Everlasting Peace in Israel
Once again, Israel - against her will - finds herself in a war of defense. Our hearts go out to all the families in the numerous villages and cities who are under rocket attacks. And we stand in solidarity with the soldiers of the IDF who endanger their lives to protect our brothers and sisters.
There is a verse from the psalms (29:11) that we recite many times in our prayers. “God grant his nation might, God bless his nation with peace“. Notice the juxtaposition: might & peace. Yes, the unfortunate reality has hit us yet once again. The only way we attain peace is by showing might and strength.
The prophets of Israel were the first to conceive of peace as an ideal. Isaiah gave voice to the great words engraved in the imagination of the West: "Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation; neither shall they learn war anymore." But the way to hasten Isaiah's vision is to fight evil, not allow it to flourish.
At another time when the Jews needed to forcefully confront their enemies, the prophet Joel declared, "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears." The use of moral violence must always be the last resort. But when all other attempts fail, righteous might is the only response to immoral violence.
And we too – sitting in our living rooms - can show our might and participate in the war. We might not be trained soldiers. But the Jewish battle for survival has never been won by means of our physical strength. In fact the bible called us the “smallest among the nations”. What then is the key to our miraculous survival? Our most potent weapon – the Torah and its mitzvahs.
For more than 3300 years our steadfast commitment to a Jewish way of life has kept us strong. When we cleave to this “tree of life” nothing can harm us. When we commit to those divine precepts that G‑d has sanctified us with; when we bring kosher food in our homes; when we put tefillin on our arms and heads; when we light the Shabbat candles, we unleash divine energy and invite the general of all generals – G‑d Himself – to lead us to victory.
May G‑d continue to bless the land of Israel and the IDF.
Let us do another mitzvah today!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick
