A Response to the Post From Eitan Phillips

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This is a response to the respectful and inspiring post from

Eitan Phillips

that I recently crossposted here. The author of this response is a combat medic who has been serving since the beginning of the war, and also has a son who has been serving. He has contributed many posts on this topic, see a list here, and especially this one.

Dear Eitan,

Your description of your dedication and sacrifice for the sake of the Jewish people is quite impressive. May Hashem consider it a merit for yourself and for the Jewish people as a whole. And I wish upon you that no harm should befall you physically or psychologically, and that your son whom you mentioned should not suffer any long-term psychological harm because of your frequent absences.

I too have spent considerable time in miluim during this war. Except for approximately 2 months during which I returned to civilian life, I have been called up continuously since the beginning of the war. My own reserve battalion (גדוד) is currently in the midst of its third cycle of miluim, with each round lasting several months. But in addition, because of my unique skill set (I am a battalion physician) I was assigned to other units during the time that my own battalion was not serving. Although I did not do anything particularly heroic during the course of the war, I was certainly in my fair share of dangerous and horrific situations. I hope that Hashem will find my service meritorious as well.

I read your thoughtful and articulate essay, and I felt compelled to respond because I think that you are missing a fundamental point. You describe the dedication, and self-sacrifice under difficult circumstances that you witnessed, and held it forth as an example of how Judaism ought to be properly practiced. And yet I feel that you are missing the forest for the trees.

Serving in a military during wartime and demonstrating courage, commitment, concern for ones comrades, and self-sacrifice, are not in any way uniquely Jewish. Even some of the most evil people in the world have demonstrated these same characteristics during wartime. German soldiers fighting under the Nazi regime during world war II often demonstrated courage, commitment, concern for their fellow soldiers, and for their Nation. It is possible to argue that the Chamas fighters that we face in Gaza are not particularly concerned about their nation, but they certainly demonstrate courage and commitment. And yet these characteristics make them even worse people rather than better people. Courage and commitment on behalf of evil is far worse than someone who would be cowardly and lazy on behalf of evil.

All of the characteristics that you laid out, with the possible exception of learning a wee bit of Torah when one is exhausted, could also describe what goes on today in the Ukrainian army that is fighting on behalf of the Ukrainian Nation and the greater glory of their country. Hashem did not choose the Jewish people to be another Nation of Ukrainians.

Hashem chose the Jewish people to reveal his glory in the world. This is explicit throughout tanach. The primary way that we do this is by studying his revelation (which we generally refer to as the Torah) and thereby bring into human consciousness Hashem's thoughts (so to speak) on the significance of any given issue. When we study Bava Kama we are delving into Hashem's view of how to relate to damages to each other's property, and when we study masechet Shabbos we are studying Hashem's view of how to bear witness to the fact that he created the world that we know in 6 days and rested on the 7th. When we keep the mitzvot we are demonstrating how Hashem wants us to relate to him, which is of course vital as well. But the primary way that we reveal his glory in the world is by studying his Torah. That is why talmud Torah is keneged kulam.

An extension of this idea is the fact that it is only Torah study that preserves the Jewish people as Hashem's unique treasure. Fighting on behalf of the Jewish people, or preserving Jewish lives in general in any context is an extremely great mitzvah. If it is done with self-sacrifice, then it is even greater yet. But it does not have the power to maintain that which causes the Jewish Nation to be unique in hashem's eyes. If Torah scholarship is not spread throughout the entire nation, and becomes the inheritance of only a tiny elite, then the Jewish people will have no future. The power of the corrupting ideas and ideologies that surround us is far too great for us to withstand on our own. Peer pressure, and the general enthusiasm for whatever nonsense becomes the burning ideology of any particular generation is far more powerful and destructive than the guns of terrorist organizations. The Jewish people as Hashem's unique preserve can only survive if we dedicate ourselves to spreading true Torah scholarship to as much of our nation as possible.

My son was just recently released from the regular army (סדיר) even as I continue on in the reserves. Although his injuries were minor, he was wounded in Gaza. He was awarded מצטיין חטיבה when his brigade was withdrawn from Gaza. I am truly impressed by the courage and dedication that he demonstrated while leading his troops in Gaza, particularly since he was the type of kid who could never stand the sight of blood. He and I have had numerous conversations regarding this issue, and we both agree that the significance of what we are doing in saving Jewish lives through our own self-sacrifice, lies in the fact that this allows for there to be a healthy cadre of Jews that spend all day in the Beit Midrash toiling over Hashem's Torah. Otherwise we are just a bunch of Ukrainians who happen to have been born Jewish so we relate to the state of Israel in the same way that Ukrainians relate to the state of Ukraine.

In 100 years from now the Jewish people will still be revealing Hashem's glory in the world, as the prophets promised us. The heroes that will be responsible for that will be those who dedicated their lives to learning Torah day and night. In their reflected glory will bask those who with great self-sacrifice fought the wars of the Jewish people to allow that Torah study to go on. That is the real truth, and all the rest is just chatter.

Still, there is something unique to a mitzvah that is done with self-sacrifice. And as you eloquently point out, fighting our vicious enemies entails greater self sacrifice then learning in the Beit Midrash all day does. So while we dare not confuse what is the goal and what is the means to obtain it, we can be confident that Hashem will reward self-sacrifice even if it was only by providing the means, in its own unique way.

I think it is also worth noting, that the heroism and self-sacrifice of those who are fighting on behalf of the Jewish people should be an inspiration to those who are learning, to increase their level of dedication. Both because seeing someone else act with great dedication should be an inspiration in its own right, and because an appreciation of the sacrifice that was made to allow Clal Yisroel to continue with its primary purpose of revealing Hashem's glory should engender an even greater sense of obligation.

May Hashem preserve his people, and comfort us by redeeming us speedily, and may he avenge the blood of those who fell on his behalf.

For various reasons I do not want to publicize my name, so I will simply sign as:

A combat physician in the reserves