WHO KNOWS THREE? THREE ARE THE MOTHERS

In recent years we’ve had several kinds of mothers. First, there were the “Four Mothers” who demanded that the IDF withdraw from Lebanon – and won. Then there were those mothers who demanded the return of their sons in exchange for the release of thousands of bloodthirsty terrorists – and they too prevailed. This time, we’re talking about mothers of an entirely different nature. They won’t let any terrorist organization break them, and instead of crying to the government and the army, they issue a call to the Jewish People for more strength and fortitude.

Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

1.

It was a week ago last Thursday on the settlement of Telmon. The afternoon flow of visitors at the Shaar family home has turned into a virtual pilgrimage site. Among those arriving at the house are many who have never met the family before. They come to give hope and encouragement to the worried parents and instill them with greater emotional strength. Yet, it’s specifically the visitors who leave the house stronger and more invigorated. If anyone was giving a greater sense of hopefulness, it was the parents who were sending a message of unimaginable resilience and courage. The scene was absolutely surreal. The visitors come with crestfallen looks on their faces and they leave filled with confidence and optimism as the parents consistently make one fervent request: add a little spiritual light in the merit of their missing son.

During these past three weeks the entire Jewish People have been following these families with genuine concern. We could all see the sadness in the parents’ eyes. However, through this sadness, we also felt the tremendous strength and vitality that has touched all of us. The families’ homes have been transformed into a focal point for all those who wish to identify with them. However, those seeking some consolation and reassurance found it with the people experiencing the kidnapping ordeal more acutely than anyone else. 

I went there a couple of weeks ago together with R’ Ami Pikovsky from Los Angeles to present dollars from the Rebbe to the kidnapped boys’ families. The dollars were laminated with a picture of the Rebbe for them to give to their sons upon their return home. “The dollars belong to the boys and they will protect them from now on,” we explained to the parents.

The visit to the families’ homes was an incredible experience on its own. In Nof Ayalon, outside the home of Naftali Frankel, a tent was erected for Torah study and communal prayer in the merit of the three young men. Everyone went into the tent to participate in a shiur or daven for the boys’ safe return.

In Elad, at the home of Eyal Yifrach, we met a group of students from Yeshivat ‘Shavei Chevron’ where Eyal learns, as they were arriving to hold their daily studies in his house. They sat in the courtyard around a narrow table filled with refreshments as they studied with great zeal.

After Maariv everyone got together and fervently recited three times Chapter 121 of T’hillim: “A Song of Ascents; I lift my eyes to the mountains.” The davening sounded more pure and sincere than anything I had ever heard.

Then, they formed a large circle and sang, “Our brothers, the whole House of Israel, found in distress and captivity, may G-d have mercy upon them and take them out of darkness into light, and from out of bondage into freedom.”

2.

Last week, in a case of incredible timing, Israeli security forces announced the predictable arrest of the murderer of police deputy superintendent Baruch Mizrachi, who was killed on Erev Pesach en route to the Seder with his family. This murderer had been released just two years ago together with more than a thousand Arab terrorists as part of the “Gilad Shalit prisoner swap deal.” The government of Israel succumbed to public pressure and released murderers who immediately went back to their previous terrorist activities. In exchange for the life of this one person whom we did know, we have suffered the loss of lives of people whom we didn’t know then, but whose faces are becoming known to us today. In practical terms, as soon as the government of Israel made the decision to save Gilad Shalit’s life at the cost of an appalling submission to terrorism, it immediately signed a death warrant on Baruch Mizrachi Hy”d.

However, the main question is not why the government of Israel gave in to the terrorists and their excessive demands, rather why we, as a society, could not stand up forcefully against the emotional pressure from public relation firms hired to sell the Shalit campaign to the Israeli public. This was essentially an organized and well-oiled campaign to demand the release of terrorists. Gilad Shalit was merely a convenient excuse. 

In recent years, during the struggle for greater security in Eretz Yisroel, we’ve had several kinds of mothers. First, there were the “Four Mothers” who demanded that the IDF withdraw from Lebanon – and won. Then, there were those mothers who demanded the return of their sons in exchange for the release of thousands of bloodthirsty terrorists – and they too prevailed. This time, we’re talking about mothers of an entirely different nature. They won’t let any terrorist organization break them, and instead of crying to the government and the armed forces, they issue a call to the Jewish People for more strength and fortitude.

3.

Last week everyone was coming to the defense of the Shalit family. They emphasized that no one has the right to come with complaints against them, as any mother would want her child home at any price. However, we must direct the really hard questions toward those who make the decisions on Israeli national policy while failing to stand up to the pressure. Even now, the Rebbe’s words from decades ago ring true: “Anyone who can’t stand up to the pressure – should return home honorably.” The inability to face the pressure is not an excuse, and surely not for an Israeli prime minister entrusted with the responsibility of fighting the terrorist menace, not surrendering to it. This is the same prime minister who demands that the world not yield to pressure over the Iranian nuclear threat and stand firm against the radical Moslem fundamentalists. Yet, in his policymaking role on domestic security matters he gives in to the terrorists and allows these murderous organizations to raise their ugly heads.

Throughout the history of the modern Jewish state, successive Israeli governments have caved in to terrorism, paying a heavy and bloody price with the release of thousands of Arab murderers. These prisoner swaps have boosted the terrorists’ motivation to carry out more kidnappings, as the terror organizations raise the price each time. What was most unusual during the last deal was the effective campaign conducted on behalf of the prisoner release.

This was not a campaign for Gilad Shalit’s return home, as there were many other options available for securing his release, e.g., cutting off the water and electricity in Gaza, halting the transfer of all tax revenue payments to the “Palestinian Authority” (without which the Arab municipalities in Gaza could not exist), suspending prison visits by terrorist families, worsening the conditions for Hamas murderers, and above all, the use of military force. However, the campaign for Gilad Shalit’s release did not focus upon any of these methods, instead choosing the only option preferred by the political left – the release of Arab terrorists. 

Here’s just one painful example from those days: Nechemia Strassler, one of the leading commentators with the Ha’aretz daily, wrote before the Shalit deal: “While it’s true that it is forbidden to pay ‘any price,’ we’re not talking about ‘any price.’ We’re talking about a rational prisoner exchange deal, which always takes place after a war… The Hamas is simply demanding an exchange of prisoners – we have twelve thousand of them, and they only have one [of ours]… There’s no strategic harm to Israeli security here.”

Get the idea? From his viewpoint, we’re talking about two identical entities engaged in war – and now it’s time to “exchange prisoners.” The left-wing always tries to explain why those murdering terrorists with Jewish blood on their hands are actually just “prisoners” being incarcerated without due cause. It’s as if no one has been kidnapping children and no one has been trying to stop the terrorists before they commit more acts of bloodshed. 

4.

As we commemorate this week twenty years since Gimmel Tammuz 5754, we simply cannot ignore the cry of the leader of our generation, “a cry that remains unanswered.” The Rebbe’s clear words have always been stated with absolute precision, and the Rebbe analyzed events with the utmost gravity and importance. These were not just cases of expressing a “Torah opinion” without a clear reason; the Rebbe provided straightforward irrefutable explanations down to the very last detail. 

Regrettably, just as there were those who didn’t want to listen to the Rebbe decades ago, there are also people today who refuse to understand, despite the fact that all of the Rebbe’s prophecies have come to pass. It was most distressful to hear recent statements by the rosh yeshiva of these boys, Rabbi Adin Even-Yisroel (Steinzaltz), who explained during a media interview that he supports halachic rulings on territorial compromise in exchange for peace. Instead of realizing the severe consequences of the deviant path taken by every Israeli prime minister for nearly half a century, to the point that fifteen-year old students can’t hitch a ride twenty minutes from Yerushalayim, the esteemed rabbi used the opportunity to state that he was the first Torah authority to issue such a ruling, immediately after the liberation of the territories during the Six Day War, and that his opinion remains unchanged.

Now is the time to strengthen ourselves with the Rebbe’s holy and heartfelt plea against kowtowing before the terrorist organizations, which endangers Jewish lives. When the Rebbe first started crying out against giving away parts of Eretz Yisroel, it wasn’t clear why he spoke in such pained tones on the issue. However, the passage of time has proven that submitting to terrorist threats merely brings more terror. The only solution is to take an unwavering and uncompromising stance of resolute determination. This is also the way to stand up to the world and prove to them that the People of Israel are not occupiers in their own land, and only a firm stance can guarantee long-term, permanent peace in the Middle East.