The fallen soldiers of Israel

Corporal Ohad Kleisner, 20, of Bet Horon

Lt. Alex Shwartzman, 24, of Acre (Akko)

Corporal Shimon Adega, 21, of Kiryat Gat

Sgt. Shimon Dahan, 20, of Ashdod

Corporal Asaf Namar, 27, of Kiryat Yam

Lt. Col. Royie Klein, 31, of Eli

Lt. Amichai Merchavia, 24, of Eli

Sgt. Edan Cohen, 21, of Jaffa

Lt. Yiftah Shrier, 21, of Haifa

Sitting at the comfort of LA, NY or elsewhere, we read the above names, shake our heads and move on to the next internet site or TV channel, desperately hoping for that piece of good news to say that it is all over, but subconsciously we know that it is not going to be over soon, and the killings will continue.

But, is this all we can do? No, perhaps some of us are doing more; writing a check for the IDF or for the refugees from the North of Israel, or even contemplating to join a solidarity mission to Israel at this hour of need. It is wonderful to do all of these things, but, is this really all we can do? Is this really what is required of us?

I want to ask you the following straight question: what do you think that the God of Israel, God of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakove is requiring of us? Please do not right away chuckle and dismiss me as a fanatic. I beg of you to close your eyes and just for a moment concentrate on this question. We are Jews who were given the Torah, the instructions for living and as how to become a light unto the nations and to bring God-consciousness to the world, but sad to say that majority of us have forgotten this, or have never bought into this. I am not a rabbi, in fact far from it, but it is clear that all these calamities, namely the world hatred of us, fall upon us because we are not following the Torah.

We are in the beginning of the month of Av, the time that throughout our history, all our national catastrophes, from the episode of the spies in the desert, destruction of both temples in Jerusalem and the Spanish expulsion of 1492 have all occurred in this period. It is incumbent upon us my dear brothers, sisters and friends, to take this special time and think about the above question and find out what it is the Hashem wants from each one of us. Our sages tell us that we need to do Teshuvah (return to our Jewish roots), doing mitzvoth and learning Torah.

I am sure that the concept is new to many of us, and even if we wanted to do it, we will be at loss as what to do. So, get hold of your pulpit rabbi and ask him to explain it to you. And if he is too busy hopping from one house to the next on Friday nights to say Hamotzi, then ask him to appoint someone else to help you. Better yet, search the Web, there are lots of resources; as usual, Aish, Chabad, Lazer Beam, Ohr Sameyach, are great sources of information. In the meantime, do not wait for 100% inspiration or understanding of a particular mitzvah to perform it. Pick one and Just do it! For example, lighting candles on Friday night, or baking Challah (bread) for Shabbat. I know what you re thinking to yourself, that I am crazy to suggest that baking Challah is going to bring peace to the world! Ok, may be not instantly to the entire world, but ask any woman who bakes or any man whose wife bakes, and they will tell you what this mitzvah does for the Shalom Bayt (peace and tranquility at home) and enhancement of Shabbat experience. And before you accuse me of chauvinism and wonder why I just mention the women baking and not the men, I will tell you that baking Challah is a specific mitzvah for the Jewish woman, the same way that putting on Teffilin is for the man. In fact, there are 3 highly-rated mizvot for the women; lighting candles, baking Challah, and… going to the Mikvah (oops, did I say family purity?)

So ladies, please pick up the phone this Thursday night and invite couple of friends over and bake Challah together. What have you got to loose? And see miracles happen in your life.

And may it be that in the merit of all our mizvot, the neshamas of our fallen soldiers rest in eternal peace, Amen.