War With Prayer and Without Fear

Question

Dear Rabbi,

What are the Rabbinical leaders saying about the current war in Israel? How long will it last? Should we worry? Is there anything special we can do that might be helpful?

Thank you and stay safe there in Israel

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    We are advised to increase good deeds, charity, Torah observance and prayer to stir Divine favor for the protection of all Jews in general, and in particular for those under siege and for the soldiers risking their lives to protect Israel and its inhabitants. Each of us should think how we can help, either monetarily, politically, through solidarity or in any other way. And may the political and military leaders, as well as the soldiers, be inspired to factor God into the equation of success by merely reciting the shema or putting on tefillin, for example, or any other way of connecting to Judaism and to God.

    Rav Dov Landau and others have suggested saying the following chapter of Tehillim (Psalms 91), which speaks of God’s promise of protection and explains why we should not have fear.

    You, Who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, Who abides in the shadow of the Omnipotent,
    I speak of the Lord, Who is my refuge and my stronghold, my God in Whom I trust,
    that He will save you from the ensnaring trap, from the destructive pestilence.
    He will cover you with His pinions and you will find refuge under His wings; His truth is a shield and an armor.
    You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
    the pestilence that prowls in the darkness, nor the destruction that ravages at noon.
    A thousand may fall at your [left] side, and ten thousand at your right, but it shall not reach you.
    You need only look with your eyes, and you will see the retribution of the wicked.
    Because you [have said,] “The Lord is my shelter,” and you have made the Most High your haven,
    no evil will befall you, no plague will come near your tent.
    For He will instruct His angels in your behalf, to guard you in all your ways.
    They will carry you in their hands, lest you hurt your foot on a rock.
    You will tread upon the lion and the viper; you will trample upon the young lion and the serpent.
    Because he desires Me, I will deliver him; I will fortify him for he knows My Name.
    When he calls on Me, I will answer him; I am with him in distress, I will deliver him and honor him.
    I will satisfy him with long life, and show him My deliverance.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team