The actions of the Palestinians are predictable; what Israel
will do is not.
It is pretty obvious that the Palestinians will continue
with their efforts for murder and mayhem. The fact that they
have no other way to express their feelings does not justify
this mode of expression but rather indicates -- if they
truly cannot control themselves -- that they are not able to
accept the basic principles of civilization such as those of
the United Nations.
What Israel will do in the next few months is not clear. The
incessant, inhuman attacks put pressure on the government to
"do something," but what this should be is also far from
obvious. Foreign Minister Peres and some die-hard Leftists
insist that the thing to do is to resume talking with
Arafat. The Right, which is bearing the brunt of the
attacks, would like to see the end to the declared policy of
restraint. They call for the government to take some
forceful, violent, powerful steps to hit back at the
subhuman terrorists.
The Torah community never shared the combative spirit that
was once so strong in the Israeli community and it certainly
has no enthusiasm for fighting today. Most of the Israeli
public, it seems, believes that a show of force will not
solve the problems, since Prime Minister Sharon seems to
enjoy broad support in the opinion polls. As even Menachem
Begin once said, "A bad peace is better than a good war."
Even thirty years ago when the country was drunk with the
heady feeling of "kochi ve'otzem yodi," our
gedolim warned against this approach. In the middle
of the Yom Kippur war, Maran HaRav Shach, shlita,
said in a shmuess: "What are our bad deeds? Certainly
we are not free of bad deeds, but the worst of all of them
is the idolatrous faith in "kochi ve'otzem yodi."
They have gotten people used to trusting in Zahal, in the
aid of the United States, in the power of weaponry. As if
the Arabs have no power, no weapons and no might. . . . We
must know that only our prayers helped us and only
Hakodosh Boruch Hu saved us. If there were evident
miracles on Yom Kippur and in the days following, it was in
the zechus of the entreaties and the prayers. . . .
War is not random. It comes to show us that we are, every
day, dependent on His will and His mercy.
"I would like to add a further explanation by way of an
analogy. We see a train going, and we do not know who or
what is powering it. We must know that the force that powers
Am Yisroel and gives it the right to exist, is hidden
in the learning of Torah and keeping mitzvos."
Saber rattling and war cries are not heard from those who
are the shluchim derabonon. If there are weapons to
be dusted off, they are the ones in the spiritual arsenal of
Klal Yisroel.
Especially in our days, when the army is so far from what a
real Jewish army should be, and the decision makers are so
alienated from all Jewish tradition, and certainly from
Torah, it is all the more important to stay on the
sidelines. To be sure there are situations in which it is
important to have an army, but who determines this today?
When Klal Yisroel fought Midian in the desert, Moshe
Rabbenu sent a thousand to fight and a thousand to learn
Torah and to pray. That is the Torah approach to war. There
is no doubt that no one else will step in to strengthen the
Torah and tefilloh of Klal Yisroel, so we had
better do it ourselves.
