Thrughout the past year, we have found ourselves standing in awe at the self-sacrifice of combat soldiers who give their lives to defend the people and the Land. The senior command failed, but the courage of civilians who had served in combat units, who left their homes of their own volition on October 7 and risked their lives to save the settlers in the Gaza envelope, and the courage of reserve soldiers who enlisted in very high percentages for prolonged service of many months, tipped the scales in our favor. Since then, in a prolonged effort, the State of Israel has been growing stronger and defeating its enemies.
Due to the desire for peace and a life of abundance and tranquility, the State of Israel was misled by false promises of relative quiet with our enemies, which the state erroneously called “peace.” As a result, the government signed the Oslo Accords with evil and lying enemies, surrendered to the pressure of the ‘Four Mothers’ organization and the media and withdrew from the security zone in Lebanon, uprooted the settlements of Gush Katif and northern Samaria, and did not respond to the increasing provocations from the Gaza Strip, and Lebanon.
The desire for peace distorted the security echelon's perception and created the concept that led to disaster.
The bravery of our soldiers and the determination of our government, now allow the State of Israel to begin rebuilding its deterrence, and strive to strengthen its political position in the region, and achieve long-term security.
May it be God’s will that all the families of the kedoshim (holy ones who sacrificed their lives) and the wounded, merit to be comforted along with the consolation of Jerusalem and Israel, and from the strength of the kedoshim, may they grow new life forces and expand their families, for the glory of the Torah, the Nation, and the Land. And may it be God’s will that all the hostages and evacuees return to their homes.
Two Commandments That Are Equivalent to All the Commandments
In military service, especially in combat units, soldiers fulfill two commandments, each of which is equivalent to all the commandments.
The first is the commandment of milchemet mitzvah (Torah-obligated war) of saving Israel from the hand of its enemies. As is known, even saving one life is equivalent to all the commandments, as saving a life overrides all the commandments. All the more so, when dealing with saving all of Israel, one fulfills a commandment that is equivalent to all the commandments. The second is settling the Land, which our Sages said is equivalent to all the commandments (Tosefta Avodah Zarah 4:3; Sifrei Re’eh 53).
Moreover, these two commandments are the only ones for whose fulfillment it is commanded to put oneself in mortal danger. One should not endanger one’s life to fulfill the commandments of Shabbat or fasting on Yom Kippur, but in an obligatory war to save all of Israel and settle the Land, a soldier is commanded to risk his life (Minchat Chinuch 425, 604; Mishpat Kohen 143).
Even when faced with the three transgressions about which our Sages said yehareg v’al ya’avor (“be killed, rather than transgress them”), a person should initially flee, so as not to reach a situation where they are forced to transgress them. Howver, in a war to save the people and the Land, it is a commandment to enter mortal danger in order to save both.
Educational Success of the Religious-Zionist Public
Within this entire fabric of bravery and volunteering, the members of the Religious-Zionist public stand out exceptionally, leading in the percentages of enlistment to combat units in regular service, and even more so, in the reserves.
This wonderful volunteering is the fruit of good education for observing these two great commandments: settling the Land, and saving the people of Israel from the hands of its enemies. The value of these commandments is amplified by education for derech eretz (proper conduct) that preceded the Torah, and by education for the commandments and loving your neighbor as yourself, including the responsibility of every Jew to his people.
This education is based on the deep Torah study that takes place in Zionist yeshivas. In parallel with the growth of the yeshivas, the percentage of those serving in combat units in significant service has grown. The deep education for this takes place in all the midrashot, army preparatory programs, high school yeshivas, ulpanot, high schools, elementary schools, and kindergartens. All of them, without exception, participate in this wonderful education.
-This education receives constant reinforcement in the study of the weekly Torah portions, as the Torah greatly emphasizes the value of the people and the Land.
-t is instilled through the words of Torah spoken at the Shabbat table, through history lessons, celebrations of Independence Day, Jerusalem Day, and National Fast Days.
-This education is reinforced by the honor given to young people who enlist in combat units, and the great honor given to officers, and elite unit fighters.
-It is evident in the deep encouragement given to the parents of combat soldiers, and the heroic women who continue to manage their homes while their husbands serve long months on the front.
When We Merit to Educate Thus for Other Commandments
From this arises great hope: if we merit and succeed in education also in other commandments, such as Torah study, Shabbat, marriage, all the commandments between man and his fellow, and the commandment of settling the Land in the complete sense, which also includes engaging in settling the world through the development of science and economy, we will merit to bring redemption to the people, the Land, and the world.
Conceivably, an accusation may arise: why don’t we succeed in educating thus for other commandments? Perhaps we invest too much in education for devotion to the people and the Land, at the expense of other commandments? However, such an argument is not appropriate, for two reasons.
One, the commandment to defend the people and the Land is a commandment that is equivalent to all of the Torah, and the lives of all Israel depend on it, and even in it, we still need to progress, so in no way should it be diminished.
The Torah of the Land of Israel
The second reason is that the religious-Zionist public is connected to Torat Eretz Yisrael (the Torah of the Land of Israel), which inherently emphasizes the blessing that comes through the commandments to our lives in the Land, and naturally, every commandment whose blessing is more understood, is more absorbed.
One who looks at reality straight on, at the galut (exile) and its curse, up to the terrible Holocaust, understands that the establishment of the State of Israel and its army saved the Jewish people nationally and spiritually, and consequently, understands its immense value of the commandment. Therefore, all the sacred value in the Torah comes to expression for the Religious-Zionist public in the commandments of settling the Land, and serving in the army.
The great task before us is to continue to clarify the blessing that comes from each and every commandment, and the more we succeed in revealing this, the more we will succeed in educating to fulfill all the commandments in an enhanced way.
The Difference between the Land of Israel, and Outside the Land
The commandments were given to Israel to fulfill them in the Land, as written in the Torah: “These are the statutes and judgments which you shall observe to do in the Land” (Deuteronomy 12:1). This seemingly implies that in Chutz la’Aretz (outside the Land of Israel), there is no need to fulfill the commandments. However, our Sages deduced from the verses, that in practice, even if we sin and are punished with exile, we are commanded to continue fulfilling the commandments outside the Land (see Jerusalem Talmud Sheviit 6:1; Kiddushin 1:8; Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 37a; Sifrei Ekev 43-44).
However, our Sages explained that the obligation to fulfill the commandments outside the Land does not negate the fundamental position that the commandments were given to be fulfilled in the Land, for the reason that one must fulfill the commandments outside the Land, is so that we will remember them when we returnto the Land.
And as our Sages said: “Even though I am exiling you from the Land to Chutz la’Aretz– be distinguished in commandments, so that when you return, they will not be new to you. A parable of a king who was angry with his wife, and she returned to her father’s house. He said to her (the king): Be adorned with your jewelry, so that when you return, the jewels will not be new to you. Thus said the Holy One, Blessed be He, to Israel: My children, be distinguished in commandments, so that when you return, they will not be new to you. This is what the prophet Jeremiah said: ‘Set up signposts for yourself’ – these are the commandments that Israel is distinguished by” (Sifrei Ekev 43; and so in Rashi Deuteronomy 11:18; Ramban Leviticus 18:25).
The Torah of Chutz La’Aretz
The Torah of Chutz la’Aretz does not deal with the revelation of the Torah in the land, but only with the revelation of the Torah in the soul, in heaven. Therefore, the blessing that comes from fulfilling the commandments outside the land, is that the spiritual part of a person clings to God, and the reward for this is in Olam Ha’ba (the World to Come), and in the inner part of the soul – even in this dark world.
But there is no blessing from their fulfillment for earthly life, which remains difficult and evil. In such an educational framework, reality is not so important – one needs to manage in it, but does not strive to nurture and improve it. Therefore, in Chutz la’Aretz there is no intrinsic value to work and settling the world, because the physical world in which the Jews exist, is corrupt and beyond repair for them. Only when we merit to return to the Land, are we able to continue to draw blessing to the Land, and the world.
The Blessing of the Torah of the Land of Israel
In contrast, by fulfilling the commandments in the Land of Israel, one merits to connect heaven and earth, and to connect to both as one, and the divine blessing flows to the Land, as the Torah says: “And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always” (ibid. 6:24). And as is explained at length in the sections of the blessings and curses, in the portion of Bechukotaiand in the portion of Ki Tavo.
In the Land as well, there is great value to heaven, but unlike inGalut, where a partition was made between heaven and earth, and consequently, the heavens express a distant and eternal spiritual world – in the Land of Israel God is revealed, and as a result, heaven and earth become closer – the heavens enrich the earth, and the earth magnifies the heavens (see Hosea 2:23-25).
The Challenge
The more we delve into all the commandments, and understand how through their fulfillment, divine blessing is drawn to both heaven and earth as one, the more we will be priviledged with the desire to fulfill them more correctly, and merit the full blessing that flows from them.
These are not explanations that make the commandments easier. The fact is that education for the commandment to defend the people and the Land succeeds, despite it being a commandment that requires self-sacrifice, and involves severe hardships.
Nor are there explanations for all the details of the commandments, because these are God’s commandments, and therefore we will never be able to understand their full meaning. But when one understands the value and importance of each commandment, one wants to fulfill even its incomprehensible details. Just as when one understands the value of military service one succeeds in standing up to arduous training even when not understanding all the strict orders, and succeeds in serving even when doubts arise about the quality of the political or security leadership.
In the meantime, in many areas we find ourselves somewhere in the middle – between the Torah of Chutz la’Aretzand the Torah of Eretz Yisrael. We are still nourished by the Torah of Chutz la’Aretz, and this is very important and beneficial, but by and large, it does not satisfy those whose world already belongs to Torat Eretz Yisrael, and expects more complete explanations on the Torah. The more we succeed in understanding Torat Eretz Yisrael, the more we will merit bringing the redemption closer.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated
