Sea of Torah

"We do not adhere to all these goyish nationalistic ideals of fighting for the motherland.” So opined MK Moshe Gafni of Degel Ha-Torah last week, just in time for Chanukka. I assume the irony was lost on him, but the paragraph we repeat dozens of times over the course of this holiday, Al Ha-nissim, centers around the military victory that God gave us through “the pure... the righteous... those who delve into Your Torah.” In fact, the very name of MK Gafni's faction comes from the organization of the Israelites at Mt. Sinai by “degel,” or banner—as Bamidbar (Numbers) 1:52 delineates “Each man by his camp and each man by his banner, to their armies.” In fact, the Torah repeats thirty-six times in the first two chapters of Bamidbar alone that the Jewish nation is being arranged according to its fighters; a couple of pages later, in Naso (Chapter 7), this order of march is what the princes follow to bring their offerings for the first Chanukka, in the desert.

So where does Gafni get the idea of fighting for the Land of Israel being goyish? Maybe it was from this week's Torah portion, Vayigash, which is the first time we find the term “chayil,” the root of chayal, soldier. After the family of Yoseif (Joseph) comes down to Egypt, Pharaoh is looking for “men of valor,” “anshei chayil” (47:6), and so Yoseif presents to Pharaoh the five of his brothers who appear weakest (ibid. 2). As the Pesiketa Zutrata (cited by Rashi) puts it, Yoseif hides his stronger brothers for their own sake “Perhaps by their excessive might they will do something, and he will appoint them over the troops to go out to war!” This is the first exile for the Jewish nation, and it sets the template: hide your gevura, or the king will send you to the front lines.

That exile mentality is a very hard one to break, as indeed the generation of the Exodus never makes it over the Jordan. Only their children, born in freedom, can understand that they need not fear facing the enemy hordes, as long as they are guided by God's word. Unfortunately, some people today view the IDF as no better than the Czar's army—or Pharaoh's, for that matter. Apparently, fighting for the Holy Land isn't any more important than fighting for Egypt or Russia. That makes me wonder: if someone really believes that, why celebrate Chanukka at all?

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