A Nation, Rising like a Lion

After a sleepless night, filled with sirens and uncertainty, we awoke last Friday morning to learn the details of Israel’s historic and heroic strike on Iran’s nuclear and military sites. The operation, called Am K’lavi or Rising Lion, draws its name from the words of Bilaam: 

“Behold! The Nation will arise like a cub and raise itself like a lion” (Numbers 23:24). 

It’s clear that this verse has been on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s mind for some time, driving him and guiding him. On Yom Ha’atzmaut, Netayanyahu addressed the Hidon ha-Tanakh (International Bible Contest), offering words of hope and inspiration, in light of the war. He asked the audience, “Which verse in our Bible is most appropriate for the current war?” and answered, “Behold! the Nation will arise like a cub and raise itself like a lion.” And on Thursday, visiting the Kotel one day before the operation began, Netanyahu placed a note in the Kotel with the very words of this verse.

Targum Onkelos explains that just like a cub, which grows stronger as the cub matures into a full lion, the nascent Jewish Nation will grow stronger until she defeats her enemies. 

But Rashi, citing the Midrash, understands the metaphor of the lion’s strength differently:

When they get up from their sleep in the morning, they strengthen themselves like a cub and lion to seize Mitzvot, to wear a Tallit, to recite the Shema, and to put on Tefillin. ‘He does not lie down at night,’ on his bed until he eats and destroys any harmful force which comes to damage him. How? He recites the Shema on his bed and gives over his soul for safekeeping into the Hand of God. If an [enemy] camp or army comes to harm them, the Holy One Blessed Be He protects them, fights their wars, and slays the enemy.

For Rashi, our faith and commitment to Torah and Mitzvot is the source of our military might. We draw our strength from these deep spiritual reservoirs. 

In the days since that fateful Friday morning, there have been many more sleepless nights, filled with the sound of sirens and uncertainty. The night sky aflame with missiles, as we make our way into the bomb shelter. In the early-morning hours, we huddle, cramped together with our neighbors, biting our nails, reciting Psalms, and checking our phones, as the building shakes with every explosion and interception. And in the morning we learn of both the successes of Israel’s Air Force, but also of the casualties, the many injured, and the destruction of Iran’s missile attacks on our country. 

With each passing day, this verse only becomes even more relevant and meaningful.

Meshkh Hokhmah comments,

When a cub is sleeping, nothing is noticeable, but when it rises up you see who he is. So too, this Nation. Were they not slaves? …And suddenly, ‘the Nation will arise like a cub and raise itself like a lion,’ which does not need assistance from the participation of other nations, rather by itself, like a lion, who does not call on others for help.

Iran – and the world – underestimated this ‘sleeping lion.’ Alone, the State of Israel arose to destroy the threat of Iran, who proved to be nothing more than a paper tiger. By answering the clarion call and assuming our responsibility as a ‘light unto the nations,’ and with the miraculous successes of our strategic strikes – carried out with surgical precision – we restored the honor and dignity to the Jewish State following the devastation and degradation of October 7th. And because of Israel’s courage and resilience, the world is a safer place today without a nuclear Iran. They may not recognize it just yet, but they will.

While there is still a long road ahead of us, as the popular adage goes, ‘the Eternal Nation is not afraid of the long road.’ We are confident that just as the lion rises, we will rise up and defeat our enemies, with God’s help. “A lion has roared, who will not fear?” (Amos 3:8). 

And this lion has just begun to roar.