The words we recite when taking the Torah from the Ark are biblical in origin: “And it came to pass, when the Ark set forward, that Moses said, ‘Rise up, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered; and let them that hate You flee before You’” (Numbers 10:35). This sentence is unique in its importance, as it is inserted between two inverted Hebrew letters nun that together look like bookends. In fact, the Talmud claims that what is between the “bookends” constitutes a book of its own (Shabbat 116a).
File photo
A Torah portion is read. File photoWhat makes this sentence important enough to be a book unto itself?
The central mission of Judaism is to bring ethical monotheism into the world. And the test of ethical behavior is how we act in the most difficult situations. One of those situations is war itself. Therefore, the Torah declares that even when we go to war and are hopeful that the enemy will be dispersed, the Ark must always be with us; a reminder that the moral principles of the Torah – even in the most trying of circumstances – must be upheld.
I witnessed firsthand how the Israel Defense Forces follow this dictum during the Summer 2014 Gaza War. Taken to a drone headquarters, I saw pilots on the ground maneuver drones over Gaza. On large screens, one could see the drones over buildings and people scurrying about. One of the operators told me that they had intelligence that two terrorists would soon leave the building and get onto a motorcycle parked out front.
This is precisely what happened. The pilots quickly maneuvered the drone over the terrorists, but before they pressed the button releasing the weapons, they needed approval from the higher command. Precious seconds passed. Then I heard the words: “chadal, harbeh anashim [abort, too many people].” In other words, don’t shoot; too many innocents will be killed.
There is a second sentence in this small book, a sentence we recite when returning the Torah to the Ark: “And when it [the Ark] rested, he said: ‘Return, O Lord, unto the ten thousands of the families of Israel’” (Numbers 10:36).
During the First Lebanon War in 1982, I accompanied Rabbi Chaim Druckman into Lebanon, visiting IDF troops. We visited students from his Ohr Etzion Yeshiva preparing to embark on a mission. The rabbi rose to offer words of encouragement. As he concluded, he cried out the sentence of “When the Ark rested.” He explained: “I know with God’s help, we will prevail. But this sentence offers the prayer that every soldier without exception who goes out will come back.”
This experience reminded me of a story attributed to S. Y. Agnon. Once a king reviewed his returning soldiers, who had been victorious in battle. He was ecstatic and joyous. But not so God. The Ruler of rulers, when reviewing the returnees, understood that many soldiers from the battalion were missing and that even a victory constitutes loss and suffering. Individuals were killed in the war, and they would not return.
Thus, these sentences offer a prayer that soldiers who defend Israel act ethically and all come home safely. So important is this prayer that it constitutes a holy book unto itself.
Candle lighting:
Behaalotecha parsha
June 9 at 7:54 p.m.
