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By the Grace of G-d
Elul, 5704
September, 1944
Fellow Jews in the armed forces, in the
camps, at the fronts, on land, sea, and in the air!
Listen to these words and reflect upon them, and you
will, with G-d's help, gain courage and enhance the safety of your life
and health.
Everything is in G-d's Hands!
You must know, dear brethren, that the life and health
of every man is in G-d's hands. G-d guides the destinies of every man, and
whatever happens to him, in all places and at all times, is predestined by
G-d.
If it is G-d's will that a
person should live and be happy, that person will surely escape unscathed
even under the most dangerous circumstances. Conversely, if it be divinely
destined that a person be harmed or die, that person cannot escape his
fate even in the safest of places and under the best human care.
This does not mean that one should be careless about
one's safety. On the contrary, G-d has ordained that man should take care
of himself, in the natural way, and, as our Torah tells us, no person
should wantonly jeopardize his health or safety.
For although G-d can save, in the most miraculous and
supernatural way, any person He desires so to save, very special merits
are required for such divine favor. Therefore, any one placing oneself in
danger for no good reason is foolhardy and deserving of the consequences,
since, in the first place, he can never know whether he merits such
'special' divine favor; and in the second place, by the sin of exposing
himself to danger without justification, he minimizes his chances of a
miraculous rescue.
When,
therefore, a person finds himself in danger, he should realize that it was
divinely destined so, and that whatever the danger, G-d can save him from
it.
Moreover, precisely the
dangers to which the soldier is often exposed give him an opportunity to
see G-d's wonders at every step, and to become more firmly convinced how
complete and absolute is the Divine guidance by which G-d takes care of
each living being.
Consequently,
no man should lose heart under any circumstances. He should pray to G-d
and trust Him to save his life and protect his health.
All For You!
You ought to derive much courage also from the
knowledge that all your fellow Jews, men and women, young and old, all
pray to G-d for your safety. Their prayers together with yours will surely
be accepted.
Faith—the Basis of Confidence
The degree of hope and
confidence possessed by a Jew depends upon the strength of his faith.
The very faithful Jew is
always full of hope, and consequently he is calm and courageous under the
most trying circumstances.
Faith is innately
implanted in every Jew's heart. Even the Jew who has strayed from the
Jewish path by reason of a faulty Jewish education and upbringing, even he
retains a spark of faith deep in his heart. This spark of faith may lie
dormant for a long time until the occasion arises when it is suddenly
kindled, and then it might well turn into a blazing flame of passionate
Jewish faith. The occasion might be the revelation of some sacred truth of
the Torah hitherto unknown to him, or finding himself in surroundings
conducive to a mood of heartfelt prayer, or the performance of some
Mitzvah (precept), or any other occasion causing him to reflect upon his
spiritual standard, and touching off that latent spark of faith in his
heart. On such occasion he suddenly finds his intellect very clear and his
heart overflowing with warmth, seeking expression in sincere prayer,
earnest study of the Torah, careful observance of the Shabbos,
selflessness and humility. These in turn strengthen his faith in G-d and
in the Torah, and this faith breeds courage and confidence.
Jewish soldiers! Give
your faith a chance to grow within you—and you will gain courage and
happiness!
Some Spiritual Dangers
Let us now consider some
of the spiritual dangers to which a Jewish soldier is frequently
exposed, which we shall presently point out. However, like any other Jew
who is given the choice of free will with regard to the observance of his
religion, the soldier can and must likewise be master of his will, and,
with G-d's help, may overcome all spiritual trials confronting him in the
course of his military service.
Of the spiritual dangers
to which the Jewish soldier is particularly vulnerable, we shall mention
but two general causes:
1. Being removed from his home atmosphere and
finding himself in a new environment, often lacking adequate guidance, may
have an undesirable effect upon the standard of his religious conduct.
2. Being obliged, in the
course of his army duties, to disregard, on occasion, some Jewish law, the
Jewish soldier might form the false impression that he is automatically
absolved from the fulfillment of any Jewish laws, even when and where
there is no military necessity to preclude him from their observance.
Every Jewish soldier
should bear in mind that a Jew must remain loyal to his faith under all
circumstances and at all times, and that when he is sometimes obliged to
transgress some Jewish law, he is not absolved from fulfilling it the next
time.
You should remember, for instance, that you
must not do any personal work on Shabbos, such as writing letters, sewing,
etc.
Your Opportunity!
On the other hand, army
life gives you an opportunity to fulfill some precepts of our Torah to a
degree rarely afforded to a civilian. To wit, the precept of "thou shalt
love thy neighbor like thyself," which, according to our great master and
sage, Hilel Hazaken [Hillel the Elder], is the very core of our Torah.
In this spirit of love and
comradeship which pervades our armed forces, forged as it is by sharing
common experiences, common dangers, and by fighting for a common cause and
ideals, you have a truly unique opportunity of helping your
comrades-at-arms both materially and spiritually, and especially to
strengthen the faith and religious observance of your fellow Jewish
soldiers.
Read this Message Frequently!
Jewish soldier, marine and
flyer! Take out this message now and again, read it and reflect upon it.
You will surely, with the help of G-d, derive great moral strength from
it; and it will increase your faith and calm your heart.
And if a feeling of
apprehension or fear of the future sometimes creeps into your heart, G-d
forbid, remember what we have just told you. Read this message ever again,
and let your religious consciousness get the better of you. It will be a
source of renewed hope, renewed strength and fortitude to you.
We wish you a safe and
speedy return home, every one of you with a distinguished service record,
both as a Jew and as an American. May we all soon merit the fulfillment of
the prophetic vision of true peace and tranquility, when "nation shall not
lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more" (Isa.
2:4), with the coming of the Complete Redemption through our Righteous
Messiah.
L'alter L'Teshuvo
L'alter L'Geulo!
Through immediate repentance to immediate
Redemption!
The following Psalms have been suggested by
the Lubavitcher Rabbi, Rabbi Joseph I. Schneersohn of Saintly Memory as
particularly appropriate for recital by members of the armed forces.
Whatever the mood—a direct, encouraging and appealing message will be
found in these few sacred Psalms. Read them frequently and carefully.
Psalms: 20;23;90;91;121
The prayer of "SHEMA
ISRAEL!"—'Hear, O Israel!' is the Divine call that brought courage and
fortitude to our people throughout the ages. With the words upon your lips
you may look danger squarely in the eye, and trust in G-d. Learn it by
heart in the Hebrew text.
Hear, O Israel! the
Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Blessed be the name, of
the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever.
And thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart; and with all thy soul, and with all thy
might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thine
heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt
talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by
the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up. And thou shalt
bind them for a sign upon thine hand; and they shall be for frontlets
between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thine
house, and upon thy gates.
שְמַע יִשֽרָאַל יֽיָ אֱלהֵינוּ יְיָ אֶחָד׃
בָרוּך שֵם כּבוד מַלכותו
לעולם ועד׃
וֽאָהַבְתָ אֵת יְיָ אֱלהָיךָ בְכָל לבָבְךָ
וּבְכָל נַפְשְךָ וּבְכָל מְאדֶךָ׃ וְהָיוּ הַדְבָרִם הָאֵלָה אֲשֶר אָנכִי
מְצַוְךָ הַיום עַל לְבָבֶךָ׃ וְשִינַנְתָם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַרְתָ בָם
בְשִבְתְךָ בְבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְךָ בַדֶרֶך וּבְשָכְבְךָ
וּבְקוּמְךָ׃וּקְשַרְתָם לְאות עַל יָדֶךָ וְהָיוּ לְטטָפת בּין עֵינֶיךָ׃
וּכְתַבְתָם עַל מְזֻזות בֵיתֶךָ וּבִשְעָרֶיךָ׃
די פרשה "שמע" װערט דאָ געבראַכט אַלס די ג-טליכע װערטער
פון װעלכע אידן אין אַלע דורות האָבן געשעפט ערמוטיקונג, שטאַרקייט און אייביקע
אמונה. דער אידישער סאָלדאַט דאַרף זען אויסצולערנען עס באַ פּאַסנדע געלעגנהייטן,
ספּעציעל בשעת סכנה.
באַמערקונג: עס פארבייט ניט קיין פאל דאס דאװנען. |
