The Tzaddik of Simchat Torah

Even out of the carnage of the Simchat Torah massacre of more than a thousand Jews, we find a story of repentance and salvation.  

While 3,000 partygoers were dancing away at sunrise, Hamas terrorists breached the Gaza border fence that separates us and them. The terrorists didn’t come wearing terrorist garb. They came in IDF uniforms and dressed as medics. Hamas terrorists knew that the partygoers would flee to the “soldiers” and “medics” whom they thought were there to rescue them.  

It was an ambush.  Instead of rescue, the terrorists raped, tortured, beheaded, and butchered 1,400 Israelis. They wounded over 5,000 more. They took over 220 hostages.  

A Survivor’s Story 

One of the partygoers ran with a group of his friends. He saw a pile of leaves and quickly buried himself inside. Surrounded by bullets coming at him and his friends from all sides, he started to pray to God. He began to make repentance at what he thought would be the last moments of his life.  

God saved him.  All his friends who kept running were murdered by these soulless barbarians. He lived. 

He recounted that he prayed all day until he was able to escape. He survived. He beat the odds. Everyone around him was executed, but he did something different – he appealed to God to protect him.  

Our Story 

We are all fighting the same war against the same enemy. UN Aid trucks are now coming into Gaza. Every time they unload their “assistance,” it starts to rain missiles on Tel Aviv. Even after this massacre, the world is still arming Hamas to do to us what ISIS did to the Yazidis.  

To beat these monsters once and for all, we need to act like this brave man. We need to increase our prayer. We all need to strive to become righteous.  

Netivot is as close to Gaza as Sderot. The great Baba Sali is buried in Netivot. The entire city was spared.  We have the greatest protection in the universe. If we want to be safe, we must seek shelter in the shadow of God. This is how to protect our children from our enemies.  

The World is Hamas 

Torah and mitzvot beseech Hashem’s protection from a physical enemy. They also guarantee Hashem’s protection from a cultural and spiritual enemy.  

How many religious Jews want to dress up as a member of the opposite sex? How many religious Jews give their hard-earned money to senseless causes? Does even 1% of the religious community protest in favor of Hamas? 

When we seek shelter in the shadow of God, He will protect us from Hamas in Gaza and every type of Hamas in the world.  

“Hamas” (חמס) is a Hebrew word and is found in the Torah:  

ותשחת הארץ לפני ה’ ותמלא הארץ חמס

And the earth had become corrupt before G-d; and the earth had become filled with robbery. (Bereishit 6:11) 

God judged that the world was filled with hamas right before He destroyed it in the flood.  “Hamas” is robbery, theft, lying, cheating, murder, perversion, and all forms of injustice. “Hamas” is every abomination in this world that God hates.  

Hamas is our physical and spiritual enemy. The way to win our war against Hamas is through prayer and mitzvot. A life of Torah is the Divine antidote to the sickness of Hamas and everything it represents. 

We are at War 

This war has been raging for a long time. Now it’s time for all of us to fight.  

Brothers and sisters: God has given us a very clear path to victory and total obliteration of our enemies. Let us follow the survivor’s example. 

Here is how you can protect yourselves and your loved ones:  

• Guard the Shabbat 
• Recite Shema Yisrael every day.
• Recite Birkat HaMazon after every meal where you eat bread.  
• Observe the laws of keeping Kosher 
• Learn about the commandment of Sexual Purity 
• Read up on The Garden of Emunah 
• Love every Jew 

God will lead the charge to destroy the enemies of Israel.  

Our job is to fall in behind Him.  

***  

David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his family, millions of sunflowers, and Matilda, our local camel. David‘s Israeli startup, 300 Marketing Solutions, is a lean marketing agency for startups and small businesses that creates and promotes SEO-optimized ROI-driven to the right audience on LinkedIn to make your business the star of the show.