Israel’s Moral, Existential Fight

If you consider the current condition of the Jews in the world, you can easily fall into despair.

Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas, the continued captivity of our precious hostages, and the unrelenting threat of Iran are exhausting first and foremost for our brothers and sisters in Israel, but also, in a smaller but significant way, for all who care desperately about our homeland and our people.

The metastasizing antisemitic cancer rapidly spreading throughout college campuses, the systemic hate of the Jew even among professors and administrators of institutes of “higher” learning, the distortions and lies of the media, the bias and discrimination of Jews by members of Congress, can easily breed a sense of hopelessness. When “friends” and “allies” use the right words and issue eloquent statements but fail to take meaningful action, you can’t help but wonder, how will this end?

The post-October 7 energy of being part of a united, tenacious people determined to defeat our enemies, restore security and fight for peace for all decent people feels like it is dissipating and giving way to the cruel reality of what feels like an endless existential loneliness and isolation.

One expects the UN to unfairly condemn Israel, and it would be upsetting but not surprising if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu, but when America withholds a weapons shipment to Israel while the IDF is bearing the burden and paying the human price of fighting a shared savage enemy, it leaves Jews and those who love Israel wondering if we have anyone to turn to or count on.

Do You Really Believe that You Are the Chosen People?

As we were marking Holocaust Remembrance Day, the IDF entered Rafah to begin a limited operation as part their battle against an enemy who embodies the ideology of the Nazis.

Reflecting on the confluence of these two events, I thought about the Jewish condition in the world 80 years ago, what it is today, and how one may be able to educate us about the other.

The Klausenberger Rebbe, Rav Yekusial Yehuda Halberstam (1905-1994), was taken to Auschwitz, where his wife and 11 children perished. He survived the war and came to America, where he remarried, had more children, and built a grand Chassidic movement. He moved to Israel where he built a thriving community in Netanya and established the Laniado hospital. He was a truly extraordinary individual.

In the concentration camp, the SS guards began taunting and teasing the Klausenberger Rebbe, pulling his beard and pushing him around. The vile soldiers trained their guns on him as the commander began to speak. "Tell us, Rabbi," sneered the officer, "do you really believe that you are the Chosen People?"

The soldiers guarding the crowd howled in laughter. But the Rebbe did not. In a serene voice, he answered loud and clear, "Most certainly." The officer became enraged. He lifted his rifle above his head and sent it crashing on the head of the Rebbe. The Rebbe fell to the ground. There was a rage in the officer's voice. "Do you still think you are the Chosen People?” he yelled.

Once again, the Rebbe nodded his head and said, "Yes, we are."

The officer became infuriated. He kicked the rebbe in the chin and repeated. "You stupid Jew, you lie here on the ground, beaten and humiliated, in a puddle of blood. What makes you think that you are the Chosen People?"

As long as we are not the ones kicking, beating, and murdering innocent people, we are the chosen people.

With his mouth gushing blood, the Rebbe replied, “As long as we are not the ones kicking, beating, and murdering innocent people, we are the chosen people.”

Before entering Rafah, the Israeli army told 100,000 refugees from East Rafah to evacuate. The IDF announced they were coming, notified civilians to relocate, and helped them do so. The IDF dropped leaflets, sent text messages, and made phone calls. A recording of one of those calls was released and it reflects the contrast of our peoples:

"We love death the way you love life"

The IDF has been calling families in Rafah and warning them to evacuate. This was the phone call between an IDF officer and a Gaza resident.

IDF: We must do everything within our means to prevent any fatalities.

Gazan: We want to die and… pic.twitter.com/GeaelHBzns

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) May 6, 2024

IDF: We must do everything within our means to prevent any fatalities.

Gazan: We want to die and our children also must die.

IDF: No, God forbid…

Gazan: We love death the way you love life.

As long as Jews love life, even while they celebrate death, Jews are the chosen people. As long as the IDF upholds its moral standards and ethics while fighting a war against savagery and evil, Jews are the chosen people.

Before the soldiers entered, they gathered to do what the Torah instructs Jews to do before going out to battle: they prayed, asking God for victory and for peace. As long as Jews pray for peace, while the enemy prays for war, Jews are the chosen people.

The Jewish People don’t rely on the media, America, the international community, or the UN to know or feel that they are the chosen people. It is contingent to rising to the moment, to be proud, practicing, moral, ethical Jews.

The Klausenberger Rebbe suffered devastating loss, but he never lost his faith in God, his resolve, or his mission. He suffered and he grieved, and then he put one foot in front of the other and not only survived, but thrived. He did it by never doubting for a moment that he was a member of the people chosen by God.

We grieve as well, we have suffered, but as members of that same people, that same Father, with that same mission, we too will thrive, no matter who stands with us, supports us, or understands us.