I did not think I would be able to write this week. Like most Jews, my head has been spinning since the news of the atrocities in Israel broke out on Sh’mini Atzeres. “If only someone would turn my head to water and my eyes to a spring of tears, then I would cry all day and all night for the slain of my daughter’s people” (Yirmiyahu 8:23).
I really did not want to write. But I must, even though I have not much I can say. We are seeing the horrors of the Tochachah (Rebuke) (D’varim 28:25-68) unfold before our eyes. How can I write? I am not the Prophet Yirmiyahu who could express the tragic events in holy words.
An old rabbi friend of mine called me to let me know he was speaking in his town in one of the countless gatherings around the world in solidarity with Israel. He asked me if I had any thoughts on the scene in Israel that he could share at the gathering. I told him I did not. My mind is numb. But I did refer him to a remarkable biblical commentary of the Netziv in his classic Haameik Davar (first published in the early 20th century). In the above-mentioned Tochachah (D’varim 28:34), the pasuk states, “And you will go mad from the sight that your eyes will see.” The Netziv comments: You will go mad from seeing bands of thugs who will inflict so much damage. You have the ability to overcome them, but you cannot.
This is what Israel is facing now: murderous bands of inhuman thugs who rendered the country totally traumatized. The world is first beginning to witness what the Arab enemy is all about. Rape and murder have been their hallmark as they scream “Allahu Akhbar” (God is great!) while committing the atrocities. This has been their way going back to the 1929 massacre in Hebron. But the world, and unfortunately many Jews, have turned a blind eye, with the dream that we can talk peace with them.
I know about the atrocities committed by Hamas committed against men, women, and children. I shudder at their description, so I have not watched any of the videos. Maybe I should. But I would be traumatized for life. And maybe I should be.
“Listen, all you people and behold my pain, my maidens and my youth have gone into captivity” (Eichah 1:18, composed by Yirmiyahu). “They ravaged women in Zion, maidens in the towns of Judah (ibid 5:11).
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled “Convulsions in Israel,” in which, based on the words of my dear Uncle, Lord Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits zt”l, I warned of Israel’s overconfidence, and that we must be forever weary of convulsions taking place in Israel, G-d forbid. I did not realize how eerily correct these words would soon be.
There will be plenty of finger-pointing in the months to come. But right now, we need to hold on to our precious unity, our greatest weapon in defeating the enemy.
We must daven for the safety of our brethren in Israel and for the safety and success of the heroic members of Tzahal, Hashem yishmereim. We must donate as generously as we can.
So, you see, I have nothing profound to offer. What is there to say other than that we will trust in Avinu She’baShamayim, our Father in Heaven, to bring the captives back alive and for the obliteration of our heinous enemy?
To conclude, I once again rely on Yirmiyahu: “Bring us back to You, Hashem, and we shall return; renew Your days of old” (Eichah 5:21).
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.
