Who are today’s real heroes of Israel

It’s more than likely that no ultra-Orthodox young men will be reading this article, but they should, because it’s for them that these words are written. 

As individuals, who supposedly revere the writings of the Tanach (Old Testament), aspiring to emulate the best examples of men who exhibited the essence of godliness and heroism, nothing could be more inspiring than the ancient warrior stories found in the book of I Chronicles 11 and 12.

Here we read about David’s Mighty Men. One of them, Yashva’am singlehandedly killed 300 men at once. Another, named Avishai, also fought and killed 300.  A third fighter overtook a lion as well as a seven-and-a-half-foot Egyptian giant.  These are just a few amazing accounts of Jewish greats, along with the Big Three – Ishba’al, who killed 800 in one encounter and Eleazar and Shammah, both of whom fearlessly stood strong against the Philistines when everyone else fled. 

It is, in large part, due to these brave men of courage, that the Jewish people prevailed, able to continue their God-given calling of becoming a light to the nations. How were these men able to accomplish the impossible? The answer is found in the Torah, the five books of Moses, to which the ultra-Orthodox devote their lives to study.

This is the promise uttered by the Almighty, “Hear O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies.  Do not be fainthearted or afraid, do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”   Deut. 20: 3,4 

That assurance had no expiration date and was taken seriously as a charge, accompanied with a guarantee, that Israel would always prevail. They are not empty words, nor are they platitudes meant to be dissected and researched within the confines of a stuffy kollel or yeshiva (their institutions of learning).

This divine instruction was intended to be passed down from generation to generation, as an endowment of security, expressed in the vow that when you go out to fight, you will not be alone. The knowledge that your limited strength and wisdom will be magnified by that of the Creator of the Universe is enough to realize that victory is a given – even if it’s at the expense of your life.

David’s men of valor, was never intended to be a story relegated to the status of “honorable mention” but rather a reminder that we are a people who have been called to a winnable battle – meaning that it must be fought, and if not by young, strong men, who claim to also possess a spiritual awareness of their destiny, as a people, then who?

Israel’s secular young men are often disparaged and looked down upon by the black-coated, kippa-wearing Torah students, but have they not, by default, become the mighty, valiant men who put their lives on the line, each day, to save all the rest of us who admire their undying dedication, effort and bold commitment to the 10 million citizens of the Jewish homeland?

Willing to forego their most precious assets – family, study, career, travel and every other aspiration valued in one’s youth, they willingly rush to the battlefield, giving their all – which sometimes means their life, so that Israel may continue to be a reality and not a wishful dream as in the time of Theodor Herzl, who realized that such a place must exist for every Jew.

Consequently, these secular young men are the true heroes and the continuing line of these biblical warriors who knew that they had been born for this purpose.  And whether or not Orthodox students acknowledge that or express any appreciation, the facts speak for themselves! October 8th, and every day thereafter, did not happen because of the classroom lessons attended by these Torah devotees.

Life went on because young men sacrificed everything, taking the fight to the enemy as they continue to this day.  Some are tired, in need of a break and greatly missed by their families, but they go on, because there are not enough numbers to replenish their absence.

This is where the ultra-Orthodox come into this picture. Either they prove their faith, by acting upon the command given to them more than 4,000 years ago, or they seek the comfort and solace of a Torah study hall, where the pages they read are nothing more than meaningless tales and folklore which have no relevance for those whose insulated world is coddled by leaders who fear a secular outcome to their religious lives if they are enlisted.

But how religious are those lives when there is no basic trust in the same God who spared us as a people throughout centuries of persecution, dispersion and the constant threat of annihilation? Where is their reliance upon the One whose name they claim is too holy to even be spoken? And what of His directive to take on the enemies of Israel? 

Where would we be today if not for men who obeyed those words and stepped up to the task of defending their country? Yes, God would defend us, but, just as then, He uses willing vessels to accomplish the win!

These ultra-Orthodox men must be willing to take on this fight or they are not worthy of being viewed as the righteous individuals they profess to be. Because part of honoring God is to believe that what was written is still in effect for this day and age. It also requires the acknowledgement that a moral responsibility must be taken on by every able-bodied, young man who values the homeland they were blessed to inherit. 

But most of all, it demands a selfless reaction to the awareness that this is their spiritual, ethical, and noble destiny, chief among all others, including Torah study, because without a land and without a people, there is no perpetuity and no rudder – certainly no place to open up holy books.  Without our nation, the light we were intended to exemplify, will be permanently extinguished – the very goal of our enemies, for which they work tirelessly.

It seems as if the ultra-Orthodox exist solely for themselves, because they have refused to be part of the people they see as inferior to their kind.  Consequently, it is Israel’s mostly secular, along with patriotic, Zionist religious men, who are the real heroes of today, fighting for their family – which includes everyone who lives in the Jewish homeland, no matter who they are!