Fortitude under Fire

When I was a young boy in Hebrew school, I had a teacher who was a World War II combat veteran. He recounted a dire situation in which his unit was badly outnumbered and outflanked by a large force of German troops. At first he felt frightened, until he reached inside his shirt and felt his tzitzit (a four-cornered fringed garment we wear under our shirts). He then remembered Hashem and was filled with courage. Miraculously, his unit withstood the German onslaught and he lived to tell the story. I’ll never forget it.

Almost immediately after the saga of the spies, the Torah gives us the commandment to wear tzitzit. Wearing tzitzit reminds us to think about Hashem and His commandments. Perhaps this teaches that if the spies had remembered Hashem, His omnipotence, and His great love for us, they would not have panicked and sinned with their negative report on the Land of Israel.

In Garden of Emuna, Rabbi Arush says that he who fears One fears no one. I saw a beautiful saying in Torah Tavlin: Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

Most of us will not be in a wartime. However, from time to time we become distressed when our plans get disrupted and we have to get outside our comfort zone.

Rabbi Abraham Twerski notes that the word for spies, meraglim, has the root rageil, which means regular. The spies did not want to disrupt their regular routine and radically adjust their lifestyles to meet new challenges. This same principle can apply to us when we experience unsettling and disturbing events.

One of my teachers explained to me that crying and complaining is done out of fear. Fear, anxiety, and worry are the main weapons of the evil inclination. Thankfulness cancels out fear. Thankfulness is the opposite of fear and breathes life into your emuna. On the other hand, complaining and crying puts fear into words.

Rabbi Zelig Pliskin teaches that whenever we are in a worry mode, we should transform it to gratitude mode by thanking Hashem for our many blessings. Over time this will help to alleviate stress and build up our emuna and feeling of well-being.

Whenever I’m trying to understand a topic, I like to go to The Book of Traits and see what Rebbe Nachman teaches about the subject.

Fear leads to mistakes. Trust in God and you will be saved from fear. When the Jews forget God and no longer rely on Him, they become frightened of the nations.

These teachings underscore the road to redemption: Overcoming fear and placing our trust in Hashem.

Rabbi Shalom Arush says that one who fears Hashem and believes in His Providence is never defeated by his problems. Nothing oppresses or bothers him. This is an exalted level and cannot be attained easily and quickly. However, by working on our emuna via Torah study, gratitude and personal prayer, we can make sustained progress towards this lofty objective.

The book Courage reminds us that we are descendants of Abraham and therefore, we have his courage embedded within our spiritual genes. Abraham endured ten grueling tests, each of them enough to overwhelm even the strongest individual. He passed every one. Therefore, we should be confident that we too have the ability to overcome whatever ordeal we face by virtue of the courage implanted in us through Abraham’s immortal deeds.

I remember in 1973 when Israel was in serious danger as a result of a surprise attack by its enemies.  A reporter from CBS News interviewed two young Israeli soldiers who were on their way to the Sinai front. The reporter asked the soldiers: “Aren’t you afraid?” One of the young men said: “We’re Jews. We’re not afraid of anything!” I try to remember this whenever I start to feel worry or distress.

Let’s remember:

• Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.
• We must always doubt our doubts.
• He who fears One fears no one.

Rebbe Nachman teaches that Hashem is within every obstacle we encounter.  Each obstacle is created by Him with love in order to bring us closer to Him. May we strive to serve Hashem with courage, joy and determination in the situations he creates with love. We’re making a new beginning and we’re tired of this prolonged exile.   Enough is enough!