation of wickedness, for which together with us the whole world is hoping at this moment. But do we realise as we should what our responsibilities are in respect of this day? Do we understand how to prepare ourselves for To-morrow, how to prepare ourselves for making To-morrow, when Tomorrow will be here? These are questions not for politicians only or for War Cabinets, but for everyone of us. And on the reply that every one of us will give to them depends the future happiness of our people as well as that of the whole of mankind.
2
There are two things that Jewish tradition teaches us regarding To-morrow. The prophet calls it: ††Malachi, iii, 23.“the great and terrible day of the Lord”. Secondly, we are told that God will send us ‡‡Ib.“the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day”. Two questions arise from these statements. First, why is it to be a terrible day? A great day, yes. A glorious day, yes. For wickedness will be destroyed and justice will triumph. But, why a terrible day? Why not a day of joy and happiness? And then, why is it Elijah who will be sent to herald this great and terrible day?
To the first question we may give the answer that it will be terrible because To-morrow must not be the day of triumph for one nation over another, terrible for one and happy for the other; nor must To-morrow be a day of political and military victories alone; but a day of triumph for justice over injustice, for decency over brutality, for truth over lies. It will be terrible because wickedness will be so completely exterminated that, as the prophet put it, “neither root nor branch will remain of it”. Now, where are the branches and roots of wickedness?
Let us not deceive ourselves. Let us not point to this or that country alone. The roots and branches of wickedness are very widely spread all over the world. They are here, there, and everywhere. In our day, Evil has become a world-power in the shape of Nazidom and Fascism. But it could become such a force in Germany and Italy only because it was mighty and powerful in all countries. When the forces of evil cautiously started to build up their power in Italy and Germany, they found, probably to their own surprise, that they had powerful allies all over the world. Their allies were the “roots and branches” of evil spread among all the nations. Instead of indignation, instead of the wrath of the civilised world, they met with encouragement, understanding, and sympathy, or, at the very least, with timid toleration.
There was one sin of which the whole world became guilty in the last couple of decades: the toleration of evil. In diplomatic language it was called Neutrality. But are we allowed to be neutral towards wrong-doing, brutality, persecution and the suppression of justice, truth and freedom?
The world was neutral, the nations were “tolerant” and did not want to realise that the toleration of evil is in itself doing evil. By tolerating evil we all lent a hand in making it the terrible power of destruction which we see it to be in these days. By tolerating evil the whole world has become accessory to the crimes which have been committed by the power of evil.
Some years ago a famous American author wrote a novel in which he pictured a supposed successful Fascist revolution in the U.S.A. By the very title, **By Sinclair Lewis.“It Can’t Happen Here”, he satirised those people who thought to parry such an event by the constant repetition of this and similar phrases. People do not realise that, after all, there is but one human race and we are all made of the same stuff. It is not the case that one part of mankind consists of mere devils and the other of pure angels. Fundamentally, all men are alike. If wickedness is strong somewhere in the world, it only proves that it is strong in us human beings. And what happens in any one country can only happen there because it may happen everywhere. Only because it is a latent possibility everywhere can it be turned into triumphant actuality somewhere.
We are accustomed to accuse the totalitarian States of having no respect for the sanctity of the pledged word or promise. But do we ourselves always honour our promises? Have we never broken our word? We call them brutal—and brutal they are—but is there no brutality in our own life?
We call the dictators, robbers and exploiters, and rightly so. But, is there no robbery and exploitation in the rest of the world?
They are unjust; are we always just? They know nothing of decency, but do we always act as decency would require? They are liars, it is true, but are we prepared to bring any sacrifice that may be asked in the interest of the truth?
Let no one assert that there is a fundamental difference between these two sets of shortcomings. There may be a difference of degree, but essentially they are linked together, and only together do they represent the whole picture. Because evil has been strong in us it was able to become a world power in others. Had there been more justice exercised in our small individual worlds, we should have had more justice in national affairs. Had there been more love in each of the nations, we should have had more kindness and understanding between the nations. Had we been more truthful, truth would be mightier. Had we been more just, justice would be stronger.
We have all become guilty, every one of us has his own personal share in the terrible crimes of our generation. Humanism died out because it died out in us. Civilisation collapsed because it collapsed in us. Man has failed, and we all are responsible. Evil has triumphed, because it has its roots and branches everywhere. Yet, To-morrow will still come. In fact, it is already on its way. To-morrow has already started. For To-morrow is not only a great day, it is also a terrible day, for To-morrow will bring the extermination of evil. Unfortunately, there is to be extermination everywhere; the roots and branches of evil are widely spread all over the world.
There exists a common guilt in all mankind, and we all have to expiate it.
3
To-morrow will come and, because of our sins, it is to be a great and terrible day. But, why will it be heralded in by the prophet Elijah?
The explanation is comparatively simple.
One of the most dramatic episodes in the life of Elijah was his throwing down of the challenge to the King and the people in the words: **I. Kings XVIII, 21.“How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him”. Strange words were these. If Baal be the truth, go and follow him. They did something that was even worse than the straightforward and clear acceptance of idolatry; they wavered between two opinions, between two worlds, God and Baal. The nation tried to serve both, God and Baal. It aimed at a compromise between God and Baal. And this, the compromise between the service of God and the service of Baal, is worse than the clear acceptance of Baal, for it is the distortion of the truth that is in God. Compromise between truth and a lie is worse and much more dangerous than a clear-cut lie, for it involves the misuse of the truth in the service of the lie. A mixture of light and darkness is worse than unmixed darkness, for it is the darkening of light. There must be no compromise between God and Baal; rather than compromise, serve Baal wholeheartedly.
We have said that there is a common guilt in the world because the whole of mankind had—to say the least—tolerated the growth of evil and by toleration helped it to become powerful. It is well to realise that this blind toleration was only possible because, like Israel at the time of Elijah, the world was halting between two opinions, because we were wavering between the service of the truth and that of falsehood. We thought of compromise between justice and its violence, between the forces of freedom and the forces of slavery, without realising that there are certain moral purposes in the life of man which do not admit of any compromise.
Whatever good we have tried to do we have done half-heartedly. We had democracy, but democracy had no faith in its own destiny. We had a League of Nations, but one that was startled by its own boldness. We wished for peace, but did next to nothing to secure it.
And if we think of our own Jewish affairs, it cannot be doubted that all our Jewishness bore the stamp of half-heartedness. Whether the issues were national, communal or religious; whether Palestine or the Community or Jewish Education was at stake—we have bungled everything, all our efforts have been covered with the pale cast of unhealthy compromise.
It is an old Jewish custom to open the doors of our houses on the “Seder” nights to welcome the prophet Elijah. By this custom we wish to indicate that we are still waiting for To-morrow, waiting for Elijah to announce that To-morrow has come. I feel, however, that Elijah’s reply would be: Well, brother, To-morrow will come. But are you still wavering between two worlds, are you still trying to serve God and Baal? If so what is the good of To-morrow, what use are you going to make of To-morrow?
To-morrow will come. But, are we prepared for Tomorrow, are we ready to make To-morrow?
To-morrow will come if the common guilt of the past is succeeded by the common responsibility of the future. To-morrow will come if half-heartedness and compromise make way for faithful and unconditional service of God.
To-morrow comes only to those who are able and prepared to make To-morrow.