One of the greatest primal fears is the fear of death, and it is this fear that soldiers must overcome when they are called upon to fight in wars against their enemies.
Thus, in this week’s Torah portion—Parashat Shoftim—we are told:
“When you take the field against your enemies, and see horses and chariots—forces larger than yours—have no fear of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, is with you. Before you join battle, the priest shall come forward and address the troops. He shall say to them, “Hear, O Israel! You are about to join battle with your enemy. Let not your courage falter. Do not be in fear, or in panic, or in dread of them. For it is the Lord your God who marches with you to do battle for you against your enemy, to bring you victory…. The officials shall go on addressing the troops and say, “Is there anyone afraid and disheartened? Let him go back to his home, lest the courage of his comrades flag like his” (Deuteronomy 20:1-8).
The Torah elsewhere informs us that the conquest of the Land will require the waging of war against the nations that inhabit it. However, in order to succeed, the soldiers must overcome their fear of dying in combat. Thus, the Torah here instructs Israel’s military leader to rally the troops and to tell them that there is no cause for fear or panic because God, who miraculously rescued them from Egyptian bondage, will march before them and ensure their victory. If, however, there are those who still find themselves succumbing to such fears, they should go home rather than stay and weaken the resolve of the others.
While the fear of one’s own death is a natural reaction to the dangers involved in military combat, there is another type of fear that seems quite unnatural, but yet has been on vivid display in Israel in the war against Hamas—the fear of the death of others.
Take, for example, the story Oz Davidian who used his pick-up truck to make at least 15 back-to-back journeys into the chaos and ongoing shooting at the Supernova festival massacre, and saved over 120 lives. Consider his relative Rami Davidian, who used his knowledge of the local terrain to drive back and forth, while dodging Hamas bullets, and who managed to rescue 700 people hiding in ditches, and behind and up trees.
What about Shlomo Ron who allowed Hamas to kill him in his living room so they wouldn’t search his home for his hiding family? Then there is Yussef Alziadna, a southern Bedouin minibus driver, who was hired to drive nine young Israeli men and women to, and from, the festival. When, at 6:00 AM, he received a panicked phone call from them asking him to come pick them up immediately, he did so without hesitation. When he arrived at the party, he found himself under fire but that didn’t stop him from picking up his clients, along with another 24 people crammed into his shuttle van.
In the battle for Kibbutz Nir Am, a grenade was thrown at a group of seven Golani soldiers who were trapped while fighting more than 50 terrorists. Matan Abergil immediately covered it with his body saving them all.
Approximately 30 soldiers were in Kibbutz Kisufim’s dining room when terrorists started throwing grenades inside. Uriel Segal caught the grenades with his hands before they exploded and then threw them back at the terrorists. He did so time after time, grenade after grenade, until the last terrorist shot him dead.
Amit Chen, a paramedic from Be’eri, refused a ride to safety in Sderot that morning and insisted on remaining in Be’eri. She ran to the local dental clinic where she treated the wounded for hours on end, even though the terrorists were coming increasingly closer to the clinic. Although she was warned about her perilous situation, and was told to run for cover, she adamantly refused to leave her patients, until the terrorists ultimately infiltrated the clinic and killed her.
In all these cases, and in countless others that can be found online and in recently published books, the fear that governed their decisions was for the lives and welfare of others, not their own.
Thus, if God promised “to do battle for you against your enemy, to bring you victory” when what is paramount is the concern for own lives, then we should have every reason to believe He will do the same when what is paramount is the concern for the lives of others.