Aron Moss
Question: On October 7 2023 my religious faith took a massive hit when Hamas attacked Israel. My faith has only been partially restored by the miraculous failure of Iran's attack on Israel on 14 April 2024. G-d may have saved Israel on April 14, but G-d also allowed the October 7 massacre to occur. How does one reconcile both events?
Response: You are contrasting October 7 with April 14. But you need to also compare October 6 to April 13.
In the lead-up to October 7, Israel was divided by sectarian hatred and political disunity. Jew was pitted against Jew and civil war seemed imminent. Brothers were being treated as enemies, families were splitting apart over differing opinions, and we were a people divided.
Then October 7 happened, and everything changed. We became one nation again. We remembered how much we love each other and we were there for each other. All divisions fell away - soldiers and yeshiva students embraced, walls between Israel and the diaspora disappeared, and (almost) all sides of politics came together as one. We reconnected with our faith and our Jewishness. We were reminded that we are not like any other nation. We are different. We are G-d's people.
Before October 7 we were at our worst. Since then we have been (mostly) at our best. And you can see the results.
When Jews are disunited and unfaithful, we are subject to the normal laws of nature. Those laws dictate that when you are surrounded by murderous enemies who intend to hurt you, sometimes they will. A sheep surrounded by wolves will likely get hurt.
But when Jews are united and spiritually switched on, nothing can touch us. We are not subject to the laws of nature, we are in G-d's hands. The miraculous becomes our normal, the extraordinary is ordinary. The wolves can't come anywhere near the sheep, because the Shepherd intervenes.
October 7 was not a punishment from G-d. It was just the way of the world. Our enemies are constantly trying to attack us, and would do it every day if they could. That it doesn't happen every day is a miracle.
April 14 showed what happens when we are connected to each other and to our Jewish soul. We are invincible. Miracles happen. The laws of nature simply don't apply to us.
This has been the Jewish story forever.
We are one family. We are G-d's people. Let's get ready for more miracles.
