D'var Torah

The scene in the Golan Heights was awful. 12 young people killed and even more wounded on a soccer field trying to have a normal life in an area that can be anything but normal. The victims were all Druze, an Arab and Arabic-speaking group that were originally living in the Golan Heights when it was under Syrian control and then offered Israeli citizenship after the Golan Heights became part of Israel. They are good neighbors. Not all have accepted Israeli citizenship, but many speak Hebrew and consider themselves Israeli citizens. The Druze, according to the Pew Research Center, are a close-knit community and active in Israeli life. Many serve in the military and police force. The Druze are not Muslim, but rather their own unique religious group that dates to the 11^th century. The Druze number about 1 million worldwide, and mostly live in Syria and Lebanon. Pew reports they make up roughly 2% of the Israeli population and live generally in the Galilee, Carmel, and the Golan Heights. 

I’m glad that Israel chose to defend its Druze citizens and residents. A recent NPR reporter interviewed Druze residents in that community, and most were wary that the Israeli government would retaliate because the victims were Druze. They called on Israelis leaders to protect them and make them feel truly part of the country. On Tuesday, we saw the response, a targeted attack in Beirut. While I hope that this doesn’t lead to an escalation in the northern part of Israel, I believe Israel did the right thing in choosing to defend its residents – no matter their heritage or religious beliefs. 

The Torah portion this Shabbat, a double portion called Matot and Masei (the last two parshiyot in the Book of Numbers), includes God commanding the Israelites to wage war on its enemy, the Midianites. God commands Moses to take revenge against the Midianites from seducing Jewish men to sin (in the Torah portion Balak, Numbers 25). Rashi, the great medieval commentator says that when Israel is attacked, it is as though God is attacked. Rashi comments on this line in the Torah portion, justifying the call to war but saying that it should be fought by “righteous” people. Even if a war is justified, Rashi explains, soldiers who start out as righteous people with high morals suffer less and make better life and death decisions regarding killing and destruction. Thinking about the soldiers themselves, Rashi notes how cruel war can be, and that perhaps a soldier who starts out with higher morals may suffer fewer negative effects that a war brings.

Although unrelated to war, I see this also with police officers I counsel. Those whose morals, ethics and integrity are at a high level make better decisions, in my opinion, than those who struggle. I am appalled at the shooting death of Sonya Massey in Springfield, Illinois recently by a Deputy Sheriff, who allegedly had a checkered past as a law enforcement officer. Would an officer who was in a better place – mentally and spiritually – have handled that call in the same way? This is part of what I teach police officers in Fairfax County at the police academy. Keeping your morals, ethics, integrity, and spirituality healthy (not spirituality from a religious perspective, but rather from a “human spirit” perspective) makes for better decisions, some of which are life and death decisions. The same goes for soldiers in war.

As we continue to watch the war in Gaza and hope for the return of the hostages and for a cease-fire (which after the killing of the Hamas political leader Tuesday in Iran, seems further away) as well as a possible war in the north, we may wonder how many more people must be killed for peace to ultimately be possible. Should soldier and leader alike look in their own spiritual mirror to make sure they remain “righteous?” I continue to pray for peace and an end to aggression by all people. We also ask for healing for the Druze who are continuing to suffer from this terrible attack. May peace come soon.

Shabbat Shalom,
Cantor Michael Shochet