1940 was arguably the year that Great Britain gave its greatest contribution to humankind. After the fall of France in June 1940, Great Britain stood alone against the Nazi monster. As Churchill famously warned, “What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.” Churchill was indeed correct. Hitler ordered Operation Seal Lion, the invasion of England, to commence. However, to ensure success, Germany first had to acquire control of the skies over the English Channel and England proper. If Germany failed in this regard, then RAF (Royal Air Force) fighters and British naval ships would destroy its army while it was crossing the Channel. Herman Goering, the commander of Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, guaranteed that his bombers and fighters could do the job.
In the summer of 1940, Germany attacked England and thus began the Battle of Britain. With respect to aircraft, Germany had a substantial advantage. However, right from the start the Germans noticed that the British always seemed to be waiting for them in the exact locations they were attacking. This perplexed them; they simply could not figure it out. In fact, the British under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, commander of Fighter Command, had developed before the war an integrated early warning and command and control system. Using the new technology of radar, the British were able to determine the number of incoming German aircraft, as well as their altitude, speed and general direction. This series of radar stations on the coast was known as Chain Home.
The radar stations immediately called in the information to Dowding’s command center at Bentley Priory. But since the radar stations weren’t useful once the German aircraft crossed over into British airspace they were supplemented by the Royal Observer Corp. This organization consisted of thousands of people on the ground equipped with binoculars. They would visually track the incoming aircraft and call in their information. At Dowding’s command center this information would then be plotted on large maps and analyzed and, when it became clear where the attack would be, the information would be forwarded to the appropriate regional group commands. They would then pass on the information to the relevant sector commands, who would assume tactical command of the actual battle.
By using what became known as the Dowding System, the British were able to send their planes where they were needed and not waste them on endless searches. It also often provided the RAF fighters with the element of surprise. By mid-September, Hitler realized that he could not defeat the British and postponed Operation Sea Lion. While much of the credit for winning the Battle of Britain deservedly goes to the young and courageous pilots, without the Dowding System, the Germans, most likely, would have overwhelmed the RAF.
What is most telling about this episode is that the Germans were well aware of the radar station and had a basic understanding of the technology. What they did not understand was how the information was used. They did not comprehend the nature of the integrated system and how the information was converted so quickly into what we would call today “actionable intelligence.”
Good leaders understand the value of information, the importance of analyzing it correctly, and then exploiting it properly. Information poorly analyzed, or even analyzed correctly, but not disseminated and acted on effectively, is useless. While this lesson is important at all times, it is especially so as we prepare for Rosh Hashanah.
The Torah in this week’s parsha discusses under what circumstances Bnei Yisrael will receive Divine blessings. Amid the description of the good times in store for us if we hearken to G-d’s will, the Torah states (28:3): “You will be blessed in the city, and you will also be blessed in the fields.” In this case, the Torah is giving us some very important information. The blessings we will receive are a result of our adhering to the mitzvot. In His mercy, G-d informed us of some early warning signs we can look at to help us determine how we are doing.
In his commentary to this verse, Rav S. R. Hirsch points out a very interesting insight. Normally if you want to know how things will be in the city you first look at the fields. If the fields are blessed, i.e., there was a good harvest, then there will be plenty of food and the economy will thrive. If, however, there was a bad harvest, then the situation in the cities will be bad. (Rav Hirsch was very much aware of the historical accuracy of this observation. For example, the French Revolution in 1789 and the European uprisings of 1832 and 1848 were preceded by poor harvests.)
However, the Torah reverses the normal order here by describing first the state of bliss which will exist in the cities. Rav Hirsch explains that with respect to Bnei Yisrael it is our actions in the cities – how we lead our lives – that determines the conditions in the fields. If we properly observe the Torah, thus earning a blissful existence in the cities, G-d will bless the fields. If, however, we do not observe the Torah in the cities, the fields will suffer.
We can now see why it is so important to look at relevant information and analyze it correctly. If the harvest failed, people would want to rectify the situation. If people examined the situation from a normal perspective they would ignore the goings on in the cities, look directly at the fields and focus their efforts on improving their agricultural techniques. If, however, they heeded the Torah’s message they would first look at themselves in the cities and see what needed to be improved. Only then would they determine what agricultural improvements would make a difference.
During this time of year we all take time to be introspective. But that is not enough. We have to be sure we are looking at the right things, in the right order and drawing the appropriate lessons from this introspection. And then we must act upon this information in a timely fashion. If, with G-d’s help, we are able to do this successfully, then perhaps Churchill’s words describing the achievement of the British people in 1940 can be applied to our prayers this Yamim Noraim season – “This was their finest hour.”