05 Mar LET NOT HIM WHO STRAPS ON HIS ARMOR BOAST LIKE HE WHO TAKES IT OFF אל יתהלל חוגר כמפתח

The story of the
rabbit and the turtle,
often known as
“The Tortoise and
the Hare,” is a
classic fable tale
that has been passed down through
generations and goes as follows:
Once upon a time, there was a speedy and
boastful rabbit who loved to brag about
how fast he could run. He would often
mock the slow-moving turtle, claiming
that there was no way the turtle could
ever beat him in a race.
Tired of the rabbit’s taunts, the turtle
finally challenged the rabbit to a race.
The rabbit, amused by the turtle’s
audacity, accepted the challenge, thinking
it would be an easy victory.
The race began, and the rabbit quickly
sprinted far ahead of the slow-moving
turtle. Confident in his speed, the rabbit
decided to take a nap under a tree,
thinking he had plenty of time to catch up
and win the race.

Meanwhile, the determined turtle
continued to plod along at a steady pace,
never stopping or becoming distracted.
Slowly but surely, the turtle made
progress along the racecourse.
When the rabbit woke up from his nap,
he was shocked to see the turtle nearing
the finish line. Panicked and realizing his
mistake, the rabbit sprinted as fast as he
could, but it was too late. The turtle
crossed the finish line first, winning the
race.
The moral of the story teaches the value
of persistence, steady effort, and humility.
Furthermore, the story serves as a
cautionary tale about the dangers of
boasting over victory and underestimating
one’s adversaries.
We constantly hear the enemies from the
north and south declaring how they will
crush the Jewish nation if they dare to
make the mistake of opening a war or
even firing at them. They threaten to
destroy the people and send the soldiers
back in bags. This type of talk brings to

mind a discussion brought
down in the book of
(מלכים א, כ, יא) Melachim
As Ben Hadad, the king of
Aram, prepared to attack
Israel, he gathered much
horses and chariots and
started to boast his victory
even before defeating Ahab,
the king of Israel.
He sent messengers to him,
saying, ‘Thus shall you
speak to Ben-hadad: ‘Your silver and
your gold will soon be mine; your most
beautiful wives and children also will be
mine’.
Ben Hadad boasted with his great army
and claimed, with an oath, that all the
dust of the destroyed Samaria, which he
planned to demolish, would not suffice to
fill the clenched fists of his many soldiers.
Ahab, king of Israel, replied: “Let not
him who straps on his armor boast like he
who takes it off.”
Meaning – Do not brag before you have
won the battle. The one who straps on
his armor is the soldier who puts on the
belt before the battle. The one who
takes it off is the soldier who unfastens
or removes the belt from himself after
returning from the battlefield. This
expression comes to teach a person not
to boast about their future successes,
lest they be unable to prove their words
with deeds.
edit: However, we should delve deeper
into this phrase. Is the problem with
bragging merely a moral issue of
arrogance, or is there more to it? The
commentaries explain that the problem
here also includes a practical concern:
when someone feels that victory is
already assured, they may not put in the
necessary effort to achieve it.
Conversely, when someone is not
overly confident of victory, they will
strive in various ways to secure it.
This is precisely what happened to Ben
Hadad, who was completely confident
in his victory, allowing himself to drink
to excess in his tent before the battle,
only to be defeated by Ahab. Similarly,
the moral lesson from the story of the
rabbit and the turtle is that while the
rabbit became complacent and fell

asleep, the turtle continued to put forth
all its effort to reach the finish line.
The idea of feeling victorious before the
battle due to a sense of strength is
emphasized in the words of the
Mishna(א,מב סוטה (. It describes the words
spoken to those preparing for war,
including this very point. The Mashuach
Milchama said: “Remember that they
come to war championed by flesh and
blood, and you are coming championed
by the divine Shchina. The Philistines
came championed by Goliath. What was
his end? In the end, he fell by the sword,
and they fell with him. The Ammonites
came championed by Shobach. What was
his end? In the end, he fell by the sword,
and they fell with him. But as for you,
you are not so reliant upon the strength of
mortals: ‘For the Hashem goes with you,
to fight for you against your enemies, to
save you.’ This pasuk refers to the camp
of the Ark of the Covenant that
accompanies them out to war.”
The Gemara elaborates on this, saying:
“He stood before Hashem with
brazenness and stated: ‘Choose
yourselves a man, and let him come
down to me’ (יז ,א שמואל(. “The word
“man” is referring to none other than
Hashem. In other words, Goliath said he
wanted to fight Hashem.
Now, let’s not deceive ourselves, as we
are also guilty of much of the same
arrogance. We, too, have let our guard
down and miscalculated the enemy.
While they were arming themselves to
the teeth, building tunnels, and plotting,
we were complacent. If only we wouldn’t
be so arrogant in thinking that we are so
powerful and mighty that no one would
dare to start a war against us, we could
save many lives and avoid the ongoing
conflict.