He Who Fears One, Fears No One

The Man Who Knew No Fear 

“There were weeks on end when we disguised ourselves as Arabs and operated deep within enemy territory. We were in constant danger, and if anything would happen there was no one to call for help. Although we were highly trained for this, and we were already experienced in these missions, we were bombarded constantly and mercilessly with imagined scenes of disaster and tragedy. We kept on thinking, ‘Uh oh, they’re on to us. We’re walking into a death trap.’ It was next to impossible to stay calm and to stop our hands from trembling. 

“Except for one member of our group. He was different. He didn’t know the definition of fear. He acted perfectly  natural, and he remained calm no matter what happened. Every move he made was cool and deliberate. His face remained expressionless, and not a drop of sweat fell from his brow. 

“We thought that we were all cowards and that he was brave. Then, the moment came when I understood his secret.” 

This story was told by a friend of the legendary hero Immanuel Morano, Hy”d, who served together with him in  incredibly dangerous missions. This friend had no connection to Torah and mitzvot, or even to emunah  in Hashem. That all changed several hours before Immanuel was killed, when his friends discovered the secret of his fearlessness. 

“Before embarking on what turned out to be Immanuel’s final mission,” he continued, “we waited for the moment when we would climb aboard the helicopters that were to fly us deep into Lebanon. We sat there in silence, thinking about our friends who had perished the week before, when their helicopter was shot down. 

“Suddenly, Immanuel turned to me and said, ‘You remember what happened last week, right?’ Of course I remembered. How could I have forgotten so soon? ‘Well,’ he continued, ‘what would you do if our helicopter took a hit and was plunging to the ground, and you realized that you had only five seconds left to live?’ 

The Inner World of a Believer 

“I was not expecting a question like that, but then I realized that it was quite a practical question in our situation. We were soldiers, and we were supposed to be ready to face every circumstance. I thought about it, and then I told him that I would be totally incapacitated by the thought of my imminent death. I would just hope that it would be over as soon as possible and in the least painful manner. 

“‘Let me tell you what I would do,” Immanuel responded, “and what you should do as well. We would both say:  Shema Yisrael…Hashem Echad.’ 

“I smiled mockingly. I grew up in a secular kibbutz, and my worldview was void of any religious ideas. Although we all respected Immanuel, I now told him, ‘Get serious, Immanuel. How would that help us, especially when we were about to be reduced to ashes?’ 

“Immanuel responded spontaneously, and his words gave me a momentary glimpse into the inner world of someone who possesses deep emunah. He said, ‘If you believe that in another five seconds you are about to enter a new world, an eternal world, then those five seconds are enormously significant. Don’t waste them, because what you do then will affect you for eternity. Think about this. If you believe that those five seconds are insignificant because it all ends abruptly,  then you believe that your entire life has no meaning.’ 

“After Immanuel, Hy”d, was killed and we were sitting around talking about him, we realized that those few sentences explained how he was able to remain calm even in the most frightening situations. It wasn’t that we were cowards; we were doing what comes naturally. But he was made of different stuff, because he had emunah, and that placed him over and above nature.” 

If You Have Emunah, You Won’t Be Afraid 

This story is a living example of the Torah’s wisdom. When the kohen addresses the people to prepare them for an upcoming battle, he tells them, “Listen, people of Yisrael! You are about to wage war against your enemies. Don’t be faint of heart! Don’t be afraid! Don’t hesitate! Don’t let them break your spirit!” 

We are not allowed to be afraid. The Rambam wrote that this is the halachah – it is forbidden to become afraid when fighting against foreign nations.¹ 

But how is that possible? It’s only natural to be afraid when the situation is dangerous, especially when fighting a war, witnessing blood, fire, and destruction. Even if you have never been in the battlefront, you have certainly heard many stories over the last three years that describe the paralyzing fear people have experienced, and how so many soldiers are affected by post-traumatic stress disorder even years after the terrifying events. How in the world can the Torah expect people to simply say, “I’m not going to be afraid”? 

In fact, the Torah tells us how: Develop your emunah! What does emunah mean? It means that you know that  Hashem is there with you. It means that Hashem loves you! If Hashem is with you and He loves you, who could possibly harm you? You can feel safe and protected no matter where you are, even in the most dangerous places. 

And this is exactly what the Torah tells us: “When you go to wage war against your enemies, and you see horses and chariots, and a larger, more powerful army, don’t be afraid of them! Hashem, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you. 

You see that their army is bigger and better armed. So what? Shaul’s son Yonatan went with his assistant, and the two of them massacred an entire Philistine battalion. He told his assistant, “There are no limits to Hashem’s power to save us, whether we are many or few.”² And David went alone and unarmed to battle the Herculean Philistine giant [Goliat], relying only on Hashem’s Name.³ 

Just Trust in One 

You might say that this was the case for those great tzaddikim, but not for ordinary people like us. Rashi, however, tells us that even if we have no other merit than the fact that we fulfill the mitzvah of reciting the Shema, that is enough for  Hashem to protect us and to make us victorious.⁴ It doesn’t depend on anyone’s great spiritual level or the mitzvot he has amassed. It depends only on his emunah, and nothing else! 

We see from this that the Torah forbids even the simplest Jew to feel afraid when he goes to battle. We see also that this person is capable of fulfilling this mitzvah to perfection, but only if he comes to the total understanding, the basic concept that will never change – that Hashem loves him and will always be there for him, and that He does only what is good for him; and – if he has the conviction that it will only get better! 

This is the deep, deep meaning of Shema Yisrael…Hashem Echad. Echad [אחד, “one”] has the same gematria (13) as ahavah (אהבה, “love”)! Of course, Hashem sometimes treats people with the trait of judgment and sometimes with the trait of mercy and compassion, but with emunah you understand that it all comes from love. That is something that will never change. 

Say Hello to Emunah 

Rebbe Noson taught us that this applies not only to waging war but to all of life’s situations. All of life is a battle of sorts, especially when battling the yetzer hara (evil inclination). In every war, the most important strategy is for one side to frighten its enemy, discourage the enemy soldiers and make them dispirited until they simply run away, or at least make fatal mistakes. This is exactly what the yetzer hara tries to do, and it displays brilliant and original strategies to place challenges in front of our feet, hoping to make us lose our balance, to make us imagine failure and then to make mistakes. 

Once you are connected to the truth, to emunah, there is nothing that can push you off balance or stress you out. Nothing! Hashem is with me. He is by my side, and he loves me. Hashem is your Protector; He is on your right side, providing you shade. He is right here, protecting me from harm. He provides security when I go out and when I come in, and this is today, tomorrow, and forever. 

For this reason, every single person has the ability to conduct himself correctly in this world, leaving all the stresses and anxiety behind. Everyone can be tremendously successful, especially regarding his service of Hashem and his battle against the yetzer hara.  Hashem is here with every single one of us. If you live with emunah, you think and speak emunah. 

Many, many people come to me and complain that they are stressed out. They suspect that some harm might come to them, and it scares them. Their stress feeds on itself and grows more intense all the time. It hurts me to see Jews who have no day and no night. They cannot fall asleep in bed, and when they finally manage to doze off, they wake up with nightmares. 

Why should this be happening to anyone? Hashem is here with us to fight our battles and beat back our enemies. Do you understand Who you have on your side, and Who is ready to save you? It is the Creator, and no one can challenge what He does. Hashem is with you because you are a Jew. Remain calm; do not fear. Don’t be faint of heart! Be strong and brave! 

Editor’s Notes: 

¹ Mishnah Torah, Hilchot Melachim uMilchamot (Laws of Kings and Their Wars) 7:15 

² I Shmuel (Samuel) 14:6 

³ I Shmuel 17 

⁴ Rashi’s commentary on Devarim (Deuteronomy) 20:3