Well before the Geneva Conventions gave humane guidelines to war, the Torah told us that we fight a war in order to win safety for our bodies, but be sure not to lose the sanctity of our souls. The Torah even prohibits the unnecessary destruction of fruit trees that may inhabit the battlefield.
War is hell. And a soldier is supposed to worry about fruit trees?
A soldier on the battlefield needs to have his basest instincts at full throttle; his life depends on that. Yet even the engaged warrior, muscles tensed and blood pumping, needs to stay conscious of his higher moral values,; he need to consciously set peace and nurture as his ultimate objective. He needs to leave the battlefield no less human than he entered it.
War is hell, but soldiers shouldn’t be the devil.
So how do we respond to the gruesome massacre that happened in Jerusalem yesterday? Two monsters with meat cleavers attacking worshippers at prayer? Victims left with mutilated bodies, still adorned with Tallis and Tefillin? The attackers’ families, friends and community members celebrating and distributing candies?
Is there any culture that can call this behavior human? I only hope that Muslim leaders here and abroad will call this barbarism by its rightful name. And I pray that the heroic IDF manages to contain any such attacks in the future.
But what can I do? What can we do? We can raise our voices to increase the public outcry. We can pressure our elected officials to make sure the US holds the PA and Hamas responsible.
And, especially in a time of darkness such as this, we can bring more light to the world through Mitzvos. I think we should continue the Mitzvah that Rabbis Goldberg, Kupinsky, Levine and Twersky began so peacefully early Tuesday morning, the Mitzvah of Tefillin.
They were laid to rest today, so they couldn’t lay Tefillin today.
But we can.
Their heads and arms can no longer wear Tefillin, but we can be their heads and arms by laying Tefillin in their honor. They can no longer recite prayers, but we can be their mouths.
This Sunday, Chabad will have a “Har Nof Tefillin and Tefilah” at 8:15am. We’ll gather to lay Tefillin and recite prayers in defiance of the beasts who would cut down all Jews, G-d forbid.
Come in and bring some light to the gruesome darkness.