Torah Defense, Part I: Quality versus Quantity & Torah Defense, Part 2: Morale in the IDF

Recent generations have witnessed a paradigm shift in the art of warfare. Whereas it used to be the quantity of one's soldiers and weaponry that deterred war or proved victory in the battlefield, today it is the quality of one's arsenal that matters most. One technologically advanced weapon outweighs vast quantities of enemy manpower. How much more so when it comes to the quality of holiness that pervades the army camp: "For the L-rd, your G-d, goes along in the midst of your camp, to rescue you and deliver you your enemies before you. Therefore, your camp shall be holy..." (Deuteronomy 23:15) A Jewish soldier guarding the Holy Nation in the Holy Land is an emissary of the true watchman above him, G-d A-lmighty Himself. Therefore, the greatest determining force in the success of his mission is the force of holiness that surrounds and supports him.



In past generations, the numbers of one's armies determined the outcome of war. Today, the quality of one's forces far outweighs the significance of its numbers. This is true with regard to the technological superiority of weaponry, but, and even more so, the superiority of the soldiers themselves. The psychological state of the soldier is everything. Soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces have recently been asking for deeper spiritual inspiration. The leaders have been attempting to "boost morale" by sending entertainers and comedians who confuse and distract the soldiers, while they are searching for true meaning and direction. The enemy must know that a Jewish soldier is ready not only with proper weapons, but with a healthy and inspired state of mind. Some people ask how tefillin or tzitzis assist in achieving this goal. The answer is: It doesn't really matter 'how' a medicine works, only that it actually does. Torah and mitzvos have successfully achieved this goal, sustaining and fortifying the Jewish people through every imaginable situation for over three thousand years.