Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt was the Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Russia and served as president of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), which unites over seven hundred communal rabbis from Dublin, Ireland to Khabarovsk, in the Russian Far East.
With Israel developing an effective defense against rockets and missiles, our northern enemies have largely switched to a different tactic – the “suicide drone,” equipped with explosives that go off when they land on a building, or in a crowd. Drones, unfortunately, are much harder to detect than rockets. And while the Iron Dome defense system is able to prevent most of them from hitting Israeli targets, a number have gotten through – and, especially in the north, many of the Red Alert sirens that are sounded, causing people to scramble for shelter, are the result of Hezbollah drones.
The drone may be a new invention – but its deadly impact was predicted thousands of years ago. In this week’s Parsha, Ekev, Moshe tells the Jewish people that if they observe the commandments, they will inherit the Promised Land – and that the enemies that remain will face the “tzir’ah” (Devarim 7:20). This word is commonly translated as a “hornet,” but this hornet is especially devastating, causing their enemies to “hide themselves,” and “perish from before thee.”
Unfortunately, the tables have been turned today, and it is the Jewish people in the Land of Israel who are forced to “hide themselves,” if not completely abandon their homes – as nearly 80,000 Israeli residents of the Upper Galilee have been forced to do – as a result of this modern “tzir’ah.” That G-d protects His people is clear from the results of the ongoing Hezbollah attacks; the “perish before thee” part of the passage has not come to pass, and indeed casualties from the enemies’ drones have been few.
But there is a great deal of fear – and this brings to mind a modern commentary on the Talmudic text discussing the Tsor’a. The ancient “hornet” was to attack the enemies of Israel who remained after Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel, but it actually remained on the east side of the Jordan River – not actually entering Israel, but “spreading its venom into the land of Israel” and targeting the enemies, and “blinding and rendering the enemies impotent.” Unfortunately, this “venom” and the fear it engenders is what Israelis in the north are facing.
Just as the sound of the Red Alert siren raises fears among those who hear it that, perhaps this time, G-d will not protect them, so does the sound of the hornet – and the modern drone – raise fears as well. Sometimes fear of an attack can be as devastating – and deadly – as an attack itself; there are incidents where individuals hearing sirens tripped and hurt themselves in the rush to get to a shelter. Sound, whether from a drone, a fighter jet, or an announcement by Iran that Israelis can expect a “devastating attack” is as effective a weapon as it was in ancient times – when armies created a great noise by clanging their weapons, or indeed when Israel’s enemies heard the sound of the Tzir’ah.
The Tzir’ah, of course, was a flying creature – and the drone brings its devastation from the air, as well. Israel is well-prepared to face these airborne threats, thanks to its aerial defense technologies. But we still need some way to neutralize the fear that these drones bring. Unlike in the Torah, the drone is not a Divine method to chase us out of the Land of Israel – although that has been its effect, at least for part of the Land.
As such, the defense establishment can – must – develop an answer to the drone. Reports say that such answers are indeed under development, and hopefully they will be implemented soon. Things in the Middle East change quickly – and state of the art weapons and defense systems can bring those changes. Let us pray that indeed, that change – for the better – will come soon, and that the “modern tzir’ah” we face will be neutralized, and on the other hand, the capabilities of Israel to defend itself will be enough of a deterrent to protect the safety of Israel and its citizens.
