The Fortress of Hashem

My wife and I were shopping for a gift for a couple that just gave birth. After a few minutes of browsing the shelves, we gasped in shock. 

There were “gender-neutral” outfits everywhere. There was glitter on everything. There was even a Ken doll holding a Barbie purse.  

But nothing for boys and nothing for girls.  

Gone were the pink hats. Absent were the blue pajamas. There was nothing to celebrate the birth of a boy, or to congratulate the arrival of a girl.  

After invading every square foot of what used to be civilization, the transgender squad has now violated the most sacred space: Our children.  

The fashion industry has decided there shouldn’t be any colors to distinguish between the two types of gifts Hashem bestows on us. They aren’t concerned with the Torah’s Commandments that a man should not dress like a woman and a woman should not dress like a man.   

G-d to the Rescue

We took a deep breath, got in the car, and drove to Migdal HaEmek. The neighboring city, with its large Orthodox population, had a store with a deep blue outfit perfect for our friend’s baby son.  

As the forces of evil push against everything decent in this world, we are all being pushed back. The basic laws of man and woman, right and wrong, holy and unholy are being twisted before our noses and even the greatest among us are turning a blind eye. 

Didn’t we just finish up reading the Torah portion where G-d wiped out the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? Just 3 hours from our home in Afula, the ruins are still visible. Despite our ability to make the desert bloom, this area remains a wasteland.  

The Great Fortress 

The Talmud states that more than the Jews have kept the Shabbat, the Shabbat has kept the Jews. Implicit in this is the promise that every act of Torah, performing mitzvot, and service to Hashem will maintain us more than we will maintain it.  

As local governments all over central Israel allow public buses to desecrate the Shabbat, the simple way that we can stand up to it is to guard the Shabbat. As city after city is forced to allow public demonstrations of sodomy, the simple way to protect ourselves is to guard the laws of personal holiness. 

As long as we choose G-d with all our actions, they are fighting HIM, and not us.  

Let the extremist seculars have all the money. Give them the media. Watch them buy the police, the courts, and the government. G-d is on the opposing side. He drew a line in the sand 3,332 years ago and anyone on His side of the line cannot be harmed by them.  

The proof is in the numbers: Cities like Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, and Migdal HaEmek, where the laws of personal holiness are observed, enjoy a growth rate of 3.5 children per family. Cities like Tel Aviv and Herzliya are contracting, with a family growth rate barely half that size.  

In the face of this unprecedented blitzkrieg on holiness, Israel is rapidly becoming more religious. The Orthodox Chareidim are 11% of the country and rising at an exponential rate. There are now 20 Knesset seats held by religious leaders, compared to 16 in 1949. That may not seem like a big leap, but considering that over 700,000 secular Russians immigrated here and our numbers continue to rise tells you about the future of our nation.  

Transforming the World 

A mitzvah is not just a holy act . . . it is a political act. It is a statement before G-d and man about the world you wish to live in. It is a cry to our parents to help us from Heaven, and a plea to our children to follow in our footsteps.  

It the recognition of His line in the sand before all mankind and the declaration of which side we are on.  

Our children are under siege. Our way of life is being undermined. They outnumber us. They control all forms of communication. They have far more money and resources to fight.  

We are at war. 

Our only way to stay safe in the territory they have conquered is to hold onto the mitzvot. To remain loyal to Hashem. To refuse to buckle by compromising anything they ask you to do.  

We have everything we need to win.  

They have to spend everything they have in the most convoluted propaganda campaign ever waged to convince us that the sky is polka dotted.  

Truth is on our side. 

G-d is on our side.  

When He decides, the tide will turn. In every generation, good always won over evil. Today is no exception. Emuna is in knowing that He will win.  

The true test is to live every day under the canopy of Hashem conducting yourself as if it already happened.   

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David Ben Horin lives in Israel with his wife and children.