“This Is Not Emunah—It Is a Chillul Hashem”

COURTESY WIKIPEDIA

We were raised on Emunah. We were raised on the words of the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rov, the Steipler Gaon. We were raised to believe that Torah protects, that Hashem is our Shield, and that nothing moves in the world without His will. And all of that is true.

But somewhere along the way, we began confusing Emunah with irresponsibility. We began calling passivity “bitachon” and turning our backs on danger while saying “Hashem will help.” This is not Emunah. This is negligence. Worse—it is a chillul Hashem, because the world sees religious Jews unwilling to defend their brethren, and wonders: What kind of Torah is this?

The Torah tells us “הבא להורגך, השכם להורגו”—if someone comes to kill you, you must rise early to kill him first. The Rambam writes in Hilchos Melachim that war is sometimes a mitzvah chiyuvis. The Netziv, in Ha’amek Davar, explains that “Torah learning alone” cannot replace the mitzvah of physically defending the people.

Where did we get the idea that Torah requires us to avoid military service, no matter the circumstances? Yes, a yeshiva bochur is doing holy work. But is the blood of a secular soldier less red than ours? Do we dare say, “You go die for us while we say Tehillim”?

What would Rav Shach zt”l say if he saw that nearly all the korbanos of Tzahal come from chilonim or dati leumi boys—while we carry on as if this is the natural order of things?

The entire Torah is about achrayus—responsibility. Avraham Avinu goes to war to save Lot. Moshe Rabbeinu kills an Egyptian to defend a fellow Jew. The Hasmoneans, whose mesirus nefesh we celebrate every Chanukah, picked up swords when Torah was under threat. They didn’t say “miracles will come.” They fought—and then miracles came.

Where are we?

If a fire broke out in our yeshiva, we wouldn’t say “Hashem will protect us”—we’d grab water buckets. But when Jewish blood is flowing in the streets of Sderot, we shrug and say, “Not our role”?

The Torah of Sinai is not a license to ignore the pain of Acheinu Bnei Yisrael. We are one body. When soldiers die while protecting Torah neighborhoods, and we treat them like strangers, it is not just a failure of gratitude—it is a desecration of the Name.

Let us not pretend this is about mesirus nefesh. True mesirus nefesh would be raising boys who are both bnei Torah and anshei ma'aseh. Who learn all day—and know that one day, if the hour requires it, they’ll carry a stretcher in Gaza or stand guard on the border.

We do not need to become Zionists to know the difference between kefirah and achrayus. This is not about political ideology. It is about human decency, Torah values, and not making a mockery of the Torah haKedosha by hiding behind it.

If we do not wake up, we risk losing the soul of our community. Torah will not survive on falsehood. Torah thrives when it is built on truth, on yashrus, on emes. And the emes is this:

We cannot claim to be Shomrei Torah if we will not lift a finger to protect Shomrei Torah. We cannot claim to love Eretz Yisrael and sit idly while others die to protect it. We cannot cry “Hashem Yilachem Lachem” while refusing to show up for His people.

Rabbosai, let us not confuse a lifestyle with a legacy. Our grandparents in Europe cried tears of blood to reach Eretz Yisrael. They would have walked barefoot to defend it. Will we be the generation that learns Torah while ignoring the blood that waters its soil?

Hashem should bless us with true Emunah—not the kind that avoids responsibility, but the kind that embraces it. That fights for Am Yisrael. That learns Torah and stands up for Torah Jews everywhere—even if it means picking up a rifle with a Gemara in our backpack.

Because if we don’t—others will. And we will have no right to call ourselves their brothers.

 

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/this-is-not-emunah-it-is-a-chillul-hashem/