One of the heroes of Simchat Torah is Lieutenant Shilo Rauchberger, Hy"d, [may God avenge his death]. He was a Golani commander who fought to his last drop of blood against dozens of terrorists in one of the bases in the south.
The previous day, he had contacted the rabbi of the brigade and asked him to come and give a Torah lesson to his soldiers after their military operation. The rabbi explained that he had previous obligations and would not be able to come; Shilo was silent for a second, then asked him a question that in retrospect, became a kind of will: "So what are you here for?"
"What am I here for?" is a question that every Jew should ask themselves every day and every year, and reinforced during the month of Elul, and even more so on Rosh Chodesh Elul 2024. Whoever understands what they are doing here does not fall apart and blame the government instead of the enemy. Whoever understands what they are doing here does not surrender in the face of evil despite the terrible pain.
The vast majority of the Jewish public in Israel today is made from material that understands why we are here. The minority that has forgotten why we are here for screams louder, but its time has passed; and will be held accountable. In wartime, it will be made even clearer that the power of the brazen, the descendants of the Bolsheviks, is very small - the "strike" (haha) will dissolve in a weak cry; the IDF will continue to defeat Hamas; and the Jewish people will continue to mourn its fallen.
Anyone who understands why we are here knows that we will pay a bloody price with compound interest if we listen once more to the formulators of the Oslo Accords, the Disengagement and the Shalit deal.
It is no coincidence that the present test unfolded before us at the beginning of the month of Elul. I suggest that during the funerals of the fallen that each and every one of us think; while standing in the traffic jams of the anarchists or when certain services are shut down (write down who was on strike) – "what are we here for?" – the answer will give you strength in the face of darkness; and then you will see that the darkness in reality is much less frightening.
The bad will pass
The good will prevail
With God's help.