24 Oct OPERATION PROTECTIVE SHIELD

It was June 1967. The Six-Day War was
raging in Eretz Yisroel. My uncle, HaRav
Amram Jungreis z”l, was the rav of a small
town on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. He wrote
us, telling of both the difficulties and miracles
taking place. I share with you one of his
stories that my mother a”h included in her
first book, The Jewish Soul on Fire.
“There was a family in the shul that came
from Yemen. They had eight sons in the IDF.
Their mother, beside herself with worry,
consulted a sage and begged that he advise
her where she might best pray for the safe
return of her children.
“At which grave should I knock? Who should
I awaken from slumber? Who will be the
righteous messenger to carry my plea to
HaShem’s throne?”
The sage pondered her question for a while,
and then instructed her not to pray at any
grave, but to go home and await her children.
He told her ‘The graves of the holy souls are
empty. They are all at the front, battling
alongside your sons, watching over them. Be

assured that they will bring them home in
safety.’ “
This week we read Parshas Lech Lecha – Go
for yourself. HaShem was sending Avraham
on a journey of self-discovery, leaving his
country, his community, his family. It was a
journey fraught with danger and life tests. But
Avram overcame the challenges, emerging as
Avraham Avinu, father of the Jewish nation.
Hafach bah, va’hafach bah, d’kola bah.
(Pirkei Avos 5:26). How often my mother
would quote these words. Turn the pages, turn
the pages, it’s all there. The story our people,
then and now.
Lech Lecha. Today, as Eretz Yisroel is battling
a most ruthless enemy, HaShem is sending
Avraham Avinu on a different mission. A
mission to go and be with his children. As the
sage told the woman, the kevarim are all
empty. The neshamos of our holy avos and
imahos, our patriarchs and matriartchs, our
tzadkim and gedolim, the righteous ones and
the leaders of our people, are all on the front.
They are with acheinu kol beis Yisroel, our
brothers, our people. It is only with this
emunah that we can forge ahead.
Three times a day, during Shacharis, Mincha

and Maariv, we turn to HaShem in tefillah.
Three times a day during Shemoneh Esrei
we say Magen Avraham, the Shield of
Avraham. The Magen Avraham is with us
now.
But why only Avraham? Why not mention
all of the avos, Avraham, Yitzchok and
Yaakov? The Chidushei Harim explains that
in the z’chus of Avraham withstanding ten
difficult life tests with fortified emunah and
bitachon, a spark of Avraham is implanted in
each and every Jew. A spark that is a magen,
a shield for all time. This is the legacy
bequeathed to us by Avraham Avinu. To
endure life’s difficulties, its tests and
challenges, and emerge an even stronger
Jew.
Like Avraham, we are experiencing events
that are difficult to comprehend. It is the
Magen Avraham, the Shield of Avraham that
gives us chizuk. It is a shield of hope and
trust in HaShem, and a belief in the eternity of
Klal Yisroel.
Never before have I seen so many soldiers
from all backgrounds and all different levels
of observance joining hands together, singing
songs of emunah, songs of belief, songs of
thanks and praise to HaShem.
My mother taught that Magen Avraham has
yet an additional meaning. It is a shield that
protects Am Yisroel by virtue of Avraham
Avinu’s boundless chesed, lovingkindness.
Together with Sarah Imeinu, Avraham built
an eishel, a tent open to guests, and travelers
trekking through the desert. He offered
food, drink and a place to rest, and
personally tended to the needs of his guests.
Avraham not only provided food and
lodging, but taught his guests what it means
to believe in One G-d. What it means to
love and have gratitude to HaShem.
If anything, this war has brought on
incredible achdus and achrayus, unity and
responsibility. A nation uniting and
becoming an Am Echad, one people, each
one feeling for and being concerned for his
fellow Jew. After so much divisiveness
between the left and right, our people are
coming together, going out of their way for
one another.
I think of the group of Vishnitz chassidim,
who arranged a full Shabbos for hundreds
of people displaced from the South. Not
just sharing home cooked meals, but
providing a complete Shabbos environment,
beautifully set tables, zemiros, and an
abundant display of love for each person. I
think of the residents of Ramat Beit
Shemesh who opened their homes and
hearts, and made every vacant room and
apartment available to thousands who had
to flee their homes with nothing more than

the shirts on their backs. I think of the tzitzis
campaign, providing thousands of soldiers
with a spiritual protective shield. I think of all
the organizations, first-aid providers, and
individuals going above and beyond to
alleviate the many needs of soldiers and the
families they left behind. I think of the
community in Tzfat, who suddenly found
themselves in the midst of the new front in the
North, proving food and other necessities to
soldiers and reservists called up for duty.
I think of the tens of thousands of Jews
throughout the world who have undertaken to
say Tehillim…. and more Tehillim, of those
who are adding time to their daily Torah
study, doing more chesed, even writing letters
to bring a small measure of cheer and a smile
to soldiers thousands of miles from home.
HaShem tells Avraham, “v’heyei bracha, you
shall be a blessing”. (Bereishis 12:2). Rashi
explains that HaShem told Avraham that until
that time, the power to bless was in His hand,
but from that moment on, the power to bless
others was given over to Avraham.
V’heyei bracha. To lives one’s life to bring
blessings to others. As Jews, we carry the
Magen Avraham. We daven that Avraham is
with us, protecting us and guiding us. That
with HaShem’s help, the spark of Avraham
should be ignited within each of us, so that we
can withstand the difficult tests that our nation
is facing.
HaShem told Avraham, “V’nivrichu b’chah
kol mishpichos ho’adamah, All the families
of the earth shall be blessed through you.”
(Ibid. 12:3). Let us all daven that through our
tefillos, tzedakah, and chesed, we too will
merit to be a source of blessing to all of
mankind. That the Magen Avraham will bring
protection and shalom to all of Am Yisroel –
both in Eretz Yisroel and throughout the
world.