17 Jun THE 6/13 STRIKE AGAINST IRAN: ISRAEL’S MODERN-DAY MIRACLE

In a breathtaking
operation rivaling
the miracles of the
Six Day War,
Israel’s audacious
pre-emptive strike
on Iran’s nuclear
program defied the odds — and world
expectations.
There is much uncertainty, but as of now
we know that Israel has pulled off an
operation that makes the Hezbollah walkie
talkie episode look modest and that
according to experts is on par with the
miracle of the Six Day War.
On June 13, 6/13, an auspicious number,
Israel launched a pre-emptive strike to take
out Iran’s nuclear capability, a country who
has pledged to destroy Israel and wipe out
the Jewish people. Earlier on that same day,
the Prime Minister prayed at the Western
Wall, a seemingly innocuous gesture as he
hosted a foreign leader. Together with the
announcement he was going on vacation
and attending a celebration, and the
coordinated statements by President
Trump, Secretary Rubio and Steve Witkoff
telling Israel not to attack, Iran was caught
by surprise.

Mindbogglingly, the Mossad had been
operating in Iran for years, setting up a base
with drones that were smuggled in. Having
eliminated the air defense, Israel’s
extraordinary air force operated with
impunity, flying more than 1,000 miles to
relentlessly pound missile sites, attack
nuclear sites, and in pinpoint strikes,
eliminate Iranian nuclear scientists and
military leaders all while brazenly refueling
over Iran.
Israel orchestrated events that they knew
would cause Iranian military leadership to
gather and then took them out. Israel is the
size of New Jersey and has 10 million
people. Iran is more than twice the size of
Texas and has 93 million people.
This courageous action, in defiance of
some world opinion and world leaders, is a
gift to the world, just like it was when Israel
took out Iraq and Syria’s nuclear programs.
Thankfully, despite the public posture
designed to distract, in truth, President
Trump and the United States stand with
Israel, are coordinating with Israel and are
helping defend Israel.

Gratitude and Angst
On Thursday night,
when Israel launched
its preemptive strike,
we were filled with
gratitude and elation,
pride and joy in the
unprecedented and
heroic success. But
those feelings were
quickly tempered as
Iran began to retaliate
and has launched waves
of barrages of ballistic
missiles, most of which
have been intercepted but too many of
which have gone through, have taken lives
and have caused scores of injuries.
There have been countless, extraordinary
miracles and achievements. As this war
with Iran continues to unfold, we are filled
simultaneously with boundless gratitude
and pride on the one hand but also profound
concern, worry and angst on the other. How
do we balance these conflicting feelings?
In Jewish thought, there is always a
connection between the weekly Torah
portion begin read and the events
unfolding.
This is the Torah portion that tells us:
“When you are at war in your land
against an aggressor who attacks you,
you shall sound short blasts on the
trumpets, that you may be remembered
before your G-d and be delivered from
your enemies.”
This is the portion that contains the
promise: “When the Ark was to set out,
Moses would say: Advance, G-d! May
Your enemies be scattered, And may
Your foes flee before You!”
Rashi explains: Your enemies: anyone
who hates the Jewish people hate the
Creator of the universe.
Iran has targeted the Jewish people and in
so doing has targeted our Father in
Heaven. Iran has started up with the
wrong enemy.
When the Ark sets out, when the Torah
leads us, when we are proud Jews, G-d
makes a promise that He will help us
defeat our enemies. When the Prime
Minister, the political leader of the
Jewish state, the Commander in Chief of
the Israeli military goes to the Kotel to
pray before launching an attack, the Ark
is leading, our fighting is informed and
inspired by our faith.
With Faith and Fortitude
The Jewish people have not only survived

but thrived against all odds, against the
laws of history, despite countless attempts
to annihilate and exterminate us. We have
persevered with faith and fortitude,
resilience and resolve. When our enemies
try to destroy us, we our protected by G-d.
How do we reconcile the conflicting
emotions of gratitude and relief with
concern and fear?
We must never forget or fail to credit G-d
with our survival, existence and our future.
The answer is simple: We feel boundless
gratitude to Israel’s heroic soldiers and the
members of Israel’s air force. We recognize
the selfless dedication of the Mossad agents
who have lived for years in Iran under
cover, forfeiting their Jewish identity and
Jewish practice to protect the Jewish
people. We appreciate the courageous
leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu.
They all deserve credit, praise, admiration
and gratitude. Yes, they have dismantled
Hezbollah, Hamas and pulled off amazing
feats against Iran.
But none of them could or would succeed
without G-d leading the way. We must
never forget or fail to credit G-d with our
survival, existence and our future.
Yes, we have outstanding, courageous and
selfless soldiers and leaders but we must
always remember that G-d is the ultimate
reason behind our success.
And that is why we can simultaneously be
grateful to G-d and His agents for the
success so far and also manage our concern
and worry for the future. When we
recognize and realize that G-d got us here,
He enabled and empowered our success
and He promises us that we will be here
forever, that we will persevere and triumph,
that He is fighting by our side.
May we succeed in always having Torah
inform and inspire our lives in good times
and bad, and in that merit, may we see the
fulfillment of the promise of “our enemies
be scattered and our foes flee from before
us.”