Tonight's topic: Rallying for Israel: The Halakhic Perspective. בעזרת השם בלי נדר it will be brief. אני מאמין באמונה שלמה שהבורא יתברך שמו הוא בורא ומנהיג לכל הברואים והוא לבדו עשה ועושה ויעשה לכל המעשים.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu runs the world. כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוהים קרובים אליו כהשם אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו.
The Rambam, based on the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah, his interpretation of the pasuk: אבל ציבור כל זמן שעושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם הם נענין שנאמר כהשם אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו.
Whenever we do teshuva and are tzoek belev shalem, Hakadosh Baruch Hu answers our tefillos. These realities and fundamentals of emuna which we know and in which we believe belev shalem, notwithstanding, it's a sacred categorical obligation that in addition to tefilla, we also defend ourselves by natural means. Specifically, we are obligated to defend ourselves militarily and diplomatically. Nichteva haparasha hazos, writes the Ramban in his Hakdama leParshas Vayishlach: להודיע כי הציל הקדוש ברוך הוא את עבדו וגאלו מיד חזק ממנו וישלח מלאך ויצילהו וללמדנו עוד
and further to teach us that he, Yaakov Avinu, lo batach betzidkaso. He didn't rely on his righteousness, והשתדל בהצלה בכל יכולתו. And he exerted himself to save himself, to save his family, to save the future of Klal Yisrael with everything at his disposal, bechol ycholto. ויש בה עוד רמז לדורות כי כל אשר אירע לאבינו עם עשו אחיו יאורע לנו תמיד עם בני עשו וראוי לנו לאחוז בדרכו של צדיק
and we are supposed to adopt the approach of the tzadik, of Yaakov Avinu, shnazmin atzmenu, we should prepare ourselves, we should prime ourselves, לשלושת הדברים שהזמין הוא את עצמו for which he prepared himself. Again, the context there is Bnei Esav, it doesn't make a difference whether it's Bnei Esav or Bnei Yishmael, לתפילה ולדורון ולהצלה בדרך מלחמה. Doron is an act of diplomacy. Livroach ulehinnatzel. Then a little bit further in Parshas Vayishlach, Ramban says, ורבותינו ראו עוד בזה עצה אמרו רבי ינאי. I think we have Rebbi in the Midrash. כד הוה סליק למלכותא when he was going to encounter the malchus, הוה מסתכל בהדא פרשתא. He would study Parshas Vayishlach. I'm skipping a line or so. מפני שהייתה קבלה בידם because Chazal had a mesora, Chazal had a mesora. What's the mesora? Shezu parshas galos. Parshas Vayishlach tells us how we survive. And therefore היה מסתכל בפרשה זו ללכת אחרי עצת הזקן החכם our wise elder, כי ממנו יראו הדורות וכן יעשו. Everyone recognizes that the support of the United States in Israel's defensive existential war against Hamas is crucial. America provides vital armaments and billions of dollars of financial aid. Additionally, it serves as a bulwark against international pressure. Everyone also knows that it's imperative to demonstrate widespread support among the electorate for such support. Tuesday's rally did just that. We're not more deserving or righteous than Yaakov Avinu, and we too must be משתדל בהצלה בכל יכולתנו. Indubitably, Tuesday's rally comprised one aspect of that hishtadlus. Without unstinting American support, there's a very real danger that rachmana litzlan, Tzahal will be constrained in a way that presently endangers our chayalim and in the future endangers the civilian population of Medinat Yisrael. Rallying to sustain and expand such support was thus unquestionably also a kiyum of לא תעמוד על דם רעך. At the rally on Tuesday, just as they did in 1967 when Israel also faced an existential threat, religious and not-yet-religious Jews stood side by side. Maaminim and not-yet-maaminim stood shoulder to shoulder. Wonderful. Halevai that all Jews already appreciated the gift of Torah and were maaminim and religious. Tragically, that is not yet the case. In the interim, it's wonderful that Jews overwhelmingly came to support the Jewish people, their people. Of course, we can never act or speak in a way that legitimizes or validates inauthentic forms of yahadus, which is why in some other contexts, interdenominational activities are proscribed. Attending the political rally, however, simply expressed unwavering support for acheinu Bnei Yisrael in Medinat Yisrael in their battle for survival and security. It clearly did not affirm or validate anyone else's beliefs. Attending the rally condemned Hamas's savage butchering, massacre and mutilation of Jews and some non-Jews and called for their, Hamas's, eradication. It obviously did not endorse the choice of speakers at the rally, their respective beliefs or lifestyles. The pasuk in Trei Asar, לא בחיל ולא בכח כי אם ברוחי אמר השם צבאות,
narrowly refers to binyan bayis sheini. Even as a melitzah, it's irrelevant and inapplicable in the present context wherein the masorah of Klal Yisrael, as attested by the Ramban, is that we must be משתדל בהצלה בכל יכולתנו. It was very gratifying to see your, the yeshiva student body's, overwhelming response and attendance at Tuesday's rally. May Hakadosh Baruch Hu answer our tfillos, וכל הרשעה כרגע תאבד וכל אויבי עמך מהרה יכרתו, and may there be no need for any further rallies.