Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry
In the days preceding both the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War, the Rebbe expressed complete confidence that we would emerge victorious. Yet, he also demanded security measures of the highest order. The things that the Rebbe said then apply today with equal force. It is forbidden to sit quietly with our hands folded. Now is the time to go out with greater motivation on the various mitzvah campaign activities.
1.
Last week’s attempted terrorist attack on the border between Egypt and Eretz Yisroel merely strengthens the perception that should have been clear to everyone: whether we like it or not, we are confronted by a complex and challenging security crisis on all fronts. The explosion heard last week on the Egyptian border shattered any false sense of tranquility.
Up until now, we’ve been talking about the tense situation with Iran. Yet, virtually no one thought about the estimates of potential flare-ups on other fronts in the event of the abduction of IDF soldiers r”l. The defense community has also considered such scenarios against the backdrop of the likely collapse of the brutal Assad regime in Syria. It’s only a matter of time before Hezbollah’s friend and ally in Damascus will fall from power. The question now is whether the newly developing situation will be good for the Jewish People or not.
The more optimistic viewpoint is that the end of Ba’ath Party rule in Syria will allow for the establishment of a more friendly policy with our northern neighbor. Thus far, Assad has been the magnanimous benefactor of the terrorist forces in south Lebanon, which now find themselves without the strong backing of Damascus.
However, national security professionals are concerned about the possible deliberate leakage of chemical materials as part of a last ditch attempt by Assad to cling to power. In such a case, it would appear that there will be no alternative except to get directly involved in events beyond the Syrian border.
The defense community is not taking any chances and its experts are investigating all possible scenarios. Former Mosad head Efraim HaLevi recently said that if he were an Iranian he would be worried in the coming weeks. In other words, he estimates that the government of Israel is planning to take action – and in the very near future.
2.
The tense atmosphere within the defense community is eerily reminiscent of what prevailed just before the Six Day War. Without getting people into a state of hysteria and apprehension, it would seem that all options are on the table. No one is promising us that the current Egyptian government will uphold the peace agreements. No one is promising that Hezbollah will sit quietly and honor the wretched ceasefire agreement signed six years ago after the Second Lebanon War. No one is promising that Iran will not ignite a full-scale war in the Middle East if we attack them.
However, no one is promising that these things will happen either. We all remember how just a year ago we were barraged with the threats of “September” violence. The left-wing fervently claimed that we should expect all-out war with the ‘Palestinian’ Authority as soon as the latter proclaimed its independent state. Yet, lo and behold, here we are one year later, and there was no war – political or military. All of the terrible threats of hundreds and thousands of Palestinians marching towards the settlement fences and inciting riots have turned out to be a bunch of fables and fairy tales concocted by the folks at “Peace Now.” None of these dismal and dramatic forecasts were realized. The events that did transpire didn’t even vaguely resemble the nightmarish descriptions we heard in the months leading up to that September, resulting in heavy pressure upon the government to declare its unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
It turns out that not all left-wing reports of doom and gloom come to pass. Ehud Olmert ordered the destruction of the Syrian reactor, yet nothing happened. Netanyahu avoided making a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, yet nothing happened. Thus, it doesn’t seem that everything promised by the newspaper editors in Eretz Yisroel is in step with reality.
3.
For our part, we must not take any chances. In the days preceding both the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War, the Rebbe expressed complete confidence that the People of Israel would emerge victorious. Yet, he also demanded security measures of the highest order. The Rebbe came out with the T’fillin Campaign, urged Jews to purchase a letter in the Seifer Torah, and called upon Jewish children to gather at the Western Wall in Yerushalayim to daven. Together with the clear faith that “Eretz Yisroel is the safest place in the world” and “a land that the eyes of Hashem, your G-d, are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year,” the Rebbe asked that anyone for whom the security of the People of Israel is dear to him, must utilize his time in noble activities that will increase the level of security.
The things that the Rebbe said then apply today with equal force. It is forbidden to sit quietly with our hands folded. Now is the time to go out with greater motivation on all the various holy mitzvah campaign activities of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach – Seifer Torah, T’fillin, Shabbos candles, etc.
We must take full advantage of this opportune moment to give Eretz HaKodesh the best form of protection – spiritual protection. If the predictions of the possibility of another war ch”v prove correct, we must not sit by quietly during these most difficult days. This is the time to “Ker a veldt” and create an uproar on behalf of the mivtzaim designed to protect the Jewish People, better than any other activity.
4.
All the talk about a general conflagration in the Middle East and all other kinds of frightful possibilities is totally irrelevant, as the Jewish People have already proven that their very existence is beyond nature. The Jewish People miraculously won all its wars and subdued the forces of terrorism with the help of Alm-ghty G-d.
In the face of the weakness and uncertainty expressed by those who say that we must not be allowed to defend ourselves, instead placing the burden upon the Americans to rescue us, we must spread the holy words of the Rebbe. Speaking with great pride and assurance, he said that there is no reason whatsoever for concern and we will merit to see great miracles and the fulfillment of great prophecies. The Rebbe’s declarations, constantly emphasizing how Eretz Yisroel is the safest place in the world, persistently reverberate in our ears, and the words of the tzaddik live and remain in force today more than ever before.