It’s too easy to feel innocent about what happens to other Jews. It’s too easy to think “I’m OK. I’m not the problem”.
No, we’re not OK. In addition to Torah learning and mitzvot as protective shields for all Jews, Harav Arush’s directive for every one of us to pray every day for every Jew to do teshuva is also a shield. He made a very sharp comment that the first ones to do teshuva are “all of you who call yourselves ‘religious'”.
If it doesn’t bother us that Jews are far from Hashem and His Torah, then there’s something sorely lacking in our ahavat Yisrael and ahavat Hashem.
To take your comments a step further, if such a massacre occurred to those who are ignorant of Torah Judaism, we should see it as a warning of what might happen to those of us who call ourselves “religious”.
There is zero room for complacency here!
2. Ari
1/14/2024
There are two spiritual responses observant Jews can make from the evidence that many more secular Jews suffered than religious Jews in Hamas’s attack over Shemini Atzeret 5784 and its repercussions. One is the approach you and others have taken which is to see it as a lesson of behavior and actions to avoid peril. However, I have yet to read someone approach the massacre as a message of gross neglect on the part of observant Jews. How can observant Jews be at peace with the fact they have failed in spreading the light of Torah and mitzvot to such an extent that hundreds feel more uplifted at a concert held on Yom Tov than dancing with a sefer Torah? Their capture, torture, and murder is an indictment on every observant Jew. I heard that courageous rabbis of the former generation would tell their talmidim, “If you slack off on learning today, a married Jewish woman in France uncovers her hair tomorrow.” This was the path of Avraham with regards to praying for Sodom as well as the mitzvah of Eigel Arufa given years later. I think it is incumbent upon us to adopt this approach as well.
3. David Ben Horin
1/11/2024
[In response to MB]
or the Merkaz HaRav massacre?
Very good question!
My article says that if you don’t put on the spiritual shields of Torah and Mitzvot, which petition Hashem’s protection, you are taking a huge risk.
When you combine those martyred on Oct 7 with those martyred on November 18 and March 6, you will find that for every one Jew who was martyred in a Shul or a Yeshiva, 50 were martyred doing other things.
There is no direct correlation — only a very strong conclusion based on historical facts that performing mitzvot is a very powerful and effective way to escape terror. If those places in Israel that are Torah observant see far fewer terror attacks, it would be a great idea for the nation to make as many places Torah observant!
1/14/2024
@Ari – Wow, great point!!
It’s too easy to feel innocent about what happens to other Jews. It’s too easy to think “I’m OK. I’m not the problem”.
No, we’re not OK. In addition to Torah learning and mitzvot as protective shields for all Jews, Harav Arush’s directive for every one of us to pray every day for every Jew to do teshuva is also a shield. He made a very sharp comment that the first ones to do teshuva are “all of you who call yourselves ‘religious'”.
If it doesn’t bother us that Jews are far from Hashem and His Torah, then there’s something sorely lacking in our ahavat Yisrael and ahavat Hashem.
To take your comments a step further, if such a massacre occurred to those who are ignorant of Torah Judaism, we should see it as a warning of what might happen to those of us who call ourselves “religious”.
There is zero room for complacency here!
1/14/2024
There are two spiritual responses observant Jews can make from the evidence that many more secular Jews suffered than religious Jews in Hamas’s attack over Shemini Atzeret 5784 and its repercussions. One is the approach you and others have taken which is to see it as a lesson of behavior and actions to avoid peril. However, I have yet to read someone approach the massacre as a message of gross neglect on the part of observant Jews. How can observant Jews be at peace with the fact they have failed in spreading the light of Torah and mitzvot to such an extent that hundreds feel more uplifted at a concert held on Yom Tov than dancing with a sefer Torah? Their capture, torture, and murder is an indictment on every observant Jew. I heard that courageous rabbis of the former generation would tell their talmidim, “If you slack off on learning today, a married Jewish woman in France uncovers her hair tomorrow.” This was the path of Avraham with regards to praying for Sodom as well as the mitzvah of Eigel Arufa given years later. I think it is incumbent upon us to adopt this approach as well.
1/11/2024
[In response to MB]
or the Merkaz HaRav massacre?
Very good question!
My article says that if you don’t put on the spiritual shields of Torah and Mitzvot, which petition Hashem’s protection, you are taking a huge risk.
When you combine those martyred on Oct 7 with those martyred on November 18 and March 6, you will find that for every one Jew who was martyred in a Shul or a Yeshiva, 50 were martyred doing other things.
There is no direct correlation — only a very strong conclusion based on historical facts that performing mitzvot is a very powerful and effective way to escape terror. If those places in Israel that are Torah observant see far fewer terror attacks, it would be a great idea for the nation to make as many places Torah observant!
1/11/2024
So how do you explain the Har Nof massacre?