‘By any means necessary’

“If you [sic] got… certainty, you’ll be willing to do anything to bring about the end you want. It’s the oldest human problem, Lyra, an’ it’s the difference between good and evil. Evil can be unscrupulous, and good can’t. Evil has nothing to stop it doing what it wants, while good has one hand tied behind its back. To do the things it needs to do to win, it’d have to become evil to do ’em.” (Philip Pulman ~ The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth)

It’s been another unbearable few days for us. Anyone in Israel, or with a connection to Israel, knows this already.

But for me, the most painful part isn’t sharing in the tragedy and suffering of yet more loss and devastation. It’s the response of a vocal minority (I hope and pray that it is a minority) who respond to our shared sense of devastation by sowing further division and inciting chaos.

“Netanyahu abandoned the hostages. The country will tremble,” they say, “The entire country will stand still tomorrow.” This sounds awfully similar to a catchphrase heard at anti-Israel protests. Some ends are considered justified “by any means necessary”.

To be clear, I am certainly not comparing the righteousness of the cause of those people currently lining the highways to those overseas literally calling for our genocide. But there is a certain thread of similarity in the chosen methods that I think is worthy of exploration.

We have been here before. Josephus writes about the prelude to the destruction of the Second Temple in heart-wrenching detail:

“This Simon had his supply of provisions from the city, in opposition to the seditious [rebels]… [John and the rebels] sallied out with a great number upon Simon, and his party. And this he did always in such parts of the city as he could come at, till he set on fire those houses that were full of corn, and of all other provisions. The same thing was done by Simon, when, upon the others retreat, he attacked the city also. As if they had on purpose done it to serve the Romans; by destroying what the city had laid up against the siege: and by thus cutting off the nerves of their own power.” (Josephus, The Book of War, Part V)

Rome ultimately conquered Jerusalem, but it is crystal clear in hindsight that civil war was the catalyst. Despite a common agenda of long-term survival and renewal of independence, disagreement about strategy led one party to take a decision unilaterally and by force. As we well know, the outcome was devastating.

Some may argue that the outcome would have been the same regardless of whether the city’s provisions were destroyed; had they not been, the destruction would still have inevitably occurred, but at a later date. The Jews simply didn’t have the military power at this stage to defeat the Romans anyway.

We can’t know either way. But I do know that our power does not lie in military superiority. If it did, we would have disappeared from this earth long ago.

 לֹ֤א בְחַ֙יִל֙ וְלֹ֣א בְכֹ֔חַ כִּ֣י אִם־בְּרוּחִ֔י אָמַ֖ר ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, sys the L-rd of Hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)

Things might have been different. If the various rival factions of Jews in Judea in Roman times had united, or hadn’t been so arrogantly certain of their point of view that they felt compelled to violently impose it on their society – maybe, just maybe, G-d would have granted the miracles they needed to prevail, regardless of their inferior military standing, just as He did at other times in history. We will never know. But we do know how that sorry story ultimately ended. We are still living out its consequences, 2000 years later.

Like most Israelis, I desperately hope and pray for the hostages to come home alive and well and for us to be able to live without fear, in peace and security. But, like most Israelis, I am also no military strategist. I am totally unqualified to give an informed opinion on how to best achieve these goals, and I do not envy our leaders who must make impossible choices.

But I have read our Holy Books, and our history books, and I know this to be true: when we stand together, and interact with respect, kindness and integrity, with G-d’s help, we can succeed, even if the odds are against us. When we do not, we are doomed to fail, and ultimately, we will only have ourselves to blame. Today, you don’t even need to be a believer to see this pattern play out – just read the news.

I contend that the biggest miracle at Sinai wasn’t the thunder, or the lightning, or the Heavenly voice. It was the silence. Can you imagine 2 million odd Jews, including children, standing quietly, with one voice and one heart, a heart open to receive the ultimate heavenly gift?

G-d threw the party at Sinai. He showed us that with His help, the impossible is possible, and that if we show up together, (quietly!), we can merit to experience the extraordinary.

Now it’s our turn.

Who’s in?