Timely messages from our elders past

As for Me, this is My covenant with them says G-D: My spirit that is upon you …will not be withdrawn from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, says G-D, from now to eternity (Isaiah 59:21)

Commentary of Metsudot David (R’ David Altschuler of Prague, 1687-1769): G-D affirms that…His spirit of prophecy…will remain with Israel forever!  

Prophecy formally ceased from the nation of Israel in 312 BCE. But as the Matsudot David assures us, the prophetic spirit will continue to be manifest within the soul of the nation of Israel and particularly in the timely and timeless Torah insights of our sages  – our holy “elders past”.

I was awestruck to encounter two incredibly prescient insights on the sidra of last week which undoubtedly contain “the spirit of prophecy”, impacting directly upon us in the moment.

The first is the comment of R’ Moshe Alshikh (1508-1593) on Devarim 20:1 –  ki teitesei lamilkhama al oyeveikha ve-ra’ita sus va-rekhev am rav mimekha, lo tira meihem ki HaShem Elokeickha imakh. “when you go out to war against your enemies and you see horses, chariots and a people more numerous than you, you need not fear them for G-D your G-d is with you”.  Noting that the verses both preceding and following this verse are predominantly couched in the plural while this verse is expressed entirely in the singular, Alshikh declares: Israel is addressed in the singular to teach that when Jews are united – as one – they need not fear any enemy!

This of course is a clear lesson for our times. The calamitous events of last Simchat Torah occurred in the wake of the ugliest and most hate-filled schismatic anti-government demonstrations in Israel’s history. The most notable achievements of Operation Swords of Iron were in the opening weeks of the war when Israel became united again. And the biggest blows to morale, including the “rescue” of six Israeli hostages just hours after being brutally murdered by Hamas have occurred in recent weeks when the divisions have returned and hate-fueled demonstrations have again darkened the streets of Tel Aviv.

That hundreds of thousands of ostensibly sane Israelis, albeit that they are secular and Left-leaning, could self-immolate in such a destructive manner by misdirecting their whipped-up fury towards their own government and Prime Minister instead of the evil terrorists who are holding the hostages captive can only be explained by expert psychologists. Are these demonstrators oblivious to the fact that Hamas are not the least bit interested in any deal other than one that would not only leave them intact but would strengthen them exponentially as they are demanding the release of hundreds of dangerous terrorists in Israeli prisons exposing Israel to real existentialist danger?

Why do hundreds of thousands of Israelis appear to be so delusional? Netanyahu is powerless to achieve any sort of deal even if he wanted to. Ironically, it is is highly likely that Hamas too couldn’t do a deal with the hostages even if they were prepared to, as, according to at least one expert insider, the hostages are being held by six different terrorist groups in Gaza (Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, the Mujahideen, the al-Nasser Salah-al-Deen Brigades and the al-Aqsa  Brigades), all of whom are at loggerheads with each other.

Sadly we appear to be taking a leaf out of their book. Alshikh’s observation could not be more pellucidly relevant.

The second insight containing “the spirit of prophecy” comes unsurprisingly from the pen of Rashi. Citing the Midrashic work Sifre on the verse “When you draw near to a city (in the Land of Israel) to wage war against it, you shall first offer peace. But if it does not make peace with you but instead incites war ….” (Deut 20:11-12), Rashi states: Scripture informs you that if it won’t make peace with you, its endgame will be to make war with you. In other words, Rashi is telling us there is no middle ground. If a nation or entity refuses categorically to accept your existence in Eretz Yisrael, there is no option but war!

Egypt, Jordan and latterly the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco have accepted our existence and signed an accord with us. In some cases it is a cold peace, but a peace nevertheless. Hamas and its fellow terrorist travelers wish to make Israel judenrein “from the river to the sea”. Sadly there is no option but war against such an enemy until they are eliminated.

We ignore the visionary insights of our “elders past” at our peril!