Towards the end of Parshas Shoftim, the Torah deals with the topic of going to war. 

כִּי-תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל-אֹיְבֶךָ, וְרָאִיתָ סוּס וָרֶכֶב עַם רַב מִמְּךָ--לֹא תִירָא, מֵהֶם: כִּי-ה’ אֱלֹקיךָ עִמָּךְ הַמַּעַלְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם - When you go out to war against your enemies, and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them, for Hashem, your G-d, is with you Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt; And it will be, when you approach the battle, that the kohen (Rashi: Who is anointed for this task, and is called the kohen who is ‘anointed of war’) shall come near, and speak to the people; and he shall say to them: שְׁמַ֣ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אַתֶּ֨ם קְרֵבִ֥ים הַיּ֛וֹם לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה עַל־אֹֽיְבֵיכֶ֑ם אַל־יֵרַ֣ךְ לְבַבְכֶ֗ם אַל־תִּֽירְא֧וּ וְאַל־תַּחְפְּז֛וּ וְאַל־תַּֽעַרְצ֖וּ מִפְּנֵיהֶֽם, "Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle against your enemies. Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be panic, and do not break down before them; ‘כִּ֚י ה אֱלֹֽקיכֶ֔ם הַֽהֹלֵ֖ךְ עִמָּכֶ֑ם לְהִלָּחֵ֥ם לָכֶ֛ם עִם־אֹֽיְבֵיכֶ֖ם לְהוֹשִׁ֥יעַ אֶתְכֶֽם - For Hashem, your G-d, is the One Who goes with you, to fight for you with your enemies, to save you (Devarim 20:1-4).

Why does the kohen anointed to battle begin his speech to the soldiers with the words “Shema Yisrael - Hear O Israel,” which of course, evokes the greatest declaration of our faith (“Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One”, Devarim 6:4)?  Rashi (Devarim 20:3) explains: שמע ישראל. אֲפִלּוּ אֵין בָּכֶם זְכוּת אֶלָּא קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע בִּלְבַד, כְּדַאי אַתֶּם שֶׁיּוֹשִׁיעַ אֶתְכֶם - Hear O Israel: Even if there is no merit in you, but the recitation of the Shema alone, you are worthy that He should save you. 

While it may happen that Klal Yisrael lacks merits, when we always remember that Hashem is our King, Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all, and we accept, with perfect faith, His rulership over us, then He will protect us in battle, fight our enemies for us, and save us.  

The final pasuk of the above passage is very familiar to us all, as it is the verse that closes the tefilah for the Chayalei Tzahal v’anshei kochot ha’bitachon (Prayer for the IDF).

The truth is, I don’t know what words to share with you - my readers - this week.  I pen these words on Alef Rosh Chodesh Elul 5784 (Tuesday, Sept.3, 2024), and I don’t know what to say.  Between Sunday and Monday, our nation buried ten kedoshim u’tehorim who fell for being Jews in our Land.  A new minyan has ascended to Shomayim, carrying our tears, broken hearts, shock and bewilderment, national pain, longing and sorrow, along with their holy souls.

We buried, and bid farewell, to: Staff Sgt. Elkana Navon, aged 20, from Petah Tikva, who fell in battle on Shabbos morning in a counter-terror operation in Jenin; Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alex Lubanov, and Almog Sarusi - the six hostages who survived 329 days in hellish captivity, only to be murdered 24-48 hours before the IDF reached them; and Arik Ben Eliyahu, Hadas Branch, and Roni Shakuri - the three police officers shot at close range at a checkpoint, during a routine check on Sunday morning. 

Arik Ben Eliyahu, 37, from Kiryat Gat, is survived by his wife and three children, Hadas Branch, 53, from Sdei Moshe, is survived by her husband, three children, and a granddaughter, and Roni Shakuri, 61, from Sderot, is survived by his wife, a daughter, and a granddaughter.  Shakuri’s other daughter, Mor, was also a police officer, who was killed battling Hamas terrorists trying to take over the Sderot police station on October 7, 2023.

So in truth, I do not know what words of wisdom to share with you this week.  The words of Torah, in the passage quoted above, speak for themselves. 

כִּי-תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל-אֹיְבֶךָ, וְרָאִיתָ סוּס וָרֶכֶב עַם רַב מִמְּךָ - When we go to war with the brutal enemy, and we see their ‘horse and chariot,’ their paraglides, bulldozers, motorcycles, their drones, missiles and rockets, we may feel afraid.  However, the Torah tells us: לֹא תִירָא מֵהֶם: כִּי-ה’ אֱלֹקיךָ עִמָּךְ - do not be afraid, do not break down, for Hashem your G-d is with you! And the kohen, our spiritual leaders of our nation, motivate us and urge us to remember: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, אַתֶּם קְרֵבִים הַיּוֹם לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל-אֹיְבֵיכֶם - hear O Israel, today you go to war with your enemies!  Even if we are lacking zechuyos to save us, the recitation of the Shema alone is enough of a merit for G-d to come to our aid.   

Roni Shakuri’s surviving other daughter and Mor’s sister, Sapir Shitrit, shared that Mor “always wanted to serve the country. When she decided to join the police, no one was surprised. I knew it was the perfect fit for her – she was a true fighter.” 

Reflecting on the battle Mor fought in Sderot (on Oct.7), she added that Mor "went up to the roof with a few other officers. They fought the terrorists from there, but no one came to help or rescue them. During the battle, she called my mom and spoke with a calmness and strength I don’t know where she found. She said, ‘If something happens to me, I want you to know I love you and Dad, and take care of Sapir.’  She managed to recite the ‘Song of Ascents’ and ‘Shema Yisrael’ before a sniper from the opposite roof shot her, and she died instantly,” Sapir recounted. “I so wanted to see her under the wedding canopy. She was so looking forward to that moment, to building her own home and becoming a mother, but she never got the chance” (https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sk2pszfn0).

‘כִּ֚י ה אֱלֹֽקיכֶ֔ם הַֽהֹלֵ֖ךְ עִמָּכֶ֑ם לְהִלָּחֵ֥ם לָכֶ֛ם עִם־אֹֽיְבֵיכֶ֖ם לְהוֹשִׁ֥יעַ אֶתְכֶֽם - For Hashem, your G-d, is the One Who goes with you, to fight for you with your enemies, to save you.  Ori Danino HY”D, managed to initially flee the site of the Nova Music Festival, but went back to save others… and it was then that he was kidnapped and abducted to Gaza; brought back 330 days later for kevurah.  Ori - a special light - who was named for Chapter 27 of Tehilim (לְדָוִד ה’ אוֹרִי וְיִשְׁעִי), which we recite twice a day, beginning on Alef Elul through the yomtov season.  Ori, whose physical light has now been extinguished, but whose spiritual light we must perpetuate, remember, and carry on.  For him and the other kedoshim, may their memories forever be for a blessing.  

בִּלַּע הַמָּוֶת לָנֶצַח, וּמָחָה ה’ אלקים דִּמְעָה מֵעַל כָּל-פָּנִים; וְחֶרְפַּת עַמּוֹ, יָסִיר מֵעַל כָּל-הָאָרֶץ--כִּי ה’ דִּבֵּר - He will swallow up death forever, and the Hashem shall wipe away the tears from upon every face, and the shame of His people He shall remove from upon the entire earth, for Hashem has spoken (Yeshayahu 25:8).  May it be immediate and in our days. 

בברכת בשורות טובות ושבת שלום.