by Rav Moshe Tzuriel ZTz"L, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.
These are the days of the year on which we repent and do teshuvah, both for our individual sins and our collective iniquities. One of the main things for which Israel as a whole must repent is our attitude towards the Land of Israel. Are we sufficiently aware that the Land is a gift from G-d to His people, and that as such it must not be maligned or neglected?
Ever since the establishment of our State in 1948, we have never ceased to face physical threats from our enemies who wish to annihilate us. Some of them wish to destroy us little by little, and others in one fell swoop, Heaven forfend. They claim that they wish to receive "their" land back, and will happily give us "peace in exchange for land." Though we know they have no plans to make real and lasting peace with us, we must not even entertain the idea of trading land – for G-d gave us His holy word in the Torah, so that we learn it and internalize it: This Land is His, and He gave it to us – and not in order that we give it away.
Let us learn from Yiftach the Giladite, an Israelite Judge between the times of Samuel and David. The Amonites who lived in what is now Jordan demanded that we give them that area of land. Yiftach had been chosen to lead the Israelites at the time, and this was his response [paraphrased]:
"Israel did not take your land. When we came up from Egypt, through the wilderness up to the Red Sea, we sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Let me pass through your land.' But he did not listen, and nor did the king of Moav, though Israel sent him messengers as well. And so Israel went through the desert, detouring around Edom and Moav. Israel then sent messengers to Sichon, king of the Emorites, asking, 'Please let us pass through your land up on our way to our home.' But Sichon did not allow us to do so, and instead gathered his army and fought with Israel. However, the God of Israel delivered Sichon and his people into the hand of Israel, and Israel took over the entire land of the Emorites.
"And now, the God of Israel has driven out the Emorites from before His people Israel, and you want to possess it?! Whatever our God has given us, we shall possess. We have been living here now for 300 years; why did you not try to take since then? I have not sinned against you, while you unjustly fight against me." (Judges 11)
Despite this speech, the Amonites were not appeased. What did Yiftach do? He certainly did not wait to be attacked, but rather, "The spirit of G-d came upon Yiftach, and he passed over the Gilad, etc. (ibid.)" That is, he went to war – and not only a defensive one, but "a great battle in which he captured 20 cities." Ultimately, the Amonites surrendered.
In short, Yiftach did not respond as our leaders respond nowadays, with statements like, "The sanctity of human life is greater than that of a geographic place," or that "saving lives overrides the mitzvah of settling the Land." He could have told those Jews living in east of the Jordan River that they must leave their houses and return "home" to the western Jordan area, in order to save Jewish lives. But he did not call for a "Disengagement." He rather said to Sichon, "Instead of us giving you land for peace, how about you giving us land for peace? Forget your demand to keep the Gilad, otherwise we will liquidate you!" And so Yiftach went to war, and was victorious, with G-d's help!
Today, if the Syrian despot were again to demand that we give him the Golan Heights or else face his military wrath, our response must be this: "We took nothing from you. It was you who so inhumanely ambushed us during the Six Day War, and we then won the war and captured territory – and we will keep it. We will continue to hold on to the Golan to make sure that you do not again try to rocket Beit She'an or the Jordan Valley. If you continue to threaten us, we will fight you!"
The difference between then and now is very simple: Yiftach HaGiladi believed whole-heartedly, in word and deed, in G-d and His teachings. Yiftach was very clear about this in his speech to the King of Ammon, saying that the Israelite victory was due to G-d's blessing. One who knows so clearly that G-d is with him, is stronger than others. He knows that he is in the right, concentrates on the mission, and goes out to fight and wins.
And in fact, with this in mind, I do not understand the secular public in our midst today. Back when we established the State, we thought that the nations of the region might welcome our presence and our technological, financial, and other contributions to the entire area. But when we saw that this was not true, and that they chose instead to attack and kill us – why should we remain here? If our goal is to establish our own Jewish culture with its historic and lofty ideals, then we have to do so via a state and government – and for this we must fight those who would fight us. But if our entire goal is to live like non-Jews, adopting their lifestyles and mores, why do we have to fight wars and lose lives? We might as well move to Australia or elsewhere and live like goyim peacefully. But to live like goyim and get killed for it, precisely in the Land of Israel from where they want to uproot us – what justification is there to live here and continue to kill and be killed? We can live like goyim elsewhere without any danger!
As such, our call for "general teshuvah" to the millions of Jews living here in the Land of Israel must be: "Learn from Yiftach!" When he was attacked by enemies who refused to be mollified, he relied on his trust in G-d and knew that the proper approach was to be confident and attack in accordance with the Divine plan. This is what we too must always have in mind.
And this is the blessing that Moshe Rabbeinu gave Israel in his parting speech (Deut. 33,29): "Fortunate are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a nation protected by G-d, and He is your shield Who helps you and your triumphant Sword! Your enemies will come cringing to you, but you will tread upon their heights –", i.e., the high places from where they scout you out and can fire at you.
We must learn from our past experience. The attempts to make "peace" by our politicians for whom faith in G-d is not a candle lighting their way have not led to great success. Arabs from Gaza and elsewhere continue to fire rockets and attack us every day. Just as Yiftach believed that it was G-d Who oversaw Israel's wars, and at His word battled even for territory east of the Jordan River – how much more so must we fight with faith and confidence for the very heartland of Eretz Yisrael, here in Judea and Samaria.
Yoav, King David's nephew and Chief of Staff, said in the midst of a war: "Let us be strong and strengthened for our people and for the cities of our G-d" (Shmuel II 10,12). The Radak explained in his commentary that Yoav's concern was that the cities would be conquered and settled by enemies, in which case "they would no longer be G-d's cities, but rather the cities of false gods."
That is to say, by virtue of the fact that we settle our cities, this gives them sanctity – but if, Heaven forfend, Jewish towns are given over to foreign rule, there is no greater Chilul Hashem (Desecration of G-d's Name) than that, as it is a "sign" of the idols' supposed success. We must repent and do teshuvah for this, and thus show our secular brethren how important it is for them to once again be courageous Jews.
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