Jewish Scene
Lebanon crisis and the army of God
Neta Sela
Published: 30.07.06, 15:36
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47 Talkbacks for this article
1. Thankyou
Shalom ,   Israel   (07.30.06)
What you write is only the tip of the iceberg. In my town, we have opened our homes, kitchens and hearts to "Fellow Jews" from the North. We are on round-the-clock prayer vigils and totally submerged in the situation. Perhaps our part is helping a majority of the missiles to miss their mark. Perhaps.
2. Prayer -
alman ,   jerusalem, Israel   (07.30.06)
I must give credit to those who "cry out" to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. There are two times when "crying out" brought about redemption and prevented a holocaust. The redemption was from the slavery in Egypt. Crying out prevented a holocaust in ancient Persian when Haman wanted to destroy the Jewish People, The question is will the prayers of one sector of the Jews help or must everyone cry out>
3. Why should anyone "rub his eyes in disbelief" ? That is the
(07.30.06)
epitome of prejudice and false stereotyping I have read recently! You talk as if Meah Shearim is predominantly Neturai Karta or something. How foolish can you get! NK are a very very small minority, so dummy up and get your facts straight. In every war of the past, the people you hate so much for no good reason have always prayed for the welfare of the Jewish People everywhere and especially in Israel.
4. New York Jews praying, collecting money
Samuel ,   New York   (07.30.06)
All through New York and surrounding areas, there are Tehillim (Psalms) prayers being offered for the safety of Israel's soldiers and citizens and all innocent people--including chareidi yeshivas which have nightly tehillim, cancelling even study sessions for this purpose! [Anyone who knows how much such yeshivas value Torah study will get an inkling of the seriousness with which rabbis are treating this matter.] Hundreds of thousands are involved in humanitarian fundraising, calling politicians to express support for Israel, and similar projects. Orthodox Jewish media outlets such as Aish.com, ou.org, etc, are doing their best to help in any way possible. [Sad to say, a tiny minority of lunatic liberals questioning Israel's right to defent itself is getting disproportionate attention by Federation-supported media such as The Jewish Week.) Finally, virtually all of our Christian neighbors and colleagues express support for the people of Israel in their struggle against Islamofascist terrorists. The key is to stay unified and put aside our differences, as the civilized world needs to unite against the Islamofascist barbarians before they gain even greater strength. Now is the time to call the White House 202-456-1111 in support of Israel. Now is the time to what needs to be done to help the refugees of Gush Katif--who warned of this impending tragedy, and so many of whom are still homeless. Now is the time to rally together.
5. Orthodox support soldiers, refugees
Isabel Ringer ,   Middleton, ID   (07.30.06)
I appreciated this article, showing the unity of Jewish people in times of trouble. The Torah and the Tehillin are our strength. It is great to see the Orthodox arming our soldiers with the Jewish faith.
6. all for nothing
ddd ,   dsfdf   (07.30.06)
7. Family
Daniel ,   Atlanta USA   (07.30.06)
שיר המעלות לדוד הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד׃
8. well written article!
gb ,   mtl,ca   (07.30.06)
9. oops
hanina ,   usa   (07.30.06)
Ahh, I think you spell G-d with a CAPITAL G. G-d says, get a dictionary. Beautiful work nonetheless.
10. Don`t look back! It is a way to future!
old woman ,   Berlin   (07.30.06)
Pray and work, work, force and pray!
11. what the...............
darryl ,   israel   (07.30.06)
our sons are dying and they are safe in the shuls praying it sounds like quilt to me the army of god doesnt that sound familiar isnt that the name the hizbolla go by
12. Kol ha-kavod!
Paqid 16, Netzarim ,   Ra'anana, Israel   (07.30.06)
13. I am secular and have often
Allan ,   Delray Beach, Fla   (07.30.06)
spoken out against the haredi community. But at times like these it heartening to know that there are others out there that weild as strong a weapon as the most powerful bombs in the IDF's arsenal. The combination of the IDF's might and strong Jewish faith will prevail in defeting our common enemies. Humbly, I thank you for your prayers.
14. and what are you doing,at least they do someting (end)
(07.30.06)
15. The Ghosts Behind All Problems
MK ,   USA   (07.30.06)
The Israeli Ultra Orthodox Jews do nothing but praying. They are always behind the scnenes, but they are the ones that make the scenes. Their stubborn opposition to any withdrawal from the OCCUPIED TERRITORY is only stoking the fire whose results we see in the Middle East daily. The government always tries to appease them, for the government does not want to upset their highness. It is these Ultra Orthodox who are behind the hatred and racism on the Israeli part, and in my eyes, there is no difference between them and Hamas, Jihad, Al Qaida, and Hizbollah. Good luck to Israel with these people.
16. I pray for the Jewish people
Michael U ,   SF,CA   (07.30.06)
I love Hashem with all my heart, all of my soul, and all my posessions. During this time of pain, both personally and spiritually I have increased the intensity of my kevannah. My fears are pushed aside as my faith in the chesed of the Almighty is renewed. The evil of our enemies is evident. Those fools and boors who only see the propaganda lies of the evil ones are deceived. I battle the antisemites on the blogs many times, I have seen their vile lies and I rebuke them. The righteous do their duty, as I know the Orthodox truely have emmuna they have a share in the world to come. Our martyrs give their life for the goal of spreading peace and love, not death and destruction like our enemies. My soul wants to rise up and destroy our enemies, I pray for clarity of vision every day. The psalms of David sooth my spirit, and I discuss them at home and when at work. Hashem is kind, may he answer us on the day we call!
17. Darryl - right connection wrong conclusion
Dovid ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (07.30.06)
Hizballah the "Party of God" gets it strength from it strong belief in G-d. They are the only army/force to ever cause such destruction to Israel since 1948. The only problem is they have a very evil klipah that can easily be defeated not by force but with Emuna and doing teshuvah. Only with Hashems help will we be able to destroy Hizballah/Iran, Syria and Hamas/PA.
18. Prayer?
jjj ,   Tel Aviv, Israel   (07.31.06)
I can't believe that you are actually giving this community credit for praying, they are NOT doing there part. There are plenty of soldiers that are praying while they are serving in the army. This war, just like this country, has always been carried by the secular community. By the way, there are plenty of soldiers that have been awake 72 hours fighting . . . I'm sick of these double standards for the ultra-orthodox community.
19. I am so sorry #15 MK from the US spurns the grace of G-D.
Bunnie Meyer ,   Santa Monica, CA   (07.31.06)
If you want a miracle, look and see how few have been killed in spite of the evil Haman's replacement, nastyrallah. May the prayers of the Orthodox keep the Jews of Israel safe and allow nastyrallah to be captured and tried for war crimes.
20. #11
RW ,   Jerusalem   (07.31.06)
"our sons are dying and they are safe in the shuls praying " At least they are doing something instead of wasting their time on the interenet complaining about 'our sons dying'...
21. i can not understand
halima ,   jerusalem   (07.31.06)
this is about israil or the jews or the toarah why some fight and other pray i think it is better to figh and pray ,,it is better fighiting and better praying or there is no time ..some has all the time for killing other have the time to ake god forbidden sure i can not understand
22. #18
RW ,   Jerusalem   (07.31.06)
"This war, just like this country, has always been carried by the secular community." This nation, throughout it's 3300 years of existence, has always been carried by the religious.
23. Lebanon's PM thanks Hizbollah for its "sacrifices"
gerd schulz ,   germany   (07.31.06)
Lebanon's PM thanks Hizbollah for its "sacrifices" Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora thanked Hizbollah on Sunday for its "sacrifices" In its war against Israel. "We are in a strong position and I thank the Sayyed for his efforts," Siniora said when asked about a Saturday statement by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah calling on the government to take advantage of Hizbollah's steadfastness against Israeli military might. (Reuters)   (07.30.06, 18:10)
24. 22
jjj ,   Tel Aviv, Israel   (07.31.06)
This country's independence was won by the secular community. This country's wars are won by the seculars. This country's taxes are paid by the seculars. Why should our secular boys be on the front lines and the religious boys be safe in a synoguge? It's not right . . .
25. #11
jjj ,   Tel Aviv, Israel   (07.31.06)
Praying isn't doing something . . . that doesn't count . . . let the religious go work, help keep our economy from collapsing while the men and women who normally work and pay taxes are busy saving our country from terrorists . ..
26. to jjj
(07.31.06)
your country only exists because of hashem's help these people devote their lives to the study of hashem's torah and are devoted to helping klal yisrael you should see the best in all people - haredim, chiloniim, and dati leumi especially in a time like this (the 9 days), when we are supposed to see the best in other people beit hamikdash was destroyed because of sinat chinam
27. Midrash
Philip Blumenfeld ,   Boston MA   (07.31.06)
The Midrash tells us that when Israel went out to fight Midian that for each and every soldier out on the battlefield, there was a person praying for him. Furthermore, each person knew the person he was praying for. There were no casualities in this war. Let us continue in their example. Even if we are not on the battlefield, we must continue to pray for our soldiers safe return.
28. #'s 11, 15, & 18
Ach Tov ,   Baltimore, USA   (07.31.06)
I am a chareidi (ultra-orthodox) jew, born & bred in the US, then moved to Israel. I spent a few years learning torah, then served in the IDF before going out to the work force. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT PRAYING FIGHTS THE WAR FOR US. If there was no secular army, or not enough soldiers in it, the orthodox would be volunteering left & right to enlist, no mandatory draft needed. That said, we do believe that keeping torah & mitzvos, and imploring G-d to once again be our savior, is just as important to the cause, if not more. G-d runs the world, but we are required to do hishtadlus (our part). If we fight w/o that in mind, we fight in vain. Allow me to reference the wars fought by Israel during the 40 yrs in the desert. When Moshe raised his hands towards the heavens (so soldiers were reminded that Hashem is the real factor), we were invincible, but when he tired and started lowering his hands, we started losing the battle. The key factor here is that Moshe did not himself fight the war, but w/o him, the army would definitely have lost. We orthodox are not literally fighting the war by praying, but to think that kochi v'otzem yadi (our might) alone will conquer, is a waste of time & a waste of lives. May we soon see our enemies vanquished thru our prayers AND fighting. Together we will rise above evil.
29. #24
RW ,   Jerusalem   (07.31.06)
" This country's independence was won by the secular community." -Not entirely true This country's wars are won by the seculars. -Not entirely true again. This country's taxes are paid by the seculars. -Completely untrue. We pay our taxes, just like you. Why should our secular boys be on the front lines and the religious boys be safe in a synoguge? It's not right . -Because the way Jews have fought have been on the physical AND spiritual fronts. The Midrash states that when the Jews would go out to war, 1/2 would fight and 1/2 would learn/pray on their behalf. This is the Jewish way of fighting.
30. #25
RW ,   Jerusalem   (07.31.06)
"Praying isn't doing something . . . that doesn't count . . ." The Torah disagrees with you on that one.
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