Angels in gaza | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

Torah Portion and Tanach
Mishpatim

קטגוריה משנית

Our Sedra, as one might say in today’s lingo,
shows Judaism’s "sensitive side." 53 diverse
Mitzvot instruct us as to how we must be
responsive to the needs of the poor, the widow,
the orphan, the disenfranchised, the indentured
slave; even members of the animal kingdom.

But the Sedra’s closing section seems at first
reading to be something completely different. It
contains several mysterious episodes: First, G-d
says, "I am sending an Angel to protect you;
respect him, for My name is in him."

Then Moshe sends the youth of Israel to bring
offerings; the blood of their sacrifice is
sprinkled over the people as Moshe declares,
"With this blood, the covenant is now sealed between you & Hashem."

Finally, Moshe, Ahron & the elders see a vision
of G-d: "Under His feet was a sapphire brick,
whose essence was as pure & bright as Heaven." What does it all mean?

To me, the message is as clear as day; do you not
see it? Who are the Angels among us? Who are the
youth of Israel who protect us, who embody the
finest attributes of Hashem – Midot such as
courage & Mesirat Nefesh - whose blood is sprinkled on the nation at large?

These can be no other than the proud young men &
women who wear the uniform of the Israel Defense
Forces, who selflessly place their lives on the
line every day to defend Am Yisrael. G-d’s name
is in each of these children, & it is in their
merit, I am absolutely convinced, that we
continue to frustrate the evil designs of
millions of enemies who would destroy us. In
their z’chut the Yeshivot may flourish, the
tourists may visit, the land may bloom. These
angels in green, these green kids who traded
their school bags for M-16s, are a source of
great pride in Klal Yisrael and in this generation.

Chazal comment that the sparkling blue brick
under Hashem’s throne was there to remind Him of
the pain & suffering we endured in Egypt, when
the cruel Egyptians would place Jewish babies in
the wall when their parents’ quota of bricks was
not fulfilled. Each time G-d started to lose
patience with Bnei Yisrael, He would take out
that brick. Remembering our great self-sacrifice,
His attribute of Mercy would take hold & He would forgive us.

So the end of the Parsha, you see, isn’t really
so different in essence from the 53
Mitzvot enumerated earlier. It continues the
same theme: Be sensitive & appreciative of those
who serve us & risk their lives for us, such as
the heroic Chayalim in Gaza and throughout. They
and those like them are the Heavenly bricks from
which this great nation is built.