Is Israel Really the Safest Place for the Jewish People?

In 1991, the Gulf War broke out in Israel. Afraid for their safety, many talmidim of the Lubavitcher Rebbe who had been planning to come to Israel at the time of the war asked the Rebbe whether or not they should still do so. The Rebbe was unequivocal in telling them that Israel is the safest place for the Jewish People, and that not only should they go, but they should tell all their family and friends, so as to show their faith in Hashem, and encourage more of Am Yisrael to go to Israel. In 2023, in the wake of the horrific attacks perpetrated upon Israeli civilians, Jews are once again questioning whether Israel is safe and fear for their personal security. We can certainly presume that, if the Lubavitcher Rebbe was still alive today, he would once again encourage us to have faith in the Land of Israel, as indeed have many rabbanim and leaders been doing.

In the wake of the Holocaust, the international community recognized the need for a Jewish state, for Jewish self-determination and especially, Jewish self-defense. Indeed, one of the reasons stated in the Israeli Declaration of Independence for the creation of the state, was to serve as a safe haven for all Jews. However, every Jew knows that our links to Israel are bound in the Torah and in Hashem’s promise to Avraham Avinu that his nation would inherit this land. What made the Lubavitcher Rebbe so sure in 1991 that Israel was the safest place in the world for Jews, was not the might of the Israel Defence Forces, but rather, the link between the nation, Hashem, and the land.

The Rebbe often quoted the verse in Devarim that states, “A land that the eyes of G‑d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to its end.”¹ The land of Israel, beloved by Hashem, is watched closely by Hashem. From this many of our Sages have understood that Israel is protected by Hashem because it is holy, and that when we live in Israel, we enjoy a special closeness to Hashem, so much so that even our sins are more easily forgiven and our prayers more easily accepted². Our extra closeness and protection also comes from the fact that our mitzvot give us Divine protection, and so many of our mitzvot are directly connected to the Land of Israel. A very good example of this is the observance of the shemitta year, whose reward is to dwell securely in the land.

Given that today, not all Jews living in Israel are God fearing, Torah keeping individuals, how can we claim that the land is still protected, or that we are still protected?

There is, however, a flip side to this verse of ‘being watched’, because it is not only the Land that Hashem is observing. Some sages, such as the Bechor Shor and the Ibn Ezra,  explain that it is also the people who are watched and our merit’s accounted for – are we deserving of the blessings of rain, prosperity and security? We know from the verses in Vayikra that if we must obey the commandments of Hashem, “lest the land to which I bring you to settle in spew you out”³. When we look at the events surrounding both of our exiles, it seems this is really what happens.

Given that today, not all Jews living in Israel are God fearing, Torah keeping individuals, how can we claim that the land is still protected, or that we are still protected?

There are a few possible suggestions: one is that anyone who lives in Israel is performing the mitzvah of Yishuv Haraetz, and therefore even our mundane actions are counted as mitzvot⁴. Another answer is that even when we sin, Hashem keeps the brit that He established with our forefathers.  

Delving deeper into the latter claim, Rabbi David Block of Aleph Beta explains that there are two aspects to our deservedness to the land of Israel. One is, indeed, this deal that we have with Hashem – He’ll keep His part, and we’ll keep the Torah and Mitzvot and all will be well. But actually, in Parshat Eikev, when we are told the land is watched, we are also told that we are inheriting the land, not due to our righteousness, but rather due to the brit that Hashem promised to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. When Hashem promises Avraham in Parshat Lech Lecha, that his children will inherit the land, He does not make this promise as a reward for Avraham’s faithfulness, but rather, gives Avraham the tools that he will need in order to create a model nation that will follow Avraham’s ways, seeking justice and righteousness, thereby influencing the word.

With this in mind, we can understand a further motivation for Hashem to give special protection to the land and its people. We are on a mission, a God given mission that begins in the land of Israel and filters out to the world. We need that protection in order to accomplish that mission.

The knowledge that Hashem is watching over the land of Israel and that He too has a vested interest in our being in this land, brings with it a strong sense of bitachon and purpose. Of course, we have to do our hishdatlut – we build a strong army and when we have to, send them out to fight. But also we know that when we come in the name of Hashem to fight for our land and our people, Hashem will be on our side. We are in a partnership with Hashem, a partnership based on three essential components: our people, in our land, according to the Torah. We may not have perfected all three aspects, but we are working on it, perhaps in these days more than ever.

Right before he dies, in the very words that were being read as the atrocities of Simchat Torah were taking place, Moshe tells us: “The ancient God is a refuge, A support are the arms everlasting (i.e. His support is endless and unlimited). He drove out the enemy before you By His command: Destroy! Thus Israel dwells in safety, Untroubled is Jacob’s abode, In a land of grain and wine, Under heaven’s dripping dew.”

Hashem is our refuge, Israel our land. We turn to Him now and ask that He continue to bestow protection on us in our land and drive out our enemies swiftly, as He has many times in the past, so that we can continue to fulfill our mission safely and untroubled in our God-protected land.

¹ Devarim 11:12

² See for example, the Ran, Meiri, Rashi among others

³ Vayikra, 20:22

⁴ See for example, the Chatam Sofer