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.
In Eretz Yisrael, over 300,000 reservists have been called to the front. They are putting their lives on hold indefinitely, and may never come home. They are sacrificing everything to defend and avenge the Jewish nation. And even those who are not fighting are living with the looming and serious threat of death, ח”ו.
For us who reside in Chutz l’Aretz, is it not our fight as well? More than half of the Jews in the world live in Eretz Yisrael, and well more than half of frum Jews. Most of us have relatives in Eretz Yisrael. Can we just go on with life as usual? What sacrifices are we making? Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think saying a few chapters of Tehillim after davening is really much of a sacrifice, especially if we are used to doing that on many other occasions. Perhaps it is a sacrifice for those who wisely count every minute of their time, but most of us are not at that level.
I am referring to a real sacrifice. Taking away time from your job/business (if you can). From your family. From your “self-care”. To daven or learn for the salvation of the Jewish people. Fasting (if you can). Financial sacrifices, giving significantly more tzedaka than usual. Making kabbalos about mitzvah observance. But it must be more than something easy. It must be more than one Atzeres Tefilah. A sacrifice by definition has to be something difficult. This is how we contribute to our war.
Am I wrong?
Disclaimer-I didn’t yet inquire from Da’as Torah if my idea is correct, but I intend to do so, and if it is not, I will retract.
A very powerful and true point. However, I would like to provide the other side of the coin. My first 2 points are those that can be found in many current hadracha sefarim regarding Teshuva, Elul, Yom Kippur etc. The last is specifically regarding this period.
1.Focusing on sacrifice can distract from our regular avodah, which is most important.
2.Along those lines, grandiose sacrifices are not long lasting. Smaller things, if done with a full heart (such as really pouring one's full heart into Tefillah and the extra Tehillim these days) can have a much more lasting effect.
This is why there is much focus today on Reb Yisrael Salanter's yesod of defining oneself as a Shuv b'teshuva through changing direction.
3.The פרקי דרבי אליעזר (פל"ב) states ולמה נקרא שמו ישמעאל שעתיד הקב"ה לשמוע בקול נאקת העם ממה שעתידין בני ישמעאל לעשות לפיכך נקרא שמו ישמעאל שנאמר ישמע א-ל ויענם. (ובקץ הימין הביא מהרח"ו בשם הפרדר"א בזה"ל ישמעאל על שעתידין ישראל לצעוק צעקות גדולות בימיו וכו'). וע"ע בעל הטורים דברים לא,כט.
The lesson of Yishmael is that the chesed of 'ה to those that cry out to him is beyond human comprehension, and without accessing the 'חסד ה all human actions (even in ruchnius) are powerless. Unfortunately, the Bnei Yishmael utilize this for their nefarious purposes, and to amass their great wealth. But this lesson must be taken to heart these days. We must recognize the tremendous and incomprehensible power of pouring one's heart to ה'.
I feel that the role of self-sacrifice now is mainly to help intensify our Tefillos. A society of בני עשו cannot comprehend what can possibly be gained from יחלה עצמו עליו and would encourage such a person to run to a therapist (yes, sometimes that is necessary), but as Yidden we understand that the power of כי שמע ה’ אל עניך is unparalleled. Perhaps a few sleepless nights is a small price to pay for such an opportunity. (And perhaps the power of such תפלות to the נפש האדם is much deeper than a therapy session.)
These incredibly horrible days are a tremendous opportunity to invest in the כח התפלה. The connection to ‘ה that can be achieved through pouring out one’s heart to Him at such a time is something that may well be irreplaceable. It is sometimes hard to understand how so many of our grandparents rebuilt their lives after incredible trauma, but perhaps we can’t grasp the level of attachment to 'ה they achieved בימי חושך וצלמות.
For mothers with children, like myself, the best contribution is staying emotionally healthy.
So if your sacrifice is something that your wife will suffer from, even if only from a change of your mood, you're actually doing an aveira.