The Short Vort by Rabbi Eisenman

It was Thursday evening at the Shul. I was in the middle of a shiur.

One of the participants asked a question about leaving his computer on all of Shabbos to periodically check the newsfeed.

After going through a brief discussion of the possible Halachik issues involved, I asked cluelessly, “Why are you asking this now? Things seem relatively quiet.”

Suddenly, everyone in the Shiur looked at me and said in unison, “Rabbi, don’t you know what’s going on?”

I looked at everyone with a blank expression as they all replied, “Israel is attaching Iran!”

I managed to get through the Shiur.

I was able to focus on Maariv.

I was even able to maintain my late-night Chavrusa by phone with someone who lives far from any Jewish neighborhood, and we connect weekly to learn the Parsha.

Finally, later that night, I read the news.

I barely slept on Thursday night.

When I awoke early on Friday morning, I already realized that as much as the last twenty months have been a constant source of anxiety and worry, this morning, the worry and the fear would reach heights not known before.

By the time I spoke to my son Tuvia, he was already adorned in the holy green kittel— the Bigdei Kodesh of the Israeli Defense Forces.

He said goodbye to his wife and three daughters and the comforts of his home and, without a moment’s hesitation, headed off as Dovid HaMelech did when he went to battle against the enemies of the Jews.

With the words of Dovid HaMelech on his lips, “Hashem is He Who girds me with strength; and He makes my way perfect” ((Tehillim 18: 33), he proudly knew what his halachik obligation was.

And as all the holy soldiers, he follows the path of Dovid HaMelech, who codified the fighting ethic of the IDF in Sefer Tehillim, “I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them, never turning back until they were consumed.” (Ibid; 38).

Tuvia and his fellow holy soldiers are all united in their unwavering commitment to living in real time the words of our Holy Torah as enunciated by no one less than Dovid HaMelech, “For You have girded me with strength for the battle.” (Ibid; 40).

Tuvia remains loyal to the words of Sefer Tehillim as he fights Hashem’s battle in defending Klal Yisroel.

Yet, as he remains committed to defending the Jewish people and guaranteeing our survival, he has never missed a day of learning the Daf.

Regardless of where he is, whether he is awake the entire night in full battle gear or returning from a life-threatening mission, he refuses to compromise his learning.

And with the help of his Rebbe Rabbi Eli Stefansky, he remains as committed to his Torah learning as he is to the defense of our Holy Land.

As I spoke to him, I felt not as a father talking to his son but rather as a man who owes his life and the life of his grandchildren to the courageous man on the line.

It was 10 AM here and 5 PM on the army base.

He, along with the entire country, had been awakened in the middle of the night, yet he had the additional call at 4 AM to report to his base to protect the Jewish people.

I asked him one question, “Tuvia, do you and the other holy soldiers have food for Shabbos?”

He replied, “As we were called up this morning, all we have is army rations known as MREs (meals ready to eat), which consist of canned tuna fish and crackers.”

My heart went out to him and his fellow soldiers.

Here, I would be enjoying hot Shabbos food and sleeping in a comfortable bed, while Tuvia would be eating tuna fish with crackers and sleeping, at best, on an army cot or, at worst, in his jeep or not sleeping at all.

Only after Shabbos on Sunday did I find out that his good friend, a wonderful Jew named R' Avrohom Moshe Bruner from Ramat Eshkol, had taken action.

 When R’ Avrohom Moshe was made aware of the one hundred soldiers on the base without Shabbos food, he ran to a local caterer, placed an order for over $500, and, with Hashem’s help, found a soldier heading to the base.

“Who is like your Jewish people? We ask Hashem!- “Mi K’Amcha Yisroel!”

May Hashem keep Tuvia and all of the holy orders safe, and may we see the safe return of all the hostages very speedily in our days.