Mumbai: The Real War

The Western intelligence community doesn’t yet realize the ramifications of Mumbai. Even if the CIA, Mossad, and MI5 pool their resources, they still lack the spiritual insight to realize what they’re up against. The real war in Mumbai is not a matter of western democracy versus Islamofascist terrorism. It’s much deeper than that.

 

After one of my recent talks in the UK, I was introduced to a professor of military history from one of Britain’s most prestigious universities, who is also a consultant to the London Institute of Strategic Studies. He told me that he had accurately predicted every military conflict in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as its outcome – winners and losers. As far as Israel goes, he said, there is no logic; when the Jews should have lost a war, they won. When they should have won an armed conflict, they lost. I explained to him that strategic logic is quite different from spiritual logic, and that the concept of Divine Providence uplifts Israel beyond the laws of logical expectation and military science. So, whenever Jews are involved, the struggle is spiritually-rooted. Mumbai is no different.

 

The Sitra Achra, or “Other Side” Evil Inclination that is the force of evil in the world, is fighting against one thing and one thing only – the spread of emuna, the pure and simple faith in G-d. It’s not a matter of Israel against the Arabs or East against West. The real war that’s going in the world today is the war against true Jewish outreach.

 

True Jewish Outreach doesn’t suffer from tunnel-vision. It’s not satisfied with channeling people into the local synagogue or the local Kosher butcher shop. True Jewish Outreach attempts to bring mankind closer to The Creator, what we pray for three times every single day (Aleinu prayer, said at the conclusion of every service all year long – weekdays, Sabbath, and holidays), namely, “That all of mankind shall call your name.” Jewish Outreach rolls up its sleeves to make that happen.

 

Our emissaries - the “shluchim” of Chabad and the “mafitzim” of Breslev - are fighting the same war. Despite the small minority of pea-brains within Chabad and Breslev who perpetuate imaginary contention between these two magnificent Chassidic movements, the men of truth and honor on both sides know that we are brothers in arms. For example, whenever we publish one of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Sichos (discourses) that describes current events to the letter, we get a call from Rabbi Shalom Arush praising us for a job well done. Behind the scenes, our editorial staff here at Breslev Israel maintains closest contact with Chabad Outreach rabbis around the world. Our mutual efforts in providing spiritual guidance and “nutrition” to non-Jews – particularly our efforts in furthering the Noahide movement – are proof of our common mutual commitment to humanity.

 

Rabbi Gavriel and Rebbetzen Rivka Holtzberg weren’t murdered simply because they were Jews or Israeli. As bright beacons of Jewish Outreach, touching so many lives of Jews and non-Jews alike and bringing them closer to Hashem, they illuminated the world. The forces of darkness didn’t like that, so the Holtzmans were brutally murdered.

 

 

Rabbi Gavriel and Rebbetzen Rivka Holtzberg z"l

  

With this in mind, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Rabbi Erez Levanon of saintly and martyred memory was also killed brutally by terrorists. For years, Rabbi Erez devoted his life to Hashem and to Jewish Outreach. He spent the last seven summers of his life roaming the boondocks of India looking for lost souls that he could bring back to the fold with the magnetism of his ever-so-gentle personality and sweet guitar. The terrorists weren’t satisfied with merely killing Rabbi Erez – they mutilated his body stabbing him hundreds of times.

 

The mainstream media is hiding from the public the full extent that the Pakistani Islamofascists tortured and mutilated the bodies of the Holtzmans. We cannot reprint the information we have about the gruesome torture marks on their holy bodies. One doctor said, “I have seen so many dead bodies in my life, and was yet traumatized. A bomb blast victim's body might have been torn apart and could be a very disturbing sight. But the bodies of the victims in this attack bore such signs about the kind of violence of urban warfare that I am still unable to put my thoughts to words…”

 

The war is a cruel and vicious fight to the death. They have knives, bombs, and torture tables. We have personal prayer, a soulful melody, The Garden of Emuna, and a Shabbat meal for a traveler with nowhere to eat.

 

We at Breslev Israel mourn the tragic deaths of the Holtzbergs and convey our deepest heartfelt condolences to the grieving families, to our colleagues at www.chabad.org, to the Chabad movement as a whole. Breslev Israel wants our brothers-in-arms in Chabad the world over to know that we are one, fighting together to spread Hashem’s name in the world. We will stand by you always, until the day when hand-in-hand, we’ll greet Moshiach at the gates of our unified and rebuilt Jerusalem, speedily and in our days, amen.

 

 

(We invite you to visit Rabbi Lazer Brody’s award-winning daily web journal, “Lazer Beams”)