What Can We Do?
July, 2006: Missiles are falling, the Arabs are threatening to bomb Tel Aviv, and thousands of innocent civilians are living in terror. What can we do?
21 Tammuz, July 17 2006
Missiles are falling, the Arabs are threatening to bomb Tel Aviv, and thousands of innocent civilians are living in terror. What can we do?
Dear Readers,
Leading rabbis have suggested that we recite the following prayers daily. In the merit of our prayers and our deeds, may we soon see the obliteration of evil in our world and the arrival of the true redeemer, quickly, in our days.
Psalms – Chapter 130
1. A song of ascents. From the depths I have called You, O Lord.
2. O Lord, hearken to my voice; may Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3. O God, if You keep [a record of] iniquities, O Lord, who will stand?
3. O God, if You keep [a record of] iniquities, O Lord, who will stand?
4. For forgiveness is with You, in order that You be feared.
5. I hoped, O Lord; yea, my soul hoped, and I wait for His word.
6. My soul is to the Lord among those who await the morning, those who await the morning.
7. Israel, hope to the Lord, for kindness is with the Lord and much redemption is with Him.
8. And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.
5. I hoped, O Lord; yea, my soul hoped, and I wait for His word.
6. My soul is to the Lord among those who await the morning, those who await the morning.
7. Israel, hope to the Lord, for kindness is with the Lord and much redemption is with Him.
8. And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.
Psalms – Chapter 83
1. A psalm, a song of Asaph.
2. O God, have no silence, do not be silent and do not be still, O God.
3. For behold, Your enemies stir, and those who hate You raise their heads.
4. Against Your people they plot cunningly, and they take counsel against Your protected ones.
5. They said, "Come, let us destroy them from [being] a nation, and the name of Israel will no longer be remembered."
6. For they have taken counsel with one accord; against You they form a pact.
7. The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites.
8. Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
9. Also Assyria joined them; they were the arm of the children of Lot forever.
10. Do to them as [to] Midian; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin in the brook Kishon.
11. They were destroyed in En-Dor; they were [as] dung on the ground.
12. Make them, their nobles, as Oreb and as Zeeb, and as Zebah and as Zalmuna all their princes,
13. Who said, "Let us inherit for ourselves the dwellings of God."
14. My God, make them like thistles, like stubble before the wind.
15. As a fire that burns in a forest and as a flame that burns mountains.
16. So will You pursue them with Your tempest, and with Your whirlwind You will terrify them.
17. Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek Your countenance, O Lord.
18. Let them be ashamed and terrified forever; let them be disgraced and perish.
19. Let them know that You — Your name alone is the Lord, Most High over all the earth.
2. O God, have no silence, do not be silent and do not be still, O God.
3. For behold, Your enemies stir, and those who hate You raise their heads.
4. Against Your people they plot cunningly, and they take counsel against Your protected ones.
5. They said, "Come, let us destroy them from [being] a nation, and the name of Israel will no longer be remembered."
6. For they have taken counsel with one accord; against You they form a pact.
7. The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites.
8. Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
9. Also Assyria joined them; they were the arm of the children of Lot forever.
10. Do to them as [to] Midian; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin in the brook Kishon.
11. They were destroyed in En-Dor; they were [as] dung on the ground.
12. Make them, their nobles, as Oreb and as Zeeb, and as Zebah and as Zalmuna all their princes,
13. Who said, "Let us inherit for ourselves the dwellings of God."
14. My God, make them like thistles, like stubble before the wind.
15. As a fire that burns in a forest and as a flame that burns mountains.
16. So will You pursue them with Your tempest, and with Your whirlwind You will terrify them.
17. Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek Your countenance, O Lord.
18. Let them be ashamed and terrified forever; let them be disgraced and perish.
19. Let them know that You — Your name alone is the Lord, Most High over all the earth.
Psalms – Chapter 142
1. A maskil of David, when he was in the cave, a prayer.
2. [With] my voice, I cry out to the Lord; [with] my voice, I supplicate the Lord.
3. I pour out before Him my speech; my distress I recite before Him.
4. When my spirit enwraps itself upon me, and You know my path. In whichever way I go, they have hidden a snare for me.
5. Looking to the right, I see that no one recognizes me; escape is lost from me; no one seeks my soul.
6. I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, "You are my refuge, my lot in the land of the living."
7. Hearken to my cry for I have become very low; save me from my pursuers for they have overpowered me.
8. Take my soul out of confinement to give thanks to Your name; because of me the righteous will crown You, because You will recompense me.
2. [With] my voice, I cry out to the Lord; [with] my voice, I supplicate the Lord.
3. I pour out before Him my speech; my distress I recite before Him.
4. When my spirit enwraps itself upon me, and You know my path. In whichever way I go, they have hidden a snare for me.
5. Looking to the right, I see that no one recognizes me; escape is lost from me; no one seeks my soul.
6. I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, "You are my refuge, my lot in the land of the living."
7. Hearken to my cry for I have become very low; save me from my pursuers for they have overpowered me.
8. Take my soul out of confinement to give thanks to Your name; because of me the righteous will crown You, because You will recompense me.
He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.
May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.
May He lead our enemies under our soldiers' sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.
Now let us respond: Amen. (Text courtesy of OU)
Our brothers, the entire family of Israel, who are delivered into distress and captivity, whether they are on sea or dry land — may the Omnipresent One have mercy on them and remove them from distress to relief, from darkness to light, from subjugation to redemption, now, speedily, and soon — and let us say: Amen.
The names of the three Israeli soldiers being held captive are:
Ehud Ben Malka (in Lebanon)
Eldad Ben Tova (in Lebanon)
Gilad Ben Aviva (in Gaza)
* * *
God repays man "measure for measure". Nowhere is the repayment more exacting than in the Land of Israel. But this is really a great kindness. If we know that God repays us according to our deeds, then by thinking about the situation God sends us, we can gain an insight into our own behavior and learn how to improve (Advice, Land of Israel, 14).
The entire yishuv, the Jewish settlement, is in danger. Missiles are falling, the Arabs are threatening to bomb Tel Aviv, and thousands of innocent civilians are living in terror.
What can we do? Rebbe Nachman is clear – look into ourselves and learn how to improve. If we're honest with ourselves, we know where our weaknesses lie. Each time we do a mitzvah, each time we refrain from doing something wrong, we are actually saving our brothers' lives, because "Nowhere is the repayment more exacting than in the Land of Israel! Just like there is a physical war going on between Israel and her Arab "neighbors", a spiritual war is taking place between the powers of good and evil.
Please, dear readers, our lives depend on you – we need you to strengthen your connection to Torah — to save Jewish lives in the Holy Land. Please, for the sake of your brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael, take on one extra mitzvah. It can be anything, from refraining from gossip to reciting the Grace after Meals from a siddur. In strengthening your connection with the Almighty, you are strengthening the Jews' connection to the Hashem's land – to Eretz Yisrael.
One additional point – a man has the special mitzvah of learning Torah. A woman's special mitzvah is tznius, modesty. Even clothes that are halachically "kosher" can be provocative. Please take note of the following letter from Rabbi Chaim Kenievski shlita:
In light of the calamities that are as of late plaguing the Jewish nation in Eretz Yisroel, Rabbi Chaim Kenievski, shlita proclaimed that all Jewish women and girls should accept upon themselves to strengthen the Mitzvah of tznius and to ENCOURAGE others to do the same! The following is an excerpt of a letter written by the Chofetz Chaim.
". . . And I say that, we are furthering Hashem away from us. Hashem commanded us 'You shall make yourselves holy.' The rabbis have expounded; 'Whoever sanctifies himself below, will be sanctified from above.' 'A little bit – his holiness will be increased, in this world – he will be sanctified in the world to come.' Another verse states; 'For Hashem your G-d is amidst your camp to save you…and your camp shall be holy; there shall not be seen amongst you an immodest thing which would cause Hashem to turn away from you.' The verse clearly states that if we retain holiness, Hashem will save us from all evil. But if chas v'shalom there will be seen an immodest unholy thing amongst us, Hashem will desert us!"
. . . The Chazal tell us, a woman must dress modestly. Alas, today many of them are not dressing modestly, but with uncovered heads, uncovered arms. All the new modern fashions cause unclean and impure thoughts and it nullifies our holiness. It is known that when the king's vineyard caught on fire, all were summoned to douse the flames. Our flame is out of control! We must put out the fire! The Satan, the evil inclination, has caused the Jewish girls to tempt immodestly and they are causing many to stumble. This is what Bilaam did, and he succeeded, He caused Bnei Yisroel to sin through immodesty."
. . . Therefore, it is incumbent upon us, every single one of us, to put out the flames that are raging wildly. We must fix the immodest behavior. And if we do this diligently, and right away; we will surely merit having righteous sons and daughters who will light up the world with holiness and kedushah!"
. . . Everyone must take it upon himself to speak out about this calamity to repair the breech and we should have the merit of fulfilling and experiencing the verse, 'And your camp shall be Holy"!'
M. HaCohen Ha'Chafetz Chaim
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