This week has been a whirlwind. We have seen horror, and we have seen miracles. We have seen the very worst of humanity, and we have seen its best.
Last week, and again this week, Tucker Carlson went on another one of his evil tirades in his disdain of Jews. Full of lies and conspiracies as usual, this time he singled out Chabad as somehow being behind the war in Iran and America’s involvement in it. Chabad is dangerous, he told his followers, they are everywhere and they support violence against innocents. 
Really. That is what he told millions of people.
Just yesterday, we saw an Islamic terrorist ram his car, loaded with weapons, into Temple Israel in Detroit, where there were about 150 children on site at the time.
I know Detroit well. I lived there for three years. A friend of ours recently enrolled their four toddler in that school.
If the attack itself was not bad enough, to add insult to injury, there have already been subtle attempts to contextualize, justify, and explain the attack. “His brothers were killed by Israel in Lebanon” without of course mentioning they were active Hezbollah terrorists. Or “Temple Israel was founded in 1941 and dedicated to the formation of a Jewish state,” this from the New York Times. Or “It was an 'Israel' synagogue. Its very name is Temple 'Israel',” said on a television show.
Can you imagine a white supremacist attack followed by editorials explaining that it happened because of this or that reason, or a tragic school shooting being explained away? I can’t. But somehow when it comes to the Jews, it is different.
So yes, we have been given another painful reminder of the very worst of humanity. This is part of galut. As we say in the opening words of Vehi Sheamda at the Seder “in every generation they rise up against us.” 
But we have also seen miracles, and we need to recognize them and thank G-d for them. What are the odds that in the planned attack in Detroit not one child, community member, or staff member was killed or injured?
This itself is another powerful reminder that even amidst the horror, G-d still watches over us. As King David says in Psalms “Had it not been for the L-rd Who was with us when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us raw when their anger was kindled against us.”
And locally here we have also seen the very best. This morning we received a donation from someone I had never heard of. I called him to thank him and asked what led him our way. He said it may sound strange, but he heard what Tucker had said this week and was so disgusted and outraged that he decided he had to do something positive rather than just be angry. So he reached out to his local Chabad to make a donation.
This is an important lesson for all of us. We should be thankful and appreciative of those who stand with us. We must also recognize G-d’s miracles and blessings around us, here at home and in the Holy Land of Israel, and turn our pain and frustration into more goodness and positivity. Not only does this make the world a better place, it makes our own lives better as well, ultimately leading to the final words of Vehi Sheamda, “But the Holy One, blessed be He, delivers us from their hands,” with the coming of Moshiach.
​P.S. There has been much discussion recently about the Beit Hamikdash and the rebuilding of the Third Temple. I think you may find this article on the topic informative.

We just celebrated an amazing Purim, and there was one part of the Megillah that kept sticking out to me as I read it that seems so relevant this year.
The Megillah describes how Achashverosh promoted Haman above all his ministers and ordered that all the servants kneel and bow before him. Yet the verse tells us, “Mordechai would neither kneel nor prostrate himself.”
When the other ministers asked Mordechai why he refused, he told them simply that he was a Jew. Haman was enraged and plotted the destruction of the Jewish people.
Soon enough Mordechai learns of Haman’s plan. So what happens the next time he sees Haman?
He does not hide. He does not cower. He does not bow. The Megillah tells us that when Haman passed by, Mordechai remained where he was, “v’lo kam v’lo za mimenu,” he neither rose nor was shaken because of him.
We all know the end of the story, how ultimately Haman’s plot failed and the tables were turned, and the gallows he built for Mordechai were used for him. But when I read the Megillah and think about the times we are in now, I cannot help but feel that it was also this spirit of Mordechai that was so important for the Jewish people going through that time. His confidence, clarity, and pride helped define the strength of our people and lead them through it.
When discussing the laws of Megillah reading, the Talmud says, “One who reads the Megillah backwards has not fulfilled his obligation” (Megillah 17a). Simply put, this means the Megillah must be read in order.
But the Baal Shem Tov explained a deeper meaning. He taught that if someone reads the Megillah “backwards,” as a story that happened long ago without relevance today, they have missed the entire point.
The story of the Megillah is not just ancient history. It is the story of Jewish life in every generation. It is the story of G-d’s hand working behind the scenes, and of the Jewish people finding the strength within themselves to stand proudly and remain faithful no matter the circumstances.
In many ways, Jews have faced moments like this throughout history. Even in places like South Dakota, where we are few and often far apart, the lesson is the same. Jewish life continues when we stand proudly for who we are, when we strengthen our communities, and when we invest in the future of the next generation.
The lesson of the Megillah, and of Mordechai’s unwavering pride and determination, must continue to guide each of us today.