It’s been happening quietly and without fanfare, and so unless it impacts you and your family directly, you may not be aware that countless IDF reservists have returned to active combat duty on the front lines.
And as a result, we, their anxious yet proud parents, have been walking around with an unsettling sense of déjà vu.
We already know the drill:
The sleepless nights, as we lie awake, worrying what the morning will bring. The constant knots in our stomachs. Being unable to make any plans, because we never know when or for how long anyone will be getting leave. Obsessively checking our phones. Hosting, babysitting, and running errands for our kids and grandkids, who are desperately trying to (barely) keep it together on the home front. The never-ending stress.
Been there, done that, taking it one day at a time as we do it all over again.
But for the reservists themselves, this second (or third or even fourth) stint of reserve duty since Simchat Torah presents a whole new set of challenges. After all, the reservists are still picking up the pieces and dealing with the fallout from their initial call-up.
Consider the following:
- The students among them basically had to write off the past semester (in spite of the universities and colleges’ grandiose promises), and now it seems that the current semester will be a wash as well.
- Many of those who lost their jobs or were forced to close their businesses due to the war have yet to find meaningful employment and are struggling to make ends meet.
- And since they’ve been focused on strengthening and repairing their marriages and their relationships with their families after months away at war, the reservists haven’t had the time or energy to process all that they witnessed and experienced since Oct. 7 – including the loss of their close friends and comrades.
But none of that stopped them from once again dropping everything and heading back to their units when they received the call. Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael needed them, and so off they went.
And that’s why we must heed their call to us.
Theirs is actually a dual message, best expressed by this war’s ubiquitous slogan:
Together we will win.
The two parts of this saying – victory and unity – are interconnected and equally important.
With Hashem’s help, victory – a complete, decisive, and overwhelming victory over all our enemies – is not only obtainable but is critical for the future of the Jewish people, both here in Israel and around the world.
And the only way to achieve that victory is through unity. We don’t have to agree on everything, but we must always remember that we are one nation, with one heart and a shared destiny.
Moreover, anything and everything that detracts from victory and/or unity – including political protests, elections, finger pointing, negotiations, and so on – hurts our brave soldiers.
They (the reservists and the standing army) are risking their lives for our sake, and so many of them have paid the ultimate price.
And in return, their one request is that we maintain and promote unity and enable them to strive for victory.
Let’s all put our differences aside and give the chayalim what they want.
May Hashem return the hostages safely to their families; may He watch over and protect each and every one of our beloved IDF soldiers; and may He bring us besorot tovot, yeshu’ot v’nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) speedily and in our days.
