Last week, when I was teaching a class to young people the day after the boys' bodies were found, one of them asked me sadly, "The entire nation of Israel prayed for two weeks for the safety of the boys and in the end they found them dead? Where did all our prayers go?"
And the truth? It's hard to give a satisfactory answer to such a question on one leg, but I told him, "We are convinced that there are no prayers that return empty-handed. I am certain that the Creator of the world preserves these prayers for the benefit of the people of Israel, and in times of trouble they will stand by us to save us.".
Yesterday I met him again in class: "Well, have you already received an answer to your question from last week?" It took him a few seconds to understand what I was talking about, and then I added: "Pay attention, since yesterday hundreds of missiles have been fired at the residents of the State of Israel, and not a single hair has fallen from the head of a single Jew. Is there a logical explanation for this? Now do you understand what our prayers did?"
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He smiled, so did I.
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When you think about it, it's truly unbelievable, hundreds of missiles, each one capable of destroying a house and killing dozens of people, and with every report of a fall we hear "no casualties.".
It has become a habit, we are no longer moved by the phrase "no casualties," but if we just look a little, we will discover that miracles are happening here before our eyes at every moment: a Grad falls a few meters from a crowded banquet hall in Ashdod, an interceptor falls and lands on a gas station in Tel Aviv, an unexploded missile is discovered on an apartment balcony, and a Qassam destroys a living room when the family has just gone on vacation.
There is no logical explanation for this, other than the understanding that the Creator protects us and leads us in such moments with supernatural guidance thanks to our prayers, thanks to Torah study, and thanks to the unity we have demonstrated in recent weeks.
In front of the enemy's barrel
And speaking of unity, it's unpleasant to say, but this war did us good.
At the end of last week, with the publication of the news of the discovery of the bodies and the murder of the boy in Jerusalem, the unity that existed among the people of Israel with the kidnapping of the boys was shattered again, and hatred took the place of love - right against left, moderates against extremists, and the people against the media.
But then, on Monday, our enemies decided to do us a favor and remind us that we are one people. In an instant, missiles were flying over the country, and millions of citizens found themselves under attack, from Yeruham to Haifa, from Mitzpe Ramon to Jerusalem, everyone wanted to take shelter from the terror of the missiles.
Even the great 'boom' that was heard with the bursting of the Tel Aviv bubble returned the 'State of Tel Aviv' to the people of Israel, and so religious and secular, extremist and moderate, right-wing and left-wing, found themselves under the same fate. Suddenly everyone understood that we may be able to argue about political and social opinions on a daily basis - but in the face of the enemy's barrel, we are all Jews!
And Jews, like Jews, do not abandon their brothers in times of need. With the announcement of the start of the operation, the charity organizations also began to prepare operationally. Meals were donated, aid lines and hospitality sprang up one after another, and the people of Israel were revealed in all their glory. Chabadniks went down to the operations of putting on tefillin and encouraging the soldiers, the Braslavs went down with Rabbi Nachman's tanks to the IDF tanks and raised the morale of the fighters, and the people of Israel were united in great love and a shared destiny.
There is no doubt that wars are good for us, but as much as it is encouraging and joyful, it is also sad and worrying, because the war will soon be over. In a few days, we will return to normal, and then the disputes and hatred will emerge again, there will be another division between the camps, and then, perhaps absurdly, we will miss the war period.
Why is it only the enemy that unites us? Why is it only when our lives are in danger that we suddenly see the beautiful side of this people and reach the necessary unity?
This question probably won't be answered until the next war.
