Fighting Fire with Spiritual Fire

Israel is at war. How do we fight?

On Tuesday night, I addressed the Nassau County Stands with Israel Rally using Psalm 20.

אֵלֶּה בָרֶכֶב וְאֵלֶּה בַסּוּסִים וַאֲנַחְנוּ  בְּשֵׁם ה' אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ נַזְכִּיר

Our enemies rely on chariots and horses, while we invoke the name of Hashem, our God.

I explained that Israel will respond to the brutality and inhumanity of Hamas with all of its military might. At the same time, we also respond with spiritual might.

I saw the following message posted:

“When Yaakov prepared for war with Esav, he split up his family into three groups: to fight, to give gifts, and to pray. We are all in different battle groups. It is hard to feel helpless so far away, but each of us must accept our mission.

For those physically fighting. May Hashem protect you!

For those giving gifts, may Hashem give you strength and success!

For those davening, studying Torah, or performing other mitzvot, each action is an angel that you send to protect the soldiers!”

There has been an incredible spiritual response to the attack on Israel. So many people want to donate, volunteer, and do just about anything to help. The stories and images are amazing.

The image at the top is from a restaurant in Tel Aviv. The Instagram caption read: “Tel Aviv’s elite non-kosher restaurants are kashering their kitchens so that all the soldiers will be able to eat the food that the restaurants are sending to the bases…”

We’ve seen soldiers dancing with the Torah as missiles fly in the background and volunteers encouraging soldiers with ruach close to the Gaza border.

There were thousands of challahs baked on behalf of soldiers. People are committing to do extra mitzvot, wear tefillin, and say berachot in the merit of those in battle. One initiative has distributed over 2,000 pairs of tzitzit and 15,000 kippot at the request of soldiers who want that spiritual connection as they go to into battle. Chabad in Israel planned on distributing 1,000,000 (yep, that’s MILLION) Shabbat candles this week.

Living Jewishly is part of the IDF strategy. One rabbi involved in helping meet the needs of soldiers received a request for grape juice for soldiers in tanks so they could make Kiddush in the field if need be.

Come to shul! One soldier in the field publicized a request from Jews around the world. He can’t make it to shul as he usually does, so he wants everyone to go in his stead and rock the services!

We should feel that our prayers and our mitzvot are part of the war effort. Whether it’s an extra candle for Shabbat, extra Psalms, some Torah studied, dropping off needed items, or donating money, all of these efforts will be part of the victory.  

We go out to battle with the name of God – with Judaism – as part of our arsenal.

During these difficult days and despite the pain, we have a responsibility.
 - Stay informed.
 - Stay connected with family and friends in Israel.
 - Attend rallies and gatherings supporting Israel.
 - Give generously to those helping soldiers and citizens.
 - Pray. Recite Psalm 121 daily for Israel.