And We Call in the Name of God
Post from Dovid
Please see the previous guest post from one of the reservists, which emphasizes that everything is in the hands of Hashem, and the only way to victory is through the meritorious actions of the entire Jewish nation.
Usually Tisha B’av precedes the days of teshuva. This year we are living Tisha B’av immediately after. Normally the most serious and intense days of avoda begin with Rosh Chodesh Elul and end on Hoshana Raba. This year, Hashem is sending us a message immediately following this last of the holy days: no, your teshuva begins now. We sit and mourn the brutal holocaust-style deaths, we are living through days which we’ve gotten used to just reading about in the kinnus and history books.
We have visual access to these atrocities, and our best hopes are that, dear God, it should only get ‘a little bit’ worse. We hope that our brothers and sisters, the frightened hostages - men, women and young innocent children - can miraculously stay safe. The fear of the unknown looms over our heads. מה יולד יום, what will be?
I obviously can’t add much, but one thing I’d like to share. Besides our teshuva which we need to work on, our relationship with Hashem and His Torah, besides the tefilos which are now דאורייתא according to all opinions, we have a special “irrational” connection with war. אלה ברכב ואלה בסוסים ואנחנו בשם ה"א נזכיר.
There is a powerful vort from Reb Moshe Feinstein zt’l, something he said at a dinner. The Medrash (פתיחה איכה רבה) relates that when Dovid Hamelech went out to war, he would fight and battle hard and had bitachon that he would be successful. Chizkiyahu Hamelech, on the other hand, would simply sleep, seemingly having a purer bitchon in Hashem. Reb Moshe asked, was Chizkiyahu truly greater than Dovid in the middah of bitachon?
He answered as follows: To have bitachon is a high madreiga. Chizkiyahu was definitely on a high madreiga, but he was only able to reach that level of bitachon through not fighting and through seeing the Yad Hahem clearly. But Dovid was on an even higher madreiga, namely, that he reached that very same madreiga – even though he was fighting! To be able to see the Yad Hashem in the same way that Chizkiyahu saw it – while doing the motions of hishtadlus – is indeed a higher madreiga.
In our generation, we have the unique opportunity to be in Dovid Hamelech’s position all the time. We live in a world where there are no more nissim giluyim. We simply don’t have anyone on the madreiga to experience yeshuos like they used to. We don’t have people who know how to use sheimos, or are simply so in tune that they can give proper segulos. What we see is very natural. We live in a world where it is very easy to deny the Yad Hashem. Whatever is going to happen, however we get out of this mess, unless Mashiach comes with a Beis Hamikdash of fire, it will be a natural yeshuah. Whether the IDF, or additional military aid from the US, etc., it will something that can be explained through natural means.
A time like this is a tie to realize and stress and internalize that the science and teva are just shluchim, messengers. In reality, it is all a ploy to get us closer to Him. If we take this opportunity to develop our bitachon, to strengthen our avoda, we will emerge intact. If we find more issues and deaths ר"ל, it’s because we aren’t trying hard enough.
ואנחנו בשם ה"א נזכיר.
One last point, it is those who are acting as servants of Hashem (which we are hopefully doing), not those who are simply acting as soldiers, who are fighting the real battle. The soldiers of the IDF are messengers of Hashem to play it out on the physical plane, but as Yidden, we know good and well that it is avodas Hashem that truly affects the outcome.
והחזירנו בתשובה שלימה ויה"ר כו' ומה שחטאנו לפניך מרק ברחמיך הרבים אבל לא על ידי יסורין כו' ומחה ה"א דמעה מעל כל פנים ונזכה לביאת גואל בב"א
 | A guest post by
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Sorry for my absence, I've been trying to stay offline. I had emailed Happy שיחיה an idea for a post earlier last week and found out this morning that he posted it (he tried to reach me earlier).
I've been reading the comments, and I just looked at the previous posts and Slifkin's latest posts (as well as the comment sections there) and I want to clarify a few things that are important in context:
1) I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, or rather if I insinuated differently: I have nothing but respect for the Tzahal. People willing to put themselves in the line of fire is a noble cause by any standards (so long as the cause of the country is acceptable). Even leaving aside the עבודת השם aspect - simply the fact that they are living selfless lives is an extremely high Jewish value. I can't stress this enough. Being selfless is what it's all about. And for that I am dust under their feet. I try to live my life on such a selfless standard by doing what Hashem wants, not what I want, and that is really, really hard - it's even death itself. But, it is not the actual קיום of בכל נפשכם. Putting your *actual life* at risk is extremely noble. The words I'm using here are clumsy in describing my sentiments but I hope you read into them fully.
This is besides for the fact that most of these soldiers are our very brothers (and sisters) and we should be feeling their anxiety and pain, the pain of their wives and families. The many stresses of real war is not a joke and we should not be undermining it in any way whatsoever. I live in America and it's relatively comfortable here (בלע"ה), but my thoughts are constantly about these soldiers, our brothers, that חלילה nothing happen to them. The offensive into Gaza is imminent (it's been 'imminent' for a while now...) and only Hashem knows מי יחיה ומי ימות. They, and their families, know this all too well and we must be very careful not to undermine the cause in any way, especially now when they are literally preparing themselves for actual war.
Even more, for most of these people, it *is* עבודת השם, not just buried deep down. They know, especially now, that their hands are in a Higher Power's hands, whether they are only mildly religious or were completely not. Many have been spreading messages across social media to this effect, and אחינו בנ"י in these times come together and pray and wear Tzitzis, and more.
2) All I came to say, without being aware of the debates already growing in the comment section of Slifkin's blog, was that while there is a physical battle taking place, there is also a spiritual battle in front of us. The Jewish response to an עת צרה, especially for someone who is not on the battle ground, is תשובה, תפילה וצדקה. We know that whatever Hashem serves us in this world is a message, for those who are listening, to do תשובה. If we do תשובה, we will see Hashem's good hand. If we don't ר"ל, the message will be given differently ל"ע. We are not נביאים and we will never know for certain which issues need fixing, and none of us can point with confidence to any particular issue, but כלל ישראל is made of individuals who come together to make a community, and the individual's job is to look inward and do his own personal תשובה. My job is to do me, your job is to do you. But all of us who strengthen our עבודת השם יתברך in a real way are responding to this צרה נוראה properly. We, as chareidim, believe that the true message is for those who can receive the message: Hashem wants more from us! My first and last paragraphs were stressing this point, that it isn't a joke when we say it is up to us. This is not to undermine the war efforts, but it is supposed to be a push that we take our own עבודה seriously and realize that, in a sense, we are on the front lines. Just like a soldier is responsible for being strong and the army is the country's defense, we too have a similar אחריות to try and keep the nation safe, through our עבודה and תשובה. Just like we expect the army to have a good strategy and that is what keeps the nation protected, we must have a strategy in fighting on the very real spiritual front.
3) Even when soldiers go to battle, it is up to HKBH what will happen. That is undeniable. While our brothers do their part on the battleground, HKBH will decide their fate. In history, we are told to look at the spiritual front as the cause of success on the physical front. This should not at all undermine the physical front; rather it should embolden us, who are busy on the spiritual front, to strengthen our own war efforts because lives are at stake.
The last paragraph could definitely have been written better and I accept the blame for any misunderstandings. My point was to be a chizuk. Especially to those who are learning and davening it's very easy to get sucked into the idea that we aren't really doing anything. It's hard to feel like we're accomplishing when you're *just* Saying Tehilim and learning extra. My point was, NO! You really are! Our efforts on the spiritual front really matter! Again, not in the same way as those going to war. But our part is equally important.
ר' דוד שליט"א,
I don't disagree with the main מהלך
I just want to point out that many of the חיילים (including one of my sons and some of my relatives who are now in the army, and some of my friends who are in the army) are frum yidden