Being a light unto the nations, with confidence

One of the conclusions of an IDF review of the Tzuk Eitan (Defensive Shield) war fought in Gaza in the summer of 2014 was that it was a bad idea to have encouraged soldiers to write letters to their loved ones prior to entering Gaza. Apparently, soldiers were given time and encouragement to write letters that would be forwarded to loved ones in the event they did not come back from the fighting.

Don’t get me wrong — writing such a letter is something every soldier should do, and through all the years I spent time in Lebanon and intense reserve duties in places like the Gaza strip, Ramallah, Hebron, Shechem and Jenin, I always had such a letter in my breast pocket and, later, after I got married and had kids, left at home in a place I knew would be found in the event…

But I always wrote them long before I headed off to reserve duty. The idea of all the soldiers in a unit being told by their commanders, as they prepared for combat, to write such letters is a really bad idea. The conclusion of the IDF report was that this had a terrible impact on morale and as a practice should be discontinued. 

Indeed, it brings to mind one of the fascinating questions in this week’s portion Balak.

The entire parsha revolves around the desire of Balak, the king of Moab, to see the Jewish people cursed by Balaam, the great sorcerer of the ancient pagan world. Balak, having just witnessed the vanquishing by Israel of the mighty Amorite army, realizes the Jews cannot be conquered on the battlefield, so he entices Balaam to curse the Jews. And the Torah shares the dialogue with us as G-d prevents Balaam from cursing the Jewish people. 

Seriously? And if Balaam had indeed cursed the Jewish people, would all have been lost? Doesn’t Hashem run the world? What difference does it make whether a pagan prophet curses the Jewish people? Do we believe in witches and sorcerers and ancient spells and incantations?