October 20, 2023|ה' חשון ה' אלפים תשפ"ד Israel at War: To Mourn and to Fight By Rabbi Jonathan Muskat

The gruesome, barbaric terrorist attack last Shabbat on Simchat Torah in Eretz Yisrael has been likened to the Yom Kippur War, 9/11 and the Holocaust. It has been likened to the Yom Kippur War, first because it happened within a day of 50 years after the Yom Kippur War according to the secular calendar and it was a surprise attack which totally fooled Israeli military intelligence just like this past week’s attack totally fooled Israeli military intelligence. It has been likened to 9/11 because this was not a military attack against soldiers like the Yom Kippur War, but it was a terrorist attack against civilians. And even though I find that in most instances it is inappropriate to compare someone’s behavior to a Nazi or to compare an attack to the Holocaust because most comparisons cheapen the brutality, barbarism and sheer evil of the Holocaust, Prime Minister Netanyahu told President Biden that the Hamas atrocities were the worst since the Holocaust. He said, “We’ve never seen such savagery in the history of the state not since the Holocaust.” Netanyahu said, “They took dozens of children, bound them up, burned them and executed them. They beheaded soldiers, they mowed down these youngsters who came to a nature festival, you know, put five jeeps around this depression in the soil and like Babyn Yar, they moved them down, making sure that they killed everybody.” More Jews were killed last Shabbat than on any day since the Holocaust. Yom Kippur War. 9/11. The Holocaust.

Yes, we did not understand our enemy, but our enemy does not understand us. We did not understand our enemy. For the past two years, Hamas remained relatively peaceful. They didn’t shoot rockets at us. They generally cast themselves as a group that wanted to govern the Gaza Strip, take care of its citizens and for the most part, not attack us. It was all a ruse and we paid for it dearly.

But the truth is even though we did not understand our enemy, our enemy does not understand us either. In fact, so many of our enemies have never understood us throughout the years. Let me explain to you the mistake of Hamas. Rav Soloveitchik once wrote about how the ancient Egyptian philosophy of the bechor was radically different than Judaism’s philosophy of the bechor. According to the ancient Egyptians, the oldest son was the strongest and because he is the strongest, he is capable of exercising authority over weaker siblings. According to this philosophy, you are either strong or weak. There is a binary. If you are strong, you rule over the weak and you do not suffer and you do not cry. If you are weak, then you suffer, you mourn and you cry. It’s one or the other.

Our enemy thinks that because we cry, because we mourn, then we are weak. I think about God’s response to Kayin after Kayin killed Hevel and then said to God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God's response is “kol dmei achecha tzo’akim eilai” – the voice of the bloods of your brother are crying out to me. The gemara (Sanhedrin 37b) points out that God didn’t say “kol dam achicha” – the voice of the blood of your brother in singular, but “kol dmei” – the voice of the bloods – in plural. The gemara states that this teaches us that Kayin didn’t stab Hevel once, but “melamed she’asah Kayin b’Hevel achiv chaburot chaburot petza’im petza’im.” Kayin stabbed Hevel multiple times. Kayin brutally murdered his brother and God exacted retribution not just for the murder but for the brutal method of the murder. And I think of this gemara and I think about the reports of the medical staff whose job it is to identify the remains of people who were mutilated in Kibbutz Beeri so that they could issue death certificates. I think of all the horrific videos that Hamas posted on social media of their savagery. Kol dmei achecha tzo’akim eilai. The enemy was right. We are in pain. We are mourning. We are devastated. The whole country stops for the burial of one terror victim and now the country is stopping for over 1300 terror victims. I was speaking with someone from the community who has a relative that is on our Oceanside soldier Tehillim list, and he told me that his cousin’s daughter's boyfriend was on a mission at the Gaza border with three other soldiers. The other three soldiers were killed by four terrorists, who were all killed, and the boyfriend needed an emergency tracheotomy that saved his life and is now in critical condition. Kol dmei achecha tzo’akim.

But the enemy is wrong. According to Rav Soloveitchik, we have a different definition of bechor. It is not be strong and rule over us or be weak and cry and mourn. To be a bechor is to be strong and to use that strength and take care of the weak. Our enemy thought that we would submit once they took hostages and they threatened that we will kill hostages unless we back down. They saw our grief but they miscalculated. They don’t realize and our enemies for thousands of years have not realized that we can mourn and we can fight. We will cry and then we will rise and celebrate. We will go from a funeral to a wedding. We will defy Hamas’ so-called Day of Rage and walk the streets proudly as a Jew.

Our Jewish tradition compels us to do that. At almost every burial, including this past week when we buried Molly Felderman, I quote Rav Soloveitchik’s distinction between aninut and avelut. Rav Soloveitchik explains that sometimes the Torah responds to our emotions and sometimes the Torah challenges us to rise up despite the tragedy in which we find ourselves. Immediately when we lose a loved one, we don’t pray and we don’t recite blessings. After all, we are devastated. How can we bless God at a time like this? But then after the burial, despite the tragedy, we are challenged to rise up and recite “yitgadal v’yitkadash shmei rabbah” – may God’s great name be made great and sanctified. We mourn and then we rise and we fight. We live on. We are wounded. We don’t understand God’s plan, but this is the moment in our generation when we confront the theological doubt, we confront the evil, we mourn our losses, and we fight to live and we fight to celebrate life.

And we are so far away. I feel so far away. Everyone in Israel is either burying the dead, preparing for war or supporting the war effort. We will win. It may be bloody because achieving our objectives will likely cost the lives of more soldiers and likely the lives of many hostages, but we will win. And this moment may be the defining moment in our lives. Each one of us will need to account for what we did in response to Israel’s 9/11, this generation’s Yom Kippur War and this generation’s Holocaust-type moment. Years from now, when we reflect on this moment of national tragedy and national strength, each one of us will need to ask ourselves, what did I do to help the war effort?

As Bnei Torah, as members of Klal Yisrael, we believe that our very existence as a Jewish nation is a miracle that defies logic and the only rational explanation for our existence is our unique connection with God. Therefore, the extent to which we connect with God can directly impact the nature of this war. What does this mean in practice? My son-in-law, Daniel, told me that his rebbe, Rav Yaakov Neuberger from YU gathered his students after a particular tragedy and told them, “At this time, I think it is important that we all take upon ourselves the kabbalah, the commitment, of…” Then he paused, looked up and said, “Whatever you were worried that I would say is probably the kabbalah that you should take on.” Do you want to storm the heavens and plead with God that we achieve our national goals? Then push yourself. Make a spiritual commitment. Something that is concrete and measurable. To me, it doesn’t matter what it is. Push yourself in Talmud Torah – whether it’s the semichas chaver chaburah that’s starting this coming Wednesday evening or a weekly parsha shiur online or in person – I’ll be sending out a flyer this week about this - or a women’s halacha chabura – I’m sending information about this shiur this week - or any other Torah study opportunity. Push yourself to achieve a greater commitment to minyan or to tefilla or to tefillin or to a particular mitzvah. Don't tell other people what mitzvah they should take on. Find a real spiritual commitment, a measurable goal that will take energy and willpower and do it for the chayalim and do it for achenu kol beit Yisrael.

Second, think of more and more ways to be supportive and do chesed to our soldiers in the IDF and the relatives of our soldiers in the IDF. Every night during the week we recite Tehillim having in mind the names of soldiers connected to our community. This coming week we will recite Tehillim via zoom from 745-755 pm every evening, so if you are available for those ten minutes, it is a source of tremendous comfort for many of our YIO members who have relatives on the front line. This coming week, be on the lookout for a flyer for a wonderful campaign to help feed an Israeli soldier on the front lines that Rebecca Kessler is working on and we pray for the safety of her brother, Efraim, who is on the front lines. Keep on calling your relatives and friends in Israel each and every week. Don’t stop. Continue supporting them. Be on the lookout for youth programs like the Tzahal chesed event on Sunday to teach our children what it means to thank our chayalim who are protecting us. I am so gratified by the overwhelming response that we have received for the appeal for the bulletproof vests for our chayalim, having raised over $200,000 thus far. I am making two requests. First, if you made a pledge, please redeem it in the next day or two if possible. There are operations going on in Gaza as we speak, so the speed in which we are able to provide funding so that our soldiers are protected as best as possible literally depends when you redeem your pledge. When we send money, more vests are sent to the soldiers. My second request is that I am asking all those who have not made a pledge who are in a financial position to do so to please do so. We have asked every family to contribute at least $1,000 if they are able. What that means is, and I will be quite blunt, if you take fancy vacations and/or eat out at fancy restaurants, I am asking you to cut back, if need be, on the expense of your vacation and/or your restaurants, and donate it to save lives. In Israel, our brothers and sisters are putting their life on the line. In America, the least we can do is, if need be, to cut back on some luxuries and help our brothers and sisters. Please, we would like everyone’s participation. If you want to donate anonymously, that’s also fine, but please we want 100% participation and we will come out with a final list of donors in the next few days.

Third, PR and public advocacy. PR is going to be incredibly important during these next few weeks. Currently the world stands with Israel. When Israel goes in to Gaza to topple Hamas and there is collateral damage and when the siege on Gaza continues such that no electricity or fuel or supplies are getting into Gaza until the hostages are released, we may see a softening of the support for Israel. The rest of the world needs to continue to see the barbaric, inhumane brutality of our enemy so that they continue to understand who we are dealing with and who is ultimately responsible for the plight of ordinary Gazans. We should write thank you notes to our members of Congress and President Biden for their unwavering support of Israel at this time and when we see opportunities to advocate, each one of us must advocate. After this war is over and the job is done, let’s all ensure that each one of us can reflect on what we did in all areas – increased mitzvah observance and tefilla, chesed, support, tzedakah and PR and advocacy, and hold our heads up high.

I want to close with a thought by Rabbi Lamm and a prayer. When we return the sefer Torah to the aron, we say a pasuk from Eichah: “hashivenu Hashem eilecha v’nashuva” – God, return us and let us return. “Chadesh yamenu k’kedem” – renew our days as of old. The midrash understands that “kedem” doesn’t mean “old,” but it means “east.” East of where? East of Eden. In this week’s parsha we read that God expelled Adam from Gan Eden and God placed sword-flaming kervuim “mi-kedem l’gan Eden” – at the east of Gan Eden to guard the entrance to the garden. Rabbi Lamm finds it strange that we would pray to God to return us to kedem – to east of Gan Eden, and not to Eden itself! Rabbi Lamm answers that each one of us has our own private Eden, which are our dreams and our aspirations, and it never works. Adam and Chava hardly last a day in Gan Eden. Only after God expels them from Gan Eden, do they become human. They build a family and they learn how much they really needed each other. Chadesh yamenu k’kedem is not a prayer to bring us back to Eden, to paradise. It is a prayer to give us courage to face life east of Eden, in the real world of ups and downs. We do not believe that we can sit back and only pray for a thriving Jewish state and it will miraculously come. We have to work at it. And there will be ups and downs in the process. There will be many setbacks and last Shabbat we faced one of the most horrific and barbaric setbacks in our recent history. But if each one of us takes responsibility in the physical and spiritual realms, then God willing, we hope and we pray that chadesh yamenu k’kedem, God will protect our brothers and sisters thousands of miles away in our battle to drive out our evil enemy from our midst once and for all.