We were new olim 50 years ago when the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973 .
I remember well davening Shacharit at the time and seeing soldiers bursting into shul that morning, as we watched the congregants, one by one, suddenly taking off their taleisim and running out the door to a waiting jeep on their way to Sinai. In a matter of minutes, we were left with hardly a minyan, mostly older mitpalelim. We later learned there was a general conscription.
Despite the rush of things, there was no panic and everyone was anxiously awaiting the afternoon break to learn more about what was happening. There were many goyish providers on the Moshav who could fill us in on the news. As relatively new Olim whose Hebrew left a lot to be desired, we were fortunate to find an American family living down the road where we went to get an update. They told us to go home and turn on the radio. We later understood why the seemingly strange instructions we received given the situation.
The rest is history, but life for us at the Moshav as new olim was something else. Hemed was turned into a field hospital and transfer point for the many wounded who were flown in from the battlefield for evaluation and receiving first medical attention. The most serious were dispatched to Tel Hashomer hospital nearby and others were treated at Hemed.
Sukkot was around the corner and the mood was somber. We learned that two Moshav children lost their lives already and the end was nowhere in sight. We put up a Sukka in our back yard as we did every year. This time however, we also invited some soldiers stationed at Hemed to join us for a meal, a snack, or to grab a quick snooze after long stretches of guard duty.
I still can see one soldier at guard duty eyeing a yeshiva bochur who came to see what’s going on when suddenly he shouted at him, “What are you doing? Get out of here?” I thought this was a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that Hemed, a religious moshav where all the boys went into the army, was an incongruity to a yeshiva located here as well. And the sight of this yeshiva bochur angered the guard on duty in face of the ongoing war. The Yeshiva boys were generally exempt and even in “normal times” this was the source of much friction I Israel.
The Yeshiva bochur taken aback a bit cringed and argued he only wanted to see what was going on and he would not bother anyone.
“No! No,” the guard shouted. “You don’t understand. What are you doing here when our boys are fighting on the battlefield. They are doing their job; you should be doing yours with more intense learning and tefillot.” Then repeated, “What are you doing here. Go back to your place where you can be most effective.”
The war began on October 6 and ended October 27 with Israeli gaining a tactical victory on the Banks of the Suez Canal and on the Golan Heights. But the loss of life and the scars remain even today. Eventually, Israel was forced into a deal giving up the Sinai in a treaty with Egypt.
Flash forward!
The only difference this time around is that the recently built Youth Center at Hemed has a large secure area and we were told to go into there until further notice.
Jeeps and busses kept on moving through the Moshav taking necessary military men living at Hemed, but this time there were not too many youths to be taken from the shul.
However, the anxiety of not knowing at first what was going on was the same. Tension was high and disbelief flowed through the mitpallelim learning of the breakthrough and the speed of the terrorist action in S’derot and kibbutzim surrounding the Gaza strip.
Even the traditional Second Hakafot and joyous get together of past years were trampled under the heels of Jewish boots on the ground, who received their marching orders instead.
Where was the Secret Service? How could thousands of terrorists have penetrated so deep into Israeli spoil without our military there to hold them back (their tunnels into Israel were discovered a long time ago) ? Where were the first response helicopters usually a few minutes away from any disaster? Was this the ominous warning of the demonstrators on Kaplan Street who warned of a “different IDF if judicial changes were to go forward”?
At this writing, with my 6 grandchildren also on the Gaza and Lebanon fronts, it does not matter. There will be enough time for investigations of this apparent failure for months to come. Egypt is adamant that they warned Israel of the impending attack a month ago.
The immediate has left us in pain and mourning not only for the over 1200 lives lost and those captured and taken back to Gaza, but we still have not digested the full impact of the Iron Sword War 2023, even as the “awakened” IDF and military are counter-attacking in Gaza and Lebanon.
We will succeed! Not only because of the mightiest military in the world and G-ds Divine guidance, but because the immediate and long range global future is occupying the thoughts of intelligent men everywhere, more than ever before.
The euphoric vision of a new Middle East, with rail lines crossing the deserts and connecting east and west literally was too overwhelming for the primitive thinking of tribes and camel driving slave masters.
The brutal and barbaric attacks on Shmini Atzeret his year were conceived and executed with mighty nations funding, according to recent reports. In truth, it is the “Big3” – Russia, China and Iran – who will most benefit from global unrest as each nation plans moves forward with its own agenda (without including G-ds Plan, of course).
Nothing comes from nothing was a romantic reminder in one of Rogers and Hammerstein’s plays. But in our reality, indeed nothing comes from nothing, Nothing ever could. This philosophical reminder is most timely now on the background of the past 3 months of twisted values, Jewish and military that overtook the minds and pocketbooks of millions in Israelis, not so coincidentally, most coming from the very kibbutzim and anti- government areas who suffered the most.
If I were to dare suggest “the hand of G-d” was making the moves on the ground, I would be branded a fanatic, Meshichist, prankster, joker, trouble-maker – and worse.
But I dare! I also dare suggesting revenge against the poor “frustrated” Arabs living in their villas on the coast of the Mediterranean, who are about to lose everything?
And the battle has just begun.
Time for reflection
Time for Teshuva. Time for soul searching after we bury our dead and the days of mourning will be officially over!
Yes!
I believe all the above is none other than an awakening call back to tradition. Torah is not the enemy. We are our own enemies! And the Socialist Torah haters must now certainly be thinking that maybe there is a G-d after all. A G-d of war who controls our lives today, not the messengers He sends the IDF to do the physical work.
But it is so! לב מלכים ושרים ביד אלוקים!
This post was written on October 12, 2023
