From the North the hope will come

Parshat Hashavua - Parshat Nitzavim Vayelech 5784

Rabbi Eliezer Haim Shenvald

Praying for the IDF soldiers' success, to safeguard them lest any harm come to them, to the healing of all the wounded and the return of the abducted.

The war that started about a year ago has escalated. In the past week, the war in Lebanon intensified. For me this is coming full circle. In 1982, 42 years ago, the IDF launched a military operation in Lebanon, the Peace for Galilee War (Lebanon War) aiming at removing the military threats from the Galilee communities in northern Israel. I was a young tank commander at the time. IDF was fighting against PLO's forces and Syrian army, conquering Lebanon as far as the outskirts of Beirut reaching the vicinity of the Beirut-Damascus road within a week of fighting.

The IDF besieged Beirut and the PLO surrendered and was expelled to Tunis

However, since then, the situation in Lebanon has deteriorated. Hezbollah, which at the time was a small and determined Shiite organization, challenged the IDF. Finally, in 2000, the then Prime Minister decided to unilaterally withdraw to the international line.

The withdrawal as a result of Hezbollah's pressure and the hasty manner in which it was carried out was seen as Hezbollah’s victory. Iran recognized the potential that exists in this organization to challenge Israel and turned it into their strongest proxy of all. Hezbollah's repeated provocations caused the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. In this war, I served as an Operations Officer in the Northern Command. The war ended inconclusively, further harming the alertness, and causing Iran to strengthen Hezbollah to unprecedented proportions.

Since then and despite leaders and commanders’ belligerent tempestuous rants, the balance of deterrence has not been in our favor. The peak was about a year and a half ago when Hezbollah attacked Megiddo, in the tent it set up in our territory on Mount Dov, and the UAV threat against the gas rigs that led to the signing of a problematic agreement. Therefore, when the war broke out on Simchat Torah, Hezbollah did not hesitate to start a war against us. The Simchat Torah massacre affected any deterrence we still had.

Since then, and for about a year now, a War of Attrition has been going on. As a result, tens of thousands of northern residents have been evacuated from their homes for almost a year. Many buildings have been damaged, businesses collapsed, and agriculture has been affected.

About a week ago, a massive attack in Lebanon began. The strategic goal defined is to change the security situation and create the conditions for the north residents to return safely to their homes. The opening chord was the 'pager-boom' operation - an amazing operation of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies that hit Hezbollah hard. After that, the air force attacked the Dahieh district, killing Hezbollah's head of operations and Hezbollah’s Radwan special operation forces unit commander, together with the top of the organization.

From the North we’ll have hope. Despite the difficult situation, and the difficult price we have paid, (and perhaps also because of it) we all hope that this time the war will end decisively, a circle will be closed, and the security situation will change for many years to come. Great hope that the trust of the residents of the north will be restored and that their safe return to their homes will be possible. From here on, a new era of development and prosperity will begin for the settlements of Galilee and the Golan.

As in Gaza, the decision will not be reached in the end except by a complex ground maneuver. Unlike in Gaza, the challenge is more difficult, and the spaces are larger. However, the Israeli Ground Forces comes after having gained a lot of operational experience in Gaza and is in a good position in relation to the situation it has been in in recent years. Above all, it has a fighting spirit and a high motivation to subdue. We are all aware of the cost of a ground maneuver, but at this stage everyone understands that without it, a decision will not be reached, the danger will continue, and the residents will not be able to return to their homes. The resolution on the maneuver in Lebanon will affect the future, will harm Iran's ability to threaten the existence of the State of Israel, and will restore the IDF’s deterrence capacity.

At the beginning of Parshat Nitzavim, Moshe Rabbeinu says goodbye to the nation on the day of his death:

אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם “You stand this day all of you”

אתם נצבים היום כלכם – מלמד שכינסם לפני הקב״ה ביום מותו להכניסם בברית

“This teaches that Moshe assembled them in the presence of the Omnipresent on the day of his death, in order to initiate them into a covenant with Him”.  (Rashi Devarim 29:9). The people of Israel stood at the gates of the Land of Israel before it embarked on a difficult war for the conquest of the land and its future, and it stood firm:

במדרש תנחומא … לנוכח כל הייסורים האיומים המתוארים כאן, אתם עדיין ״נצבים״, עומדים איתנים וזקופים. כל הייסורים יעברו מעל ראשיכם, ואתם תבלו את כולם; ״ ״חִצַּי אֲכַלֶּה בָּם״. (להלן לב, כג), חִצַּי כָּלִין, וְהֵן אֵינָן כָּלִין". (סוטה ט.). יתירה מכך, הייסורים עצמם מבטיחים את קיומכם הנצחי, שכן הם גורמים לכם להיטיב את דרככם.

"You stand firm… “Expresses firm standing, standing strong and persistently full of energy. etc'. In the face of all the severe tribulations described here - you are still "standing" and your standing is firm, and your stature is upright; All the calamities will pass… is interpreted to mean: Despite the fact that I strike you many times for your sins, I do not let you perish. This is the same as that which is written: “I will heap evils upon them; I will consume My arrows upon them” (Devarim 32:23), which is interpreted to mean: My arrows are consumed and used up, and they, the Jewish people, are not consumed but will continue to endure despite the many calamities that will befall them. (Sottah 9a). Furthermore, suffering itself guarantees your eternal existence, for it causes you to improve your path”. (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Devarim 29:9)

By turning up and attending there is also a message of hope for the future:

״אתם נצבים״ וקיימים לעד! אני עומד להיפטר מן העולם; וגם יהושע, שאני מוסר אתכם לידיו, עתיד יום אחד ללכת לעולמו. וכמו כן, כל המנהיגים שיקומו אחריו, דור אחר דור, ילכו לעולמם, ואופי המנהיגים ישתנה. רק ״אתם״, האומה, היא בת אלמוות, נצחית וקיימת לעד.

"You are standing" and will exist forever! I am about to pass away; and also, Joshua, into whose hands I deliver you, will one day pass away. Likewise, all the leaders who will arise after him, generation after generation, will pass away, and the nature of the leaders will change. Only "you", the nation, is immortal, eternal and will exist forever”. (Ibid)

וְנָתַתִּי לָהּ אֶת כְּרָמֶיהָ מִשָּׁם וְאֶת עֵמֶק עָכוֹר לְפֶתַח תִּקְוָה וְעָנְתָה שָּׁמָּה כִּימֵי נְעוּרֶיהָ וּכְיוֹם עֲלוֹתָהּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.

“I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will respond there, as in the days of her youth, and as on the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt”. (Hoshea 2:17).