The Ultimate Front: Where True Power Lies

Israel isn’t fighting with only tanks and tweets; We are engaging in a profound spiritual battle that shapes the fate of nations. Our adherence to Hashem and His Torah merits supernatural aid and confounds our adversaries at home and on the battlefield. 

And the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Cease not to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He save us from the hand of the Philistines.” I Samuel 7:8 

Let’s delve into the curious case of tzaraat, an affliction more mystical than medical, where the symptoms are not just skin-deep. This condition, exclusive to the Jewish People, is not spread through touch or airborne pathogens but through the slip of the tongue — specifically, loshon hara, or malicious gossip. 

Imagine a disease that starts not with a cough or a sneeze, but a whisper. It begins its journey on the walls of your home, perhaps as a subtle hint that not all is well. If the murmurings persist, your wardrobe takes the hit, becoming spotty with your secrets. Eventually, it clings to your very skin.  

There’s no conventional cure, no doctor to consult. Diagnosis and treatment fall to a Kohen — a priest — who with a mere declaration can deem you “Pure” or “Defiled.” 

Should you be branded “Defiled,” your next stop is not the hospital, but exile. Cut off from the chatter of community life, your only task is introspection, a personal crusade against the very whispers that banished you. 

Only Jews can be afflicted by tzaraat, and only on words against our own brothers and sisters can trigger this Divine reaction.  Vent about the UN online? That’s just politics as usual. But speak ill of the Israeli Prime Minister? That’s a Heavenly no-no. There are no physical scars, no worldly court to mete out punishment, but Hashem’s justice is clear and direct. 

This is not a curse but a gift. It’s a Godly nudge towards moral excellence.  

In a world where everyone can tweet a critique to the masses, the Jewish people are held to a higher standard, monitored by the Highest Authority. It’s less about Divine wrath and more about spiritual coaching, ensuring that every word spoken contributes to, rather than corrupts, Klal Yisrael. 

Under Siege on All Sides 

Israel finds itself engaged on three dynamic fronts:  

The Diplomatic Stage: Even our friends come in with two left feet, giving our adversaries a natural advantage.  

 

The Military Arena: On the battlefield, our soldiers display the valor of lions, holding the line against Hamas with commendable bravery. We just saw Iran enter the fray by firing missiles at us on a scale and number beyond anything we have ever seen. Without Hashem’s cover, we are facing an uphill battle.   

 

The Media Melee: Goliath is armed with a $2.5 trillion media behemoth, holding all the cards in television and social media. We are holding them off with Hillel Fuld and Yosef Haddad.  

Our slingshot is truth and tenacity; their sword is the words of Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, who said, “If you tell a lie enough times, people believe it as the truth.” 

The True Front: When you tally the score across these fronts and amplify it to the extreme, it still pales in comparison to the covert battlefield where spirit and resolve intersect.  

Here lies Israel’s unparalleled advantage — our Master of Legions, Who promises us victory if we fall in line behind Him.  
 

Serving Israel on The Godly Front 

The Mishkan is the most exclusive Divine hot spot on the planet. Here, the presence of God isn’t just a belief but an experience, reserved solely for Israel.  

Picture a place so exclusive, even the elite need to be on the guest list.   

The daily sacrifices waft up as a Divine perfume, a scent pleasing to the Almighty. It’s a delight that no other nation can give to God. His special arrangement gives Israel a direct way to please Hashem and merit His protection.  

As billions thumb through their Bibles, reading Leviticus with awe, they marvel at how a single nation could be so closely knit with the cosmos’ Commander-in-chief.  

In a world bustling with eight billion souls, if every commandment were as cherished by the Divine as those 613 given to the Jews, we’d be living in a world buzzing with spiritual health monitors and daily Divine offerings.  

Such is not the case. 

As the chosen children of Hashem, Israel holds a unique covenant. God assures us of Divine defenses that would bewilder any strategist.  

During the conflicts of 1967 and 1973, even when Israeli forces were outnumbered, Egyptian and Syrian officers both reported facing an overwhelming force—millions strong.  Such is the might of Divine backing when Hashem confuses His enemies by making a handful of tanks appear as legions of tanks in the eyes of the foe, scattering them in terror. 

The Ultimate Battlefield 

The name “Palestine” carries a historical echo that reverberates through the ages, originating from the ancient Philistines. This moniker was bestowed by the Greeks on the Canaanites¹ who lived along the Mediterranean coast. The Philistines were the pioneers in attempting to spiritually erase the Jewish presence from the Holy Land.  

Let’s remember who the Philistines were. The “Palestinians” name themselves after²:  

• The nation that beheaded Saul, our first King. 
• The nation that tortured and murdered our great Judge, Samson. 
• The nation that tried to kill King David countless times. 

What the Palestinians did to us on October 7 is no different than what the Philistines did to Samson our Judge and Saul our King. 

Our battle is not just of land and politics but of identity and survival. This means mobilizing all facets of society to our most vital and powerful front: The Godly Line. Those studying in Yeshivas might find themselves drafted into military service. The battle of identity and survival demands that we all up our service to Hashem to make up the gap.  As with tzaraat, the Jewish people are held to a higher standard that is monitored by the Highest Authority. 

On April 13, the world witnessed a Divine miracle. Iran fired over 330 missiles at Israel. Forty years ago, when Iran fired a single missile at Iraq, it killed eight people. Today, with GPS, mobile telemetry, and smart guided missiles, the damage should have been far greater than the 2,500 casualties expected in densely populated Israel.  

There were none. Zero casualties. This was an open miracle.  

That night, one of the top searched terms on Google Israel was “Psalms.” We united in serving Hashem.  

Hashem shouted, “ACHARI! (After Me)” and we followed Him in our unique covenant. In return, He protected us against the worst military onslaught in our history.  

As our greatest military general says: 

The Lord shall grant strength to His people; the Lord shall bless His people with peace. (Psalms 29:11) 

¹To read about Greek involvement with the Philistines, see Are the Palestinians Descendants of the Ancient Philistines?, Caleb Howells, The GreekReporter website.

² The very name adopted by Israel’s Arab inhabitants, “Palestinians”, is misleading because modern-day Palestinians do not descend from, and bear no relation to, the ancient Philistines who dwelled along Israel’s coast in Biblical times. Nonetheless, both the “Palestinians” and the ancient Philistines were the most persistent and difficult enemies of the Jews settling Eretz Yisrael. [“Palestinians and Philistines”, Rabbi Elie Mischel, The Israel Bible website] 

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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.