1. A new era
Many names have been given to the war. For me, the "Genesis War" is the preferred option, not only because it broke out when we finished the Torah cycle and started over from the beginning, but because the terrible events forced us to abandon many of our old conceptions and views and pick up from scratch. In this context, a wise man told me that on October 7 we began a new era, and everything that came before should be considered "BO7" (just as we divide the Gregorian calendar into before and after the common era – CE and BCE) to make it clear to people who have not yet understood that we are in a completely different era from the one we knew previously.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
2. Echoes of 1948
Day after day we are exposed to chilling stories of heroism. The heroism of Aner Shapira, a fighter without weapons, who with his bare hands defended a group of young people hiding in a shelter and threw back seven grenades thrown into the shelter by Hamas terrorists, until on the eighth he was severely wounded and killed. The heroism of the civilian, Oz Davidian, who heard the calls, left his family and risked his life more than 15 times on rough roads to search for survivors, saving the lives of more than 120 people. The heroism of the policemen who engaged the terrorists, the heroism of the helicopter pilots who were hit, the heroism of the soldiers who fought to the last bullet and gave their lives to protect the residents of the Gaza border communities.
"Camp night. The faces of the blacksmiths and bakers\And cart drivers of a society with no roof…\ The faces of men patching upon their laps\ Shirts and shoes. The face of the clown. The face of the cook."
That was what the poet Nathan Alterman wrote ("Camp night") about the warriors of 1948 who gave us our national rebirth. The echoes of 1948 arise from the depths of our collective memory and have restored our spirit of national, social, and spiritual renewal and its waves that abound in time will nourish us for years to come.
And then there is the heroism of mothers and fathers who bury their sons and daughters. At the most difficult moment in their lives, they ask us all to unite, to love each other, to show restraint, and not give in to the inclination that pushes us to blame the other, whoever that other may be, and leads us to disunity. This is the most important thing now. There will be plenty of time to investigate, argue and fight after the war. Now we must focus on our goal: the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages. Harsh talk among ourselves will not help, it will hurt the spirit of our soldiers. This is therefore an issue of paramount security importance. "And the soldier emerges and leaps / And in his voice the cry of his mother" (Alterman, "In Praise of Darkness"). May we be worthy of their sacrifice.
3. At the gates of besieged Jerusalem
"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations…" (Deuteronomy 32:7). Shortly before his passing, Moses instructs us to learn from history and understand its lessons. In his "History of the Jewish War against the Romans" (Book IV, 366), Flavius Josephus (Yosef Ben Matityahu) relates how Vespasian, the commander of the Roman army who had come to suppress the Great Revolt that broke out in 66 CE, analyzed the campaign and the benefits his army could derive from the civil war in Jerusalem. Here is a glimpse at the staff meeting of Roman army officers as they lay siege to Jerusalem:
"And now all the rest of the commanders of the Romans deemed this sedition among their enemies to be of great advantage to them; and were very earnest to march to the city [Jerusalem]: and they urged Vespasian as their lord and general in all cases, to make haste… But Vespasian replied, that 'They were greatly mistaken in what they thought fit to be done… For that if they now go and attack the city immediately, they shall but occasion their enemies to unite together; and shall convert their force, now it is in its height, against themselves. But if they stay a while they shall have fewer enemies; because they will be consumed in this sedition.'
"That God acts as a general of the Romans better than he can do," said Vespasian "and is giving the Jews up to them, without any pains of their own; and granting their army a victory, without any danger. That therefore it is their best way, while their enemies are destroying each other with their own hands, and falling into the greatest of misfortunes, which is that of sedition, to sit still as spectators of the dangers they run into; rather than to fight hand to hand with men that love murdering, and are mad one against another. ... That he shall then lead on his army with greater force, when their enemies are diminished: and his own army refreshed after the continual labors they had undergone.
"The Jews are not now employed in making of armor, or building of walls; nor indeed in getting together auxiliaries... but that the Jews are vexed to pieces every day by their civil wars, and dissensions; and are under greater miseries than if they were once taken, could be inflicted on them by us. Whether therefore anyone hath regard to what is for our safety, he ought to suffer these Jews to destroy one another."
Josephus goes on to tell us that "the commanders joined in their approbation of what Vespasian had said, and it was soon discovered how wise an opinion he had given."
4. War and time
It is no coincidence that people are talking about the echoes of 1948: Just as in the War of Independence, we are fighting for our very existence. The (almost) all-embracing comprehension in this 0ctober 7 era, is that it is impossible to live in such close proximity to Nazi entities, that do not value morals and government and are contemptuous even of the lives of their own citizens. This is so in the north and the south, and there is a growing comprehension of the nature of the Palestinian Authority, which is in shooting distance from the heart of the country. This is not a war for our security alone, it is a war to eradicate evil from the world.
So it is important to know that the war will last a long time, which requires all of us to maintain our daily routine in as far as is possible, both as a nation and as individuals. Maintaining routine will also strengthen the spirit of our soldiers. The war will require time because the IDF will need to conduct a comprehensive sweep -- neighborhood after neighborhood, house after house. Taking time will also enable us to save the lives of our soldiers with utmost care. Remember: the huge underground city still exists. The underground Sodom must be destroyed with all its tunnels and burrows, its weapons and command centers that brim with evil. Until then, the war will continue one way or another until we rid the world of the new Nazis. We are now called upon to complete what we could not do in World War II because we did not have a national home. "The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation" (Exodus 17:16).
5. From the river to the sea
The catchy slogan shouted out by masses of demonstrators in the West – "From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free" has only one meaning: It is a call for genocide. This is how governments should handle it legally, wherever the antisemitic call is heard. The slogan also proves the longstanding claim that the struggle between us and the Arabs of the Land of Israel was never over the 1967 borders but over the 1948 borders; that is, over the very existence of a Jewish state in our ancient homeland. In this sense as well, the slogan awakens the spirit of 1948 from its slumber.
6. Do not be afraid
In momentous times, such as we are currently experiencing, our tendency is to search for an anchor, for meaning and comfort in the words of our ancestors. The prophet Isaiah, who lived in Jerusalem in the eighth century BCE comforts us from the distance of generations and promises in his eternal prophecy: "Violence (in the Hebrew version it's written: "Hamas") shall no longer be heard in your land, Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; But you shall call your walls Salvation, And your gates Praise".
Even before that, we hear a similar divine promise to our three Patriarchs (fathers of the nation), whose words were seared into the foundation of our historical existence and illuminated our darkest days. Abraham was told: " Fear not Abraham, I am your shield..." Isaac is told in the portion that we will read this Shabbat: "Fear not, for I am with you, and I will bless you". And Jacob – Israel – is told: "Fear not …, for I will make you into a great nation" Memorize this and tell it to your children and to everyone: Fear not! Israel lives!
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
