War, What is it Good For?

 

"Absolutely nothing!"

The above subject and quote is a reference to a Seinfeld episode in which it is falsely suggested that Dostoyevsky’s War and Peace was originally entitled War, What is it Good For? I’m a Seinfeld fan, and I also sometimes use humor to deflect serious situations.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is more than a military conflict. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, there are 27 ongoing conflicts in the world today. Millions are impacted by the violence, displacement, insecurity, and pain these wars inflict. Ukraine is different for several reasons.

It upends the world order of recent decades. We’ve grown accustomed to how things operate in the post-Cold War era. It may not have been peaceful. After all, this is not Russia’s first incursion into Ukraine. Nevertheless, it is shocking to read headlines of how the events unfolding are unprecedented since World War Two. Troops are being redeployed, and the NATO Alliance is mobilizing. We have not seen this in recent memory.

This situation has a major impact globally. Russian going to war isn’t the same as a coup in Burkina Faso. (How many people even know where that is?) Look at the fluctuations in the financial markets or the cost of the price of gas. We are far away from the action – and there won’t be American boots on the ground in Ukraine, but this situation is real and worrisome. It’s not only media hype. (Although wars are great for CNN and Fox News.)

There is a large Jewish community in Ukraine. We pray for all Americans and all humanity, but we pay particular attention when it’s our family in harm’s way. It’s complicated in Israel, where some Jews from the Former Soviet Union support Russia, while others side with Ukraine, and where the government needs to maintain good relations with both side while trying to do the right thing.

What can we do?

After chapters of descriptions, details, the Mishkan (Tabernacle) is finally built.

וַיַּעַשׂ מֹשֶׁה כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֹתוֹ כֵּן עָשָׂה׃ וַיָּקֶם מֹשֶׁה אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּן וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־אֲדָנָיו וַיָּשֶׂם אֶת־קְרָשָׁיו וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־בְּרִיחָיו וַיָּקֶם אֶת־עַמּוּדָיו׃

In the first month of the second year, on the first of the month, the Tabernacle was set up. Moses set up the Tabernacle, placing its sockets, setting up its planks, inserting its bars, and erecting its posts. (Shemot 40:17-18)

Rabbi Ovadyah Seforno notes that constructing the Mishkan in the order described would be complicated – if not impossible. The Torah says the Mishkan, which refers to the outer covering, was put in place first, before the frame. How is it possible to have the tent before the frame? Seforno suggests two possibilities. It was a miracle. The only way to construct the outside before the inside would be for God to facilitate it happening. The other possibility is it was a team effort. One group of people held the tent in place, while a second group of people constructed the frame. Then the tent was lowered onto the frame.

The Mishkan, like much of life, requires both religious and human solutions. We are not on the battlefield in Ukraine, but we must still be engaged spiritually and materially.

We can pray. While any prayer or recitation of Tehillim is appropriate, here a prayer straight from Ukraine. Rabbi Natan, the primary disciple of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov composed the following:

יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁתְּבַטֵּל מִלְחָמוֹת וּשְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים מִן הָעוֹלָם, וְתַמְשִׁיךְ שָׁלוֹם גָּדוֹל וְנִפְלָא בָּעוֹלָם, וְלֹא יִשְׂאוּ עוֹד גּוֹי אֶל גּוֹי חֶרֶב וְלֹא יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה, רַק יַכִּירוּ וְיֵדְעוּ כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל הָאֱמֶת לַאֲמִתּוֹ, אֲשֶׁר לֹא בָּאנוּ לְזֶה הָעוֹלָם בִּשְׁבִיל רִיב וּמַחֲלֹקֶת חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וְלֹא בִּשְׁבִיל שִׂנְאָה וְקִנְאָה וְקִנְטוּר וּשְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, רַק בָּאנוּ לָעוֹלָם כְּדֵי לְהַכִּיר וְלָדַעַת אוֹתְךָ תִּתְבָּרַךְ לָנֶצַח,

May it be Your Will, our God and God of our ancestors, to abolish wars, end bloodshed, and bring grand and wondrous peace to the world. People should no longer carry swords and engage in way. Instead, may we realize that we were not brough into this world to fight and to stir controversy, God forbid, nor for the purpose of hatred, provocation, and violence, God forbid. We are here only to know You, King of Kings, forever. (Likutei Tefillot II:53)

We offer support. There are many organizations helping the people of Ukraine. The Jewish community is mobilizing in response. UJA-Federation is supporting its partners on the ground to assist 40,000 poor Jewish elderly and families, mobilize an existing network of 6,900 volunteers to reach Jews across every part of Ukraine, and support JCCs in Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnipro, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Lviv. Chabad has a large presence in Ukraine and is in a position to directly assist those in need.

The battle in Ukraine is something new. The Jewish response to care, to pray, and to give remains the same.