Dear Matzav Inbox,
As Bnei Torah, we strive to follow the gedolim, to live by the Torah, and to dedicate ourselves to Torah. We raise our children to be true yerei shamayim, to follow in the same path. We take pride in the values that define us, and yes, we don’t send our boys to the army, as we believe in protecting their spiritual growth.
But, we must ask ourselves – do we truly feel the pain of our brothers and sisters? Do we truly internalize the suffering of those who are in the trenches, of those whose sons, husbands, and fathers are fighting day and night for our safety?
It’s easy to say that we support them, that we are with them. But being with them is not just about words. It’s about being nosei b’ohl – truly carrying their burden. The mothers, fathers, and wives who are torn apart every single day, wondering if they’ll see their loved ones again – that pain should be ours, too.
It shouldn’t be something we can forget when we finish davening or when we sit down to a meal.
We need to shift our mindset, plain and poshut.
We can’t just pay lip service to their suffering. We must feel it in our hearts. Libi b’mizrach. My heart is with those in Eretz Yisroel fighting each day. Our hearts must ache for them, for their pain, their uncertainty, and their fear.
When we hear of another soldier on the front lines, or another family struggling with the weight of this war, we need to think of them like they’re our own children, our own brothers, our own fathers. We must ask ourselves: What can we do to help bear their burden?
This is not just a time to offer a few kind words. We need to truly be with them in their time of need. We need to make their pain our own, and in doing so, bring ourselves closer to the ideal of true achdus. We cannot stand by as passive observers – we are one family.
When one of us suffers, all of us suffer. When one of us fights, we all fight alongside him.
Let us not be content with merely talking about the pain, but let us take it to heart, and act on it. Let us daven with more kavana, let us give tzedakah more generously, let us do whatever we can to show that we are truly bearing the burden with those who need us. Maybe abstain from something. Maybe shed a tear. Maybe talk to your children about these special Yidden who put their lives on the line.
May we grow in our sense of achdus and shared concern for our people.
Sincerely,
A Rebbi
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The כח ההרגל – the power of getting accustomed to anything – is a giant monster! One needs constant חיזוק to keep him out
Are you sure they are all in pain? Many of them see this as the ultimate privilege to fight for Am Yisroel. It might be uncomfortable to live as a soldier but you can feel happy to fulfill your mission.
The people in the deepest pain are those without a mission, those who feel that our chinuch system left them behind with no purpose left to seek in life. Those stuck in a stage of life that’s unfulfilling & empty. This is an internal pain of directionless suffering.
As a Rebbi, you can help your talmidim find their productive place within our community.
Are you insane? Privilege? While they feel it’s a responsibility, fighting on the front lines of physical battle is never a privilege in Galus. That’s like saying a person enjoys a Ruchniyus struggle with their Yetzer HAra, because they get a schar in Olam Habah.
Don’t you think that following the Torah should be mentioned before the Gedolim?
And with all respect, have you heard Gedolim express what you have expressed so strongly?
And does your shule say a mi’shebarach for the soldiers?
If not, have you asked your Rav why not?
Most probably it’s a secular, G-dless, anti-Torah army.
Saying a Mi sheberach for the soldiers doesn’t come close in comparison to a kapitol tehilim, or an extra hour of learning.
We could talk about these Yidden, but shouldn’t we talk TO these Yidden? We could learn a lot from each other.
The only time in Jewish history other than on Purim, where Jews experienced complete achdus was at Har Sinai. All 2.5 millions Jews were humbled and received the Torah together with one heart. This teaches us that to experience true achdus, Jews must unite with GD and His Torah. Unfortunately today there is no unity due to Jews who are secular and don’t believe in GD or have gone off the path. It is erroneous to believe that Orthodox Jews can have unity with Jews who hate GD and His Torah. Ultimately,
whem Hashem takes us out of this Geulah, we will experience true achdus once again.
Wrong. Why are you wrong? Because when has there been achdus amongst the Frum in the last 250 years. Maybe if you showed a little love to some secular Jews, they would find it in them to become Ba’alei teshuva. Do you know how many have returned since 10/7? So many have found hope and salvation only by being amongst Frum. So many have made strides taking on one mitzvah at a time. Learning about Torah and Mitzvos, which they were never exposed to before in their life.
This is absolutely ridiculous. I’m not sure if this was written for the Israeli or American community. Either way it doesn’t matter. If you live in America you owe them absolutely nothing( maybe even have a very valid complaint against them). If you live in Eretz Yisrael you do as much if not more to keep them safe as Torah is Magen U’matzil. While we do feel bad for those who are injured or hurt or worse we do not owe them anything. We have also sadly fallen to the point where being Israeli is the same as being Jewish this is false and dangerous to the continuation of Klal Yisrael. Many of the people you want me and my child to have sympathy for ( which I do) hate us and our way of life. Just look at who are the biggest pushers of the draft right now it’s the so called religious ( and maybe they are religious just at odds with our deepest held values)which threatens everything we try to instill in our children.While it does make me sad that innocent people are dying I refuse to have empathy for them if they are antithetical to my way of life and are trying to destroy us at the same time. That is what my rabbeim taught me. That’s what I teach my kids. That’s why I think your position is ridiculous and dangerous and should not be taught to kids. There is no problem with feeling the pain of a mothers who lose children or families who have been torn apart but to identify with them I will not and neither should anyone who tries to be frum.
I think there has been a major shift in the culture of the army the past 10 years or so.
I would like to quote from the parents chat of a unit which isn’t frum:
“Hashem should watch over them”
“Hashem should watch over and protect them”
“We will continue to daven for them”
“b’ezras Hashem”
These are all from yesterday.
(Practically speaking they DO NOT have the lifesaving supplies they need, these are our brothers. It is freezing in the North especially. Please keep this in mind, and if you can help send supplies it is pikuach nefesh.)
There is nothing in this post that is inaccurate. Perhaps we should all preach and chant about the great significance of keeping Shabbos, wearing tzitzis and tefillin, not speaking loshon horah, and a host of other Mitzvos. Not inaccurate, but please tell me the purpose or implication of these announcements. Our community, with all its splendor, has a host of serious issues. The inbox here has addressed a few of those. Some banter and discussion, even some debate. With zero results to show for all the noise.
Firstly, how do you know, dear Rebbi, that we don’t feel for our soldiers, the hostages and their families, the displaced brothers and sisters, and other Yidden across the globe who experience pain and suffering of all sorts? Your nice lecture is fundamentally an accusation. That’s a lot of gall.
You seem to believe that Klal Yisroel has retreated in complacency. Maybe you are projecting your own psyche onto the rest of the Klal. That’s not okay. If you are a rebbi, you must know a little about that. It’s basic mussar that is taught in most or all Yeshivos.
Everywhere I go, I see or hear reference to the tzaar of other Yidden. Someone busy with a sick relative needs to focus on that, and not be diverted to other tzaros. Your post should not distract that person from the tafkid that Hashem placed before him. I am sorry if you think that your letter should redirect all of Klal Yisroel to your focus.
Lastly, you work in chinuch, we presume. Go ahead and teach your talmidim. Leave teaching the world to Gedolei Yisroel. Your career path in Avodas Hakodesh is fraught with many serious problems. Before trying to change the world, start in your classroom. Join those who help guide each talmid toward the successes that fit the Divine strengths they were gifted. Don’t impose the myth that you are creating incarnates of Rabi Akiva Eiger, and force them to learn beyond their capacity. Don’t punish them for their lack of progress. There’s a huge amount of correction needed in our Yeshivos. Your preaching here is both offensive and misplaced. Go back to work.
yes, we don’t send our boys to the army, as we believe in protecting their spiritual growth. — This is a misleading statement and much more complex than presented. The frum hesder guys who fight are at least just as spiritually connected to Gd as any chareidi bachur.
Unfortunately today there is no unity due to Jews who are secular and don’t believe in GD or have gone off the path. It is erroneous to believe that Orthodox Jews can have unity with Jews who hate GD and His Torah. Ultimately,
whem Hashem takes us out of this Geulah, we will experience true achdus once again. — This is a misleading statement. Traditional Jews in Israel do not “HATE” Gd. It is a lot more complex than that. Judge yourself before blaming others. Kol HaPosel — B’mumo poseil.