- Sections
- Parashat Hashavua
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Ki Tetze
We are finishing the year of the 50 th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. Was the victory miraculous or can we explain it within the realm of the natural?
In this war, the enemy fell into the IDF’s hands (as our pasuk concludes). Many Egyptians and Syrian soldiers were literal captives, and around 30,000 soldiers of the Egyptian 3 rd army were totally surrounded, which forced a cease fire on Egypt, at a time that IDF forces were 100 kilometers from Cairo and 30 kilometers from Damascus.
The prophet Micha exclaimed: "Arise, Daughter of Zion, and trample, for your horn I will turn into iron, and your hooves I will make bronze, and you will trample many nations" (Micha 4:13). This pasuk epitomizes what Israel’s armored corps did in this great victory.
I will tell a personal story. At the end of the war, some of the rabbis of the Hesder yeshiva students who fought in tank units in the south (I was one of them), on both sides of the Suez Canal, came to visit and give classes to the soldiers who had fought a tough war and lost many friends. They also met with commanders. One of the important visitors was Rav Yehuda Amital, founder and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion. When he met our battalion commander, Micha Kugel, from Kibbutz Yagur, Rav Amital gave him a present – a complete Tanach, inscribed with the above quote from Micha . One could have not picked a better pasuk for him, and our commander’s regard for Torah grew further.
Micha also promised that in the days of the future liberation, the Jewish People will see miracles on the level of those of the Exodus from Egypt. "I will show you miracles like the days that you left the Land of Egypt" (Micha 7:15).
We will now review the atmosphere in Israel prior to the Yom Kippur War. The State of Israel was still in euphoria, resting on its laurels after the incredible victory of the Six Day War. Because of this overconfidence, the Egyptians’ and Syrians’ deception ploys to hide their mobilization succeeded beyond expectation. The opening artillery assault totally surprised the IDF. Within 24 hours, important brigades in Sinai and the Golan Heights all but disappeared. The vaunted IDF air force had trouble with anti-aircraft fire; tank units initially had no answer for the impenetrable wall of anti-tank missiles they encountered. Infantry was of limited help. The first two days saw more than 1,000 soldiers killed and thousands more injured.
Only after 10 days, toward the end of Sukkot, did the plan to turn the momentum by crossing the Suez Canal starting taking form. A great miracle enabled our forces to build a beach head in between two Egyptian armies, unnoticed. The Egyptians were in the dark; Israel had great light.
This was an event in the mold of the prophet Micha’s prophecy – miracles like in Egypt of old. The dedication and sacrifice of IDF soldiers caused divine assistance. This has been the last war we have fought against Egypt, the biggest and strongest Arab country. We must thank Hashem for the miracles and guard the wonderful present we received 76 years ago. The success of the new Jewish State, populated by Jews from all over the globe, is a great story of a miracle, maybe rivaling the Exodus. We can show our concern by supporting each other and avoiding divisive speech.
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