HaRav Shalom Schwadron told how he used to attend the shiurim of the Ponovezh Mashgiach, HaRav Yechezkel Levenstein. Upon one occasion, the Mashgiach said that he had heard the Chofetz Chaim predict that World War I would be followed by another world war which would make the first one seem like 'child's play,' and that would be followed by a third war which would be all the more terrible.
This threw his listeners into a panic, "I dared to ask him," said HaRav Shalom very apologetically, "why it was necessary to say such difficult words? Rather, we should begin praying that Hashem would not bring such a terrible war upon us. Why be such a dooms sayer?"
The Mashgiach grew fiery as he replied, "You did not begin to understand what I said or what the Chofetz Chaim intended with his words! How then should we interpret them? We tend to think that he was referring to the huge loss of lives which would be greater in the war to come, but this was not his intention at all. He was talking about a future spiritual war, the third world war, where the world would be plunged in darkness. Don't we know of the great hester ponim, the [seeming] lack of any presence of Hashem in the Second World War? People lost all that was dear to them. Only one from a city and two from a family survived and sometimes, even less, say, only one from a family. Our great leaders and luminaries were slaughtered by the enemy, and entire communities of pious, G-d-fearing people were wiped out, cremated in the incendiaries.
"Throughout all of these trials and tribulations, only one thing survived: Emunah! Hashem felt it necessary to overturn worlds, effect circumstances beyond natural laws for the pure sake of bolstering faith in Him. This is the crux of the trials of man.
"The real object of wars is to strengthen our belief in Hashem. Our luminaries of the past generation saw that in that terrible war where millions of our brethren were killed, there were many Jews who shook off the yoke of Judaism and ranted against the A-mighty, while contrariwise, many actually emerged fortified in their faith. The war was a most harsh and painful crucible designed to test the power of our emunah.
"We are surely incapable of judging anyone who survived that horrendous period, but the fact remains that precisely from that very valley of death did thousands emerge from the death camps and incendiaries fortified in their faith and trust in Hashem. It is a clear sign and wonder that this whole period was actually a test of emunah."
Perhaps, in the wake of those happenings, one can say that the third war, the one to which the Chofetz Chaim was referring, is now in its peak. Precisely in this period of opulence and because of it, we are in the throes of a testing war of faith in which previous generations did not find themselves. This generation is privy to taxing tests, at every stage and step, when the holocaust comes in the form of a war against Torah scholars, and reducing the elite of the Jewish people who are dedicating themselves to pure study — into criminals.
It is a bitter test, burdensome and even frightening, but from this very darkness shall light burst forth. This is the final crucible, anticipating and heralding the great days which we eagerly await when the light of His kingship will be revealed throughout the world, with the coming of Moshiach and the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdash, may it be speedily in our days. Fortunate will be those who merit standing strong through those difficult tests, using them advantageously for their spiritual ascent.
