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Gratitude and Humility

A Theological Response

to the Yom Kippur War

Rabbi Moshe Zvi Neria ל”צז

In the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War, the nation was deeply traumatized. How could the entire
military and political establishment have failed to detect the Arab attack? How could a nation
that crushed its enemies during the Six-Day War come so dangerously close to defeat? In this essay,
published in a small pamphlet titled Milchemet Yerach HaEitanim (1974), Rabbi Moshe Zvi Neria zt”l
addressed these painful questions with both clarity of vision and great faith.

With the attribute of mercy of Eretz Yisrael from all of these direct attacks. The murder-
ous missiles from Syria did not reach their target, most of
n the tenth day of the seventh month,” on them hitting trees and rocks, and the missile launched from
Yom Kippur, the day on which the “nation Egypt to Tel Aviv was tracked and destroyed while still in
of the G-d of Avraham” stands in fasting the air, at the very last moment.
“Oand prayer before its Creator, Arab nations
unsheathed their swords – with the full support of the evil Even the enemy’s surprise attack on Yom Kippur achieved
nation of heresy, the Soviet Union – against the nation of G-d the opposite of its intended goal: because the nation was
in their Land. The goal of this war was not simply to reclaim gathered in synagogues, the IDF was able to quickly call
territories which they had never developed or settled when up reserve troops, and the empty roads enabled the army
they were under Arab control, but primarily to destroy the to transport the soldiers more quickly to the front. Even
people of Israel who had returned to their homeland, to the more importantly, the experience of the lofty holiness of
chosen Land G-d had sworn to give to their forefathers. The the day strengthened the morale of the soldiers, and the
attackers on this holy day planned not only a war of soldiers, timing of this milchemet mitzvah (obligatory war), forced
but the slaughter of multitudes. upon them in the midst of the fast, contributed greatly to
their spiritual readiness to fight with courage and bravery,
The murderous Kelt missile launched from Egypt to the with attachment to Hashem and with self-sacrifice, with
heart of Tel Aviv and the Prog missiles launched from Syria faith and trust.
into the Jezreel Valley had one goal – to murder and to
destroy. Their intent was to destroy young and old, women Like the sorcerers of Pharaoh in their time, our enemies saw
and children, all at once. but did not understand what they saw. Their evil eye saw
a nation cut off from the world, gathered in synagogues,
Had these missiles reached their targets, we would have wrapped in their tallitot and their fast, and absorbed in
had, G-d forbid, tens of thousands of civilian casualties in their prayers, and they thought: “here is the perfect time to
this war. A holocaust of destruction was about to descend confuse them and attack them!” However, this evil eye, inso-
like a thunderbolt upon an innocent nation. However, the lent towards Heaven, did not see the eye from above – the
hateful goal of these evil doers, to maliciously harm G-d’s “eye of Hashem is toward them that fear Him, toward them
people on their holiest day and to desecrate the holy day, that wait for His mercy” (Tehillim 33:18) – the perceptive
the day of Am Yisrael’s uniqueness and unity, backfired upon eye, vigilant and watchful, seeing men, nations, and all the
them and foiled their plot of mass murder. inhabitants of this world.
The overwhelming attribute of mercy that defines that Those who plotted murder did not know nor understand
day – “As an eagle that stirs up her nest, hovering over her that “days have been formed and one of them is His” (Tehil-
young” (Devarim 32:11) – was miraculously revealed that lim 139:16), that Yom Kippur is the special day of the Creator
day, and the shield of salvation – “‘Hashem is my light,’ ‘‘ה of the world and man, the day He put our first forefather
י ִרֹוא,’ ‘on Rosh Hashanah,’ ‘And my salvation,’ ‘י ִע ְ ׁשִי ְו’ ‘on Yom through the test of Akeidat Yitzchak (which established the
Kippur’” (Vayikra Rabbah 21:1) – protected the cities and towns nature of the Jews… who are ready to sacrifice their lives to

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