Saved from Iran but Not from Hamas?

Answer

You are contrasting October 7 with April 14. But you need to also compare October 6 to April 13.

In the lead-up to October 7, Israel was divided by sectarian hatred and political disunity. Jew was pitted against Jew and civil war seemed imminent. Brothers were being treated as enemies, families were splitting apart over differing opinions, and we were a people divided.

Then October 7 happened, and everything changed. We became one nation again. We remembered how much we love each other and we were there for each other. All divisions fell away - soldiers and yeshiva students embraced, walls between Israel and the diaspora disappeared, and (almost) all sides of politics came together as one. We reconnected with our faith and our Jewishness.

We were reminded that we are not like any other nation. We are different. We are G-d's people.

Before October 7 we were at our worst. Since then we have been (mostly) at our best. And you can see the results.

When Jews are disunited and unfaithful, we are subject to the normal laws of nature. Those laws dictate that when you are surrounded by murderous enemies who intend to hurt you, sometimes they will. A sheep surrounded by wolves will likely get hurt.

But when Jews are united and spiritually switched on, nothing can touch us. We are not subject to the laws of nature, we are in G-d's hands. The miraculous becomes our normal, the extraordinary is ordinary. The wolves can't come anywhere near the sheep, because the Shepherd intervenes.

October 7 was not a punishment from G-d. It was just the way of the world. Our enemies are constantly trying to attack us, and would do it every day if they could. That it doesn’t happen every day is a miracle.

April 14 showed what happens when we are connected to each other and to our Jewish soul. We are invincible. Miracles happen. The laws of nature simply don't apply to us.

This has been the Jewish story forever. And it is hinted at in the Haggadah.

ON THIS NIGHT WE DIP TWICE

The Ma Nishtana mentions that on the night of Pesach, we make two dippings. Right at the beginning of the Seder we dip a vegetable in salt water. Much later on, after reading the Haggadah, we dip the bitter herbs in charoset. These two dippings hint at two fateful dips in the story of the Jewish people.

The Egyptian slavery started due to a family conflict. Joseph was sold by his jealous brothers as a slave. He ended up in Egypt, and his family followed, first as free people, then eventually becoming slaves.

To cover up their sale of Joseph, the brothers took his tunic, dipped it in blood, and showed their father Jacob, who assumed a wild animal had killed him. This is the first dipping, born of hatred that led the Jewish people into slavery.

Fast forward to the end of the exile. The night before leaving Egypt, G-d commands the Jews to eat a festive meal together with their families in their homes. They were told to dip a hyssop branch in the blood of the Pesach offering and paint it on their doorposts. This is the second dipping, and it brought about a miracle. As families sat together at home that night,

the Angel of Death smote the firstborn Egyptians, passing over the Israelite homes identified by blood on the doorposts. The next morning, the great exodus happened, and the Jewish people left Egypt.

The first dipping was by brothers who hated their brother. This led to pain and slavery. The second dipping was when families sat together united, proudly displaying their Jewishness. This led to freedom and redemption.

This is the message of the Seder. There are two dippings, the hateful October 6 type, and the loving April 13 type. Our history has taught us where each one leads.

We are one family. We are G-d’s people. Let's get ready for more miracles.