Emuna: The Difficulties Involved in Waking Up – as in the Days of Yore

by Rav Avraham Vasserman, Givatayim, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

 "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." So said the renowned Winston Churchill, who led Great Britain to victory in World War II. Many in Israel today are finally awakening from the "conception" that held that we should hope for the best while feeding the crocodile. This includes even the most sworn supporters of co-existence with the residents of Gaza. Some of them have even become extremists on the other end of the spectrum, demanding that not a single Arab remain there after the war. It is very simple, they explain: One cannot be neighbors with the Satan.

But there are still those who hold on to the idea that we must distinguish between Hamas terrorists and "innocent Gazans" – as if they never saw the videos of that terrible October 7th showing the "non-involved" breaking the fences down to pave the way for the terrorists, and even accompanying them on their mission to murder and rape and burn and kidnap.

But even worse is the approach of the State of Israel in its officialdom, especially the security network, regarding the Palestinian Authority. It continues in many ways to feed the crocodile, saying that the PA is different than Hamas. Even after it is realized that one or both of them together will actually eat us first – because there's no one else around – many in official Israel begin to hope that the crocodile will simply turn into a domesticated iguana. 

Despite all sorts of imaginative attempts to distinguish between how Hamas and Fatah, respectively, behave, it is still clear to all that the PA, if it only received half a chance, would perform exactly as Hamas did and is doing. After all, the PA's financial support for the perpetrators of the attacks – the monthly salaries that the PA pays the terrorists' families – actually renders them their dispatchers. Murders by otherwise "not involved" terrorists are carried out sparsely, with an average of more than one dead Jew every two weeks. However, just because large numbers of Jews are not murdered in one day, but are spread out over time, doesn't make it more tolerable or containable. 

But it is very hard to change a conception that has taken hold so widely in the world, and in Israel, and in the heads of so many decision makers and policy setters. In truth, this phenomenon is nothing new.

Remember the Prophet Jeremiah? He had two demands, or exhortations, of the Jewish Nation: Please rectify your evil ways, and please do not embark on the irresponsible adventure of rebelling against Babylonia. But the nation, led by King Yehoyakim, did not listen, and instead did rise up against Bavel. The latter sent international bands of warriors to fight Israel, but even this Divine sign did not move the nation (Kings II 24, 2-4) from its conceptions.

Nor did the terrible death of Yehoyakim – whose corpse was thrown outside the walls and received a donkey's burial – move anyone. The dead, stubborn king's brother, Yehoyachin, continued along the same path, making diplomatic overtures to Egypt against Bavel – whose king then proceeded to lay siege to Jerusalem, capture the city, exile its king and his family, and steal precious Holy Temple vessels. Yirmiyahu again pleaded with the nation to change its ways, and to realize the destruction to which their actions were leading them. The "false prophets" of the time were a particularly hard obstacle, combining words of comfort and solace with assurances that G-d was strong enough to vanquish Israel's enemies in every situation. Jeremiah accused them of "claiming Peace, Peace – but there is no peace."

Yirmiyahu ostensibly won the Battle of the Prophets, for he correctly predicted the untimely death of false-prophet leader Hanania ben Azor (Yirmiyahu 28). But still: Though he could have said, "I told you so," the people were too steeped in their conception, and did not repent. 

The false prophets continued to produce "prophecies of comfort", and Jeremiah was condemned to a cruel death for the crime of national betrayal by having weakened its will. Only at the very last moment was he saved (Jeremiah 38). In place of Yehoyachin, Nebuchadnezzar had appointed Tzidkiyahu, who followed the foolish path of his predecessors and rebelled against him. Oh, the power of the conception! 

Even after Tzidkiyahu woke up to the dangers, it was too late, for other powers in the nation, stronger than him, continued to resist Yirmiyahu's message. Yes, the prophet agreed that G-d could perform miracles, as He had done against Sancheriv – but this generation was not necessarily as worthy as that one, he told them, and therefore it was time to give in. The nation refused to listen: Yirmiyahu was jailed, the Temple was destroyed, and Judea was exiled. 

By now it could have been expected that the nation would finally wake up. But too many Jews continued to worship idols, and too many continued to believe that their future lay with Egypt, and not, as Jeremiah continued to say, with Bavel. He warned that Pharaoh would fall before Nebuchadnezzar, and that the latter would take out his wrath on the Jews there, some of whom had taken part in the assassination of the Bavel-appointed Gedaliah. The people scorned Yirmiyahu once again, and refused to entertain the thought that Egypt could be defeated. When Nebuchadnezzar arrived in Egypt with his armies, it was too late for the Jews to reconsider their old conceptions… 

And Nowadays? 

The Scriptures do not tell us the life story of Yirmiyahu simply so that we can know how many times he failed in his attempts to return the nation to the straight path. This does not honor the Prophet or his prophecies. Rather, it seems that the message is: "If you want to make a change in the nation, do not rely on facts alone!" 

That is, we can say, "We told you so" all we want, but it will not make a dent in those who are convinced otherwise. There are many who cleave to their problematic ideology even in the face of facts that show its falsehood. Why is this? 

It is because even when we see a certain reality, it is sometimes hard to translate it into actions – especially when it involves admitting past mistakes, a change in lifestyle, and/or the loss of precious careers or peace-camp scholarly grants and the like. It seems that there will always be "prophets of peace," with many followers, who will simply not see the catastrophe to which their path leads – even when others see it clearly. On the contrary, they will find ways to justify their approach, and prove that the very catastrophe that we face requires that we continue along the same failed path with even greater force.

Yirmiyahu was alone in his campaign, and therefore the odds against him were great. But today, there are many who are waking up, joining the even greater numbers who from the beginning never agreed to feed the crocodile. Now, then, is the time to lead a march towards national salvation, and to bring about the fulfillment of the verse: "No more will be heard violence (Heb: hamas) in your land, or wasting or destruction in your borders; you shall rather call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise" (Yeshayahu 60,18).