Learning The Lessons of World War III!
Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, Chabad @ Flamingo
If you think that sounds crazy, think again. The U.S. President has made it very clear that the current war on terror isnt just aimed at the lone demon named Bin Laden. In fact, in Washington for quite some time now there has been open talk about 250,000 US Special Forces going into Baghdad to take out Hussein and his terrorist infrastructure. It will not be an easy battle. Because street fighting in foreign cities is never simple, particularly because Saddam is hiding his weapons of mass destruction amongst the civilian population and in the great many palaces and mosques he has built in the last decade.
Unlike Israel, the U.S. does not have to risk the lives of soldiers to keep casualties to a minimum. Only Israeli soldiers are forced to perform humanitarian, dangerous house-to-house searches for murderous terrorists, who simply blow themselves up amidst civilians, killing them and the soldiers. The United States Army will do what any normal army does in this situation: order air attacks first to blow up the houses, and only then send in the infantry to mop up. The result will be thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dead civilians. The Army will call these fatalities collateral damage, the Arab world will call it genocide, a battle cry for widespread Jihad!
It is foolhardy to play prophet, (it hard enough to be a good Rabbi!), but you dont have to be Jeremiah to posit that this all amounts to a perfect recipe for WW III, which brings me to the thrust of this article. History repeats itself. To ignore the mistakes of the past is to repeat them again.
On the eve of the Second World War, the Nazis began to demand concessions of land. To be sure, the Germans had their grievances, as does the Arab world. However the world learned too late that none of this appeased Hitlers Nazi Germany. The more they got, the more they wanted. Instead of peace, Hitler utilized his new power and territory to prepare for war, using every concession received to that end. The power hungry and inflamed Islamic-Arab world is doing the same thing. For decades they have been demanding more and more land concessions from Israel. The more they receive, the more their appetite grows. All the while, from Gaza to Syria, Iraq to Iran, they are all developing their skills of terrorism and murder.
When Hitler began his inexorable march of conquest through Europe, the free world discovered it could not defend itself. The French thought their Maginot Line (A circle of canons and heavily armed pillboxes) would protect them. Instead the Nazi war machine vaulted itself right over these defenses with its own homegrown ingenious form of terrorism known as the Blitzkrieg.
The defense strategy didnt work. The Germans werent stopped until The Allies went on the offensive and invaded Nazi dominated Europe. Tragically it happened seven years, and 55 million fatalities too late.
Until recently, the commonly held notion was that World War III was impossible because it would mean mutual assured destruction (M.A.D.). Now however, we are faced with the very real possibility of a nuclear disaster perpetuated by homicide/suicide terrorists on a smaller scale. This insane method of homicide\suicide bombing is now being perfected in Israel by the arch terrorist Arafat, and it will soon be ready for export. In fact, it already reached on these shores on September 11. If we dont do something major to halt the international Islamic terrorist movement we will G‑d forbid- soon see a massive nuclear attack on an urban North American city.
If you think this is exaggerated and fanciful, consider this: On May 5, billionaire investor Warren Buffet (whose Berkshire Hathaway insurance companies lost $2.4 billion because of September 11) told investors: Were going to have something in the way of a major nuclear event in this country [U.S.A.]. It will happen. Whether in 10 years or 10 minutes, or 50 years&its virtually a certainty!
We dare not wait for the Arab-Islamic Jihad to ignite the world. The free world has declared war on terrorism. But it cannot be a defensive war. We cannot defend ourselves from the terrorists any more than we defended ourselves against Hitler. We must attack, and go on the offensive before it is too late.
I write these words not as a political commentator, but rather because I believe this all contains a tremendously important lesson for us and the future of Judaism. The Jewish Establishments (as well as private citizens) have begun to talk of, and take defensive position regarding Israel and pride in Jewish identity. Feeling isolated and embattled many communities have become more introverted, with the focus on proliferation and growth by maintaining their own. This is a grave mistake.
While the rest of the Jewish world was still reeling from the aftershocks of the Holocaust, the Rebbe, of righteous memory, insisted that outward growth, rather than circling the wagons was the correct approach. Drawing on the divine promise to our Father Jacob (Gen. 28: 14) You shall spread to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south. Through you shall be blessed all the families of the earth, the Rebbe made Uforatzta (spreading out), the central thrust of the (then tiny) Lubavitch movement. As time went on, this in turn initiated new and unprecedented outreach from other establishments spanning the entire gamut of the Jewish universe, changing its landscape forever.
The Rebbes message and mandate lives on. This credo of Uforatzta continues to pulsate in the hearts of the thousands of men and woman who serve in the army of Jewish Peace Corps he created known as his Shluchim (emissaries). Indeed, today they are found throughout the globe in the west, east, north and south. Undoubtedly, if the Rebbe could speak to us today he would tell us to fight on with greater strength, to redouble our efforts, and not G‑d forbid to retreat to a defensive position and brace for survival.
If we are under attack, then the response must be to go on the [spiritual] offensive. It will not suffice to protect our own children. Instead, we must include our neighbour's children as well. With pride and a sense of purpose we must stand tall and reach out, as the beacon of morality and spirituality for entire world to see, thereby living up to the sacred mission of being a light unto the [Gentile] nations.
My dear friends this is not directed at some distant hazy reality. Its all about us! Come and participate more often in prayer and Torah study. Fill yourselves with light, so that you will be able to illuminate others. Take the time to learn, and later include those words of Torah when you interact with other people. Encourage them to join you in the pursuit of a more meaningful life. Only by actively taking the offensive and doing battle with assimilation, moral depravation and darkness of the spirit will we succeed in winning this war. May G‑d bless our efforts with success, and may we merit the fulfillment of Isaiahs prophecy that the swords be beaten into plowshares, and no nation shall lift armaments against another for the earth will be full of the knowledge of G‑d like the water covers the sea. May the coming new year bring peace and blessing to us all!